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“Morning Dad!” Yang called out while running into the kitchen to snag a bagel from the bread drawer.  With breakfast in hand, she kissed him on the temple before flying out of the room.

“When are you going to stop waking up so early??” he shouted after her.  “You’re freaking me out.”

“New year, Dad!” Ruby yelled back while pulling on her shoes and throwing on her backpack.  “New Yang!”

While Ruby giggled at the phrase, Yang grabbed her sister’s shoulder and led them outside.  At least, she tried to lead them outside.

“Hold on!”

Groaning at the delay, Yang dropped her arm while Ruby rushed towards the kitchen with a happy laugh.  The instant their dad appeared in the doorway, Ruby barreled into him for a hug - knocking him back a step as he tried to keep his balance.

Every day, Dad?” Yang whined, tapping a foot on the floor.

Ignoring Yang’s impatience, Dad hugged Ruby and lifted her feet right off the floor before swinging her around in a circle.  Ruby’s squeal of happiness melted Yang’s irritation and forced her to smile. Something about Ruby being so happy made it impossible to be annoyed - damn her.

Setting Ruby on the ground, Dad held onto her shoulders while she looked up at him with a big grin.

“Are you going to have a good day?” he asked, earning an enthusiastic nod in response.

“I am!  And I’ll do my best to learn nothing!”

Yang cringed when Ruby repeated their sisterly motto right to Dad’s face - and of course he immediately shook his head at her.

“Uh...kids say the darndest things, don’t they Dad?” she chuckled while pulling Ruby towards the front door.  “Pretty sure she meant we’ll do our best to learn everything!

When he laughed and shook his head, Yang raced out the door with Ruby on her heels.

“Jeez, Ruby,” she huffed after they made it a safe distance away.  “Way to spill the beans to Dad!”

“But he sees our report cards!”

“Yes, which means he knows there’s room for improvement!”

When Ruby’s reply was nothing but a giggle, Yang shook her head and picked up the pace.  They didn’t need to run to school, but if they speed-walked, they’d make it there even faster.  And every minute saved on their walk equaled another minute Yang could spend in homeroom before the day started.

That thought pretty much proved that the world now spun in the opposite direction.

“Are you gonna skip lunch again today?” Ruby asked, easily matching Yang’s brisk pace.

“Not planning on it,” Yang answered before giving Ruby a sideways glance.  “Why?”

The way Ruby shrugged was a dead giveaway that the reason wasn’t ‘nothing’ like she was about to say.

“No reason!  Just curious.”

Narrowing her eyes, Yang tried to figure out where the question came from.  Yesterday was Tuesday...she and Blake missed lunch because they were helping Penny rebuild her cardboard house.  That left just Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha at lunch.  

But it was Tuesday, so Pyrrha was helping Jaune!

“You liked eating alone with Weiss?” Yang teased, gently elbowing Ruby in the side.  “You got her attention alllll to yourself?”

“That’s not it!” Ruby protested before puffing out her cheeks.  A soft blush appeared, but she did her best to hide it. “It was nice to have all the space at the table!  I had an entire seat where I could put my tray!”

“Uh huh…”

No way was Yang falling for that sorry excuse.  Ruby and Weiss ate lunch alone together, and they’d probably flirted up a horribly-awkward storm without anyone around to witness it.

“Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I plan on being there today,” Yang added.  Although she wouldn’t mind skipping class with Blake any day of the week. It started off pretty lousy with Cardin ruining Penny’s project, but working together to fix it and then getting lunch had thoroughly wiped the bad taste from her mouth.  If anything, she looked back on yesterday positively. It was a great day!

“I like eating lunch with you, Yang!”  The way Ruby skipped forward only underscored the honesty of that statement, while also adding to her general cuteness.  “I also like getting to school early!”

“You do?” Yang asked as they fell into matching step towards the building.

“Yeah!  Weiss gets there early too, so now I can hang out with her in the morning!”

Concealing a grin, Yang nodded and said, “Oh yeah.  Totally forgot Weiss gets there early. Does she hide out in the library?”

“You bet!  And I’m allowed to sit with her if I’m reallyyyyy quiet.”

The image of Ruby attempting to sit quietly while Weiss worked made Yang laugh.  If someone convinced Ruby to be quiet, she’d find another way to express that never-ending stream of energy - mainly, by fidgeting.  It probably drove Weiss crazy how fast Ruby’s knee could bounce up and down. Yet...she still accepted Ruby’s presence.

“She’s lucky to have you!  There to keep her company,” Yang replied.  The last part was thrown in a little late, but a sideways glance proved that Ruby was none the wiser.  Instead, she wore this silly grin while walking up to the front entrance of school.

Someday, Yang would have to come right out and ask - ‘Do you like Weiss?  And don’t say you don’t because I already know you do.’ It didn’t feel like Ruby was ready to bring it up just yet, but that was now two comments on their short walk about how much she liked spending time with Weiss.  How much more obvious could it get?

Seriously though, Weiss was lucky.  But Yang had a sneaky suspicion that Weiss already knew just how lucky she was to have captured Ruby’s attention.  Maybe that suspicion was based on the fact that if she ever took Ruby for granted, she’d find herself on the business end of one of Yang’s fists.  Or maybe she was just smart enough to understand how incredible Ruby was - a pure soul who wanted nothing but the best for everyone around her.

Leaning her shoulder into the door, Yang held it open for Ruby while they walked into the nearly-empty entryway.  A few other students milled around the lobby area, but again they beat the rush. The second they walked inside, however, Ruby grew noticeably antsy to see her favorite surly student again.

“Say ‘hi’ to Weiss for me.”  

As soon as Yang said the words, Ruby hopped once in excitement before speed-walking towards the library.

“I will!” came the happy reply before Ruby disappeared around the corner with a last-second grin and wave sent back to Yang.

Shaking her head at Ruby’s unmistakable delight, Yang hurried towards her own classroom, where her own genius friend would hopefully be waiting for her.

Wait a second.  Ruby had a crush on the smartest girl in school...and Yang also had a crush on the smartest girl in school.  Fortunately, they weren’t the same person, but the parallels were pretty ironic!  Apparently, their family had a thing for intelligence.  

“Hey Yang!” someone called out to her as she sped down the halls.

“Hey!” she said, turning to wave before racing past one of her teammates.  “See you at practice!”  

Under ordinary circumstances, she’d stop and chat, but they’d see each other this afternoon and could catch up then.  Right now, Yang really wanted to get to class so she could see one of her new favorite people. 

“Hey, Blake!  Good morning!” 

All smiles the instant she walked through the door, she claimed her customary spot in front of Blake’s desk while Blake closed her book and smiled in return.

“Good morning, Yang.  Glad to see you’re chipper today.”

“What’s not to be happy about?  It’s Wednesday and we’re at school!”

Last year, neither of those things were worth being happy about - a fact Blake seemed to acknowledge with a perfectly-arched eyebrow and hidden smile.

“Thanks again for yesterday,” Yang added before she was called out on that little fib.  “You really helped...I mean, I had a great day.”

“I’m glad you did.  I had a great day too.”

While the two of them smiled at each other, Yang felt the rising desire to tell Blake how big of a role she played in the amazing day.  Not just helping Penny and having lunch together, but also agreeing to come to the match tomorrow and hang out after.  All of that culminated in a perfect day with just a small dose of Cardin Winchester thrown in.

And now they had a date to plan.  It was a date, kind of, right?

“Hey, so -” Yang began to ask before her eyes were drawn to Penny skipping into the classroom.

“Yang!” Penny exclaimed with a huge smile while heading over to them.  “And Blake! My teacher loved our project! He said it gets an A plus!”

It was impossible not to smile when Penny was so happy about the news.

“That’s great, Penny!”

“They’re going to display the best ones in the school lobby!” Penny added.  “I hope ours is picked!”

“I’m sure it will be!” Yang replied while raising one hand, which Penny gleefully slapped for a high-five before bouncing over to her desk.  

Even if they had gotten in trouble for skipping class, that moment would’ve made it completely worth any punishment.  And one look at Blake confirmed she felt the same.

As soon as Penny’s last words sank in, however, Yang’s mouth dropped open in dismay.

“Wait - in the lobby?  Uhhh…”  

Turning towards Penny, Yang found the girl humming to herself while pulling notebooks from her bag and arranging them on top of her desk.  Yang didn’t want to rain on Penny’s parade, but…

“Blake,” she whispered, leaning across the desk so Penny couldn’t overhear.  “The entire school is going to see the cardboard versions of us in bed together.”

“And?” Blake asked, her eyes sparkling with laughter.  “I think it’ll do a lot more for my street cred than your own.”

Yang immediately laughed at the response.

“‘Street cred?’  Have you ever said that before?”

“Not once,” Blake replied with a shake of her head and a smile.  “Did I even use it right?”

“I think so?  But I don’t really have any so...if anything, this is probably gonna hurt your reputation!”

When Blake giggled, Yang smiled.  She really, really loved it when Blake laughed.  Somehow, the sound lifted her heart in a way very few other sounds could do.  Her eyes only lifted away from Blake when she noticed Pyrrha walk into the room.  Well, it kind of looked like Pyrrha, but there was this determined air about her that seemed a bit foreign…

“Hey Pyrrha,” Yang said when her friend neared.  Instead of walking to her seat like usual, however, Pyrrha dragged over a chair to join them.

“Yang, I’d like your advice on something.”

Yeah, this wasn’t Pyrrha.  This was bizarro-Pyrrha.

“Sure!” Yang replied anyway.  “What is it?”  

Pyrrha’s gaze flitted to Blake, as if she was a little uncomfortable with Blake overhearing whatever she had to say, but the determination won out and she continued anyway.  

“It’s...relationship related,” Pyrrha explained, lowering her voice like that was top-secret information.

Finally!  The stars must have aligned, because this was the day Yang had waited a long, long time for.

“Then you’ve come to the right person!” she replied with a big grin.  “I’m the master of relationships!”

The boast may have gone a little overboard because Pyrrha gave her a look of disbelief.  

“Since we’ve known each other, how many relationships have you been in?” 

Cheeks insta-flushing, Yang shot a glance towards Blake - who was, of course, listening very, very intently to the sudden turn this conversation had taken.  

“Uh...well...you already know the answer to that...”

“Right.  None,” Pyrrha said before giving Blake a winning smile.  “It’s none by the way, Blake. In case you were curious.”

“Pyrrha!” Yang shouted in dismay, immediately reaching an atomic level of embarrassment when Blake gave her a look of surprise.

“I just thought she’d like to know,” Pyrrha replied in a not-so-innocent whisper.  “It’s not like it’s a big secret, is it?”

Feeling Blake’s gaze return to her, Yang searched for the right thing to say that wouldn’t make it sound like she’d been hiding the information.  But she also didn’t want to look super naive or something.

“It’s - just -” was all she managed to say before shaking her head and resisting the urge to bury her burning cheeks in her hands.  “What advice do you need?” she asked instead, hoping the change in subject would take some of the attention away from her.  

“Ok, I wanted to ask you for advice because you’re my friend and you’re good at talking to people,” Pyrrha said before taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out.  “So...if you were to ask a boy out...how would you - or how might you do that?”

Regardless of her current level of embarrassment, Yang managed to laugh at the question.

“Well personally, I wouldn’t.  But if I were to ask a certain blonde-haired goofball out…”  Trailing off, she thought about the question carefully - knowing that Pyrrha was finally coming to her for help and deserved a serious answer.  And knowing what she did about Jaune...

“I’d be really forward about it,” she replied when she figured out what she would do if she were in Pyrrha’s situation.  “He doesn’t seem like the type to take hints very well.”

“So you mean...explicitly ask?”

“Yes, ask him flat out.  And don’t look so worried, Pyrrha!”  Reaching out, Yang lightly slapped Pyrrha’s arm to erase the worried expression that just appeared.  “He’d be crazy to say ‘no.’”

“I suppose…” Pyrrha mumbled, although the way she bit her bottom lip suggested she was still unsure about going through with this.  And Yang couldn’t stand the thought of Pyrrha being upset about this boy any longer. Of all people, Pyrrha deserved to be happy.

“Do you want me to ask him for you?  Because I’ll totally do that for you!  And then I can immediately knock his lights out if he even thinks about saying ‘no.’”

“As kind as that offer is…” Pyrrha replied with a small smile.  “I should do this myself. If I can figure out what to say…”

When Blake shifted in her seat, she drew their attention.  Looking a little tentative about joining the conversation, Blake opened and closed her mouth but only spoke when Pyrrha smiled and nodded.

“Maybe you can ask him to go somewhere that you don’t normally go,” Blake suggested.  “Maybe someplace the two of you have talked about wanting to go before? And make sure to use the word ‘date’ - that way he knows it’s something special.”

Yang almost grimaced at Blake’s recommendation - which was great advice, but the word ‘date’ was definitely not used when she asked Blake to ‘hang out.’  She’d hardly been able to ask Blake to ‘hang out’ - no way she could’ve said the word ‘date’ out loud.

Ok, she needed to correct that mistake later.  She wouldn’t refer to it as a ‘hanging out’ again.  She would call it a date so Blake would understand her feelings.  And maybe Blake would change her mind and not want to spend time together anymore, but at least Yang would’ve been clear with her intentions!

So...date - yes.  Hang out - no.  

“Thank you, Blake,” Pyrrha responded, appearing genuinely appreciative of the suggestions.  “That’s really good advice. We’ve actually talked about how neither of us can ice skate, so maybe I can suggest the new rink that opened across town…”

“That sounds like a great first date,” Blake reassured Pyrrha with a kind smile.  “Definitely something I would enjoy.”

When Pyrrha let out a small sigh and looked moderately relieved, Mr. Oobleck stormed into the room and signaled the impending start of class.  Quickly setting their chairs back in order, Yang gave Blake a thumbs up and silent ‘thank you’ before following Pyrrha across the room.

“So are you gonna do it?” Yang whispered while she and Pyrrha took their seats.

“I think...I’ll think about it,” Pyrrha hedged before sighing.  “I guess I just don’t want to spend the entire year wondering ‘what if.’”

“You should totally ask.”  When Pyrrha turned to her with a questioning expression, Yang gave her an encouraging smile in return.  “I’m one hundred percent sure he likes you too. The hardest part is just getting those feelings out there.”

“We’re not all as open as you, Yang,” Pyrrha replied in a soft voice while Mr. Oobleck wrote something on the board.  “We don’t all wear our hearts on our sleeve.”

Even though Yang smiled at the response, she felt her embarrassment return.  

What Pyrrha didn’t know was that Yang was every bit as scared about being rejected.  It was so easy to believe that her feelings were one-sided - because how could Blake have even a fraction of these feelings in return?  And if she did, how was she not acting like an obsessive idiot like Yang had been the past few days?

Instead of getting into any of that at the moment, she gave Pyrrha’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaning back in her seat as class started.

“Good morning!” Mr. Oobleck shouted towards them, gesturing with one hand and accidentally throwing a piece of chalk across the room.  Undisturbed, he grabbed another piece from the board and continued speaking. “I have several updates today - so listen up!”

Drumming her fingers on top of her desk, Yang stifled a soft sigh when she thought about Pyrrha’s plight.  Hopefully, she’d find the courage to ask Jaune out on a date - although Yang had recently learned from experience that it was harder to do than one would think.  So hard, in fact, that she’d taken the easy way out and ducked the idea entirely.

Maybe Pyrrha shouldn’t take any of Yang’s advice.  After all, it wasn’t like she had a ton of experience -

The instant the thought appeared in her mind, her fingertips froze on top of her desk and her blush returned full force.

Pyrrha just told Blake about her dating history!  Or lack thereof.  

Unable to even look at Blake due to the sheer amount of embarrassment, Yang stared at her desk and drew a ball of squiggly lines on her notebook while stewing in humiliation.

What did Blake think about that information?  It wasn’t like Yang was hiding it or anything - it just hadn’t come up!  And it’s not like she never had the opportunity...it was more like she never decided to take it.  The feelings were never there. Until now, of course.

Maybe Blake got all of that from the few words Pyrrha said.  Alternatively, maybe she thought something was horribly wrong with Yang if no one had ever wanted to date her.

She needed to clear that up later, but she also needed to get Pyrrha’s confidence up so there’d be some movement on the Jaune front.  If Yang caught sad Pyrrha anywhere near school again, the sun would probably stop shining and they’d spend the rest of the year in the dark.  Not exactly how Yang wanted to finish up high school.

Looking up from her doodles only when the bell rang, she didn’t jump out of her seat like she wanted to.  Instead, she lingered and waited for Pyrrha - who immediately noticed her dawdling and laughed.

“I appreciate your sacrifice, Yang, but I’m fine.  And if you start treating me any differently, I’m going to overthink it and psych myself out, so please don’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Pyrrha nodded and laughed again, her eyes sparkling.  Convinced that the real Pyrrha had finally shown up, Yang grinned and grabbed her bag.

“Great!  Then prepare yourself for more teasing at lunch!” she replied before running over to meet Blake by the door.

“Can’t wait,” Pyrrha said with a light laugh that lifted Yang’s spirits.  

Knowing that Pyrrha felt better made Yang feel like a million bucks.  Well, a little less than a million bucks when she remembered what Pyrrha told Blake earlier…

“Ready?” Blake asked, waiting for Yang’s nod before they walked into the hallway shoulder-to-shoulder.  As usual, the hall was filled with students heading in every which direction, interspersed with the sounds of voices talking overtop of one another and lockers opening and closing.

They hadn’t walked more than a few feet before Blake said, “So…” 

Yang immediately groaned at the unspoken question, which she’d already known was coming.  

“Yes,” she admitted, not seeing any way out of this other than the truth.  “What Pyrrha said was true.”

“Really?” Blake asked, looking especially shocked by the confirmation.

“Yup.  Why? Do I give off that type of vibe?”  When Blake shrugged one shoulder, Yang cringed.  “Don’t answer that!” she added. She knew she could be a little flirty sometimes, but that was mostly to get people to agree with what she wanted them to do!

Laughing at the response, Blake didn’t seem at all disgruntled by the news.  If anything, she seemed pretty thrilled to hear it.  

“You’re full of surprises.”

Biting her lip, Yang glanced at Blake out of the corner of her eye while her embarrassment faded away.  It helped that Blake had taken the admission remarkably well. If anything, it felt like Blake had taken the information as good news.

When they stopped at Blake’s locker, Yang watched Blake spin the dial to enter the combination before pulling open the door. Now that her past was out in the open, Yang burned with curiosity to learn more about Blake’s. 

“But...uh, what about you?” she managed to ask before convincing herself out of it.

Closing the locker door, Blake straightened her shoulders and flashed a smile.

“Nope.”

“Are you serious??” Yang asked in disbelief while following Blake away from the locker.  “How is that even possible? Have you seen yourself?”

Briefly turning away from the questions, Blake trained her eyes forward as they squeezed through the crowded hall.  

“I’ve always had an idea of the type of person I’d like to be with,” she explained.  “But you never really know until you meet them, right?”

It was only after reaching her classroom that Blake met Yang’s gaze and smiled.  

And every single part of her wanted to ask what type of person Blake was looking for, but a small, tiny cell was worried that she wouldn’t fit that mold.  What were the chances that Blake was looking for a tall, blonde boxer with a penchant for oversleeping?

“Someone like Weiss, huh,” Yang teased, nodding over Blake’s shoulder as Weiss approached them.  Glancing in that direction, Blake let out a soft laugh and shook her head.

“Not even close.”

Yang beamed at the answer, which made her feel like she still had a chance.  Because who was less like Weiss than her?

“You gave Pyrrha some good advice though,” she added.  “Thanks for that. She really needs the encouragement.”

“Happy to help.  And I actually read about it in a story once.  Sometimes you need to tell someone flat out that you like them, otherwise you spend too much time in this weird quasi-friends, quasi-more-than-friends stage.”

From the way Blake looked at her after that comment, Yang almost felt like the instruction was meant for her.  Did that mean she should tell Blake how she felt right now? In the middle of the hall? What was she supposed to say?  Well, besides ‘I really, really like you?’

“Good morning,” Weiss said while joining them, ending whatever moment they’d been sharing.

“Oh, hey Weiss!” Yang sputtered, her cheeks flushing while she attempted to clear away the thoughts she’d just been having.  “How’s it going? How’re you doing? Doing pretty good?”

For a second, Weiss just stared, looking very much like she might ignore the questions entirely.

“What’s wrong with you?” she replied instead.

“What?  Nothing!  Just wondering how you’re doing this fine day.”

“But why are you always so cheerful?” Weiss clarified, eyeing Yang suspiciously.  “It’s like you have some type of hormonal imbalance. Maybe you have an enlarged limbic lobe...”

“What?” Yang asked.  It sounded like an insult, but was it?

“I think it’s charming,” Blake said, smiling as she reached out and touched Yang’s elbow.  The smile lit Yang’s face faster than untangled lights on a Christmas tree, but Weiss rolled her eyes.

“I guess idiocy can have its charm…” she muttered to herself.

When the two smartest girls in the school turned their full attention back to her, Yang grinned sheepishly.  Weiss looked like she was trying to figure out what made her tick, while Blake was...well, she liked the way Blake was looking at her much better.

“I...guess I’ll leave you two to do all the learning!” she joked with a nervous chuckle.  Backing away, she grinned fully at Blake before heading to her own class.

“You two spend a lot of time together,” she overheard Weiss comment as soon as she left, but only heard Blake give a soft “mhmm” in response before both were out of earshot.

Knowing Weiss, she probably followed that up with another dig at Yang’s lack of intelligence.  Not that Yang cared right now! She’d just learned something unexpected about Blake - and it was unexpectedly exciting to know.  Not that it would’ve been a huge deal if there was a different answer to that question, but...this felt better in a lot of ways. At least Yang didn’t need to worry about any crazy ex-boyfriends!  

Almost to the classroom, she caught a glimpse of Cardin walking towards her and glowered at the memory of yesterday.  The instant he saw her, however, he spun on his heel and took off in the other direction so their paths wouldn’t cross.  

Well good.  If he was scared, he’d think long and hard before doing something like that again.

Slipping into her class and finding her seat, Yang opened a notebook and wrote down the first thing that came to mind.

Ice skating.

Staring at the two words, she hardly heard the teacher start class while her mind pondered the significance of wanting to remember that particular idea.  

The answer was pretty easy to find.  She wanted to remember that Blake wanted to go ice skating because she wanted to take Blake there - on a date.  A real, official date that both of them agreed was a date.

What were other dates Yang could suggest?  Because she didn’t want to go on just one. She was thinking many.

What about a library?  Although, if she had to guess, Blake probably knew all of the libraries like the back of her hand.  But a scavenger hunt in one of the public libraries might be fun! It would just take Yang a while to plan.  And she’d never tried to plan anything like that, so it might take extra long, but it’d definitely be worth it.

Dinner was also a good option, but she needed to figure out what types of places Blake liked to eat at.

Or what about watching the film versions of her favorite books?  Then they could either marvel at how good they were or laugh at how bad they were...although that meant Yang also needed to figure out what Blake’s favorite books were, and then find them and read them.

With a decent list of ideas growing, she happily spent the rest of her morning classes trying to come up with more - which also entailed going through every bit of information she’d learned about Blake so far.  And they still needed to plan their ‘hang out’ for tomorrow!  

That term sounded stupider every time she thought about it.  What was she thinking?? ‘Hang out?’ What were they, twelve?

Ok, at lunch she would ask Blake what they should do tomorrow after the boxing match.  And she would try her hardest to slip in the word ‘date’ like Blake suggested. Hopefully, Blake wouldn’t hear the word and change her mind.  If she did, at least Yang could get her broken heart out of the way early in the year.

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, she zipped out of her class and raced through the halls away from the cafeteria.  Cutting across to the A-wing, she quickly made it to Blake’s classroom - which was already empty - but then she spotted Blake up ahead.  Jogging the last few steps, she was only mildly panting for breath when she fell into stride by Blake’s side.

“Hey there.”

This time, Blake hardly looked surprised by Yang’s presence.

“Hey,” she replied softly.  “I see you’ve found me again.”

“I’m always lookin’!” Yang quipped with a big grin - until she heard how that had sounded.  “Uh, I mean...you know…”

There was no recovering from that statement - something Blake made even clearer with her pleased laugh and knowing smile.

“I don’t mind,” Blake replied while they joined the crowd of students entering the line for food in the cafeteria.

“Really?”

Shaking her head, Blake accepted the tray Yang handed to her.

“I actually really enjoy it.”

After staring for a good few seconds, Yang shook herself out of that spell when Blake nodded for her to move forward in line.  

Had Blake just given her permission to stare though?

Had Blake just admitted that she liked when Yang stared?

Clearing her throat and sliding her tray forward, Yang searched for the words she wanted to say next.  

“So...uh, is there anything special you want to do tomorrow?” she asked, risking a sideways glance at Blake.  “After the match is over? If you still wanna hang out, I mean.”

She immediately cringed at the term, but Blake didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, I imagine you might be hungry…”

“Oh yeah,” Yang replied with a laugh.  “I’m usually starving.”

“Is there something you typically eat afterward?”

“Ruby and I normally stop by that burger place, and I’ll get -”  Right before spouting out her order, she stopped and blushed. “I...I, uh, order something totally healthy!” she concluded.  

It was an obvious lie, and Blake knew it.

“Come on; what is it?” Blake prodded, playfully nudging Yang in the side and making her blush harder.

“I order two double cheeseburgers but ask them to put all the stuff inside just one bun,” Yang admitted.  “Plus a huge order of fries with melted cheese on top. And a chocolate shake.”

While they accepted their healthy-by-comparison lunches of steamed carrots and meatloaf, Blake chuckled - clearly pleased with the admission.

“Then that’s what we should do first.  I don’t want you to break routine for me.”

After paying for lunch, Yang waited on the other side of the line for Blake to catch up to her - content to stare in the meantime.  Which she’d just been given permission to do, so...

“Ok,” she agreed while they set out across the cafeteria, dodging chairs and students as they went.  “Food for me, but what do you want to do?  How ‘bout a movie?”

“That sounds like fun,” Blake answered while setting her tray down on their table.  

Dinner and a movie - that sounded an awful lot like a date.  Now if only Yang could use the word...

“What type of movies do you like?  I bet you’re a romance type of girl,” she teased, making Blake smile.

“Admittedly, yes.  But I think I’d like to see whatever’s the longest.”

“The longest?” Yang asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

“Yes, whichever one takes the most time to view.”  Blake tried to hide a grin at the explanation that wasn’t at all explaining what Yang was asking.  

“You realize we’re going to end up in some historical documentary or something, right?” she joked, to which Blake shrugged.

“I wouldn’t mind that.  Maybe we’ll learn something about the history of Vale for your project.”

As Blake’s eyes sparkled in amusement, Yang blushed and looked down at her tray of food.

“Yeah, I still haven’t started that,” she mumbled before taking a bite to eat.

“Hey guys!” Ruby called out while she and Weiss joined them.  “How’s it going?”

“Better now that you’re here,” Yang replied while patting her sister’s arm.  When Ruby grinned and sat down, Yang looked around the cafeteria and found Pyrrha also headed over - but first, she made a quick stop to speak with one of the other members of the track team.

Wait.  Was Blake saying she wanted to watch the longest movie because she wanted to spend the most time possible together?  Glancing across the table, Yang tried to read Blake’s mind and find the answer, which was just as impossible as it sounded.

“Hey Pyrrha,” she said, turning her gaze away from Blake when Pyrrha finally sat down with them.

“Hello Yang.  I’m glad you found your way to the cafeteria alright.”

When Pyrrha grinned at her, Yang shook her head.

“I can’t believe that’s the excuse you used for me missing class.  Way to boost my intelligence.”

Shrugging, Pyrrha turned to her lunch with a grin still set in place.  Turning back to Blake, Yang shook her head again. At least the excuse worked, but was it a good thing that her teachers believed she could get lost leaving the cafeteria? 

“Here you go,” Weiss said softly, reaching across the table and dropping two cookies onto Ruby’s tray.

“Thanks, Weiss!  Wait...I thought you got an extra one because you wanted it!”

The comment caught Yang’s attention while Weiss straightened and waved one hand as if that would make the conversation disappear.

“I thought I wanted one, but I changed my mind,” she replied easily.  As expected, Ruby bought the line without question, but Yang shot Weiss a knowing grin.

So that’s what Weiss was going to do now?  Buy extra cookies at lunch and then pretend they weren’t purchased expressly for Ruby’s benefit?  Didn’t Weiss realize how see-through that was? Well, to everyone besides Ruby, apparently.  

This situation called for a little bit of sisterly teasing.  With Yang doing the teasing, of course.

Turning towards Ruby, Yang threw on her most innocently-curious expression.

“Hey, Ruby, who was that gorgeous girl I saw you helping out at practice the other day?” she asked, smiling when she thought she heard Weiss’ jaw snap shut.  “You know, the tall one with the nice arms?”

Brow furrowing, Ruby looked confused by the description.

“Becca?”

“Yeah!  Her. You two looked close.”  Glancing across the table, Yang found Blake watching Ruby with amusement while Weiss looked like she’d found a lemon in her meatloaf.

“I helped her with her foot placement!” Ruby answered cheerfully, completely unaware of what Yang was getting at.  “She needs to lift her knees higher, but her feet are all outta whack.”

Pretending like that explanation made sense, Yang nodded and winked at Weiss. 

“You two looked cute together.”

That did it.  Weiss’ eyes immediately narrowed to a glare, and Ruby flushed a deep shade of embarrassed red.

“W-what?  Come on, Yang.  It’s not like that.  We’re teammates!”

“So?  There’s no rule against dating teammates - right Pyrrha?”  Yang grinned when Pyrrha shook her head and looked like she wanted to disappear from the conversation, probably already regretting telling Yang to act like everything was normal.  “If anything, it means you have something in common!”

“Yeah, but I don’t like her like that.”

“How do you know?”  After asking the question, Yang gasped in pretend shock. “Do you already know what it’s like to like someone...like that?

Under Yang’s watchful gaze, Ruby opened and closed her mouth several times while sputtering like an adorable fish out of water.

“That’s such a juvenile question,” Weiss finally cut in - either coming to Ruby’s aid or trying to change the subject, Yang wasn’t sure.

“Is it?” she retorted, thrilled at having dragged Weiss into the conversation.  “What about you, Weiss? Do you like anyone like that?

“That’s none of your business,” was Weiss’ snappy reply, which only made Yang laugh.  She was enjoying using the phrase over and over again while producing deeper blushes each time.  When she looked across the table at Blake, Blake smiled and shook her head at the shenanigans.

“What about you?” Weiss shot back, having regained enough of her composure to launch a counterattack.  “Who do you like, Yang?”

“That’s easy!  I like everyone!”  With a big smile, Yang spread her arms wide to symbolize the entire world.

“What about that blue-haired boy who wouldn’t stop badgering you - the one on the swim team?” Weiss asked instead, making Pyrrha laugh.

“Neptune?  He’s still after her too.”

“Yes, Neptune,” Weiss repeated with a pleased nod.  “What about him?”

“Never happening,” Yang replied with an easy shake of her head.  If Weiss was trying to get to her, she’d have to do better than that!

“Oh!  What about that new girl on the boxing team??” Ruby suddenly piped in.  “You were telling me about her - how she’s gonna be good? Heather?”

“Hannah?” Yang asked in disbelief, shooting a worried glance towards Blake.  “She’s a freshman! And I’ve only helped her out a little bit.”

Ok, now this was getting out of control.  Three against one probably wouldn’t work out in her favor.  Before she could wiggle out of the situation, however, Weiss stole one look at Blake before meeting Yang’s eyes with a triumphant smirk.

“Well whoever you end up liking,” Yang said before Weiss could say anything.  “I sure hope Dad likes ‘em! You know how protective he can be. And me...well, you know I’m not gonna let just anyone mess around with your heart.”  

Wrapping an arm around Ruby’s shoulders, Yang pulled her sister close and rustled Ruby’s hair while keeping her eyes on Weiss - whose vindication morphed into concern while watching the interaction unfold.

“Don’t you think that’s fair, Weiss?” Yang asked nicely.  “I mean, I’ve gotta protect my baby sister from heartbreakers!”

Weiss stared and stared before finally breaking eye contact and shrugging.  

“I’m sure Ruby can look after herself,” she muttered, although there was much less conviction in those words.

Game, set, and match - Xiao Long!

Internally sighing in relief, Yang still tried to keep a low profile for the rest of lunch.  From the look Weiss gave her, Yang had just lost the element of invincibility when it came to teasing.  The last thing she wanted was for Weiss to blurt out something that she couldn’t easily fix.

“Do you think they’ll let me try the javelin again?” Ruby asked Pyrrha while polishing off the rest of Weiss’ uneaten lunch.

“If you ask, I’m sure they will.”

When the bell sounded, Ruby shot to her feet like her seat had suddenly caught on fire.

“Then that’s what I’ll do!” she exclaimed, grabbing the empty trays and racing around the table in the time it took Weiss to stand up.  “Can I walk with you to class?”

“If you’d like,” Weiss muttered in response, but Yang didn’t miss the slight uptick in mood the question brought on.

“Shall we?”  After pushing her chair back and standing up, Yang gestured to her two remaining companions.

“You go on ahead.  I’ll catch up.” Quickly motioning towards a random table across the cafeteria, Pyrrha gave Yang a smile that clearly said this was only an excuse to let her have a moment with Blake.  Which she was absolutely going to take.

Turning away from Pyrrha, Yang smiled and motioned towards the hallway.

“Blake?”

“After you,” was Blake’s reply as she stood and followed Yang out of the cafeteria.

“So...which one is Hannah?” Blake asked as they dropped their trays off near the exit.

“Uh...she’s a little shorter than me, with brown hair?”

Pursing her lips at Yang’s description, Blake nodded once.

“Got it.”

“But you have nothing to worry about!” Yang immediately added.  “I have no interest in her whatsoever.  Other than helping her become a better boxer.”  

The last thing Yang wanted was for Blake to think she had a crush on someone else - because that wasn’t happening.  Not while Blake was around.  

Thankfully, Yang’s reassurance seemed to perk Blake right back up, as one of those slow smiles started to grow.

“Are you worried?  About me being worried?”

“I -”  

Shoot.  How was Yang supposed to answer that without giving everything away?  

“I just don’t want you to get the wrong impression, ya know?  Me going after the freshmen on the team - that’s not a very good image, right?”

It was hard to tell if Blake bought the answer, so Yang chuckled while running a hand through her hair - a bit of a bored, nervous, uncomfortable habit she had.  The gesture caught Blake’s eyes before she inexplicably frowned.

“Oh...I forgot to tell you that I need to go home right after school today.”

The news was pretty disappointing, but with Blake looking so apologetic there was no way Yang was going to let her feel bad.

“That’s totally ok.  Sometimes things come up, right?”

“I’m sorry.  My mom needs help with this thing -”

“Hey, don’t worry about it!” Yang interrupted with a reassuring grin.  The last thing she wanted was for Blake to feel bad about helping out her family.  Plus, it wasn’t like they spent all afternoon together anyway. “I mean, I’ve got practice,” she pointed out.  “And I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning!”

For a few seconds, Blake studied Yang intently, as if trying to figure out whether or not she was telling the truth.  Satisfied with whatever answer she found, Blake nodded once before turning towards her class. And it was right when Yang felt a pang of regret that Blake stopped and turned back.

“I’ll miss watching your practice though.”

Arrows.  So many arrows were now sticking out of Yang’s heart - she very nearly raised one hand to make sure she was still alright.  

Somehow, she managed to let out a surprised chuckle.

“Do you actually watch?  Every time I look up there, it looks like you’re reading!”

The response made Blake hide a pleased grin.

“Am I?” she asked while backing away.  “It’s nice to know you’re watching me though.”

Yang’s jaw dropped when Blake gave her a small wave and walked away, looking way too satisfied with what she just got Yang to admit.  And Yang could only stare.

A hand landing on her shoulder made her jump in surprise, but she calmed down when she heard Pyrrha’s musical laugh.

“You’re lucky she doesn’t mind you gawking at her,” Pyrrha commented with another soft chuckle.  “Otherwise you’d be in the principal’s office by now.”

Looking back, Yang caught one last glimpse of Blake before Pyrrha nudged her to start moving again.

“Come on.  You can’t skip class two days in a row.”

Pyrrha was right about that, but if Yang could skip class to spend time with Blake again, she would.

“So...when are you gonna ask Jaune out?” she asked as they left the cafeteria behind.

“When are you going to ask Blake out?” Pyrrha countered.

“Technically, I already have!  Tomorrow night, remember?”

“Oh right...the infamous ‘hang out.’”

“Hey, it’s closer to a date than whatever you and Jaune are doing!”

“Well, aren’t you feisty today?” Pyrrha replied with a delighted laugh.  “It’s not often we get to see you flustered.”

“I’m not flustered.  I’m...hooked.”

That felt like the right word, and Pyrrha seemed to agree when she laughed as they hurried off to class.  While this particular class should be the most boring in the world, Yang didn’t view it that way anymore - not when she had Blake to think about.

She still hadn’t cleared up the whole ‘hang out’ versus ‘date’ snafu, but she could do that tomorrow before the match.  Tomorrow would be the day. She didn’t want to wait any longer to get these feelings out in the open.

Comments

Whyarewehere

I really do enjoy this! Makes me laugh. Cheers!

Kevin Shea

And in that moment, Lady Miko thus declared: “There shalt be no Adam up inst this bitch.” And thus, the crowd cheered. Havent commented in a while but good GOD Miko I LOVE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU WRITE AHHHHH you are gonna be the sole reason I make it through this hiatus.❤️❤️

🌸Mina🌸

I absolutely love it I love that there's no Adam back story in this and I'm dying for Blake to tell.Yang she knows her from when they were kids and I want more White Rose because I love Weiss in this and just arg.