Author's note: So during Bumbleby Week I was considering expanding my AU to an actual fic, and lo and behold this happened. It was originally going to be mainly fluff and humor but...well it's tagged hurt/comfort for a reason. I hope you enjoy!
"I think that's everything," Blake said, taking a look around where she'd be living for the next year. There were still boxes scattered around that needed to be unpacked, but the space didn't look as empty as when she first walked in. Maybe putting some posters up would help?
"I wonder where your roommate is," her mother mused. The other half of the room was incredibly bare, and Blake could tell that her roommate, apparently a Yang Xiao Long, hadn't moved in yet.
"The move in time for our floor isn't over for another half hour," Blake said, noting the time on her recently plugged in clock. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."
"I hope so. I'd like to meet the young woman who's going to be living with my daughter…" her father said, crossing his arms almost sternly. Kali sighed.
"What your father is trying to say is that he wishes that you talked to her over the summer. Sun messaged his roommate almost every other day," she said, and Blake knew she was just worried about her.
It wasn't that she didn't try. After roommate assignments were posted Blake sent her an email with her basic contact information, and she received a response pretty quickly. There just...wasn't much besides that. Blake had been busy, and her roommate seemed to be as well. Yang didn't have a Facebook and a google search turned up nothing, so Blake had no idea what she even looked like. As her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror, and thus her ears, she knew that it went both ways. There was a good chance Yang didn't know what she looked like either, or even that she was a Faunus.
Of course her parents were a bit concerned.
Once, she might've put on a bow to hide her ears, but she wouldn't even consider it now. This is who I am she thought, and reminded herself that college was a fresh start. No more hiding. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps heading towards her door, and her parents picked up on it too.
"I'm just saying, I'm sure we can work something out to get you roomed with Ruby," the first voice, older and male said.
"Ruby's a big girl, she can take care of herself. Besides, this'll help her branch out and make friends!" The second voice was younger and feminine. Blake's roommate perhaps?
"I'm not suggesting it for her. What if your roommate-"
"I can take care of myself!" the girl interrupted angrily. "Besides, Blake seems pretty cool," she added. So this was her roommate...but what was she talking about? She looked between her parents, who both seem confused.
"A lot of people seem nice until you actually meet them," the girl's dad(?) said. Blake frowned. Did they know she was a Faunus? Was that what they were arguing about? A deep pit began to form in her stomach.
"This is supposed to be a fresh start, dad. I can't do that if you don't trust me to take care of myself," she said, a bit softer now. Someone sighed, Blake was pretty sure it was the father.
"I know, I'm just...I'm worried about you."
"Don't be," she said. "Now come on, I wanna meet my roommate," she said cheerfully. Blake waited expectantly for the sound the key in the door but it didn't come. After a long pause she heard the girl say "I got it" and another awkward moment passed before the sound came. What walked through the door wasn't what Blake had pictured.
Wild blonde hair tied up in a ponytail was what first caught her attention, the color not what she expected for a girl with the last name Xiao Long. She practically stumbled through the door, almost dropping what was in her arm on the floor. "Told you I had it," she said smugly. She was clearly dressed for the warm weather in a tank top and shorts that were almost criminally short, not that Blake minded. Especially with the clear muscle tone the girl had in her legs, her back, and her arm-
Ah.
That explained the argument she and her parents heard. Blake considering offering to help, but decided the blonde might not appreciate it. "You must be Yang," she said instead, noticing for the first time the most beautiful lilac eyes she had ever seen.
"I'm guessing you're Blake right? I mean either that or you've kidnapped my roommate," she joked as she placed the box in her hand on her bed. Blake couldn't help but roll her eyes affectionately.
"Does that happen to your roommates often?" she snarked.
"You'd be surprised," Yang said with a shrug, and Blake decided she liked the sunny girl already. Her eyes flitted up to Blake's ears briefly, and she had to stop herself from flinching. "Oh, I hope we weren't too loud coming down the hall! Sorry about that," she said, and Blake was stunned. Whatever reaction she expected her roommate to have it certainly wasn't this. Normal was disgust or fetishization, not being considerate of her sensitive hearing. Her parents seemed to notice this as well.
"It's fine," Blake said honestly. It was possible that the girl was just putting on act of tolerance in front of her parents, but Blake quickly dismissed that thought. She seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve. After a brief introduction of parents, Yang and her dad (Taiyang, Blake thought) announced that they still had more things to bring up. "Need a hand?" Blake asked instinctively, thinking nothing of it until she saw her parents' faces.
Yang on the other hand (Blake inwardly cringed at her thought process again) seemed completely unfazed. "Yes actually. I can't seem to find mine anywhere," she joked, earning a groan from her father. "Right, I should probably say that arm and hand jokes are totally fine by me," she added, noting the concerned faces around her.
"What she's trying to say is get used to them, because she'll tell them all the time," Taiyang clarified.
"A girl's gotta cope somehow," Yang said nonchalantly. "Buuuuuut if you're offering help I think we've got it. I think we can get it all in one more trip," she said, to which her dad offered no argument. "See you in a bit!"
"Well she's certainly something," Kali noted after the pair had left. "I like her," she said innocently, but the look in her eyes told Blake that she had caught her not-so-subtly checking her out earlier.
"She seems nice," Blake agreed, fighting a blush. "She doesn't seem to be racist at least," she added.
"Most people don't at first," Ghira warned not unkindly, not that Blake needed the reminder.
"I don't think we'll have a problem," Blake said honestly, recalling the conversation she overheard earlier. Apparently I'm not the only one looking for a fresh start, she thought. "I'll be fine, I promise," she assured them.
"Of course you will. You're our strong, wonderful daughter," Kali said, hugging her with a smile. Ghira quickly engulfed them both.
"If you need anything, you only need to call," he said warmly.
Blake smiled as she squeezed them tightly. "I'll miss you both."
Yang let out a deep sigh as she collapsed on her bed. Her side of the room now looked semi-respectable, so she decided take a moment to bask in the peace and quiet of her new room. Well, our room, she mentally corrected, looking over to her roommate's bed where the girl in question was currently reading.
They hadn't spoken much in the hour that they'd known each other, but Yang didn't mind. Blake hadn't stared at her arm, so she was already a huge improvement from her so-called friends from high school. She also had this dark and mysterious vibe Yang kinda (okay, really) liked.
"Can I help you?" Blake asked, and only then did Yang realize she was staring. She mentally berated herself for doing the exact thing she was thankful her new roommate hadn't done, even if it was by accident.
"Sorry, I didn't realize I was staring," she admitted, deciding honesty was the best policy. She felt a wave of relief when the girl didn't look offended. "So! Uh… where are you from?" She asked, sitting up in one swift motion.
"Menagerie. You?" Blake asked, setting her book down.
"A small town called Patch. It's pretty close to Vale and nothing else," she joked. Blake raised an eyebrow.
"You don't strike me as a small town girl," she observed.
"I've got an uncle that lives in Vale when he's not traveling, so I've spent a lot of time in the city. Nice catch," Yang complimented, genuinely impressed. She's perceptive, Yang thought, and made a mental note not to forget that.
"I moved around a lot as a child," she explained vaguely, and Yang wasn't one to pry. "Do you have any siblings?" She asked.
"Yeah, a little sister named Ruby. She graduated early, so she's a freshman here too."
"She's the one your dad wanted you to room with," Blake said, recognition in her voice. Yang froze, trying to figure out how she knew that before she remembered they had that conversation pretty loudly in the hallway. From her expression, Yang knew Blake hadn't meant to mention it.
"Right, you heard that," she said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before she sighed. "He was worried you'd be a jerk about the whole arm thing. Well, maybe not a jerk. More like...someone who treated me differently because of it. And I had enough of that in high school," she explained, slightly bitter at the end.
"I get it," Blake said with a knowing smile, slightly surprising Yang. "My parents were worried about you for the same reason, just replace the arm thing with the Faunus thing," she admitted lightheartedly, wiggling her ears for emphasis.
"Well Blake, I will try my best to not be a jerk," she said with a smile. "And if I do something jerkish, let me know and I'll try to do better," she added, completely genuine.
"Likewise," Blake said with a smile of her own. She looked really cute when she smiled.
"Do you know what you're gonna major in?" Yang asked, leaning back against the wall.
"Theater, with a focus on performance and writing," she replied. Yang's eyes immediately lit up.
"Wait, really? Me too!" she announced, her excitement palpable. "Well, minus the writing bit. Hey are you going to the Theater Department Meet and Greet tomorrow?" she asked, almost bouncing with energy.
"I was planning on it. They're supposed to be telling us about the freshman play," Blake said and Yang nodded. Beacon was unusual in that they always dedicated one play in the fall to its freshman theater majors and minors. The cast and crew would be made up almost entirely of first years, with only a few upperclassman helping manage it.
"I wonder what play they're going to do this year. I know it's usually Shakespeare, but I'm hoping it's a comedy this semester. Twelfth Night would be soooooo much fun," she said.
"I'm hoping for Macbeth myself," Blake admitted, and Yang grinned.
"I had a feeling you'd be a tragedy girl," she teased, and Blake rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Hoping to nab the part of Lady Macbeth?" She asked.
"It's one of my dream roles," Blake admitted almost bashfully before sighing. "But, I don't think I've ever seen her played by a Faunus before," she said, and Yang detected a hint of bitterness, not that she blamed her.
"I guess you'll just have to be the first," Yang said optimistically, earning a smile from her roommate.
"I guess I will."
By the time dinner came around, Blake found herself agreeing to eat with Yang and her sister, and possibly her sister's roommate. She thought she'd be eating with Sun, but she found herself looking forward to spending more time with the newest blonde in her life.
Said blonde was currently knocking on her sister's door with an enthusiasm that made Blake smile. Yang was much sunnier than she expected considering her first impression of her was the argument with her dad. Still, Blake could tell there was more to her than that. Every now and then her smile wouldn't quite reach her eyes or her laugh would be ever so slightly strained.
The smile on her face when the door opened and revealed a girl with short dark hair was completely real though. "Yang!" The girl exclaimed as she hugged her with an enthusiasm that matched the blonde's.
"You two are definitely related," Blake said, amused. Yang laughed at that, a beautiful sound.
"Ruby, this my roommate, Blake. Blake, this is my awesome and adorable little sister Ruby," Yang said, practically beaming with pride. Upon closer inspection Blake realized the pair didn't resemble each other at all physically, but thought nothing of it.
"Nice to meet you Blake!" Ruby said cheerfully, shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you too," Blake said honestly. "Will your roommate be joining us?" she asked, hearing some movement from inside the room.
"Yes, I will," the person in question said, causing Yang and Ruby to jump. Blake recognized the girl as Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Diamond Company. She forced herself to maintain a neutral expression despite her distaste for everything the SDC stood for. "You must be Yang, Ruby's sister," she said, holding out her hand courteously.
"That's me. You're Weiss, right?" Yang replied, a touch of hesitance in her voice. Blake realized Weiss was holding out her right hand and decided to step in.
"Weiss Schnee if I'm not mistaken. My name is Blake," she said, shaking Weiss's outstretched hand. The pale girl seemed to at least have the courtesy to look embarrassed.
"It's a pleasure," Weiss said, overly formal. The four settled into an uncomfortable silence before Ruby spoke up.
"Why don't we all grab some food?" She suggested, and the other three couldn't agree fast enough.
Author's note: Updates will probably not be super consistent, but the next chapter shouldn't take too long. It's mostly done; I'm just finishing up some editing.