Summary: University Clubs!AU. Blake is in the kung fu club (KFC). Yang, Blake's roommate, is in the kickboxing club but she's hurt her left wrist and she can't sit still so she decides to join the fencing club for the duration of her recovery. Somehow that causes Blake to meet a certain fencer face-to-face for the first time. Cross-posted from Ao3.
Blake moves up from crouching position but not to her full height. Velvet, who's in front of her, rises to standing position and Blake looks forward to the switch so she can stop bending over in a quadrupedal manner but on two limbs; her back is starting to ache. Blake walks backwards, not seeing where she's going due to her sight being covered, and feels hands on her hips. Considering the hands are not harassing their tail nor smacking her butt, she assumes it's Pyrrha and allows herself be guided towards the exit and to the open crowd.
Outside of the shop, Blake can hear a kid scream amongst the regular beats of the drums and gong. The percussions becomes louder with each step and Blake flattens the more sensitive ears on top of her head to muffle the sharp sounds. As soon as they exit the shop, one of Velvet's feet steps forward; Blake matches her footwork with a tiny bounce of her backside by lifting her heels further off the ground for a split second. To onlookers, the two move as one lively unit from head to tail.
Lion dancing is an art.
"The lettuce was just above us," Velvet says as they move away from the blessed entrance to play with the crowd. Blake is flapping the sides of the cover that makes the lion's body, to bring air in and cool off, when she hears Velvet sigh in frustration and say something.
"What?" Blake voices over the percussions, and it's a moment later that Velvet's words registers.
"We have to get the lettuce."
The shop must've given out alcohol to Ren and Nora, rendering them temporarily unable to be co-ordinated enough for a jump and lift. "Okay," Blake replies, "switch when you're ready."
"Ready." And Velvet swerves over to Blake's left side so they can transfer positions within the lion. To the onlookers, it looks as if the lion's chasing its tail.
Blake raises the lion's head above her own, shaking it from side to side with the expression of alertness as the music changed to a faster beat; she quickly checks what's been happening when she was in the main body.
The other lion, which consists of Ren and Nora, is playfully munching on a couple of heads in the crowd. Kids are smacking Nora's or Ren's butt and pulling on the tail of their lion and she sees Pyrrha make her way over to them, hopefully to prevent them from causing any lasting damages.
Blake looks for the lion's prize; she finds it in the form of a iceberg lettuce that's attached to the thankfully low door frame of the shop entrance. Only a small boost in height is needed as the two hate providing head sits for obvious reasons. They dance to the changed beat until they're almost under the vegetable.
"Ready," Blake says. She's answered with short jerks on the sash around her waist by Velvet.
Blake jumps, landing her feet in-between Velvet's horizontally aligned hips and thighs. Their lion is on its hind legs and it tilts its head, curious at its food before it makes a grab for it. Fortunately whoever's tied the prize has done a loose knot; it gives way easily. Ripping the red pocket off the lettuce, Blake stuffs both items inside her tucked in shirt.
"Got it," Blake announces. Velvet jerks the sash again, signalling that Blake will be thrown off to touch ground a moment later. Back on her feet, Blake raises the lion's head again and sees Pyrrha subtly pointing towards the person she's standing next to.
The owner of the shop.
Blake squats, then gracefully falls onto the ground with her legs spread open. Their lion rests as Blake tears up the lettuce into manageable bits. When she's done, she closes the lion's mouth and carefully places the lettuce strips on its tongue.
Blake and Velvet rise up and slowly dance towards the shop owner. When they're within throwing distance, Blake carefully moves the lion's head to her left side, opens its mouth and jerks the head to the other side.
Strips of lettuce fly in a sweeping arc before they fall onto the owner and crowd, blessing them with luck. There's cheering and enthusiastic percussions and the rest of the dancing routine becomes a blur to Blake.
When Blake can finally take the lion's head off, she and Velvet make a beeline towards the percussionists where the gong and a bag of bottles is hung off from the drum trolley. They take a bottle each from the bag and drink all of its contents within minutes.
Ruby, who's the gong player for today, beams at them. "Great work you two!"
Blake smiles and nods.
"Did I, uh, do okay?" Jaune asks. It's his first time playing the cymbals and his self-consciousness shows in how relatively light he hits the percussions. Blake quietly appreciates the softness but she knows—
"You need to play louder," Adam remarks. "If you get lost, just play single beats and listen to Ruby's gong until you find the rhythm again."
"Huh? I thought I should listen to your drumming?"
"When you get used to the music, you should. But it can be hard when you're new. For now just focus on keeping the beat going and playing louder."
"Alright. I can do that."
Ren stumbles over to them and fumbles to get a water bottle. Pyrrha hands him one.
"Do you want water?" Pyrrha asks Nora, who's right beside Ren with the lion's head thrown over her shoulder in the same manner as one does with a duffel bag.
"Nope. I'm fine!"
Blake unzips the fanny pack that's worn diagonally across her torso and checks the time via her phone. "Ruby and I'll be going now," she announces. Ruby, who's been teaching Jaune lion dancing beats by clapping hands, perks up. She gets ready to move.
"Alright. Thanks for today," Adam says. "You and Pyrrha are taking tomorrow's class, right? Sifu and I can't be there."
Blake nods and turns sheepishly to the rest of the group. "Can someone take this lion back to the storeroom for me?"
Velvet offers her hands. "I'll do it. I'm heading back to the campus anyway."
Blake hands over the lion with thanks; she watches Jaune's chest fallen expression. Jaune is one of the newest members of their kung fu club and is anxiously eager to be as helpful as possible.
"Jaune," Adam says, "help me put the gong and cymbals back in the bag."
"Ah, sure." Jaune takes off the gong that's the circumferential size of a charger plate from the drum trolley. "Wow! It's a lot heavier than it looks."
Pyrrha laughs. "Yes, it's pretty thick too. It's why it can make such a nice sound."
Blake moves the red pocket from inside her shirt to her fanny pack and looks at Ruby, who's also packed up and ready to go.
After they've announced their leave again, and everyone in the group has made their proper goodbyes, the two head towards the restaurant Yang has chosen for today.
"So how's fencing, sis?"
They've made their orders when Ruby finally blurts out the question that's been on Blake's mind. Yang the natural melee fighter … with a weapon? It doesn't make sense.
Yang grins. "It's great actually! Had my first lesson yesterday. The coach knows what's she's talking about."
"Do you see yourself continuing it even after you've healed your wrist?" Blake asks.
Yang hums in thought this time. "I don't know. Maybe. It depends."
"Depends on what?"
"Wow, you're really en garde today."
Blake blinks, unimpressed.
"I thought that was a good one," Yang says, almost whining, "but I can see how the bad timing can make it look bad."
"Yang, you're derailing." Blake softens her voice. "It depends on what? Is the wrist injury...?"
"Oh, no, it'll recover fine. It just depends if I'll still be interested."
"I don't know why you didn't try the KFC," Ruby says, pouting, "we also have one-handed weapons."
"I just thought fencing was interesting," Yang says with the familiarity of having said that several times before. Considering how much Ruby wants Yang to participate in the same club activities as her, it probably is.
"You said the coach knows her stuff," Blake points out, "what do you mean by that?"
Yang brightens up. "She explains techniques without the waffle. It's on point and I get it right on the first try. Eh, most times."
Blake notes Yang's eager smile. "And she's attractive too, isn't she?"
"Oh yes she's so hot. Her name's Winter." Here, Yang grins.
Blake cracks an amused smile at that. Ruby is giggling.
"I knew there's another reason why you took up fencing."
"Hey, their art style is what drew me in first, okay?"
"Winter's 'art style'?" Ruby asks with air quotation marks and a shit-eating grin. Blake sometimes forgets that Ruby and Yang are sisters but it's moments like these that remind her that they definitely are.
"Well, that too. What about you guys? Any new members catching your eye?"
Ruby shakes her head, slowly. "Jaune's nice … but he's pretty new to martial arts and," she trails off.
"Ah, a turn off," Yang bluntly concludes. She then directs her stare at Blake.
"Hm? Nothing at my end."
"No smol, strong girls joining this year?"
Blake holds down a blush. "No."
"Am I considered smol?" Ruby questions.
Blake bites her tongue. She completely avoids looking at Yang's direction.
"Yeah, sis, I'd say you're smol."
Blake grinds her teeth and promises to herself that she shall never drink ever again. She regrets ever confessing to Yang when they were drunk together that she used to nurse a small crush on Ruby.
"I didn't know you have a type, Blake," Ruby says.
"I didn't know you have a type either," Blake manages to counter.
"What happened to Pyrrha?" Yang butts in.
Blake turns to Yang to voice her confusion, thinking the question is directed to her, but she's beaten to the answer.
"Nothing," Ruby sighs, "And it's gonna stay that way. She obviously likes Jaune … and he has no idea that she does."
Blake looks from Yang's disappointed face to Ruby's one of hopelessness and … jealousy? It then dawns on her.
"I never realised," Blake murmurs.
Ruby offers an apologetic expression. "Well, I kinda hid it. I thought it'd be weird to have someone in KFC know of my forever one-sided crush on the president."
Yeah, it would, in more ways than you know.
"Oh," Blake says instead.
"Oh!" Yang repeats. Blake turns to Yang, thinking she's being mocked. But Yang, whose cup of tea is frozen at her lips, looks to have experienced an epiphany.
"What?" Blake asks.
"What? Oh. Nothing."
Blake narrows her eyes, but then a rice bowl with salmon is placed in front of her. She forgoes further questioning.
Food comes first.
Blake is showing the basic footwork of lion dancing to her junior kung fu club members when she hears the door to the club room open. She's expecting a late junior or Velvet, who's held back by a group meeting for an important assessment. But there's a sudden drop in noise produced from form practice and sparring, and it's replaced with hushed murmurs. Blake tunes in.
She's not familiar with the clear, hurried footsteps of their latest arrival. She shakes her head and ignores it. Raising her voice over the rising whispering, she continues, "Remember the stances in your forms. They are used here. Think of lion dancing as a drill in practising your stances, and also a drill in throwing your punches but we'll get to that later—" She stops when she hears the stranger speak.
"Who's the instructor of this kung fu club?"
"That'll be Blake and Pyrrha," Jaune answers from the other side of the room. "Blake's in the black lion over there. But maybe I can help you, Ice Queen."
Ice Queen? Uh oh. Why is Ruby's friend here?
Blake sighs and takes the lion head off. It'll be the first time she'll be seeing this fencer that she often hears about from Ruby, and she'd rather not do it through the lion's mouth. She remembers that the fencer is quite—
Cute.
Blake stares at the fencer in front of her, who's in her white gear and bearing a face of determination. A flicker of surprise passes and then she speaks, "I … apologise for my intrusion, Blake. I'd like to have a word with you whenever you're available. Preferably as soon as possible."
Blake carefully places the lion's head onto the ground in case she makes a fool of herself in front of the whole club by dropping it. Straightening her back, she asks, "Can I ask why?"
The fencer seems to mimic Blake's movement by straightening up as well. But she only manages to reach Blake's nose in height. "I represent the fencing club. We recently received a note from the kung fu club, presumingly, and I wish to continue this conversation privately. And hopefully soon."
Blake falters for almost a second. "Oh. In that case…," she turns to where the other instructor is, "Pyrrha, can you take over for a bit?"
The drummer for the day smiles. "Sure."
Blake gestures to the club room door. The fencer takes the lead and Blake follows.
As soon as Blake closes the door, the fencer picks up from where they left it. "We received a note today. It's probably better if you see it for yourself." A page that seems to be ripped off from a notebook is held up, and it reads, "Spend less time drinking tea if you wanna be as popular as the KFC."
Blake narrows her eyes at the note. She knows that handwriting. And she has an inkling of why it exists.
She is going to kill Yang.
"I apologise. I'll make sure those responsible will be dealt with. This won't happen again."
Because she's going to kill Yang.
"Thank you for taking appropriate action."
"No. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."
The fencer's face softens. For a moment she looks at a loss for words. "I'm Weiss, by the way. I'm one of the instructors of my club."
"Blake."
She knows that already! Think, then talk.
Fortunately Weiss doesn't look amused at her self-proclaimed social blunder. "If you don't mind me asking, Blake, do you already know who's responsible for this? Because if you're going to publicly investigate who's responsible ... I'm afraid more perpetrators may join."
"Don't worry. I know exactly who's responsible and will deal with them directly and privately. If it's any consolation, they like to prank a lot."
Weiss raises a delicate eyebrow.
"So don't worry too much about the contents of the note. I'm sure the opinion is unfounded," Blake continues, realising her statement can be misconstrued that she might not be able to stop the incident from reoccurring.
"I wasn't really worried about the genuinity of the note, it's how fast bad rumours can spread … but that's still relieving to hear." And Weiss smiles.
"Also," Blake continues, "I love tea so that was an unnecessary jab."
Why did I say that? Someone shut me up.
Weiss chuckles instead; the corners of her eyes creases. And that's when Blake notices the faint scar across her left eye. "What kind of tea?"
Blake hums before she answers, "Any tea is fine as long as it doesn't have mint." She's surprised that she's talking so much to a complete stranger. A very attractive stranger, but a stranger nevertheless. Weiss' elaborate speech is probably contagious.
Weiss beams. "I finally meet someone who also doesn't like mint in their tea." She tilts her head to the side. "...How about coffee? I'm actually more of a coffee person."
"Um, I don't really drink coffee."
Weiss seems almost disappointed but she masks it well. Blake makes another appraising look and gulps.
If she's read Yang's intentions and Weiss' body language right….
"But," Blake continues, "I do have a latte every now and then. Why don't you introduce me to something similar?"
Blake inner cheers at the fact that she did not stutter. Weiss gapes at her, and the eye contact is so strong that the cheer dies and Blake looks away with a burning neck. The urge to run away threatens to overcome her. But she has a class to help teach and she doesn't want to explain to Pyrrha the exact reasons of —
"I know of an excellent cafe I could take you to."
"Great," Blake blurts out, trying to continue her suave lead but failing.
"We should exchange numbers so you can let me know when you feel like coffee."
"Sure." Blake pats her pockets, already knowing that she won't find what she's searching for. "I left my phone back inside though."
"That's okay, Blake. Tell me your number and I'll message you so you can get mine."
Blake smiles in gratitude and reads out her number from memory. Looking over Weiss' shoulder, she watches Weiss send a simple message with her name attached and in fully spelt out words. As a rigorous reader and person who's bad with names, Blake highly appreciates that.
Argh, Yang definitely knows my type.
The fencer looks up with a sly expression. "Well … I'll see you around, Blake. Let me know when you feel like coffee. I know a cup that may change your mind in how frequent you'll be drinking it."
Blake smirks. "I look forward to it, Weiss."
Weiss turns on her heel and walks deeper into the sports hall instead of towards the exit. Blake assumes the fencing club is in that direction. Blake titters between going back inside and watching until Weiss disappears from her sight. The former wins as she felt like a creep in the hallway.
Blake manages to casually dash towards her bag and fetch her phone. To her relief, she has a message notification that shows the same words she's seen outside. She taps a quick message back with her name attached and saves Weiss' number to her contact list.
Yang's death will be postponed.
Inspired from eyjoey's ask and azure-zer0's comic on tumblr. Except I put Blake in a kung fu club.