This started as a simple prompt for antonslavik020, but I was asked to expand upon it for a commission! A very small thing for a Hotel AU! It just takes place within the course of one day.
If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Falling Asleep With Strangers
Yang was very excited to spend the weekend alone at the hotel she'd booked.
It was her spring break, after all, and she deserved a break from the stresses of college and the hectic schedules of her family life.
She was so eager to begin her little vacation that she smiled and winked at the cute clerk behind the front desk, who ended up blushing as she handed Yang her keycard.
"Room 306. Please… enjoy your stay."
"Thanks!" Yang accepted the card and grabbed her suitcase, then rolled it to the elevator. She hummed all the way up to the third floor, where she then all but skipped down the hallway.
But it was still fairly early in the morning, so she tried not to sing out loud for fear she'd wake someone up and get complaints. The parking lot had been totally full when she'd pulled in, and she expected there were a ton of people here, and probably not all of them liked to be woken at 8AM on a Saturday.
It wasn't hard to find her room. She slipped her key card into place, waited for the blinking red light to turn green, then pushed her way inside.
Grinning, she took in the sight of her place for the next few nights.
It was… a little weird.
The curtains were closed, making the room very dark, whereas she'd assume most rooms would be left with the curtains open to welcome new guests. There was a blouse on top of the chair at the little desk, and she assumed the previous occupants had left it behind.
Huh. Guess I'll call someone and they can bring it to the front desk or something. Maybe they can call the owner…
Yang set her suitcase down at the foot of the queen-sized bed. That was also strange. The sheets were lumpy and ruffled, as though the room hadn't even been cleaned yet.
"Ugh, whatever. I'll complain later…"
She turned around and flopped down onto the bed, prepared to rest for a moment.
What she wasn't prepared for was the scream she heard.
The bed beneath her suddenly shifted, and Yang was thrust to the floor. Scrambling and flailing, she tried to make sense of what was happening as the pain in her head registered. Her ears ached as the scream sounded again, and initially, she thought she'd walked into a room where a murder was taking place.
Until she peeked up into the bed and saw a girl sitting there.
Her blue eyes were wide open and terrified, her white hair loose and frazzled. She was wearing only a simple nightgown which was lopsided and unkempt.
The girl stared at Yang in horror, then quickly grabbed the sheets and pulled them up to cover herself.
"Wh-What-?! What are you doing in my room?!" she shrieked. "Who are you? Get out, you pervert!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Yang put her hands up in self defense and scrambled to her feet. "First of all, I'm not a pervert, and second-"
She was silenced with a pillow to the face.
"I said get out! I'm calling the police!"
"H-Hold on a sec!" Yang threw the pillow to the ground and jumped in front of the bedside table, preventing the girl from touching the phone. "I think there's just been a mix-up here-"
"A mix up in your deranged brain!" the girl snapped. "Now get out of my way or I'll scream so loud the entire building will be here in an instant!"
"Listen!" Yang whimpered. "Just listen to me for a sec, okay? I think they just messed up my room! They probably gave me the wrong keycard. I had no idea this room was occupied! Honest mistake, right?"
The other girl glared up at her skeptically, still hiding herself behind the blankets.
"I don't believe you."
"Look," Yang reasoned. "How else could I have gotten in here? Only because they gave me a key card, because they thought this room was empty and I could stay here. Right?"
The girl considered that, then relaxed a little bit.
"I suppose…"
"I swear I'm not a creep," Yang assured her. "And I'm really sorry about all of this. For lying on top of you and barging into your room. I'll go to the front desk and get it sorted out right away. So just… don't call the cops on me, yeah?"
She grabbed her suitcase and headed for the doors. But when the white-haired girl started to get out of bed and follow her, Yang paused. "Uh… Miss?"
"I'm coming with you," she grumbled, stepping into a pair of slippers. "I'd like to complain about this fiasco. How inconvenient..."
She pulled a long bath robe on over her sleepwear and pushed her hair back over her shoulder, stepped into a pair of slippers, then grabbed her own keycard.
Yang felt extremely awkward now as she led the way back to the elevator with this strange girl at her side. She was understandably grumpy, considering Yang had just woken her by sitting on her and scared her half to death.
But as she stole glance at her, she realized just how pretty she was.
Yang quickly looked away before she could be caught staring and really be considered a pervert.
They reached the elevators and Yang pressed the button, but when the doors open, it was totally packed with people. Yang was about to squeeze herself inside, but the other girl grabbed her arm and dragged her away.
"Ugh, it's not worth it to be pack in like sardines! We'll just take the stairs!"
Yang didn't argue and followed her back down the hallway to the staircase.
It took them a few minutes to get down all six flights. Yang trailed behind the irritated girl who stomped all the way down, huffing and puffing under her breath all the while.
Once they reached the lobby, they explained the situation to the people at the front desk.
Yang was a bit more reasonable in doing so.
But the white-haired girl snapped at the poor workers for their blunder, declaring this incident was "an invasion of privacy" and "completely unacceptable." She terrified the staff until they offered her a partial refund, which seemed to pacify her.
The girl behind the desk stammered to them both.
"I-I'm very sorry for this mistake. But there aren't any other rooms available, Miss Xiao Long."
Yang frowned.
"None?"
"N-Not until Miss Schnee checks out…"
The girl next to Yang growled under her breath.
"My flight is tomorrow. I literally cannot leave this place until then. It's on my reservation information."
Yang swallowed nervously. "But... I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't have any friends or family in the area. It'd take them hours just to drive here to come get me, and I haven't even eaten yet today. Shit, what am I gonna do...?"
The three of them looked helplessly at one another for a moment, but the woman behind the desk could only apologize again.
Yang was beginning to think she'd have to go search for another hotel to stay at.
But to her surprise, the white-haired girl heaved a heavy, heavy sigh to get her attention.
"Well then…" She turned to Yang. "Why don't we go have breakfast together? You can put your bags in my room for now. And if you can't arrange something, you can sleep on the floor tonight."
Yang perked up right away.
"Really?! Oh my gosh, thank you! Thank you so much, um…?"
"Weiss," she filled her in. "My name is Weiss."
The blonde girl grinned.
"I'm Yang!"
Maybe, just maybe, she glimpsed the other girl smile back. But she didn't wait long enough to check, because the thought of going out to breakfast with this peculiar and fairly pretty stranger excited her a lot.
She was just about to head off toward the hotel's restaurant area when she heard a grunt from behind herself. She looked back to glimpse Weiss, still standing there in nothing but her robe and slippers, hugging her arms to her chest and looking a little chilly now, hair frazzled.
"I'd like to go back to my room and get ready first, if you don't mind."
"Oh, yeah. Of course! N-No rush! Um... I can just wait here I guess, get us a table, maybe?"
Weiss seemed to ponder the suggestion for a moment, squinting a bit in mild irritation, debating in her mind. She rolled her eyes to herself and heaved a sigh.
"No, you can come up with me. Maybe arrange your bags or something..."
"Really? Oh gosh, thanks so much!"
Yang all but scurried after her, expecting to head for the stairs they'd just come down. But Weiss veered off to one side and pushed the button for the elevator instead. She rubbed a palm over her eyes and yawned softly.
"I wasn't designed to be running up and down stairs this early in the morning," she explained. "Now that we've filed our complaint, I don't mind waiting for a ride..."
"Oh." Yang kept it at that. Even though she was thinking how Weiss had seemed awfully good at yelling at people this early in the morning, despite her apparent inability to handle stairs.
After a brief wait, she boarded the elevator and rode up with Weiss, then got off with her on the third floor and headed for the room. Weiss swiped her keycard and let them in.
Yang went to gathering her things and awkwardly looking about the room for someplace to put them. Weiss caught her looking uncertain and offered a bit of assistance.
"In the corner," she said, waving to a small closet. "My things are on the left. The right side is empty."
"Thanks."
Weiss nodded, grabbed a few clothes from the drawers, and then slipped into the bathroom.
Yang arranged her things for a few minutes, pulling out and hanging up her clothes next to Weiss'. She couldn't help noticing the other girl's garments were of totally different styles than her own. Where Yang had tie-dyed and brightly-colored tank-tops, shorts, and crop-tops, Weiss had rather bland, single-colored blouses, dresses, and a few pairs of longer pants.
But Yang didn't want to intrude on Weiss' privacy any more than she already had, so she tried to keep her eyes on her own belongings.
From inside the bathroom, she heard Weiss mumbling a bit to herself, though Yang couldn't make out the words.
But after a minute or so, she heard something a bit unexpected.
Weiss started to hum a small tune, very softly, likely something she did by habit to help wake herself up in the mornings, or help calm herself down after a stressful event.
Yang closed the closet and leaned back against it, smiling a little as she listened. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the sound...
"All right."
"Whoa!"
Yang jumped as the door opened and Weiss stepped out suddenly. The blonde girl scrambled as she was more or less caught red-handed listening to the girl singing.
Weiss was startled by her reaction for a second, giving her a wide stare.
"Goodness, you nearly gave me a heart-attack! What was that reaction about?"
"S-Sorry! I wasn't doing anything suspicious, I-I just heard you signing and uhh... crap, I'm sorry. I'm really doing a bad job convincing you I'm not a creep, huh?"
Weiss sighed again, and waited a moment before she spoke again.
"No, you're not. Luckily for you, I'm an excellent judge of character, and now that I'm a bit more awake and I've been around you for long enough, I know you're not that kind of person. Now then, about breakfast. They stop serving in fifteen minutes. If we don't hurry we'll miss it."
"Oh, right! Then I'm ready if you are."
Weiss nodded, grabbed her keycard again, and stepped out the door. She held it for Yang, who gave a small nod of thanks as she followed her out.
Now, as they walked back down the hallway, Yang took the time to appreciate Weiss' nicer clothes she'd changed into - a simple blue sundress and white stockings. Her long hair was still loose, but now that it had been brushed, it looked much smoother and softer.
Yang realized she was staring and quickened her pace so she was walking beside her and couldn't gawk as much.
They used the elevator again, but the ride was brief enough that the awkward silence between them never got too unbearable before the doors reopened.
Weiss led the way to the restaurant area where the two of them got on line. They split for a few minutes to fill their respective plates at the buffet, then reconvened at a table to share their meal.
Weiss' plate had only a piece of plain toast with a bit of jam and a small croissant on it, and her cup was full of steaming, black coffee.
Yang's plate was much more hearty, stacked with a few pancakes, some french toast, and a muffin, while her beverage of choice was pink lemonade. She'd seen the differences in their wardrobe, now she saw their differences in palates.
But despite all of that, they were at least able to strike up a conversation easily now.
The act of Yang's walking into Weiss' room by accident, and the ensuing fiasco had quickly gotten them through the worst of all awkward introductions. At the very least, now things had been sped along to some degree in terms of conversation.
"So," Yang began as they started eating. "Can I ask what I'm messing up for you here by being double-booked in your room?"
Weiss took a sip of her coffee leisurely. The warm, strong, familiar taste calmed her nerves a bit after the hectic morning.
"Nothing much," she said. "I was just on a small personal vacation. My father had booked this for me so I could relax during my break from college. Today's my last day here. I'll be going back home tomorrow morning once I catch my flight."
Yang gulped down a mouthful of pancake and frowned.
"Aw geez, I'm sorry. I'm interrupting the end of your vacation with the beginning of mine. How is that not a big deal?"
She watched as the girl picked up her knife and fork and started cutting into her croissant, a manner of eating Yang had never seen before, but she didn't feel right in questioning it.
"It's fine," Weiss shrugged. "I didn't have anything special planned for today other than to laze around in my room, pack my things, and rest before my flight. From what I've seen this morning, you seem like a sensible girl, Yang. I'm assuming you won't impede on my schedule, even if you do need to stay the night in the same room as me."
Yang was admittedly flattered by Weiss' words.
"You... you really think so? You think the girl who walked in on you sleeping at the crack of dawn is sensible?"
Weiss swallowed her bite of croissant, then took another sip of her coffee, which seemed to be the thing that was calming her down significantly. After seeing the snappy, short-tempered mannerisms she'd displayed earlier, Yang could safely assume Weiss was one of those people who really relied on her morning coffee.
The girl put her mug down, then answered in a more refined voice.
"You reacted rather maturely to it all, I'll admit. You made sure to apologize and prove to me you weren't a suspicious person. And you joined me to try and get all of this sorted out, did you not?"
"I... guess?"
"Then there's your answer."
She took another sip, and began cutting into her toast.
Yang was silent for a minute after that. She was almost confused somehow, like she didn't quite understand what Weiss had just said. How had this girl gone from an angry customer who'd been yelling shrilly at the staff just ten minutes ago, to a cool collected, model citizen quietly enjoying her breakfast?
Coffee is a powerful thing, I guess...
After they'd both eaten a little bit, it was Weiss who started the next conversation.
"So you're just beginning your vacation, then? Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?"
Yang scarfed down half her french toast so she could reply.
"Patch! It's not far from here."
"I see. I'm from Atlas."
"Oh man, that's pretty far."
"Not too far," Weiss corrected. "Just a two-hour flight."
"What? That's it? Couldn't you just drive and it'd be cheaper?"
"Why would I want to drive when I can just be flown in my father's plane?"
"Your father's... damn."
Yang couldn't stop her jaw from dropping a bit. But it made sense. If Yang had a private plane, she'd sure as hell use that for transportation rather than drive herself anywhere, or hire someone else to drive her.
Even though she was dying to know what other kind of benefits Weiss had, she didn't want to come off as rude by discussing the girl's family wealth. So Yang kept things simple and asked about her hometown.
"So you're from Atlas, huh? I've never been there. How do you like Vale? I mean, you came all the way here just for your vacation instead of staying local, so I hope you at least had fun here."
"It's nice," Weiss replied. "I didn't have very much time off, but I love to travel, so I just wanted to do something simple here and have a bit of time to myself."
"Oops..."
"It's fine. I think I was actually getting rather lonely after five days on my own. Your barging in was a nuisance at the time, but now I'd say I'm grateful for your company, Yang. It's just nice having someone to talk to. My sister and father are usually busy."
"You have a sister? Same here! Older or younger?"
"She's older than me. Highly successful. What about yours?"
"Younger. High on caffeine a lot of the time."
Her little joke earned a laugh from Weiss, the first Yang had heard from her in the hour since they'd met. Weiss really mustn't have been a morning person, because the girl Yang was seeing now was much more pleasant and enjoyable.
They continued to talk throughout their meal, keeping things light and casual. They gave the basic tidbits about their personal lives and hobbies, talked about their respective colleges and what they were studying.
By the time they'd finished eating, they were lost in conversation, taking whatever verbal tangents popped up. They talked about movies they'd seen, places they'd been to, interesting people they'd encountered along the way.
Eventually, they got so caught up in speaking, they didn't notice the time until it was nearly noon.
At that point, they finally stood and stretched themselves out. Yang reached into her shorts pocket and frowned.
"Oh, shoot! I forgot my wallet in my room! I swear I'll pay you once we get back-"
"Nonsense," Weiss waved her off. "It's on me."
"No, I can't let you-"
"Hush," she whispered. Leaning closer, she smirked. "I get complimentary breakfast with my room. And since you're with me, just let them assume it's on the house."
Yang's jaw hung open a little in disbelief. She didn't think Weiss would be the type of person to break rules like this.
But when the girl gave a wink and turned around to head back for the elevator, Yang realized that after the ordeal they'd both endured this morning, maybe a free breakfast was a fair compensation.
She followed after Weiss, expecting to catch the elevator again, but this time Weiss changed her mind and chose the stairs.
"I'm awake now," she said. "I could use the exercise."
They took their time besting those six flights. Yang did so without breaking a sweat, but by the time Weiss got to the top, she was hunched over with her hands on her knees, holding up a finger as she panted lightly. Yang chuckled a little bit and waited, then held open the door for her.
When they got back to their shared room, they tried to decide what they could do with two people in a room meant for one.
Weiss decided to pack away as many of her things as she could, both to prepare for her flight tomorrow morning, and to allow Yang to arrange her things and get comfortable.
Yang stood by a little awkwardly, wishing she could help clean up a bit, but not wanting to intrude on Weiss' personal space.
But luckily, Weiss was very quick about things, and was soon almost entirely packed, save for a few clothes and toiletries she planned to still use before she departed.
After all that was finished, Weiss sat herself down at the small desk in the room and declared she was going to get a few things done electronically for a while, and that Yang was welcome to do as she pleased.
It felt strange to sit on the bed when it was still technically Weiss', so Yang decided to sit on the small love seat and play a few games to start off her vacation in a relaxing manner.
In this way, the afternoon passed them by in a comfortable silence, which was only broken by a few casual words here or there.
Around suppertime, Weiss ordered room service, and they ate together over the desk table.
When it got darker out, Weiss announced she was going to sleep early.
"My flight is at 5," she informed her. "I'll have to be out the door by 3:30 so I can make it to the airport by 4 to board."
"Oh, man, really? Even on a private plane?"
"This is just what's most convenient for my father. I'm lucky enough he's letting me use the plane, so I've got to accommodate his schedule. I don't mind."
She then took some time in the bathroom and later emerged dressed in a simple nightgown, the same one Yang had first seen her in.
At that point, Weiss paused at the foot of the bed, meeting Yang's eyes where she sat in the nearby love seat.
"You..." She cleared her throat and tried again. "You don't actually have to sleep on the floor, you know. You're welcome to use the bed when you decide to sleep. You don't have to, but I just figured I would offer since this is technically your room, too."
Yang bit her lip and chewed a little. "N-No, that's okay. I can sleep here no problem. You should get some good rest before your flight."
"Are you sure? I don't mind."
Yang paused again and thought about it.
"Well, then... I guess I'll use it, too."
"Good. That seat is far too small and lumpy, anyway."
As Weiss situated herself for bed and laid down beneath the covers, Yang decided she would go to sleep early as well, so she could be more energized for tomorrow. Plus, she was pretty tired after the events of today.
Once she'd finished brushing her teeth and hair in the bathroom, she came out dressed in cotton tank-top and shorts pajamas, and found Weiss already still and quiet in the bed.
Yang tiptoed over to her, trying her very best not to make any unnecessary sounds that could potentially disturb her. She turned off all the lights save for one lamp at the bedside, and then got to the painstaking task of lying herself down without jostling Weiss.
It wasn't easy, because even though Weiss was rather petite, the mattress was made for one person, so Yang had to squish herself a little. She laid on her side, turning her back to Weiss, then reached out to flick off the lamp.
It was strange.
She was... sleeping in the same bed as someone who'd been a total stranger that morning. She'd sat on Weiss as she'd slept, for goodness' sake.
But even though they'd gotten off to a very rocky start - complete with a lot of awkward stares and yelling - they'd eventually spent the day together on kinder terms. Talking and learning about each other had done a lot in terms of bringing them closer, in every sense of the word.
So it didn't really feel like she was sleeping in the same bed as a stranger.
Weiss felt more like... an acquaintance now. Perhaps not a friend, but definitely someone Yang could feel comfortable in closing her eyes around. And she couldn't say that about many people.
And so she closed them, replaying the events of the strange day in her mind, recounting all the interesting things she'd learned about Weiss in the process. Her image was constant in Yang's mind, her unusual white hair, the soft pink scar over her left cheek, the piercing blue of her eyes...
She could hear Weiss breathing just a few inches away, soft, steady inhales and exhales.
Yang soon matched her own breaths to Weiss', and it wasn't long before sleep came to her.
. . .
A few hours later, she woke in a quiet, odd hour of the morning.
Weiss had gotten out of bed and was now tiptoeing around the room, gathering her things, checking and rechecking to ensure she had everything.
She hadn't made a sound anything louder than a ruffle of sheets, but Yang still pushed herself up groggily in the dim lamplight.
Weiss, who had dressed herself and gotten on her boots and coat, looked up from zippering her suitcase and sighed.
"I'm sorry. I was trying not to wake you."
"No..." Yang unleashed a long yawn and rubbed her eyes messily. "I wish you had."
"I was just going to leave a note behind," Weiss admitted. "To thank you for working through all this with me. And for not betraying my trust."
Yang tilted her head a bit at first, but then realized what Weiss meant. Yang easily could have taken advantage of Weiss as she'd slept last night, stolen some of her things or money and walked right out the door with them.
For Weiss to say she trusted her now made her feel warm inside.
"Of course I wouldn't do that."
"Now I know for sure you wouldn't."
Weiss left her bags by the door and checked the time. She only had a few minutes before she needed to get moving.
She made her way back to the bed where Yang was running a hand through her mess of hair. The blonde chuckled softly.
"Well, I uh... I hope my being here didn't ruin your last day of vacation too badly."
"You know, at first, I'd thought it might," Weiss confessed. "But those feelings didn't last long. I actually rather enjoyed it. It'll certainly be a story to tell at the dinner table from now on."
"Yeah, haha."
A beat of silence formed between them, and neither knew quite where to go from here.
"Well, then..." Weiss murmured. "I've got to be off, then. I'll leave the room to you now, so you don't have to worry about keeping to one side of the bed."
"Oh, uh... hey, Weiss?" Yang more or less blurted it out, but she knew it was now or never. "Is there... any way I could contact you? Maybe the next time you're in town, I could show you around... or something..."
It was a simple offer that said enough.
Weiss was a little surprised to hear it, and her heart jumped a bit into her throat.
"Yes..." she said at last. "Here..."
She used the note pad and pen on the bedside table to scribble her phone number down, then handed it to Yang.
"You can send me a text now if you'd like. That way you can know for sure it's my number."
"Nah, no need," Yang grinned, tearing off the paper. "I trust you, Weiss."
Weiss smiled and dipped her head.
"All right. Then I'd best be off." She extended her hand in a friendly gesture. "Thank you, Yang. For making this trip ten times more interesting than I'd ever expected it to be."
With a sleepy grin, Yang reached out to take her hand and shake it once firmly.
"Same to you, Weiss! I'll text you sometime!"
"I'd like that."
They held each other's gazes for just as long as they held each other's hands.
Then, Weiss let go, crossed the room to gather her bags, and with one last friendly nod, she slipped out the door.
For a moment, Yang sat there in the bed that now felt too spacious. Part of her expected Weiss to come back in for some reason.
But of course, she never did.
Yang laid herself down and turned off the light, feeling more melancholy than anything.
The room was quiet. Weiss' wasn't there breathing softly beside her anymore. It was almost like she'd never been there at all.
Yang held onto the notepad paper as she rolled over, finding the mattress there still slightly warm where Weiss had previously rested.
A few ruffled sheets, a tiny piece of paper, and a single day's worth of memories were all she had left of Weiss.
Yang was surprisingly sad at her absence now, and she felt she'd be bummed for the rest of her mini vacation.
In the following days, she enjoyed the hotel's pool, game room, exercise equipment, restaurant, and everything else it had to offer. But she couldn't help but wonder how much more fun those things would've been with Weiss at her side.
After she'd had her four days of fun to herself, she meandered down to the front desk at noon to pay for her room, but was surprised when the familiar girl behind the desk shook her head.
"No payment needed Miss Xiao Long."
"Huh? Sorry, but why exactly?"
"Well, as an apology for double-booking your room, we'd decided to give you two of your four nights free. But as it turns out, Miss Schnee covered the cost for you before she left."
Yang walked away from the desk completely dumbfounded by Weiss' generosity.
As she headed outside into the parking lot and packed her things away in her car, she felt the overwhelming need to try out that phone number Weiss had left her four mornings ago.
Yang dug it out of her pocket, unfolded it, and typed it into her phone.
There was a small prickle of worry that maybe it was a fake number after all, and Weiss had just decided to be a kind stranger Yang would never see or hear from again.
The dial tone sounded once, then twice, then three times.
Yang held her breath.
A fourth time-
"Hello?"
Yang's lips broke out into a huge smile.
It felt so nice to hear her voice again.
She made sure to tell Weiss that much, and many more things from then on.
A/N: Just meant to be a oneshot! Weiss will come back to visit sometime and Yang will show her around Vale and they'll be best buds! ^~^
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