Editor's note: so, I originally uploaded this story with the title 'Sun and Storm'. That is the title for this chapter only… guess my 'you're a competent human being!' celebrations were premature… I hope my writing doesn't suck as much as my I.T skills!

If you couldn't already guess by my inability to use this website, this is my first story here (well, anywhere, actually) so constructive criticism would be much appreciated!

Without further ado...

Editor's note number 2: this chapter is now brought to you by 'line breaks'!

DAY 1

'Okay... so… you can wipe that smirk off your face, Weiss, because you might have the "best cards", but guess what? The Smugglers of Wind Path are gonna smuggle those sweet babies right into our hands! Right Blake?'

'Right!' Blake declared, caught up in Yang's enthusiasm. She waved the card in a slow, threatening manner in front of the scroll.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. 'Ruby and I agreed that you can't use that card, actually, since you decided not to grace us with your presence.'

Yang's grin became a grimace. 'What?! Since when was that a-'

'Oh, and kiss goodbye to your precious Vacuo Warriors, because I checked the weather and… well, looks like there's a Sandstorm heading your way-'

'YOU MONSTE-'

The call dropped, and anguish was replaced by horror. Yang pressed a few buttons on her scroll, and then smacked it on the floor, in case that would fix things.

Nope.

Blake watched, amused. 'The weather must have interfered with the signal,' she said.

Yang huffed. 'What if Ruby messes up our pieces? I wouldn't put it past her, the little sneak.'

If she was being honest, Yang didn't really care about the game. She'd insisted Blake play with her, but that was just an excuse to huddle together under blankets on Yang's bed. Right now, Yang's left arm was touching Blake's right, and even that tiny bit of contact made Yang stupidly happy.

Something at the back of Yang's mind screamed that she shouldn't be feeling this way- that Blake pretty much had a boyfriend, for Dust's sake- but, for now, she could ignore it.

'We'll get our own back,' Blake smirked, her smile fading as she glanced outside.

When Ruby had made them get up stupidly early, in order to play Remnant: The Game, the weather had been so awful that the two of them had elected to stay in their own cabin and play the game via scroll, rather than face the elements for the 10 second dash across to Ruby's. Ruby had duly deposited a variety of cards- getting soaked to the skin, despite Yang's assertion that "anyone who moves that fast doesn't have time to get rained on"- and the gloomy sky had been forgotten in the heat of the battle.

And now, an hour later, the weather looked even worse. It was early morning, but to look out the window you'd think it was the dead of night.

Yang looked at Blake's pressed back ears, and started reaching across to pull her in for a hug, before realising what she was doing and pulling the blankets tighter around her instead.

Their eyes locked. Yang's heart sped up.

Shit, she realised what I tried to do-

'You know, just because I'm...' Blake began, 'just because I-' She stopped, frowning.

Yang waited.

'Just because Sun and I have gone on a couple of dates, it doesn't mean like you should feel that you can't hug me anymore,' Blake said, looking wounded.

Crap... I didn't want her to realise that I like her as so much more than a friend, but instead she thinks I'm just acting differently to avoid pissing off Sun, who isn't even fucking here-

Wait. Does that means that she thinks that if Sun heard about it, he might think there's something going on between us? Does that mean she could like me back?

'Are you saying that we act like a couple?' Yang said, careful to keep her tone light and jokey. She even threw in a wink for good measure.

Blake blushed, breaking eye contact. 'N-no, uh, just that, I don't want anything to change between us,' she told the blankets.

Yang's heart sunk a little, but she agreed with Blake.

I agree for my own selfish reasons. But if Blake really doesn't want me to stop flirting, or hugging, or-

'Do you want some coffee?' Blake asked, untangling herself from the pile of bedding and rising to her feet.

Woah, someone's ready for a change of topic. She did say she wanted me to act normal around her, though...

'Hey!' Yang exclaimed, watching her walk off. 'What about our hug?'

Blake blushed, again. God, she's so adorable.

'I'll be back in a second,' Blake called, switching on the coffee maker.

Well, that's not a "no"... and she did just have a go at me for not hugging her.

'Coffee?'

Yang realised Blake was still waiting for an answer. 'Yes please,' she said quickly.

Okay, let's get things properly back to normal…

'Love you, Blakey,' she added, grinning.

Blake's face now rivalled Ruby's hood, only making Yang's grin wider.

'Is the scroll still dead?' Blake shouted, above the roar of the coffee machine.

Yang had completely forgotten about it. She picked it up off the bed side table, pressed a few more buttons, blew on it, and tentatively punched the screen.

Nope.

'Deader than Pyrrah and Jaune's Ursai!' she called.

Heh. The look on Jaune's face…

Blake placed two steaming mugs of coffee on the bedside table, and climbed back into Yang's bed.

Yang couldn't hide the dreamy smile on her face.

With the weather like it is, we'll be stuck together for the whole day...

Hey… this isn't my dorm room? Where am- and why is Blake in my bed- not that I'm complaining-

Oh, right.

We're on another mission.

Yang had no idea how long she'd been asleep, but, judging by the fact that Blake was halfway through her book, it had been a while.

Damn… I hug Blake for five minutes and then I doze off.

It had been a nice five minutes, though. She sat up, and stretched.

'Howsa book?'

Blake jumped, and Yang chuckled. 'Sorry, didn't mean to scare you there.'

'It's good,' Blake mumbled, placing her bookmark on the page and closing the book before turning to face Yang.

'Must be a pretty depressing read.'

"The History of Faunus Rights" looked pretty heavy to be reading on a Saturday morning, but then again, Yang wasn't a Faunus, and she wasn't Blake.

Blake looked confused for a moment, and then nodded. 'Yes. But it's an important topic for me.'

Yang remembered Blake's confession, Weiss' outburst, her and Weiss' search…

'Can I read one of your books?' she asked, to pull herself out of the past.

Weiss admitted her prejudice. Blake knows we love her as she is… Dust, do I love her.

'Just to kill some time, you know.'

Blake blanched.

Woah… okay then…

'I know I don't seem like a reader, but, uh, well, it can never hurt to… give new things a go, right?' Yang laughed awkwardly, rubbing her neck.

'I really don't think they're the kind of books you'd enjoy,' Blake said quickly, glancing at her pile nervously. 'Non-fiction. Really quite dull.'

Eugh. Maybe not…

'You didn't bring any stories with you? Not even a little cheeky romance novel? That's not like you.'

Blake blushed, and Yang felt bad.

'Sorry, didn't mean to diss your choice there or anything… you know what, I might go and... clean the sink, or something-'

'Sun got them for me,' Blake blurted out, looking just as surprised at this piece of information as Yang was.

Yang squinted at the pile of books on Blake's bedside table. 'Sun… bought you... "A Comprehensive Guide To The Different Sap Types Of Forever Fall?"'

'... Yeah.'

'...That's...cute?'

They stared at each other.

Yang's scroll rang, and they both sighed in relief.

Blake passed it to her, and rested her head on Yang's shoulder.

She's just tired, you dolt.

'Ruby, you better not have messed with our pieces- oh, hi, Professor!' Yang greeted. 'You fancy a chat or something?'

Ozpin smiled. 'I'm always happy to talk, Miss Xiao Long, but I think you know why I'm calling. I've just spoken to the rest of your teammates, after trying to get through for quite some time. They appear to be having some kind of party.' Ozpin took a sip of coffee.

I bet Weiss is overjoyed with that… Ruby and Team JNPR stuck in one tiny cabin. Sheesh.

'It's the weather, isn't it?' Blake said.

'Yes, Miss Belladonna, you are quite correct. Forecasts show that the storm will continue until very late at night. Now, Ruby argued with me that Hunters and Huntresses must do their duty, regardless of how mother nature feels that day, but- as I will say to you now, Yang, as I see you're desperate to interrupt- there is a difference between carrying out life-saving work, and doing a routine Grimm clearout. No offence intended.'

'We understand, Professor,' Blake said, but her shoulders slumped.

Ozpin nodded. 'As I knew you would. It's no use going out into a storm and getting injured for the sake of a few Ursa, as I'm sure you both know.'

There was an awkward pause.

'Well, I bid you ladies a pleasant, and... hopefully not too eventful day. You don't want to be too tired for tomorrow, after all.' The call ended.

Yang couldn't look at Blake. Ozpin's comment had been said in his usual sarcastic manner, but was there something… teasing underneath it all? Did their Headmaster… want them to be together?

He's just saying he hopes we don't go crazy, like the others are…. Like Ozpin would ever be so euphemistic.

Okay, so he totally would be, but still.

'Well, guess this means there's signal again,' Yang said. 'We can see what everyone else is up to-'

Blake's scroll rang. She put it to her ear.

'Hey, Ruby-'

Yang was pretty sure that her sister's screech of joy could be heard from Mistral, as Blake flung the scroll onto the bed, wincing.

'Blake! Yang! We've been trying to reach you guys for so long, but there was no signal, and we got bored of playing the game so then Jaune suggested hide and seek and I'm supposed to find them all and I found Nora already because she was hiding under Weiss' bed-'

The call dropped, but a second later Ruby rang back, undeterred. 'Wow, the signal really sucks here! And then I found Pyrrah and Jaune, because they'd both tried to hide in the cupboard under the sink and were all squished together, but anyway, you two should totally come and play with us!'

Yang looked at Blake, who shook her head violently.

'Uh, Rubes, don't you think it's a bit cramped round there already?'

'Yeah!' Ruby said cheerfully, 'but it's totally fine, because Ren and Nora are practically together-together, so they don't mind sitting really close to each other, and Pyrrah and Jaune, well, you know them, so it's basically like a bunch of couples!' There was a pause.

Blake and Yang looked at each other.

'N-not that Weiss and I are going out!' Ruby said hurriedly. Yang thought she heard something about Neptune, but it was too quiet make out what. 'Ha, ha... well, are you coming over or what?.'

'We-' Yang began, but there was a flash of lightning, and the scroll was on the floor, and Blake in her arms.

By the time Yang got out the bath, she half feared her skin would stay wrinkled forever.

Watching water swirl down the plughole, she sighed.

I could have reheated it with my semblance, but I'm not even angry.

Well... I'm so jealous I feel like punching something, but anger and jealousy are different things, right?

I wanted to stay in that bath all day… but that isn't fair on Blake.

She paused, and listened for noise outside the bathroom.

It was silent. Blake must have finished her phone call.

That phone call.

She'd tried not to take it as a personal rejection. The second Blake jumped into her arms, Yang's brain had been filled with thoughts of holding her close, comforting her, turning that frown upside down and those ears back up…

And then Blake had scrambled out her arms and burrowed into bed, hunched over and shaking and shying away from a hand on her shoulder, until finally Yang had shook her fantasies out of her head, reduced her ego, and suggested Blake call the person she needed most right now.

'I'm sure he could brighten up your day…'

Blake had said she'd do it, that she wanted some privacy, if that was okay. So Yang had run her bath, and got in it. And cried, silently. It was all so stupid.

She was incredibly, red-eyed monster jealous that Sun had been the one to comfort Blake, had been the shoulder to cry on. Sickeningly, repulsively jealous. And she had been the one to fucking suggest it.

It made no sense. Sun had done all sorts of things with Blake (Yang twitched at the thought of the more... 'physical' things), so why was this affecting her so much?

Yang rested her head against the bathroom cabinet, and closed her eyes.

Because this was supposed to be time away from that stupid son of a Beowolf!

This was supposed to be the moment she confessed her feelings, before Blake became officially 'coupled.'

In the past she'd kidded herself that Blake did or said little things that showed she felt the same way.

...And then she'd not wanted Yang's comfort, and Sun had told Yang he'd decided to ask her out when they got back to Beacon. He clearly thought he had a high chance of success.

Yang dried her body, and her eyes. She brushed her hair, far harder than necessary.

Okay, maybe I am a little pissed off.

She opened the cabinet above the sink, and sighed.

Of course I left my moisturiser on the floor… well, it can't hurt to skip a day, unless…

Blake was so engrossed in her book that Yang couldn't see her face. Those Faunus ears heard me come over here, so why hasn't she looked up?

She probably doesn't want you to see how scared and upset she is, the sensible part of Yang thought. Head back to the bathroom, moisturise, put some clothes on, and go chill out. Medidate. Think things through…

But Yang had lost her rationality.

She stood there, gaze fixed on Blake, shaking slightly, though whether it was from anger, or the beginnings of some kind of breakdown, she couldn't tell. Didn't care. Some part of her registered that the storm outside had calmed to heavy rain. But there was a storm inside of her, brewing...

Why won't she look at me? She said she didn't want our friendship to change, so if I stand here in this little towel, and she looks up, it's not my fault if she likes what she sees...

It was a last-ditch attempt, before she let her thoughts give up the ghost. An experiment of sorts.

And one Blake wasn't taking part in. Yang fiddled with the moisturiser bottle, shuffled her pile of crap around with her right foot, glared at the scroll on the bed- an unwelcome reminder of Sun- and watched Blake turn 2, 3, 4 pages... before giving up and heading back to the bathroom.

If I stood there too long, and she looked up, it would make me look like some kind of creep.

She resumed her 'resting against the cabinet' position.

Just go to Ruby's cabin, you need to get away- it's not like Blake's alone, she has Sun-

Yang's stomach rumbled, in an excellent impression of Bumblebee, snapping her out of her wallowing. Oh, what the hell. Time for a second breakfast.

Of course, there was no logical reason to make an omelette in just a towel, but it would have been a shame to abandon the little experiment so soon.

However, with the methodical nature of heating the pan, cracking the eggs, adding the butter and salt, keeping the mixture moving… she became so engrossed in the task that she actually forgot Blake was in the room-

'Yang?'

Yang nearly dropped the frying pan on her foot, and the empty glass bowl on the floor, managing by some feat of gymnastics not to do either. There was a whispered 'sorry!', but Yang was too engrossed in returning the objects to somewhere where they wouldn't ruin her meal, or her cabin, or her life, to respond.

Once she was satisfied that her (second) breakfast wasn't about to kill her, she turned to Blake...

Who was blatantly checking her out. Yang straightened her spine, and smirked. Take that Sun, who's shining now, ay-

'Don't you want to put an apron on or something? In case you get burnt-'

'What do you think aura is for?' Yang snapped.

Reading too far into things again, you idiot. You're making her so uncomfortable she has to come up with some shit excuse to get you dressed. What in Dust's name do you think you're playing at, anyway?

Blake gawped at her.

Yang sighed. 'I'm sorry… I just hate being cooped up in here. It's driving me crazy.'

She attempted to salvage the omelette. The anger had passed. Now there was just an aching sadness.

She still couldn't bring herself to get dressed, because that would mean admitting that Blake wasn't attracted to her. She pressed a finger straight down into the hot pan, watching as her aura flared up to protect her. I can't get physically burnt, but every time she looks at me, that burns...

'Maybe we should have gone with the others,' Blake said quietly.

Is that code for 'I want to get away from you'?

'Maybe,' Yang admitted, wondering how the day had gone so wrong.

'Howsa book going?' She asked later, through a mouthful of rubbery omelette. Guilt still clawed at her insides.

I snapped at Blake. She didn't deserve that…

'Fine.' One word answer. Not good.

'Have you got to the bit about the Schnee Boycott yet?' Yang remembered writing the world's most boring essay on that last term. Weiss' and Blake's had both been over 10 pages long...

Blake looked at her blankly, and then seemed to recover herself. 'Oh, uh, no- not yet.'

Yang was putting her plate in the sink when it dawned on her. She ran over and snatched the book out of Blake's hands, Blake too stunned to react.

If this is what I think it is…

As she opened the book, Yang also involuntarily opened her mouth; first in awe, and then horror, and then a kind of mix between the two.

Ruby is never, ever reading these. They will corrupt her. What kind of stupid vampire name is 'Odax Lagnier', anyway?

She stared at the fake book cover.

Well, this is some next-level shit.

Yang's mouth fell open further as another thought occurred to her.

Sun... bought... Blake… erotica?!

She had expected to feel more rage, more jealousy, but actually she found the whole situation hilarious.

No wonder Blake didn't want me reading her books…

Sun had bought Blake erotica. It didn't seem real. She never would have even suspected-

Dang... somebody wants that Bella-booty.

Blake snapped out of her shock and reached for the book, eyes pleading, but Yang moved backwards to her own bed.

Does she enjoy reading this kind of thing? Does she imagine that it's her and Sun-

No. She was going to see the funny side of this, for Dust's sake. It was a chance to get things back to normal, lighten the mood. A plan began to form.

Let's do what I do best: break the tension with some light teasing.

'Are you hoping Sun's going to turn up and fuck you against a tree, be your own personal glittery, creepy, vampire stalker?'

It came out twisted and bitter. Spat, not laughed. The tension dispersed, then reformed, thicker than ever, like knocking down a nest of Rapiers.

'No wonder you were so eager to go hunting today,' Yang mocked, unable to stop what she'd started.

But Blake just sat there, jaw and fists clenched.

It wasn't the reaction Yang wanted.

So, without breaking eye contact, she tipped her head back and moaned.

Blake's eyes narrowed.

Yang brought her hands to her towel-covered chest and squeezed.

Blake followed the movement, biting her lip. Something in Yang registered that she seemed to be enjoying the display, but that was too bad: Yang's goal was now pissing her off, not turning her on.

'Oh, Sun,' Yang moaned, closing her eyes and spreading her legs so wide that the towel almost unravelled. 'Take me right here, I don't care that the others might see us, please-'

She writhed in pretend ecstasy, increasingly frustrated by Blake's lack of response.

'I don't like the storm,' Yang whimpered. 'I want to be filled with Sun, instea-'

'What the hell is your problem?!' Blake snarled.

It was like she'd backhanded Yang across the jaw.

Yang sat up, shaken out of her stupor, and wrapped her arms around her chest. She felt sick.

I went too far. Way, way too far.

Blake glowered at her from across the room.

Silence.

'I was just teasing-'

'You weren't, and you know it,' Blake snapped.

Yang lowered her eyes.

'What the hell was that?' Blake repeated, her posture stiff enough to rival Weiss', her voice so low it was practically a growl. Yang had rarely seen her so angry. 'It's almost like… like you're jealous, or something.'

Yang froze.

Dare she admit it? She couldn't exactly ruin her friendship with Blake more than she already had.

'I am.'

Blake faltered.

'...Jealous of Sun?'

Yang couldn't read Blake's expression. Was that fear, or disgust, or… a flicker of hope?

No, that was just wishful thinking.

She lost her nerve.

'I'm jealous of the relationship you have with him,' Yang said. It wasn't a lie. Just not the whole truth.

Blake opened her mouth to speak, and Yang panicked.

'I haven't been with anyone in a while... it's kind of lonely, to be honest. I see you and Sun and…' Yang sighed. ' Sorry if I took the teasing too far, Blake. I was just messing around.' The last part was entirely genuine. She had never truly wanted to hurt Blake, for Dust's sake.

Blake slumped.

I really fucked it up this time, didn't I?

'Can I have my book back now?' Blake asked eventually.

She moved off her bed, over to Yang's, and stood in front of her, arms at her sides. They stared at each other for a moment, Blake's eyes full of sadness, and disappointment, and hurt. Blake reached for the book, now lying on the bed, but Yang moved it behind her back, wanting full resolution of where they stood.

'Blake, I need to know if I hurt you, and then you ca-'

Blake had stretched too far to right herself, and everything seemed to happen in slow motion: Blake slipping on the pile of crap Yang had left on the floor, flying forwards, knocking Yang back into the bed as Blake fell on top of her-

They froze, Blake's hands- shaking, barely supporting her weight- either side of Yang's head, her legs either side of Yang's own, trapping her. Yang forgot how to breathe, her own hands gripped on Blake's waist. She had thrown the book behind her on the bed in a reckless effort to catch Blake in her arms, and Blake went to reach for it, her arm brushing the towel barely wrapped around Yang's body-

Shit! I mean, I wanted her to undress me, but not like this-

Blake looked down at the hand on her wrist, and then up at Yang.

'One more move, and I'm gonna be naked, let me tell ya,' Yang whispered.

It wasn't a flirt, or a threat. Just a statement of fact. If the towel did fall, she had no idea how either of them would respond.

Blake stiffened, eyes wide, cheeks flushed. Her arm lay on Yang's chest, stilled but not limp, and Yang could feel the hammering pulse in her wrist, the tension in her legs, the still emanating anger... but there was more than just anger.

Blake closed her eyes, and that frown could mean anything.

If this was going how I wanted it to go, we'd having some kind of hate sex by now… Dust, if the whole day had gone how I'd wanted, we would have spent most of it in this position…

And we would have confessed our love to each other, and lived happily ever after.

Yang's hand fell back onto the bed, no longer attached to a wrist. The bathroom door slammed shut, the lock screeched- turned in increments, as if by shaking fingers.

Yang closed her eyes, and turned a sob into a cough. Her clothes were still in the fucking bathroom from foreverago, so she pulled on a pair of pyjamas and climbed into bed, dead to the world in seconds, despite the swirling thoughts, and the lingering smell of Blake.

When she woke up an hour later, Blake was still in the bathroom.

When, two hours later, the door handle turned, Yang rolled over and pretended to be asleep.

Blake and Yang didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day.

When Yang half awoke at Dust knows when, she had one of those quick, fleeting thoughts, the kind forgotten by morning:

She hadn't actually heard Blake make the call to Sun.