A/N: Hey look, a BumbleBY fic! I actually sort of received a sign that I should write BumbleBY recently so I did. Not my greatest work but I think it's pretty good. Comments and criticism are welcomed and encouraged!
I do not own RWBY or any of the characters from it. That's Monty Oum and RoosterTeeth. Enjoy!
Yang looked deep into the dangerous amber eyes that watched her. The ferocity and barely restrained animalistic anger sent shivers down her spine. The stare seemed to continue from across the dark room, lit entirely from dim, flickering candles. Seconds became minutes. Minutes seemed to last hours. Time itself seemed to slowly begin to break down and lose all mean—
"Will you just make your move already?!" shouted Weiss, crossing her arms and fuming silently.
Another moment of heavy, crushing silence. Yang swore the candles had been many inches taller mere seconds ago.
"I fold."
There were a few gasps and groans around the table as the Faunus girl slammed down her hand as Yang grinned. She had broken her down. Triumph was sweet.
"What did you have anyways, Yang?" Ruby, in a flash of red, was behind the blonde, trying to see her hand.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Ruby may have been quick but her sister had learned how to deal with the rambunctious little sneak and grabbed her softly by the jaw. "I thought I explained how this game works, Rubble; no peeking afterwards!"
Ruby huffed but Weiss quickly interjected. "She's right, Ruby. We aren't playing Go Fish here… This is serious!"
"You're right! I'll win the next hand!"
Yang watched as Blake rolled her eyes at the dramatics unfolding in front of her but she caught that hint of a smile on her partner's face. And considering the large pile of Lien in front of the blonde, it seemed both parts of her plan were working beautifully.
Another hand and another series of folds from her opponents. Yang had them in the palm of her hand. As she flicked out the hands, she hardly even looked at her own cards. Ruby's perplexed gaze tried to piece together whether or not she had a good hand. Weiss looked equal parts exasperated by the whole ordeal as well as rather indignant at being bested by her teammate so thoroughly. Blake, however… Blake looked confident.
"I raise," the raven haired girl spoke as she pushed most of her remaining Lien she had into the center. Ruby and Weiss balked at the show of card strength and quickly folded.
Yang, however, knew what she had and that she wouldn't be as easily beaten as Blake seemed to think. "I see your raise. Ready to stop pawing the ground and make some real plays now, kitty cat?"
The ear twitching was a dead giveaway to Yang; the gauntlet had been thrown. Behind her masquerade of shadows and mystery, she was easily drawn into a challenge with cat puns. Not from most people, however; they normally received harsh glares and long lectures about Faunus rights. But it seemed the blonde was an exception and any such jokes were met by Blake doing her utmost to stomp all over her aggressor through competition. But even still, that hadn't happened for at least a month, with Blake being rather distant with Yang.
Which was why Yang had decided to get the team together for some cards. It started off friendly enough but the blonde donned her stubborn hat and pushed the other three into betting Lien. And now… Now she had more than she knew what to do with. She could take Blake out on a date and still have plenty left over to treat herself. Maybe some nice new vi—
"Are you going to finish dealing or what?!"
"Calm down, princess," chuckled Yang. "You aren't even in the running this time. No need to get your panties in a twist." Weiss leaped up to tell Yang exactly what she thought of her crude, rude, and somewhat lewd remarks when the blonde proceeded to deal out the flop.
Everyone's eyes widened except Ruby's, who saw everyone's reactions. "Is… Is that good?" On the table, the Queen, Jack, and Ten of Hearts were face-up.
"It could be," said Weiss, looking between the two girls who were still playing. Both had subdued looks of satisfaction on their faces. The heiress deduced that they likely had straights or flushes… But what if one of them had a royal flush?
Oddly enough, Blake merely knocked on the table, sending the lights flickering ever so slightly as the candles rocked on the table. Yang, however, was not having it. "All in, pussycat."
She had to have the royal flush, surmised Weiss, now watching Blake. Considering the pittance of Lien the Faunus had left, she had no real choice in the matter.
"I call."
Yang's grin grew as she slammed down her two cards, confirming Weiss's fears. The Ace and King of Hearts. Yang began pulling the Lien towards herself, cackling like the card shark she was. She stopped, however, when she saw Blake.
The anger came off the girl in almost visible waves as she got to her feet. She turned her furious glare to Ruby. "Restrain her," she said, motioning towards the blonde.
Ruby, while not one to go after her sister, was far more intimidated by her quiet teammate and tackled Yang. Yang's indignant cries were cut off by the gasps of Ruby and Weiss and a deep growl from Blake. On impact, cards had flown every direction. Some from the deck but, more importantly, some from Yang's sleeves.
As the teammates gathered around, all Yang could do was smile sheepishly. "Now how did these get here…?"
"Everyone out," Blake said, the voice snappy and authoritative. Even Weiss knew better than to speak back to her teammate when she spoke like that. She grabbed Ruby's hand and the two practically sprinted out the door.
"Now… Now why would you go and do that, Blakey?" chuckled Yang, watching the amber eyes dissect her.
"Because no one deserves to see their sister go through what I'm about to do to you."
No Grimm or exam had managed to strike such a pure chord of fear in Yang as her face paled. "C-Come on, kitty cat; it-it was only a game."
"So I assume you plan on reimbursing us?"
"We-Well it depends; would you rather make a profit off this?"
Blake raised an eyebrow. "What are you playing at, Yang?"
"Well, you see," Yang began pushing her two index fingers together, looking anywhere but in those feline eyes. "This whole thing was just me trying to break the ice with you. The money was going to be spent when… When…"
"When what, Yang?"
"When I finally asked you out."
Blake nearly jumped back out of surprise. "Wha… What?! This isn't romantic in the slightest!"
"But if it was, would you say yes?"
Blake turned away from Yang and the blonde felt her heart drop. She was right after all; cheating at cards likely wasn't romantic or an attractive trait. But she needed the money to make sure the date was perfect and how else would Yang have raised the fun—
She was pulled out of her thoughts when Blake grabbed her face and stared her deep in the eyes. There was a silent moment before the Faunus leaned in and kissed the blonde. Deeply. Passionately. Quite clumsily, actually.
When the two pulled back, both were smiling, blushing heavily, and staring. The stare seemed to continue from across the dark room, lit entirely from dim, flickering candles. Seconds became minutes. Minutes seemed to last hours. Time itself seemed to slowly begin to break down and lose all meaning…
"You should probably give everyone their money back," Blake softly said, finally breaking the silence. "If you intend to actually go out with me, you should probably not steal for me. I have enough problems having one thief running around with me."
"Wait," said Yang, looking confused. "Are you and Sun…"
Blake realized the implication and vigorously shook her head. "No, no! Just friends but I'd rather not have people look out for me by stealing stuff."
"Okay, I guess I'll give everyone their Lien back…"
The door was almost knocked off its hinges and the lights flickered as Weiss stormed in. "YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT YOU WILL, YANG XIAO LONG!" Wagging her finger right in Yang's face, the heiress's cold glare froze the blonde in place. "I knew I wasn't losing! But to have the audacity! The unmitigated gall! You incorrigible, inferior, in—"
"—tellectual?" offered Yang.
"INCOMPETENT!" roared Weiss.
Blake, meanwhile, broke down into laughter at the two. Weiss stopped and settled for a scowl at the blonde, who scratched her neck and chuckled nervously.
And in the soft glow of the candlelight, Yang was happy. Things were back to normal… No, better than normal. She just had to learn to read Blake's poker face better. Maybe another game would be in order…