Yang walked at a languid pace down the hallway of the hotel where she was staying for her sister's wedding. She couldn't wait to get back to her room and collapse into bed. The entire celebration had gone perfectly, but had left her rather exhausted. Despite the feeling that her mind was completely worn-out from the festivities of the day, the blonde replayed her favorite moments in her head. The cutting of the cake was hilarious. As usual, Ruby couldn't wait to dig into the sweets. Their first dance was something she would never forget. Weiss practically carried Ruby through all of the steps while still maintaining her trademark graceful and poised manner. Perhaps the most memorable part of the ceremony, though, was watching her younger sister exchange her vows with Weiss. Granted it was definitely something Yang never thought she'd live to see—And the brawler had figured she'd sooner witness pigs fly—it was beautiful. The raw emotions behind their words and the looks that they shared with one another throughout the night had stirred something within Yang that she hadn't felt in a long time.
The brawler couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly it was, but it was bittersweet to say the least. She came to a stop at the door marked with her room number and unlocked it with the holographic key she'd received the day earlier upon checking in. Her fingers closed around the door handle and she turned it slowly, taking care to make as little noise as possible. Yang had booked a room with Sun Wukong and his daughter, as the two of them had become rather significant to her over the past years. They'd left the wedding a bit earlier than she had on account of the little one becoming sleepy. Sun had taken her back to the hotel and sure enough, the pair were sleeping soundly as Yang crept into the dim room. The door clicked shut softly behind her and she pulled off the heels that she had been forced to endure wearing for the majority of the day.
It was uncharacteristic of the brawler to dress so… Well, for lack of a better word, frilly. However, Ruby had asked her to be the maid of honor on her special day. That was something Yang could not turn down, even if it meant being stuffed into a dress and having to learn how to balance on shoes that were not combat boots. As she set the offending shoes to the side of the entryway, Yang approached the edge of her bed. The blonde was about to begin peeling the gown off of her body when her eyes fell upon the sleeping pair of faunus. Sun was still adorning a dress shirt, but it had been pulled loose from his slacks and his bow tie was sitting on the nightstand beside the bed. It looked like he hadn't intended on falling asleep alongside his daughter, who slept peacefully beside him. Ember's eyelids fluttered every so often as she appeared to be dreaming. Her long, sandy-colored tresses were hanging in her face and her cat ears twitched with every breath that left her lips. The girl was already turning out to be a spitting image of Blake, save for the blonde hair and ears.
Yang moved to the other side of the room, drawing the curtains shut so that the sunlight wouldn't disturb them in the morning. As she moved back toward her bed, she couldn't help but give a double take at the two of the faunus. There it was again; That feeling that had accompanied her throughout the entirety of her sister's big day. She didn't bother taking off the dress as she climbed onto her bed, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. The low hum of the air conditioning unit in the room made for some decent white noise, allowing Yang's mind to roam back to her days at Beacon Academy.
"Yang!" The shrill sound of Weiss' nagging voice pulled the brawler from her sleep.
Bleary lilac eyes blinked open and the blonde slowly sat up. She was on the couch, which must have meant that she'd fallen asleep watching another one of Ruby's favorite shows. Yang had tried to make a habit out of spending more time with her sister, but sometimes the material that Ruby subjected her to was excruciating. The older sister could spend hours on end playing fighting games and destroying Ruby at them, but she could rarely stay awake for the entire duration of Ruby's beloved shows. Somehow she had stumbled across a show about cyborg karate masters that fought crime while trying to live among humans. While Ruby had quickly grown infatuated with the show, Yang had only developed a mere tolerance for it. Spending time with her sister meant a lot to her, though, so she always tried her best to at least feign interest.
This time she had clearly fallen short. Ruby wasn't anywhere to be found and Yang was sprawled out, taking up most of the sofa. Weiss stood over her with her arms folded and a scowl on her mug. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, really. Yang rubbed at her eyes and gave a yawn before stretching her arms and back. As the blonde attempted to wake herself up, Weiss glared at her expectantly. The brawler finally looked back at her and lifted her eyebrows.
"What time is it?" Yang asked, looking past the white-haired girl and toward the television, which had long since been turned off.
"For your information, it is approximately 6:47 PM." Weiss said in a displeased fashion, "That means—"
"Okay. So, what're we doing for dinner?" Yang wanted to know as she swept her legs over the side of the couch, her arms coming to rest beside her.
"Well, considering the fact that Ruby is sparring with Jaune and Blake is going on a date, I would say that leaves it up to you and I. However, I—"
Yang tilted her head slightly as she cut off her teammate, "Blake is going on a date?"
"Yes. Now, if you could please—"
"With who?" The brawler demanded, standing up and looking down the hall.
The door to the bathroom was closed. Blake was probably getting ready. How come she didn't tell her she was going on a date? They usually told each other more than they shared with Weiss and Ruby, with the exception of Ruby and Yang being sisters. Yang was shocked to say the least. Not only that, but it also somewhat irritated her.
"The boy with the blonde hair and the blue eyes that sits a few rows behind us in Professor Port's class… I can't remember his name." Weiss looked toward the ceiling as she tried to recall what his name could be before her eyes snapped back to Yang, "And stop interrupting me. It's rude."
Yang was about to open her mouth and argue when the bathroom door opened at the end of the hall. Blake was wearing a rather casual outfit and had her hair done the same way as she always did. Seeing that she hadn't gotten dolled up filled Yang with an odd sense of comfort. She smiled at Blake, who returned her signature half-smile as she walked down the hallway.
"I'm heading out. I shouldn't be out too late." Blake told them.
"Where ya goin'?" Yang asked, as if she didn't already know.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Weiss scowling at her. The Ice Queen's stare pierced through her like daggers. Having grown accustomed to ignoring the white-haired girl's methods, Yang kept her attention on Blake as the faunus brushed her fingers through some of her hair.
"Out with Cadet Calamansi, from Port's class." She said, pulling out her Scroll and beginning to type, "That's him now. I'll be back later."
Blake tucked her Scroll into her pocket and left the dormitory. Yang folded her arms and sat back down on the couch. The blonde kicked her feet up onto the coffee table, scowling as she sank into the cushions. Weiss continued to stand there and glare at her. Sometimes Yang swore that Weiss acted more like a mom to her than her own mother.
"Cadet Calamansi… What a stupid name." The brawler muttered to herself, reaching for the remote.
Weiss grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her with the remote control just out of her grasp. Yang turned to her with an annoyed expression plastered to her face, while Weiss' scowl only seemed to twist further. The blonde never ceased to be amazed at just how displeased the Schnee girl could make herself look. If showcasing disgust and discontent was ever a competitive sport, Weiss Schnee would be the reigning champion.
"What?" Yang demanded.
"First of all," Weiss began, "I came to watch my show. But you were hogging the couch. Now, though, I can see that my intervention is needed."
"Intervention?" The taller girl asked in an exaggerated tone.
"Precisely." The heiress huffed, "Yang. You need to do something."
Yang resisted the urge to get up and run from the room; She knew what was coming. Weiss wasn't an idiot. If anyone knew how to read a social situation, it was the Schnee girl. She had spent years in an environment that demanded her to be able to read any kind of social situation to react accordingly. There was no getting out of this one. Still, she could try to bullshit her way out of it. That was always a great last line of defense.
"What are you talking about?"
Weiss looked like she wanted to wring her teammate's neck. Yang was almost entertained by her expression. Almost. Weiss released her wrist and took the remote to the television before she could. The smaller girl sat down beside her and smoothed out her skirt, taking a deep breath.
"You don't have to pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, Yang. It's just you and I." Weiss started, "And I'm starting to feel like I've refrained from saying anything for too long."
Yang wanted to try to play the clueless card again, but she couldn't find it in herself. The brawler felt like a cornered animal. In any other situation where she felt this way, she would just punch her way out. Everything would turn red and before she knew it, things would be back to normal. There was no punching her way out of this situation. Something about that was more frightening than any opponent she had ever faced. The blonde drew in a long breath through her nose as Weiss' gaze remained fixed on her.
"I see the way you look at her… To be fair, though, I do think that anyone with eyes could see it, too." Weiss snickered, prompting Yang to give her a slight push with her shoulder.
The blonde shook her head a bit, "Yeah, yeah."
"I'd advise you to stop brushing it off, Yang." Weiss said.
Somewhere in her voice, Yang detected a hint of what seemed like genuine concern. She finally brought her gaze up to meet Weiss'. Icy blue eyes were riveted to hers and the blonde felt like her friend was staring directly into her soul. Yang cleared her throat a bit.
"It would just be problematic… We room together, we train together, we fight together… People on teams shouldn't date, Weiss. That'd be, like, a complete recipe for disaster. The last thing I want is to put any one of us under stress." Yang explained as she tore her eyes away from Weiss' and trained her attention toward the floor.
"Yang, the least you could do is discuss it with her. You'll never know what you're missing if you don't give it a shot." The white-haired girl attempted to encourage her.
"Exactly! I'll never know if I don't try. Never try, never fail, right?" Yang said as she got to her feet.
In a fraction of a second, Weiss' fingers were wrapped around Yang's wrist again. She yanked her back onto the couch and gave her a small swat on the arm. The brawler favored her arm away from her teammate and glared at her.
"This is so unlike you, Yang. You normally don't have any issue speaking your mind." Weiss observed, thinking for a moment, "You're scared that she doesn't feel the same, aren't you? You don't care that the two of you are on the same team! You just don't want her to turn you down!"
Yang turned her head in the other direction, "No. I really think that dating someone on your team is stupid. That would be like if you dated Ruby. Don't you know what a mess that would be?"
"Ruby and I would never—That's not what we're discussing!" Weiss stammered, her hands balling into fists.
"I'm serious! Think about it, Weiss. If you and—"
"You've cut me off enough! Now it's my turn!" The heiress announced, standing up and jabbing a finger at Yang, "You're being such a dolt! Stop being so proud and admit that you're afraid that Blake will turn you down! There's nothing wrong with admitting it."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore." The brawler grumbled as she got up and tried to walk away.
Weiss placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small shake, "Hello? Yang! Are you blind, or are you just an idiot? In case you haven't noticed—unlike the rest of us—I'm almost certain Blake's feelings are mutual! How can you be so… So… Dense?!"
Yang stopped, feeling as though maybe she should give some consideration to what Weiss had said. Was it true? Did Blake look at her the same way that she did? How come she hadn't noticed? If most of her attention was trained to Blake anyway, shouldn't she have been the first to see it? The blonde turned around and let out a sigh. Yang's shoulders slouched a bit as Weiss dropped her hands at her sides. It wasn't long before they returned to their usual spot, crossed in front of her.
"Why are you so afraid of talking to her, Yang? She's your best friend." Weiss reminded her, her voice now much calmer and collected than moments before.
"That's why. That's the problem, Weiss. Blake is my best friend. If I mess that up, then what happens? She'd never be able to look at me the same." Yang told her.
Weiss lifted a brow at her, a skeptical expression crossing her face, "Do you honestly think that's how Blake would react? You know her better than any of us, but even I know that isn't the type of person she is."
Yang opened her mouth to give her response, but Weiss beat her to the punch, "We can sit here and argue all day, but that isn't going to change anything. If you don't say something, she's going to get tired of waiting and find someone who won't sit on their hands."
As much as Yang hated to hear it, she needed to. It was the truth. Blake certainly wouldn't be the one to make the first move. If Yang wanted anything to happen, she was going to have to take the reigns. The brawler secretly hated the fact that Weiss was so aware of every aspect of the situation. It was kind of scary, but strangely comforting to know that she could be the voice of reason because of it. Yang gave a small nod.
"Okay… Just give me some time to think on it, alright?" She finally said.
Weiss turned her chin upward a bit, giving Yang a once-over, "Don't disappoint me. And more importantly, don't disappoint her."
