Blake complains of sore muscles. Yang offers to give her a massage.


I Need You to Knead Me

Blake leaned back in her chair and tilted her head from one side to another. No matter what she tried, the tightness in her neck refused to subside. It had been like this ever since her fight with that Torchwick guy. She reached up behind her neck with both hands and tried to work out the knots. They were twisted too tight for her make any progress on her own. Her hands dropped back down to her desk harder than she'd intended. An audible bang resounded through the room. Blake looked around to make sure she hadn't disturbed any of her team's studies.

Ruby was sitting at her desk with her back turned, intensely scribbling in a notebook. She didn't seem to notice the sound at all.

Wise was relined in her bed. Her nose pushed deep in the textbook for Professor Port's class. She gave Blake a quick glance, but went right back to reading.

When Blake turned to Yang, she found the other girl leaning back in her chair and looking right at her.

"Hey." Yang smiled and turned around all the way around to face her partner. Her hands hung languidly over the backrest of her chair. "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine." Blake didn't feel like socializing tonight, not with all the turmoil spinning around inside her head. And, if she was being completely honest with herself, the last person she wanted to deal with right now was Yang. She was just too...chipper. None of the horrible things happening in the world seemed to affect her, and while some would find that trait commendable, Blake found it to be disgraceful. Doing nothing about the problems you could see in the world was worse than being ignorant to them. Blake clenched her fists in rage.

"Really?" Yang tilted her head slightly to the side. "Cuz...you sure don't seem fine to me." Her words, as usual, were dripping with sass.

Blake rolled her eyes and turned her back to Yang. "What? Are you some kind of mind reader now?"

"Oh come on." Yang stood, her chair creaking from the quick movement, and walked over to Blake's desk. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Don't be like that…"

Blake tried to ignore Yang, but she was a force not easily disregarded. After a moment, she buckled under the weight of those purple eyes and met Yang's gaze.

"Don't forget, Blake - you made a promise to all of us." Yang extended her arms out to the whole of the dormroom. Rwby and Weiss both perked up and looked over at them. "You'd let us know if something was wrong. No matter how big or small."

"Are you really lying to us again already?" Weiss snapped her book shut and gave one hundred percent of her focus to Yang and Blake's conversation. "It hasn't even been a week."

"You can talk to us, Blake." Ruby stood, but stayed by her chair.

"Okay, okay!" Blake felt heat rising up into her cheeks. She grabbed her pencil, the closest thing with which she could fidget, and twirled it around her finger. It wasn't clear to her why her teammates got so overly concerned with her wellbeing all the time. It made her feel uncomfortable. Sure, they were a team, however, in the grand scheme of things, they hadn't really know each other for long. All this fretting over her seemed premature. But, setting the minds of her team at ease was the best way to get their attention off of her and onto other things. She slung her elbow over the back of her chair and looked toward Rwby and Weiss. "It's nothing, alright? Just some sore muscles. I think I might have pulled something in our fight with Torchwick."

Something warn constricted the back of her neck from behind. She yelped and jumped out of her chair.

"Wow, Blake. You really are tense." Yang pulled her hand back and laughed.

Blake grabbed her neck with both hands and took a couple of steps back. "Yang!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby. Sit back down." Yang extended her hand toward Blake's empty chair. "I can work out those knots for you."

"You know how to give massages?" Blake crossed her arms and eyed the chair warily.

"Puh-lease," Yang waved off the question, then pulled her hands into fists. "I can rip grimm apart with my bare hands. I think I can handle working out a few knots."

"Ooo!" Rwby jumped into the air and clapped. "Yang's massages are the best! I want one! I want one! Me, me, me!" She raised her hand and waved it back and forth to volunteer herself for the first massage.

"Alright, Ruby, you're next." Yang ruffled her sister's hair. "I'll get to you after I'm finished with Blake."

"Aw...okay…" Ruby's shoulders slumped and her lip protruded in a pout. She turned around and started to walk back toward her desk, but before she made it she squealed and changed course. Her target: Weiss. "Hey, Weiss! Wanna give me a massage?"

"What? Why? Yang just said you were next?" Weiss crossed her arms. She wasn't open to the idea in the slightest.

"But I can't wait!" Ruby grabbed Weiss' arm and got down on her knees to beg, nearly pulling Weiss off of her bed in the process.

Weiss shoved Ruby back with her foot and stabilized herself. "I have homework I need to finish, and I'm will to bet you still have a bunch of work to do still, too."

Ruby looked over at her desk from where she was sprawled out on the floor and grimaced. "I'm almost done."

"Almost isn't good enough, Ruby." Weiss shook her head and facepalmed. She opened the book on her lap and got back to work.

Ruby laid where she had fallen, unable to gain the willpower to stand.

Blake sat back down in her chair tentatively. She didn't exactly believe Ruby's stellar recommendation, and the thought of Yang ripping a grimm in half with the same hands that she was about to use to massage her sore muscles didn't give her any comfort to speak of at all. In fact, the thought was terrifying. Still, it was a very kind offer. And there was no way she was going to be able to get to these knots on her own. It was worth a shot. There was no way Yang could rip her in half...could she? Blake gulped.

Yang placed her hands on Blake's shoulders gently, but that didn't stop her faunus friend from tightening up immediately. "Relax." Yang giggled. "You're already tense enough as it is."

Blake took a few deep breaths and consciously dropped her shoulders into a more relaxed position.

"That's better." Yang smirked and turned her focus back to Blake, specifically, her shoulders. Everything was so stiff, it was a wonder she could even move her upper body. Yang brought both hands to Blake's left shoulder and really started to work her magic there. She pressed her thumbs deep into the muscles around the shoulder blade and found a knot. Her hands fell into a smooth pattern, kneading the wound up muscle, coaxing it to release all the locked up tension it was holding.

Blake inhaled sharply. It hurt, but it was a good kind of pain. The kind of pain that told her the massage was working. Yang's skills certainly were impressive. She took another deep breath and settled back into her chair.

Yang leaned over Blake's shoulder and turned her head so she could make slight eye contact. Their cheeks were practically touching. "Is that too much pressure?"

"No…" Blake blushed and cocked an eyebrow, surprised by the sincere concern in Yang's voice. It wasn't that she was surprised that Yang cared, it was they she usually showed that she cared with actions instead of words. "It's fine. Thank you."

"Then stop squirming so much!" Yang flicked Blake's bow. She stood back up and continued working away at the muscles.

Blake's ears twitched in response to the sudden stimulus. She reached up and covered her head with her hands. "Hey!"

"Sorry," Yang grinned mischievously. "I couldn't help it. You're ears are just too cute."

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Just shut up and keep massaging."

Yang snapped to attention and gave Blake a quick salute. "Yes, ma'am!"


Hi all! I hope you enjoyed my first chapter!

I also take suggestions, so if you have any ideas about what Team RWBY might have gotten up to just before bed, send me a PM. I'll credit you if I use your idea, of course :)