Blake woke up blearily to the sound of her phone going off, the text tone sounding off right next to her bed. She groggily rolled over to pick it up, blinking the last of her sleep away as she squinted at the message.

'Hello, Blake. You were hoping to meet up around noon, right? We never discussed location, so I thought maybe we could meet up at the sushi place…' Blake grinned lazily at the idea of being in a building with so much fish, before getting to the rest of the message. '…down by the Pine Diner. You know the one, I assume. Anyway, I'm looking forward to our outing. See you soon!'

Hmm, now that she mentioned it, she probably should start getting ready, she only had an hour or two….Blake hummed thoughtfully and checked the time.

"Fuck!" Twenty minutes?! "N-no way! I must still be sleeping!" She frantically ran about her room, even as she tried to convince herself she had more time. "No way in hell is it already 11:40. Yeah, it must just be a mix-up! That's all. I must've set my phone time wrong."

The black-haired girl hastily shoveled some cereal into her mouth, barely noticing the fake fruity flavor, and checked the time again. She had ten minutes, and she spent five fussing over her hair and ears. Ridiculous as it was, she spent more time on the latter, even though she wound up chickening out and covering them with the bow before she got onto her bike to leave. But it was only a 'for-now' thing, she justified.

She was going to tell her date the truth, and show her the proof, and damn it, she was going to look flawless when she did. The motorcycle helmet didn't really do much for that part, she would admit that much, but maybe the helmet hair would be charming?

Blake could picture it now, she'd pull up on her bike and her date would –

Nope, nope, noooope. She was not going down that road again. The faunus quickly shook her head to clear any thoughts of micro-managing the date aside, and hesitantly parked her bike nearby, pulling the chain out of a compartment under the seat and clipping it on. She could already see Weiss' stark white hair through one of the windows in the sushi place she'd mentioned – Smiling Bluefin. She liked it because it was named for their awesome tuna, but also because some of her friends worked there.

Evidently, Weiss could see her through the window too, because she came out of the restaurant. "Sorry I'm late," Blake said, after checking her watch and finding herself three minutes past 12:00. She finished locking her motorcycle in place and stood up to greet Weiss properly. "Had more traffic than I expected. Nice to see you again."

"You too." Weiss replied with a nod, though her eyes were more focused on the vehicle. "I didn't peg you as the motorcycle type." She commented, and while it seemed a bit admiring, the lack of any real tone made Blake anxious.

"Is…is that a problem?" She asked pensively, and thankfully Weiss shook her head. Hell, she even smiled a little. Blake totally had this first date in the bag.

"Heh, no, I was just a bit surprised is all. I've never ridden one, but I hear they're interesting. Anyway, we should probably go grab our seats before someone else does. Come on." Wordlessly, she followed the white haired girl into the sushi bar, taking a seat next to her at the counter and waiting idly for a waiter to come.

After a moment or two, she decided small talk was inevitable and decided to get a head start on it. "So, I know we've already covered the basics and all, but, just for a refresher, what kind of stuff do you think is fun on dates?"

Weiss shrugged, taking a small sip of her water as she thought about it. Blake noticed that she swirled the glass around while she thought, and filed the information for later. "I don't really know, actually. Most of my other dates I find…a bit lacking."

'Great, that's comforting…' Blake muttered internally, but nodded slightly in response, wanting Weiss to go on.

"I mean, it's not like they don't try, and most of them are fairly nice, but, I don't really arrange my own dates too often. It sometimes puts me in a bit of a sour mood." She admitted, sounding like she'd been thinking this for quite some time. Might even be putting it lightly. "So I never pay attention to what I like and don't like. If it's any useful information, you're the first girl I've gone on a date with."

"Huh, guess I'd better set the bar high then." Blake smiled. "It'd be a shame for you to give up on a whole gender just because I'm a lousy date planner." Smooth save there.

Weiss gave a short laugh. "Yeah, it would. So far I think this will go well though. Call it intuition."

'More like intimidation. I'd better not screw this up. First date in years and it's with this girl. Gods help me.'Blake sent up a silent prayer to whatever deities might exist, even if she didn't actually actively believe in any of them, and refrained from letting out a sigh of relief when their waiter finally showed up.

"Ayyyy, Blakester!" Hmm. Maybe she should be a little less relieved. An excited looking blonde was grinning at the two, hands placed flat on the counter as he leaned in, and tail waving around behind him. She almost wanted to laugh at his expression, but reminded herself she was in good company.

So she settled for rolling her eyes and stifling the laugh. "Hi, Sun."

He leaned against the counter in Blake's space, looking from her to Weiss. If he knew who the white haired girl was, he didn't show it. "So," He started casually, "You're the one taking my little baby Blake out on a date, huh? Gotta warn you, she's a lot less attractive when she's stuffing tuna down her face at maximum velocity. It's like watching a hose spray water, except backwards. It's kinda scary."

"Sun!" Blake was mortified. Her face had flushed just about as red as it could get, and considering how she was already on edge, it was definitely noticeable. Weiss had the good grace not to comment, but she did laugh again.

Blake shot her friend a death glare, and he shrugged. "Aaaaanyways, I'll make sure to check on you two more than everyone else, since you're basically the most interesting people around for now. I'm assuming Blake wants an order of negitoro, and you would like….?" Sun trailed off at the end, tail flicking to the side as he waited for an answer from Weiss.

She looked over the menu distractedly. "I'll just get what she's getting."

Sun gave the two a mock salute. "On it!" He turned around and shouted across the kitchen, hands cupped around his mouth, "Oi, Sage!"

A pause. "What?!"

"Two orders of the cat food!" Blake stiffened and gripped the table, but didn't say anything. Weiss would think it was an in-joke, probably.

"Oh, that! Yeah, I'll get on it, tell Blake I said hi!"

"She can hear you, dumba- ah, wait, I'm at work." He remembered abruptly, and turned back around to face the two girls sheepishly. "Hahah, anyway, I probably oughta be getting back to that. Don't let anyone else take you your food though!"

The blonde dashed off to the next few customers, leaving the girls to themselves. "So…you know him?"

The black-haired girl nodded. "Since I was a kid. He can be a bit hyper, but he's one of my best friends, and one of the best guys I know." She tipped her head to the side, and tacked on the next part as an afterthought. "Any first impressions?"

"Seems like a bit of a troublemaker," Weiss sniffed, and for a second Blake was caught between defending him and trying to smooth it over like she knew her other, more people-smart friends like Pyrrha or Ren might try to do, but allowed herself to relax a little as her date continued. "But I'll keep what you said in mind. He does kind of remind me of someone I know, though…..even if they're only barely alike." She mused.

Blake nodded, content with the answer, and took to taking sips of her drink while she stalled for a way to start up a new conversation. But apparently, Weiss beat her to the punch. "We didn't get to exchange much personal stuff last time we met, you know. Just talked about the art – a conversation I thoroughly enjoyed, don't worry – but I have gotten around to wondering what you're like outside of seducing young women at art fairs."

The taller girl blushed, setting her water down and clearing her throat. "Yeah, I suppose I could say the same about you. I don't mind a little information exchange."

"What's there to exchange about me?" Weiss wondered aloud, frowning slightly. She didn't seem mad, just confused. "My life is basically an open book. Literally, you could probably find a book with my every step since birth recorded in it. I don't get a lot of privacy." She mused, and Blake detected a hint of bitterness there.

So, trying to lighten the mood, she shrugged. "Doesn't mean I've read it. And besides, I'm sure they neglected to mention some of the important things…like that cute pout you did when you realized it wasn't going to be a one-way interrogation." She said smugly.

That got Weiss flustered. Blake noted the reaction and how she'd provoked it for later; hopefully she'd need it then. That is, if this date went well and if Weiss didn't mind the whole faunus thing and if Sun didn't do anything to butt in and if Weiss didn't end up being straight, after all and – whoa, okay, that was a few too many ifs. She sighed internally and resolved to cross those bridges when she got to them.

Deciding she'd left Weiss flustered long enough, she spoke up again. "I guess you can go first, since it was your idea though."

"Naturally." Weiss huffed, and Blake thought it was cute the way she tried to act like she hadn't been red as a beet not ten seconds ago. "Alright, then. First question – A backwards hose?"

Damn it, Sun. Now Blake had to make a hasty recovery. "W-well, I just really like sushi! And tuna! Mostly tuna, but, yeah." She coughed awkwardly into her elbow. "I still chew with my mouth closed and everything, Sun was just exaggerating. He does that, hahah. Exaggerate. About me. And food. Mostly me."

Great, now Weiss was looking at her weir- oh, she was laughing! So, was that a good thing or a bad thing? 'Just get on with your question so this can end, idiot.' Blake scolded herself. "So, my turn. Are you really in the habit of wearing a tiara out in the town?"

"Do you not like it?" Weiss shot back, though she looked a little anxious about that, raising a hand to fidget with the mentioned accessory.

"No, no, it's cute, I was just wondering why." 'It might come off as a little arrogant, that's all. Even if it kind of is cute.' Blake kept the last part to herself, and kept her eyes focused on the heiress, who looked around a little before seemingly relaxing and preparing to answer.

"It's a bit stupid, really," She admitted, "But I used to like dressing up a lot as a kid, and I got in the habit of wearing this dinky little thing –" Blake had to raise an eyebrow at the idea that Weiss would refer to a tiara that was quite obviously made out of real freaking silver as 'dinky', but didn't interrupt, "Out of the house with me and I just, uh, didn't get out of the habit of doing it. My older sister still compliments me on it, hence, I still wear it."

Sweet, a two-for one. Blake got to hear a childhood story and got to learn about Weiss' older sister. She silently prayed said older sister was nothing like Yang, because one time Blake went on a date with Ruby and Yang was relentless. Just thinking about it sent shivers up her spine, and it was Ruby that asked her to the dance. Had it been the other way around, Blake thought she very well might not have left that school dance alive. They weren't even together. Or, as Nora would say, together-together. She was just following her around because she didn't have the heart to send her off to the dance alone…with three other friends….actually, come to think of it, why the hell did she even go to that dance, Ruby would have been just fine! And it would've saved her an earful from Yang…oh, shit, Weiss was still talking. Pay attention, quick.

Having zoned out for a second, she almost missed Weiss' next question, but thankfully caught it in time so as not to have to get a repeat. That would probably be a turn off for Weiss. Not listening, that is. "So, my turn again. How did you meet Mr. Eavesdropper over there?" The white-haired girl motioned to Sun, who had quickly spun around from listening in on them two tables over and was wiping off an already cleaned counter, whistling an incredibly conspicuous tune. Damn it, Sun.

'Well, this might prove a good opening for telling her about the whole faunus thing, so I guess Sun was useful here after all. I hope she doesn't flip, though.' She thought dryly, then shook her head in preparations to respond.

"Like I said, we've been friends since we were really little. Our parents knew each other before they had us, so they arranged playdates and stuff for us while they went out for faunus rights rallies and stuff – before the two of us were old enough to really participate, anyways." She took a breath and tried her best to ignore the raised eyebrow she was getting, instead plowing through the story. Sun apparently knew what was coming, because he crept over to the counter behind Blake and gave her a curious look, glancing from Weiss to Blake quickly. So, apparently he did know who Weiss was. Who would've thought? Anyhow, she kept talking.

"We liked to keep each other's minds off what was happening at the sites with our parents, and later when we actually joined in, we liked to slink off to the side and get food when things started to get….unpleasant, y'know? But any other time, we were front-liners. Once some guy started getting a bit violent with me, and Sun made off with his backpack as a distraction while I grabbed my mom. We just started being really good friends since then, I guess."

To Weiss' credit, she stayed quiet during the story. She opened her mouth, and Blake prepared herself for questioning, but Sun managed to butt in at the exact right and wrong moment all at once. "Hey, give me some credit here! 'we've been friends since then I guess,' really Blake? I thought we were pals! You stink." To prove it he stuck his tongue out at her, "I'm going to have to go find Yang and tell on you. She'll get a kick out of it, I bet." She stifled a laugh and shoved him away.

"Knock it off Sun, she was going to say something." Blake gestured to Weiss and managed to regain her composure, and Sun nodded, then carefully stepped off. She watched him. "Oh, so now he realizes what private conversations are." She muttered, just loud enough for Weiss to hear and just casually enough for her to know it was a joke.

Blake returned her full attention to her date. "Sorry about that, go on with what you were about to say."

"You do know who I am, right?" The actual question was obvious – why would someone in the habit of going to rights protests go on a date with her? A question Blake had asked herself a few times, honestly.

She answered honestly though. She tried not to lie. Except for every day with her bow, but it didn't count as lying, just, misleading. She encouraged people to make assumptions and she didn't bother to correct them, that was all. Definitely not lying. Just, partial truth telling?

Who cares, she was telling the truth with words and that was the big part of honesty so anyone who disagreed could shove it.

"Well, actually, I didn't. I didn't recognize you or your name until I got home that night and almost passed out on my bed. I was surprised, honestly, and yes, I guess if I had known, our conversation might have turned out a little differently….frankly, I probably would have tried to avoid you, as lame as that sounds. But I think I'm pretty lucky things turned out the way they did. Unless, you know, you've got, something to add…" She trailed off with a nervous laugh. "Besides, taking things at face value isn't the best tactic when you're trying to secure a dinner date with someone."

This is it. The big moment. The one that probably makes or breaks the date. Just gotta get it over with, it's like ripping off a bandaid, it's no big deal, seriously she shouldn't even hesitate, just say it and get it out of the way so that later – christ, she needed to stop watching those terrible rom-coms with Pyrrha and her boyfriend. All she had to do was be rational about it, no beating around the bush.

"Speaking of which, I might have forgotten to let something slip. It didn't occur to me at the time because I was all excited, but it's probably better to get this out of the way here. Our food should be just about ready by now, so if this does affect the date, I'll be more than happy to just grab a to-go box and let you finish your meal here in peace." Weiss was giving her a strange look, so Blake just went for the straightforward approach and took the bow off.

It would be okay if she got a few stares, as long as one of the people ogling her was the girl she was trying to date. She didn't say anything, and for a second considered avoiding eye contact, but then she cleared her mind of the thought. No date was worth feeling ashamed, and she wouldn't start now. Blake kept a pretty straight face and tried to face Weiss head on.

The other girl seemed to be evaluating her for a moment. Her expression was sharper than it had been earlier, but there were hints of…what? Was she impressed with the honesty, or could she just not look even a fraction more critical and Blake was just imagining the slight softness in the way her eyebrows furrowed?

Was she really that worked up, so as to imagine things? She gave the slightest of smiles, a nervous, but friendly invitation for actual response.

"Took you long enough." Weiss said, and Blake almost did a double-take. But then she reminded herself to keep her cool in front of the date, and tipped her head to the side curiously, hoping for Weiss to elaborate. Which she did, although a little pensively. "My father goes through my phone after I go out, to keep tabs on me. He found your number and investigated."

"That's…nice." Definitely not a little controlling or anything. But she didn't want to offend Weiss by saying that last bit, not when it looked like the date was going to continue after all. Thankfully, the white haired girl scoffed and shook her head.

"I can think of a few other words for it. Anyways, he looked you up in the yellowpages –" Holy shit, people actually still used those? Blake made a mental note to request to be taken out of the phone books as soon as she got home, "And told me not to go on the date."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "But you came anyways."

"Yeah, I guess I did." While they were focusing on each other, Blake heard Sun carefully deposit their food in front of them and then take off for the back room. Probably to gossip with Sage and Scarlet, she mused dryly.

Weiss cleared her throat and turned to face the food, checking her phone before flagging down another waiter and quietly requesting a to-go box. "It seems I have an appointment soon, so I'm going to have to cut this date short." She said apologetically, shooting Blake a weak smile. "How about next time we meet at your place, okay?"

"S-sure." She agreed numbly. Weiss stood up and moved to walk out of the restaurant, stopping at the door to give her a quick wave.

After that, Blake mostly just sat there for a while.

"If you keep your mouth open like that, you'll catch flies, you know." Aaand there was Sun. He moved around the bar counter and took a seat next to Blake, who had moved on to scowling at him. "What happened?"

"What happened was, I landed another date." She informed him smugly. Really, it was more like Weiss told her they were going to have a second date and left, but still, technically speaking part of the credit could go to Blake for being dateable. At least, she could pretend it did.

"Nice! High five!" A pause. "Okay, no high five, that's cool, cool." Sun rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, embarrassed at having been left hanging, and made a swift change of topic. "You should eat your sushi before I decide to do it for you."

Blake jolted. "No way!" She placed her hands protectively over the dish, and he laughed.

"Like I thought. Anyway, some of us have to work right now," He said dismissively when he saw the look Scarlet was giving him from one of the tables nearby, "So I'm gonna get back to it. But you're texting me about your next date! Don't think I won't go to your apartment if you don't spill the beans!"

She rolled her eyes, and promptly set about devouring her sushi – slowly, for once, so that Sun wouldn't have the satisfaction of teasing her about it in front of her dates ever again. But then, if the second date was going to be at her apartment, that wouldn't be a problem. Blake smiled.

The second date, she decided, would probably be a piece of cake.


AN: That went surprisingly well, didn't it? Also, have you SEEN the yellowpages website? Like seriously, I didn't know they had one, but they make it waaaaaay too easy to find personal info. If I were Blake, I'd want my name out of those listings too.

Anyway, moving on from that, my weak resolve couldn't stop me from posting this chapter when I had it all nice and written already, so it may be a longer wait than two days for chapter three since that isn't complete, but, hopefully it will still be quick. Also, to answer anon Amatou's question, Blake is characterized like that because she's in her best friend's apartment, and it's probably a pretty familiar environment for her. People get goofy with their friends when they're comfortable, right? Also it's a humor story, and Blake has a tendency to be stressed or upset a lot in canon, but when she isn't she's shown to have a pretty good sense of humor (otherwise she wouldn't deign to get involved in that ludicrous food fight, right?). So yeah, there's my little character ramble, sorry for being lame.

As always, I love feedback, so drop a review if you've got questions, comments, people you want me to look up on the yellowpages - just kidding - and so on. Thanks for reading!