Blake sighed as she put the last box down onto the floor. Standing up, she looked around the room, rubbing her arms as she held herself. Well it was official now. She was homeless.

Despite her best efforts and even sending copies of the eviction note to her parents to see if there was anything she hasn't thought of, but the eviction note had been binding. She'd been lucky that she has manage to push it back a little but couldn't fight it beyond that. There hadn't even been time for Blake to hold out her pride and she'd had to ask Ruby for help pretty much immediately.

"Uhh, where do you want this?" Jaune asked, walking in with her desk chair, the only furniture she owned, rolling across the floor. "I think Ruby's getting the spare mattress from the cupboard."

A slight thud from the hallway confirmed this assessment. Blake forced a smile hoping just how humiliating this was for her wasn't showing on her face. Jaune and Ruby were doing her a huge favour she didn't want to be ungrateful. This just really sucked.

"Anywhere is fine," she said. "And thanks for this Jaune. I hate I'm inconveniencing you like this. I swear I'll be out as soon as a I can. I've already got some viewings organised."

"Oh, Uhh thanks. But you can stay as long as you need. We don't really use this room anymore anyway."

"Yeah," Ruby said, struggling to drag a mattress and still somehow being enthusiastic. "It was Jaunes old room and we were going to try and make it a gym. Turns out gym stuffs really expensive... And we're lazy."

Blake smiled and stood to help Ruby get the mattress. Between the three of them they were able to get it into the room with only a bit of a struggle. Most of the problem was Blake's suitcases and boxes. She didn't have all that much really, but it was spread out and the room wasn't huge. Just that thought made her feel ungrateful.

"I really do appreciate this," she said. "I'll try not to intrude more than I have. And whatever you need for rent I'm good for. Just let me know."

The small glance they sent each other let her know she hadn't sounded nearly as casual as she had wanted to. The pit of anxiety in her stomach started to grow bigger and even Ruby's easy smile couldn't do much to abate it

"It's really fine Blake. It's not like we were going to leave you with nowhere to live... But if you really want to help out, you can grab dinner tonight. We were thinking pizza."

"We were?"

"I was thinking pizza."

Blake smiled and nodded.

"That I can handle."

But even the more stable income she had now was thanks to Ruby.


Yang was in a good mood. Their last few shoots had been great, she had nailed her most recent interview (okay it was an article but still nailed it) and they had just wrapped shooting for today and it had been awesome, if she did say so herself.

Not that, if she was being honest, Yang didn't think she worked all that hard. Ruby organised the behind the scenes crew and they had to get they're before her, leave after and set up all the games as they went on. It was getting easier for them now that it wasn't just Ruby, Jaune and Sun like the first episode had been but still it seemed like a lot of work, even if Ruby loved it.

Qrow and Raven worked hard as well. Raven might be a pain in the ass, but they did a lot to manage and organise the show. Getting it promoted, organising contestants and generally making sure the lights stayed on and the gears turned.

Yang just showed up, got hair and makeup and just watched other people play wacky games while she shouted encouragement, explained rules and kept score. It was fun but it wasn't exactly rocket science. Even the contestants, had to do more than her running around to try and avoid the shows gunge tank.

'What you deserve!' was a simple show really and hadn't changed much in format since when her parents had hosted. The "wronged" contestants would compete in 3 rounds of games trying to get a higher score than the other, while the adult would try to hinder them, though this tended to be an excuse to make them look a bit silly. Whichever contestant had the most points after three rounds got to take their adult to the gunge vat. Yang would then ask them three questions to avoid the dunking, which of course was comedically impossible and then Yang would tell the adult "It's time you got, what you deserve" and they were dunked.

Easy as that.

Yang did admire the contestants. They agreed to come on a show that they knew would likely end in embarrassment and loss of dignity even if they didn't lose. They didn't really get much out of it besides entertaining the kid who had brought them on but so far Yang hadn't met one contestant who had been a bad sport about the thing. Few of them actually enjoyed the gunging obviously but Yang couldn't blame them for that.

It was probably hypocritical how much Yang hoped she never had to go near the stuff herself but just the thought of it made her squeamish. She took far too much pride in her hair for that. Ruby could tell her the gunge was fine all she liked, that stuff looked gross. She accepted she was a little vain in that regard but hell, she had been a model, hasn't she?

Letting out a laugh at that thought, Yang shook her head at herself and continued on her post filming ritual of asking the crew if she needed help even though she knew she wasn't meant to. Ever since Raven had found her helping moving crates and yelled that if Yang even just sprained her ankle it would delay all their shoots, none of them ever let her help anymore. She supposed she shouldn't blame them but it kinda made her feel left out sometimes and she was always trying to make the effort to not become too separated from the crew.

As predicted, she was refused and after joining in on giving Neptune some good-natured ribbing for his most recent failed escapades into dating, she left to her green room. Most of the time, Yang left her phone and something to change into in the changing room since although she herself wasn't exerting herself, the studio lights were still a blazing heat after a long day.

To her surprise, though a pleasant one, Yang found Blake was still here. Normally she would have been gone by now, not really needed at the end of the shooting and Yang didn't want her to waste her time doing nothing just to keep Raven happy.

Sitting on the couch, Blake looked up as Yang and gave her a nod of greeting. As usual she was on her laptop, likely writing for the day. Whatever writers block she has mentioned in the interview seemed to have been soundly defeated and when she wasn't working, Yang could find Blake in the green room typing away. Sometimes she came out and say in their audience, but the filming was loud and distracting at the best of times so Yang didn't mind her working through here even if she preferred her company.

"Hey Blake," she said. "How's it going?"

"Fine," she said slightly distracted by her laptop. "How's the episode going?"

"Good. I think blue team will take it." She sighed dramatically. "Poor baby sitter."

Blake smiled at the joke, before her head cocked slightly to the side as though she was trying to puzzle something out. Yang tried not to grin too much at that but since she had noticed the common it had made her laugh.

"When are we filming next," Blake asked.

"Day after tomorrow. Probably won't be as long as today but we need to finish up this episode and this is as late as we're allowed to film with contestants. Speaking of late nights, what are you still doing here?"

To Yang's surprise, Blake went a little pink and looked away.

"Ruby and Jaune are giving me a lift," she said before sighing and explaining. "I've been... staying with them... since I got evicted."

"You got evicted?" Even Yang flinched at the words. "Oh, Uhh sorry, I've just never met anyone who actually got evicted before."

"Well I guess I'm talented like that," Blake said dryly. "It wasn't even for a good reason. No wild parties or secret crime dens. Just that I didn't have a good lease and they wanted to redecorate and up the price."

"Man, that sucks. Listen if you need time during the day to sort stuff out, just take it. I know you have to be fast in a city like this."

"Thanks, but I won't let it affect my work," Blake said. "I've already got a few apartments lined up and since we aren't shooting tomorrow, I can get head out to see them."

"Well I hope it works out but don't just take something because it's there. I know Ruby and Jaunes a good guy. They'll let you stay as long as you need."

"The words has meant to reassure Blake but if anything, it made her look more uncomfortable. She looked away Yang had to marvel a little. Ruby had warned her before they met that Blake was independent, almost to a fault but still.

Yang could understand to a little, no one wanted to feel like a charity case. It reminded her of Weiss just after they met. Determined to prove they could survive on their own. Though that was probably unfair to Blake who likely could survive on her own. Weiss had burnt soup three times b she finally accepted Yang's offer of cooking lessons.

So, knowing that Blake needed to feel independent sometimes, Yang did the only thing she could think of. She offered to help her.

"Well Ruby and Jaune are probably going to be another hour or something, so if you have keys, I can give you a ride if you want."

"Oh no it's fine, I can wait. I wouldn't want to trouble you."

Yang waved her away with a smile.

"Nah don't worry about it. Besides you can let me know what promotional stuff we got coming up."

"I suppose that works.

Blake began to shut down her laptop and pack up her things while Yang jumped into her bathroom to change into something less sweaty and more comfortable. Coming out a few minutes later, she found Blake tidying up the room, collecting the small piles of rubbish into the bin to take with them.

Embarrassed about the state of her green room, which is she knew from experience was mostly her fault. Despite Blake spending more time than her here, Yang still felt like she was the one trashing the place just on her breaks.

With the two of them, the room was quickly put too rights with Yang dumping her used clothes in the laundry basket for costumes department to sort later. That was another thing she didn't like doing but had lost the fight on. Her outfit wasn't a costume, it was just her own clothes and it just didn't feel right that someone else had to do her laundry. It didn't help that it meant half of Yang's wardrobe was kept in the studio so they could make sure she didn't wear the same thing on two shows.

Once again though, Raven had her way and there wasn't much she could do and so leaving the place tidy, the two women left the greenroom, sticking their head in Qrows office to say good night (Raven was out) and waving to the crew as they left to the parking lot.

"This is your car," Blake asked with an amused smile as they approached. "It's very... bright."

Yang laughed, as she ran her hand through her hair sheepishly. She did actually really like her car, but bright yellow wasn't exactly low profile. The joke had been funnier when it had just been family...

"Oh uh... Yeah." She grinned. "I used to ride a bike but with the show apparently it skyrockets our insurance, so I had to give it up. I still have it but don't get to ride her- it anymore." She coughed to cover her blush as she saw Blake's mouth twitch. "Anyway, I was mad at Raven for making me do it so when I got my car, I decided to make it as obnoxious as possible to annoy. Raven hates riding in it."

"I can imagine," Blake said with a smile. "It doesn't really seem her style."

Yang snorted.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. Don't be fooled by her fancy suits now. Qrows shown me pictures from when they were younger, and she was a total goth. I think she was even in a band at some point. It was called Nevermore."

"Oh no."

Blake cringed as Yang just laughed.

"I know right? If you ever find yourself cornered by her just imagine her in a punk band. I find it helps."

"Probably not a smart thing to do to my boss," Blake pointed out as she got in the passenger's seat while Yang jogged round to the drivers. Closing the door, she put her hand on her chest in mock outrage.

"Hey, I'm meant to be your boss."

"Maybe," Blake said with a smirk. "But you're the one driving me around."

Yang just laughed.


"Okay so how are we looking for PR stuff then," Yang said once they were on the road. "Anything I need to prepare for?"

"No most should be fine... I think." Blake winced. "Sorry but I haven't really done this before. So far no one has said anything extra and I didn't think to ask."

Yang just shrugged, noticing the question had thrown Blake slightly.

"Don't worry about it. If they didn't mention it, I doubt it will come up. Worst case I can just talk about crap for a bit. I'm good at that."

From the corner of her eye, Yang saw Blake relax slightly in the seat, though not completely. Blake leaned forward to her bag, pulling out her phone from the front pocket. She tapped through it quickly as Yang drove, trying to get through the emails detailing Yang's next appointments. Then she gave a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh."

"What is it?"

"One of the guests for the Valkyrie Podcast just cancelled and they want to know if you're available."

Yang almost swerved off the road, honked her horn and slammed the breaks all in one go. Blake let out a yelp and Yang quickly recovered it. Luckily the road was quiet, and she doubted anyone noticed outside the car but still she internally cursed her stupidity and forced herself to calm down a little before answering Blake.

"You got me on Nora's Valkyrie's show!" Okay mostly calm. "I listen to that show all the time "

"You do?" Blake said, her cheeks still a little flushed. "I've never seen it, but it was on the list Raven told me to try. She said it wasn't likely, but I figured it was worth trying."

"For once that wasn't just Aunt Raven being cynical. Nora's shows being going for a few years now and she was fairly big before that. She gets a lot of big names on there. Hell, even Weiss had to wait two months to get on." Yang squeezed the wheel with glee. "When is it? Blake cancel all my appointments."

Blake smiled and then furrowed her brow as she began to read the email.

"Its... Oh uh. Tomorrow. I guess their guest really must have been a last minute no show."

"Lucky for us." Yang squealed, slapping the wheel a little. "You've got to come with me. I've been to her studio once with my friend and it's awesome. Wait you're my assistant." Yang grinned. "Youve got to come with my right?"

"That's what Raven said..."

Blake seemed quiet and it took Yang a moment to realise why. If she hadn't been driving, she would have face palmed.

"Oh, right you're flat viewing." She grinned, hiding her disappointed. "Oh well. You can come to the next interview."

"I can skip it," Blake said quickly. "They might let me rearrange."

"And by the time you do, someone will have taken it. Seriously Blake it's not a big deal. Go see the flat."

"I said it wouldn't affect my job," Blake said stubbornly. "I should go."

"Yeah but-" Yang stopped, suddenly being reminded of Weiss again. How come Yang didn't know anyone in her life who wasn't ridiculously stubborn. "Okay whereabouts is the place?"

Blake frowned and went back to her emails. After a few minutes, she found it and told Yang who tried to do some mental calculations based on her memory of where Nora's studio was. It didn't seem that far.

"You know, we might be able to do both. You can come with me to the interview in the morning then we can head to your flat after? Does that work?"

"I-" Blake paused. "Yes, thank you..."

"Perfect I'll come get you in the morning." Yang sighed turning her focus back to the road. "And now we need for turn around because I just drove us to my home, not Ruby's."

Blake blinked and Yang was glad she hadn't noticed either.


Nora Valkyrie should by no logical account, be as successful as she was. What had started as her in her pyjamas with just her then boyfriend (now husband) had developed into a studio run production with guests ranging from Weiss Schnee to Coco Adel. It made no sense and even the woman herself couldn't really explain it, not that she really wanted to.

It had been lightning in a bottle with many people try and failing to replicate her success. Mostly Yang believed it was the genuineness of Nora that people were drawn too. People could try to be wacky, funny, enthusiastic or as fun loving as she was, but it was the fact that it wasn't an act with Nora that made her electric.

Or at least, Yang hoped so and as she nervously sat in her green room with Blake, she desperately hoped none of those illusions of a woman she admired would be shattered today. It wouldn't be the first celebrity she met who turned out to be an asshole. That was the problem with presenters and actors. They knew how to act.

Still, Yang was excited. It actually wasn't the first time that Yang had been here. Weiss had brought her along when she had been on invited on the show, after she had first made it big but although everyone had been nice to her, she has mostly been ignored in favour of her more famous roommate.

Now though, not only was she going to meet the Nora, she was the one that would be interviewed. It still felt surreal to her at times. She was comfortable doing interviews but still wasn't really used to it. Still if it got her on one of her favourite shows, she could fake it till she made it.

Sitting in the green room with Blake, which was way nicer than her usual green room, Yang was getting restless with excitement. She had let Qrow and Ruby know about this interview last night before receiving a call from Raven, annoyed Yang hadn't called her and then prepping her with the usual routine.

While admittedly helpful, it did mean she had very little to occupy her time while she waited and all she really wanted to do was talk. But she also knew Blake was busy with work and trying to organise the flat viewing for later so didn't want to disturb her. So, she was rather surprised but pleased when Blake engaged her.

"You don't have to be nervous you know."

"What makes you think I'm nervous."

Blake smiled.

"The fact you've been organising the skittles by colour for the last five minutes."

Yang paused, her finger still on a red skittle she had been sliding over to a small pile.

"Well maybe I'm a little nervous," Yang admitted with a smile. "My usual interviews aren't usually this mainstream. The shows doing well but it's still fairly new. This is the biggest show I've been on so far."

"Hmm, no offense but I did think it was strange for this big a studio to invite on a fairly new gameshow host."

Yang grinned.

"Normally you'd probably be right, but Nora is a bit eccentric. She invites people on that she's interested on. One time she went straight from talking to a pop star to talking to a sloth keeper, who had one of her sloths with her." Yang laughed as she remembered Weiss being mildly terrified of the small slow-moving mammals. "Yeah she's not your usual host. You should give her a listen when you have time. I'd recommend the episode where she interviews the dazzling talented host of hit new show, 'What you deserve!'"

Blake laughed.

"I'll be sure to do that."

"Actually, you would be better borrowed to borrow my membership if you want, so you can watch the video version. They do games with the guests a lot as well and the video adds a lot." Yang paused. " Think they'll want me to play any of them."

"Probably not," Blake said. "Sorry but I imagine they would need more notice to get it set up."

"Oh, you're probably right... Damn."

They lapsed into a small comfortable silence, but it wasn't long before Yang wanted to start up the conversation again. Before she could though, there was a knock at the door. Yang stood up to let them in but Blake, ever eager to be a good assistant, beat her to it. Amused, Yang watched Blake open the door only for her jaw to drop in awe as Nora Valkyrie herself stood there.

"Heyoo, mind if I join you for a bit."

Blake blinked back her surprise but recovered quickly, not really being familiar enough with Nora to be star struck. Yang however... not so much and she was just grateful Blake was there to let her in while Yang just stared and forgot how basic human interactions work.

Nora was nice enough to not comment on this, thanking Blake and making Yang feel bad as she realised Nora wasn't alone, she just hasn't noticed her husband walk in with her. Lie Ren usually stayed off the show nowadays, but Yang was an avid enough watcher to recognise him. He popped up every now and then, mostly as a straight man to Nora's zaniness but mostly kept behind the camera nowadays. Yang had always imagined him like Raven if Raven wasn't a total buzzkill.

"Uhh yeah please come in," Yang said about a minute too late. "Umm please sit down."

"Thanks," Nora said with a grin, taking a seat on the seat nearby. "Sorry for getting you in last minute like this. Hope it wasn't too much of a hassle."

"Are you kidding I love your show. I would have cancelled my wedding to get on."

"Oh, we never ask you to do that." Nora shrugged. "We'd just film a segment there or something."

"She's not kidding," Ren said. "You can find our entire wedding online."

Yang knew that. she had watched the live stream.

"That was a joint decision," Nora protested. "Seriously you get away with way too much because people think you're the normal one." She shook her head then paused as she looked at Yang. "I'm sorry this might be a weird question, but have we met before. Like, I know you're on TV, but I feel like that's not it..."

Yang blinked, marvelling that Nora remembered meeting her. It had only been for less than a minute and

"Umm yeah actually," Yang said. "My friend came on your show and brought me along since I was a big fan and really wanted to come with her..."

She blushed realising what a fan girl she no doubt sounded like. She should at least try and keep some semblance of professional, but she was frankly failing miserably. Once again though Nora didn't comment, her face scrunched up like she as trying to remember where she had seen Yang before. Off to the side, she could see Blake trying to suppress a smirk at Yang's gushing.

"Ohh I know," Nora said with a snap of her fingers. " I remember now. You were with Weiss Schnee, weren't you?"

Yang's smile got bigger, her nagging doubt of Nora's character fading. Any fake or act likely wouldn't remember a guest from more than two years ago. But before she could say anything to confirm it to Nora, Yang heard a gasp from Blake.

"You know Weiss Schnee?"

Startled Yang, Nora and Ren all turned to Blake who blushed deeply at her shocked outburst. Trying to resist a laugh, Yang coughed to cover and awkwardly ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh yeah, umm I was sorta her roommate for a while."

"You were roommates with Weiss Schnee?"

"I'm sure I've mentioned this, "Yang lied.

"You mentioned a 'Weiss' you didn't say it was the Weiss Schnee."

Her tone was incredulous, though Yang couldn't actually tell if Blake was all that big a fan of Weiss or just intimidated by her fame level. It was kinda why Yang didn't often mention it to people, though the main one was because Weiss had asked her not. Something about Yang being bothered constantly by paparazzi if they realised how strong a connection they had.

"Well this was before she got famous," Yang explained then paused. "Well actually it was after her family company had gone under and her dad for arrested for all the shady stuff but before she made it big. Like there was a really low point for her and that's where I was."

Only Nora laughed at the joke and Blake seemed to remember why they were all there and promptly apologized to both Yang and Nora for interrupting. Both women said it wasn't necessary.

"I remember the Weiss show," Nora said fondly. "Do you know she has the record score with Magnhild?"

Yang frowned. Maginhild was a game that Nora played with all the guests. A classic bar feat of strength hammer machine decked out with as much pink and lights as Nora had been able to manage. Everyone's score was put on a chart and they got a signed certificate if they beat Nora's surprisingly high score. It was not a game that Yang remembered Weiss doing well in.

"Yup," Nora continued with a grin. "Weiss has the lowest score of anyone to play. Seriously I think someone once dropped the hammer and got a higher score than Weiss did."

The two-woman laughed even as Ren gave a shake of his head though he did have a wry smile on his face.

"Anyway," Nora said once they had recovered. "We just wanted to come by to talk to you about the show and what we'll be talking about."

"Normally we try to arrange this all ahead of time," Ren added. "But since we're arranged your visit last minute, I thought it would be simpler to just let you two talk it out."

"That's why he gets paid the big bucks," Nora laughed. "And besides I prefer not to have the first conversation I have with someone recorded if at all possible."

"Sure, sounds good."

"Great. After were done with that we can do the social media blast if you're up for it. It's a faff I know but you know how it is."

Yang didn't know. Most of the promotion she did had been for smaller shows and magazines. Connections Raven and Qrow still had and while good buzz they weren't the most on the pulse productions all the time. She had only been asked to plug the interviews on her accounts a handful of time and certainty never on the level of a blast.

"Anyway," Nora half sang. "I was thinking of just starting with a brief rundown of your show to get people who might not know up to speed. I mean they should know since your show is awesome and all but can't hurt. After that we can talk more about you."

"You like my show," Yang asked before she could stop herself. "Really?"

"Yeah it's great. I would have given anything to be on the show when I was a kid."

"You can still come on if you want to. We'd love to do a celebrity special."

Nora paused as she seemed to genuinely consider it a minute before giving a slightly nervous laugh and a shake of her head.

"You know it doesn't quite have the same appeal when you're the stooge getting gunge."

"Are you sure?" Yang teased. "We could make the gunge pink if that helps?"

"Uhh..."

"I'm sure we can arrange something," Ren said with a smile. "My wife does make a good stooge."

Nora rounded on him and Yang laughed.

"Okay firstly, I make a great stooge and secondly, don't you even think about its buster. Seriously we aren't having another sky diving fiasco." With another shake of her head, she turned back to Yang, her expression turning more sombre. "In all seriousness there was something else we wanted to check with you before going live."

"What's that?"

""Well we know the current iteration of your show is a reboot of your parents show but we want to make sure you're comfortable talking about that or if you would rather skip over it."

That took Yang by surprise, the question one that had never been asked of her. Not everyone wanted to talk about her parents show but most did. It made sense Yang's reboot was a spiritual successful other parent and Qrow thought was part of the reason it had done well. People's Yang age could watch it and not think it was something calculated and package for them. Yang gave the show a family touch.

But it was a family that wasn't whole anymore. Her mom had died a long time ago now and while Yang didn't think she would ever say she was over it, she had accepted it. They all had. The sisters taking up the reigns of the show while her dad worked with charities for the illness that had taken Summer from them.

And so inevitably when the subject of her parents came up, they always wanted to talk about her mom. At this point she had set answers and beats to get through the question quickly. The fact Nora was asking ahead of time how she wanted to approach it was refreshing. Yang admired how considerate Nora was about it, especially when Yang was the one getting way more out of it than Nora must be.

It was because of that Yang took a few moments to actually think about her answer before speaking. Any other show and Yang might have brushed the question aside, but she felt like Nora, even in just brief span of this conversation would prefer an honest answer.

"I'm happy to talk about my parents show," she said. "But I'd rather not talk too much about my mom. My dad does some charity stuff to do with, so I'd like to talk about that, if that's alright with you that is?"

Nora nodded and Yang felt herself relax.

"Yeah we're fine with good causes. Anything else you want us to do?"

For a moment, Yang paused to think and then she smiled.


Blake watched from the side lines as Yang slammed the hammer down onto the target. A small puck with an exaggerated Chibi grin of Nora's face shot into the air. As it flew up the track, lights lit up behind her, sparks flew out and ringing noises rang out while Nora cheered next to Yang.

Despite the ludicrousness of the entire affair, Blake couldn't help but smile at the grin on Yang's face. The interview itself had gone pretty much perfectly and beyond a small joke about the planned guest cancelling, if Blake hadn't known she wouldn't have known that this had all been organised in less than a day.

What effect this would have on Yang's show, Blake didn't know but if Nora's audience was as big as Yang claimed, then it had to be good. Raven had even messaged her to check how Yang was doing. To get Raven interested meant it had to be a big deal.

Plus, Yang looked like she was having fun and that made her smile. She had gotten to meet someone she greatly admired and while Nora was definitely more energetic and wackier on air, she was still clearly the same woman they had talked to before the show. It was a character but no different from how Yang was on air. It was who they were, just a performing one.

With her eyes fixated on Yang still holding the oversized hammer in her toned arms, Blake didn't notice Ren walk up to her until he was right beside her. He didn't say anything though, just standing beside her until she became aware of him before speaking.

"Enjoying the show?"

"Yes, it's very..."

She struggled to find the words but before she could feel like she was screwing this up for Yang, Ren chuckled. Normally she would have found it condescending but somehow Ren made it seem friendly.

"I've found 'very' is a good way of describing it," he said. "We don't do anything as a half measure really."

"That must be hard."

"Sometimes but we prefer it. We work eighty hours, so we don't have to work forty."

Blake smiled at that. It was a philosophy she had often been around. Ruby often worked late and back when they were at college together, three in the morning coffee runs weren't uncommon. From what Blake had seen on the set, most of the crew had adopted her view point. Even Qrow and Raven often left work late.

"Yang mentioned you're a writer," Ren said. "You must have to work a lot as well to juggle working in this job and on your book."

"Oh, she mentioned that," Blake said with a blush. "It used to be harder. I got lucky I got this job. My best friend is Yang's sister."

"Opportunities mean nothing if we don't take them," Ren said. "You shouldn't sell yourself short."

"You can say that after I get something published."

"Oh, you'd be talking to Nora in that case. It would be your turn to swing the hammer."

There was a thought. Blake couldn't imagine herself talking to Nora with all the cameras focusing on her as she answered questions. Yang did it so well while Blake could only imagine herself responding in one-word answers.

"I guess I've never really thought about it that far. I don't know how good I would be for your show."

Ren just shrugged and off to the side Blake saw that Yang was putting her name up on Nora's leader board. Blake had thought her hit had been impressive and although she was on the top third, it seemed she was still below Nora. The hosts name stood out with a pink and green flashing neon bulb highlighting it as the target to aim for. Yang seemed not to mind, making a promise that next time she was on she would beat it.

"Our show just likes intriguing people with stories to tell," Ren continued. "If you have that, you'd be welcome. When you get published, I hope you would consider coming on."

"I will," Blake said, before clearing her throat as she changed the subject. "So, I'll send you the clips you need from 'What you Deserve,' tomorrow. Is there anything else you'll need from us?"

"Any selection will do. I'm sure Nora will enjoy going through it all." He smiled at her. "It was nice to meet you Blake. I hope you find your success soon."


"Well this place is... nice," Yang said, as she walked carefully around the apartment. "Once you furnish it maybe..."

Blake shot her a look, and Yang shut up as the retailer glared at her. In her defence, the place was a dump and she didn't know why the retail agent would be offended by that. The wall paper was peeling, the floor creaky and it had taken the retailer, two attempts to open the slightly jammed door.

The neighbourhood hadn't been great either and Yang felt really out of place. Yang didn't really think of herself as a celebrity by any stretch but the last few months since the show had started airing, she had been recognised fairly frequently. Even before that she liked to think she was friendly but walking up the stairs with Blake, she had kept her head down and regretted wearing something fairly nice in preparation for meeting Nora.

The retailer coughed after giving Yang another pointed look and muttering something about millennials. She said she'd wait outside for them when they were done, and Yang prayed it wouldn't be too long and couldn't see why it would be. Seriously, on top of everything else the place wasn't even that cheap. It couldn't take long for Blake to rule the place out.

"At least it's close to work," Blake offered lamely and Yang stared at her incredulously. "Look I don't have a lot of options."

"Yes, you do. Just stay with Ruby and Jaune for a bit longer."

"You know I don't want to impose on them more than I have to."

"Blake, I think this qualifies as needing to."

"This place isn't that bad."

Outside there was the sound of screeching cats and a barking dog chasing it down the alleyway. Yang raised her eyes brows and Blake opened her mouth to argue only to be interrupted by the clattering of bins as the cat made a daring escape. They rattled and clattered loudly before spinning to a slow gradual stop and there was finally quiet.

"Well-"

There was a loud screech of breaks slamming and suddenly yelling and swearing filled the air. Blake sighed as Yang just smugly grinned.

"Okay fine, let's just go."


What had started so well had fallen apart right at the end and Blake couldn't help but think she had ruined Yang's day a little. Maybe it was arrogant to think that, she was just Yang's assistant after all but still the thought nagged at her and Blake couldn't help but notice that Yang's bright smile that had been fixed on her face since arriving in Nora's studio had dimmed a little.

Sighing, Blake stared out of the window watching the streets of the rundown apartment rollaway. Now that she had committed to the idea, she was going to get the flat, she could see just how bad it had been. What had she been thinking?

Oh right. She has been thinking she was so desperate to stop inconveniencing Ruby and Jaune she would have taken anywhere. They said it was no problem, but Blake wasn't fooled. The apartment wasn't huge and that was fine when there was only the two of them. Sure, they pair of them had a lot of dorky junk scattered around the place, half started projects left lying but with the two of them doing it, it worked. The best thing about the place was that it was cheap, leaving them extra to save up for a place of their own, though they were a fair bit off that.

With Blake there, the balance was disrupted. An entire room was taken away from them and although she tries to leave as little impact as possible, she had to eat shower and do laundry... Plus she had a feeling they probably weren't being as intimate as they normally would because of her presence, a theory she was probably not going to share with Yang.

Speaking of...

"Where are we going?" Blake asked as she suddenly registered, they weren't heading back to Ruby's.

"I was thinking, I might know another place you can check out that's well within your budget. You'd have a roommate but there's plenty of space. Landlord can be cranky but she's alright once you get to know her. Not that she's around much anyway."

A roommate wasn't ideal which was presumably why Yang hadn't mentioned it before. But as long as she had her own space, she could cope... Probably. Besides it couldn't hurt to try and after the last place, Yang clearly wouldn't bring up somewhere completely terrible.

And it had brought that smile back.

"Where is it?"

"You'll see," Yang said before pausing a moment. "Just umm keep an open mind."

Well that didn't exactly fill her with confidence but as they drove further from the cat versus dog neighbourhood and pulled up into an apartment complex. Just the fact it had a carpark was more than Blake had been expecting really. The area looked friendly too with a park nearby and from the landmarks around, not too far away from the studio. She'd have to check but it looked like it would only be one bus to get to work.

"Yang there's no way I can afford this place," she said as the elevator took them up. "It has to be way out of my budget range."

"Nah don't worry about it. Like I said, the land lady is cool, so you'll get good rates."

Blake wasn't convinced but didn't argue. Maybe Yang just had a different concept of what good rates were. She didn't know much about Yang's financial situation. Growing up, Blake herself had a somewhat skewed view of money with her father's job and although her parents had never spoiled her, she had never really struggled.

Striking out on her own had been a bit more of a shock to the system than she had been expecting. It was most of the reason that she was so hesitant to rely on anyone like that again and risk falling into that pit of complacency again.

That commitment was tested a little as Yang unlocked the door and she got her first look at the apartment. The apartment was lush, the door opening up into a large open plan lounge and kitchen duo, fully furnished and decorated with large windows. One of the full height windows even had a barrier on the outside to make a balcony when fully opened.

Looking around and taking in the apartments, Blake sighed as her eyes landed on a series of framed photos and realised, what should have been obvious, of whose apartment this was.

"Yang I can't live here."

"I said keep an open mind."

Blake looked away from the various photos of Yang with her family and friends, wondering why she hadn't questioned that Yang had keys to the apartment. It also seemed amazing that she had missed the photos for so long, as they practically covered the apartment.

"You're my boss."

"Only at work," Yang defended. "It's not like I would be ordering you around the apartment. We would just be roommates."

"And you'd be my landlord."

"Actually, Weiss Schnee would be your landlord."

"You're kidding me."

"No, she owns the flat. She used to be my roommate before she made it big and now lets me rent at a great rate since it would just be sitting here otherwise.," She shrugged. "I would have to clear it with her, but I can't imagine her caring. She's not centred in Vale and tours a lot anyway. She'd probably just charge us each about two thirds of what I pay now. Cheaper rent for me and you while Weiss makes a little more. Win win.

Putting aside the fact she was standing in the same flat that Weiss Schnee had lived in, Blake tried to argue down Yang's optimism that this could work.

"Yang, I don't want to be putting you out like this. It would be no different that Ruby and Jaune."

"Not really. You wouldn't have to be looking for another place and the rooms bigger than Ruby's anyway. It used to be my room, but I took Weiss's when she left so it's just been gathering dust since then."

"Still..."

"I mean if you're uncomfortable with it you don't have to obviously but what's the harm. Worst case scenario you're just in the same position you're in now. If it works out, then you get a great flat with an awesome room mate who can give you lifts to work."

Blake didn't have an answer to that and looked away again while she tried to think of a good reason to turn it down. It seemed ridiculous but Yang was right that she could just move on later once she was in a better position. This might be the best thing for everyone.

Biting her lip as she pondered the decision her eyes focused on another photo mounted on the wall. It was a photo of a beach which was probably why it had gotten her attention, the sunny sand reminding her of Menagerie.

It looked like Yang's entire family was in the photo with only Qrow missing who presumably was taking the picture. Ruby was easy to find in her bright reds looking about twelve. She stood next to her dad working on a portable BBQ, both of them grinning happily. Yang's suppressed laughed was captured in the photo as she and a woman in white snuck up on a sunbathing Raven.

There was a mischievous smile on her face, one finger on her lips in an shush to the camera and a bucket of water identical to Yang's in her hand. Blake couldn't help but smile at the picture, imagining the fallout from Yang and her mom's prank on Raven. They all looked so happy together.

Sighing Blake turned back to Yang, the joyful smile on her face.

"So, do you want to see your room."