First part of a twofer!
*GIANT-SLAYER*
The following morning, the savory smell of sizzling bacon roused Blake from her slumber. The raven-haired girl arching her back as she stretched, yawning loudly as she popped her back, after she finished rubbing her eyes, she came to in a room wholly unfamiliar to her.
The girl momentarily thrust into a fit of panic, it took a few pulse-pounding seconds before she remembered why she was in such an unfamiliar room.
'That's right. I stayed at a… friend's place,' Blake thought to herself. The guy'd given her a free meal and a place to lay her head for the night, so "friend" was the least she could call him. Focusing back on the present, apart from the bed, night stand, and closet, there was only a small desk off in the corner, the top littered with piles of crude drawings done in crayon.
Of course, since she was staying in someone else's place, she opted not to rifle through his belongings. At least not too much.
She then thought back to whose room she had spent the night in. How charitable he'd been towards others, towards her, without any expectation of reward in turn.
'He's definitely an odd sort of sort…' Blake hummed as she looked towards the room's entrance, an undisturbed band of tape spanning the small gap between door and frame.
While Blake didn't rifle through Vincent's belongings "too much", that didn't exclude digging through his desk for any sort of stationary.
'The tape I put on the door isn't busted, so I guess he didn't come here in the middle of the night to do anything pervy to me while I was asleep,' Blake thought to herself. 'Ugh, well that's gratitude for you. The guy feeds you and gives you a room for the night, and you're so-paranoid by what Jack said you'll start assuming that all Humans are baseline evil,' she grumbled to herself, a feeling of self-loathing washing over her at how-swift she was to suspect someone so charitable without any sort of basis. 'I'll have to apologize before I leave.'
Stepping out of the bedroom, Blake's senses were met with the sound and smell that accompanied cooking meat. The raven-haired beauty's nostrils flaring as she took in the scent, she hurried moreso than intended into the kitchenette.
"Oh, good morning, Blake," Vincent greeted, clad in a new uniform and a white cooking apron. "I was just about to get you. Breakfast's almost ready."
*Growrrrrrrr*
Blake blushed in embarrassment as her stomach made her hunger and appetite known, but swallowed her pride when her new friend placed a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns down in front of her.
The white-haired teen pulling out her chair for her, the raven-haired girl quickly dove into the meal with reckless abandon, a feeling of warmness washing over her as she ate the hearty meal. While it wasn't fish, it was still incredibly delicious, the raven-haired girl tasting a pepper rub on the bacon, a dash of milk in the eggs, and a pinch of sea salt sprinkled over the hash browns.
"Guess I don't need to ask if you enjoy my cooking," the shopkeeper said with a smile on his face. "Oh, before you go, here's a map to the skyport from here. I put down every shortcut I could think of in red ink," he said holding up a piece of paper.
"Thank you," Blake replied as she set the map down next to her plate. "You've been far too kind to me," she said between bites.
"Why do you say too kind?" Vincent asked with a tilt of his head.
"It's a metaphor," Blake chuckled. "Do you mind if I use your shower real quick? I'm afraid if I don't take the chance now, I won't be able to freshen up before classes today."
"Well, okay. But you'd better hurry. Take too long and you'll miss the airship," Vincent said as Blake rushed into the bathroom.
"AIIIIIIIGH!"
"Oh, and the water always starts out cold. Just thought I should warn you."
"Now you tell me…" Blake grumbled miserably under the stream of cold water.
*GIANT-SLAYER*
One miserably-cold shower later and Blake had changed back into her clothes. Revitalized from what eventually became a deluge of hot water and the warm breakfast resting comfortably in her stomach, Blake Belladonna was ready to tackle the day.
"Don't forget your map," Vincent said holding up the piece of paper from his place next to the door. "And have a good day at school!" he added with a wave.
"Thank you, breakfast was delicious!" Blake said with a smile as she hurried toward the door, placing a kiss on his cheek as she bolted out of the building.
Of course, it wouldn't be until after she'd made it to her ride, getting through the doors at the last possible moment, that Blake would realize just what she had done before leaving Vincent's apartment. A massive blush spreading across her face as what she did dawned on her, the normally stoic girl covered her face with her hands, fervently blaming her break from character on the numerous shows of generosity she'd received the day prior up 'til then.
If you could kill someone with kindness, she'd have been dead after that bowl of ramen. Let alone all the other little gestures she'd been shown.
*GIANT-SLAYER*
Incessantly tapping her foot as she waited for the airship to finish docking at the Beacon Airfield, the moment the doors opened Blake was off like a shot. Her low-heel boots pounding across the ground as she ran, Blake ran in graceful full-legged strides that carried her swiftly across campus, the girl leaving afterimages in her wake at every sharp turn. Her dorm coming into view, Blake practically mowed down an occupant heading out early for morning classes as she barreled up the stairs.
The girl bounding upward three steps at a time, as her dorm came into view, Blake skid to a stop scarcely avoiding complete and total slippage. Hurriedly placing her Scroll against the door's lock, the familiar *Click* was music to her ears as the deadbolt slid out of place, Blake hurrying into the room.
"Blake?!" Yang gaped at the girl's hurried entrance, causing said girl to snag the toe of her boot on the rug and bodily splash against the floor with a-
*THUD!*
" . . . Ow."
"BLAAAAAAAKE!" Ruby squealed as she dashed out of the bathroom, a towel hurriedly wrapped around her body and her hair dripping with water. "Blake, I am sooooooo sorry we forgot about you last night! Can you ever forgive meeeeeee?" she pleaded with clasped hands, hurriedly grabbing at her towel as it began to slip off her budding curves.
"I-It's alright, Ruby," Blake assured as she rose to her feet. "I stayed with… a friend last night," she admitted bashfully.
" . . . Oooooooh. I got ya~" Yang said after a brief pause.
"Yang, where are you going with this?" Blake asked worriedly at the girl's slowly-growing cat-like grin.
"No, no, I understand," Yang said waving her hands. "You stayed the night at a friend's place, so that way he could stay the night in your place~" the blond cooed as she waggled her brows. "Way to go, girl! I thought you were glowing this morning!"
"W-What?!" Blake squawked completely red in the face. "Bu-Wha-No! Nothing like that happened!" she stammered. "We just met last night and-"
"Last night? And you already slept with him!?" Weiss gaped. "Blake, I thought you were better than that!"
"Weiss, no, nothing happ-"
"This. Is. Filth," Weiss growled as the heiress drew an embarrassingly-familiar book from Blake's side of the shelf. "FIIIILTH!" she shrieked as she struck Blake across the face with it, angrily storming off after Blake hit the carpet.
" . . . Can I have my book back?" Blake asked as she twitched on the floor.
"Later!"
Whether this was Weiss' way of either borrowing or confiscating Blake's adult literature, could not be determined.
"Sooo… What's he liiike~?" Yang cooed playfully as she laid on the floor next to Blake, propping herself up on her elbows. "When're you gonna introduce uuuus~?"
"Yang, stop, that isn't-"
"Blake, I don't want you bringing any strange boys into our room," Weiss chastised.
"Guys, if you could just-"
"Blake, in the event you decide to get intimate with this guy-friend of yours…" Ruby said with a serious look on her face. "Make sure to use protection," she said dramatically with a finger in the air, the girl zipping over to her bed and rifling around under her pillow an instant later.
"You want, you can borrow some of my Maiden Herb~"
"Yang-"
"I can't believe the debauched things you thought appropriate to do with school the following morning!"
"Weiss-"
"Now where did I put that thing? It's around here somewhere."
"Ruby-"
"Blake, as your big brother, I believe it's my responsibility to say-"
"ENOUGH ALREADYYYYYYY!" the antisocial cat-like girl cried out, completely red from neck to scalp. The raven-haired beauty's outcry sounding through the room like a bomb went off, Yang and Weiss practically jumped out of their skins while Ruby, whose feet were presently atop Weiss' bunk, flailed her arms frantically through the air as she began to tumble backwards.
"Do I even want to know why Ruby's handling a loaded gun so early in the morning?" Jack asked as he steadied Ruby before she could fumble over the room's divider.
*GIANT-SLAYER*
After the reunited whole of Team RWBBY got dressed and gathered their school supplies, the team of five made their way to the dining hall. As they hurried along, Blake went to great lengths to clear up any misunderstandings the rest of her team had about her staying the night at a boy's place. Especially because it was a boy's place.
"So, he gave you dinner, breakfast, and a map? Sounds sexy~" Yang cooed playfully.
"Stop it, Yang, I don't feel that way about him!"
"Then why're you blushing?"
"Because you're all embarrassing me!"
"Yang, Yang, Yang," Jack said getting the blond's attention. "Stop it. Grilling Blake in this manner is completely uncalled for and wholly unnecessary."
"Thank you," Blake sighed in relief.
"That's my job."
"HEY!"
"That reminds me for whatever reason, I wonder what Ozpin's up to," Ruby hummed thoughtfully.
"What brought this on?" Weiss asked with a raised brow.
" . . . I don't know…" Ruby hummed as she tapped her chin. "I guess since he was the one who let me into Beacon in the first place, I can't help but worry about him."
"Ruby, Ozpin is one of the most if not the most powerful Huntsman in the kingdom. I'm sure he can take care of himself," Weiss chided.
"I guess. He just… seemed a little off when he was giving that speech at the beginning of the year… Like something was on his mind…" Ruby hummed contemplatively.
"Hey, I'm sure whatever it is, ol' Oz has it in the bag," Yang said playfully ruffling her hair.
"I guess you're right…" Ruby admitted, clapping her cheeks as she looked forward with a resolute look in her eyes. "Alright, Team Ruby! Arm up and roll out! We got classes today and I don't want a repeat of last semester!" she said dramatically pointing toward the dining hall.
"Hey, that was all your fault!" Weiss yelped, causing Ruby to fumble mid-step.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same," Yang chuckled.
"Tell me about it," Blake and Jack said in stereo, the two letting out a light chuckle as they headed into the cafeteria.
*GIANT-SLAYER*
AN:
Next chapter will be the LAST. And with it, will be some very important announcements for the future of this story.
Stay tuned for the Season Finale of Giant-Slayer (Volume 1)!
