"I'm Yang, Yang Xiao Long. I work in the…" Yang stalls, glancing over to Blake for help. She quickly picked up where the conversation had awkwardly dropped, moving in to shake the older man's hand with a polite smile. "She works for the legal team here."
Yang took an awkward sip of her beer as the man walked away, leaving her to flush in as much privacy as she could get in the room full of mingling bodies. She'd been to more parties than could be counted in her lifetime, but this was far from the usual experience or her expertise - chugging a cooler in two seconds flat won't get her out of manners and pleasantries, nor will crude humor garner any favours.
An annual event, the intern mixer was a hospital-thrown party to welcome the newly hired interns - allowing them to socialize with the attendings and staff in an environment where lives weren't necessarily at stake. Held in the cafeteria with the room cleared out, close to 200 staff members chatted and drank quietly.
"You have got to work on your story if you don't want us to be found out," Blake says as soon as anyone important is out of earshot. "That was painful to watch, really."
"Cut me some slack," Yang says, watching people pass by - a polite nod, a subtle raise of her drink, maybe this was a role she could learn. She turns back to Blake, who seemed rather used to this environment. "It's not every day that I have to make up a new identity on the spot. Maybe I should have said a cooler one, like the president of some fancy company."
"Dressed like that?" Blake teases, looking at her head to toe - Yang looked like she walked straight out of a greaser movie, leather jacket and everything. "That must be some hell of a company then."
Yang self-consciously looked down at her clothes. "Hey, I think I look good," she protests, running a protective hand over the material of her jacket. "This is my good jacket too."
"No, you're right. You look good," Blake says, willing to hand off a compliment. "But it's not what I think, it's what the investors think, the board, important old people."
Yang laughs and Blake feels a flood of pride at the sound. "Since when did you care about what other people think?"
A fair point - given the chance, Blake would blow off this party in a heartbeat; but appearances matter - at least, for now. She answers lightly, glancing around at the people around them for eavesdroppers. "Since my entire career depends on their wallets. It's a game you have to play, no matter if you want to or not."
"Fair," Yang concedes - Blake lived a world in stark contrast to her own; one with politics and formalities and ethical debates, suits and ties and bottomless champagne. Automotive repair though; a broken engine didn't ask any questions, nor did a popped tire or a loose spark plug. Simplicities that weren't to be taken for granted - Yang thought absently. She held out an arm, having delayed them long enough. "Shall we go then?" Yang says, and Blake plays along, hooking her arm around hers neatly. "We have some benefactors to woo."
("Where'd you do your residency? I've never heard your name before." an older woman asks after approaching Blake and Yang. Face already tinged with a light flush from the various bottles she'd already downed, Yang took a sip of her drink for what felt like the millionth time that evening. "Oh, I did it at, uh, Haven Memorial Hospital, yeah." she answers with some stumbles, playing it off less than effectively with a lopsided smile. Blake glanced over at her, holding back a laugh at her make-belief employer.
The woman's eyes widened, seemingly pleasantly surprised. "Why, I've never heard of Haven Memorial Hospital," she says, intent innocent enough. "What brings you to Beacon Hospital today? That must be an awfully long trip all the way from Haven." The woman glanced over to Blake who smiled and hooked her arm around Yang's.
"This is my wife, she works here so I decided to accompany her tonight." Yang says, taking a step closer to Blake. She masked her laugh with a subtle cough and another sip of her drink - the foam of the beer was not helping, running crudely down her throat and tickling at every place it shouldn't. "Isn't that right, honey?"
"That's right, how nice of you to get on a plane and come over. Can't say the same for our anniversary though," Blake says cooly, glancing back over at Yang with the same suppressed grin that she wore. "I don't think buying me a yacht will suffice anymore, sorry dear."
The older woman laughed awkwardly before leaving in a hurry, dress rustling behind her. As soon as she was out of earshot, Blake and Yang burst into laughter, doubling over and holding onto a table nearby for support.
"I want a divorce," Blake manages out between giggles, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Really? Only one yacht? How tasteless."
"Sorry, sorry," Yang apologizes, wiping at a tear with the back of her hand. "Next time I'll buy you a lion, deal? Maybe some escorts, a private jet?"
"You're starting to sound like a make-a-wish foundation." Blake says after finally catching her breath. Yang grinned in response, responding without missing a beat.
"So is that a yes to the lion?")
Yang had made it through four different identities and five drinks before the party attendees started to lose interest in the pair - social worker, lawyer, plumber, and even a visiting orthopedic fellow. She cycled her way through being Blake's wife, adopted sister, estranged cousin, and even daughter - although that one was met with significant skepticism that they couldn't charm their way out of.
Blake leaned closer to Yang's ear as they made their way through the crowd, having just escaped the attention of a couple of lawyers. "Get as much beer as you can, it's all free. You're going to need it once Ozpin starts his speech." She says, downing the rest of her champagne glass and grabbing another off of the tray of a passing caterer. "His monologue is easier to sit through if you can't feel your face."
Yang followed suit, downing the rest of her drink and setting it on a random table as they passed. Another caterer passed by, and Yang quickly swiped another bottle and a few snacks. "Who's Ozpin? Some hot shot or something?" She asks, throwing an entire hor d'oeuvre into her mouth as Blake watched her with distaste.
"He's the chief of surgery, so yes. I guess he's a hot shot." Blake responds while scanning the room. Catching an opening, she took Yang's hand and led her to a corner so that no one would see her munching less than respectably on her food. "But all he does is just tell people what to do, and honestly, just stare out of his window in the lobby all heroic and shit. We haven't seen him leave his office in weeks."
"Sounds perfect for the job," Yang jokes, crunching on her last cracker. "Sounds like my boss."
"Aren't you a business owner?" Blake says, willing to entertain her antics with a few drinks in her system.
"Maybe I like brooding in my office and staring all heroic and shit too," Yang says, shrugging, though a small smile at the corner of her lips betrayed the joke. "I like to watch over all the cars and tools, it makes me feel all important. And rich, too."
Blake dismissed her with a laugh, spotting Sun and the rest of the senior residents around a standing table nearby. "Alright, Ms. All Important and Rich, let's go before someone asks about your career again." She says, leading the way around the outskirts of the room.
Sun and Neptune moved to make space for the pair as they approached the table; they had successfully gate-kept it from interns and younger residents, populated only by Sun, Neptune, Ilia, and Weiss along with the two new arrivals. Seemingly on the same mindset as Blake and Yang, they had amassed quite an impressive horde of various drinks and snacks.
"You guys talking about Ozpin?" Sun asks as they settle around the table. He was eating non stop - as soon as a cracker made its way into his mouth, another was already ready in his other hand.
"Yeah," Yang answers. "I haven't seen him yet though. Sounds like an interesting guy, to say the least."
"You know that old cartoon they used to air a long time ago? The wizard of Oz?" Sun says, laughing at the mental picture. "He looks exactly like the wizard from the show, you'll see what I mean when he shows up."
"That's actually pretty fitting," Blake says, taking a sip of her drink. "Having an eccentric wizard as a boss, he already acts like one."
Ilia laughed, garnering their attention to her side of the table. "That would explain how he randomly appears in my gallery, he teleports in to brood silently and judge how I close my appendectomy."
They all laughed, remembering their own experiences with the unexpected guest in their own galleries. Sun glanced over to Yang, who seemed lost once they started to mention surgery.
"I keep on forgetting that Yang doesn't work here," Sun says, bringing the conversation back to her. "Look over there, you see that woman with the red hair?" He says, pointing at a doctor across the room. "You probably already know her, that's Pyrrha, the cardio head. She's married to Jaune who you probably also know."
"The blonde nurse right?" Yang asks, the name ringing a bell - Jaune was the first one to assign Blake to her case during her first trip to the ER. Sun nods before pointing to another doctor.
"That's Clover, pediatrics head," He says, pointing at various people in quick succession. "Nora the orthopedics head, Fiona's an OB/GYN, Robyn the trauma head and my boss," he continues on - Yang didn't understand a thing he was saying, but nodded occasionally and gave him a thumbs up once he finished.
It was refreshing, being in a new environment with new people - a welcomed change from her usual square view of the sky from her garage, always accompanied by the heavy smell of motor oil and exhaust.
"So what do you do?" Ilia asks, leaning forward to rest her forearms on the table. "I don't think it's ever come up."
"Well I own a garage and repair shop off the highway," Yang responds. "It's a family business, but it's mostly me at this point since my sister went to college." She hesitated a moment, measuring her next words with a bit more care. "I also race to fill in the gaps, but it's mostly just a hobby."
"No way, that's so cool!" Sun chirps in, suddenly intrigued. "Like formula one?"
"Not exactly," Yang says with a laugh. "But close enough."
"Bro, of course not like formula one," Neptune says, flicking Sun in the arm. "All the people that race like that are millionaires."
"So what types of races do you do?" Blake asks after a long stretch of silence - they all turn towards her, having nearly forgotten about her standing quietly at Yang's side. Entertained by Yang's responses, she took her turn to poke for some tidbits of her life.
"One's that aren't exactly legal persay," Yang says, garnering the group's attention. "So I'm trusting that you all don't rat me out."
Weiss downed the rest of her champagne in one swoop as soon as Yang finished talking. "Lovely, Blake's dating a criminal. Again ."
"Weren't you the one to set them up in the first place?" Ilia says, holding back a laugh as Weiss takes another drink and downs it as well - she'd need it, based on how casually Yang decided to drop bombshells at the tip of a hat.
"Sorry that I don't do background checks on everyone I see," she responds sarcastically; Weiss turned to leave, seemingly having decided that she's heard enough for the night. "I'm going to go do the socializing that we're all supposed to be doing right now. Just tell me if Yang decides to confess to a murder or something of the likes."
"Awe, you beat me to the final reveal." Yang says, responded to with a scoff and an eye roll before Weiss disappeared into the crowd.
Sun opened his mouth to ask another question, only to hear his name being called from across the room. Turning and looking around, Robyn beckoned for him to come over to talk to some investors; the brass liked to show him off the most, given that he's the most outgoing. Sun set down his drink before starting to leave. "Gotta run, have fun you guys."
As soon as he left, a loud tapping of a microphone played over the speakers. Turning to face the front, Ozpig, a tall and rather thin man, approached the stage as the lights of the room dimmed down. A spotlight found him soon after that made his pale hair shine almost white. Adjusting his glasses, he leaned into the microphone and addressed the crowd that had quieted down. "Ladies and gentlemen," he says, pausing for dramatic effect - Neptune snorted a few feet away and Weiss hushedly snapped at him. "I'm glad all of you could make it to our 41st annual intern mixer!"
Everyone except the interns applauded half-heartedly, knowing exactly what was about to come. Ozpin's speeches stretched on for not minutes, but several hours ; long enough for people to fall asleep at their tables and take their heels off.
"Hey, no shit!" Yang exclaims quietly to the table, eyes still following Ozpin on the stage. "Sun's right, he looks just like the wizard guy."
The group laughed softly, positioned far enough from the front of the room that they were out of earshot of most of the spectators. They all collectively sighed as Ozpin's voice started to drone on, immediately fading into the background like a broken record.
"Ugh, I don't think I can sit through this again." Ilia complains, letting her head fall into her hands. The thought was shared between them all, mimicked in various forms of exhaustion. Even Weiss, who had returned to the table once the chief took the stage, who was usually the most courteous out of all of them, let her shoulders sag a bit when Ozpin started talking about budget numbers.
Blake glanced over at Yang - she leaned on the table by her forearms, absently playing around with some rings on her fingers. "Let's get out of here," she whispers into her ear. "No one will notice if we leave now."
Entertained by the proposition, Yang let herself be led out by a hand around some tables attendees towards the door - she offered a small wave to the confused faces of Blake's friends as they disappeared into the dark. Weaving through some guests and staff, the dim glow of the exit sign led them to the back exit. Pushing the doors to the hallway open as softly as they could, the pair let out a heavy breath as soon as it closed behind them - the heavy steps of Yang's boots echoed down the long empty halls.
"God, that was unbearable," Blake says, glad to escape the party. "It really does get worse every year, doesn't it."
Yang nodded absently, taking a look around where they had ended up. Exiting on the opposite side as they had entered, the doors led them to a loft-like area that connected to the main lobby. The large space opened up all the way up to the glass roof several floors above, while the hall they were standing in led directly to a catwalk that spanned across the large airspace. It overlooked the main entrance to the hospital and its large windowed walls, providing quite a view across the building.
"You want to show me around?" Yang asks. "This is the first time that I've seen the hospital deserted like this."
"You know what? What the hell," Blake says after a moment of thought, walking down the hall. "I'll show you where they keep all the gross stuff."
And yes, Blake shows Yang around - for several hours in fact. Dashing through the hallways laughing, padding through the lobby barefoot with their shoes in hand. They darted into empty closets and rooms when they heard footsteps, hiding behind the corner as a lone staff member passed by; most of whom were either at the mixer they had blown off or had gone home for the night.
Yang enjoyed the skills lab the most, where Blake let her play around with some of the robotic guides and tools. The nursery was a close second, the two of them fawning after the new borns wiggling around in their respective cradles. A few monster faces and crude notes scribbled onto the OR board, a heated game of chess between the two of them and an older patient in his room; they made their rounds around the hospital having much more fun than warranted.
They texted Sun to sneak them out drinks and snacks which he happily obliged to, judging by his massive hoard. They wait by the door after a few moments, until Sun opens the doors slightly and shoves them an armful of goods that they run off with.
The pair were well into the fourth floor when a group of custodial staff forced them to hide out in the washrooms, the large space empty spare for the two.
"Are they gone yet?" Blake asks, after five minutes had passed. She let her heels drop forgotten on the floor nearby, too comfortable to care and not sober enough to give it a second thought.
Yang creaked the door open a smidge and peeked out. "Nope," she answers before closing it quietly again. "It actually looks like there's more of them now."
"The mixer is probably almost done by now then, thank god." Blake says, moving towards the sinks. "I really can't stand all the formalities anymore, maybe I'll make Weiss tell them I'm out of the country next time." She reached for some packaged wipes in a small caddy on the counter, struggling to rip it open.
"I'm not sure that's how it works, but you're the one that works here." Yang chuckles, walking over and taking it from her. "Here, let me get that." she says, ripping it open with ease.
Blake took it from her wordlessly, brain actively trying to comprehend the small gesture, before giving up and resuming what she was doing. She started wiping off her makeup, eyeliner coming off cleanly on the cotton material. Some cold water on her face did wonders to sober her up, but it looked like not nearly enough.
Catching her gaze through the mirror, Yang advances on her slowly, pushing off of the stall door that she was leaning on. Tentative steps to test the water - and Blake lets her; a thoughtless decision that could have some pleasurable consequences.
"What," Blake teases as Yang takes her final step; she's right behind her, standing taller than ever above her form in the mirror.
"Nothing," Yang responds lightly, hands finding the edge of the counter on either side of her and leaning in. "Just curious, that's all."
The scent of her perfume alone was almost enough for Blake to give in, almost. " Just curious?" She responds, turning to face her, already practically in her arms. Blake's head tilts up to match her gaze, an angle she's already memorized this late into the night. "Why don't you find out?"
"Always the charmer," Yang says, taking her turn to play coy and sarcastic. Her stance shifts, hair falling around her head like a halo - an angel, if one could possibly be as cruel as her. "I thought you were supposed to despise me?" she says with a curl of her lips.
"Oh, I do," Blake challenges, hands finding their way onto Yang's jacket, and pulls - and suddenly their height difference disappears and Blake takes her turn at dominance. "That doesn't change a thing, though." And Yang was left with nothing to do but listen obediently, eagerly so.
It felt like second nature pulling Yang down by the lapels of her jacket into a kiss, and suddenly second thoughts felt like the next day's problems. Much different from the one they shared last night - this one felt less like a question, a proposition, and more like an answer ; if something was being confessed, as if it wasn't already acknowledged long ago.
Yang smiles like she was expecting this; a daring challenge that made Blake's grip on her clothes tighten, tugging her down again more roughly this time. She lets out a small laugh at her fearlessness, and Blake catalogues it with a swipe of her tongue; Yang was cocky all night, and deserved as much punishment as she could give her - a swift nip to her bottom lip and the kiss falls open-mouthed with her moan.
A heavy step, a gasp echoing around the empty room; Blake releases her from her grip to hook both arms around her neck - Yang takes it as the invitation it was meant to be. Grabbing both her thighs, Yang lifts her effortlessly onto the sink counter noisily - soap dispensers clatter to the ground, tissue holders roll away, the entire fixture creaks in protest at their rough actions. Yang's hand hits the wall in front of them with a slap and leans in further, thirsty for more contact, more skin - she drinks her gasps in and doesn't give her a second to rest - Blake wouldn't have it any other way.
Steps start to sound from outside the door, slowly approaching and echoing dully down the halls; Yang doesn't pick up on the sound, too occupied with sliding her hands up the bottom of Blake's dress and mapping out as much skin as she could get away with.
"Wait, wait," Blake says, pulling away enough to sneak in a breath. Yang pulls away immediately, withdrawing her hands and holding them up startled. "No, no! It's not you," she adds in quickly - Yang immediately relaxes with a sigh, having feared the worst; she follows Blake's gaze towards the door - footsteps pass by heavily and start to diminish as they turn a corner.
"We should stop now," Blake says as soon as the footsteps disappear, Yang taking a step away to let her get down. She hastily went to fix her dress and disheveled hair as best as she could. Glancing at the mirror, Yang quickly wiped at the lipstick smudges around her lips with the back of her hand.
"Did I do something wrong?" Yang asks hesitantly, trying to catch Blake's eye. "I'll stop right now if I did, I know that I sometimes get caught up in the moment and-"
"What? No," Blake blurts out, surprised. "It's nothing like that, you're doing good, amazingly good. So good that it's kind of making me want to hate you, for making me say stupid things like this."
"Thank god." Yang says, letting out a breath in relief - one she didn't even realize she was holding. Her worry was washed away when Blake stepped in for a chaste kiss, automatically leaning down just the right amount when she neared.
"We're stopping because someones going to walk in and find us," Blake says, picking up her heels. "I don't think I could ever live this down if it did happen, and a bathroom isn't the most discreet place we could have chosen." She walks to the door and turns back, waiting for Yang to follow. "So I'm finding somewhere with a door that locks ."
Yang's heart skips a beat, and whatever hesitance that had settled was promptly forgotten - her gaze settled on Blake, her eyes, lips, the skin she had yet to mark or kiss or bite . They sneak out together, running through the halls as fast as they could - they've waited long enough, the fires already lit; better satisfy it before too many bridges are burnt, long past the point of no return.