8 Months. This is now the longest chapter of the story though. Enjoy.
Ruby:
"This is absolutely disgraceful," Weiss scoffed.
After already hastily making her way to the cafeteria for the Tuesday lunch period, the ice queen received a message from Neptune that there would be a bit of a change in plans.
"How could he do this!?"
Ruby lifted her head from the cafeteria table. The pair sat at their usual spot with a currently perfect view of Neptune sitting across the room. The valiant team leader desperately wished Yang or Blake would appear. Independently dealing with an upset Weiss was really draining her.
"Weiss, like I've said, it's not a big deal. He's just visiting with some friends from Haven Academy. He told you he'd come find you after classes end, and even invited you to join them now."
Weiss kept shaking her head as she angrily munched her salad.
"I don't see why you refuse to simply say hi. They seem like a pretty cool team. What were they called? Team Amber?"
"Team ABRN," Weiss muttered, "But that's not-"
"Yeah," Ruby perked her head up, "I recognize them from the tournament! That girl next to Neptune has a freaking hoverboard that splits into pistols! I've got to look into adding something like that to Crescent Rose."
Ruby squinted at the mint-haired girl, trying to better inspect the weapon.
Weiss rolled her eyes, clearly disapproving of the leader's enthusiasm.
"Ruby. Ice princess. Greetings to you both."
The two huntresses turned to find Yang and Blake finally arriving. The blonde ruffled her sister's hair as she took a seat next to her. Blake silently sat with a book already blocking her face.
"Hey, you two. How's it going?" Ruby greeted, relieved by the company, "What took you?"
"Ah, Blake won't be happy with me if I tell you that," Yang winked.
Blake buried her face deeper into her book.
"I hope we haven't missed anything," Yang grinned, supportively patting her girlfriend on the back.
'Just Weiss being a sociopath,' Ruby thought.
"Nothing that seems to concern you all," Weiss grumbled.
The newly arrived pair looked at Ruby for clarification, but the leader only offered a disappointed shrug.
"Well," Yang shifted, "Anyways, I was wondering-"
"Hey, you lot!"
The gathered team turned their attention to an angry huntsman-in-training storming their table. He seemed to have specifically waited for all four teammates to arrive. The girls released a collective sigh of aggravation.
Russel Thrush of Team CRDL slammed his fist on the table, rattling the surface and almost spilling some drinks.
"Hey, what the heck, dude?" Ruby snapped.
"You all have got a lot of nerve," Russel growled, "We offered you a simple bargain with simple instructions. It's actually amazing that your emo teammate lacks the competence to forfeit a pointless fight that only-"
Like a flash of lightning, Yang bolted from her seat, loudly knocking it to the ground. She immediately appeared inches from the vermin's face with Ember Celica locked to ignite.
"That 'emo teammate' of mine beat the shit out of your pathetic team leader three weeks ago, and I'll do worse to you right now if you don't get the hell out of here. Your absolute failure as a huntsman isn't our problem."
Russel glared right back at the brawler. Many eyes in the cafeteria had turned towards the confrontation. He kept his chest puffed and teeth bared despite the sweat gathering on his brow.
"This is your last warning, RWBY. If one of you gets picked on Wednesday," Russel hissed, "forfeit the match. If team CRDL goes down, your team will follow."
Yang slowly marched forward, forcing the boy the stumble backwards. As the brawler slowly raised her fist, Blake stood and asserted, "Yang, don't!"
"Yes, please don't get us sent to Goodwitch, again," Weiss sighed.
The brawler paused, still glaring red at the imbecile. She took a moment to weigh the situation, and finally sighed as she retracted her weapons.
Yang simply replied, "You better pray I don't get picked tomorrow."
Russel kept glaring as the blonde fixed her seat and turned back to her teammates. The goon slowly back pedaled before hastily retreating to the other end of the cafeteria.
The girls sat in silence as the tension slowly passed. Peering students returned to their own conversations. The room eased back to normal.
Feeling the faunus' gaze, Yang insisted, "I'm not sorry."
"You didn't actually 'do worse to him', so there's nothing to apologize for," Blake reassured.
"I personally think delivering a hook to his face would've been completely warranted there," Yang crossed her arms.
"Relax, you brute," Weiss shook her head, "Team CRDL is undoubtedly about to drop out. They completely failed Glynda's exam last week and they've shown no progress on constructing a grimm trap for Professor Port. Don't be dragged to their level as they're sinking."
"I guess that's why they're acting on weeks old grudges," Ruby grumbled, "Would winning a fight in Glynda's class tomorrow actually even save their grades?"
"Almost certainly not," Blake assumed.
"Whatever", Yang pouted, "I guess I should save my energy for sparring with JNPR later anyways."
"Wrong again, brute," Weiss sighed.
"Excuse me?"
"Pyrrha messaged everyone their team would have to cancel," Weiss dryly explained, "They need to dedicate time for their own project. You'd be aware of this if you'd check your scroll any more than never. Better yet, maybe-"
"You're seriously pushing it, white witch," Yang warned.
"Oh, I'm pushing it?" Weiss sneered, "I'm not the one who-"
"C'mon, guys," Ruby interjected, with her arms raised between them, "Let's take a breath. The grimm and team CRDL are the enemies - not our own teammates."
Yang slumped in her seat, crossing her arms.
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Alright, I'm sorry … I'm sorry …"
Following an awkward pause, the ice queen sighed and abruptly stood up, "Since we're not sparring after class, I'll be working on the documentation for our project in the library. I'll see you all this evening."
Before anyone could react, she lifted her barely touched tray of food and left. The remaining team members exchanged glances.
"Is she doing alright?" Blake asked.
Shrugging, the leader replied, "She's upset about Neptune."
"You have to admire her consistency," Yang grumbled.
"I think she's hesitant to interact with Neptune's friends from Haven," Ruby elaborated, "I guess it's probably like how she resisted interacting with us and team JNPR at first."
"Then that means she'll eventually come around," the blonde reasoned, "Our good princess will figure out she's throwing a fit over nothing, fix her actions, and then find a new situation to stress over."
"The Schnee Cycle," Ruby reluctantly nodded.
Yang grinned and shrugged, "Let's just give the girl some space. She'll come to terms that Neptune will occasionally share his attention with others like a socially normal person."
"Neptune's becoming a bit of a scapegoat. She's probably also stressed about our project," Blake nudged Yang, "She'd probably relax sooner if we offered more assistance. She's already made most of the progress on her own."
"What, should we join her at the library?"
Ruby shook her head, "No, I think giving her some space for now is the right call."
"Let's just offer her help when we see her," Blake decided, "Tomorrow, yeah?"
"Fair enough," Yang sighed, "I'd kind of like to work on the project anyways, just to get it done after working on it for so long."
"For sure. I can't believe it's already been a month…"
Blake's voice suddenly trailed off. The faunus seemed to have ensnared herself in thought.
Ruby scrunched her brow, wondering why the tonal shift. She looked over to her sister who seemed to have spaced out as well.
'What the heck are they…? Wait! Ohhhhhh,' Ruby internally realized, 'It's also almost been a month since…'
The leader saw her pair of bees avoid each other's gazes as they shared the exact same realization.
…
Blake:
"Please stop screaming," Blake regretfully sighed.
With several more decibels, Ruby continued to squeal, "How could I possibly do that when you and Yang are so freaking cute?!"
Blake and Ruby had just returned to the dormitory after their lengthy day of classes, and Blake had perhaps just made an error in advice seeking.
"You know what – just forget I said anything – please."
"No no no no no, Blake," Ruby deviously grinned as she shook her finger, "You were exactly right to come to me with this."
"No," Blake insisted, "You have made it exceedingly clear this should be an independent project. Seriously forget this happened."
The faunus retreated to her desk and opened her laptop to cut off the conversation. However, Ruby, still grinning profusely, hastily followed and slammed the device shut.
"Hey!" Blake protested.
"It's just as you said – I was the ingenious mastermind behind the most romantic and amazing date ever experienced! Forever Fall will never be the same after the event I designed all those weeks ago."
'That is not at all what I said,' Blake thought, 'And it was frankly a pretty basic outdoor picnic…'
"Do not fear, my apprentice. I will grant you the fruits of my wisdom yet again," Ruby beamed with a valiant pose, "Together we will plan another greatest date in order to celebrate the first long month of commitment between you and Yang!"
The faunus released a deep sigh.
"Ruby, I do not want you to plan a date for Yang and I. I was only asking for feedback on my own plan. It'll lack sincerity if you do all the work."
"Fair enough, fair enough. Saving my wisdom for another time – very wise."
'Yes, that is exactly what I'm doing,' Blake thought, 'Never is indeed another time.'
Ruby lowered her energy as she took a seat next to Blake.
"I'd still be happy to help then. What are you planning? Something this Friday, I'm guessing?"
"Yes – this Friday," Blake confirmed, "My idea was to cook something special for her, and then we could play a game or movie or something here."
"Something low-key," Ruby nodded, "Not as exciting as what I would've suggested, but…"
Ruby noticed Blake's glare.
"It sounds like something you and Yang would surely enjoy! She'll love it!" Ruby beamed.
Blake rolled her eyes, "With that being said, I was also hoping you could help me talk to Weiss about leaving the dorm at that time? I have a hunch she'll be reluctant to do me the favor."
"Consider her gone," Ruby gave a thumbs up, "I'll take care of her."
"Thank you, Ruby," Blake smiled. The young huntress really was a great friend and leader, considering all of her unconditional assistance.
"So, I was also wondering-"
The faunus was abruptly cut off as the door slammed open.
"Blaaake!" Yang yelled as she burst through the doorway.
"Ahhh, Yang!" Blake jumped in her seat.
"Where were you!? I went to meet you at your class, and you were gone!"
"Oh," Blake stammered, "I'm sorry. Class let out early and I just uh-"
The brawler tackled her girlfriend in a hug before she could finish. The black-haired girl laughed as she returned the other's embrace. Looking over Yang's shoulder, the faunus silently mouthed out the phrase, 'We'll talk more later.'
Ruby chuckled and returned an affirming thumbs up.
…
…
Yang:
After a standard evening, the sun had risen on Wednesday – sort of. The skies above Vale were over casted, delivering a chilling rain. Outside was currently a terrible place to be, but some unpleasant weather didn't warrant any class cancelations. Thus, Team RWBY had reluctantly shown up for Goodwitch's class in Beacon's arena. The room was relatively dark from the lack of natural light – only brightened by the occasional flash of the battling huntsmen's weapons. The four girls groggily sat aligned in the bleachers as the members of team CRDL scrambled in their final battles before their emanant expulsions.
Yang was at least partially relieved that she didn't have to be the one to knock out Russel Thrush for the final time – another first-year student with some sort of grapple gauntlet was currently receiving that very honor. Yet, Yang was upset that her alternative experience was currently losing herself in thoughts about the dear faunus right next to her.
'Classic me,' Yang chuckled to herself, 'I've wasted almost an entire day zoning out, and I still have no idea what to do for Blake for this milestone. I can't believe it's already been a month … time really freaking flies...'
The blond subtly glanced to the lovely huntress beside her. Their shoulders touched just close enough to feel each other's presence without potentially attracting attention.
'There's no events going on in Vale anymore,' Yang internally sighed, 'Since the end of the Vytal Festival, the entire city has been quiet and boring. What can I do with this precious kitten? …I guess there's still restaurants or shopping… Neither would be very special though…'
Blake yawned next to the brawler, trying to stay awake for the fight. Russel was currently running in circles to avoid his opponent.
'It still feels like we're limited in general by keeping our relationship secret,' Yang thought, 'If we go anywhere public, I'll have to platonically sit next to the woman without tickling, hugging, or kissing her. I wouldn't even be able to tell her how damn cute she looks, and that would seriously suck ass… '
"And that's the match!" Professor Goodwitch bellowed.
Russel had just collapsed to the ground. His aura had been completely wiped out from his exhaustive sprinting. His gray-clad opponent in contrast had been standing still for the past few minutes – still with full aura.
"No!" Russel barked between breaths, "I'm not done yet! I won't-"
"I will call the medics, and they will drag you out of this arena, Mr. Thrush," Goodwitch threatened.
Utterly defeated, the huntsman pitifully scrambled back to his team – poorly muffling his sobs.
"Now then," the professor continued, "We have time for one more match today. Who would like to-"
"I'll fight!"
Goodwitch didn't even glance from her scroll as she loaded Cardin Winchester's profile onto the big screen. The last huntsman of team CRDL marched into the arena, swinging his mace – ready for his team's final hail Mary.
"And who would like to fight Mr. Winchester?" Glynda sighed.
"I'll volunteer, Professor!"
The class turned to spot a blue-haired huntress start walking down the bleachers. She wore dark blue armor and held a massive halberd at her side. Yang immediately recognized the girl – she'd destroyed Russel a few weeks ago and even contended with Pyrrha a while before that.
"Thank you, Miss Onyx. I'll get you onto the board right away," Goodwitch methodically tapped through her scroll.
"No, thank you, Professor," Onyx casually approached Cardin, "I greatly appreciate the opportunity to obliterate Cardin this final time."
The professor poorly hid her grin as the huntsman angrily grumbled threats of vengeance.
With each combatant's aura now displayed on the board, Glynda announced the match to begin, and Yang immediately zoned out once more.
'…I've got to think of something outside of the dorm,' Yang thought, 'It's got to be someplace special and exciting, but also private. Blake should be comfortable – this isn't going to be a time for pushing her social boundaries… I could set up a place on campus, maybe? Some parts of the gardens should be empty if we go late enough… but then again anyone could still theoretically stroll through… Oh! I could rent one of the study rooms in the library or a sparring room at the gym! …Although I might draw unneeded attention if I then drag in a gourmet meal with romantic decorations…'
'Agghhh!' Yang silently groaned, 'What can I do?'
"And that's the match!" Professor Goodwitch decisively announced.
Yang glanced back to the arena, spotting Cardin disarmed and unconscious on the ground. His challenger, Onyx, stood casually, stretching her arms.
"You've nearly killed him!" Russel screamed, as Cardin's teammates rushed to help their leader, "That was a complete foul, Professor!"
Glynda kept her attention on her scroll as she recorded notes, "I disagree. Miss Onyx ceased her attacks immediately once Mr. Winchester's aura was shattered. I think you'd better refresh yourself with Beacon's sparring guidelines, Mr. Thrush."
He gritted his teeth, "You can't just-"
"That will be all for today, class," Glynda sharply continued, "We will conduct more combat reflections next time. Until then, do enjoy your afternoon."
The audience eagerly stood and started shuffling out of the bleachers.
"Enjoy your afternoon, boys," Onyx taunted as she began her leave.
Enraged, Russel stormed into the center of the arena and screeched, "Do you think this is over, Onyx? Do all of you actually believe this is over?" The delinquent motioned towards the class. "Team CRDL isn't going anywhere, so you better watch out! We never break our promises!"
His eyes met with Yang for a moment as he glared through the audience. Yang chuckled.
"I just hope you remember how all of this could've been avoided, and how-"
Glynda cut him off as she yanked the student's arm, "That is enough, Mr. Thrush." The professor dragged the student away with an iron grip as the medics arrived to help Cardin. As Russel continued barking threats, his audience returned to shuffling outside.
As team RWBY escaped to the hallway, Ruby chuckled, "Well, that went about as I expected."
"Pathetic and shameless," Yang shook her head.
"Maybe we'll finally learn some new techniques in that class without those jerks butting into every single sparring match," Ruby proposed.
"For sure," Yang agreed. She looked over for consensus with her girlfriend, but found the girl gazing at the ground.
Before Yang could speak up, Weiss announced, "Now that we're done, I am off to the library. See you all tonight."
Without waiting for a response, the ice queen disappeared into the crowd.
"Wait, Weiss!" Yang yelled. With no response, she muttered, "Well that's just great."
"Should we follow her and still offer help with the project?" Yang inquired.
Ruby and Blake exchanged glances. The faunus seemed suddenly frustrated. She motioned to Ruby to speak up.
'What's up with these two now?' Yang thought.
"So a bit of a change of plans," Ruby began, "Jaune and Pyrrha wanted to do some doubles sparring today, so they asked Blake and I to join them."
Yang looked over to her girlfriend, struggling to return any eye-contact.
"I thought they needed to work on their class project too," Yang countered, "Isn't that why we didn't spar with them yesterday?"
"Yes," Ruby hesitantly replied, "I guess they must have finished it…"
"Well, why aren't they just sparring with Ren and Nora?"
"Pyrrha said she wants more combat variety for Jaune," Blake chimed in.
Yang sighed, thinking, 'It seems they're really stretching to avoid dealing with Weiss. Are they really drumming up a lie right now?'
"So what then? Should I go help her by myself?" Yang grumbled, "I'm fairly sure I'm the least qualified to assist any documentation writing and most likely to piss her off…"
"What's the worst that could happen?" Ruby argued.
'Weiss is already the worst thing that could happen,' Yang thought, 'but I guess I can just go and brainstorm date ideas for Blake and I. Weiss probably won't want my help…'
"Fine," Yang rolled her eyes, "Have fun sparring."
"Thank you, Yang," Blake offered with a pained smile. She clearly wasn't excited about whatever was happening, "See you at the dorm later."
Blake:
As the blonde brawler vanished down the hallway, Blake turned to glare at her team leader.
"Do you want to explain to me now why exactly you insisted we lie to my- um- to Yang?"
"Relax," Ruby grinned, "It's a golden opportunity that will be well worth it for Friday."
Ruby steered Blake to start following her.
"In your message you described an emergency. You said we had an emergency to go deal with immediately after class."
"An emergency-golden-opportunity!" Ruby clarified, as the pair exited the academic building and marched towards the campus gates. "The best local grocery in Vale is having a massive sale today – I think it's some anniversary of its original, historic opening or something, so it's a perfect opportunity to gather everything for us to cook on Friday."
"Saving some money isn't a concern for this, Ruby," Blake raised her voice, "Are you kidding me? We could've simply ordered groceries to be delivered later today or tomorrow."
"You said you wanted to cook something special," Ruby recalled, "So we should hand pick the fresh produce. All the good ingredients might be picked over later on, and-"
"What we should've done is not blatantly lie to Yang. That was pathetically transparent. She didn't seem convinced, and even if she was – what happens if she sees Jaune or Pyrrha not sparring with us?"
"Relax, Blake," Ruby placed her hand on her shoulder, "All of team JNPR are shadowing a huntress today. Yang's not going to run into them at the library, and Yang is going to one-hundred percent forgive us for this little white lie after she sees the amazing dinner you've prepared for her."
Blake groaned further, "Fine. Let's just go get the supplies before the rain picks back up."
'Yang may forgive us for lying,' Blake thought, 'but certainly won't for leaving her alone to deal with Weiss…'
…
Yang:
Now abandoned by her once loyal allies in the war against the ice queen, the little sun dragon courageously entered the library to meet thy foe. She easily spotted Weiss at their usual boardgame table. With her headphones blasting classical tunes and her eyes glued to her screen, approaching and interrupting Weiss seemed to be the worst course of action.
Yang took a deep breath, trying not to mentally curse out her teammates, 'She's mad at this school project – not at me. She's also mad and stressed out about her probably perfectly reasonable boyfriend – not me.'
With some shaky thoughts of reassurance in place, Yang swiftly approached the table and plopped herself next to the heiress.
"Hey there, Weiss."
Her head snapped towards Yang like a predator.
"What on Remnant are you doing here? I said I would meet you all at the dorm later. I am trying to get some actual work done right now. You cannot copy my homework if that's what you're thinking."
'A flawless start,' Yang internally mused.
"Blake, Ruby, and I were planning to help you finish the project, but you ran off before we could stop you," Yang explained, "but also the other two… I don't know… they had other plans that came up … but here I am."
"Great," Weiss scoffed, "I'm thrilled you all have found the motivation to contribute now that the project is essentially complete. All that enthusiasm would've surely been wasted when I was trying to delegate tasks weeks ago."
"I know," Yang patiently conceded, "We're sorry. We figured we should still at least offer considering… uh…"
"Considering what?" Weiss demanded.
Rolling her eyes, Yang replied, "Considering how extra wired and stressed you've been about both this project and Neptune."
Weiss scoffed again, sarcastically responding, "Well thanks for your worthwhile concern about my relentless plights, but the write-up is done. I've already answered every prompt and explained all of the many functionalities of our grimm trap. I'm merely proofreading now. Thanks but no thanks, brute."
Yang sighed. None of this was unexpected.
"Alright well, I'll stick around in case you can think of something for me. Sorry again, Weiss."
The blonde leaned her seat back and pulled out her scroll to browse. Weiss in turn scoffed, switched her music back on, and resumed her work.
A war of silence commenced. Several minutes ticked by with only Weiss' occasional typing audible. Yang attempted to return to brainstorming date ideas, but due to the lack of inspiration, she quickly ended up merely staring into the surrounding space. A student passed through the room… A bird landed near the window… A librarian carted by with a stack of books…
Soon Weiss' typing fell dormant. The air conditioning became the new volume standard.
…
…
…
"I – I'm sorry"
'…What?' Yang thought. She must've been hallucinating whatever she'd heard. The huntress peered over to her uptight teammate who surprisingly was already looking over.
"Uh what was that?" Yang hesitantly questioned.
"You heard me, you oaf," Weiss sighed, "I'm apologizing for dismissing you. In truth, your assertions were accurate. I have been arguably tense as of late, even though the project is effectively complete. You contributed your part through building the actual structure, so my rudeness was unwarranted."
"Ah," Yang slowly replied. The heiress actually apologizing was beyond unexpected.
"Well, it's okay … I guess … uh…" Yang awkwardly paused, "so Neptune is really stressing you out, huh?"
"Yes," Weiss strained to put simply.
"Well I mean… " Yang scratched her head, "Do you feel like talking about it?"
The heiress looked away, seemingly thinking of the worst potential outcomes of sharing. She finally answered, "Not particularly, but I suppose talking is traditionally supposed to help… or something…"
"Fine," Weiss groaned, "What have you gathered about the situation already, then?"
"Um," Yang quickly thought about the past two days, "Neptune has been sort of ditching you at lunch to hang out with that other team, yeah?"
"In a sense," Weiss grumbled.
"But he also invited you to join them, right?"
"That's not-" Weiss caught her anger, "I am not upset that Neptune is spending time with his friends from Haven Academy. I'm upset that yesterday Neptune cancelled plans with me over scroll and has offered no opportunity to talk about it."
"What do you mean? What plans?"
"We were going to study in the cafeteria this Friday evening, but now we're scheduled to visit some scummy restaurant with the rest of team SSSN and team ABRN. I was seriously looking forward to a pleasant time with just Neptune, and and-"
Weiss glared at the table and started scratching her temples.
"I – at the very least – want to reschedule something with just the idiot and I, but I also want to address how rude it was to both cancel and create new plans with his friends without consulting me. At this point now, his friends from Haven would be reasonably upset at me if I stepped in and demanded a return to the original plan. It's a lose-lose awkward situation and I despise everything about it."
The heiress stopped to catch her breath from her chain of venting. In the new silence, Yang felt obliged to offer some feedback.
"Ah, I see … well I mean it sounds like you have the right idea of what to do. You should definitely talk to Neptune about this. Uh, why haven't-"
"I don't wish to discuss this over scroll, and he's been with team ABRN for the entirety of yesterday and today."
"Ah – well then arrange a time to talk with him. Don't just passively wait for the chance."
Weiss sighed, "I suppose I should."
"Absolutely," Yang agreed, "and I'm certain he'll turn up if you clarify that it's important."
"Yeah…"
"…"
"…"
Yang cleared her throat, "Well, are you going to message him or what?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're not messaging the dude," Yang observed, "Start typing right now. Why wait?"
The heiress groaned as she reluctantly lifted her scroll.
"Fine, I will write and send a message now."
Yang grinned. She knew she'd personally spend hours contemplating such a message, but it would be far more productive to just spit it out and get things rolling.
"I still have one question though, princess."
"What would that be?" Weiss kept typing on her scroll.
"You mentioned the original plan was to meet up in the cafeteria Friday evening, but isn't the place locked up by then for the weekend? I remember that being a major policy change after we started a trend of sparring in there."
"Oh uh well…" Her hesitation suggested significant regret in disclosing that detail. "The cafeteria is locked, but Neptune knows a way in…"
"Oh my," Yang laughed, "I never would've thought one of Beacon's top students would become such a delinquent rule-breaker. Are you all shattering a window or something?"
"We are breaking nothing," Weiss snapped, "Neptune learned where the keys are kept in a nearby utility closet through Sun, and we're simply utilizing a space that we have rightful access to as it is funded and maintained by our tuition payments."
"Dang, Weiss. I didn't think you had it in you."
"Shut it, brute," Weiss stood up and physically turned her chair away, "I am done discussing this. You need to return to whatever nonsense you were working on."
"Alright – alright," Yang chuckled. The blonde leaned her chair back once more as she glanced at her scroll and returned to her brainstorming. 'I hope that situation with Neptune gets sorted out, but now back to Blake … where is a secluded place on campus? It needs to be somewhere with no chance of anyone randomly entering … wait a second… '
…
…
Blake:
After a usual Wednesday night and a standardly boring Thursday, it was finally Friday. Even though the weather remained gloomy with rain, each member of team RWBY was shining with excitement for the events to come. They'd completed their final presentation of the grimm trap project – approved and praised by the stubborn Professor Port himself. The team now calmly sat in their dorm room.
Blake kept glancing over to Yang from her bed, thinking how she could possibly distract her. The blonde was presently absorbed in a game on her scroll, but Blake needed to get her out of the dormitory so she and Ruby could start cooking in their floor's common kitchen. There was currently a significant stash of food stored in that refrigerator, and the longer it stayed, the greater the chance Nora would scavenge it.
As Blake began typing a message to Ruby on her scroll, the bathroom door abruptly slammed open. Weiss stepped out with substantial makeup applied and her sleek, white jacket buckled.
"Alright, I am heading out for the evening," announced the heiress, "You three, try not to burn down the place."
"We're not the ones with a case of fire dust under our bed," Yang chuckled, without taking her eyes from her screen.
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Well, I'm not the one to ravage through others' belongings."
"Hey," Ruby protested, "I was genuinely starving that one time, and there was a nonzero chance I'd mistakenly stored snacks there."
"Just forget it," Weiss sighed as she swiped up her wallet and scroll from her desk.
"So, you're off for fun with team SSSN and ABRN?" Yang paused her game and turned as she asked.
"Yes – everything is sorted out," Weiss confirmed, hastily opening the door, "See you all later."
Before any further discussion, the exit loudly slammed shut. Yang softly chuckled.
'Seems she still doesn't want to talk about Neptune,' Blake thought to herself, 'Well I truly hope she enjoys tonight. Weiss is inadvertently doing a huge favor for me by leaving the dorm room available … now how to distract Yang for a while to prepare… '
The faunus glanced back to her girlfriend, who surprisingly had closed her game and was putting her shoes on.
"I just remembered," Yang announced, "I wanted to talk to Professor Oobleck at his office. I believe he owes me some points on the quiz we got back yesterday."
"What?" Blake questioned, "The sun's almost going down. Will he still be in his office?"
"The man should be," Yang confirmed as she hefted her seemingly stuffed bookbag, "I messaged him about it yesterday."
"Alright, well…"
'Since when does Yang coordinate and meet with professors?' Blake thought. Though her suspicions weren't substantial enough to try and prevent a seemingly perfect opportunity.
"Let me know when you're heading back then."
"You betcha," Yang winked, "It shouldn't take too long. Later, ladies!"
With a peace sign, the blonde left the dorm and left her dark-haired partner in confused awe.
After a beat of silence, Blake snapped her gaze over to the team leader, "Was that your doing?"
Ruby snickered, "I'm flattered you suspect me, but no."
"Both Yang and Weiss are out of the dormitory by sheer luck?" Blake skeptically observed.
"Seems like it," Ruby shrugged, "I was planning on forging an email about failing a class for Weiss and faking an emergency Crescent Rose repair for Yang, but we've lucked out."
Blake sighed, imagining Weiss frantically storming through various school departments to fix her grade and Yang reluctantly accompanying her sister to a weaponsmith.
"Well, it's comforting that you're still as diabolical as ever, Ruby. I suppose we'd better get to work before Yang returns and we'll need one of those schemes."
"Absolutely," Ruby smirked.
The pair stood and made their way to the common kitchen. The room offered a simple space for residents to prepare their own cooked meals when they grew tired of the cafeteria. While the pink countertop and appliances were a bit of an eyesore, they'd surely aid the creation of a fantastic feast.
The girls opened the fridge to thankfully find their groceries untouched.
"Awesome," Blake grinned, "I believe it's time to prepare some quality Mystralian Food."
Blake unpackaged and tossed a mighty strip of beef with a slab of butter into the main stovetop pan. As she stirred and cut the primary component, Ruby cut a variety of vegetables on a cutting board.
Once the meat was effectively sliced and sizzling, Blake placed two pots of water onto the stove. While waiting for them to boil, she began adding the vegetables Ruby had cut to the pan, along with several splashes of herbs and spices. Ruby in turn was now preparing a tray of doughy globs to bake into biscuits.
Blake started glancing at the clock, wondering when Yang would be back.
Taking notice, Ruby reassured, "We've surely got plenty of time."
"…I've just got a weird feeling…"
The oven suddenly rang, signaling it had reached the target temperature. Ruby carefully placed the tray onto the heated shelf. Blake glanced back to the pots, and realizing they'd began boiling, she dropped a bag of rice into one and a package of noodles into the other.
The faunus then lowered the temperature of the main pan as everything reached completion and started dropping vegetables into the noodle pot. Everything was coming together. It seemed like they'd actually have the special meal done in time.
As Blake leaned against the counter, taking a relieving sigh, she heard her scroll ringing. Lifting the device, she was surprised by the caller.
"Yang is calling," Blake alerted Ruby.
"Crap – well, see what's up. I can go distract her if necessary."
The faunus slowly answered her scroll, "Hello?"
"Heeey, Blakey," Yang chimed, "Can I get your help?"
"Help with what?" Blake inquired as she kept an eye on the boiling food, "Did everything go alright with Professor Oobleck?"
"Yeah – everything went fine with the professor, but – uh - well, it's a little hard to explain," Yang admitted, "You'll understand once you see. Can you just come meet me in the courtyard outside the cafeteria?"
"Uh…," Blake stammered, "I'm a little busy with homework right now, Yang. Whatever it is can it wait until-?"
"Come on, Blake!" Yang pleaded, "Please?"
Unsure of what to do, Blake looked to Ruby. The girl shrugged and whispered, "I'm pretty sure I can wrap things up here. If you go help Yang and slow her down a bit, I can have everything set up in the dorm by the time you're back."
Blake slowly nodded, deciding that would work. She wasn't exactly thrilled to pass off the responsibility to Ruby, but what else could she do at this point?
"Alright, I suppose I'll make my way to the courtyard."
"Awesome!" Yang exclaimed, "Thanks, babe. I'll see you soon. Bye!"
"Bye."
The faunus hung up her scroll, and after ensuring all the components of the meal were at a stable place, she started making her way to the door.
"I guess I'll message you when we're coming back, Ruby."
"Sounds like a plan," Ruby offered a thumbs up, "See you later."
…
Yang:
Yang anxiously sat on a bench outside the cafeteria. Having adopted the idea from Weiss and Neptune, she'd easily found the utility closet Weiss had alluded to – as well as the maintenance key inside. It only took a bit of snooping the previous day. The closet's door was broken and the key was clearly labelled. It seemed inevitable someone like Sun would find it.
Now the huntress had stealthily followed Weiss to ensure the heiress was indeed going out with Neptune and the group, and not in fact returning to the cafeteria as she'd originally planned and hoped. Stealing the couple's romantic 'study' spot wouldn't go over well if caught.
However, after witnessing the group of nine students greet one another and exit through the main gates of Beacon, Yang was confident the cafeteria would be empty and secure. Now that she'd set up a romantic dinner spot and picked up some ordered, fine dining, all that was left was to wait.
After several stressful minutes of anticipation, Yang finally spotted the special girl of the hour. The shadowy faunus walked across the empty courtyard with her hands pocketed from the evening breeze.
"Hey, Blake!" Yang beamed.
"Hey, so what did you need me for?"
"It's right in here," Yang grabbed the door handle, "Let me show you."
"Inside the cafeteria…?"
"Yep!"
'Here we go,' Yang thought, taking a deep breath.
She swung the entrance open and cordially held it with a slight bow. The faunus skeptically stepped through, and after glancing around the room, she gasped with realization.
A small table had been set up with a dark red cloth, candle, and two fancy to-go boxes.
Yang let the door close behind them, prompting Blake to turn back towards her girlfriend.
"Surprise!" Yang sang, "Happy one-month anniversary! I know it's kind of lame, but I wanted to do at least something, and this place was perfect – no one will interrupt us here!"
Blake's expression appeared surprised, but not exactly thrilled. She simply kept staring at the table. After a moment lacking any response, the blonde grew worried.
'Oh shit, is she upset? Shiiit – this place is probably still too public for her, isn't it?' Yang bitterly thought.
"Is this alright, Blake?" Yang hesitantly asked.
Seemingly snapping back to reality, Blake quickly responded, "Oh uh, yes! But … well, um…"
'She fucking hates it,' Yang internally cried.
"I'm sorry, Blake. I should've ran the idea past you first. I don't know why-"
"No, Yang!" Blake laughed as she quickly glanced around the room. She swiftly stepped closer, wrapping the blonde in a hug to peck her on the lips. "I love it."
Yang immediately blushed and stammered back, "O-Oh, awesome. I-I love that you love it."
The faunus chuckled and took hold of her girlfriend's hands, "Unfortunately, you weren't the only one with a surprise planned for this evening."
"Huh?"
"I kind of cooked us dinner back at the dorm. Ruby was helping and we planned for everything to be ready once I brought you back there…"
"You're kidding."
"I wish it were so. We cooked everything today after picking up groceries on Wednesday."
Yang deeply sighed, wearing the widest smile on her face.
"That's why you two bailed … Wait, but I chose to leave the dorm. How-"
"Ruby had a distraction in mind, but you left before she sprung it," Blake explained.
"Oh my god," Yang laughed, "Of course you and the minion had a distraction planned."
The brawler pulled her partner close once more, returning the peck.
"I love you," Yang stated simply.
"Likewise," Blake simply replied, "and for many months to come."
Sighing, Yang turned back to the elaborate set up she'd prepared.
"So, was the plan for Ruby to buzz off once you brought me back?"
"Ideally, yes," Blake nodded.
"Then I propose we return to the dorm, and combine our meals for an even grander feast to celebrate."
"That sounds like a workable compromise," Blake laughed.
…
Upon returning to the room, the bees found Ruby had pulled through. A short side table was pushed to the center of the room with several foil-covered plates sitting on top. As Yang began unpacking her bag, Blake noticed a note on the table as well.
Lifting it, she read, "I'll be at the gym. Heart Ruby."
"Awesome," Yang replied, placing more food and the candle onto the table, "We'll have to try and save something for your little helper."
"Indeed."
"So tell me," Yang inquired, dragging two chairs to the table, "What did you lovely girls prepare? It smells amazing."
"Most of the surprise has already been ruined. Why don't you peel open the plates and find out?"
"Ooo okay," Yang agreed, taking her seat, "and you can open the boxes to see what I brought."
"…I mean, I can already smell the tuna…"
Yang burst into laughter, "Oh, my precious kitten. Alright well, let me see what else we've got here."
Opening the foil and releasing a puff of steam, Yang discovered the main plate with a blend of beef and vegetables.
"Oh my god, you made your own Mystralian!?"
"Yep," Blake smiled and shrugged, "We'll see how it turned out."
"I will already confirm this is amazing, Blake," Yang insisted as she discovered the biscuits, rice, and noodles on the other plates.
The girl started blushing slightly, "Thanks, Yang."
The pair dished up their plates, combining the meals together, and dug in. Utterly enthralled by the flavors, once eating, Yang only paused for breaths and joyous exclamations. Blake in turn, constantly paused to laugh at the other.
"Where's the tuna from?" Blake eventually pondered, "I think I recognize it."
Yang gulped down a huge bite. "It's from the small seafood place near the docks. I believe the place is called 'Sea Dragon's Den'."
"Ah," Blake realized, "That was where Sun and I went…"
"Oh, gotcha," Yang nodded, "That was a good choice…"
"Yep…"
Taking another fork-full, the blonde huntress thought, 'Now's definitely not the time for Blake to feel bad about anything. I should change the subject before I start demanding When can I take you out to that restaurant instead of ordering take out? '
"So," Yang pivoted, "What was your favorite thing from the past month? And you can't say me."
Blake's smile crawled back up her cheek, "Oh no – the limitations. I can't say it was when you were sick and all cuddly a few weeks ago?"
"No, and excuse me – I am always cuddly."
"I see - well I guess it must've been hanging out with Ruby and reading my new novel when you weren't around. The ending had a great twist."
"Damn," Yang chuckled, "I guess that's the answer I was asking for."
"Mhm," Blake sipped her drink, "What about you then? What did you enjoy about the past month?"
"Aside from you?"
"Yes. It's pretty obvious you've enjoyed me."
"Oh you know it," Yang winked. Blake nearly spat out her drink as she chuckled.
"Alright," the blonde continued, "I think I actually really liked building the grimm cage. When Weiss wasn't being bossy, it was surprisingly fun for us all to hang out."
"Right," Blake nodded, "because Weiss definitely wasn't running a constant dictatorship."
"She had her moments," Yang shrugged.
"Maybe a few moments," Blake slowly agreed, "Well we can look forward to the next group project then. For now, I'm glad the princess is out and off with Neptune."
"Absolutely," Yang chimed as she set down her cleared plate, "I'm really glad we've got some time to ourselves…"
The faunus took her last bite and sat her plate down in turn. The pair's eyes were locked as their cheeks quickly turned crimson.
Blake softly chuckled, "Well come on then."
The two slid from their chairs onto Yang's bed. The blonde nearly tackled the other as their lips passionately met and they rolled onto their sides. They pulled each other closer with their hands sliding across the other's back.
The flurry continued until Blake finally broke away to gasp for air with heavy breaths. Yang in turn shifted her attention and started slowly pecking down the faunus' cheek and neck, eventually pushing her top down to nibble at her collarbone.
Blake breathed, "Don't you dare leave any-"
"I won't!" Yang happily giggled.
The blonde firmly hugged her girlfriend's waist and rolled to heave the huntress on top of her. She returned her attention to Blakes lips, now feeling the weight and warmth of the best blanket she could imagine. Blake grabbed Yang's shoulders to balance herself and pushed back into the kiss.
Both zoned out, growing completely absorbed in the session. Blake began slightly sliding her body across Yang's, syncing to the dynamics of their make out. The pair could now feel their bare skin together where their tops had rolled up slightly. The dark-haired girl failed at containing her moans between kisses as a warmth further built inside of her. Subconsciously replying, Yang's hands found their way up the other's shirt, sliding across her toned back. She could feel drips of sweat on her smooth skin, accompanied by an abrupt band of fabric. Before Yang could process it, there was a click of a bra strap.
"Whoa," Blake recoiled as the pair snapped back to reality. The faunus sat up, hastily refastening the clip, "Weiss and Ruby are still coming back!"
"I know – I'm sorry – I'm so sorry," Yang frantically insisted as she sat up in pursuit, "I wasn't thinking – I was so caught up with…"
"Me too," Blake agreed. Yang realized the girl's face was cherry red. The two breathed for a thoughtful, speechless moment.
"I'm sorry," Yang repeated, "Are you okay? I-"
Blake immediately leaned back in to meet her partner's lips, pulling away after a moment to confirm, "It's fine, Yang. We were both …"
The faunus sighed, trying to contain her smile.
"Soon, but not right now, okay?"
Yang chuckled, feeling her cheeks grow volcanic. "Okay," Yang nearly whispered on her breath.
"Alright."
With that, Blake slid closer, tangling their legs together.
"What are you-?"
"We've still got some time to ourselves, right?"
"It seems so…" Yang confirmed.
The two collided once more, falling onto their sides in another loving embrace.
…
…
Yang lay awake in her bunk. It was now extremely late in the moonlit room. Ruby and Weiss had returned and passed out a long while ago. Currently, she could overwhelmingly hear the snores of her teammates, although she only paid attention to the soft breaths from the bunk directly above her.
'Isn't this fun,' Yang thought, 'Once upon a time I was an insomniac pondering about Blake and how I could ever possibly win her over, and now here I lay awake thinking how impossibly lucky I am to have her. '
The huntress switched sides in her bed, feeling comfortable, but still awake.
'I almost want to pinch myself to be sure this hasn't been a cruel dream, but no – reality has become the dream. I wouldn't have believed it, but I actually cannot wait for the months and years to come. I can't wait to spend the time with Blake, keep her safe, and help her feel good about herself and the world. As fully trained huntresses, we'll even help improve the world around us. Nothing can beat that…'
Yang pressed her head deeper into her pillow, allowing her to detect a new scent.
'Is that … Blake's shampoo?'
Yang's eye lids started growing heavy.
'It's so… nice…'
Abruptly a scroll started vibrating, snapping Yang awake with the buzzing. The huntress groaned and reached over to silence her device. As she sat up to look at the screen, she realized she still heard the buzzing. It seemed like Weiss or Ruby's was still going off across the room.
'Did we both set alarms wrong, or…'
Yang realized she'd received a message.
'Who's messaging me this late – some marketer?'
Although tempted to toss the device aside, the sound and slight curiosity had now completely awakened the blonde. She opened the message.
'This could have all been avoided, but we don't break promises. Sorry, Onyx.'
'… Onyx? The girl that sparred with the halberd and dark blue armor?... Why did I receive…?'
Yang turned back towards the other scroll. It had just stopped vibrating.
With now burning curiosity, Yang stood from her bed, walked over, and lifted the other scroll from the side table – it was Ruby's. She too had received a message. Yang opened it to discover it was identical.
'What the…'
Glancing back at her own scroll, she realized another detail. The message had an attachment. Probably unwise to open, but Yang's curiosity was now too great. She opened it.
Her eyes widened and heart raced.
'No…'
Loaded onto her screen was a set of photos. Each one showed the girl, Onyx, completely naked. Some appeared self-taken, while others were clearly taken from exterior windows of a dormitory.
'… Fuck …'
~~~Please consider leaving a review – this was the longest chapter yet.
I must offer a huge thanks to all of you still following or finding this story. You are the real reason this story has returned from and survived numerous hiatuses. I love hearing about your enjoyment, and I really want to deliver a complete story to you all. Although admittedly these characters are also a big motivation. It is so fun writing them.
I'm sorry about how long this chapter has taken. This became a huge chunk to tell as I wanted to push to end with that message on the scroll. It kind of snowballed with planning, careful thought, and simply lots of writing and revising since last July. I also was dealing with my hardest semester of college yet this past fall. Hooray for senior year I guess. I was aiming for a Christmas deadline, but that definitely didn't happen. The upcoming chapters may take similar time scales, as they all will be requiring similar levels of thought and planning. If I'm going to write, I'm going to make sure it has consistency and direction.
So what progress have we made with the plot? Well admittedly most of the chapter was just organizing the bees' date with bunches of fluff. The real progression wasn't until the end. Curious to hear feedback on the 'session' by the way - if it was awkward, I can avoid writing that type of thing in the future, but I thought it was natural and expected to include by this point. Story's rated M though, so it had fair warning.
Anyways we're finally at the point where the set-ups will bloom into payoffs. If you don't understand what just happened, it'll be explained next time...
Thank you all again, and see you for chapter 20.
...A friendly warning by the way – the fluff is over. Welcome to Arc 3.