Just Tell Me To Stay
Summary: Yang and Blake have been in love with each other since the moment they met, but neither could ever reveal their feelings. But now that they're entering their senior year and all the talk is on colleges and plans for the future, their friends aren't sure they can just sit by and watch as they lose each other for good. High School AU. Bumblby, WhiteRose, Arkos
Author's Note: Chapter 7 is here and on schedule! Honestly wasn't sure I would get this one in time because I've spent so much time writing and rewriting it. It's been a lot of fun though, as writing pure Bumblby fluff always is. Anyways I think this is the first real time we get to see Blake and Yang together so it's kind of a big one and it just so happens to be the longest chapter yet. Hope you like it!
Chapter 7: 'Not' a Date
"What the hell am I supposed to do?"
Weiss lets out a frustrated huff accompanied by a slight roll of the eyes. When Blake had asked her to come over after school she hadn't expected a meltdown of this degree.
"Well, taking a breath would be a start."
She doesn't get a response and is instead forced to dodge yet another shirt that gets flung onto Blake's bed.
"I think," Weiss continues, "that you're being a little over dramatic about this."
She takes another look around Blake's room, every inch covered in clothes from the girl's closet.
"I don't really think so. Ok? I looked up the restaurant that you suggested to Yang. Thanks for that by the way, and it is way fancier than anything in my closet. God is my entire wardrobe just black jeans and t-shirts?"
Weiss flops back onto Blake's bed and isn't even surprised at this point that instead of the delicious softness of a memory foam mattress she's met with the jagged ends of a dozen clothes hangers. When on earth did her life become filled with sitcom cliches?
"Has it ever occurred to you that if you don't own anything that fancy, Yang won't either."
"It did." Blake answers, voice still slightly muffled by the clothes she's sifting through, "but then this morning Pyrrha tells me about this incredible dress that Yang found at the mall yesterday and now I'm here freaking out."
"Wow, if I didn't know better I'd say you had some feelings for this girl or something."
Her sarcastic remark is rewarded with a pair of jeans pelted at her face.
"Hey don't take this out on me. I'm part of the reason you're getting this date to begin with."
"It is NOT a date!" Blake yells from the closet.
"So I keep hearing." She answers dryly, "well if it's not a date, why are you freaking out like this."
"Well… because," Blake stammers, "look can you just help me? We're supposed to be going on Saturday. That's only two days from now!"
Weiss lets out another sigh, "look if you're really this worried I can just take you shopping tomorrow after school. I'll even see if Pyrrha can come since she's seen Yang's dress."
She hears Blake call out a thank you while she's typing out the text message but still notices the fact that the consistent volley of clothes doesn't stop flying out of the closet.
…..
The next day at school goes by surprisingly normally for Weiss. For the first time in what feels like weeks, nobody is getting ambushed between classes to have deep talks about their relationship issues. In fact the only distraction she has all day is the constant text notifications from her various group chats. One consisting of herself, Blake, and Pyrrha discussing logistics for their trip to the mall, and the other being a significantly larger group with all their friends that agreed to meddle in Blake and Yang's relationship. The group having been so creatively named "The Matchmaking Squad" by Ruby and Nora.
But of course that peace and quiet could only last so long, and now she's sitting with Pyrrha outside a department store dressing room waiting for Blake to come out and show them the hundred and third dress she's tried on today.
"Mmm… I think this one's a little too formal," Pyrrha says. Weiss looks up to see that Blake had finally come out, wearing a deep purple, floor length ballgown with almost every inch of the bodice covered in sequins. "I don't think we should go with one longer than knee length, plus… it's a little too… sparkly."
"Isn't the restaurant supposed to be really nice though?" Blake asks.
Weiss shakes her head. "It's a little fancier than normal but that would be extravagant for a prom dress."
Blake lets out a frustrated groan before turning back into the changing room.
After a few minutes Weiss slumps back into the chair, letting her head flop against the backrest and staring up at the ceiling. "How long have we been here?"
"Almost two hours," Pyrrha answers with a quick glance at her phone.
"Maybe we should try a different store."
"This is like the fifth store we've tried and it's by far the biggest. If we don't find it here…"
"Guys?"
Weiss and Pyrrha turn to see Blake emerge from the dressing room and immediately her jaw drops.
The dress she's wearing is made up of shiny black satin with simple, thin spaghetti straps, a low cut straight across neckline, and a semi flowy mid-thigh length skirt made up of two diagonal crossing layers. Form fitting at the top with a slight loose flare at the bottom, somehow managing to pull off a blend of casual elegance that's just perfect on her.
"Wow Blake." Pyrrha says in a half whisper, "you look… amazing."
Blake looks down at herself, self consciously biting down on her lip. "Are you sure it's not too… revealing?"
"No, definitely not," Pyrrha answers quickly, "it shows just enough while still being classy."
Weiss nods in agreement. "Honestly Blake it's… perfect."
She hears Pyrrha let out a giggle beside her. "Well if it's enough to make the ice queen drool I can't even imagine how Yang's going to react."
Before she has a chance to protest, Blake responds with a light chuckle of her own, finally relaxing enough to show a relieved smile.
"Ok I think this is the one. Do you think it needs anything else?"
Weiss walks up to give her friend a proper look. "Hmm... maybe a necklace for a dress this low cut but I'm sure I have something you can borrow. Probably matching earrings too."
"And I think I might have a pair of shoes that would go great with that dress." Pyrrha says, walking up on her other side.
Without warning, Blake throws her arms around both of them, pulling them in for a tight hug. "What would I do without you guys."
"You'd probably still be freaking out in your room." Weiss responds with a slight roll of her eyes, "now come on, let's go pay for this thing before the store closes for the night."
…..
Blake isn't sure nervous even begins to describe it.
She keeps checking her reflection in the mirror even though she knows nothing's going to change. And she doesn't even know why she's doing it. She looks good. The white gold diamond necklace and matching earrings that Weiss had let her borrow really does complete the look and she's honestly surprised at how comfortable Pyrrha's heels are.
But that still isn't enough to stop her from coming back every five minutes. Which this latest time, earns her a smack on the head.
"You need to stop that." Weiss scolds, "you look incredible and if you keep fussing by the mirror you'll ruin your makeup."
She lets out a groan. "I know. You're right. I'm just… not really used to wearing clothes like this."
"Well maybe you should. I don't think you really understand how good you look right now. Yang's going to faint when she sees you."
Blake still runs a hand nervously through her hair before letting out a dramatic sigh. "Am I being stupid here? I mean it's not even a date and..."
"Stop." Weiss interrupts. "Okay, do you really think she'd be taking you out to this nice restaurant if she didn't have feelings for you? You're being ridiculous! Maybe this time it isn't a date or maybe it is. But does it really matter? Just let yourself be happy for once Blake, you deserve it."
Blake really wants to believe her. After all, she'd made some good points. But no matter what, the idea that Yang could actually have feelings for her still feels… impossible.
…..
When Blake pulls up to the restaurant she's immediately overwhelmed by how much nicer it is than what she had seen on Google.
The second she timidly opens the lavish double doors, she's astonished to find an ornate crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and almost every surface of the room adorned with gold trim. It immediately has her wondering how Yang thinks they can afford any of this.
She timidly makes her way through the lobby, feeling horribly out of place as she greets the woman standing at the podium in the center of the room. The hostess gives her a small smile as she quietly asks about their reservation before bringing her over to their table, a surprisingly cozy little booth tucked into a corner by the large window overlooking the brilliant glow of Vale's skyline. The lights in the dining area are significantly dimmer, a dull fiery glow that she can't help but find incredibly romantic.
She notices that Yang hasn't arrived yet as she slides into the seat and takes her phone out from her purse, wondering if it would look too desperate to send Yang a text asking where she is. But she ends up deciding against it and after a minute or so, a waiter comes by and she actually has to explain to him that she isn't old enough to drink alcohol, instead ordering an iced tea for herself and a strawberry sunrise for Yang.
After another few minutes, the waiter brings over the drinks and just as she starts to wonder what's taking Yang so long she sees an all too familiar flash of gold out of the corner of her eye.
The second she looks over she understands why Pyrrha had been hyping up Yang's outfit so much.
The dress she's wearing is a striking deep crimson with a knee length pencil skirt. The whole upper half is the same dark red color but this time in lace with off-shoulder straps coming up just to her upper arms and a very low plunging neckline. After a couple more steps Blake notices the slit cut into the side of the skirt going all the way to her upper thigh, showing off a clear view of Yang's legs with every other step. Overall the dress leaves almost nothing to the imagination and Blake doesn't even realize how her jaw is hanging wide open.
She follows every step the blonde takes, watching her chat amicably with the hostess bringing her over to the booth and the sight alone is enough to make her heart race.
Her mind is more or less blank as Yang follows the woman into their row of tables until the blonde stops suddenly. Yang's lilac eyes grow wide as Blake's own narrow a bit in confusion. For just a moment she wonders what could be wrong until she notices Yang's face slowly light up into a bright beaming smile.
As Yang closes the last few steps to the table, their eyes don't leave each other's for a second and Blake can feel herself just start to crack a grin as the blonde takes her seat.
"You're late." Blake remarks with a smirk, trying desperately to regain her composure.
Yang replies with a grin of her own, "Maybe I just wanted to see that look on your face when you watched me walk in."
Blake's eyes go wide and she can immediately feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. To be honest she should have expected this from Yang. The blonde had never been shy about much in all the years they'd known each other and she'd had to suffer through more than a few suggestive comments in the past. But at the same time, Blake was definitely one of the few people who knew how to push back.
From years and years of experience she knows she has to counter quickly to cover up the brief moment of weakness she had shown, so she leans forward slowly, letting a playful smirk return to her lips. Almost immediately Yang's nonchalant demeanor shows a hint of cracking, the blonde's eyes not so subtly flicking down a couple times with a slight dusting of pink coming in to her cheeks.
But she keeps pushing forward, inching closer to Yang until they're almost nose to nose and she has to brace herself against the table.
Blake knows she's got her cornered and the smirk tugs on her lips just a little bit more.
"Well… how does it look?"
Yang snaps her gaze back up to Blake's eyes.
"W-what?" The blonde stammers.
Blake leans back in her chair with a triumphant grin. "The view. You said you wanted to see the look on my face."
Yang's cheeks flush so deep her cheeks almost match her dress. "Oh right! Right. It uh… looks good, honestly you look… amazing right now Blake."
She feels the blood starting to rush back to her face and she has to fight the urge to hide it in some way. She hadn't expected Yang to actually be able to fire back and she finds herself struggling to come up with a response. "Um… thanks, you look… really great too. Pyrrha wasn't joking about the dress."
"Oh this?" Yang responds, shooting a quick glance down at herself, "yeah I wasn't sure about it at first, it's a little bold, even for me."
"Well it really works for you."
Her eyes go wide as she slowly registers the words that had just come out of her mouth. What is she doing? Saying something so suggestive like that, it's coming dangerously close to blatantly revealing the feelings that she'd been working so hard to conceal. But even so, Yang doesn't seem to notice, giving her another friendly, beaming smile that draws a deep sigh of relief from Blake.
She mentally scolds herself for overanalyzing so much. Of course Yang wouldn't read so much into her words, there's no way she would do that when Yang only saw her as a friend. Blake certainly never spent much time dissecting every word that Nora or Pyrrha ever said to her, they were just her friends, not to mention the fact that they were straight. Either way, with those two she knew that there was never anything to worry about because nothing would ever happen with them.
So there'd obviously be no way that Yang could see the borderline flirtatious undertones in the words she'd just said.
She should still probably tone it down though. The last few minutes she'd already been more forward than she'd ever dared to before and if she pushes things any further there would be a significant chance of her completely losing control. If she's not careful she could end up doing something truly stupid.
"So," the blonde says with a cough that sounds almost… nervous, "any idea what you'd like to eat?"
For a second she thinks about asking Yang what's wrong but decides it's better to just drop it. "Um I'm not sure yet…" she says quietly, "I don't really come to places like this very often."
"You think I do?" Yang laughs, "I think the nicest place I've ever eaten was that Japanese restaurant Weiss took us to last year."
Blake's eyes light up at the memory, thankful to have something to focus on other than keeping her eyes from drifting too close to Yang's neckline. "God that sushi was amazing."
"Well I'm sure this place has some really good fish too," The blonde says, flipping through the menu, "how about the ahi tuna? Or what is this… halibut?"
"Um yeah…" Blake replies hesitantly, "those all looked great, they were just kind of… expensive."
Yang gives her a confused look. "What? I thought I told you I was taking you out to dinner. That means it's my treat. Order whatever you want."
"Yang you don't have to…"
"I already told you Blake. I know I don't have to… I want to."
The determination in Yang's eyes is enough to sway her and she picks up the menu, shooting her a playful glare in the process despite still feeling a slight tinge of guilt.
She knew better than anyone how hard Yang had to work for her money and having so much of it spent on her didn't exactly fill her with joy. But then she looks up, instantly getting lost in the hopeful look in Yang's violet eyes and she supposes that just for tonight, she could play along.
…..
When the waiter comes to their table, Yang has to stop herself from letting out a triumphant whoop as Blake orders the ahi tuna. And her restraint is only tested further when she catches the guy looking at Blake a little too long.
But then she turns back to the girl sitting across from her and she thinks to herself that she can't really blame him for staring at someone so beautiful.
The second the waiter is done taking her order, Blake shoots her a look, eyebrow cocked in that mischievous way that she can never seem to get enough of.
"What?"
"Oh nothing," Blake says, "just wasn't a fan of how the waiter was ogling you."
"Me?" She replies incredulously, "you're the one he was staring at."
"What? He wasn't…"
"Yeah he was." Yang interrupts, "it's like his eyes were glued to your legs."
"Well what about you?" Blake counters with a smirk, "I don't think he looked at your face even once!"
She can't help but self consciously adjust her dress a little at that comment. She wasn't lying when she'd said that she wasn't entirely comfortable wearing clothes like this. Sure some of her outfits showed a fair amount of skin but this dress was on another level.
"Eh well," Yang shrugs "I guess this dress is a keeper."
"Definitely."
Yang raises an eyebrow in surprise at Blake who takes a second to realize what she'd just said, amber eyes going wide before shyly turning away to let her hair drape over her face.
The display is so adorable that she finds herself trapped in the all too familiar feeling of not wanting to ever look away.
They spend the rest of the night in much the same fashion, both of them feeling a strange sense of boldness that allows them to inch closer to the line that the two of them had drawn years ago without the other knowing. But it feels so right, having this comfortable back and forth with the girl that she'd been in love with for so long.
No cares in the world, no drama, just the two of them.
Together.
Author's Note: Finally get to end on a happy note with our favorite bees. To be honest I thought about taking this chapter a lot of different ways but with all the angst in this story already I had to throw them a bone. The other thing I struggled with for a bit was that I wasn't sure it felt natural having them go on this big fancy dinner but really it ended up being too much fun to mess with and I think it ended up okay. Anyways, let me know if you liked it, love seeing all the feedback I've been getting, favorites and reviews are always great so if you've got the time I would super appreciate it. Thanks for reading!
