"Okay here we go, here's the first guests." Yang was shaking slightly with nervous excitement. Blake was seated beside her at the donation table, directly across from the balloon corral. They watched together as a couple exited the car and made their way towards them.
"Wait a minute..." Blake said, straining to see them clearly. "Isn't that?"
"Shit, it is," Yang responded. She groaned loudly and face-palmed. "What the hell are THEY doing here?"
The two of them suspiciously waited for the couple to make it to the table, all of Yang's excitement replaced with dread and barely disguised fury. By the time the pair made it to the entrance, Yang seemed ready to snap.
"Well, hello there Councilwoman," the man said with an unpleasant smirk.
"Hello, Mr. Black," Yang replied, working hard to remain as cordial as possible. "Nice of you and your wife to attend." She gave Emerald a glare as she spoke. The other woman refused to meet her eyes, holding onto her husband's arm as though it was a lifeline.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Mercury responded smugly. "Though I've gotta say, it seems pretty risky to make the admission free. With the general public the way it is, I wouldn't be surprised if you struggle to break even."
Yang took a deep breath before she spoke again. "Yes, well, we wanted to make a political event that was accessible to everyone, not just people with money to spare," she stated calmly. "I'm confident that the gala will make plenty through donations, food sales, and the raffle." She paused to smile at him. "Speaking of, how would you two like to buy some raffle tickets? We have several lovely gift baskets you can enter the drawings for!"
Mercury gave her a smile right back. "Of course, we'll purchase some momentarily. Would you like us to buy you some hair dye as well?" His smile turned nasty and Yang gritted her teeth. "Don't get me wrong, I love the style! But sadly it may not be the most professional, wouldn't you agree Em?"
Emerald looked surprised at her sudden involvement in the conversation, but she hastily nodded her agreement. "It's a great look for you Councilwoman...for your new career as a tattoo artist."
Yang's hands clenched into fists, and she felt herself physically shaking with anger.
"Listen, you little—"
"What Yang means to say," Blake interrupted, standing up and pulling Yang back slightly. "Is that her new hair coloring is a well thought out statement."
Mercury sneered at her. "Oh yeah? What statement would that be?"
Yang looked at Blake in shock, her eyes wide. "Uhh..."
"You don't know, Mr. Black?" Blake asked. "That's a little embarrassing for you, don't you think?"
Mercury's cocky smile disappeared for the first time, and he and Yang wore similar confused expressions.
"As you know, it's now October, National Bullying Prevention Month. The third Thursday of this month will be LGBT Spirit Day. And in honor of that, Councilwoman Xiao Long has bravely dyed her hair purple to show solidarity with victims of homophobia and bullying throughout the country." Blake reached into her bag and quickly pulled out a purple ribbon. "This color represents that," she explained, handing it to Yang.
Wordlessly, Yang pinned the ribbon to her shirt, her eyes shining with admiration. Mercury looked at the two of them for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Seriously?" he snickered. "You're gonna spin this into some grand gesture on behalf of the homos? Disgusting."
Yang scowled at him. "Hey Black, it's 2016 in case you didn't notice. What's disgusting is your refusal to get with the times."
"Please," Mercury replied with his smirk back in place. "While I support the rights of anyone to select the lifestyle of their choosing, I stand firmly for family values and the sanctity of marriage, not—" he paused to wrinkle his nose, "—degenerates. And plenty of Vale, especially outer Vale, agrees with me."
"Get out," Yang said, her voice eerily calm.
"What?"
"Get out," she repeated. "Leave."
Mercury leered at her unpleasantly. "No need to be rude, blondie," he said. All semblance of civility was gone now. "We're going." He gave Blake a glare, then exited the way he came, Emerald in tow.
Blake stood close to Yang as they left, placing a reassuring hand on her arm.
"What a dick," Yang muttered to her.
"Definitely," Blake agreed.
"Nice thinking there with Spirit Day," Yang said, turning to give her a smile. "Mercury might think it's stupid, but I think that's a fantastic idea. Almost wish I did dye it on purpose for that."
Blake beamed at her. "I was worried you wouldn't be on board," she admitted. "Sorry I suddenly sprung it onto you."
"What, no! Don't apologize!" Yang touched the ribbon on her shirt softly. "When did you get this though?"
"O-oh." Blake looked down in ill-disguised panic. "I just...had it."
Yang's eyes searched Blake's face for a long moment.
"Blake, can I ask you something?" she said finally. Blake's breath hitched slightly. She nodded slowly.
"Do you, uh, are you—"
"Hey guys!" The sound of Jaune's voice made Blake and Yang jump in unison. They turned to look at him, Yang muttering something vaguely expletive under her breath.
"How's it going? Get any donations yet?" He asked, trotting over to join them. Blake exchanged a glance with Yang.
"Not exactly," she said glumly. "Mercury and Emerald Black showed up."
Jaune's eyes widened. "Where?" He looked around as if he was expecting a physical attack.
"Chill Jaune, they're gone now," Yang said. He sighed in relief.
"That man makes me uncomfortable," he explained. He cleared his throat a couple times before continuing. "Uh, so, Blake?" She raised her eyebrows at him. It was very rare for Jaune to address her personally.
"Yes?" she asked.
"...We need to talk." Jaune basically teleported behind her and pushed lightly at her back to get her moving.
"Wha—" Yang started.
"Why—" Blake began.
"No questions! Come on," he demanded, pushing a little more insistently.
"Okay, fine," Blake relented. She let him lead her away, shooting a questioning glance over her shoulder at Yang, who raised her hands in total confusion.
Jaune steered Blake into a far corner of the fairgrounds, shushing her whenever she tried to ask a question. Blake gave up and took the time to enjoy the pleasant festival scene that the group had created. They passed by the Ren's Diner tent, where Ren gave the two of them a polite wave. Nora looked up from her stack of pancakes long enough to smile and wave energetically. Blake quickly raised a hand back at them in greeting before Jaune dragged her out of their sight.
Finally, Jaune stopped walking abruptly, Blake nearly slamming into him from behind. He looked furtively in all directions before regarding Blake critically. She raised an eyebrow back at him in silence.
"Alright, we're safe here," Jaune said with a solemn air.
"Okay...?"
"I have something important to ask you, and you've gotta be honest, got it?" Jaune's eyes were more intense than Blake had ever seen them. She nodded her assent.
"Okay, here goes." He took a deep breath. "D'you like Yang?" His face was a perfect imitation of the :D emoticon.
"...Was that it?" Blake asked. "What the hell Jaune, I thought it was something important!"
"Love is important," Jaune answered with a sage nod. "Now ANSWER THE QUESTION."
"Aren't you a grown man? You're acting like a 12 year old," Blake said with thinly veiled annoyance.
"Well, Pyrrha always says I'm young at heart," he replied with a grin. "Now c'moooon, tell me!"
Blake's annoyance burst to the surface in an instant.
"Can you grow up?!" she exploded. "Stop sticking your nose into things that aren't any of your business! There is nothing, NOTHING, between me and Yang, okay?"
Jaune immediately backed down, looking genuinely hurt and ashamed. "Oh. I'm, uh, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Yeah, you should be," Blake growled, still a little irritated. "And stop with the teasing too. It's unnecessary."
"I will," Jaune agreed. "I didn't realize it was bothering you that much, I'm really sorry." They stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. Then Jaune cleared his throat again.
"But hey, can I at least explain myself a little bit? I promise I'll stop it either way." Blake frowned slightly at him but nodded.
"Thanks," he sighed. "I'm sorry I've been such a child, but it's only because I care about Yang so much, I promise! She and Ruby are like my sisters. Y'know, to go with my other seven," he said with a chuckle. Blake's frown didn't waver. Jaune shifted uncomfortably.
"Uhh, so, I really want them to be happy," he continued earnestly. "And you make Yang happier than I've seen her in years." Blake's eyes widened at that.
"Really?" she asked. Jaune smiled warmly.
"Really." He paused to collect his thoughts. "So yeah, that's the reason I've been teasing you two all the time. She's crazy about you, Blake. And I guess I thought you were into her too." He rubbed the back of his head. "I definitely misread things there."
Blake looked intently at the ground, her face suddenly feeling hot and fuzzy. Yang was...crazy about her? She waited a moment before responding.
"Are you saying Yang is into girls?" she asked finally.
"Uhhhhhh." Jaune looked like a deer in the headlights. "You should...you're gonna have to ask her that."
"You pretty much already told me..." Blake stated slowly. "I was just checking."
"Ahhhhhh." He shifted as though he was about to make a break for it.
"It's okay Jaune, I won't tell her that you told me," Blake reassured him. Jaune's shoulders slumped in relief.
"Oh my god, thank you," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Guess that means you're straight, right? Can't believe I got you so wrong."
Then his eyes widened. "Wait, that's personal, you don't have to answer that!"
Blake laughed a little. "I'm bi," she stated plainly. She began walking away from him. "And just between us, I think Yang is kinda cute," she finished, making the understatement of the year.
Jaune's excited face reappeared with a vengeance. "Whoa, what?! Hey WAIT!"
"No teasing," Blake reminded him sharply. She continued her hasty retreat, leaving him glued to the spot, bouncing up and down slightly in almost comical excitement.
By the time Blake returned to the donation table, several families and groups had already entered the gala. Yang was greeting every arrival personally, leading the children to the balloons to they could select the color of their choice. Blake felt a small smile work its way onto her face as she watched Yang tell some joke to a small dark-haired girl. The girl giggled and accepted her balloon gratefully. Her parents purchased several raffle tickets from Ruby, then each took one of their daughter's hands to lead her to the nearest craft table.
Just then, the first band began playing, enveloping the scene in upbeat acoustic guitar music. Blake approached the table, sitting next to Ruby to help take in the donation money. Yang grinned at her.
"It's going well, right? That's not just me being naive?" she asked. Blake smiled back.
"It's going well," she assured her. Ruby nodded her enthusiastic agreement.
Four hours later, the gala was in full swing, and Blake found herself oddly unoccupied. Yang was darting around seemingly tirelessly, taking photos, talking to citizens, entertaining children, and networking with politicians and big-name potential donors. Even Weiss Schnee had shown up, much to Blake's surprise. It seemed that she actually did intend to negotiate properly with Yang on the factory issue. It also seemed that she had taken a liking to Ruby, seeing as they had been wandering the gala together for the past hour while Jaune and Pyrrha manned the donation table.
Blake usually enjoyed her own company, but she found herself getting bored of the area without Yang beside her. She watched the bands and other performers for a while, then proceeded to investigate a few of the local vendors. It was pretty amazing how many groups they had been able to involve in the event, and Blake felt a surge of pride seeing all of the plans finally come to fruition.
Now that it was getting dark, all of the lights they had strung up had become illuminated, bathing the fairgrounds in a serene glow. The gala was at its most crowded now as droves of teenagers arrived to see the headlining band. Blake drifted over to the stage area but kept a safe distance from the growing throng of SSSN fans. She paused to wave to Ruby and Penny as she passed by.
"Hello Blake!" Penny called while Ruby waved back cheerfully. Weiss, who was standing beside the two of them, surprised Blake by actually acknowledging her existence with a brief head nod. Blake nodded back and even gave her a brief smile before continuing on her way.
"And a pleasure to meet you, Weiss!" Penny was saying. "So how long have you and Ruby been together?"
"Um, excuse me?"
"PENNY!" Ruby's entire face turned red, and Blake noticed Weiss' cheeks flushing as well.
She chuckled silently as she walked past them and Ruby frantically tried to brush off Penny's comment.
"That explains a lot," Blake mused to herself as she neared the stage. She looked around for an isolated area to watch, but the whole space was packed with people. Peering to the far right of the stage, she spotted an old piece of scaffolding that the crew had elected not to tear down that morning. Blake made a beeline for it, carefully stepping over the rope around it and ignoring the "Do Not Enter" sign. Luckily this edge of the grounds was dimly lit, allowing her to cautiously climb to the top platform without attracting any attention.
Once she was satisfied that she was out of view, Blake settled into her spot. She exhaled deeply. Even though she had kept to herself for most of the gala, just being constantly surrounded by people had made her exhausted. She closed her eyes and leaned back against one of the beams of the scaffolding, enjoying the light evening breeze on her face and reflecting on the incredibly long day. So much had happened, and yet she found herself again fixated on Jaune's comment. Yang was crazy about her, whatever that meant. And he thought Blake was crazy about her too. Ridiculous, Blake thought to herself. Yang's brash, loud personality clashed with Blake's in every way. She was the sort of person who should've annoyed her to no end. But she didn't. In a turn of events that felt oddly inevitable, Blake had instead been irreversibly drawn to Yang's humor, her compassion, her loyalty.
"Shit," Blake muttered to herself, finally opening her eyes. It was possible that she had carelessly developed a very slight crush on her employer. Luckily, any further inconvenient emotional revelations were postponed by the sound of sudden high-pitched screaming from below her.
The band had walked onto the stage, prompting shrieks from the mostly female audience clustered around them. The boys were soaking it up, jumping and flexing as they took their places. Sun, who was actually wearing a shirt for once, grabbed the mic and yelled out a greeting that was largely unintelligible from Blake's distant vantage point. The crowd got even louder in response and even Blake could see Sun's wide grin at their enthusiasm. He yelled out something else then pointed to Sage, who began drumming out a fast-paced beat as Neptune provided a solid bass line.
Scarlet came in with a catchy guitar riff, eliciting further screaming from the audience, who only quieted slightly when Sun started singing. Even if the music wasn't her style, Blake had to admit that he had a good voice. He was also a natural showman, whirling the mic around and dancing as he sang. It only took two and a half songs before his tight shirt came off to a chorus of the loudest screams so far. He flung in into the crowd, probably giving some teenage girl a heart attack, before returning to the song.
As the tune came to a close, Blake suddenly felt the scaffolding shaking slightly. She immediately stiffened. Someone seemed to be climbing up to her platform. Blake looked around frantically for an escape route, but a blonde head popped up from the edge before she could move.
"Well hello there!" Yang said in a chipper voice. "Guess you missed the 'Do Not Enter' sign, yeah?"
Blake sighed in a mixture of relief and annoyance. "You came up too."
"True. But only because I knew you'd be here." Yang plopped down next to her and offered a grin.
"Oh really? And how exactly did you deduce that, Miss Marple?"
"It was simple," Yang explained. She began ticking things off on her fingers. "You hate loud noises and crowds, you like being in the dark, and you always go for the high ground. You're basically a cat." Blake rolled her eyes.
"So, you enjoying the show?" Yang asked.
"They're pretty good," Blake replied. "Sun certainly knows how to get a crowd going."
Yang's smile flickered almost imperceptibly. "Yeah, for sure," she replied. "You like him?"
"Sure?" One curious eyebrow crept up at the sudden question. "I barely know him. He seems nice I guess."
Yang nodded vigorously. "Yep, he's great," she said quickly, turning her attention to the band. Blake scanned her carefully from the corner of her eye. The lights from below illuminated her face, bathing it in an almost golden glow. Her violet eyes now shined the same color as her hair.
"So how did the gala do?" Blake asked in a soft voice. "No one else gave you a hard time about the hair, right?"
"Nah," Yang responded. "I got plenty of questions, but people seemed pretty impressed once I explained the bullying prevention thing." She gave Blake a gentle smile. "Thanks for bailing me out of that one."
"You would've thought of something."
"Aww, thanks!" Yang leaned just a tiny bit closer to Blake. "Oh and yeah, we made BANK on this gala. That'll teach that piece of crap Mercury."
"That's great news," Blake said sincerely. "We exceeded the goal then?"
Yang grinned at her. "Try double it."
Blake's mouth dropped open. "What?"
"All credit goes to Ruby," Yang said fondly, her pride for her sister shining through. "And to you of course."
"I...didn't do much."
"C'mon, just admit that you're awesome!" She nudged Blake's side eagerly. Blake felt her face heat up from the praise. Just then another loud wave of screaming distracted them both momentarily.
"Ooh, here comes their most popular song," Yang explained. They sat quietly for a minute as Sun sang along to a slightly slower love song. Blake suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to be closer to Yang. She sat for a second in panic, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. Then, summoning her courage, she quickly scooted over, bumping their shoulders together in her haste.
"Uhh, you good, Blakey?"
"It's cold," Blake said, her voice thankfully remaining steady.
"Oh." Yang nodded her understanding. They sat still for another minute, Blake happily basking in the warmth that Yang seemed to constantly radiate. Yang shifted slightly, and Blake tensed, expecting her to move away. But Yang simply reached her arm around, draping it over Blake's shoulders and causing her heartbeat to approach a jackhammer rate. Blake cautiously leaned against Yang, who held her a little tighter in response.
The song came to an end, and Blake was torn between a feeling of deep contentment and a struggle to remember how breathing worked.
"Blake?" Yang pulled away so that they could look at each other. Blake looked back at her, not trusting herself to speak. For a moment, Yang seemed speechless as well, her eyes silently moving down to Blake's lips. Then, she slowly leaned her head forward, heedless of the major heart palpitations she was triggering.
"YAAAAANG? Are you up there?"
Blake shot backwards while Yang jumped about a foot in the air, slamming her head into the wooden beam above them with a loud thud.
"OW, god! Ruby, what do you want?" Yang stuck her face out from the scaffolding. She rubbed the bump on the back of her head in irritation.
"Oh, sorry!" Ruby called up to her. "Mayor Ozpin wanted to say hi to you," she explained. "...Why are you up there?"
Yang waved her hands dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I"m coming down." She swung her legs over the side of the platform to begin her descent. Blake locked eyes with her, then quickly looked away. Yang chuckled nervously in response.
"I'll talk to you later, Blake," she whispered so that Ruby wouldn't hear. Blake nodded wordlessly, still intently studying the grainy wood of the scaffolding structure. She only looked up once Yang had disappeared from view. The two sisters walked away, their voices rapidly fading within the cacophony of screaming fans and pop rock rhythm.
Blake stared straight in front of her. The moon hung low in the sky, a pale white circle that looked almost out of place in the endless darkness. It had been abandoned by the stars, concealed as they were by the lights of the gala. Although when Blake strained her eyes she could vaguely discern a few faint points of light indicating the brightest stars among them. Or were those planets? It didn't matter.
She lightly touched her lips with her fingertips. She could almost feel Yang there, as if the memory of what hadn't happened was now physically part of her. The band had started another song, but Blake couldn't hear anything over the rushing of her blood through her head, over the deafening sound of her own thoughts and feelings screaming in her ears. She pulled out her pen and spun it several times in quick succession, nearly dropping it in the process. Her hands were shaking.
"Shit," Blake said again, her voice scarcely a whisper.
AN: Sorry for blue-balling the kiss lol. But A+ for Blake finally acknowledging her feelings? Anyway, thanks for reading as always and drop a review if you'd like, they always make my day! :)