"I'll be back by ten," Blake told the rest of her team as she shut the door behind her.
Immediately after it closed, Ruby leapt off of the couch, "Pizza for dinner! Without sardines!"
"Actually, I was thinking we could go down to that great restaurant in Vale with the really good coffee. You remember the one Coco was talking about?" Weiss asked as she got up from the sofa as well.
"I don't really feel like going out." Yang said solemnly, rising from the table and beginning to head for her room.
"I could always go pick up a pizza! And Weiss could come with me!" Ruby offered as she threw an arm around Weiss' shoulders.
The white-haired girl visibly tensed as she slowly pushed Ruby's arm off of her, "I don't want to walk all the way to the pizza shop."
"Maybe Yang will let us—"
"Absolutely not." Yang said, shooting down the idea of the girls taking Bumblebee out.
Ruby frowned and looked at Weiss. The heiress let out a sigh and thought for a moment. Yang had already slipped into their shared room, heading for bed. This had become the typical routine on the evenings that Blake was in the company of someone other than that of her teammates. After she left, Yang would sulk and occasionally head down to the training room to unleash her feelings on a punching bag. Ruby would bite her tongue. She knew how stubborn Yang could be about opening up and she didn't want to push her further. On the other hand, Weiss would dish out sideways glances and do everything in her power to see if she could get Yang to break and speak up. It was more than obvious that this was eating Yang alive.
Not just Yang, either. Over the past few weeks, it had been starting to take a toll on Blake. The two had grown noticeably distant and the fact that Blake was handling it by going on a series of different dates wasn't exactly helping. Yang had tried everything in her power to ignore the foul taste in her mouth whenever Blake announced that she would be heading out. It was becoming increasingly harder to avoid it. Ruby had attempted to plan several team bonding events and group activities to see if it would help mend things, but there was always something that came up. Blake would go on a date, Yang would make an excuse to avoid it, and Ruby and Weiss would be left alone to figure out what to do. They'd even finished Ruby's beloved cyborg kung fu series due to the free time that was leftover from the other half of the team cancelling on them. Despite all of the negatives, Yang was happy to see that in the midst of her and Blake's distancing, at least Ruby and Weiss had gotten an opportunity to be closer.
"Ruby," Weiss said as she turned to the dark-haired girl.
"Hm?"
"Why don't you go get us a pizza? I'll give you my card, you can pick it up, and I'll talk to Yang." The heiress suggested.
"That works!" Ruby nodded, "I'll bring it back and you'll cheer her up. Then we can finally spend some time together!"
"Precisely." Weiss smiled and gave a small nod in return, "I would go with you, but I think that I'm needed here."
"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby said, her voice softening, "I would talk to Yang, but… I think she feels better talking to you about that kind of stuff."
"It's no trouble." She told her as she grabbed her handbag and pulled out her wallet.
"You think she'll ever talk to Blake about it?" The team leader asked quietly.
Weiss gave a small sigh as she removed her credit card from her wallet and handed it off to Ruby, "We can only hope. You can lead a horse to water, but you certainly can't make it drink."
Ruby frowned as she accepted the card from Weiss, "I don't like it when it's like this… It feels like we're barely even a team anymore. The only time they're willing to communicate is when we're in combat! Or when somebody needs to pass the salt at the table."
"I know. It's bothering me, too. All we can do is try to get them to talk it out." Weiss said as she set her handbag back on the coffee table.
"What if they don't, Weiss? What if one of these guys ends up being one that she actually likes? It seems like she really likes that Sun guy." Ruby said with a worried expression.
"Then maybe that will be the wake up call that Yang needs. Now, stop worrying and go get us a pizza without sardines." Weiss told her as she smiled and gave Ruby a soft nudge.
Ruby giggled, "Okay! I'll be back as fast as I can."
"No rush." The white-haired girl replied as Ruby slipped out into the hallway.
Weiss smoothed out her skirt and took a deep breath. This had to be the time that Weiss convinced Yang to say something. If Blake really ended up liking Sun, it would spell trouble for the team. Not only would it hurt Yang, but it would only drive a wedge further between her and Blake. The Ice Queen began walking down the hallway toward their sleeping quarters. With the knuckle of her index finger, Weiss gave a soft knock on the door. There was no response. Naturally, she pushed the door open. Yang was lying in Blake's bed, rather than her own. The brawler had her arms resting over her face and was breathing steadily. Weiss walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. The heiress crossed her legs and cleared her throat.
"I already know what you're gonna say." Yang told her, moving her arms to her sides and beginning to sit up.
"Oh? And what am I going to say?" Weiss asked.
Yang rested her back against the headboard, bringing her knees toward her chest and resting her elbows atop them, "You're gonna tell me that I need to talk to Blake."
"Well, yes, but—"
"I can't, Weiss." Yang interrupted, causing the smaller girl to scowl.
"Why not? What's stopping you? You've acknowledged your fears, you've had time to work up the courage, so what's the issue, Yang?" Weiss demanded to know.
The blonde grimaced, "You know what the issue is! If I fuck things up with Blake, it doesn't just destroy our friendship. It destroys our routine, it destroys team RWBY, it… It just doesn't work out, okay?"
"With the way things are going now, you're going to destroy something if you don't just talk to her!" The Ice Queen snapped.
Yang had hardly noticed that her fists were clenched so tightly. Her knuckles were almost a ghostly white. The brawler tried to steel herself as she met Weiss' agog gaze. She sucked in a harsh breath.
"Fine. I'll talk to her tonight. Will that make you happy?" Yang grumbled.
"It won't affect me in the slightest, but it will sure make you happy." Weiss told her in a matter-of-fact tone.
With that, the heiress got up and brushed herself off before leaving the room. Yang sat by herself and thought on what her teammate had told her until she heard the sound of Ruby coming back. Weiss and Ruby called for Yang as the scent of pizza drifted through the house. She decided it would be best to spend some time with her teammates, as it would most likely help her to get her mind off of Blake. The blonde pulled herself out of bed and ambled into the kitchen to spend some much-needed time with her sister and Weiss.
The trio had been goofing around for what felt like only a few minutes. In reality, though, it had been a few hours. Yang was pleasantly surprised at how easily she'd become distracted by the company of Weiss and Ruby. Seeing the pair interact with each other was almost always laughable and it had helped Yang feel quite a bit better. They were just about to wrap up another cheesy horror movie when the door unlocked. Blake entered and Ruby leapt off of the couch.
"Blake!" She cheered, "You're just in time for another—"
The short-haired girl stopped her sentence at the sight of Sun Wukong entering the dorm after Blake. Blake smiled at Ruby and the rest of her teammates as she brushed some hair behind her ear.
"Hey, guys. I brought Sun to say hello." Blake told them, gesturing to the tall blonde.
The monkey faunus beamed, "Hello!"
"Hi, Sun!" Ruby greeted him warmly.
"Hello," Weiss chimed in.
Yang tried not to exhibit her distaste outright. Sun Wukong? Really? The no-good stowaway that had been eyeing Blake since the moment they'd met? Yang hated this. She hated Sun's stupid smile, she hated the way his stupid shirt was always unbuttoned, and she hated the fact that Blake had gone on a stupid date with him. Nevertheless, Yang smiled at him and gave a small wave.
"Heya, Sun." The blonde said nonchalantly.
"What'cha guys up to?" Sun asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
The brawler resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the slight jingling that came from the chain attached to his jeans. Why did he dress like that? Yang knew that it got hot in Vacuo, but the weather in Vale was almost always optimal. Couldn't he put on an actual shirt or something? It wasn't like everyone needed to see his stupid abs. Besides… Yang's were better, anyhow. She tuned back into the conversation, trying to ignore how irritated she had become in such a short span of time.
"We're just about to finish this movie! I forget the name, but these kids are camping in the Emerald Forest when this huge Grimm starts trying to kill them! It's super intense!" Ruby told Sun excitedly.
Sun laughed, "That sounds pretty awesome! If you're planning on watching anything else tonight, I've got recommendations! Ever heard of Vacuo Vacation? This family goes on a road trip to Vacuo and their car breaks down. They get abducted by these freaky mutant people who try to eat them!"
Weiss' face twisted in disgust and Ruby's lit up, "Whoa! We have to watch that next! Please, guys?"
Yang shrugged her shoulders and Weiss folded her arms. The heiress gave a heavy sigh.
"Why, Sun? Why?" She mumbled.
"Hey, don't knock it til ya try it. It's a good movie!" Sun argued.
Ruby poked Weiss in the arm, "Please, Weiss. It sounds so awesome!"
"Fine. But after that, we're not watching anything else. All of this gore is just… So excessive." She huffed, shuddering a bit.
"Yes!" Ruby cried triumphantly as she pumped a fist in the air, "Sun, you wanna stay and watch?"
"Really?" Sun asked, his tail perking up a bit behind him.
"Yeah, we can—"
"Actually," Yang said as she stood up, "I'm feeling pretty tired already. I think I'm gonna hit the sack."
Ruby frowned, "But, Yang, we only have a few more minutes left of this one!"
"Yeah, well, I'm exhausted." The blonde told her sister.
Sun glanced at the clock on the wall, "Oh, wow. It actually is getting kind of late. Maybe I should head out."
"Good seeing you, Sun." Yang forced a smile before turning and heading down the hallway.
As she walked toward the bedroom, she could still hear their conversation in the living room. Blake still hadn't said much. Ruby, however, was brainstorming.
"Maybe you could come over tomorrow night! We could watch it and then we can make cookies! Oh, and we could invite Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren! Also, maybe you could bring Neptune!"
Yang cringed at the idea as she shut the door behind her. She didn't have a problem with team JNPR. In fact, she loved them. Nora was always a blast to be around and watching Ren try to keep her under control never failed to bring a smile to her face. Not to mention that Pyrrha was a sweetheart and Jaune was hilarious, even if it wasn't exactly intentional. The few interactions Yang had had with Neptune were actually pleasant and she thought he was a cool enough guy. Sun, however…
Sun coming around would be fine if he was only coming by as their friend. But the fact that he would be coming around as someone that Blake was… Well, interested in, rubbed Yang the wrong way. The brawler attempted to keep her temper under control as she climbed into her bunk and rolled onto her back. Yang took slow, even breaths as she closed her eyes and did everything in her power to tune out the voices down the hall. Every time she heard Sun speak or laugh, she wanted to punch a hole in the wall. Why was she so worked up about it? It was only one date. It wasn't like she and Sun were going to get married.
Yang almost chuckled at how unreasonable she was being. Almost.
And then she heard the door to their shared living quarters shut, followed by the sound of movement in the living room. The TV was unpaused and the cheesy noises from the horror film that she had abandoned carried down the hallway. Yang pulled the sides of her pillow over her ears just as Blake entered the bedroom. The cat faunus took off her coat and draped it over the edge of her bed. Blake looked up at Yang and the blonde tried to avert her gaze.
"I almost expected you to be asleep." Blake commented.
Yang should've known she would say something.
"I've just been really tired lately." She muttered.
The faunus sat down on Weiss' bed and kept her eyes trained to Yang, "Something bothering you?"
The lilac-eyed girl bit her tongue. Something was definitely bothering her—And if what Weiss had said was true, the same thing was bothering Blake. Why were the both of them dancing around the obvious issue? Yang had told Weiss she would talk to Blake, but the fear that she thought she'd be able to push down was rearing its ugly head. In that moment, the brawler would sooner take on an entire horde of Grimm on her own than talk to Blake.
"Nah," Yang dismissed the idea, trying to pretend like she didn't see the flicker of doubt in Blake's eyes, "How was your date with Sun?"
"It wasn't really a date. We just hung out together." Blake told her.
"Just the two of you?" Yang inquired, unable to stop herself.
"Yeah, just the two of us." The faunus said back, "I feel like you two should hang out sometime. You guys would get along really well."
Yang choked back a harsh laugh, "Really? Me and Sun?"
"Yes." Blake nodded.
"I dunno, Blake. We're nothing alike." The brawler informed her teammate.
"Oh?" The raven-haired girl challenged, "Alright, Yang. Whatever you say."
There was a playful tone in Blake's voice and Yang got that all-too-familiar fuzzy feeling in her stomach. She sat up in her bed, unable to keep herself from bantering along with the bookworm. It wasn't too often that they got into these flirtatious sessions of wordplay, especially lately, but Yang never turned down an opportunity for one when she saw it.
"What is it? Is it because we're both blondes?" Yang teased.
"No," Blake said as she held back a smile, "Maybe it's because you're both stubborn."
The blonde shook her head, "I hate to tell you this, Blakey… But not every blonde is as devastatingly good-looking and charming as me."
"You're kidding," Blake widened her eyes, feigning shock.
"Nope. Hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but not even Sunny-Boy comes close." Yang said confidently.
"If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you're jealous." The faunus pointed out.
"Me? Jealous?" Yang scoffed, "Nah. Nothing to be jealous about."
The blonde sat back and rested her arms behind her head. Her expression was as smug as the look on her face. Blake was glad to see that Yang had seemingly reverted to her typical self for the time being. She smiled up at Yang, who couldn't resist returning the gesture. Blake's cheeks began to glow a dull red.
"I, ah… I should get to bed." Blake said, "Long day."
"Right, right." Yang nodded and waved a hand, "Me too. I'm beat."
Yang rolled onto her side and faced the wall as she listened to Blake opening and closing the drawers of her dresser. A few feet away from her, the raven-haired beauty was changing. Yang closed her eyes as she tried to ignore the thoughts that accompanied knowing that information. The bed moved a bit as Blake got into the bottom bunk. The blonde could hear Blake pulling the blankets up to her chin, as she always did.
"Goodnight, Yang." Blake said quietly.
"Night, Blakey." Yang replied.