This story makes me blush SO badly. Gahh...I feel just as awkward as Yang when I write it...
"Hey Blake, how are you doing? ...oh, that's good to hear! Sorry, by the way, I totally spazzed and forgot to give you my name the other day - it's Yang. Really nice to see you again."
She probably sounded like a crazy person, mumbling to herself as she pushed through crowds of shoppers towards her destination, but she really didn't care.
She needed to practice.
Apparently, Blake possessed some sort of superpower which prevented her from being able to flirt as she normally would, resulting in her becoming a stuttering mess. In order to counteract this effect, she was practicing their potential conversation in advance - making sure she had some lines already locked and loaded for when the situation called for them.
It was much like memorizing a speech, banking on the girl responding in a particular way.
She would usually just wing it off the top of her head, but this situation was...different.
"Oh, my sister? Yeah, she loved the books - thank you so much for helping pick those out. She spent the next few days reading each one and building a life size, working replica of one of the rocket launchers. It was all fun and games until she blew a hole in the side of the garage."
The memory made her laugh - the screaming phone call she'd received from Weiss providing amusement for days on end. Apparently, it was all her fault that there was a rocket sized hole in one wall because she'd been the one to buy those wretched books for Ruby.
Never mind that it had been Weiss who'd retrofitted the giant garage into a high tech workshop, creating something of a playground for the highly destructive brunette.
As a familiar awning finally came into view, her nerves increased tenfold - an alarming occurrence seeing as how she normally didn't feel nervous at all.
But this was it - this was where her abilities would be put to the test. If she had any hope at all of potentially taking Blake out for a date, she needed to prevail today. Another repeat of their first meeting, and she could kiss that opportunity goodbye.
If she remembered everything she'd practiced over the past few days, everything would be just fine...
"What am I looking for today? Oh, my sister's girlfriend really likes flowers. I thought it would be nice to surprise her with a nice book on gardening."
"Excuse me?"
Her attention was jolted from her thoughts as a young, attractive redhead tentatively approached her on the sidewalk, raising one hand to draw her gaze.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but would you happen to know where the nearest bank is?" the girl asked with a hopeful smile.
Being asked for directions was one of the easiest ways for her to pick up a phone number or two. The girls who asked were usually from out of town and always thankful for the help - especially if she personally escorted them where they were hoping to go.
Which she certainly would have been willing to do...if she didn't already have other plans.
"It's on the other side of the street, three blocks down," she replied casually, pointing off in the direction of the closest bank she knew. The stranger had hardly managed to get out a 'thank you' before she'd turned to walk away, determined to get into Pages before her memory began to fail her.
"I'm here for a book on gardening...my sister's girlfriend really likes flowers…" she muttered under her breath as the distance to the store disappeared beneath her feet.
Reaching the door, she took a deep breath before entering, giving herself a silent pep talk while hoping that today would turn out much better than her first trip inside.
Pages was quiet...just as quiet as it had been the other day. There didn't seem to be anyone else shopping at the moment, although she questioned how many people actually frequented bookstores these days.
The lack of customers would work to her advantage though - preventing any unexpected interruptions that might throw her off her game.
Or preventing anyone else from witnessing her make a complete fool of herself again.
Walking purposefully between the bookshelves to the checkout counter, her heart began beating loudly when she saw the girl sitting there once again.
Blake - looking even more gorgeous than she remembered. The girl was reading another book, the image exactly the same as the first time they'd met.
And, just like the first time, she walked straight up to the counter and set her palms calmly down on the flat surface, daring her nerves to take over her mouth this time.
"Hey, Blake," she said softly, smiling both to the girl and to herself at how composed she'd managed to remain thus far.
Well, she was composed until the second those golden eyes found hers - instantly unraveling every coherent thought in her mind.
Then Blake smiled at her...and any thought of remaining cool and collected flew right out the window.
Was this what butterflies felt like? This jittery energy fluttering around in her chest?
Holy hell...how did people function like this?
"Oh hello - I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon," Blake greeted her with a small smile.
Andddd...that reaction hadn't been anywhere in her rehearsed speech.
"O-oh, I'm sorry -" she stammered as alarm bells started going off in her mind.
Maybe she shouldn't have come back here so soon - she'd forced herself to wait a few days, but apparently that had been nowhere near long enough. A year was sounded like a more appropriate length of time, right now.
"No, no, don't be sorry," Blake quickly replied, putting an end to that train of thought with a shake of her head. "Is there something else I can help you find?"
Time to improvise - they'd already digressed from the course of conversation she'd repeated in her head over and over again. No problem...she was quick at thinking on her feet - she was Yang freaking Xiao Long - flirter extraordinaire! No girl, no matter how attractive, made her n-nervous!
...ok...well she didn't know how she managed to stutter in her own thoughts, but she needed to pull it together and answer the question - she was a pro at this!
"Yeah...u-um...gardening."
When her tongue wasn't tied in knots, that is...
Thankfully, Blake merely looked amused by her words - or lack of them.
"You're looking for a book on gardening - is this another gift for someone?"
Knowing the answer to this question, she nodded her head enthusiastically. She was looking for a book on gardening for Ruby's -
"Her uh...she's my - girlfriend."
Clenching one fist, she pinched the bridge of her nose at her most recent idiot mistake.
That was the worst time to leave out words!
"Oh, your girlfriend?" Blake replied, suddenly a lot less playful than before. "That's...very sweet of you -"
"N-no! Uh, not mine - my sister's," she said quickly, watching the girl's expression turn from disappointment to confusion. If only she could make more sense - or if her mouth would cooperate for half a second.
"Weiss...she's my sister's girlfriend - not mine. I'm not seeing anyone, not anyone at all. Completely free of romantic ties...like a bird or uh...badger, er, something. Uh...a-are you seeing anyone...?"
Blake was much less confused now - and giggling again, which was probably a good sign.
Although it didn't feel particularly good when it felt like her cheeks could burst into flames at any moment.
"No," the girl answered, shaking her head with a chuckle. "I'm not seeing anyone."
See? That hadn't turned out so bad - she'd even managed to score a vital piece of information. Way to go!
"That's good!" she replied with a big smile, immediately backtracking when Blake arched an eyebrow in surprise. "I-I mean, that's good if you don't want to be seeing anyone! But if you do, I guess that's, well, not bad, but...um...dammit."
Even though she was blushing profusely, she had to smile at her mistake while the girl laughed.
At least Blake had an incredible sense of humor. One would have to in order to put up with this inept flirting for so long.
"You're not very good at talking to girls, are you?" Blake asked her, eyes twinkling playfully.
"Apparently not..." she mumbled in reply, now beginning to question everything she'd once believed about herself.
"Don't worry," the girl said, walking around the counter to stand in front of her. "It's cute."
Never in her life had her cheeks flushed so deeply - becoming the surface of the sun in under a second.
Cute - she's heard that right, right? She'd just been called cute?
"Now, if you'd just tell me your name, I'll show you to the gardening section."
Her eyes widened in horror at the statement, realizing she'd completely skipped the part of her speech where she gave Blake her name.
Ok, that's alright, just another tiny little mistake to fix...but how would she normally deal with this? Blake was clearly being playful in the request...so she needed to say something playful back...
"Are you...blackmailing me?"
Yes! A joke! She'd managed to make a joke!
God...things were really bad if she needed to celebrate that.
"Absolutely," Blake responded without missing a beat. "I'm holding the entire gardening section hostage until you tell me your name."
"W-well...what if I can find it on my own?" she asked, feeling mentally exhausted from managing to string together two solid questions in a row.
"Can you?"
Her bluff being called, she lost any semblance of being able to participate in witty banter any longer.
"Uh...sure...Non-fiction G?"
Her answer made Blake let out the most adorable snort of amusement - the girl covering her mouth in embarrassment immediately afterward.
And that was just about the cutest thing she'd ever witnessed in her life.
"Yang," she said while the girl recovered from temporary embarrassment, before realizing she needed to add a few more words. "That's my name - Yang."
With a smile, Blake nodded to her before turning slightly away.
"Well, Yang, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where we keep the books on gardening."
They didn't need to travel very far - the section located on the bookcase on the wall nearest to the checkout counter. And, unlike the weapon books, there was a vast selection of books on botany, taking up nearly five entire shelves.
"So, what sort of gardening does your sister's girlfriend do?" Blake asked as they stood in front of the shelves, golden eyes scanning the titles.
"Uh…"
Shoot. She'd only made that up because Weiss liked flowers, but the girl didn't do any real gardening - she was a multi billionaire, after all.
Blake's eyes turned from the books to her, searching for an answer to what should have been an easy question.
"Just the...planting and growing kind."
Yup, she sounded like a real genius with that one.
Incredibly, the girl wasn't phased in the slightest by the response, giving her a small smile before turning back to the shelves, raising a hand to run one slender finger across the spines.
"Do you know what her favorite flowers are?"
"Roses - definitely roses," she answered confidently, intently watching the girl's every movement, completely mesmerized.
"Roses are pretty. I'm a fan of lilies, myself. What about this one on caring for roses?"
Pulling out the hardcover, Blake held it up so that she could read the title - 'Types of Roses and Their Environments.'
"That could work," she replied with a nod, reaching out to take the book from the girl.
It honestly didn't really matter what she bought today - she would be giving it to Weiss as a gag gift, anyway. But in order to keep up the act that this was actually a present, she opened the front cover and flipped quickly through the pages before snapping it shut.
"Yup! This one," she said with a nod of satisfaction, tucking the item underneath one arm.
"Great!" Blake responded with a wide smile. "So...was that all you needed?"
"Uh…"
That hadn't taken very long at all...and she didn't want to leave the girl's company just yet, even though she still wasn't having much success speaking.
She needed something else they could look for...
"Uh, actually, I've been wanting to read...more...maybe you can give me something? L-like a recommendation?"
Hey, that had actually been quick and somewhat...normal sounding.
"Oh, yeah absolutely!" the girl said excitedly before walking quickly towards another section of the store.
She as the girl zeroed in on a very specific shelf and pulled out a book to show her.
"One of my all-time favorite books," Blake explained, holding up the front cover so she could read the title.
"The...Fire Within?"
"Yes!" the girl immediately exclaimed, briefly hugging the item to her chest before flipping open the cover as if she might start reading it right there. "It's kind of a...romance and action novel shoved into one. A story of overcoming betrayal, striving for redemption, finding true love…I think you'd enjoy it - especially the fight scenes."
"Fights are cool…" she said, a little too distracted by what she'd just uncovered to give a more articulate answer.
Like a complete imbecile, she'd failed to make the connection earlier, but this was what the girl really loved to talk about - action...romance...adventure...not the boring books she'd been in here buying, but these books - the ones that unleashed one's imagination, that sent the reader tumbling into a magnificent, foreign land.
She'd been stumbling around with the completely wrong subject trying to connect with the girl.
"I actually think there's a sequel coming out towards the end of this year - I'd need to check the date again, but I'm really excited for it," the girl continued, flipping quickly through the pages with a smile on her face.
It was...so adorable...how Blake's amber eyes were twinkling with excitement and her words were rushing out much quicker than usual. She found herself completely drawn in, engrossed not so much by the words being said, but by the way Blake was presenting them to her.
"I'll definitely read it," she finally replied, reaching out for the copy Blake was still holding, only to be surprised when the girl actually drew the book out of her reach.
"Oh, actually...I have my copy here today - would you like to borrow it?"
"Really?" she practically squeaked at the unexpected offer. "Is that really...ok?"
"Sure! I just finished reading it for like the hundredth time this morning."
Placing the brand new copy back on the shelf with the utmost care, the girl then led the way back to the front counter. On the employees' side, Blake picked up a small backpack, removing a worn out paperback and placed it on the counter in between them.
Hesitantly reaching forward, she picked up the treasured novel carefully while the girl rang up the book on roses she would actually be purchasing today.
Feeling the soft cover within her hands, she couldn't help thinking that it was awfully nice of the girl to loan the book to a complete stranger.
But...maybe Blake was giving her an excuse to have to come back?
"I'll read it and bring it back right away!" she said, handing her credit card over to the girl without even waiting for a price.
"Don't worry, you can take your time," Blake responded reassuringly. "Since I just read it, I won't feel like rereading it for...at least another week or so."
Her eyes widened at the statement.
The girl couldn't really be reading the same story every week...could she? And this wasn't a short book - it would normally take her at least a month to get through the entire thing!
It was only when Blake handed her card back with a grin that she realized the girl was only teasing her.
"I'll uh...still try to get it back as fast as possible," she replied, flushing when their hands brushed ever so slightly. "And thank you, for helping me with the uh...lilies."
Hearing a giggle, she immediately knew she'd guessed the wrong flower.
"Roses," Blake gently corrected her with another smile.
"R-right, roses," she answered with an embarrassed smile. "She'll be lucky if I can even remember to wrap it for her."
The girl giggled at her self-deprecating joke and rested both hands casually upon the countertop.
"Well, if your sister is anything like you...this girl is already really lucky."
Her cheeks burst into flames at the seemingly innocent comment.
Was that...was Blake flirting with her?
Oh...ok...don't freak out...but how was she supposed to respond? She was supposed to flirt back, right? Say something super complimentary.
A line - she needed a line. She'd practiced these! She had an entire repertoire to choose from.
Nervously leaning a little further across the counter, she quickly ran her tongue across her lips, trying to ignore how her mouth suddenly felt like a desert.
"Y-you know...it really isn't fair - that you've somehow...uh…"
Uh oh, this line was falling apart halfway through.
"That you somehow...stole the stars and...put them in your...or, uh, used them...your eyes are like stars."
Grimacing at the awful attempt at a compliment, she shook her head and grabbed the handle of the bag containing her useless book on roses.
Blake was grinning at her, although it was surely out of entertainment rather than anything else.
"Thank you, for this," she finished in defeat, holding up the paperback before making a hasty retreat towards the exit, not daring to look back.
'Your eyes are like stars?' What the hell was that? That wasn't even close!
'It's really not fair - that you've somehow captured the stars and hidden them behind your eyes. I can't help but to be mesmerized by their beauty.'
Yeah, she hadn't even come close to saying that one correctly. Even worse, she'd used that line at least a half dozen times and never fumbled the delivery.
With a heavy sigh, she made her way back towards the train station. When the next train had arrived and she'd found a seat on board, she flipped open the front cover of the novel she'd just received on loan.
Written inside the front cover, she found the name 'Blake Belladonna' scrawled in neat cursive handwriting.
The sight made her giggle as she ran one thumb across the name.
How cute was that? It was something a little kid would do - making sure no one else mistook this book for their own.
When a group of loud girls got onto the train just before it was about to leave the station, she turned away from them, flipping a few more pages to start reading from the beginning.