Chapter Seven: Now Taking Suggestions
"Weiss, you can't be serious!"
"I am completely serious," the girl replied, taking a slow drink from her mug. It wasn't even eight thirty in the morning and she was already on her third cup of coffee. "And you know that you must give it some thought, at least."
Yang scratched the back of her neck and huffed, thinking about the last thirty seconds. "You know, when you said it was something about Blake, I honestly wasn't thinking this…"
"Then what did you think it was?"
"I thought you guys got in a fight or something…" Anything could happen with the Ice Queen. "I mean, from the way you sounded, it seemed kinda… dark?"
She watched a smile flash just for a moment on Weiss' face, only for her to purse her lips and raise an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"You're givin' me a headache," Yang whined, resting her chin on her hand.
Normally, Weiss would sit in class even a half hour before to get ready and Yang would hang around the courtyard with her boisterous friends. This morning, however, they sat in the school's grand hall. Around them, students from the leadership class and the student council were setting up a booth meant specifically for Valentine's Day candy grams. This tradition occurred the week leading up to the holiday. However, since it was during the weekend for this year, they'd hand them out the Friday before. Just seeing it made Yang's stomach ache, because it meant boys, and those were always a pain. And it meant dating and relationships and love, and those were all so bothersome. Especially now. She glanced back to her friend, who finished her drink.
"It's merely a suggestion," Weiss spoke.
Ask Blake out on a date? For Valentine's Day? A suggestion?
"I can't do that, Weiss, c'mon…" A blush appeared on her face, betraying her true emotions.
"Oh really?" She leaned forward onto the table. "You're telling me that you, Yang Xiao Long, star athlete and Beacon's favorite girl, can't take your friend out on a friendly date in a completely friendly way?"
Yang grumbled. "You say it's supposed to be friendly but I know you're wanting it to be more."
She sent over a playful glance before looking away and replying, "I said no such thing. It's merely a suggestion."
At least she didn't know about Christmas Eve. If she did, she'd be arranging their wedding by now. Or she'd have Yang's head on a silver platter. She could never be sure with Weiss.
"I don't even know if I… swing that way, y'know?" She let out a sigh. "I've been thinking about this a lot and it's honestly pretty scary. I mean, I've never felt this way towards a girl before… Maybe this is just being really fascinated with someone?"
Weiss took her time and filled up yet another mug full of that liquid energy that she loved so much. "Sexuality aside, you're admitting to me that you like someone, aren't you?"
"No. I mean. Yeah?" Pained and horribly ashamed so early in the morning, she put her head down in her folded arms. "I don't know. You keep asking me questions that I don't know how to answer."
Yang heard her take her seat opposite her. Then she felt a finger poke her head lightly.
"Listen to me, Yang," Weiss started. "You see what they're doing around us, don't you? Valentine's Day might be a Hallmark holiday, but it affects us all in some way. This is Blake's first and last year here at Beacon, so she doesn't know the boys here as well as we do. Even though we both know Sun's bound to give her something, who else will?" Weiss drained a portion of her cup, not minding how scalding hot it was. "That's not to insult her reputation at all, but I'm being realistic. You're going to have the entire school ask you out, again, like they normally do. Blake won't have that."
Yang looked everywhere but at her friend, because she knew she was right. "But…"
"No," Weiss countered. "No buts, Yang. I'm right. Besides," she paused, measuring her next set of words carefully. "It's nice to know someone cares enough to take you out on such an… interesting day. It's rather thoughtful, really. I think it will help you to discern your feelings."
That caught her attention. Yang met her eyes, knowing that Weiss understood loneliness better than anyone else she knew. It must suck to be so popular and smart and have no one ask you to be their valentine. She smiled and pulled Weiss' mug towards her, taking a small drink out of it herself. She drank her coffee black, but she didn't care. "You make a pretty good point. I bet she'd be pretty happy. You know, Weiss, you're a pretty great friend."
She shot her a dirty look and took her coffee back. "Good friends don't take what isn't theirs." She shook her head and grinned when Yang kept the mug away from her again. "But I suppose sharing is alright."
Blake hated Valentine's Day.
She hated any made-up holiday, really, but she especially disliked Valentine's Day because of its overly saccharine events and the ridiculous social standards of romantic relationships. It meant more couples would be daring enough to make out in public, exposing themselves to everyone else. People blew money on the stupidest things in hope to woo their dates, as if it were the only day to do so. If people really loved their significant others, wouldn't they want to show it throughout the year? Not just one day?
Perhaps some of the bitterness had stemmed out of the fact that she never really had anyone to enjoy it with anyway. She couldn't remember the last time someone had asked her to be their valentine. But she didn't mind, as she didn't care, really. She knew love didn't always end up like it did in Ninjas of Love, so she never grew to expect anything romantic to really happen to her, even on Valentine's Day. There was only one time in her life when she actually "celebrated" it, having gone out on a nice date. That night seemed like so long ago, when she was two or three years younger and more naïve about the world. That was when Adam was still a good man, not someone she could no longer recognize.
But she tried not to think about him too much.
Valentine's Day is this Sunday, she complained to herself as she walked right past the candy grams booth. Beacon, of course, didn't have to wait until the weekend to decorate the whole school in red, pink, and white. It was Friday, which means they'd be observing it today. The amount of couples who had the sheer audacity to publicly display their affection grossed her out. She could only imagine how many sweets Yang and Pyrrha would get today, and maybe Weiss would get something too. Besides, people couldn't hate the her that much, could they? Thinking twice, Blake stopped in the middle of the breezeway to look back at the stupid booth. There weren't a lot of people, and they were only a dollar to send off. Plus, they'd be donating the money to some local charity. So maybe… Maybe she could send one to someone? Ruby, or Weiss, or maybe even Yang?
No. No, no, no.
They'd get enough attention as it was.
She rounded the corner by her locker and nearly jumped out of her skin when she ran into Yang. This time, she reacted quickly enough and held her hands out so the other girl didn't send her flying backwards. After an initial moment of surprise, Blake felt her cheeks burn and she hated herself for blushing so easily around Yang.
"Oh, hey Blakey!" Yang laughed, using her doting nickname. She started calling her that after Christmas. Blake couldn't be sure why, but she didn't mind it so much, so she didn't argue.
"Good morning, Yang," she replied calmly, smoothing out her hair and clutching her textbooks closer.
To say the first few days back from break were awkward was a serious understatement. Out of their embarrassment, both girls had trouble speaking to one another, each trying to say something and never fully finishing it. But, with the help of Ruby and Weiss, who knew bits and pieces of the whole story, the awkwardness eventually died away. By getting together as a group, they had the chance to talk somehow. Christmas felt like forever ago and yesterday at the same time. Now, she was glad she could talk to her… friend.
"So," the blonde dragged out, leaning against Blake's locker. "Whatcha gonna do for the weekend? It's Valentine's Day this Sunday, after all."
Blake shrugged, as if she hadn't worked out what she was going to do ages ago. "I don't know. Maybe I'll put on a movie and study. I don't do anything for Valentine's Day."
"Study?" Yang was incredulous. "Finals are over! You should take a break."
That was true. Blake felt that she needed to catch up on her sleep anyway, so maybe she'd just sleep the weekend off instead. "I could relax a bit. What are you going to be doing? I'm sure you probably have a date or something." She couldn't imagine the girl hadn't been asked a billion times today.
Yang gave her a lopsided grin and pushed her bangs back. "Yeah, well… It's not like I said yes to any of them." Drawing in a deep breath, she crossed her arms and said, "Listen, uh… I was actually thinking we could hang out on Sunday, if you're free."
Blake felt her chest tighten and her heart begin to race. She really wished her body would quit reacting in such a way every time Yang said or did literally anything. "Really?"
Yang shrugged then, her lilac eyes averting Blake's own golden ones. "Er… Yeah! You know, a lot of people ask if I can go out with them on a date or something and usually Valentine's Day is pretty… well, I get lots of candy and stuff but. Uh." She cleared her throat upon noticing she was starting to ramble again. "But… I decided this year that I should really spend it with people I love! So, I wanted to hang out with you, y'know? If you want to, of course, you don't have to."
She didn't even have to give it a second thought. "Yang, I'd love to. Who would we be with?"
Just then, she thought she saw a smirk creep up on her face. "I, uh, wasn't planning on hanging out with anyone else besides you."
Blake felt warm, in a bad way. In a really, really bad way. As she turned the same shade as a tomato, she stuttered, "R-really?"
"Yeah! I mean, you can bring Weiss! Or Ruby! If you want!" Yang followed up, picking up on the feelings of trepidation and anxiety.
No way. Blake stood tall and locked her eyes, demanding Yang's full attention. Steadying herself as best as she can, she confidently posed a question. "Yang, are you asking me out on a date?"
The girl opened her mouth to speak but a small ha came out instead. Her hand shot up to scratch the back of her neck and she shuffled a foot back and forth. "I guess so, yeah. I mean, you took me out the last time, so I thought… maybe I could make you happy and take you out…?"
Adorable. She couldn't be sure if Yang had any other intentions besides developing their very platonic friendship. But even if she did, would she care? With a smile, Blake answered, "I would be honored to go out with you, Yang."
Instantly beaming, the girl grabbed her shoulders and exclaimed, "Really? Blake, that's great! Cool! Great, uh. Cool!"
"Cool," she chuckled quietly, getting a good whiff of Yang's citrus scent as they hugged. Well, she would have hugged her, if she wasn't holding three books in her arms.
"I'll text you more about it later alright? I'll catch ya later. I'm so glad you said yes," Yang smiled, letting her go and walking away.
It just occurred to her that she would be celebrating Valentine's Day. Blake wasn't sure if she should congratulate or curse at herself. So in her head, as she took her stuff out of her locker, she did both.
"You're going out on a date?" Ruby asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I know, isn't that surprising?" Yang responded sarcastically. "I've gone on these before, Ruby."
"You're wearing a dress."
"So? I have tons of dresses."
"And you're doing your makeup!"
Ruby's high-pitched squeak surprised her, making her drag the liquid crookedly on her eyelid. "And now I'm late, 'cuz you definitely just messed up my eyeliner. Thanks."
"Sorry," her sister offered apologetically, handing her a small wipe. "I'm just not used to seeing you like this, really. Usually you're pretty casual on your dates."
That was true. It didn't take much to please the girl, so any date was fairly simple and cheap. But, since Blake had paid for everything the last time, she took it upon herself to plan their evening and take the date seriously. The course of the night would be fairly simple, but enjoyable all the same. She just wanted to make her happy. It wasn't anything romantic… Or, at least, she was trying to convince herself it wasn't anything romantic.
Fixing the smudge on her face, Yang laughed a bit and said, "It's Blake, though. I feel like I need to look nice around her. Blake always looks really pretty."
"Mhmm," Ruby hummed playfully, fixing the hem of her sister's red dress. She hadn't worn it in years and it sure made her look wonderful, hugging her torso tightly to loosen and flow down above the knee. "Blake is pretty."
"And she's really nice too," Yang continued, her face finished. "I'll make sure to use my best manners tonight."
"Yes, Blake is very well-mannered, and pretty, and definitely more than just a friend to you."
The blonde sent her a glare. "You don't know that."
"Yang, I'm pretty sure I'm right about that one." She gave a quirky grin and added, "You wouldn't be dressing up for anyone else but her. You've been spending more time with her. And you can't stop talking about her."
Curse her for always, always teasing her big sister.
Curse her for knowing about Christmas.
That little runt.
I give up. Spraying a few bursts of perfume on her, she replied, "Yeah, well. Blake doesn't feel that way."
"Right, even though she wanted you to kis—"
"Ruby!" Yang barked, eyes nearly turning crimson.
Mischievously giggling, she inched back before Yang could physically torture her. "Oh Yang, you're in love."
"I'm not in love," she muttered, slinging her purse over her shoulder. "We're just friends."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just teasing you." Ruby smiled, hugging her. "Enjoy your date! Tell me all about it when you get home, too. Blake's my friend, too."
"Yeah, yeah."
Outside, the sun had already finished its descent, leaving a few rays of scattered oranges, pinks, and reds across a blue sky. The air was cool for a February night, kissing Yang's cheeks as she walked out to start the car. It didn't seem right to ride Bumblebee for tonight, even though she really wanted to. They'd have more comfort in the car anyway. It wasn't a particularly handsome vehicle, being nearly twenty years old and owned by a line of people before the Rose-Xiao Long family. But somehow Yang knew Blake wouldn't care. In a bit of a hurry, she raced down to her house by the ocean, nearly running a red light just out of pure, sheer excitement. She couldn't help it.
Yang rang the doorbell. Within a few seconds, she heard the sound of footsteps. Blake graced her with her presence, looking so beautiful she felt her jaw hang open just slightly. With her wavy hair cascading down her back and adorned by a little black dress—the same one she wore on Thanksgiving day—she looked so stunning and yet so simple. In her hair, she wore a matching black bow. Those seemed to fit her nicely. Yang had to remember to take a deep breath. She wasn't sure why her look surprised her so much. She'd seen her in much less and she already knew she was pretty.
Ah, curses.
"Hey," she mustered lamely. "You ready to go?"
"Yes," the young lady answered, locking the door and following her to the car. "Where exactly are we going?"
"We're gonna eat first, that's where we're going. Wouldn't want to be too hungry for the thing we're doing afterwards!" Pushing the key into the ignition, she looked over at her date for the night. "My dad always told me to participate, not anticipate."
"Okay, Yang," she rolled her eyes.
Even though she seemed completely spontaneous and lax about the majority of things, Yang had taken her time to plan this date out. That always seemed to be the case with Blake. She checked her phone before leaving, scanning once more over the details of the evening. Just because she could, afterwards, she checked the few text she had received.
Ruby had sent her a message as she pulled in. She imagined her sister tapping away at her screen. Good luck Yang! :D Love you so much!
Weiss had decided to send her something, too. Be careful with Blake, please. Enjoy your outing tonight. And DON'T try anything tonight. I will know if you do.
Yeah, it was about to be a good night.
Smirking to herself, she backed out of the driveway and headed out to town.
Well, this certainly wasn't what Yang was expecting.
When she asked Weiss a few days before the fateful night out for a good sushi place, she expected a basic hole-in-the-wall with good food—not a high-end, fancy signs, dramatic lighting restaurant like this. The chefs cooked the food right in front of each patron, working wonders and creating edible art. There was a good amount of people here, making it busy without making it unbearably so. She wasn't sure why she didn't think Weiss would recommend such a nice place for food, given that she enjoyed fine dining. Her first concern was her money, then Blake. But she didn't have to worry so much about the latter. Golden eyes wide with wonder and a growing smile on her face, she already seemed to be fairly eager to eat.
"Have you ever gone here before?" she asked when the waiter had seated them next to each other.
"Nope. I asked the Ice Queen, actually," she confessed, breaking her chopsticks apart. "She always knows good places to chow."
"Really?"
Yang nodded and flashed her a cheeky smile. "I figured sushi would make you happy, since you like seafood a lot."
"You definitely pay attention to things like that. Thank you," she said gratefully.
Dinner commenced shortly after they sat down. Blake ordered a large plate for her, full of different kinds of California rolls, nigiri, and some desserts. Yang settled for some easy rolls, not feeling strongly for fish. This kind of food wasn't up her alley, but if it was up Blake's, she'd stomach through it like a champ.
She'd do a lot for Blake, now that she thought about it.
The two dined without a great deal of conversation, enjoying their food. Blake had an easy time going through each individual piece, savoring every bite. By the time Yang finished two rolls, she had already eaten five. Whether that was because she was seriously hungry or ecstatic because it was seafood was unknown, but it didn't matter. Just sitting next to her made her happy.
"Yang," Blake mumbled between bites. "This is so good. Thank you. I owe you one."
"Nah, don't worry about paying me back. Just enjoy your dinner."
"If you're going to pay for me every time, maybe I'll go out on dates with you more often," she teased, her golden eyes twinkling dangerously with something Yang couldn't figure out.
Typically, she'd keep up and banter, but she blushed and drank her water, murmuring, "Okay, Blakey."
The two enjoyed their time in silence after dinner as Yang took them to their next destination. That was how it was most of the time they were together. By staying quiet, Blake, more than anyone else, even more than Pyrrha, always set her mind at ease whenever she was with her. She enjoyed doing homework with her, as she always motivated and helped Yang whenever she needed to. In the middle of class, if there was some down time, she'd have her nose deep in a book. She never raised her voice, never surprised her on purpose, never upset her. Well, besides that first time. Yang could never wrap her head around how tranquil she could be. As they cruised down the streets, she didn't want anything else.
When Yang pulled over to the side of the road and coasted to a field near the outskirts of town, Blake sent her a confused look.
"You fed me and now you're going to murder me and dump my body?"
"That's pretty dark, even for you!" Yang guffawed, holding her stomach. "Have you ever gone out to a drive-in movie?"
Blake tilted her head. "They have those here?"
"Yeah!" Yang found the line of cars and parked near the far end. "You can see just fine from here, right? I mean, the screen is pretty huge."
"I should be able to," she nodded.
"Well. Now we just wait. Shouldn't take a while. I thought we'd be late." Yang turned the car off and removed her seatbelt, leaning back.
"What are we watching?"
But the girl didn't get to answer, as the surrounding lights dimmed and the movie began playing in the distance. As soon as the first note rang out, Blake's eyes turned to her, wide and mouth open just slightly. "Yang, you took me to see Star Wars?" she asked, her voice just a little louder than normal.
"Yeah! I noticed you had the whole collection the last time I went to your house, like two weeks ago. So, I figured you should go see the new one." She chuckled and added, "I guess you can't hide the fact that you're a total nerd."
In the darkness, her smile seemed to shine. "You really are a good date."
The opening credits began to roll. Yang had seen all of the Star Wars before, but if she had to be frank, she couldn't remember the majority of it. Her father really enjoyed the series, as did Ruby, but she always filled her head with thoughts of sports and her friends. She loved being out and about, not being stuck inside. And yet, like silence, she found it alright with Blake. The girl paid attention to the movie. Yang tried. Really, honest to goodness, she really did try. But after twenty minutes had lapsed and she had already forgotten what the main character's name was, she couldn't help but let her eyes follow a trail of glowing skin up to ebony locks, to small yet full lips, to light, smoldering eyes.
She must've been as obvious as she thought she would be. Sometimes Blake would look back only for Yang to act like a deer caught in the headlights, too frozen to act. After an ungodly amount of times of catching her staring, much to Yang's chagrin, Blake turned herself to face the blonde and gave a small smile.
"Is there something on my face?"
"Wha? No! No, sorry, I just… I can't focus on the movie is all." She let out a nervous laugh and kicked herself internally. Good one, Xiao Long.
Blake arched an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Really now?"
"Oh…" Yang pretended to watch the next action scene before giving up, again. "So, you noticed I've been staring at you."
"Yeah, only after the first twenty glances." Blake giggled and Yang thought her heart would pump so fast it could burst in her chest.
What the Hell? Get it together. Get it together. Get it—
"You know," she interrupted her mental thoughts, "I am really, really enjoying tonight."
"Y-yeah?" Yikes.
"Truly. I always enjoy my time with you Yang, but… No one's really asked me to be their valentine in a while. You're doing a great job."
"I am?"
"Mhmm." She sighed, running her nimble fingers through her hair. "The last time I went out for Valentine's Day was three years ago."
"Oh, you scored a boy when you were a freshman?" Yang wiggled her eyebrows.
"I'm sure you did too," she returned. "I did. His name was Adam Taurus. Back then, he was a really good person. He was three years older than me and much smarter than me in all ways, but he really took care of me. Adam was kind and gentle and we always stayed together. In a way, he almost seemed more like a mentor than a boyfriend. He helped me when I needed him, especially in school. But he was so caring. Even my father liked him. But that was three years ago."
"What happened?"
Blake hesitated, drawing in a deep breath. "He changed. People change all the time and I guess he just changed his mind. When he graduated, I hardly knew him anymore."
Yang frowned. Without thought, she held her hand, feeling each crease and line on her palm. Their fingers laced and she squeezed. "Blake, I'm sorry to hear that. I had no idea…"
She shook her head. "It's not really something I tell anyone."
"I wouldn't," Yang agreed, thinking back to her own relationships. They never did end as awfully as her last one. It made her feel sick to think about it, and since the night was going really, really well, she decided to revert her focus to the girl next to her. "You're an incredible girl."
That caught her off guard. "What?"
She didn't bother to find some eloquent way to say what she felt. "Seriously. I mean, you've taken care of me. I don't tell people about my last relationship either, but you didn't even ask me any questions. You listened to me then. You listen to me all the time. And it's not just me, y'know? I mean, you're pretty much Ruby's best friend besides me and even Weiss looks a lot happier whenever she's around you. You're just a really genuine person, y'know? I know a great person when I see one. So even if Adam is some asshole who deserted you, it's not your fault."
Somehow, she could tell that Blake had tormented herself by thinking it was. Maybe it was because Yang had gone through that same stage, that awful cycle of forgiving herself only to find some irrational reason to believe she had done something wrong. She knew it all too well, and now she knew Blake did, too.
"You're too kind," Blake dismissed her, looking back at the screen. She was definitely missing the movie, but that didn't seem to matter to her. "You just keep getting better and better."
"Huh?"
She giggled again, probably at the face the blonde was making. "You're a really good friend. I'm glad that we could enjoy our night together like this, Yang. We should do this more often. I really, really like your company."
I do too.
Yawning in the middle of the showing, Blake asked Yang to take her home. It wasn't because she wasn't enjoying herself, no. They had school the following morning and she wanted to watch the film in full, maybe when she wasn't so distracted. Yang was thankful for distracting her, though, because she needed to hear that. She needed to hear that she had been doing the right thing, that she enjoyed being around her, and that she was having fun. Because it all meant that she was happy, and that was Yang's primary goal of the night. Without realizing it, Yang held her hand the whole drive home, feeling the warmth of her touch and never wishing to part.
When they reached her house, Yang exited the car to walk her back to the front door.
"I had a lot of fun tonight, Yang," Blake said, climbing up the stairs.
She followed behind her. "Good! I'm glad I could give you a good night." A pause filled in where her words couldn't, the distant sound of crashing waves disturbing what would be complete silence. "Blake," she rasped in a hushed way.
"Hmm?" came her small, quiet reply.
There it was again, that tension, that burning desire that she felt so fervently on Christmas Eve that she didn't even know existed. Stepping forward, she closed the distance between the both of them. Blake took a small step back, only for her to press up against the front door. But when Yang grabbed her hand and tilted her chin up with her forefinger, she didn't move. She held her breath, anxiously waiting to see what she would do. God, she wanted to kiss her. It was like she was completely and utterly out of her wits. In a crazy way, in a stupid way, in a completely impulsive way, she slowly brought her closer and gave her a kiss on her cheek, by the corner of her lips. That was almost too close, but she couldn't bring herself to kiss her fully. Because if she did, she couldn't be sure it would be just one kiss.
"Yang…" Blake whispered, looking up at her with eyes widened.
She couldn't be sure if that look was out of fear, shock, or something else. So, withdrawing herself, she cleared her heart out of her throat and said, "Yeah, well. It's been a good night, Blake. I'll see you tomorrow."
Hastily, she got in the car and raced back, as quick as she could. If she didn't, she'd find herself back with the girl. Because for the first time in months, she realized that the ridiculous thumping of her heart, the extra hours she'd spend awake at night in thought, the times of silence and the times of laughter, those all meant one thing, one stupid damn thing.
Yang Xiao Long was in love, whether she liked it or not.
A/N: Hello everyone! I had so much fun writing such a sweet chapter for the bees. Things are starting to get pretty intense for those two and the people around them.
Again, thank you for all your support. I'm incredibly humbled to write for so many people! Please leave me some feedback so I may improve. You guys rock.
-Lex