Dating Yang was so easy. Everything just felt right. Like Yang's hand was made to be held in hers. Like her crummy jokes existed just to make Blake laugh. Like Yang's smile was made to light up the parts of Blake she'd thought were long gone. The parts she hadn't been sure existed.
But that was what also made dating Yang so difficult. Because as the weeks went by, Blake became more and more accustomed to having her there. And with every kiss goodbye, on the nights they went their separate ways, Blake was reminded of the fact that – one day – it would really be their last one. And her heart would sink until the morning came again, where she could see Yang and put it from her mind; the fact that one hot summer day would be their last, Yang's bags packed and a ship ready to cart her home before Blake had to return to classes as well.
"So, what's this one about?" Yang asked, fingers brushing gently through Blake's hair.
They were on the cooler in the ice cream truck – the sun just low enough in the sky to heat the truck like an oven and warrant laying on the cool stainless steel. Yang sat with her back against the wall as Blake laid across the cooler, her head resting in Yang's lap as she read.
It had become a bit of a regular occurrence over the past few weeks; Yang keeping her company on the slower days, trying to squeeze in as much time together as possible as the days flew by. And Yang always asked about her books every time she noticed a change of title.
Which had been only slightly embarrassing when she had been finishing up the final book in the Ninja's of Love series.
Blake smiled, lowering the book just enough to peek up at Yang. "What do you think it's about?"
Yang chuckled. "You asking me to judge a book by its cover, Belladonna?"
Blake quickly marked her page and closed the book, turning it and holding it over her chest so Yang could only see the cover. She grinned. "Yes."
Yang laughed before squinting down at the cover with a hum. "The Man with Two Souls, huh?" She looked out the window across from them with a thoughtful frown, her eyes hidden by her aviators as her fingers continued to play absent-mindedly with Blake's hair. After a moment she nodded. "I think – and this is just a shot in the dark – but I think it's about a man that has two souls."
Blake giggled, swatting Yang lightly with the book before sitting up so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder. Yang wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders and Blake settled into her side as she opened the book again, flipping back to the first page. "Here," she said, putting the book between them.
Yang took one side of the book as Blake held onto the other. "What?" Yang asked.
Blake looked up at her. "We'll read it together."
Yang raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "Blake, you're already, like, halfway through—"
"I don't mind," Blake said, looking back down at the page. She shrugged. "It's… it's one of my favorites."
Blake could feel Yang just look at her for a moment before she took off her sunglasses – hooking them onto the front of her shirt – and her eyes drew to the page as she began to read. Yang's pace was just a little slower than hers, but she didn't really mind, taking the extra time between flips of the pages to enjoy the way Yang's brow furrowed as she read. The way her lips moved ever-so-slightly on some of the words. The way her fingers would brush delicately along the pages as she got ready to turn them.
After a little while had passed, and Blake got used to Yang's rhythm, she was puzzled as to why this particular page was taking a little longer. That was, until Yang began to read the passage aloud, surprising Blake from the silence they had been enjoying. "She looks at me," Yang reads, "– at him – and says all she sees is light. But I know in my soul – the one that belongs to me – that that is impossible. That he washes out my light and leaves me eclipsed by darkness. That anyone who is touched by it should suffer the same. And so, I must let her go. So that she may never know him. Even if that means that she may no longer know me." Yang hesitated a long moment before continuing. "That's… so sad."
Blake frowned down at the page. She'd always felt similar, that it was a sad act, but one born of great care. Of love. And didn't true love, when complicated in such manners, require a little sacrifice? "Yeah," Blake said, slowly. "But he's protecting her."
Yang's nose scrunched up as she shook her head. "But she doesn't want him to. She wants to be there for him, darkness or not. She loves him and he's just—"
"He's doing what he thinks is right," Blake said.
"But shouldn't what's right be decided by both of them?" Yang asked, and the way she looked at Blake hit her square in the chest.
Blake sighed, looking back down at the page. "I—"
Ding!
Blake's ears twitched up at the chime of the bell and she let out a breath.
Yang turned to her with a smirk. "Saved by the bell."
Blake laughed lightly, swatting Yang's shoulder before scooting off the cooler to help her customer.
"This book is kinda heavy," Yang said, after a moment.
Blake turned back around to get the customer's order, shooing Yang off of the cooler with a playful smack to her thigh and a 'scoot.' She smiled when Yang giggled and hopped off it to sit in the chair instead. "Well," Blake said with a sigh, standing back upright with the frozen treat in hand, "I never said it wasn't." She wandered back to the window, handing the ice cream over to her customer and making change.
"Yeah…" Yang sighed, and Blake looked over her shoulder to see her playing with the book in her hands. "But… it's one of your favorites." Yang shook her head. "I guess that just… makes me kind of sad."
Blake gave her customer a half smile and wished them a good day before turning around to face Yang. She crossed her arms, leaning back against the counter as she looked at her, still staring down at the book with a frown. Blake smirked. "You haven't even finished it yet." She wandered over to Yang, crouching down in front of her and resting her hands on Yang's knees. She looked at the book. "You're only, like, less than a quarter in."
Yang's eyes widened as she turned the book to look at it from the top. "But it's already so sad."
Blake chuckled and leaned up to press a kiss to Yang's cheek. "Keep reading, Yang. You might just like it."
As Blake went to stand up, Yang caught her hand, pulling her back down and into her lap as she placed the book face down on the cooler. Blake gasped as she landed, sitting sideways across Yang's lap, her arms looping around Yang's neck to keep her balance. Yang's arms circled her waist and when their eyes met, Blake saw the mischief there.
"I think I might like something else more," Yang said.
Blake sighed, rolling her eyes. "I told you, not in the truck."
"Not that." Yang's gaze softened as she shook her head, one arm leaving Blake's waist to tuck some hairs that strayed from Blake's ponytail, back behind her ear. Blake's head tilted forward until their foreheads met and Yang closed her eyes with a deep breath. "Just this," she said quietly, her hand trailing gently up and down Blake's back.
Blake sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she let herself enjoy the comfort of Yang's embrace. She'd been letting herself appreciate more and more of these moments over the time they'd started dating, and while the little voice in the back of her head that Ilia quelled with their chat on the beach was screaming danger, Blake was able to work past it – at least for now.
"We still on for tonight?" Yang asked after a moment. "Ruby's been excited."
Blake chuckled. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Yang grinned. "Practically bouncing off the walls."
"Seems like that's the standard," Blake said with a smirk. "What about Weiss?"
"She won't admit it, but she's seriously into your roommate."
Blake pulled back a little, raising an eyebrow. "She doesn't have to admit it. It's obvious in the fact that you've been practically banished to my place every other night."
Yang laughed, squeezing Blake a little tighter. "Oh no! Weiss is making me sleep at my girlfriend's place! What a nightmare!"
Blake rolled her eyes before shaking her head. "And they gave us a hard time."
Yang grinned, leaning a little further into Blake's space. "Maybe time for some payback?"
Blake smirked, grabbing Yang's sunglasses from her shirt and slipping them on before raising an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"
"Tryst in the Mist? Sounds…" Ruby trailed off, her nose crinkling as she held the movie case at a distance, alternating between reading the front and back from her spot on the floor. "Uh…"
"Terrible," Weiss cut in, crossing her arms and sinking back into the couch with a huff. "The word you're looking for is 'terrible.'" She turned to Yang. "Seriously, what were you thinking?" Yang opened her mouth to answer and Weiss shook her head, holding up a hand. "You know what? No. Don't answer that. I don't even want to know."
Blake chuckled, settling down next to Yang on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. "It's probably not that bad."
Weiss frowned, unconvinced.
Weekly movie nights became a thing between Blake and Sun early on in their roommate relationship. It was something they both enjoyed, and it helped keep them on each other's good side when they'd start to get on each other's nerves.
Though with Yang, Weiss, and Ruby in the mix tonight, Blake had a feeling that this was probably going to have the opposite effect. Thanks in no small part to Yang's masterplan to seek vengeance; or as she liked to call it 'help them understand their feelings for each other.'
Blake had a feeling just what those 'feelings' might be, based on the title of the movie alone.
Yang slung an arm around Blake's shoulders, grabbing a handful of popcorn with her other hand and popping a few pieces into her mouth. She smirked. "Yeah, ease up, Weiss. I'm sure it'll be entertaining."
Weiss huffed and rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt that."
"Eh… same," Ruby said, scratching the back of her head with a chuckle.
"So! What'd we decide on?" Sun asked, striding into the room a moment later.
"Yang decided on Tryst in the Mist," Weiss said with a roll of her eyes.
Sun stumbled a bit as he went to take a seat between Weiss and Yang on the couch, his face turning a deep red. "O-oh. Really?" He glanced up at Yang. "Isn't that one kind of…"
Yang smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Kind of…?"
Weiss sat up a little, her own eyebrows raising. "You've seen it?"
Sun stiffened, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh… once or twice. Blake dragged me to it when it was in theaters."
Blake sat up a little to look at him. "I did not. I've never even seen this movie."
Yang chuckled, planting a kiss to the side of Blake's head. "It does seem like your kind of movie, baby," she mumbled against her temple.
Blake huffed and rolled her eyes, taking some popcorn for herself. "Nope. I prefer horror, actually."
Yang shifted to look at her. "Really?"
"Yeah." Blake smirked and shrugged. "They're an adrenaline rush. Exciting."
Yang smiled at her, as if learning that tiny bit of information made her night, and Blake bit her lip to suppress a smile of her own.
"If you two are done being all… adorable; can we please just get this movie over with?" Weiss asked.
Blake chuckled as she broke eye contact with Yang to look at Weiss. "Sure."
The movie wasn't as bad as Blake thought it would be. It was worse. Way worse. Obscenely worse. Some of it might as well have been softcore porn and she found even herself blushing. Ruby had found an excuse to escape to the kitchen about halfway through and had yet to return as it stretched on fifteen minutes.
Blake leaned over to whisper to Yang as the actor on the screen ripped open his costar's shirt. "How did you think this was a good idea? Also, this is what you think my kind of movie is?"
"That second question seems like a trap, so I'm going to ignore it." Yang said, and Blake rolled her eyes with a smile. "As for the first… come on," Yang said with a smirk, discretely gesturing in Weiss and Sun's direction. Blake shifted her gaze to find Sun's face beet red, arms crossed over his chest and leg bouncing wildly, as Weiss leaned against the armrest with two fingers pressed to her temple, teeth clenched, legs crossed, and face flushed.
Blake sighed, looking back at Yang. "But your sister…"
Yang frowned. "Yeah… okay, I do feel a little bad about the collateral damage. Maybe I should go check on—"
Blake raised an eyebrow and put a hand on Yang's leg to stop her from getting up. "And leave me alone with this? I don't think so." Blake smirked. "You stay and enjoy the movie you picked. I'll go find her."
Before Yang could try and argue the point, Blake pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and left her with a wink.
"Grab me a water!" Yang shouted as Blake started for the kitchen.
"S-Same!"
"Me too."
Blake chuckled as she disappeared into the kitchen. She'd feel a little bad for Sun in the morning maybe… probably not, but as of right now it was definitely nice to get a little revenge.
As she wandered over to the fridge, Blake caught sight of Ruby sitting on the counter, cookie halfway to her mouth and a guilty expression all over her face. Ruby dropped the cookie back into the bag she was holding, quickly putting it on the counter and shoving it away from her as she smiled and waved. "Hi!"
Blake laughed lightly, grabbing the pitcher of water from the fridge and putting it on the island behind her. "You can have them, it's okay." She smirked at Ruby as she opened one of the cabinets and started grabbing glasses. "They're Sun's, anyway."
Ruby chuckled, reaching for the bag of cookies again and taking one more from the bag. "Thanks." Before she put the bag back down, Ruby extended it out in Blake's direction.
Blake looked back at her for a moment before setting the glasses she'd pulled from the cabinet onto the counter and taking a cookie from the bag. Ruby smiled, placing the bag back on the counter as Blake bit into her cookie.
"Always sweeter when stolen," Blake said with a grin, smile growing as Ruby laughed.
Silence settled over them for a moment while Blake finished off her cookie and started to pour drinks. When she poured the first one, she turned to Ruby, glass extended in her direction. "Want some?"
Ruby nodded, taking the glass from Blake's hand. "Thanks."
Silence fell over them again, and Blake wasn't sure how to fill it. What do you even say to your summer girlfriend's little sister?
What ended up coming out was, "I'm sorry about the movie." Part of Blake cringed at even bringing it up, not wanting to make things more awkward, but another part of her felt the need to genuinely apologize. Ruby had apparently been so excited for tonight, and even if the specific movie had been Yang's masterplan, she'd definitely aided in the decision.
Ruby laughed. "It's okay. Yang's… always been like that with Weiss."
Blake cocked an eyebrow, pouring out another glass of water. "Making her watch borderline X-rated movies?"
Ruby's face scrunched up. "No! No, not like— Ugh. No." Blake laughed as Ruby continued. "She likes to tease her around the guys she likes."
"Payback or something?" Blake asked with a smirk. She could see Weiss embarrassing Yang in her own way around the people she liked. After all, she was the one who'd hunted Blake down at the beach and told her to text Yang after their first time.
Ruby frowned thoughtfully as she shook her head, reaching for another cookie out of the bag. "No. Yang doesn't really— Um, I mean before you, there was never really anyone that she... really dated."
Blake nodded, pouring another glass. "Yeah, she mentioned she hadn't dated much."
Ruby cleared her throat. "N-No. Yang's… Yang's never really dated anyone. I kinda thought that maybe it just wasn't for her, y'know?"
Blake set the pitcher down, turning to look at Ruby with a raised eyebrow. She knew Yang didn't have much experience with dating. She'd told her that, but the way Ruby was talking… "What do you mean?"
Ruby shook her head. "Nothing. I… probably shouldn't have said anything. It's not really my place."
Blake frowned, looking back at the countertop. "I mean, she's… had a girlfriend before, right? Maybe a boyfriend?"
Ruby sighed. "There were… people. Just a couple. I don't remember her ever being serious about them, though. I don't even know what their names were." She shrugged. "You're definitely different for her."
Blake's heart fluttered in her chest. "Oh." She wasn't entirely sure what that meant. Was it a good thing that she was Yang's first semi-serious relationship? Did it make her special in some way? Was it just a convenient relationship that had a natural ending that Yang felt comfortable with? Was it something more than that? Did Yang want it to be something more than that? How could she possibly want it to be more with the inevitable distance between them? Especially if this was all so new to her?
"Uhhh, maybe don't tell her I told you that?" Ruby said, rubbing the back of her neck with an awkward chuckle.
Blake broke from her downward spiral to smirk at her, happy to at least somewhat change the subject. "I think it's the least I could do to apologize for the mess that is tonight."
Ruby chuckled and the heavy atmosphere lifted from the kitchen. "It's not so bad. There's cookies!"
Blake smirked as she poured the last glass of water and turned to put the pitcher back in the fridge. She stared into the fridge a moment, thinking about whether or not she wanted to bring more junk food back to make the rest of the movie more bearable, before Yang swept into the kitchen.
"Hey," Yang said with a small smile and awkward wave. "Just thought I'd see what was taking so long."
Blake leaned against the top of the fridge door and redirected her smirk at Yang. "I've been gone, like, three minutes, Yang."
Yang's smile widened as she wandered over to Blake and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Three minutes too long, baby."
"Ugh, this is grosser than the movie."
Blake chuckled as Yang rolled her eyes and strolled over to Ruby. "Please," she said, hopping up onto the counter. She reached over and snagged the bag of cookies, popping one into her mouth whole. "Nothing is grosser than that movie." She finished eating the cookie before she smirked and nudged Ruby with her elbow. "Why do you think I picked it?"
Ruby shoved Yang's shoulder. "Ewww, Yang!"
Yang laughed and tousled Ruby's hair. "Aw, c'mon sis, you know how she is," she said. "Some people just need a little nudge in the right direction."
Ruby raised an eyebrow, waiting a beat before shoving Yang off the counter, and sending her stumbling into Blake's arms. Once she regained her balance, Yang smirked. "Oh, I definitely didn't need the nudge," she said, looking into Blake's eyes. "We already know the right direction. Right, baby?" She added with a wink, just a little softer.
Blake stared at her a moment, her heart racing, trying to determine what that question was. Was it serious? Was she supposed to answer honestly? It didn't seem like it, but Yang had a tendency to use humor as a mask, so it was possible she really was probing to see where Blake's head was at. But would she do that right in front of her sister? Probably not. So that had to mean it was just a line; something that would get Blake to play along, to have Ruby's little joke backfire. Yeah, that made way more sense than the alternative. After all, Yang had made no move to talk about the future, and according to Ruby –and even herself – wasn't someone to be in long term relationships. Probably for the best, seeing as if she knew Blake's answer, Blake would probably only lose her sooner.
Blake threw on a smirk to match Yang's, but didn't play into her hand. "Back to the movie; so we can watch the other two squirm?"
Yang rolled her eyes. "You're no fun."
Blake chuckled low before leaning up and pressing a kiss to Yang's cheek. "I know that's not what you really think," she whispered against her ear before pulling back, basking in the red that stained Yang's cheeks.
Yang smiled, a little dazed. "I can stay tonight, right?"
Blake smirked and gently pushed Yang back. "Go back to the living room, Yang."
Yang backed up and pointed at Blake. "That wasn't a 'no,' Belladonna."
"Wasn't a 'yes' either."
Yang smirked, grabbing a couple of the glasses and making her way towards the kitchen door. "Well, if tonight works out, I might have to stay here."
Blake rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, Yang!" Ruby chucked a cookie across the kitchen, but instead of it hitting its desired target, Yang caught it between her teeth.
Yang grinned, letting out a sound of triumph at the unexpected catch. She raised one of the water glasses in the air and tilted her head in Ruby's direction as she pushed the kitchen door open. "Thanks, sis," she mumbled around the cookie before she tossed a wink at Blake and finally disappeared back into the other room.
Blake sighed and shut the fridge door. If Yang was going to tease everyone into oblivion tonight, she didn't deserve more junk food.
"Sorry about her," Blake said, turning to Ruby with a sympathetic smile.
Ruby chuckled. "I've lived with her for over twenty years," she said hopping off the counter and shrugging. "I'm used to it." Ruby rubbed the back of her head, as if debating her next words. Ultimately, she eventually murmured, "I'm just happy that she's happy. So… thanks? For, um, for making her happy."
Blake's heart twisted in her chest. She gave Ruby a tight-lipped smile, her answer as honest as possible. "Y-Yeah. She makes me happy too."
Ruby grinned wide and stretched, starting for the kitchen door. "Well, guess I should get back out there too." She tugged her Scroll out of her pocket. "I'll be buried in the safety of memes, if you need me," she said, popping in her headphones as well and slipping back into the living room.
Blake took a deep breath, leaning forward and bracing herself against the island for a moment, studying her reflection in the water of one of the glasses. After a moment, she closed her eyes and shook her head. Of all the things she expected from this movie night, her own crisis wasn't among them, but given how this summer was going, she shouldn't be shocked.
"Blake! C'mon you're missing the best part!" Yang's voice coming from the other room immediately made her ears perk, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth and her heart beating just a little quicker.
She rolled her eyes, shaking off the weight of the future and grabbing the glasses of water off the counter. "I didn't realize this movie had any good parts, let alone best ones," she said, wandering back into the living room.
She looked at the screen and realized that the movie absolutely didn't have any redeeming qualities as she passed Sun his glass. Blake tilted her head to the side, her brow furrowed. "Now, that's just not practical. How can anyone even do that?" She said, plopping down next to Yang on the couch yet again.
Yang was quick to put her arm around her shoulder, the action coming effortlessly and without thought. "I can show you later, if you want…" Yang whispered, definitely only loud enough for her to hear, which she was grateful for, but still she batted lightly at Yang's arm.
"You're terrible," she said with a laugh.
Yang nuzzled into her neck, smiling against her skin. "You love it."
Blake felt her stomach swoop at the statement. While she was fairly certain Yang didn't mean it to sound like it did, she still couldn't help but focus on her use of the word "love." And the most terrifying thing was that maybe Blake did love it.
She brushed it off as quickly as she could and rolled her eyes again, gently guiding Yang out of the crook of her neck. "Behave," she warned, smirking. She studied Yang's face a moment, finding her flushed and a little dazed. Blake shook her head. "Is your plan backfiring?" Blake looked back at the screen and raised an eyebrow, keeping her voice quiet as she continued. "Didn't know bad acting did it for you."
Yang chuckled, nuzzling close to her again. "It doesn't," she said, planting a soft kiss to Blake's neck. "You do."
Blake blushed. Not at the cheesy line, or the fact Yang was kissing up her neck in front of people she really shouldn't be, but because of the sincerity in her words. The way her voice changed from that flirty tone she used when she was kidding or trying to get a rise out of Blake, to something more honest, to something more herself.
Blake nudged her back a little again, but she was smiling. "Cut it out."
Yang smiled back and leaned back in, kissing and whispering sweet nothings against Blake's neck, until Blake couldn't help but giggle, and try half-heartedly to bat her away.
"Would you two quit it with the flirting? Some of us are trying to watch this train wreck of a movie." Weiss's voice snapped them out of it and Yang leaned back with a laugh.
"Didn't realize you were enjoying the riveting plot so much, Weiss," Yang said with a smirk.
"It's not… terrible?" The words sounded like they were physically painful to say as they left Weiss's mouth and Blake stifled a laugh as Yang raised her eyebrows.
"That desperate to try and not pay attention to what's happening on the screen right now, huh?" Yang asked.
As if on cue, there was a ridiculous line from one of the actors and Blake laughed.
Sun turned bright red. "Can we please turn this off?"
"Oh, I don't know, apparently Weiss is enjoying it," Yang said with a smirk.
"I hate you," Weiss said.
"You love me."
"Turn it off."
"There's only like fifteen minutes left!"
Weiss raised her eyebrows, leaning forward to look past Sun at Yang. "How are they wrapping up this plot in fifteen minutes?"
Yang chuckled. "Guess it'll just be a little anticlimactic," she said with a wink.
Weiss fell back into her seat with a huff, her arms crossed. "Yep. I definitely hate you."
The last fifteen minutes of the movie were in fact the longest fifteen minutes of Blake's life, and – despite Yang's teasing – were in fact very anticlimactic.
Blake shook her head as she got up to take the disc out of the player. "I can't believe we wasted two hours of our lives on that."
"So, I'm confused, did he die at the end, or was that like… symbolic or something?" Sun asked, flicking on the lights.
"Y'know, it was really unclear," Yang said, stretching.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "I think you're putting too much thought into a horrible movie."
As Weiss, Yang, and Sun continued to debate over the ending, Ruby looked up, squinting against the lights before smiling and collapsing onto her side, tugging out her headphones. "Oh, thank god it's over," she said with a sigh of relief.
Blake gave her a small apologetic smile, putting the movie back in the case. "Why don't you pick next week's?"
Ruby's eyes lit up and Yang chuckled, wrapping her arms around Blake's waist. "Careful, Belladonna. If I know Ruby, it'll be something with a lot of explosions and maybe two lines of dialogue."
Blake leaned back into Yang's arms and raised her eyebrows. "And that's supposed to be worse than your pick?"
"Hah!" Ruby said, pointing at Yang. Yang simply stuck her tongue out in return.
As Ruby started running through her favorite movies under her breath, Yang sighed. "Guess that means we're officially invited back next week?" She asked, just loud enough for Blake to hear.
Blake chuckled, turning around in Yang's arms and wrapping her arms around her waist. "Despite my better judgement based on tonight's performance; yes, you're invited back next week." She paused a moment, smiling softly, her cheeks heating as she played gently with the fabric of Yang's t-shirt. "And… maybe every week?" She cleared her throat, looking away. "You know, until…" Her sentence trailed off; the weight of the implication heavy in the air between them.
Yang broke through it anyway, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss to Blake's lips. "I'd like that."
Blake sighed, nudging her forehead against Yang's briefly before Sun awkwardly cleared his throat.
"S-So, I'm going to just… go over to Weiss's tonight," he said, face red as his struggled to slip into his sneakers, Weiss already waiting by the door with not even an ounce of shame on her face. Honestly? Blake was impressed. "So…"
Ruby groaned and Blake's jaw dropped as Yang snickered, burying her face in Blake's shoulder. Blake shook her head. "Oh! Yeah, uh, have fun!"
With a salute, Sun slipped out the door with Weiss into the balmy summer night; leaving Blake, Yang, and Ruby in the living room. With them finally gone, Yang let out a laugh. "I honestly can't believe that worked."
Blake shook her head. "I'm not surprised about Sun, but I'd have thought Weiss would be a little more…"
Yang chuckled, leaning back. "She'd surprise you."
"Guess so." Blake sighed, slipping out of Yang's arms and turning around to start cleaning up, until she caught a glimpse of Ruby still sitting on the floor. She only thought for a second before speaking. "Hey," she said, smiling softly when Ruby's silver eyes met her gaze. "You can stay here tonight, if you want."
Relief washed over Ruby's features instantly, tension visibly leaving her shoulders. "Really?"
Blake chuckled, picking up the popcorn bowl from the coffee table. "Of course! Sun's sheets might have a little sand in them, but you can use the couch if you want."
Ruby leaped off the ground and threw her arms around Blake in a quick hug. "Thank you."
Blake chuckled lightly at the amount of gratefulness Ruby showed at such a small gesture, but it was sweet nonetheless. She awkwardly hugged her back with her free arm. "You're welcome."
Once Ruby pulled back, she quickly excused herself to use the bathroom and Blake went back to picking things up, only to be distracted by the sensation of Yang staring. She looked up from what she was doing and was met with Yang simply staring at her with soft eyes and a small smile. Blake felt a blush creep up her neck as she quickly looked away again.
"What?" She asked, laughing, just a little uneasy.
"What?" Yang echoed.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Yang shook her head, rubbing her neck with one hand as her cheeks went pink. "Oh. I… I don't know." She cleared her throat, shuffling forward to pick up a couple of the glasses on the table. "Does it… should I not?"
"No!" Blake was a little embarrassed at how quick it came out, but she saw some tension drain from Yang's body so she simply cleared her throat and continued. "No. I mean, it's—it's fine, I just… don't know what I did?"
Yang sighed, pausing for a long moment before answering. "It was just you being… you, Blake." She shrugged like it was the most obvious thing. "That's all."
There was a beat of silence between them where Yang let the words settle and Blake tried to soak them in, decipher what that meant as she stared into Yang's eyes. But then, Yang's confidence wavered a little and she broke eye contact. "I'm—I'm just gonna—" She pointed vaguely in the direction of the kitchen, holding up the glasses in her hands. "Yeah."
Blake chuckled and bit her lip as Yang disappeared into the kitchen with a long exhale.
They stayed up a little longer after that, chatting with Ruby. Blake enjoyed getting to hear a little more about Yang's childhood antics from someone a little less biased, but it was clear Ruby really looked up to her sister; because even the stories laced with embarrassment had a heroic air about them.
"I totally would've hit one hundred if that damn branch hadn't snapped," Yang said with a roll of her eyes.
"Yang, you were only on ten and you could barely move," Ruby said with a laugh.
Yang shrugged. "You can't prove anything."
Blake chuckled and yawned, curling a little further into Yang's side.
Yang smiled, speaking softly as her fingers combed through Blake's hair. "Tired, sweetheart?"
Blake shook her head. "No, no, I'm okay," she said through a yawn.
Yang chuckled against her. "Very convincing," she said, gently shifting Blake upright as she stood. "C'mon, baby, let's get some sleep."
Blake frowned. "No, you guys are having fun, you should—"
"I'm pretty tired too!" Ruby said, not sounding tired in the slightest, by Blake's standards. Then again, a woman who consumes that much sugar may never be Blake-levels of tired.
"See?" Yang said, smile soft. "It's late, we're all ready to call it a night."
Blake grumbled some form of "agreement" that made Yang chuckle, then made quick work of helping Ruby get set up on the sofa before retreating to her own bedroom. There, she found Yang, changing out of her clothes and into some of Blake's workout shorts and a loose-fitting t-shirt, though the t-shirt was only slipped onto her arms, leaving her back bare as Blake entered. Yang paused in the motion of putting it on, glancing over her shoulder with a smile as Blake shut the door. Blake quickly wandered across the room, wrapping her arms around Yang's waist and pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck.
Yang sighed, letting the shirt fall back onto the bed as she turned in Blake's arms to face her. Blake's hands wandered over the muscles in Yang's back as Yang's arms looped over her shoulders, around her neck.
Yang smiled down at her, then leaned forward until their foreheads met. "Hey," she said, quietly.
Blake responded with a kiss, slow and deep. After all the flirting and build up, Blake felt this is naturally where it should lead, to them tangled together in her bed, her bringing Yang to the brink, despite the exhaustion seeping into her bones. She could never say that the kiss wasn't nice, but she'd much rather just hold her as they fell asleep. Would much rather be tucked under Yang's chin, listening to her heartbeat, soaking in her warmth…
Yang pulled back for a breath and Blake's lips wandered lazily down the slope of her neck. "I thought you were tired?" Yang said with a light chuckle, still a little breathless.
Blake hummed. "I am," she answered, honestly her breath hot against Yang's skin. "But…" She wasn't exactly sure what the "but" was.
But you want this.
But this is what's supposed to happen.
But if we don't, then…
She didn't let that thought continue, but a frown tugged her lips as Yang gently guided her back, cradling her jaw between her hands. For a moment, Yang simply looked into her eyes, her thumbs brushing lightly over her jaw.
Finally, Yang smiled, small and caring. "C'mere," Yang said, sitting down on the bed and tugging gently on Blake's hand until she was standing between her legs. Yang slowly reached for the button on Blake's shorts, looking up at her for permission. Blake nodded, and Yang slowly helped her out of them before ridding her of her shirt and bra as well, leaving soft kisses along her stomach and hips all the while.
Once Blake was down to her underwear, Yang leaned back, hands on Blake's hips as she looked up at her. The adoration in Yang's eyes was unmistakable, shining brightly in the warm glow of light coming from the lone lamp illuminating Blake's room.
She tugged on Blake's hand again, and Blake slid into her lap, thighs framing her hips. She expected Yang to kiss her, for her hands to start to wander over her bare skin, but was met instead with only the press of soft lips against her chest once before Yang fell back onto the mattress, dragging Blake with her. Yang rolled and shifted, Blake giggling all the while, until they were lying on their sides, their heads on Blake's pillows and bodies pressed chest-to-chest.
Blake shook her head, confused as Yang started to try and get them under the covers. "What are you doing?"
Yang chuckled as she finally got the blankets out from under them and helped her and Blake slip under them. "Well, I know it's a heatwave and everything but it's really uncomfortable to sleep with no blankets."
Blake blinked up at her as Yang settled back down against the pillows with a sigh, her arms looping around Blake's waist yet again. Yang raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Blake blushed. "N-Nothing, I just thought that…"
Yang smirked. "We don't have to have sex every night, Belladonna. Damn."
Blake's ears flattened, her heart hammering. She wasn't sure what the feeling was. Couldn't even pinpoint whether it was good or bad and it bothered her. "I… I just thought you… wanted to."
Yang's gaze softened, one of her hands coming up to brush Blake's hair behind her ear. "That doesn't matter," Yang said, gently. "We do it when we both want to, Blake. That's how this works." She paused a moment before adding. "That… that doesn't change just because we're together."
Blake could feel her face turn a darker shade of red. "But—"
"No. No, 'buts'," Yang said with a shake of her head. She reached over and switched off the light before snuggling back under the covers and scooting closer to Blake. "Now, come here," she whispered, gently urging Blake to curl against her.
Blake relented with a sigh, every ounce of tension draining from her body as she tucked herself under Yang's chin, wrapped her arm around her waist, tangled their legs together under the covers. It should have been far to hot to be comfortable, what with the heatwave, and the lack of air conditioning, and Yang's above-average body heat, but Blake only felt the desire to snuggle closer, and so she did, burrowing her face into the crook of Yang's neck. She felt Yang chuckle lightly before dropping a kiss between her ears and Blake's heart melted as their bodies molded together. Their heartbeats evening out. And the last thing she heard, before she slipped into the most peaceful slumber of her life, was Yang whisper, "Goodnight, baby," ever so gently.
