To maintain compliance with FFN's site guidelines, this chapter has been heavily edited down from its original form. Those looking for the full-length version can find it on the Archive of Our Own version of this story which can be read here: archiveof*our*own.*com/works/11586351 (remove asterisks)


Blake woke up in the morning to streaks of bright sunlight that painted the room gold, with her head throbbing and in a space that was very much not her own. She blinked, trying to get the exhaustion to slip away from herself at least a little. At least enough so that she would get up and be able to function without her morning tea. She turned her head to the side, trying her best to ignore the way that it made her eyes hurt and how dry her mouth was.

Her thoughts only managed to stay focused on her apparent (albeit slight) hangover for a second.

Weiss was there at her side, still asleep and curled up against her pillow, sleeping peacefully.

Right.

They had come back to a hotel the night before after the nightclub. That was a thing that happened.

Which meant that Blake probably wasn't going to be the only one feeling nasty after the night before.

Blake hauled herself out of bed, with a little bit less care than she'd showed the day before. It took some effort to drag herself off to the bathroom. Blake allowed herself a quick shower in the hopes that she could at the very least make herself feel a little bit less gross with all things considered. It left her coming away feeling refreshed, and a glass of water on the way out did wonders for her head.

Once she was done, Blake stepped out to see that Weiss was still there, curled up in bed with a blanket pulled high up on her shoulders.

They were probably going to have to talk about the night before, regardless of whether or not anything had happened. It didn't seem that anything had happened beyond getting a bit heated at the club, but talking was important. Communication made relationships work. Blake knew that, and yet she didn't want to find herself infuriating or frustrating Weiss any more than the heiress strictly needed.

Especially over what would probably turn out to be nothing.

She padded across the room and took a seat at Weiss' side on the bed before allowing for herself to lie down in that spot. The space on the bed that had been Blake's had gone cold in her absence, but that was fine. Blake just took the chance to get her phone and notepad from her jacket-

And for what?

Blake didn't really know what she was intending to take notes on. It wasn't as though the night before had been anything even close to useful for work. It had been an entirely social outing, meant as simple enjoyment for everyone involved.

And yet…

Blake couldn't exactly do anything to help that feeling that told her that the smartest thing she could have done was go ahead and write it all down anyways.

But she didn't. She stopped herself, set her things back down on the bedside table, and let herself just relax. Soon enough Weiss was going to be getting up for the morning. When that happened, then Blake was sure that the two of them were going to be left with plenty of things to talk about.

At her side, Weiss shifted just slightly. Blake went completely still, not sure that she wanted to move around at all. Not when Weiss seemed to be just barely clinging to the edges of consciousness. It felt risky being there, all of a sudden.

A part of Blake couldn't help but wonder if the smart thing would be to make a room service order then and there. At the very least Blake could ensure that she and Weiss were going to have access to breakfast. Weiss probably wouldn't want to try for a continental breakfast, and Blake would have preferred the privacy anyways.

After all, Blake couldn't exactly pretend like she wasn't feeling tired or anything. Or like she hadn't maybe drank a little bit more the night before than she should have. She needed to find a way to clear it out of her system, and Weiss would probably need it too anyways.

Her gaze strayed over to the phone and the room service menu. A moment later Blake let out a quiet sigh before dragging herself up out of the bed and stalking her way over to the phone.

Blake picked the menu up and read it over several times. She didn't really know what sorts of things Weiss would even want for breakfast. All that she could really be sure of was that Weiss was going to want some coffee to go with her morning.

There was also that one detail about who was going to pay for the meal if she made the order. Blake was fairly certain that she wouldn't be able to handle it if it was left to her alone.

Blake sighed and walked over to the bed again, unable to make the call unless she knew what was going on.

She seated herself on the bed next to Weiss and reached out for her partner. Blake set a gentle hand on Weiss' shoulder, and that seemed to be enough to stir the heiress on its own. Weiss picked her head up and stared up at Blake with an exhausted expression.

"What?" She mumbled the word in a way that came off as almost whining.

"Hey." Blake greeted Weiss, knowing that the greeting wasn't exactly what she would have wanted to give for the morning. It was the least that she could offer Weiss, at the very least. The situation could have been worse. "It's morning?"

Weiss stared at her and her expression was blank and irritated. It wasn't at all encouraging.

"I was going to order something for breakfast." Blake explained herself, pulling her hand away from Weiss and giving the heiress a little bit more room. Her hands ended up there in her lap, and Blake just waited for Weiss to say something.

"You... wanted to..."

"Room service." Blake explained again. "I figure that you're going to want some coffee?"

"Yes, please." Weiss replied as she pushed herself so that she could sit up properly. She brushed her bangs out of her face, and then a moment later Blake watched as Weiss tied her soft white hair away from her face. "That sounds wonderful."

Blake nodded and reached for the phone, calling in an order. While she did that, Weiss got up and began to collect some things that she could have used for her own morning. Blake watched as Weiss collected her clothes, and then slipped off to the bathroom. A minute later Blake heard the shower turn on, and relaxed a little bit.

The morning was going well, and the awkwardness over the night before that Blake had been expecting was yet to appear in any capacity. That on its own should have been an encouraging thing.

However, Blake couldn't help but be aware of the fact that she and Weiss both hadn't exactly woken up completely yet. Weiss was probably going to be a bit more put together once she was out of the shower, but Blake wanted to wait until after breakfast at the least.

That was probably going to be their best shot at actually enjoying the morning together. That was something Blake would have been willing to bet money on.

She relaxed back into the bed again and let her eyes slip shut for a moment.

The good thing about room service was that it took some time to be prepared, so by the time that Weiss' shower was being turned off, their breakfast had been delivered.

Blake accepted the delivery and began to lie everything out buffet style on a table in the hotel room that sat under their little window. She also poured herself a mug of tea and seated herself at the table. When Weiss joined her, then she would let herself eat.

Moments later, Weiss was stepping out. She was still wrapped in her towel, and her long hair had been tied up in a second one. Blake swallowed and averted her eyes politely, if only because she didn't know what sort of ground she and Weiss actually were on at the moment. All that Blake knew was that she really didn't want to be the one making things worse.

"It's here?" Weiss asked as she stepped up to the side of the bed.

"It is." Blake confirmed, keeping her eyes glued onto her phone very pointedly. "I figured I'd wait for you before eating."

"Thank you." Weiss replied, and Blake heard the sound of her moving around and pulling on some clothes. Blake felt a slight pang of guilt, since neither of them had really left home the night before expecting to spend the night anyways. "I figured we were going to eat and then we'd check out?"

"That sounds good." Blake replied, looking up once she was sure that it would be fine for her to do so. Weiss looked utterly exhausted. The heiress crossed the room and took a seat at the chair across from Blake before picking up her plate.

"I think that it's best if we separate after this." Weiss said, her voice surprisingly stern for the moment. "I think that I should probably go and check on my father today."

"And your family?" Blake asked, since that was a question that she felt she needed to ask anyways. "If there's a benefit coming, you should probably be preparing for it."

"Which I am doing." Weiss replied, holding her head up high and not daring to let herself waver for even a second. "Besides, I'm sure that you have things that you need to do as well. You have a story to write, don't you?"

Blake blinked, because yeah, there were definitely things that she probably could have spent her time looking into. One of the easier things that she could have done was that she could have just gone ahead and gone ahead on some research regarding the Schnee fundraiser. Perhaps if she asked around and talked to Ilia she would have the ability to get an idea of what it was that Adam was actually planning.

There were only a lot of ways in which that could backfire, but Blake needed to do what she could to help.

"You're right." Blake finally said as she moved to begin filling her plate with things that she could enjoy for her breakfast. "I have work to do, and I think that I should probably let Yang know that I still live with her."

Weiss nodded, but Blake couldn't help but notice the obvious stain of pink on the heiress' cheeks. Weiss was very pointedly not looking at her in that moment, and that left Blake feeling at least a little bit puzzled by the situation before her. Weiss sighed. "Of course." She said, looking down at her hands. "I figure that Neptune and Coco will be wanting to spend some time with me as well."

Blake nodded and took the moment to finish filling her plate. She took the seat that she'd been using across from Weiss and stored her phone out of sight before stabbing at her food with a fork for the first time.

Weiss did the same, although she was much more delicate about the process than Blake was. It was something that Blake could at the very least be grateful for. The normality of it all made the situation feel like it was actually bearable.

The two of them ate their breakfasts in relative silence, and when they were finished Blake and Weiss stacked their plates on the table alongside their copious leftovers. Blake made her way over towards the bed to begin collecting her things when she noticed Weiss taking a seat on the edge on the other side.

Blake went silent and stared across at Weiss, who was looking at Blake with an expression that Blake hadn't seen on her before.

"What is it?" Blake asked, because she felt woefully unprepared for whatever it was that Weiss was thinking. She was sure that Weiss had perfectly normal intentions, but at the same time there was an unsureness about it all.

"Nothing." Weiss replied, her voice all too quiet. "I'm just thinking about last night."

Blake nodded, because yeah, that was a conversation that the two of them hadn't really had just yet. She also wasn't sure that it was necessarily a conversation that they were going to actually have either.

Weiss cocked her head to the side, and she did manage to look a little bit confused by Blake's reaction, maybe even put off by it. Blake didn't quite know how to react, so she just decided to settle into the space at Weiss' side. "Last night was..." Blake finally repeated, closing her eyes and letting out a slow breath so that she could hopefully approach all of this objectively. "It was certainly… something."

"I liked it." Weiss said, glancing away from Blake. "All of it. Although I don't know that I approve in your taste in nightclubs."

"Well, Yang chose it so you should bring it up with her." Blake replied with a slight shrug. "I enjoyed last night too."

Weiss nodded and began to scoot in a little bit closer to Blake. Blake didn't shift away, just allowed for the closeness, and when she felt the two of their hands brush together she didn't do anything to slip away from her.

Blake couldn't help but notice the heat of Weiss' skin against hers, and even allowed herself to lean in towards the heiress, even if it was only slightly. Weiss took it as an invitation though, leaning in even closer and turning so that she could actually touch Blake more.

As for Blake, the idea of getting in closer to Weiss didn't feel bad. She turned her body, setting her things down beside her and wasn't surprised at all when Weiss leaned in even closer to her. The woman raised a hand and placed it against her cheek before sinking her way into a long, slow kiss.

Blake let her eyes slip shut and sank into the touch a little bit more, scooting in closer to Weiss. Weiss took it as a very obvious invitation and pressed in even closer, turning her body more. Blake reached out for her, placing a hand on Weiss' shoulder that crept up the back of her neck and even up into that long silky hair that Blake had been wanting to be able to touch for so long.

A small noise escaped Weiss, and Blake practically wanted to drown in it. Weiss' hand made it to her shoulder, slipping down so that her thumb could stroke against Blake's collarbone. Blake just responded by pressing in towards Weiss more, taking the kiss over and twisting it so that she was beginning to press Weiss back towards the bed.

There was no resistance towards her actions. Weiss allowed herself to sink back into the mattress, her skirt already slipping up her thigh. The heiress was kicking off heat and she managed to be nothing short of irresistible. Blake shifted how she was lying so that she could brace herself at Weiss' side in a way that allowed her to lean over Weiss' body.

Blake pulled away so that she could breathe, and when she stared back down at Weiss she saw the woman looking up at her for who she really was. Her blue eyes were blown wide, her lips and face looking more pink than they normally did. She felt magnetic and Blake was made of iron. There was no escaping Weiss' pull.

"Blake." Weiss whispered, staring up at her in kind. "Blake."

"Hey." Blake replied, leaning in to press her lips to Weiss' once more. The kiss lingered for just a moment before Blake allowed herself to pull back away and watch the woman. "This isn't exactly how I thought our morning would go."

"I know." Weiss managed, her voice hoarse and husky. "I don't want to leave."

Blake nodded, and she was about to lean in for another kiss when she felt the tangle of slender fingers in her hair, and then a pressure. Weiss' leg wrapped around her own, and when Weiss insisted that the two of them turn and flipped, Blake moved with her.

Weiss ended up straddling Blake. She sat back, smiling down at Blake and Blake found herself all too aware of the situation all of a sudden. She couldn't ignore the way that Weiss' skirt was pooling around her waist, or the exposed pale thighs that were on both sides of her.

Or just how fragile Weiss managed to look, despite everything that Blake knew. Weiss reached down for her, setting her hands on Blake's shoulders, silently asking a question. Blake nodded, and Weiss took the opportunity to lean forward and lock her lips against Blake's. The kiss only deepened as Weiss pressed herself in closer, and Blake allowed her hands to slip up, wrapping around the heiress' waist.

"Blake." Weiss whispered against her lips. "Please." The request was punctuated with a roll of Weiss' hips. Blake's hands lowered, settling there and she stared up at Weiss.

For a moment, there were a thousand ideas that flit through Blake's mind. Things that would be the good or right answer, excuses and ideas for how to extract herself from the situation. The two of them were both running on a schedule of sorts, and yet Blake felt absolutely no urge to follow up on it. If Weiss was acting the way that she was, then Blake was more than willing to bet that the heiress felt similarly.

So when the time came to answer, Blake could only answer with an 'okay.'