Lounging on the sofa, book in hand, she tried to ignore the sounds of Ruby and Weiss buzzing around the kitchen. They were making something for dinner - Yang didn't know what it was yet, but it smelled good, like it usually did when Ruby was around to supervise. Weiss cooking on her own was...well...let's just say that Weiss was really good at ordering takeout food.
And nearly setting their kitchen on fire.
For someone so pompous and poised, Yang would never have thought Weiss was capable of being so unintentionally dangerous around kitchen utensils…
On the other hand, Ruby was a fantastic cook. Like really, really good. When the two had just started dating, it had been beyond amusing to watch Weiss try to internally cope with the fact that she wasn't the best at everything. Sure, Weiss was impressed and proud of Ruby's acumen, but at the same time struggled mightily to bring her own skills up to par.
Thankfully, she'd given up that hopeless endeavor before anyone was seriously hurt and waved the white flag of surrender in the kitchen. Nowadays Ruby was fully in charge of cooking while Weiss played the role of assistant/sous chef.
Yang made sure to remind Weiss (often) that sous chef meant 'under' the chef - as in less skilled than Ruby. The long-running tease actually wasn't working very well anymore though. The last couple of times Yang had said it, Weiss had just shrugged her shoulders and given Ruby a peck on the cheek.
Maybe Weiss was finally growing up...
"Yang! Dinner's ready!" Ruby called out from the kitchen a few minutes later. Weiss walked out of the kitchen at the same instant, a plate of steaming food held in her hands.
"Is that...are you reading?" she asked in surprise while setting the plate down on the table.
"Mhmm…" Yang muttered in reply, eyes reaching the end of the chapter before she closed the book and set it down. "I was trying to finish it tonight."
Excited about the opportunity to return the book and discuss the story with Blake, Yang had been reading literally all day and most of last night. She would have already been finished if she hadn't been reading so slowly, but she wanted to make sure she paid close attention to everything that was happening. There was this sneaky feeling in the back of her mind that talking about the book might really get Blake to open up. It would be common ground, right? Something they'd both read and mutually experienced.
From there...right now Yang wasn't really sure, but hopefully they'd inch just a bit closer to spending some more time together. Maybe she could invite Blake to talk about books over coffee or tea? Or fruit, maybe? Blake seemed to really enjoy her fruit...
"Where did you even get a book from?" Ruby asked curiously as she joined Weiss at the small dining table.
"Next door," Yang answered, not missing the smirk the reply brought to Weiss' face. "What's so funny about that?"
"Oh, nothing," Weiss said while setting the silverware out. "Just can't believe you're still doing this whole 'borrowing' strategy."
"Hey, it's worked so far! And once I finish this book I'm going to have a whole bunch of things to talk to her about!"
"Yes, like how you've never even seen the inside of a library before," Weiss teased.
Rolling her eyes, Yang carefully set the book down on the cleanest part of the coffee table before standing to join her sister and Weiss for dinner.
Maybe she didn't visit libraries often, but she'd certainly been in one at least once in her life! If anything, there had been a library in her elementary school that her class had had storytime in once a week.
"Oh, thanks for the hint about the grapes by the way."
Yesterday, Weiss had sent a message that she'd seen Blake carrying in some grapes from the grocery store and for once Yang had actually known what to ask for instead of flying blind. Of course, once she'd stepped into the girl's apartment she might as well have been blind - and deaf for that matter. Or just plain stupid.
A date. She'd asked Blake out on a date without even thinking about it!
And...she was pretty sure that Blake had been planning to turn the invitation down. Maybe. At the time, she had been so nervous that she really didn't know if she was remembering things correctly now. All she could remember was the little voice in her head calling her an idiot over and over while pulling any type of fire alarm it could find.
"I'm guessing that we're not actually allowed to eat the grapes then?" When Yang gave Weiss a pointed look, she smirked again. "Thought so."
"Awww...but I was looking forward to having some after dinner!" Ruby whined.
The pained look Weiss gave Ruby was so seethrough Yang had to laugh as she spooned some pasta onto her plate.
"We can go get some later if you still want them?" Weiss asked, blue eyes begging for that to make Ruby's look of disappointment go away. When Ruby grinned at the offer, Weiss visibly relaxed and Yang rolled her eyes.
"Whipped," she muttered under her breath, loud enough for Weiss to overhear and send a glare across the table.
Yang loved to give Weiss a hard time. Wasn't that the older sister's job? But it actually made Yang really grateful that someone would go so far out of their way to keep Ruby happy. Her little sister deserved that. So Yang might tease Weiss about it, but if she ever stopped bending over backwards for Ruby they'd need to have an unpleasant conversation.
When dinner had been finished and she'd helped clean and put away all of the dishes, there were still several chapters of Blake's book calling her name. But she was at the point where she knew she wouldn't be able to finish the entire book and return it tonight. And...well...she really wanted to see Blake again, so…
Grabbing the grapes off of the kitchen counter she decided that finishing the book would just have to wait until later. It actually worked out better this way, now that she thought about it. Today she could return the grapes and tomorrow, the book. That was two more visits in two days!
Whistling to herself while walking out the front door, she found herself standing in front of Blake's door in no time at all.
"No big deal, just returning the grapes," she told herself in an attempt to calm her nerves.
It didn't help. Knowing that Blake was just on the other side of the door always made her heart beat a bit faster and her palms feel a little more clammy.
"Ok, one - stop asking her out," she whispered. "And two - stop making lame jokes!"
Clearing her throat, she knocked twice and waited only a few seconds before the door swung all the way open - a far cry from the little cracked opening she'd been greeted with the first time she'd come over. See? Progress had been made! Her 'borrowing' strategy, as Weiss had put it, was working.
"Hey Blake!"
"Yang," Blake responded with a timid smile. "It's nice to see you again."
The unexpected greeting actually made Yang shuffle back an inch in surprise before she grinned. Her stomach was filled with butterflies now - of the good variety.
"It's, um, great to see you too," she answered as an unfamiliar heat sprang to her cheeks. Coughing, she held the bag of grapes up in between them. "I just came by to return these to you."
When Blake took the bag with a smile of appreciation, Yang finally asked a question she'd had for quite some time now.
"You know, I've been kinda wondering...what do you do with all these different fruits?"
"I make fruit salads."
"Really?" Her shocked response was met with laughter on Blake's end.
"No...I usually just eat them plain. But I've been told that's something they would be good for."
"Ah, I was totally gonna ask to try some!"
Was it just her imagination or did that comment make Blake blush a little? The girl definitely turned her gaze downward for a quick second before finally looking back at Yang with shining amber eyes.
"I would share some with you...if I did…"
Blake was blushing now - Yang was sure of it. It sent a fresh wave of butterflies fluttering through her chest while she stared in amazement.
Could this mean…?
Maybe Yang was going to have to break one of the rules she'd just made for herself at the front door...but Blake spoke again first.
"So, how do you like the book so far?"
This was it - the question Yang had been waiting for. And Blake's eyes were anxiously waiting the answer, locked onto her with far more focus than normal.
"Not quite done yet, but I really like it!" she replied truthfully. "It's got some drama, some redemption and some super cute cuddles. I'm kinda worried about what's going to happen next though...seems like they're going against a few too many enemies at once."
Blake nodded in agreement, so Yang's brief synopsis must have been on the right track.
"I don't want to give anything away...but when you're finished we can discuss in detail," Blake said with another smile.
"Absolutely! I can't wait! To talk to you about it, I mean."
What was wrong with her today? Something about Blake was making it even more difficult to speak than usual. It was the blushing - it had to be.
"And maybe, when I'm done with this one, you could recommend something else?" Yang asked. "I could probably use a little more reading in my life."
The request brought out a smile the made her heart stutter.
"Of course. I'd love to do that for you."
Blake's smile was so beautiful. Almost overwhelmingly so. In search of a brief respite, Yang allowed her gaze to drift around the apartment while willing her heart to settle down.
By now she'd memorized the layout of the living room area. Then there was the open doorway to the kitchen where Blake kept all sorts of random fruits and vegetables. And the last door, furthest from them, must be Blake's bedroom.
"Oh - I just realized," she began to say after a clear picture of their two apartments materialized in her mind. "You share a wall with Ruby."
Blake nodded and gave Yang a knowing smile.
"Yes, I do."
Her nose crinkled at the thought of sharing a wall with Ruby and, therefore, sometimes Weiss. Thankfully their apartment was set up with a small hallway between the two bedrooms, but...
"I don't even -"
"She calls her 'Speedy.'"
"Ahh!" Yang gasped playfully while clasping her hands over her ears. "Why did you tell me that? I'm going to be scarred for life!"
When Blake laughed at the overreaction, Yang did too - the two of them locking eyes for a moment. And...something felt different. Maybe it was just her imagination, but it felt like the air was charged with energy - a static she could practically hear buzzing around her.
Blake was breaking eye contact far less. And speaking more. And maybe Yang was just reading too much into things, but it almost felt like Blake...liked her.
Liked her.
A lot of people had liked her before and she'd suffered through more than her fair share of uncomfortable confessions, but this time it felt like she'd just flown to the moon and back. A beautiful, intelligent, amazing girl liked her? If she was right...
She was going to do it - she was going to ask Blake out. Right now. Something easy - coffee or tea or...a bookstore or something. Maybe a library wouldn't actually be a bad idea? And if Blake didn't seem that into it, Yang could always pretend that it was just a friendly invitation. Friends inviting friends to libraries - it was totally a thing.
"Hey, I know this might seem out of the blue, but I was wondering if -" she stopped talking when she heard an alarm - not the alarm in her head, but an actual alarm beeping somewhere in the room with them.
"Oh," Blake said, walking over to the coffee table and quickly ending the sound. "I have a reminder to water my plants." The girl pointed to several pots that were placed around the apartment. "Otherwise I forget."
Glancing around at the living things Yang had always thought were fake because they were so green, she smiled.
"That's really smart!" she replied happily, hoping that Blake couldn't hear the jackhammer pounding in her chest.
When Blake turned those beautiful amber eyes back on her, she froze up. She really didn't want Blake to turn her down, and she wasn't absolutely positive that Blake would say yes yet. Were they even friends? Or were they still just neighbors?
"Anyway, should probably get going," she said, hastily backing away and flushing when she bumped into the doorframe. "I don't want to take anymore of your time. I'm sure you have more important things to do! Plus, I want to finish up that book."
Blake opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but then nodded and smiled. "You'll let me know when you're done reading it?"
"Absolutely!" Yang answered with a grin while backtracking towards her own apartment. "You'll be the first one to know."
When Blake smiled back, Yang paused. There was definitely something different about today, but was she sure? Was she absolutely sure?
Shaking her head lightly to herself, she gave Blake one last smile and a wave before heading into her apartment and closing the door. Weiss was sitting on the sofa flipping through a magazine, so Yang walked over and flopped down on the seat with a loud sigh.
"What's with the sigh?" the girl asked, only briefly glancing up from whatever she was reading.
The question made Yang's brow furrow. What was she most upset about? That she didn't know how to ask Blake out, that she didn't know if Blake liked her that way, or that it made her incredibly nervous to think that she might say the words and hear Blake say no in return?
"I just...I want to ask her out so bad!" she finally wailed, collapsing back against the sofa and burying her face in her hands. "But I don't know if it's too soon!"
The wait was beginning to kill her - she was certain of it. If she went to her doctor right now, he'd probably be seriously concerned at the dramatic decline in her normally perfect health over the past month. Had she stopped taking care of herself? No, she'd just met a gorgeous, exquisite girl who stayed on her mind 24/7. What could the recommended treatment plan for that be? Quarantine? Exile? Lobotomy?
When Yang chanced a look over at Weiss, she found the girl staring with an amused smile on her lips.
"Why is this so funny to you?"
Weiss positively beamed at the question.
"Because you're always so...self-assured and gung-ho around other girls. It's nice to see one who's actually got you thinking for once."
"Yeah, real great..." Yang muttered, briefly wondering if that had actually been an insult in disguise. "I've been thinking about her so much I literally can't sleep."
Whatever reply Weiss had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. Her eyes briefly widened, but the expression was gone the next second when the girl turned back to her magazine with apparent disinterest in the entire situation.
"If you like her that much, then you should ask her already. No pretending to go over there to borrow something stupid - just go and ask her. You never know, she could like you too."
Scoffing on instinct to any advice Weiss offered, Yang then grew quiet and mulled over the words closely. Just...go over and ask? That's what she'd been planning on initially, but had lost the nerve when she'd seen that Blake wasn't like the other girls she knew. But now that they knew each other a little better...would that work?
At this point, it was a better plan than her current one. Plus, she was going to drive herself crazy if something didn't happen between the two of them soon. Even if that something was a crushing decline from Blake, followed by a hugely uncomfortable falling out where they could no longer even speak to each other because it was just so awkward to be in each other's presence. Then there would be the inevitable day when Blake brought home someone else and they had to pass each other in the halls - Yang would have to smile and pretend that she was totally ok with everything even while it ate away at her...
Yeah, she watched way too much TV. But it was probably best not to think about the possible downfalls when trying to summon courage. Maybe tomorrow night she could go over and ask without any pretenses about being there to borrow something or talk about the book. She would just ask Blake out - on a date.
She could do that, right? And if Blake said no...well, then she and Ruby would just have to move again.
"Thanks, Weiss," Yang finally said, slapping the girl's knee lightly with the back of one hand before standing up. "Sometimes you're not half bad."
While Weiss flipped a page with a huff of indignation, Yang grabbed Blake's book and headed towards her bedroom just as Ruby came bounding into the living room. Grabbing ahold of her sister, Yang rustled the girl's hair in order to earn a small squeal of protest.
"Yangg!"
"I'll be reading in my room - just remember, these doors aren't soundproof."
"Why would we need soundproof doors?" Ruby asked, squirming away in order to race over to Weiss on the sofa.
"I dunno 'Speedy,' why would we need soundproof doors?" Yang asked with a huge grin.
Ruby tilted her head in confusion at the question, but the look of horror on Weiss' face was pure gold.
See? Being friends with Blake was already paying huge dividends. Being more than friends would be even better, right?