As predicted, the dining hall was completely empty bar the two girls who had just walked through the entrance. Weiss's eyes adjusted rapidly to the darkness, only to find herself squinting and raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. She whirled around, the forming of a 'What in the world is happening' building in her throat when she saw Blake, still holding her finger over the light switch. The other girls expression was not amused, but at the same time very much so, leading Weiss to swallow her outburst and stalk to one of the many benches by the enormous windows, unaware that Blake wasn't following her.
She sat as close as she could to the outside and settled in her seat, knowing that she would be here for a while. After a moment of relaxation she glanced across the room to the kitchen, where she could only assume Blake had disappeared to, only now noticing her absence and remembering her earlier words. The door was wide open and lights were on inside, and while Weiss couldn't be sure that they were off when she arrived she had a pretty good idea of what was happening.
Blake poked around the kitchen, large and expansive. A white tiled floor combined with simple white walls and a rather good looking granite surfaced preparation area lent the room a very businesslike feel. Raiding one of the many fridges, she pulled out the first already-cooked item she could find. Closing the door and flipping the box over, she read the label and made for the cooking area. 'Hm. Cod. Well, it's not Tuna but it'll do.'
She was aware of the white figure standing at the doorway with their arms folded but she paid them no attention, closing the microwave door and inputting the correct time, hitting the 'Start' button and immediately making for the sink. She retrieved a glass cup from the cupboard and filled it to the brim with water, turning around to lean gently against the tabletop as she took a refreshing sip. She didn't flinch at the piercing voice she was waiting for.
"What do you think you're doing?" Weiss's shrill question allowed Blake to take another, longer drink and raise a somewhat cocky eyebrow, a motion only made worse by the way she drawled.
"What does it look like?" Blake replied, fixing the heiress with a smug stare to which Weiss found insulting. She kicked off the cupboard door and made her way back to the microwave, placing her glass down and opening the door a second or so after the countdown ended. Sliding the now steaming fish onto a plate she had retrieved earlier, she neatly placed her knife and fork on the side, picked up her glass of water and made her way back into the eating area, brushing past Weiss with no more than a cursory glance.
The heiress stalked after her, reminding herself not to let her emotions run away again. She sat opposite Blake - who had taken Weiss's previous seat - and watched her teammate begin to eat, seemingly unfazed by the heat of the red-hot fish. Blake took a small drink of her water every few bites, but Weiss was more interested in the relative delicacy with which Blake moved. No wasted movements, no pointless anything, she just cut a piece off and put it in her mouth. If only her other teammates could behave so civilly when eating, Weiss might have an easier time doing it herself.
Blake caught Weiss's stare, swallowing her mouthful and slowly swirling the water around in her glass to emphasize her point.
"Something interesting about the way I eat?" She asked, catching the minuscule movement of Weiss's pupils focusing on her as she stared the heiress in the face. Weiss quickly looked back out of the window without saying a word, her cheeks reddening a little with embarrassment. Blake cut off another piece of her meal and held it up as she spoke.
"It's fine to watch people, just don't let them know that you're doing it." Again, she saw Weiss's eye move to look at her but still the heiress said nothing. Mentally shrugging, Blake went back to her food and finished it in good time. Weiss was totally silent throughout, even when Blake came back from the kitchen with two apples, one of which she handed to Weiss despite the heiresses unresponsiveness. This wasn't unusual for her, if it were Yang or Ruby being quiet then something was horribly wrong but Weiss often kept to herself, however. This seemed different somehow.
It seemed the physical touch jolted her out whatever world she had been exploring, blinking twice and relaxing her posture when she inherently picked it up and took a bite, only realizing her mistake after she had already swallowed. She would be sleeping soon, so eating anything was a bad idea.
If she could sleep at all, that is.
Despite this she did find the taste pleasing, it wasn't too sweet and certainly not too bland. She could say it was pretty much perfect, raising another question of 'Did Blake pick this apple on purpose?' She cast another glance over at her teammate, watching as she idly tossed her own fruit a few feet in the air and caught it perfectly every time. And then Weiss scolded herself yet again, flustered at being caught for the second time in one night.
"Would it be easier to say that you're interested in me?" Blake jested, her voice almost velvety soft. Luxurious. It reminded Weiss of an older sibling, someone who made fun of you without ill meaning. Was that what Blake was like to her? An older sister? When she thought about it, Weiss didn't actually know the girils birthday, only that she was 17 like all the other first year students. Knowing this it was difficult to say which of the two was older but if she were being honest, Weiss didn't care. Her only experiences with siblings were in her books, and as she had come to learn the hard way - books aren't real.
"I..." Weiss began to speak, even though she didn't know what she was going to say. Another mental reprimand swiftly followed.
What was wrong with her tonight?
Were the repercussions of hurting Rubys feelings really this severe?
Did she really feel this bad about scolding her teammates?
Weiss dwelled on these thoughts for too long, something she came to terms with upon feeling her stomach knot even tighter. While she was here, may as well go all the way...
Was Blake right?
Did she find the other girl interesting?
Of course she did, but that wasn't what Blake meant.
Was it?
Weiss was a mess. She was far too proud to show it, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Ever since the second night she had been sleeping badly, and her grades were affected as a result - though her natural intellect and strict studying regimes helped to minimize the impact her sleep deprivation had. She was far more concerned about the physical side of things. While she felt perfectly healthy, if her lack of sleep was affecting her mental training the way it was there's no telling what it was doing to her body. She hadn't been falling behind on the training boards, and now that she remembered the chase clearly she was obviously in peak condition. But still...
"I don't know how to feel." She finished, her voice riddled with confusion that she most likely wasn't aware of. Blake leaned forwards to look Weiss in the eyes, holding her apple still on the table as she spoke in a clear yet reassuring tone.
"Don't try and find out. You'll figure it out in time."
Honestly, Weiss was expecting more of a speech than that, but it made perfect sense. She lowered her head in acceptance, sighing as she did so.
"You're right. I just...I don't want to feel the way I do." Now that was true, a fact she was reminded of as the somewhat nauseous feeling bubbled in her stomach.
Was that regret?
Sadness?
What was that feeling that she couldn't quite fathom?
"Would sleeping help you feel better?" Blake asked, her eyes bearing the slightest concern even though that was all she needed to show.. All that she had to do now was put one of her hands on Weiss's own and it would be textbook. White hair fell across a shoulder as Weiss turned back to stare into the night, leaving Blakes question to fade away without an answer. She took the few seconds she had to observe her teammate, Weiss looked distinctly forlorn, though it took Blake a while to read the...depression... that she saw? That didn't sound right at all, but that's certainly what it looked like.
A heiress, completely alone in the world despite being given everything she could ever want. It was a pathetic thought and yet... it fitted the girl in front of her perfectly.
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the night, not even when they returned to the dorm to find the sisters asleep.
Blake felt a little helpless at being unable to read her friend.
Oddly for her, Blake couldn't sleep. She had guessed that if anyone, Weiss would the one to stay up but no matter what she did her bed was completely uncomfortable. She couldn't find a relaxing way to lie no matter how many different sleeping positions she tried, not even on top of her covers. Not even curled up into a ball, usually a surefire way to send her drifting off to sleep.
Normally this wouldn't be a problem as she'd simply sit up and read, or do something else but she knew she had to be awake early tomorrow, as she knew that despite her warnings Ruby and Yang would both insist that she was capable of investigating the Deathstalker corpse and after some resistance Weiss would cave in until Blake finally agreed and they would set off.
That's usually how it worked when those two were united for a common goal, at least.
Blake breathed out as she shuffled under her sheets, fighting the fabric to give her what it was designed to do. She gave a frustrated sigh as it complied fully, sending her temperature soaring far beyond the realms of comfort. On reflection, she hadn't been very smart. Physical exertion coupled with the summer heat had broken the beads of sweat onto her skin, her normally light and airy yukata now feeling like a heavy wet towel draped around her shoulders.
The covers pulled back and Blake lazily got out of bed, planning on showering if only to feel clean again. This night was rapidly taking a turn for the worse and though a shower would wake her up, she would rather be wide awake than be this damp, hot mess she was feeling like at the moment. Silence reigned with Blake taking her time to be quiet, not wishing to wake any of her teammates up - especially not Ruby or Weiss.
She entered the bathroom first, closed the door as silently as she could and then hit the lightswitch, retrieving a towel from one of the small cupboards underneath the sink and placing it on the edge of the top. They each had a colour-coded towel that they could use if there were no others available, but her and Yang were more than happy to use whichever ones they took out of the cupboard first. Weiss would inevitably go ballistic if she found her pristine snow white towel covered in yellow locks, and because Ruby always used her scarlet towel before any of the others it always ended up smelling like flowers.
'Roses. How fitting.' Blake mused, turning the shower on and setting the knob to 'Cold'. As she slid her yukata off her shoulders and hung it on the hook that resided on the back off the door, she resolved to do one thing.
'Don't repeat what happened last time.'
She inhaled and stepped in, immediately taken aback by the change in temperature, not expecting it to be that cold. A small gasp managed to escape from her lips before she caught it, clamping a hand over her mouth and closing her eyes to adjust to the chill, feeling good as the wave of cleanliness pulsed across her skin while she slowly turned a full circle. So far, so good. She shrugged to herself after a moment of deliberation and reached for her bodywash, deciding that there would be no harm in showering twice in two days.
Ten minutes passed between her stepping in and stepping out, but she was satisfied to stand perfectly still for a little as she felt the remaining rivulets of water trickle down her skin and drip gently off her arms in a pleasing sensation of relaxation. Turns out this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
She dried herself off in no particular hurry, mindful of the thin wall separating her and her sleeping team and pulled her yukata back on, tying it in a loose knot around her waist. Happy that it had dried completely in the short amount of time it had been off, she placed her used towel on the hook and quietly shut the door, smiling contentedly at the lack of disturbance she had caused.
About to slide back into her bed, Blake paused. Partially to consider if she would just end up unable to sleep once again, and partially by the familiar growling sound that drifted from above. Smirking to herself and seeing no real reason not to, Blake quickly but soundlessly scaled the ladder on the side of the bunkbeds and settled her feet three-quarters of the way up, giving her a good view of the slumbering beast that was Yang.
Keeping with her rough and wild nature her covers may as well have not been there at all, only serving to protect her ankles from the non-existent misummer cold. One arm was cast above her head, slumped against the headboard while the other almost hung off the edge of the bed. Unusually for her, she was lying at an awkward angle, her hair blanketing the sheets beneath her like a golden carpet. A tiny trickle of drool was edging its way out from the corner of her mouth, and as amusing as that was Blake found herself drawn to the blondes midriff. Exposed as it usually was when Yang slept, her shirt serving to cover her chest but rarely her stomach, Blake questioned the point of wearing at all seeing as she almost always woke up with it half-off anyway.
Blake found herself after a minute of staring, staring...at Yang? Asleep. She repeated this in her head, not quite believing what she was hearing.
'I'm watching my partner sleep. Worse, I don't feel bad about it. Now who's interested?'
Normally she would have rolled her eyes at the idea but this time it was different. This time, it didn't seem like a strange thing to do at all. Of course, if any of them woke up now it would be incredibly awkward and Blake was sure they'd think of her as some kind of reclusive pervert but even so...Ruby would be resting for her injury, Weiss for her emotions and Yang for- Well, Yang would be resting for sleep; that's usually how she operated.
Blake had to admit despite herself that the temptation was very enticing. She knew from experience that Yang slept like a rock and that the only thing she would wake up for was Ruby, otherwise she was content to sleep her days away with not a care in the world. The chances of her waking up now would be minuscule at best, what did she have to lose? Blake spent another minute or so debating with herself even though she knew that her mind was made up from the start. Pushing her hand against her cheek, she was satisfied that her temperature was acceptable and very gingerly inched her arm forwards, eyes widening a little at seeing how much she was shaking.
From the cold? No, that's not possible. From nerves? That's ridiculous, why would she be nervous about this? She had performed amazing feats of precision before, and yet she couldn't keep her arm steady now? What kind of nerves do that?
Irrespective of her own doubts, Blake edged ever closer, her heart tightening in her chest as it beat faster and faster, pounding at her chest with the severity of everything she was about to do. And then it stopped, just for a second. The initial assumptions of a heart attack were quickly dismissed upon her realization.
Blake had made contact.
Yang was practically on fire, it was little wonder that she rarely wore much in the way of clothing - Blake was starting to warm up just from her fingertips. And though she didn't quite understand it herself, there was another reason for her rising temperature. She slowly and gently glided her hand across Yangs stomach, somewhat amazed at how smooth and pleasant it was to touch considering the girls attitude and personality. Blake had expected coarse, rough skin that had toughened over years of close combat but instead, it was like stroking the surface of...she didn't even have an analogy for this, but it was extraordinary.
A physically pleasurable sensation radiated from her hand. It ran along her arm and washed into the rest of her body, uplifting her mood and strangely, calming her nerves. It was somewhat hypnotic, gently stroking the beautifully toned stomach in such a way that Blake could feel Yangs muscles even though the blonde was resting. There was no doubt now had there been any before - she was incredibly attractive, only moreso when Blake considered how she used that to her advantage. Ruby had told of the one time she had been bullied, where Yang had actually flirted with the boy to lower his guard, leaving him defenseless when she took a firm hold of his crotch and threatened his manhood if he ever upset her sister again.
It was another amusing mental image, but Blake could easily see her doing the same thing today. Her eyes glanced up and down, cheeks reddening regardless of her own reassurances that everyone was asleep. Yang had some...beneficial endowments that would only further her strategy. And despite herself and every fibre of her being screaming at her not to, just for a moment, Blake lapsed back into her fantasies once again.
'"Well well, didn't I warn you about venting your frustrations at my little sister?" Yang asked threateningly, cracking her knuckles together as she took a step forward.
"I didn't know she'd take it this badly." Blake replied firmly, though inside she was terrified. She wasn't expecting Ruby to take off crying at her remarks about Weiss, how could she have known? Yang was having none of it, her purple eyes twinkling with what Blake could only assume was violence.
"Excuses excuses, sounds to me like you made a mistake. And now." She rolled her head, cracking the bones in her neck, making Blake flinch. "I'm gonna have to deal with you."
Normally Blake wouldn't pay any heed to the threats , but there was something about the way Yang had called her over that grabbed her attention and refused to let go.
She wished that she had ignored her partner.
Her body tensed in preparation for a one-sided battle, with her plan being to evade Yang until she had cooled off.
There.
The muscles in her right arm rose to view, giving Blake ample time to sidestep the first punch. Yang didn't seem fazed by her miss however, following up rapidly by swinging her leg in a wide arc that Blake ducked underneath. The momentum continued, sending another kick straight for Blakes head as Yang rotated a full circle in less than a second. She was fast, but Blake was faster. She rolled out of the way, in time to see another fist heading straight towards her.
"We can talk this over!" Blake called, narrowly weaving between Yangs punches.
"Ooooh, so now you want to talk?" She asked mockingly, temporarily halting her attacks to change her demeanour. She rested her hands on her hips and tilted her body, watching Blake and waiting for the continuation.
"It wasn't my intention to hurt her in any way. I wasn't aware that she cared so much about Weiss. Can we just drop the violence?" Blake watched carefully for any sneak attacks, but Yang seemed appeased by this.
"Alright." She replied, taking a step forward. "I'll drop the violence if you give me something in return.
Blakes eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"What?"
"Five minutes of your time, and no resistance. Sound good?"
Yang winked, a playful yet somewhat seductive act that sent chills running down Blakes spine. She nodded hesitantly, immediately regretting her decision as Yang closed the gap instantly, pushing Blake against the wall and pinning her in place as she stared into those gorgeous amber eyes. Blake stared back speechless, taken completely by surprise at the change of character. She did her best to keep her breathing steady, aware of Yang leaning in closer to her neck - so close that Blake felt her hot breath against her skin, something that began to send her own temperature rising.
"Now then..." Yang whispered, her voice immensely enticing. "Where do I begin?"'
Blake came to with a start, it was only her innate reflexes that saved her falling onto the dormroom floor completely. She gripped onto the ladder firmly, taking a minute to come to terms with what had just happened. She moaned under her breath, sighing deeply and descending to her own bed.
'Great, so instead of the shower it was the bedroom. This is not good, I have to-' She found herself cut off at the realization she was sweating even more than earlier, allowing herself to fall face-first onto her bed with a defeated noiseless groan.
Time for another shower.