You guys...Rush is over. That story just took up SO much mental capacity and I was so OCD about every little bit of plot...but it's finished! Now I can go back to writing this easy going fluff.
More importantly, back to the Bees!
"Thank you both for meeting me here for this emergency meeting to plan Yang's birthday party."
She gave her lunch companions a grateful smile, unsure how she would have succeeded in this task if they hadn't agreed to help her.
Planning parties wasn't exactly something she'd done very often...especially not parties for the rich and exorbitantly famous. And since this was the first year she'd be celebrating Yang's birthday as the actress' girlfriend, she really wanted things to be absolutely perfect.
"Of course," Pyrrha replied, giving her a smile and small nod from across the table.
"I, uh...I understand why Pyrrha's here…" Weiss said, the girl still looking more than a little miffed at her own presence. "And I understand why you're here...but why did you invite me?"
She chuckled at the girl's confusion.
Honestly, when she'd invited Weiss, she'd never thought in a million years that the girl would actually show up. Yet...here she was...sitting at the small table with her and Pyrrha at the quiet restaurant she'd chosen for their lunch meeting.
Apparently, Yang had somehow weaseled her way into Weiss' heart enough for the singer to help plan a birthday party...although maybe that shouldn't be so surprising. Yang had this way of making people like her with hardly any effort at all - with just a smile, a wink, or a quick laugh. And since the blonde was actually trying to be Weiss' friend…
Well, good luck to Weiss if she was trying to prevent it from happening.
"Because Yang will love it if you help," she replied, giving Weiss a reassuring smile.
It was completely the truth - Yang would be over-the-moon ecstatic when Blake told her that Weiss had played a role in the planning process. She knew that Yang would probably try to say that it was only the bet they had between the two of them that was driving her efforts to befriend Weiss, but she knew that wasn't entirely it.
There was something about Weiss...she'd initially diagnosed it as sadness, but it was more...loneliness, and a hard exterior that would keep most people out.
And yet, Yang's endeavor was working. At least, she thought so. It was possible to see a slight change in the girl's demeanor towards them, made all the more obvious by her very presence here today.
Satisfied that Weiss was resigned to helping, she turned back to Pyrrha - the redhead flashing her a bright smile rivaling Yang's ultra megawatt grin.
The model must also know how badly Yang wanted to be the singer's friend...and, for her part, Pyrrha was just too sweet for Weiss not to like.
For the briefest of moments, she took a second to marvel at her present company - one of the world's top models and the most popular singer seated at the same table as her for lunch, helping plan her superstar actress' birthday.
How her world had changed since she'd met Yang in that bathroom all the time ago…
"Pyrrha, maybe you could take care of the guest list since you'll have a better idea who to invite?" she suggested, receiving a nod in response as she made a note on the small pad of paper she'd brought along with her.
"Absolutely - I know exactly who she'd want there. Do we want it to be a big party though...or something more intimate?"
She thought on that question for a few seconds, doing her best to think like Yang would. It was remarkably easy for her to do in certain instances, and in some cases she could practically hear the blonde's voice in her head giving her an answer.
"Big, but not unruly," she finally replied, to which Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "Now...we need a location. Our apartments are too small...and we'd want it to be somewhere where we could control who's allowed in -"
"Isn't she friends with Coco?"
Both she and Pyrrha turned to Weiss in surprise, their expressions causing the girl to shrug and revert back to casual nonchalance at their conversation.
"I remember seeing a photo of the two of them together. Coco owns that new club everyone keeps talking about - would that be large enough?"
She was grinning now, nodding her head as Weiss finished her line of thinking.
"That's perfect, Weiss! I'm sure Coco would let us rent out the space for the night."
"She'd really love that, all her friends and a dance floor," Pyrrha agreed, laughing lightly at the thought.
"Ok, we have a location, a guest list...the time will be the night of her birthday, obviously…" she murmured, trying to think of what else they'd need to plan while tapping the end of her pen against the pad of paper.
"What about the cake, or food? Entertainers? Decorations? Special...music…?"
Weiss trailed off when they looked at her in utter shock, the singer suddenly looking rather embarrassed for her suggestions.
"No no, keep going!" she finally said when some of the surprise had worn off, gesturing for the girl to give her more ideas while she began furiously writing down the other parts of the party they would need to decide upon.
"Ok…" Weiss said, biting her lip before making at least a half dozen other suggestions that Blake quickly jotted down.
Once the girl had helped them outline every aspect they would need to plan a successful party, the three of them spent the next hour and a half going through each item, throwing out ideas both good and ridiculous for the blonde.
By the time their lunch had finished, she had several pages filled with finalized plans - many of the more classy ideas courtesy of Weiss.
It was actually surprising how much the singer knew about planning a party...especially when the girl didn't even seem to like the idea of attending a party. She couldn't help thinking that regardless of how Weiss behaved, the girl had attended her fair share of high class gatherings - probably many more than the girl would ever admit to.
"Thank you, both of you," she said as their plates were cleared away from the table. "This is going to be the best party ever. Now I just need to figure out the hardest part...what to give her as a gift."
Pyrrha laughed and batted her hand away when she reached for the check, giving her a look that said not to make a big deal about who was paying for their lunch.
"Honestly, you could probably rip some pages out of the phonebook and she would love it."
She laughed at that thought, noticing Weiss also give a small smile at the joke.
It was completely true though - she knew that Yang would love anything she got for her...but that didn't mean she wanted to fail in her first birthday gift to the girl.
And what should she get for someone who could buy whatever they wanted?
"We'll call that Plan B," she replied as they stood and made their way towards the door, not failing to notice how every head turned their way as they passed by the other diners.
"Hey, Weiss," she said, catching the girl's complete attention as they stepped outside. "Thanks again for coming. Yang will seriously be thrilled."
Weiss gave her a nod, having loosened up immensely since the beginning of their meal.
"I'm glad I could help."
"Guess that means we'll see you in a couple weeks for the party then?" she asked.
"Of course," Weiss replied with a hint of a smile. "I'll see you both there."
Without another word, the girl turned and made her way quickly towards a black, highly tinted town car parked a little ways up the street - the vehicle likely having waited for her this entire time.
"Well, Yang must be making progress," Pyrrha spoke up from beside her, both of them watching the singer disappear from sight. "I've certainly never heard her talk so much before."
"Yeah...she's warming up to us, right..." she replied absentmindedly, the mere mention of the blonde's name making her crave the girl's warm presence.
But what kind of person chose a random, lonely stranger and went out of her way to befriend them - even when it seemed like they didn't want to be helped?
Apparently, the kind she fell madly in love with.
As soon as she'd said goodbye to Pyrrha, she'd made her way over to Yang's apartment just as she'd promised to do when she'd spoken to the girl earlier that day.
The doormen in the front lobby let her pass without much more than a nod these days, that's how often she was over here. She even knew most of them by name now.
After the elevator ride up to Yang's level, she unlocked the door using the key Yang had given her a little while ago and let herself into the apartment.
At first, she'd felt a little weird about being in Yang's home without the girl, but she was starting to get used to it. Or, at least, it was beginning to lose some of its strangeness.
Plus, this was really like her second home. She kept a pair of pajamas here...she had her own toothbrush, shampoo...everything she'd need after staying the night.
It was the same with her apartment though. Yang had a key - and the blonde also had things left behind from the multitude of times she'd stayed over. Although...she was pretty sure that most of the clothing was secretly abandoned because the blonde knew exactly how much Blake liked to wear Yang's slightly too big clothes.
"Yang?" she called out once inside the door, dropping her purse and keys on the small table in the front entrance before removing her shoes.
After a few seconds and no response, she determined that the girl wasn't back from her work appointment yet.
Walking through the living room, she absentmindedly picked up the bright yellow sweater that had been thrown haphazardly over the back of the sofa. Lifting the item to her nose, she took a deep breath of the scent she loved above all others - Yang.
Since she had a little time to kill, she flopped down on the sofa and picked up one of the magazines sprawled out on the coffee table. Casually flipping through the pages, she looked at the pictures but didn't bother reading any of the articles - nothing particularly interesting catching her eye.
Feeling a yawn escape, she sat up and quickly pulled on the yellow sweater before laying back down, silently rejoicing in the enveloping warmth and smell of citrus.
This was as close as she could get to hugging Yang in the girl's absence.
After a few more seconds of aimless photo perusing, she tossed the magazine back onto the table, deciding that maybe she would close her eyes for just a minute - Yang would be back anyyy second…
She woke with a start when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from the end of the sofa and warm breath washed over her ear.
"Rise and shine, beautiful."
The whisper tickled her ear as Yang breathed into it, waking her immediately. Letting out a half groan/half moan when the girl nibbled lightly on her earlobe, she sat up in order to get out of the dangerous grasp she'd suddenly found herself in.
Turning around, she found Yang grinning at her, the girl walking around the side of the sofa in order to sit down next to her.
"Sorry I was late…"
"It's ok, just took a little -" she paused in order to let out a big yawn. "Cat nap."
Giggling, Yang scooted closer to her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
At least, she'd thought it was going to be a quick kiss on the lips, but there was a little too much...everything...for them to separate after just one.
She could never figure out if it was her...or Yang...or just the combination of the two of them, but quick kisses in private rarely happened. More often than not, Yang would slip a tongue in with that kiss - or she would pull a little too tightly on locks of golden hair, dragging a low growl from the blonde's throat.
Either way, they didn't separate until they'd appropriately expressed just how much they'd missed each other in the short time they'd been apart - both now a little breathless and definitely wide awake.
Of course, Yang never left her personal space, running one warm hand absentmindedly through her hair while the other picked knowingly at the yellow fabric of the sweater she had...borrowed.
"So...how was your super secret party planning meeting...that I'm guessing was lunch with Pyrrha?" Yang practically purred to her, the blonde temporarily contented.
"It was secretly successful," she murmured back happily, thoroughly enjoying whatever figures Yang was curling into her hair. "And it wasn't just Pyrrha."
That got the girl's attention, unfortunately pausing the fingers swirling in her hair.
"Oh? Who else might have been there?"
She giggled, knowing from the genuinely curious tone that the blonde didn't have any idea who the mysterious third party might have been.
"You'll seeeee…" she replied, leaning closer in hopes that Yang's hands would resume running their tracks.
But the blonde did one better, sitting sideways on the sofa and pulling Blake into her, wrapping her in a warm hug from behind while Yang's chin rested against her shoulder. Now she could play with Yang's hands, clasping and unclasping them, happy to be feeling the smooth skin.
"Hmmm…"
She couldn't tell if Yang was trying to think of who the third person at lunch had been, or was just exhaling in general contentedness, but she got her answer when the girl changed the subject.
"Hey, I was thinking we could go out to eat tonight - somewhere special?"
"Hmmm…" she mimicked, delaying in her reply as if she might actually turn down the offer. "What might the special occasion be?"
She could feel Yang shrug behind her.
"You're gorgeous and I want to take you somewhere nice?"
Thankfully, Yang was sitting behind her, otherwise the girl would have noticed the soft blush the comment brought to her cheeks.
"That sounds nice," she finally replied, giving the girl's hand a firm squeeze as thanks for the compliment.
Yang certainly knew how to spoil her...and the blonde freely did so in both words and actions.
"Oh," she said, realizing one important thing. "I'll have to go home and change into something more appropriate though."
As expected, Yang's arms tightened around her immediately.
"Nooooo," came the pitiful whine from behind her as the girl buried her face into her neck. "I don't want you to leaveeeee!"
Laughing at the world class whine, she patted Yang's hand reassuringly, trying to ignore the way the girl's shallow breaths were sending shivers down her spine.
"But if I don't leave now, you won't let me go before dinner. I'll be quick, promise."
"You can borrow some of my clothes!"
Twisting around, she raised an eyebrow at Yang for that particular comment.
"I promise they'll be more modest this time!" the blonde quickly added with a grin. "I just...really don't want you to leave. You just got here!"
"And I'll be right back," she said, gently removing Yang's hands from around her waist and standing up.
It wouldn't take her that long - she only lived like ten minutes away, but the blonde seemed to have forgotten that part.
Letting out a loud groan, the girl flopped back on the sofa.
"Why couldn't all your stuff be here?" Yang whined.
"Because then my apartment would be empty," she replied playfully, pausing when Yang quickly sat up.
She recognized that look in the blonde's eyes…
"What if your apartment was empty?"
"Then I'd be paying rent for no...reason…"
Her words trailed off as Yang suddenly stood and grabbed her hands, lilac eyes sparkling in excitement.
"Blake, what if you moved in with me?"
Thankfully, Yang was holding onto her hands, otherwise she might have fallen over at the completely unexpected question.
"W-what?" she asked, mouth struggling to catch up to her racing brain.
"You should move in with me," Yang repeated, giving her arms a gentle shake. "I want you to move in with me!"
When Yang smiled at her, she instantly knew her answer.
"Are you sure?" she asked anyway, wanting to give the blonde any opportunity to back away from what was probably just another spur of the moment, life changing request.
"Yes!" Yang practically shouted, hopping a little to prove her point. "Seriously, when was the last time we didn't spend the night together, anyway? Weeks ago?"
"That's...true…"
"And this place is more than big enough for the two of us. We could convert the spare room into an office for your work," the girl said in a hurry, voice struggling to force out all the words her brain was thinking.
"Yang," she began to say, only for the blonde to carry on in excitement.
"And you can totally get rid of any of my furniture you don't like - throw it all out, I don't care!"
"Yang…"
The girl locked eyes with her, determined and caring.
God...these were the very same eyes she'd instantly fallen head over heels for in that bookstore...
"I really, really love knowing that when I come home, you'll be here," Yang said, a little more calmly. "Like today, even though I was running late, I was super excited knowing you were already here."
"Yang," she tried a third time, squeezing the girl's hands in order to get her words in, briefly wondering if Yang was even worried that she might say no.
But the girl probably wasn't - and there was no reason for her to be.
"I would love to live with you," she said, smiling when Yang's face lit up like she'd just announced everyday Christmas.
But she could feel her own cheeks threatening to split in happiness, not at all scared, only overjoyed about the next step they were taking together.
And, of course, nothing was official if not sealed with a kiss.
Yang's hands moved to her cheeks, bringing her forward for a hasty, somewhat sloppy kiss before the girl started laughing - likely only just now realizing where her impromptu questions had taken them this time.
"Ok, so we're - we're really doing this?"
She laughed too as she nodded, face still held within Yang's hands. The nod caused Yang to let out a 'whoop' of excitement, releasing her in favor of grabbing her hands and spinning them around in a circle.
"We're going to live together?" the blonde asked, smile turned up to the radiancy of the sun.
"We're going to live together," she confirmed, earning another messy kiss.
"We have to go out and celebrate!" Yang suddenly said, dropping her hands and moving towards the front door.
She caught the girl by the arm though, preventing her from running away.
"Why don't we stay in and celebrate?" she asked, sliding one hand behind Yang's back to ensure the girl stayed within her grasp. "And when we get hungry...just order some delivery?"
"But I...promised you a fancy night out," Yang replied, for the briefest of moments looking concerned that Blake might be disappointed in the change of plans.
"Yang," she said softly, pressing closer to the girl in order to erase any thought that she might be upset from the blonde's mind. "This will be our first night in our apartment. Don't you think that we should appropriately...christen it?"
She would never get an answer to that question, as Yang was kissing her the very next second - both of them still smiling like fools at what they'd just decided to do.
They were going to live together…
She was going to live with the beautiful, bumbling girl she'd met in a public restroom…
And she couldn't be more excited about it.