Chapter 4
It was late in the afternoon on a Friday.
Blake was already back home for the day. Her last class of the day had been canceled. Guess the professor was even more interested than his students to get a head start on the weekend. And apparently, classic literature could wait til Monday.
It let Blake get a solid head start on the new book she had gotten earlier in the week, so she wasn't going to complain. She had been nestled into her little reading nook she had made near her bedroom window.
Nothing better than reading, drinking some hot tea and listening to the sound of the thunderstorm as the rain rapped lightly against the window.
Her scroll rings, and she leans over to grab it off of her bed, nearly falling out of her chair before answering and pulling it to her ear.
"Hey Weiss." Blake smiles, not expecting the call.
"Blake." As soon as Weiss' voice comes through the phone, she can tell something is wrong.
"Weiss? Are you okay?" The thunder rattles outside of her bedroom window, and after a second she can hear it through the phone as well. "What's wrong?"
"I'm somewhere on campus and I forgot that Klein was leaving today to go back to Atlas to help my parents with something and I called the campus office but all of the aids have left for the day, and I can't reach anyone."
Blake was already tying her shoes at this point, and standing up to go grab her things so she could leave the house.
"Can you tell me where you are? Is there a way you can share your location with me on your phone? I will come find you and I'm on my way." Blake snatches her keys and umbrella from the hook near the door, quickly pulling it shut behind her.
"Y-yes, I can try."
"It's going to be okay, Weiss. I'm going to come help. I promise."
Blake was able to use the location Weiss had shared with her to find her near one of the libraries on campus. She was standing beneath an awning over one of the side doorways of the building. Her clothes were completely soaked.
As she approaches, Blake calls out her name and Weiss immediately lunges in her direction, clinging to the front of her shirt.
She removes her jacket and helps Weiss put it on. She quickly rubs her hands up and down over Weiss' arms, trying her best to help her get warm as fast as she can.
"Are you okay?"
"I- I think so. I'm just cold."
"Understandable. It's pouring down rain and your clothes are soaked." Blake isn't sure why she tries to hide the sadness from her face as she looks over the other girl one more time. "Let's get you home, and get you some dry clothes."
"Okay."
"Here. I brought an umbrella."
"Didn't want to walk in the rain today?" Weiss tries to joke, but Blake can't find it in herself to laugh, still concerned about Weiss.
"Not today. I just want to make sure you are safe and don't get sick."
Blake guides them, hand in hand, back to her car and helps Weiss step down into the passengers side seat.
As soon as the doors are closed, Blake turns on the car and adjusts the vents so that when she turns on the heater in the car, Weiss gets nearly all of it directed towards her.
"Can I bring you back to my house? I can make you something to eat and get you some dry clothes."
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose any more than I already have."
"Weiss, you are never an imposition. And I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to."
"Okay." Weiss reaches out for her, so Blake put her forearm out for Weiss to find, and once she does she pats it lightly a few times. "Your roommate won't be upset?"
"Yang already left for her shift for work. And even if she were, I don't care."
"She bartends, right?" Blake smiles softly at Weiss' recollection of a random fact she had shared with her months ago.
"Yes. She works at Junior's. So she works in the evenings, and very late on the weekends sometimes. Probably like, maybe around three or so in the morning on Friday and Saturday."
"Oh wow." Blake carefully guides Weiss up the stairs towards her apartment and eventually she sits her down at the small table they have in between the kitchen and dining room area.
"I don't think we have any coffee. I just have tea, hot chocolate, and-" Blake looks in the refrigerator to see if she misses any other beverage she can offer Weiss. "What looks to be every energy drink ever manufactured."
"You drink those?" Weiss asks, surprised.
"Definitely not. Those would all be Yang's."
"I thought so. Hot chocolate would be great."
"I will make you some soup and a sandwich too."
"You don't have to do all that."
"Well, I'm going to make myself some and it would be rude to eat without sharing."
"Okay then, now I don't feel as bad."
"You shouldn't feel bad at all. You are a guest. And my friend."
"I guess, I will just say thank you, then."
"And I will say you're welcome, and here is your sandwich." Blake places the plate and small bowl of soup on the table in front of Weiss, and guides her hand to the edge so she can figure out the rest on her own.
As Weiss eats, Blake wanders off to her room and finds some clothes that she thinks will fit Weiss, and most importantly, help keep her warm.
When she comes back she finds Weiss is almost done eating and looking much better than she did about an hour ago.
"Can I help you with the dishes?"
"Absolutely not." Blake grabs the plate from the table and places it in the sink. "Come with me. Here." She reaches out and takes Weiss' hand to guide her. "I grabbed some clothes for you to wear. They are probably going to be too big. Since you are smaller than me, but they will be warm."
"Who taught you how to be so kind?"
"My parents, most likely. Or I learned it from watching too much television. Who knows." She teases, earning a small laugh from Weiss. "They aren't fancy clothes. Just a t-shirt, and a zip up hoodie and some sweat pants. But you won't be cold, so they should be okay for now. I can also dry your clothes too."
"Thank you." She mumbles as Blake hands her the clothes.
"Pants are on the bottom, t-shirt on top. I am going to go back to the living room so you have some space. If you need something just yell."
Over the next few hours, they end up studying, sitting on Blake's bed. For dinner they order takeout. And when Weiss tries to pay for their dinner, Blake refuses, saying that she is a guest and guests don't worry about anything.
They had studied for their vertebrate zoology class and completed the required reading. Blake had read the chapter out loud so that Weiss didn't have to keep headphones in her ears the entire time. They had a test next week, and they were both over prepared.
Blake begins reading for her Mistrali literature class, and when she reads something she finds funny, she can't help but laugh out loud.
"You have the best laugh. It may actually be my favorite."
"Yeah?" Blake is thankful that Weiss can't see her blushing.
"Mhm. It just always sounds warm. It makes me feel warm. I don't know how else to describe it."
"Well, rest assured. Your smile is way better than my laugh, any day." Now it was Weiss' turn to blush.
"Quit being a dolt. I need to keep studying for this ethics exam." She puts her ear bud back in her ear and presses play on her recorder, focusing back on her lecture.
Another hour or so passes, and Blake has finished the book she was reading. And she finds herself looking at Weiss as she sits nearly still, intently listening to whatever is playing on her recorder.
Occasionally, Weiss sighs deeply and closes her eyes. Blake assumes it is part of her ritual for concentrating. She notices that Weiss' nails are always perfectly manicured, when she lays them to rest in her lap again after checking something on her phone. Her hair is normally perfect, but today it had become slightly unruly after the rain. But it still looked well kept. And her eyes…
"You know." Weiss' voice breaks Blake from her staring. "Even though I can't see you, I can still feel you staring."
"I'm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Or to make you uncomfortable."
Weiss brushes it off, scooting over towards Blake so that she is sitting right beside her. She reaches out for Blake's hand, which she gives voluntarily. She runs her own hands over it, memorizing it by touch.
"You don't make me uncomfortable." She continues running her fingertips over Blake's hand slowly. "I wonder what you look like a lot of the time. I always imagine that you have perfectly wavy hair. Something that matches the silkiness and warmth of your voice. And the soft lavender smell of your shampoo. And the mint in the tea that you drink."
Blake was too consumed by what Weiss was saying to notice the tear that had fallen down her cheek. She wasn't able to tell if the feeling in her chest was her heart breaking or swelling, making it feel like her chest was going to explode.
"I think you are the most beautiful person that I've ever met. And it has nothing to do with how perfect you always look. I am very lucky to have met you."
Weiss can hear the tears breaking through Blake's voice and reaches up towards the sound of her voice. Blake loosely wraps her hand around Weiss' wrist, which allows Weiss to follow down Blake's arm, up to her shoulder and ultimately to rest her palm against Blake's cheek. And Blake leans into her hand as Weiss' thumb wipes away the tear that rests on her cheek.
Blake's gaze falls into the small silver flecks inside of Weiss' crystalline blue eyes. She almost misses it when Weiss whispers.
"I wish I could see you." Without thinking, Blake answers back.
"I wish I could kiss you." It is the softest and quietest voice Weiss has ever heard.
And when she pulls Blake down, Blake instinctually closes her eyes, just before she feels a kiss planted to the end of her nose. And it makes her laugh.
"I missed." Weiss confesses, as her laugh joins Blake's. "Maybe you should try."
"Okay." Blake whispers against Weiss' lips before closing the space entirely.
As soon as she kisses her, its like something floats up inside of her chest and tries to carry her to heaven.
Even after they separate, Weiss still rests her forehead to Blake's.
"Can I tell you something?" Blake's voice is still quiet.
"Yeah."
"I've wanted to do that for a while."
"I wouldn't mind if we did it again."
—
Even though Blake offers, Weiss thinks it's best that she goes home that evening.
Blake drives her home and there are a few minutes of comfortable silence. But Blake's heart beats heavily in her chest the entire time, and she wonders if Weiss can hear it.
Once they arrive, Blake hops out of the car so she can help Weiss.
"I can get out of the car on my own." She brushes her away before taking a step, her foot missing half of the curb, causing her to slip and fall forward.
Thankfully, she is able to grab onto Blake's arms to avoid falling.
"You sure about that?" Blake huffs out a sarcastic laugh.
"Maybe not." Weiss admits, straightening her posture as she slides her hand down Blake's forearm until she finds her hand, intertwining their fingers.
When Blake steps into her apartment she is astounded by how pristine everything is.
Weiss says it's because Klein usually cleans whenever he is around, and since he just left this morning, it should be freshly cleaned.
Blake can't help but notice the way Weiss reaches out to feel the counter top and the furniture as she walks by. It's smooth, as though to feel, not to find. There is no uncertainty or searching.
"I will wash your clothes and return them to you as soon as possible."
"Oh. No rush. You can keep them as long as you would like."
"Thank you again, for today."
"I'm just glad you are safe and okay." She smiles softly. "Goodnight, Weiss."
"Wait!" Weiss steps swiftly through the room, and there is a grace to her movements that Blake isn't sure she's seen before.
She finds Blake immediately, and reaches up, running her hands over her shoulders and up to her face. Leaning up on her tip toes, she places a kiss to her lips before falling back onto her heels.
"Now you can have a good night." Weiss says, unable to hide her smile.
"I think I will." Blake steps back, holding onto Weiss' hand for as long as possible before letting it fall. "Don't forget to lock the door. Be safe."
—
When Blake gets home, she finds Yang in the kitchen.
"And where exactly have you been?" Blake doesn't miss the slight wiggling of Yang's eyebrows.
"Don't get too excited. I was just driving Weiss home. We were studying and we got some takeout for dinner. There is some in the fridge for you too." Blake gestures towards the refrigerator and Yang instantly perks up. "I'm gonna go to bed."
"Night." Yang yells, the sound of her voice muffled by her head being shoved inside the fridge.
As Blake lies in her bed that night, she looks out the window into the night as the rain lightly taps the glass. The smell of Weiss' perfume still stuck to the pillow cases and duvet on her bed.