Clickbait

BumbleBY

Chapter Eight


It was the vibration of Blake's phone in her pocket that alerted her to the start of her last break of the day. The vibrations were insistent, rumbling up through her pocket and breaking her concentration. She tried to ignore it, however, focusing on the liquid pool of metal at the tip of her welding rod as she pulled it down her workpiece. Slowing down slightly, the pool of molten metal grew a bit bigger, and she gently flicked over to coax it into the side of the armor plating she was adding to the front of the frost ripper she was currently working on. The two metals became one, and she guided her rapidly diminishing rod down alongside the edge of the plate, permanently joining the armor to the ripper shank.

It didn't take very long to finish the last section of plating. Flipping her hood up as she set her stinger down, she watched as the orange glow of her weld faded to dull grey. Reaching into her pocket, Blake pulled out her phone and silenced her alarm. Two missed calls from Weiss, and three unread messages from Yang popped up on her screen, and she smiled despite herself.

Pushing herself up from the hard concrete floor, Blake winced as her back protested the movement. She was too young to hurt this much, she thought. Stretching slowly, Blake twisted left and right as her taut muscles fought her, pulling her spine into a staccato rhythm of cracks and pops. A sigh of satisfaction passed her lips, and her shoulders drooped as she relaxed. With Yang's texts tugging on the corners of her mind, she knew that she should take care of whatever it was that Weiss wanted, first. Reaching up to tighten her ponytail, she ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to dislodge any tangles forming.

It didn't take long to cross the shop floor, and in seconds she was pushing her way into Weiss' office, pulling out the chair in front of Weiss' desk and throwing herself into it. The chair skidded on the carpeted floor under the assault of Blake's tired body, but it couldn't move far, stopping a few inches away.

Weiss barely looked up from her screen as Blake sat down, holding up one hand to indicate she would be just a moment before returning to the keyboard, fingers flying across the keys. Blake waited patiently, studying Weiss' unique facial expressions as her thoughts played out across her face. Weiss' lips, shiny pink with a rare application of lip gloss, moved silently as she wordlessly voiced the email she was typing. Her eyebrows furrowed and relaxed, head tilting to the left as she confused herself momentarily with what she was writing. Her fingers paused, then hammered on the 'backspace' key, deleting a few sentences. Trying again, a smug look of satisfaction crossed her face, nearly spreading into a smirk as she triumphantly slammed the 'send' button. Turning to Blake, she rested her hands in her lap, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back in her chair.

"What's up, Blake?" Weiss regarded her friend with a steady gaze, eyes roving up and down the tired girl's body.

"You tell me," Blake countered, reaching up to rub at her face. "I missed two calls from you, which is crazy, because we're like... " Blake gestured at the hallway, "Twelve feet apart."

Weiss stuck her tongue out, making a face. "I'm not walking into the shop while you're welding, it stinks."

"It smells like magic," Blake corrected. "I am a wizard, a fusion god, making two metals become one, in a dance of fire and electricity that mere mortals cannot, will not, comprehend."

Weiss rolled her eyes, light blue shining with amusement despite her feigned disregard.

"Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, I was calling to see if you wanted an iced coffee."

Blake's eyes widened, her ears perking up atop her head and drawing Weiss' amused gaze.

"Absolutely, I do!" Blake nodded enthusiastically, her ponytail bouncing behind her. "Is it too late? Did you already send someone?"

Weiss lifted a hand and gestured toward the parking lot. "I sent Jaune, about fifteen minutes ago."

Blake's shoulders slumped, the wind leaving her sails as she sank back into her chair.

"Aww, Weiss!" The whine was evident in her tone, and she made no attempt to hide it. "You should have come and gotten me!"

Weiss watched as Blake's ears fell, flicking back and pressing tightly to her hair in dismay. A smile lifted the corner of her mouth, yet she tried to pass it off as nothing, leaning forward to straighten some immaculately straight papers on her desk to hide her humor.

"I knew you'd say that, dummy," Weiss capped her pen and placed it carefully atop her stack of papers, making sure that it was perfectly straight before leaning back in her chair. "That's why I told Jaune to get you one, anyway."

"Yes!" Blake couldn't stop herself from fist-pumping the air, her excitement returning in an instant. "Thanks, Weiss!"

Weiss said nothing in response to Blake's gratitude, merely tilting her head back at her computer screen.

"How's the ripper coming along?"

Blake hummed quietly. "Welding's all done, new tooth is installed. I've got a final inspection to do on it, and it's ready to get kicked out the door."

Weiss nodded, clearly pleased with Blake's answer.

"Wonderful, great job."

While Blake hummed quietly to herself, pleased with both the praise lavished on her, and her imminently-arriving iced coffee, Weiss took a minute to study her friend from the corner of her eye as she watched her email for any updates.

Blake looked tired. Her shirt was damp with sweat around her neckline, and her skin shone where sweat still hadn't dried on her neck and forehead. Dirt was smeared across her cheek, the girl perpetually unable to keep from touching her face with dirty hands.

"Are you doing alright?" Weiss couldn't stop herself from asking, worry creeping into her tone at both Blake's tired expression, and at the thought that she might be overstepping her bounds.

Blake glanced up, meeting Weiss' eyes.

"Me? Yeah, I'm okay. Why do you ask?"

Weiss shook her head slowly, unsure of whether to drop the subject or not.

"You just look tired, that's all."

Apparently Weiss' mouth made the decision for her, pushing the subject.

Blake shrugged. "Just... yeah. Money woes, same old conversation we always have."

Weiss could pick up on Blake's attempt to ward her off. "Don't offer to loan me money, the answer is still no." Weiss could read the unspoken words written across Blake's face, could hear it in her resigned tone.

Weiss nodded. "Alright, if you're sure."

Forcing herself to drop the topic for now, some movement on her screen caught her attention, and she pulled her concerned gaze away from her friend long enough to peruse her inbox.

"Great, I'm glad this one came though." Weiss lifted a hand and pointed at her screen, "Tomorrow a customer is bringing in a pulverizer. There's a few damaged teeth to replace, an inspection, and some leaking fittings to look at."

Blake nodded. and Weiss could see the wheels beginning to turn in the young girl's mind.

"What time is it being dropped off?" Faunus ears rotated forward, standing alert in anticipation of Weiss' answer.

"First thing, if all goes well. I'll flip you the email."

Blake nodded. "Okay."

The sound of the bell above the front door caught Blake's ears, the girl turning in her seat toward the sound. The delicate fur along the edges of her perky ears caught the light as they swiveled away from Weiss and toward the entrance. Weiss couldn't look away as Blake's right ear flicked rapidly, dislodging a strand of hair that had been caught in the soft black fur that lined the outside of her faunus ear. Remembering the feeling of running her hands through Blake's hair, thumbs pressed gently to the inside of the delicate furry triangles, Weiss had to clench her hands into fists in her lap to prevent herself from reaching out to touch once more.

Blake was visibly excited, and for a moment, the thought that it might be Yang coming in crossed Weiss' mind. A glance at the clock, however, told her that it was more than likely just Jaune coming back with their coffee order, and her intuition was rewarded when the lanky blond stepped into Weiss' office with a cardboard tray laden with drinks in his hand.

"A couple iced coffees for the lovely ladies," Jaune gracefully set the tray down on Weiss' desk to a chorus of 'Thank you!'s', Weiss' a bit more reserved than Blake's, but still carrying a hint of excitement.

"What's my share, Jaune?" Blake asked, leaning back in her chair and pushing her hips out in an attempt to fit her hand into the pocket of her tight jeans.

Jaune waved her off, however, gesturing lazily at Weiss as he picked up his own drink from the tray.

"Courtesy of the deep pockets of Weiss," He said, lifting his own decidedly hot coffee to his lips and taking a careful sip. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Weiss nodded at the gratitude, plucking her iced coffee out and giving it a satisfying shake. The ice cubes rattled pleasingly, and satisfied blue met grateful gold as a silence fell over the three, each absorbed in their own flavourful respite.

Weiss' mind wandered as she stared at her friend, mind casting back to this morning when Blake had been up before her, texting Yang.

It dug at her, despite her attempts to bury it. It annoyed her. It annoyed her two-fold, that Yang and Blake seemed to be so friendly so soon, and it annoyed her that it annoyed her.

Double annoyance.

Blue eyes drifted lower, breaking the unwitting staring contest with heated, molten gold. The sweat on Blake's face had dried now, but that didn't stop Weiss from tracing a path down the side of her face, to her strong jawline. From there, to her slender, bare throat. Prominent collarbones peeked out from the collar of her still-damp shirt, enticing Weiss' gaze to skew inward and downward toward her cleavage.

Cognizant of the fact that Jaune was still in the room, albeit now staring at his phone while he waited for his coffee to cool, Weiss jerked her gaze back up lest she get caught staring.

The smug look on Blake's face was evidence enough that the faunus was aware of Weiss' wandering gaze, but Weiss couldn't find it in herself to care. Lifting her gaze to Blake's high and tight ponytail, which Weiss could only assume that Blake had done to tease her, because God, the back of Blake's neck was so enticingly teasing, but there was no way that the faunus would know that-

Weiss' thoughts were completely derailed, grinding to a halt as her eyes landed on the ribbon securing Blake's hair up. Recognizing it instantly as one of her favourites, she was equal parts ashamed and enthralled.

Shame coursed through her as she realized that she had been so caught up in her own mind, torturing herself with thoughts of Blake and Yang, that she hadn't even realized what Blake had been wearing all day. So distracted with jealous thoughts, she hadn't even taken the time to properly see her friend, in her entirety, and appreciate the obvious effort she'd put into her outfit today.

Adoration pulsed through her side by side with that burning shame, however, as she, for the first time today, really stopped to take in the spectacle of her best friend sitting in front of her, long black hair tied up with what the faunus knew was Weiss' favourite ribbon.

It was like a little mark of ownership, a tag of possession tied to the faunus in a way that not everyone would recognize, but that meant the world to Weiss. It was Blake deliberately going out of her way to do something that Weiss would appreciate, and suddenly Weiss felt silly for only getting Blake an iced coffee. The tips of her ears burned despite herself, and she tried to keep the embarrassing heat from spreading to her cheeks.

Surely the girl deserved so much more.

Weiss felt her stomach twist in that peculiarly nauseating way, a way which was steadily becoming more and more familiar. A mix of self-loathing and jealousy filled her stomach with a leaden weight, threatening to end her appetite once and for all. The jealousy was easy enough to pin down; a poison that flowed though her, released by Yang's presence, and sharpened by Blake's interest in the blonde.

The self-loathing was a different beast altogether. This feeling that no matter what Weiss did, she would forever be unworthy of Blake, and to hope for anything other than the continuation of their friendship was a pipe dream, so unrealistic that she would have to be a fool to even entertain it.

"Are you home, Weiss?"

Hearing her name, Weiss blinked and realized that her vision had gone blurry, crosseyed. Focusing on the two in front of her, she made a soft questioning sound in the back of her throat.

"Sorry, what?" Weiss took a slow sip of her iced coffee, trying to clear the haze of self-deprecation from her mind. Putting her cup down, she inhaled deeply, and sighed.

Recognizing the spiraling path she was careening down, Weiss roughly shook her head, reaching up to slap painfully at her cheeks to snap herself out of it.

"I was daydreaming," She offered, an attempt to placate the confused, questioning looks she was garnering.

Jaune laughed at that, reaching up to push his messy bangs out of his face. "I know how you feel," he offered. "Hard not to, when it's so sunny and nice out, and we're stuck in here."

Blake was staring at her more carefully, saying nothing. Her carefully constructed blank face revealed to Weiss that the faunus was worrying, having long ago figured out that Blake often hid behind a veil of indifference when she was stressed or worried.

"Jaune, would you mind doing a quick check of the diesel storage tank out back? None of our machines have moved much this month, and I can't imagine we've gone though much. It would be nice to confirm that consumption was lighter than projected this month."

Jaune nodded, taking the task in stride. "Sure thing, Weiss." Taking his coffee with him, he wordlessly stepped out, nearly closing the door to the office behind him and unwittingly giving Weiss some much needed privacy with Blake. It was Blake, however, who spoke first, beating Weiss to the punch.

"Are you okay, Weiss? Your face was kinda-" Blake pantomimed frowning, narrowing her eyes and making an angry face. "It looked like you went to a dark place for a minute."

More shame enveloped her. More shame that she was so easy to read, that she had made Blake worry for her, that she couldn't even take care of herself or even regulate her emotions, so what in the hell made her think she could take care of Blake-

Weiss wasn't sure what sort of face she had been making just then, but whatever it was, it was enough to have Blake out of her seat and around the desk in a flash, enveloping her in a tight hug as she whispered softly in her ear. Their heads pressed together roughly, but not painfully, and Weiss focused on the sensation in an attempt to ground herself.

"What is going on?" Blake murmured softly. "Weiss, you know that I'm here for you and I always will be, what's wrong?"

It took a second to realize what Blake was talking about, but when she tried to focus on the far wall, she realized her vision was blurry again, and this time it wasn't because her eyes were unfocused.

The tears were wet on her cheeks, surprising herself just as much as they had surprised Blake. Try as she might, she couldn't stem the flow, and they poured freely from her eyes as she returned Blake's hug, clutching the girl so tightly that she thought she must be hurting her.

Blake made no distressing sounds however, and didn't try to pull away. Instead, she shifted slightly, making herself more comfortable as she knelt next to Weiss' chair, and hugged Weiss more tightly.

"If you cant, or won't talk to me about it, that's okay." Blake's soothing voice was calming in her ear. "I'll stay here and hold you for as long as you need, and we don't have to say anything if we don't want to."

Weiss nodded feebly, not trusting herself to speak. Feeling her breathing become ragged and uneven, she took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Blake said nothing, true to her word, choosing instead to gently rub her back and hum softly with her cheek resting on Weiss' shoulder.

Yang hadn't taken Blake from her yet, Weiss told herself, and if she could hold onto that, then she might just be okay.

Taking a deep, shuddery breath, Weiss resolved to sit here and hold Blake for as long as the faunus would let her, or until she felt better.


It was a while before Weiss convinced herself to let Blake go. Not because she was ready to relinquish her grasp on the strong, raven-haired girl, but because she realized that it couldn't possibly have been comfortable for Blake to be kneeling down on the carpet like that for so long, despite the girl's claims that she was absolutely fine.

Weiss was reminded once more of how hard Blake worked when she caught the girl unable to hide a wince as she pushed herself to her feet. Whether it was Blake's back, or more likely, her knees, after kneeling so long, Weiss didn't know, and the faunus didn't volunteer.

Weiss could feel the tendrils of guilt creeping in once more as she realized that she was directly responsible for Blake's discomfort. She couldn't afford to let them take root, however, so she squashed them down, firmly ending their advances into the depths of her mind. She couldn't devote any more of Blake's time to doting on her for things the faunus didn't understand; it wasn't fair. Weiss could handle herself- would handle herself, as she had no other choice. Pushing herself to her feet, she grabbed a tissue from the box on her desk and wiped at her eyes and cheeks. She was thankful that today was a minimal makeup day, and only the edges of her tissue came away stained with black. Taking a moment to tidy herself up, aided by her reflection in the blackness of her monitor that had long since fallen asleep, she made quick work of scrubbing her face clean of any evidence of her fallen tears.

Blake was still quiet, having returned to her chair. Now she watched Weiss with somber eyes, confusion lurking in their golden depths as she no doubt tried to figure out what had caused Weiss to fall apart.

When Weiss felt the last of her tumultuous emotions fading away, she took a deep breath and sighed, pleased to find that her breaths were no longer shaky. Pushing herself up from her seat, she felt Blake's penetrating gaze upon her as Weiss circled around her desk to stand beside Blake.

"Thank you." Was all Weiss could muster the energy to say, internally wincing as her voice shattered the silent atmosphere. Weiss reached out to place her left hand on Blake's shoulder, hesitating only a second before sliding up to her neck. She couldn't think about what it was she was about to do; if she did, she knew she would chicken out.

Stepping around to the back of Blake's chair, Weiss slid her hand up the side of Blake's throat, her right hand coming to join her left on the other side of Blake. Encircling Blake's throat completely, she could faintly feel Blake's pulse beneath her fingertips. Worried that she might be gripping too tightly, she relaxed her grip slightly, caressing her throat with her fingertips as she slid her thumbs up the back of Blake's neck.

The response was instant. Blake tilted her head forward slightly, ears drooping to the side as she relaxed into Weiss' embrace. Careful not to pull at Blake's hair, Weiss used her thumbs to massage gently at Blake's skull, her fingertips pressing into Blake's throat in a rather possessive way that she wasn't quite sure she meant to do, but didn't want to back down from. Eyes falling to her ribbon that secured Blake's lightly wavy hair, Weiss couldn't help the smile that lifted the corners of her mouth. Rubbing her thumbs in small circles, Blake practically melted in her hands, relaxing into her touch. Weiss slid her thumbs up a bit higher, still kneading small circles as she went. Her fingers followed, finding the taut muscles that ran down each side of Blake's neck from just behind her ears, to her collarbone. She used to know what they were called, she thought idly, gently pressing and prodding her way up and down them - sternocleidomastoid, she thought?- with great care, not wanting to hurt Blake in the slightest.

Blake made a small noise just then, a low moan. It set Weiss' ears alight with heat, yet she didn't falter. If Blake was enjoying this, she would continue until her fingers failed her. Even if she couldn't vocalize how much she adored her friend, she could at least show her.

Working her fingers up behind Blake's human ears, Weiss massaged carefully, ensuring she didn't apply too much pressure on the girl. Gentle and slow was the goal here, and judging by the sounds Blake was making, Weiss was nailing it.

While Blake often trimmed her nails short, practicality dictating she did so, Weiss followed a bit more of the traditional feminine role, letting hers grow out, or applying false nails if she didn't, and either filing them to gentle, rounded tips, or squaring them off as her mood dictated.

This week they were short and rounded. There was no coat of color, but a clear polish caught the light and they gleamed as she ran them pleasingly through Blake's hair, scratching at her skull in the way that she knew the girl loved. Blake's back arched in response, and she pushed her head back into Weiss' touch, groaning quietly in pleasure.

Weiss smiled as she worked, running her nails up to the base of Blake's faunus ears. There she dug pleasingly into the base of her ears before lightly ghosting her fingertips over the tufts of fur lining the backsides and outer edges of her furry ears, and Blake shuddered under the lovingly gentle assault on her appendages.

"Ohh, Weiss... "

Hearing Blake breathe her name like that sent an electric shock down her spine, the base of her neck tingling in response. It was like a shot of adrenaline, setting her body alight, and Weiss could barely contain herself at that one murmured syllable. Her name had never sounded so good on anyone else's lips.

Weiss guided her fingers over the top of Blake's head down toward her bangs, pulling them back out of the way as she rubbed gently at her forehead before sliding her fingers to Blake's temples. There she rubbed gently, stepping closer and wishing the chair back didn't separate their bodies quite so much. Pulling Blake's head back gently, Blake followed her guiding hands, tilting back until she was resting against Weiss' sternum, just below her breasts.

With her throat exposed, Weiss slid her fingers down from Blake's temples to her jawline, pausing only a moment before ghosting over her throat. If she lingered too long here, things would quickly progress beyond anything one could claim was platonic; Weiss had no trouble admitting that she had quite a thing for exposed throats and necks. Something about the inherent graceful slender curves, the soft skin beneath her hands, it turned her on in a way she couldn't fully understand. Toying with Blake's throat would have Weiss pressing fevered kisses to the side of her neck in short order, and there was no explanation she could offer up that would explain why she was dragging her teeth across her friend's neck and lavishing her with heated, impassioned kisses.

So she moved on, hands falling to her collarbones and tracing them up to Blake's shoulders, which were firm and strong beneath her hands, yet much safer for her to touch. So focused on Blake, it took a moment for her to realize that her own breaths had quickened, sharp and shallow and frantic.

Willing herself to breathe deeply, she closed her eyes and focused on drawing deep, slow breaths as her fingers worked through the stiff fascia covering Blake's tired body. There was a fire beginning to build inside of her, one that would grow into an uncontrollable inferno if she wasn't careful. A fire fueled by desire, adoration, and longing, it forced her to shift her weight from one leg to the other, letting her cross her legs and support herself by leaning against the back of the chair.

There was so, so much more that Weiss yearned to do to Blake; her hands cried out to caress Blake's body in a way that threatened to overwhelm her, and only when Blake shifted and the chair squeaked, did Weiss remember that they were in the middle of her office, behind an unlocked and not fully closed door.

Biting the inside of her mouth painfully, Weiss mentally cursed herself as she slowly pulled her hands away from Blake's shoulders, eyes lifting to the clock on the wall to study the time.

"I wish there was... something I could do to thank you, Blake, for taking care of me." Weiss could barely force her voice above a whisper, not fully trusting herself not to say something she would regret.

Blake pushed her head back lightly, pressing against Weiss. There was a small smile on her face, but she wasn't sure if Weiss was able to see it or not.

"This is more than enough, you know that." Her voice was calm, soothing.

Weiss said nothing as she reluctantly released her hold on the raven-haired faunus. There was a great chance that Blake was coming home with her tonight- not in the way she desired right now- but, surely, Blake would come over for a visit, to raid the ever-full food pantry, and share the bed when she inevitably got too tired to drive home. If that were the case, Weiss knew the biggest moral battle she'd face yet would be ahead of her, and as she moved back to her side of her desk, running her hands through her hair and straightening out her bangs, she wasn't sure she had the willpower to win. She wanted Blake, more than she'd ever wanted anyone before, and her resolve was breaking.

There was no way in hell they could only be friends forever, was there?