Destination: None - Calichrome Runaway AU ~ Chapter 5
Pairing: Weiss/Blake/Ilia (Calichrome)
Words: 2′436
AU: Runaway
AU Content Warnings: None in this chapter
AO3 Link: Click here! (Recommended for Mobile App Users)
Summary: Blake Belladonna, Ilia Amitola, Weiss Schnee. Three girls that can’t be more different, but are each running away from something. It’s going to be a rocky trip, but these three have to stick together if they hope to survive with nothing to their name but a change of clothes and a beat up campervan. Ko-fi | Commissions
Three weeks on the road, 5700 miles travelled
11:56pm
Destination: None
Weeks to spare, nowhere to go. So, much, time to kill. What exactly can you do with yourself when you have absolutely nothing to do but wait for four months? The three had barely even made it through one without being bored sick. After a while, the novelty of being in a camper really did wear off, far quicker than any had anticipated.
But we’re safe. All things considering, that was a consolation prize anyone could accept. Being out in the middle of nowhere did have its benefits in that regard. To everyone involved, not just the famous face. To some, the silence could drive someone mad, but to the group, it was a blessing. Finally. Some time to just think.
There was another benefit of being in the middle of nowhere. No lights from the big cities revealed an amazing view of the night sky. One all of them were enjoying tonight. They’d pulled the camper off road, set up the nighttime bedding in the back along with turning on the heating so it’d be ready for their arrival, but no one was going to bed just yet. They’d taken the largest blanket to lay it outside, right below the midnight air, making the perfect place to lie for a look at the spectacled sky.
“It’s beautiful...” It was probably the quietest Weiss had spoken through the entire trip. “I’ve never really been able to see them this clearly before.”
“Nor me.” Blake smiled. “I’ve always kind of been in the suburbs. Was too light to really see a night like this.”
“Eh, I used to do it a lot.” Ilia tucked an arm behind her head in an attempt to get comfy. “We went camping a lot back in the day, my pap used to take me out and show me the constellations.”
“That sounds wonderful.” The words had a hint of jealousy to them. If Ilia had mentioned family weeks ago, Weiss might have been offended and left or had a rant of her own. But there was an advantage to all that wasted time they’d had together. She got to know Ilia. And Blake even. Maybe she didn't have the best family stories to compare, but she could at least humour theirs.
Blake looked over to Ilia in her position. “... Well?”
“... well, what? ” Ilia raised an eyebrow.
“C’mon, you can't just tell us you learnt constellations and not show us one.”
Ilia snorted at Blake’s remark. “The fuck if I still know that! I was as much a shit then as I am now, I didn't listen.”
“Some consider consistency a positive thing,” Weiss remarked. She might have seemed like a snob or a bitch, but she was trying. Again, the wasted time was very good at getting to know each other.
And by now they learned that was her attempt at banter, so Ilia laughed. “I’ll get that down on my resume when I’m on the job hunt then. ‘Consistent shit-head that stares at stars.’”
“Hey, I’d hire you.” Blake chuckled, continuing to stare upward for a while longer.
More silence. But it wasn't an awkward silence. No, not at all. It was more the silence you have when you’re doing your own thing but your best friend is sat watching T.V in the same room. Or when you’ve sat down the night and your pet cat just happens to be there and sits with you quietly. Enjoyable silence. That was something that could be valued a lot more than constant conversation.
But in a short while, Ilia pointed. “You see that kinda bright star there, and there’s a few around it which kinda make a wonky pentagon shape with legs?” The other two seemed confused, though after a while she felt Weiss nod, then shortly after, Blake. “I think that’s Orion. The three stars just above the legs definitely look like the belt.”
It could be felt that the other two were tilting their heads, trying to see what Ilia was. It was amazing how vulnerable Ilia felt in those seconds just for showing one of her interests.
But Weiss then pointed. “I think I see it, those three there that make a line?”
Fuck yes, validation.
“Yeah, that’s the belt,” Ilia confirmed. “Pap said Orion’s a good one to start with, cause you can find others using that one as a guide.”
“We’ll have to come out and spot them again.” Blake agreed. She hadn't heard Ilia ever speak of her parents in too much detail, so to hear her speak of his hobbies and her childhood felt good. It felt… weirdly intimate. But in a good way.
Maybe if she can start to open up, I can too eventually.
But for now, Weiss sat herself up, stretching out her arms and yawning. The night was clearly taking its toll. “I’m afraid I’m starting to nod off though. Do you two mind if I head back?”
Also sitting up, Blake started to stretch out also. “No, not at all. Starting to get tired myself. What time is it anyway?”
Once on her feet, Weiss glanced at her phone. “It’s… wow, just past midnight.” When Weiss looked back up, Ilia and Blake were both looking at one another. They exchanged a cocky smile between them, one that had Weiss raising her brow. “Why the face…?”
“Let’s get to the van for the night then you’ll see.” Ilia was already getting up, ready to collect the blanket from beneath them and shake it clean. Any other night she’d have probably stayed out longer, but not tonight.
Tonight was gonna be special.
A quick change into some bedclothes and brushing teeth, the girls were ready for the night. The rear chair was fully opened into a double bed and the passenger seat fully reclined to make it comfortable. Not exactly luxury, and frankly pretty shit whoever had to sleep in the passenger seat, but it saved them a few hundred Lien that would have gone on an equally shit motel room. They just had to make sure to change every so often.
Blake, however, wasn’t thinking about sleeping yet. She made a beeline for one of the upper cupboards, reaching in for something. Though as she looked back at Weiss, she glared. “Hey, no peeking.”
“You guys are acting really strange, just to let you know.” But hey, might as well humour them. As instructed, she turned away and covered her eyes, just to make absolutely sure she wasn’t going to see whatever Blake and Ilia had planned. It’d been a fair while at least, so by this point, she at least trusted they weren’t going to do anything bad.
There was fumbling around, brief muttering, but after that, they were obviously both stood in front of her. Fairly sure I can peek now.
And peek she did, easing her fingers open and looking through.
Embroidery eyes of a plush toy stared back at her. A white wolf, with some blue markings on it, something Weiss had seen on TV before but never really caught the name of. But the plush toy was fat and cute, perfect cuddling size.
“Happy Eighteenth, Weiss.” Blake smiled, holding it out toward her.
“Sorry it ain't booze, but we figured with your eye you’d had more than enough.” Ilia joked.
But the joke fell on deaf ears. Weiss had heard the birthday wishes, but other than that she was gone. She took the toy from Blake and stared at it for what felt like forever. It was just a toy, to anyone else it was just a cheap gift, nothing worth any deep thought and probably not any more than twenty lien tops.
This was so much more than that.
It was the gesture behind it that completely fucked Weiss’s head up. Blake and Ilia had nothing but the clothes in the van, the van itself, and what little cash they could grab. They didn't owe her a damn thing. If anything Weiss knew she more than owed them for the time she was allowed to spend here, the fuel they've used for her and all manner of things. Before two weeks ago, they didn't even know her.
Yet they still got her a birthday gift. They probably checked Wikipedia for the date or something, but they still remembered it was soon and went out to get her something, even if it was just a plush toy or something she didn't even really know. That was more kindness than her family had ever shown her in years.
“... Hey, wait, are you crying?” Ilia asked, leaning in once noticing a tear fall from Weiss’s cheek. When leaning forward to look properly, that was confirmed. Oh god, we broke her, oh god.
Weiss wiped away the tears, sniffing and trying her hardest to hold anymore back, but it was just useless. She was smiling though, even through a shaky breath. “It’s okay! You just caught me off guard, I wasn't expecting anything.”
Ilia breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, I thought we really offended you or something.” Then she took a seat at Weiss’s side, shrugging her shoulders. “We couldn't exactly not . I mean, being away from family for your birthday’s hard enough, let alone no gifts to show for it.
Actually, being away from family was the best part about this.
Up until the subject of Weiss’s family had been very sensitive. Either she’d totally shut up or actively turn the conversation away. All Blake and Ilia knew were that she had a dad she hated, an oblivious mom, a sister far away and a brother who was the golden child. The rest of the pages were still blank. Knowing that compared to how honest the girls had been with her so far made her stomach twist with guilt.
“... This is actually the first physical Birthday present I’ve had since my sister left.” Her grip on the plush tightened as she brought it closer toward her. “God, that’s… five years now.”
No wonder it hit me like a truck.
Weiss began to stare blankly toward the floor. Whether it was just how tired she was or a building of trust, the rest just came out. Nothing held her back this time.
“She joined the military as soon as she was eighteen, just desperate to get away from home. At first, I really hated her for leaving me. But when I heard how my father talked about her, I completely understood. Honestly, up until a month ago I pretty much made the same plan as her, at least up until,” She pointed at the bad eye. The skin had healed, but it was going to leave a permanent scar. “Funnily enough, having a bottle thrown at your face speeds things up.”
Both girls just listened. No words, no gestures, Weiss needed to let it all out. This cut ran deep, not just the physical one but the emotional scars. From a family that in the public eye was so perfect, it seemed unbelievable or crazy, but no one would ever run away without a plan if they weren't desperate.
They all had experience with that.
“The plan was as soon as I turned eighteen I’d enlist then move with her while I train. Even if I didn't end up passing, I’d at least be far enough away to figure out some other plan and find a job. Winter would have supported me regardless.”
“I was gonna say, as much as I support your plan, you don't really seem the army type,” Blake admitted, taking a seat on the space next to Weiss. “But work’s work.”
“Exactly. And it says a lot that I’d rather get shot at than stay in that house any longer.” Weiss tried to joke, although upon saying that, she began to think about it more. “Though, Winter seems to have done really well there. She’s been promoted twice, now has a girlfriend she’s moved in with… god, knowing she finally has a life now gives me a lot of hope, y’know?”
Oh yeah, they knew.
Even if this was just a journey with no destination in mind right now, their lives were going to be better. No more baggage, no more hurt, wherever they were going to end up, it was going to be fantastic. Might as well have fun getting there.
With that thought in mind, Weiss looked around to the bed again. It was Ilia’s turn to sleep on the passenger seat, but upon looking, she had a thought.
“... Why are we all taking turns on the shit seat when the bed has enough room for all three of us?”
Ilia raised an eyebrow. The thought had definitely crossed her mind before, but she never wanted to say. So she tried to make an excuse. “Won't that make it cramped as fuck?”
Blake shrugged her shoulders. “No more cramped than we usually are. And it would be better for our backs in the long run.”
“And you’re really fine with it?” It seemed stupid, but she had to ask. The spots on her cheeks turning bright pink again. “Cause, y’know… your ‘gaydar’?”
“Ilia.” Weiss had to resist from laughing but looked reassuringly. “We’ve all slept with one another before, just not all together.” Then she smirked. “Besides, considering how long lesbians take to actually make a move, I’m fairly sure even if you liked me you wouldn't do anything.”
It was met with a wince from Blake. “Ouch, that was a callout.”
“Alright, fine! Whatever. Just… Budge over then.” The callout was more than valid, but Ilia resigned herself to it. The bright side was her worries were put to rest.
As were Weiss’s too. In fact, she found herself getting rather comfortable once tucked in between them both, pulling the blanket over once they were all ready and bringing the stuffed Beowolf in her arms also. It didn’t feel cramped, nor did it feel too warm. It was cosy, comfortable… But something more than that.
It felt… right.
A few minutes in silence and Weiss was feeling herself starting to drift away. But that wasn’t before thanking her friends once again.
“Best birthday in years…” She said in a doze. “And the day’s not even started yet…”
The gratitude didn’t have a vocal response, but it earned her a small, sleepy smile from Blake, and a shuffle to get comfortable from Ilia. But a vocal response wasn’t needed. At that moment, Weiss was completely positive these few months were going to be an amazing adventure.
Pairing: Blake/Weiss (Monochrome)
Words: 7′740
AU: @dashingicecream‘s RWBY!Rock AU
Content Warnings: NSFW
AO3 link (Recommended for mobile users!)
Summary: Tensions are high. The night before had Blake questioning how she truly felt about her and Weiss's arrangement and left her craving more, but just as she tries to confess, Weiss accidentally dashes that possibility away. But perhaps Weiss is in fact just as interested as Blake is.
Ko-fi | Commissions
The journey to Beacon was a long one. The hours seemed to span on forever, and asides from talking to one another or using personal entertainment, there wasn’t really much to do. For Yang and Ruby, that wasn’t a problem. They had plenty to talk about or games to play. But for Weiss and Blake, between each other that was impossible.
The fact remained, no matter what they’d agreed in terms of their arrangement, they were hurt. But the problem now was how to get out of it. Weiss felt she couldn't say anything, not without it easily being rebutted with the ‘no commitment’ argument; but Blake also felt like she shouldn't say anything again, knowing bringing it up once more would hurt Weiss. While they had good intentions for the other person, remaining silent just let emotions stew on for longer and longer.
It wasn't just them that could sense it. Ruby and Yang could also feel the tension between them throughout the journey. And of course they would, it was strange for the two going from best friends to barely speaking a word to one another in the course of an evening. Such things got both sisters worrying if there would even be a show at all.
Finally, they’d arrived. The bus pulled into the concert hall’s parking lot, stopping itself as close to the main doors as it could next to the stage crew trucks and vans. From there the hotel was within walking distance, but it kept the van out of sight from prying eyes.
“Phew, can't wait to stretch my legs.” Yang arched her back, holding her arms and legs both out and yawned whilst stretching her back, before getting herself up and making her way out the bus. “Better give’em a hand with the bags too.”
Shutting off the game from her scroll, Ruby nodded. “Good idea! Last time Qrow looked a little pissy at us cause we forgot.”
“Yeah, but it was funny though,” Yang admitted. She then looked at the end of the bus toward its last two passengers.
Weiss was sat at the small table, looking at something on her scroll and occasionally flicking her finger to look through, and Blake was right at the rear of the bus, reading a book in bed. The furthest away from each other anyone had seen them throughout the tour. They never said a word to each other, or even prepared to leave just yet.
This couldn't go on forever. The first to break the silence was Weiss, who lowered her scroll with a sigh.
“Actually, could you guys go ahead? I need to speak to Blake. Privately.”
From behind, Blake’s ears had just started to perk up. She’d heard Weiss’s request, looking up toward her and then to the sisters for their answer. Thankfully Ruby gave a small nod.
“Sure, just remember your cases. Um… Are you two still ok to room together?”
Weiss looked back toward Blake for a moment. Neither responded directly to it, so Weiss answered honestly. “Once we talk things out I believe so.”
“Alright, good then! So we'll… see you guys later I guess?”
And with that, Ruby followed Yang to the doors, hopping out and closing the doors behind them, leaving the two girls alone with one another. Weiss placed her scroll back into her pocket and away, walking into the bed area to be with Blake as she started putting her book away as well.
Both were once again quiet. How could they even begin this? In Weiss’s head, she knew she needed to apologise for upsetting Blake with her feelings, and somehow try to express that all she wanted was to make her happy, regardless of the emotions she felt for her. But Blake’s head was thinking of something else.
It wasn't exactly good the night after she’d slept with her ex to admit that she wanted to make their relationship more serious, but that had been the stepping stone to make her realise that. She also wanted to make Weiss happy and wanted to be happy with her. It was time to move on and had been for a long long while. She just needed to say the words.
Both of them took a deep breath, and then...
“I kinda want us to start dating-”
“I’m sorry for how I reacted-”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Both had blurted out in unison, unable to hear what the other said. Weiss cleared her throat, looking to one side. “I’m sorry, I interrupted. You go first.”
“No, no, you go first, really.” Blake insisted, shuffling to sit on the edge of the bed. “Please, what was it?”
“Okay…” Taking another deep breath in, Weiss sighed slowly to try and calm herself down, before looking up again and making eye contact. She wanted to be completely open with her words.
“I’m sorry for how I reacted last night.,” Weiss took her seat on the bed opposite, holding her hands together. “We’d said we didn’t want anything messy and it was all just for fun. I don’t know why I got so upset about it.” She shrugged her shoulders, looking to one side. “I guess… Since you’re the first person I’ve ever really slept with, I just got ahead of myself with it. I just assumed that I’d be the only one you’d want to do that with.”
Blake looked shocked. Did that mean she returned her feelings? This was her chance! “Weiss, I-”
“No, please, let me keep going,” This time Weiss insisted. “I’ve started, I need to finish.”
While Blake wanted to confess there and then, she stopped herself. She nodded to her, encouraging her to keep going.
“Anyway, it wasn’t fair of me to make that assumption. I was selfish, and as it stands… I like what we’re doing right now.” Looking back again, Weiss chuckled to herself, thinking about their recent moments together. “This is probably everything I could ever wish for in a first time. No messy endings or mixed feelings, just two people exploring and having fun. Hell, it's every bit of the rockstar lifestyle I thought I’d never fit into when I first left home.”
Smiling fondly, she shrugged her shoulders lightly. “I guess I went off on a tangent, but the point I made stands. I want to keep having that freedom with you, and I still want you to feel as free as you want too. So from here on, I’ll keep my awkwardness to myself. Deal?”
How could Blake respond to that now? That pretty much answered the request she was about to make, and any commitment was a downright no. To ask again now after hearing her pour her heart out would be truly disrespectful. But just as Weiss agreed to, Blake decided to keep her own feelings to herself. It's what Weiss wanted. And what they’d agreed. No mess, just sex. She forced a smile, nodding. “Deal.”
“Alright. Excellent.” Weiss grinned in response. “Anyway, what were you going to say?”
“U-uh…”
Shit, why didn’t I just go first?! At least that way Blake wouldn’t be stood around awkwardly umming and ahhing about what to say instead of asking Weiss out. Scratching her head, she laughed nervously, looking toward the ground.
“I… was just gonna apologise as well. I know we said it's no commitment but the least I could have done was kept you in the loop. Especially since it was your hotel room as well.”
Weiss seemed oddly surprised at the response. She raised an eyebrow at first, as though she were about to question it. But in the end, she said nothing. She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, that’s fine. I had anything embarrassing packed away, if that’s what you mean, so her seeing any of my stuff was not an issue. Speaking of which...”
Sliding forward, Weiss got to her feet again. But instead of making her way off the bus like Blake had expected, she was instead looking under her bed, pulling out her case from beneath the bed. She opened it up, starting to look through. “I bought something a few nights ago I’ve wanted us to try.”
“Oh?” Blake’s curiosity piqued. Once again, Blake was pushing her feelings to the back of her mind to deal with later. “This isn’t gonna be liked the flavoured condoms, right?”
“We agreed never to speak of that again,” Weiss said in a hushed tone, “but at least we now know you’re allergic to honey. Ah-hah!” Moving aside one of her shirts, she’d found the item she was searching for. A cardboard box. Opening it up rather hastily she first tossed out some of the packaging that came with it, and then brought it into view, revealing a sight that made Blake’s eyes widen.
“... You bought a strap-on.”
“I did indeed,” Weiss confirmed, holding it up for Blake to see. The ice blue toy, probably just over six inches in length made Blake continue to stare with wonder. Even compared to the very real cock she saw yesterday, seeing this new one in Weiss’s hands had a way of already getting her excited. A fact Weiss giggled when she picked up on it. “You look like you’re about to drool.”
“Huh?” Realising her mouth had been hanging open, Blake shook her head to focus again. It never stopped the huge blush forming on her face when she realised what it meant Weiss had been thinking about. “S-Sorry. I just… didn’t think this would be your thing.”
“To be honest, I don’t know if it is yet…” Weiss chuckled, clearly noticing the blush on Blake’s face and her eyes occasionally glancing at it. She could read her like a book. She looked over with her eyes half closed, smirking lightly. “Looks like it's yours, though.”
Blake swallowed. It certainly did appeal to her to imagine what they’d do, imagine that Weiss was the one in Ilia’s position last night, taking her for a change. Seemed like Weiss knew all too well what got her going these days. Or perhaps… “Did you guess that just because both my partners before had dicks?”
Seemed Weiss was caught in the act, given how red that question made her cheeks. “Well… Alright, that fact may have slightly influenced the purchase.” Though she placed it to one side, instead tilting her head to Blake. “Does that really matter? You still looked eager to try it the moment I pulled it out.”
“No, I guess it doesn’t matter.” Blake really was eager to try it, staring at it on the bed next to Weiss. The bus was empty, but Ruby and Yang had gone ahead to check into the hotel, and probably would remain there to use the facilities and settle. Chances were the drivers would be taking their well-earned breaks too. They had a lot of spare time.
“... Don’t suppose you want to try it now?”
Weiss froze solid, looking at Blake wide-eyed, sparing only a few blinks every so often. “Wow… You really are eager, huh?” Though taking the length into her hand again once more, she took a look at the ‘strap’ part specifically. It looked simple enough, like a pair of underwear with the toy sticking out of the front. There was nothing to adjust or alter in any way. And yet still, Weiss questioned. “ Can we try it now? Do we need anything special to set up?”
Blake couldn’t help but laugh to herself. “It’s sex, not a science experiment.” She found herself crossing her legs, trying her best to hide the growing length from the view of Weiss. She really was eager just as expected. “Well, we shouldn't even need a condom so it's just lube-up and go, really.”
Weiss blinked again, staying very still. “... Lube?”
“Mmhmm.” Blake hummed to confirm, nodding her head. But Weiss still didn’t move. Blake raised an eyebrow. “... You did buy some of that too, right?”
Again more silence for a moment, until she looked to Blake instead. “... In my defense, the video I watched didn’t show that part.”
“Weiss!”
“Well, I’m sorry! I thought it would be informative, okay?!” She was completely red with embarrassment, shrugging her shoulders in an attempt to hide it and looking toward the ground. "The girls I watched just did it and they seemed to enjoy it without any.”
Blake raised an eyebrow again. “Were they both cis girls, by any chance?”
“... That makes a difference?”
Blake sighed deeply, trying to stop herself laughing again at the whole scenario. That was another feature about Weiss. Even if she didn’t mean to, she made her laugh. And no doubt they’d both look back on this and end up laughing.
“First off, never take lessons from porn, it's nothing like real life. And second, yes it does. The back end doesn’t work the same way as the front does.”
“Well forgive me for being a distracted enough to not consider that!” Bringing her hand to her forehead, Weiss shook her head in disbelief. If she didn’t laugh about it she’d cry, but being able to laugh about their mishaps was what made everything so meaningful. Taking the toy again, she began to shift off the bed to pack it away again…
“Hang on,” Blake was quick to stop her. “I think I might have picked up the bottle Ilia left. Should still have some in it.”
Weiss said nothing. She sat back on the bed again, keeping the toy in her lap just until she’d confirmed. While it wasn't a problem to go out and get some for later in the evening, Weiss felt the sooner they tried this toy out, the easier everything could be after. Talking, figuring things out, anything. But they needed that moment of intimacy first to truly move past the events of last night and prove that terms were still good.
“Yes!” Blake couldn't help but whisper to herself with glee, pulling the half-empty bottle of lube from her bag. “More than enough for now.”
In another moment of confidence, Weiss looked up from the toy again, only to smirk in her direction. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Her hands lead to the bottom of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head and waiting politely for Blake to do the same. “Let’s get using it.”
Blake didn't have to be told twice. It seemed her and Weiss were in the same frame of mind, where the sooner they had an intimate moment the better. Both hurriedly undressed, throwing their clothes into a pile together. The bus’s beds didn't exactly offer the most spacious area for this sort of thing, but they would make do.
Blake, now naked, sat on the edge of the bed, watching in anticipation as Weiss pulled their new toy into place. And once it was in position, she was speechless. But the redness in her cheeks now that she could see it on, see the length there and ready, that spoke more than any words could.
“ Now you’re drooling,” Weiss commented.
“If you could see what I could, you wouldn't blame me.” She hesitated. For a moment she debated to herself, before taking the risk; “There’s something about seeing you with a hard on that’s just… wow.”
Weiss raised a brow. She began to run her hand along the length as though it were a real one and she was keeping it erect. “Well, glad I look pleasing to you. I was worried it wasn't going to be my look.”
Honestly, you could do any look. That was all Blake wanted to say. But she wasn't quite brave enough to do so. Instead, she stayed silent, tilting her head and wearing the blush with pride. Might as well make it look attractive and lure Weiss in. She crossed her legs again innocently. “It definitely is, if it helps to hear it.”
Weiss scoffed, trying not to be distracted from the job at hand. She collected the bottle, looking at its label for short moments and the contents within, while her spare hand continued to stroke the toy, clearly to put on a show for her. “Hmm… according to this, I need to put it on the toy and your-” She had to clear her throat. Blake really wasn't the only one getting flustered by thinking about this.
Blake spared her the trouble of finishing the sentence. “You can use a condom over your fingers for that part. Saves you clean up.”
“Right, y-yes.” She took Blake’s advice, quickly grabbing her handbag and searching through for a condom and immediately tearing it out of its packaging. This is certainly not how she expected their morning to be going a few minutes ago. “Just… be sure to talk me through this. I don’t want to do it wrong and hurt you somehow.”
But as Blake watched Weiss coat her now covered fingers in the lubricant, she couldn’t be surer of her response. “You won’t,” Already she pushed herself back onto the bed, laying back onto the covers and spreading her legs ready. “I know you won’t. I trust you.”
It brought a warm smile to her face. Amazing how Blake could make her feel so confident in her moments of weakness just with the right words and phrases, no matter what it was. Getting back to the task at hand, she stepped forward and pressed the fingers between Blake’s cheeks.
To which she suddenly flinched at in response.
“What? What is it?” Weiss pulled her hand away instantly. “What did I do wrong?”
“No, nothing!” Blake tried to laugh it off. A familiar problem she’d had the night before had returned. “It’s just a little cold, that’s all.”
“Oh.” Weiss nervously laughed with her. She placed the spare hand on Blake’s thigh, gently rubbing it to soothe her somehow. “Do you want me to keep going anyway?”
“Please.” This time, Blake made sure to grasp at the blankets below, bracing herself ready. “I’ll try not to this time.”
“You don't have to. I’ll just have to remember how you twitch in the future.”
And once again, Weiss eased her fingers forward to Blake’s opening. And once again was met with a series of twitches and shudders. But this time, she persevered. She pushed the lubricant against the opening, circling and prodding to prepare Blake for what was to come. And judging from the way she gripped the sheets and bit her lip, it was met with positive response.
“Oh my god why does this look so good?” Weiss asked herself, unable to stop herself looking away from what was happening. When she felt things loosen up enough, she pushed her fingers inside.
And was met with a muffled moan from Blake.
When she looked up towards her face instead, it was a picture of pure bliss. Red cheeks, eyes closed and her eyebrows furrowed while she bit her lip to contain her sounds. It looked like she was having the time of her life already, something truly hypnotic to watch.
“Oh my god… why does she look so good?” She couldn't draw herself away from looking. It truly was wonderful to watch Blake come loose under her fingers. How far could that go? She decided to experiment a little more to find out. On the next thrust inward with her fingers, she decided to curl them to watch the reaction.
“Hoh!”
Immediately Blake grasped the sheets even tighter. And it only continued when Weiss teased more. She continued to move her fingers in and out, curling each time and sending pulses of pleasure through Blake’s body.
“I could do this all day…” It was accidental that Weiss said that out loud, but she meant every word. Somehow seeing Blake so pleasured by the simple movements of her fingers brought her far more satisfaction than receiving pleasure herself.
She really couldn't keep it up all day though. With the next thrust forward, Blake had to reach between her legs and grasp Weiss’s wrist to stop her. Absolutely breathless, she’d only just managed to rasp out. “D-don't. I’m… I’m gonna finish early if you keep it up.”
It was tempting to keep going anyway and finish Blake this way, a call back to their first sober encounter this way. But seeing as she was already dressed for the occasion, she did as Blake asked, drawing her fingers back from their full depth to allow her to recover. “Alright. Are you ready for the full thing now?”
“Yes.” She released her grip from Weiss’s wrist. “Just cover the toy with lube too.”
Weiss nodded, finally withdrawing her fingers and removing the condom from them.
Now the real fun was going to begin. Blake watched Weiss eagerly as she grabbed the bottle of lubricant again, giving the toy a fair amount and rubbing it over. But there was another important question. Position. As easy as it would be to repeat the position from last night with Ilia, she didn't want that. She wanted something a little more interesting. Not just for herself, but for Weiss to experience as well.
After realising her feelings last night, all she wanted was to be as close to Weiss as possible, in any way she could. There was certainly a position she could think of that would allow that.
“... You mind if we try something?”
Weiss looked up from what she was doing, having just finished coating the member. “I can't see how I can say no. What are you thinking?”
“Sit on the edge of the bed.”
Although skeptical, Weiss obeyed. She sat on the bed next to her as Blake asked, positioning the toy upright and ready. The confusion didn't last long when she finally realised what Blake was up to, however. She sat up and climbed up onto Weiss’s lap, straddling herself across mere inches from the coated length. To support herself, she held her hands on Weiss’s shoulders, looking down with a rather nervous smile.
“Is this alright?”
“Oh my…” Something about this position brought a lot of heat to Weiss’s face. And down below as well. Sure, Blake was usually the party on top, but this was in a very different way. She’d be riding her, she’d be the more submissive party. Something about that just got Weiss’s heart racing like nothing she’d felt before. Supporting Blake’s waist, she looked up to her with a flustered expression of her own. “More than alright.”
There weren't many more words to be said. Blake stared into Weiss’s eyes for a long while, almost finding herself getting lost within them. Were they really that pretty before? She really hadn't looked. But now that she was seeing Weiss in a whole new light, she could truly compare them to sapphires. Rare, precious, and beautiful. But that was Weiss all over.
Rather than getting started straight away, she brought a hand back so she could lift Weiss’s chin up, and bring her lips to meet hers in a tender kiss.
A kiss which Weiss insisted on continuing. One of her hands came to support Blake’s shoulders instead, holding her as she rolled her lips around hers, occasionally capturing the lower lip between her teeth. This was so different to any of their kisses before. It was slower, for starters, but something else felt different. It was intimate and loving, the kind of kissing that lovers did.
Were they both mutually feeling that? Blake knew in her heart how she felt but was still clueless as to how Weiss was. And yet, she wasn't backing away yet. In fact, she was the one that wanted the kiss to keep going, that rubbed between her shoulders to encourage her to stay. Maybe… just maybe-
“Hmgh!”
A thrust upward from Weiss cut that thought off completely. Within their kiss, Blake had entirely forgotten where she had been sitting, and what was so close to her opening before. Now the head was pushed in, and she found herself falling away from the kiss to moan out in surprise.
When Blake looked to Weiss’s expression, all that was looking back at her was a smirk.
“Y-you did that on purpose.” She just managed to rasp out.
“Maybe?” Weiss tilted her head and looked up innocently. “Are you upset about that?”
The question was another distraction. Blake felt Weiss’s hands pulling her downward, pushing more of the member inside her and sending yet more shudders up her spine. Oh god, she most definitely was not upset. When the member entered by another three inches Blake moaned out again, her arms returning around Weiss again as she nuzzled her head against her neck.
“I take that as a ‘no’.” Weiss grinned, nuzzling back against Blake in return as she continued her movements. Now they’d settled into a comfortable position, Weiss was able to focus on making this the best experience possible for her. Each time she pushed Blake down, she thrust up, meeting her rear and burying the member in as deep as possible. It started at a slow pace, enough for her to figure out how to do it correctly. So far there were no complaints.
In fact, Blake was joining in, and began to speed up the pace. She felt her matching the movements as her grip tightened, heard the moans in her ear each time she thrust forward. Suddenly she found herself wondering why they hadn't done this weeks ago. Feeling the way her lover was pushing forward with her and showing her need was an experience she couldn't explain. But it was addictive, and brought her far more satisfaction than she could have imagined.
It was certainly creating a burning heat for herself. Even if there was no physical pleasure to be gained, listening to the pleasure Blake was receiving was more than enough for now.
That was displayed again with another gasp. Blake’s grip tightened around Weiss’s body as she shuddered. She could feel her muscles tensing as her finish came closer, shown when her member throbbed between them. “Fuck…!” She bit her lip, desperately trying not to call too loudly.
All Weiss could do was smirk. This really was a callback. She continued to thrust, leaning forward to whisper in her ears the very words that had her screaming that first time.
“Stop holding back. It turns me on when you moan.”
It was Blake’s undoing. She let out a final desperate moan louder than Weiss had ever heard before, shuddering hard in her arms as she felt her finish arrive at last. Her legs tightened around Weiss, forcing the member as far in her as it could possibly get, muscles tensing to try and keep her there so she could take as much of that feeling as she possibly could. It felt so good she’d barely even noticed her member had finished up between them.
Weiss did though. Once she allowed Blake the time to recover she pulled herself back, looking down at the speckles Blake had made on her stomach.
“Wow, that was rude. You made a mess all over me.”
Still breathless, Blake could barely focus her vision when she looked between them to see what she meant, let alone think of a real response. She could barely even speak out between breaths to apologise.
But Weiss only giggled in response to it. She was simply enjoying the show too much. Seeing Blake in such a pleased and exhausted state offered a huge amount of satisfaction. That only grew when she thought of the reason for that. Her. She was the one that pushed Blake to this peak and over the edge. Not so bad for her first time with this toy.
She moved her grip to Blake’s cheeks, using it as leverage to lift her up and off the length, resting her back down on her lap again after. Neither were too interested in moving just yet, enjoying each other’s embrace for a while longer as Blake recovered.
She’d had her finish, now it was time for Weiss to get hers. She pressed her lips up against Weiss’s neck over and over, peppering up and down with small kisses up and down the skin.
A quiet giggle followed as she leaned into the kisses, holding Blake close to her as a hugged her chest instead. The kisses didn’t stop though. They got harder, mixing with the occasional bite. It wasn’t tickling any longer, now it was starting to build Weiss’s own heat up, just as intended. It wasn’t long until she was pushing Weiss back on the bed, pinning her there and continuing her kisses down from her neck to her collarbone.
Then her cleavage, then her breast, then the top of her stomach… Blake was sure to avoid the spot she’d ‘made a mess’ on. The longer that reminder stayed there, the longer Weiss could enjoy it alongside what was about to happen. She had to climb off her lap to continue the kisses, first unbuckling the strapon to remove it from her then kneeling at the foot of the bed to instead begin kissing Weiss’s upper thighs again and again… until…
There was a hum of delight when Blake hit the spot. Her lips met Weiss’s delicate sex, treating her to a variety of kisses and laps with her tongue. Pleasing Weiss in this way was somewhat of a rarity for Blake to try, she usually preferred to stick with fingers or ‘the typical way’, but it was something she wanted to improve. First, she treated the soft nub at the top to a flick of her tongue, focusing her attention there to circle it back and forth.
That small hum very quickly evolved into something more. Blake’s feline ears perked up to listen as Weiss moaned out into the air. She brought her hands up to her thighs to keep her in place, supporting her throughout as she continued the movements with her tongue, but also to feel every twitch and shudder. She craved Weiss’s response just as much as Weiss had craved her own.
‘This is where I mix it up, right?’ It seemed like the right thing to do. In all honesty, whenever she’d asked Weiss for the best advice on how to please her, there wasn’t much that she’d offered in critique. It was hard to give any when she hadn’t had anyone else to compare it against. In fact, it was her best friend she had to ask for tips from.
“Clit’s a good spot, yeah, but like… Well, you wouldn’t just lick the head of a dick to give a blowjob, would’ya?” She thought back to Yang’s advice. It might have been embarrassing at the time to listen to, but now she was thanking her lucky stars she did. “Vag’ is the same. You wanna mix it up. Treat the lips as well, tease the entrance, all that stuff. Least, that’s what I always like… Basically, if she starts pulling your hair or pushing your head against her for more, you’re doing a good job.”
Tilting her head to the right, Blake experimented with that advice. She instead lapped at the inner lips, both to the right, then to the left.
“Ooooohhh…” It was met with a mixture of a moan and an exhale. Definitely a good sign, even more proven when Weiss gripped the sheets below and allowed her eyes to fall shut. It only continued as Blake did, and Weiss found herself shaking every so often, quivering with the dull pleasure as it swam over her. “H-have you r-read a new boo- Oooh!- B-book or something? Because t-THIS!- this is so new…!”
Blake didn't want to break away to respond. Instead, she offered a small growl in the midst of her work, hoping her warm breath might also help with the building pleasure. Next, she lowered her head a little more. This time when she lapped, she was sure to do so right at Weiss’s entrance.
“WHOA! Shit!”
Hands reached into Blake’s hair in an instant. The response was electric! With each lap around Weiss’s entrance, a moan followed, the grip on her hair seeming to tighten as she tried to keep Blake right where she needed her. More and more shudders came the more she continued, it became very clear that Weiss was coming undone.
That much was obvious when Weiss tried to pull her closer, voice dripping with need. “F-fuck! Blake I’m-... I’m gonna-!”
No more needed to be said. Blake knew to finish the job by returning to the clit above, focusing the last of her attention there as she circled it with her tongue over and over, opening her eyes and looking up toward Weiss so she could soak in her response to the full.
Weiss was done for. She shuddered in Blake’s grasp, moaning her name loudly as the last of the pleasure seared through her veins and washed over her in wave after wave. Waves that Blake managed to maintain for a few seconds longer with each flick and circle of her tongue, being sure her lover would receive as much joy as she could possibly deliver.
It took nearly a full minute for Weiss to come down from her high. She gasped for breath, panting loudly and laying on the bed. It was heavy breathing mixed with a very weak laughter when she tried to look down, unable to even open her eyes. “That was… wow. Holy shit…”
“It was okay?” A stupid question perhaps, but Blake was eager to know.
“Okay?!” Weiss laughed again, this time using all her remaining strength to sit upright, having to hold her arms behind her for support. “Blake, that was probably the most intense orgasm I’ve ever had. Where on earth did you learn to do that so good all of a sudden?”
Red dusted Blake’s cheeks once more as she looked off elsewhere, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “You know me and Yang talk about anything, right? Well, I just happened to ask and she gave me some tips.”
“ Yang told you how to do that?!” It looked like she was embarrassed at first. But as quick as it appeared, it faded. “You know what? If her lessons make you that good , I don't even care if she knows you’ll be using them on me. I’m not complaining about that performance at all.”
“Didn't think you would.” Blake giggled quietly. But speaking of the other band members, it only just occurred to Blake how far behind they really were. Their ‘moment of madness’ must have delayed them by a good half hour at the very least. “We’d better get showered up and go, I’ll bet they’re waiting for us.”
“Of course, yes. But first, Blake?”
The soft voice stopped Blake in her tracks just as she was about to fetch her clothes again. “Yeah?”
“Thank you for forgiving me. I’m really glad we’re still doing this.”
Such a simple phrase had completely caught Blake off guard. In her head, Weiss hadn't absolutely any reason to be sorry in the first place, but in her heart, she wished for so much more than this. And she was so very close to telling her that fact too… If only she’d spoken first, maybe she wouldn't be stuck in this limbo of her own feelings.
But it didn't matter. She smiled back in return to Weiss and nodded. “You didn't have anything to be sorry for, but I’m glad we’re together too.”
A subtle word choice perhaps, but it seemed Weiss didn't focus on it while she concentrated on cleaning up her stomach. Blake did, however. And now a different focus was on her mind.
‘Maybe I should be asking Yang for more advice other than just sex stuff…’
Hours later, everything had been back to normal. The two had reassured the others that they were back on good terms then got straight to unpacking for their week’s stay. The first performance was tomorrow, but tonight, everyone had their own plans to unwind before the big night.
While he was in town, Blake took the opportunity to go out with her friend Sun to a local bar upon hearing it was ‘Faunus night’, so Weiss had made plans to keep herself occupied with Ruby. It had been too long since she last hung out with her best friend, and room service with a side of pizza was just what the doctor ordered. Might as well have a chilled out evening and a friendly chat and save the drinking for tomorrow after their show.
“I’m surprised you weren’t out with Yang tonight,” Weiss mentioned, taking another slice of pizza from the box. “Or that she’s not come back here.”
“She said she was seeing someone tonight?” Ruby took a sip from her can of soda, still scrolling through the TV to try and find something decent to serve as background noise. “And then said ‘don’t wait up for me’ in her special voice. I’m guessing that’s sister code for ‘I’m getting laid but I don’t want to tell you out loud ‘I’m getting laid’ ’.”
Weiss couldn’t help but scoff at that while chewing on her pizza, nodding her agreement before she could answer. “ That voice. Yes, Winter is also a user of ‘the voice’ when she tries to discuss her evening plans, and she too used ‘the voice’ to describe tonight.”
Ruby paused a moment. “Hey, wasn’t your sister in town this week for one of the shows?”
“Indeed she is, we’re meeting tomorrow morning for coffee. No sooner than that. I think she’s eager to ‘relax’ now that she’s back for a while. Hence the voice.”
“Maybe they’ll meet up and go date hunting together.” Ruby smiled, leaning back against the wall and taking another sip of soda. “Oh, hey! Did you and Blake figure out that thing you needed to?”
“Yes, we did,” Weiss responded to Ruby now she’d finished the last of her pizza, crudely licking her fingertips to clean them. A rather bad habit she picked up from her friend. “It was easily figured out. Just a small disagreement we had the night prior with the… sleeping arrangements. I don’t understand how we let it drag out for so long.”
Ruby tilted her head. Sleeping arrangements… that’s what the kids were calling it these days, huh? Rather than drag this out for longer or even use it to tease, Ruby cleared her throat. “Y’know that Yang already told me that you two are kind of a thing, right?”
To which Weiss sighed in response. A mixture of both annoyance and relief, but she brought her hand to her face. “Please tell me it’s only you two that know? Because it’s really not enough to make a big deal out of.”
“Just me and her,” Ruby confirmed, offering her a reassuring smile. “But you do both make a cute couple! I’ll admit I did squeal a little bit when Yang told me.”
“Yeah… Right.” Weiss didn’t seem as thrilled at that as expected. In fact, she looked off into the distance instead, bringing her hands back and holding them in each other. “We’re not a couple. Not really. We’re just… Experimenting, or whatever you’d want to call it.”
“Oooh…” The cogs seemed to have turned for Ruby as she nodded, also avoiding eye contact as she looked towards the TV instead, but not truly watching. “You’re just ’doing stuff’ . That’s cool too! As long as you’re both okay with it and safe and… whatever.”
“Of course we’re both okay with it. We’d never arrange it if we weren't… although…” Weiss had been about to begin, though hesitated. Eventually, she shook her head. “Nevermind, it’s dumb. You won't want to know.”
“No no, I do!” Ruby took her focus back on Weiss again and looked over, moving the last pizza boxes to the bedside table instead so she could shuffle closer to her. “C’mon, it’s been ages since we last talked like this. You can say anything to me if it’s bothering you so really, go ahead.”
Weiss continued to stare at her hands for a long moment. She really hadn't confided in Ruby in a very long time, since she and Blake started to do things with one another in fact. It would feel good to have an ally that knew the circumstances, and even better for that ally to be Ruby once again. She shuffled on the bed, facing toward Ruby instead. “Okay. This arrangement we have? We’d agreed to have it open-ended. No commitments, no ‘girlfriend’ label, nothing like that. I thought I’d be okay with that until… well…” She sighed, looking down again. “Until she actually did sleep with someone else.”
“Oh? OH! Oooohh….” Mere seconds it took for Ruby to figure it out, to which she then winced. “So that was the issue with sleeping arrangements…”
“Well done.” Weiss shook her head as she smiled to herself. At least Ruby could make her laugh in a topic where she really didn’t think she could. But the smile soon faded again, giving way to a much more vulnerable expression. “So now I feel really stupid for how I reacted. This whole ‘no commitments’ thing was my idea in the first place so I had no right to be so hurt by it! But… But it did hurt, a lot. It… It still hurts now.”
Ruby raised an eyebrow. “If it hurts so much, then why are you keeping it going?”
That was a very good question. Weiss shrugged her shoulders, taking a long while to think about that answer. Thinking about it alone was enough to make her eyes begin to water. There must be a reason she wanted to keep it going, and in her gut, she knew it went hand in hand with the reason she was hurt in the first place. It was about time she admitted it to herself as well as to Ruby.
“Because it would hurt more to not have her at all.”
To that Ruby shuffled closer. She placed a hand on her shoulder to rub in the hope it would comfort her a little. Anyone could see the past twenty-four hours had clearly taken their toll on the poor girl and thrown everything she knew so far into question. Ruby didn’t have any answer to give in response, but she wasn’t about to turn her away.
But once the silence was dragging on for too long, she spoke up. “Do you want input? Or is this more ‘I’m letting this out’ right now?”
“It’s definitely the latter.” Weiss sniffed, rubbing her eyes to catch a tear before it fell. “But what advice do you have to offer?”
“Well, firstly… It sounds like you want to be more than an arrangement. ” Ruby was pointing out the obvious, but a good place to start. Sometimes having someone else say it aloud helped. “Do you think she does too? Like, are there any hints?”
“No, she doesn’t.”
But the instant she spoke it aloud, she paused. “Wait… There might be?”
Weiss’s cheeks were turning red as she remembered. “I mean… During uh… ‘making up’ today she did initiate a kiss that was kind of…” She tilted her head, thinking back to that moment back in the van, to that intimate kiss they’d both shared right before Weiss used the toy properly. The one that Blake herself started. “Okay, I’m sorry if this is dumb or TMI or whatever, but it didn’t feel like an ‘I want to screw you’ kiss. It felt like a nice… romantic kiss.”
“So… what did you do? Other than kissing back, I mean.”
Weiss’s blush intensified further. “Well, I got excited and I jumped and it pushed the toy into-”
“OKAY THIS IS THE TMI PART NOW!” Ruby called out quickly as she reached to cover her ears instead.
“You asked!” Still flustered, Weiss shrugged her shoulders. “I panicked! I had to play it off smooth as if I meant to do that, else it would have been really awkward!”
“Alright alright, okay, we’re going slightly off topic.” Ruby only just uncovered her ears again, trying to hide her own forming blush before it got any worse. Once clearing her throat, she looked back to Weiss again. “I think, even though you might be a little scared to… You should tell her. Because holding this back, letting yourself get hurt by something she doesn’t even know hurts you? That’s just not fair on you. And it might lead to a fight, then… Then you really could lose her.”
Weiss held her head in her hands once more. “God, you’re right. You’re completely right.” It pulled at her heart to admit that, and to even think of what could happen.If she confessed and Blake didn’t feel the same way too, what would happen to their arrangement? Could it even go on longer or would it get messy?
Even bigger than that, what would it do to the band if there was a huge fallout? This was their final show, on their biggest tour ever. There was no way she could allow this mess to ruin that for everyone now, not when they were so close! But that meant swallowing her feelings for a little longer, and possibly being hurt for longer.
But for her friends, for her new life, for Blake , she’d do it.
“I’ll wait till after the last show.” She looked downward again, sighing quietly to herself. “It’s only a couple of days, then if anything does go wrong… At least the shows will be done.”
That was that. While Ruby wasn’t a fan of her friend putting it off even longer, she understood. In a few days, all the questions would come to an end, and the answers for the future would become clear for everyone. The band and their careers, Blake and Weiss with their relationship; all of it could possibly hang in the balance. It was just a matter of waiting, waiting for the perfect moment to finally confess her feelings and reach the closure that they both deserved.
Pairing: Weiss/Blake/Ilia (Calichrome)
Words: 9′707
AU: Runaway AU
Content Warnings: None in this chapter
AO3 Link: Click here! (Recommended for Mobile App Users)
Summary: Blake Belladonna, Ilia Amitola, Weiss Schnee. Three girls that can't be more different, but are each running away from something. It's going to be a rocky trip, but these three have to stick together if they hope to survive with nothing to their name but a change of clothes and a beat up campervan.
Ko-fi | Commissions
CHAPTER 1
Five days on the road, 2500 miles traveled
3:36 am
Destination: None
Dead. At this time of night, everything was dead. All that sounded from the radio was mellow country music, the scenery was hidden in the darkness, and the road was devoid of any cars. Everything was dead, and there was nothing to distract from how boring the journey really was. But no matter how boring that was, it was necessary.
Everyone is running from something.
Sure, not everyone is literally running away from something, but we’re all running in some way from a part of us. We run from those relationships that didn't quite seem to work out. We run from the path our parents set out for us. Sometimes we just run because staying still is too painful. The choices we make in life are a form of running, whether it’s a healthy choice to make or not.
Was getting into a van and just driving a healthy choice? Maybe not. But that’s all Ilia and Blake had left to do. No options, no commitments, nothing left to lose. All they had were the clothes on their backs and an old Volkswagen camper with over a hundred thousand miles on the clock. There wasn’t even a destination at the end of it. Just a journey.
The light in the dashboard was probably the most interesting thing to happen the past two hours. The gas light. Finally, a reason to pull over and see something different, an excuse to look through the store. Ilia yawned, leaning back in her chair and using the wheel to help stretch her arms, anything to just keep herself awake that little longer. It wasn’t time to switch over drivers yet, but she couldn’t keep going without a coffee at least.
Five minutes in, she found a gas station to pull into. Dead yet again, other than probably a lonely clerk behind the counter inside. While not having to deal with other customers and cars at this time of night came as a benefit, the flickering lights didn't exactly offer much comfort when Ilia stepped out to fill the van up. Still, she swallowed her fears. The sooner this was done, the sooner they could get back on the road again. Or even pull in somewhere safe and get some sleep.
Once it was filled to the brim, Ilia opened the passenger door. While she preferred to let Blake sleep, they’d always agreed to tell the other of any pit stops as and when to give the opportunity to stretch legs. This was no exception no matter how peaceful she looked. She reached out for Blake’s shoulder, very gently rubbing it to rouse her from her slumber.
“Hey, it’s just me.” She spoke gently once seeing Blake’s ears twitch, a sign she was awake enough to hear her. “I’m gonna get myself a coffee, do you want anything?”
“Hmmnnn…” Blake could only hum quietly, shifting her position to sit herself up. First things she did was yawn, trying to open her eyes. The instant they were met with the dim lighting however she groaned, blinking repeatedly to try and adjust. She mumbled quietly, “What time is it?”
“Twenty to four? Too damn early.” She waited patiently for Blake to gather her bearings, catching the contagious yawn herself shortly after. She took a moment to stretch out once again, holding her arms up and behind her head. “But, yeah; do you want anything from here? Food, drink?”
Taking off her belt, at last, Blake gave a small nod. Despite her sleep being interrupted, anyone would be a fool to miss out on a rest stop. It would be hours until the next one. “Yeah. Can you get me some tea and some pretzels while I use the bathroom?”
“On it.”
The two girls made their way inside. Just as they suspected, dead on the inside too. Nothing but the mellow country music again and one lonely clerk behind the desk. While Ilia sorted paying for the gas, drinks, and snacks, Blake headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
Five days. Five days she’d been running. Five days since she’d slept in a real bed or had a real shower. No wonder she looked like garbage. But be that as it may, it was better than what was left behind. The bed lost it’s comfort months ago. The home was just a house. Blake hadn't belonged anywhere other than on the road for a long time. If all she had to sacrifice was a little of her dignity to find somewhere better then so be it. It was worth it compared to what was back there.
Blake examined the bags under her eyes. A consolation prize from their long journey with no destination in mind. It wasn't the worst she’d looked, but let’s just say checking into a motel room wouldn't be a waste of money even for just one night. Perhaps when they got to the next city she’d suggest it as a reward for their progress so far.
Funnily enough, Blake wasn't the worst looking thing awake at this time of night.
She’d hear about it when she rejoined Ilia again, who took to talking to the clerk while she waited for the coffee machine to finish. It seemed it was having trouble with tea.
“Yeah, she was here half hour ago, bought a bottle of vodka and left.” From the way he spoke, that was probably the most interesting moment of the night. “She didn’t drink it, just took it with her outside and poured it over her eye. Had to wipe blood and booze up from the sidewalk.”
“That sounds metal.” Ilia seemed rather impressed, handing over the pretzels to Blake once she was back at her side. At least something was ready.
“Yeah, it was pretty metal.” The clerk shrugged his shoulders. “But yeah, I called the cops just in case. Screw loose or not, least they’ll get her back home safe before someone else finds her.”
Ilia didn’t seem convinced. She didn’t exactly trust cops, she and Blake had good reason for that. But it was way too early in the morning to get into that conversation. Instead, she picked up the finally finished cup of tea, handing it to her friend. “ Sure, cops will do just that. Hope she’s a human for her sake.”
It was a sour note to leave on Blake thought, but Ilia was never the most tactful of people to talk to. At least it could be blamed on the time of morning. That being said, Blake was ever curious. Just what on earth were they talking about while she was in the bathroom?
She made a point to ask once they were in the van again. Ilia offered a small shrug in response, putting her coffee in the holder. “Oh, he was just asking if I’d seen some girl on the road. Apparently, she came in with her eye bleeding and shit.”
“Oh my god.” Blake sounded rather shocked to hear it. She’d caught the last half of that conversation. “And she just poured booze on it?”
“Yeah! Fuckin’ metal, right?” She laughed. Again, a pretty odd response at any other time of day, but they’d been on the road enough to see some wild sights in the middle of the night. Give it a couple of days, they’ll probably have a new story to tell that would blast this one out of the water.
Now both passengers were awake, the journey felt a lot easier. 4:05 am, there were still a couple more hours of darkness remaining, but at least now there were more reasons to stay awake. A conversation was a great way to stay up, not even mentioning the caffeine from the drinks.
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Ilia held one hand on the wheel while sipping coffee with the other, sighing with relief. “and don't take this the wrong way, but, we look like shit.”
“No… What gave you that idea?” Blake managed to laugh, still waiting for her own drink to cool a little more before she could even attempt. Thank god Ilia was on the same page as her, it meant she felt a little less guilty about asking for a room. “You thinking a motel?”
“Bingo.” Ilia clarified, returning the cup to its holster. “Decent shower, decent mattress, do laundry, just not drive for a day. I think we’ve earned that.”
It didn't exactly feel like she’d earned it. Running the hell away from your problems did not warrant a reward, did it? One would say she was taking a brave step forward, but she’d disagree. Still, Ilia definitely deserved the night off. She wouldn’t let her own self-loathing stop Ilia from treating this as something she deserved. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Money’s supposed to come through at the end of the week too, so we can afford it. So long as nothing goes fuck up, we’ll be okay.”
We’ll be okay.
A smile returned to Blake’s lips as she tried once more to sip the tea. That, along with that all-important phrase warmed her heart and made her feel so secure. In spite of having nothing, being in the middle of god knows where and having no end goal in mind, she felt safe.
We’ll be okay.
“... Hey, slow down.”
Even with the darkness, Blake spotted something out of Ilia’s vision ahead. There was a figure at the side of the road, walking along it holding a bag in one hand, and what looked like a bottle in the other. It was a feminine figure, with long white hair and far too nice clothes for the time of night and location.
When she could finally see it, it matched a description Ilia knew. “That’s the nut job the clerk was talking about!”
Blake’s ears pinned right back in confusion. “The vodka girl?!”
“Yeah! Fuck, cops must not have shown up yet. You go, vodka girl.”
It didn't feel right. There was still two hours of darkness and there was no one in sight around here other than them. There was no way to tell if a cop would come near here, and no way to know who would be around at this time in the morning. The poor girl was already injured from the sounds of it; if a car full of guys happened to stop by and see her…
No, that’s not happening.
“Offer her a ride.”
It was quite a look Ilia gave when she shot around and glared. “You seriously want to pick her up after how crazy the clerk said she was?”
“You seriously think you’ll be able to sleep at night if we find out she goes missing or some shit?”
It was worth calling Ilia’s bluff. Sure, she wasn't really compassionate, but she wasn't completely heartless. There wasn't any satisfaction given with a verbal response, but the van did slow right down. Blake couldn't help her smug smile as she rolled the window down.
Once they got closer, Blake could see ‘Vodka girl’ properly. Crazy? She didn't look crazy. But what did crazy even look like? To some, it probably looked like pouring vodka over your face then walking away. But to others, it might look like packing clothes into a bag and ditching the life you had to hop into a campervan. Crazy was different for everyone.
But kindness? That was something she knew.
“Hey!” She called up, holding a smile as the girl looked around. “You lost?”
The smile wasn't returned. The girl huffed loudly, pulling the bag onto her shoulder and attempting to walk on faster. She was clearly trying to ignore them both.
Now Blake was close enough she saw the suspected injury. The girl’s eye had a large gash running down it, from her brow down to her cheek. She wasn't crazy by pouring vodka over it, she must have been sterilizing it. It wouldn't beat a hospital, but for someone out in the middle of the night, it was pretty smart.
Blake persisted. Usually, she would just give it in and accept the defeat, but she couldn't just let the girl go at this time of night. Maybe a different approach. “Next bus stop isn't for miles out here, we can give you a lift-”
“Do I look like I have my fucking thumb out?” The words were dripping with venom. Sure, she wasn't expecting ‘vodka girl’ to be sunshine and rainbows, but the vile attitude did take Blake back. But the van maintained it’s speed next to her, and she groaned in frustration. “Stop following me! Fuck off!!!”
That seemed to fit the word ‘crazy’ now. Blake was forced to sit back in her seat. She tried to help, but this girl didn't want it. Kindness can’t be forced on someone that doesn’t want it.
But then, there was a different method.
Gotta be cruel to be kind.
“Hey, dumbass!”
As harsh as Ilia’s words were, and as much as Blake cringed hearing them come from her friend, they caught the girl’s attention. She came to a stop to listen, as did the van. Leaning on the wheel, Ilia was far less sensitive than Blake was; “You’re a woman out in the middle of the night, middle of nowhere. Given your eye, it looks like you’ve had a shitty enough night so I suggest you get in because it’s gonna get even shittier if a group of guys drive down this way and spot you!”
Brutal.
But it hit the point home far better than Blake ever could have.
As much as the girl didn't want to admit it, they had a point. The next car to stop by might not even give her a choice. It was a dangerous gamble, but as it stood, this was the best offer she was going to get tonight.
What did crazy look like? It looked like taking that gamble. And the girl wasn't crazy.
She rolled her eyes, swallowing her pride and taking a few steps back to the van door. Maybe she was a little crazy to so readily accept the stranger's help, but it was way less than rejecting it. She hauled her bag onto the spare seat, throwing the leftover bottle back out onto the sidewalk before pulling the door to, sitting back on the seat with a huff.
As much as Ilia did have a good point, Blake couldn't help the second-hand embarrassment she felt about it. Brutal wasn't how she’d have handled this situation, even if it did get the results. At least she could offer the kindness in her own way now. “Where do you want a lift to?”
“Anywhere.” She was resigned in her reply. The girl refused to meet Blake’s gaze just yet, instead choosing to stare out the window as the van sped up again. “Just away from here.”
A girl in the middle of nowhere, with no destination in mind.
Where’d they heard that one before?
“We’re headed to a motel,” Blake leaned back in her seat, to look still. “Way safer to get a cab or the bus from there than the middle of nowhere.
She shrugged her shoulders, brushing her hair out of her face. “Sure, whatever.”
As much as Blake wanted to offer kindness to a stranger, maybe Ilia had been right on this one. She didn’t want to risk frustrating the girl any further than what she must have been through already, nor push her into talking when she didn't feel like it. God, she knew all too well what that felt like…
“It’s Blake, by the way.” She could throw her a rope, at least. It was her choice if she wanted to take it or not after that. “If you need us. I’m Blake, that’s Ilia. Just shout up if you need a stop.”
There was only a small nod of acknowledgment. Their passenger must be as tired as they were. She never really moved much more from her position against the window.
That made three. Three girls in a campervan, none with a destination in mind. One of which was a complete stranger, with their only knowledge of her being that she poured a bottle of vodka down her face to quick fix a wound. It wasn't ideal for any of the three involved, but it was way better than the alternative.
Needless to say, it was gonna be a long trip.
CHAPTER 2
Five days on the road, 2700 miles traveled
8:15 am
Destination: Valestone Motel
Sometimes, a week can pass in four hours. Sometimes four hours could pass in a week. That’s how it felt, anyway. All it took was a small change for the mood of the journey to change and to make its time feel so much longer than it should. That small change came in the form of ‘vodka girl’, who still hadn’t given them a real name to go on.
The majority of her time was spent staring at glass. Either the window or her phone. She hadn’t been messaging anyone or calling anyone yet, it was still too early in the morning, so Blake and Ilia thought. But so far she’d said little more than a few words to them. No questions about the stops, no details of any destination. Vodka girl remained a complete mystery all this time.
Still, that time wouldn’t be much longer. They’d spotted signs for the motel, putting it around half an hour away. By then they could get a room to themselves and the girl could sort out a better method of travel. Or even stay at the motel on her own.
At least the radio was more interesting now that the sun was up. The stations were actually playing decent hits from this century, and the people talking weren’t droning on about the politics of the most boring subjects ever. Even the news was delivered with a little more flare at this time. Not that anyone was listening.
At least, Ilia and Blake weren’t.
“First thing I need is a long bath.” Ilia smiled to herself, seeming to imagine just what it would be like. “Man, I really hope this place has a tub.”
“Last motel I went to was all showers,” Blake leaned back in her seat, smiling over at her friend. “but then again I haven't been in years. Never was big on road trips till now.”
“Well damn, you should’a probably mentioned that,” Ilia laughed, “Cause we’ve been in a van for a little while. ”
“And a little while longer I assume.”
Smiles and jokes were falling on deaf ears for the newest passenger. She was the only one paying attention to the radio. Background noise. There’s no stranger phenomenon than when you hear a name that means something to you, and then suddenly everything else vanishes except the source.
“Weiss Schnee, Daughter of SDC’s Jaques Schnee, has been reported missing,”
The girl snapped upright. Nothing else but the radio in that moment was making a sound.
“She was last seen in Downtown Vale leaving her hotel room, where the family were staying for a business trip, in the early hours of the morning. Police are urging anyone who knows her whereabouts to step forward.”
Butterflies in stomach? Try a flock of crows or something.
Where she wasn’t feeling up to talking before, she certainly didn’t feel like it now. At any moment, these two women could actually focus on the radio, jump to conclusions and turn to the police. Anyone would, right? Maybe she could last a while. If she lasted long enough they’d take her to the motel.
… but then what? Wait for someone at the motel to do the same? Take a taxi who would listen and do the same? Unless she traveled alone, it was a matter of time till someone did. There wasn't any escape from watching eyes and listening ears in every corner. Who’d take the word of a scared runaway over every media outlet in Northern Vale?
Funny… Funny how time fluxes at each thought. When you’re up in the middle of the night with worry minutes pass in hours. When you’re trying to beat the clock figuring out a plan, minutes pass in seconds.
That became apparent when the van pulled to a stop. Finally, the girl focussed again, and they were in the middle of a parking lot, by a large, but rather run down motel.
“Hey, Vodka girl?”
A raspy voice dragged her from her daze. When she looked up, Blake was already out the door. Ilia was looking over her seat and right at her. “This is our stop, if y’wanna keep going you're gonna have to get a cab or something.”
A point about the prices of a cab out here in the middle of nowhere was on the tip of her tongue. But that wasn't exactly fair when she got the first part of the lift for nothing. Even if she didn't ask for it. It was worth a shot to look for one and wasn't like she had a better option. Grabbing her bag together, she nodded. “Yes, I shall look into it, I suppose. Are you both staying here?”
“Just for the night. We’ve been on the road for nearly a week, need a comfortable bed.” She held her arm upward, quickly looking over and sniffing. “And frankly, a better shower than our water tank.”
The girl grunted in disgust. “Thank you for that completely necessary information.” Pulling the bag onto her shoulder, she stood up, making her way to the door and pulling it open. “And… I suppose I should thank you for the lift. Even if I didn't ask for it.”
Ilia shrugged her shoulders. “Eh, good deed for the week.”
With that, the girl left.
No point in prolonging the weird and awkward conversation when all parties had just had to deal with it for over four hours. All that time and neither Ilia nor Blake got a single clue as to the girl’s name, or her destination, or anything. The path each of them was running split here, probably for the best.
Paths can always cross again though.
After taking a moment to freshen up in the bathroom and clean the cut, the girl’s new path saw her entering the motel. There weren't many words that couple be used to describe the place, yet “Eighties” seemed to fit perfectly. And not in a flatteringly nostalgic way. It was dingy, dark, desperate for redecoration for a decade.
Doesn't matter. I won't be staying.
Approaching the reception, the girl hit what was probably the youngest thing in the room. The small bell at the desk. As she waited, she thought more and more of her new path in her head. She needed something to drown out the dreary country music from the radio.
Maybe if I got to Oniyuri? Good distance closer to Mistral. From there I can call her, get her to come get me.
She leaned forward on the desk.
Shit, how much is that gonna be? How many hours? Will they even take card? Fuck. Maybe if I stayed here she can come get me? How long would that take her though? Fuck, I really don't want to stay here. It probably has fleas and roaches and-
“Yeah?”
It wasn't the warm welcome someone would expect from a receptionist, but it definitely matched the displeasing appearance of the whole motel. Still, the girl cleared her throat. “U-um… hello. I was wondering if you could call a taxi for me?”
The woman didn't look impressed. “You not got a cell phone?”
Ironically, the words dripped with the same amount of venom as the girl shot Blake last night. What goes around comes around. “I do, but I don't know what firms operate here.” She clarified.
The woman grunted, picking up the phone by the desk and beginning to enter the number. “Got a name, sweetheart?”
Shit. Didn't think that far ahead.
“Oh… uh…”
Shit, shit, shit!!! Okay, time for plan B.
“Actually, I just remembered! I can get a lift in a couple of days. S-sorry.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. She slowly put the phone down, tilting her head. “So, you want a room then? Or are you just gonna waste my time?”
Fucking hell this woman is rude. I’d rather take the roaches.
“Suppose I’ll have to.”
The woman slid a pair of reading glasses on. Funnily enough, the moody librarian look suited her personality better. She pulled out the check-in book, opening it ready. “A’right. Gonna need your name, address, and way of payment.”
Are you fucking serious? This shithole needs all that?
Fuck fuck fuck what can I do?
Fuck!!!
“Actually… I’m sorry. I came here too soon. I might be joined by someone yet.”
With a roll of her eyes, the woman took her glasses off again. “Don't ring the bell again till you know what you want, a’right?”
God, she wanted to let her have it. Hit her with the do you know who I am?! Speech. But that was the point. The radio was on announcing that name with every news update, it the woman knew who she was she’d phone the police. Then she’d really be screwed.
What the hell could she do now? Every option needed her name. Cab? Name. Room? Name. A bus probably wouldn't be around for hours and she’d never be able to figure out the stops or get the cash either. There were very few options left that didn't involve cash.
One option saw her looking at the left open check-in book, and making a mental note of the room number of a particular guest...
Desperation could look a lot like crazy.
The path Blake and Ilia were on was far smoother. Blake had checked them in the instant they arrived way before the girl had even tried. She seemed to have caught the receptionist when in a better mood considering how quick the service was.
The room could definitely be improved. It was old looking, definitely not up to health and safety code, and there still wasn't much proof there couldn't be roaches or fleas; but it would do. Laying on a long bed with legs outstretched beat the cramped interior of the van for yet another day.
An escape from an escape...
“Oh fuck yes!” The voice of Ilia echoed from the bathroom. She leaned around the door, giving Blake a grin. “There’s a tub! And it’s bug-free!”
“Nice,” Blake found her comfort on the bed. Legs outstretched and pillows against the wall. A perfect seat. “Now you can be out the way while I smoke my lungs out.”
“Go nuts. Ain't as if there’s a smoke detector to stop you.” The door closed behind her, but still the muffled voice got through. “Might as well take advantage of me not being able to complain about it!”
Didn't need telling twice. The water had barely been running a minute by the time Blake lit up. If asked, she’d tell anyone to never pick up smoking as a habit, or say she was trying to kick it and quit for next month. It was always next month. Who was she kidding? The warm sensation in her throat and lungs offered a huge relief like nothing else could. These last few months she was convinced a stick of tar and nicotine was her only solace.
Until she started to run of course. Healthier than smoking, offered a far more permanent solution.
We’ll be okay.
The run was a solace, but their small break provided small things she’d missed. For one, the ground didn't move when she stood up, she could actually stand up without hitting the ceiling as well. But there was one more thing. Better entertainment. A flick of the bedside remote turned on the TV, immediately scrolling through for something to watch.
And… nothing. A thousand channels, nothing to watch. Maybe it wasn't better entertainment after all. By about twenty channels Blake had just gotten into the rhythm of switching channels with one hand, holding the cigarette with the other. While she kept an eye on it, she was pretty sure there’d be nothing at this time to watch apart from maybe some sitcom.
Then suddenly she stopped.
You know that feeling when you see someone’s face on TV? And you just know you’ve seen them before in something, so you pull up a Google search just to see who they are?
Well, that’s even stranger when you see a face of someone you have definitely met in real life.
And even stranger still when you just saw them half an hour ago.
As it turns out, Vodka girl did have a name. And Vodka girl was a pretty big deal. The news report featured a photo of her, one without the cut down the side of her face, and was listing her as missing. Her name? Weiss Schnee. Everyone had heard of the Schnee's, they were a very big deal across remnant. Sure, faces other than Jacques’ didn't really appear in the papers or on TV much at all, but seeing that face again…
We had a fucking Schnee in the van?!
Then came the questions. Why? The longer she watched the report, the more it seemed like they were treating her as though she’d been kidnapped down a dark alleyway or something. Aside from the cut, however, she was fine. She was choosing to keep walking herself if they hadn't of convinced her to come onboard. There was only one possible reason.
She’s running from something too.
In the media, the Schnee's were presented as a perfect family. Functional, mature, all dedicated to the business. It was fucking cringey to anyone on the outside. Now though, seemed that perfect family was a fabrication. Why else would someone run away from something so perfect? Blake knew all too well not to judge that.
Afterall, why would someone run away from the perfect relationshi-
Knock knock
Blake snapped back to reality when there was a faint knock at their door. For the best as well, considering the cigarette had very nearly burnt her fingers. She took another long drag, closing her eyes for that sort moment to enjoy it before putting it out in the ashtray and heading to answer the door. It didn’t look as though this place had a decent housekeeping service, but she could be wrong. So long as she could make sure they didn’t walk in on Ilia during her bath, that was the main thing.
But when she opened the door, there was something more surprising than housekeeping.
Funny. On the TV wasn’t going to be the last place she’d see ‘Vodka Girl’ today. She stood before her, holding her bag to one side. Just a few hours ago she was literally telling Blake and Ilia to fuck off, and now she was here, looking humble as ever. Anyone would when they wanted something.
“H-hello, Blake.”
Blake didn't respond vocally. She leaned to one side of the doorframe. Looking past her gave the guess an easy view of the TV and its contents. And when ‘Vodka girl’ was seeing her own face and name upon it, she took a deep breath in.
“You know who I am.”
“Lil’ hard to miss.”
Brutal.
This time Blake was the one that didn't sugarcoat it. She wasn't going to make this easy for Weiss at all. She shook her head, grip tightening on her bag as though she were going to leave at any moment. But crazy was still worth a shot.
“Look, hear me out?” She began, trying to avoid looking at the screen for too long. “I would not come out of my way to find your room and come back unless I was truly desperate.”
Desperation looked a lot like crazy.
“If you came to ask me to keep my mouth shut, don't worry about that. I don't exactly get along with cops.” A flick of her ears gave a rather big hint as to why that was. A hint that was very well taken by Weiss.
“Well, I won't deny that’s one of the reasons,” Her gaze looked to the ground. She looked like a deer in the headlights rather than a glamorous celebrity. “But there’s something a little bigger I need to ask…”
Blake’s eyebrow raised. The four hours in the van Weiss had been completely silent, and now she wanted a favour? Anyone in their right mind would tell her to hit the road. But hey, someone running away from everything wasn't exactly in their own right mind.
“I need somewhere to stay a while,” There it was. “Just while I contact someone. For some reason, this shithole needs a name and address, and I’m not exactly in a position to give that right now.”
Blake shrugged her shoulders. “So give a fake name, I highly doubt a ‘shithole’ is gonna check it’s genuine.”
“I did think of that, but if the police have been called, they’ll be monitoring my card transactions. When I pay for it, they'll be able to track me down.”
“Right.” Blake folded her arms. “So I’m guessing you’re not gonna be paying us anything for doing this either.”
“Hey, I’d never ask to ghost unless I wasn't truly despera- ugh, fine.” Weiss brought a hand to her face, shaking her head against it and sighing sadly. “You have no reason to help me, I have nothing to offer. I’m sorry for just wasting your time.”
There wasn’t anything to gain, but there was nothing to gain the night previous either. And yet… Blake spent a long time looking and thinking. Logically, rejecting her now that she was actually asking for the help would be a dick move after they’d twisted her arm the night prior. But more importantly, when she looked again at her face, and to the injured eye… She just knew in her heart the right thing to do.
“Get in here and make your phone call,” Blake showed her answer by stepping to one side, allowing Weiss to pass and enter the room.
Weiss quietly thanked god under her breath, walking straight inside and taking a seat on the small futon one side the room, well away from everyone else. Maybe now she was actively seeking the help, she’d be a lot more social than she was in the van. Or perhaps Blake had fucked up and yet again it would be awkward silence all around.
Still, at least knowing she wasn’t a dick was a comfort. Now all she had to wait for was Ilia to come out and maybe play hell.
Well technically I paid for the room, so she can’t exactly complain about her being here.
CHAPTER 3
It turned out there was a long time for Ilia to become an issue. She took long baths. Guess when the water isn’t yours, you can waste a lot of it topping the tub back up with warm water, as Blake could hear every now and again.
The company was quiet. Not so much an awkward quiet anymore, at least. But more of a mutual understanding of quiet. The tv had been turned over to a much more pleasant channel for background sound, but Blake had begun a spot of reading on her phone. Thank god for fan fiction, hours of reading joy for no cost.
Weiss was also on the phone, but for different reasons. She was trying to get in touch with this contact of hers. The sooner that was sorted, the sooner she could go. Maybe it’d be all over before Ilia even got out the bath and they wouldn't have an argument on their hands. Maybe… but unlikely. Given their luck so far.
“It’s on the outskirts of Vale.” She paced around the room, holding the cell to her ear. Only one side the conversation was heard. “About nine hours drive from Oniyuri, I think? Give or take. I can try and get there then wait for you?”
So far so good. Blake thought.
“What do you mean you aren't around for four months?!”
Never-fucking-mind.
Even listening to one side, anyone could understand what was being said on the other line from Weiss’s body language. It was fairly obvious she was in trouble with the way it looked like her heart dropped. The pacing had stopped, her eyes were the widest she’d seen, and she clutched the phone like it was all she had left in the world. Maybe saying this was bad was an understatement.
“So get your girlfriend to come get me! You keep saying you wish I could meet her maybe now’s a perfect time!”
Weiss ran a hand down her face as she continued to listen.
“Can't you explain to her my situation? Surely she’s an actual person outside the job.”
She resigned to the sofa again, holding her head and sighing sadly.
“Right, I see.” … “No, I understand, I wouldn't want to get her fired.” … “How can you send me money? If they’re tracking my card then-” … “Wait, that’s a thing?”
Blake continued to watch Weiss over her phone, pretending she was looking at that instead. But she was watching the girl’s every move, trying to get some idea of the conversation at hand. She could more or less guess, but still, curiosity.
“So you can have that delivered? I don't exactly have an address right now” … “P.O box, right. Can you send it to a town close to me in case I have to-” … “Iganbana. Okay. And how soon will it be there?”
Iganbana. That wasn't too far, about fifty miles or so away. Just an hour on the road, that wouldn't be asking for much at all.
“Alright. I’ll see how I can get a room tonight then make my way there to collect it. Really, thank you so so much for this, I’ll be sure to pay you back once we figure this out.” … “Love you too, stay safe out there. Bye.”
That single call looked like it took more out of her than this entire journey. Even hearing one side the conversation sounded exhausting enough. Lucky for Blake, however, Weiss was indeed more social this time. She could see Blake staring, and filled in the blanks.
“Typical the day I finally leave is the day my sister’s being deployed.”
Blake’s ears folded on her head. At least when she made her escape, she had Ilia. Not just to travel with, but also for a place to sleep. Ironic that the celebrity who had everything before now didn't even have that most basic need. “She can't even send you a key to her place while she’s away?”
“It’s her girlfriend’s place, her girlfriend’s a cop. If she let me stay there without reporting it then she could get fired. Maybe even fined or arrested, if my dad has anything to do with it.”
The worry going through Weiss struck an all too familiar chord with Blake. The fear, the panic, the regret. The ironic thing? When you want to run away from the choice of if to run away or not. Even now, having been away for almost a week, there were times when she wanted to go back. Or moments of panic where she thought she’d be found. If she could help someone else in her situation, she would.
“If you’re an adult, by law he can't do shit.” Blake began to explain, ears perking back up again when she noticed Weiss was listening. “You can confirm you’re safe to the cops, but you don't have to reveal your location if you don't want someone to find-”
“I’m Seventeen.” She stopped Blake in her tracks, lowering her hand again to look her in the eye. “Only for a couple more weeks, but in the eyes of the law I’m a minor and was reported missing as a minor. My parents would need to be informed regardless of my choice.”
Now that made things a little more difficult. Her and Ilia had a much easier road when it came to parents. They were at least old enough for there to be no concern with adult figures. Difficult to walk down for them personally, but easy in regards to upping sticks and just leaving in the eyes of the law.
Everyone is running from something.
Yet again that phrase, one Blake had as a mantra. Whether the running was real or not, we all needed our own escapes. But this was different in Weiss. It seemed sadder, more fearful… more full of doubt. What on earth made a high profile celebrity want to run from everything she ever knew without even a basic plan?
Before Blake could even ask, the bathroom door clicked open. Finally, Ilia had finished with her bath, stepping out wearing nothing but a towel. She was totally oblivious to their guest as she stepped out the room, face buried in another towel as she tried to dry her hair.
“That feels so much better,” She could be heard behind the towel, sighing with content as she lowered the towel. “I left some of the hotel soaps if you want a showe-”
The instant her eyes locked on with Weiss’s, she froze up. Suddenly she felt very very naked. She turned her body away, the darkened spots on her cheeks turning to a burning pink colour as she pulled her towel close to her body. “Okay, uh, why the fuck is Vodka girl back?!”
“Don’t freak out.” Blake insisted. She stood at Weiss’s defense, getting up from the bed to stand between her and Weiss. No one knew Ilia better than her, she knew her friend had a habit of letting her mouth run and then regretting it later. She wanted to spare Ilia that stress, and Weiss the extra stress. “I let her in. She’s in a shitty situation too, hear her out.”
“A little warning could have been nice.” She looked back and forth between Blake and Weiss. “Seriously, what the hell is going on? I thought she was gonna get a taxi from here and fuck off!”
“Excuse me, she has a name.” Weiss reminded her, eyes narrowing when she looked in Ilia’s direction. “Do you always greet everyone with a filthy mouth? Or is it just me?”
“Your dumbass was lucky I even offered you a lift, and now you want to ask more from us?!”
“Ilia!” Blake called up a little louder to catch her attention. Everyone was acting a little crazy in the room at the moment. But this wasn't what everyone needed at all. Not after all the shit today. She waited for both to calm down before trying to explain. “The hotel’s checking addresses and she doesn't have one right now. She’s just like us. What would we be if we turned her away?”
Ilia’s eyes narrowed. “Uh, normal ? Doing what keeps us safe ? The last thing we need is a god damn human expecting a free ride from us.”
That didn't impress Weiss at all, who scoffed. “Pot calling the kettle black, much?”
“Excuse me?!” The sentence was punctuated in a very unexpected way. Ilia’s very skin pulsed with colour, it went from a tan brown to a vivid red, with her spots turning yellow in colour. As if anyone needed another clue Ilia was mad. That was one way to reveal she was a Faunus too.
It definitely shut Weiss up, who stared in awe. Suddenly she felt a lot smaller. “Okay, chameleon… got it.”
“Ilia, listen.” Blake was begging at this point. She knew her friend. She knew Ilia would want to make the right decision, but she knew how easy she was to get frustrated or annoyed. With all, they went through, who wouldn't be?
So she explained as much as she knew. She told her who Weiss was, the missing person report, the delivery over in Iganbana, all while expressing the sheer desperation Weiss had for them to help her. She tried her very hardest to appeal to Ilia’s more selfless side, the one she showed her when she first said she needed to run.
Skin pulsed back to normal. It must be working. All but the annoyed expression on her face when she crossed her arms. “So you just figured I’d go along with this without even asking?”
“Ilia, she’s desperate,” Blake begged.
“And we’re not?!” Ilia growled, “You know how dangerous all this is, and now you want us to harbour a minor on the side and get in trouble with the cops?” She shook her head, quickly walking to the wardrobe to finally collect her clothes. Her foot was down, her choice was made. “It’s my van. We’re not doing it. She can buy her own shit.”
When Blake looked around, she saw something she recognized all too well in Weiss. An expression that had two very clear meanings. One of them, that she wanted to stand her ground and say something, maybe even shout out her frustrations. But overwhelming that was fear. Ilia was nothing to be scared of, that much was true, but it was clearly striking a tone she’d been met with many times before. And Blake wouldn't stand for that.
‘My van my rules’ huh? Two people can play that game.
“We’re not in your van.” Blake corrected. When Ilia looked around at her, Blake wore a rather smug grin. Now it was her turn to be a dick. “It’s my room . I paid for it, remember? And if we’re pulling the ‘it’s my this ’ card, my money paid for this round of gas too.”
Checkmate.
Had her hands not been full of clothes she’d have raised them. But what was the point? She had no point to make in return. There wasn’t even an argument to be made that Iganbana was out of the way, considering it was the closest city in the direction for gas and food. Blake was completely right.
She resigned with a sigh. “ Fine. Fuck me, then, I guess. Only drove our asses nearly three thousand miles.” And with that she stormed back into the bathroom again with her clothes, slamming the door firmly shut behind her. Ah yes, the Ilia way to end a conversation.
Minutes were passing in hours again in the silence. That note rendered both Blake and Weiss utterly speechless. While Weiss was truly grateful, it felt too awkward to offer a thank you to Blake. And an apology felt pointless as well.
This extended trip just got a little more awkward.
Six days on the road, 2800 miles traveled
11:35 am
Destination: Iganbana
That was the worst night of the trip. No contest. Leaving the ghosting worries aside, it was bad enough attempting to find places for three people to sleep in a room with just a double bed and a futon. The fact that night everyone was on bad terms made it even worse. Ilia had demanded the futon, insisting she was too angry to even try and share a bed with either of the two. In turn that made the ridiculous situation of two strangers sharing a bed.
No one wanted to stay a minute longer than they had to. So they didn’t. They were up early, checked out quickly and were on their way before noon. So much for a night of relaxation like they’d intended in the first place. Yet another waste of money, just what they needed.
Iganbana was still half an hour away. Theoretically, at least. In reality, it was probably twenty minutes away. Ilia really didn’t want to drag this out longer and was showing that clearly as she sped down the highway over the speed limit. A fact none of the passengers dared to bring up, even if they knew she probably shouldn't be doing it.
“Shit!”
Finally, something broke the silence. But not in a good way at all. In the rearview mirror, Ilia saw unwanted company. In the form of blue lights. And a rather annoyed looking cop. The one time she’d gone over the limit the whole trip, and they just had to run into a cop!
This was bad. This was so very bad. That was all Blake thought when she tried to look behind herself. Probably a human too, probably a dude. Even on a regular day, two faunus girls had reason to be nervous. But there was an officially missing minor in the back as well to consider. “Were you over by much?” She attempted to ask in order to mask her fears.
“Not really, but enough to get us pulled. Shit, they’ll probably stop and frisk us and everything.”
In the rear seat, Weiss raised an eyebrow. “Why would they? You were only speeding a tiny bit?”
It earnt her only a burning glare. She really wasn’t going to win with Ilia today it seemed. “Easy for you, white human girl it’s just a little bit extra speed. They see Blake and me? They’ll assume the worst, guaranteed.”
That was something Weiss hadn’t even had to consider. But the more she thought about it… the more obvious it became. Though, Ilia could pass as human easily, so long as she wasn’t with Blake. Maybe if someone else was in the driver seat, this wouldn't be a problem…
Lightbulb.
Weiss quickly searched through her bag for a pair of large shades as the van started to pull in. “Swap seats with me.”
A confused Ilia couldn’t even look around. “Are you insane?! Do you want them to find you faster?!”
“Do you want me to make this journey worth your while or not? Trust me!”
What the fuck is she playing at? Though, wasn’t like there was much else. They’d just be prolonging the inevitable if they didn’t do it.
… fuck it.
Once the van had pulled in, Ilia quickly unbuckled and scrambled toward the rear of the van as per Weiss’s request, with the girl taking her place quickly. She took a moment to put the shades on, and quickly move the hair on her face to another direction. It was minor changes, but to someone who may not be looking closely, this might just work.
All they could do was wait. Funny how yet again this was a moment where seconds passed in hours. Hours which Blake had to try and ignore the horrendous knot in her stomach, where Ilia tried to swallow her fear. Truth be told? Weiss was scared too. But she was determined. This time, she’d be able to lie. And everything would be okay.
Everything will be okay.
The officer approached the window. A white human male, just as they expected. Weiss wound the window down and looked towards him a moment. The tense atmosphere was enough to make her heart race, but she wouldn't let it show. Not this time.
As though a switch had been flipped, she offered him a beaming smile, and the cheeriest voice imaginable. "Good morning, officer! May I help you?"
Both faunus parties couldn’t help but cringe. There was no way in hell anyone would buy that. and yet… it seemed he did. The cop offered a warm smile back to her, resting his arm on the open window as he relaxed against the door for a moment. "Morning, lovely lady!” He looked into the van, looking over the fake smiles given by Blake and Ilia. “or should I say, lovely ladies.”
Okay shit, keep it together. He was buying this. He was really buying this. Maybe they would be safe after all.
Moment of truth. He pulled out a small book from his pocket, asking “Ma’am, are you aware of what speed you were just going?”
Weiss put her hand to her chin. Then once again in that cheery voice, one that Ilia would probably punch someone in the face for doing usually, she played dumb. "I'm afraid not. Was I over?"
The cop laughed nervously, leaning on the door once more and looking her in the shades. "I'm afraid so, ma'am."
Weiss gasped. Oh god, watching this performance was enough torture. She placed a hand on her chest and looking as though this stranger had just insulted her. She really was making sure this was a theatric performance. "Oh gosh, I am so sorry! I had no idea I was going that quick. I'm so so sorry, officer."
"That's okay ma'am. But I'll just have to see your lice-"
"Oh gosh, this is so awful." She was really going for it. Was that a sniff?! She raised a hand to her mouth, really giving off the expression that she was about to cry. Even if she could practically feel the eyes rolling from Ilia in the back and see Blake's expression looking like one of embarrassment, she faked a sob. "I can't get a ticket! My dad only just let me borrow this van today for the... music festival.”
Just when it seemed like the cop was about to ask ‘which festival’ she quickly sobbed again to distract him. “Oh, it's my first-time I-I can't miss it! I can’t let my friends down!"
"Woah Woah Woah, calm down, sweetheart, it's ok." Thank god the cop was more focused on Weiss than them, else he might have noticed Ilia’s groan and Blake’s little eye roll. But he lapped it up. He stood up, putting the ticket book away and instead getting out a regular notepad. "Tell you what, darlin'; I'll let you off with a verbal caution this time, no paperwork required, with it bein the middle of the country 'n'all, if you give me your name and number. Deal?"
"Oh... I suppose..."
Within the next few minutes, Weiss wrote down a few details on the pad. A fake name, and a number below. They laughed and joked with one another, even despite the annoyed expressions of both Blake and Ilia of the whole ordeal. Ironically, the topic of switching drivers came up and Ilia ended up in the driver's seat again. She leaned out the open rear window, giving him a wave and a grin.
"Thank you again, officer!"
"And thank you, Welma!" He grinned back at her, calling out just before he entered his car. "I'll call you after my shift!"
"I'm looking forward to it!" And with that, she finally got inside, shutting the window and sitting back on her seat. As soon as the engine started again, Weiss's facade ended. Like the flip of the same switch, she returned to her sour-faced self. "What, a, moron."
"I can't believe you got away with that." Blake didn't know it to laugh or groan again in annoyance. No matter how fake she could tell it was, she had to admit it was impressive. It got them out of what could have been a dangerous situation.
"That was so fucking extra though." Ilia shrugged her shoulders. "Human, white, girl, you really can flirt your way out of anything."
Weiss folded her arms. "Well, you were the one saying I should acknowledge the privilege I have, might as well use it."
"...”
You know what? Maybe she could like this girl. “You do have a good point." That was probably the first time Ilia agreed with something Weiss had said. And it didn't stop there. She looked up to the rearview mirror, making sure Weiss was looking too when she finally said; "Thank you."
Weiss smiled. A genuine smile this time. And it felt good. "It's the least I can do. I never did give you a proper thanks for yesterday morning."
For a few minutes, there were only the faint sounds of the radio within the van. It was a much less awkward silence, comfortable at last. There were actually signs that they could all leave this van on a high note after all. Provided nothing caused another argument along the way.
But curiosity was burning at Blake. And she broke the silence. "Hey, Welma, what are you gonna do with the cop calls you, exactly?"
Weiss scoffed. "You really think I gave him my number? I wouldn't be that extra, don't worry."
"Well, you weren’t exactly giving fakes yesterday." Blake reminded her. But she looked over to the rear seat toward her. “Seriously though, what number did you give him?"
"Let's see, I gave him..."
Weiss withdrew her phone from her pocket. This had to be good if she was showing it rather than saying it aloud. She called out the numbers as she dialed them into her phone. She called the number and activating loudspeaker so Ilia could listen too. There were a few low toned rings, and then...
"Hello, you've reached the voice mail of Jaques Schnee. Please leave your name, number, and reasons for your call after the tone."
“Oh my god.”
“Holy fucking shit.”
Both Ilia and Blake were lost for words. But weren’t lost for laughs! They ended up laughing loudly from the front of the van, Blake barely able to keep her eyes open and Ilia struggling to keep driving straight. Now that was going to be a shock for that poor cop when he called later.
After taking a few breaths, Ilia finally looked up again, offering another warm smile. “You know what? I think we got off on the wrong foot before. You’re alright.”
"Thank you very much," Weiss smirked, crossing her legs as she sat back into a comfortable position. "And if we get pulled over again, I'm sure my dad will love being asked on as many dates as possible."
Ilia laughed again quietly. The jokes between them were fantastic reassurance of the trip ahead, even if only thirty minutes remained. Still, if minutes passed in hours, a lot could happen in that time. Especially with Ilia’s suggestions.
Pairing: Yang/Winter (Elderburn/Snowdragon)
Words: 1492
AU: Soulmate AU
Summary: The timing is being wrong was one thing, but a bad first impression leaves Yang thinking maybe the person she’s tethered to is also wrong.
This is a continuation from ‘Red String of Fate’, make sure you read it first! Apologies that this is short and somewhat rushed too, stressful day.
After an unsuccessful search, Yang and Ruby decided to give up for the day and headed back to their college dorm room. They’d tried to look around the city, just as Yang promised Ruby she would, but the string seemed to be outstretched beyond their reach. A sure sign that whoever she was tethered to was across the world.
Still, it was worth a shot to try. It meant a good lunch and a movie afterward. Hours spent ignoring the string, not checking if it had moved. Something Yang didn’t think she needed to worry about just yet.
Both of them headed up the stairs of the dorm. She and Ruby were blessed with their rooms being within the same building, just a floor’s difference between one another. It made it very easy to check on her each other and hang out whenever they wanted. Speaking of checking up, there was a lot of hustle and bustle happening on the floor above.
“Oh, that’ll be the new roomie.” Just like Yang, Ruby was also nervous about making new friends down to her own anxieties. Instinctively she walked closer to her older sister, sighing in resignment. “Figured it’d be one day soon. Hope they’ll be ok.”
“Can’t be any worse than that Arc guy,” Yang joked. “Didn’t you say he got kicked out for faking his certificates?”
“Yep. Surprised it took so long for him to get thrown out.” Taking a small breath in, Ruby continued up the stairs. “Well… here goes. You wanna stick around? Meet them too?”
“Of course I do-”
They were cut off when the door opened once again. Two women stepped out of the room. One appeared around Yang’s age, short with white hair tied into a side ponytail. The other, much taller, with equally white hair tied up into a bun, and bangs covering her eyes. The two were clearly related, judging by how the elder of the two kept looking back to the room.
“The room appears to be adequate.” The younger stated, closing the door behind her. “Now, I’m starving. You and I should probably get some-
She stopped when she saw both Ruby and Yang on the stairwell, raising an eyebrow. “Oh… Hello.”
“Hi,” Ruby spoke up. As nervous as she was, she had to make an effort to get to know her. “I’m guessing you’re my new roomie? I live in this room too.”
“Ah! So it’s you. I apologize if things are moved, I tried to clear my side of the room so I could unpack my things.” She had been about to lock up, but since put the keys away in her pocket. Instead, she held her hand out. “I’m Weiss, Weiss Schnee.”
“Ruby. Ruby Rose.” She leaned forward to shake the hand. Though right away she then gestured to her sister. “And this is Yang! My older sib, she’s on the floor above us and two years ahead of us.”
“Charmed. And this is my older sister, Winter. She just helped me unpack.” She looked around to her older sister, expecting something to be said. But nothing was.
In fact, both Yang and Winter were oddly quiet. Both looked at one another intently, unable to speak. Both felt their hearts beating even faster, without explanation. It was only when Yang really concentrated she saw a reason. A small red string was tied to Winter’s finger, the string leading down the stairs, and then up again. To Yang’s own. In the time it took her and Ruby to see a movie and get lunch, her string had moved right here.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The first words between them were spoken by Winter. While this was certainly a shock for both parties, the older Schnee didn’t seem all too happy to be facing her string right here and now.
Masking said concerns, she cleared her throat for a moment, looking to her younger sister. “Um, Weiss; seeing as your roommate is here, why don’t miss Yang and I leave you both to get acquainted? You’ll get along far better if we’re not here making it awkward.”
“But I-”
While Weiss hesitated, Winter was already heading down the stairs, brushing closely against Yang to encourage her to follow rather awkwardly. “No no, you need to make new friends! And miss Yang can… uh…”
It was awkward, but from the look she was giving Yang, it looked as though she wanted her to help her out with an excuse. One Yang eventually provided.
“... Give her a tour of the campus!”
“Right! Exactly. Give me a tour of the campus. Okay then, Yang, please show me around.”
It took little more than a few minutes for them both to head down the stairs, rather quickly heading out of the building and away from the younger girls.
One that lead them to the same conclusion.
“That was really weird…”
“No, no, no, no!” Winter was muttering to herself already as she stomped ahead of the path. As desperate as she was to get her and Yang alone, she didn’t exactly wait for her as she walked ahead. She ran a hand through her bangs, growling out in frustration. “This is not happening. Not right now, this is ridiculous.”
“The string thing?” Yang had to confirm, wearing an equally frustrated expression when she stomped toward her. “This ain’t exactly convenient for me either, you know! There’s no need to freak the fuck out like that!”
“This is so much more than a matter of timing.” Once sure they were far enough from the building, Winter finally turned around to face her. Even though they had been staring before, she didn’t take a chance to truly look at her string just yet. So far, she just took in the most obvious of details.
“There is so much wrong with this. The timing, that you’re… y’know…”
Seeming to take that the wrong way, Yang’s frustration turned into a glare. She held her hand on her hip, leaving the other to hand. “What? That I’m an amputee, you mean?”
“No, what on earth are you-” Now it was mentioned, her eye fell straight to the nub of her right arm, where it poked out of her shirt. Instantly the woman felt her heart be tugged, and guilt flood through her.
“Oh… I hadn’t… Okay, I’m so sorry, I truly hadn’t noticed that at first. I really didn’t mean to imply that was a reason.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever. I get it, don’t worry.” Rolling her eyes, Yang instead looked off. “For the record, I wasn’t exactly wanting to find my string. I mean sure, I wouldn’t have minded looking in five years or so, but right now, I have college starting up. I don’t have time for this.”
“And I don’t have the time to express to my family that I might be gay.”
The comment was heard by Yang. It instantly softened her angry expression and made her look slightly more concerned. Perhaps she really had been a little too quick to assume her reasoning after all. But who could blame her when it was right most of the time?
After a moment’s silence, she sighed outwardly. “Look, neither of us has time for a relationship. We’re in agreement on that. But the string must have become visible now for a reason. So… We can’t exactly ignore it.”
Running a hand through her hair, Winter nodded. Fate was a very strange thing indeed, but one knew all too well it wasn’t to be messed with. Especially when strings were involved. It could lead to too much heartbreak, and one or the other making reckless decisions. “You’re right. There must be some reason it was now rather than five or so years down the line.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t be worrying about the lack of time and just… focus on getting to know one another?” When Winter looked confused, Yang shrugged. “No pressure, no dates, nothing. Just the occasional message, that sorta stuff.”
“To become friends before we become soulmates?” Winter couldn’t help but scoff at the idea, letting out a small laugh. “You say this as if I have time to form friendships right now.”
“C’mon. Who doesn’t have time for friends?” Yang joked. For a moment she glimpsed back at the building, before looking back at Winter. “We need to at least use some time now, right? Else they’re gonna think you’re really weird for suddenly rushing us off like that.”
Winter found herself chuckling. She had to admire Yang’s optimism, even in the face of everything. For some reason, the woman put her at ease like no one ever could before, and she found herself wanting to smile with her. Maybe this was what fate had planned after all.
In the end, all Winter could do was shrug her shoulders.
“Alright, I’ll give you that. So, where do you want to start?”
Pairing: Yang/Winter (Elderburn/Snowdragon)
Words: 725
AU: Soulmate AU
Summary: There comes a time in everyone’s life when the string appears, but sometimes it’s just not convenient.
Small something for @texanredrose‘s Elderburn week! Today’s prompt is Holding Hands/Soulmate AU. This is gonna be something to lead into tomorrow’s Argument/Super AU. Enjoy!
“So... You gonna follow it?”
This morning, Yang had woken up to a particular surprise. When she looked down at her hand, she found a small look of ghostly string around her finger, reaching off into the distance. When she tried to touch it, there was no matter to hold. This was a special string. The Red String of Fate.
Yang giggled at her sister’s question. “God, you’re more excited about this than me. Anyone would think your string appeared not mine.”
Returning to getting dressed, she thought on that as she slid her shirt over her head. There had been many stories of those traveling the world to find their string, some even getting killed along the way by being reckless. But there were also tragic tales of those who never found their string, and lived out their life alone in sadness. Yang didn’t want to be alone forever, but the timing right now to rush off to find it was... pretty bad.
“I don’t know. I mean, I want to. I really want to just go chasing them, but school’s just started! Dad’s gonna be pissed if he finds out I ran off.”
“I guess that’s kinda true,” Ruby admitted, but was still grinning with glee. “But this is so cool, though! I mean, you don’t know if it will be across the world, it could even be right here in the city. We could at least have a quick look?”
“Ruby...”
In truth, there was more stopping Yang than simple convenience. The string may not be able to be touched, but it could easily be torn if one partner rejected the other. While the possibility of having a soul mate was exciting, reality hit Yang every day when she looked in the mirror.
She’d lost her arm years ago in another reckless incident. A motorbike crash, caused when she took a risk to show off in front of some friends. She was unable to afford a prosthetic while in college, so had to bare it during her studies. But it made making friends difficult.
If her soul mate was the same, this would be hard indeed.
“Alright. One quick look before we head in, but if they’re across the world then drop it ok?”
“Woo! We’ll have you set up in no time!” Ruby was all too eager to start. She could see at times the appearance of her arm did get her down, especially at night when she was left to her thoughts. If she could help her sister find someone who loved her unconditionally, she’d do just that.
Across the world, Winter Schnee was preparing herself for a long flight. She’d agreed not only to escort her sister to her new college, but to take up a small job there under her general’s command. It helped her see her sister off and also explore a new city; it was a win-win, right?
“Hurry up, we’re going to be late!” Weiss was eager to get going. She and Winter were in a similar boat, getting as far away from their father as possible. Another benefit of the huge journey.
“Alright, just let me finish packing up.”
As Winter called out to her sister, she’d just started to zip up her case. That was mostly everything sorted, just her hand luggage to prepare to go. But when she looked down to her hand, something was on her mind.
The red string looped around her finger.
Winter’s appeared far later than she’d expected, leading her to the conclusion she’d never form one. She’d gotten used to that fact, practically shaped her life around it. But now those plans could be sent askew.
In truth, she just didn’t have time for any kind of partner. She couldn’t devote the time to form a relationship, nor even to make more friends outside her job. Flying around the world to find some sort of fabled “perfect partner” seemed preposterous, and an immense waste of time.
“Winter, our Taxi is here!”
The calling of her younger sister pulled her out of the thoughts. These were things they could worry about after her journey. Whoever this partner could be, it wasn’t going to matter where in the world they were. She had no time to make for them.
But little did she know she’d be making time soon.
Pairing: Blake/Weiss (Monochrome/Checkmate)
Words: 5′364
AU: @dashingicecream‘s RWBY!Rock AU
Content Warnings: NSFW
Summary: A few questions leave Blake stressed out when she thinks of how much she's changed since leaving The White Fang and her old relationship with Adam and Ilia. Thankfully Weiss is able to sense her friend's upset and offers a far more exciting way to ease that stress rather than smoke a cigarette.
“AND A ONE, AND A TWO, AND--!”
The concert hall erupted with sound from the huge speakers in each corner of the room. It was two days to go until RWBY’s first performance in this venue, and they needed to be in top form. If they had any hope of making it to one of the bigger music festivals of the continent, they’d need to swamp any competition and impress potential judges. Thankfully the first evening was a guaranteed sell out, that would surely be a big enough hint that they were going in the right direction.
Truth be told, the group was growing in popularity as of late. Smaller venues were grasping at any chance to have the newest sound in, and bigger ones didn’t need much convincing either! Everyone was shocked at how fast their fan base had seemed to be growing, but everyone was equally pleased and proud.
Today was just a practice, but it was all about staying on top form. Even just for a rehearsal, they were all playing their very best. Both Ruby and Weiss were sure as they performed to keep moving around the stage, making things just as interesting to watch as they were to hear. According to their managers, an interaction was always adored by the fans, and thankfully the two were good enough friends that they never disappointed in that regard.
Blake continued to take her subtle approach. She was too focused on playing the correct notes, doing her part in delivering the bass. She knew all too well that singers and guitar players usually got the most attention, so remained in the background so as not to upstage that. It was comfortable for her to stay in the back, safer, but that wasn’t all that was on her mind lately.
While playing, she found her gaze turning to Weiss every so often. Now they were regularly meeting outside rehearsals and drinking nights, Blake was seeing their lead singer in a whole new light. At first, she didn’t have time for Weiss. She thought she was pretentious and obnoxious, only interested in herself and keeping up appearances. That view had entirely changed. She could see Weiss for who she was; a strong independent force who was trying to make a life for herself, breaking away from the family role to find her better self, and having fun while doing it. She admired her for that. But there were, of course, other things she saw more in her ever since they’d started their ‘ private rehearsals’.
Being in the background had its perks when it came to watching Weiss perform. Those skintight jeans did wonders for her body, really bringing out the definition in her legs and in her backside. Shamelessly, Blake found herself looking a little too often, her own face darkening with her blush on occasion. She didn’t need to do that on stage when she sees the full thing in her hotel room regularly, but that wasn’t about to stop her anyway.
“Mirror Mirror, I’ll tell you something, I think I might change it aaaall!”
Weiss blasted out the last note of the song, holding the microphone up as she sang it out to the empty hall, eagerly waiting for everyone else to be finished with their parts.
SMASH!
Everyone on stage jumped in fright when the guitarist’s instrument was slammed against the stage floor, snapping it in half and severing most of the strings. Instantly she held her hands up in the air, cheering with glee. Funnily enough, that expression was not shared by her other band members.
“Woah woah woah!”
From the back of the room, their lead manager was running as fast as he could toward the front of the stage, holding his hand out in some desperate hope it would have saved the electric guitar. No such luck, of course. Out of breath by the time he got to the main stage, he took a moment to pant, before looking up; “What’s with the guitar smashin’, squirt? You know they aren’t free, right?”
“Sorry Uncle Qrow!” Ruby apologized, holding up what was left of the headstock as she shrugged her shoulders. “You know our audience, they love a good guitar smash!”
“Rubes, there’s no audience here.”
“But there will be!” Ruby argued, tossing its remains on the floor. “Guitar smashing is a fine art that requires practice.”
Qrow pinched his nose and groaned in annoyance, shaking his head in resignation. He grumbled something under his breath about his poor wallet before focusing elsewhere instead. “We’ll talk about this in a minute, Rubes. Other than that, you and Weiss were putting on a fantastic show, as always.” His attention then turned toward their drummer, who he offered a smile to. “Yang, you were pretty damn good too, but I think you’re right. Those drums definitely need a light show to bring you out a lil more.”
“YES!” Yang exclaimed, throwing one of her sticks high into the air, somehow managing to catch it again as it came down. “And I still think we should be throwing some of these to the audience, they need souvenirs!”
“Ho jeez, I thought we talked about the insurance of that. And last but not least…” He turned to the final band member. “Blake, mind if we have a word?”
Having just lifted her guitar over her shoulder, Blake leaned it against one of the speakers before she addressed Qrow, pacing to the edge of the stage, giving a small nod as she knelt to his level. “Yeah?”
“You ain’t really movin’ much still,” He gestured to all of one side of the stage, “Got all this room. Y’know, Weiss and Ruby barely hop that way so you don’t gotta worry about falling over each other or anything.”
Blake could only shrug her shoulders again, sighing. “I know I have the room, but it's just not my style to make a show of myself. I’m the bass that’s always the background, and I like performing that way.”
Qrow raised one of his brows in doubt, folding his arms as he leaned against the stage. “You don’t think I never went to a White Fang concert? You weren’t always that way.”
Those were days Blake didn’t enjoy thinking about anymore. It was a year or so ago, but the time with The White Fang was still in her memory forever. She was indeed a lot braver then, daring to jump around the stage in excitement while she performed alongside their vocalist and guitar player, sometimes even in a flirtatious manner that always got the crowd roaring. She blamed it on her innocence back then, when all she knew was that she wanted to have fun and make music. How naive she was. Since her leave she’d been a lot more mellow with performances, sticking to the background and being sure to avoid making a huge show of herself. Despite being the backbone of most of their music, on stage, she liked to make herself almost invisible.
“That’s what it is, ain’t it?” Qrow seemed to have sensed Blake’s drop in mood. He pulled away from the stage and instead leaned against it, looking up more sincerely. “They won’t be anywhere near here if you’re worried about that. I spent hours convincing the liaisons here that you were cool, they were very vocal that they don’t want The White Fang back here again.”
Frowning, Blake simply folded her arms and rolled her eyes. She seemed to be in no mood to talk about this, especially not with someone like Qrow Branwen. The last thing she needed was a loudmouthed drunk knowing her insecurities. “Things change, I’ve changed. I’ll work on it, but I don’t see how making a fool of myself on stage is really gonna make us better.”
Shrugging his shoulders Qrow left the stage instead and folded his arms again, resigning to the situation. “Fair enough. Give it a shot when we come back tomorrow if you can. I think we’re done for today.” Stepping back to the other side again, he pointed to Ruby, gesturing for her to follow him offstage. “Meanwhile I’m gonna have a lil talk to my nieces about the costs of insurance and guitars.”
To which their lead guitarist called out in annoyance; “You just don’t appreciate my art!”
While the others squabbled among one another, Blake was already putting her guitar away back in its case, placing it toward the back of the stage for the stage men to take care of. As she paced toward the stage exit once done, there was only one thing running through her mind after that conversation; she needed a goddamn cigarette. It wasn't the healthy option, it wasn't even the smart option, but filling her lungs with red hot smoke did wonders to help her try and forget her former life. At least a stick of tar wouldn't ask her to come clean about her feelings like their manager always seemed to do.
The instant she pushed the backstage fire door open she was lighting up, leaning against the door to keep it open as she took a breath in. Finally, some release for the day. She stared out toward the open as she took her breath back out again, quietly thinking to herself.
While she didn't want to admit it, Qrow was right about something; she was in a far better place now. She never had to worry about any of the RWBY members going out on all night benders and returning with bloodied knuckles in the morning, or about entire venues and hotel rooms being trashed through their orders. The heaviest thing about them was just the music, the way it should be.
Overall, she was happy now, right? So why couldn't she act that way on stage anymore?
“I see you’ve made yourself a little smoking den already.”
Looking back around, Blake spotted Weiss just indoors. She spared her a smile as she paced closer, but did nothing other than take another drag of the cigarette and breathe it out toward the outdoors. As she flicked off some of the ash, she shrugged her shoulders. “Gotta go somewhere. You want one?”
Weiss shook her head, holding a hand out in dismissal. “Pass, but thank you for the offer, I guess.” She stepped a little further in, shifting Yang’s motorcycle helmet to one side of a crate to make a seat for herself, where she hopped up to idly. “Do you always smoke after you receive unorthodox questions, or is this just a coincidence?”
Blake lightly smirked, raising an eyebrow as she stared back outside again. “Helps me calm down, figure stuff out in my head, ease stress, that sorta thing.”
“I see.” Weiss idly swayed her legs from side to side, looking down toward the ground. Lightly smirking, she joked; “I’ll bear that in mind next time you light up right after we ‘hang out’.”
Unable to help herself, Blake chuckled during the drag she had, quickly taking the cig from her mouth and clarifying; “That’s definitely for the ‘calm down’ part, don’t worry about that. What you and I do together is a different way to ease stress.”
“Nice save.” Weiss laughed lightly, keeping the smile for the moment in silence while Blake finished off her cigarette. But that wasn't the end of it. Blake could tell by now when Weiss did want to say something but was debating. She’d wait patiently, looking off into the distance sometimes or twiddle her thumbs idly if it was serious. And that seemed to be true when Weiss asked; “Was it those questions that stressed you out?”
There it was. Blake allowed the end to fall from her fingers and ground it into the concrete with her foot. Immediately she leaned back against the wall again. “Only because they came from him. The dude might be Yang and Ruby’s uncle, but he’s not mine. I’m not one for talking about exes to strangers.”
“I figured it was something like that. He can be rather invasive at times, especially after a drink or two.”
“Tell me about it.” Blake rolled her eyes again, running a hand through her hair. “Glad he’s at least sober enough to keep from suggesting I should do what I used to, randomly make out with one of the members on stage.
Where she expected Weiss to laugh, she did not. Instead, she was actually very intrigued, raising an eyebrow. “You really did that with them? Live during shows?”
Right away Blake’s face lit up. She did just let that slip easily when she framed it as a joke. Welp, this is awkward.
But Blake just shrugged her shoulder again. “With Adam or Ilia, yeah. I mean, the three of us were dating at the time, we were always trying crazy ways to get the audience screaming. Guess I was just glad it was that over smashing the venue and running up a huge bill.”
“... Huh.” Weiss appeared bewildered. Even though the two had been getting to know one another a little better since their arrangement, it seemed that wasn't one of those things. “There really is a lot I still don't know about you, huh?”
Allowing the fire door to fall shut again, Blake leaned against the wall instead, looking over at Weiss again. She sighed deeply. While she knew Weiss had the best intentions at heart, the whole subject was exhausting. “It really isn't important. The past is the past, I'd rather just focus on ‘Making better memories’ as you put it.”
“Oh, no, I’m not saying you shouldn't focus on that! I just… I don’t know, it's interesting to find these things out? Like I never knew you were bi or poly or…” Sensing this wasn't helping to lighten the mood, Weiss immediately stopped. “Sorry, that isn't helping.”
Unable to help herself, Blake chuckled lightly. As frustrating as it was, she could still understand Weiss’s heart was in the right place. She cared for her feelings and was just curious as her friend. That warmed her heart. When she looked at Weiss again, she was left with a smile.
“You are helping,” She reassured her, “God, you’ve all been helping. It's been so nice to be in a group who cares about each other, who just make music because we love it rather than use it as an excuse to cause chaos. And… uh…”
Finding her cheeks beginning to burn once more, the smile she had was turning sheepish. “ You Especially have been helping. It's been nice to just mess around without any pressure and just… have fun. And with you its… really, really fun.”
The redness grew in Weiss’s cheeks also. For a moment, she found herself unable to look Blake in the eye, instead looking off toward the wall to try and avoid eye contact. But in that moment of silence, she took the time to look around the backstage area. When she was finally ready to speak she shifted her position slightly on the crate, moving closer and speaking quietly, “How about we ‘have some fun’ right now?”
“... Huh?” But Weiss’s expression never shifted. She appeared just as smug, in fact even more so once the cogs turned in Blake’s head. Her eyes snapped open when realizing, and she whispered back; “Wait, are you serious? Right here?!”
“Why not?” Weiss asked, “No one’s exactly coming back here, they’re all packing away to head back to the hotel.”
Blake narrowed her eyes. “Then… why don’t we just wait till we’re back there too?”
“I don’t think you’re quite getting it.” Shifting forward off the crate again, Weiss refused to let her confidence slip just yet. She looked to Blake with a half lidded expression, pacing very slowly toward her. “I mean… I’m pretty sure no one will be back here but there is a tiny chance someone might…”
“Surely that’s all the more reason to go back-”
“Doesn’t that excite you though?” Once close enough, Weiss trailed one of her hands up Blake’s arm. Agonisingly softly, until resting it on her shoulder as she looked up and met her gaze. “The thrill, the risk… That tiny chance someone could walk in. You don’t want to do things too adventurous on stage anymore, I get that; but how about adventurous backstage, right here, with me instead?”
A shaky breath escaped Blake’s lips. Now that was definitely something worth the risk. No matter how skeptical she was of Weiss’s intentions at first, the longer she gazed into that half lidded expression, the more she felt her own need growing. But Weiss just smirked, continuing to hold her close and stare up at her. That was enough for Blake to make her choice.
She grasped Weiss’s wrists from her shoulders, using it as leverage to push her back into the opposing wall, where she immediately captured those lips with hers in a heated embrace. Mere seconds it took for them to find a rhythm, bodies pressing up against each other and grinding to try and fill that need they both shared. Blake released her wrists, instead bringing one of her hands to the back of Weiss’s knee, pulling the leg up and against her so those grindings would do more to satisfy her.
And they did. Numerous times Weiss had to pull away to catch her breath, but a moan hung in the air every time. And she always returned within seconds, immediately crashing their lips again and opening her mouth wide for Blake’s advances. That leg Blake pulled against her looped around the back of her knees, pinning her in place in the hope Blake would grind against what was between them. Even though both Blake’s and Weiss’s jeans it felt good, but she needed more. They both did.
When they next pulled away, Blake went to her neck. She immediately began kissing and biting, making Weiss moan out in desire. The bassist was determined to drive her crazy, pulling her leg up further and pushing up against her just so they could tease one another for longer. But it couldn't continue. Their needs were growing too great.
After a few seconds of resisting, Weiss finally had the courage to push on for the next step, quietly whispering; “Condom?”
Blake nodded, at last breaking away that kiss and releasing her leg. While she fussed about the packet and getting it open, Weiss was already eager to go and unzipping her jeans for her, smirking and grasping the waistband of both her jeans and her underwear, pulling it down just enough to expose the hardening cock there. They were well past the point of talking. Both could read each other like a book and everything worked perfectly without words. Blake moaned quietly as Weiss jerked her, feeling her member grow to its full length before Weiss took the condom from her and put it on for her. Now they could get started.
In a swift movement, Blake knelt down and pulled Weiss’s jeans and underwear together down to her knee, scooping her legs up as she stood again. The quick action knocked the wind out of Weiss when she was pushed against the wall, pinned there by Blake’s body and her legs on her shoulders. But the instant she felt Blake’s wrapped member pushing itself up against her bare lips she smirked again. It wasn’t at all a glamorous position, but neither cared. All they were both focused on was how good it was going to feel.
And once Blake guided her member inside, the gasp from them both was a clear example of that. A smug smile formed on Blake’s face when she witnessed Weiss’s eyes falling shut with pleasure, unable to keep her eyes off her while she settled into a fast paced rhythm, breath getting heavier with each thrust. There were moments when a small moan escaped Weiss’s lips, but she each time, she tried to suppress such sounds by biting her lip. Such a sight made it a struggle for Blake to keep herself from moaning as well.
She found herself remembering their first real encounter of this nature, where what got her going was Weiss’s noises and screams. Now it was completely different. It was the thrill of pushing her own limits to get Weiss off quickly and quietly before they were discovered. What a way to create such adventurous memories.
The faster pace was taking its toll on the both of them. She felt Weiss’s hands grasping at her shirt tightly as she desperately clung on, eyes screwed shut as she tried to suppress her urge to scream out loud. Blake’s own breath was getting faster, and a few quiet grunts escaped her lips as she pushed in over and over. Seemed neither of them had quite anticipated how good this position was. Already Blake could feel the odd tremor from Weiss’s legs when she thrust particularly hard.
“S-Shit…” Weiss could barely hold herself together anymore, shaking her head side to side in some kind of attempt to hold on longer. But it wasn’t working at all. She just barely managed to mutter out for Blake; “C-Close…!”
But Blake was already feeling that for herself. She could feel her lover’s muscles tensing more often, hear the odd hum of pleasure that managed to escape from Weiss’s lips. She nodded in response, supporting her rear in order to make her thrusts that bit harder and faster, desperate to push herself for her own end alongside Weiss’s.
With a sudden whimper, her lover met that end. Weiss’s legs shuddered even more against Blake’s shoulders, finding muscles below clamping down on Blake’s member with each thrust, trying to pull her to her own finish with her. Blake watched as her face turned to a vision of pure ecstasy, finding it spurring on her own end much faster than she thought it would.
A few moments later, Blake met that end as well. She thrust herself to the hilt and allowed a quiet, long groan, feeling her member throbbing inside Weiss’s body. Her own eyes screwed shut as her mind was flooded with pleasure, quivering all over as the height of her orgasm passed over her. The knowledge that she’d came so close to when Weiss did was definitely a memory she’d be clinging onto for a while.
The both of them remained that way for a while, taking the moment to catch their breaths back again and just enjoy the afterglow. All Blake could bring herself to do was stroke Weiss’s lower back, just enough to ensure her she was there and had thoroughly enjoyed herself, as though her orgasm wasn’t enough. But it wasn’t long before Weiss was patting her shoulder.
“Okay, you can let me down now.”
Although at first whining sadly, Blake gave into her lover’s demand, drawing her hips back and the member out of Weiss’s body again, holding her rear firmly to support her as she brought her legs back to the ground. Both of them were still out of breath as they tidied themselves back up, Blake quickly tossing the condom in the trash and zipping her jeans back up while Weiss pulled her own back. Should anyone come in now, at least the only possible sign was the redness in their cheeks.
“So…” Blake began, holding her hands behind her back as she tried to think of what to say. In the end, only one phrase was perfect, but also not enough. “... That was fun.”
“Oh yeah.” Weiss weakly laughed, trying to tuck away the few strands of hair that’d managed to come loose while she was pinned. “Jesus, that position was just incredible.”
Shrugging her shoulders, Blake was straightening the collar of her shirt, folding the sleeves back again to their usual position. Still, her interest was piqued, she raised an eyebrow when looking over. “Just cause it was new or…?”
“Blake, you’re my first, everything is new.” Weiss clarified with a small laugh, but her cheeks went pure red when she explained it. “It was so deep. I don’t think you have ever managed to get in that much before. It was… wow.”
Blake also blushed. “Wow, really? I mean, I knew I could make it hard, but I never realized it was that good.”
Though she found her ears perking up at a sound. There was the low rumble of a motor outside. A small one, most likely belonging to their drummer, Yang. Seemed the rest of the band were making their way back to the hotel.
“C’mon, we can talk about this back in the room.” Blake walked to the fire door instead, where the volume of the engine increased significantly.
“Right, yes, let’s do that. I should probably take Yang’s helm-” Though when Weiss turned to face the crate she was sitting on earlier, she stopped. She appeared deeply confused, raising an eyebrow of her own. “That’s odd… I could have sworn her bike helmet was on there a minute ago.”
“Maybe you saw her put it down and you’re remembering that,” Blake reassured.
“Perhaps so. Yes, that was probably it. Either way, she has it now, so we can just go back to the room ourselves and relax and…”
Blake let Weiss ramble on about their evening plans as she followed her out, smiling to herself as she watched her talk, even if she wasn’t necessarily listening. She couldn’t help but keep looking at her, keep thinking about how she came backstage just to make sure she was alright and how she could even tell something had been wrong in the first place. That was something only Yang or her family had been able to do for her before.
Maybe this was all a sign that this was going to last. Or maybe it was a sign it could blossom into something more.
Hours later, the hotel bar was full of hustle and bustle. Both from the residents and from the few people who’d wandered in from outside to have a good evening, drinking and laughing with their friends over beers and cocktails. A relaxing social atmosphere to be in for most.
But it always felt awkward for Blake. She wasn’t one for socializing with anyone other than a few close friends, so a bar atmosphere wasn’t something she enjoyed. But Yang was going, and she could barely say no when she’d be on her own otherwise. She sat at the bar with her friend, nursing the bottle she’d just started.
“I was looking at some of the lights for my kit, some things are insane. ” Yang had been going on about her drum kit for a good five minutes now, seeming excited to tell Blake about it after their long day. Was this really what she wanted to come down here and talk about? “I could light the thing in fuckin’ pride colors if I set it up, I mean can you imagine a rainbow pulsing each time I hit a beat?”
“Sounds pretty fuckin’ gay.” Blake agreed, managing a smile as she looked at her. “At least it's better than your other idea, I think fireworks would have gone down with Qrow like a lead balloon.”
“Dude what if I could get pride fireworks? Kill two birds with one stone!”
“And one of those birds would be your Uncle if he saw how much the insurance would charge to cover that!”
“Alright alright, point taken!” Yang laughed with her, taking a long sip from what was her second bottle for the evening. Yang always could hold her drink better than anyone else in the band, usually she needed at least two for a casual evening, and this was no different. This was tolerable for Blake, she could handle a bit of a louder atmosphere as long as she had someone to talk to, and that someone tonight was her best friend. It wasn’t all too awkward after all.
Until the subject changed.
“So… You and Weiss have started hangin’ out a lot lately huh?”
Blake paused. It was a simple enough statement, but given the context, she already felt her heartbeat getting faster. She and Weiss hadn’t told anyone of their arrangement yet, and Blake wanted to keep it that way. She laughed gently, keeping herself as calm as possible so to not give it away. “Alright, I’ll admit it, you were right; she is great once you get to know her. We’ve got a lot in common it turns out.”
“Right, yeah. Like you both like Malibu and coke, or taking a walk in the park when the weather’s good,” Yang was watching Blake’s every move, waiting for her to take a sip of her drink, before she slipped out, “or fucking in public…”
PFFFFFF
Instantly Blake spat out the drink, luckily managing to aim it at the ground in time rather than spraying it directly in Yang’s face. No, anything but that.
“Wha- I-Uh- E-excuse me?!”
“Oh don’t pull that bullshit, I walked in on you both!” This was getting worse and worse by the minute, but Yang shuddered at the memory. “Very quickly, of course. I walked in, saw you two… yeah; grabbed my helmet and noped outta there fast as I could.”
“Oh my god…” Blake was covering her face in an attempt to hide her shame. They really had been caught after all. “I am so sorry you saw that-”
“I mean from what I did see, Weiss sure is flexible…”
“Will you please stop talking?”
Yang could only laugh as her friend leaned against the bar, burrowing her head into her hands more and more. While she didn’t like to think about her best friend watching that, it seemed she did more or less leave as soon as she realized what had been going on. Yang was rather vocal on that part. “Look, I don’t care what you do but like, Jesus, I wasn’t expecting to see my best friend’s bare butt today.”
“Hey, my butt isn’t that bad!” Blake finally perked up to argue. Though her cheeks were still completely red with the humiliation she felt. “Sorry again, by the way.”
“Oh don’t worry about it, I just like teasin’ that’s all.” Yang gently punched her shoulder. There were clearly no hard feelings. “I’m just kinda surprised! I didn’t know you and Weiss were dating.”
“We’re not.” Blake clarified, taking a much longer sip of her drink, sighing with relief once done. She needed something to ease the embarrassment. “And you weren’t supposed to know. We agreed it's probably best to keep it secret that we’re…”
“Fuck buddies?”
Blake cringed. “I was gonna go for ‘bed buddies’ but that works too.”
“Hey, if it works for you, then it's totally cool! So long as you’re both having fun and you’re both sure that’s all you’re doing, then fucking without the commitment is pretty damn fun.”
Although Blake nodded in agreement, she started to think about that a little more. Yes, it was fun without the commitment. It was what she needed after the last mess she went through with Adam and Ilia before. But the more she thought about it, the more she started to think; did she want to just do this without commitment? Her and Weiss had been growing closer and closer as of late, not just in the bedroom. She knew in her heart, if it did grow into something further, perhaps she wouldn’t mind that at all. It could be even more fun than their current arrangement.
But she didn’t know if Weiss felt the same yet, and nor did she want to ruin their current one. For now, she was satisfied, as was Weiss. If she made the first move in the future… Then perhaps.
“Anyway, I gotta ask, outta curiosity…” Yang snapped Blake out of her train of thought, leaning closer and wearing a curious smile. “Was she good?”
“Fucking hell.” Blake immediately called for the bartender’s attention. “Please get me the strongest whiskey you have.”
Pairing: Ladybug (With Freezerburn in the background)
Characters: Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Cinder Fall, Roman Torchwick
Chapters: 26 (Incomplete)
AU: Modern/Sci fi mystery AU
Content Warnings: See the Fic Tags
Summary: "And, uh, one more thing. Make sure the vent cover's screwed shut, okay?" Ruby thought Yang was crazy. There was no way someone would climb through the vents to break into her dorm. But why was food continually going missing? And why was there rummaging sounds in the middle of the night?
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“For the last time I AM NOT JEALOUS!” for Monochrome please ^w^ ?
“Well, you’re sure doing a great job of convincing me.” Yang’s words were dripping with sarcasm. Weiss had been like this since she and Blake got back from their venture to the movies. They’d just finished the midnight opening of the ‘Ninjas of Love’ movie release, something Blake had anticipated for a long time.
As it was, Blake had asked Yang to go with her to the first showing rather than her girlfriend. She knew the franchise wasn’t something Weiss was a fan of, and also thought she had an exam the next day. Still, it seemed Weiss wasn’t as good as fine with it as she initially thought, despite trying not to show it.
“Well, it’s true!” Weiss insisted, folding her arms as she glared at the blonde. “I know Blake was excited about this movie and thought it would be too late for me to stay up. I made my bed, now I lie in it.”
“Yeah, well, it’s late. You seriously should be laying in that bed rather than telling me how ‘not jealous’ you are about the movie. G’night” Giving her a small wave first, Yang climbed up into her own bed.
But Weiss didn’t go to bed just yet. She wanted to wait for her girlfriend to get back from the shower first so they could snuggle up together, something to ease her feelings. She didn’t want to feel this way, it wasn’t fair on Blake to be jealous when she was the one so excited for this movie. Still, it didn’t help the blonde decided to tease.
When Blake finally got back, hair wrapped in a towel and wearing her robe, she smiled at Weiss.
“Hey, didn’t know you’d still be up.”
“Hard to sleep without you.” Weiss couldn’t help but mutter, kissing her girlfriend’s cheek once she sat at her side. The two didn’t waste time in getting comfortable under the sheets, snuggled up against one another. But sleep wouldn’t happen yet. The two were often the last ones to sleep, enjoying a private conversation once Ruby and Yang were asleep. That time came when they both heard them snoring quietly.
“So…” Blake seemed able to sense that her girlfriend was tense, and tilted her head “Yang didn’t tease you too hard about us going, did she?”
“She did,” Weiss admitted, cuddling up to her. “But I am not jealous! You both went out, you had fun. Of course, that’s fine! You’re not chained to me.”
But there was no use pulling wool over Blake’s eyes. She just leaned in. “That’s a lie.”
“Huh?” When Blake continued to give her that look, Weiss sighed. She really could read her like a book.
“Alright, maybe I am a little jealous…” She admitted, shrugging her shoulders. “For dumb reasons though, really. Please don’t worry about it.”
But Blake just kissed her forehead, still looking. “No, go on. Please.”
Unable to resist that smile, Weiss shrugged her shoulders. “You have this really cute way of talking about something you’re excited about, like sorta… bouncy. Not Ruby bouncy but just enough that it’s adorable.” She looked up at Blake once more, “I guess I’m slightly jealous Yang would have seen that excitement you have over that movie first.”
Blake never really answered. She listened patiently, nodding once it was done, then rolled onto her back. Of course, as usual, she held an arm out, inviting Weiss to snuggle up.
“That’s… really endearing actually. I’m glad it’s just that rather than just cause I was with someone else a while.”
“I’d never be like that.” Weiss reassured, instantly snuggling up against her side and letting a hand trail over her stomach. “Like I said, we’re not chained to the hip. I’m really happy you got to see the movie, and I’d never stop you from doing that even over some dumb feelings.”
Blake nodded, stroking Weiss’s arm gently when she held it, staring at the bunk above. But before they went to sleep, she admitted;
“Actually, if it helps… the movie was terrible.”
Raising an eyebrow, Weiss looked toward her girlfriend’s face. “It was? How come?”
“Nothing like the book…” Blake started, even starting to laugh. “And they got Spruce Willis to play Momochi. They didn’t even get a faunus to play a faunus character, despite the fact Jet Li is a Tanuki faunus exactly like the book. Not to mention he’s way sexier.”
“Oh wow…” Weiss muttered. That alone was enough to make it a bad movie of her favourite book series, but the ever curious Weiss wanted to know more. “Want to share the rest of the salt?”
“Ho boy, I’m gonna have to before I get dehydrated. Here we go…”
And as Blake went on to explain each and every bad point about the movie, Weiss listened eagerly. In the end, cuddling up against her girlfriend and listening to her rant about a terrible movie was better than getting jealous afterall.
