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"Rubyyyyyyy," Yang whined up the stairs while waiting for her little sister to appear. "Come onnnn!"

"Coming, coming!" Ruby yelled from her room, still not ready to go.

Sighing, Yang crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the floor. Her backpack was already slung around her shoulders, her shoes were on her feet, and her breakfast was in one hand. Now all she needed was for her slowpoke of a sister to get downstairs so they could leave.

Was this what Ruby dealt with for the past few years? Because it actually kind of sucked.

"Ready!"

The word was shouted in unison with Ruby's appearance and rapid near-tumble down to the entryway. Grabbing the first pair of sneakers her hands landed on, she slipped them on without tying the laces and gave Yang a thumbs up.

"Tie your shoes," Yang instructed her before shouting "Dad! We're leaving!" into the house.

"Hold on!"

Groaning at the never-ending delays, she obediently waited for him to race out of the kitchen and set his cup of coffee on the nearest flat surface.

"You guys are so slowwww," she whined, but the complaint only succeeded in making them laugh at the irony.

"Give me a hug," Dad ordered with a big smile. Ruby flew into his arms for a giant, leaping hug before Yang gave him a more mellow one and accepted the obligatory kiss on the top of her head.

"Say 'hi' to Blake for me," he added before giving her a light shove towards the door. "When is she coming over again? I enjoyed meeting well-behaved, easily-flustered Yang."

Rolling her eyes while Ruby giggled, Yang pushed her sister outside and waved behind her.

"I'll invite her! See ya, Dad!"

The door closed on his chuckle while the two of them hopped off the porch and started their quick walk to school. After shifting her backpack to a more comfortable position, Yang sighed in relief now that they were making progress.

"Is Blake coming over again?" Ruby asked, tiptoeing along the edge of the curb until Yang pulled her away from the road.

"I hope so. I'll ask her today."

As if Yang needed another reason to spend more time with Blake…

"Cool! I really like that game she taught us! The one where you slap people's hands when they get the card wrong - that was fun." Glancing over and catching the happy grin on Ruby's lips, Yang chuckled and bumped her sister's shoulder.

"You just liked trying to slap my hand as hard as you could."

"You bet! Kinda paid for that though…" When Ruby looked at one palm in sorrow, Yang laughed again and ruffled her short hair.

"Next time we'll put a cushion on the table or something."

"That's a good idea," Ruby muttered, swinging her arms while thinking about the game the four of them had played together.

It had taken all of three seconds for Blake to win over Yang's dad and Ruby. All she had to do was reduce Yang to sputters with a well-placed compliment before suggesting they play a card game. Ruby loved the game. Dad loved the almost constant blush on Yang's cheeks - something he was still pointing out to this day. And Yang loved having three of her favorite people in the same room together, laughing and having fun while not-so-subtly trying to cause each other harm with the palms of their hands.

"So would I consider Blake my sister now?"

"Ruby!" Yang yelped at the unexpected question.

"What?" Ruby asked, innocently raising her hands. "I've always wanted more sisters!"

"Are you saying I'm not good enough?"

"No, I'm saying you're so good that I want another one of you!"

Narrowing her eyes, Yang tried to see through Ruby's cheerful grin but eventually gave up and smiled.

"That was a good one," she admitted, looking both ways before they cut across a street. "When did you become so quick?"

"Pretty sure when I got taller, I got all-around faster!" Ruby joked, grinning in delight when Yang chuckled.

Crossing the school parking lot, which was partially-filled, Yang immediately searched for the one person she couldn't wait to see, hoping that she'd be waiting by the front door just like she had the past few days.

"There she is," Yang said, her heart doing a silly stutter step while she nodded in Blake's direction.

Standing at the top of the front steps, just outside the doors, was Blake. She'd already spotted them, of course, and watched them approach - the small smile she wore growing when they drew close enough. It might be a little overzealous to run, but Yang definitely walked faster and jogged up the steps to greet her.

"Hey Blake!" Ruby called out first, rushing up the stairs and coming to a nearly-uncontrolled stop in front of her. "Good morning! We were just talking about you!"

"Good morning, Ruby." Barely concealing her amusement at Ruby's enthusiastic greeting, Blake looked at Yang with a smile that reached her eyes. "Good morning, Yang."

"Good morning," Yang replied with a smile that matched her current mood - extra happy. The start of school was now one of her favorite times of the day, just because of this moment.

"I'm glad to see your eye is finally back to normal." While Blake made the statement, she raised one hand and lightly grazed Yang's fully-healed temple with her fingertips. It was a casual gesture, but the intimacy lit Yang's cheeks like Christmas - especially when Blake let her hand linger before tucking a strand of hair behind Yang's ear and finally pulling away.

"Thank god. Now I can wink without looking like a 'raccoon blinking.'" Shooting a glare at Ruby - who threw on the most apologetic puppy dog eyes imaginable - Yang turned back to Blake with a smile. "You haven't been waiting long, have you?"

"I actually just got here - you have great timing."

"Then can I walk you to class?"

It might seem like a foregone conclusion that they would walk into school together, but Yang liked to ask anyway. Maybe because she really liked that Blake always said 'yes.'

And when Blake nodded, Yang extended one arm that Blake looped hers through - with Ruby grinning like a fool at the both of them all the while.

"You guys are so cute!" she remarked before hopping through the doors in front of them. "Are you gonna kiss now?"

"Ruby!" Yang yelled. She tried to grab ahold of her sister, but Ruby danced out of the way with a giggle - all those tentacles on her backpack flapping around like crazy.

"I'm gonna find Weiss!" she exclaimed with a big grin. "See you guys later!"

"Ha…" Yang exhaled in embarrassment while Ruby scampered off to the library. "You know, Ruby and I aren't actually related."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just disowned her."

Laughing at the joke, Blake leaned into Yang's shoulder, warming her side and sending tendrils of excitement racing through her veins. They hadn't been apart for that long, but Yang had missed this - spending time in each other's company. These were the experiences texts and phone calls really couldn't replace.

"My dad says 'hi,'" she remembered as they meandered arm-in-arm through the predominantly-empty halls towards homeroom. "He wants you to come over again."

"He's very sweet," Blake replied, sending Yang a smile. "I'd love to come over, but my mom wanted me to invite you to dinner tonight."

"Again?" Yang asked in surprise. Glancing to the side, she found that Blake looked more than a little amused by the situation they'd unexpectedly found themselves in.

"Yes, again. I swear...they must like you more than me."

Laughing at the playfully serious expression Blake was wearing, Yang gently squeezed her arm and said, "Well, obviously my answer is 'yes.' I've yet to master the art of getting you to blush so much."

Remembering the many, many blushes she'd been blessed with witnessing at their last dinner, Yang chuckled while Blake shook her head in disbelief.

"I had no idea that was one of my mom's superpowers...but apparently she's quite adept at it."

"It's amazing. If I could learn one thing from your mom, that'd be it. Well, that or how to make her baked tuna because that was freaking incredible."

"If you learn how to make her baked tuna, you're never getting rid of me."

"Then...I guess that's what I need to do," Yang replied while giving Blake a sideways glance. Honestly, she wasn't much of a cook, but she was more than willing to learn. And if it meant that Blake would stick to her like glue, then the effort would be completely worth it.

"How 'bout this -" she suggested while they headed up the staircase to the second floor. "You have dinner with my dad, and I'll have dinner with your mom."

"No way," Blake said, emphatically shaking her head at the idea. "I'm not leaving you with my mom unsupervised. I'm pretty sure she's just waiting for an opportunity to pull out the naked baby photos."

"There are naked baby photos?"

Staring down Yang's suddenly wishful thinking, Blake suppressed a smile.

"No," she answered deadpan. The obvious lie made Yang laugh and pull her a little closer.

"Hmm...you know, that answer would be a lot more convincing if it were true," Yang teased. "But naked baby photos are the bane of every high schooler's existence."

"Which means that you have some too."

Jaw dropping when Blake turned those beautiful amber eyes upon her, Yang sputtered for a few seconds while trying to grasp onto the upper hand she'd just given away.

"I - I mean - wait, you said 'too.' So you do have some!"

When Yang laughed at the admission, Blake smiled and shook her head.

"Pretty sure we both lost that one."

"But is it really losing?" Yang asked as they turned into the hall of their homeroom. After watching Blake shrug and keep that smile in place, Yang turned away only to be surprised by an unexpected visitor.

"Hey, Ruby's lookin' for you!" she said while she and Blake stopped in front of Weiss, who was standing beside the door to their classroom. "Don't want to keep her waiting, do you?"

Instead of a snappy comeback, Weiss snuck a glance at Blake before looking near Yang's right shoulder rather than meeting her eyes.

"I was actually looking for you. I wanted to ask you something."

"Uh...ok…"

Everything about Weiss was off right now. She wasn't making eye contact, she was fidgeting and shuffling her feet uncomfortably, and her back wasn't ramrod straight. The utter weirdness of it made Yang send a concerned glance Blake's way, but Blake only smiled and nodded towards Weiss.

"What is it?" Yang pressed, figuring that Weiss might never speak again unless someone asked a question.

Straightening her posture and clenching one fist, Weiss finally met Yang's eyes with a fair amount of determination but still said nothing when she opened her mouth to speak.

"You're...not gonna try to hit me are you?" Yang asked, gesturing towards Weiss' fist before letting out a small laugh. "Because that might not end well for you..."

"What? Of course not," Weiss finally said, shaking her head and loosening her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she met Yang's gaze once more.

"I just wanted...to ask for your permission to...to ask Ruby out. Like on a date."

The words sank into Yang's mind like slowly-spreading syrup, reaching every nook and cranny and then lighting everything on fire...with excitement. The day had finally arrived. And Weiss used the word 'date!'

When Yang laughed, a flash of worry flitted through Weiss' eyes.

"Of course you can!" she exclaimed before pulling Weiss into a big hug. Weiss stiffened at the unexpected contact but relaxed when Yang lifted her feet off the floor and gave her a tight squeeze.

"Really?" she asked as soon as Yang released her, not at all ruffled about the hug. "You're not going to say that I don't deserve her, or that she's too good for me, or anything like that?"

None of those reasons had popped into Yang's mind. Even if they had, why would she need to say them out loud when Weiss was already thinking them herself?

"If you make her happy, that's good enough for me," Yang answered with a grin. "Plus, I only said you could ask her. I don't know if she'll say yes."

From the expression of dumbfounded shock on Weiss' face, this wasn't at all how she'd expected this conversation to unfold.

"You're not going to make me bribe you with free homework or test answers?"

"Wait, was that an option?" Turning to Blake, Yang grinned at the joke before giving Weiss a friendly tap on the shoulder. "You don't need to give me anything, Weiss. Yes, she's my sister, but if you make her happy then I have no problem with it. It's if you make her unhappy that you should be concerned."

Raising one hand and making a tight fist, Yang gave Weiss her best intimidating look. But Weiss didn't shy away from the unspoken threat in the slightest.

"If I make her unhappy, then I deserve whatever punishment you deem fit," she said instead - an agreement that shocked Yang enough to make her jaw fall open. And then, with her expression softening, Weiss glanced towards the lockers on the opposite side of the hall and whispered, "I only want to make her happy..."

This was a side of Weiss no one had ever seen before - at least, that's how Yang felt in this moment. But it was likely that this was the version of Weiss that Ruby had seen all along.

"You know what this means? We're gonna be sisters!" Yang teased, succeeding in making Weiss blush.

"It's a date, not a proposal," she mumbled towards the floor.

"Yeah, but have you ever failed at anything before in your life?"

With a furrowed brow, Weiss thought about the question long and hard before drawing the same conclusion Yang just made - which was that Ruby either stayed happy forever, or the two of them would have a much more painful conversation.

Accepting the possible outcomes, Weiss smiled - and, for the first time Yang could remember, the gratitude was genuine.

"Thank you," Weiss said to Yang before turning to Blake. "And thank you, Blake. I'll see you both at lunch."

Without another word, Weiss hurried towards the library, where Ruby was probably going crazy searching the aisles for her best friend. As soon as she was out of earshot, however, Yang turned to Blake with more than a little confusion rolling around her overly-excited brain.

"Uh...why did Weiss just thank you?"

"She finally cashed in all the favors she stocked up," Blake explained with a smile. "She asked me to be here to help swing the odds in her favor, even if it was only a little bit."

The disclosure made Yang's jaw drop for the second time in a matter of minutes.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. That's really what she asked for. She even called it a 'huge' favor."

"Let me get this straight…" Yang began slowly. "She had a leg up on her biggest competitor and instead of forcing you to flunk a test or something, she wanted you to help her get a date with Ruby?"

When Blake nodded, Yang's surprise doubled.

"Wow. So...that means she put Ruby before winning. That's...wow."

That was shocking. The only version of Weiss Yang knew would put winning and success before anything else. But apparently she was wrong. There was something Weiss prioritized higher than winning - and that one thing was Ruby.

When Ruby made 'em fall, she made 'em fall hard.

"It was really sweet of you to respond so positively though," Blake added, reaching out to take Yang's hand - the simple touch more than enough of a reward to encourage even more tolerance for Weiss going forward. "I'm sure that went a long way in easing some of her fears."

"Well, if Ruby found out I wasn't nice to her future girlfriend, I'd be in a lot of trouble," Yang responded as they walked into homeroom together. When Blake dropped her hand, Yang grabbed her customary chair while Blake sat at her desk.

If Yang could go back in time, she'd pick the seat beside Blake, but at least they could talk before class started.

"So," she asked, putting both elbows on the desk and leaning forward to whisper. "How do you think she'll ask?"

"I don't think she's figured that out yet."

"I imagine she'll be super formal about it," Yang guessed - only somewhat jokingly. "'Ruby, I'd like to officially request your company this Friday night for a movie.' Something like that."

"Can I request your company this Friday for a movie?"

"You can have my company any time," Yang answered with a grin while Blake leaned back in her chair.

"Oh, good one. You're getting much better at that."

"At what?"

"You know -" Raising her hands, Blake made a gesture like she was shooting a bow and arrow. Quickly catching on, Yang laughed at what she'd take as a big compliment.

"I learned from the best," she replied with a grin. Her gaze momentarily drifted away from Blake when another classmate walked into the room, but she quickly shifted her full attention back. "You wanna go out for a movie or come over to my place?"

"That depends...if I come over, will we have to watch a slasher movie again?"

"You didn't have to watch that!"

"I know," Blake interrupted, her eyes dancing merrily. "I'm just teasing - it was actually really fun."

When Blake gave her one of those heart-melting smiles, Yang's cheeks warmed at the memory.

It was unplanned, but the movie that satisfied Blake's stipulation of 'shortest so she could get home at a reasonable hour' was a horror film. Undeterred, the two of them watched anyway, and it was way more fun than Yang expected. Her heart raced the entire time, but that had nothing to do with what was happening on the screen and everything to do with the way Blake clung to her arm for dear life.

Clever, beautiful, smart, and a complete sucker when it came to jump scares. Was there anyone more adorable than Blake?

And, because it was late when the movie ended (and not at all because it had been scary), Blake stayed over anyway. Which meant it was Yang's turn to be a bundle of nerves the entire night.

"How about you get to chose the movie this time?" she offered. "Anything you want."

"A horribly cheesy romantic comedy?"

Laughing at the suggestion, she nodded and said, "You got it! Your wish is my command."

"Hmm...I like the sound of that…"

When Blake's eyes flashed in delight, Yang felt a familiar jolt of excitement run through her.

"So…" she said, leaning so far across the desk that their noses practically touched. "We have a date?"

"You know it."

Grinning at the reply, Yang glanced to the side only to jump back in surprise when she found Neptune standing several feet away staring at them. From the way his face was frozen with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide, it looked like his brain might have just exploded.

"Oh, hey Neptune," she said casually. The words broke him out of the spell, and he blinked several times.

"It's true?" he asked, rushing over to them. "You two -" When he gestured between the two of them, Yang looked at Blake - who smiled and tilted of her head in approval.

"Yeah, it's true," Yang answered, her heart swelling with happiness at the admission.

Looking between the two of them several more times, Neptune finally broke into a huge grin.

"I'm totally on board with this," he remarked before setting his elbow on the desk and turning to Blake. "I'll have invitations for you tomorrow."

When he sent them both a wink before walking away, Yang laughed and waved off his continued antics.

"Do you think he's gay?" Blake asked as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Neptune?" Yang asked before shaking her head. "I don't think so…"

"He's just so blatantly straight it makes you wonder…" Blake mused. "Think about it. He picks the most beautiful girl in the school to go after but hardly flinches when you keep turning him down. In fact, he's probably relieved you keep saying no." Briefly pausing, Blake shook her head. "It just makes too much sense."

"You...think I'm the most beautiful girl in the school?" Yang asked, feeling light-headed from the magnitude of that compliment. Sure, people called her pretty all the time, but when Blake said it…

After blinking in confusion, Blake smiled and shook her head.

"Is that all you pulled from what I just said?"

"Yeah, you said I was beautiful and then nothing else mattered!"

Reaching forward, Blake took one of Yang's hands in her own and stared deep into Yang's eyes.

"You are the most beautiful girl in school."

There was no way Yang could respond to that, not with what felt like a hundred arrows lodged in her heart.

"Direct hit…" she groaned while clutching at her chest.

"Don't die on me now," Blake joked, reaching out and rubbing Yang's shoulder. "I need you alive for Friday."

"I probably won't die. But another concussion, maybe?"

"Oh, I wouldn't mind that," Blake replied, a small grin growing. "You were very forthcoming the last time."

"Ok, you have to tell me what I said!"

After laughing at Yang's whine, Blake gave her a serious expression.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!"

Even with that response, Blake pretended to mull over her options before finally deciding on an answer.

"You said…" she began, drawing the sentence out. "That you really, really liked me."

While Blake grinned - clearly pleased with the information - Yang's arms and legs went cold as every ounce of blood in her body rushed to her cheeks.

"I...I said what?"

Her disbelief only made Blake's smile grow.

"You said that you really, really like me," Blake repeated. "Only with a few more 'really's thrown in there."

Resisting the urge to burst into flames in embarrassment, Yang asked, "How many?" and nearly groaned out loud from the pleased smirk she received in response.

"A lot," Blake answered plainly.

Putting one palm to her cheek and finding it burning hot, Yang cursed her dumb concussion, which apparently made her a turnstile of emotions. How many 'really's was a lot? Because if it was enough, she might as well have just said that she...well, the other four letter word that came after 'like.'

"Ok, uh...I hope that didn't freak you out or anything," she sputtered out. "I mean, you're just so amazing and I - did I really say that?" she asked, her voice coming out as a squeak.

Leaning across the desk, Blake moved so close that for a second Yang thought they were going to kiss. But Blake stopped mere centimeters away, her eyes searching Yang's while a smile pulled at her lips.

"No," she finally said with a soft giggle while teasingly leaning away. "But don't you?"

That little smile stayed in place while Blake stared at Yang expectantly - for one of the first times appearing nervous about what was asked. Yang's heart pounded in her chest, but she smiled because Blake got her again. She smiled because…

"Yeah," she answered honestly. "Yeah, I do. I really, really, really do."

Relieved by the answer, Blake smiled before simply saying, "Good. Because I do too."

Yang knew that she should probably let the subject drop if she wanted to avoid additional embarrassment, but she wanted to clarify just one thing…

"Really?" she asked, earning herself a knowing expression in return.

"Really...really...really…really..." Blake answered slowly, each subsequent addition making Yang's heart do an elated flip in her chest. Clearing her throat, she tried to stay nonchalant while her pulse thudded happily in her ears.

"That's...that's a lot of reallys."

"I think so too," Blake agreed with a sly grin. "I don't know how many more I can add before it's more efficient to use another word instead."

That did it. Heartbeat racing to a million miles per hour, Yang found that her mouth had suddenly turned into a desert and her throat became parched as she tried to reply.

"Maybe…" she began before clearing her throat again. "Maybe I can think of one for you."

When Blake smiled, Yang grinned back while her heart did all sorts of crazy things out of pure affection. They were still grinning at each other when the room filled with motion and a big flash of red. It was Blake who looked away first this time - right as Pyrrha walked into the classroom followed closely by the ever-rushing Mr. Oobleck.

"Morning Pyrrha!" Yang called out.

"Good morning, Yang," Pyrrha said with a smile as she passed by. "Happy Monday to you!"

The overly-cheerful greeting made Yang share a knowing look with Blake while Mr. Oobleck dropped his briefcase on the desk, which promptly slid off and hit the floor with a loud thud.

"You should probably get ready for class," Blake said softly. Sighing in disappointment, Yang briefly touched the top of Blake's hand in goodbye before standing up. She'd already put her chair away when she realized one very important thing.

"Wait, but what did I actually say?"

Laughing at the still-unanswered question, Blake waved Yang towards her seat, where Yang reluctantly went after giving Blake one last love-stricken smile. Sure, Blake kept getting the best of her, but she didn't mind one bit.

Quickly catching up to Pyrrha, she decided that a little teasing was in order based on the small smile that refused to leave Pyrrha's lips.

"You saw Jaune again this weekend," she said while watching Pyrrha pull some notebooks out of her bag and set them methodically on top of her desk.

"What makes you say that?"

"Look at you! You're practically glowing."

"I believe I'm just reflecting your own glow back at you," Pyrrha teased, nodding over Yang's shoulder towards Blake. Turning around, Yang grinned when she caught Blake's smile.

"Ok, maybe I'm glowing, but you're glowing too." Sitting in her seat, Yang leaned over to Pyrrha's desk and whispered, "So have you kissed yet or what?"

"Yang!"

"What? That's a reasonable question to ask my best friend."

"Well have you two - you know…"

Pyrrha couldn't even ask the question without suffering a mild blush - bless her soul.

"What do you think?" Yang replied with an arched eyebrow. Pyrrha took one look at her and sighed.

"We don't all have to move at your pace, do we?"

Deciding to give her friend a break, Yang reached over and gently shook Pyrrha's shoulder.

"That's right. You take as much time as you need!" she said. "But is this the best year or what?"

"It has started remarkably well."

Her and Blake...Pyrrha and Jaune...

"I just had the most brilliant idea," she whispered while Mr. Oobleck set up for class. "You and Jaune should double date with Blake and me!"

"Well…"

"And then Weiss and Ruby can be our triple!"

"Are they dating?" Pyrrha asked, her expression immediately filled with surprise. With no time to answer, Yang waved one hand and shook her head 'no' while turning towards the front of the class.

"Good morning, students!" Mr. Oobleck shouted at them before straightening his glasses and glancing towards the papers in his hands. "I have several important announcements today -"

Zoning out while he rambled on about something that probably wasn't important, Yang's gaze inevitably drifted to Blake. The instant she did so, she knew Blake felt her stare.

They went over this in detail last week - Blake knew almost exactly when someone was staring at her. At least...almost exactly when Yang was staring at her. Yang hadn't wanted to believe it, but then Blake proceeded to prove it with an interesting game of 'catch the stare-er.' Yang lost, of course. But was she really losing…?

Noticing Blake glimpse her way, Yang grinned and tapped her pen cap against her bottom lip. It was only a few days ago that she realized if she paid close enough attention, she could catch Blake very subtly turning her head and peeking at Yang out of the corner of her eye.

It was nice to know she wasn't the only one staring.

Well, technically she was the only one staring, but Blake took her fair share of glances. Putting her pen to paper, Yang decided that maybe she'd try to count exactly how many times Blake snuck a glimpse…

Paying such close attention to Blake, she jumped in surprise when the bell suddenly rang and everyone started moving around her. Tallying up her scratch marks before tossing everything into her bag, she got to her feet with a grin.

Fifteen. If she caught them all, which she was positive she hadn't.

"I'll see you at lunch?" she asked Pyrrha, accepting the nod before racing to meet Blake at the front of the classroom.

"If I told you the number fifteen, what would you guess it meant?" she asked while the two of them stepped into the crowded hallway together.

"Well...based on how you made a mark in your notebook almost every time I glanced over...I'd say that's the number of times you caught me."

Not even remotely disappointed that Blake already knew the right answer, Yang laughed and nodded.

"You're so brilliant! That's what makes you so much fun!"

Smiling at the compliment, Blake looped her arm through Yang's and pulled them close to navigate through the corridor. Spotting a familiar face, Yang waved to their resident math whiz before two boys careened past them.

"Hey Yang! Hey Blake!" Trevor called out without stopping.

"Trev! Dude, wait up!" the second boy shouted while chasing his friend, their backpacks bouncing awkwardly up and down as they ran through the halls.

Shaking her head at the two bundles of energy, Yang leaned against the row of lockers while Blake quickly spun the combination to unlock her own.

"I was thinking you should sign up for some of the advanced classes next semester," Blake said while pulling the locker door open.

"Ha ha, very funny," Yang replied, but then Blake tilted her head like it wasn't a joke. "You're serious?"

"Yes. It'll be your last semester, so you might as well. You can transfer some of the credits to university too."

"But I'm nowhere near smart enough for those classes."

"That's not true! You're plenty smart. Plus, it's not like you'll without help."

When Yang gave Blake a confused look, she continued as if the answer should have been obvious from the beginning. "I'm more than willing to help you study."

Suddenly, Yang was grinning at the brilliant idea. She'd have some of the same classes with Blake, and they would study together? That sounded like heaven. Well, heaven plus some schoolwork.

"Alright, you've convinced me." Shoving away from the wall when Blake closed her locker, Yang groaned when they started walking away. "But that means we'll classes with Weiss too!"

"Yes, just imagine the opportunities you'll have to tease her," Blake said, pulling Yang close and waving one arm through the air like she was about to paint a picture in front of them. "They'll be nearly endless. And on her turf, too."

The thought made Yang's grin grow even wider.

"Now I'm completely sold. Where do we sign up?"

"Yang!"

At the sound of her name, they both stopped and found Nora running up from behind them.

"Did you hear?" Nora asked as she careened to a stop in front of them, her voice breathless from the run over.

"Hear what?" Yang asked, both surprised and confused by Nora's sudden appearance.

"Emerald! She got kicked off the team!"

"What? Really?"

"Yeah! Apparently the school board got letters complaining about what she did, and they were forced to kick her off!"

Stunned by the news, Yang turned to Blake - who smiled knowingly - before Nora roughly shook her arm.

"Isn't that great?"

"Uh, yeah -"

"Just wanted to tell you! Gotta go!" Nora said before releasing Yang and running in the opposite direction, disappearing just as quickly as she'd appeared.

With another smile, Blake turned and walked several paces away while Yang was still rooted to the floor in shock. Shaking herself out of the surprise, she jogged to catch up.

"I'm guessing I have you to thank for that?" she asked, receiving a coy expression from Blake in return.

"I don't know what you're talking about…but I'm glad there were parents as appalled at her behavior as I was."

Grinning at the non-admission, Yang leaned her head in closer to whisper, "So maybe I can…" After glancing both ways down the hall, she cleared her throat. "Thank you later?"

Her cheeks instantly burned at the thought, which only became worse when Blake turned towards her and smirked.

"Why not right now?"

Yang looked around them, at all the students walking to their next classes, before staring at Blake - whose eyes sparkled in amusement.

"In the hall?"

"So you can punch someone in public, but not kiss your girlfriend?"

Yang's cheeks flushed even deeper at the question.

"Well I mean, I just wasn't sure how you felt about it and didn't want to -"

Rolling onto her tiptoes, Blake kissed Yang in the middle of that sentence, in the middle of the hallway. Yang hardly had the opportunity to reciprocate before Blake broke away with a pleased smile.

"Come on," she said while extending one hand. "Don't want to be late to class."

Grinning, Yang took Blake's hand and ignored the whistles of approval from around them. Walking to Blake's class with wings on her feet, Yang's happiness only grew when they arrived right as Weiss was about to head inside.

"Hey Weiss," Yang called out, gaining the girl's attention. "You ask Ruby yet?"

"Are you going to ask that every time you see me?" Weiss asked in return - any agitation at the question lost in her growing blush.

"Yup! I'll keep asking until you do, You really should've known this would happen." When Yang smiled, Weiss pursed her lips but nodded before rushing into the classroom without a word.

Nervous Weiss was awesome.

"I could so get used to this…" Yang said before grinning at Blake. "But Ruby's totally going to say yes."

"I hope so," Blake replied softly. "They seem to really like each other."

"You mean like the way I really, really, really -"

A soft finger pressed against Yang's lips and silenced her before she could complete her list, but she still smiled at Blake - who looked more than a little amused by the number of times they'd used that word this morning alone.

"How many times are you going to say that?" Blake asked playfully.

"Why? Are you looking for something else?"

Yang meant the question as a light tease, but Blake's expression grew thoughtful and caring while she met Yang's eyes.

"No. I've already found everything I was looking for."

When Blake smiled bashfully at the honest reply, Yang grinned and stepped forward so they were that much closer together.

"I feel the same," she admitted.

She hadn't realized that she was searching for someone like Blake, but now that they'd found each other...it just didn't make sense any other way.

Hearing a loud clattering noise echo off the walls, Yang looked down the hall and found that someone had just dropped their school supplies on the ground. Of course, with high schoolers being high schoolers, most people laughed at the display of clumsiness while dodging around the mess.

Following Yang's gaze, Blake squeezed her hand and gave her a knowing smile.

"Duty calls?"

Breaking into a smile of her own, Yang backed away while holding Blake's gaze as long as possible.

"I'll see you at lunch?"

"Always."

Pleased with the answer, Yang turned and jogged a couple of steps to reach the girl, who was hastily collecting her belongings while everyone else rushed around her.

"Hey, need a hand?"

"Don't worry about it," was the mumbled reply, which Yang ignored in favor of kneeling down to collect a few runaway folders.

"Are you a first year?" she asked curiously while pulling one of the folders over before someone stepped on it.

"Yeah…"

Looking at the folder, Yang gasped and held it up in the air.

"You like the AchieveMen?"

The question finally drew the girl's attention, and she nodded slowly, as if unsure whether or not Yang was making fun of her.

"I do too!" Yang answered excitedly. "They're my favorite band! What's your favorite song?"

"Um...probably 'Home.'"

"That one's awesome. My favorite is probably…" Thinking about it, Yang quickly gave up and shook her head. "I can't decide. They're all too good!"

When the girl finally smiled, Yang smiled too - and, glancing over the girl's shoulder, Yang caught Blake's eyes watching the interaction closely from the classroom door. The way Blake smiled made Yang's heart beat happily, as if the two of them were remembering their own moment - the one that brought the two of them together.

Offering help didn't always mean getting into a fight. It didn't always mean shouting at someone or trying to put someone in their place. Sometimes, it meant something as simple as this.

When all of the supplies were collected and the two of them stood up, Yang stuck her hand out to the new girl and smiled.

"I'm Yang, by the way. Welcome to Vale High!"