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When Blake slid her key into the lock on her apartment door, she did so silently. The door was shut behind her silently as well, and even with full hands, she managed to toe her shoes off without a single sound.
Not that she meant to make no noise, it was just part of her “mysterious ninja ways” as Ruby liked to put it.
Walking past the living room into the kitchen, Blake could see one of Yang’s action movies playing on the TV, although the blonde was nowhere in sight. Figuring Yang was probably in the bathroom at the moment, Blake shrugged it off and opened up the fridge. With Christmas only a day away and a full dinner for eight to make, she had decided to brave the cold to do some restocking.
It wouldn’t do to invite everyone over and have nothing to offer, after all. Especially since it was their turn to host Christmas for both their team and JNPR’s.
Once her job was completed and the grocery bags tucked away for next time, Blake made her way to her room to change into something comfier. There was still no Yang to be found in the living room, which was odd. Especially when Blake had thrown her set of keys onto Yang’s in the little dish near the front door, and the bathroom was wide open, lights off.
“Maybe she’s in her room…?” Blake mumbled to herself.
Her answer came in the form of a loud THUD, and a yelp. But not from Yang’s room.
From Blake’s.
Rolling her eyes, Blake marched down the hallway and twisted the doorknob, shoving the door open. The sight that greeted her was comical, enough so that Blake had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.
Sprawled out on the ground was Yang, books of every shape and size littering the floor around her. Beside her, tipped on its side was Blake’s bookshelf. Lilac eyes went wide when Blake cleared her throat, Yang’s mouth opening and closing a few times before, “Umm… this isn’t what it looks like, I swear.”
“So you aren’t searching my room for where I hid the Christmas presents?” she asked dryly. “Let me guess, you decided to help me redecorate.”
“Yep! Yep, totally, I just figured ‘hey, Blake’s room is a little drab so why not add some… books to the… err, floor.'”
Blake stared.
Yang winced. “Not buying it?”
“What do you think?”
Walking past the mess, Blake held her hand out to Yang and helped haul the blonde up to her feet. “I suppose it could have been worse, I could have caught you in my underwear drawer.” She smirked at Yang’s splutters of denial, gesturing to the books. “We still need to prep the turkey for tomorrow, you know, so you’d better help me clean this up.”
“Ugh, fineeee….”
Together, they managed to get Blake’s room back into some semblance of order, although Blake did catch Yang sneaking glances around the room every so often. While Yang had been joking, it was rather drab in the room. She had practically moved into Yang’s room once they had started dating, so her own room held very little of her actual belongings other than clothes and books.
“You’re not going to find your present, Yang,” she said, amused. “I promise you, I hid it very thoroughly. And stop pouting.”
“But Blake, it’s tradition!” Yang whined. Sliding up behind Blake, warm arms slid around her waist as Yang nuzzled her shoulder. “I can’t just not look for presents!”
Sighing, Blake leaned back against Yang’s chest. “Perhaps you could be a bit more careful when you look? Why would you even think to check the bookshelf, anyways? You can see everything on it.”
“… I thought I saw a ribbon behind one of your books,” Yang mumbled sheepishly, “but it was just one of your bookmarks.”
Snickering, Blake tilted her head to press her lips against Yang’s cheek. “Poor you. Well you just lost your opportunity to find them for the day, because we have a lot of work to do before tomorrow.”
“Yes’m…”
–
Despite Blake’s worry, everything seemed to go smoothly.
(Other than a quick scuffle with Yang for her to “go change, what on earth are you wearing??” when Yang came down wearing a red and green sweater with one breast hanging out of a poorly cut hole with an even more poorly drawn set of antlers on her skin and a red pastie on her nipple.
“It’s Rudolph, Blake! Embrace the Christmas spirit!”
“The hell it is, go put on something more appropriate before I shove you out into the snow!”)
Dinner was ready by the time Ruby, Weiss, and JNPR arrived, although it had been a close call. Hours later, with everyone pleasantly full on turkey and eggnog, it was time to exchange presents. Pleased and a little exhausted, Blake allowed Yang to start on the dishes as she went around topping off drinks and cleaning up.
“Blake, sit down already,” Weiss called out. “We can give you a hand before we leave for the evening.”
“Weiss is right.” Pyrrha patted the spot beside her. “Come sit. We’d be more than happy to help clean up after ourselves, especially since you and Yang cooked such a lovely meal for everyone.”
“I’m almost done, I promise.” Setting down the last load of dishes in front of Yang, Blake slipped around the counter to squeeze Yang’s shoulder. “And you?”
“Just gotta load the dishwasher and I’ll be right there, Blakey.” Warm lips pressed against hers briefly and Blake let out a soft hum, eyes drifting shut. Metal fingers slipped down her side to rest on her hip, Yang’s thumb rubbing gentle circles there.
“Gross, sis! Get a room already!”
The hand on her waist shifted, and Blake didn’t need her eyes to know that Yang had just flipped Ruby off. Weiss’ scandalized gasp was telling enough. Pulling away from Yang, she gave her partner a warm smile. “Come join us soon?”
“Definitely.” Yang’s head bobbed, and with a final peck on the lips, Blake walked back over to where their friends were waiting. Knowing grins were on Ruby and Nora’s faces, while Pyrrha and Jaune were blushing. Weiss looked a tad disgusted, and Ren was… Ren. Rolling her eyes, Blake settled down beside Pyrrha. “Don’t give me that look, Weiss. The amount of times that I’ve walked in on you and Ruby-”
Her words were muffled by a cookie being pressed against her lips, and Blake gave Ruby an exasperated look. The speedster was grinning, although her cheeks were pink. “Shhhh Blake, it’s present time!”
“Mmph..”
Waving her hands in defeat, Blake munched on the cookie as Ruby zipped around, passing around everyone’s presents. In the effort of saving money, it had been agreed on that they could stick to getting presents for their teams and significant others. Blake was thankful, since budding huntsmen and huntresses didn’t have an infinite amount of money to spend.
The couch shifted as Yang plopped down beside her, arm resting on Blake’s shoulders. The faunus snuggled close, watching contentedly as presents were passed around.
“Yang’s missing a present!” Ruby announced once she was finished. “She only has two, where’s yours for her, Blake?”
“I had to hide it, seeing as someone can’t keep her paws to herself.” Loathe to get up, Blake gestured for Ruby to come closer so she could whisper the location in her ear. She could see the exact moment Ruby realized, because team RWBY’s leader let out a full blown cackle.
“Ohhhh Blake, that’s brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Unwilling to miss Yang’s reaction, Blake pulled away from her girlfriend as Ruby zoomed off in the direction of-
“Hey! That’s my room! What the hell, Blake!” Yang’s mouth was open in surprise, and her eyes were full of betrayal. “I can’t- you- Blake! I was searching for days and it was in my room the entire time!?”
“Yes.”
“I- but- why?”
To her side, Blake could see Pyrrha’s shoulders rising and falling as she covered her mouth. Nora wasn’t nearly as discreet though, nearly falling off the couch as she howled with laughter.
“Obviously because you wouldn’t think to look there,” she deadpanned. “And because Ruby told me you had a habit of tearing the house apart looking for presents as kids.”
Yang scowled at Ruby, reaching for the beautifully wrapped box from her hands only to have it yanked away as Ruby deposited it in Blake’s lap. “Traitor.”
“Can we please open the presents already?” Weiss asked impatiently. Blake chuckled; out of them all, Weiss was the one who looked forward to the gift giving portion of Christmas the most. Something that she hadn’t expected when they had first met, but made sense once she had learned about Weiss’ family.
Giving Weiss a fond smile, she gestured for her friend to go ahead. It was best they get started, since her and Weiss liked to unwrap their gifts gently (“like old people, Blake! C'mon, just tear it open already!”) unlike the heathens that were their partners.
It seemed that Weiss and Ruby had gone together on a present for her and Yang as a couple, because Blake’s jaw dropped when she finally freed the tickets from their wrapping paper. “Guys, you didn’t have to- this must have cost-”
“Ap pup pup pup!” Weiss wagged her finger. “We don’t talk about prices. Just enjoy it.”
Yang whistled lowly. “Thanks Weiss! How’d you know we wanted to visit the Vacuan hot springs?”
Rather than responding Weiss just side-eyed Ruby, who grinned.
“Well, now that we’ve been thoroughly outclassed…” Blake grumbled good naturedly, “I guess you can open ours next.”
“Please, you know money isn’t everything, Blake,” Weiss said, delicately undoing the tape that held their present together. “We’ll love anything you get us- Ruby!”
Ruby’s eyes glittered as she held her newly captured present in her hands. “You’re taking too long, Weiss! I wanna see what it is!” And without further ado, she ripped the paper to shreds, holding up a rather large book. “Ohhh, a…. book?”
“Just open it, Rubes,” Yang prompted gently.
Sitting down beside Weiss, Ruby opened the book. It wasn’t an actual book, but rather a photo album that both Blake and Yang had painstakingly crafted together. There were plenty of pictures of the team together, but also of JNPR, CFVY, and just Weiss and Ruby together, spanning from their first year at Beacon to last week during an impromptu snowball fight.
“Oh my gosh… Oh my gosh, Yang! Blake!” A black and red blur nearly tackled Blake out of her seat, and Blake giggled as she pat Ruby on the back. Once she had finally been freed (Ruby clinging to Yang instead like an octopus), Blake found herself on the receiving end of a hug from Weiss.
“You like it then?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“I love it,” Weiss whispered, giving her another squeeze. “Thank you.”
Once everyone had finally settled, Blake turned to Yang and cleared her throat. “Yang?”
“Yeah babe?”
Blake opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again. Finally she sighed and pushed the box into Yang’s hands. “Here.”
“Uhh… thanks?”
Yang was too focused on the box in her hands to notice everyone’s excited stares. Blake wasn’t though, and she found herself fidgeting nervously as she tried to ignore Nora’s thumbs up and Ren’s calm smile. Jaune was practically bouncing in his seat, even as Pyrrha put a steadying hand on his lap. Ruby was grinning wide, nearly vibrating in place, Weiss was giving Blake an approving nod, and Yang was-
“… Blake?”
Blinking, Blake found her gaze drawn back to her girlfriend and the small box in her hand, open to reveal a golden band. Teary lilac eyes stared up at her, and Blake could barely squeak out a small “y-yes?”
“I-is this… Are you…”
She swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut. “Yes…”
“You’re such a jerk, Blake…”
“I-what?” That wasn’t what she was expecting. That wasn’t even a no. “Excuse me?”
A warm hand gripped hers, and Blake found her fingers closing around a small box. “I can’t believe you beat me to it!” Peeking one eye open, Blake could see Yang grinning at her even as a few tears trickled down her cheeks. “Open your present, Blakey.”
With shaky hands, Blake dutifully opened her gift. Just like the one she had given Yang, a small box rested inside the wrapping paper, a small golden band with a single stone on it. “Oh…”
“Yeah, oh.” Yang giggled. “Now I’m really glad I couldn’t find my present.”
“It would’ve ruined the surprise,” Blake agreed absently. Her own cheeks were wet. “So… I take it that’s a yes?” She could practically hear everyone’s groans of “obviously” and “duh!” but she tuned them out. She needed to hear it from Yang.
“That’s definitely a yes.” Yang’s fingers cupped her cheek, and Blake allowed herself to be pulled into an eager kiss by her gir-
Her fiancée.
She was being kissed by her fiancée.
Around them, she could hear the sounds of people getting up, congratulations floating through the air. Footsteps echoed, the door opened and closed a few times, and then finally they were alone.
“You never said yes, you know.”
Blake found herself reaching forward as Yang pulled away, only to have her hands grabbed and her fingers laced together with Yang’s.
“I thought it was obvious.”
“Maybe, but I still want to hear it.”
“Yes, I’ll marry you, dummy.” Pressing her lips to Yang’s, she murmured a soft, “Merry Christmas, Yang.”
“Merry Christmas, Blake.” Yang’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Or rather… marry Christmas, eh?”
“…I changed my mind, get out.”
“Wha- Blake, c'mon!”