Chapter Text
It had been some time since Blake was this tired.
The last time had probably been back in her first year of Beacon when the guilt and worry of the White Fang was still fresh in her mind. For weeks on end, all she could think of was Torchwick and his plans.
She has only hazy memories of ignoring her teammates' worries and spending her nights poring over maps of Vale, muttering to herself. The whole experience was a blur of anxiety and guilt. She has always had trouble keeping her impulses in check when under pressure.
And now the pressure is turned way up.
Two weeks ago, she had come down with a nasty case of the flu and ended up missing almost a week and a half of school. Now finals are approaching and she is almost impossibly far behind in all of her classes. Every year at Beacon is difficult, but Beacon's third year finals are notorious for being damn near impossible. If she has to sacrifice sleep in order to catch up, so be it. Her health can wait. School cannot.
Blake is rereading her History notes when the door to the room opens and Pyrrha and Ruby spill in, giggling over something.
"Oh!" Pyrrha says when she sees Blake. "I didn't expect you to be up so late, Blake."
"Yeah, you okay?" Ruby asks, worry seeping into her tone. "Recently, you've been looking tired."
"I'm fine." Blake says flatly. She is already stressed enough. She doesn’t need her teammates worrying about her as well.
"You sure? You really don't look so good." Ruby comes a few steps closer, peering at the obvious bags beneath Blake's eyes.
"I'm fine, Ruby." Blake says, a nasty tone working into her voice. Pyrrha frowns and raises an eyebrow. Blake softens her voice and says, "I swear I’m fine, okay? I just have to finish up this chapter and then I'm going to sleep."
Ruby hums, unimpressed.
"I'm fine, seriously!"
"Okay, okay! I'll back off, jeez." Ruby huffs and turns back to Pyrrha. "I had a lot of fun tonight, Pyrrha. But you should get going. Jaune is probably worried about you."
Pyrrha hums deep in her throat and says, "Jaune can wait. He doesn't need to constantly worry about me. I can take care of myself."
Ruby raises an eyebrow.
Pyrrha raises one in return.
Ruby sighs and flaps an arm at her. “Stay if you want, I guess. I gotta pee.”
When Ruby has disappeared into the bathroom, Pyrrha turns to Blake again. "Make sure to take care of yourself, Blake. No matter how much you study, you won't do well on the finals if you haven't had enough rest."
Blake sighs and runs a hand through her bangs. "I'm well aware of the perils of sleep deprivation. Don't you remember my little stunt in first year?"
"Yes, I do remember that. I also remember what it took to pull you out of it."
"God, don't remind me."
"You brought it up," Pyrrha points out. When Blake says nothing in return, Pyrrha continues, "Just remember that your health is the most important thing."
Blake feels a flash of irrational anger, red hot beneath her skin.
“Yeah.”
Pyrrha steps in and wraps her arms around Blake's shoulders, squeezing her generous cleavage almost directly into Blake's face. She feels her anger dissipate, and her face go aflame, the blush showing through her dark skin. "Sleep well, Blake. It won't do you well to fall ill this close to finals week." Pyrrha squeezes tighter for a moment and then steps back.
Blake croaks out another, "Yeah," and Pyrrha walks out of the room.
Blake stares at the wall for almost a full minute before she begins working again. She doesn't know why her emotions always insist on doing this to her.
She has got enough stress from school without her silly little crush flaring up again.
~~
Blake is in even worse spirits the following morning. She only has about a week left until finals.
"Thank god it's Friday!" Yang says as she slams her tray down. Blake hums a reply into her cup of coffee.
Yang studies her for a moment before she says, "How are you doing for finals?" Blake gives her a hard glare. "Stressed out, I take it?”
“I don’t need to be mothered,” Blake snarls.
“I'm just saying, Blake! You look really stressed, and last night I saw a light on really late. Like, at two in the morning."
"Why were you up at two anyway?"
"Weird dream woke me up." Yang shrugs and stabs her eggs with her plastic fork. "You should really start trying to go to bed earlier, Blake. Lack of sleep is never fun."
"I'm well aware of the perils of sleep deprivation."
"That's the fourth time this week I've heard you say that exact sentence! This is just proving my point."
"That's because it's true, Yang. I can take care of myself."
"That's what they always say," Jaune drops his tray next to Yang, Pyrrha setting hers to his right.
"I work slower with other people. And I don't procrastinate. I'm fine." Blake takes another sip from her cup.
"She has a point." Weiss says. "She rarely procrastinates, and all we do is distract her when we try to help."
Yang points her fork at Weiss accusingly. "You are not helping! Blake needs rest. She's starting to act like you!" Weiss shouts something defensive, and the two begin to squabble. Ruby and Nora choose that time to begin stealing napkins to fold paper cranes, claiming that they are going to fold a thousand of them by finals week.
Pyrrha smiles at Blake, and Blake's heart skips a beat.
Blake guzzles down the rest of her coffee and says, "I'm going to wait in Oobleck's room until class starts."
They let her go.
As Blake walks down the hall towards the lecture hall, her mind wanders back to Pyrrha. Blake has admired Pyrrha for some time now. She is smart, capable and caring. She stands at the top of their class, but is still modest about her skills. Not to mention that she is beautiful and captivating.
But is Pyrrha even interested in romance? She has never dated anyone in the time that Blake has known her.
Back in first year, when they'd all first became friends, Blake had noticed Pyrrha gravitating towards Jaune. She had never understood what Pyrrha had seen in him, but whatever it was, it has faded to friendship by now.
Once, while their teams had been engaging in some teenage drunken debauchery, Pyrrha came out as bisexual. She also said that every boy was too intimidated by her fighting skills to date her and every girl was too jealous of her to think that she could ever be more to them.
So Pyrrha wasn’t straight.
So that means Blake has a chance. But, Pyrrha liking girls didn't mean that she is necessarily attracted to Blake. Or that she is interested in anyone right now.
Blake groans and rubs her eyes. She is way too tired for this feelings bullshit.
~~
By the time her lunch period rolls around, Blake is feeling a little better. Watching Oobleck speed around talking about Dust mining for three hours has woken her up a little. But she’s still feeling worn out. It's time for lunch, and more caffeine.
She sits down at the usual table with a tuna sandwich and coffee. Pyrrha is the only other one there, the rest of the group lagging behind.
Her eyes narrow at the sight of Blake's cup. "Another coffee?"
Blake takes a bite of her sandwich and nods. Pyrrha opens her mouth to say something else, but is distracted when Ruby and the others begin to take their seats.
"Hey," Pyrrha says, smiling at Ruby.
"Hey! How was history?"
"It was fine." Pyrrha's leg is jiggling a little, and it's shaking the table. "Oobleck went off on another rant about Dust distribution."
"Again? He's starting to sound like Port."
"Yes, he is." Pyrrha's leg stops moving, and she takes a breath. "Hey, um, did you hear about that new movie?"
"You mean the one with the robot soldiers?" Ruby says, "Yeah, I've been really excited for it! It looks great."
"Yes, that one. There's a showing of it at six tonight in the Vale theater. Would you, um, be interested in seeing it with me?" Pyrrha's smile crinkles around the edges. Blake stops eating, suddenly hollow.
Oh. So Pyrrha does have her eyes on someone.
"Sure! We could go get ice cream after too." Ruby says, taking a huge bite out of her apple. Pyrrha's smile begins to glow and she nods happily. Blake feels her chest tighten. "That place we found yesterday was really good!"
"That sounds like it'll be fun," Yang comments.
"Wanna come with?" Ruby asks around the food in her mouth. Pyrrha's smile fades. Blake feels a flash of sympathy for her.
First Jaune, now Ruby. Poor Pyrrha can't seem to fall for someone who has their act together. Two for two must suck.
Weiss gives Ruby a disgusted look. "Swallow before you speak. It's rude to talk with your mouth full."
"Whatever, Weiss." Weiss makes an outraged noise somewhere between a goose and a duck. "So who's coming with us?"
"Oh! We are! We are!" Nora shouts, yanking Ren's arm up and down. A generous amount of soup flies off his spoon and lands on Weiss's salad, and she makes another unpleasant squawk.
"Sounds fun! I'm in." Jaune grins toothily at Ruby. Pyrrha is looking more and more pained with each positive reply.
"Yeah! Team Movie Night is making a comeback!" Yang shouts, throwing her arms in the air.
"Will all of you stop! I'm trying to eat here, and you keep disrupting my peace and quiet!" Weiss shouts. Yang sticks her tongue out at Weiss, and Weiss makes a face back.
Blake sighs and turns back to her food.
"Guys..." Ruby whimpers anxiously, "Stop... People are staring."
"Leave them be. They're a lost cause when they get like this."
"Yeah, I know. It's just... they're so... loud."
Blake snorts quietly. "And that's never going to change, Ruby."
"No, I guess not." Ruby sighs and turns her attention back to her plate.
~~
It’s her study period, and Blake has a lot to do if she is going to attend that movie tonight. Blake scopes out a good, empty table in a part of the library that no one is using, and pulls out her study materials.
She then spends ten minutes staring blankly at the chapter title.
This isn't working. All she can think of is Pyrrha's beaming smile. She shouldn't be letting herself feel like this when it's this close to finals. She has spent the last three years surrounded by gorgeous warrior women, and this has never happened to her.
But she has liked Pyrrha in a more than friendly way for a while. And sure, she’s entertained thoughts of asking her out. But she never thought it would get this bad!
The more Blake thinks about this whole situation, the more the pit in her stomach grows. The feelings aren't even mutual. Pyrrha obviously likes Ruby, and the two already spend a lot of time together. Unfortunately for Pyrrha, Ruby is oblivious to her advances.
Blake groans and puts her head in her hands. She needs to focus, not daydream about pretty girls.
Maybe a change of scenery will do her some good. She's spent so much time in the library in the past week that the air feels strange and stuffy. Maybe she should go outside and read in the sun. The more Blake thinks about it, the better it sounds.
She packs up her things once more and moves out onto the lawn.
The sun is shining brightly, and a few wispy white clouds drift across the sky. It's a beautiful. Blake chooses a nice spot beneath a shady tree and begins to study. The change of scenery definitely helps, and Blake manages to read a good bit into her textbook.
"Hey, Blake!"
That is, until Sun decides to drop in.
He lands firmly on his feet, grinning at her. She squints at him and says, "You're in my light."
"What? Am I not sunny enough for you?" Sun says with a wink.
She doesn't appreciate the pun. She sighs and says, "You're still in my light."
Sun laughs and sits next to her. "Alright, alright. So, whatcha doin? Studying?"
"Yes."
"Need help?"
"No."
Sun groans and puts his hands behind his head, stretching his legs out in front of him. "What's got your bow in a bunch?”
"I need to study," Blake says pointedly. When Sun doesn't reply, she continues, "I want to be left alone."
Sun groans again and kicks his legs like a child. "Why do you need to study so bad? Aren't you, y'know, super duper smart?"
"You don't get super duper smart with no effort, Sun. Please just let me study. I want to finish all of this reading so I can go to a movie with my team."
"A movie?" Sun leaps up. Blake instantly regrets saying it. If Sun decides to bring his team, Weiss might throw another fit. She never really got over the whole Neptune thing, and she's been in a mood lately. "I love movies!"
"As do I. And if I don't finish this book, I won't be able to go." Blake attempts to give him a glare, but the effect is ruined when she yawns widely.
"Alright, alright. I get the message." Sun chuckles. "You should try getting some sleep. You kinda look like shit."
"Thanks a lot, Sun." Blake grumbles.
"No problem! Alright, well, later! Expect to see me at the movies.” Sun walks away and raises a hand in farewell.
"Okay." Blake mumbles to herself, and she finally begins to study.
She has a lot of work to get done.
~~
Blake doesn't finish all of her work. She adamantly refuses to go.
"You need a break!" Yang says.
"Yeah, it isn't healthy to always work so hard, Blake!" Ruby agrees, putting her hands on her hips.
"I need to study," Blake says, shaking her head. "I'm not going."
"Please, go with us. Don't leave me alone with these idiots!" Weiss begs.
"I'm not going."
"Come on!" Yang whines, stomping her foot. "You can study after. Or this weekend! You don't have to do all your stupid studying now."
"No."
Ruby claps her hands and grins at her. "Let's put it to a vote!"
"Doesn't matter. I'm not going."
She is overpowered three to one and dragged along anyway.
When they finally get to the theater, Ruby and Yang instantly begin arguing over the best seat. Neptune and Sun both showed up early, and Weiss won't stand within 10 feet of them or look in their direction. Nora has already spilled her popcorn over everyone, and Ren looks kind of constipated.
The night is shaping up to be a disaster, and the movie hasn't even started yet.
The group takes up a whole row and Blake ends up sandwiched between Sun and Pyrrha. She'd be a lot more content with her placement if Sun would stop telling her loudly to move her drink. He stops bothering her after she hisses at him to, "ask Neptune to move his fucking drink!”
The movie is over two hours long and filled with loud explosions.
Blake falls asleep after ten minutes.
"Blake!" Sun whispers to her once the credits are rolling. "Blake!" He shifts his shoulder against hers heavily, and she jerks awake.
"What's goin’ on?" She mumbles, rubbing her eyes.
"The movie is over. We're gonna wait for the secret credit scene, and then we're gonna go." Sun informs her, and he turns back to Neptune.
Blake stares blankly at the credits, settled into her seat in all the right ways. She is struggling to keep her eyes open. The coffee she drank seems so long ago. When she gets back to the room, she has to finish the rest of her reading. She's on a strict schedule, and she can't fall behind. She yawns widely, stretching her legs against the empty seat in front of her.
"Did you sleep through all of that?" Pyrrha asks.
Blake nods and says, "Yeah, I guess so."
"How? It was filled with explosions and screaming. It was really loud."
Blake shrugs. "I guess I was really tired."
Pyrrha's forehead creases. "How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"
Blake thinks for a second, "I went to bed at two forty and woke up at eight. So about five."
Pyrrha stares at her and asks, "Have you been getting that much sleep all week?" She sounds worried.
"No."
Pyrrha looks relieved.
"I've been getting less, honestly."
"Less?" Pyrrha looks as if Blake just informed her that she hasn't slept in months, not a week. Pyrrha has never understood the concept of anything less than eight to ten hours of sleep every night. "How much less?"
"It's been pretty low this week. Four to five hours a night, maybe? We've had a lot of homework, and I'm really behind. I don't think I slept at all on Tuesday." Blake laughs quietly. She looks back at the screen. "Hey, the extra scene is playing."
She doesn't see Pyrrha's horrified look.
~~
They finally get to the ice cream parlor at 9:30. It's a small, modest place in a corner of a shopping mall. The man running the counter smiles at them.
"What can I get for you all?" He says. Nora grins wildly at him and his smile starts to falter.
"What are you going to get?" Ruby asks Blake, tugging on her sleeve.
Blake scans the menu, thinking. "Raspberry marble."
"Ooh, good choice! I'm going to go for cookie dough, I think."
"Not strawberry?"
"Nah. Not in the mood." Ruby grins crookedly at her, and Blake smiles back.
She turns back to the front, watching Nora bounce around excitedly.
They order their ice cream and mill around while the man scoops out their orders.
She slides into the booth next to Weiss. Weiss is in the process of thoroughly explaining to Pyrrha the differences between soy and dairy ice cream, and is firmly telling her that, "-there are so many differences between them, that you might as well call them completely different products! I cannot believe they do not have soy flavors here, how disrespectful!" Pyrrha is nodding along, but the point is obviously lost on her.
Blake feels kind of bad for her, but she isn't willing to throw herself under the bus.
"Hey!" Sun sits next to her and slides a cup of ice cream over. "Raspberry marble, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks." Blake accepts the cup, smiling at him.
"Feeling better after that nap?" Sun places a bit of the whipped cream from his banana split in her cup. "You looked grumpy this afternoon."
"Yeah, I was feeling pretty shitty."
"Looked like it too," Sun laughs when she glares at him. "Joking!"
His smile softens and he says, "I'm glad you're starting to feeling better though. You gotta take better care of yourself, Blake."
She smiles at him. "Sun, I'm really sorry about that whole... thing."
"It takes more than you being grumpy to hurt my feelings."
"No, not that," Blake takes a spoonful of ice cream. "I mean, back in first year. I didn't mean to-"
"Blake, we've been over this." Sun puts a hand on her shoulder. "I forgive you. You didn't mean to mess around with my feelings. We both misinterpreted things. I had no clue you didn't like boys, and you had no clue that I liked you! So don't feel bad, okay?"
"Okay." Blake mouths, and she takes another bite of ice cream.
~~
By Sunday evening, her mood has taken a turn for the worse. She has been studying nonstop over the past three days. Her coffee drinking habits have begun to rival Oobleck's, and she feels restless. Her skin feels like it is constantly prickling, moving and stretching across her bones. Her scalp constantly itches, and the fight to keep her second pair of ears upright takes up half of her concentration.
She thinks she is falling apart.
Her teammates have been trying to get her to take a break all day, but now they've mysteriously disappeared. Blake welcomes the peace and quiet.
Until suddenly the book that she is taking notes from is ripped away from her.
"Hey!" Blake shouts, jumping up. "Give that back!"
Ruby glares back at her. She has a fire in her eyes that Blake has never seen in her before. It makes her look like Yang, burning bright with the protective fire that runs within the Rose-Xiao Long sisters. She looks older, taller, and more mature.
"You, Blake Belladonna, need to sleep!" Ruby accuses. She slams Blake's book, now closed, on Yang's desk. Blake jumps a little. "You're losing it! You're stressed and anxious and jumpy! You need sleep."
"No, I don't. I'm fine."
"Blake," Pyrrha says from the door, "You told me that you've been getting less than four hours of sleep a night for the past week. The average person needs at least eight hours of sleep to properly function. You really do need to sleep."
Blake glares at her and hisses, "Traitor."
"See? Pyrrha and I have been really worried. She hasn't said anything because she knows that you think you're fine, but you're really, really not." Ruby says, grabbing Blake's arm. "It's almost midnight. You need to sleep."
Blake blinks and says, "It's midnight? I could have sworn it was six only an hour ago." Ruby gives Pyrrha a pleading look. Pyrrha smiles gently at Blake and puts a gentle hand on the small of her back.
"Come on, Blake. You can finish your work tomorrow.”
Blake sighs through her nose and rubs her forehead. The room is spinning and swaying, and if she’s being honest with herself, she can’t focus anymore. She might as well sleep a little bit.
“Fine,” She says.
Pyrrha smiles. She slowly leads Blake to her bunk and gently pushes her towards it. "Time for bed."
Blake blinks at her. "What are you doing?"
"Making sure you sleep," Pyrrha pushes at her again.
"I don't-" Blake stares at her, mouth hanging open.
"Come on, Blake," Ruby says. She sits on the edge of Blake's bunk and smiles invitingly. "It's time for bed." She reaches out and catches Blake's arm again. She pulls her on the bed, and gently lays her down.
"What the hell?" Blake says aloud, staring at the bottom of Yang's bunk. For a brief moment, she wonders where Yang has gone. But then Pyrrha climbs in beside her and wraps her arms around Blake and all thoughts fly out of her head. Blake feels like she is lying on a cloud.
Ruby grips her left arm, curling her knees into Blake's side. Her head settles onto Blake's bicep. It's a warm, comforting weight.
Blake feels as if she is floating in a pool on a warm, sunny day, drowning in the warmth of the sun and the drowsiness of the water. Everything smells like pears and roses. She tries to fight the drowsiness, but it's too tempting.
Soft lips press against her right cheek. "The hell..." Blake mumbles. She can feel herself getting pulled under the water.
"Shhh.... Sleep, Blake." Pyrrha soothes softly in her ear. A hand smooths hair off of Blake's forehead and someone kisses her cheek again.
"Sleep." She wants to give in so, so badly. A corner of her brain reminds her of all the textbook work waiting for her, but Blake is so sleepy, and so warm. Ruby nuzzles into Blake's ribs and sighs happily.
Slowly, she drifts off into darkness.
She doesn't dream.