#whoowowo can u tell i am a little rusty!

[otp-bumbleby]

I present: one smol snippet from the infant-stage of an AU where it's RWBY but it's like college and not combat school and Blake's forming a book club because she's a dork and Yang is, as usual, a bigger dork

“Ilia, apparently tea and coffee are luxury items now. I'll have to bring my own from home unless I want to go broke.” The new voice floated into the room, sadness clear underneath the irritation.

Yang turned to who she assumed was the person she was waiting on, hearing her make a noise of surprise. Which was followed by a more than normal stretch of silence as she appraised Yang.

Normally, she'd have felt no shame at this, but suddenly Yang felt awkward. She raised her hand and waved stupidly, saying hello. And had to hold in any reaction when she finally saw two pointed ears poking out of black hair, twitching at the metallic jingling the zippers on her sleeves made.

“Oh,” she finally said, setting the takeaway cups down. “Can I help you?”

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. “I’m here to sign up my little sister. To your club.”

“Oh,” she sounded mildly surprised this time. “Would you like a form?” Before she could offer one herself, Ilia grabbed one; almost toppling the whole pile, and thrust it towards Yang.

“If you have any questions, I'm sure Blake would be happy to answer them for you,” Ilia added, fumbling to also hand over a pen.

Yang took both with a thank-you. Ilia seemed less intimated and more...enthralled. She didn't want to be cliché, but her gaydar was rarely wrong - and it takes one to know one. Unfortunately, she wasn't here to find girls, even if they liked her biker-aesthetic that she had spent countless hours perfecting.

She turned her attention back to the quieter of the pair. “So, Blake, right? I'm Yang. Long story short, my little sister Ruby just got skipped ahead two years and she's kind of freaking out about socialising. She loves reading but was too afraid to join your club without me, sooo...can I have two forms?”

Another piece of paper appeared, Ilia piping up. “You definitely can.”

Blake, however, paused for a moment. Yang knew she probably looked like the last person that'd be in a book club, but that was just stereotyping. She was more worried that she'd somehow offended someone she just met, sensing some kind of apprehension from Blake that clearly didn't exist for Ilia.

Still, her face was neutral. “You’re signing up too?”

Yang counted it as a win that she wasn't frowning. She wanted to see her smile, so she turned to a joke. “Yup, it's like a two-for-one thing.”

No dice. Blake just asked her another question. “If you don't mind me asking, you're only going to come to make your sister feel more comfortable?”

“Yeah, I just want to help her make friends. She's nervous about being the only fifteen year old around,” Yang replied, twiddling the pen between her fingers, hoping to make them sympathetic towards her kid sister.

“That’s understandable. I've never heard of a fifteen year old getting into Beacon.” If Blake was shocked, she hid it very well.

Yang considered herself a people person; getting a read on people wasn't usually difficult, but this girl had her interest piqued.

She quickly started jotting down her and Ruby's details, starting to remember that she had somewhere to be. Her brain went into autopilot, making conversation. She'd have to hang out with them anyway, so trying to make friends was a good step. “Professor Ozpin wanted to move her up, so she couldn't refuse. If you could not make a big deal out of it, I think she would feel better, I'd owe you guys one.”

“Duly noted,” Blake said, eyeing her frantic scribbling, “I have to say, I wouldn't have taken you as the reading type.”

Pausing, Yang couldn't help but faux gasp, silently thanking Blake for the opportunity to have some fun - even if she had stereotyped her - maybe this time Blake might react and not stare at her like she had her literal foot in her mouth.

“Oh, no, my secret! I can't read!” It was a little dramatic, not overly; she'd had plenty of practice nailing the balance to entertain her sister over the years.

And Yang cracked one eye open to find Blake fighting a smirk. Whether she thought Yang was an idiot or genuinely found her funny, it didn't matter. It was probably dangerous that she was going to such lengths for a stranger she had just met. In fact, it was definitely dangerous; Yang wanted that smile - the one that wanted to break free, that only gave her the slightest satisfaction of knowing she hadn't really done anything to deserve it but it existed anyway - all for herself. And that was bad, because Yang was pretty fucking gay.

So, it was totally reasonable in her brain that she proceeded to flirt with this stranger at the next immediately available second.

“Maybe you could teach me, though?”

Her gaydar wasn't reacting to Blake, but it was safe to say her subconscious was. Maybe she should learn to read signals instead. She promised herself a long talking to- oh, wait-

tbc

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