They got to the theatre in time to get tickets for a show that was just about to start. Weiss didn't recognise the title, but Blake seemed enthusiastic about it, so she didn't object. Their seats were in the far back of the room because of how close it was to starting, but neither girl complained. The play got underway quickly, and Weiss quickly discovered it was going to be a very long next two hours. Looking through the leaflet they were given on the way in, she also found that there wasn't an intermission, which meant she wouldn't get a break to stretch or walk around to stay awake.
About fifteen minutes in she was having trouble keeping her eyes open, and was constantly having to stop her head from tilting back as she nearly nodded off. She fought it as long as she could, but in the end her residual exhaustion from this morning caught up to her, and she fell asleep. A loud chorus of applause woke her some time later, and she opened her eyes to see the cast taking a bow.
Uh oh, I slept through the whole thing? Weiss thought in shock. Maybe there's a way Blake didn't notice... No, not likely. I've got my head against a pillow and I'm sure she looked over to... Wait a minute, there aren't pillows here. What am I resting my head on...?
She turned her eyes to look and nearly gasped when she saw that her head was laying on Blake's shoulder. She sat straight up in an instant and joined in clapping with the rest of the crowd, but it was far too late to try to blend in. "Good morning, again," Blake said with a small laugh.
"I-I so sorry about that. I didn't mean to fall asleep, I tried my best to stay awake. And I certainly didn't mean to use you as a pillow, I just—"
"Relax, relax," Blake interrupted, blushing a little and wearing a fairly wide smile. "It's alright, you're probably still tired from last night. I should've known you wouldn't be able to sit through a play like this, next time you can pick. That is if we ever do this again."
"Okay... Well, I'd certainly be up for having another day out together, although I'd probably choose a movie over a play."
"Works for me. And hey, maybe next time I'll get to use you as a pillow."
Weiss smiled and shook her head at the comment, still a little embarrassed that she had done that. After the applause finally quieted down they left the theatre and started on their way back to Beacon. As they rounded the corner and started the long straightaway toward the airport, Weiss noticed that they were only a block away from the mall. She didn't particularly need anything, but it was still early enough in the afternoon that they could spend a little more time in the city, plus she enjoyed shopping. "Hey, want to stop by the mall for a bit?" she asked.
Blake looked over and went to say yes, but hesitated, "I don't know, I don't really have a lot of extra spending money."
"Don't worry, it's all on me," Weiss replied with a smile.
"No, no, that's alright. You don't have to—"
"I insist," Weiss interrupted. "If you don't want to buy anything that's fine, but we've still got some time left before meeting everyone for dinner. I wouldn't mind walking around for a while, but this is your day, so we'll only go if you want to."
Blake rolled her eyes, "Alright, but I refuse to let you buy me anything."
Weiss smiled in triumph and led them into the mall. It was a massive building with easily over a hundred stores inside, and somehow Weiss seemed to know every inch of it. They passed a couple beauty and clothes stores and paused to window shop, neither girl really interested in what was inside. It wasn't until they passed a handbag store that Weiss decided to go inside. She didn't need a new purse, but she did want a closer look at one on display toward the back with a snowflake design on it.
Meanwhile, Blake gravitated to a black and white tiger striped bag on one of the centre display shelves. This is actually pretty cute. I like the pattern, and it's a little bigger than my purse back at the room. A lot less beaten up too. Optimistically, she turned it over to look at the price tag, and made a face once she saw the number.
Weiss saw the reaction and laughed, "Think you'll be buying that purse?"
"Not in this lifetime," the Faunus girl said a little sadly before putting the bag back on the display. "Oh well, I'm not really the type of girl to carry around fancy, expensive things anyway."
"Again, if you want me to buy it for you, all you have to do is ask," Weiss reiterated.
"I told you, I didn't want you spending your money on me. Besides, that bag is really, really expensive."
Weiss gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes, "Blake, I'm a Schnee. I could literally buy you this mall if I wanted to, and I'd still have some allowance left over to throw in a nice car. Now, do you want the bag or not?"
Blake sighed and went to say no, but couldn't. "I... Well... Alright, I owe you one."
"Nonsense, it's my treat. Come on, I'll get my card."
They went to the cashier and paid, and Blake couldn't help but smile at the way she looked with her new bag when they left the store. Okay, maybe having one really nice thing isn't the end of the world, she thought with a smile. I still feel a little guilty that I let her spend that much money on me. I know she doesn't care, but still...
They came up to the food court and Weiss started eying up the soft pretzel stand. "I think I'm going to get something to hold me over till dinner, you want anything?" she asked.
Blake shook her head, "No, thanks. I'll go get us a table though." Weiss nodded and got in line, and Blake scouted around for the best open seats. There was a small table off to the side that wasn't in the way of people passing by, so naturally it seemed like a good pick. Weiss came and joined her after getting her pretzel, and for the first time since they got into the city it seemed like they were out of things to talk about. After a few minutes Blake's thoughts started to wander, and it didn't go unnoticed.
"Blake, be honest with me," Weiss said after a while of quiet. "There's something else bothering you, isn't there?"
Blake did her best to keep a neutral face, "What makes you say that?"
"A couple things, actually. You still seem upset, even after we agreed that we'd go after Roman. You've been so happy this afternoon. I've seen you smile more today than I have since we met, but you're still as distracted as ever. Also, if there were nothing wrong, you would've just said no instead of avoiding the question."
Gah, damn it! Why can't I just be happy for a day? Blake thought, scolding herself. Everything was going great, we were acting like friends, but I had to think about it going somewhere... I don't want to lie, but I can't tell her the truth...
"Really, I'm fine," she replied. Her tone seemed convincing, but she made the crucial mistake of not making eye contact when she spoke.
Weiss narrowed her eyes, "Don't lie to me. There's something else you're not telling me, and I want to know what it is. You can't keep keeping secrets for us."
"You're not exactly one to talk," Blake shot back, starting to get a little defensive.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've been just as distracted as me the past couple days. Don't start preaching to me if you can't take your own advice." Her frustration was coming out in her voice, giving it a sharp bite that made Weiss shrink back in her seat. "Unless you're about to tell me everything that's on your mind, don't expect me to do the same."
The heiress sighed, "I... Well..."
"That's what I thought," Blake said coldly. She looked down at the table to compose herself, and when she looked back up she saw the glint of a tear in the corner of Weiss' eye. "Weiss...?" she asked in a quiet voice, her attitude completely turned around. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that."
Weiss shook her head, "No, you're right. I have no room to talk right now. It's just... I've been so concerned with making things right with you for the way I've acted. You know I didn't mean any of those things I said, I've just never been friends with someone like you before... There's just a lot I don't know."
It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the issue that Blake had noticed her being preoccupied with. Since her talk with Yang, her main focus had been trying to figure out her whole situation with guys and girls. She'd chosen her words very carefully here, hoping she'd be able to bait Blake into a conversation to help her. She felt bad for lying and not coming right out and saying it, but she didn't want anyone else knowing, not until she figured things out at least.
"Well, maybe we can fix that now," Blake suggested, saying exactly what Weiss hoped she would. "Ask me anything you want, don't be afraid about saying something you think is offensive or whatever else."
Weiss gave a small smile, "Alright... Um... Well, I guess I'm kind of curious about the whole being a lesbian thing, mind if I start there?"
Blake looked surprised, "Really? I thought you would've started with me being a Faunus."
"I mean, it's not like I don't know anything about the Faunus. I haven't been friends with one before, but I've heard enough of what you've said to Yang and Sun to get a fair idea of what you've been through. The thing is, I've never been friends with someone who's gay before either, but that's something I really know nothing about."
"Fair enough. And I'm bisexual, just for the record. But anyway, go ahead. What do you want to know?"
Bisexual? Weiss wondered with a mix of confusion and amazement. Wait a minute... That's it! That's why I still think Neptune is attractive! I've been looking at this so black and white, it never occurred to me that I could like both! This is incredible! I'll never have to tell my father, and I guess I don't have to have this awkward conversation with Blake, and... No, wait... What if there's a girl I really like? I mean, I couldn't do anything now, or anytime soon, but...
"Um, let's see..." Weiss began, already feeling the awkwardness of the conversation, even though it hadn't started. "Well, how did you find out?"
Blake paused for a moment to think. "I guess I've known for a while. There was a girl I was really close with a couple years ago, and she ended up being my first girlfriend. We dated for a while, but broke up when I got involved with bigger raids and things in the White Fang. I had two other short relationships before Adam and I started dating, and that was when I knew I was bi. I thought it would be weird at first to find people to go out with after that, but it actually makes it a lot easier."
"That's actually my next question," Weiss interjected, happy to have been given a clean segue into the question she was very anxious to get an answer to. "How do you find another girl to date? Wouldn't it be weird to ask them out and get turned down because they're straight?"
Blake blushed a little and shrugged, "Well, sometimes that happens. The thing is though, after a while you can kind of pick out girls that aren't straight. I don't mean because of something like a butch haircut, but just by little things like the way they look at other girls, or by the way they don't look at guys."
"Really? It's that obvious? So when you look at everyone walking past us, you can tell that easily?"
Blake nodded and took a quick look around. She pointed out a few girls she had a feeling about, but Weiss couldn't make the distinction. "Don't worry, it's not something you have to get good at unless you need to pick them out. You know, it's weird, but you've actually been giving off the same signals I watch for. If I didn't know you, I probably would've come up to you."
"Really?" Weiss asked, shock. She hadn't realised how much it was showing, but sure enough she could think of the people she'd had her eyes on today, and it definitely matched Blake's earlier description. There was a moment where she was going to just come out and tell Blake the truth, but hesitated once again. Instead, she just laughed. "Oh, yeah, right. Me, a lesbian? That's crazy! Can you imagine?"
Blake forced a weak laugh in return, but inside she was doing anything but. "Yeah... Crazy..." she said sadly, looking away to hide her expression. "Well, it's getting late, we should probably head back soon if we want to be on time for dinner."
Weiss was a little surprised that Blake already wanted to go, and feared she may have reacted a little too strongly to her comment. Nonetheless she didn't argue, and agreed that it was time to head back, not wanting to say anything else she'd regret. The walk back to the airship was very quiet, and Weiss started to worry that she may have ruined their afternoon at the last possible minute. They boarded the ship and took their seats, and Blake seemed to be back to the same distracted state she was in before. And now Weiss seemed to be joining her.
Weiss sighed, Great job, you had to make a big deal out of denying it... I should've just told her, why did I tell her? Why don't I just tell her now? No, it's too late for that... What do I do now? Should I apologise? Does that even mean anything for me now? Gah! Why do I keep doing this? Maybe this really is who I am...
"Weiss? Everything okay?" Blake asked, catching the heiress by surprise.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just, um... just thinking about some stuff. So, um... did you have fun today?"
Blake smiled and nodded, "I did, I really needed this. Thank you, you really are a good friend."
Wait, what? She's not mad? I'm so confused, what is going on? Maybe I'm just overthinking things...
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I'm sorry if I said anything that made you uncomfortable, I'm still learning."
"Don't worry, you didn't say anything wrong. And even if you did, I wouldn't be upset. I know you mean well, even if it doesn't always come across. I suppose I owe you a bit of an apology too. I've been working through something, and I shouldn't let it affect the way I act toward my friends and teammates."
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Weiss asked, even though she was still avoiding talking about her own problem.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I think going out today gave me what I needed to get over it. At least I think so, I'll have to wait and see to be sure, but... I think I'm alright now."
They spent the rest of the flight idly chatting until the airship landed back on campus. Weiss started walking toward the dining hall, but Blake decided to go back to the room to put her new bag away. They split up for now, and Weiss began to make her way to meet the rest of her friends for dinner.
I don't think today could've gone any better! Weiss thought as she walked along. I feel like this was the first time we actually interacted like real friends. I'm glad she could forgive me after everything that's happened, I'm pretty lucky to have a friend like her. I hope things can stay this way for us, I'd hate to screw things up between us again.
"Hey Weiss!" a cheerful voice called out behind her, returning her attention to the real world. She turned around to see Ruby jogging to catch up to her. "Didn't think I'd run into you until we got to dinner. Where's Blake?"
"She went back to the room to get drop her stuff off before dinner, she said she wouldn't be long. How come you're not with Yang or JNPR?"
"Yang wanted me to get the Remnant game board," the leader said, patting the board game she was carrying under her arm. "We're gonna play in the library after dinner, you should play too. But more importantly, how'd your day go? Did you and Blake get along?"
"It actually went really well," Weiss happily replied. "And yes, we got along wonderfully. I don't think I've ever seen her smile as much as I did today."
"That's awesome! So do you think she's all done moping around now?"
Weiss smiled and nodded, "I think so. She told me that today really helped her out, and that she was over whatever the other thing that was bothering was."
"Great! Looks like team RWBY is back to full strength!" Ruby shouted excitedly before a low rumbling from her stomach interrupted her. "On that note, let's keep it that way and get to dinner, I'm starving!" Weiss couldn't help but agree and resumed her walk, now with her leader at her side. For her, today had been a complete success, as everything seemed to have gone according to plan. However, the same wasn't quite true for Blake.