"Dear Yang,"
Blake stared at her own handwriting. This was always the hardest part of her letters to Yang. How to begin, how to start? Deep in her thoughts she drew a little heart on the paper. Then she continued the letter.
"I've written so many letters already and still I lack words to say what I really feel. I never wanted to feel that way for anyone ever again since Adam made me betray what I really stand for. But that ultimately led me to come to Beacon and meet you. Ironic, isn't it?"
She chuckled to herself
"I don't know when I started to feel this way, all I do know is it was already familiar when we danced together. It was, however, the first time I really noticed it for what it was." She crossed out the last word "Is. But at that time, I still tried to keep away from that feeling. That's why I danced the rest of the evening with Sun. At least he didn't make me feel that way, you know… It was scary. It still is now, to be honest.
Sun is easy. He makes me laugh and feel almost comfortable without the side effects of being in love."
Blake paused. The all too familiar dead end of these letters. She laid her head on the desk with a little "ugh" noise. And then jerked upright. Her ears twitched inside her bow. She heard something.
And then the door flew open. Ruby came in, followed by Weiss and… Yang. Blake quickly hid the letter in a book she had finished reading but which still lay next to her.
"Hey Blake, there you are!" Yang.
"Hey guys"
"Have you been learning all the time? The weather is far too good to stay indoors all day long." Yang frowned as she said that.
Blake was unsure, what to answer to that. The way Yang always knew, when she was overtiring herself, it was as if the girl could read her mind! But she would never tell her, what she had really done before she was interrupted!
"Come on, guys. Dinner time!" Ruby was already halfway out of the dorm again.
They ate dinner and went outside for a late stroll through the sunset. Ruby teased Weiss and then ran away from her, laughing. But Yang could tell that Weiss wasn't really upset. Blake lingered behind. She was deep in her thoughts, so she didn't notice Yang until she hugged her from behind.
"Tell me, kitty... What's on your mind?"
Blake sighed but could not suppress a faint little smile.
"Yang!" she berated her now, but in a more loving way. "You do know I don't like that nickname. If you must, say it when no one else can hear it."
"Still so uncertain? Velvet hardly has a problem with others either. I mean... There are some jerks, true. But you get them everywhere. And you want to be treated as an equal, don't you?"
Blake sighed. "I wish it was that easy, Yang. But it isn't. I've made too many mistakes in the past and I just wanted a fresh start. Not having to fight just to be allowed to exist. I really admire Velvet for her strength, though. I wish I had it, too"
"You will always have your team. Ruby and I were raised not to make a difference. To judge others by how they treat others, not by how and who they were born. And Weiss... She is not who she used to be when she came here."
They both looked over to where Weiss was now tickling Ruby who squealed and laughed madly but couldn't do much because Weiss had created an ice block holding her to the spot.
Over Ruby's noise they couldn't make out what Weiss said but they heard the word "dolt" in it. They chuckled. Blake noticed that Yang still held her tight.
"See? We've all grown together. And we won't leave you, no matter what."
They heard a squeal of "Yeaah! Tickling fight!" and Nora came dashing past to join Weiss in tickling Ruby. Pyrrha on the other hand teamed up with Ruby and cut away the ice. The boys came behind. Yang laughed, grabbed Blake by the hand and ran towards the others. "Wait for us! It's Team RWBY against Team JNPR. No weapons! The game is on!"
A few days later. Weiss had taken Ruby to the library and Yang wanted to go out in the sun. She borrowed a book from Blake and went outside. As she went, she thought about Blake and what she meant to her. She sighed. Maybe if she read all of her favourite books, a lot of romantic stories... Maybe she could find a way to ask her out for a date? Find some inspiration, maybe something to talk about... to compare themselves with... She opened the book and saw a piece of paper falling out. It had a heart on it. She picked it up. Her heartbeat suddenly became a lot faster. A love letter? Who wrote it? Was it from Sun? He'd taken a lot of interest in Blake. Or maybe Blake had written it. For whom? Feeling guilty for doing so, she carefully unfolded it and started to read.
"Dear Yang ..."
Blake had the dorm to herself again. Maybe she should find a better place to write her letters.
Now, where was the last letter? She hadn't finished it yet. And she preferred to finish them before destroying them. It had been her little ritual to keep her mind clear.
She looked around her personal things, but it wasn't there. Where was it? Where did she hide that damn letter? "Okay, Blake. Find it, or they might find it. They might interrupt you again, like the last time" she murmured to herself. She looked under her pillow, where she had hidden her letters before. A book, maybe. Yes, that might be it. And then she froze as realisation dawned on her.
"Oh!"
The book she had finished earlier that day. The very book she had given Yang today… Yang had asked for romantic novels and without thinking she had given her this particular book. "Oh no, oh no. No, no, no!" But it was no good standing around like a statue. She'd make up some excuse what it was, maybe a letter to her parents... Or to a friend. It had the stupid little heart on it she had drawn while she had been thinking.
She ran out of the door and down to the courtyard. Several people tried to talk to her, some asked what the hurry was. It took her a while to find Yang, sitting underneath a tree. Reading. The letter.
The book lay next to her in the grass. "No" Blake gasped under her breath. She was frozen on the spot, watching in horror as Yang looked at her letter. And then up. Right up at her. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and Blakes cat instinct kicked in. She turned and ran. She didn't see Yang reaching out her hand to her.
From that moment on, Blake was hiding. She came into classes at last second so everyone else was already seated and she sat away from her team. She had no idea how long she could keep this up but what should she do? Run and hide? Leave Beacon? Yang had promised her, just a few days ago, that her team would never leave her. But she hadn't had any idea then what Blake felt. Yang! She was probably interested in some guy. Or not interested in love at all. Or... Blake just couldn't see how Yang could be interested in her at all. How could she ever look her in the eyes again? In the afternoon she hid in the library, pretending to study. She heard steps but didn't mind them until...
"Alright. Enough hiding, Blake Belladonna!" The voice as cold as ice. Weiss came to a halt in front of Blake. Ruby behind her, looking worried. But Weiss wasn't worried. She was annoyed.
"It is not the first time you hide something from us, your team. Remember last time? You promised not to do so again!"
"I'm sorry Weiss. I think I just need some time to myself"
"There is no me time in a team!" Weiss argued.
"Blake? Yang is also very withdrawn and won't tell us why. You didn't fight, did you?" Ruby's voice quivered as she asked this. "Because… we'd like to know, and help you make up and…" she faltered. Weiss cut back in. "The thing is, if you two don't talk, that's 50% of the team. You are bringing your team down with you"
"Look, I just need some time to figure it out, okay?" Blake slammed her book shut, stood up and left. Her teammates only stared after her. Ruby's eyes began to fill with tears. "Figure what out?" Weiss asked, no one in particular. Ruby shrugged helplessly.
They went to the dorm to find Yang sitting on her bed, not saying a single word. They asked her about Blake, but Yang just shrugged. 'If this is some kind of a joke, Kitty, it is not a good one!' she thought to herself. Apparently, the letter had not been left for her to find on purpose. Fine. She should not have read it. Alright. But... It still didn't explain why Blake kept hiding from her. Her teammates did not notice the piece of paper she carefully folded and lay under her pillow. Maybe she should act.
