Takes place after "how you know inside me."

wonderful mess that we made

When Blake Belladonna entered Beacon Academy, she'd had nothing of value except for Gambol Shroud. Everything else she had brought with her, she could easily leave behind if she had to run. She graduates Beacon, however, with friends and family and more love inside her than she can imagine. Blake can't imagine ever leaving them behind.

Ruby is a dependable leader she can trust, who returns her trust in equal and prioritizes Blake and the rest of their team before any mission they take.

Her girlfriend, Weiss, is headstrong and proud - but she listens and is not immalleable from her old prejudices. Blake feels safe and accepted by Weiss, knows she won't demand anything from her that Blake can't give her.

Blake can't imagine having either of them, without her partner by fate and chance and her soulmate by blood and bond, Yang. For most of their time at Beacon, Blake had rejected her soulmate, even as Yang welcomed her with open arms - looked out for her when she ran herself into the ground and listened when Blake needed to be listened to and said all of the things she needed to hear when she needed to hear them.

They were friends even then and it wasn't like Blake had ignored Yang when Yang had her problems and yet...

It is something they need to talk about - Yang's feelings and not just Blake's.

(Blake fears so far it has been more take than give on her part).

When Yang announces with a sun-shining smile that her girlfriends are coming to visit them in Patch, Blake knows she needs to talk to Yang before four more join this small, cozy place she has come to hall home.

That evening, while the rest start on dinner, Blake pulls Yang upstairs and into an empty room.

"Yang?"

"Something wrong, Blake-y?" Yang asks, but she doesn't look too concerned. Yang is so very good and reading her face.

"Probably not, I just. When I asked you, what we were, when I asked you to be my soulmate... Did you actually want to be?" Blake asks, words falling off her tongue like stone.

"What? Of course I do Blake, I- Why are you asking?" Yang looks at her and Blake sees hurt on her face.

"What about when I first rejected you? Did you want me then?"

"Of course not!" Yang exclaims, upset.

"Why not?"

"I, Why would I want someone that doesn't want me? Blake, tell me what is going on. I don't understand!" Yang is drawing away from Blake and Blake reaches for her, but stops when Yang pulls away further.

"No, Yang. Wait. I'm sorry." Blake stumbles over the words she wants to saw. Why is she so bad with being honest about her feelings? "This isn't a break-up. Or anything like that. I love you, you know that right?"

Yangs hands are wringing in her hair, pulling. Blake's scared for Yang, she's never seen Yang like this before.

"I thought - I dunno. Stop doing this!" Yang's dropping to her knees, drawing herself in defensively. "Don't make me cry, please, Blake - leave. Leave me alone right now."

Blake considers leaving - Yang had always given her exactly what she asked for when she put up boundaries. But her soulmate is in distress, distress that she caused and she can't leave her like this. Not when she misunderstands.

"I'm sorry, I can't. Yang listen." Blake joins Yang on the floor, covers her partner with herself. "I love you. I'm so sorry if you didn't know that. I'm just - concerned. About you. Your feelings. We're always on my wavelength, but where are you?"

Yang's crying now, shuddering in her arms. Through sobs, Yang answers, "I'm - right, where - you... want me to be."

"But where do you want to be?" Her words are insistent, but gentle and she rubs soothingly at Yang's back.

"I don't - understand!"

With a heavy sigh, Blake sits fully down on the ground, legs extended in front of herself, and pulls Yang on her lap. Yang's heavy, but Blake can bear her weight. "That is because you give so much of yourself away to everyone else, you don't even notice you've left nothing for yourself. You should care more for yourself."

"You're wrong. I'm selfish."

"You're brash and confident and you're full of love, but none for yourself. Not 'til recently. Don't think I don't know you Yang, that I don't care or see you. I'm just awful at this, but I'm going to work on it."

Yang gasps through sobs and Blake holds her until she stops.

"I've told you about Raven right? My mom?" Blake nods and Yang continues, "I might have downplayed how abandoned I felt. And then..." Yang trails off.

"I rejected you." Blake guesses, but Yang shakes her head.

"Not your fault."

"It wasn't your fault either." Yang shudders and begins to cry again.

Just as Yang's stopped crying again, someone knocks on the door. Weiss peers in with a sigh and Yang attempts to scramble off her lap, embarrassed, but Blake holds her tight.

"Dinner is over, I've got your share." Weiss sets their plates in the table beside them before bending over to kiss Blake on the forehead. Then, to Yang's surprise, Weiss brushes Yang's hair away from her face and kisses Yang's forehead as well. "I love you both."

Weiss closes the door quietly when she leaves.

"I'm sorry for," Yang gestures about her crying.

"Don't. I'm sorry that I didn't do this better."

Yang shrugs. "You did fine." Then with a smile she adds, "We'll work on it."

"Together."

"Of course," and Yang finally relaxes completely into her arms.

"So Pyrrha, Velvet, and Nora will be arriving soon?"

"Yep. Ren too."

Ren. Nora's platonic soulmate, of course.

"Want me to give them the shovel talk?" Blake grins, "You know, as your soulmate - I've gotta make sure they all know that if they ever hurt you their bodies will never be found."

Yang shudders with laughter this time, "Oh my gosh, Blake. Not even Ren did that."

"Even so."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know. But I can take care of you too. This is a two-way street, Yang."

"Does this mean I have to give one to Weiss?"

Blake chuckles at the thought, "If I get to give one to your three, you can give one to Weiss."

"No way. I trust Weiss anyway."

"If you are sure," Blake pouts. "But their bodies really won't be found if they ever hurt you."

It is a promise.

"Same with Weiss." Yang grins, but she doesn't mean it. Yang's inked Weiss into her skin same as she had with the rest of their team. She trusts Weiss implicitly.

Yang tries to get up one last time, "Seriously Blake, I know I'm really heavy. Probably squashing you flat right now. Besides, we should eat."

"I've got you."

Blake does.

Three more shorts to my "how you know inside me" series and I'll start posting my next one!

Thank you for reading.