If Blake was being honest, she was actually shocked at the restraint Yang was showing. Nothing was being punched or set ablaze and she wasn't shouting at people. She might have been wearing a whole in the floor with all of her pacing, and there was no doubt that she would be burning to the touch, her eyes might have been glowing a deadly red for the better part of three hours with no indication of stopping, and she might have been talking under her breath for the majority of that time, but really it was the best they could hope for. At this point, whatever destruction Yang felt necessary to perform, well, no one would exactly blame her. Blake couldn't even be sure she would try to stop her partner if Yang started up on a rampage. Blake sure as anything knew she wouldn't stop her if Yang turned against her. Anger seemed like a fair response. Even she was angry, though no one would guess it from her sitting across the room with her knees pulled up to her chest. Though anger wasn't the thing that bashed against her chest, it was disgust. Pure and total disgust. It had to be done. Though no matter how many times she told herself this, she still couldn't stop how disgusted she felt at her actions. Yang probably felt the same way. No matter who actually disserved her anger, the Grimm, the White Fang, fate, even Blake herself, there was no one Yang hated more in this moment than herself. And it broke Blake's heart to see her friend like this.
They were all exhausted. The mission had been a long and taxing one and the night was far from over. Not that any of them really would sleep that night if given the option. They hadn't even cleaned up when they got back. And they were all covered in a mix of sweat, dirt, and blood. They were all painfully aware of it, but none of them could muster the initiative to leave. Blake rose her hands to her face and flexed her fingers. The dried blood cracked slightly at the motion but other than that it clung as if a second skin to her own. This wasn't the first time she had blood on her hands and darkly, she knew it wouldn't be the last, but this was different. Numbly, she wondered if she would ever be truly able to wash it away this time. The thought of her hands forever stained red sent a wave of nausea through her.
Her eyes drifted up to Yang who had stopped pacing to stare horrified at her own hands. But unlike Blake, her hands weren't red, they were black. Stained with the reminder of what she had done. Who knew blood could burn? And Blake's stomach did another flip. It was her fault, it was all her fault. It hadto be done. If given the chance, she probably would have done it again, even knowing that this was the outcome. In the grand scheme of things, it was a small price to pay. A price she'd be more than willing to pay. She just hoped Yang understood. She needed Yang to understand. There was no other way, no alternative solution. If they hadn't done it…
"You did what was right. You know that, right?" Weiss' whisper from next to her reminded her of her of the other girl's presence. The heiress had been the most put together out of all of them, long ranged attacks didn't require getting down and dirty on the front lines. Not that Blake bemoaned the girl for it, her long range had saved Blake's life quite a few times, but what Blake wouldn't do for her hands to be as clean as Weiss' were.
She spoke in a whisper as well as to not disturb Yang who had gone back to pacing, "Doesn't matter, there are going to be consequences."
"There are always consequences, and we'll deal with them." Weiss took in a strangled breath of air. Blake turned to the girl, and saw their ice queen was shaking slightly with her hands clutched in fists, "The consequences of doing nothing are unthinkable. So whatever the consequences are for this, I'm glad for them."
"She's going to hate us." There she said it. Her worst fear of the outcome of this night. The thought broke her heart and her eyes burned with tears that broke free and escaped down her cheeks.
A light watery chuckle answered her, "Give her more credit than that. After everything we've been through, don't dismiss her just yet."
"I want to believe you. And I wish I could." It was something that clawed within her to want to take solace in Weiss' words, but there was something, probably guilt, that stopped her.
Weiss didn't try to convince her, but sighed, "Such a shame. Just wait and see."
"Yang hates me."
Weiss acquiesced, "Maybe a little bit. But I think she hates herself more."
"What have I done?"
"You convinced Yang to save Ruby's life. Nothing else matters."
"But I…"
"Nothing else matters." And for a moment, Blake believed that Weiss truly thought that.
Blake would have liked to combat this further, but the doors opened and a doctor walked in. They all moved as fast as they could to meet her. "First and foremost, she's alive and going to stay that way." A collective sigh of relief past through them, and the doctor looked between Yang and Blake, "That little stunt you pulled saved her life. Don't you forget that. As for the initial wound, we believe that once Miss Rose's aura takes over, she should be up on her feet in a matter of days. But at the very least until then she is not to be straining herself."
"We'll do our best to keep her calm."
"See that you do. Despite your timely interference, she did manage to lose a fair amount of blood and do enough damage to be going on with." The doctor looked sadly at them all, "The burns, however, are a different story." Yang made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. "They saved her life, of that there is no doubt, but they were not made by normal fire and as such her aura is having difficulty healing them. We aren't sure if that's a sign of her low aura simply trying to triage what damage it can, and leaving the rest for when there is no chance of death and her aura is higher. Semblance induced burns are always tricky and the effect they have tends to vary from person to person. The next few days are going to be very telling one way or another. But rest assured Miss Rose is receiving the best care possible." She looked each of them in the eye. Blake turned her head over to Yang who looked ready to vomit and was as pale as Ruby normally was. "Any questions."
"When can we see her?" Weiss seemed to be the only person capable of forming words right now. Blake didn't think she could, and there was no way that Yang would be able.
"You may see her as soon as you're ready, but she is sleeping and the doctors would prefer it if she stays that way for a while. No waking her and when she awakes, no straining her."
"Yes, mam" Blake nodded, Yang just stared.
The doctor had them follow her down various hallways. Blake was in sensory overload, she never liked the smell of hospitals. It burned at her nose, but at the very least she couldn't smell the blood on her. They came to a door and were allowed in. The small room held their little rose sleeping away. From where they were, for a moment, they could believe that was all that was happening. But Ruby was too pale, even by her usual standards, and the only color that existed beside white in the room was the small girl's dark black and red hair. It was dirty and plastered to her face with sweat. But it was a relief from all of this pale nothingness. Yang and Blake held back toward the door, while Weiss went more inside, but not to where Ruby was sleeping. The doctor left them, saying she had to call Ruby and Yang's father and had reports to fill out and she would be back later to check in.
They weren't alone for even gone a minute before Weiss turned on them, "Okay, I've held this in long enough, but now you have seen her and know she's going to be alright. Go clean up."
"But I…"
"I know you mean well, Yang, but if she wakes up and the both of you still have her blood on your hands, she is going to freak out. And that wouldn't be good for her." Yang shoulders slumped, and Weiss took on a gentler tone, "I'll look over her while you're gone, but when she wakes she's going to want her big sister so the longer we talk about this the longer she will have to wait if she wakes up. Please, just get cleaned up, clear your head, and come back ready to be her big sister" Yang nodded numbly and walked away with fist clenched angrily at her side. Weiss looked at Blake, "You too."
Blake looked back at the doorway, "What do I say to make this right?"
Weiss looked sadly at her, "I don't know, this isn't something they prepare you for in training. But…" Weiss looked back at Ruby, "She's going to need Yang, and right now you're probably the only person she'll listen to. Either way, you need to get the blood off too. It's not going to help Ruby, and it certainly isn't doing you any favors." Blake nodded dumbly and stared at her red hands, "Hey, our little dolt will be asking for the pair of you as soon as she wakes up. You go take care of yours, and I'll take care of mine until you get back." Weiss smiled encouragingly at her and with heavy footfalls, Blake left in search of Yang.
The rambunctious teenager wasn't actually hard to find. Down the hall at the nearest bathroom she could find. Yang was curled on the floor with her back against the wall and her knees drawn to her chest. Her shoulders shook and glowing hair indicated that Blake shouldn't touch her. "Yang?"
"Leave me alone." The voice was strained, angry, and resentful.
Blake walked over and sat in front of her partner, "Come on Yang, you can't hide here forever." Though Blake would have been a hypocrite if she blamed Yang for wanting to try.
"Why not? It would serve me right."
Blake could've cried, "Stop it, you didn't…"
That got her attention, and Yang lifted her head and Blake was faced with two glowing blood red eyes. Blake tried not to flinch at the anger radiating out of them. "You want to know what 'I didn't?!'" Her words burned with pure furry, "I didn't protect her, I didn't keep her safe, I didn't keep my promise. I hurt her, oh Oum, I hurt her." She brought her hands to the side of her head and gripped at her hair. Tears flooded her eyes, and they turned back to the lilac that Black knew so well, her hair stopped glowing. Probably low aura more so that Yang actually being calm.
Blake hesitantly reached out and took one of Yang's hands in hers. It was hot, but Blake didn't think it was burning her. "You had no choice." Blake felt tears run down her face. She needed Yang to understand, "I didn't give you a choice. Please Yang, this isn't your fault."
"It doesn't matter. Ruby won't let me come near her after this."
"Yang, you know that's not true." Blake wished to every power there was that she was right.
"I do. I've seen it before," Yang's voice dropped to a whisper and if Blake was human, she was certain she wouldn't have heard, "She's been hurt before, she closes herself off."
Blake didn't want to ask what had happened. The very thought sickened her, but that wasn't the point of this conversation. "It's not the same, you saved her life. She'll know you had no choice, she won't be afraid, not of you of all people." Now if only Blake could convince herself Ruby would feel the same about her.
Yang lifted their hands and pressed them together, black to red. Yang's fingers were thicker but Blake's were longer by a hair. Yang looked her dead in the eye with all of the innocence she still had left, "How do we go on from here?"
"I don't know."
"I keep seeing her, hearing you, and I hate myself for wanting to take it back, because I know it was right but it feels so wrong."
Blake closed her eyes, "I can still smell her blood, it's on my hands, I can feel every pained breath she took under my fingers, and I hate myself for not being able to find another way to save you this pain."
"You were right to yell at me like you did."
"I still wish I didn't have to."
"So do I." Yang interlocked their fingers, "She's going to be okay?" It didn't sound like she was going to believe anything anyone said, but she needed to hear it.
"She's going to be okay." Blake smiled as best she could through the tears.
Yang weakly returned it for a moment before her face crumbled and she launched herself at Blake. The force of it nearly knocked her over. Blake felt strong arms wrap around her, and water fall onto her shoulder. Blake hugged Yang back as the blond girl cried into her shoulder. "I almost lost her."
Blake swallowed a lump in her throat, "I know."
"I can't lose her."
"I know."
"I promised I would keep her safe."
"I know. And you have, she's going to be okay. "
"I'm scared."
Of all the useless words to respond, there was something, "So am I." Blake pushed against Yang until they were face to face, tear stained lilac met tear stained gold. "But whatever happens, I am going to fight for that girl, to be in her life, and be worthy to call myself her friend. And I know I can't do it alone." Blake smiled even though everything in her wanted to just break down, "Be my partner?"
Yang chuckled lightly "You know it."
Blake grinned and made to stand bringing a willing Yang with her, "Come on, let's get cleaned up. I think we've kept our little speed demon waiting long enough."
Yang smiled and rolled her eyes, the effect felt normal even through the clear tear tracks marking her face. "Yeah," Yang chuckled, "Ruby was never one for patience."
"Neither are you."
"Runs in the family, what can I do?" Yang's chuckle turned into a sob. Well, they lasted fifteen seconds.
"She will be okay." Maybe if Blake said it enough she could make herself believe it.
Yang closed her eyes and breathed deeply to keep herself in check. She opened them and nodded to Blake, "Right," Yang's voice was forced but it was the best Blake could hope for.
Blake helped Yang out of Ember Celica and her gloves as Yang's hands were shaking too much for her to be effective at anything. The gauntlets would be washed thoroughly as soon as possible and the gloves were just thrown out. And through fumbling hands and a closeness that wasn't exactly necessary, but was needed, they scrubbed, washed, and rinsed the blood from each other's hands. Yang's was considerably harder, with the blood basically melted to her skin, and the only solace was that Yang's gloves had protected most of the skin itself. They both cried as the red turned to pink and vanished down the drain. After they had finished, the only red left on Blake's hands was the irritation from all of the scrubbing and the temperature of the water.
They washed three times over, just to be sure, but after that there was no stalling. Blake turned to Yang, "You ready?"
Yang closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at Blake, "As I'll ever be."
Together they walked back to Ruby's room. They entered quietly to as not wake their sleeping companion. Weiss, not hearing them was affectionately brushing hair off of Ruby's face, smiling sadly. She noticed them and didn't even look abashed like she normally did whenever they caught her being affectionate with their little rose. "No change, I'm afraid."
Yang nodded and took a seat by the bed, and lifted her hand as if to take Ruby's by hesitated and returned the appendage to her lap. Yang's face fell in something akin to shame. Blake walked over to the wall and slid down it. It was cold, but the floor was always more comfortable than chairs. And they were going to be here for a while. Together the three teammates kept silent vigil.
Hours passed and a sharp hiss of pain and a groan brought them all to stunning awareness. Blake rose to her feet just in time to see silver eyes open. They looked tired and confused under a fog of pain. Blake swallowed uncomfortably. But Ruby did not have eyes for her, only the blonde sitting next to her, "Yang?"
Yang smiled but her voice was tight when she said, "Hey, baby sis, I'm here."
"Missed you." The girl probably didn't even know where she was.
"I missed you too, but we're together now." Blake could hear Yang trying to convince herself that everything was okay.
"Yeah," Ruby's breathing was off, and she took a painful sounding gasp of air that they all flinched at, "I got hurt?" She said it as if she was confirming the day of the week.
"You did, Rubes, but you're going to be fine."
"Can I believe you tomorrow?" Ruby said it through a pained smile that turned into a grimace. She reached out a hand to Yang, who reached out but as soon as their fingers touched Yang flinched and pulled back. A confused and sad look passed over Ruby's face, "Yang, what's…" Silver eyes widened and pure terror sculpted her face. She pulled her hand back and put it over the place where they all knew the wound was, "Oh, no." Blake didn't even think Ruby could get any paler. "No, no." Yang got up and backed away from Ruby, hand over her moth and tears running down her face. From her stance, Yang was torn between running to her sister and running out the door.
Weiss seemed to be the only one capable of doing anything and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Hey, hey, it's okay, you're safe."
Ruby shook her head, and surprisingly reached a hand back out to Yang, "Please," The very word seeped out laced with pain, "Don't leave me." Yang stared horrified at the hand that was offered to her. Blake held her breath. Tears spilled down everyone's faces, "Please, Yang," Ruby's expression crumpled in agony, and not half a second later Yang had Ruby's hand in her own.
Yang was sobbing at this point, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Ruby visibly relaxed once Yang had taken hold of her hand and she smiled through tears running down her cheeks. She brought their joined hands to her face. Yang was trembling, and from what Blake could see of her partner's face, the girl had turned a shade of green "You saved my life."
"I hurt you."
"Would you have done it if you didn't fear for my life?"
"No, never. Not ever, no matter what."
"Then what else matters? I'm going to be fine." Ruby furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Weiss, "I'm going to be fine, right?"
Weiss chuckled lightly, "Yes, thanks to them."
Ruby turned back to Yang and smiled, "See?" Out of the corner of her eye, Blake caught Weiss sending her a smug smile. Blake shrugged and smiled back. Relief filling her veins. "I love you, no matter what."
"I love you too,"
Ruby smiled wider and let out a laugh. Immediately her face fell and she hissed in a breath, "Hurts."
"I know, but only until your aura gets back up to normal." Yang's expression set as if she was contemplating whether or not she could actually punch Ruby's pain as if it personally offended her. No, it was as if it personally offended Ruby. Helplessness wasn't something Yang dealt well with, especially when it came to Ruby, and the hours of helplessness before now had really added up. Blake worried what kind of toll it would take.
Ruby's breathing was off, like she had just run an hour at top speeds. Blake really didn't like how erratic it was. She took a painful sounding gasp of air that they all flinched at. "Won't be singing for a while, though." She shrugged as best she could. Weiss rolled her eyes.
Yang made a noise that sounded like chuckling, but Blake was sure it was anything but, "Don't worry, silly girl, you're probably still better than Blake."
"Hey." The mock offense was easy, normal, Blake could give them both that.
A slight laugh turned into a painful sounding cough. Blake walked forward so she was close to Ruby, as the older three shared a worried glance. "Don't worry, Blakey, we love you regardless."
Blake forced a smile to her face, it actually wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Ruby saying that she still loved Blake meant too much to put in words. She choked a bit on the air, "Good to hear." Blake surely hoped Ruby couldn't hear her heart in her throat. The sound had drowned out Yang's rapidly thumping heart from Blake's own ears.
Ruby made an attempt to sit up, her entire face contorting in pain as she struggled. Weiss held her down, "Hold on, the doctors said to not strain yourself."
"What do they know?"
"They're doctors."
"And Professor Port's a teacher." Yang smiled smugly and Blake grinned as Weiss threw her arms up in surrender. For a moment, being happy was easy. Their leader had that way about her. It didn't last long, but it was there. Still, Ruby didn't push herself any further and settled back into the bed. Ruby smiled lightly before turning to Yang, "So I gotta know, did I win?"
"Win what?"
"The fight, you know the one that got all stabby." Ruby furrowed her brows and ran a hand over where the wound was, "Or was it slashy? I can't really remember. A lot's kinda fuzzy." Considering how much pain she was in Blake wasn't surprised. In fact, as far as Blake was concerned the less Ruby remembered about the confrontation the better. "Did I win?" Blake smiled sadly at the more than probable fact that the only thing Ruby really cared about was whether or not she won the fight that sent her to the hospital. That fact also made her sick to her stomach as well as how easily Ruby brought it up, but happy thoughts. Focus on the positive.
Yang laughed gently, "Yeah, you won." Her voice was strained with unshed tears.
Ruby tilted her head at Yang, "Liar."
"You'll win next time?" Yang neglected to mention that there would be no "next time." Not if any of them had anything to say about it. But the dark part of Blake's mind reminded her that they hardly ever had a say in their own lives.
Another pained breath and a weary smile, "Better. Though I do sense some doubt in your voice. Work on that."
"Aye, aye, captain." Ruby smiled as her eyes started to drift closed. Yang frowned, but quickly forced a smile to her face, "How about you go to sleep, kiddo?"
"'M not…"
Blake stepped forward, "Yes, you are. Go to sleep, Ruby. I promise at least one of us will be here when you wake."
Ruby strained to focus on Blake's face, "Blake?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"No need." Also, the thought of being thanked for begging Yang to burn Ruby made her sick to her stomach, "I'm just glad you're okay." And she was, she really, really was.
Ruby gave her a strange look, "I heard you," Her voice was barely above a whisper, but Blake could hear her just fine. And she knew what Ruby heard. "I didn't think you could ever beg like that." Blake wasn't sure what to feel. On one hand, Ruby clearly understood how desperate they were, and Blake wouldn't have to justify her actions. It brought a sense of relief. On the other hand, Blake knew Ruby would be destressed because Blake was destressed, and Blake didn't want to be the cause of any more suffering on her friends account. Ruby winced as she tried to breathe normally. Blake ran a hand through Ruby's hair, as it was all she could do against the onslaught of pain. Ruby leaned into her touch and closed her eyes. "Please, I never want to hear that sound again." Yang made a strangled noise in the back of her throat.
Blake knew she could never promise her leader that. She hoped she never had to, she didn't ever want it to be necessary, she still couldn't promise that she wouldn't, but there was an easy compromise, "I never want to see you in that state ever again."
Ruby winced through a smile, "I'll try not to be stabbed again."
"You do that. And avoid any other life threatening wounds while you're at it. Please." Weiss and Yang both made a sound of assent.
"Meh. I'll do my best."
It was far from a promise, but Blake understood their line of work. It wasn't something worth promising. It would more than likely be broken before the end of their careers.
Weiss scoffed, "You'd better do better than that." Ruby looked sheepishly at her partner, Weiss sighed, "But that's a discussion for later," And Blake didn't see the heiress to the Schnee empire, she saw a young woman who had just come within an inch of losing her best friend. The girl was much paler than normal and rigid in her stance with a hand on Ruby's arm that neither girl seemed to notice. One could only assume that it was her years of training that were keeping Weiss from completely breaking down in front of them. "You get some sleep."
Ruby nodded, "Yes mam," Ruby looked toward Yang, "good night." Silver eyes closed and Ruby's head sagged.
"Good night." Yang continued to hold Ruby's hand. When they were certain she was asleep, Blake backed up and once more found solace leaning against the wall. They wouldn't be sleeping this night. Their vigil over the girl that meant so much to all of them gave them comfort. As long as Ruby's chest continued to rise and fall, they could live with whatever they had to do to keep it that way. The nightmares would come later, of that there was little doubt. But they won tonight, they won.
AN; and that's that, hope you enjoyed, please review if you have time. ensia