(Uploaded from my AO3 account of the same name)
(University/College AU or something.)
"For the last time, Ruby, no means no!"
"Why not!?" Ruby demands, infuriated with her sister.
"Because I'm the older sister, that's why," Yang fires back. "You're not old enough, Ruby, and as long as I'm taking care of you, you'll listen to what I have to say!"
"Your sister is just looking out for you, Ruby," Blake says, trying to console the little punk-goth-rock-whatever-she-is girl. "She just wants you to make sure you're making the right decisions for the right reasons."
"That's easy for you to say," Ruby retaliates. "You're her girlfriend. Of course you'd defend her!"
"I'm defending her because I understand where she's coming from. She's not got a whole lot of family left to take care of, you know." Ruby's face drops, yet somehow maintains her stubborn expression.
"I don't like it when you play that card," Ruby mutters, voice laced with forlorn. Blake and Yang share a look, and neither of them look too happy. Blake definitely feels like the awkward third-party here though. Yang's responsibilities as a guardian override much else, and as difficult as some decisions may be, once that kicks in, Yang's usually quite set in what to do. Blake on the other hand, is Ruby's friend, or at the very least, Ruby's sister's girlfriend. She has little say (and rightly so) on what Ruby should or shouldn't do. If it was up to Blake, she doesn't think she'd mind, because it kinda fits in with the whole style-thing Ruby's got going on.
Nothing on the face though. Even Blake would absolutely forbid that.
The entire problem here, of course, is that Yang and Ruby can't agree with each other. If Ruby dropped her intent for a tattoo (and if Blake knows Ruby, that's unlikely) or if Yang let Ruby get her tattoo (and since Blake knows Yang, she knows that's impossible ), there'd be no problem.
Yang sighed. "You know, I know Weiss is a good influence on you and all, but sometimes I wish she was more of an influence." This earns her a glare from Ruby, but it also reminds Blake of an old secret from long, long ago.
Oh god. This gives her an opportunity to change things decidedly. She should just shut up, right now. Don't breathe a single word, Belladonna. Just shut up and everyone will keep arguing but not at you. Your girlfriend and sister are just arguing over a simple tattoo. But what if that argument escalates into something else? What if that brings up old arguments and things just get worse and worse? What if the whole family breaks up? What if they become estranged or something and Blake never sees Ruby again? Yang would never recover. Blake cannot let that happen.
God damn it.
Blake knows for a fact that Weiss would absolutely be pissed off if Blake does what she's thinking of doing, but maybe if it's for Ruby's sake, she'll go easy on her. That's going to be a problem for Future Blake. All Present Blake needs to do right now, is to shake things up a bit.
"Weiss is pretty much goody two-shoes isn't she?" Blake asks.
"You make that sound like a bad thing," Ruby accuses. "She's just who she is."
"She's sensible is what she is," Yang stresses.
"I guess so," Blake murmurs. "If it's something that Weiss does, like her dancing or singing, Yang would probably give you the go-ahead with it, wouldn't you dear?"
"Of course," says Yang matter-of-factly. "Though I'm not too sure if Ruby would be caught dead on a tutu."
"Damn straight," says Ruby, agreeing with her.
"If only we were," says Blake. Damn, Yang's puns must be getting to her. "How do you feel about snow, Ruby?"
"Eh?" asks Ruby, curiosity etched on her face. "It's... cold?"
"Hmm..." Blake murmurs. "I know you're taking it slow with Weiss at least."
"That came out of left field. Why'd you say that?"
"Well, we do play for the other team," says Blake, cursing herself when she couldn't stop her words from just - coming out - and at Yang for corrupting her mind. She's also pretty sure she just set up another gay joke, but refuses to acknowledge it. "For one thing, although you're like, super gay, you're also super shy. And a bit awkward."
Blake pauses. It's not too late to stop now. She's not yet reached the point of no return. She even gave herself a good out. Should she? Should she not? Should she?
Fuck it.
"Also, you'd have noticed the giant white snowflake pattern Weiss has on her back."
Ruby with a baffled look on her face, switches to pure confusion, and then gradually to ecstatic as she realises what's happening. Yang, who had been nodding along with Blake the whole time, believing that Blake was consoling her sister, has an incredulous look on her face once it finally dawned on her that Blake had betrayed her.
"You said it yourself!" Ruby exclaims, vibrating with excitement. "If Weiss can do it, I can do it too!"
"Ruby, I-" Yang starts but it's too late. The damage is done.
"Thank you so much I love you guys kay thanks bye!" Ruby yells as she makes for the door.
"Show us your design BEFORE you get it!" Blake manages to get out before Ruby leaves. "And make sure you speak with Weiss first!"
The door slams shut, and all is quiet. It's almost like the red blur was never here. Of course, no good thing goes unpunished, and it's time to face the repercussions. She turns around with her hands clasped together, already preparing no end of apologies, but Yang isn't even looking at her. She's just looking at the door with a sad look on her face. After a long pause, she sighs and puts her hand over her eyes. Did Blake fuck up?
"How long have you known about Weiss' tattoo?" Yang finally says, not looking up. It was more Weiss' story to tell, but Blake supposes after what she just did, she guesses she owes Yang an explanation.
"It was in our first year," Blake starts off slowly. "You and I hadn't gotten together yet. Our flatmates managed to convince us to go out for drinks. Both of us had too much to drink. And Weiss started becoming "not-Weiss". A few things came out. She told me something about how her father was trying to mould her into the perfect daughter, a spitting image of Winter. She told me how she despised that, and how she was going to be her own person, and not be "this person's daughter" or "this person's sister"."
"And uh, I may have said something that may or may not have triggered a response," Blake said, a bit sheepishly. Yang crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her. "Now, I was drunk, so don't hold me to this, but I may have teased her about wanting to become a special snowflake. I didn't mean anything by it!"
Yang just starts tapping her foot.
"So, um, she starts going off about showing me something about becoming a special snowflake. She drags me to the nearest tattoo parlour and says she's going to get a tattoo. Now, I thought she was gonna get like a butterfly or dragon or something that Weiss thinks is rebellious, and I'm drunk so I don't stop her. She goes into the room with the person, and at some point while waiting for her I pass out. Apparently, so did she, because the next thing I remember is the both of us back at our flat on the sofa, and her murmuring "Why does my back hurt?".
"How did you guys even get back?"
"Apparently, Coco noticed we went AWOL and hunted us down. She got Yatsuhashi's help to bring us back."
"And how did Weiss take her new tattoo?" Blake grimaced.
"She... wasn't too enthusiastic about it, I guess?" Yang gives Blake a look that demanded a better explanation. "She was screaming. Just flat out screaming. She was freaking out the whole time. Probably not an exaggeration to say that she had a panic attack."
Yang covered her face with her hands. Blake realises she's not painting a good picture, especially when she's just sent Ruby down that route. "Coco didn't stop it?" she asked, voice muffled through her palms.
"By the time she got to us, Weiss was almost done, apparently. Coco made the executive decision to let the guy finish it."
Yang groans and sits down on the couch, face still in her hands. After a long pause, she speaks up again. "How did it cost to get it removed?"
Blake gulps. "Well, here's the thing - she didn't."
Yang is lying down now. She's given up on life, it seems. "Why?"
"Well…" Blake didn't know how to phrase this right. "Weiss learned to accept it. Yeah, I had a go at her while I was drunk mind you I never get drunk so it doesn't count , but she decided to own it. She really decided to be a "special snowflake". It was her way of getting back at her family, so to speak. She was literally branding herself with her own image. "
After Blake stopped, Yang didn't answer. When enough time had passed, Blake started to wonder if Yang fell asleep on the couch.
"You really don't do booze well, do you?" She finally said.
"Hey, I'm not you."
"No," Yang says. "I guess you're not."
"So, uh," Blake starts. "How do you feel about Ruby's tattoo now?"
"I won't always be with Ruby. I can't always hold her hand. I'll have to trust Weiss will do it for me. She's a good girl."
"So you're okay with it?"
"FUCK no. I'm terrified . But if Weiss got through it, Ruby will too. And Weiss will be there to help her."
"That'll do I guess."
Yang sits up, staring dead center into Blake's eyes. Blake can see the fire in Yang's eyes that she's known Yang to show so well. "Don't think this means you've gotten away scott free, Belladonna," she growls. "I haven't forgotten how quickly you turned on me."
Blake's guilt stabs her in the heart. Welp. "I'm really sorry, Yang," she walks over to her and sits down next to her. She takes Yang's hands into her own. "Would you believe me if I said I did this to stop your family from self-destruction?"
Yang stares at her with an incredulous look. "How in the damn fuck you got there from a tattoo argument is beyond me," she says. She takes a deep breath and sighs. "There's this movie I want to see at that new movie place that opened up, the one where you eat in the theatre. Apparently, they've got really good "Green Chilli Mac and Cheese", whatever the hell that is. You're taking me there."
"The very least I could do."
"Oh no, not that easy," Yang says. She leans in and kisses Blake on the nose. "You're staying over tonight. Maybe tomorrow, too. There's going to be a lot of making up you need to do."
Blake's heart flutters a bit. "I'll have to prepare clothes. And, uh... maybe sheets as well. Remember what happened last time."
"Good point." Yang gets Blake to turn, and hugs her from behind. She leans back slowly, laying them both on the too small couch, spooning. "You know, this is absolutely gonna bite you in the ass much later, right?"
"Goodness, I hope not. Unless they lead to more making up. Then I'm all for it."
They lay in silence for a while. Blake can feel Yang's warmth enveloping her, and it doesn't matter how long they've been together, Blake's heart always beats faster when she feels Yang skin against hers. She's pretty glad Yang can't see her face well, cause she must be blushing so hard right now.
"You know something…" Yang murmurs.
"Yes, love?"
"Pretty sure since you told me one of Weiss' deep dark secrets..." Yang says slowly, picking out each word deliberately. "I think Weiss would want to get back at you, little kitty cat. Oh, the stories she could tell." She giggles. There is no malice behind it, but the thought terrifies Blake. The dirt that Weiss has on her… oh dear God.
She snaps out of it when Yang kisses her on the neck. Blake takes in the sensation of the blonde's arms wrapped around her, Yang's head nuzzled near the small crook of Blake's neck, and her mind kinda just goes all fuzzy with warmth. Oh well. That'll be another problem for future Blake.
Curse you, booze and tattoos.
(Try holding Ruby's hand now, Yang. OH WAIT. HAHAHAHAHA T-T)
(Yes, yes I know you can't get a tattoo while boozed. No, I'm not going to rewrite this)