I had all

Blake smiled at her jokes, even the most stupid puns she came up with, she helped her with her homework, even though she didn't especially need it, she took care of her, had her back, and most importantly, she loved her.

And gods, she loved Blake too with every fibre of her soul.

The girl might be mysterious and closed off, but to her she was open and kind. She gave Yang purpose, a goal in her life, something she had been missing for a long seventeen years, and now Yang could finally totally depend on someone, showing her weaknesses and struggles too, giving every part of herself to her partner, and in return she received all of Blake.

From her sarcastic remarks to her cute smirks, she was Yang's, that was the one thing in her life she was sure of.

then most

"You need to stop this, Blake! This research you are doing isn't going to get you any results, and you know it. Please, just take a break." Yang pleaded her partner.

Amber eyes stubbornly refused to meet her gaze, so the blonde pulled her in her arms, hugging her tight in an attempt to get her feelings across. "I beg you Blake, stop this. Not only for you, but also for the people you care about."

Blake hadn't returned her hug, and that should have already been a red flag to Yang. However, she ignored it, convincing herself it was just her imagination. Blake was hers, and she was Blake's, that was how it had always been, and nothing could change that, right?

"You don't believe me?" Her voice sounded broken, and in addition with the tears spilling freely from her eyes, dropping into her lap, she looked like the embodiment of sadness.

"I want to believe you." Her partner answered, head buried into her shoulders, doing her best to hide the fact that she was crying. "This is all just very familiar."

I am not him

some

Months had gone by since the Fall of Beacon, since Blake had left her behind. Yang had tried multiple times to come up with a good and reasonable reason her partner abandoned her, but still hadn't succeeded.

Maybe she just didn't care

It didn't matter anymore, Blake didn't matter to her anymore. That was what she had convinced herself of, at least, although she knew deep inside her heart was thrown into the flames and now turned to ashes because of the sudden departure of her best friend.

Their eyes met across the room, an enormous space in between them, and the room immediately felt like lightning had struck, electricity running through Yang's body, paining her physically and mentally.

Her partner had returned to her, but it wasn't the person she loved what felt like a lifetime ago.

Blake had become a stranger ever since they fell apart, and to have her standing in front of her like this right now, felt surreal. She had changed, from the cat ears now proudly displayed on top of her head, to the new aura of power surrounding her. She had grown in many ways, that Yang knew for sure, but was this person still the same person she had fallen in love with?

They talked, argued even at some point, but in the end she found herself in Blake's strong embrace, whispering promises to never leave each other again. They would stay together forever, whether in this lifetime or the next.

But Yang wasn't able to shake off the feeling of discomfort, the feeling they would never be able to recreate the bond they had before, mostly because they had lost the pieces of each other they had had in their hearts in the flood of life, and even though they laughed, fought, ate, travelled, in short, did everything together, she knew she lost pieces of Blake that she would never get back.

and now none of you

"Blake!" Yang screamed, watching as the Beowolfs claw slashed at her partner, missing this time, but she knew that the raven haired girl wouldn't be so lucky next time. She set off, running as fast as her legs were able to carry her, the fatigue of fighting for who knows how long already slowing her down more than she wanted to believe.

I have to make it

Yelling out of frustration, she forced her legs to work even harder, then she made the jump, shielding her partner from the fury of her opponent. Blake could only watch as Yang got hit by its deadly claw, the sharp nails tearing through skin, not caring how much damage it would cause.

Blake could only watch as Yang fell on the ground, blood quickly forming a puddle beside her body. She could only stand in shock, desperately trying to wake up from this horrible nightmare, another déjà vu of her past mistakes.

Blake could only watch as Ruby knelt down beside her sister, yelling her name, pleading her to open her eyes, begging all the gods she knew by name to please not take her sister away from her. She watched as Weiss called the emergency line, ordering them to take their fastest airships and rescue her teammate.

By the time Yang was carried inside an airship Blake didn't feel anything but guilt. This was all her fault. If she hadn't been sloppy, if she had turned around in time, Yang would still be cracking jokes, she would still be smiling at her with that special smile only aimed at her, and she wouldn't be laying on a stretcher, with nobody knowing whether she would still live to see the sunrise tomorrow or not.

This is all my fault

Two weeks she observed Yang as she slept. The doctors had warned her it could be months, years or maybe even an eternity before she would open her eyes again, but Blake didn't mind. She would wait a lifetime, and if that wasn't enough multiple lifetimes, until the day lilac eyes looked up at her again.

The first time tears left her eyes since the accident was the moment Yang returned to her. Just seeing her moving again made her tear up, and before she had given permission to her body, she was crying, desperate sobs escaping her mouth now and then.

In between her tears she filled Yang in on what had happened, quickly discovering the blonde didn't remember anything. Nothing and no one seemed to have remained inside her memory, and the girl only awkwardly smiled as Ruby and Weiss hugged her in delight, not having any idea who these people were.

They left almost as fast as they came, muttering something about informing the nurses about her current condition.

Blake didn't want to admit it, but she was scared to be alone with her partner. It was not like she feared Yang would hurt her, but she- she hated seeing the blonde like this; this wasn't the Yang she knew. Her flame seemed to have burned out, leaving behind only a shadow of its former warmth and glory.

She wanted to tell her it was all her fault. She wanted to fall upon her knees and beg for her forgiveness. She wanted to shout and show her anger to the world, the gods or whoever was responsible for this cruel twist of fate, but she did nothing of that.

Blake sat still and watched, the single thing she had been doing for around two weeks. She watched Yang staring at her right arm, or more correctly, the space where her right arm should have been. Her partner moved her stump in shock, eyebrows forming a frown on her face, something Blake had learned ages ago to recognise as a sign of concentration.

"Did I lose my arm too?"

The question, an understandable one in this situation, pierced through the silence that hung in the room, causing Blake's ears to drop down just a tiny bit. Honesty would be best, she thought to herself.

"Not during this fight." She answered softly, her answer increasing Yang's frown and Blake almost ran away because of the intense look in the lilac eyes.

"How?" The sound of her voice was sharp, the question now no longer a question, but more like a demand. A demand Blake was obliged to confirm to.

"You protected me."

Memories of Yang flying through the air, one moment her arm stretched out in a punching stance, the other separated from the rest of her body, crashing to the ground at an alarming speed, Yang not following far behind.

Memories of Adam slashing his sword through thin air, as if he was practicing, making sure he would finish this business with one well-placed strike. She remembered his glowing red eyes looking down on her, arrogant, knowing he had already won this fight.

Memories of fleeing with Yang cradled up in her arms, the blood of the both of them soaking her shirt, frantically attempting to get them to a secure place. After she was guaranteed by the doctors running around that all of her loved ones were safe, she ran, just like she had always done when things would get hard.

"I did that a lot, huh, protecting you. I must have loved you a lot."

"You did." Blake responded, sadness colouring her voice dark blue. She was fiddling with the ends of her shirt, doing everything to not meet Yang's eyes. Of course, she could never resist the magnetic pull, an effect her partner always had had on her, and she lifted her head up, although a bit hesitantly.

Yang stared intently at her, looking straight into her soul. "Did you love me?"

She swallowed thickly, a lump in her throat restraining her from answering immediately. "More than anything in the world."