She was tired.
The kind of tired one felt after a long and emotional day. Of course staying out all night and battling one Roman Torchwick definitely didn't do much to ease the exhaustion, however Blake was more than accustomed to such physical ailments. It was the strain on her mind and soul that was weighing down on the faunus, and there was nothing she wanted more than to let sleep overtake her.
She walked through the corridors of Beacon alone. It was late evening and Ruby and Weiss had gone down to the cafeteria in hopes of grabbing dinner before the kitchen closed. Yang on the other hand...
As Blake thought about it, she wasn't quite sure when Yang had broken off from the group. The last she had really taken notice of the blonde was back at the docks when they had parted ways with Sun. She supposed her mind had been otherwise occupied, but as she thought on it now Blake couldn't help but feel just how strange Yang's departure was. The usually boisterous girl was known for loud entrances and even louder exits. It was a wonder how someone with such a complete lack of stealth was accepted into an elite school for hunters and huntresses.
So lost in thought, Blake hardly noticed when she came up to the door to their dorm. Unlocking it on instinct she pushed forward, only to stop in her tracks.
Atop her bed, in all its golden glory, sat a cute little pony. Or, to be more specific, the knight chess piece from initiation day.
She stepped forward and scooped up the relic, observing it carefully. It seemed to indeed be the same piece from that fateful day; the day Yang and she had become partners, and subsequently one half of team RWBY. It was strange how something so small could hold such significance.
It was then she heard the door shut gently behind her, and given the tiny horse that sat perched in her palm, she could only assume who it was. She turned just as her intruder spoke.
"I thought that, well, maybe..."
Yang looked shy and unsure, so unlike her usual self. Her arms stretched back behind her, still grasping the knob of the door, and her chin tilted downward. Violet eyes remained hidden behind blonde bangs, but Blake could only assume that they focused on the floor below and not actually on her own being.
She cocked her head downward, urging the blonde to continue. She was met with silence.
Another unusual occurrence; Yang was not typically known for her silence. This proved most troublesome at night. While all of team RWBY prepared for slumber, the blonde could be found rambling well passed the last dying light, only quieted by an exasperated quip from Weiss. Blake chose to press forward herself.
"Did you steal this?"
Yang's head snapped up, brow furrowed in confusion.
"What? No, I didn't steal it! I've had it since we got it at initiation."
Blake struggled to suppress her smile.
"You know we were supposed to return them to Ozpin right?"
Violet eyes widened, soon followed by a sheepish grin.
"Oh. Woops."
It was nice to see some of her usual spark return.
Despite her exhaustion, Blake's curiosity was peaked; what was the reasoning behind the unintentional theft? And why, now of all times, was it left on her own bed?
She spun around, returning to her bed and taking a seat. She shifted to her right slightly to place the relic on the bookshelf before turning back to Yang. She waited, an expectant look on her features.
Yang waited, not quite sure what was going on, or what she was supposed to do. Sensing this Blake patted the empty spot on the mattress just to her left, a silent request for the blonde to sit with her on the bed. Yang's eyes widened in acknowledgment.
"Oh! Yeah, right. Okay."
She walked over to the other girl and plopped down beside her, but refused to make eye contact. Her discomfort was clear and served only to pique Blake's curiosity ever more. She could tell that the other girls intentions would need to be coaxed out of her.
"So?"
Violet eyes widened, but remained forward.
"So..."
This was getting ridiculous. Blake snatched the chess piece back up before waving it in front of the blonde.
"Is this for me?"
Yang's eyes flashed to the piece before finally shifting to Blake's.
"Yes."
She turned to the faunus, seeming to finally muster the ability to confront her. Blake's left brow rose, clearly waiting for an explanation. The blonde huffed.
"I didn't steal it, okay? Or I guess I didn't mean to. I just wanted something I could keep to remind me."
"Remind you of what?"
The air was thick with something that she couldn't quite place, Yang was being cryptic, and Blake was just confused. The blonde reached over, extracting the relic from her grasp before turning back forward and regarding the item in her hand.
"To remind me of that day. It's sort of the best day of my life."
She seemed lost now, perhaps in the memory of that day, and all Blake could do in that moment was watch and wait. Wait for what she wasn't sure. Answers?
It was always hard to regard Yang at this angle, her profile obscured by a tangle of golden curls. It had never occurred to Blake until now that maybe she was doing it on purpose; hiding behind her hair in an effort to mask her emotions.
"I never really told anybody this, and you have to promise not to say anything about this to Ruby..."
At this point she turned to look at Blake, eyes urging her secrecy before turning back to the object in her hands.
"I was kind of nervous, leaving Ruby. She has been having such a hard time these past few years, and this was going to be the first time since then that we were going to be in different schools. I was kind of torn between feeling excited about finally training to be a huntress and leaving my little sister behind. I mean, it's not like she didn't have friends back at Signal but... she has just become so dependent on me. We've really become dependent on each other."
This sort of insight into Yang's feelings was rare. While Blake hid behind mystery and a stoic demeanor, it became clear that Yang hid too, only behind an outgoing and bubbly personality. She wasn't sure how often Yang let someone see this side of her. It was possible that even Ruby was unaware of this version of Yang, and Blake was counting her blessings for being allowed such a privilege.
"I guess I wasn't just worried about Ruby being on her own, but about being on my own too. I was worried I wasn't..."
She trailed off. If the blonde had any intentions of finishing that thought she had changed her mind, instead jumping forward on the topic.
"And then, somehow, Ruby got accepted into Beacon, and that meant we could still go to school together. She wouldn't have to be alone. I wouldn't have to be alone."
The last part was spoken barely above a whisper before the blonde turned violently, finally speaking to Blake directly. Her right leg tucked under her body as she faced the faunus, hands, still grasping the horse, lay tucked in her lap.
"And then, we had our initiation in the Emerald Forest. And Ruby was so concerned about having to be partnered up. She wanted us to be partners, and I did too, I truly did. But then I realized that maybe I was being selfish. I always claimed that it was Ruby I was protecting. But maybe, deep down, it was me who I didn't trust to be alone. How could I expect her to grow as a person if even I couldn't?"
The question was rhetorical, and even if it hadn't been Blake wouldn't have answered it. Couldn't have.
"So I urged her to find someone else; not to count on us being partners. I was terrified. As soon as I landed, I instinctively searched for her."
Blake recalled that day; remembered hearing the blonde searching for her sister and instead finding an ursa.
"But then I found you. Or, well, I guess you found me. And you kicked butt! 'Took down that ursa in one blow!"
This was spoken with her usual enthusiasm, and it took effort for Blake to hold in her giggle.
"And then you just smirked at me, I couldn't believe it. I'd found my partner and it wasn't Ruby. So we walked in search of the ruins. We didn't talk much, but that was okay. For the first time I finally understood what a comfortable silence was."
It was then that Blake experienced a warmth in her chest. It had been happening frequently and only now was she able to determine it's cause.
Yang. The girl did seem to radiate a natural warmth.
"And then we ran into Ruby and the others. Oh! And we fought the nevermore! I shot it in the mouth and Weiss froze it's tail and you and I launched Ruby into the air and..."
"Yang."
Blake spoke gently, but firmly and Yang looked sheepish, haven gotten carried away. She cleared her throat before holding the chess piece up and presenting it to the faunus.
"This reminds me of that day; the best day of my life. It was the day I finally realized that I needed to let Ruby grow up, for both her sake and mine. It was also the day that she proved how strong she could be. It was the day she became the leader of team RWBY. It was the day we formed team RWBY! It was the day we became partners."
Blake listened and thought back to that day, thought back to when she and Yang had become partners. Her last partnership hadn't worked out well, so she was reluctant to join another. Even now Blake wasn't exactly sure why she had revealed herself to the blonde, thus creating their partnership. Their first encounter hadn't gone well. But she had seen Yang's strength, her attitude in the face of danger.
She regarded her partner. Yang had admitted her selfishness in keeping her sister close. Now Blake's thoughts shifted to the little, black bow atop her head. She had worn it to protect herself, to hide. But in doing so it had created a rift between her and her teammates that they weren't aware of. She had expected them to understand, but refused to explain. Perhaps, like Yang, she too had been selfish.
Yang reached forward, grasping Blake's right hand in her's and placing the chess piece into her palm.
"I kept this to remember. But I thought that maybe you should have it. That maybe you needed help remembering."
Yellow met violet, and it was in that moment that Blake knew. In her efforts to protect herself, she had unwittingly hurt her team. She had unwittingly hurt Yang.
The other girl's hand pulled away from her own, and Blake's eyes traveled down to look at the small pony left in her palm. She looked up.
"Yang, I..."
Blake stopped. Yang's head was down, eyes masked but her bangs once again. She could make out the faint, wet trail streaking down the other girls left cheek. She knew what those were. She had shed plenty of them in her past. Yang's voice was surprisingly strong as she spoke.
"It may not mean much to you, but it does to me. You are my partner; you are a part of a team. Team RWBY. We love you, how could you doubt us?"
Blake wasn't sure what had come over her, but the next thing she knew her face was buried in Yang's hair, her arms circling the other girls waist.
When she finally spoke her words startled both Yang and herself.
"I was scared."
Yang remained silent, arms at her sides, sitting in Blake's embrace.
"I'm so sorry Yang. It really had nothing to do with you. I was scared. I've been scared all of my life. I came to Beacon to become a huntress and put the White Fang behind me. I didn't expect to make friends. I didn't expect to meet someone like you. You, Ruby and, dare I say, Weiss..."
Blake allowed the tiny laugh that followed to escape.
"You guys are my family. The family I never had. And I was so caught off guard. Then, I was afraid that I would lose that."
She pulled back and lifted her right hand, holding the chess piece in view of the blonde.
"This is important to me."
Wrapping her left arm around Yang's shoulder, Blake pulled her back in to their previous embrace.
"This is important to me. And I'm sorry if I made you doubt that."
She felt as strong arms circled her in reciprocation. The embrace was warm and safe; it was Yang. Sitting there, wrapped in an infamous Yang Xiao Long bear hug, albeit somewhat gentler, Blake realized just how foolish she had been. To doubt not only her partner, but her whole team?
After a moment it was Yang who finally broke the embrace. She clumsily scrubbed at her eyes in an attempt to destroy all evidence that she had been crying.
"Well, that was a thing."
In true fashion, Blake couldn't help but laugh at the blonde's comment.
No sooner had the tension dissipated, Ruby and Weiss loudly entered the room.
"All I'm saying Ruby is that, at such a respectable school one would expect the cafeteria to serve crisp, mineral water."
Upon their entrance Yang had sprung up in haste, leaving Blake still seated and with a bemused smile. With one last swipe at her eyes, the blonde regarded the other two.
"What's going on now?"
Ruby spoke first with an exasperated huff.
"Weiss doesn't like the water here."
Weiss stomped her foot indignantly.
"That is not what I said. Really Ruby, as leader you are expected to listen to your team."
With a huff and a spin the heiress head towards her own bed. Ruby's shoulders sagged in what could only be described as a mixture of confusion and frustrations. Yang leaned down to her sister with her covering the side of her mouth in a mock whisper.
"Just let it go Rubes. You gotta pick your battles or you'll just spend all of your time arguing with her. Trust me."
"I trust you."
Both Yang and Ruby's heads snapped in the direction of the speaker. The faunus had settled into her bed with her book, but she was currently regarding the sisters.
Violet and amber remained locked as Yang understood Blake's doubling meaning. Ruby, now even more confused, dismissed the two and took to climbing up to her own bed.
Weiss, not one to let things go, continued her rant.
"Beacon is one of the top combat schools in all of Remnant. The fact that they serve tap water is unacceptable."
The gleam in the blonde's eyes was unmistakable as she spun around to regard the heiress.
"Come on princess. Was it at least... Weiss cold?"
Jaune could just make out the sound of cumulative groans as he entered into his own respective dorm.