A/N: This takes place in an entirely modern AU where Faunus, Grimm, Dust, Huntsmen/Huntresses, etc. don't exist. Blake works in huge city public library and is Australian Aboriginal-American. Yang is a professional boxer. They're in their early twenties. Also, they look more realistic; i.e. Yang looks vaguely Chinese and has dark blue eyes, not purple ones. Enjoy the story!
Blake had had a long, boring day at the library and was very happy to be home. She couldn't wait to curl up with her cat, some left-over Chinese food, and a good movie. However, when she unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside, she didn't hear the familiar pap pap pap of Shadow's feet. That was odd. He usually came to greet her when she got home.
She put her purse down on the end table, hung up her coat, and kicked off her flats.
"Shadow? Shadow? Where are you?" she called as she wandered through her apartment. He wasn't in the kitchen, living room, bedroom, or bathroom. He wasn't anywhere.
Now worried, she started pacing back and forth in the living room, wondering where he could be. That's when she noticed it. The open window.
"Oh no oh no oh no!" It had been a bit warm this morning, and so she had opened a window while she ate breakfast, as she always did so in the living room. Shadow must have escaped through the opening as she forgot to close it. Why didn't the windows come with screens?!
Blake hurried to the offending window and stuck her head out. Luckily, she only lived on the first floor, so her cat wouldn't have any broken bones. She had, however, once read about how cats that fell from windows sometimes had heart or lung trauma. He was only three years old. She couldn't lose him that fast!
She didn't see him in the bushes or on the sidewalk next to the building. Blake bit her lip. He was a pretty agile cat. Maybe he had stayed on the window ledge? She looked along it, but he wasn't there.
"Oh Shadow," she sighed, her hands trembling. "Where are you?"
Where he was was four apartments down, exploring his new surroundings.
Yang Xiao Long's apartment was laid out in pretty much the same configuration as Blake's, only everything was opposite. Where Blake's entrance was on the right, Yang's was on the left. Accordingly, her kitchen was on the right, her living room on the left, and her bedroom and bathroom on the right. Of course, neither of them knew this, as they had never met.
Right now, Yang was coming home from the gym on 42nd Street, a few blocks away. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail, and her face was streaked with sweat. The gym was a great one, but the showers were gross. Yang preferred to clean up at home.
She also lived alone, which was why she was surprised to find a cat sitting on her couch as she made her way to the shower.
"The fuck?"
Coincidentally, she had also left her window open that morning, but she had done so on purpose.
Yang dropped her gym bag on the floor and went over to the cat. He was wiry, with short black fur, bright yellow eyes, and a long skinny tail. He meowed at her quizzically.
She squatted down so they were eye-level. "Whose cat are you?" she asked as she gently scratched his head. "Did you come in through the window?" The cat only purred in response. He stood up on the couch and rubbed his cheek against her hand.
"I think you like me," Yang smirked. Then she frowned. "Unfortunately, you are not my cat. So, I need to get you back to where you came from."
Yang gently picked him up. Ignoring his meows of protest, she held him firmly so he wouldn't escape, and walked over to her open window. She stuck her head out and held him against her chest.
As she looked to her left, she locked eyes with another woman sticking her head out of her window. She had light brown skin and wavy black hair.
"Hey!" Yang called. "Did you lose a cat?" She moved the cat onto the ledge, still holding him firmly so he wouldn't get away.
"Shadow!" the stranger cried, a beaming smile lighting up her face. "How did you find him?"
"Uh…he was just kinda here when I came home. I think he got in through the window."
The black-haired woman paused a second. "Well, thank God! What apartment number is yours?"
"1H!"
"Okay, I'll be there in a second." The woman's head disappeared.
Yang pulled the cat back into her apartment, set him on the floor, and quickly closed the windows.
She picked up the cat again just as she heard a knock on her door.
Blake saw the brass 1H swing open, revealing a tall woman with a faintly Chinese face and dark blue, almost purple eyes. In her hands was a resigned Shadow.
The woman carefully passed Blake her cat, who promptly moved from her arms to sit across her shoulders like a fur collar.
"I'm Yang Xiao Long," the woman said, extending her right hand. Blake noticed for the first time that it was made of metal painted black and yellow. Pushing the observation aside, Blake shook the prosthetic with her own right hand.
"My name is Blake Belladonna," she replied. "Thank you for returning my cat."
"No problem. I'm more of a dog person, anyway."
"Oh really?" Blake asked, her smile quirking up at the side. "Well, Shadow and I will change that about you yet."
"Is that a challenge? Because I'll have you know that I never back down from a challenge."
Shadow slapped Blake's shoulder with his tail, signaling his discomfort. Blake scratched his head to reassure him.
"We'll see," she said mysteriously, and walked back to her apartment. Her day had gotten much better.