A/N: Just a little Bumbleby fluff to get everyone through the hiatus. Enjoy! ^.^
But like…
can you imagine one day Blake is lying down with her head in Yang's lap and Yang is gently playing with Blake's hair and Blake is just so content and at peace, her ears just sort of relax and slowly fold over. And there's a slight pause as Yang stops stroking her hair and suddenly Blake feels her gently touch her ear and at first she tenses up in surprise because no one had ever touched her ears but she remembers who it is and she realizes she's safe and it's being done completely out of love and affection so she relaxes once again, Yang starts caressing the back of her ear with her thumb and it's the most intimate thing Blake's ever felt and she has to close her eyes for a moment to hold back the tears that are starting to form.
…like can you imagine that?
Unpopular Opinion: Blake doesn't purr.
At least not anymore. The desire to purr normally arose during times of content and relaxing bliss, sort of like a human's relaxing sigh. But Blake learned to suppress that instinctual urge long ago, back when she learned of the immense discrimination her people faced from humans when they were discovered to be Faunus. At this point Blake had become so good at ignoring the impulse, what used to feel like an uncontrollable urge had faded to barely an itch. But in recent years the desire rarely emerged anyways.
First it was her inner turmoil from following Adam and watching the White Fang degrade itself to a criminal gang. Next it was the anxiety from concealing her true Faunus identity from her new Beacon classmates. Then it was the guilt of abandoning Ilia and the desire to save her from herself. And now it's the everyday struggle to survive and stress of protecting the entire world from Salem's wrath.
Which is why this time it was so surprising.
She must have been so focused on holding back the well of tears building up, so caught up in the realization that this beautiful girl cares about her, truly cares about her, with full knowledge of her many, many flaws and countless mistakes littered throughout her troubled past. Knowing her and accepting all of her, from her quiet and introverted tendencies to the stubborn and impulsive decisions, from her small feet and high heeled boots all the way up to the now relaxed cat-like ears this girl - and only ever this girl - was now gently caressing.
The urge caught Blake off guard, rising stronger and faster than anything she experienced before - she was unprepared, unable to stop it, by the time she realized what was going to happen, it was already too late.
"prrrrrr…"
The gentle thumb that was caressing her ear froze. Those ears jumped to attention. The once relaxed eyelids shot open, revealing shocked and frantic amber eyes. Every muscle tensed as recognition of the long forgotten sound traveled throughout her body.
The voice above her finally broke the deafening silence.
"Did you just…."
Blake abruptly sat up, clearing her throat, which was suddenly parched.
"I um… no… I… I should just…"
Blake started to stand up but a strong hand quickly caught her shoulder, the metal cooling her burning embarrassment.
"Blake wait-"
She sheepishly turned to face the most important person in her life, her closest friend for the last 3 years and now maybe, possibly, potentially more than friends, the subject of her heart's desire, the only person with whom she hoped and dreamed of living through this seemingly hopeless, world-saving crusade. Blake instinctively closed her eyes and braced for the well-meant but teasing words that would inevitably follow.
"- I loved it."
Blake's ears twitched, trying to make sense of the words just spoken. Her eyes opened, puzzled, searching for a hidden smile, a snicker, or any other hint of sarcasm. She found none.
"You… you what?"
"I said I loved it-"
Her eyes blinked, still in disbelief.
"- and I love you."
Her eyes widened, pupils dilating as complete shock ensued.
"You…?"
The hand on her shoulder gave a gentle squeeze, a pulse that revived her paralyzed body.
"I. Love. You."
Her breath hitched as the meaning of the words sunk in.
"And I know it's like SUPER out of the blue and probably wayyyy, wayyyyyyy too early to be saying this, I mean, this… this… whatever it is between us literally just started. You don't need to say it back, please, please don't feel pressured to say it back. I just, I guess I just wanted to let you know, you know? I kinda just realized it myself but honestly I've probably loved you for a while now, but it kinda just sort of dawned on me and I-"
Her cat-like reflexes suddenly sprung into action as she lunged forward to embrace this amazing human being. Try as she might, this time Blake was powerless to stop the flood of tears from escaping. She buried her head into the crook of Yang's neck, her soft, golden hair dampening from the tears falling from her eyes. She felt two strong arms embrace her, shielding her from the world as she came undone. The scent of this strong, beautiful, smart, unyielding, passionate girl enveloped her, flooded her system, electrifying every muscle, every bone, every nerve in her body until she was practically numb. Unable to feel anything within her, anything but the overwhelming love in her heart, unable to sense anything around her, anything but the owner and protector of that fragile, scarred heart. The world was frozen in space and time as Yang nuzzled her chin into her own forehead, landing on it a single, calming kiss.
"I love you too, Yang."
They were the only words she could muster, between the sniffling and tears rolling down her cheek. But they were the only words that mattered in this moment. Blake felt Yang's smile growing against her forehead and turned to look up to her with watery eyes.
Looking back down at her, Yang gently brushed several strands of hair out of her eyes as the last of her sniffles calmed down. Her robotic arm gently caressed her cheek, wiping away the remaining trail of fallen tears, and she nuzzled against it's loving touch. Slowly Yang lowered her chin, while lifting Blake's until their foreheads met as they did before not too long ago. But they uncontrollably drifted closer, like two magnets hopelessly drawn together, two bees finally returning to the hive. The girl's nose grazed her own as they shared a nervous but assured breath. Softly, Yang's lips met her own, without a word conveying everything Blake had known deep down for so long.
("There is nothing in the world that will ever again come between us. No matter what new horrors destiny brings before us, we will always be there for each other. We will protect each other. Now and forever.")