I know I should be writing the next chapter of Golden Eyes, but the new volume has me fucking hyped for canon bees. So have something I wrote last night while discussing Blake and Yang with my friend gumba.
Enjoy.
It was the little things, mannerism that was similar to the days of Beacon, but at the same time, now seen in a brand new light. She saw the way Blake was always right behind Yang, shadowing her as if they hadn't been separated in months. She noticed the way Blake would sometimes just look bored, eyes unfocused and...staring directly at Yang. Weiss would remember how similar all of that was, how she took their interactions for granted back then... but that was nothing new. Blake and Yang had barely knew each other for days and they would already stick to each other in every day activities.
The difference now, was that Weiss was aware how their interaction was heavy with static, with unvoiced thoughts and unsaid tension. Weiss wondered if she should have a snack and see how it went, for her own curiosity, or would she have to face them about it like she had sat down with Yang to make her admit that she needed Blake
Weiss clutched Ruby to her chest, rubbing her back as the younger girl slowly calmed her breathing after the snow had reappeared around them. The relief she felt seeing her partner again was immense, and holding her right now felt like a soothing balm to an old scar. Her thoughts drifted to Yang again, and she saw the way her hand was shaking, saw the way she kept stealing glances at their faunus friend. Blake was as obvious as the blonde, keeping her sharp eyes on Yang like she could disappear at any moment. The relief was wafting off of them like a cheap perfume and Weiss was completely stupefied that both girls were too lost in their own doubts to see it.
Weiss groaned, glancing up at Jinn who was smiling smugly at Ozpin, still in control of the young boy. She frowned and looked back at Yang, who appeared to have stopped her hand from shaking by holding it down to her thigh with her prosthetic hand. Blake was looking away, her hand clutching her arm tightly across her body and looking anywhere but at Yang's shaking hand. The faunus was so easy to read Weiss wanted to throw Myrtenaster at her damn head.
Their following journey through the snow was long and tiring. Weiss had spent enough time far from her home to be able to power through the weather and the strain of sleeping outside in such a low temperature. It was shocking how, even to Weiss who was from Atlas, the snow just did not stop. Let's not even get started on the rounds at night! Despite everything, she was faring better than the other three were, which surprised her.
Ruby obviously had a lot on her mind, the younger girl having more difficulty than the three of them with accepting the deceit of an older man she used to see in such a high esteem. Such a concept was not new to either Blake, Yang or her, sadly.
So on the third night, when she was about to turn in for the night after waking up Qrow, she noticed how both Blake and Yang were sleeping as far from each other as they could in the tent. Rolling her eyes at the display, Weiss unceremoniously unzipped Ruby's sleeping bag and promptly slid in as close to the girl as she could, relishing in the warm material and the even warmer body next to her.
"Hm Weiss? Is it my turn?"
"Go back to sleep Ruby, your uncle has the next round."
"Okay, is it okay if we cuddle?"
Rolling her eyes, Weiss zipped the sleeping back back up.
"We are already cuddling Ruby."
"Oh, we are."
Smiling fondly, Weiss merely placed her cheek on the top of Ruby's head and got comfortable, feeling her partner's arm loop around her waist. From over Ruby's head, she could see how Yang was looking over at them, so she stared the blonde with a deadpan expression. "It's cold."
Shrugging, Yang wriggled around a bit and sighed out, rolling closer to Weiss and her own sister's sleeping bag. Weiss was about to close her eyes when two glowing golden eyes met her own. Weiss couldn't help the annoyance in her glance when she stared the faunus down. Blake recoiled, looking around and gritting her teeth together to try and stop them from clattering together. Weiss huffed and mouthed "get over here" at the faunus, who only shook her head, her ears flat on her head and a longing look at their blonde teammate.
"Oh for the love of- Blake come over here before you die of hypothermia!"
Blake's eyes turned to saucers and she glared at Weiss with a look of panic washing over her face. As if Weiss had planned the whole thing, Yang turned around with concern in her eyes and pulled her flesh arm out of her sleeping bag, motioning for Blake to get closer.
"Come on, we won't bite."
If Weiss wasn't aware how ridiculous the whole thing had been since the beginning, she would have scoffed at the sheer relief and sheepishness Blake exuded as she slowly crawled over to Yang. The blonde pulled Blake over, and even made her switch place with her, making sure the faunus was as warm as possible. Weiss made a mental note to talk to Yang about this self sacrificing side of her, but later, tonight she was tired, and she figured she did her part for today.
It was on the fourth day that Weiss noticed something she should have a long time ago.
"Yang? Wasn't your semblance great at keeping you warm? I'm surprised the snowflakes don't just melt off automatically."
Weiss rolled her eyes at the sheer velocity at which Blake turned her head towards the blonde, probably already waiting for an answer to that question since day one. It was ridiculous how Blake was keeping tab on everything Yang did or didn't do these days.
"Drop it Weiss, I just don't want to waste my aura on something stupid in case we attract even more grimm.
Well that certainly wasn't deflecting at all was it? Even Blake's ears dropped on her head at the obvious lie, and Weiss took a deep breath to stop herself from hurling an imaginary table at the faunus for not acting on ANY of her obvious concerns. It had been very easy for her to convey her worry over reaching for a sports bag, but to express concern for something Yang was obviously hiding from them was asking too much, obviously.
"I told you miss Xiao Long, traveling slowly has less chance of attracting Grimm then when we were on the train."
"Since when can we count on anything you've said?"
Weiss kicked some snow in Yang's direction, making the taller girl stop and stare at her, looking offended.
"Oh please Yang, don't use the easy target as a way to redirect this conversation. I've yet to see you use your semblance once since we reunited, I don't even think I saw your aura at all. Is there something you'd like to tell us? Is something wrong with it?"
Weiss saw Blake bite her lip from the corner of her eyes, Yang stopping in her track, Maria putting a hand on her broad shoulder to steady herself at the sudden stop.
"Please drop it Weiss, I don't want to talk about it."
The heiress picked up on what was left unsaid: not here, not now, not in front of them.
She understood, it was plain to see that Yang didn't want to share something so personal in front of Ozpin, probably not in front of Qrow either...and maybe not Ruby. Blake, she might say she doesn't want to, but that's who she wants to open up to, not her.
Weiss nodded, dropping the subject and picking up the pace once more, Ruby waiting in front of her to start walking next to her again. She glanced at Blake, seeing the girl looking at Yang with a worried expression as the blonde stubbornly looked anywhere but at her.
Taking one more deep breath Weiss told herself that they still needed time.
It was without any flourish that Ruby grabbed the relic from Qrow's hands and shut the door in his face. Weiss didn't hide the proud smile she wore when Ruby trotted up to their shared bed to put the relic on the dresser, toothy grin on her own face.
"Do you think Qrow's doubting his faith in Ozpin now?" wondered Yang aloud, freezing mid taking off her jacket as she glanced at the locked door of their shared bedroom.
"I'm not sure" said Ruby reluctantly "but I'm not sure if I care right now. I'm not too sure who to trust anymore."
Weiss didn't miss a beat "trust us, I'd lay down my life for any of you three, that's all I need right now."
Ruby beamed at her, but Blake and Yang glanced at each other shyly before looking at their feet.
"I'd rather die then leaving you three behind again" said Blake in a whisper. Weiss was about to scold the faunus for her usual self deprecating statement when Yang's voice rang loudly across the room.
"Don't."
Weiss held in her breath, a string of incoherent curses flowing from her mouth inside her head. This was the worse way Blake could have voiced this, she should have know her statement would have brought out something stupid like this out of the quiet girl. Yang wasn't finished, she threw her jacket across the bed, hitting the lamp on the desk between the bed and making it fall to the floor in a clatter of ceramic.
"Don't say shit like that. Don't throw yourself aside like you don't matter. Aren't you tired Blake? I know I am, I'm tired of throwing myself aside like I don't matter, but most of all, I'm sick of hearing you talk about yourself like you're worthless. You matter so much to all three of us, to all of us!"
Yang's hand lifted itself to her face, palm roughly pushing against her face, trying to stop the tears from flowing up to her eyes.
"Do you think I threw myself at that guy just for you to throw me aside after? Did you throw yourself at him because you thought you didn't matter? Why can't you see how much it hurts us to see you hurting Blake?!"
A beat, and then, when Weiss licked her lips, ready to intervene; Blake stepped forward towards Yang, hand reaching towards her.
"I didn't, Yang I'm sor-"
"STOP SAYING SORRY DAMMIT!"
Blake flinched, hand coming up to wrap around her arm again and Yang gasped, mouth opening again and closing, face flush and guilt rolling off of her in waves.
"I'm sorry."
The door unlocked and slammed against the wall when Yang ran away, Blake stunned silent for a moment before sprinting out of the room.
"Yang! Yang please!"
Ruby took a step towards the door but Weiss grabbed her arm gently, shaking her head.
"At least they have to stop pretending everything is fine now."
It was hours later that Blake came back to the room. She knocked, Ruby and Weiss pulling in their friend, frozen stiff and hair covered in snow. Ruby bit her lip and mumbled something about warm drinks before sprinting out of the door, petals slowly falling to the floor as Weiss closed the door behind her.
Walking to the bed she took a seat next to the faunus, noticing her red nose and puffy eyes.
"Haven't found her anywhere?"
Weiss nearly missed the hiccup when the faunus shook her head, her heart pinching painfully at the way Blake was clutching the blanket around herself.
"I called her name, I listened to her voice, I looked everywhere in the vicinity Weiss... She's nowhere to be found, and it's all my fault."
"Don't be ridiculous, this was bound to happen sooner of later. I think it's actually not a bad thing."
Blake gave her a look of disgust and Weiss scoffed.
"Please. Everytime Yang stops hiding her true feelings is a step in the right direction."
Blake took in a deep breath and released it slowly, falling backwards on the bed and staring stubbornly at the ceiling. "I know... I just wish I knew what to do. I don't know how to react, how to be around her anymore."
Weiss frowned, biting her lip. She was wondering if she should let them be, if she should let Blake come to her own conclusions. Would her interfering help or worsen the situation at this point? At the same time Weiss had access to knowledge Blake just didn't have, at least she thought. Perhaps getting involved was worth the risk.
"Yang opened up to me before Haven."
The faunus rose to her elbows, looking up at the heiress in interest. Judging that this might take a while, Weiss let herself fall back in bed as well, clutching at the blanket for Blake to share some of it with her. Glancing down, Blake let go of a corner and Weiss leaned her head on her friend's shoulder.
"She said she didn't care if you were gone."
Blake tensed besides her and Weiss rolled her eyes, proceeding with what she had to say.
"I obviously called her on that lie and made her admit that... well... she was just hurt. She needed you there for her after the fall. She wanted to be there for you, to be let in, to be able to comfort you and to take comfort from your presence."
Blake swallowed, the brief sound of her throat enough to give her pause, waiting for the faunus to take in what she had just said.
"I... Weiss you must be mistaken, why would Yang need me? After what I did to her?"
Rolling her eyes in annoyance Weiss pushed herself up to head butt her friend in the chin.
"Ouch, what the hell Weiss?"
"Stop acting like an idiot, Blake, you have a better understanding of people than I do, and even I could tell that was the first time Yang ever admitted to needing someone else."
Blake's breathing stuttered, and she sat up, eyes wide and trained on the floor where the ceramic pieces still littered the floor.
"Why me? Why not Ruby? Why not you? She opened up to you, you opened up to us. I always kept everything close to my chest, afraid to let you guys in, to bring you in my problems, my past."
Feeling frustration welling inside her chest, Weiss grabbed Blake's arm, making her look at her.
"Blake stop, just stop. You are the only one Yang ever let herself look vulnerable to at beacon, can't you see that? You're the one she needs, not me, not Ruby, you."
Blake's ears fell to her hair, lips trembling as she looked down "but she won't admit something's wrong, even now, she hides from me. I tried to find her Weiss, I really did."
"She holds you at arms length right now because she's scared, she's scared to feel vulnerable in front of you again, she's afraid to be left behind again. But she needs you to offer her the occasion to be vulnerable, she needs you there to allow her to be. Can't you see that?"
Blake lift her head, golden orbs staring defiantly into Weiss and the heiress felt her lips lift up at the corners.
"I'm trying Weiss."
"Try harder Belladonna."
Blake held her stare for a while longer, boldly challenging her. This made Weiss smile, reminding her of the Blake she knew from Beacon, which only made Blake squint her eyes at Weiss more.
SLAM
"There wasn't any tea so I picked up coffee for us and some kind of erm warm tangy stuff...this might not be very tasty but it sure is hot!"
Weiss and Blake both stared blankly at Ruby, a beat passed and then Ruby slowly closed the door behind her.
"Did I interrupt something?"
Blake smiled, getting up "no, but you might be able to help me with something. I need a tool we had in our beacon days and I think you might be able to help me..."
Yang was still sniffling when the inn came into view. Her hair was covered in snow and she barely felt her toes anymore despite her boots. She didn't dare wipe her tears with her metal hand, the damn thing being so cold she was afraid her eye lid would stick to her finger.
She dragged her feet in the snow, making two long trail up to the front door where she stopped, her flesh palm coming up to rest on the brick wall, soon followed by her forehead.
Taking several long deep breaths, she felt a flake fall in her lower back and she straighten up, hissing.
That's when her eyes fell on something strange, something completely out of place on the wall of an inn at two in the morning.
A red dot on the stark white snow.
She followed the light with her eyes, watching it dance from side to side until her eyes rose to the roof top. There, sitting on the slope, legs dangling, covered in a thick blanket sat Blake, a small laser pointer in her hand.
Yang's chest suddenly felt too small, constricting her in a delicious, yet cruel way.
"Blake" she breathed, "how long have you been sitting there?"
Blake pocketed the laser pointer and pushed herself off of the slope, landing gracefully right in front of the taller girl.
"Does it matter? I was waiting for you."
Yang took a step back, looking aside stubbornly. "You shouldn't have, I'm fine."
Warmth, a fire she thought was out of her grasp, and soft skin over hers. Glancing down she saw Blake holding her left hand in her own.
"You're not, Yang. You're not fine, and I'm sorry, but I don't know how to make up for what I did to you, but I want to be there for you so much it hurts."
Yang's lower lip trembled and she met the faunus' eyes, those gold pools she liked so much were warm and so sincere she thought for a moment that she must have fallen in the snow and started dreaming.
"You left me Blake, I was alone, even when I was surrounded by my family I felt alone. I was so used to having you around, I needed ... I..."
Her partner's thumb brushed softly over her knuckles and she felt her traitorous eyes welling up again.
"I needed you Blake, I needed you there with me and you weren't there, you weren't there Blake!"
Tears filled Blake's eyes, mimicking her own and she opened her arms wide, swallowing the blonde into the blanket and wrapping herself around her partner.
"I wasn't there, I'm so sorry I wasn't there, but I'm here now, I'm here and I promise you I'm not going anywhere. You'll get through this, we'll get though this together okay?"
Yang's knees grew weak and she felt her partner's arms holding her up, when did Blake get so strong?
"Don't leave me..."
"I won't, I'm never leaving you or the team ever again. I promise Yang, I promise."
Sobbing, Yang clutched the back of Blake's coat, sliding down her front a bit as Blake struggled to keep her upright, until she felt like it didn't help the blonde at all. Falling to their knees, Blake cradled Yang in her arms, keeping her warm in the blanket as the snow fell ever harder, hiding from their sight the blueish lancer that was flying near the rooftop. Its master satisfied, the white grimm disappeared in shards of snow white smoke, leaving the two girls alone in the night, at the doors of the inn.
Fin.