They finally got back to Yang's room, collapsing onto the bed. Blake stared at the ceiling. "That was actually great fun. And I got work done. We should do that again some time."

"Definitely. I mean, I actually learned something."

"Yeah? What?"

Yang grinned deviously. "That someone took religious studies way too seriously."

They fell quiet for a moment, both wondering where this was leading. Yang broke the silence. "Hey, Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I teach you how to swing dance?"

Blake suddenly felt quite warm, but she didn't see any reason to reject the idea. "Yeah. Why not."

Yang got up, pulled Blake off the bed, and put an arm around her waist. Blake had forgotten how much she was affected by this physical closeness. She could control herself when she was simply in Yang's presence, but oh God, with Yang's arm around her waist like that, her stomach tied itself in knots, and the back of her neck burned. "This is, um...this is the closed position," Yang said quietly. "It's a bit easier for me to lead like this. Is that okay?"

"Um...yeah. Yeah, it's fine." It's perfect.

Yang swallowed hard and nodded. "Ok. Do you remember...?"

"Vaguely. You step back, don't you?"

"Yeah, rock step."

"Which foot was it?"

"Left."

Blake nodded, her pulse racing. Yang didn't move. "Do we need music or..."

"Nah. Should he fine. Okay, rock step..."

It didn't take long for Blake to remember how to do this. But this time, something seemed different. This time, she was somehow more aware of Yang holding her, Yang brushing against her, Yang's breath on her cheek and neck. Everything was silent, except for their rapid breathing, and Yang murmuring 'rock step, triple step' under her breath. The blonde's unusual eyes seemed alive, with deep reds dancing within them.

Suddenly, Blake stumbled, loosing track of which foot was which. Yang held her up, stopping her from falling. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Blake finally dared to look at Yang - right at her. Yang gazed back, silently. God, they were so close. Blake's hands were shaking, and she felt incredibly warm all over. It wasn't terribly unfamiliar, but it was still terrifying. Because she didn't know if Yang felt the same way.

So much emotion laced Yang's expression. Blake could almost watch her fighting with herself, conflicting emotions fighting each other. Then she suddenly closed her eyes, her eyebrows knotted together, her head turned away. "I'm sorry. I am. I-I just need to-"

And then Yang leant in, and their lips met.

The first thing Blake felt was shock. Complete and utter shock. Sure, she's had her suspicions that Yang might be interested, but his was so sudden. She was so unprepared - she didn't know what to do, how to respond. It felt so perfect, so stunning. Much to Yang's surprise, she tightened her grip on the blonde's waist, pulling their hips together.

Yang, who'd probably had a lot more experience in this area, responded, moving one hand up Blake's back, spiralling deeper into the embrace. It felt so good, so right. But soon, for Blake at least, it felt unnaturally long. She pulled away, and placed her head on Yang's shoulder, hugging her.

Yang couldn't speak for a couple of minutes. "Y-you-"

"Mm-hm."

"You actually-"

"Yeah."

Then she laughed. She broke away from Blake, laughing, sitting down on the bed. She glanced up at Blake, looking amazed. "From the moment I saw you in the corner at that concert, I wanted you to fall in love with me. Because I'm so bloody in love with you."

Blake shrugged. "It definitely worked."

Yang blinked, her eyes still filled with wonder. "Wow. That was...stunning."

Blake glanced shyly down at her feet. "Can we, um...can we do that again?"

Yang's eyes widened. "Yes please."

"Hey, Blake."

Blake nearly jumped in surprise as she heard Yang's voice behind her as she emerged from a lecture theatre. A few days had passed since she's last seen the blonde, on Saturday. She couldn't control the grin that appeared instantly on her face, or the warmth that spread to her cheeks when she remembered that evening. "Hey. How did you know I'd be here?"

"Your schedule was on your wall, remember?"

Blake shrugged, and sat down next to the door, pulling a book out of her bag. "Not right now, Yang. I need to read this."

Yang frowned. "Not this urgently, surely?"

"It's for this Jane Austen literature course." She pulled a pair of headphones out of her pocket, plugged them into her phone, swiftly chose a song, and put them in her ears. (The human ones.)

Yang's eyebrows shot up. "So this is why you don't have any friends."

Blake grinned even more, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Yang, I need to read this book by Wednesday!"

Yang shrugged and sat down next to her. "What are you listening to?"

"I'm reading a book."

"Come on, please?"

"That's what the song's called. I'm Reading a Book."

Yang narrowed her eyes in disbelief. Blake didn't protest as the blonde took out her headphones and put them in her own ears.

"Oh my god," she laughed, eyes gleaming with amusement. "This song's actually called I'm Reading a Book."

"Yes."

Yang handed back the headphones, laughing. "You actually downloaded a song called 'I'm Reading a Book'."

"Yes."

"Honestly...I might do that too."

"Yes."

"So you need to read this Austen thing by Wednesday?"

"Yes."

"Is it good?"

"Yes."

"So you're just going to sit here?"

"Yes."

Yang frowned, sensing that the conversation was getting a little repetitive. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes."

"Psychology's a soft science."

"Yes."

Yang grinned deviously. So Blake wasn't listening - no psychology student would agree with that statement. "Am I the most fabulous human being you've ever laid eyes on?"

"Yes. Wait-" Blake's eyes widened as she realised what she said, then she punched Yang lightly. Then she paused, before replying again. "Yes."

"Aww." Yang blinked as she felt her phone buzz. She quickly opened her emails, biting her lip as she read, her eyes quickly becoming dark with concerned.

Blake tapped her on the shoulder. "What is it?"

"Ozpin wants to see me. Doesn't sound good."

"When?"

"As soon as I get this email." Yang sounded tense.

Blake closed her book. "I'm coming with you."

"But-"

"You're not stopping me, and neither is Ozpin. What do you think it's about?"

"I've got no idea. But it doesn't sound good," she repeated.

Ozpin's office was at the very top of the castle-like building that was the campus of Beacon. Neither of them were in the mood for walking up the stairs, so they went straight for the elevator. When they arrived, Yang was the one that knocked.

"Come in."

Ozpin certainly wasn't a young man - he had greying hair, and sometimes used a cane, but he had a young face and voice. He sat at his desk, a cup of coffee in hand. To Blake's surprise, he didn't seem surprised to see her here too. "Yang, Blake. Please, sit down."

Yang was tapping her thumb on her knee again, the same way she had when she read the horror novel. Blake gave her an encouraging nudge, then they both sat down. Yang cleared her throat. "What did you want me for?"

"You are here to discuss your plagiarized IT essay."

Blake suddenly felt the room turn very still. Yang's fist was clenched, shaking. "No. No, that can't be right. I never-"

"One of your classmates had an identical essay to yours. We were able to track who wrote what when, and at what pace, and you appear to have written this essay in approximately two minutes with the help of copy-paste. Is this true?"

"NO!" Yang stood up, her chair flying out behind her. "It was Neo! She rigged the whole thing - Goddamnit, she said she'd get back at me..."

Blake frowned, glancing from Ozpin to Yang. Both of then must have known what this meant. Yang would be expelled if she couldn't prove she hadn't plagiarized. "There must be some mistake..."

Yang stepped up to Ozpin's desk, practically shouting. "You're dealing with IT students - Neo rigged the system! Neo did a thing with coding and messed up everything! I didn't steal anything! I didn't-" she staggered away, sinking back into her chair. "It was Neo..."

"That may be true, but furthermore..."

Ozpin paused deliberately, and Yang looked up, tense. Blake clenched her fist. He couldn't do this. This couldn't be happening. Yang didn't have to leave, surely...

"We have heard that you, Yang, have involved yourself in...relationships, deemed inappropriate by some of the other staff."

The room went silent. Blake wondered for a brief moment if Yang had been cheating on her, but that was impossible. Then she realized. Ozpin was referring to her. Them. Them, and their straight-as-a-circle relationship. Then Blake spoke up, her voice hard. "If she goes, I go."

"Blake-"

Yang was silenced by a glare from the Faunus, looking dejected, defeated. Ozpin's gaze softened. "I do not want to do this, and I wouldn't dream of expelling either of you on such grounds. But Yang, this has made some of the staff very keen to get rid of you. Unless you can provide evidence that that work was your own work, I'm going to have no choice."

Blake paused, and sat back again, he'd posture still rigid. She glanced pleadingly at Yang, but the blonde's expression was blank. "I can't...she can't...you can't..."

"Yang, I'm very sorry. But you're going to have to leave Beacon."

Yang hardly said a word to Blake on the way back. She didn't want the Faunus's sympathy. Her mind was racing. She had to leave Beacon, and she had to leave Blake. "Oh my God," she repeated for at least the fourth time.

Blake has tried to say she'd leave too, but Yang wouldn't let her. Even if her career was possibly going down the drain because of one stupid, stupid mistake, Blake's wouldn't have to as well.

Oh my God. Oh my God.

Blake hesitated, then stopped walking, wrapping her arms around Yang's waist. "Wait."

Yang turned to face the Faunus, and a gentle, warm breeze flowed through the courtyard they were walking in. Everything seemed so still. "When do I say goodbye?" Blake asked quietly.

Then Yang could take it anymore. She threw herself against Blake, burying her face in her shoulder, crying, trembling. "Never."

Blake pulled her closer, making Yang's heart lurch, running her fingers through her hair. "We have no choice."

Yang took a deep, shaky breath. "This isn't goodbye. I don't do goodbyes." She sniffed, stepping back, gazing at Blake with tear-filled eyes. "I swear I'll find you again."

"Yeah?" Blake replied weakly, whispering, her voice breaking as she started to cry too. "How will you manage that?"

Yang closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around Blake, hugging her, simply being there with her, close to her, until everything else faded away.

"Magic."