A/N: Last of the Tumblr stories. I don't know what I was thinking anymore when I typed this but hey, maybe you all will like it. As this is the last of the Tumblr stories, this will also be the last chapter for this little trove! Anything else I upload will be a separate story so I hope you all look forward to that.
"Hey, whatcha doing there?"
Blake looked up from her textbook on the library table toward the source of her interruption, the lamp at her side burning her tired eyes more than they already were. One brow raised in skepticism, she regarded her partner across the wooden desk with a stare that said 'Are you really asking me that?'.
Yang stared back with an equally curious gaze, blonde hair curtaining over her shoulder as she tilted her head to the side as she waited for her answer.
Blake gestured to the papers and open text before her. "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm running through my plot to overthrow the Headmaster and destroy Beacon of course." She put a finger to her lips. "Don't tell anyone, but I plan to target what Professor Ozpin loves most."
Yang's eyes grew wide as Blake leaned toward her, mouth set into a thin line as she spoke with the utmost seriousness, voice becoming a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm going to steal all the coffee at Beacon and give it to Nora. No one will see it coming"
Heads turned toward the boisterous guffaws that erupted from the blonde brawler as Blake sat back with a tired smile, her friend wiping away a tear that had gathered at her eye. "Good one, Blake. Whoever says you don't have a sense of humor obviously hasn't met you."
"Thanks. I'm here every day except Thursdays."
"What's Thursdays?"
"Thursday is when they serve tuna sandwiches for lunch in the cafeteria."
"Ah." Yang nodded in agreement with a chuckle. They served a mean tuna salad sandwich at Beacon. "You almost done studying?"
"I am." Blake said, the abrupt subject changes something she had gotten used to during her time with her partner. "Only a little more reading and I should be done for today. Why?"
The young huntress shrugged, eyes trained on the book's current page as she attempted to read it upside down. "Nothing. It's almost time for lights out and since I'm here, I thought we could go back to the dorm together."
"Sure, let me finish this chapter and we can head back."
Yang plopped into the chair across from her with a sunny smile. "Sure! Take your time."
Yang never liked waiting, the ever impatient girl not one for letting life pass her by. The nightly hour and the immobile stars visible outside the library window made her feel as though time were frozen or at least moving in slow motion as the grandfather clock nestled in the corner silently ticked and counted the seconds moving by at a snail's pace. But if it was for her partner, she could try patience for once.
At first she began using her time to sneakily stare at an oblivious Blake, watching bisque colored irises flit across page after page with unparalleled speed. Eyes so focused yet able to carry a sense of serenity unlike anything Yang had ever seen in another person.
But soon her gaze soon wandered over to the books lining the shelves behind Blake's head, the titles catching her eye. She skimmed through them fairly quickly, nothing of interest popping out at her amidst the historical tomes and non-fiction literature.
Yang let out an audible groan of frustration.
"You almost done yet?"
Blake sighed. A glance at the grandfather clock told her that it had only been ten minutes. Yang had lasted longer than she thought. "Almost."
The blonde leaned over in her chair, forehead almost bumping against Blake's as her golden hair obscured the view of the text she squinted down at. "Whatcha studying anyway?"
Yang pouted at the finger that poked her back. "I was brushing up on species of aquatic Grimm."
"Aquatic Grimm?" Yang scrunched her nose in contempt. "Why are you reading about them? None of our classes need us to study 'em, do they?"
Blake shook her head in the negative. "No, but it'll be an eventuality, so I thought I would get a head start."
"So you're not even studying!" Yang exclaimed.
"Yes, I was." Blake exhaled in defeat, sitting back into the wooden support of her chair as she gave Yang her full attention. "Just not for our regular classes."
"Then why were you studying them?
"I guess… I just started thinking and one thought led to another. Before I knew it, it devolved into a study on aquatic Grimm."
"What started it?" Yang propped her head up with her palms on her cheeks, all ears.
"Do you really want to know? It's of a more philosophical nature."
"Sure, sure." Yang waved a hand with a small grin. "I like Filla-soapy as much as the next gal. Lay it on me."
"Philosophy." Blake deadpanned.
"That's what I said. Filla-soapy."
Her pupils narrowed into slits as she bored her gaze into the smug teenager across from her. "Right… Anyway, I was thinking about 'flow' and 'direction' and how it dictates our lives."
"Whoa, Blake, slow down I can't handle all this soap."
"I'll wash your mouth out with soap." She growled playfully as she stood up, the blonde across from her losing herself in her giggles. "I'm leaving without you."
"No, wait!" Yang calmed herself enough to speak. "I was only joking! Come on," She patted the still open textbook in front of Blake's seat, her eyes pleading with her to sit back down. "Tell me about flow and direction."
With one last glare, she grudgingly settled back into her chair. "You'll listen?"
Yang shot her a reassuring smile accompanied by an energetic thumbs up. "Sure! We're partners, right? Why wouldn't I listen to what you have to say?"
"Just making sure." Blake shot her a smile devoid of humor, Yang already able to surmise that what she had to say was not all rainbows and sunshine.
The dark huntress brought her hands atop the table, absently fiddling with one corner of the book page, eyes trained down. "I was thinking about how there seems to be a predictable plan to life, as though we're all just following a specific course we are not meant to stray from, and how we can't change what will happen. It made me think of water and how it flows.
"One constant I've learned is that life is all about 'flow'. Something that pulls you along against your will, constant and unchanging. No matter what we choose, it is already predetermined what will happen to us in the future." Yang's blank stare made her sigh. Perhaps an analogy would be beneficial.
"Imagine life as a river. We are all in that river, going with the flow of the stream as we make our choices, unknowingly swept to where we are meant to be. No matter how much we fight, how much we resist, we are dragged along with the current and pulled into the depths that is our predetermined future. Our course in life is unavoidable, unchangeable and forever steady. Like I told Ruby, life is not a fairy tale. We do not have the luxury of a storybook ending that we ourselves get to compose the conclusion to."
Blake shook her head, mood lowering as she spoke. "It is our decisions that keep the flow of the river moving, but no matter what we choose we will arrive in the same place as we are supposed to, just as the river always ends by bleeding into the ocean."
"Bullshit."
Blake's ears perked up at the blunt rebuttal. "Bullshit?"
"Yeah, that's a load of bullshit! I thought you had a better outlook than that Blake." She jumped as Yang stood up and slammed her hand onto the table. "Life is more than just some a 'river'." Yang supplied with air quotes.
Weary eyes landed upon a determined face, Blake not so sure how Yang figured. "What do you mean?"
"If live is a river, than you can fight it."
A midnight hued eyebrow rose at the rebellious comment. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. We don't have to just 'go with the flow' Blake. Sure, we are allowed our choices, whatever those are. And if I wanna be different, then I will be. No one can tell me that I can't swim against the river and fight for my own direction. No one can tell me I can't swim to the banks and pull myself out to pick my own destiny and shape it how I see fit. And no one can tell me that I can't fight for what I believe in."
Blake sat stunned, not sure what to think. "But, you can't…"
"Ah! What did I just say?" Yang pointed an accusatory finger toward the Faunus. "No one."
She took in the pensive amber stare before her, her friend's feline ear twitching in both bemusement and contemplation.
"Actually, now that I think about it, there is another thing no one can tell me to do."
Blake slowly closed her textbook, fatigue kicking in as she hugged it close. "And what is that?"
Yang made to stand in front of Blake, her partner looking at her outstretched hand in confusion. "No one ever said I couldn't help someone out of their own river and make them see that there are other ways to live." She gave the other girl a wink and a cheesy grin. "I'd make like a salmon and swim up any river I need to so I can reach you and help you find your storybook ending!"
Her mind almost melted at the breathtaking smile across Blake's lips. "That's an interesting way to put it."
"Doesn't make it any less true." A soft smile graced her own lips as she muttered softly, "Everyone deserves the chance to write their own story Blake, so please don't give in so easily. I'm your partner, and I want you to be happy and live the way you want to." She then wiggled her fingers, encouraging her to take. "C'mon, don't leave me hanging here."
Blake shook her head as she clasped the proffered hand, accepting the help up. With a small, gentle squeeze, Blake let go to turn and pack up her supplies, missing the sight of Yang's jaw hanging open in surprise at the uncharacteristic gesture.
"Thank you, but right now I like my current direction." She turned back around, Yang managing to close her mouth in time before she saw. "Sometimes… staying a steady course is not such a bad thing."
"Never said it was." Yang conceded with a grin. "No one can tell you it's wrong to go with the flow either. It's all up to you."
She jumped back at the sudden pat on her cheek, Blake's voice dropping to a monotone as she said, "Not bad Yang. I never would have expected such a profound response from you."
"Uh… thank you?"
Blake, her book bag slung over her shoulder, spun on one heel and began to walk through the deserted aisles toward the library entrance. "Although, there is one thing I would change about what you said."
Yang quickly recovered and ran after her. "What's that?"
"Instead of making like a salmon, why not make like a tuna?" Yang almost tripped over her own two feet at the wink Blake gave her with a glimpse over her shoulder. "I happen to like tuna."