The meaning of being home

by rosen-fenrir

Years after the war, a weary Yang returns to her oldest home to visit and take a much needed vacation after travelling Remnant to fight Grim. She makes an effort to get there before sundown, since someone very special is waiting for her. But something stilll worries Yang, torturing her at the back of her mind and dragging her down while the others move on / Multi chapter story now!

14. Chapter 14

Hello guys! I'm so sorry i couldn't update this past sunday, but I felt like I was running out of time and kinda blocked myself as I was writing. I realized there was no point into rushing a chapter for the sake of meeting a self-imposed deadline when it was such an important one. So i took more time and here we are now xD again, I'm really sorry. I loved you reviews guys, I know you're probably thinking I'm stalling for you to read the chapter, and maybe I am xD anyways, read the end notes for some... author notes xD Enjoy! :D

---

It felt like time had stopped and along with it, so had Yang's breathing. It was too unreal, too good to be true… to actually believe that Blake had suddenly appeared in front of her so out of the blue, when she was supposed to be so far away… that it would make it easier for Yang not to think about her. But her eyes couldn't be tricking her know, she had made sure by virtue of feeling Blake's breath pass between her fingertips that she was really there, less than a meter away from her… asking to… what had she said?

Her mind was trying hard to focus but she was too overwhelmed; thankfully she had peered over her drink and not held it before opening the door, otherwise it would have been shattered on the floor at the moment. Her gaze was somewhere on Blake's direction but she was too shocked still to talk; however, a rush of feelings started clawing inside of her, fighting for dominance so she could express at least one of them. Sadness, anger, happiness, confusion and fear all whirled up inside her, making her listen to her own heartbeats ringing in her ears somehow.

Blake was still standing there, shrinking into herself and her ears as far and as down as they would go. She seemed pale, somewhat scared and actually a bit shaky. It occurred to Yang that maybe Blake was scared of her? Did her eyes change color without her noticing? That hadn't happened to her in so many years that it would be a bad sign of her control slipping, so she briefly glanced towards the small mirror next to the door. Her eyes were her regular lilac; even if her expression was still confused. Before she could think more about that, Blake's harsh breathing got her attention.

She seemed like she had run all the way from Menagerie by her breathing pattern, and there were a few beads of sweat on her forehead; she was wearing black knee high boots with metal toes and knee protectors; a white shirt over a black top of sorts and what seemed like a black scarf wrapped around her neck. She had black cloth covering both arms, solid black on her right and a silver stripped one on her left. She could see gambol shroud on her back and her hair was a bit tied away from her face on the sides. She was beautiful but at the same time, she seemed a little sick. At that moment, Yang felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time for her ex-partner: concern.

- "Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?"- If Yang were to be honest with herself, Blake seemed like she would pass out any moment now. It reminded her of a time where she had been burning herself out when Roman Torchwick had been their biggest concern. Back on the time where she had told her personal details of her past so she would realize she was hurting herself with exhaustion; back when Yang had trusted her with a part of her weaknesses and Blake had listened to her for real. Back on a time were everything was so much simpler than now.

Blake widened her eyes for a bit and confusion reflected on them. Yang felt the need to reach out and touch her, to held her and guide her to rest; but she wasn't sure what was going on yet.

-"What? Uh… I don't know. I hoped you could listen to me for a bit? If that's alright with you I mean."- It was a weird and awkward situation and both seemed to be aware of this. Yang realized now that was probably what Blake had asked her when she opened the door, to talk with her. After all these years? A frown made its way into her face; her eyebrows curving down on the middle.

- "You look bad, just… take a sit."- Blake seemed doubtful about entering or not, so when Yang motioned with her prosthesis to come inside, Blake relented and did as asked. Yang stayed to close the door behind her and took the moment to take a deep breath and try to control her emotions. She wanted to ask her why she was there; and why come to her in the first place but, at the same time, she felt some of her anger trying to reach out… so she stayed silent for a moment. She heard Blake taking a sit on the edge of the motel bed and finally turned around to look at her. The blonde decided to put her weight on the door, reclining her back on it; whether it was because of the fear of watching her leave again or because her legs refused to move, she wasn't sure.

Blake seemed nervous and uncomfortable; the paleness of her face contrasting with her golden eyes, eyes that were looking everywhere but Yang.

- "Is someone chasing you?"- Her question seemed to jolt Blake out of her trance, making her look at her.

- "What?"

- "It looks like someone chased you here, but I guess if that were the case you would have been surprised to find me here."- Yang didn't trust her mind to make a sound analysis without going on a tangent about her own emotions, so she decided to voice her thoughts.

- "No one is chasing me, I was looking for you, Yang."- At that, Yang felt a heat rising up to her throat; it wasn't a good feeling, more like she felt vile reaching to spew out of her mouth. She took a few seconds and asked:

- "Why?"- She looked at Blake again but the Faunus redirected her gaze towards the ground, seemingly unable to look her in the eyes.

- "Because there is something you had to know. I… I need to tell you something in person but, I need to know first if you want to hear it. I can see that you are… upset with me, so if you want me to leave, I will."- Yang had a difficult time understanding what Blake was trying to say without letting her emotions show. Emotions that she didn't even understand herself.

- "Why?"

- "Huh?"

- "Why, after all this time…"- Yang felt her throat closing up, but she needed to say it. – "… why are you here? You could have written to me. If it was important… you should have told me years ago. So… I guess what I mean is…"- She wasn't sure any more of what she was trying to say, she realized she had gripped the handle of the door sometime between closing it and now, she could hear the handle shaking so she let go of it. It was telling that she needed to fiddle with something as she grew anxious, so she crossed her arms in front of her and looked up at the ceiling.

- "I thought you wanted to do your own thing. It's surprising, to see you at my door. When the last time I saw you, you told me that we should part ways. I respected that, I didn't contact you either, thinking that maybe you would… sometime."- Yang was trying to keep her voice at the same level, but it seemed more difficult with every word. She could see at the corner of her eyes, how Blake was squirming in place.

- "There's no easy way to say this, Yang; but I… wasn't honest with you,"- that tore Yang's eyes off the ceiling and back to the Faunus sitting on the bed.

- "What do you mean?"- A myriad of thoughts crossed her mind, each and every one worse than the last. Blake took a deep breath and said:

- "I lied to you, after the trial. I wasn't thinking about my dreams when I left."- Yang felt like she had slapped her in the face, so she uncrossed her arms and took a step forwards.

-"What? I don't… I don't understand."- Blake refused to meet her eyes and Yang couldn't take it. - "I thought that's what you wanted. Why did you leave then?". - Yang crouched low and searched her gaze, but Blake wouldn't meet it. So she felt the pain again, that slow but scorching force that dragged itself through Yang's heart all over again. So she looked away as well and mumbled: - "What did I do so wrong that made you leave?". She didn't intend for Blake to hear such a pitiful question, but it was burning such a hole inside of her she couldn't stop herself.

- "What?"- Blake had heard it of course, and had asked her confused by it. – "Yang? Why are you saying that?". - Yang had sat down the floor in front of her, but Blake couldn't see her face well.

-"There's no other reason for you to leave. I always thought that you wanted to do things your way and, yes it did hurt that you left me there, alone… without a warning, without any reason other than that you wanted to follow your dreams so… If you are telling me that it wasn't true, then the only reason must be me. I'm the reason you left."- Yang couldn't help the tears from streaking down her cheeks now. Her voice had broken somewhere in the middle of her little speech, she was clutching the zipper of her jacket with her left hand, so hard she would have hurt herself if she wouldn't have any aura. She was trying so hard not to have a full break down than she didn't notice Blake standing up and sitting next to her on the floor until she felt a shaky hand on her shoulder.

- "How can you say that? You did nothing wrong Yang! I left because I was scared!"- Blake's voice was growing desperate with each word but Yang was still trying and failing to maintain her composure than she didn't notice it. – "I was too scared and too stupid to think that this wouldn't affect you, but…!"- That brought back Yang to reality and she could feel the anger rising up now.

- "That it wouldn't affect me? You left me again Blake! I was there! All alone in that bench, crying my eyes out because I wasn't worthy of your company!"- Blake's eyes widened and Yang could see tears gathering there.

- "You weren't…? worthy?"- Blake would have tried, but It was too late to stop herself. - "I'm the one that wasn't worthy of you! Look at mE YANG! LOOK AT WHAT I'VE DONE TO YOU! ALL BECAUSE I'M A STUPID COWARD AND I DIDN'T EVEN TELL YOU THAT I…"- One moment Blake was letting her emotions get the best of her, and at the next…It was like she had been paralyzed by an unseen force, like she had paused mid-sentence. Yang realized too late that there was something wrong, when she turned to look at her and was met with the image of Blake's eyes rolling back into her skull and falling backwards to the ground. Yang reacted quickly and threw herself to hold her before her head touched the floor.

-"Blake? BLAKE!".

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Weiss had arrived to her home a few hours after Blake had left in a hurry to find Yang and was now holding her darling but groggy daughter in her arms, she was speaking softly to her and bringing her to the living room, where her wife had been looking out the window for at least half an hour now. She reached Ruby and said:

- "Are you still worried?"- The one with the silver eyes turned slightly towards her and she could see that she was bothered by something.

- "Yes, It's been hours now, Weiss. I'm worried about them but I'm also worried about Blake. You didn't see her, Weiss, she looked like could fall down at any moment. It was like that time at the Academy but worse, she was shaking, Weiss! I think… I have a feeling that she's sick. I worry that maybe she didn't get to Yang. What if she keeled over somewhere? What if…?"- Weiss placed one of her hands on her cheek and caressed it softly with her thumb.

- "Calm down Ruby, if she was in such a hurry to reach her I doubt something like that would have stopped her. I can leave her a message on her scroll or we can contact Yang just in case. She's been stressing over this for such a long time, it probably started messing with her head. Add to it the fact that she just left Menagerie in the middle of very important changes and that she took a flight directly to Patch. If she's with Yang already, she's the best person to take care of her. We have to have faith in them Ruby, I do, and I hope that after this we can all be together again."- Ruby had kept quiet through it all but she couldn't help but fret over the situation. It wasn't until she felt the tiny hand of Blau on her other cheek that she noticed her daughter was no longer groggy; instead she had her eyes fully open and something akin to a smile on her face. Those icy blue eyes, the same color of her other mother, bringing her calm and comfort.

- "That's right Blau! We are here for mommy and to stop her from worrying too much."- their daughter made a sweet sound and Ruby felt her heart melt all over again. She grabbed both their hands in her own and whispered sweetly: - "I love you both."

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It was like waking up after a weird dream, just opening her eyes slowly as her hearing came back to her. And the first thing she saw, was lilac. Worried, big lilac eyes that were looking directly at her from above. Everything felt sluggish, like she had been hit by one of Weiss' time dilation glyphs and was moving faster than everything else; there was a small, low ringing in her ears but other than that, she wasn't sure if she was being talked to or not. Instead, she looked back into what she realized were Yang's beautiful eyes. The worried, sad eyes that were the only focus in her vision. She was beautiful, she was everything she would never deserve to have… and she had hurt her badly. Unworthy of walking the same path as her, but apparently her actions had backfired and she had to deal with the consequences now.

-"…ake? ...you ...ight?"- Slowly she was focusing on the world around her, as she felt something wet land on her cheek and roll down to the side of her face. Yang was crying… why? She wasn't deserving of Yang's tears… not after what she had done to the both of them. Why did she keep on hurting the person she never wanted to see hurting again?

- "Blake! Come on! Answer me, please!"- she could hear the desperation now, enough that she focused fully and really looked at her. Her whole face was telling enough; Yang was desperately worried for her. Her forehead was creased, her eyebrows curved outwards and her lips parted slightly open in a plea. It was at that moment that Blake realized something had happened to her. Had she collapsed? She was laying on the floor, with Yang hovering over her; her golden hair cascading softly at the sides, and one hand behind Blake's neck. She tried to speak and at first, she couldn't quite vocalize that she was alright; but when she tried again, she managed to say it.

-"Yeah. I'm… ok."- Yang seemed to calm down instantly, breathing out in relief. – "I'm not sure, what happened?"- She tried to stand up, but Yang held her down softly.

- "Don't stand up yet. You seemed to pause for a second and then you just… passed out. I'm sorry, it's my fault… I made you upset and pushed you to reach that point."- the blonde huntress deposited Blake's head softly over the cheap carpeted floor, took her hand off her neck and kneeled back to put distance again between them, perhaps realizing she was too close for comfort.

- "It's not your fault, I haven't been taking care of myself these days. I was… too worried, too nervous; I still am, to be honest."- For some reason, Blake felt like she could speak more freely now. Whether it was because she was finally laying down or because of Yang being concerned for her, she didn't know. But it was time to tell the truth.

-"Worried? Why?"-

- "I've done many things in my life, Yang; some were good and some were bad. Rushed choices, bad choices and some things I wish I had never done… I wish I hadn't done it the way I did, but… I thought that by leaving, you would be better off without me."- Yang seemed confused.

- "Why would you even think that?"- Blake took a deep breath for what felt like the hundred time that night and said:

- "Because I've been the cause of so much pain for you, I was afraid I would hurt you again. I was reminded during the trials… when Mercury confessed, that I didn't trust you enough to realize that you were not a monster, that you were telling the truth. You would never do that to someone else and… in that moment, when you needed me, I let you down…. And I've only done that ever since. Look, I'm still doing it! You thought I left for a big and just cause, but in reality… I did it because I was scared."- She was crying now, openly crying to the one she had sought after to the point of collapsing; she was truly pathetic.

-"Blake, I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me all of this? After the trials? In that park? Why keep it to yourself? I don't get it." – Blake looked into Yang's eyes, she was hurt but she wanted answers… it was now or never.

- "I didn't want to hurt you, but I messed things up. As much as I read, I've never been good with words, with expressing how I feel. It's only fair to let you know something I've never told you, even if it may sound a bit selfish… you have to believe me; it was for you. "- as she talked, she was examining Yang's expressions; so far she seemed curious but guarded as well.

- "I left because I thought it was better for you to not have me around. Wait, let me finish."- She said as she saw how Yang was ready to retort.

- "I left because you deserved someone better than me, someone who would never doubt you or your actions, because you are the best person I know. You are too good for this world and I'm the stupid girl that runs away in fear. And I don't mean just because we were partners, but… because…"- This was it, the moment Blake had been thinking so hard about in the latest weeks. She was scared, nervous and a bit nauseous, but Yang was still listening to her. If anything, she seemed like she wanted for her to keep talking.

- "Because… I … You…"- before she could say it, Yang stopped her mid-sentence.

-"Wait, wait a minute. Let me just… I need to get this right." - She gestured wildly as she spoke. - "You think I'm this… amazing person but you're wrong. I have my faults, I'm not perfect in any sense of the word, if anything… I've done many stupid things too. And you, you're not a bad person. You aren't perfect either but you are damn good at doing great things. I know what you've achieved and that doesn't happen overnight or out of a regular sense of duty, but you believe in being fair and just and the world could do so much better with people like you. Me? I'm just a great Huntress and sure, I save people as my job, but what you're doing, you are shaping the world to make it better. And you know what? If that is the product of you leaving me behind, then I guess… maybe it was good that you did."- Yang seemed a bit crestfallen, her eyes had gone somewhere else during her recollection, but Blake had enough of waiting and just reached with her left hand and put it over Yang's right knee.

- "It wasn't good and it wasn't fair to you. I never thought I would get this far with the things I've done for my people, but I also never intended to hurt you, I wanted to …. I…"- she growled at herself, at her weakness to express her feelings. – "Before the trials, I planned to stay with you… as long as you would have me."- Yang's right eyebrow rose in question.

- "Well, duh. We were partners, that was a given and…"- she felt Blake squeeze her knee and got silent.

- "I didn't mean that way… what I'm trying to say is that…I've been… I…"- why was this so difficult?

- "Blake I don't under…"

- "I love you."-

Yang was caught off guard at Blake's words, if the widening of her eyes and the open-mouthed expression was any indication. It was hard to tell, though Blake could only gander at what was going on in her mind at her revelation. She could feel the anxiousness creeping back from the recesses of her mind; like a shadow, only a step behind her… following her wherever she went. Like tar or black oil… or even the substance where grim spawned from; she would never part ways from the feeling of guiltiness and anxiousness that enveloped her daily, but only mitigate it. Such moment was this, if she focused in the fact that Yang was still listening to her, worried about her, she would take that silver lining.

- "There, I said it. I loved you then and I still do. If I had stayed with you, if you had ever felt that way towards me… I know I would've hurt you eventually. I just know it, you may say it's not true, but look where we are now. Look at what I've done to you, to us. And I don't know if you ever felt that way towards me, I don't know if you ever loved me more than just a friend or your partner but… it's too late to erase the what I did. I wanted to talk to you, to write to you… everyday, since I left you, but… I couldn't do it. I wouldn't let myself get back into your life. And when the silence grew too much between us… I couldn't do it. Do you see now? I've been so stupid. So I had to let you know, to tell you the truth."- Yang was frozen in place, too stunned to say anything; so Blake simply took her hand off the blonde's knee and rested it at her side.

-"I'm sorry I screwed everything. I'm sorry I hurt you.". - She closed her eyes and waited for Yang to say anything; if she ever would, that is. For all she knew Yang was relieved she was alright, and that was it; maybe Yang had only felt the comradery of a good friendship and… Blake would be ok with that… as long as Yang was aware of the truth; as much as she wanted it, she didn't need for Yang to reciprocate, just her knowing the truth would be enough.

A few minutes passed and Yang hadn't said anything yet. Blake was growing a bit more anxious than before, the tendrils of darkness trying to get to her… but she refused to fall into it. She kept her eyes closed and waited for Yang to say anything.

- "Blake… I've been asking myself all this time why did you leave that way; hell, I've been asking myself what did I do wrong… and you tell me… you did it because you loved me and you were scared you would hurt me?"- There it was; one of the possibilities Blake had been dreading from the start. Yang's disbelief of how stupid and absurd the whole situation had been from that perspective, but she didn't know how Blake had struggled those 2 days after the trial, how she fought with herself to keep her aim true in her plan. How she had suffered for it, even if it was meant to free Yang of a bad partner; Blake had wanted to turn back on her actions too many times to count. It was only fair that she had to endure this possibility… of Yang screaming at her and forever parting ways for good.

-"Yes. That's the truth. I'm sorry."- She kept quiet then. Only hearing her own heartbeats beating crazily fast and feeling a big weight in her stomach. Until she heard the rustling of clothes and the creaking of leather boots accompanied with a metallic noise. She refused to open her eyes, but she knew that Yang had stood up from the floor; and apparently had taken a few steps around and towards Blake's right. She didn't know what was going on, especially when she heard more soft cloth being moved around.

- "Does your head hurt?"- What? is what Blake wanted to ask, so instead she opened her eyes in question. She moved her head towards where she heard Yang's voice and saw her next to the bed. She made an assessment of her situation and answered no. Yang nodded with a neutral expression on her face and walked back to where Blake was laying, who couldn't be more confused.

- "I'm sorry, but this has been bothering me for a while now. Excuse me."- Blake wanted to ask what she meant with that when she saw Yang crouch down next to her and very gently, put one hand behind Blake's neck to prop her a little bit and her other arm behind the back of her knees. She adjusted her grip behind Blake's neck a bit to where her back began and without effort, carried her upwards. Blake was overwhelmed with how close they were, even if Yang's face betrayed nothing of what she was thinking about, except for the little frown between her eyebrows. Suddenly she was thrown to the past, to a time where the war was over and they were still partners; when Yang loved to spontaneously hug her, carry her or just be closer to her… a time where Blake felt her pulse quicken and her senses overload with Yang's sole presence. A time where Blake had slowly started to appreciate Yang's constant physical contact and even wonder what it would be like for her to initiate those. A time where her partner's radiant light would cast away the darkness of her thoughts and only leave the shadow that was Blake's essence. All in all, a better time to remember.

She was so inside her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Yang had brought her to her bed. For a split second she managed to realize that Yang had fixed her pillows so she would be more comfortable, as she slowly and carefully eased her down over the bedding. As soon as she put her down, she broke away the contact and Blake started missing the blonde's warmth in an instant. Too worried before to notice how her body had relaxed against Yang's frame.

- "I'm sorry if I startled you, but I couldn't let you lay on the floor any longer when there's a decent bed in this room."- As she said so, she had turned around, making her way far from where Blake laid now. It was faint, but she could smell Yang's scent on the pillows and it was torture to even think this could very well be, the last time she ever had her in front of her. She armed herself with valor and said:

- "Thank you, and there's no need to apologize. If anything… I don't deserve your kindness."- Blake casted her gaze away from Yang again, reminded that she hadn't heard anything related to the conversation they were having in the last 3 minutes. But she heard a weird noise from Yang, like a clicking of her tongue or something. She had her back towards Blake when she said:

- "You really need to stop saying those things. It's not true at all and it's making me a little more than upset to hear that."- Blake brought both hands over her belly and tried not to show how nervous she was. She looked at Yang again and saw her walk towards what she could see now, was a small table near the door. She saw her pick something up and brought it to her face, she realized Yang was drinking something; a small whiff of the air made her realize it was a drink with strawberries in it. She didn't need anything else to know what it was. She saw Yang bring her arm back down with the glass and heard the clinking of ice against it.

-"Ugh. Hate the ice."- She turned around and put her hands on her hips, looking downwards. Allowing Blake to fully capture her appearance in a second and memorize it in case this was goodbye. She was wearing brown and black leather boots that ended at her knees; a rich purple bandana tied below the left knee, as always. Black riding pants with orange accents on the sides and a brown leather bag of sorts at her left side that was strapped to her leg and connected upwards into her belt of the same material. A short leather brown jacket with short sleeves and orange accents as well; with her burning heart crest over where her real heart was. Over the zipper of the jacket and under the weird collar of it, she had her classic orange scarf. She was wearing her long fingerless glove with Ember Celica in bracelet form in her left hand and a black and yellow battle prosthesis on her right. Making Blake realize this was probably her hunting outfit. Her long mane was the same as always, flowing freely and wild but curled in a way that still mesmerized her; and her eyes… she had missed her eyes and the way they used to look at her. They were still casted downwards when Yang brought Blake out of her mind.

- "Do you know what the most stupid thing about this situation is?"- Blake shook her head no. – "That we were both stupid cowards. That day at the park? I wanted to ask you, for the longest time… if you would stay with me… forever."- Blake felt her heart constrict somewhere near her throat. What? Yang must have noticed, because she followed with:

- "Yep. I wanted for us to be more than we were. I…. I also loved you, Blake."- As elated as she would have been, she couldn't help but noticed that she had said loved and not love. She could already feel it… the way her heart was falling bit by bit to the pit of her stomach.

- "I felt like you… maybe you loved me as well… in a more than friends and more than partners kind of way. I know now that I was right… but then you started talking and I thought I couldn't have been more wrong in my life."- Blake felt herself shrink into the pillows, she had screwed up more than she thought.

- "And it was so sudden I felt like my world was falling out of existence. All I knew and thought about us was vanishing out of thin air. I thought I had been so stupid not to realize that maybe you wanted different things… so, I sucked it up and just… let you go. Thinking that if that's what you wanted, I couldn't even try to talk you out of it."- Yang raised her eyes off the floor and looked directly at Blake; who felt guiltier by the minute.

- "When you left… I stayed sitting there, all alone… thinking the last few years over and over, trying to see where I had gone wrong into thinking that you could feel that way towards me and…"- At that, Yang brought her left hand to the bridge of her nose, pinching it slightly to keep her composure. Blake wanted to run towards her and comfort her, but she couldn't move a muscle and the feelings of self-hatred didn't allow her to even speak out.

- "… I had to leave town, right then and there. I travelled for a long, long time Blake. It was the only way I could forget all about it, but it wasn't working perfectly. There were times where I thought about you, about what you were doing or if you were gonna contact me again. But you didn't and I thought that you were probably better without me. I thought as much when I learned the news, that you were Chieftess now…. And then you started talking with Weiss and not long after you started talking with Ruby and my heart just…"- Her voice had slowly progressed from calm and quiet to small and broken. When she said her last line, she brought her hand to where her emblem was and squeezed the cloth lightly. Blake felt like she had done something horrible, and in a way… she was right. She had thought that Yang would have had it easier without her in the picture, but she realized now that she had more than hurt her. She started crying silently when she heard the few sobs that were escaping Yang's lips.

- "I won't lie to you Blake. Whether you wanted it or not… you did hurt me. You hurt me badly in ways I'm not strong enough to tell you how right now, and I wish it wasn't true… but this is reality and it happened."- Yang let her hand fall to her side and took in Blake's expression of sadness right away.

- "I don't know how much, but it's pretty obvious at this point that you are upset about it as well. So…. I can see why you would come looking for me to tell me the truth… but this is too much for me right now… too much to process and there's still many things that I don't know about. I don't know how you got here, how did you know where I was… and so many other questions I have…. But I won't ask much of you. I still…"- Yang stopped herself, and shifted her attention back to the floor, like weighting something on her mind. – "I still care a lot for you, Blake. I won't say any more about that because I'm scared that I don't know how long do you plan to stay here, if you even want to stay at all."- Blake tried to say something but Yang stopped her again.

- "Before you say anything, I need a moment. Look, you told me what you had to say about the real reason of why you left… I'm gonna go outside for an hour or two. If you only came to say that, then that's your cue to leave if you want to."- Blake desperately shifted forwards, her heart screaming at her to speak up. – "If you came to be forgiven… then I'll ask a few more questions after I come back… and then you can leave if you want."- Blake felt her ears drop lower along with any hope of Yang reciprocating her feelings, she wanted to say she agreed but Yang spoke again.

- "But… If you came here for more than forgiveness… We'll talk after I'm back and… we'll go from there. I hope you understand… I don't want to say anything else if you plan to leave as soon as possible"- The sadness in her eyes were clue enough for Blake that Yang just wanted to make sure she wouldn't just leave after talking about her own feelings, so she nodded sadly and rested against the pillows once again.

-"I understand. I'll be here."- Yang nodded slightly at her and made for the door to leave. Before she closed it behind her, Blake heard her say in a small voice: - "I guess we'll see about that."-

Blake waited a few minutes and then rolled on her side to the middle of the bed. Yang cared for her… she wasn't sure how much or if she loved her still, but she would wait patiently for her. She dried her tears on the bedding and started thinking about her, what would the conversation be like… but realized it was futile, so she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o

It was difficult to put her feelings in order. She had been completely sucker punched by Blake's confession that she had trouble thinking right. Not only that, but she had been in pain for so long and for the wrong reasons that she had to wonder how did they even got to this point.

She had been walking around downtown Vale for past half an hour by now, just… thinking and walking without a direction… how very typical of her to do so. But could she be to blame for doing so? She knew the truth… she still loved Blake but..., she had stopped herself before telling her. Yang was scared to voice her feelings now; Blake had left her for a second time in her life and it had hurt. No matter if her reasons for leaving were true… she had hurt Yang and to some degree… the trust they had built after the war was over. If she told Blake about her feelings… even if things were to go good for a while… who is to say Blake would stay with her? Who is to say she wouldn't run away in a panic again? She needed to be certain that Blake wouldn't leave… and she needed time to heal… maybe they both did…

As she walked down the street near Junior's business, she saw a small place where they sold food across where she was. She stood there in the middle of the street and started thinking about what she would do next. Blake was in a bad shape when she appeared at her door… hell, she had passed out during their discussion. Thinking about it made Yang hide her mouth inside her scarf in shame. She had made Blake so upset she had collapsed… she felt really bad about that. So, against her better judgement, she crossed the street as she opened her bag at the side of her leg looking for some lien.

When the time she had set was over, Yang was back at the door she internally wished Blake was at the other side; with a paper bag in one hand and a thermo-resistant cup with a closed lid on the other. She realized the irony of the situation where she had both hands yet one short to open the door. She chuckled darkly to herself in what she knew was a way to distract herself from what she would or wouldn't find inside. Maneuvering the paper bag under her other arm, she reached to open the door.

She closed her eyes briefly and entered the room, her heart beating loudly and ready to be broken or rest at ease. Her eyes flew to the bed and there she was still, sleeping soundly if she wasn't mistaken. Yang exhaled softly the breath she didn't know was holding and stepped inside the room carefully and trying not to make any noise.

She put down the paper bag and the beverage she had brought on the table where her forgotten glass of Strawberry Sunrise was resting at; the ice had long since melted and there was only water now. She realized she would have to intercept her next drink in a few minutes, so Blake could rest without interruptions.

She got closer to the bed and resisted the urge to join her ex-partner into dreamland. She was breathing normally now, and seemed a bit less pale; but Yang still worried that there was something wrong with her. She would have to wait for her to woke up to offer her what she bought in the store.

She was almost hypnotized by the way her body moved slightly up and down with each breath she took, so Yang forced herself to stop looking and went to sit on the floor near the door, mirroring what she had done when Blake first entered back into her life. She breathed deeply and tried not to think too hard on what it meant and instead tried to piece how was Blake in her room in the first place.

She noticed she was still wearing her beloved Edgy, so she reached with her other arm to take it off after pressing a few switches and buttons where the prosthesis ended and her arm began. With a click it was off and it collapsed a bit similar to how her Ember celica did. She was going to put it in her side bag when she noticed her scroll was vibrating inside it. She put Edgy down next to Blake's food and reached her scroll inside her bag.

When she turned on the screen she saw she had a message from Weiss.

Hello Yang, how are you? Ruby told me you are in town. It is a bit early, is it not? Have you by any chance seen anyone today? I was just wondering. Anyways. Let us know how you are and when are you going to come by. Blau misses you already and Ruby is excited for you to see her room. Let us know.

That was all it read but Yang had the clear suspicion that Weiss had something to do with the fact that Blake was sleeping in her room. She hummed quietly in thought and a little devilish plan formed in her head. Well, it was time do some research before Blake woke up.

Why hello Weiss, whatever do you mean by have I seen someone today? D: I'm not sure I understand what you're saying :0 Could you be a bit clearer on that? :S ?

Weiss was a sucker for the little faces; Yang would get her answers soon enough. As she brought her scroll down, she glanced back at Blake's form on the bed… she was happy she had stayed… but she still wondered at the back of her mind… for how long?

---

Sooo, here we are guys xD This is so far the longest chapter i've written for this fic and it would have been longer but... it's better this way, trust me ;) if i had named my chapters this would have been The talk part 1, so you're definitely getting part 2 sometime... either this sunday or next week, somewhere. If you have any questions, please let me know. I really apreciate all your reviews and I love answering your questions :) If you have any constructive criticism, is very well received :)

I must say, some parts of this chapter hit me heavily out of past experiences, but it's always nice to have catharsis of some kind xD i've said too much already xD see you next chapter! Thanks for reading :)