Oh hi! You're probably wondering why this one shot is updating? Well I decided I loved (and you guys loved) that fic enough to bring it into something more. I'm unsure how long it's gonna be, but it's definitely at least 4 chapters long now.
I have to warn you though, from now on we're gonna dig into Blake's and Yang's disturbing problems so if there's any chance you're not comfortable with those topics I'd say to read carefully and at your own risk.
Enjoy.
It was merely two months after the dismantling of the slave traders' hideout, Yang was slouched in her armchair, eyes unfocused and glassy. Her left arm was dangling limply at her side and her right was propped on the arm of the pillowed seat. The hook connected to her arm was glinting in the low lights of the evening, unused. Weiss sat across her, jacket already thrown neatly on the back of a kitchen chair to dry. She looked very neat and proper in her suit, as if she did not just spend her whole day working at a police station. Ruby though was up and about, clasping her hands together in a showy type of satisfaction.
"Ok! So, how about some take out to celebrate the closure of the case? We got them all behind bars Yang!"
Yang only grunted, not moving an inch. That kind of information was completely irrelevant to her now, she wasn't a cop. If it came down to her, those guys would be dead in that house. Besides, why should she care, it was not going to bring her arm and her life back. She would go from blaming the alcohol, to blaming Ruby and Weiss and then herself, not being able to find closure in the events of that night.
Not one to be phased by such a lack of enthusiasm, Ruby propped her foot on Yang's armchair lever, making the seat pull out and rip a yelp out of the blonde.
"Fuck! Ruby, you want me to go into cardiac arrest?"
"Please, with the amount of cardio you do? I'll die of low sugar before your heart fails."
Weiss snorted, loudly. The sound pulled both sisters' eyes towards her and made her blush. Lifting a delicate hand to her mouth in embarrassment, she gave a cough.
"He he, made you laugh."
Weiss ignored her partner "let's just order something already, we've been stuck in a cramped room all day doing paper work and I am starving."
"At this time of day? On a Friday night? You guys are not gonna get food until like an hour at best."
"You underestimate my driving skills dear sister, I shall go get our take out! Weiss, make the call, I'll go get the food and come back here in a jiffy."
Weiss called behind the red head "don't you dare use the police lights for this!"
"Justice will be swift! It will be..." the door opened and the wind blew a cloud of snow inside the house "DELICIOUS!" the door slammed and Yang groaned again.
She loved her little sister, she did. But sometimes her theatrical was too much for her. Well, it didn't used to be, but ever since that night everything ended up annoying her in some way. There was a certain event in the whole ordeal that sometimes managed to pull her out of her sorrow, bringing a slimmer of light across the dark sludge her brain now swam in. It was faint, but it stayed with her in her darkest moments, like a gardian angel, or perhaps some manifestation of karma for what she had managed to do that night. That voice, those eyes...
"Yang...Yang!"
Weiss' shrill voice brought her back and out of her reverie she had once again fell prisoner to. It was certainly happening more often these days. Yang gave Weiss an apologetic smile and the stern woman motioned with her head to her scroll pressed to her ear "what do you want to eat?"
Yang gave her order to Weiss and leaned back against the armchair, trying to focus on that one night again...
The building fell on itself behind her, flames licking at her hair, but the bundled up frame in her arms was keeping all her attention. Yang fell to the ground in exhaustion and pain, crying out as her burned arm's skin made a sickening sound as it peeled away from the blanket.
She was in a daze, she couldn't see anything but the stars dancing in front of her eyes on a black curtain.
But then there was police lights.
A voice.
She closed her eyes, completely exhausted.
There was shouting as Ruby was pushing the slave traders in the back of her police car.
But that was not the voice she heard.
There was the shrill voice of Weiss talking to the reporters and telling them to get the fuck away.
Golden eyes, wide and fixed on her face.
A hand shook Yang out of her day dream and Weiss smiled at her gently "Ruby's back, come join us in the dining room, you need to eat something."
Yang nodded her head in agreement, eyes blinking and hands coming up to rub the sand out of them. A cold feeling met her temple and she jumped, finding her hook firmly touching her cheek. A weight fell in her stomach and she rose to her feet, fighting the weakness in her knees. She would put on a smile for her little sister and humour her company. Later, when they were gone, she would deplore her lost arm again.
"Okay, I'm doing it."
Many months later Yang was standing inside an apartment complex, sweat pouring over her forehead as she stared at the door in front of her. An apartment door, simple as that, nothing fancy or out of the ordinary. Her eyes kept glancing down at the crumpled paper in her hand as if she could be mistaken on the address. She had wasted no time in asking Sun where his friend Blake lived, ready to take all the teasing and excitement that would come out of the monkey boy when she did. She was exhilarated, completely looking forward to see this mysterious girl again. Obviously, her nerves were getting to her right at the turning point of their reunion; that damn door.
If anything, there was a big chance for this encounter to be more awkward than anything else. Meeting in a strip club was very different from meeting in a normal everyday setting, even more so if you were meeting the stripper. Yang wasn't backing down though, she needed to see this mysterious girl again. She couldn't exactly pinpoint why, the reason escaping her grasp like a fleeting thought would be forgotten, and then remembered later.
The metallic hook at the tip of her right arm was drumming on her thigh now, betraying her poker face. Mind you, there was little to no point in maintaining a poker face towards a door, but it was all Yang could do to keep up a calm exterior. Her fingers turned into a fist and she rose it to the door, intent on knocking.
Something stopped her.
Yang couldn't be sure what it was or why, but her hand fell to her side and her arms dropped. Nerves, perhaps anxiety? Something clenched in her stomach and she bit her lip, turning towards the elevator, pressing down and walking away from Blake's apartment. A flash of fire, smoke and scared golden eyes appeared at the back of her mind...
Her eyes shine in the darkness, reflecting the moonlight coming from the window of her room. Yang reaches forward, hand brushing the softest of skin, following a curve towards a protruding hip bone. A dainty gasp breaks the silence and Yang has to breathe out in a shiver as the sound meets her ears. Music, poetry.
Yang leans forward a bit, now wrapping both arms around the faunus straddling her lap, she presses their bodies together and caresses the skin of her back, her blunt nails scratching lightly at the arch of her spine. She moans this time, her voice like velvet silks, warmth, low lighting and perfume. Magnificent.
A bottom lip is pulled between her teeth, her small fang digs in her plump flesh and makes the heat in her stomach roll and spread through her entire body. A hand spreads fives long fingers on her chest and push; her back hits the bed with more force than expected and makes her blond locks surround her head like a halo. The graceful creature licks her lips and looks down at her, index finger coming up to pull on her lip and trails down her chin. The light makes the faint scars on her wrists glow slightly and Yang traces them up to her hands which she takes in her own. The midnight haired beauty looks down at her in adoration, but also as a predator would eye its prey before pressing its paw to its throat. The look in her eyes makes Yang shiver in delight and she pulls her hands back, they rest on Blake's creamy thighs instead, caressing them up and down in a slow motion.
"I'm going to eat you up, Yang Xiao Long" she murmures, leaning forward so that her perfect breasts are pressing on Yang's own and really, she can't help but wonder again how soft her skin is... Until her alarm clock reminds her loudly that she has an appointment in an hour.
"Bwuuh!"
Yang flailed wildly with her good arm, looking for the damn alarm clock. She hadn't used that thing in years, but she really needed to make sure she would wake up in time. Her scroll sometimes wasn't loud enough. Finally finding purchase on something else than her desk, Yang slammed her hand over the clock, making it slip and fall on the floor in an overwhelming loud clattering noise, reminding her that she had, once again, been drinking last night. Heaving a deep sigh, she rolled out of her bed and stretched slowly "it's go time."
The early spring wind was still a bit cold on her skin, but she very rarely felt the frigid weather. Walking along the crowded streets of Vale on a Friday night, Yang pulled at her coat sleeve self consciously, trying to cover the prosthetic as much as possible. It was getting late now, but Yang was on a mission. She was only calling it a mission to try and force herself to go through with it, really.
The neon sign of a wolf was flashing over her head, illuminating her in white light as she glanced at the bouncer. Of course the big man at the entrance had long curled horns on the side of his head. It served to remind Yang that this was a faunus club, which was usually for faunus only. She groaned, leaning on the side of the building to hit her head on the concrete. Resigned on her fate for the night, Yang strolled down the street, passing the entrance and making her way towards a different building where she could have a drink among other useless humans.
"Hey! You Xiao Long?"
Flinching, Yang turned around. She wasn't fond of being recognized again, even if she had improved a bit since her last night at the White Fang. Surprisingly, the call came from the bouncer that was now waving at her, a big smile on his face. Yang blinked, motioning to herself with her hook out of life long habit. Although the action made Yang embarrassed, the faunus only nodded his head, inviting her in with wide motions towards the door.
Yang rose her arms in an exaggerated shrug and walked towards the entrance, pausing only a brief moment to high five the big faunus. His tiny squeal of excitement did not fall on deaf ears and the blonde couldn't suppress the big smile now covering her face.
The club was the same as last time, completely packed with faunus and lit with pink, warm lights and heavy dance music. Yang slowly weaved her way around the club, taking in the scene and the customers. She suddenly felt the anxiety hit, the nervous lump in her throat reminding her that everything could go so very wrong from this moment. She wasn't supposed to be in here without her faunus friends. She shouldn't be allowed in here, this was a safe haven for faunus...sort of.
Yang bit her lip, left hand going up to rub at her prosthetic once more. Realizing that she was just standing in the way awkwardly, she made her way to the bar.
"Hey!" she flagged a barmaid and gave her a smile "do you guys mix fancy drinks in here?"
"Sure champion, what's your poison?" winked the barmaid, a cute fox eared woman with bright red hair.
"I'll have a strawberry sunrise, no ice."
"Coming right up!" Yang watched as the barmaid mixed her drink, her movements fluid and precise; it made Yang's stomach clench painfully. "There you go, now go out there and enjoy the view."
With one last flirty smile, the barmaid handed Yang her drink and turned around to serve another customer across the bar. With no other way to tell if Blake worked tonight, The blonde started scanning the floor for the black haired beauty. Knowing how it took a long time for her to see "Nightshade" the first night, Yang wandered around to try and find a comfortable spot to sit and watch the show.
She sipped her drink carefully as she walked leisurely around the floor, glancing at the woman dancing on the stage. She was beautiful of course, most dancers here were near breath taking. Only, Yang's attention had been completely snatched by the cat faunus, she could barely glance at anyone else before remembering soft skin and burning amber eyes boring into her own. The thought made her shiver, raising her eyes to the flat screen monitors on the wall showing faunus in sports or music videos featuring faunus. This was truly a safe haven, even if the nature of the place didn't seem so classic.
"Ladies and gents! Raise your glass for the pretty Velour!"
Yang leaned back on a pillar, watching a rabbit faunus strutting towards the center stage, her brown and gold trimmed underwear looked very pretty with her own brown hair and eyes. Yang finished her glass, looking around and putting it on a passing barmaid platter. Making her way around she found a seat near another, smaller stage. She sat in the plush chair and leaned back with a sigh, muscles slightly aching around her left shoulder. She lazily glanced back at the center stage, seeing the pretty bunny faunus twirl down the pole.
She tried to relax, to free her mind of everything that could go wrong with her being here. She had been invited inside by the doorman, the owner liked her and said she would always be welcome in here. Yeah, she was being stupid, of course it was okay to be here. She was buying alcohol, enjoying the show like everyone else and nothing would go wrong when she asked Blake to see her after her shift.
Right?
Yang ran a nervous hand through her golden hair, breathing in deeply and leaning back in the plush seat as far as she could. After a couple dances, a faunus barmaid was making her way to the blonde and handing her a free drink, saying it was Adam's way of saying hello since he was busy tonight. Yang smiled warmly and thanked her for the cocktail, raising it to her lips and sipping slowly. With a bark of laughter, she felt the familiar taste of the strawberry sunrise on her tongue and she took a bigger sip.
"Well well, aren't we the V.I.P tonight?"
Yang turned towards the faint voice to her right and nearly choked on her fruity drink. Towering over the brawler on her high heels stood Blake, the same dark ribbons adorning her forearms and a cocky grin on her face. Yang's eyes wandered and she made no attempt to stop them, it was no use and both women knew it. She took in her long legs, the hand on her hip, slightly cocked to the side as she watched Yang eye her up in amusement. Her midnight locks were pushed behind her shoulder as she sat next to Yang on the plush seat, smiling genuinely now.
"I wasn't sure I would see you again, Sun told me he gave you my address, but you never contacted me."
Yang bowed her head in shame, putting her drink down on the low table and turning her body to face the woman properly.
"I know, I tried but... I guess you could say I'm a bit of a coward. I made it to your door and I just...didn't knock. I'm sorry."
Blake's head tilted to the side, following the inclinaison of the blonde bowed head. Yang couldn't bear looking at the faunus right now, too ashamed to look into the beautiful gold that saved her, but haunted her all the same.
"Yang, listen, I can't talk much right now but... I finish in two hours or so. Would you wait for me?"
The blonde swallowed hard, eyes going back to the burning amber eyes that were firmly fixed on her own. This was exactly why she was here, this was the whole point and yet Yang couldn't help but feel anxious about it actually happening now. With a nod, Yang motioned her agreement Blake smiled. The dark haired girl leaned over, lips brushing against the shell of yang's ear and making shivers wash down her entire back.
"You look hot tonight by the way."
Yang's face flared, eyes widening and meeting teasing gold. Blake winked and walked towards the main floor, greeting customers with a grin when they approached her. This was going to be a very long two hours.
Yang smiled softly at Blake as she met with her near the back door, the bouncer was still eyeing her up with a frown but his face softened the second Blake looped her arms around her prosthetic and pushed her towards the door.
"No worries Tukson, she's my friend."
The panther faunus gave a nod, his gruff voice approving "good, I didn't want to mess up a celebrity's pretty face tonight". He winked at Yang and shut the door, leaving a slightly flustered Yang behind it. The warmth left her right shoulder and she turned to see Blake pulling her long coat closer around herself. Yang couldn't help but linger on the dark haired girl's features, her soft lips, the way the light of the overhead streetlamp would light her eyes up and make them shine in the night. Her pretty face sculpted like a masterpiece made of marble that was meant to be beautiful and resilient. Fuck, she was stunning.
"I had expected you to be done with staring, seeing as you did plenty in there."
Blake's soft lips pulled into a small grin and Yang let out a breathy laugh, hand going up to scratch at her neck in embarrassment.
"I have no excuses."
Blake smiled, making her way out of the alleyway with Yang close behind her. They walked in relative silence, Yang was surprised to find this silence comforting, she was never one for silence before loosing her arm. She used to say the louder the better. She would always find a reason to go out, party hard, drink hard and, well, bring someone home and be loud together. It used to be her life when she was not busy maintaining her training and diet proper around her fights. She felt like if she stopped moving, she would stop living, and what was life if you didn't live it to its fullest?
Yang's eyes wandered to Blake walking by her side. Life was something fickle and unpredictable, one day you could be on top of the world, rich and powerful, and the next morning be homeless. Her left hand came to rest on her prosthetic, rubbing the plastic through her coat's fabric. She had lost an arm, yes; but maybe she was not hitting rock bottom like she thought. Or perhaps she had, in a certain way, only to raise someone else out of it. Yang's eyes caught a glimpse of gold and Blake's eyes was back on the street.
Yeah, she could live with that.
The walk back to Blake's apartment was quick, neither girl wanting to stay longer than necessary in the cold weather. It might have been slight trepidation on Yang's part, but she wouldn't admit to it, much less to feeling cold.
Blake closed the door behind them and flicked the lights on, illuminating the small but cosy kitchen.
"Here we are, nothing to be scared of in here."
Yang rolled her eyes but couldn't help a smile pulling at her lips "oh, ha ha! Hilarious."
"Well, you told me you ran away last time you got here, so I'm just making sure you feel safe" Blake added a wink to her statement, making Yang hide her blush by bending over to untie her boots.
"The way you say it totally makes me sound like a useless dork."
The sound of Blake's laugh made a small shiver run down Yang's back and she stepped out of her boots, looking at the faunus putting her own boots away in the hall closet. She smiled and averted her eyes, trying to hide the small blush covering her cheeks at such a simple thing.
"Want to take a seat? I'm sure we have a lot of things we could talk about."
With a nod, Yang sat down at the small kitchen table. She looked around the plain but clean looking room and couldn't help but feel a warmth that only came with her own home; this apartment was obviously well lived in. There were no canvas of paintings, no fancy art pieces, but there was bookcases messily filled to the brim. There were the occasional pictures of young faunus smiling at the camera, making peace signs. Yang smiled softly, Blake either had a big family or used to work with children.
"Those are from that year I was a counselor at a faunus friendly summer camp, I was still young at the time and I didn't like company very much, muss less from children" giggled Blake, a fond look on her face as she removed her coat to hang in the closet. "But I needed a job to get myself some real world experience so I did. I'm pretty happy I did."
"How old were you? I mean if that was your first job."
Blake ran a hand through her long black hair, pulling a strand out of her snug sweater. "I must have been 20 years old at the time."
Yang couldn't help staring at that, mouth slightly opened and hand lifting off the table. "What? You never needed to work before that? Your parents rich or something?" Yang laughed, not expecting it when Blake looked at the floor with a small blush.
"Something like that yes, they are very... um well off."
Placing her hand back on the table, Yang frowned, biting her lip and wondering if she should ask the question that was lingering in her mind.
"You must be wondering why I'm working as a stripper if my parents are so wealthy I presume?"
Yang looked at Blake, guilt written all over her face, Blake merely smiled softly and sat down at the table in front of the blonde.
"I was going to college, majoring in English. My mother and father were paying for all of it, saying I had no business getting a job, that my full time job was going to school and live my college life to its fullest." Blake smiled fondly, eyes lost in the past and in the memories of her parents no doubts. "I was a calm and shy student, I would go to class, study and work on my papers in my dorm room, sometimes in the library if I had team assignments. I lived far from home see, my parents assuring me that Beacon U was one of the best and that it was worth the trip. They weren't wrong, but it was also a mostly human college. That part frightened me, I was raised in a faunus neighborhood and the thought of being alone, surrounded by humans was making me a bit scared. After my second year was when I convinced my parents to let me work in the summer and I had such a great time with both the faunus and human children that I decided to stop hiding."
Blake shuffled in her pocket and took out a black, well-worn silk ribbon and put it on the table between Yang and her.
"I used to wear this over my ears to hide who I was, but after that summer camp, I decided I didn't want to anymore. I walked the halls of Beacon U with my ears proudly on display..."
Blake trailed off and Yang felt her chest tighten at the shadows that passed over the beautiful girl's face.
"I should have known better."
Yang reached across the table, her only hand covering Blake's in silent support. Blake took a deep breath, eyes closing.
"It was after the exams, people were celebrating around campus. After some begging, I accepted to follow some friends in an off campus party. I can't blame them, they were humans, they didn't know better. They didn't know the suffering we endured and how to avoid that kind of people like the plague. How would they know?"
Blake's hand gripped the ribbon tightly, knuckles turning white against her already pale skin. Yang couldn't breathe properly, her throat was tightening up at what could have happened at that party. She had heard the faunus had been kidnapped for a long time, she just had no idea just how long. she had so many question but she kept her mouth shut, this was not her story.
"At first I had a good time, I didn't really drink or anything, but I had nice conversations. One young man approached me, handed me a drink and asked me to dance. I looked back at my friends, unsure what to do, but they all motioned for me to go dance, a smile on their faces. At first I thought they knew him, but they were just eager for me to dance with such a handsome guy I guess. It was all nice, until I started sipping the drink."
Yang couldn't stop her hook going to try and cover her mouth, but at the moment she didn't care if it looked ridiculous. "No..."
"Yes, he drugged me. My head started spinning, my whole body felt heavy and I barely remember some flashes here and there of what happened after that. All I'm sure is that he dragged me somewhere, because when I woke up I was definitely not in the same house."
Yang's voice caught in her throat, she felt light headed and like she was going to throw up.
"Blake.. how long ago is that? When did they kidnap you?"
Blake didn't open her eyes, her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally said it, barely a murmur coming out of her lips "This was December 2015."
The brawler blanched, she felt cold and horrified. One glance at the calendar on the fridge showed that it was now April 2017. Blake had been stuck in the hands of those mother fuckers for over three hundred days.
Yang slowly walked around the table, Blake's shaking being the only thing stopping her from pulling the dark haired girl against her chest in a firm hug. Perhaps she should leave her some space, talking about what had occurred seemed to drain both of them equally. There was however no hesitation in the faunus' actions when she pushed Yang against the counter and kissed her. Yang wrapped her arm around her, trying to pull the lithe girl even closer, easily ignoring the counter digging painfully in her lower back. Blake was relentless, her nails dug in Yang's sides as if she would disappear if she let go, trapping her like a cornered animal. Her lips against Yang's felt hot and hungry, kissing her, biting her lips and latching unto her throat and her jaw. She was feeding on her like Yang was the only thing that could keep her alive, because she was the only reason she was alive.
"Blake..." her name left Yang's lips in a low groan, her left arm held the faunus more tightly against her and she gasped, feeling the rough part of her tongue tracing the shell of her ear.
"You have no idea how grateful I am to be alive. How thankful I feel towards you for what you have done." Blake's voice was strained, heavy with emotions and Yang was finding it hard to recognize exactly which one as Blake's lips found purchase on her earlobe, sucking on the skin slowly. A whimper made it out of her clenched jaw and the faunus smiled against her ear, pushing her lips against the shell once more "did you come here to collect your debt Yang? I'll show you a good time, I'm a good girl."
Yang's eyes snapped open, every single part of her brain was screaming at her in alarm now. Blake was not okay, this was far from okay. Her arm unwrapped itself from Blake and she grabbed her shoulder in a firm grip "Blake, stop."
The golden eyes snapped open wide, staring at Yang like she had just slapped her. She frantically tried to get away from the blonde, pushing away from her only to find the Yang's arms back around her waist, her grip strong. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry- let go of me please!"
Yang was at a loss, Blake was acting very strange and it scared her. She didn't know what to do, what to say; but every single part of her was now simmering in anger as she was now slowly piecing together what Blake had went through in this godforsaken basement. She felt so powerless, it was a feeling she had grown accustomed to in the past months, but this time it wasn't related to her arm at all. In fact, her arm briefly disappeared from her mind, she wanted- no, she needed to calm this girl down. She just had to find a way to make it a bit better, no matter what.
"Shh-shh-sh Blake, it's okay, just breathe alright? I don't want anything from you, you don't owe me anything yeah?"
The midnight haired beauty stopped struggling for a moment, eyes still wide but trained on the floor between them. Yang stayed still, listening to Blake's breathing slow down gradually. Then a voice, timid, so unlike how Blake usually spoke broke the silence. "Then why? Why did you come here Yang?"
A heavy weight fell in Yang's stomach, it churned around and burned as realization came to her; Blake thought that she only came here for sex.
Yang softly pushed Blake out of her grasp and rubbed her right elbow, where the prosthetic connected to her flesh. Her throat was tight and she was having a hard time pushing any form of noise out of her mouth. "It's not- I didn't m- That's not why-"
Blake's arms wrapped around her own waist, hiding her forearms against her abdomen and from Yang's eyes as she took a step back. It was killing her, this sudden distance between the two of them. As if the night at the club had never been real, like this instant connection had merely been a dream. Yang ran her hand through her hair angrily, this was not what she came for. Sure, she might have flirted with the idea that perhaps they could have been intimate again, but that was not why she waited for her to finish her shift, walk her home and share difficult memories.
Violet eyes rose from the floor and scanned the beautiful faunus in front of her, so guarded suddenly, so distant. Her plump lower lip was pinched in between her teeth, a slightly pointed canine prickling at the edge. Yang swallowed, this girl was fascinating to her, every move, every sound coming out of her mouth. Her voice was low yet so very feminine. Yang would not let this girl stay broken, and if she had to fix her own damn self to do it? She would.
"Blake, listen to me."
The faunus' head rose slightly, amber eyes barely appearing between the midnight locks falling in front of her face. Yang took a deep breath and gently took Blake's hand in her own, thumb rubbing up her wrist in a slow circle.
"I've never been good at choosing my words wisely, at questioning every action or movement I do like you seem to be doing. I follow the flow of life and do what feels good at the time, barely questioning why is it that I do it. But ever since that night I just- I can't go back to my old ways, I can't just jump and ask why after, you know? And when we met, I felt it, this old me tugging me along and making me follow you blindly."
Blake's eyes were still on the floor when Yang glanced at them, but she was attentive to her words, her touch. Her fingers were clutching at her hand, her ears were alert and she could feel a slight tremble under her soft caresses.
"What I'm trying to say is that I'm not trying to use you, okay? What I felt those two nights is not that different, we have a connection Blake, I'm sure you felt it too."
Blake said nothing, but her fingers let go of Yang's hand, only to tread their fingers together tightly "I did."
Yang let out a sigh of relief.
"I was afraid to sound like a complete nut case saying all that, woo..."
Blake rose her free hand to her lips, hiding a small chuckle. Yang smiled brightly at that, feeling a surge of affection grow in the pit of her stomach and fluttering upward. Damn, she had it bad.
"You sound perfectly fine, Yang. I... know I have issues I need to work on, I realize that. Sometimes I sort of step back and watch myself say or do these things that are so unreal, so unlike me...that it scares me and I try to block it all out until it stops."
Yang's mouth opened, only to close slowly at Blake's free hand rising up, palm towards her.
"Deciding to go and dance as a job didn't happen as a last resort, it wasn't my only option, but I decided to do it. I wanted to do it because it somehow gave me back some power over my own body. It's going to sound absurd I know, but deciding what I'm doing, how I'm doing it and how far I'm willing to offer myself is up to me." Blake slowly let go of Yang, wrapping her arms around herself again, "and I have fellow faunus making sure I'm in a safe environment doing it."
Yang breathed in slowly, trying to hide a choked sob at Blake's words. She ached to wrap her arms around the dark haired girl, to pull her in her warmth and make the fear, the hate and the memories go away, but she knew better. Wordlessly, Yang carefully unwrapped Blake's left hand from herself, violet eyes fixed on the golden orbs, asking, pleading for Blake to let her in. Blake's form flinched for a moment, arms stiff around herself and eyes wild as she looked into Yang's. The brawler looked back, her eyes steady and her hand over Blake's warm and gentle. The faunus bit her lip and let the blonde take her hand in hers, it was warm, always so warm.
"I don't know how you do all this, break down walls I've spent months, years building..." Blake's whispered words joined the loud thumping of their hearts and Yang smiled at her.
"Do you not like it? I can back off if it's all going too fast for you."
Blake shook her head vigorously.
"No, it's fine. I'm just... You keep blowing my mind with how fast you're sneaking into my heart..."
Yang froze, wide eyes trained on the golden ones hiding behind the deepest of black hair. Blake was purposely looking away from her, a blush rising on her cheeks and neck. The blonde smiled softly.
"It's only fair, you danced your way into mine."
Blake giggled loudly, raising a hand to her mouth in embarrassment. Yang found the view as cute as it was appealing, and she felt a now familiar heat spread through her. Biting her lip, she tugged Blake's hand, leading her to the small living room area next to the kitchen where they both stood. Eyes searching the faunus', she only saw curiosity and a smile tugging at the corners of the golden orbs. Yang took this as her cue and she made Blake walk backward until the back of her knees were touching the cosy love seat.
"I'd say with the two free dances I got, it'd be fair of me to return the favor, yeah?"
Blake's eyes darkened instantly, looking at Yang with that goddamn smirk back on her face, "Yes, I believe that would be only fair."
