Author's Note:

EVERYBODY SAY THANK YOU FOX because I foolishly saved the same chapter twice, thinking they were different chapters (Qrow's chapter and this one), and in confidence, deleted the original doc file. Save to say I flipped the frick out this morning when realising my mistake. But Fox came to my rescue! He still had our doc saved, and resent it to me.

So, yeah. Thanks, ya nerd! Without you, people wouldn't have had the pleasure of reading this chapter, and I'd be wallowing in grief over my missing chapter.

Strangers: Become Lovers

Act III

BLAKE

11:40

MONDAY

YANG: Warm

"Man, their drink isn't as good as your Strawberry Sunrise, Blakey."

Blake rolled her eyes. Why wasn't she surprised that the first thing she'd hear upon entering Yang's hospital room was a complaint?

"Does it have alcohol?" she said as she made her way to the bed, a small grateful smile curving her lips at the sight of the blonde being lively despite the bandages 'mummifying' her.

"Of course it does!" Yang replied a little too quickly, giving a fake snicker.

A black eyebrow rose. "Really?"

To her credit, Yang managed not to break character, smiling confidently despite being bandaged up in a hospital bed. But that only lasted for a couple of seconds before her face crumpled and she let out a withering sigh.

"... Fine, it doesn't." She glared and crossed her arms, looking up at the android accusingly. "But it's only because they knew I was under twenty one!"

Blake heard Yang grumble a disheartened 'stupid medical records' under her breath, but couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Yeah. Right."

The human could deny it all she wanted, but Blake knew she was starting to lose her interest in alcohol. And that fact made her happy. So very happy.

She sat on the chair beside the human, grabbing the human's hand with both of her artificial ones, looking at her with a smile and simply… enjoying the moment.

After what had happened in the past few days, Blake would not take this peaceful silence for granted. She would not take many things for granted.

"Hey, Blake," said Yang, her voice quiet, "listen… I'm sorry for what happened to your Dad. I wish he could've come with us instead."

Blake's face fell at the mention of her dad. No doubt was her LED flashing a melancholic yellow. Yet she put on a brave face and squeezed Yang's hand a little tighter, murmuring, "I'm sorry about your father too."

That encounter had been as tense as it was heartbreaking. She'd focused on nothing other than Yang, whispering comforting words, saying that she would be here for the human, and many other things.

And then Yang had made it seem as though she was going to leave Blake.

And, well…

Blake refused to remember what happened after that. She just- she wasn't ready to remember. It was still too fresh on her mind. She… She didn't want to put more burden on Yang's shoulder.

But after their encounter to the man who dared call himself Yang's father…

Suddenly Yang's love for alcohol made sense. Grimly so.

The human forced a chuckle. "Just because he, err, helped 'create' me doesn't make him my dad. I realized that now." Her face adopted a more serious look. "Blood, DNA, all of that shit? It doesn't always equal family."

Something in the way Yang looked at her told Blake that there was more she'd like to say but couldn't.

Blake felt as though kissing Yang's hand and saying "I agree" were the appropriate response.

They stayed there for what felt like seconds and days all at once.

"Listen, I…" Yang rubbed her neck, biting her cheek in that cute way of hers. "I know you miss your dad, so, I, umm, made a few arrangements."

"Arrangements?"

Yang gestured to the drawer next to her knowingly. Blake raised an eyebrow but complied, opening the drawer. It would've been empty if not for the rectangular device inside.

Blake grabbed and inspected it, marveling at the unusual design. It was more advanced than anything she'd ever seen. Though she shouldn't be surprised. This was Beacon, after all.

"It's not perfect," Yang started to explain, "and I don't really get how it works, but you can call your dad with this. They call it a 'scroll' or something and it uses a different kind of radio-wave - or airwave or whatever it's called - than our usual phone. It's completely untraceable - for the time being," the comment earned Yang a brief glare, a gesture she responded to with a wink, "meaning Jacques and his goons won't be able to track it. You don't have to worry about anything."

Blake's eyes widened, understanding what was being said but not quite ready to believe it just yet. Something in her chest was fluttering wildly in joy.

"You mean…"

[KISS]

[HUG]

Yang smiled warmly as she nodded. "Yeah. You can still chat with your old man. I know it won't ever be as good as seeing hi-mmph!"

Blake wasn't patient enough to let her finish her sentence, pulling her into a deep kiss.

"Thank you, Yang," she said once they broke apart, amused at how dazed the human looked.

Yang smiled a dopey, goofy smile. And once again Blake wondered how in the world did she manage to befriend such a cute human. "No problem, Blakey."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Blake leaned back to her chair, and Yang leaned back on her bed. Though their hands did stay linked together.

And then Blake remembered something important, something she'd wanted to ask Yang since before they left her dad's house but never got the chance to.

It was also something quite intimate.

[REQUEST]

[STAY SILENT]

Though it would probably be better to choose the latter… Blake really didn't want to waste any more time.

"Yang… can you…?"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence. Yang was looking at her quizzically, no doubt seeing her yellow-flashing LED.

With a sigh, Blake decided to let her action speak for itself, putting Yang's hand on her LED and looking at her expectantly.

It took the blonde a moment, but when it dawned on her - what Blake was asking her to do - the human blushed and asked, "Are you sure, Blake?"

No, she wasn't, but… "I can't keep running away from this. And… I know you'll be there for me."

Yang's face hardened. "Of course I will. Always."

They stared at each other.

Yang's hand stayed frozen until Blake nodded at her.

Her fingers were gentle as they slowly pulled away the one thing separating her from humans.

Blake had expected there to be a significant change within herself; that she'd see better, hear better, that the world would suddenly be full of bright smells and crystal clear sounding colors, despite knowing that both those were impossibilities.

But nothing changed.

And… somehow, that was even better for her.

This time, it was Yang who pulled her into a kiss. And it only dawned on her now that she could finally be with Yang, that she could kiss and hug and hold the human's hand and no one could tell her otherwise.

"Oh, I just remember: That Glynda lady wants to make your ID, you know," she gave a half-hearted shrug, "to make it official that you're a real person, just like us. Umm… What name will you take?"

Blake blinked.

She'd never really thought of it.

Suddenly, Yang grinned suggestively. "Will you take my last name? Blake Xiao Long does have a nice ring to it."

Yang received a flick to her forehead for that suggestion. "Dork."

Should she change her first name as well? This was going to be a fresh start for her and she was to be a new person. Should she even have a last name?

"Believe it or not, we've picked the name Blake long before I first saw you."

And suddenly Blake found it hard to worry about a thing.

"Blake Belladonna," she said with a smile. "That's my name. Blake Belladonna."

And with how Yang smiled, she knew the human loved it just as much as she did.

Though, a few seconds later, the human did pout, pretending to be disappointed... "Aww, man. I guess if you won't take my last name, then I guess I'll just have to take yours at some point."