Author's note: This one took longer than I wanted it to, sorry about that. It's also a little shorter than what I wanted it to be, but anything I wanted to add fits better with the next chapter (which hopefully won't take as long). Thanks always for the feedback and I hope you enjoy!
"Are you sure about this?" Blake asked, standing beside Yang as they stared at the objects on her bed. "This is a really big step," she noted, eyes going to the shirt with 'World's Okayest Lesbian' printed on it. The other shirts had similar messages with a very common (and very gay) theme.
"Yeah, I think so," Yang said, and Blake could hear the nerves in her voice. "Go big or go home right?" she joked weakly.
"What brought this on?" Blake asked.
"I called my dad last night," Yang admitted. "And after being here for a week and actually being open about my sexuality it just felt so…so wrong. Not being out I mean, but pretending to be straight. And yeah I've only really come out to you and even that was an accident, but-" she sighed, pausing to gather her thoughts. "For the first time in my life I feel like I can actually be myself. Like I don't have to hide who I am anymore," she said seriously.
Blake placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Trust me, I get it," she said. Yang's eyes drifted upwards to her ears.
"Right, you mentioned you used to hide your ears," she recalled. Blake thought for a moment.
"Do you want to hear about it?" she asked, deciding that she trusted Yang enough to offer. Yang seemed surprised, but quickly recovered.
"Only if you feel comfortable talking about it," she said, making it clear she didn't want to pressure Blake.
"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't," Blake said truthfully. "Besides, after hearing all of your dirty little secrets it's only fair I tell you some of mine," she teased with a smirk. Yang laughed.
"Hey, I haven't told you everything," she protested with a grin of her own. Blake didn't doubt it, but couldn't resist teasing her by raising a skeptical eyebrow. "I promise I've got tons of issues left," she joked.
"You're way too chipper about that," Blake noted a little more seriously. Yang shrugged.
"I never said I had a healthy way of coping. I don't use alcohol or drugs though so I could be a lot worse," she said nonchalantly. "But enough about me, you were going to tell me about the bow," she said, taking a seat as she steered the conversation back on track. Blake joined her, taking a moment to decide the best way to start.
"How familiar are you with the White Fang?" she asked.
"Not very. They're a Faunus rights group, right? I know there's a branch in Vale, but…"
"Their methods are a bit violent," Blake finished. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Yang's tact, on the contrary she was touched, she just didn't intend to sugar coat her past. She trusted Yang enough for that. "The White Fang used to be a peaceful organization until my father stepped down as its leader."
Yang's eyes widened. "Your dad used lead the White Fang?" she asked. Blake expected to hear the surprise, but Yang also almost sounded impressed. "That's pretty awesome." Blake raised an eyebrow.
"Awesome?" she questioned.
"Well yeah. I know you're super passionate about this. I think it's pretty cool that it runs in the family," Yang said with a shrug and a smile that Blake couldn't help but return. It didn't last long as Blake braced herself for what was next.
"I was practically born into the White Fang. My mother and father left when he stepped down, but I stayed. Even when our new leader started pushing for fear instead of equality I stayed because I believed in our cause. I was young and angry at the injustices that Faunus face. My parents...didn't approve," Blake said.
"What happened?" Yang asked gently.
"We fought...and I ran," Blake admitted. Yang put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "I wound up in Mistral, working with their branch of the White Fang. They wanted proof of discrimination in the school system, so a few of us enrolled. A few of us that could hide our heritage did," she continued.
"Hence the little black bow," Yang realized. Blake nodded before letting out a sigh.
"We picked fights with the human students to prove our point. The Faunus that didn't hide their traits received worse punishments than those of us that did, and we wanted to prove that. And then there were the rallies, and the raids...I did a lot of things I'm not proud of. I wanted to leave, but there were...complications," she said, wrapping her arms around herself.
"What happened?" Yang asked, wrapping her arm arm around Blake to pull her closer. Blake couldn't help but flinch and Yang instantly released her. "Sorry, habit," she apologized with a wince. Blake took a deep breath.
"It's fine," she said, silently cursing herself for her jumpiness. "Eventually, I worked up the courage to run and I wound up in Vale. When I started going to school, I kept the bow because I didn't want anyone to know about my past. I kept it up until I finally worked up the nerve to go home. My parents welcomed me back with open arms which is more than I deserved," she finished.
"You got out of a bad situation, so I'd say you deserved it. Besides, your parents love you," Yang said warmly. Blake smiled.
"They really do," she agreed. "I wish I could tell you that my time in Vale was terrible, but I can't. It wasn't the best time of my life but for once I wasn't treated differently because of my race. But I can honestly say that I have never felt more relieved than the moment I took off that bow," she said.
"Thank you for telling me all of that," Yang said seriously. Blake was surprised by her roommate's seemingly complete acceptance of her past in the White Fang, but she was quickly learning that Yang had a tendency to catch her off guard.
"Thank you for listening," Blake said earnestly, standing up. "Are you still up for doing this?" she asked, gesturing to the shirts on Yang's bed.
"Yeah," Yang said, sounding more sure of herself now. Blake smiled.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
When they finally went to meet their friends for lunch, Yang had decided on a bright yellow crop top with the words "Nobody knows I'm a lesbian" printed in rainbow. The first few steps were nerve racking, but as they walked it started to feel more and more comfortable.
Ruby's reaction was instantaneous. As soon as she read the shirt her face lit up and she ran and gave her sister a crushing hug. "I'm so proud of you!" she'd cheered. Yang had chuckled and squeezed her back before releasing her.
Weiss's reaction was...different. It took her several moments to realize what was going on, but she seemed more skeptical than anything. "Wait, are you seriously telling me you weren't out?" she'd asked, and Yang muttered that she didn't think she'd been that obvious. Weiss disagreed.
Pyrrha handled it the same way she handled everything: with a friendly grace. Yang noticed a look of realization flash across her face, and Pyrrha admitted to hearing some rude things during softball season. That had killed the mood until Pyrrha announced that she thought Yang was wonderful just the way she was (Yang couldn't help but blush at that).
Jaune was the most surprised, which didn't come as a shock to Yang or anyone else. He'd still taken it really well, and then surprised them all by announcing he was bisexual. Only Ren seemed to have expected it.
Ren had offered her a knowing a smile and Yang couldn't help but wonder if she'd been the most obvious closeted lesbian on the planet.
Nora actually high fived her. "Girls are uh-mazing!" she'd said, earning a confused "wait you're gay?" from Jaune. "Noooooope! Pansexual," she'd announced cheerfully.
"Nice!" was Sun's response, with a grin that only faded after a receiving a glare from Blake. Neptune's reaction was much of the same, minus the over-enthusiastic grin.
"I knew majoring in Theatre would be gay but wow," Nora had joked, leading them to their current topic.
"Is anyone here straight?" Weiss asked, eyes going around their group of friends one by one.
"Bi," Blake said when Weiss stared at her, and Yang shot Ruby a death glare when she saw her face light up.
"Same," Sun said with a shrug.
"Gay. You should be glad you missed my in-the-closet phase," Neptune said with a shudder that Yang could relate to.
"Panromantic and Asexual," Ren announced, giving Nora small smile which she returned tenfold. Weiss's gaze turned to Ruby, who fidgeted slightly.
"You don't have to say anything you don't want to," Yang assured her sister. Ruby hadn't told her she was anything but straight, but Yang had her suspicions. Even so, she knew from experience that it felt much better to come out on your own terms.
"Thanks sis," Ruby said wholeheartedly. "I'm still figuring things out," she admitted with a shrug, "But I think I might be asexual? And maybe aromantic? I'm not really sure," she said. Yang pulled her in for a tight, comforting hug, whispering how proud of her she was in her ear.
"That's okay. You've got plenty of time to figure things out," Jaune said warmly, and Ruby smiled.
"So that leaves Weiss and Pyrrha right?" Ruby asked, looking between the pair.
"I am biromantic and demisexual," Weiss announced, and all eyes turned to Pyrrha.
"I suppose that makes me the token straight friend," she said lightheartedly, earning a few good natured laughs. Yang smiled. This may not have been how she expected this to go, but she was ecstatic about finding a group of people like her. Her good mood was evident even when she and Blake finally returned home, having enjoyed the day with their friends.
"So how does it feel?" Blake asked with a smile. Yang breathed a content sigh as she flopped onto her bed, unable to keep a smile off of her face.
"Amazing."
"It's a shame that you were right about Pyrrha," she teased, and Yang fought off a blush. Blake smirked at that.
"Even if she was bi or pan, she totally has eyes for Jaune. And that's fine, it's just a silly crush. I'd rather focus on college right now anyway," she said truthfully. A devious smile appeared on her face. "Sun's nice," she said innocently, feeling a twinge of disappointment when Blake merely rolled her eyes.
"We're just friends," she dismissed.
"You're no fun," Yang pouted, sticking out her tongue. That got a laugh out of the dark haired girl, which in turn made Yang smile. A brief silence fell before Yang spoke again. "Hey, I was gonna watch Romeo and Juliet, you know, for inspiration. Want to join me?" she asked, grabbing her laptop.
"Which version?" Blake asked, answering Yang's question by taking a seat next to the blonde on her bed.
"The Leonardo DiCaprio one," Yang said, earning an amused snort. "I know it's kinda ridiculous, but I kinda love it," she admitted sheepishly.
"You have terrible taste in movies," Blake said with a fond shake of her head. "But I have to admit that this version is entertaining," she relented, and Yang grinned, turning the volume on her laptop loud enough for them to hear.
"Shall we?"