AN: So, either everyone skipped over the top AN last time or nobody had any ideas for something that they would like to see me write. That said the offer still stands, and will stand until somebody bites.
As normal I want to thank everyone for their continued support, I know this one took a little longer. Couple of reasons for that…it kicked my ass and I wanted to try something out.
The chapter was actually finished on Friday but I decided to sit on it for a couple of days and allow myself some distance as I edited it. I think that allowed it to be a little better, insert me joking about my writing being bad, but I will let you all be the judge of that.
Well, as always I hope you enjoy! If you do let me know what you liked, if you didn't let me know what you didn't like/would change, the feedback I get from you guys honestly keeps me going. It's awesome, you're all awesome. I'm rambling…for real this time!
Enjoy!
The first thing she became aware of was the fact that she was in a bed. Her hand loosely gripped at the thin-sheet that was draped over her. Its light-weight and warmth were comforting, but she couldn't help but feel a void. As if the warmth provided by the thin covering was just a cheap imitation of something far greater.
Hushed voices and beeping reached her ears, further alerting her to the world that was around her.
One of the voices was sharp, while the other was decidedly sweet. She wasn't exactly sure what they were talking about, her mind still far too gone to try and discern anything with any type of coherency. She couldn't help but feel that they were somehow familiar…they made her feel safe. The beeping on the other hand filled her with anguish. Compared to the voices, it was cold, heartless even. She quickly came to the decision that she did not like the sound.
Then there was the smell. The air was filled with the arid-acidic scent of highly concentrated disinfectants. There was so much of it in the air, that it burned her nostrils and lungs as she breathed.
The next thing that she was painfully made aware of was the dull ache that seemed to explode from her chest with every breath that she took. No matter how shallow the breath it caused her pain.
She groaned.
The voices stopped. Leaving the only source of sound in the room to be that of the insistent infernal beeping, she whined against it, wishing that the voices would return to act as a buffer. She really didn't like that sound.
Just like her groan had prompted the voices to silence, her whine to, caused a reaction. She could make out the sound of shoes lightly shuffling across hard tile, before she felt a weight sink into the mattress on her left. A calloused hand gripped hers.
"Blake?" Hope permeated the sweet sound of the voice.
She knew that voice. She knew who it belonged to, it belonged to her friend…it belonged to Ruby.
Ruby…The name triggered a series of images to flash through her still haze-ridden mind; red foliage, rain, a clearing, panic, tears, a girl with a red cloak, and a creature born of hell itself.
She remembered.
She remembered everything.
Her eyes snapped open as she sat bolt upright. Pain tore through her chest at the rapid movement, causing her to yelp as her hands came up to weakly clutch at her torso. Her vision blurred and spun as hot tears sprung to her eyes. The beeping increased to a frantic pace.
"Blake, no!…shi-Weiss! Help me lay her back down."
Caring and gentle hands came up and carefully eased her back down to the bed. She let out a small whimper as her head made contact with the soft down of the pillow. Her head throbbed from the rush of sitting up to quickly. She closed her eyes and forced herself to take several deep and calming breaths, anything to not focus on the pain that racked her head and chest.
A hand gently swiped at her forehead, prompting her to reopen her eyes. Her vision was nothing more than a blur, her eyes unable to properly focus on anything. She blinked several times until her vision cleared enough to allow her to see Ruby who was standing beside the bed.
"There you go," Ruby soothed, "Just relax Blake, you're safe."
Blake looked up into large tear filled silver irises as Ruby pulled the thin sheet back up and over her aching body.
That's when she noticed it.
Ruby's right arm was wrapped in a sling; gauze ran from her hand to the top of her shoulder. She tried to ask what had happened but all that came out was a pitiful sounding croak. That's when she became aware of how dry her throat felt. She tried clearing it to see if that would help.
It didn't.
"Weiss, get her some water." Blake looked over to where Weiss stood on the right side of the bed. Just like Ruby, there were tears in the girl's ice-blue eyes.
Weiss wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her blouse, "Okay." She lingered for a moment before she finally turned and moved away. A door opened and closed softly.
Her eyes followed the lithe girl's movements, once Weiss left her field of vision Blake took a quick moment to familiarize herself with the surroundings.
The walls of the small room were all white-washed giving it a very sterile appearance. The window set in the far wall had its blinds and curtains drawn tight preventing any light from the outside world to enter, making the dull-white-fluorescent light in the ceiling the rooms sole provider of illumination. To the left of her bed was an iv-stand that had several different bags hanging on different hooks, they were all empty; save for the one that was currently connected to the iv that rested embedded in her skin. A heart monitor was off to the right.
So that's where it's coming from. Blake looked at the machine with ill-intent. She wanted nothing more than to get up and rip the offending machines power cord from the wall, but if the pain that she had felt just a moment ago was any indication. She was in no condition to do such a thing.
That and her body felt completely useless. Almost as if she hadn't used it for a long time.
So, I'm in a hospital.
Her train of thought was interrupted at the sound of Ruby dragging a chair over beside the bed erupted within the room. The young woman adjusted the seat briefly before she plopped down with a sigh.
She watched as Ruby scratched at the strap of her sling. Careful not to put any strain on her chest where she was sure that she had two if not three broken ribs, if the pain she had felt just a few short minutes ago was anything to go by, she forced her arm up into the air, it shook the whole while. A slender finger extended out in question toward Ruby's injured arm. The redhead took no notice.
Her ears flicked in annoyance.
Blake grunted out, as the sound of the door opening filled the room. Ruby finally looked.
"Oh," Ruby said, having finally caught on. Her good arm reached over to hold the other. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing."
"Excuse me?"
Both of their attentions were quickly drawn to where Weiss stood, back from her task of procuring water. Now, Blake wasn't as much of an expert in Weiss's facial expressions as much as Ruby was but, she had picked up a thing or two over the years since they had become teammates. The most important expression she had flagged over the long years was the one that Weiss only wore when she was angry. And currently, she was furious.
Eyes set directly on her girlfriend, Weiss took a step.
"Did I just hear you say that your wound." Weiss indicated the girls arm with a harsh gesture of her hand. "A wound that may I remind you; almost cost you your arm! Was, 'nothing.'?"
At that, Blake's attention snapped back to where Ruby was sitting beside her bed. The girl was looking very sheepish.
"I-uh, maybe…"
Weiss stamped her foot, "You dunce! Do you know how lucky you are? Hm, do you?" Weiss was near screaming now, her slender body shook with barely contained fury. "A quarter of an inch, Ruby, anymore and you would be sitting there as an amputee! That's how close it was!"
"I know tha…"
"No, you don't get to talk!" Weiss silenced the other girl as she continued. "Do you know what they told us when we got here? They told us Blake was in a coma and that you…" Weiss trailed off as if it was too painful to continue.
I was in a coma? Blake was about to ask about that when Weiss found her voice again. She continued her tirade against her girlfriend though her voice was much shakier than before.
"They said that with the amount of blood that you had lost they weren't sure if they could save your arm. Let alone if they could keep you alive." Weiss choked on the words as tears freely cascaded down her face. "Do you know what that did to your sister? What it did to me?
"It almost killed you Ruby, so don't you dare say that it's nothing!" Weiss finally broke as a powerful sob racked her delicate figure; Ruby was on her in an instant, wrapping the girl in a one armed hug as Weiss continued to cry.
Blake had to fight back tears of her own as she watched the scene that was unfolding before her. It was a rare thing to see Weiss, who was normally so professionally reserved and careful about letting her emotions show, breakout in sobs, it was a powerful thing to witness.
"I'm sorry Weiss," Ruby said as she attempted to try and console her clearly distraught girlfriend. "I didn't mean to upset you. I know it was…" Ruby paused, "I know it is bad, but I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"
Weiss mumbled something unintelligible, even to Blake's enhanced hearing. Whatever it was, it caused Ruby to laugh.
"Yes, I promise." Ruby hummed, kissing the top of Weiss's head.
Hating that she was eavesdropping on what was clearly a tender moment between her teammates; Blake averted her eyes in a feeble attempt to give them some form of privacy in the cramped room. She was sure that they would come up for air and notice that she was still lying there…eventually, until then she had a lot of new information to go through.
She had been in a coma, according to Weiss. For how long though? She had no answer to the question, and the only two people who did were currently off in their own little world. Also, how had they gotten there? She couldn't remember anything after colliding with the tree. Judging by the state of Ruby's arm she knew something had to have happened.
There was something else though, something that was eating away at her with an even greater intensity.
What exactly was it that they had encountered? It wasn't an ordinary Alpha, of that she was certain. While Alpha's did tend to be smarter than the average Beowolf, this one showed an intelligence that was far greater than any she had ever seen. Then there was the far more important issue; Alpha's did not have Aura's.
No Grimm is supposed to have an Aura for that matter.
She frowned; her thoughts and self-quizzing weren't going to get her anywhere. All it served to do thus far was provide her with confusion and even more questions. She looked back to where her teammates still stood.
Weiss was now returning the hug, though it looked as if she was being very careful not to touch Ruby's right arm.
Blake hated what she was about to do, they looked so happy and content, but she needed answers. And they were the only two present who could give them to her.
Inhaling deeply she cleared her throat…
Neither of them reacted.
Really? She screamed the word in her head. Guess I'll just have to try something else.
Carefully, as to not jar her battered and sore body she scooted up in the bed slightly, her weak muscles strained against the movement but, she persevered until she was half sitting and half lying down in the bed. She grimaced as a small jolt of pain racked her torso. She gritted her teeth as she waited for the dull ache to subside.
Once it had she focused her gaze on Ruby. Here goes…
"Ruby…" Her voice sounded alien to her ears, it was a distinct combination of glass shattering and fingernails being drug across a chalkboard. She couldn't complain though, as it seemed to do its job of snagging Ruby's attention.
"Oh!" Ruby's head shot up as her face instantly turned red, "Blake you're still uh…here…"
The Faunus couldn't help but smirk as she nodded and pointed toward Weiss, whose face was currently doing its best to match the color of her girlfriend's trademark cloak.
Ruby followed the finger and looked at her girlfriend with furrowed brows. It took a minute, but understanding finally dawned over her face.
"Weiss, the water!"
"What…? Oh, yes, of course" Weiss spluttered the words out as she offered the cup and straw to Blake who wasted no time in snatching them away.
Bringing the straw to her lips she emptied over half of the cups contents in a single go. She failed to fight back a moan as the cool liquid soothed its way down her throat. It was heavenly.
"I think she likes it!" Ruby joked, as she looked to Weiss, "Why don't you get her some more?"
"No," Blake tested out her voice again, just as Weiss turned to leave she stopped. Still scratchy…at least I sound like myself though.
Both girls looked at her, questioning expressions plastered over both of their faces. She took another sip in hopes of better steadying her voice before responding.
"It feels and tastes great, but I'm alright right now." A little better, "If it's all the same to you two, I'd rather you tell me what happened and where we are."
Ruby scratched the back of her head, "Yeah…I guess we haven't really told you anything have we?"
"You haven't, no."
Ruby sighed and retook her seat while Weiss noisily pulled another up beside her girlfriend.
Blake watched as the girls joined hands and laid them over where the small armrests of their chairs met. She absently wondered if they had even noticed that they did that or was it so second nature to them now that it was like breathing. As much as she wanted to know, it was a question for another time.
"So, what do you want to know first?" Weiss asked the question from her position beside Ruby.
That's the million lien question isn't it? There were so many things that she wanted to ask that it was nearly impossible to just choose one.
Have to start somewhere, might as well ask the obvious one first.
"Where are we?"
"A private room at Vale General," Ruby answered the question, quickly adding on, "I just managed to get us to the ER before I passed out."
"How'd we get a private room?"
"That would be me." It was Weiss's turn to answer. "Once I got the call that you both were here I told them I wanted their best doctors and surgeons on your cases, and that I wanted you put up comfortably after you were out of recovery. And while the room isn't exactly my definition of luxurious, it's better than being crammed into a room with complete strangers."
Blake nodded as she processed the information. She knew well enough from the room and its contents to know that she was in a hospital, but it was reassuring to know exactly where she was. And knowing what Weiss defined as luxury, she really doubted there was a hospital in the entire world with a room that could live up to such a high billing.
She looked to Ruby.
"What happened in the clearing after I froz…" Blake paused, and reworked the question in her mind trying to find a way to say it that didn't make her seem weak. "After I got hit?"
The sideways glance that Ruby gave her didn't go unnoticed.
"Well, after it hit you," Ruby began; a faraway look took over her eye as she recounted the events. "The…thing turned on me and lashed out. Unfortunately for it, I was moving way to fast to stop," A grisly smirk played at the edge of the girl's lips, "and you know how momentum works with Crescent. Unfortunately for me though, I was too close to dodge out of the way. It lost its head and I nearly lost my arm.
"After I was sure it was dead I threw you over my back and ran to the nearest hospital," Ruby paused as she indicated the room with her good arm. "And here we are."
"So you killed it?"
The girl nodded.
Blake exhaled a breath that she wasn't even aware that she had been holding. Unbridled relief flowed through her at the knowledge of knowing that whatever it was that they had encountered, it was dead.
Good riddance.
She looked back to Ruby, who appeared to be waiting for the next question. She didn't make her wait long. "What do you think it was?"
Ruby shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. I can say this though, whatever it was. It wasn't normal."
"You don't say." Blake deadpanned.
"We tried contacting Ozpin to ask him…" Ruby started before Weiss cleared her throat and nudged her shoulder up against Ruby's. Ruby sighed as if to say, 'fine,' and started over.
"What I meant to say was that, Weiss tried to call Ozpin. But she could never get through and he's yet to return any of her calls."
"Which means that he's probably ducking us for some reason," Weiss added her two cents.
"So you think he knew that thing was out there?"
"He had to have when you think about it. He acted weird when he gave us the mission then we go out there and run into that?" Ruby shook her head, "There's little chance that he didn't know."
"For his sake he had better hope that he didn't." Weiss's voice dripped with barely contained malice.
"Weiss,"
"Don't you, 'Weiss,' me Ruby Rose." The girl stared Ruby down, "If he knew what was out there and didn't warn us about it, it's a gross misuse of our trust."
Ruby seemed to ponder those words for a moment before she nodded. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am."
Blake silently agreed with her white-haired teammate. Although a much darker thought soon occurred to her, one that really made her reevaluate what she thought she knew about their former mentor.
What if he hadn't just known it was out there, what if he had also known what it was capable of?
The idea sent a frightful shiver down her spine.
"Besides," Weiss continued, breaking Blake out of her thoughts, "It's not me you really have to worry about, it's Yang."
At the mention of her girlfriend's name, Blake instantly perked up and felt a wave of emotion the size of a tsunami wash over her. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like it had been a lifetime since she had seen the fiery woman. She quickly looked around the room, eyes frantically seeking out any sign of the blonde. But, there wasn't a trace of her anywhere.
No clothes, no misplaced hairs, nothing.
She deflated on the spot.
She's not here…how didn't I notice that? More importantly why isn't she here?
Now, Blake wasn't a vain person nor did she know all that much about relationships-outside of romance novels anyway-but, she had to admit that she was more than a little hurt that Yang wasn't there.
She looked to Ruby who was looking at Weiss with wide eyes; panic clearly resided within her silver pools.
That can't be good.
"Ruby," Blake started slowly in a vain attempt to keep the trepidation out of her voice. "Where's Yang?"
Ruby let out a heavy sigh as she turned back to Blake. Her expression was one of resignation.
Blake felt her heart skip a beat, something was wrong.
She could feel it.
"She's not here Blake." Ruby said, sadness creeping into her normally chipper voice. "She took what happened to the two of us…hard, really hard."
That's my fault…if I hadn't froze up…
"I want to see her." Blake winced at the urgency that had crept into her voice.
I let her fears come true…she probably blames herself for what happened…
Ruby was hesitant, "I don't think that's the best idea, Blake."
If only I had been stronger…
"Ruby, please! I need to see Yang!"
I need to let her know that I'm okay! Let her know it's not her fault!
Had Blake not been so preoccupied with her own thoughts she might have noticed that Ruby's entire presence shifted after what she had just said.
"Which is it?"
Blake opened her mouth to respond, but stopped short as she got a good look at Ruby's, now, stoic face. The look told her that Ruby wasn't messing around, no, she was being deathly serious. Something that she only ever was when she was fighting Grimm or when she was being…protective.
"Well?" Ruby pushed. "Want or need?"
"I-…" Blake could feel herself shrinking under Ruby's gaze. She looked to Weiss, hoping that her teammate would offer some form of help. Her hopes were dashed as she was met with slightly narrowed blue-ice. Weiss, it seemed, wanted to hear her response to the question as well.
Realizing that she was going to receive no help she retreated into her mind, searching for the answer. She knew that she wanted to see Yang; of that much she was certain.
That's not the question that Ruby's asking though.
No, the question that Ruby had asked her went far beyond that. She wasn't just asking about how badly Blake wanted to see her sister. She was asking if she needed Yang. And Blake wasn't sure if she was ready to answer that just yet. But, Ruby was forcing it and Blake held no allusions, she knew that if she didn't answer to the redhead's satisfaction that she wouldn't be seeing Yang anytime soon.
Her gaze fell to where her feet bulged up against the thin sheet of the bed, as she questioned herself internally.
Do I…Do I need Yang?
She thought back over the course of the last few years. Every moment that she had shared with Yang, all of the laughs and the cries, the good times and the hardships, and the friendship that had blossomed between them, in that instant she became painfully aware of it all.
But the memories didn't help her. All they served to do was clog her mind in a gold-laden haze. She covered her face with her hands as she tried to sort through the memories, looking for something, anything that would give her the answer that she sought.
She thought back to that last night at Beacon. The night that she and Yang had come together and kissed under the clear star filled sky. She had so desperately wanted that. To be with Yang, that night had given her more happiness than any single event that she could remember from over the course of her short darkness filled life.
Then there was the night that the two had spent sleeping together on the couch. She hadn't been lying when she had said that, that was the best night of sleep she had had since they arrived. She remembered being lulled to sleep by a warmth so encompassing that it had been impossible to not submit to it. She had loved the feeling, and despite the embarrassment, she had loved waking up next to Yang.
Then there's what I called her, a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. She hadn't meant to call Yang that; it had at the time, just rolled off of her tongue before she could think to stop it. Thinking back on it, she wasn't sure she wouldn't have done it. It had felt like the right thing to do.
It just felt right.
It all felt right.
She raised her face away from her hands, she had her answer.
She looked Ruby in the eye as she licked her dry lips.
"I need her." She spoke the words with a clear and even voice, despite the emotions that raged within her. Her eyes never once left Ruby's.
Nobody spoke for several moments.
Blake could feel Ruby's lingering gaze, she wrapped her arms around herself in a feeble attempt at shielding herself from the twin lasers that were Ruby's eyes. She didn't have to be looking at the younger girl in the eye to know what it was that she was doing.
She knew that Ruby was watching her, judging her, she knew that she was looking for any sign, no matter how small, that she had been lying.
She knew all of this because she had watched Yang do the same exact thing to Weiss when Ruby and Weiss's relationship had just begun. The blonde had watched the relationship like a hawk over its formative period, and Yang had never hesitated to give Weiss a piece of her mind if she even so much as thought that the heiress had mistreated her baby-sister.
Blake had always wondered what that must have felt like.
Now she knew.
"Weiss," Ruby spoke after what felt like an eternity. Ruby's tone was completely neutral, void of anything that could give Blake an idea as to if she had believed her or not.
"Go get Yang."
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
Blake listened as the sound of a chair being scooted back filled the air.
"I'll be back," Weiss said, the sound of footsteps, the door opened and closed.
Silence reigned over the room for a brief moment.
"Thank you Ruby." Blake's voice was meek.
"Don't thank me yet." Ruby said her tone serious, "I have some things that I need to tell you."
"Go ahead."
"Okay," Ruby began as she slid forward in her seat, moving ever closer to the bed. "Now, Weiss will take her time in going to get my sister. That said, as soon as Yang knows you're awake she'll be taking stairs five at a time to get up here."
Blake's head nodded of its own accord. "Where is she?"
Ruby paused as if debating with herself, she sighed. "She's down in the…chapel."
Blake titled her head to the side, confusion running through her. "I didn't think Yang was religious."
"She's not." Ruby heaved another, heavier, sigh. "The last time I actually remember her praying was at our Mom's funeral…I haven't seen her do it since."
"I-" Blake wasn't really sure how she was supposed to respond to that. "I understand."
Ruby shook her head. "Not to sound rude, but I don't think you do Blake."
"What do you mean?" She tried her best not to sound defensive but, she couldn't help the little bit that had leaked out.
"Look," Ruby raised her good arm as if offering a kind of white flag. "All I'm saying is that I don't think you understand just how much this whole situation has affected Yang. I mean, how could you have? You've been in a coma for the better part of a month."
Blake stilled, What? I've been out for that long? No, that's-that can't be right.
Can it?
She wanted to ask just exactly what Ruby had meant by that, but the younger girl kept right on talking.
"I mean it's not your fault…"
"Ruby!" Blake loudly interrupted the girl; she waited until she was sure that she had the girl's undivided attention. Ruby worked her jaw a couple of times wordlessly before she finally shut her mouth completely. Satisfied, she moved forward.
"What did you mean that I've been in a coma for almost a month?" She paraphrased what Ruby had just said.
Ruby swallowed thickly. "Exactly that…Blake, you've been in a coma for two weeks and a-half weeks."
Blake felt the weight of those words crash against her as they entered her ears. She couldn't believe it, no, she refused to believe it. But at the same time…she knew it to be true. It made sense. It explained why her eyes had had difficulty adjusting to the light when she had woken up and why her muscles felt so weak. It also accounted for why the pain in her chest was nothing more than a dim ache.
Her body had had time to heal and to grow weary.
Almost three weeks of her life, gone, it was impossible for her to quantify. She could never get that time back. It was completely lost to the void, never to return. It could have been worse, she realized, if Ruby hadn't been able to kill the Alpha…she pushed the rest of the thought out of her mind.
She looked back to where Ruby sat staring at her; a concerned look had overtaken her face. "So, it's really been…that long?"
Ruby nodded, "It has, and Yang's been here every day."
Blake felt a tear roll down her cheek as she looked away.
"I had a feeling you would say that."
She listened absentmindedly as Ruby went on to tell her about what Yang had been doing since she had been admitted. For the first week Yang had never strayed from her side, not even to visit Ruby. She swore she heard some hurt in Ruby's voice at that, but she wasn't paying enough attention to really tell. It wasn't that she didn't find what Ruby was saying to be interesting; it was just that her mind had become preoccupied with thoughts of Yang.
She couldn't begin to fathom the emotions that had undoubtedly dominated her golden-haired partner over the past couple of weeks. She did know one thing though; there was no way that they were good.
I asked her to trust me and what did she get in return? She berated herself as she hacked out a small sob, completely ignoring the pain that shot through her core. Her sister almost died and I ended up in a coma.
"Blake," She was snapped from her thoughts as Ruby called out her name. "Are you even listening?"
"I-…I-uh," She hopelessly stammered over the words.
"That's what I thought," Ruby sighed for what must have been the millionth time that day. "Look, I'll put this as simply as I can. I don't know how you feel about my sister, but I do know how Yang feels about you.
"You aren't like one of the month long flings she had while we were at Beacon. She cares about you, deeply. You're the first person outside of our immediate family that she's let get this close since our mom died. She's let you in, Blake."
Ruby's voice became thick with emotions as she continued, "And it scares me. I know that she's always said that our mom's death affected me the worst, but that isn't true. Yeah, it hurt and I cried for months and months, but Yang?"
Ruby shook her head.
"Yang bottled it all up and put on a front like she was fine. I almost would have believed it to. Had I not heard her sneaking out of her room one night. I followed her and found her crying at the kitchen table all alone.
"I originally thought that that was a good thing; I mean she was finally letting out her pain, I thought that she was going to cry it all out and that would be that. But I was wrong; she did that for months, Blake. Months. Long after my dad and I had moved past it. She continued to sneak away and cry when she thought no one else was around."
Blake didn't even try to fight against the fresh set of tears spilled from her eyes. It had never occurred to her that what she had discovered Yang doing that night was something that the blonde had done before.
That must be how she deals with emotional stress.
"She eventually stopped, but she was never the same. You think she's outgoing now?" Ruby stopped only to swipe at the tears that covered her own cheeks. "You should have seen her when mom was alive, after though…after she started holding everybody at arm's length. She never let anyone get to close, then she met you."
A knock came from the door, startling both girls. Ruby looked to the door briefly, but quickly returned her gaze to the Faunus.
"Look, the reason I just told you all of that is this; you need to be careful Blake. I saw what happened, you didn't forget to move, it wasn't too fast. You. Froze. Up. Don't get me wrong I'd hate to see anything happen to you, but I'm more worried about what would happen to Yang.
"I think if she were to lose you it would destroy her."
Blake didn't trust her voice not to break if she tried talking so she just met Ruby's gaze, trying to convey her understanding through her eyes.
Another knock, this one much louder than the first, Ruby looked again.
"That must be her." Ruby said as she stood and moved over to the entry way.
"Wait," Blake called out as she finally found her voice. Ruby turned around, an eyebrow raised in silent question.
"I just want to…thank you for telling me all of that." She fidgeted under Ruby's silver gaze, her hand played with the hem of the sheet. "I know it couldn't have…been easy."
"It wasn't, but don't worry about it." Ruby said; her tone was warm and comforting but it quickly took on a more serious edge. "Just remember why I told you all of that."
"I will," Blake nodded. "I promise."
Ruby looked at her for a long and tense moment, before she nodded and walked the rest of the way to the door.
Blake watched as the red-head opened the door, before quickly averting her eyes at the first glimpse of yellow. There was a hushed conversation, her ears flicked as they strained to pick up the words.
"Weiss said she was awake?" A voice that she recognized as Yang's panted out.
Blake almost burst out in another fresh set of tears as she heard the hopefulness that dominated Yang's voice. Never in her entire life had she had someone care that much about her. It caused her heart to swell.
So that's what it feels like…to be needed.
She heard Ruby speak next, "She is, I'm going to go find Weiss and grab us all some food."
She heard the door close, the sound of boots walking across tile filled the room. Her heart beat in rhythm to the sound of the dull thuds.
The mattress dipped as the person she knew to be Yang sat down beside her. The warmth provided by the blonde's Aura instantly overtook her.
It was soothing.
She leaned closer to the source, her knee bumping up against the small of Yang's back. She recoiled, as if the small contact had burned her. She looked down to where her hands now rested idly in her lap. They were shaking, her entire body was shaking. She was so overcome with emotion that she was about to burst.
What is this?
Then a calloused finger gently curled underneath her chin.
Blake's breathing hitched.
Just like that day in Forever Fall she froze; she was completely at Yang's mercy as the blonde lifted her chin up until Blake found herself looking into deep red-rimmed lilac eyes.
"Hey," Yang spoke the word softly.
Blake could feel her heart jump up into her throat as she got her first good look at Yang.
Her eyelids were droopy which, when combined with the harsh dark circles that resided beneath her tear stained eyes, told her that Yang hadn't been sleeping well. If any at all. To go along with that were her clothes which were wrinkled from obvious multi-day wear. To top it all off was her hair; the large golden mane that, for as long as she had known her, Yang had always gone to great painstaking lengths to take care of, was an even more unkempt and wild mess than usual.
Seeing Yang, it was easy to understand just exactly why Ruby had been so distraught about her sister. None of that seemed to matter to Yang though; all she seemed to care about in that moment was her. If the way she continued to stare at her was any indication. There was a small sleepy-smile on her lips.
Blake swallowed her heart back down, "Yang…"
Her voice broke.
It completely shattered, along with whatever was left of her normally stoic composure.
She reached out and crushed Yang to her in the tightest hug that her weak, battered, and bruised body could manage. Her hands fisted around the fabric of Yang's wrinkled-shirt as she pulled the girl even closer. She clung to Yang as tears spilt forth from her eyes like rivers; she buried her face against the crook of the blonde's neck. Golden curls tickled at her face.
There was so much that she wanted to say. She wanted to apologize for the pain and suffering that she had put Yang through. She wanted to berate the girl for not taking better care of herself over the past couple of weeks. But she couldn't find the words; all she could do was cry into the blonde's broad shoulder.
"Shh, you're okay." Yang's rocky voice sounded from right next to her ear. It was filled with more emotions than Blake could count; fear, relief, sadness, hate, and something else. She couldn't place it though.
"You're okay, Blake." Yang repeated, "It's all okay."
Blake pulled away then and looked Yang in the eye; she did her best to ignore the tears that marred the blonde's face.
"You're a terrible liar." The scratchiness had returned to her voice, adding to the already fragile sound.
Yang smiled a sad, almost pitiful, smile. "I know…but it can wait, it can all wait." She pulled Blake back into her. "You're awake now, that's all that matters."
Blake wrapped her arms around Yang's back. She had finally placed what the other emotion was that she had seen in Yang's eyes. It had taken hearing it in her voice, but she knew what it was.
It was anger. Yang was angry, at her or the world she didn't know. She did know one thing though.
An angry Yang Xiao Long was never a good thing.
AN: I don't know why…but I'm really nervous about this one for some reason, more so than I was for the last one. It might just be me; actually it probably is just me.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and as always. Have a good night!