Chapter 8: Dark as Night
Yang and Blake were sitting side-by-side on the edge of the rooftop they'd ended up on. Their feet were dangling off the side. Neither one of them dared look at the other, and neither one of them dared speak. The tension in the air was palpable.
Yang was screaming inside her head. After all these months, Blake was sitting right next to her, and she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but words failed to come. There was too much to say, too much to ask. She didn't even know where to begin. Blake might as well have been on the other side of the world.
Blake, for her part, was the epitome of silence. She said nothing, and even her breathing hardly made a sound. Blake had earned a reputation back at Beacon for being inscrutable. Yang had never really understood it. Sure, her partner didn't really say much most of the time, but Yang had never had trouble understanding what Blake was thinking. Right now, however, Blake was a complete enigma to her.
Eventually, the silence became too much for Yang to bear. She had to say something, and right now there was only one question that really mattered. She asked Blake, "Why did you run away?"
Yang saw Blake's hand clench. Blake took in a deep breath and let it out. She said with a quivering voice, "Because it was all my fault."
Yang slowly turned toward Blake. She couldn't believe what Blake had just said. "How was it your fault?" she asked. "You didn't do anything. That monster did."
"His name is Adam," Blake said, still not looking at Yang. "I thought he was a good man once. He attacked you because of me."
"He attacked me because I attacked him," Yang said. "Because he was hurting you."
"He did that to draw you out," Blake said. "He wanted to kill you so he could watch me suffer. And he almost did. Because of me."
"It wasn't because of you! I—" Yang started.
"You don't understand," Blake interrupted. "It's his semblance. Every time he blocks an attack, he can store the energy in his sword. That's how he…how he did what he did with just one stroke. And it was because of me. I fought him knowing it was making him stronger. I thought I had to. I thought I was going to be the one who'd suffer the consequences but…." Blake shook her head. "It might have well been me who attacked you."
"Look me in the eye," Yang said sternly.
Reluctantly Blake turned to face Yang. Her eyes were overflowing with pain. Trails of tears stained her cheeks.
"It wasn't your fault. You didn't do anything," Yang said. "It was him. It was always him."
"If I hadn't—" Blake said.
"I don't care," Yang said, and this time it was true.
"But how can you—" Blake started again.
"I don't care," Yang repeated. "It was worth it."
"How could it have possibly been worth it?!" Blake asked.
"Because you're still here. Because…" Yang cut herself off. Could she really say it? Perhaps the better question was, could she really not say it? Yang swallowed her fears and took a blind leap. "Because I'm in love with you."
Blake lowered her eyes. She didn't seem to react to Yang's confession at all. Yang began to fret. She said, "Did you hear me? I'm in love with you!"
Blake still didn't say anything. Yang's chest felt tight. Why wasn't Blake saying anything?
Blake finally looked back up at Yang. Her gaze was steady and her face was calm. She said, "I already knew that."
Yang was dumbstruck. Her thoughts scattered every which way, and she sputtered, "You…but…how?"
"You're not a very subtle person, Yang," Blake said. "It was plain to see."
"Then why didn't you say anything?!" Yang asked. "You didn't have to worry about letting me down gently! I'm a big girl. I could've taken it. If you're not into girls, I'd understand."
"No, it wasn't anything like that," Blake said.
"Wait, so you are into girls?" Yang asked.
Blake nodded yes.
"Then why?" Yang asked.
"You deserve someone better than me. There are a lot of bad things in my past," Blake said. She quietly added, "And a lot of bad people."
"I never cared about your past," Yang said.
"I know," Blake said. "But it was more than that. Even if I wasn't a former member of the White Fang, a lot of people don't look kindly upon relationships between a human and a faunus."
"I wouldn't have cared!" Yang said. "Forget what everyone else thinks!"
"It would've gotten to you eventually. You can only take nasty glares and hateful comments for so long until it really starts to get under your skin. Believe me, I know," Blake said. "You're such an accepting person, Yang. I didn't want you to learn how to hate because of me."
That statement hit Yang right in her heart. A queasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Despite Blake's intentions, she had learned to hate. The monster, Adam, had taught her that if nothing else. She couldn't bring herself to tell Blake, although she suspected Blake already knew.
Blake continued, "I should have said something. I should have just told you that we could never be together. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. If I kept quiet, I could still pretend that it might happen someday."
"It still could happen," Yang said hopefully.
Blake looked up into the night sky. A tiny smile played across her face. "I chose you as my partner, you know," she said, seemingly changing the subject.
"You did?" Yang asked.
"I wasn't going to leave something that important to chance," Blake said. "Can you imagine if I'd been partnered with Cardin?"
"That would have sucked," Yang said. "How'd you find me in the Emerald Forest so quickly?"
"It wasn't hard." Blake smirked. "Like I said, you're not very subtle."
Yang shrugged. "You got me there. But why me?"
"Do you remember the first thing you said to me?" Blake asked.
"Uh, well…I think it was hello," Yang said.
"That's right. You were trying to introduce me to Ruby," Blake said. She turned back to Yang and looked her right in the eyes. "Then you said I was a lost cause."
"Uh…sorry?" Yang said sheepishly. She honestly didn't remember that.
"No, you were right," Blake said. "You were just trying to be friendly and I completely dismissed you."
"I still shouldn't have said it," Yang said.
"Tact has never been one of your strong suits," Blake said. "But that's the thing. I could hear it in your voice. You weren't judging me. You were just calling it like you saw it. I knew I would always know where I stood with you."
"That was it, huh?" Yang asked.
"That was enough," Blake said. "Although, I guess your little display when you took down that poor ursa was another reason I thought you'd make a good partner."
"Well, I can't blame you," Yang said. "I am pretty badass."
"Actually that wasn't it," Blake said. "I figured you'd make a good distraction if I ever needed one someday."
Yang tried not to laugh and ended up snorting instead. It wasn't nearly as indignant-sounding as she'd hoped.
Blake continued, "When it came out what I was and who I'd been, it didn't faze you at all. I'd at least expected curious glances or tiptoeing questions. But they never came."
"I didn't have to ask any questions," Yang said. "You were the same person you'd always been."
"You can't know how amazing it is that you felt that way," Blake said. "Then when I almost gave myself a nervous breakdown obsessing over Torchwick, you were the one who came to save me."
"Ruby and Weiss were just as worried about you," Yang said.
"But you were the one who did something about it," Blake said. "You cared about me, not because you had to or because you were a fellow faunus. You just did."
Blake turned away. A blush colored her cheeks. She said quietly, "I couldn't help but fall in love with you."
Yang felt her heart stop. A weight she hadn't known was there lifted off her shoulders. She hadn't realized how desperately she'd needed to hear those words.
Then Blake said, "I just never understood why you fell in love with me."
Yang was floored. How could Blake not understand? She exclaimed, "Why shouldn't I have fallen in love with you?! You're smart. You're good in a fight. You're hot, and…and I just do okay? I don't need a reason!"
Yang felt woefully inadequate. Was that really the best she could come up with? She wished she was half as articulate as Blake. Quickly, she added, "And I was wrong about you. You're not a lost cause."
Blake smiled. "Thank you," she said.
Yang let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Too much had happened too quickly tonight. She felt like she was in danger of being emotionally overwhelmed. She focused on the fact that Blake had said that she loved her. Nothing else was important.
Yang opened her eyes again. When she did, she saw that the smile had left Blake's face.
"What's wrong?" Yang asked, concerned.
"Can I see it?" Blake asked. Her voice was very somber.
Yang knew Blake was talking about her arm. She suddenly felt very self-conscious, like she never had before. Yang was not a modest person. She knew she was attractive by most people's standards. She was proud of that fact, and she wasn't shy about showing off her body. Had Blake asked her to strip naked a few months ago, she would have done so without hesitation. But now, she was ashamed of what Blake might think of her arm.
Yang felt herself nodding yes. No matter what her feelings were, she could never deny Blake so simple a request.
Blake pushed back Yang's right sleeve, exposing her prosthetic. Blake let out a soulful gasp. It was a quiet little sound, barely even audible. But the weight of it hit Yang hard.
Blake slowly rolled back Yang's sleeve. She loosened Yang's glove and pulled it off. Yang felt naked and exposed. She was so nervous that she was actually sweating a little. But if this was what Blake needed, it was what Blake was going to get.
Blake cradled yang's cybernetic hand in her arms. She held it gently like it might break at the slightest touch. She brought the hand up and pressed it to her cheek. Her eyes closed, and a single tear trailed out.
Yang could feel Blake's skin, at least as much as her artificial hand would allow. It was pure torture, like giving the smallest morsel of food to someone who was starving. Yang wanted to touch Blake, really touch her. She brought her left hand up and cupped Blake's other cheek. It was soft and warm. The simple feeling of it was enough to make Yang euphoric.
Blake opened her eyes. A light was shining in them through the sadness. She let Yang's artificial hand drop.
Yang traced her fingertips down Blake's cheek until they found her lips. Yang's fingers lingered there. She felt Blake's breath tickling them.
Yang didn't even realize she was drifting closer and closer to Blake until their lips met and they kissed. She didn't know who'd kissed who first, and it didn't matter. Yang had imagined this moment so many times. Now that it was here, it was nothing like she'd expected. It was even better. She never wanted it to end.
A sudden high-pitched squeal brought Yang back to reality. Without breaking the kiss, she glanced in the sound's direction. She saw Ruby and Weiss standing there. Ruby, who was the one doing the happy squealing, was bouncing up and down with joy. Weiss just had her hands on her hips.
Yang didn't see the need to end the kiss just because there was an audience now, but Blake, who had also noticed they were no longer alone, did. She pulled away from Yang and quickly scooted back a few feet as if that would fool anyone. She blushed furiously.
Ruby cheered, "Ah yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"
"In more than one manner of speaking," Weiss said. "That's not quite what I meant when I told you to catch Blake. But I suppose it's about time you two finally admitted your feelings for one another."
"Wait. You knew too?!" Yang asked.
"Obviously," Weiss said.
Ruby said, "You knew about this and you didn't tell me!? I thought we were partners, Weiss! You're supposed to tell me everything!"
"I didn't think I needed to point it out," Weiss said. "She's your sister after all. I'm surprised you didn't know."
"Well I knew she was crushing on somebody, but she wouldn't admit to it," Ruby said. "What else don't I know? Is there someone you're crushing on, Weiss?"
"That's…! This isn't an appropriate time to talk about such things," Weiss said.
"No way! You are crushing on someone!" Ruby said. "Tell me! Tell me! Who is it?"
"It's no one!" Weiss said.
Ruby and Weiss started bickering. Yang looked at Blake and shrugged. She asked, "Is Team RWBY back together?"
"I guess it is," Blake said.
"And what about us?" Yang asked.
"We'll have to figure that out. But before anything else…" Blake unclasped the right half of Ember Celica from her wrist. In all the excitement, Yang had forgotten that it was even there. "Before I left Vale, I went back and found this. I…I didn't want to leave without some reminder of you. It's yours, if you want it back."
Yang nodded. She reached out to take her bracelet, but Blake took her hand instead. Yang watched joyfully as Blake put Ember Celica back in its rightful place. Despite the dramatic changes Yang's arm had undergone, it still fit perfectly.
Yang activated both of her gauntlets. She couldn't help but smile. Blake was back. Ember Celica was back. She felt like she was almost whole again. All that was left was a healthy dose of revenge.
Author's Note: I may not think most of my predictions about Volume 4 will (or even should) come true, but I'm calling it right here and now: that is Adam's semblance.
It always bugs me when I go back and watch Volume 1 that Yang called Blake a lost cause. It is, however, a very Yang thing to say in that moment. I really feel a lot better about it now that I've gotten the opportunity to explore what the characters feelings on the incident might be.
I was originally planning on having Yang's new arm include a built-in shotgun. After all, this is the RWBY-verse where everything is also a gun. But then I realized that the symbolism of Blake returning Yang's missing gauntlet to her was too good to pass up.
I still hope that Yang's new arm in Volume 4 is also a gun though. A really, really big gun.
Constructive criticism is always welcome so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn.