Chapter 9: Fear and Love
Yang was up early the next morning. She'd always been an early riser, and today she's woken up even earlier than usual. With all the things that she still needed to say to Blake, she could hardly have been expected to stay in bed one second longer than strictly necessary.
Yang had gotten no time with Blake alone last night. Between everyone's tearful reunion, Weiss lecturing Yang once again about charging headlong into danger, and informing the authorities about the White Fang's meeting, it had been a long night.
Unfortunately, by the time the police had arrived at the warehouse there was hardly any evidence left that the White Fang had been there. Blake had stayed out of sight while the police were there. Her White Fang uniform would've raised too many questions. Yang had found herself worrying that Blake wouldn't return once the police were gone. She knew it was stupid and silly. She trusted Blake, but she couldn't help how she felt.
When Team RWBY had been ready to head back to the Schnee mansion, they'd encountered another problem. Blake's uniform would've caused undue trouble with the Schnee mansion security staff. It might have even prompted a call to Weiss's father. That was something no one had wanted.
After much debate about what to do, Weiss had come up with a simple solution: she'd given Blake her coat to cover her uniform up with.
By the time everyone had finally made it back to the mansion, it had been very late at night, or rather, very early in the morning. As much as Yang had needed to talk to Blake, all either of them had wanted to do at that point was fall into bed and get some sleep.
Yang had spent her morning so far pacing the length of the hallway in the guest wing of the Schnee mansion. It was a wonder she hadn't worn a rut in the carpet. She paused in front of the door to Blake's room for the tenth time in as many minutes. Unlike Yang, Blake was not a morning person. It was very unlikely that she was awake yet. Back at Beacon, she would often stumble out of bed as late as possible and shamble off to her morning routine. Yang had learned that conversation with Blake was all but impossible until after she'd had a shower, breakfast, and at least three cups of tea.
Yang turned to go pace the hallway again. Even if Blake was up, she would still be half-asleep. The things they needed to talk about would best be left until she was completely awake.
Yang made it ten steps before she changed her mind and turned around. She figured the sooner she got Blake out of bed, the sooner she would wake up, and the sooner they could talk. It was a good enough excuse for Yang. Besides, she felt like she'd explode if she didn't at least see Blake again soon.
Yang lifted her hand to knock on the door only for it to open. Blake was on the other side, not looking groggy at all. She was already dressed for the day, wearing the outfit Yang knew her best in. It was great for Yang to see Blake again how she remembered her.
"Hello," Blake said, not sounding surprised at all. She'd apparently known that Yang was there.
"Hiya! You're up early," Yang said with a big, happy smile on her face.
"I guess I am," Blake said.
"Can I come in? So we can talk about…you know…things?" Yang asked.
Blake stepped aside and opened the door wider to let Yang in.
Yang walked into Blake's room. The irony of a faunus staying as a guest in the Schnee mansion was not lost on yang. She imagined Weiss's dad's silly mustache bristling if he ever found out.
Blake asked, "What did you want to talk about?"
The smile on Blake's face was tinged with just enough nervousness that Yang was certain Blake knew exactly what she wanted to talk about. Yang couldn't help but chuckle. It was so typical of Blake to force Yang to drag it out of her. Fortunately, she was more than willing to play along.
"Well…" Yang drawled. "I found a motorcycle in papa Schnee's garage. You want to go for a ride sometime? We can see the sights. Maybe get some dinner. I'm sure Weiss can suggest someplace with snooty waiters, romantic music, and candlelight."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Blake asked.
Yang was a bit disappointed that Blake sounded genuinely surprised. Nevertheless, she cheerfully said, "Well sure. That's what you do with girls you like. Take them somewhere nice. Show them how awesome you are. Makes it a lot easier to seduce them."
Blake snickered.
"What?" Yang asked. She was pretty sure she hadn't said anything funny.
"I'm sorry. I just don't see you as the seducing type," Blake said, shaking her head.
"Oh is that a challenge?" Yang asked. In an instant, her entire demeanor changed. Her goofy, carefree air melted away. Her eyes took on a sensuous glint, and she sauntered slowly toward Blake, exaggerating the swaying of her hips. When she spoke again, it was in a soft, alluring voice that positively dripped with sex appeal. "You don't know what you just got yourself into, Belladonna."
Blake unconsciously took a few steps back as Yang continued to advance. She said, "I don't think seduction works if your victim knows what you're trying to do."
"Ordinarily, you'd be right," Yang said. She slowly back Blake up against the wall. Blake tried to scoot away, but Yang pressed her hands up against the wall, boxing Blake in. "But you're forgetting one…little…thing."
Blake swallowed hard. Her eyes flicker to Yang's lips which were moving closer to her own. "W-what's that?" Blake stammered.
Yang leaned in close and whispered, "You want to be seduced."
Before Blake could answer, Yang kissed her. It was a light kiss, teasing Blake with just a hint of the sinful delights Yang's lips could offer. Blake tried to deepen the kiss, but Yang pulled back, keeping the pressure constant. Only when Blake was leaning forward into her did she relent.
A probing tongue tickled Yang's lips. She opened her mouth to let it in and returned the favor in kind. Yang's and Blake's arms wrapped around each other. They stood there entwined, the rest of the world lost to them.
It wasn't until Yang was sure that Blake was completely out of breath that she let the kiss end. Blake's face was flush and she was breathing heavily. Yang herself didn't have enough air back in her lungs for words yet, so she gave Blake a smile that could light up the room.
Blake returned Yang's smile with one of her own, but only for a moment. Suddenly, her face dimmed and she pulled out of Yang's embrace.
Yang was befuddled. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Blake asked.
"How can you even ask me that?! Of course it's what I want," Yang said. "I'm pretty sure it's what you want too. Unless you kiss everybody like that."
Blake didn't answer. Yang scowled. She asked, "Am I wrong?"
"No," Blake said. "It is what I want."
"Then what's the problem?!" Yang asked.
"I don't want you to get hurt again because of me!" Blake said.
Yang finally understood. Blake wasn't over what had happened. If Yang was completely honest with herself, she wasn't over it either. But those feelings were something she could sort out later.
Yang cupped Blake's face with both of her hands and gently directed Blake's gaze back to her. "Don't try to run away again," she said.
"I'm not trying to run," Blake said.
"Yes you are," Yang said. "You're scared about what might happen. I get it. But you can't let that stop you."
"I'm not you, Yang," Blake said.
"So what?" Yang said. "You don't have to be me to do what's right for yourself."
Blake reached up and took Yang's hands in her own. She slowly pulled them down and spent a minute just looking at them. She ran her thumbs across Yang's palms. Yang's prosthetic hand was back in its glove, but she knew that Blake could feel the difference. She could practically see the guilt in Blake's eyes.
"I should have been there for you," Blake said, her voice wavering. "Like Ruby and Weiss were. I should have been there to help you."
"And I should have come looking for you," Yang said. "We both made a lot of mistakes, but we're here now. We can move on together."
"It can't be that easy," Blake said.
"Sure it can," Yang said. "Let me show you." She leaned in and kissed Blake again. This kiss was soft and tender. Although it lacked the unbridled passion of the one they'd shared earlier, somehow, it was even better. Yang didn't know if forgiveness could be conveyed through a kiss, but she was trying her hardest.
Yang broke the kiss. Tears were running down Blake's cheeks, but she was smiling sweetly. Yang reached up and brushed the tears away. She put her hands on Blake's shoulders and said, "So what do you say? You want to be my girlfriend?"
"Yes. I do," Blake said.
Yang beamed from ear to ear. She took in the look of wonderment on Blake's face for just a moment before she stepped back and put her hands on her hips. She said. "Well how do you like that?"
"How do I like what?" Blake asked, confused.
"Don't think you have any secrets from me, Blakey," Yang said. "Everyone else might think you're cool and mysterious, but I always know what you're thinking."
"Alright, what am I thinking?" Blake asked.
"You're thinking that you still don't understand how I can love you," Yang said.
Blake's silence and embarrassed look was all the answer Yang needed.
"I know it wasn't exactly poetry," Yang said. "But I did mean what I said yesterday. I'm not sure what I can do to convince you."
"Well…" Blake said, considering the matter. Her lips twitched into a tiny, mischievous grin. "You could elaborate on why you think I'm hot."
Yang's smile got even bigger. It hadn't even been a minute and already she was reaping the benefits of having a girlfriend who understood her so well. Composing romantic prose with flowery metaphors was not really her thing. But talking unabashedly about the more delicious aspects of Blake's body was something she could do all day long.
Yang made a show of raking her eyes up and down Blake's form. She started slowly walking around her.
"I could talk about those juicy thighs," Yang said. "Or I could mention that booty." She stopped to admire the posterior in question. She had to resist the urge to squeeze it. She wasn't sure how physical Blake was willing to get at this point, and she didn't want to do anything to make her uncomfortable.
Yang circled back around to Blake's front. She said, "But to really do it justice, I think I'm going to have to see the whole thing."
The wide-eyed look and luminescent blush on Blake's face made Yang realize what she'd just implied. "Wait, I mean…I didn't…not that I don't…I…" she stammered.
Blake chuckled and her blush subsided just a little. "I didn't think I'd ever see you flustered."
"Ha. Ha," Yang said. "What I meant was, I've never seen your ears."
The expression of shame that crossed Blake's face made Yang regret bringing it up. Not too long ago, Yang wouldn't have understood at all. But now she knew all too well what it was like to have a part of your body that you were ashamed of. It was a horrible feeling, and it gutted Yang to know that Blake had been dealing with it her whole life.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Yang said. "You're right about me not having any tact. Just…forget about it."
"No, it's alright," Blake said. "Most people treat me differently once they've seen them, even if they don't hate faunus. Even if they are a faunus. I should know by now that I don't have to worry about that with you."
"Of course you don't," Yang said. "But it's okay. You can wait until…."
Yang trailed off as Blake reached up for her bow. She slowly pulled the ends apart until the knot came undone and the ribbon fell away.
Yang gaped at Blake and the perfect pair of feline ears perched atop her head. She'd imagined many times what they might look like, but she was completely unprepared for the raw, undiluted adorableness that assaulted her. The amount of trust that Blake taking off her bow represented wasn't lost on Yang either.
"You are so cute," Yang whispered. Her fingers itched to test if Blake's ears were really as soft as they looked, but she knew for a fact that Blake would not appreciate that. It was an unfortunate fact that human tormentors often manhandled faunus by their animal-like appendages.
"I'm glad you think so," Blake said with nervous shyness.
Yang mentally slapped herself out of the trance Blake's ears had placed on her. Making Blake more confident about her body was definitely going on her to-do list, and she planned on having a lot of fun doing it. She said, "So, I think I was in the middle of telling you how hot you are."
Blake's ears swiveled, tracking some sound that Yang couldn't hear. She said, "Hold that thought."
Blake walked to the door. She deftly tied her ears back up in her bow with impressive speed and then opened the door.
Ruby, who had been leaning up against the other side, came tumbling into the room. She let out a surprised squeak.
"Ruby!" Yang said. "Were you eavesdropping on us?"
"Uh, well…sort of?" Ruby said, standing up and brushing herself off.
Blake called out into the hallway, "You can come out too, Weiss."
Weiss casually strolled into the room like she'd done nothing wrong.
"Weiss, you too?!" Yang said.
Weiss said, "Well you can hardly blame us for being curious."
"I can't believe it!" Yang said overdramatically. "Betrayed by my own sister and teammate!" For good measure, she put the back of her hand to her forehead.
"Hardly," Weiss said, sounding unimpressed with Yang's theatrics.
Ruby said, "We didn't mean to spy on you…at least not at first. But, well…we wanted to make sure things were okay between you and Blake."
Yang put her arm around Blake and pulled her into a side hug. She said, "I'd say things are okay between us. What do you say, partner?"
"Yes, things are okay," Blake said. She slipped out of Yang's hug. Yang mentally added getting Blake used to public displays of affection to her growing to-do list. It was quickly becoming the best list ever.
"So, Blake," Ruby said. "Weiss and me were talking about what we should do about the White Fang next. Do you know anything that could help?"
Blake nodded. "I managed to find out were a few of the safe houses they're using are. That would be a good place to start."
"Excellent," Weiss said. "We can discuss the matter in the dining room. I instructed the chef to prepare a formal breakfast. I thought it was an appropriate way to celebrate Team RWBY reuniting."
Ruby asked, "Is the cook going to make more of those little cakes we had yesterday?"
"They're called scones, Ruby," Weiss said. "And yes. I told her to bake extra."
"Yay!" Ruby cheered.
Weiss turned to leave, she said, "Breakfast is being served in fifteen minutes. Don't be late."
"Do we have to wait that long, Weiss? I'm hungry," Ruby whined as she followed Weiss out of the room.
Blake looked at Yang and said, "I guess we should go get breakfast."
"Right behind you, girlfriend," Yang said. She admired the flush of red that colored Blake's cheeks. If being called "girlfriend" was all it took to make Blake blush, Yang suspected she was going to be doing it a lot in the days to come.
Yang couldn't wait.
Author's Note: I re-watched all three Volumes of RWBY and the only people who have seen Blake's ears (or have been implied to have seen Blake's ears) on screen are Ruby, Torchwick, Sun, Neo, and some nameless assorted White Fang. I know an opportunity when I see one, so this chapter was my take on Blake showing Yang her ears for the first time.
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.