Blake tightened her bow as she prepared to step outside. While she would never admit it, Weiss's Father's comment had hurt her more than she thought possible. As soon as they had landed in Mistral, she had gone and purchased herself a fresh bow. It stayed on her head so often that she sometimes forgot the brutality that lay beneath it.
They had arrived in Mistral three days ago, having stopped at the first population center they had found to begin looking for Ruby and the remainder of JNPR. Unfortunately, it was now all on foot. Mistral was far too sparse to make effective use of the jet. Once they eventually found Ruby's trail they would be forced to track her through vast stretches of wilderness, something the jet simply was not suited for. They had gotten extremely lucky, anticipating that their leader would have made a beeline to the closest possible city in Mistral. From there, they had followed a trail to their current lodging. They had stayed the night after being told by a young faunus man that a girl with red highlights had stayed there about a week ago, along with a very energetic hammermeister. They were close.
A soft knock came from Blake's door before Yang strolled casually in. Blake's heart involuntarily fluttered when she saw her. When she had left Yang at Beacon, she had accepted that she would lose her friendship as a result. Yet in her time of need, Yang had been there for her. Somehow, she hadn't been angry, she had been a rock for the entirety of their travels. Blake wasn't sure if she deserved a partner like that.
"Blake are you alright?" Penny's voice jostled Blake out of her head space, "your heartrate is unusually high."
"N-no, I', fine Penny."
"Alright then," Yang said eagerly, "Let's get moving! We have a lot of ground to make up. I'll go grab Weiss, you get all your stuff together." Yang was back out the door, hurrying to get their teammate.
Yang had tried to pay for lodging to make up for the poker game, but Weiss would have none of it and Yang wasn't going to argue too much. If the heiress wanted to throw some cash, so be it. The trio walked purposefully out of the inn in the direction the young faunus had said he saw Ruby go. Weiss was the first to break the silence.
"This would be so much easier if we could just call her."
"You don't say," said Blake bemusedly.
"Well it's just of all the places, why did it have to be Mistral? Practically everywhere else has a functional communication system. Well except for Vale, but that will get fixed eventually."
"This region is a bit sparse to expect complete coverage," Blake pointed out, "unless you want to wait for her in Haven this is really our only option."
"I don't like the idea of my sis being in the wilderness without us any longer than she has to be." The other two agreed, Weiss a bit grudgingly.
The trio walked for another hour, holding benign conversation and constantly keeping a lookout for grimm.
"So what do you think her plan is?" Blake finally asked.
"Hmm?"
"Ruby. You said she just left one day. Do you have any idea what she went to do?"
"Not really," Yang bowed her head slightly in a mixture of frustration and sadness, "I mean it had to be for something important right?"
"I still feel like she should have left us more specific information," Weiss said haughtily.
"For my dad to find? He would have dragged all four of them back to the house within a day." Weiss deflated slightly as holes were poked in her righteous indignation.
"Still though," Blake interjected, " I think -"
"What?" Yang interrupted.
"Umm, I -"
"Not you, Blake. Penny's detecting some grimm. We're gonna go get them. Be right back." With that Yang was off, Jumping and swinging into the trees ahead.
"Well, that was just rude." Weiss said simply.
Blake couldn't say she disagreed. Although she enjoyed having her team around, Yang had been distinctly different ever since she had found Blake. Not all of it was bad, she was calmer and rational in fights. Really the only thing Blake didn't like was Penny, specifically how close she was with Yang. It was natural that they had grown close, but Blake didn't even feel like Yang's partner anymore. It was Yang and Penny, with Blake awkwardly lagging behind their borderline telepathy. As a unit, they were a better teammate than Yang alone had ever been. They were faster, smarter, and just stronger. Even so, Blake hated the feeling of replacement it left her with.
The two remaining teammates walked quietly as they waited for the energetic blonde to return. After ten minutes, unease got the better of them, They knew that Yang could handle herself, but there was no reason not to give her backup. If she got hurt because she ran ahead and they didn't follow, it would be on their head. Wordlessly, the duo lept away into the trees. They located their missing member just in time to watch her get engulfed by an Ursa Major.
"Yang!" Blake bellowed, darting forward to slash through the grimm. Her blade had barely parted its skin when the Ursa, for lack of a better word, exploded. Blake redirected her blade over a very smug looking Yang, who seemed to be holding a small sphere of light in her mand.
"Impressive, Penny," said Yang as she marveled at the sphere, " that worked better thaan you said. The mess is a pain though."
"What is that?!" Blake demanded, unintentionally harsh.
"Well excuse me." Yang said as she stared lasers at Blake, " Penny just wanted to show me a new trick." Yang gestured excitedly to the ball floating just above her palm.
"What is it?"
"It's concentrated aura," Yang said reverently, "It's just an idea Penny's been throwing around for a few days. Turns all the defensive power of aura into something resembling a grenade. Seems to work beautifully."
"I see." Blake sheathed her blade and strode off, leaving Weiss to admire the new technology.
"What's her deal?" Yang asked as the faunus girl stalked off.
"No idea," Weiss muttered distractedly, her hand hovering next to the ball of concentrated aura, "I guess she was just worried about you."
"Yeah, I guess so. Whatever, we need to start moving Weiss." With that, Yang dissipated the aura and began to walk after Blake. Blake had been unusually sullen; Yang had thought she was doing better but maybe she needed to check in with her again. She'd been through a lot, but unfortunately getting information from her was harder than pulling teeth. Yang chastised herself for not realizing sooner, she had let herself get preoccupied. She decided she would fix it that night, she had a responsibility as Blake's partner.
Yang sat guard for an hour before she was sure that Weiss was asleep. She slowly rose from her position and stretched herself awake.
"Penny, can you give me a minute? I need to talk to Blake, privately."
"Sure thing!" Said the chipper robot, "Powering down."
Yang was now alone as she slowly wandered over to Blake's bedroll. The faunus seemed to be asleep, her only movement a slight twitch at the base of her bow. Yang stared sadly at the bow, another testament to her being too slow. This time, Blake had to bear the full brunt of Yang's mistakes. But that was the last time it would ever happen.
"Hey, Blake," Yang gently touched Blake's shoulder, "Blake." Gambol Shroud stopped about an inch from Yang's unaffected face. THis wasn't the first time Blake had woken up in her sleep, and Yang trusted her partners reflexes.
"Yang, don't scare me like that," Gambol Shroud returned to its sheath as Blake sat up on her elbows, "What is it?"
"Are you alright? You seemed upset earlier," Yang paused before asking the question she wasn't sure she wanted answered, "Have you had dreams about him again."
Blake froze, the remains of her ears involuntarily twitching under her bow. A mixture of resentment and sadness washed through her face, turning her a dark red for a moment.
"It's nothing," Blake muttered lowly, "forget about it."
"Don't give me that Blake, I know that something is bothering you.
Blake glanced at Penny for the briefest of moments, something that Yang did not fail to notice.
"She's sleeping; it's just us."
"It's stupid, don't worry about it Yang."
"It's my job to worry about it," Yang shifted, sitting down next to her partner, "So, what's up?"
Blake sighed deeply, Yang wasn't willing to give this up. But how could she explain it? She was jealous of an arm, for dust's sake. She had thought she had kept her emotions in check, yet her Yang was probing her for information; information that Blake wasn't sure she had. She didn't really understand why she felt this way, but she trusted Yang. If she talked it out with her, maybe Blake could find out for herself.
"Fine, but I warn you that it's stupid."
"If it's bothering you, it can't be stupid. Hit me."
"I just- I just feel like I'm getting replaced. You and Penny just work so closely all the time, and I know it's stupid. You guys have a unique relationship and I shouldn't hold that against her. It's just-" Yang halted Blake's semi-coherent babble.
"Blake," a look of relief spreading across Yang's face, "Don't be ridiculous. We will always be partners. I'm sorry if I've been working too much with Penny, but you are right that we have a unique relationship. She's my partner now too, and one that can't stand on her own," Yang looked sadly at the arm that housed Penny, " but that doesn't change our relationship. We're still Bumblebee."
Yang's speech alleviated some of the tension in Blake's gut, but for some reason there was still something nagging at her. Saying that they were the same as they always had been should have been good enough for Blake, but she wanted something more. She tried to vocalize her thoughts, but even she didn't really know what she wanted to say.
"Yang I - I…" all at once, everything slid into place for Blake and she knew that words wouldn't be able to convey what she felt. In a desperate attempt for understanding, she pressed her lips to Yang's. With the kiss, she conveyed all the thanks and love she felt for her partner. The girl who had saved her even when she had tried her hardest not to be saved; the girl whose notorious short fuse never seemed to find it's end for Blake. Her partner who had defended Blake even when Blake didn't think she deserved it. All this emotion Blake tried to pass over the course of a few second kiss. She eventually broke away, staring anxiously into Yang's eyes.
"Oh." Yang said, her face a mask of shock and confusion. Blake began to rapidly retreat into her shell.
"Yang I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I -" For the second time that night Yang interrupted Blake, this time planting her lips forcefully on Blake's.
"There's nothing to apologize for Blake," yang said as she pulled away, "if anything I should be sorry for being so slow on the pickup." Blake beamed before wrapping her arms tightly around Yang and kissing her deeply.
A/N: I normally try to avoid ships, but I have a soft spot for these two. I hope this doesn't come as too sudden, I will flesh out the relationship more in later chapters. That being said, their relationship will not really be a main focus for the story, so don't expect much to change. Don't know what to do with Penny acting as the third wheel just yet, but for now assume that she's off whenever Blake and Yang interact like this.
TL;DR: Buzz Buzz Motherfuckers