Chapter 3

Rekindling

Blake awoke to nausea and a pounding in her head. She tried opening her eyelids, but either they were too heavy or she'd somehow lost her vision during the night. Her first instinct told her this must be a hangover, and one that even put the morning after Yang's birthday celebration to shame. Every inch of her body ached, and she was dully aware of warm, heavy breathing on the back of her neck.

She immediately tensed up as every instinct told her she was vulnerable and in danger, but the fear driven by her skittish nature was slowly replaced by butterflies in her stomach.

Even if she couldn't see, Blake knew her face must've been crimson, and groaned inwardly as waking up with someone in her bed definitely hadn't been the plan even if she and Sun were technically still letting each other see other people, and briefly she wondered what state the other girls must've been in to let her bring a boy back to the room. Ruby would probably just giggle at the two of them, but Weiss wouldn't appreciate having slept in the same room as the opposite sex, and would demand that he leave before he got a peek at her in her nightgown. Yang, of course, would've allowed it, definitely would've encouraged it, and more than likely would've suggested they share while wearing that crooked grin of hers that always left everyone guessing whether she was being serious or not.

Deciding nothing could be done at this point, mostly because she'd probably pass out again if she tried to get up, Blake shifted her position to get more comfortable when she suddenly froze. This wasn't her bed, nor was it any of her roommates'.

In Team RWBY's 'official handbook' that had been written in red crayon by its illustrious leader, and co-authored by her near illiterate sister, certain articles had been included during the first team meeting that ensured that no girl ever went home with a boy if they were drunk. They would keep an eye on each other and make sure they all made it home safely, and awoke with mustaches drawn on their faces. Some friends they were...

Blake attempted to flare her aura to help fight the hangover like her partner had taught her to, but it was as though her powers had been completely drained and eventually she gave up.

'Looks like you wasted all your strength last night, kitty-cat,' said an obnoxiously cheerful voice in her head. 'Must've been having my kind of fun all night long to be this sore.'

"Shut up, Yang," she grunted reflexively.

She ran a hand over her body self-consciously. They were under thick blankets, which was good she supposed, and she wasn't naked, thank God. But she also wasn't wearing one of her yukatas. Instead, she was in a loose pair of boy shorts and a tank top, which were obviously meant for a girl with wider hips and larger-

*gulp*

'Girl?'

She found herself feeling more annoyed than upset, almost humored even, and found solace that at least she didn't have to worry about any surprises in the coming days. And who knew? She couldn't remember anything from the previous night, so perhaps nothing happened at all. Maybe the stranger had just been kind in offering to share her bed and a pair of her pajamas. And maybe Beowolves could fly...

Slowly, she opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder to see who she was sharing a bed with, or more precisely she realized, a couch.

'Couldn't make it to the bed could ya, Tiger?'

Once the blurry objects went away and her sight adjusted to the dark, Blake realized she was staring into lilac.

"Morning," yawned someone buried under a golden mane. "Was I talking in my sleep again?"

"You..." she snarled. "I should've known. It was always going to be you wasn't it? You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"Oh, hey, Blake. Fancy meeting you here, huh?" Yang casually brushed her hair to the side as though nothing was out of the ordinary, which for her was entirely possible. "Get a good night's sleep?"

"Uh, I'm never drinking again," she swore to herself, prompting the other girl to snort. "Yang, is that your hand? Actually, why do I even bother..."

"Heh, would it make you feel better if I said I sadly can't feel anything right now?" Blake's glare answered her question.

"You're no fun," she pouted. "Want me to move it?"

"Would you mind?"

"Yes actually. I usually have to sleep with it in a sling, and it's comfortable where it's at."

Her teasing was lighthearted, but something didn't quite make sense to the half-asleep, hungover faunus. Had they gotten into another bar fight? "Why do you need to wear a-" Blake paused, realization and horror slowly sinking in. "Oh God, Yang! I-I-"

She tried to crawl off the couch in an escape attempt but the blonde wrapped an arm around her and nuzzled close.

"We can talk later," Yang whispered. "For now, let's just pretend we're back home." She began humming softly in her ear and rubbing their heads together. "I've really missed you, you know?"

Blake's heart threatened to leap out of her chest and her body began to tremble, causing her former partner to tighten her embrace.

"Hey, hey it's okay," she cooed. "You're alright, Blake. Tell me, how are you feeling?"

The other girl tried to swallow but couldn't, and made a choking sound as tears began to flow. "I screwed up, Yang!" she sobbed. "And I am so, so sorry." Blake was now all too aware of the arm underneath her, though for a completely different reason.

"Yeah, you did, and it hurt like hell," Yang admitted, her voice cracking. "As a matter of fact it still hurts. But you're here now, and that's all I care about."

Her warm aura flared just for a moment, and Blake rolled over curled in a ball. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and buried her face into Yang's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

She cried until there weren't any tears left, and all throughout, the girl she had abandoned held her, ticking her back and playing with her tangled hair, occasionally whispering into her cat ears amidst her own crying.

"What do we do now?" Blake eventually rasped, her voice muffled.

"Hmm." Yang pondered thoughtfully for a moment. "We wait for my dad to come down and find us spooning and your clothes all over the living room, and then he makes us breakfast! Sound good to you?"

Blake made a noise that was a mixture of mortification and revulsion, as well as perhaps a pinch of amusement, but whether it was from the thought of the girl's father finding them cuddling together, or the infamous Xiao Long family's cooking ability, or lack thereof, neither of them were entirely sure. Perhaps it was merely due to how flippant Yang was being about the situation.

"I'm not hungry..."

Cautiously, the arm around her pressed between them, and a warm hand moved up her shirt causing Blake's breath to catch. Soft fingers she remembered as once being calloused rolled over her ribs, counting and inspecting them each.

"Blake, I could see your ribs poking out the other night, and I can feel them now. You're practically skin and bone. Do you realize how jealous Weiss would be if she saw you right now?"

The sickly girl snorted despite herself, and let out a soft chuckle that was music to the other's ears. "You remember the time she woke up one day and decided she was a vegetarian, and ate nothing but salads for an entire week?"

Yang nodded. "And on the last day of her diet, she walked out of the bathroom so happy to have lost five pounds that she gorged herself on grilled chicken and low fat vanilla yogurt until she passed out."

"She was so mad when she gained the weight back that she set the scale on fire." Blake smiled, an expression her face wasn't accustomed to and was almost painful. By keeping her eyes shut and focusing on her former partner's chest slowly rising and descending, and the precious heartbeat that she once heard stop, she could almost pretend things were back to normal. Perhaps this was just a dream, or maybe this was what life after death was like. Either way she couldn't complain.

"Hey, did I ever tell you that after a couple of weeks together as a team, I started messing with the scale before she could weigh herself?" Yang asked, to which Blake shook her head. "Weiss weighed herself every morning at exactly seven in the morning and ten at night, just like clockwork."

"Except weekends," she remembered. "And never past midnight. She said that even calories weren't that cruel." Blake suddenly found herself missing the high-pitched, usually shrill voice that somehow always sounded like it was about to break into song. "But what were you doing with the scale?" By her tone, Yang thought she might've been suspicious of foul play.

"It's not what you think, and I would never do that to her. I just rigged it so that it'd show her the exact same weight every time to keep her from going on diets and torturing herself, and us by extension. But if she ever started one, I'd set it back a pound, excuse me, kilogram, every night. Rubes isn't the only engineer in the family."

"But why?"

"Because she didn't have five pounds to lose, Blake. You remember how she looked when we first met, and how it took months for her to actually start filling out."

"That was really sweet of you, Yang, but why are you telling me this?" Even with her head threatening to split in two, she thought she understood, but perhaps just didn't want to accept what her former partner was implying.

She felt a kiss between her cat ears, a wonderful sensation that lingered for a few moments, and hesitantly she looked up.

"Because the two of you are a lot alike," Yang said. "How many times did Weiss punish herself just because she thought she was overweight? None of us cared about that, we cared about Weiss. And you know what, one day she started weighing herself only once a day, and eventually she stopped altogether. Not because she wasn't still worried about her weight, I know for a fact she was, but because she realized that you, me, and Rubes love her no matter what. And like I said, you have a lot in common with her, Blake."

*sniff*

"Yang, I-"

"I know, and stop worrying about it. You're here now. That's all I care about."

She pressed their foreheads together, but Blake quickly buried her face again in shame. She tightened the embrace however, who returned the affection by humming a soft tune she normally reserved for her younger sister when she was upset. Blake hummed along to the familiar tune sounding almost like she was purring, and held onto the girl she used to share a soul with as if afraid to let go.

Just as they were both beginning to drift off, a voice thick with a Mistralian accent cleared their throat. "Morning, ladies." Both heads turned toward the tall man standing in the entryway. Although there was only a faint light in the living room, there was a faint halo of sunlight around him. "Though, I guess it's more like good afternoon."

"Oh hey, Dad." Yang sunk down into the blankets shyly. "Don't mind us. I've just got one hand on Blake's Bellabooty and the other up her shirt. Wanna guess which one I can't feel?"

He didn't react beyond blinking at his grinning daughter, though he did briefly glance at the scarlet faced girl who was trying her best to look innocent, which around Yang was nearly impossible. She forced a smile and smacked the girl's hand away but that only seemed to encourage her. "Hello, Mr. Xiao Long."

The man stiffened, and for a moment seemed unsure what to say. "Hello, Blake. Good to see you again, and please, call me Taiyang. Or Tai for short." The professor and part-time huntsman was obviously uncomfortable, and she couldn't exactly blame him. Not after what she had done to his daughter...

Both of his daughters Blake corrected.

Yang let out a chuckle as though something just occurred to her. "Hey, Dad. Aren't you glad the first time you catch me fooling around naked with someone it's with another girl?"

Blake quickly peeked under the covers, keeping her gaze averted but let out a sigh of relief when she saw her former partner was only trying to get a rise out of him.

Taiyang rolled his eyes but they both appeared a little brighter than before, and his lip twitched in amusement, especially the longer he studied his eldest daughter and her shameless grin.

"It'd make your dear old dad feel a lot better if you didn't imply I could've caught you earlier, sweetie," he said dryly.

"Who would you rather I take after, you or Mom?"

"Neither," he said without hesitation. "I'd rather you be like your sister and take after your stepmom."

Yang snorted. "Tell me, how did Summer get pregnant again? Oh, that's right. From what you and Uncle Qrow have told me, are you sure you'd rather us take after her?"

Her father scowled and bit his lip in thought for a moment, but before he could speak his daughter continued. "Nobody on that team could've been entirely innocent. Either you all corrupted her, or she was already like us. No offense to Summer, but being Mom's best friend and personal photographer immediately raises some eyebrows for me. They didn't have any money for tuition, and one day going through your things I found a couple of magazines they did that you probably didn't want your daughters seeing. To be honest, looking through them, I'm not sure who was a worse influence on who. Care to tell?"

Blake covered her mouth to keep from laughing as she'd forgotten just how quickly Yang could turn a conversation in her favor. Taiyang for his part didn't seem surprised, merely defeated while shaking his head. It made the faunus happy to see the pair together. Her only interactions with the man had been brief, when he picked up Ruby to take her back to Patch shortly before the start of the Vytal Festival tournament, and at the hospital, both of which felt like a lifetime ago.

Taiyang was a tall, muscular man with a dark tan, and like his eldest daughter had blond hair. It was cut short, falling just above his eyes, but in his youth he supposedly had a mane almost as impressive as hers. Despite pushing forty, Blake thought he looked remarkably young for his age, but she could sense a heavy burden in his eyes and smile. It was a look all too familiar to Blake. Smiling no longer came easy to him, but he still tried, at least in front of his girls.

Around his neck was a thick gold chain with a wedding band meant for a much more slender finger. Even from across the room and in the dark, her sharp eyes couldn't help but catch the engraving of a pair of black wings inside a burning heart, and a matching band around his finger. Blake of course recognized who the wings had belonged to, and saw that the tattoo on the man's right bicep was the same burning heart with black wings, but inside the pair, was a small, delicate-looking white rose.

Her heart immediately skipped a beat, and instinctively tightened her grip around Yang. She couldn't imagine losing what this man had, and fought back tears as she realized what she had done to her former partner.

"How you feeling?" he asked coolly.

Blake wasn't sure who he was asking, and couldn't find the words to speak as his familiar eyes lingered on her. They almost seemed to understand what she was going through, but Blake didn't think they looked all too happy to see her, or all that trusting for that matter. She couldn't blame him of course. He had lost his partner and later his teammate, the mothers of his precious girls. And Blake had committed the cardinal sin by abandoning her own...

"She's hungry," Yang answered. "We both are."

He turned his attention back on his daughter, a wry smile on his face. "No kidding. The two of you have been laying on the couch for the better part of two days, and I've only seen you get up once or twice in that time."

Blake turned, surprised and looking at her expectantly, but Yang didn't react. "Clear out the fridge and make us some breakfast." Her father waited a moment before gesturing for her to continue. "Pretty please, Daddy?" she asked, talking like a much younger version of herself while batting her eyelashes up at him.

Tai chuckled, his smile warmer and more genuine as his aura flared from across the room. "Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and something resembling pancakes are on the way, sweetie."

He walked through the room with a spring to his step presumably on his way to the kitchen, but paused when he saw what remained of Blake's clothes laying by the fireplace and how both girls hid under the blankets.

"Y'all aren't actually naked, are you?"

Yang burst out laughing and after a moment Tai walked away, perhaps not wanting an answer. "Apparently my innocent little girl takes after her mom, dad, uncle, and stepmom seeing how she just had her hand up another girl's shirt..."

He walked away while his daughter continued thrashing on the couch. "Now you see where I get my sense of humor!" She slapped Blake on her rear, trying to get her to hop up. "Come on, it won't take him long."

"But he just got in there," she said, not exactly wanting to get up.

"Yeah, and he's had a lot of practice screwing up breakfast over the years. Come on, we can cuddle later."

Yang sat up, her body stiff and in obvious discomfort, but helped Blake do the same. The blankets fell to the floor and the faunus swung her legs over. After getting past the initial headache and dizziness, she glanced down at herself feeling a tag self-conscious. She was in a black top and matching shorts that showed off more skin than she would've liked, especially around someone's dad. The short's drawstring had been pulled as much as it could, but it was still loose around her hips.

Wearing her former partner's clothes made her smile more than she would've ever admitted aloud, but the amount of skin showing wasn't why she suddenly wanted to cover up. Her entire body was covered in ugly bruises, as well as cuts and even a few burns. They traveled all the way from her legs up to her shoulders, and knew that her face hadn't gone unscathed either.

"Sorry," Yang said. "I-I haven't exactly felt like getting out of pajamas lately. Actually, I haven't even unpacked since we got here. Those are all my dad could find for you..."

Blake nodded. She was afraid to ask why she hadn't been getting out of her pajamas as she thought she already knew, and by the way her former partner was tracing her bruises, she knew they'd be brought up very shortly.

Yang quickly fixed her hair before bending over and retrieving a sling from off the floor, which immediately caused Blake to freeze. She glanced down at the arm dangling by her side. It was badly bruised and had lost almost all of its muscle mass, and had a deep scar just above the elbow nearly encompassing all the way around.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she touched the arm and brought her lips close. "I'm sorry," she whispered as if speaking to the arm itself. "I am so sorry, Yang."

Yang finished getting her arm in the sling and rested her head atop her best friend's. Blake swallowed something painful, and hesitantly glanced down at the girl's chest expecting to see another scar, but it uncharacteristically covered, and she knew why. And it was her fault...

"Come on. We can talk about it later after we've gotten some food in you." Yang took her by the hand as she simply didn't have the strength or the will to stand on her own, and afterward Blake leaned on her for support. Yang seemed to struggle dragging them both toward the kitchen, but she continued humming the soft tune she learned from her stepmother. Every couple of steps Blake had to squeeze her as if to make sure she was real, and found herself being squeezed back similarly.

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. I like to think Yang was making up for lost time with all of the teasing, and I really enjoyed her and Blake's interactions in this chapter. She's a very physical person, and that lends itself for a lot of emotional moments between her and her teammates. Don't worry, their talk will be coming up shortly. This just wasn't the time or place for that. Blake needed to know that she's already been forgiven before Yang gives her a piece of her mind, so to speak anyway. Yang's obviously more hurt than she is angry, but that probably wasn't always the case. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and wonderful readers like yourself. God bless)