Part 2
Wrong, that was what Blake was. She was unbelievably incorrect about how the whole encounter would go. Did she actually think this was going to be fun? Well, it was but that wasn't the point. The point was that it was taking all of her will power to not turn red and smile stupidly at Yang's ranting.
The cat girl had been led down a series of paths and stairwells by the blonde. She had no clue where they were going and their surroundings had changed from pristine to rundown. If it weren't for Yang's hand on hers, Blake would have hightailed it out of there and ran back to the dormitories.
Finally, the two made it out of the dingy stairwell and found themselves in an old classroom. Papers littered the floors and dust lingered in the air but overall, it was a nice, quiet place. The trip had taken a total of twenty minutes or so. That was twenty minutes alone with Yang in silence. Two ten minutes with nothing to do but walk and hold hands. It was romantic in a way, if you ignored the cobwebs and the shadows that moved out of the corner of your eye.
Before Blake could ask about the room and how Yang had found it, Yang pushed her onto a cold metal chair and began to ramble about her problems. At times she would come a bit too close to the faunus and their noses would touch. A part of Blake regretted the decision to follow Yang while another part was spent scolding herself for being persuaded. There was, however, a third part that secretly relished the bonding moment. Blake refused to acknowledge the latter.
Throughout it all, Yang was completely oblivious to the faunus girl's mental anguish and was busy venting to her partner about their professors and the homework load. 'So much for Doctor Xiao Long,' Blake thought. 'Seems like she's the patient now.'
"Don't get me wrong Blake. Beacon is a very good school with top notch teachers," Yang said while pacing back and forth. "But the homework, man. The homework is killing me. All this studying and- and reading! I mean it's good to know your opponent's weaknesses-"
"Yang."
"You don't want to let your guard down and get impaled, mauled, killed or, worse of all, have your outfit ruined. No! You don't want any of that!"
"Y-"
"But facts reading never was my forte, y'know? I'm more into heroes fighting monsters. Besides, I'm a punch and figure things out later girl." At this point, Yang went into a boxing stance and let loose a few punches into the air. She must have realized how ridiculous she looked because she soon turned a bright red, relaxed her arms and sat down in a chair opposite Blake. "W-where was I… Oh! Yeah. Reading. Summary: That thing isn't my cuppa tea. So I guess… that's why I'm sort of jealous of you."
Blake's ears perked up and she looked over at Yang who was focused on the floor. Her cheeks were still flushed. "Jealous? Why would you be jealous of me?"
"You're into books," Yang replied. "You actually enjoy reading the things they assign." The blonde looked up and frowned. "It doesn't help when you're good at combat, too. Not only are you smart you're also an amazing fighter. I honestly believe you're somewhere at the top and… I don't know. It kind of makes me feel inferior, like I can't compete with you."
Blake was shocked at what Yang said. She was jealous of her? …What?! Although the blonde had given her reason as to why she felt the way she did, the cat girl still couldn't believe it. It just didn't make sense. Before she could pick out her words carefully, she blurted out, "But I'm jealous of you."
"Huh?"
"I'm jealous of you," Blake repeated. She sighed and figured she might as well see where this was leading towards. Worst case scenario, Yang would laugh at how cliché it sounded. "You're so outgoing. I see you in the halls with friends or making new ones. People like being around you. You're like a magnet, you just pull people towards you. As for me, I lack the charm and my bluntness turns people off."
"Oh… Blake. I-"
The black haired girl held up her hand to silence her partner.
"Nope. Not done. You said you felt inferior? Like you couldn't compete with me?"
Yang nodded her head sheepishly.
"I feel the same way; how could I possibly compete with someone like you? But we don't have to worry about that anymore. That's the beauty of being partners; we don't compete, we work and grow together." Blake smiled at Yang and flicked her forehead. "So stop being silly."
The blonde rubbed the spot where she was hit and smiled.
"Haha, yeah. I guess I was being silly. Thanks, Blake."
"I've got your back, partner."
"And I've got yours," Yang said softly. She picked up her chair and moved it nearer to Blake. With their eyes locked, she continued, "So tell me why this feline isn't feline fine."
"Was that pun necessary?"
"I spent the whole time walking here thinking about it so yes, it was. Now answer."
Blake broke eye contact and began fiddling with the bow in her hair. With one quick flick of the wrist, the ribbon was removed and her black ears were revealed. "These are why," she answered and pointed at the appendages.
"Go on."
"Yang, I'm a faunus and you know how faunus' are treated. They're oppressed and discriminated against. Every day there's news of the White Fang and the havoc they're wreaking and every day it gets worse. They're the radicals that give ordinary faunus' a bad rep." Blake played with the ribbon and bit her lip. Swallowing suddenly became a hard feat. She looked up at Yang, her eyes watering slightly. "I'm scared. I'm terrified of what they're going to do next. I know why they're doing it. I was a part of that movement. What if- What if I snap? What if I get pulled back in? I don't want to betray you."
"Blake…" Yang said softly and stood up. She made her way over to Blake and without a word, hugged her. Then, with conviction, she whispered, "That will never happen."
The amber eyed girl was hesitant to hug back. She knew if she did, she'd be a train wreck. The tears would come out and the thought of showing weakness, of being vulnerable, was frightening. And yet something compelled her to place her hands on Yang's back and grip tightly at her shirt. A voice at the back of her mind told her that it was ok to cry and to rely on others instead of dealing with it on her own.
And that was exactly what Blake did; she cried and let the tears flow down her cheeks and land on Yang's shoulder and floor. Yang simply stroked her friend's back, paying no heed to the growing wetness on her sleeve. All that mattered was soothing her partner.
At the end of the day, Blake was glad she listened to that voice.
A/N:
So this story is turning out to be longer than what I originally planned. "orz
New ideas keep popping up in my head so we'll just see where it all takes me.
Moving on, I want to take this time to thank a few people:
- my beta readers, not the real VAV and lindleya1, and
- those who've left reviews, favourited and/or added this FF to their alert
Honestly, it means a lot to know people are interested. Evalein out!