IMPORTANT MESSAGE:

Greetings my dear readers, if you are interested in the story at all then I would recommend reading this message.

First of all, I apologize to every single one of you for taking so long to update. When I said I was going review my older chapters I didn't mean to stop writing. I know it sounds weird but things got out of my control. I was immensely busy during this summer break (not in a bad way) and the days where I was home I was too exhausted or just didn't feel like writing. It's one of the reasons why this chapter maybe a bit weird as it was written over a long period of time. I can keeping mourning about the lost time to write, but ultimately what purpose would that serve? So once again, I'm sorry and it won't happen again.

On a more uplifting note, this does mean that the hiatus is officially over! *Victory dance around the room.* Does this mean that updates will be more regular? Yes. Does this mean that there will be a new chapter every week? Unfortunately no, because of other projects (like reviewing the older chapters), I can't promise you a weekly chapter.

Thirdly, I'm still doing the one shot to celebrate 100 followers milestone (once we get there of course), so you can still vote on your favorite pairing!

Fourthly, I'm looking for a new cover for the story. I'm not begging for fan art, but I would certainly appreciate it!

And last but not least, I want to thank each and every single one of you beautiful people for sticking around! Have a cookie and enjoy!

Shout out to Duranda1, happy birthday buddy!

May contain side effects

Chapter 11:

Complications

Yang Xiao Long wasn't feeling well. Nerves suddenly attacked the sanity in her mind and made her want to vomit. They ushered through her body straight to her heart. What was she going to do? What was she supposed to do?

The girl couldn't even slightly grasp what it was that she felt for Blake. Sure, she had had a crush here and there during her time at Signal, but this … this was totally different. Why? There was no denying Blake was attractive, but that would not half explain why she felt this way.

As she was considering the physical attraction she realized: Blake is a girl. She'd never known she was gay?! And was she? All of her previous crushes had been boys. Was she now attracted to girls? To girls as well? To girls in general? Or just to Blake?

Instead of coming any closer to answers, she only seemed to create more questions. This what not the way. Come on! She was Yang freaking Xiao Long, she always knew how to work things out, right?!

Her firmness cleared her head. No, Blake being a girl wasn't really the issue, it was her posture. The delicacy and the fragility of this tiny creature moved Yang more than she could handle.

But with her partner in such a dire state, Yang knew she couldn't risk trying to push their relationship to a higher level. It was simply too dangerous for Blake.

No, she had to put Blake's safety first and her feelings second, it didn't matter how much that hurt inside.

Her train of thought was suddenly derailed by a small yawn originating from her. Blake seemed to have woken up. She stretched her arms and purred softly in content. The last differences between her and a kitten were thrown out of the window.

Yang's heart almost burst open at the sight, she couldn't take so much cuteness.

A flash of pain that came with a sudden pang in her heart made her shut her eyes. She wasn't able to look at this gorgeous creature anymore. It hurt too much knowing she couldn't be with her, however much she wanted to. To hold her and gently hug her while kissing this beautiful doll's lips...

Yang shook her head violently to chase away the inappropriateness of her fantasy. She had to, otherwise she wouldn't be able to hold herself back.

"Yang?" She seemed to have caught Blake's attention with her movements.

"Yeah?" She mumbled back. She was still looking at everything in the room but the girl.

"Are you okay?" She gulped as Blake didn't seem to buy her lie.

"Yes, yes." Yang mumbled and managed to look at her partner. The intensity of those golden eyes made her shiver.

"Are you sure?" Blake inquired. Yang bit her lip, it seemed her partner wasn't willing to let the subject go.

"Blake, it's nothing. I'm fine, really."

"Alright, if you say so," her partner conceded with a sigh. Yang didn't like lying to her friend, but in her defense, she spoke the reality that Blake shouldn't worry about her. Not when she was merely the size of a finger.

Yang's gaze went around the room. Her little sister was still vast asleep, a little trail of drool hanging out of her mouth. When she noticed the flash of white however her mind made a flip. Her eyes went red for a second as she was filled with barely containable rage.

Weiss.

This was all her fault. She had given the dust to her partner. She was the one who had thrown caution into the wind. She was the one who had protruded every single regulation about Dust. And for what?

Back in the hospital their heated argument had been abruptly interrupted. Yang hadn't gotten the answers she had hoped to get. Why had Weiss given Blake the Dust in the first place? Why Blake? Why not experiment with it in a controlled environment? It was clear that there were some things that Weiss was keeping secret.

In Ozpin's office she'd heard that it had been Weiss' father who had given her the orders. Why hadn't she told them before? Why had she even listened to her father in the first place? Yang knew the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company had a lot of influence and a dislike for Faunus. Did he have that much control on his daughter's life that she would hurt her own teammates for him?

The thing that frustrated Yang the most was that Weiss was able to sleep soundly knowing what she'd done? Didn't she feel any guilt?

Either way, Weiss had to explain herself. And if she didn't do it soon, then Yang would beat it out of her. No one hurt her partner like that and got away with it. No one.

Blake was confused.

The morning had gone fairly well, apart from the fact that Weiss had threatened to have all three of her teammates arrested and executed. Yang and Ruby had had the audacity to wake the heiress in the worst possible way.

They'd lifted her sleeping onto a blanket, had carried her to the bathroom, and had dumped her in the bathtub, in ice cold water.

The sharp screech Weiss had made hadn't done the temperature in the room any good, on the contrary. And it had been loud enough to wake the entirety of Beacon, the many angry stares they had gotten at breakfast proved that much.

After the three of them had regained their hearing, Weiss had scolded them for at least fifteen minutes. This rant included threats of squashing their social status to slush, expelling them from school and beheading them like lowly peasants.

Blake was almost just as mad back at the heiress. She wasn't to blame, was she? Even if she had wanted to stop the sisters' antic attack, how would she have done so? Biting in her partner's finger wouldn't really have helped?

It had been surprisingly peaceful for the rest of the day. There had been no throwing food at each other, no fighting in the hallways and there even wasn't any bickering. It seemed Weiss and the team had made a truce.

Blake welcomed the peace and quiet with open arms. After everything that had happened over the last two days, she had been craving for some rest.

One thing was bothering her though, she had noticed it from the moment she had woken up: there was something wrong with Yang. The girl had been acting strangely. Throughout the day, Yang had been escaping Blake's gaze and she had barely talked to anybody.

Blake was concerned. She couldn't help but think that whatever was bothering her partner had to do with her. She had tried to bring up the subject this morning, but the blonde had avoided the topic.

Was it something she'd done? Maybe Yang did not want to take care of her anymore and was too afraid to tell her? She was beginning to feel nervous. She wanted to ask Yang what was wrong, but she hadn't been able to work up the courage to do so. Even though she knew Yang was her friend, she was intimidated by her size. Ready or not, she would have to interrogate her rather sooner than later, she realized sitting on Yang's shoulder as they read in one of her less romantic books. She couldn't imagine Yang reading something like Ninjas of Love - the blonde's constant teasing would be relentless.

Her team had decided to spend their Sunday as relaxed as possible so they had gone back to their dorm after their meal. Ruby and Weiss had started to sew new clothes for Blake, even after she'd repeatedly begged them not to, it wasn't theirs to do. But they wouldn't hear of it.

Their eagerness to help her almost brought a tear in her eyes. One of her biggest fears after the transformation had been that her teammates would drop her. Or that they would have treated her like a negligible pet rather than an actual being. Yang would have been there to protect her, she knew, but even then, would she really have been able to choose between her and her own sister?

After they'd grabbed their purchases from the day before and settled down on top of the most comfortable chairs, they'd started to work. Diligently, they cut and sewed the different pieces of fabric together. A few hours later they'd finished the rough work on six different sets of clothing. Weiss had appointed herself as the leader of detailing as she was the most precise and had, in her opinion, a better taste for fashion. Ruby hadn't argued with her partner and had followed the heiress' instructions eagerly.

Blake was curious to see their progress on her clothes, but the girls had prohibited her to look. It was supposed to be a surprise. She had tried to sneak up on the pair of them by climbing the table, but unfortunately an observant Yang had stepped in and plucked her off the table-leg, just in time. After some friendly scolding and a couple of jokes about her being a sourpuss, courtesy of her partner, she had reluctantly agreed to sit down and read a book together.

At the moment the two seamstresses were finishing their day's work by sewing what Blake assumed were buttons to her clothes. In her opinion they were putting far too much work into something so trivial, but she wasn't allowed to interrupt the two again.

Instead, she looked back at her partner's face. Violet eyes were staring at the book in front of them, but she couldn't quite make out if Yang was actually reading or faking it. Either way, the blonde still hadn't said a word. That girl was beginning to infuriate Blake! She tried getting her friend's attention by poking her cheek, but to no avail. It seemed Yang's attention was somewhere entirely else.

Blake's own attention was caught by the sound of metal hitting wood. To her surprise Weiss leaned back moaning tiredly. The heiress stretched her arms. "Ruby, it's time we call it a day. We have been working for hours and I still need to message my father. I suggest that we clean up."

"Sure thing, Weiss! I'll grab some boxes to store our work!" Ruby stood up and started rummaging under their bed. Weiss on the other hand was diligently sorting the needles back in their respective spots.

The sight brought a smile to Blake's face. It was touching to see her teammates' bond growing a little bit more every day. The atmosphere in the room felt warm and homey.

Home…

It was a concept that she'd never quite understood to this day. From what she'd heard it was a place where you lived with your family and where you felt safe. She realized Beacon was the closest she has ever gotten to a home. And that her team was the closest she had ever gotten to a family…

Blake train of thought derailed as she felt Yang's muscles tense. Just what was going with her partner today? This morning she had seemed nervous and now… Blake couldn't quite put her finger on it. She almost seemed… angry, but why?

"I'm going to send that message now. I'll be in the library if you need me." Weiss stood up and walked towards the door.

All of a sudden she felt her partner make a fast move, causing for Blake to almost lose her balance. Yang dropped her onto the bed and stood up. With slow and sure steps she stalked towards Weiss and blocked her way. She called out to her sister: "Hey Ruby, think you can take care of Blake for a moment?"

Ruby looked confused. "That's no problem Yang, but why?"

"Because me and Weiss here need to have a little chat." She barely hid the venom in her voice. This didn't bode well.

"Weiss and I," the heiress muttered. "Can't this wait until later? I'm kind of busy right now."

Blake had expected that her partner would make some witty remark or a joke, but she didn't. The blonde's face was dead serious. With a dry voice she simply said: "No," before hoisting the other over her shoulder in an iron grip.

"Hey! What is the meaning of this? Put me down, you brute!" Weiss tried to sound angry, but Blake didn't miss the fear in her voice.

Her pleas fell on deaf ears however as the brawler stepped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind them.

Blake was scared and confused. This was really bad. What the hell had gotten into her partner?

It seemed she wasn't the only one wondering. Ruby grabbed her and stalked towards the door to do some proper eavesdropping.

They didn't have to. Yang's voice was loud enough to penetrate the walls.

"So, Weiss, you talking about your father just made me remember something. Something I should have asked you a long time ago. You were the one who gave Blake that Black-White Dust crystal, right?" Yang sounded like a police officer interrogating a suspect. All of the usual joy and care had disappeared from her voice.

"Y-yes." The heiress sounded terrified, who could blame her.

"And did you know what the effects of this crystal could be?"

"No, like I said before, the Dust has only been found recently so it was untested."

"What in a right mind would give anyone the idea to give an untested Dust crystal to a teammate!? To a friend!?" Blake had to cover her sensitive ears as her partner spoke the last word.

"Y-Yang, I gave it to her because my father ordered me to do so, it wasn't my choice. I thought you knew that."

"Oh, so it's all about daddy, hmm? You didn't have a choice? Since when did you go back to being the stuck-up heiress who does everything her daddy tells her to do? Since when are you your daddy's puppet?" Venom was dripping from the blonde's wording. Blake felt a sudden rush of rage when they mentioned the monster who called himself CEO of the Schnee Dust Company.

"Yang, y-you don't understand."

The sound of something hitting the wall made both Ruby and her jump.

"Save me your worthless self-pity! My friend is three. Inches. Tall. And it's entirely your fault! The only thing I need to understand is this: 'why did this happen?' Do you realize that if there is no way to reverse the effects, she will stay like that for the rest of her life? Do you have any idea what that means? It means that her life is ruined! But you don't care, do you? All that matters to you is keeping daddy happy, isn't it? All this for inheritance of the company, right? You see, Weiss, I despise people who value power over friendship. People like you."

At this point Ruby decided she'd heard enough. She kicked open the door with Blake in her hand. What they saw then shocked Blake.

Weiss was a mess. She was leaning against the wall, shrunk away from the girl looming over her. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed violently. She was scared to death, her blue eyes told the onlookers.

Yang was the incarnation of anger and rage itself. Her eyes were two beacons of hellfire and her hair was an inferno. Her fist, which was impaled into the wall, was not an inch away from her quivering teammate's face.

Blake was caught by an excess of anger. Not because of how Yang was treating the heiress, but because of how desperate and small Weiss looked. It was so unnatural that she wanted to punch the one responsible for this. How dare Yang attack her teammate like that? She herself wasn't accusing Weiss of anything, so how dare Yang blame Weiss in her place?

Yang was so busy screaming at Weiss that she hadn't even noticed the door had opened.

"I bet you enjoy it too; working with daddy while others suffer."

"Yang, stop it. You are going too far!"

Blake was surprised that it was Ruby who yelled at her sister. And so must Yang have been.

"But she needs to kno-"

"No Yang, leave her alone!"

None had ever seen sweet, innocent Ruby so furious. The hand which was holding Blake trembled immensely. She was so mad that Yang seemed to forget about her own anger. The blonde slowly let go of Weiss and stealthily withdrew from this into the other room.

After Yang had closed the door behind her, Blake aimed her attention towards Weiss. The heiress's eyes were still fearful and foggy with tears.

"Weiss," she began softly but then realized how small her voice sounded so she spoke up. "I'm not blaming you for what happened, really I'm not. Now, how about you go to the library to send your father that message while I'll go talk with Yang, okay?"

Weiss managed to nod weakly and hurried off.

"That was unexpected." Ruby seemed to have calmed down a little.

"You can say that again. Although, I also remember the two of them arguing at my bed in the hospital when I woke up." Now that she thought about it, her recovery and even her headaches had probably helped Yang forget about her beef with Weiss.

"I'm afraid we're not done yet." Ruby sounded tired, it was clear she just wanted to go to bed.

"You go. Let me handle this, it is something between Yang and me, anyway."

Ruby opened the door and wordlessly put her down in the other room, next to the blonde, who seemed to be lost in thought.

"What the hell was that, Yang?" Blake's previous anger resurfaced at once.

Her partner's hair caught fire once more, but this time the blood red eyes were aimed at her. Blake had trouble not to shrink away as Yang stood up and towered over her.

"What do you mean 'What was that'? She had it coming! I simply did what you should have done a long time ago!"

Why was Yang acting so inconsiderate? This was not how her partner acted.

"'Should have done a long time ago?' Yang, if I don't blame her for what happened then neither should you! The last time I checked I seem to be the one affected by the dust, not you!"

"I know, and that's why I'm trying to help you!"

"Guys!" Their shouting was interrupted by Ruby's. "Could you both please tone it down a little? It would be appreciated."

Yang stopped screaming, but her voice remained hostile. "If I have to open your eyes to see who is really behind all of this, then I will. I'm not going to sit around while you do nothing!"

"You're not helping me in any way, Yang! I know you want answers, so do I, but you just crossed the line! My priority isn't knowing who to blame, it is trying to live and survive. The last thing I need is you trying to break the bonds with the few friends I have! If I decided not to take any direct actions, then you shouldn't either! I still am capable of making my own decisions! Just because I can't do stuff on my own, doesn't mean I need a damn babysitter!"

Yang hissed more than she spoke. "Not helping in any way?! Remember that it was me who got you out of that damn canal! I was the one who took care of you!"

"And I appreciate it Yang, but that doesn't grant you privileges over me! I'm not your property nor your goddamn pet! I don't need you, I can perfectly well take care of myself, thank you!"

Blake shouldn't have said that. She regretted the words as soon as they rolled off her tongue. Her partner's face morphed from anger to sheer shock.

"Fine…" It sounded as if she were breathless. "If that is how you feel, then I won't stand in your way." Blake could see pain in her eyes. The blonde stood up and walked towards the door: "Goodbye." Yang said when she turned to her.

It cut like a knife. And she began to panic. Had she just ruined their friendship? Had, with the click of that door, Yang disappeared from her life? She wouldn't be able to live with that. The emptiness her partner left made her realize just how vulnerable she was, not just physically, but mentally too. It was Yang that had made her feel comfortable and safe despite her size. And now that Yang was gone, she immediately felt how big and frightening the world around her was. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted her words. She needed Yang.

That simple truth broke her heart. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and she failed to suppress a sob. She had just scared away her best friend.

A sound broke the silence Yang had left. Ruby came into view.

"Well, that didn't quite work out like I thought it would."

Her leader spoke calmly. She gently grabbed Blake from the bed before wrapping her in a comforting embrace.

"Why didn't you stop us?" Blake's voice cracked.

"Because you were right, this was something between you and her. It still is. I interrupted simply because I didn't want our neighbors to be mad."

Blake was even more confused now. "How can you be so calm about all this? Your sister just walked out of our lives!"

"Out of the room, you mean." And then she added: "I would be more worried if this hadn't happened before. Whenever Yang is mad, at me or at someone else she truly cares for, she needs a time-out. Time to herself. To calm down and think."

Was that true? Did Yang still care for her? She looked straight into two wise silver eyes. "Do you think she'll come back?"

"You worry too much, Blake. She'll come back, she always does. When is for her to decide." A smile graced Ruby's lips. "It's nice to see how the two of you care for each other. I know that you didn't mean what you said. I think that, deep down, she knows that too."

"Thanks Ruby, I needed to hear that," Blake whispered as she dried the last of her tears. This was definitely one of the moments her friend turned out to be a valuable team leader.

"Anytime Blake. Now, it's time we hit the deck. I'm sure you have a lot to think about. And you are not the only one."

Blake knew she was right except that there was this one thing she didn't have to think about. "I owe Yang an apology. For what I said."

"That's true, but unfortunately you'll have to wait for her to come to you."

Blake sighed.

"Come on, that's enough for one day. It really is time for little girls to go to bed. Even I'm tired and we'll have to wake up early if we don't want to be late for professor Port's class. Oh, that reminds me, we haven't been able to finish your outfits, we kind of lost track of time." The girl admitted sheepishly. "You'll have to sleep in your clothes, I'm afraid. But I bet I can convince Weiss to finish them tomorrow."

Blake let a smile appear on her face. "Ruby, it's no problem, if it wasn't for you two, I wouldn't have any outfits, finished or not. Speaking of Weiss, you think she'll be okay?"

"Weiss is a big girl, she'll be fine. I'll make sure, don't worry. Your issue is with Yang, you shouldn't break your head over Weiss." With that, her friend put her down on Yang's bed and grabbed her pajamas.

Blake decided to follow her leader's advice and to call it a day. There was no point in waiting for Yang or Weiss to return. So she climbed into the handmade nest and pulled a corner of the blanket over her.

Hours later, she was still lying awake, alert for any noise that might announce the return of one of the girls. Sleep just wouldn't come to her, no matter how much she twisted. Something was missing, or rather someone.

How had she gone from sleeping basically everywhere to craving for her partner's warmth? This transformation was doing weird things to her body, for sure.

Then … a sound! But it was only Ruby heading for the bathroom. By the sight of her, this idea popped up in Blake's mind. "Ruby?"

The girl turned around. "What is it Blake?"

"Could I sleep with you tonight?"

Ruby blinked twice and then gave her a smile that made her feel all warm inside.

Ruby grabbed her before climbing back into her contraption. She was gently picked up and placed on top of the pillow.

"You know, my mother always took me in her bed when I couldn't sleep. It's weird to do it for someone myself."

"If it's an issue, I can go back to m-."

"No, no, no issue. If I can help you ... Besides, I kind of like having you here, you're such a cute, living plush." If it wasn't for the innocent smile on Ruby's face Blake would have been offended.

To express her gratitude she gently hugged her team leader's hand. "Goodnight Ruby."

Ruby chuckled a little before she flicked off the light. "Goodnight Blake."

Note from Duranda1, the editor:

I'd like to personally apologize to everyone for essentially causing a two month hiatus while IDS went through the chapters of this story again, fixing grammatical errors and hopefully making it easier to read. On the plus side, there should hopefully be better communication between author and editor, given that we have direct lines of contact rather than FFN's slow and unreliable messaging system.

-D

A/N:

Like I said, this chapter is a weird one, but I'm interested to hear what you think.

Thank you so much for all your reviews, favorites and follows! By now, this story has reached 61 favorites and 88 followers! Plus it has reached over ten thousand views! That absolutely insane, you are the best!

Time for reviews:

To DragonBreath:

Scooby-Doo is pretty amazing, I used to watch it all the time when I was younger.

To Rusk:

I'm glad that you like this story so much! Unfortunately I can't really say that my writing has improved, that's for you to decide.

To Emma:

It's back! Hope you enjoy!

Like always, If there is anything you would like to see, just ask! (no promises though)

Please review, follow and favorite and maybe you can sleep with Blake (I now that sounds weird)!

DragonSlayer out!