Day 3: Flowers

Yang wasn't sure how she'd been landed with bag babysitting duty. One minute everyone was clustered together, waiting for their train to Argus. The next found Yang left on her own with the luggage. She looked around. Ruby was trailing after Uncle Qrow. Weiss seemed to be trying to get a barista to make coffee to her very particular specifications. Ren was trying and probably failing to rein Nora in at a stand selling waffles. Jaune and Oscar disappeared into the public bathrooms. Blake was… Where was Blake?

Yang forced down the panic at the thought Blake had left again. Blake's bag was with the rest of them, all marked with their respective emblems. Blake wouldn't leave her stuff behind. Right? Not that it had stopped her from leaving everything at Beacon. Her books were still in boxes back at home on Patch, after Yang's dad recovered the team's stuff from their dorm. Blake had never talked about her parents. There had been no address to send Blake's belongings on to.

Yang took a deep breath, focusing on the details of the emblems instead, and let her thoughts wander where they would. Anything to distract her. She tried to look at anyone else's first. It was no good. She couldn't get Blake out of her head. She never could. Not in Beacon. Not back on Patch. Not on the ship to Anima. Not on Bumblebee. Not in Mistral. Not in Haven. And certainly not now.

Blake's emblem was a stylised deadly nightshade flower. Atropa belladonna. Pretty and deadly. Just like Blake. Belladonna also meant 'beautiful woman.' Very fitting for Blake. That meaning of his family name had to feel a bit weird for Blake's dad, unless he'd taken his wife's name? It fit Blake's mom about as well as it fit Blake, but then the resemblance between mother and daughter was pretty close. From what little Yang had seen of Blake's parents anyway.

Yang had met Ghira and Kali Belladonna very briefly after the team RWBY group hug at Haven. Blake's dad was one of the biggest guys Yang had seen. It was kinda weird that she'd seen two huge guys on the same day. Ghira and whoever Cinder's friend was called. If Cinder actually had friends. Maybe ally was a better term. Whatever. The one who shoved dust crystals into himself, and shrugged off hits from Nora and being impaled by Weiss's pet queen lancer like they were nothing. Yang should probably consider herself fortunate that she hadn't tangled with the big guy herself because Mercury wanted a rematch, although fighting him with Emerald fucking with her head at the same time was no picnic.

Ugh. Emerald. She clearly had some sort of illusion semblance. She'd used it to make Yang see far too many Mercurys (the original was already one too many for Yang's taste), and Raven, and… At the Vytal tournament too. Everything made so much sense now. She'd played Yang like a fool and made her look like a monster to all of Remnant watching the tournament broadcast. Yang's instinct to remove threats really worked against her then. If only she'd dodged Mercury's 'attack' instead of trying to punch her way through the problem. Not that it would have changed poor Pyrrha and Penny's fate. But Yang really could have done without knowing Blake doubted her, even if her partner had decided to believe her in the end. Blake'd said she chose to do so. But had she really? Was that why she left?

Yang shook her head. Even if it was futile, she had to try to distract herself from gloomy thoughts about Blake. She looked at the next bag. Ruby's. Yang was familiar with the battered fabric anyway, but there was no mistaking the rose emblazoned on it. Her little sister's inheritance from Summer, besides the mysterious silver eyes, and her family name. Yang wondered if any other Roses had the same semblance as Ruby, scattering rose petals everywhere. It'd suck so much for anyone around Ruby to be allergic to roses. Fortunately they'd never run into that problem. So far.

The suitcase next to Ruby's bag wasn't actually marked with the Schnee snowflake. Weiss must have been trying to lay low. It clearly hadn't worked terribly well, considering Raven kidnapped her. Maybe all she'd had to do was see Weiss's back. There was another snowflake embroidered there. Then again Weiss was easily recognisable, a famous singer as well as the Schnee heiress. Maybe she should've dyed her hair or something. But Myrtenaster was pretty distinctive too, and had been seen all over Remnant during the Vytal tournament.

Back when they'd been discussing their weapons in Beacon, Weiss had mentioned Myrtenaster was named after a flower in Old Atlesian. Yang had wondered why Weiss didn't pick it as her emblem. If she had that'd be most of team RWBY with flower emblems. Not that Yang was complaining, she'd rather not be the odd one out with her burning heart. Besides, Weiss was rather attached to the Schnee snowflake. Hmm. Schnee. Snowflake. Schneeflake. She'd have to remember to share that with Weiss. Yang could already hear her patented Schnee sigh.

She moved on to inspecting the rest of the bags. Oscar had marked his with some carefully drawn cogs. Maybe that had been Ozpin's. Or maybe he'd been inspired by Qrow's winged cogs. Yang frowned at her uncle's bag. How did Qrow carry that when in crow form? Did it transform with him? Harbinger must, so why not the bag too? Had Qrow specially imbued his bag with his aura like a huntsman's weapon just so the magic would treat it like part of him? She'd have to get Ruby to ask him. Her little sister was better at wheedling stuff out of their uncle.

JNR's bags were piled together, Nora's hammer and lightning barely visible under Jaune's. The arcs of his emblem were rather clumsily applied. Maybe Yang should give him some tips on the usage of spray paint. Ren's flower wasn't as pretty as Blake's, in Yang's admittedly biased opinion. And there was Blake again in Yang's thoughts, not that she'd ever really left.

"Oh, everyone left you. Sorry, Yang." Weiss set down a tray of coffee cups. She pointed at one. "Take it and go browse the shops if you want to. I can watch the luggage."

Yang sometimes wondered to herself if Weiss had a twin, and the evil one had come to Beacon. And if that evil twin was still in Atlas, leaving the nice one to escape to Anima. This was certainly nice Weiss, but Yang wasn't about the risk the Schneeflake pun when Weiss had an arsenal of coffee to throw at Yang. Just in case the Weiss who started at Beacon was still in there. Yang wasn't being fair, of course. There had been glimpses of nice Weiss long before she hugged Yang in the bandit camp.

Thinking of that, Weiss had been there because she'd run afoul of her father. Chances were he'd cut her funding off again, like that time when her lien card had been declined. "Weiss? You're good for buying all this coffee, right? Train station prices really take advantage of a captive audience."

"I'd certainly hope so, considering I didn't rob the barista at swordpoint."

Yang looked away. This was such an awkward topic. "Just let me know if you need some lien. My dad made sure I had plenty."

"I appreciate it, Yang, but your uncle gave me the lien when he told me to get coffee for all sorted. That said, I know Blake prefers tea. While you're exploring the station, see if you can find her and ask what sort she wants."

"Last I knew, jasmine, back at Beacon." Yang didn't even have to think about it.

Weiss smirked "Interesting how you remember that."

"Ugh. She might have changed her mind since then. Who knows."

"So go ask. I'm on bag duty now. Go on, off with you. Find Blake."

Yang decided to take her chances with being inundated with hot coffee. It'd be worth the drain to her aura if it wiped that smug look off Weiss's face. "I know what you're doing, Schneeflake."

"You're lucky I don't have the lien to replace any coffee wasted getting you back for that, Xiao Long."

Yang laughed. She took her coffee and sipped it as she wandered around Mistral's train station. She paused by a florist. Sunflowers caught her eye. Just like the ones her dad grew and had kept leaving in her room during her recovery. She'd always liked them. Too bad they'd been a painful reminder of Blake's eyes. Although now Blake was back maybe it was safe to look at sunflowers again. She was back. Right? She'd said she wasn't going anywhere. But maybe that actually meant she intended to stay in Mistral.

Yang walked on. She ran into Ruby and sent her back to Weiss, telling her to get her coffee while it was hot. With how much cream and sugar the beleaguered barista would have been instructed to put in Ruby's cup, it would cool down pretty quick. Yang finished her own coffee and ditched the cup.

She was really starting to wonder if Blake was still at the station when Yang finally spotted her. On a footbridge. With Sun. Yang turned away, squashing the urge to let her eyes burn red. She mentally slapped herself. Blake was allowed other friends. She could do whatever she wanted, with whoever she wanted. Sure, Yang might as well be Blakesexual for all the interest she'd felt in anyone else since they met, but that didn't entitle her to Blake's affections.

But what to do now? Yang didn't want to butt in and interrupt Blake's fond farewells to Sun. Yet if she waited until Blake was done, there might not be any time to get her tea before the train left.

Yang looked around, hoping to spot something that might somehow inspire the answer to her problem. A short girl around her own age caught her eye. Not like Blake did. No. This girl was objectively pretty, but… Not Blake. She did look familiar though. Yang frowned. Where had she seen her before? She could almost hear Blake's voice. Not her voice right now, talking to Sun, they were out of earshot. No, Blake's words from sometime this past week or two. Telling them about her faunus friends. Including… Ilia. Blake had pointed her out. That was it. This short girl with a ponytail was Blake's friend.

Maybe Ilia knew what Blake's current taste in tea was. But Yang hadn't missed the way Ilia looked at Blake. Yang wouldn't sabotage anyone else's attempt to do something nice for Blake, but that didn't mean this girl wouldn't. Yang knew almost nothing about her, just that she'd disarmed the bombs the White Fang placed around Haven. That didn't mean Yang could trust her not to screw around with her.

Ilia was looking behind herself, then back at Yang, as if trying to figure out what she was looking at. Oh. Right. Yang had slipped up and given her a suspicious glare, just short of the eyes of fire kicking in. Was Yang really getting that paranoid over tea? Yeah, it was for Blake, but… Get a grip, Xiao Long.

Yang steeled herself and walked up to Ilia, aware as she closed the distance that she towered over the faunus. Not that Ilia's faunus trait was terribly obvious. But she had to be one because Blake had mentioned they were old friends from her White Fang days.

Old Yang at Beacon would have no problem being friendly and approachable with a friend of a friend. But Old Yang hadn't really made it out of the Fall of Beacon. Yang tried a smile. "Hi. Sorry about that, took me a second to recognise you. Ilia, right?"

"That's me. And you're Yang."

Yang couldn't help herself. The finger guns came out. "Can I get you a coffee or something?"

Ilia blushed. Probably. The spots on her skin like overgrown freckles flushed pink. Yang wasn't sure how else to interpret it. Ilia raised her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Blake mentioned you disarmed the bombs. Consider it a thank you."

Ilia looked away. "I didn't do it for you. It was the right thing to do. I had things to make amends for."

"It still saved me and my friends. Come on. If you still feel like it needs something else in exchange, let me know if Blake still drinks jasmine tea."

Ilia's grey eyes came back, narrowed almost as suspiciously as Yang's had been. Then again, maybe Ilia had resting suspicious face. "Why do you want to know?"

"We're getting drinks for the teams before we leave. It's been months since she last had tea with us, and a girl can change her mind. I'd ask Blake herself, but…" Yang gestured to the footbridge. "She's kinda busy."

"Monkeyboy could stand to share her," Ilia grumbled. "But I get your point. He's leaving with the blue haired idiot who can't take a hint soon enough."

Yang snorted. "Neptune has no gaydar."

"That's his name? I wish he did." Ilia groaned. "He keeps hitting on me."

"If he bothers you again before we leave, let me know."

"You know what? I might. But why?"

"Sapphic solidarity." Yang offered her fist. Ilia eyed it, then bumped it with hers.

They wandered through the station to a cafe where Ilia ordered hot chocolate and a jasmine tea. Yang paid, as promised.

Ilia handed over the tea after picking it up with her own cup. "You can blame me if it's not right. She always used to like it." Her eyes wandered over to the florist. "Speaking of what Blake likes…"

"Can't say I have any idea. We didn't bother with getting flowers at Beacon. Her emblem's nightshade, but florists don't sell those."

"Lilac's her favourite. The colour too." Ilia pointedly looked at Yang's eyes.

It took Yang a moment to find her voice. "I don't think I'm at the point where I can get her flowers. But thanks."

"Thank me by watching her back. Adam's still out there."

Yang tried not the flinch at the reminder. It wouldn't do to spill Blake's tea down herself. "We're partners. It's kinda my job to do that anyway."

"Keep it up. Sun mentioned it's how you got that." Ilia nodded at Yang's prosthetic. "That you'd do that for her is why I hope you have better luck with her than I did. She had no idea I saw her as more than a friend."

"I don't think she sees me like that. And I didn't say anything about seeing her like that."

Ilia clicked her tongue. "You're hopeless. I heard her when she set eyes on you all in Haven. She said your name. No one else's. You weren't even the first one she saw, it was the Schnee's weird pet Grimm who caught her attention."

"I didn't see you then."

"You only had eyes for her. I get it. Sapphic solidarity, like you said. And we might as well found a Blake Belladonna appreciation society. I'll get Sun to sign up too. Adam's banned."

Yang buried her face in her hands. "Am I really that obvious?"

"To my gaydar? Yes. Besides, I can hardly miss how you look at Blake. It's the same way I do." Ilia patted Yang's shoulder. "You're not subtle. Anyone who has eyes will know, except probably the clueless one with blue hair."

Yang stifled a groan. "Please tell me Blake doesn't know."

"Considering she missed my interest? She might actually be more hopeless than you are. But don't you want her to know? How else will you have a chance with her?"

"I'm not ready for that."

Ilia hummed thoughtfully. "Fair. How long have you known about being sapphic?"

"I met Blake."

Ilia snickered. "She turned you gay? Same. Not that I ever liked boys. Anyway, you have a train to catch soon, so we'd better part ways."

"Want to exchange scroll numbers? In the event global communications return."

"All right. We do have so many stories about Blake to share." Ilia got her scroll out and let it sync with Yang's. "There." Ilia glanced towards the florist. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Yang had to wonder if Ilia had some sort of speed semblance. Between one blink and another, she vanished.

A minute later, a hand reached up and yanked Yang down by the collar. Ilia was back, standing very close. Yang's eyes widened. For a moment she thought Ilia was going to kiss her. Instead Ilia fiddled with Yang's jacket. She let go and stepped back.

"There." Ilia pointed at the flower she'd threaded through the buttonhole on Yang's jacket lapel. "They didn't have any lilacs, but it's a pretty close match colour wise."

"Uh. Thanks."

Ilia looked behind Yang. "You'd better go, the Schnee is glaring at us."

Yang turned to look. "That's just Weiss being Weiss. I'd better get back to her with the tea, Weiss doesn't know I have it. She's probably worried there's no time to get it made for Blake before we have to leave."

"Let me know what Blake thinks of the flower. See you around, Yang."

"See ya." Yang hurried back to Weiss.

Weiss glowered at her. "I know I said you could go look around, but the train leaves in four minutes. There isn't time to get Blake tea!"

"Relax, this isn't the coffee you got me. Jasmine tea for Blake. With any luck she'll still like it, she was busy with Sun."

That took the wind out of Weiss's sails. "Oh."

"He's not coming with us, so of course they need to say goodbye."

"Thankfully," Weiss muttered.

"So much for nice Weiss."

Weiss sniffed. "I haven't changed my mind about Blake going to others for help when her team was there for her. She made a promise."

"Weiss, please. You're making me feel like I should defend her and I can't do that with this. She left."

"Sorry. The important thing is that she came back."

"Yeah." Yang sighed. "All that matters."

Qrow hopped up onto a bench and waved. "All aboard! Let's see, there's Ruby, little Schnee—"

"Hey!"

"—Yang, Blake? Where's your emo cat girl—"

"Right here. Please don't call me that, Mr Branwen."

"Ugh, don't call me that either. Just Qrow's fine. Right. There's Oscar, Jaune, Ren, Nora. And me. That's everyone. Come on, we're cutting it fine."

In the rush to get on the train, Blake didn't notice the flower until they'd stowed their luggage.

"Oh, that's pretty. What is it?"

Yang shrugged. "Ilia picked it out."

"She… did?" Blake stared between the flower and Yang. "I had no idea there was anything between you."

Wait, what? Blake thought it meant Yang and Ilia were a thing?

"Just sapphic solidarity. That and, uh…" Yang rubbed at the back of her head. "She hoped you'd like it."

"I do, it suits you." Blake reached out to gently pull the flower free. She raised it up to be level with Yang's eyes. "It almost matches. Not that anything can compare to—" She cut herself off and looked away, blushing, cat ears twitching. "I should—Let me put it back."

Yang caught Blake's hand and closed her fingers around the flower. "Keep it."

"But—I—Are you sure—"

Weiss sighed from behind them. "This is painful to watch. The normal response to a gift is 'thank you.'"

It was Yang's turn to blush, almost as brightly as Ruby's cloak. She'd forgotten they had an audience.

"Thanks," Blake mumbled, diving onto her bunk.

Yang fled to her own. Things felt so very awkward now. This was going to be an excruciating train ride. At least it couldn't be worse than the one between Mountain Glenn and Vale.

AN: This isn't entirely canon compliant with how things go at Mistral's train station. Close enough? I guess it hardly matters, this is fanfic.

Please do let me know what you think. Comments really help encourage me to keep writing.