Day 4: Cuddly Bees
Blake knew she had to learn how to let herself be loved again. To be touched. Adam had only ever touched her if he had a reason, not just for the sake of affection. Always too driven for softness, and never a cuddler. That Adam wasn't a hugger wasn't a bad thing as such, it was just a blameless incompatibility between them. Not like making her feel small, and the killing and hurting people.
It just meant Blake was left pretty touch starved by the time she left the White Fang. It made her miss her parents so much. Pressing her forehead to theirs. Her mother stroking her hair. Her father's firm hugs, almost squeezing the air out of her. She hadn't seen them in years. All because Adam convinced her that her father was in the wrong. She couldn't bring herself to go back to them without proof that she'd changed. Being a huntress should do the trick.
She'd known before going to Beacon that huntresses started out operating in teams. Blake hadn't known how the teams were assigned, or that partners were a thing within those teams. She certainly hadn't expected Yang.
Yang was clearly a tactile person, but restricted herself to hugging Ruby. For all that Ruby complained Yang hugged too tight, she clearly still loved it, jumping into Yang's strong arms for bear hugs. Blake found herself wishing she could throw herself at Yang for a hug too. She caught a similarly wistful look on Weiss's face. That had been the first thing that made her think there was more to Weiss than being the snobbish Schnee heiress.
Blake eased into affectionate touches through Bumblebee. Not the team attack throwing Yang around on the end of Gambol Shroud's ribbon, but riding behind Yang on the motorcycle of the same name. Ruby had apparently been inspired by her sister's bike when coming up with that team attack name, and utterly ignored Yang's complaint that there was only one Bumblebee.
Blake had to hold on while she was a passenger on Bumblebee. She could've held onto the underneath of the seat, but instead gathered the courage to wrap her arms around Yang's waist. If she copped a feel of Yang's abs in the process, Blake would never admit it. Yang mercifully never said anything. No telling her not to do it. No teasing. No flirting. Nothing that could discourage Blake from doing it again.
Blake hadn't known Yang was hiding hard muscles under the seemingly smooth skin of her midriff. Then again Yang could lift almost as much as Nora (not including when Yang's semblance kicked in, all bets were off when it did), so of course her core would be rock solid. Sun and his abs were far more obvious, but he must be keeping himself dehydrated for the sake of that much definition.
Yang first hugged Blake when trying to persuade her to get some rest when running herself ragged over Torchwick and the White Fang. Blake forgot how to breathe. Yang's warm body pressed against her, soft curves and firm muscle; the perfect mix of both. She barely heard Yang's words. Something about resting for the people she cared about. She completely failed to hug Yang back before her partner stepped away, sauntering away. Yang paused to send her a devastating wink and a promise to save her a dance.
Blake caught herself daydreaming at the dance when she probably should have been paying attention to her technically-date. Sun deserved better than for her attention to be on another blonde, the one clad in a deceptively angelic white dress. Blake wished she could've had more than one dance with Yang. She felt selfish satisfaction that Yang wasn't dancing with anyone else. She felt far too possessive of Yang considering Blake was there with someone else.
But what Blake really wanted wasn't another dance with Yang. No, her daydreams were about being alone in the dorm with Yang and pulling her into her bunk. The thought of seducing her briefly crossed Blake's mind, before she firmly banished it to reexamine later in private. Either when everyone was asleep or when showering. It'd only make her blush if she allowed it to linger in her mind, and if Sun saw it he might get the wrong idea. Yes, she liked him, he was funny, kind and handsome. But Blake didn't find herself yearning to be in his arms. Those abs looked like they might bruise her.
She really, really wanted Yang to hug her again. Blake wanted to snuggle up to her in bed. But she couldn't ask. Yang would probably give her what she wanted, but it might give her the wrong idea too. Yang was funny, kind and beautiful, and so very sweet. Between her and Sun there wasn't really any competition. Blake knew Yang so much better. She spent so much more time with her, as could be expected when they were partners. But Blake wasn't ready. Adam still cast a long shadow.
She really should have expected him to cast a longer one. For him to take away one of Yang's strong arms. For him to drive Blake to run, leaving a cruelly maimed Yang behind, still bleeding into the bandage around her stump.
Blake went back home. Her parents welcomed her with open arms, despite the fact she had no real proof she wasn't the same brat who screamed at her father for being a coward. Beacon was gone. A student huntress ID didn't have the same impact as a track record of saving people from Grimm. Yet her parents didn't care. They held her like they always had.
She'd got the affection she'd missed from her parents for so long, without needing to win it back. Her father even assured her they'd never stopped loving her. It was a relief, it made her happy. But she couldn't be happy all the time. Her absent friends were never far from her thoughts. Especially Yang. She longed for Yang's warm touch in much the same way she had for her parents'. But her ultimate intentions with Yang were rather less platonic.
Blake eventually found her way back to Yang and the rest of her team, with Sun's help. Adam still scared her, but she refused to run again from her friends when they wanted to fight with her. And they were worth fighting for. She treasured the group hug when she reunited with her team, an arm around Weiss and Yang, and theirs around her.
But now that Blake finally felt ready to step out of Adam's cold shadow, Yang kept her at arm's length. If not further. Lilac eyes watched her warily. Blake couldn't blame her. She'd burned Yang by abandoning her, even if it had been to protect her. It was some kind of miracle that Yang didn't watch her with angry red eyes.
The rift between them finally closed with Adam's blood on their hands and the broken blade of Gambol Shroud. Blake broke down. She leaned on Yang's strength, clinging to her, desperately trying to convince her that she'd keep her promise, that she wouldn't leave, terrified that Adam's words would poison things. She'd broken her promise to him, why would Yang believe her—
Yang tenderly cupped her face. "I know you won't."
Thank the Brothers and any other gods out there. Yang believed her. All Blake wanted to do was bury herself in Yang's arms and hide from the world. But no thanks to Adam, Blake had failed to carry out her part of the plan. Their friends needed them.
Huddling beside Yang in the 'borrowed' airship wasn't quite the cuddling Blake wanted, but it reassured her that the distant Yang was a thing of the past now. She only needed to wait for Yang to be ready to take the next step with her.
Blake waited while they worked for Ironwood in Atlas, trying to be content for now with Yang at her side. Sometimes very literally pressed against her. She almost pounced on Yang after she listened to Blake's misgivings about ambushing Robyn Hill. That Yang had listened, changed her mind for Blake's sake… It meant a lot. But she had to wait for Yang to make the first move, to be sure that Yang really wanted her and wasn't just doing what Blake wanted.
She regretted that determination to wait when her team split up after Yang disagreed with Ruby about the right course of action, after Ironwood snapped and tried to have them arrested. What if something happened to Yang? And judging by how they couldn't raise Yang or the boys on their scrolls, something had gone wrong. Atlas should be within range of Mantle.
Her relief when Yang finally answered a call almost knocked her off her feet. Blake had to sit down with a cup of tea to try to put herself together, while they waited for Yang and the boys to reach the Schnee mansion. She watched Yang and Ruby hug like they'd never quarrelled, their bond as sisters undamaged. Weiss got a gentler hug. Then Blake had to look away, anxiety gripping her. What if Yang thought she'd broken the promise she'd sworn to keep? What if—
Yang's tender touch brought Blake's eyes to hers, where she found peace of mind. They had a stolen moment together, resting foreheads together like they had after Adam was killed. Like Blake did with her family. It felt right doing it with Yang.
Everything moved so fast after that. The plan to save Penny, and to save Mantle from Ironwood. To evacuate both Atlas and Mantle and let Atlas fall. Meeting Ambrosius and watching him at work, creating a new body for Penny, and the portals to take everyone to Vacuo. They really should have specified safety railings on the platforms and bridges in the space outside Remnant. Especially after Ambrosius warned them not to fall.
Their plan didn't account for Cinder. Or for Neo. Yang took the hit meant for Ruby. Her aura shattered, and she tumbled over the edge of the platform. Blake ran, readying Gambol Shroud. She threw it. She missed, the kusarigama form of her weapon passing just above Yang's boot. Yang didn't move. She didn't try to use Ember Celica to blast herself back into range of Blake's dust infused ribbon. Chances were she couldn't; her eyes were barely open. She probably wasn't entirely conscious.
Blake watched her fall, until she disappeared in a scatter of golden sparks, like her aura breaking. But it already had. That could only mean Yang had disintegrated at the edge of this space between worlds.
Yang was gone.
Blake screamed. Weiss held her tight as Blake dissolved into a sobbing wreck, until a murderous impulse snapped her out of it. This was Neo's doing. Yang was dead, and it was Neo's fault. Blake's words about never wanting to kill again had fallen into the void with Yang. She snatched up Gambol Shroud and charged at Neo.
Neo's semblance kept her out of harm's way. Blake found herself with a choice to make, between revenge and saving Weiss from Cinder. Tempting as it was to pursue revenge, it wouldn't bring Yang back. And Blake didn't want to lose anyone else.
That was why she found herself launched towards the falling Ruby not much later. She caught Ruby, and threw Gambol Shroud again, arresting their fall. They would have been fine, if not for Cinder. Dust infused silk was strong. But not strong enough to resist a Maiden's magic.
They fell.
Blake expected to dissolve into nothing like Yang. Instead she fell into another world. A very strange world. But that she was still alive gave her hope that Yang and Ruby were too. It was bittersweet running into Weiss, clearly the fight had gone badly after three quarters of team RWBY had fallen. Weiss refused to tell her what happened, at least not until they found Ruby and Yang. It must have gone even worse than Blake feared for Weiss to only want to tell her tale once.
They found Gambol Shroud, but got captured by talking mice before Blake could retrieve her sword. Ruby found them with a new friend, another mouse, fortunately before the rest of the mice decided to try to eat Blake and Weiss. The misunderstanding was soon cleared up, and Gambol Shroud was back in Blake's hands where it belonged. If with a far shorter ribbon.
That the mice hadn't seen Yang was concerning. But none of them were ready to lose hope yet. They walked on, towards higher ground to get their bearings, on a path cutting through more strange foliage, Little the mouse riding in Ruby's hood. All too soon they met something else, rather more disturbing than talking mice. It looked a bit like a Grimm, if not one of the kinds they'd learned about at Beacon. The mask covering its face was more like metal than bone, and if it had eyes they were covered by the mask. It was more purple than black, unlike a Grimm, with pale limbs and striped horns.
The creature also talked, with single words in a monotone, hollow voice, head moving with twitchy movements. It was horribly reminiscent of the Grimm that had a person inside it. Blake was all too aware that Ruby didn't have her weapon. She drew Gambol Shroud and considered passing the sheath to Ruby. But Ruby was used to her sniper scythe. Now wasn't the time for her to learn to use a cleaver.
Blake advanced on the creature with Weiss, weapons ready. The words coming from it weren't exactly friendly.
Yang's voice rang out from behind the creature. "I said I wasn't done with you yet!"
The monster didn't have time to do anything before a boulder Yang hurled hit it. That made it jump away from Blake and Weiss, further from Ruby. Good. They had to keep it away from her at all costs.
Yang pushed herself up from where she'd slumped over, panting. Her prosthetic was missing, but she cocked Ember Celica on her left arm, aiming it at the creature. She advanced on it in step with Blake and Weiss. Blake tore her eyes away from Yang, focusing on the monster. It fled. Blake and Weiss made sure it was really gone before making their way back to the reunited sisters. Blake had meant to let Ruby and Yang have their moment. She really did.
Weiss sighed. "You might as well interrupt. If you hold back any longer you'll end up doing something I don't want to see."
Weiss had a point. For what felt like eternity, Blake had thought Yang dead. Then it had taken another eternity to find her here, wherever they were. Blake needed to touch her, to reassure herself that Yang was really there. She couldn't wait. Not a heartbeat longer.
Blake wasn't even aware of moving. She must have tackled Yang. They were on the ground, Yang under her.
"Yang," Blake mumbled, face buried in blonde hair. It still smelled of smoke from how close Yang had been to the monstrous whale Grimm when it blew up. Blake didn't care. Yang's arm wrapping around her was all that mattered, hand cupping Blake's head, fingers stroking her hair.
She really, really, really wanted to kiss Yang. But Weiss and Ruby were right there. They wouldn't appreciate seeing it. And Blake needed to be sure Yang wanted it. Hugs were something she knew Yang liked. Kisses? Blake had no idea. Asking her would have to wait for a private moment.
They didn't find that moment until after muddling their way through getting Yang's prosthetic back, and other fairy tale shenanigans Blake would much rather forget. She hated being mouse sized. They were the ones who should be protecting the unarmed Ruby, and they couldn't do that when reduced to riding in Ruby's hood with Little. Fortunately the Curious Cat helped them make a tasty treat to return them to the right size. Knowing what went into it did make Blake wonder how it was anything but revolting, but she wasn't complaining.
Meeting the Rusted Knight was a childhood dream come true… In a nightmarish way when he took off his helmet. Poor Jaune had been stuck in the Ever After so long he looked old enough to be their father. Blake was guiltily aware of her relief that fate hadn't befallen any of her team. Jaune was a friend, if not one she was as close to. He'd deserved better. Hopefully some sort of magic would give him those stolen years of his life back before they found the way back to Remnant. There had to be a way, considering how much here matched 'The Girl Who Fell Through The World.' Far too much for it to be a coincidence.
On the way to Jaune's home, a storm hit. In Remnant that would just be an annoyance and very unpleasant for Blake's cat ears. High winds blowing in them could be deafening, and wet fur was the worst. But in the Ever After a storm apparently meant being whisked away to somewhere completely different in a disorientating blink of her eyes.
Blake found herself stranded on an incomplete rope bridge leading to a platform, across from Yang on an identical bridge. High winds buffeted them, mercifully not blowing right into her ears. She couldn't see the ground below, only clouds. Best not to fall. They'd had more than enough of that getting here.
It turned out the bridges were magic, like so much else in the Ever After. More planks appeared whenever they said something they hadn't shared before. They shared more and more, getting closer together, literally and figuratively. Until Yang suggested dropping any big truths to speed things up. Only for Yang herself to blush and look away. The bridges yanked them apart, even further from the platform than where they'd started.
Blake had been waiting for Yang to be ready for weeks now. She'd intended to wait for as long as Yang needed. It seemed the Ever After had other ideas. Besides, Yang had been the one to suggest sharing big things, and what was bigger than what was unspoken between them? Yang just needed a little encouragement to say it first.
"Just say it, Yang." Blake had to speak loud enough that Yang could hear her over the gulf between them, but kept her voice as soft as possible.
Yang visibly braced herself. "I think I love you." The first part was tentative. But the actual confession was far more certain.
"I love you too," Blake blurted, almost before Yang could finish.
No planks appeared. Suddenly they were on the platform, standing within reach of each other, face to face. Blake vaguely noticed grass had sprouted underfoot. She kept her eyes on Yang's face. She took hold of Yang's jacket lapels, pulling her closer. Yang's arms wrapped around her, flesh hand trembling slightly.
When Blake leaned in, ready to ask if she could kiss Yang, she found Yang tilting her head slightly, aligning their noses so they wouldn't clash. She had to smile when Yang's eyes flicked between Blake's lips and her eyes in an unspoken question. That smile served as Yang's answer. They closed the gap in unison, eyes sliding shut as lips finally met.
They deepened the kiss, hands sliding up into hair. Blake wasn't aware that her foot had popped out behind her until she had to put it down after hearing someone gasp.
They were back where they'd been before the magic storm swept them away. Blake blushed at finding everyone staring at them, including Jaune's overgrown rabbit stag steed.
With her wait finally over, Blake had assumed she'd be able to focus more on things other than Yang. As if! Now that she knew exactly what she'd been missing, she wanted more. She could never get enough of Yang's touch, her skin tingling just at their hands resting together. She wanted to kiss her again. She wanted to do more. To go all the way. But that would have to wait until they had enough privacy. Back in Remnant.
More waiting.
At least Yang was worth waiting for. Blake would wait until the end of time if she had to. She just hoped it'd be considerably sooner.
AN: Thanks for reading. I hope these are enjoyable despite being thrown together each day as a challenge for me.