I'm DEFINITELY gonna change this chapter title. For SURE.

Also, I think this chapter does need a few revisions, I feel like there are some awkward parts, so I'll be doing that before I get cracking on the audio - but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting anymore, since this is basically finished.

Enjoy!

This was turning out to be one of the nicest drawings Blake had ever made. Which was surprising because of how she'd started it as just a sketch without any real guidelines, and Blake didn't usually trust herself to make anything pretty without structure. But she had her pencil set and a proper eraser now, and after correcting a couple off-looking lines and light shading, a sense of growing pride had Blake focusing on her work more intently.

She had earbuds in her ears, listening to soft orchestral rock, occasionally bobbing her head or humming quietly with the melody. It was pleasant, being outside with the warm breeze and the sun, taking this small break from academy responsibilities to enjoy her solitude. These moments were few and far between, where she wasn't distancing herself out of self-doubt and guilt, but just liking the down time.

And liking this drawing of Yang, too, honestly, of which she'd actually managed to capture her favorite parts in an almost spitting image fashion. Blake paused in her work, marveled at how she'd even been able to do it – those laugh lines and twinkles, the messy hair, the carefree pose.

It didn't feel so wrong now, doing this, after that conversation she and Yang had at the beginning of the weekend.

Gods. It was bittersweet.

Blake still couldn't wrap her mind around it. Yang genuinely wanted to try being in a relationship with her. It was...there just weren't any words. As much as Blake longed for Yang, she hadn't ever dreamed of being in this situation. She hadn't imagined any confession scenarios ending well – or even imagined confession scenarios at all, it had just happened – hadn't entertained hypothetical romantic settings with Yang, hadn't, in any kind of way, allowed herself to hope or wonder past a fleeting touch what it might be like, being with Yang more intimately. There just hadn't been a point. Useless torture.

And so now she just didn't know what to do. The door was open but everything beyond the frame was new and scary and made of glass.

Anything could break. Anything could cut. But it was pretty. And the reflections had color, like maybe somewhere, if Blake found the courage to venture forth, there was more to discover. Maybe.

It all depended on Yang, didn't it?

For now, Blake continued shading in the leathered texture of Yang's jacket with a small sigh. She felt a mix of emotions, doubts and insecurities still heavily clouding the flickers of wonder, but…maybe this had to be the first step. As difficult as it was.

And then, as if on cue, "Whatchya drawing there, Bl… Oh."

By the time Yang's disbelief was out of her mouth, she'd already plopped down next to her partner.

Blake tore the earphones out of her ears, felt her cat ones flatten even harder against her head despite being under a band as she tried to hide her drawing by bringing it closer to her chest. "It's, um, just…nothing. It's nothing."

Yang blinked, eyes wide and way too innocent. "That definitely wasn't nothing. Looked like a whole lotta something, actually. Can I see it again?"

Blake searched Yang's face, intently trying to find any hint of anger or judgement or tonally-deaf mischief.

But then she remembered that this was Yang. Not…somebody else.

Hesitantly, Blake let out a slow breath and lowered her pad so Yang could see the drawing again. The blonde leaned closer, shoulder against Blake's, and the round innocence in her gaze became round shock. "I – whoa. Blake, this is…" She seemed at a loss for words for a moment before there was a flash of something in her expression, something that looked…almost like hurt? But it was quickly gone, replaced with open curiosity that teetered on concern in the crease of her brow as she raised her eyes to meet Blake's. "Is this how you see me?"

"What…do you mean?"

Yang blinked a couple times, back and forth between the drawing and Blake. "Well, like…I dunno." She laughed, airy, leaning away again and ruffling her hair a bit with an uneasy shrug. "Uh, just…I guess I don't remember looking that good? I mean!" And now her expression was definitely fighting some kind of war over on the confident front, pushing the boundary into nervous territory. "I know I look smokin' hot, obviously, but this is…not the same?"

"I…" Blake tried so hard to understand what Yang was trying to explain. Unfortunately, this was a matter of perspective and Blake was nervous, too. "Is it…bad?"

Yang was fast to backpedal. "No! No, gods, it's a really nice drawing. Thank you for letting me see it. You just…made me look so happy and kind. Like…warm instead of hot, ya know?"

Oh. I see now. Blake took another breath, allowed herself to relax just a little more. She admitted, "I do see you like that. Like sunshine."

Yang was quiet. Contemplative. Her eyebrows creased even more. "But…you know I haven't really been like that much these days, Blake."

"You have to me. That's how I feel."

It was…surreal how Blake could just say things like this now. That the secret was out, and Blake could be honest instead of hiding behind silences and noncommittal non-answers. Still, as Yang leaned further away to cross her legs and set the back of her head against the tree behind them, Blake wondered if she was being too forward, if maybe total honesty wasn't the best policy right at the moment.

And, while she was at it…maybe this wasn't the best choice at all, if Yang was already uncomfortable. Blake hoped she wasn't, but whether she did it consciously or not, Yang had definitely just put physical distance between them after Blake's admission.

And that looked like a nice, bright red stop sign.

"I guess I can't really argue with that," Yang finally chuckled with another shrug.

There was a pause. The wind blew gently, rustling the leaves, the sun shining through the branches and casting leopard spots and tiger stripes across Yang's lightly freckled skin and gold curls. Blake caught herself staring and immediately stopped, instead deciding to put her papers and pencils away into her bag on her other side with a bit of a sigh.

"Whatchya doing?"

Blake hesitated, then said as she continued, "Getting ready to head back, I suppose."

"Huh? Why?"

She leaned forward with her bag on her lap and dared to meet the soft lilac of Yang's irises. Yang, who looked so curious and still vaguely hurt. Blake creased her eyebrows. "You want me to stay?"

Yang looked to the left and right, unsure, and shrugged a bit. "Well, I mean, if you want to leave, I won't stop you, but…I dunno. I thought we were having a conversation."

"Oh." Blake felt her ears – all four of them – warm up. "Um. Right. What else were you going to say?"

"Uh…" Yang laughed a bit and then sat straighter, scooting around to better face Blake. "Well, I did want to check in with you. Kinda still feels like we're in limbo since you didn't specifically say yes to me yet – about being in a relationship, I mean. Not that I assumed you were gonna say yes! But also you haven't been pulling away much anymore, either, so I don't really know where that leaves us."

Blake hesitated again, looked down at the grass for a moment. It was true that she hadn't given Yang a clear answer. And she could imagine that the uncertainty wasn't something that made Yang feel very good. It wasn't like Blake had been doing it on purpose; as far as she was concerned, Blake had thought the general agreement was that she needed time to think. And she did – think, that was. She needed to switch her entire mindset. Because suddenly her reality wasn't You can't go there, stop, just move on already, what's wrong with you? but rather Blake, it's okay to start trying.

Except, of course, there was the very real possibility that it actually wasn't.

Blake took a breath. "Yang, you've been in a couple relationships before. I've been in one, too – a bad one, but still." She lowered her head. "I don't know what your expectations are, and, um, I'm willing to be patient and take things slow –" Gods only know I'd move Remnant's sky and earth for you, "– but, also…" Blake allowed herself to exhale. She glanced at Yang briefly before focusing on her hands, realizing how cold her fingers felt. They did that when she was nervous. It felt wrong, expressing this. "…I would want more than hugs. Eventually." She winced. Squeezed her own fingers, anticipating a bad reaction. Maybe, even, it'd make Yang wake up and realize that a relationship between them wasn't going to work out.

But there was a serious expression that came over Yang's face, like she was really thinking about Blake's words. It would have been adorable if Blake hadn't been so stressed. "Yeah, I get what you mean." Yang rubbed her bicep, just above her prosthetic – but whether it was causing her discomfort or she was just awkward was unclear. She smiled tentatively. "I do like physical affection a lot. I'd often be the one going for it. It's – hey, why're you smiling?"

Blake tried to wipe the small tilt of her lips off her own face with her hand, but failed. "Sorry. It's just – I know. That you like physical affection. I see how you are with Ruby. And you're up in my space more than anybody else is, too."

Like carefully adding sticks and turning over the logs in a hearth, Yang's physical marks of care had done nothing but continue the burning of Blake's heart. So many times, Blake should have told Yang to stop. So many times, the pain never out-seared the comfort and warmth.

So Blake had said nothing.

The comment made Yang laugh again. Her cheeks got redder, too. "Okay, so there! It's why I got really bummed out when I realized you stopped all the little touches."

Blake's heart somewhat accelerated in her chest. That didn't sound like a rejection in any kind of way. And it had been like slowly tearing away half of herself trying to create physical distance with her favorite space heater, too, but…

She lost her smile.

Yang also wasn't providing the kind of response Blake was needing. She didn't think Yang was purposely avoiding the point, more like maybe Yang still wasn't understanding. And Blake couldn't do this if Yang didn't get it. She shifted uneasily. "Okay, but…think about the future. Think about me. Think about yourself. Can you imagine any setting in which you'd be comfortable being more than just close friends and work partners with me?"

Because you can say you want to be with me all you want, but…

That was what Blake had needed to think about – the very thing she'd been forcing herself not to think about with Yang all this time. But the faunus had let herself imagine it, just for these past few days – haltingly, exploring the what-ifs – and she knew, from the distressed pull of her heart to the longing ache in her belly, that if this was going to work in the long-term, Blake would want and need so much more.

And with how this conversation was going, it all only seemed to be getting farther and farther from possible.

Yang's face scrunched up into something between confusion and worry. "I don't really know how that's supposed to work, Blake. Obviously if I try to think about kissing you right now, that's too much. But I don't want to lose you and I still want to be close to you. Pretty sure I'd be okay with holding your hand or having my arm around your waist or something. But –"

"Yang. You being okay with something doesn't imply you enjoying it or also wanting it. I told you already – all I care about is you being happy. And, I'm sorry, but if the most you're going to do is tolerate more affection between us, then that's not something I'm interested in." Blake's shoulders slumped, turning her head away as she added in a quieter breath, "…And if you really thought about it, I'm sure you're not interested in it, either."

She swallowed hard and started rearranging the band over her cat ears, but it was only to hide the fact that her throat was tightening up and that her eyes were burning. Yang hadn't said anything yet, either, so while doing her best to keep the roughness from her voice, Blake decided to continue, "I might be hopeless, but I'm not so desperate that I'd be okay with my significant other just going through the motions without actually being into me. At the very least, I have too much respect for you to let that happen."

Yang seemed…stricken. Her eyes were wide, her face was red, and she opened her mouth as if she finally had an answer, but then she closed it again. She suddenly got up to her feet, walked a few steps away, the wind bellowing her hair into a stunning mess, and Blake was afraid she'd just leave. That that would be the end, right here, right now, of their tiny-barely-there attempt at being a couple.

And Blake didn't have it in her to stop it from happening. What would even be the point? There was nothing solid about glass, and some of the edges were already jagged and broken.

But then Yang clenched her fists, paced for a second, and then turned around to come sit beside Blake again. Her expression was firm, determined. She passed her fingers through her thick locks to get it back into its purposely-disheveled style. "Why are you trying to scare me away?"

"I'm not trying to do that." Blake leaned forward, tension creeping up her neck as she forced herself to keep her tone low. She swallowed with difficulty. Her heart was beating so fast, some primal instinct twisting her guts and making her want to run from this conversation. But she couldn't. Not this. Not from Yang – not ever again. "I'm being realistic. I don't want to date you just for fun for two years and then call it quits when we finish our training. I…I would spend my life with you, Yang, if this somehow works."

"Okay, so then – uh, okay, wow – I mean, sorry, that was big – but it's okay! But what I'm trying to say is that we take it one step at a time!" Still red in the face, Yang shrugged and raised her hands like it was obvious, somehow. Somehow. "We're not there yet, in the future. We're right here, still trying to figure out how to even freaking talk to each other about this. I'm willing, wanting, to keep trying to make it work, but, like, I also just gotta go with the flow, you know?"

"Yang, I –" Blake clenched her jaw. Closed her eyes for a moment. She focused on her breathing, brought her thighs up to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees, arms wrapped around her calves. Her hands felt so clammy. "I need a bit of time to think about it," she murmured. "And I'm not saying we stop trying…this – whatever it is –but I can't continue this conversation right now."

Blake didn't even need to look at Yang to see her deflate – she almost felt the sagging of her shoulders, and a part of Blake ached at causing Yang this disappointment, this lack of a satisfactory ending or solution to their problem.

"Fine," Yang sighed shortly, and rested her head back against the tree trunk behind them. There was a pause. The wind rustled the leaves above, made small shadows and lights dance over them. Blake managed to raise her head only a little, enough to put her chin on her knees and stare out towards Beacon's courtyard, before Yang spoke up again. "You knew the others and JNPR are going out tonight, right?"

Blake winced. "No, I didn't. Where are they going?"

"Well, I mean, I'm going, too. And I'd like it if you came with me. It's a nightclub. The place opened up not too long ago."

A nightclub. That sounded like a problem and a half. And Yang knew Blake's issue with it. "Do I…have to go?"

"No, of course not, Blake. But it would mean a lot to me if you came."

There it was again. Specifying me, with that hopeful sparkle in lilac irises, like Blake's presence really mattered to Yang – which, if there was anything Blake should have gotten into her own thick head a good two years ago by now, it was at least that. And Blake was a little, a lot, helpless against it. "Okay. Then I'll go with you."

Yang tried a beam, bumped Blake's shoulder with her own. "Awesome. It's gonna be a lot of fun. And, worse case, if the music gets too much for you, then we can leave together."

"You don't have to do that, Yang."

"Yes, I do. You're coming because I asked, the least I can do is be supportive back at you."

Blake rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "Alright. I'll accept that."

Yang laughed a bit. "Good! Also, I see that smile, so that's one point for me already."

Blake allowed herself to smile a bit wider, slowly shook her head. "How about you tell me what time we're going instead of…" being way too sweet and adorable "…trying to make me feel better?"

Yang scoffed, but she took her scroll out of her pocket and looked at the time. "We have a couple hours. I think we're gonna eat first. Ruby might start looking for us soon, though."

"Then I suppose we shouldn't let our fearless leader search all over Beacon for her missing teammates." Blake forced herself out of the ball she was in, got to her feet with the same effort it took to battle her low motivation for this. She wanted to keep drawing and listen to music more, think about the things Yang had said. But if this meant a lot to the blonde, then Blake would give it her best shot. She offered her hand to Yang.

Yang grinned and gripped it, and Blake helped haul her up until they were standing face to face. She was taken with the urge to hug Yang, rest the side of her head against Yang's shoulder, but she supressed the want for closeness and instead just gave Yang's fingers a light squeeze before letting go. "Thank you. For not insisting."

"I mean, I do still want to finish that conversation at some point. Seemed kind of important. But you're welcome, I won't force you to talk about things you don't wanna talk about."

Blake nodded, felt her cat ears straining against the bow so they could lean backwards. She did not deserve Yang's kindness. "I know. Just give me a day or two."

"Okay. I will. Do you want to help me choose the outfit I should wear for tonight?"

"Oh. I don't even know what I'm going to wear." Clubbing hadn't exactly been on Blake's mind when she'd been packing for her return to huntress-training at Beacon. She felt a pit of dread in her stomach at being so entirely underprepared for social events.

Yang giggled. "We'll figure something out. I can help you, too. C'mon!"

Blake slowly shook her head again but nevertheless started following Yang. Side by side, they made their way back to the academy and towards the dorm they shared with Ruby and Weiss.

As it turned out, Yang had also not been thinking about clubbing when she'd packed for Beacon. Blake had followed her into the shared walk-in closet, and as they'd begun looking through the blonde's clothes, it had become clear she didn't have anything that gave off immediate party vibes.

Blake couldn't help the twinge of guilt and regret in her chest.

Things are so different from our first year.

Still, they decided to improvise outfits for them both. Yang helped Blake opt for a pair of dark jeans and a black long-sleeved, fitted crop-top with a silver zipper at the front, with a comment like, "Gotta say, your sense of style in general is peak casual-chic, Blake. But, like, with a dangerous edge. You always look really good. This was easy to pick out."

Blake had just given her a wry smile and thanked her.

Now, Blake was draped over the chair at the desk by the window while idly playing a platform fighter game with Ruby on their scrolls. They were waiting with Weiss for Yang to finish getting ready and get out of the bathroom. It was an ongoing goal of Ruby's to finally beat Blake two out of three rounds, but Blake had found out, much to her own surprise, that she was extremely good with one particular character's mechanics without putting in much effort.

And since that discovery, she secretly had fun giving Ruby a challenge sometimes.

If she was honest, though, she was also happy about finding another activity they could bond over, something Blake knew with certainty that Ruby enjoyed – like when they did their daily running together – so she didn't have to twist herself up in her own anxieties about it.

"Are you drinking tonight, Blake?" Weiss asked distractedly. She was reading something on her scroll, sitting prim and proper on the edge of her bed with her legs crossed.

"Um, no." Blake knew the music at the club was going to be too loud for her to start with, the last thing she needed was aggravating the headache she knew she was going to have on purpose. "I don't really like drinking much, anyway."

"Alright, so that will be you, Ruby, and Ren staying sober. Good."

"We're still gonna have fun, though!" Ruby piped up from Blake's bed. The younger girl had decided to dress completely casual with her boots, jeans, and a red hoodie. "And we're gonna keep good watch on the rest of you!" There was a pause, then Ruby's eyes widened and she threw herself to her feet, hand up in the air, holding her scroll in a grip of victory. "I did it! I beat you!"

Blake smirked with a sideways glance at her. "That was just the first round."

Ruby narrowed her stare and pointed her finger at Blake's face. "Do you wanna fight?"

And Blake only smirked a bit wider while lazily wiggling her scroll at her fearless leader. "Bring it on."

"Shouldn't we check on Yang?" Weiss butted in before Ruby could take retaliatory action against her teammate. Weiss then raised her voice and looked over towards the bathroom door pointedly while she added, "She's taking a really long time."

Blake lost her smile, her concern returning to the forefront of her mind. When no fake-offended answer came from inside the bathroom, she stood from the chair and walked over to the door. She hesitated, then gave it a light knock. "Hey…Yang? Are you alright?"

There was some shuffling on the other side, and then Yang said, "Yeah, sorry, I'm coming out." And the door opened.

Blake stepped away so she wouldn't be blocking Yang's path. Her attention was immediately caught on her partner's face. Yang had tamed her hair into a loose, fun braid draped over her shoulder, and she'd applied a bit of makeup – just a little, just enough to bring some glow to her cheeks and gloss to her lips. She was – Blake took a steadying breath. She's just so beautiful.

The blonde was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a tank top – showing more skin than she usually did these days. Had Blake's gaze not already been glued to Yang's face, she would've missed the downturn of Yang's eyes and the short breath she took before smiling brightly at everyone, the stress or discomfort or whatever it had been gone like it hadn't even been there.

"I'm ready! Sorry for taking so long. We can go."

Ruby was instantly back in good spirits. "Yes! Blake, I'm still gonna beat you. Just…some other day." She put her scroll into her pocket and rushed to the door. "Let's go!"

"You're way too excited for someone who doesn't like dancing," Weiss commented with an eyeroll as she stood up as well to join her partner.

"Uh, it's not the dancing I'm excited for." Ruby scrunched her nose as she pulled the door open. "They apparently have an arcade setup in there, so there. Also, from what I've heard, club dancing doesn't seem to count as dancing, you just kind of flail around and do whatever – that's much more doable for me!"

Yang giggled bit. "Never change, Ruby."

Blake smiled. She also wasn't going to question how Ruby planned on keeping 'a good watch' on her friends if she was busy playing more games at the nightclub. She shared a knowing look with Yang.

As the girls started heading out, Blake made a quick trip back into the shared walk-in closet. She grabbed a light hoodie and draped it over her arm, and then joined back up with others in the hallway.

It was just in case.

Because she had a feeling.

The nightclub was called Ultra Effervescence. It was new, so it was packed. At least, packed in Blake's definition of the word. It wasn't like there were people waiting to go in at the door or a crowd to squeeze by at the entrance, but when RWBY walked in, the sheer amount of noise and smells hit Blake like a truck. She had to stop where she was and take a moment to gather herself from the sudden overwhelming onslaught to her senses.

Yang had been excited to go in from how she'd rushed to lead their small group towards the door, but after Ruby and Weiss walked over to the bouncer, and seemingly realizing that Blake wasn't following, Yang backtracked to come and put her hand on Blake's arm. "Hey, whoa, whoa… Are you okay? I'm so sorry, Blake, I didn't think it would be that bad."

Blake shook her head. "I'll survive. For a bit."

Yang glanced back towards the dark inside of the club, where flickering lights of multiple colors were bouncing off the walls. She pursed her lips and looked back at the faunus. "We can go back to Beacon, Blake. I –"

"Yang, no." Blake heaved a sigh and managed to get a grip on herself, mostly, and started heading over to the bouncer as she added, "I'll stay as long as I can. You want to be here – enjoy yourself."

"Well…okay, then. You should try to do that, too."

Blake knew that had Yang not really wanted to be here, she may have insisted more, but for now she was glad there was no further argument. "I'll try."

But the further in they went, the more Blake had to resist wincing and hunching in on herself as all the noise got even louder. The bouncer was near the cloakroom, and he checked their hunter IDs before letting them in so they could join Weiss and Ruby in putting any of their belongings in a locker or on a hanger.

It was truly an unfortunate thing that Blake's senses were so sensitive. For all intents and purposes, she would have enjoyed the music and probably have had a good time if only it didn't feel like her brain, itself, vibrated in her skull with every drop of the bass. The high-pitched ringing in her cat ears wasn't helping, either.

When they made it into the main hall, they all came to a gradual stop and stared.

"Whoa…" Blake heard Ruby breathe.

There was an array of green and blue lights spreading across the ceiling and reflecting off mirrored panels, small red and purple spotlights shooting down at the jumping crowd and being diffused by the fog, and large holographic displays of dancers seemingly just floating there above everyone. It was chaotic, energetic, and far too overstimulating for Blake.

"You guys made it!" came a voice, and they turned to see Nora bounding over to them.

"Hi, Nora!" Ruby exclaimed.

"This place is so cool," Yang chimed in with a grin, giving Nora a quick hug.

"Oh, it's awesome," the shorter redhead confirmed. "Pyrrha and Jaune are upstairs right now." She glanced at Blake as she said that. "It's quieter up there, more like a fancy bar! But the arcade is down here, over at the other end."

Ruby immediately grabbed Nora by the shoulders and stared right into her face. "Show meee."

Nora snickered. "Follow me!" And then she skipped off to the beat of the music.

Ruby was right on her heels, and Yang went along with them, still staring around in wonder and appreciation.

Blake wanted to follow, but the apparently quieter upstairs beckoned her harder.

"Maybe I do need a drink," Weiss suddenly said with an eyeroll, and looked over at Blake. "Let's go find the bar together."

"Already found it," Blake replied with a pained smile, pointing over at the illuminated stairs off to the side not too far away. That was always one of the first things she did when she entered new places – checked for all the exits or possible hideouts. She couldn't help it.

"Oh. Well, let's go then."

They walked side by side, and the moment they made it through the threshold of the upstairs area, Blake breathed a bit of a sigh of relief. It was as if this space was soundproofed, to an extent – while not gone completely, the music was sufficiently muted that Blake's ears no longer felt like they were bleeding.

"Why are you even here, Blake?"

Blake's eyes widened and she turned to face Weiss, who had stopped beside her to give her a skeptical look. "Because Yang asked me to come?"

Weiss heaved a sigh of her own and shook her head. "You two are going to be the death of me. Now I really need a drink." And then, without further explanation, she strode off towards the bar.

Blake creased her eyebrows and looked around. The colors were less harsh on the eyes here as well, pleasant lilacs and roses. The seating looked comfortable, too, almost lounge-like with loveseats and armchairs in several places. She spotted Pyrrha and Jaune sitting on one of those and chatting with drinks in their hands.

Pyrrha noticed her and waved, and Blake discreetly waved back.

There were still other people up here, though – strangers – and Blake couldn't stomach just standing there awkwardly, feeling like some of them were starting to stare, so she joined Weiss at the bar while double checking that her headband was properly covering her cat ears.

This was going to be a long couple of hours.

Yang still hadn't gone to the dance floor. But, oh, Blake noticed her looking – glancing furtively often before frowning and staring down at her feet. Sighing. Rubbing her arm, on her bicep just above her prosthetic. She'd return her attention to whoever she was talking to or to whatever she was doing…

…and inevitably look back at the dance floor.

Blake had forced herself to come back down to the main level to hang out with Ruby and Yang at the arcade, and she'd been with Yang when Pyrrha and Jaune had come down to chat with them. She'd also been next to Yang when the couple had gone off to dance together, and she'd seen the look on Yang's face as she watched them go.

It had been even worse when they'd noticed Weiss, of all people, entering the crowd and letting a little loose.

Or even spotting Ren attempting to keep up with Nora.

From where they were standing at the archway leading out of the arcade section, Blake discreetly nudged Yang and nodded over to where the lasers and lights were brightest. "What's stopping you?"

Yang laughed a bit, but it sounded forced in Blake's ears. "I dunno what you're talking about." But the moment Blake arched her eyebrows, Yang's shoulders sagged with a sigh. "I, uh… It's weird. Just…" She creased her eyebrows, as if struggling with finding the right words, and ended up looking down at the metal of her arm and just…shrugging.

Oh, Yang.

Blake didn't fully understand what the blonde was trying to say, but she caught the discomfort easily enough. She allowed herself to briefly brush Yang's other arm with the tips of her fingers before retreating, and said, "I'll be right back."

Without waiting for a response, she strode away from the main area where the music was loudest and found the cloakroom. For a moment she stopped and massaged her temples, closing her eyes at the mild relief at not having the bass thrumming directly in her head. But this really wasn't much better. She knew she'd have to leave soon, before the pain became fully unbearable.

After a short respite, though, Blake found her things on a hanger – including the light hoodie she'd decided to bring at the last second. She swiped it and, after taking a steadying breath, headed back out towards the chaotic energy in the main hall. Yang hadn't moved from her spot, although it seemed that Nora had showed up for the purpose of sharing drinks.

"Girl, you just need some liquid courage," the short redhead commented while putting a whole glass of something dark in Yang's hands.

Yang brought it up to her face so she could stare at it in bewilderment. "Did you just shove whiskey at me? Why are you giving me whiskey?"

"Because I don't want it anymore."

"But I don't want it, either?! If you'd had something more fruity, then okay, but whiskey?"

Nora rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna drink it, or no? Cuz I'll take it back. Don't make me take it back. Cuz I swear I will!"

Yang saw Blake join up with them again and immediately said, "I think I'm being threatened with a good time?"

"Sounds like it to me," Blake agreed with a slight smile towards Nora.

Yang stared at the glass again before showing it to Blake. "Do you want this?"

"No, thank you."

Nora peered at them in amusement while Yang squinted at the drink again, glanced at Blake, and then she downed it all in one go. It immediately made her devolve into a coughing fit, though, and Nora laughed. "Why'd you do that for? It's not a shot!"

Hacking, all Yang could do was rasp, "Yup, it sure isn't."

Nora cackled and took the empty glass back, "Here, you keep regretting your decision, I'll return this." She made sure to give Yang's back a good, hard pat, causing her to stumble forward, and Nora bounded off with the sound of her laughter following behind.

Blake watched her go and slowly shook her head before returning her attention to Yang, who was finally starting to recover. She wiped tears from her eyes and sniffled, clearing her throat a couple more times.

"You okay?" Blake asked with a wry smile.

"Yeah, I'm good," Yang mumbled, and then half-snickered, half-coughed again. "That was pretty dumb of me. Anyway, where'd you go?"

But Blake was not given the opportunity to answer.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt…"

She and Yang both switched their attentions over to the woman that had just walked up to them…and had to tilt their heads up just slightly to meet her eyes. She was taller than Yang and built like a warrior, her ashen-blonde hair threaded back in a thick braid. Her warm, dark gaze found Blake's, and she extended her hand towards her. "Hi. My name is Lyra."

Blake blinked and hesitantly slipped her hand into the other woman's larger one. "Um…hi. I'm Blake."

Lyra gave Blake's hand a lingering, gentle squeeze, which drove Blake's mind into a million questions, and then Lyra turned to Yang and offered her hand as well.

Yang shook it, saying with a smile, "Hey! I'm Yang. Can we help you?"

Lyra smiled, too. "Maybe." Her gaze returned to Blake. "I'm sorry, I hope this isn't out of place, but I saw you from afar a few times. You caught my eye, you're really beautiful. Would you like to come have a drink with me? Or dance, maybe?"

There was a pause, a brief one, in which Blake first fully realized what was happening – she was being hit on, somehow, and not Yang, even if they were standing right next to each other – then blinked as her perspective shifted and she took Lyra in again, but…slower.

She was quite an attractive woman. And she did seem nice.

Blake had apparently very much developed a type.

"Oh. Um."

And then it was awkward and uncomfortable because Yang was, once again, right there, looking like she was fighting her amusement while also creasing her eyebrows in concern.

They still really hadn't cemented what their relationship was now, yet.

Lyra must have seen Blake checking Yang for something because she said, "Oh, unless you two are together? I don't mean to cause any problems."

"N-no – well, yes? Kind of." Blake was fairly certain she'd never felt her face feel so hot, and Yang just looking increasingly more unsure wasn't helping. She did finally manage to say something coherent, though, with a rushed, "I'm sorry, you seem lovely, but I'm not available."

Lyra took this in stride with another smile. She gave Blake a piece of paper. "You can still take my code. If anything changes. I'm interested." And as she started to turn to leave, she added, "Have a nice evening, both of you."

And then she was gone.

Neither Yang nor Blake moved or spoke for a moment. The faunus' heart was pounding everywhere in her body. It was awful.

Then Yang cleared her throat and said, "She was, um, hot."

And Blake couldn't reply to that. Not right away. There was such a conflict of emotions running through her – and that comment was making the despair part of it all worse. Her head hurt so much. Finally, Blake shifted her gaze to Yang. Searching. Trying to figure out where they stood. "She was." But, careful as if stepping onto a minefield, she asked, "Should I keep her code?"

Because they both knew. They were both fully aware now – that if Blake wanted, she could continue to choose trying to get over Yang, and that she could find someone who would reciprocate, at the very least, her attraction. It had never crossed Blake's mind before, so entirely enraptured with Yang as she'd been, and Blake was fiercely monogamous, but…part of that process was now suddenly just one text message away. It would be as easy as 'Should I come over to your place?'

And they also both knew that if Yang had any speck of decency, she wouldn't keep trying to pull Blake along if the chances of the blonde developing deeper feelings for her partner were just too small.

No matter how difficult the separation would be. No matter how alone Yang would feel.

But the thought of that felt like being stabbed through the waist all over again. Blake's scar burned and itched. She knew Yang's feelings weren't her responsibility. She knew that.

But her love wouldn't have it.

…And that was Blake's choice, in the end, wasn't it?

She crumpled the paper and found the nearest trashcan, tossed it in, and came back to Yang.

Yang stared down at her feet. She gripped and twisted her hand around her metal wrist, shifting her weight. The look on her face was torn.

Blake stepped closer and slowly extended the hoodie towards her partner. "I'd brought this for you."

A beat. Yang blinked at the hoodie, and then her brow furrowed more as her eyes flicked back up to Blake, uncertain. "I, uh…I thought you…brought it for yourself."

"No. It's for you."

"I…" Yang took the hoodie from Blake's hands, hesitant, and slowly slipped it on. But the moment she'd zipped up the front, the tension seemed to relax from her shoulders and she breathed a quiet sigh that very much sounded relieved. "…You didn't have to do that, Blake."

"I'm just glad it helped."

"No, I mean, about – well, the hoodie, too. But…thank you."

Blake slowly shook her head. "We have two more years at Beacon, don't we?"

And she let the implication hang there.

The look Yang gave Blake was nothing but sad and grateful. But then she chuckled and gave a rueful shake of her head. She was silent, long enough that Blake thought she wasn't actually going to say anything, but then she seemed to make a decision and Yang glanced off to dance floor before playing with the hem of her hoodie as she muttered, "I guess I thought that if I dressed the way I used to when I'd go out, before…the arm, it'd be…fine, or good for me, or…" She stared at her metal palm sticking out of the sleeve of her hoodie for a moment, the yellow and dark grey of her fingers flexing slightly, and then she sighed and let it drop back down. "…It's like you know me better than I know myself."

"Don't say it like that, Yang," Blake urged softly, putting any contradictory feelings behind and stepping in front of the blonde to lightly grip her forearms, seeking her gaze. Yang opened up so rarely about her darker feelings – and it was always heartbreaking for Blake when inklings of the truth trickled out. "You're trying. You're trying so hard – I can see that much. You made it here and had fun for almost two hours. I brought the shirt just in case. Not because I knew what would happen."

"It's okay, Blake," Yang said with a small smile that did not look okay in the slightest. "I know I'm impulsive."

Blake started to open her mouth, tried to come up with something to argue with, to somehow convince this woman that all the horrible monsters whispering in her ears were lying – because for the gods' sake, you're so incredible, why can't you see that? and Blake had literally just turned down a very willing, hot, possible love interest in exchange for Yang because she was that worth it to Blake – but anything she came up with just got jammed and bottled up in her throat.

She'd be a terrible hypocrite if she said anything now.

Yang's eyes shifted over to the dance floor again. She then gave Blake another grateful smile, shook out her arms, rolled her shoulders, and, with a determined glint in her irises, started heading over.

Blake exhaled and massaged her brow, leaning against the archway frame, and then watched Yang while trying to keep the regret from showing on her face. She wasn't gonna take Yang up on the offer the blonde had made earlier that day, that much Blake was firm about. She was fine with leaving by herself, let Yang have her fun – especially now that she'd just gotten the courage to let a little looser. Blake would never take that away from her.

But before Blake could even make up her mind about getting out of here just yet, Yang stopped halfway to her destination, and Blake watched in bemusement as she made her way back over to the faunus. She seemed nervous, and Blake was immediately concerned.

"Uh, hey," Yang said with a small laugh once she was close enough again. She hesitated and then extended her hand towards Blake. "Do you want to come dance with me? You know, instead of me just going in there by myself."

It was Blake's turn to blink, and then her eyes widened a bit. "Oh. Um." She was suddenly caught between the awful dilemma of saying yes and risk making her headache turn into a splitting pain that would make her want to cry until the next morning, and disappointing Yang but at least having a sufficiently good enough night's rest.

Also, Blake didn't know how to dance. And the idea of being cramped up between a bunch of too-warm, sweaty, gyrating bodies with no easy exit – while already being overstimulated enough as it was – sent her anxiety skyrocketing.

She'd turned down Lyra because of her feelings for Yang. And she knew she was about to disappoint Yang now, too. It broke her heart. But Blake couldn't make herself say yes to this one. "I'm sorry, Yang," she forced out, looking down at the floor. "That's too much for me."

Yang's hand retreated to her side. "Oh. Okay." She did very much seem dejected, for the briefest flash of a moment – but as Yang usually was, she was fast to hide it behind an easy, accepting smile. "No problem!"

Blake sighed and repeated, "I'm sorry. I'm also going to start heading back to Beacon. My headache is getting worse." And then, because she saw Yang about to open her mouth to sacrifice her fun just to hold up her own end of their deal, Blake added quickly, "Please stay here and enjoy yourself. I'll be fine, you don't have to come. Go dance, don't worry about me."

"But…"

"Please."

The blonde hesitated a moment longer, and then she gave Blake an uncertain smile. "Okay. Thank you, Blake. I'll see you later, then. Be safe on the way back!"

"I will." And, with a wave back as she started leaving, she said, "Have fun."

"I'll try!"

RWBY's dorm room was, naturally, blissfully, quiet. Blake shut the door behind herself and let out a slow exhale. She reached for the band on her head and pulled it off, passed her hand through her hair and rubbed the base of her cat ears, closing her eyes for a moment. That already felt a little better. Just a little. She shook her head and then went to her personal drawer to grab pain relief medication.

After downing two pills with a half a water bottle, Blake let herself lounge on her tummy on her bed and shut her eyes again. Focusing on the silence. Feeling the beating of her heart and the high-pitched ringing finally fade from inside her skull.

It was definitely a bit strange being all alone here. And she knew she wasn't really alone, but it was the idea that none of the other RWBY girls were currently anywhere on campus, no JNPR down the hall making noises loud enough that Blake's sensitive hearing could pick them up, that was messing with her.

No, she was just by herself in the dorm room.

She shouldn't have felt the pang of loneliness that badly. She was used to being on her own.

But, then again, it probably shouldn't have come as much of a surprise. Wasn't there some running joke about cats pretending to be so independent but they were actually just helpless little creatures without their owners?

Blake rolled her eyes. She shouldn't have been reducing herself or her care to a racial joke. But…it was just hard sometimes. Especially when her animal traits got in the way of her being able to enjoy certain experiences the same way most humans could without issue.

She'd never give them up for anything, they were a part of her that were often extremely useful in other circumstances, but…she had to deal with the downsides, too.

If only she could find the courage to stop hiding them now.

Blake turned onto her back, palm resting on her forehead, and blinked up at Yang's bunk. Stared at it for a while, zoning out.

Then she sighed. Rubbed her face. She didn't really want to make herself miserable with everything right now, didn't want to let herself spiral like it was too easy for her to do. She turned and reached for the book she'd left under her bed.

A small escape from reality with pirates in a sci-fi setting. Just for now.

The sound of someone approaching from further down the hallway made Blake's eyes fly open. But she was met with only blankness. She sat up, confused and mildly disoriented, and the book slid off her face.

Oh. She'd fallen asleep.

Blake checked the time, saw that only about an hour and a half had gone by. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes and passed her fingers through her hair, then grabbed her water bottle to drink the other half of it. At least the headache was gone. Mostly.

She'd recognized the casual stroll of Yang's footsteps, too, so her momentary panic upon awakening faded fast.

But it was strange that it was only Yang coming back. And the brawler's boots were scraping the carpet a bit, like her feet were heavier than normal.

Drunk? …Or did something happen?

Blake creased her eyebrows, and the door unlocked and opened just as she was moving onto the edge of her bed and putting her book off to the side.

Yang came in, gaze immediately searching for something, and when it landed on Blake, she smiled. "Hey, Blake."

She closed the door.

"Hi." Blake observed her, trying to make sure that she was okay. She sounded like everything was fine, at least. "You're back so early. And by yourself. Is everything alright?"

"Uh-huh." Yang took off her boots, briefly losing her balance in the process but managing to catch herself, and then gave Blake a wink when she straightened up again. She seemed a bit rosy and unfocused. Maybe Blake's first assumption was correct. "I'm good, don't worry."

Blake watched her partner walk over to the drawer with her things in it, where she took out a portable speaker and set it on the desk. "And Ruby and Weiss?" Blake wondered.

Yang waved her hand. "They'll be here. Eventually."

That was so vague. Blake had a feeling there was some kind of mischief or plan on Yang's mind, because the blonde then got her scroll out of her pocket and seemed to look for something on it…but there was this determined gleam in her eyes. And with Yang, that usually meant something.

While Yang concentrated, she asked, "How's your headache?"

"I'm feeling better."

"Oh, good, good."

Blake tilted her head a bit out of bemusement. "…Why?"

"Just checking."

And then, a few seconds later, and before Blake could formulate another question, quiet music started playing from her speaker – some melodic club music, it sounded like. Blake creased her eyebrows again.

They creased even further when Yang approached the makeshift bunkbed and held out her hand towards the faunus, a somehow both shy and purposeful expression on her face. "Dance with me?"

Blake blinked. Being asked this question a second time by her partner might have been even more shocking than the first one. "Um…Yang, I don't really know how to dance."

"It's okay! It's just to have fun together." But Yang quickly lost the confident front she'd been putting on, and added more quietly, "Please? Unless you, like, don't actually want to dance with me. Saying no twice in a row…I'll take the hint." She laughed a bit.

And, of course, faced with that, Blake was powerless. Ignoring the nervousness tightening her insides, she slipped her hand into Yang's to be helped up. "No, I – I'm just not sure about the dancing part. But I do want…well, I do want to do things with you."

Yang smiled tentatively and guided Blake to the middle of the room. "I promise it's not hard." She then – much to Blake's surprise – pulled her partner into a loose kind of almost-hug with one arm, still holding Blake's hand out to the side with the other. "Then you can put your head on my shoulder somewhere, and we can just sway! See? Nothing fancy."

"O-oh. Okay, then."

Blake adjusted herself, unsure, and rested her head against Yang's shoulder as she was instructed to do. Her free hand was already on Yang's lower bicep, feeling the hard metal of her prosthetic under the hoodie's sleeve, but for the sake of comfort she drifted her hand up and around to cradle the same shoulder she was nestled against.

And then they…did exactly as Yang suggested – they swayed to the quiet music. "…I didn't know club music could be danced to like this," Blake admitted in a small breath. But it felt right, in this strange kind of way.

Yang chuckled again, and Blake heard the reverberations of her voice in her chest. "Just gotta find the right songs. I know it's not super romantic, but…I wanted to try."

Blake didn't say anything. Not immediately, anyway. She didn't know what to make of this right now, and it was hard to just relax because she was overwhelmed with the warm feeling of Yang's torso pressing softly against hers. Her heart wasn't racing, not really, but she was increasingly aware of its sheer beating in her chest.

"This isn't…awkward for you, is it?"

"No." Yang's voice was light, almost casual. "It's nice."

Nice. Blake didn't know what to make of that, either. Yang's hand was scorching on Blake's back. If Blake allowed herself to feel her emotions right now, she knew that nice would be a terrible understatement for how much she wanted to melt into Yang's arms.

And Yang was just finding this nice.

Blake closed her eyes with a small sigh. She supposed this did feel more intentionally intimate than a hug, and she took comfort in that. Yang also made it easy to follow her lead, not putting Blake through any complicated footwork. They just held each other, moved with each other in tune to the slightly upbeat music, with Yang occasionally tripping on the floor or over Blake's feet and causing both of them to laugh.

And then the song came to an end, much faster than Blake had anticipated or would have liked. She let go of Yang, because Yang was letting go of her, and took a step back to give her space. Yang gave her a sunny grin and went to turn her speaker off. "See? It's not so bad."

"Yeah, it's…not so bad." But it's also awkward if I'm the only one feeling something about it. Blake let out a small breath, resolved herself to the idea that she'd just have to get used to cutting these moments short. She was getting greedy already, without even meaning or wanting to. Slow down. "I'm…going to go change into – "

Yang was suddenly in front of her again, as if by magic. "Hey."

Blake paused, met Yang's gaze. "Hey?"

"I did enjoy that. It didn't feel weird for me. Thank you."

Blake felt her expression soften, but something behind her sternum clenched. There's such a big gap between our feelings. "I'm glad it was nice for you. It was for me, too." She touched Yang's arm, even gave it a brief squeeze, and then started to turn away to go find her pajamas.

"Hey."

Blake stopped again and returned her attention to her partner, giving her an arch-eyebrowed look that teetered between amused and wry. "Yes, Yang?"

"How are you feeling?"

Yang seemed genuinely concerned this time. Like she was maybe picking up on Blake's dejection. But Blake didn't want to ruin the mood. "I'm alright. I promise." I'll be alright.

This caused Yang to narrow her gaze, investigating Blake's expression with all the concentration she could muster, and the sight of that alone was just so endearing that it made the tension fade from Blake's posture, and she allowed herself a half-smile. "Yang. I promise. You're –" she interrupted herself, calculated and debated with herself for all of two seconds that felt like a lifetime, and then found the courage to just say it in an affectionate breath, " – you're adorable, though."

The blonde's eyebrows rose so high and so fast that Blake was surprised they didn't fling through the ceiling and launch into space. "Oh!" It was almost like she didn't even know what to do anymore. "Uh-m." Her face got redder, too.

To Blake's mild disappointment – because this reaction was terribly interesting – Yang was saved from having to save herself by the door opening and Weiss throwing out, "Okay, we gave you your fifteen-minute head-start, we're here now. Do you mind explaining?"

"I mean, I'm not complaining," Ruby teased, coming in after Weiss, "Those were such cool arcade games! And Weiss actually tried one!"

Yang laughed awkwardly, and as much as Blake's curiosity was piqued with that comment from the heiress, she also didn't want to keep putting her partner on the spot. So, Blake moved to continue the task she'd meant to do for the past three minutes – find her pajamas.

From the walk-in closet, though, she still heard Yang speak. "I, uh – I just needed to have a chat with Blake! You know, without being interrupted."

"Huh? About wh – "

"Anyway! What game did you make Weiss play?"

Blake heard Ruby snicker. "…Pinball. I had to drag her away from it."

"I was going to win!"

Yang laughed. "Yeah, I bet. You should have left her there, Ruby."

"Hm, you might be on to something…"

Blake finished changing and came out of the walk-in just as Weiss was heading into the bathroom with, "Laugh at me all you want, I'm still smarter than both of you."

"I just feel like you hang on to that a lot, like you're insecure –"

The bathroom door slammed behind Weiss before Yang could finish her comment.

Ruby giggled along with her sister. "She was going to win, Yang."

"She totally was."

From the other side of the bathroom door, they heard Weiss yell, "I can still hear you, you…you dummies!"

Ruby and Yang both laughed again, and Blake slowly shook her head. "You can't win at pinball, Weiss," she called out, taking pity on her teammate.

The only sound they heard was a muffled, "Hmph!" before the shower turned on.

There was some more snickering from the half-sisters, and then it was Yang's turn to go get changed.

But as she passed by Blake and their gazes met, Yang's smile turned into something shier, something almost hopeful as she cast her eyes downwards for the briefest of moments.

It almost glued Blake to her spot on the floor. But she managed to make it to her bed, where she, with the utmost calm, hid her face in her pillow so she wouldn't make her internal screaming too obvious to Ruby.

Forget Lyra, forget even considering other possible suitors.

Yang was all Blake ever wanted.

…How am I ever supposed to survive this?

NO MORE RACIST LASER TAG. WOOHOO!

Guys, I couldn't do it. I just could. not. do it. I TRIED to re-write the laser tag scene from the OG Forlorn - like, truly, I had half-ish of it done - but then I was just blocked and I wasn't feeling any of it at all. I literally hate that chapter from the OG so much. It makes Yang come across like such a huge, insensitive jerk.

So, anyway, the club scene was a suggestion from Alex, one of the music composers on the project, and I liked this a lot better because I could borrow some ideas from the club scene in Contrecoeur, which I will not be remastering (also they turned out being two very different club scenes, but still lol).

...Maybe I should add a guy/girl hitting on Blake this chapter? Or a guy hitting on Yang? dfgdfgd EDIT: I did, in fact, add a girl hitting on Blake. RIP, Lyra.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed!