Chapter Text
They stayed in the Haven dorms, with the number of Faunus Blake had brought from Menagerie there were few other places that could house them. The walk there was silent, too exhausted with too much to say, it wasn’t quite uncomfortable but still set Blake on edge. Qrow took the lead, Oscar unconscious in his arms. Ruby and Weiss followed, leaning into each other as it both convinced the they were the one holding the other up.
Yang walked alone and Blake didn’t even try to tell herself that it wasn’t her fault, they still hadn’t spoken. Blake knew her parents were behind her, that the army that had somehow chosen to follow her was behind them but she could barely hear them.
She was tired. And what little focus she had went forwards.
Yang had her arm back on now, mechanical fingers idly flexing at her side seemingly devoid of the tension pervading the rest of her body, and she was cold. A tense Yang burned like a furnace, Blake should have felt that heat even from this distance but the chill in the air felt like a defeat. Yang had gone into that vault alone and come out alone and hadn’t really spoken yet about what had happened. That too felt like Blake’s fault.
The main entrance to the dorms appeared at long last far too quickly and Blake’s heart seized at the realisation that Yang might disappear without ever speaking to her, without Blake apologising. She called out before she could second guess herself and Yang froze, Weiss and Ruby too though only for a moment before turning and continuing back inside. Yang didn’t turn, not fully, just cocked her head slightly and waited.
“I’m sorry Yang,” her voice sounded weak even to her own ears, “I’m so...”
“Stop.” Yang turned now, her face indecipherable but only just, a language Blake had once breathed now so abruptly lost to her. “I just lost my mother. For good. Again.” Her words were hard but weary, steel tempered with resignation. “I can’t do this now.”
And then she turned again and was slipping through Blake’s fingers once again and in all the times she’d pictured this moment, tried to get it just right desperate to find those few words that might fix things somehow it had never ended like this. Never ended with Yang walking away defeated, that was her place, this was supposed to be Blake’s torment. Yang was supposed to be righteous fury, seething at Blake’s every flaw and standing victorious because Blake would always choose to face Yang’s anger rather than watch her fall again.
She was calling out again before she could stop herself. “Please Yang, this won’t get any easier.” And she hates herself for saying it, for thinking even for a moment that she should be the one making demands.
Yang’s face is a little more legible this time, flickers of red in those lilac eyes, her jaw set. “If you’re still here tomorrow,” and she seemed to swallow whatever words were to follow, simply fixing her gaze on the ground, but the damage was done, the searing pain in Blake’s chest as she realised that she’d never had to face losing Yang’s trust before, that perhaps there’d been nothing before she’d mourned so acutely.
And then Yang was gone, and Blake was caught in place. A hand engulfed her shoulder and she all but fell into her father’s arms, hoping the army she built wouldn’t stay to watch her cry.
She wouldn’t sleep tonight, for all her fatigue. Her emotions and aura were drained alike but her mind refused to rest. She hadn’t expected Raven. Hadn’t expected Blake. Had hoped in vain that her mother would stay. Had never dared to hope her partner would.
The halls were alight with hushed noise, her teammates said that Blake was silent but her footsteps, like so many parts of the woman she’d once been so arrogant to think she knew best of all, were plain as day for anyone with the patience and care to find them.
“Please Blake, just let me cry in peace.” Her voice wavered now, thick with the tears she hadn’t had enough time to shed.
“Sorry, I just...” the voice was wrong and Yang started at the sound, but the woman now facing her could quite fairly be described as 'almost Blake', the same jet black hair, the same ears though these had a few adornments, the same molten gold eyes though the expression of almost reverence was new. “I’m Blake’s mother,” she continued as if she could be anyone else “I just... You’re her.” Gesturing with her hands as though it might explain everything.
“Blake didn’t say much, I don’t think she could bring herself to, but Sun told me what you did.” She seemed to hesitate for a moment before moving forwards and wrapping Yang in a tight hug, “Thank you. My daughter is alive because of you. Thank you so much.” Yang was frozen, today had already been too much and now to receive more affection from the mother she never knew her best friend had than she ever had from Raven. She needed to go. Needed to curl up and pretend her life hadn’t ended and restarted so many times in one evening. That she hadn’t seen Weiss impaled and then healed, Ruby knocked unconscious and revived, her mother betray her just to leave and Blake return and maybe even stay.
She gently tried to extricate herself, “It’s fine.” She mumbled, trying not to let the concern in Kali's eyes break her. “I have to go.” She barely choked it out stumbling into her room and shutting the door behind her. She could barely breathe, her sobs making futile grasps at the air as she fell onto the bed, she buried her head under the pillow and let herself unravel.
She shouldn’t be here, she knew that. She’d been given her own room, escorted there by her father, and yet her feet carried her to where she felt most useless. She could hear Yang tossing and turning. Could hear the dry sobs that were all that was left when a person spent all their tears. Knew she couldn’t help or heal the wounds she’d made.
'If you’re still here tomorrow,'
Blake curled up against the door and told herself that she might be able to sleep.