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Blake couldn't sleep.
Insomnia was nothing new for her. She'd spent many nights throughout her life lying awake for hours as her mind raced with worries and fears. It happened often back when she was still with the White Fang. She should have been used to it by now.
But now, here in the safety of the dorms in Atlas, with her teammates sleeping only a few feet away from her in the other bunks, she found it vexing that she couldn't fall asleep. There wasn't anything specific that plagued her, beyond the general unease she felt about the upcoming missions to help Ironwood with Amity Tower. They'd been training hard in their downtime, so she should have been exhausted enough for it not to matter. She was exhausted, and she badly needed sleep, but it was now 2am and she was still wide awake.
Blake stared at the wall and gripped the extra pillow she held to her chest tightly. Something felt wrong and she didn't quite know what it was. It was like an emptiness in the pit of her chest and no matter which way she shifted in bed or how tightly she held the pillow, it wasn't going away or lessening. The feeling was miserable and overwhelming. Her thoughts drifted, flashed back through various things that happened in the day, mostly mistakes she'd made during training. But then, as they tended to ever since the fight at Argus, Blake found her thoughts focusing on Yang.
The feeling of Yang holding her hand, hugging her, touching her cheek...
Blake blinked a few times as an idea slowly took form in her mind. This probably wasn't going to end well, but at this point she was on the verge of staying awake all night, so she needed to do something about it. Carefully and soundlessly, she slid down from her top-bunk bed and landed on the floor below. She crouched by the side of Yang's bed and peered over at her partner who was blissfully asleep. It was mostly dark in the room, save for the dimmed wall-lights, but Blake could easily see the features of Yang's face as she slept--she looked incredibly peaceful and comfortable.
After a moment's hesitation, Blake reached out and gently shook Yang's shoulder a couple times. Yang shifted and rolled over, her face scrunching up until her eyes eventually fluttered open.
"Yang," Blake whispered, leaning over and resting her other arm on the mattress and her chin on top of that. "I can't sleep. I need your help."
Yang glanced around, trying to figure out what time it was until she eventually found the clock on the embedded display in the wall next to the bed. She looked back at Blake, a little confused, but generally grasping the situation. Yang wasn't quite sure what she could do, but Blake was asking her for help so who was she to refuse?
"Okay, what can I do?" Yang said as she rubbed at the corner of one eye sleepily.
Blake bit her lip and glanced away for a moment, then nodded as if she were finalizing a decision.
"Just stay right there." Blake stood up and lifted the covers on the bed as she did. In one fluid motion, she slid into bed next to Yang and had already pulled the covers over herself. She shifted over as close as she could possibly get to Yang, then wrapped her arm around Yang's waist and rested her head on Yang's shoulder. The room wasn't cold, but the sudden sensation of the warmth of Yang's body against hers was evident and... excellent.
Yang tensed up for a moment as she felt her partner snuggling against her--definitely not what she had been expecting to wake up to in the middle of the night. Her mind was still somewhat in a sleepy haze and she didn't quite have the focus that would have made her question what was going on or start a whole entire conversation, so Yang decided to just go with it. She put her arm around Blake's shoulder and pulled her closer, shifting onto her side so she was facing Blake.
After Yang moved, Blake made little adjustments to get closer and more comfortable. She intertwined her legs with Yang's and slid her hand up Yang's back, pressing it flat between her shoulder-blades. She tried to make sure their bodies were touching in as many places as she possibly could. Blake sighed deeply, overwhelmed with the feeling of how right and needed this was. Being held by Yang made her feel so safe and peaceful that she wondered why she hadn’t done this much sooner--why they didn’t just do this every night. She buried her face against Yang's neck, drinking in her warmth and scent.
"Thank you," Blake murmured.
Yang's only reply was a quietly hummed 'mmmmh' as she lifted a hand and began to stroke Blake's hair. It occurred to Yang that she should have said something witty or clever here. Something about how she normally would charge by the hour for this, but for Blake it was 'on-the-house'.
She would have, if she hadn't found herself quickly drifting back to sleep right along with Blake. The two of them stayed that way for the rest of the night, comfortably wrapped up in each other's arms.
They had each other now and neither of them wanted to let go.