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When Blake wearily blinked her eyes open, she was surprised to see sun and trees. Is this what death was like? Blake sat up and looked at her surroundings. Huh. She stood and brushed the sand off her outfit, which was too hot. She stripped her overcoat off and folded it, hiding it discreetly. Blake stretched. She was lucky she still had some aura when she fell, which, where was her aura? She was worriedly considering this when she heard a rustling just outside her view. Her first thought was of…
“Yang?”
Blake moved quickly towards the source of the sound and found a red cloaked figure pushing herself up to sit.
“Ruby!”
Ruby twisted to look back at Blake and winced slightly as the sudden movement.
Blake rushed to kneel by Ruby. “Hey, you okay?”
“Fine. Where are we?” Ruby asked as Blake helped her stand.
“I don’t know. Some beach? I just woke up.”
Ruby stretched as she examined her surroundings better.
“We fell,” said Blake as she looked towards the sky.
“We did. This must be what’s under the void,” mused Ruby, who then was struck by another thought, “and if we’re here, then…”
Blake’s eyes widened as she was struck by the same thought. “Yang is here! We need to find her!”
Ruby nodded and followed Blake who had started to jog out and use her ears to hear anything, anything resembling movement.
Blake was on a mission. Yang had to be somewhere on this island. She had to be.
~~~
It had been hours, or so Ruby thought and they had gotten nowhere. “Blake, maybe we ought to take a short rest.”
“No, she’s got to be here. She is.”
“I’m sure she is, but…”
Blake heard a small groan. “Wait!” Blake chased the sound of the groan with Ruby desperately trying to keep up with the fannus.
Blake stumbled on Weiss as she was standing and leaning on a tree for support. Ruby headed ahead of Blake towards Weiss.
“Weiss! You fell too? What happened? Did anyone else fall? Are you okay?”
Weiss hugged Ruby tightly and didn’t say a word.
“Um, Weiss?”
“Weiss, have you seen anyone else?” asked Blake.
Weiss looked at Blake with understanding. “You haven’t found Yang yet?”
Blake shook her head sadly.
Weiss let go of Ruby and took off her own jacket. “Then we need to find her.”
~~~
Another hour or so, and in a clearing, Blake finally spotted a familiar head of golden hair. “Yang!” Blake ran to the figure who was lying still on the ground, skidding on her knees to be next to her. Weiss and Ruby stood back.
“Blake, is she…?” asked Weiss.
Blake quickly assessed Yang, and saw the slow rise and fall of her chest. “She’s alive.” Blake gently shook Yang’s shoulder. “Yang? It’s me. We’re here. We’re all here.”
Yang groaned and blearily opened her eyes. From the ground she looked up at Blake in wonder. “I guess as far as heaven goes, this isn’t so bad.”
Blake blushed, and cleared her throat. Blake held Yang’s face and brushed her thumb over Yang’s cheek. “You’re not dead Yang. We fell too.”
“We?”
“Hey, sis,” tearfully said Ruby as she drew closer with Weiss. They kneeled down on the other side of Blake. Blake drew her hand back as Ruby threw herself on top of Yang, holding her and crying.
Yang winced but brought her arms up to hold her sister. “Hey, Ruby, it’s okay. I’m okay.”
“Are you?” asked Weiss pointedly.
Ruby drew back and Blake moved back in, as Yang struggled to sit up though the pain on her face caused Blake to rest a hand on Yang’s upper chest to lightly push her back down.
“Yang, you’re clearly hurt. Take it easy.”
“I’m fine,” snapped Yang.
Blake’s eyebrows raised and she looked at Ruby and Weiss. “Give us a moment?”
Ruby nodded and rested her hand on Yang’s shoulder before wiping her eyes and stepping back with Weiss who paused for a second and looked at Yang, who looked back with pained eyes, and said “Don’t be stupid,” before walking off with Ruby.
Yang refocused on Blake who wasn’t looking at her. “Blake?”
Blake didn’t look at her. “Do you know what it was like, back at Beacon, to see you throw yourself into danger and get hurt, because of me?”
Yang didn’t answer. She knew she didn’t.
“I thought that there was no worse feeling than that. I was wrong.” Blake took a deep breath to calm down.
Yang tried to reach for her, to offer comfort, but she was too far out of reach.
“When Neo hit you and you fell…” Blake’s voice cracked. “That was worse.”
“Why?” asked Yang, gently pushing Blake to admit to what she had known for ages.
Blake turned towards Yang with tears in her eyes. “I thought I lost you! I thought I’d never get to tell you that...that I love you, Yang.”
“I love you too, Blake.” Yang was sure she always had.
Blake smiled at Yang’s admission, but then her face fell into a frown.
“Blake?”
“You keep throwing yourself into danger without thinking. You keep sacrificing yourself for others, but what about you? Who looks out for you?”
Yang shifted again to sit up, but Blake held her down again. “Blake, I don’t want to have this conversation lying on my back.”
“Tough. Who looks out for you, Yang?”
“I look out for me,” she said like it was the most obvious thing.
“Well, you’re doing a terrible job of it.”
Yang huffed irritably. “What do you want from me Blake?”
“I want everything from you, but right now, I want you to let me, let your team take care of you.” Blake moved closer and brought her hand back to Yang’s face, who turned slightly to look away from Blake.
“I don’t know how,” Yang said, her voice breaking.
“I know. You’ve always taken care of others, ever since you were little, but you deserve to have someone to take care of you too. I want to be that someone, but if I do, you have to stop sacrificing yourself without thinking. I can’t handle that.”
“Blake…”
Blake held Yang’s face in both of her hands as rested her forehead against Yang’s. “I’m not asking you not to fight. I’m not asking you not to look out for us. I’m asking you to take a second, just a second before throwing yourself into danger. You’re smarter than that. I know you are.”
Yang kept her eyes on Blake’s, tears streaming down her face, which Blake wiped away with her thumbs.
“Yang? Can I kiss you?”
Yang nodded, and Blake so exquisitely careful, let their lips join in a sweet, gentle kiss. Blake pulled back slightly, to say, “I love you, Yang.”
Yang offered a teary, “Love you. I’ll try, Blake. I promise I’ll try.”
“I’ll take it. Are you ready for Ruby and Weiss to come back?”
Yang closed her eyes as she leaned into Blake’s touch. “Give me a minute.”
Blake smiled. “Whatever you need.”