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A tremble of the hand was almost unnoticed, had Blake not been looking at the person in the first place.
Golden eyes narrow slightly, as she looks from the offending hand to the blonde in front of her, an eyebrow raising in concern. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Yang replies easily, as if she really was. Blake knows better though, she thinks, and she takes Yang’s soft hand between her two own, eyes softening.
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Yang. You know that right?”
“I know,” she breathes out. She pauses for a moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek before she opens her mouth to speak again. “I think I’m just tired. It’s been a long…” she pauses, gesturing with her right hand vaguely, “you know.”
And Blake does know. It had been a week since she and Ruby ended up on the island. It took them four days to find Yang, who told them that she was on the island for a month. Time must work weird here on the island and Blake just hopes that wherever Weiss is, she’s okay. A familiar guilt washes over Blake as she looks into Yang’s eyes. The shit she must’ve seen during that month, thinking that the team weren’t looking for her or coming to get her. That isolation and loneliness that Yang would’ve felt broke Blake’s heart. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
“Hey,” Yang looks at Blake carefully, reaching up her free hand to wipe at Blake’s cheeks. The cool metal is comforting on her warm skin, and it takes a second to realize she was crying. When did she start crying? “What happened to me was not your fault. You couldn’t do anything.”
“If I was just that little bit quicker,” Blake persists, shaking her head, “I could’ve caught you. I could’ve saved you. But I didn’t. I missed. And then you were alone.”
“But I’m not anymore,” Yang reassures with a soft smile. “You and Ruby are both here now, and I know neither of you are going anywhere.” Well, save for the fact that Ruby went to go hunting for some food.
“I thought you were dead,” Blake adds with a sniffle. “I thought I had lost you.”
“Honestly, I thought I was dead too,” Yang replies softly. “But if this is the afterlife, I’m just glad I have two of the people I care about most here with me.”
Yang’s words hit Blake like a truck. Yang’s glad Blake’s here with her. Any Ruby, of course, but Yang is happy that Blake is there with her.
They stand in comfortable silence for what feels like hours, Blake still holding Yang’s hand with both of her own. An anchor, a tether to reality. Yang was right there in front of her, she wasn’t gone. Yang was there.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Yang murmurs so softly, that Blake wasn’t even completely sure she had heard it. Confusion masks her face as she looks up at the brawler, tilting her head in a silent question. “You promised me that you wouldn’t leave me anymore, and I ended up being the one who left you.”
“Yang…”
“I know it’s not either of our faults. But it happened, and I left you and I was alone…” the blonde trails off, and Blake can feel Yang’s hand between hers begin to tremble again, but harder. Blake can’t think of anything to say to help Yang, so instead she grips her hand tighter and remains silent, hoping Yang will continue and get everything she needed to get off her chest.
Yang takes the silent invitation and inhales a deep breath, as if trying to decide what to say next. “The first few days, I really thought I was dead. I was just wondering around, trying to find someone who could tell me where I was. I found animals here. Not like the Grimm, but some were dangerous, and some weren’t. Days were okay, I would just roam around the island and hunt for food. I just focused on surviving during the day. But at night…” Yang trails off, and Blake can see a darkness in her eyes that she isn’t sure she’s ever seen before. “At night I couldn’t distract myself. I was faced with the loneliness, and the nightmares, and I was scared. I was scared, Blake, because I didn’t know what happened to you, or Ruby, or Weiss, or the others. What if something had happened to you while I was gone? How could I ever forgive myself for not being able to keep you all safe?”
After spending so much of her life taking care of her little sister and her dad, Blake knows that Yang is the type to shoulder responsibilities that shouldn’t be hers. Being the oldest in the group, even if only by a few months, Yang constantly shouldered a lot of responsibilities and blame for the rest of the team, even if the role of the leader was passed onto Ruby. But sometimes with that comes with unnecessary weight on her shoulders. She wasn’t Atlas, she didn’t need to hold up the sky. Letting go of Yang’s hand, one hand reaches up and gently cups Yang’s jaw. The way lilac eyes slowly shut and she leans into the touch makes Blake wonder just how long it had been since Yang was able to just take a breath and relax. Far too long.
“You are the bravest and strongest person I have ever met, Yang Xiao Long,” she ignores the quiet scoff that leaves the blondes lips and continues, “but not even you can carry the weight you have been carrying for as long as you can without breaking. You need to be able to let other people share some responsibilities too, y’know.”
Yang purses her lips slightly and Blake tries to give a comforting smile. “The rest of us aren’t fragile, Yang. You can unload some of the weight you’re carrying on us.”
Yang stays silent for the longest time, and Blake is worried that somehow she’s overstepped and said something she shouldn’t have, before the blonde runs her tongue over her teeth and looks down at the Faunus, lilac eyes boring into golden.
Yang takes a deep sigh before she nods her head. “Okay, I promise I’ll try.”
Blake smiles widely and her other hand releases Yang’s to cup the other side of her jaw. “That’s all I ask.”
Something shifts in the air then, and Blake can’t exactly tell what it is. Suddenly, it’s like there’s no one else that exists except her and her partner. As if time stops completely, and all that matters is that Yang’s looking at her, watching her.
She can’t tell if it’s because Yang feels the change, or just if it’s comfortable, but suddenly the blonde’s hands find their way to be resting on Blake’s hips, and it’s like electricity is shooting through her where Yang is touching her. It’s not unpleasant though, on the contrary, it feels like it’s charging her up, electrifying her, preparing her.
Blake carries a lot of different emotions with her wherever she goes; pain, guilt, grief. These emotions are part of her nature, no matter how happy she feels, she always feels those in the back of her mind, like they’re nagging her, haunting her. She will always feel pain from her time with Adam, convincing her she was never really good enough. She will always hold guilt for the actions of Adam and the White Fang, including the fact that Yang lost her arm because of her. She will always feel grief for the girl the once was, and the people they lost along the way. Pyrrha, Penny, even Adam (to some extent).
But Yang is looking at her in a way Blake has never noticed before, and all those negative emotions just seem to melt away. All she can think about is Yang. Yang, who’s smile lights up a room; Yang, who’s passion is powerful enough to melt icebergs; Yang, who’s strong enough to take on anything that’s thrown her way with enough energy to make sure she takes care of those around her. Yang, Yang, Yang…
“Blake,” it’s little more than a whisper, but it echoes in the Faunus’ ears and they twitch with the weight of that single word. Her name on Yang’s lips, she could listen to forever.
There’s a long pause, lilac eyes boring into gold, and it takes all of Blake’s willpower to not let a shiver run up her spine. She holds her breath in anticipation, waiting for what Yang has to say.
“Can I kiss you?”
Blake’s head feels like it’s spinning, like she just downed the strongest alcohol in all of Remnant. Absolutely lost for words, she can do nothing but nod. Yang smiles in response, the corners of her eyes crinkling with delight. Brothers, she was beautiful.
There’s a tremor in Yang’s hands that are still holding Blake’s hips, but Blake can tell that this time, it’s due more to anticipation than fear. Yang leans in, capturing the brunette’s lips in her own.
They work in tandem, being partners for so many years will do that to you. Every move Yang makes, Blake has an answer for, working together just as they would be able to do on the battlefield. Yang is just as passionate with her kisses as she is about her fighting, Blake is delighted to note. Though where Yang’s passion is rough and ready on the battlefield, it’s a lot softer when they kiss. Blake can almost feel the burning of Yang’s semblance as they explore each other. Hands roaming, they feel each other in a way that neither of them thought they would.
It’s everything Blake could’ve ever imagined, and more.
Blake just swipes her tongue over Yang’s lips when a loud, high pitched shout breaks them out of their bliss.
Reluctantly, the two pull apart, still holding onto each other. Yang slowly opens her eyes and Blake notes they’re crimson. Whether that’s from the kiss or the interruption, she can’t quite tell.
“I’m going to kill her.”
“Be nice.”
“Hey guys,” Ruby calls out, dragging along a familiar white-haired girl behind her, “I found Weiss!”