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“Another romance novel, Belladonna? You know I’m right here, right?” Yang flashed her trademark lopsided grin. Blake couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Her partner was such a flirt sometimes. She knew it wasn’t serious, but that didn’t make it any easier.
“You’re not as funny as you think.” She deadpanned, putting the offending book back on the table. Her response only made Yang’s smile grow. It wasn’t often that Blake caved and gave some sort of reaction to her partners teasing, and Yang took it as a small victory.
She started to turn away, and walk towards the next table filled with books. “I am exactly as funny as I think.” She picked up another one of the new releases, The Infinite Man. “Got any ideas of what you’re looking for?”
Blake had to stop to think about that for a minute. She was still surprised that Yang had agreed to come with her to the book store. It probably had something to do with the fact that Ruby had declared every other Friday night “partner night,” and informed them both that it was Blake’s turn to pick. Yang probably just couldn’t bear to disappoint her sister.
For not the first time during their partnership, Blake found herself admiring Yang’s dedication. It was clear just how much Yang cared for her sister. She had made some pretty big sacrifices for her, and Blake just hoped that Ruby appreciated it. Blake had realized too late how rare that unconditional love was, and how stupid she had been to leave it.
She couldn’t help but wonder how her parents were doing. She thought about calling them sometimes. She thought about what they would say when she did. Sometimes the voice in her head told her they would be happy she returned, sometimes it told her they would be angry that she left.
Blake could feel her ears straining against the bow, wanting to fold in on themselves. She sighed and started to reach for another book-
“Are your ears bothering you?” Blake nearly jumped after being startled out of her thoughts. Yang looked mildly concerned. Blake quickly looked around, afraid of who might’ve overheard them, but she was quickly relieved to see no one else was nearby. Yang had probably noticed that too.
“It’s nothing.” A beat. “Let’s keep looking? I think fantasy would be good for a change.” Blake started to lead them to the back of the store. The entire back wall was covered in fantasy novels; it was one of the genre’s the store was known for.
“You know if you want to lose the bow ever, I’d punch the lights out of anyone who gave you shit.”
Blake turned to face her partner. “I know.” She replied. Yang nodded, satisfied in knowing that her partner knew it was an option. Yang was never going to push Blake on why she felt the need to keep the bow. Occasionally she wished Yang would push, but mostly she was just relieved that her partner was willing to give her the space to have her own reasons.
It was one of her many talents, knowing how far she could push. Blake knew that if she ever really wanted to get Yang to stop teasing her, all she would have to do is ask, and Yang would never do it again. Maybe at first she thought about actually telling her stop. Maybe those thoughts vanished long ago.
As they reached the back wall, both picked up different books. Yang immediately went for something that looked ridiculous. It had a knight in shining armor on the front, sword drawn, confronting a dragon twenty times their size. The Last King. “Doesn’t that look a bit too cliché?”
Yang looked back up. “Maybe I’m rooting for the dragon.” She quipped.
“Of course you are.” Blake started her search, resisting the urge to roll her eyes more. Yang already gave her a bad enough time for it. She had to use the gesture sparingly if she wanted to avoid more teasing.
She looked over the many titles. Some were blasé, promising nothing more than a bland story and forgettable characters. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Blake had gotten lost in dozens of such romance novels in the past. But she figured her introduction to the genre should be something more interesting.
She picked up one that caught her eye. The Grimm Child.
“Oh, that’s a good one.” Yang had put down her own book and moved closer to Blake. She hesitated for a moment before entering Blake’s space, standing next to her and gently grabbing the book. Blake handed it to her willingly.
One of the reasons that Blake had chosen now to get into fantasy was the fact that Yang was accompanying her. She suspected that her partner would be more familiar with the genre than she was. A byproduct of the fact that she read Ruby so many fairy tales growing up.
“You know it?”
“I read it to Ruby. She got so scared the first time, and hid under my bed the entire night.” Yang let out a small laugh at the memory. “By the time she was ten, she was already swearing to anyone who would listen that she was going to kill a chill once she was a huntress. She swore that Summer had killed a thousand chills.” Yang’s smile faltered a bit at the mention of Summer, and she turned back to the books on the shelf, moving away from Blake’s side.
Blake waited to see if there was anything else that Yang was going to say on the topic. But when that appeared to be all, Blake felt the need to fill the silence. She wasn’t blind, and ever since Yang had told her about what happened to Ruby’s mother, she could tell it weighed heavily on her. She hoped that one day Yang would feel comfortable to talk about it with her. She wanted Yang to know it was an option, too. It must be a painful thing to bare, all on her own.
“When did you start reading to her?” Blake blurted out. For a moment, she was worried that she had overstepped, but her partner had always known when to push, and maybe Blake should push too, sometimes.
Yang continued to stare at the bookshelf. “A little after Summer disappeared. I needed it as much as she did. Those were the stories she told me, too.” She turned towards Blake and managed a weak smile. “I needed to hold on to that.”
Blake faltered, trying to come up with a response. Yang had gone through so much, and anything she would say would just feel trivial compared to it. Yang made it seem so easy, when she comforted Blake after she returned to team RWBY after being outed as a faunus, or when she pushed her while she was destroying herself looking for answers. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Yang shook her head.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I think sometimes I just need someone to listen instead.” Blake nodded in response. “I won’t pretend it was easy, because it wasn’t. But sitting down with Ruby every night, it felt like maybe I could hold on to that piece of her. Hold on to a piece of my mom, too.” Yang placed the fairy tale back on the bookshelf.
“Which was your favorite?” Blake’s voice was smaller than she wanted it to be, and she cleared her throat a little before continuing. “Which was your favorite to read to Ruby?”
Yang’s smile got a little brighter. “That’s easy. The Man Who Stared at the Sun. Getting into a staring contest with the sun, and winning? That sounds like my kind of fun.”
Blake rolled her eyes. “Or it sounds like a good way to go blind.”
Yang’s smirk returned. “Please, Belladonna, do you really think I would lose?” Blake tried to conceal the beginnings of a smile. She never liked seeing her teammate without that trademark smirk. It always seemed her partner was incomplete without it.
“If there’s anyone who could win, it would be you.” Yang looked momentarily shocked hearing the rare vote of confidence, and Yang’s smirk was threatening to grow even further. Gods above knew she already had enough of an ego, and Blake wasn’t looking to add to it lightly. “Which fairy tale is my favorite?” Blake hastily added.
“I didn’t know you read fairy tales, Blake.”
“I don’t.” Blake replied. Yang raised an eyebrow. “Impress me.”
“Oh, a challenge?” Yang was clearly amused. She looked around the bookshelves, picking up several books in succession and turned them over in her hands. Blake had expected her to take a moment, and quickly come up with something, but as the seconds turned into minutes, it was clear that Yang wanted to think this through.
It was a strange thing to see Yang take something so seriously. She seemed to really be giving the question some intense thought. Her brow was furrowed, and she seemed to carefully regard each book in her grasp. Several times Blake saw her pick up the same book, seemingly rejecting it, only to pick it up after giving it more thought. It was a far cry from the Yang of the training room, where she would bound across the room, chasing Blake in a flurry of shotgun shells and shouting.
Perhaps it made Blake feel special, knowing that Yang cared enough to take this seriously. It had been longer than she cared to admit since someone had showed her that kindness. Perhaps she wished that she could return the favor, make Yang feel special too.
“This one. This one’s your favorite.” Yang placed a book in Blake’s hands. “The Gift of the Moon. The moon is overworked and crashes down to Remnant. Eventually it’s raised back up, but it’s not the same.” Yang moved one her hands to cover Blake’s. She was looking at Blake with gaze that seemed to strip her right down to her soul. “You can’t put the moon back together, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful.”
Blake’s eyes widened and she could feel a blush threatening to form on her cheeks from the implication. She couldn’t hold Yang’s gaze and turned away first. “I-, I’ll start with this one.” She hurriedly started to move towards the next bookshelf.
Sometimes she knew Yang wasn’t being serious. She was a flirt, and Blake knew that from the moment they met. The first few times it had caught her off guard, but rarely since then. Sometimes though, it just seemed so… genuine.
But that’s just who Yang was, genuine. It didn’t mean anything, even if sometimes Blake wished it did.
Yang flashed another cocky grin. “I knew it’d be your favorite.”
They perused the other sections at a leisurely pace. Ruby had kicked them out of the dorm once she had declared that it was partner night before Weiss had gotten back from classes, and who knew what she was subjecting the heiress to. As long as they didn’t burn the dorm down, Blake reasoned Weiss would survive. Besides, for one of the few times she could remember this semester, Blake was in no hurry to get back to the dorm.
Eventually they had looked through all genres Blake could stomach, and she even let Yang convince her to browse the humor section. Of course, Yang had immediately picked up a book of puns and proceeded to one-up every single one. Blake rolled her eyes at some of the particularly egregious ones, but of course that only added more energy to Yang’s routine.
“You totally laughed at that one!” Yang was smiling ear to ear at this point.
“I did not!” Blake said behind a poorly concealed laugh. She wasn’t willing to give Yang the satisfaction of it. Yang only had to raise an eyebrow before Blake relented. “Fine. That was funny. You’re funny.”
Yang pumped her fist in triumph.
It was nearly closing time as the pair made their way to the front to buy the books they had accumulated. Some of the ones Blake had selected were well out of her preferred reading habits, but if nothing else they would serve as reminders of an evening well spent.
“This was fun, Yang. Thanks for coming with me.” Blake smiled at Yang, who had insisted on carrying all the bags of books. Something about how it would let her show off. As if Blake didn’t already realize how strong her partner was.
“Any time, partner. All you ever have to do is say the word, and I’m there.” She waved her arms, seemingly unburdened by the heavy bags. “Just prepare yourself, next time it’s my turn and my choice for date night is going to blow your mind.”
“Partner night.” Blake corrected. Yang waved her hands again, seemingly unbothered by the difference.
If Yang wanted another blush, she was going to have to try harder than that.
Sometimes Blake could convince herself that Yang was joking. That she was imaging it. Sometimes though, on nights like this, where it’s just the two of them, lost in their own little world, walking the streets of downtown Vale, she knows that there’s nothing imaginary about it.