Work Text:
Blake was in a vaguely celebratory mood as she walked down the streets of Mantle with Yang, weapons in hand and ready. This was the first day in a week where the other girl hadn’t been thrown against a wall at some point while working. Even outside of the civilizations of Atlas and Mantle, Yang had been slammed into her fair-share of old ruins at very uncomfortable speeds lately. It was an occupational hazard. Nevertheless, Blake was appreciative of the lack of an anxiety-inducing incident that day.
“In honor of this strange day I’m buying us dinner,” Yang said, her eyes trained on the area near the children that were crossing the street with Juane, who awkwardly waved at them in response. Blake smiled and waved back, her eyes moving to their surroundings like Yang’s, searching for any danger. Once she found none, she looked back at Yang,
“It doesn’t have to be a strange day. You could just, not throw yourself at full-sized Sabyrs on a regular basis,” she lightly elbowed her partner, Yang grinning in response. She almost looked like her old self, back from their much more light-hearted days in Beacon. Blake had never imagined that she would end up… here.
Here was both bad and good. There was the looming threat of Salem and world-annihilation. That was always unpleasant and led to an understandable amount of stress. There were still the scars she carried from her old life. They were tired and less prone to smiling sometimes.
But there was also this.
This curious new state of things. They were huntresses. An official job. One that they were actually paid for, though understandably not very much. Even though team RWBY slept in an Atlas Academy dorm room, they were technically adults. Or, Yang, Weiss, and Blake were anyway. Ruby was almost there. Blake considered her one.
“We don’t have night shift today. Unless something goes terribly wrong,” Yang walked beside her with her arms crossed, slightly more relaxed now that they were officially off duty.
“Don’t even say that,” Blake groaned, rubbing her eyes. Constant sleep deprivation was apparently a hallmark of the whole “saving the world” thing that they were doing. She followed Yang to the small passenger’s airship they used to make the trip to and from Atlas everyday. Blake checked her scroll, seeing a message in the group chat between RWBY and ORNJ, plus sometimes Qrow. He got removed and readded almost every week. She pressed on it.
Ruby: hey guys! me, Weiss, Ren and Nora are kind of held up at the mantle border, they have a giant hole in the barrier right now, and well, the grimm love that. won’t be back until late. Weiss says hi.
Weiss: I do not.
Blake smiled, “looks like we’re on our own for the evening. Unless you want to invite Juane out.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” Yang laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and looking out the window of the airship at the pink sky and setting sun. The fractured moon of Remnant would be visible soon. Blake looked down and willed herself not to react to the feeling of her partner’s arm around her.
They’d been very… physically affectionate since the incident that resulted in Adam’s death. It wasn’t all the time and it wasn’t usually overly-sentimental with a few notable exceptions. It was more about comfort. A hand slipped into hers when something became anxiety-inducing (unless that something was Yang, as it often was). A hand on her shoulder when things were calm. The feeling of another presence beside her on the nights Yang rolled off of her bunk and fell onto Blake’s. A gentle elbow when she said something half-clever.
Her body had a different reaction to a hand that accidentally brushed against her breast or hips. But she had elected to ignore that. For the time being, at least. They left the airship once they reached Atlas, Yang stepping out with her, rubbing her shoulder near her prosthetic arm. Right, Blake realized with a sting, the cold made it painful. She doesn’t comment on it, not exactly trusting Yang to come to her if anything was wrong, but trusting that she was self-sufficient enough to deal with it in somewhat of an appropriate manner. She could still picture the hurt, angry look on Yang’s face in that barn, when she had told her she would protect her.
“I don’t know anywhere good to eat here,” Blake said as they walked. The streets of Atlas were much cleaner than the wet and muddied streets of Mantle. If only the people up high would put just a little bit of effort into Mantle. But they wouldn’t. Not only was Mantle, well, Mantle, it also had a high population of Faunus. Places that were Faunus-dominated had a tendency to be… overlooked by the government supposed to protect them.
“Guess we’ll just have to find a place,” Yang said, “up for a little adventure?”
“Sure,” Blake smiled fondly at Yang’s goofy expression. Idiot. She felt comfortable enough to put Gambol Shroud in the bag she had with her, Yang keeping Ember Celica up and ready. Yang stopped for a moment and messed around with her scroll, then looked up,
“I think I found a place. It’s close too.” Blake’s stomach growled in response, Yang laughing, “c’mon.” Before Blake knew what was happening, Yang had grabbed her arm and was tugging her in a random direction. She went along with it, going down a street she’d only been down a few times before.
Yang finally stopped at a building, double-checking whatever she had previously pulled up on her scroll and pulling Blake inside. It had looked like an average Atlesian building on the outside. But on the inside… Blake’s nose twitched,
“Is that fish?”
“A lot of fish,” Yang nodded. Heat rose to Blake’s cheeks. Yang had taken her to a seafood restaurant. That was sweet.
Of course, Yang’s scroll picked that moment to let off a screeching alarm sound. Yang groaned, “should’ve expected that.” She and Blake walked away from the other people in the restaurant, Yang answering the call.
“Hey Yang!” Ruby’s face appeared, “things are getting kind of intense. We could use some backup. At first there were just a bunch of little ones and now,” she looked over her shoulder, “there’s a whole bunch of Ursa. Like, snow Ursa. ”
“Are you alright?” Yang asked, already getting Ember Celica ready to fight.
“Yeah. Oh, hey Blake,” Ruby waved as Yang tilted the screen in Blake’s direction, “gotta go. Something’s on fire. Again.” She hung up, Blake grabbing Gambol Shroud.
“We’ll eat once we’re back, I promise,” Yang said, already starting to run. They had to take an airship down, as usual, Yang tapping her fingers over her knee while they waited, “they’ll probably be done with everything by the time we get down,” she gave Blake a half-hearted smile.
“Maybe,” Blake said, pulling a knee to her chest, “it’s okay to just say that you want to get there faster, though. Or that you’re worried about her.” Yang slowly met her eyes.
Yang was a fun and easy person to converse with. When their conversations didn’t involve feelings, that was. They were still working through their own issues.
“She’s tough,” Yang continued tapping her fingers against her knee. Blake reached out and lightly laid her hand over the other girl’s.
“Yeah, she is. But she’s your little sister.”
“Yeah,” Yang’s hand went still and she looked back over at Blake. Blake looked away quickly.
She could smell smoke as soon as they stepped out of the airship and made their way through the dilapidated streets and buildings of Mantle. The scent of smoke always seemed to linger in the air, even when there wasn’t an active fire and Grimm attack. The resulting fires were probably the most heat they got, Blake thought bitterly as they passed a running Faunus, dressed in old clothes that were less than climate-appropriate.
She knew it was a difficult situation, for every side involved. But, Gods.
“I hear screaming. There might be civilians in trouble,” Yang called from ahead, and Blake darted forward to meet her, the two running at an identical pace, Yang stopping once to shoot an aerial Grimm from above. Finally, they heard Ruby and Weiss’s voices, along with Nora’s shouts. They rushed forward. This was what they were best with.
In just a year or so their fighting styles had learned to sync perfectly, like they had been in battles together for decades. Blake knew when to stand back-to-back with her partner, when to separate, when to run over to be thrown into the air.
“Did the barrier just completely collapse?” Blake shouted to whoever could hear her, being pushed towards the rubble at the edge of the city by an Ursa, ducking down to attack it from underneath.
“WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?!” Nora darted past, her hammer connecting with an Ursa’s chest and sending it flying back, the force enough to stop whatever it had in place of a heart and leave it to disintegrate. She turned around and grinned after, “it did.”
Shit.
The air was thick with dust, Blake pushing forward beyond the barrier, hoping to act as bait. The best thing they could do was keep the Grimm away from the innocent residents of Mantle. Yang seemed to sense her thought process and joined her, luring a group outside of the ruined barrier and into the tundra. Blake’s hair blew into her face as it suddenly got more windy, and she looked up, letting out a sigh of relief. Airships from Atlas.
She wanted to think that she had known they would come. That she was certain the leadership up above did care for Mantle. But things were more complicated than that.
Being a sort-of-adult kind of sucked.
She shivered as she and Yang moved further out, Yang finally planting her feet firmly in the snow and holding her ground. Blake stood a small distance behind her, trying to calm herself and make herself less recognizable to the approaching creatures to give herself the benefit of stealth.
A Sabyr broke off from the group in front of them and launched into a charge at break-neck speed. Yang was faster. She met it head on, her fists slamming into its body with enough power to knock the snarling creature back a few inches. She drew an arm back and hit it again, using her prosthetic to block a slash from its razor-sharp claws.
Blake dealt with the other Grimm around them, a mix of Ursa’s and Sabyrs. It wasn’t as large as she had initially thought, thankfully, and she took out an Ursa five times her side after sliding under it and slashing its stomach.
“Yang!” She called out behind her. She couldn’t see her partner in the distance due to the growing darkness of the evening, “you still okay?”
“Yep,” there was a flash of bright gold and Blake could see her glowing hair as walked over, eyes red. The rest of the Grimm were history. She cut through them with a burning intensity that gave Blake dark glimpses of the past and bright dreams of the future. A single strike sent an Sabyr reeling back. Blake worked on picking out those still hanging further back, turning around just in time to see Yang being swept under an Ursa’s paw near the city. Blake had been in that situation before, and it wasn’t a pleasant one. It felt like there was a hundred pounds weighing down on your chest as you gasped for air.
“Yang -” she started, the Ursa deciding to lift Yang up instead and slam her into a building. So much for not getting thrown against a wall for a day. Yang was on her feet in seconds, though Blake spotted the distinctive shimmer of a breaking aura, Yang already having taken many hits from the other Grimm.
Blake jumped onto the Ursa’s back and dug Gambol Shroud into it, keeping one of her weapons in its back and swinging around while gripping onto it, stabbing the other into its side. It fell heavily to the ground before beginning to disintegrate, Blake wrenching her weapon free from its thick skin and walking over to Yang.
Everything alive had become quiet, the freezing night breeze the only sound left. Blake couldn’t spot anymore gleaming red eyes in the shadows, “I think we got the last of them.”
“Yep,” Yang took a few steps forward and stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. Her cheeks were red from exertion and Blake could see sweat running down her face as they approached the city, Mantle lighting everything up once more. Blake took a… casual note of the other girl’s prominent muscles as she walked, quickly looking away as Yang looked over with a raised eyebrow, “everything good?”
“Yeah. You okay? You took a pretty hard hit.”
“I’ll be fine. Just bruised. Aura broke at just the right time for that,” Yang stumbled slightly as she walked, favoring a leg. Blake wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. The city of Mantle was quiet for a few minutes, before people ventured outside again to carry on with their business. They were used to hiding from monsters on a regular basis.
Blake squinted as they passed bright street lights, keeping an eye out for Weiss or Ruby. A quick glance behind her thankfully confirmed that citizens were already working on rebuilding the barrier. Though it would probably fall again within a week anyway.
Fish were still on Blake’s mind. Though her body was more than used to going without a meal by now, that didn’t erase the fact that hunger still existed. And that fish was delicious. Her ears twitched. Yang smiled,
“I bet the restaurant is still open, do you want to go back?” Blake nodded, catching something out of the corner of her eye,
“Yang -” is all she had to say, running forward as a hidden Sabyr ran into the street from an alley it had slipped into. The same street that now had a few civilians walking through it despite the late hour. Yang was right beside her, Blake quickly scanning the other alleyways for any other hiding Grimm, spotting none.
Blake swept at the Sabyr with Gambol Shroud to distract it from the fleeing people, Yang walking over and simply punching it in the side despite already being exhausted from their day. Yeah, that was about right.
A singular Sabyr was much, much more easy to handle then even just two, and Blake readied herself to slice it’s throat. But then it moved away from them, its eyes trained on a little boy who was too small to know to take shelter. He was shaking and crying, crouched down on the edge of the street. Perfect prey.
“YANG!” Blake shouted, darting in front of it as it charged and scooping the boy up in her arms, twisting her body around so that the cutting claws would hit her first, not him. Said claws never came, Blake turning her head to see Yang, gripping onto its shoulders and pushing it back, its gleaming red eyes meeting Blake’s as it snapped in Yang’s direction. Yang held an arm back and punched it again. She couldn’t use her semblance, her aura was broken already. Blind shooting wasn’t going to get her anywhere quick enough, it was too dark for her to focus on its weak points. So her best option was hand-to-hand. With a monster twice her size.
Blake continued to hold the boy, as her only other option was to leave him defenseless in an alleyway again, with a Sabyr trying to murder everything in sight only a few feet away. She glanced over the Sabyr’s body, thankful once again for her night vision, “Yang, shoot underneath it, its stomach is completely unguarded, it’s younger, the bone shields haven’t grown that far down yet.”
Yang shot down, hitting the ground first, holding her right arm at an angle after, using her left arm to keep in it place. She let out something akin to a small sigh as her side was nicked by its claws, shooting from her right arm and continuing to hold it in place until it had entirely disintegrated. She dropped to her knees for a moment after and took a deep breath, then pushed herself up and walked over, “night vision really comes in handy, huh?” She smiled. Her face was red.
“It’s part of how we won the wars,” Blake shifted the child from against her chest to her hip. She had recently taken to bugging Yang with historical facts she found fascinating. Because Yang listened, even when she thought they were incredibly boring.
“Do you know where your parents are, kid?” Yang asked the boy, who whimpered in response. Blake hissed as a rock suddenly hit her shoulder. Followed by another. And another.
“Let go of my son, you filthy animal!” A man exclaimed. Well. They’d found the boy's father. Blake looked over,
“I need something that proves that he’s your son first.”
“He’s my boy!”
“Sir. I need something to prove it first, even a picture of him will be fine,” Blake said, “I can’t just let him go with you.”
“Listen, kitty cat,” the man took a step forward, Blake gently passing the boy over to Yang and raising Gambol Shroud a few inches.
“Don’t call her that,” Yang said sharply, “just show us something and you can leave with your son.” He grumbled under his breath and pulled out his scroll, showing Yang a few pictures, angling the screen away from Blake. Yang finally nodded and asked the boy a few questions, then handed him over. The man left without another word. “What an asshole !” Yang said, her voice rising a few octaves.
“Yeah,” Blake reached up and put a hand against one of her ears, her fingers stroking her smooth, well-kept fur. She kept them flat to her head as they started walking again.
“If he didn’t have his kid with him I would have punched him through a wall,” Yang’s hand found its way to Blake’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“We’re huntresses now. Punching a civilian through a wall would have some pretty serious consequences,” Blake said,
“Doesn’t mean I still don't want to. He didn’t even say thank you. You saved his son.”
“That’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Blake said quietly. She’d come a long way from the angry child she had once been, jumping up at every incident of inequality. That had been exhausting. Nevertheless, the flame inside of her was still burning, and she suspected it would never go out. Her parents had raised her too well for that to happen.
“Yang! There you are!” Ruby came over out of nowhere and joined them, Weiss following behind much more slowly. Ruby and Yang talked together rapidly about the barrier, Weiss walking beside Blake, shadows under her eyes,
“How are you?”
“Fine,” Blake said, Weiss looking over at Yang, who was still limping,
“She blindly threw herself into danger again, didn’t she?”
“Yeah. How did you -”
“- I deal with her sister on a regular basis, trust me, Blake, they come from a common source.” That common source was Taiyang. Blake had yet to meet the man, but she had already formed a few opinions about him. “She’ll do it for anyone,” Weiss said, “but I’ve got to say, she does it for you the most.”
“What?” Blake asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Ruby and Yang weren’t but so far ahead, even if they were talking very loudly.
“I’ve seen the way she looks at you, Blake. Anyone with two eyes has.”
“Is it… a good way?”
“Oh my - yes, Blake, it’s a good way,” Weiss rolled her eyes and lightly patted Blake’s shoulder before going to join Ruby. Blake looked down at her hands.
Huh.
Finally, Blake was warm and safe, tucked into her bed. She closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep. Her body was still aching from the events from before, aura sometimes acting like adrenaline with her, leaving her shaky and exhausted after her initial boldness from whatever event had come before. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter, curling up.
Slowly, the aching faded and was replaced by a blurry, grey feeling. The numbness of sleep. She was at peace.
“Blake."
Of course. Blake groaned and opened her eyes, rubbing them furiously for a moment, then sitting up. “What’s the emergency,” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.
“There is no emergency,” Yang was perched on the edge of her bed, still wearing her regular, blood-stained clothes instead of pajamas. She was holding a small container. Blake’s nose twitched and she kicked her blankets aside, moving closer,
“Why did you wake me up, then?”
“I told you I’d get you food. So I did,” Yang handed her the box, Blake sniffing the edge of it, noticing Yang’s amused expression,
“What?”
“Nothing.”
It smelled like… she slowly opened it. Fish. Her stomach growled and she remembered how hungry she really was. She hadn’t gotten anything to eat once she and Yang had limped back to her room, Ruby and Weiss in tow. She’d just collapsed in her bed and called it a day. Yang stared at her, her face goofy. But her eyes were nervous, flitting back and forth between Blake and their surroundings.
“Yang. Thank you,” she said, reaching out and brushing her fingers across the other girl’s knee. Yang smiled, then slid down from Blake’s bed for the purpose of taking a flying leap up to her own bunk. They had a ladder. Yang just neglected to use it. And that was that.
Blake looked at the fish, then up at where Yang had disappeared, Weiss’s words from earlier coming to mind.
“I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”
Blake knew that something was different. It had been different for a long time. And it was terrifying.
She listened to Yang’s soft snores from above after a little while. Every gasp of pain Yang ever let out pierced Blake’s heart. Every smile made her feel like she was flying. She was happy around her. She felt safe.
She smiled and tucked this realization away into her heart to examine later, closing her eyes and falling back asleep.