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The breeze blows calmly as the waves from the water roll on the beach. The leaves flow with the breeze, carrying the smell of salt in the air. A young blonde woman lays back in the homemade hammock, swaying as she sips on a strawberry sunrise made from scratch and fermented fruit. Good thing she prefers it without ice, but missing one of those little umbrella things.
Her head snaps in the direction of screaming, lilac eyes widen at the two familiar figure falling from the sky. Punching her way back, Yang leaps forward toward in the center of the forest. The Shallow Sea and The Great Tree separating them in opposite directions. The huntress runs toward the middle, silence never her specialty as she searches for teammates.
Coming to the center of the tree, tired and exhausted, after hours of adrenaline, she walks in a random direction. She wasn’t sure what’s out there, but if it was looking for a fight, her teammates would hopefully come her rescue hearing Ember Celica.
“Hello! Ruby! Blake! Someone! Where are you!?”
Maybe if she tried what happened before, in the Emerald Forest, it’d lead to the same result.
“Helloo! Is anyone out there! Hello! I’m getting bored here!”
A noise catches her attention and she stops. Of course, how could Yang forget it’s how danger found her to begin with? She readies her fists, prepared to fight whatever is out there.
“Yang!”
A familiar voice and figure come rushing at her. Standing strong, the blonde is nearly knocked back from the force. Strong arms that whip her around tighten around the middle of her back, gripping her as if her life depended on it.
“Blake.”
Yang holds her tightly as they embrace in a warm hug. She’s unsure who starts crying first. For a moment, this strange new world falls away. All that matters is that they’re together and they’ll find the other half of Team RWBY.
After a sniffle, Blake looks up. Golden eyes widen in shock, mouth hangs slightly open. There’s no way, no way this was happening right now. She blinks, trying to see clearly once more.
“Y-you have a tail? Yang, what is going on?”
“I don’t know. I found myself face first on the beach and next thing I know, I woke up like this. Blake, what happened?”
“I… I saw you fall. I was so scared I lost you. Weiss, she had to stop me from falling after you. We tried to fight Cinder and Neo, but we failed. I had to choose between helping Ruby with Neo or stopping Cinder from hurting Weiss and Penny. Ruby was fine on her own.”
Her ears bent back. Ruby, Yang’s sister and she failed her, failed their team. Failed Yang. She doesn’t deserve her forgiveness. She’s already hurt Yang enough. Yang only fell cause of her dedication to Ruby and Blake failed her.
A hand lifted her chin, soft eyes meet her tears. A warm smile that calls her home looks at her, not down, but an equal. Yang isn’t judging, she wants to know what happened.
“I tried to stop Cinder, but Penny saved me before I fell. Ruby. She tried to fight Neo and got her down until she was hanging onto the bridge by her umbrella. Before she could get the staff, Cinder attacked her and pushed her off until she was hanging onto Neo’s leg.”
Yang inhaled a breath of air. This was all hard for her to hear, but even more difficult for Blake to tell. She tried and still, her teammate blames herself.
“Breathe. Calm your breathing. You’re getting worked up again. I can’t understand you unless you calm down. Ruby’s alive, I saw her fall. I’m glad you both are okay, same with Weiss. Everyone’s okay, okay?”
“...Yeah...”
The word chocks in her throat, but Yang’s right. Everyone is alive. She inhales deeply, catching the scent of salt, sand and Yang in her nose.
“Penny launches me to Ruby and though I catch her, Cinder cuts the line of Gambol Shroud. I’m weaponless and almost out of aura.”
Yang pulls her in tighter. How she’s strives for them to have a moment alone, just them. Having Blake in her arms, even if the world is ending, everything is right with the world. She needs a moment to process and Blake needs a moment of rest.
“You’re okay. Ruby’s okay. You both did what you could. They picked us off one by one to increase their chances. It’s okay, Blake. You’re okay, I’m okay, our team is okay, we’ll get through this.”
“Yeah.”
Though she didn’t entirely believe it, she has Yang in front of her. Both of them holding each other. They should find their other teammates, they are probably without their weapons. Yang was the smart one, attaching hers to her wrist and puts them back into bracelets as if anyone was none the wiser.
Still sensing her anxieties, Yang leans down, meeting Blake’s forehead with her own. Both close their eyes, releasing stress they’ve held until their breathes even out, matching each other. Yang swallows, it’s hard for her to do anything without thinking it through, no less if her partner is okay with it.
“Can I...may I...kiss you?”
Blake almost laughs at her embarrassment, but it’s one of the best things Yang could ask her for. It’s the one thing she can give her, and for Yang to ask, how could she say no? Her partner wants her as comfortable as possible, never pushing her away despite the pain she’s caused. Never would Blake run away from her again.
“As if you have to ask.”
Blake has this idea of pushing Yang’s overalls forward until their lips meet, but this is their first kiss. No kiss could be perfect, but she wanted it to be there’s, and that’s perfect enough. Her hand cups Yang’s cheek, slowly the pair lean toward each other like a magnet.
There it is. Their lips meet in perfect simplicity. The tears stopped a long time ago. Yang tastes the lip gloss only Blake would use. Everything disappears in that moment. They’re holding, kissing each other in this perfect storm. She isn’t sure she’s breathing.
The two break away as all good things must come to an end. Yang know that won’t be the first or the last kiss they share. Still, they stare into each other’s eyes, not wanting this to end. The blonde almost wants to share those three little words she’s held onto, but doesn’t. It would ruin the moment.
“We should go look for Ruby and Weiss.”
“Right.”
After hours of searching, the sun was nearly setting. Yang didn’t want to quit. This is her sister, her family, and Weiss, they’re both family. In the dark, there’s no telling what could happen. Only one of them could see in the dark.
“We should get out of the jungle.”
“I don’t want to, but I know you’re right. Come on, I set something up waiting for you three.”
“How much time did you have here?”
“I don’t know. It’s not much, but it beats the jungle and whatever is here. I hope both of them are okay.”
“It’s Ruby and Weiss. They’ll be fine. We’ll have more luck during the day,”
“What if the sun never sets here?”
“You’ve been here longer than I have, anything on the position change?”
“I… Think so.”
----
“You made a hammock?”
“Yeah, I was getting bored waiting for you three. Oh, here, I made this too. It might be a little strong but it’s the perfecting thing.”
Blake takes a sip from the questionable drink. She trusts her teammate, but even this seems…unreasonable. Her ears bend back then forward as it’s not the worse drink in the world, or this world. Better than salt water.
“Okay, I gotta hand it to you, this is great.”
“Glad you like it.”
Yang studies her partner, her eyes dart around as if searching for something. Her eyes follow until Blake starts heading for the jungle. Immediately, she darts up from her spot.
“Where are you going?”
“To gather leaves, sticks, and other things.”
“A fire could give away our position to whatever is out there.”
“Or, I could make myself a hut and have a place to sleep.”
“Or, I could share my strong sturdy hammock...with you.”
A dusty pink fills her cheeks as she stares at her partner. They’ve only sometimes shared a bed when it was necessary, but she’s mostly with Ruby. They’re partners, teammates, teenagers with big hearts and an unspoken language. Why shouldn’t she be embarrassed?
“I appreciate the gesture, but are you sure?”
“Positive. I even have several palm leaves for blankets.”
Now it was Blake’s turn to blush. It was better than sleeping on the sandy ground with whatever is in it. There’s worse ways to sleep than with your crush. She had to get back at Yang.
“I can think of better first dates than a nature hike of looking for my sister and one of my best friends”
Yang’s face turns bright red as she glances away, unable to look Blake in the eye. “A date? I mean, uh, no. Not a date, unless you wanted it to be a date or…”
“Kidding. I mean, unless you…”
“I’ll take out on a proper date. Maybe out here, maybe not. Not when we’re looking for the other half of our team.”
“I...look forward to it. Also, I think I know why you have a, dragon tail. I heard about this legend. The God of Animals traveled across Remnant, choosing people he wanted to jump into The Shallow Sea of supposed Menagerie and turned humans into their true selves, Faunus. Those that didn’t… They said they turned to Grimm or something horrible. I guess it’s kinda true. You’re a...I think a dragon Faunus.”
“Fitting, huh? Kinda cool.”
“Yeah, it is.”
Blake hops on the makeshift hammock, not trusting the extra weight. She shifts her weight as not to take up too much room, but Yang adjusts her body so she’s laying against her.
“Sleep well, good night Blake.”
“No, I’ll take first watch.”
A groan leaves the blonde throat. It was hard to argue when it was two of them in a foreign place with enemies hidden everywhere. The one time she could possibly cuddle with the cat Faunus, she’s denied. Where there’s problems, there are solutions.
“You’re cold. I can see you shaking. Join me.”
“Fine, just for now.”
----
“A-ahem.”
Blake’s ears twitch at the sound of judgment. Slowly she opens her eyes until she’s met with icy blue. She throws her arms around the shorter girl, who hugs her back tightly.
“Weiss!”
The sound causes Yang to stir, swinging too much she face plants. An ungraceful impact against the sand below. Spiting up sand and shaking out her hair, she runs to Weiss and Ruby, wrapping her arms around all her teammates.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. I missed you.”
Ruby was the first to speak. “Is that why you were so worried about us snuggling with your…” Her voice trailed off. As a sister, she knew when she pushed too far and one word could hurt them. “Your teammate instead of finding us? I found Crescent Rose on the other side of the beach.”
“Blake, I haven’t been able to find Gambol Shroud. I’m sorry I lost her.”
“It’s okay Weiss. We might find it. I hope so. Wait. There was a yellow line on her. Yang, we can use the homing device Pedro installed.”
“Yes! We got this. You two wait here and stay safe. I don’t know what’s out there.”
“It’s not Grimm, I’ll tell you that.”
“We’ll find her Blake, I promise.”
“I know we will. So, can this count as our nature walk date? Just us?”
“Yeah. It sure can.”
Yang holds her hand with her flesh as she uses her right arm to search for the coordinates. Together, they could do anything. They got their teammates back and everything is okay. Now she needs her weapon to help defend herself against anything that may come their way.
“You know my parents love you, especially my dad. He approves of you. I think my mom likes you better than Sun and you’ve only known them for a shorter time.”
Yang’s eyes widen, her steps pause. Does it make any sense? Sun was the one there for her, followed her from Vale to Menagerie to Haven. It might be half of Remnant vertically, but it was nearly half if not fully horizontally. Sun spent more time with Blake’s parents. He’s funny, sometimes, and he means well, even if execution isn’t great. Wouldn’t the Belladonna’s approve of Sun more?
“I’m glad to hear it. Your dad is great person and your mom is young at heart, and she makes great tea. I’d like to see them again, if that’s alright?”
“Of course it is. Maybe I could introduce you as my girlfriend.”
Yang blushes furiously as a smirk lights Blake’s face. “G-girlfriend?” Her eyes widen a second time in seconds. Maybe they’d approve of the tail? Maybe not. It doesn’t matter, Blake accepts her for who she is, not what she is.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, not at all. I’d like that. Maybe I could introduce you to my dad.”