Written for the perpetually-creative mind of Angie with her Roadtrip AU! You can go to her tumblr (weissrabbit) under the "roadtrip_au" tag for more information on it. This fic just touches upon Yang and Blake, but all the characters are involved in the AU. The girl's have got their issues, so this fic is a mixture of serious events, comfort, and a bit of humor, all based off Angie's art and then some of my own interpretations. Hope you enjoy~!

A/N: Warnings for language and mention of certain mental issues, I guess? Find out more in Angie's tags.

Dedicated to the lovely, talented Angie herself and the lovely, talented Red (adamantred) who also drew a bit for the AU in addition to drawing art dedicated to me as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. Roadtrip AU belongs to Angie.

Air

Chapter 1.

"Ahhh, fuck."

It was probably, like, the kazillienth time Yang had uttered the curse that afternoon alone.

Blake had pulled the car over around noontime so they could stop to grab some lunch in the small town they'd wound up in yesterday.

On a whim as she unbuckled, Yang had started to fiddle with the knobs and buttons, groaning when she'd discovered the heating failed to produce any airflow. She'd gone with Blake into town to pick up some sandwiches at a nearby deli, then returned to the car to sit on the roof and eat.

Once finished, Yang had gone to work with the heating, and at present, was still working on it. The car was parked at the back of a public parking area where tourists could leave their cars to walk the streets and window shop, so there was only a small time limit they needed to pay for.

Blake had gone to put new quarters into their meter at least five times since they'd stopped, and she sat on the pavement with her back against the car as she flipped through the pages of her book. The black tar beneath her shorts had started to burn a while ago, and she kept fidgeting and shifting about.

Sure, she could sit in the car, but the interior was gray, and in this 80-something-degree Fahrenheit weather at the hottest part of the day, that wasn't the best of options. Especially considering their summer trip was only two weeks in – they'd need to save their air conditioning for later weeks when they'd really need it, and couldn't risk that breaking now, too.

But her coal-black hair and bow weren't doing Blake much good either, and even when she tied everything up into a ponytail, she could still feel the sweat beading all over her skin, and she started to squirm.

She briefly wondered how long they'd been here for, deducing that judging by the amount of money she'd put into the meter and the amounts of "fucks" and "shits" Yang kept spitting out behind her, it must've been at last two hours.

Two hours of fruitless efforts on the blonde girl's part as she continued to bumble around with a pitifully-small tool kit Blake had luckily happened to store in the trunk next to their other supplies.

But eventually, it got to the point where the curses were more frequent than the moments of frustrated silence, and Blake was starting to feel the hairs on the back of her clammy neck rising anxiously as Yang's shouts got more furious. It soon became the kind of shouting and cursing that wasn't harmless; it was the kind where people would start smashing things and getting hurt.

It made Blake's heart jump uncomfortably, and she closed her book and put it down as she stood, wanting to stop Yang before the situation only got worse and her shouting louder.

"Yang, that's enough," she said, walking up behind her companion.

Yang had been hunched over for the past couple of hours, phone in her lap as she tried desperately to connect to any signal of WiFi so she could look up instructions of how to fix the damn thing without having to call and pay however-many-fucking-hundreds of dollars it would cost to have a repairman do it if she couldn't do it herself.

"Just- gimme another couple minutes," Yang grunted, slouching down a bit more.

Blake opened her mouth to try and protest again, but it wasn't a second later when Yang lost grip of her miniature screwdriver and it fell in the crack between the seats.

"Fuck!" she barked, and it was a furious sound.

Blake reflexively recoiled and took a step back, her throat closing up. She hated this, hating when people got mad like this, hated it even more that it was Yang-

She looked like she was about to bolt, and she really might've done that if Yang hadn't noticed the sharp motion of her friend's body when she backed away. She looked up sharply with a gasp, eyes wide and brows furrowed as she saw the stricken expression on Blake's face.

Yang dropped all of her other supplies – phone included – and forgot the existence of everything and everyone else in the world right now except for Blake.

"Oh no, hey..." Yang reached out for her slowly, repenting, pissed beyond words at herself for letting her temper get the better of her. "I'm sorry, Blake. I didn't mean to shout like that. I'm not mad at you, y'know. I'm just frustrated at the situation and aagh damn it, I'm sorry." Her fingers managed to brush against Blake's, and she saw her flinch. Yang curled her fingers around hers and gently pulled her closer, relieved that Blake wasn't refusing. "C'mere."

She got out of the car and closed the driver's door where she'd been seated previously and opened the back door on the same side. She kept a hold of Blake's hand with one of hers as the other scooped up her book and placed it on the far seat inside before Yang took a seat as well, pulling Blake in with her.

She left the door open; she knew better than anyone what it felt like to be trapped in confined, compact places like a car when they were feeling scared, and Blake was clearly uneasy now.

The fresh air coming in on the breeze served to calm things down a bit, and Yang tugged her companion's wrist to have Blake turn to face her. "I'm sorry," she mumbled again. "I'm sorry I shouted. I was just mad and I didn't even realize how stupidly mad I was getting over something so dumb. But no matter how mad I get about stupid things, it's never worth it. And nothing's worth seeing that look in your eyes."

It sounded lame, sure, but it was how she really felt. She hadn't missed the fear in Blake's eyes just a moment ago, and Yang felt sick in knowing it had been there as a result of something she herself had done.

Even now, Blake's teeth were still digging into her bottom lip. Yang slipped her hand out of Blake's and let it sneak to the back of the girl's t-shirt, rubbing gently over her stiff muscles. "You okay?" she mumbled guiltily.

It was a minute longer before Blake felt the atmosphere begin to lighten, her pulse slowing accordingly. She knew Yang hadn't meant to frighten her. She knew the curses weren't directed at herself. She knew the other girl was just sweaty and thirsty and tired. She knew there was no reason to react this way to such a minor slip-up, but Blake just couldn't help it.

She didn't like being this way, but it was how she was, and she had to deal with that, knowing it hurt Yang sometimes as well. Like now.

"Yes..." Blake sighed, focusing on the soothing hand on her back. "I'm okay. I'm sorry, too." She leaned against the back of the seat as Yang pulled her hand away.

"You don't have to be sorry," the blonde said, stretching her arms back and above her head until her shoulders popped. "I've been needing to work on my potty mouth for ages now."

Blake cracked a small smile, recognizing the atmosphere beginning to mend itself, and she was intent to let it do just that.

"Really," she commented. "I never expected such a colorful vocabulary from a cheerleader."

"You'd be surprised the kinda things that came outta the squads' mouths," Yang chuckled.

Blake allowed herself a light laugh as well. This was the stuff that amazed her, how Yang could take any situation at all - no matter how bad - and turn it into something better, or at least less crappy. She could elicit a laugh from Blake easier than anyone else on the planet, be it out of clever wit or sheer goofiness.

That was just one of the many things she lo- … liked about Yang.

Right. Liked.

"So..." Blake cleared her throat pointedly. "What's the verdict on the heating?"

Yang groaned and let her hands fall down into her lap.

"It's busted. Shot. Which doesn't make any sense 'cuz we've only used it, what like... twice since we set out? Ugh, dammit..."

Blake took the liberty of sliding a little closer.

"Well, it could be worse. Could've been the AC that broke."

"Oh god, don't even joke-" Yang scoffed. "We'd be so fucked, oh my god, haha."

"I don't think losing the heating will be that much of a problem," Blake reasoned. "It's getting hotter every day, after all, so the nights shouldn't be too cold. Maybe just for another week or so, but we've got plenty to keep us warm." She went so far as to put on a bit of a smirk, something she'd never managed much before she'd met Yang. "I'm sure we'll survive."

"Yeah," Yang nodded, cracking her fingers. "Yeah, you're right. We'll be fine. This lil' adventure's only just started, after all. Can't let this one minor setback bring us down, right?"

"Right." Blake looked her companion over, noticing there was still a veil of sweat over her forehead. "Let's go get something to drink."

"Yes, please."

Blake slipped out the open door and back onto the pavement, letting Yang out as well. The blonde grabbed the keys and pulled her sunglasses down before closing the door and locking the car up. They put a few more quarters into the meter to give them another hour, and together they headed off toward the shops once more.

It was still early-on in their journey, but that didn't mean they weren't frugal; they only had so much money in their pockets, saved up from birthdays and holidays and whatever offerings their parents had given them for the trip. Of course, if they really got themselves into a bind or needed help financially or otherwise, they could give their families a ring and they'd locate and help them out.

But that was a dead-last resort - a final option. They wanted to survive on their own for the summer.

So they pinched pennies whenever they could, always going for whatever was on sale, comparing prices at different stores, not always asking for ice – just little things.

As they walked side-by-side, Yang's words kept echoing through Blake's ears, subconsciously causing her back to straighten with confidence.

Can't let this one minor setback bring us down, right?

It was a small phrase that might seem insignificant to others, but to Blake it meant a lot. She wanted to live by those words, and Yang did too.

But unfortunately, it seemed the fates were making that hard for the blonde girl today.

After the heat broke in the car, everything else just seemed to be going wrong.

They got their drinks at a small concession stand, Blake having insisted on treating them both to smoothies after the less-than-favorable morning.

But Yang hadn't even gotten in two sips before a herd of kids came scampering by and slammed into her, causing her to drop and spill it all over the sidewalk. She'd snapped at their retreating backs, miffed and angry because Blake had bought that for her and it was three dollars and fifty cents that was now wasted that they could've used elsewhere.

Plus, it'd been lemon – her favorite.

Blake offered – insisted, rather - to share her black raspberry. She knew it wasn't Yang's favorite, but she deserved something cold after slaving away all morning, and Blake knew Yang wouldn't let her buy her another drink.

The blonde heaved a heavy sigh, but perked up with a grin when Blake held her smoothie out to her. It certainly wasn't the first time they'd shared a straw, and neither minded.

They each drank about half of it on their way back to the car, and Yang had been about to start letting herself feel better.

Until the driver's side door got jammed, and the surge of strength she put into forcing it open caused her to be flung back when it hit her in the head.

"Yang!" Blake rushed quickly around to her side, concerned she'd knocked herself out. There was a large red mark on her forehead that trickled with a small line of blood, but she was conscious, moaning in pained curses all the while as Blake supported her. "Come on, just stand for a second," she urged her.

Blake helped her to her feet, leading Yang around to the passenger's side and letting her down, digging into the side compartments where they kept a few bottles of disinfectant wipes. She dabbed the blood off of Yang's forehead, and the blonde winced as the stinging sensation registered. She moaned again, feeling Blake's hands working over her, feeling the girl's breath against her face as she did her best to patch her up.

When she was finished, Blake took a step back and sighed. "Are you okay?" She knew it was a stupid question, but she couldn't stop herself from asking.

Yang finally blinked her eyes open.

"Not really. Damn, that hurt..." she hissed.

"Sorry." Blake didn't know why she was apologizing. She was just sorry Yang was hurt now.

She wasn't exactly the best with physical contact, but she knew in this sort of situation, it was acceptable to offer comfort to Yang. Slowly, she shifted forward and wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulders, giving a slight squeeze. Lavender eyes went wide, and Yang couldn't stop the surprised tone as she spoke:

"Wow. I never expected this kinda thing from you." But she didn't want to come off as sounding ungrateful – she was quite the opposite. "But thanks, Blake. It feels nice." She savored the contact for all it was worth, knowing how rare this kind of thing was coming from her companion. But she didn't want Blake to push herself. "I'm good," she murmured appreciatively.

Blake nodded and stepped back.

"Okay. But you're not driving anymore. Not tonight."

Blake buckled her in and closed the door before skirting the car and getting into the driver's seat. She took the keys from Yang and started the car, rolling the windows down for that breath of evening air as they started to move.

This was always the best feeling, turning the radio on and simply driving down the road to nowhere in particular. But Yang had once pointed out that when they had no specified destination in mind, they were halfway to both nowhere-

-and anywhere.

It was freedom itself.

The wind whipping past their faces, through their hair, and roaring in their ears often provided a strong enough distraction to dissuade their minds from wandering back to old regrets. Motion and sound were good for that; it was the stillness and quiet that could get risky sometimes.

The sunlight started to fade, the natural light being replaced by the orange glow of artificial street lamps and the yellow headlights of other cars.

They enjoyed it for a while, a good playlist of songs doing wonders for them. They kept their eyes open for any free parking spots on the side of the road where they could pull over for the night, preferably where there was a convenience store nearby.

But again -despite all the better things - Yang realized today really wasn't her day.

Blake wasn't going any faster than the speed limit permitted, but still the blonde's stomach was churning, and her head pounding. She tried to swallow it all down, but before long, she could no longer fight the bile creeping up her throat.

"Blake..." she rasped, and all it took was one glance at her unnaturally-pale face for Blake to recognize she was going to be sick.

"Hold on," she murmured, turning the music down a bit in hopes to sooth her friend.

Blake pulled the car over shortly afterward by a very small stretch of forest in between some of the town's shops and houses. She got out quickly and went around to unbuckle Yang, helping her out as well.

The blonde sank to her knees, and Blake held her hair for her, rubbing her back as she retched. There hadn't been much in her stomach – just the smoothie and that morning's sandwich – but it was more than enough to make Blake wince.

As they were - driving around where every meal counted - for Yang to lose so many of the contents of her stomach was devastating. The last thing they needed was one of them falling ill, because that spelled a sentence of one of two things; a hospital bill - or worse - their parents coming out to find them, drag them back home, and scold them, promising to never trust them on their own again for as long as they lived.

Blake whimpered at the thoughts, continuing to rub Yang's back until she'd finished. The other girl gasped, her entire body shaking, and it was so worrying for Blake to see her like this. She was usually so tough and could fight anything or anyone, but not now. It brought tears to her eyes, and she didn't even think when she wrapped her arms around Yang and hugged her again.

"Sorry..." she mumbled, not sure why she was apologizing, but again, feeling the need to anyway. "You're okay," she murmured, as if to convince both herself and Yang, to make it real.

Yang could hear Blake crying softly behind her and slowly straightened herself up, curling her arms out and around any part of her companion she could reach.

"Yeah..." she sniffed once and sighed. "I'm okay. We're both okay." She swallowed before pulling away, finding Blake's eyes with her own. "Thanks, Blake."

Again. Yang did it again, made Blake feel better even when circumstances seemed to be at their worst. What a gift she had.

Slowly, she let go of the blonde, and helped her to her feet,

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

They left the car and hobbled to a nearby convenience store, purchasing a couple of disposable tooth brushes before heading to the restroom. Usually, they'd use the brushes and paste the'd brought from home, but vomiting called for things they didn't have to reuse.

They freshened up, also splashing water onto their faces to wash away the grease and sweat of the day. They each took a few paper towels and stuffed them into their pockets to bring back out to the car with them, stashing them in a pile in one of the side compartments to use for all types of reasons.

Blake drove them a short distance away until they found a quiet street with open parking spaces on the shoulders – and a small blessing; no meters to rob them of precious change.

They left the car on for a while, using the wire that connected to the battery to charge their phones in turn as they both retreated to the back seats of the vehicle.

Nighttime could be the best, as they'd often stay up late talking, skyping people back home, playing games on their phones, or taking turns driving aimlessly as the other dozed.

But there would be none of that tonight, not when Blake was well aware of Yang's condition.

She pulled out their blankets, the lack of heating proving to be a bit of a problem tonight, as the temperature only continued to drop lower as the moon rose higher.

"Ugh, soon..." Yang mumbled as they shifted the blankets around. "Soon it'll be nice and warm at night and we might even be able to sleep up on the roof or something."

"With the way you thrash? You'd roll off and break something."

"I'd take my chances," she shrugged. But a shiver ran through her and she chattered her teeth. "Buuut not tonight. Here, lay down and I'll lock up."

Blake handed her the keys before she slipped into her Beacon High hoodie and laid down horizontally on the back seat. Yang turned the car off, unplugged their phones, and locked the doors.

The blonde then wrapped a blanket around herself before lying down next to Blake.

For the first few nights, they'd slept with heads to the other's toes, but after one too many kicks to the faces, they'd opted to just lie normally. It'd been a bit awkward at first, but they soon found neither really minded these positions.

There was a street lamp casting light not too far off, so it wasn't pitch black, nor was it dark enough to make them terrified that some random person could walk by and start attacking the car. It was just dark enough to sleep comfortably.

Yang moaned, her stomach still a bit sore from throwing up. Blake was pressed between the cheerleader and the seats, and she squished herself back further into the cushions to give Yang more room.

Blake was still amazed she didn't get nauseous from this borderline-claustrophobia. She didn't know why it never happened, but she wasn't about to start asking questions or complaining.

Yang lie on her side, back facing Blake, probably to hide an expression of pain or discomfort. Tentatively, Blake reached out and rubbed her back with a hand, slowing trailing up and down between her shoulder blades. She noticed Yang was breathing a bit hard and frowned.

"Are you going to be sick again?" she asked, thinking quickly as to where she'd slipped the keys. "I can move up to the front seats if you need more room back here."

But Yang gave a shake of her messy hair.

"Nah. I'm just... thinkin'..." Her voice was soft – uncharacteristically so – and Blake was worried.

Part of herself told her that it wasn't her place to pry, and yet the other part reminded her that there was no one else around who could. So she continued to rub Yang's back and asked quietly:

"About what?"

A silence followed, and Blake accepted it. If Yang didn't want to answer, that was fine. They could just drift off to sleep.

She thought that the blonde had done just that until an unmistakable sound reached her ears. The proof was right in front of her, and she could feel Yang shaking beneath her fingertips.

She was crying.

"Yang-" Blake propped herself up on her free elbow, concern sharp in her voice. She was scared Yang was hurt from her head injury, or really about to be sick again.

But as she was debating what she could do for her, Yang's whisper of a voice reached her ears:

"Blake..." she sniffed, hiccuping. "Y'know... y'know when sometimes you... you get those nights where... everything just... catches up with you?" she whimpered. "Where... all you can do is feel... s-stupid and small and insignificant, and all you c-can remember are your mistakes and all the shit you did wrong? And you wanna do better, but you just don't know how? Y-You just wa... wanna give up and go to sleep and not wake up for a couple years?" Slowly, she turned around to face Blake, and the trails of tears were shining in the dim light all down her cheeks and neck to the fabrics of her shirt. "It's... it's one of those nights."

And Blake knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Yeah. I understand." She gulped, not knowing what she could do. When she was alone, she'd just cry herself to sleep, but she'd never had to help someone else in this situation before, nor had she ever had anyone to help her. She bit her lip. "Do you want to... go for a walk? Get some fresh air?"

Yang wiped her face on her sleeve and sniffed deeply.

"I would, but... guh, my stomach still feels like crap. And my head hurts like hell. It's also kinda cold. Damn heat won't even work..." She looked hopelessly up at Blake, more tears running down. "Just... almost everything went wrong today and I'm so sick and tired of it."

Blake nodded, and for the second time that day, did something she'd only rarely ever done before in her life; embrace another person.

She pulled Yang close to her, throwing more blankets over her exposed back, letting her hide her face in Blake's shirt.

"Okay," she murmured. She wasn't going to say she knew how Yang felt because she didn't. Even though she'd experienced many times before what the girl was describing now, she could never feel what anyone else felt.

Ever.

And she knew that.

So she settled for that word.

"Okay," she said again. "Okay, Yang. That's fine if you feel that way. There's nothing wrong with that. If you want to keep sleeping tomorrow and for the rest of the summer, I won't wake you up. I'll just stay here with you."

And she knew they'd both wake up tomorrow with the new day, but for now, it was what Yang wanted to hear, and therefore what she needed to say.

She wasn't exactly an expert on consoling others, but she did her best to comfort the blonde girl, holding her shoulders and simply being there, sharing her warmth, her existence.

And Yang was more grateful for that than she could ever express. She hated feeling like she was being whiny, but she just needed to get things off her chest right now, and Blake was here and listening.

"It's just..." she sniffed again, gulping in a breath against the fabrics of Blake's shirt. "Back home I was always... always just takin' care of everybody else. Nobody ever..." She trailed off, sobbing softly.

Blake nodded in understanding and hugged her a little tighter, amazed at how effortless it was to do such things with Yang, knowing in the back of her mind that it couldn't be anyone else.

"Well, I'm here now. And I can't promise I can take care of you, but I'll be here at the very least. I'm sorry I'm so useless. I wish I could do more..."

She felt Yang shake her head quickly.

"No- you... you do, Blake..." She couldn't speak like she wanted to.

So she expressed it as best she could with her body, arms snaking around the girl's torso beneath the blankets and hugging Blake with a gentle fierceness.

And Blake felt like an idiot. How stupid was she? She should've known by now that degrading herself would only make Yang feel worse. Negativity only bred more of itself, after all.

She gave the blonde another squeeze.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Tomorrow will be better. We'll be okay. But for now, just sleep. Forget today. It's over. Tomorrow will be better." She repeated this as though doing so would make it true.

Yang nodded, choosing to believe her words, and that was good enough for Blake.

"Yeah..." Yang said, her tears finally slowing. "Let's sleep." She nestled closer to Blake, opening her senses and absorbing the softness that encompassed her. "Thank you, Blake."

Blake lightly rested her chin atop the girl's head.

"Don't mention it."

They laid there together, closer than they'd ever been before, to each other or anyone else in the world, both physically and emotionally.

Nighttime was strange. It often gave a person odd motivation to do things they'd normally never consider, sometimes made them feel invincible to make up for the other times when it made them feel helpless. If Yang was the latter tonight, Blake was the former.

She wasn't a singer, but she opened her mouth to try, just a little bit, her voice soft and thin:

"We're interrupted by the heat of the sun
Trying to prevent what's already begun
You're just a body, I can smell your skin
And when I feel it, you're wearing thin..."

Yang listened, chuckling just a little bit as the last of her tears were shed. She joined in:

"But I've got a plan...
Why don't you be the artist
And make me out of clay?
Why don't you be the writer
And decide the words I say?"

Their voices joined together:

"'Cause I'd rather pretend
I'll still be there at the end
Only it's too hard to ask
Won't you try to help me..."

And they went on, until the trembles left their voices, and there were only laughs, then sighs, then silence.

After that, there weren't many sounds other than the infrequent passing of a car, a distant horn honking, an occasional laugh or shout from a gathering of people having a good time at a bar somewhere.

But there was one thing that was loudest, even though it usually wasn't.

Air.

Or more specifically, breath.

The sounds of the other's breathing, slow and deep.

Blake listened to the sounds of Yang falling asleep.

Usually, she tried to fall asleep first, lest she have to do so with the sounds of snoring directly next to her. But for tonight, she thought it'd be fine if she let Yang go first.

And Yang wasn't arguing.

Blake cradled her close, and the blonde took that for everything it was worth. She could feel the workings of the girl's body, feel her ribcage expand and deflate with every breath as the air passed through her lungs.

But louder than anything was Blake's heartbeat, slow but full against her ear. She knew she probably shouldn't have, but she pressed closer to listen better.

It was... nice to hear her heartbeat, and it gave Yang reassurance that she wasn't alone for once.

Ever since they'd set out together, loneliness hadn't been much of a problem anymore.

And Blake didn't mind the closeness, either.

So they stayed that way, listening to whatever they could hear, huddled snugly into one another beneath their blankets.

And they didn't really care if tomorrow came or not.

A/N: A bit of a rough first chapter, and the next one will be as well. Forgive me ;~;

Song lyrics are from Ellie Goulding's The Writer~

Please review!