Grunts and dull thuds echoed through the nearly empty gym as the sole occupant pummeled a heavy bag. Dressed in nothing but shorts and yellow tank top, her hands and feet were both carefully wrapped and long blonde hair tied back in a rare ponytail.
As she worked the bag her conversation with Weiss from the previous day echoed through her head.
"What did you do to my friend? It's been two weeks since your date and she hasn't been back to the book club." Weiss had seemed upset. It made sense though. Outside of Ruby and, by extension, Yang, Weiss did not seem to have many genuine friends; just those trying to suck up to a Schnee.
-Jab, jab, cross, roundhouse kick.-
"I don't know. I haven't heard from her either. She won't return my calls. We had had such a great time and she even gave me her number the morning after. What did I do wrong?"
It had been something that genuinely confused Yang. They both had had such a great night, and Blake had even stuck around for a home cooked, if somewhat burnt, breakfast.
-Clinch, knee, knee, elbow-
"Maybe she needs some time to think." Weiss strove to placate the brawler.
Think about what exactly? That they were both girls? Was she too extroverted and outgoing for the demure bookwork? Did Blake not like blondes? Then it had hit her.
-Front kick, close to clinch, body shot, elbow.-
"What if she found out about my past? If she had any affiliation, even by proxy, it would've scared her off."
Yang was panicked at that point. Neither had discussed their pasts; both deciding that it wasn't first date material. While she had thought little of it then, with her recent revelation their pasts may cause strife between them.
-Roundhouse kick, hook.-
"I don't know, Yang. But you if do see each other again, you need to be upfront as soon as possible."
That had not been encouraging. Despite what most people thought about the blonde, she could be fairly a cautious person. And going into a potentially dangerous situation without intel was definitely not her style.
-Jab, hook, jab.-
"And you didn't know about her? Doesn't that bother you?"
Blake had kept her secrets from Weiss as well. Yang had wondered how good of friends they actually were.
-Jab, jab, cross, hook, uppercut.-
"It's a surprise, but changes nothing."
-Cross, hook, knee.-
"Hey, Sarge!" A voice rang out through gym, alerting the blonde she was no longer alone. Shifting her position just enough to see who was approaching her, she grunted as she recognized the interloper.
Sun Wukong, comrade in arms, and at one time the lieutenant of the squad she served in. Dressed in grey sweatpants and red tank top, his feet were bare as well. Just as blonde as Yang, the most outstanding feature of the man was the yellow monkey tail that flicked back and forth behind him.
Yang simply nodded at him without breaking her workout.
Realizing he wasn't getting a verbal response he continued with a mischievous grin. "Did the most recent guy not work out?"
Yang only glared in response.
His grin only widened. "Girl?"
Yang sighed and leaned a forearm and her forehead onto the bag. She didn't really want to have this conversation right now. She just wanted to work her frustrations out instead of wondering when, or if, Blake would ever call her back.
"Wow." Sun chuckled. "Neptune owes me 200 lien."
"What the hell?" Her head snapped up and she stared at Sun. "You too?"
"Honestly, Neptune was the only one who thought you were straight. Probably because he was trying to hit on you."
"Thanks, guys." The brawler grumbled. "Glad the only people that didn't realize I didn't like guys was myself and the womanizer."
"Don't beat yourself up about it. We just noticed you never had much interest in the guys trying to buy you drinks. Though you always seemed to be quite the chick magnet, much to Nep's chagrin."
"I just thought they were buying me drinks for scaring off the creepy guys, I didn't realize they were actually hitting on me."
Sun chuckled in response. As the tone slowly dropped into awkward silence, the faunus cast around for another subject.
"You know." He began tersely. "You should come back to the active side. After you switched to reserve we've cycled through replacements until Colonel Arc decided we needed a girl in the squad again. A month ago we were assigned a new kid; Specialist Valkyrie. Girl's a savant with explosives, but a little crazy."
"Sounds like she is just like me. So why do you need me back?"
"She's good, but a little green. You were one of the best demolition and close-quarters experts in the entire special operations division. We have a chance for the whole squad to apply to a special assignment. Major Nikos has an opening in her task force. If you come back now, we-"
"No." Yang replied emphatically cutting the lieutenant off.
"What? Why not?" Sun looked completely confused. Understandable, as it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them.
"You know why. I joined up to be able provide for Ruby and still have a life of adventure. But I missed out on too much. This is my last year in reserve, then I'm done."
"Just quitting after 10 years?"
"No." Yang glowered back. "Just time for me to move on. Ruby and I have a house, she is almost done with school, and I have my dream job."
"I see." Sun's fast turned downcast. "I was hoping for better news, but I can't force you."
Seeking the lighten the mood he turned to a joke. "Heard you hooked your sis up with the younger Schnee, think you can get me in a good word for me with the older one?
Yang's scowl transformed into a death glare, causing the faunus to take a hasty step backwards. "Are we done here, LT?"
"Yeah, yeah." He held his hands up defensively. "I'll let you get back to the bag before you turn those fists on me. Though you should come out with us tonight. The boys and I are getting the new kid inducted into some squad traditions."
"Drinking?"
"Yes, lots of drinking." Sun dropped his hands and smiled to her.
Yang mustered a smile back. "See you tonight."
With the prospect of drinking with her old buddies to keep her mind off of Blake, she turned away from from the heavy bag. She didn't need to hit things anymore. Now she needed something heavy to lift. Spying the deadlift bar, she smiled. Time to get the rest of her emotions worked out.
The calmness of the crowd outside the bar was interrupted as a group of six, exuberantly drunk, individuals stumbled out onto the sidewalk.
"I still can't believe Nora got us kicked out!" Sun exclaimed.
"But it was so fun!" The short girl shot back. "Don't tell you guys were bored!"
Yang chuckled. "Looks like she's going to fit right in with you guys"
Sage joined in the merriment and threw an arm around Neptune. "And watching Nep get shot down all night was pretty great too."
"Hey!" The blue haired man replied indignantly and tried to remove himself from his friend's grasp. "Only because Scarlet is such a terrible wingman!"
"Hey!" Scarlet exclaimed resentfully as well.
"Well, it's true" Neptune smirked back at his teammate.
"Don't take it too…" Sun's voice trailed off as his snapped towards an alleyway. "Hey, what's that?"
"What's what?"
"Shhh"
The five others paused to try to hear what Sun was hearing.
"Where do you think you're going, you dirty faunus?" An angry voice rang out, barely echoing into the street where they stood.
"Get off me, let me go!" The terrified female voice sounded hauntingly familiar to Yang.
"Don't think so." A chorus of menacing chuckles accompanied the voice. "You animals are only good for one thing."
Yang frantically turned to Sun. "We can't let them hurt her."
"Wasn't planning on letting them." Sun's face became set in grim determination. "Let's go."
As they quickly stumbled around the corner, Yang's heart sunk. Pinned against the wall was a terrified and injured girl wearing the same purple sundress as their first date. Surrounding her was a large group of angry looking men and women.
"Blake? Blake?!" Yang screamed out and turned her ire towards the group surrounding the black haired girl. "Get away from her, you monsters!"
The leader turned and sneered. "And who do you think yo-"
His taunt was cut off as Yang's fist smashed into the side of his face, casting several of his teeth down the alley. As both sides entered into the fray, the victor was imminently apparent. Despite their inebriation and being outnumbered, the fury and training of Yang and her friends drew the fight to a quick close. A few moments later the thugs lay scattered along the alley, with only the leader remaining conscious.
"Let me go." He growled through his bloody mouth.
Nora stomped a foot down on his chest, driving his breath out with an oomph. "Let's break his legs!" She glared downed menacingly.
"Calm down, Valkyrie." Sun pulled her off and gave the man a light kick the head knocking him out as well.
A light groan brought Yang's attention back to the reason they were there. "Blake!" Running to the girl's side she helped pull Blake onto her feet and into an embrace.
"Yang? Is that you?" Blake blinked, trying to clear her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I meant t-"
"I'm just glad you're alright." She silenced the black haired girl by pulling her in tighter and turned to Sun. "I'm taking her to my place. She'll be safe there."
Sun chuckled in response. "So she's the one, huh?"
Yang could only smile down at the girl in her arms. "Yeah. Can you take care of these guys?"
The guys all smirked in return. "They'll just wake up in a few hours in the trash. Just like usual."
Yang exhaled loudly from the effort of carrying Blake into her house and laying her down on her bed. The desire to make sure the faunus was safe helped the brawler fight against her inebriated state. Hailing a cab had only taken a few minutes and the ride back to her place had been quiet. Blake hadn't uttered a word since Yang had originally rescued her and the blonde felt no need to break the silence; clutching the faunus close to her. Now as Yang struggled with coordinating her hands to tuck the dark haired girl into her bed, Blake broke the silence.
"Do you hate me now?" The black haired girl murmured sleepily. "Now that you know what I am?"
"I've known since that first night." Yang smiled down and kissed the other girl on the forehead. "Sleep well."
Stumbling out of the bedroom and down the hall, she managed to snag a couple blankets out of the hallway closet before flopping down onto the couch. Despite her glee at being united with Blake, she figured the faunus needed some space. Not to mention her own drunkenness could cause problems.
Resigning herself to a night on the couch, she rolled over in the blankets trying to find a comfortable spot. As she slowly slipped into sleep, her sister's voice jarred her awake again.
"Yang? What are you doing sleeping on the couch?" Confusion laced the younger girl's voice. "Why aren't you in bed?"
"I ran into Blake and she needed a place to crash. So she's sleeping in my bed."
"And why aren't you in there? You've been so upset about not seeing her, I figured you'd be in there with her." The younger girl tilted her head in confusion, peering closer at the blonde.
"It's… it's not a good time for that. You don't seem too surprised she's here."
"Well… I, uh, may have been in contact with Blake for the last couple of weeks."
"And you didn't tell me?!" Yang sat straight up, eyes narrowed in anger. "Ruby…"
The shorter girl threw her hands up in defense. "I wanted to tell you, I really did! She wanted to find out how you felt about faunus before committing to seeing you again, and when I mentioned that I knew she was a faunus from Weiss, she freaked out.
"Even though Weissy's company has a progressive outlook, Blake was scared of her knowing. Not to mention she knew nothing of you or how you felt about faunus."
Yang sighed and flopped back down. As much as it hurt, Blake's reasoning was justifiable. Too many people and companies were secretly or even actively racist against the faunus. Not that the White Fang helped anything.
"How do you even know each other? Did you meet her through your 'Weissy'?"
Ruby scowled in return. "A; only I can call her that, and 2; no. We met through a different mutual friend named Ren, he is also getting a master's in computer science, so we have some classes together."
"Wait. Ren, as in Lie Ren?"
Ruby nodded.
Yang chuckled to herself "Pretty sure I just went drinking with his girlfriend. Unless there is another screaming, bloodthirsty Valkyrie running around."
"That sounds terrifying."
"She's actually quite fun." Yang glanced at her watch. "It's late, we should probably get to bed."
The blonde relaxed for the first time since seeing Blake again as her little sister hugged her. As Ruby's footsteps started to recede, they paused for a brief moment.
"Yang, I really hope things work out for you guys. I think you need someone like Blake."
"Me too. Goodnight, Lil Sis. I love you."
"I love you too."
Yang stretched up as she stood from from her kneeling position where she was working on Bumblebee. After a restless night, getting up early and working on her beloved motorcycle soothed her raging thoughts. Blake had been too out of it the night before to answer any of Yang's many questions. Yes, Ruby had explained everything later, but she wanted to hear everything from the faunus girl herself. The blonde had briefly thought of camping out inside the house itself to make sure the dark haired girl couldn't slip away, but sitting still was next to impossible right now.
So she found herself in the garage, covered in oil and sweat, working on the one thing she had absolute control over. Bumblebee was her pride and joy, a cumulation of over a decade of education and practice in mechanics, and her own personal prototypes. Anytime she as was stressed or worried about the world, she had her motorcycle to tinker with. Ruby even joked that Yang spent more time working on it than driving it. True or not, Yang took particular glee in tearing down the highway with her screaming sister clinging to the back of the bike as a form of punishment.
A small cough startled her, causing her to drop a wrench and swear loudly. After calming herself, she glanced around for the offender. Her eyes finally fell on the person she least expected to see, but the one she wanted to talk to the most, standing in the doorway. Despite still wearing the same ruffled sundress from the night before, her hair disheveled and eyes bleary, Yang saw nothing but perfection in front of her. First was Blake's faunus ears, the two delicate black triangle on her head, covered in soft velvety fur dominated the blonde's mind. If only she could reach up and pet them. As Yang's eyes traced downwards, she drank in Blake's other features. The long black tresses, the narrowness of her waist, the curves of her hips, and the length of her legs. Still, no matter what else, her attention was consistently drawn to Blake's ears like a lodestone.
*Ahem* Blake coughed again, tearing Yang out of her reverie.
"Blake! Uh… Hi! I… uh… hi!"
"Are you going to put a shirt on?"
Yang looked down and cringed. Last time they were together it had been dark by the time their clothes had come off, Blake hadn't seen anything. Now dressed in loose cargo pants and sports bra, Yang realized the faunus had noticed her scars and was unsettled by the extent of them. Quickly covering her stomach and shoulders, she turned around, hiding the evidence of her previous wounds from the other girl.
"Sorry." The blonde hung her head. She hated how ugly the scars made her feel. "You don't have to look at them anymore."
"I didn't…" Blake started hesitantly. "Tell me about your tattoo."
The blonde forced a chuckle in response, glad to have a distraction. Without even turning around, she reached up and patted her left shoulder blade where a flaming, golden heart laid inked into her skin.
"I burn."
"I don't understand." The confusion in Blake's voice was readily apparent.
"I BURN!" Yang's yell echoed in the quiet garage.
Silence permeated the room as Yang refused to give any more of an explanation. Explaining her tattoo would be like explaining Bumblebee to someone. How do you explain something so integral to your concept of self in a way they understand? She was freedom, passion, and fire unrestrained. Her heart was her only ruler, and it was lit with an unquenchable flame.
A warm hand accompanied by a soft voice surprised her. Blake had snuck up on her, somehow. The hand tugged at her shoulder, beckoning her to turn around.
"Please look at me, Yang."
"They're ugly." She turned her head into the shoulder opposite of Blake's hand. "I don't want you to have to see them."
Despite her reluctance, sadness enveloped Yang as Blake pulled her hand away. Had she pushed Blake away with her stubbornness? She stiffened as she felt Blake's arms encircle around her waist, and felt the warmth of the faunus against her back. Soft hands caressed the raised white tissue that criss-crossed her stomach.
"Tell me about them." The black haired girl spoke directly into Yang's ear, no trace of fear or hesitation tainting Blake's voice.
"I need to start from the beginning, can you wait for me in the living room? I need to put everything here away and shower." Yang pulled Blake's hands away from the scars, still unsure of what the other girl thought about them. "Ruby should be up and making breakfast by now if you want to visit with her. I should be down in about 15 minutes."
The blonde shooed Blake out of the garage and into the house, letting out a sigh as the door closed. At least the faunus was here, and wanting to talk with her. Taking stock of her workspace, she closed the shrouding on her motorcycle and replaced all the tools to their original locations. How messy she was otherwise be damned, her garage was immaculate. Wiping her hands on last time on the grease towel hanging from her belt, she cast the rag into the bin in the corner of the room and entered into the house.
Sneaking past the kitchen where she heard the loud giggles of her sister mingle with the lighter chuckles of the faunus, Yang beelined straight to the bathroom. Between the drinking and fighting the night before, and working on Bumblebee this morning she was in dire need of a hot shower. Once the water hit her skin, she regretted giving Blake such a short time limit to meet up, the heat from the shower felt too good to give up readily.
Limiting herself to a the bare necessities, she washed body and hair, and rinsed thoroughly. Drying herself she threw on the first clothes that she could find, a yellow tank top and black shorts. Though they showed some of her lesser scarring, they also left the muscles she worked so diligently on for all to see. Grabbing a second towel, she hastily dried her hair and tied it up in a damp ponytail. There was nothing to be done, she simply had too much hair to dry it in a few minutes.
Meandering back into the living room, she could hear Blake's voice still coming from the kitchen. Taking her last few moments to fold the blankets leftover from her sleepover on the couch, she snuck in the kitchen. While Blake was facing her and could see everything Yang was doing, Ruby's back was to her, and had no idea the danger she was in. With a smirk to Blake, Yang pounced on her little sister, wrapping her arms around Ruby's midsection, and picked the smaller girl up, tickling her in the process.
"Yang! Put me down!" Ruby squealed and tried to wriggle out of her sister's grasp, but her efforts were in vain, Yang was simply too strong.
"Depends on what you made me for breakfast." Yang continued relentless, preventing the flailing girl from escaping her grasp.
"It-it-it's eggs... ben…ben" The smaller girl gasped for air, unable to speak or breath while being tickled.
"It's eggs benedict, bacon, and hashbrowns." Blake filled in for the struggling girl and chomped on another piece of bacon. "She even put tuna on my eggs benedict. It's quite delicious. I think she's earned a pardon."
"Lis-listen to B-B-Blake." Ruby squeaked out between laughs.
"Oh, alright." Yang placed her sister back on the ground, who immediately scampered behind Blake, peering out from behind the older girl. Yang grinned at her little sister, who only scowled in return. "Thanks for breakfast, Rubes."
"If you keep tickling me, there won't be anymore breakfasts for you." Ruby warned.
"Uh-huh." Yang was willing to call Ruby's bluff as they went through this conversation several times a week. Still it was all in jest. Patting Ruby's head as she walked past, she gathered up the remains of her sister's cooking.
"Living room, Blake?" The blonde inquired as she walked past the dark haired duo.
"Yeah." Blake looked apologetically towards the shortest of the girls. "Sorry I can't help you clean up."
"Don't worry about it!" The answer came with surprising amount of exuberance. "I'm used to cleaning up after Yang, We take care of each other in different ways afterall."
Yang immediately turned around once exiting to kitchen, trying to hear the rest of the conversation between Blake and Ruby. Straining, she barely managed to make out was the duo was saying,
"Oh? You'll have to explain that later." Footsteps began approaching the doorway, Yang supposed it was Blake trying to join her in the living room.
"Depends on how your conversation goes." Ruby replied ominously.
The footsteps halted at her sister's response. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Yang may be my older sister, but that doesn't mean I can't look out for her too." Yang noted it was one of the few times that Ruby was using her 'serious voice'. "I may not be as intimidating as her, but if you hurt Yang, you'll have to answer to me."
"I-I'll keep that in mind!" She heard Blake stutter out.
With the footsteps once again walking towards the doorway that separated the two rooms, Yang rushed to take her seat on the couch as quickly as possible without spilling her food and attempted to look as though she had not heard the conversation between the other two girls.
Yang simply smiled as the raven haired girl entered the room.
"Your sister can be a bit scary at times." She noted to the blonde. "And to think, she's so small."
"Heh, yeah." Yang scoffed back, but a hint of seriousness crept into her lilac eyes. "She looks after me as much as I look after her now. She doesn't seem so intimidating, but trust me, if you ever managed to get on her bad side, there's no saving you."
Grinning again as the faunus sat down next to her on the couch, she wolfed down her food as quickly as possible.
"So…" Blake started hesitantly. "How did you know I was a faunus?"
Taking a quick break between bites, the blonde hastily replied. "I sort of woke up when you screamed in the middle of the night. Before I could come to my senses you had calmed yourself and snuggled back in. Apparently you were super comfortable because I could feel something flicking against my chin. It didn't take me long to realize your bow had fallen off and there were ears underneath."
"So my freaking out for the last two weeks was pointless? You already knew and accepted me? Why didn't you say anything."
"I… It's a long story, and it ties into my scars as well."
After finishing her food, the blonde placed her plate down on the table with a soft thud.
"I was always a prodigy in mechanics, and by the time I graduated high school I had already earned my first two years of college credit. After that I attending one of the top engineering schools in Atlas. It wasn't cheap, but I graduated with top marks and a BS in engineering at age 20.
"I was set to take a year to travel the world, then go for my master's when the unthinkable happened. Ruby's mother, our mother, died."
Yang turned away from blake, casting her eyes down. Every time the subject came up she could only see the face of a 12 year old Ruby, heartbroken at the news she would never see her mother again. Jumping slightly as she felt a pair of arms wind around her waist before allowing Blake to pull her back to lean against the faunus.
"Between her, Dad, and copious amounts of student loans, I was able to go through school. But with her gone and Dad having shut down, there was no money for Ruby's education. I may be talented, but Ruby was a damn prodigy. There was no way she could go to a regular school. So I did the one thing I could think of to have a chance at adventure and make money for Ruby's schooling. I joined the Vale guard."
"You were military?!" Yang immediately sat up and out of Blake's arms at the faunus' outburst. "I-I… I'm not sure how to respond to that. I just… wasn't expecting that."
If the shock in Blake's voice wasn't apparent enough, one glance at her face made Yang's heart sink even more at what was left to say.
"I was't just military. I wanted a life of adventure, so I joined directly into the special operations branch. I trained for two years in every skill imaginable, specializing in demolitions and close quarters combat. After that, I served for four years in the best counter-terrorism squads in the division."
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad." Blake's expression softened. "Sounds like you just went after the actual bad guys, right?"
"Blake." Yang pleaded. "Can you promise to hear out everything I have to say without freaking out or leaving?"
Blake only nodded in response. Yang could see the hesitation in her eyes. However, there was something else there as well. A slight glimmer of determination pierced through the doubt. It was just enough to give the blonde hope.
Yang bowed her head before continuing, unsure that she could maintain eye contact.
"Other than a small smattering of other missions, the primary targets of my squad were White Fang. For four years all I did was hunt down and eliminate faunus. I'm a faunus killer, Blake. Most of the White Fang aren't natural killers. They are kids, uneducated and impoverished, just desperate and misguided enough to try to make a better life for themselves by picking up a gun."
Yang gave herself a moment to blink back the hot tears forming in her eyes.
"I always justified it to myself by saying they were combatants. They made their decision to take up arms and would eventually attack civilians, if they hadn't already.
"Each of my scars reminds me of the faces of those killed by my hand. And these," Yang stood quickly and pulled up her shirt, exposing the largest and most extensive scarring that covered her muscular stomach. "Are the worst reminder of all."
As she started bawling hysterically she felt a cool hand on hand on her face. A second one lightly gripped her shoulder, pulling the two girls close enough that their foreheads touched. Slipping down, the second hand tugged her shirt back down, covering the scars she loathed so much. Joining the first hand, both wiped away the tears staining the Yang's face.
"Yang, I promise to hear you out, to keep an open mind." Blake spoke calmly, seeking to soothe her blonde companion. "Please tell me what happened. I need to know what you feared me knowing."
"We… we were out in Vacuo, at one of the town we suspected of harboring White Fang weapon stores. We were completely incognito, dressed in local garb with no weapons besides concealed sidearms. A child, a little faunus girl, came running up to us trying to sell us some candy. I'm not sure how, but the children could always tell when someone wasn't from the area, and they always tried to sell us these little sweets.
"Trying to draw as little attention as possible, we quickly gave her a few coins and took some candies, hoping she would move along quickly. And that's when I heard it. Once you hear the sound of a pin coming out of a grenade, you never forget it. It must have, it should have been a mistake. But all I could see was this smiling child holding an armed grenade.
"I-I just acted on instinct. I had to protect the lives of my squadmates, my friends, my brothers. I tried to knock the grenade out of her hand and cover it with my own body, but she held on to tight. She landed on top of it with me on top of her.
"I killed a child, Blake! I could have saved her, but I screwed it up! She should be alive and I should be dead. Instead I have these scars that remind me everyday that I couldn't even save one child."
The blonde hiccuped, completely out of tears and unable to continue with words. Blake pulled her back onto the couch, hugging the distraught girl into her chest.
"It's alright, Yang." Blake rocked the her back and forth, seeking to soothe the blonde but to no avail. As Yang screamed out, caught up in her memories, the black haired girl released her and scooted back.
"What did you… Yang!" Ruby burst into the room after hearing her sister's distress.
"No, Ruby! Stay back, don't touch her." Directing her attention back to Yang the faunus' voice softened again. "Yang, it's not real. Come back to us."
"Bl-Blake?" Yang's normally brilliant lilac eyes were hazed over in pain.
"Can I touch you?"
"Y-yes… agh!" Yang screamed out again. "She's dead! It's my fault. I could've saved her!"
"Breathe, Yang. It's not real." Blake placed a hand on the blonde's face. "You're at home, with your sister. Ruby's here, she was never there. You can't be there."
Collecting the whimpering girl into her lap, Blake stroked her back and kept reassuring her.
"Ruby, does Yang have any foods or drinks she likes when she is stressed? A favorite…" Blake paused as a soft snoring filled the room. "Oh… Nevermind."
Yang woke up in a dull haze, her whole body aching. Despite the dull pain she was remarkably comfortable and warm. Relishing the feeling of fingers winding through her now unbound hair it took she almost drifted back to sleep; the rhythmic stroking lulling her into a sense of security. After a few moments, she tried to figure out how she ended up in this situation. She had been working on Bumblebee, then had talked to Blake and told her about…"
"Blake!" The blonde bolted straight up, causing the blanket covering her to fall off.
"Good morning, or I guess afternoon." Blake smiled to her companion. "You've been asleep for a few hours now."
Yang rubbed the back of her neck while a blush crept up on her face. "Sorry about freaking out earlier. I'm glad you stayed though."
"You have nothing to be ashamed off, we all have things we regret. But we can't stop moving forward." The faunus leaned forward and kissed Yang on the cheek. "I was wondering, if you were up to it, would you like to get some lunch with me? You know, like a second date?"
"Heh, that sounds great. But I think I owe you the rest of my story."
"Only if you are comfortable speaking about it."
"I'll be fine." Yang tried to reassure Blake with a smile. "After… after all that, I decided that I was done with all that. The hunting and the killing. My contract ran up shortly afterwards and I transferred to the reserves. Besides the mandatory training and occasional deployments I was able to finish my master's in engineering and start seeking alternative employment. The place I wanted to work for the most was Schnee Corporation.
"Not only are they a frontrunner in engineering and technology, but they also had a very open policy. A leader in equality when it came to the hiring and treatment of faunus employees, as well as a heavy donor to many pro-faunus causes. Now that I work for them, I am just waiting for my last contract to run out, then I'm done.
"I finally get to spend time with my sister and work a job I love. And now there's you. Ruby says I need a girl like you, and I would agree with her." Yang gave a bright smile. "To answer your question, yes, I would love to go on another date with you."
And the second part of this spur-of-the-moment adventure is complete. I apologize if I messed up some part of Yang's PTSD episode, I personally have no experience with it and tried my best to research effects/soothing techniques. As always, let me know what you think!