A/N I'm having a bit too many Bumbleby feels as of late, and so I figured, what better way to appease them then by writing some BlakexYang fluff!
So for any of you also suffering from withdrawal, here's some Blang cuddles to help you get through the week.
Based on one of, yangxiaobabe, posts on tumblr. Check her out! She's an awesome Yang rp!
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me and are the full property of Rooster Teeth.
Also the excerpt I have in the beginning is from John Steinback's 'The Grapes of Wrath' and is no way my own writing.
Enjoy!
A Suitable Arrangement
"She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken. And since old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt or fear, she had practiced denying them in herself…."
Flipping the page Blake continued to read, golden eyes greedily taking in every word.
"And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build laughter out of inadequate materials...She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall."
Creases marred a pale, smooth forehead as the avid reader furrowed her brow. This character, Ma, seemed much like the older women she had known in her youth. Even beaten and nearly broken, they had always stood strong before her and the other kids; a firm and unyielding barrier against the cruelties of the world.
If only their skin had been as strong as their hearts… An old memory flashed by her mind's eye, the acrid smell of smoke matched only by the sound of people screaming.
Violently shaking her head, Blake forced the vision away, once again burying herself in the story in front of her. There was no reason to dwell on that old place. It was long since gone, and so was the person she had been when she lived there. The present was where her mind belonged. Here at Beacon, amongst her peers, she could pretend that she had lived a normal life. Here, each meal wasn't something to be eaten quickly and with fervor, but instead at whatever pace she liked. Clean bed sheets were something expected, and not savored every night as she lay down to sleep. Even the quiet no longer needed to be feared, instead becoming something she enjoyed. Especially when she had a good book at hand (and she always had a good book at hand).
This new attitude was fortunate for her, since peaceful evenings like this one had become something of a norm. Even though team RWBY shared the majority of their time together there were several classes that required a stratification of abilities, leaving the girls with a couple hours every day away from each other.
It was probably a good thing, to be honest. Blake cared for her teammates, she really did, but there were times when she got tired of the relentless bickering between Weiss and Ruby, and Yang's puns made her want to string the blonde up with Gambol Shroud's ribbon and hang her over the edge of a cliff. That is if she weren't so sure Yang would enjoy it. So, instead of inflicting bodily harm on her partners, she cherished the time in the evenings while Ruby was off at her supplementary skills class and Weiss learning about the various ways she could apply her Dust spells. Alone in the dorm room, Blake could pull on a comfortable tank top and sweatpants, curl up on her bed, and enjoy her much needed quiet time; the absence of her roommates making for a perfect reading environment.
The soft sound of fingers tapping against a desk pulled Blake from her thoughts. Well, almost perfect.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Blake observed the person responsible for interrupting her reading. On the other side of the room at her desk, Yang Xiao Long sat fiddling with her pencil. Normally the boxer would be busy sparring with the other fisticuff specialists at this time of day, but apparently she had been excused from class after plowing through all her opponents in a matter of minutes.
Despite herself, Blake felt a small smile tug at her lips. Yang had appeared almost… sheepish when she had returned to their dorm an hour ago. In response to her partner's quirked eyebrow, she had rubbed the back of her neck, a nervous laugh escaping from her lips. "Looks like I had a little too much coffee today. Professor Bratwick is seeing if he can get permission to have me join the 2nd years in their class."
Seeing the normally boisterous girl acting so bashful had caused a warm ache in Blake's chest, enough to chase away the irritation of her intrusion. It certainty helped that after a quick shower and change of clothes, Yang had settled down at her desk to do homework.
Across the room the tapping continued, this time joined by the soft thumping of a booted heel against the floor. Inwardly sighing, Blake supposed she should be thankful that Yang had lasted this long. Being the constantly friendly and upbeat person that she was, it was very hard for Yang to go long without someone's attention, especially when in the presence of someone she held dear. At the beginning of their partnership this hadn't bothered Blake too much, but as the two of them had grown closer and Yang began demanding more of her attention specifically, it had quickly become a point of contention; one that had peaked a few weeks after the two had admitted their more-than-friendly feelings for each other.
Eyes no longer seeing the words in front of her, Blake remembered instead the chilly evening on which Yang had approached her hiding place in the campus forest. That night had been the first time the brunette had ever seen Yang fumble over her words; the blonde blushing and stuttering through the conversation, violet eyes never once looking into her gold. Still, Yang was not one to be deterred, even by her own nerves, and she had steadfastly proceeded through her confession.
To say Blake had been shocked was a major understatement, and she certainty hadn't been prepared to defend against the raw emotion in Yang's eyes. So, swept up in the moment, she had confessed right back; spilling every, little detail of her own crush before she could even think twice. Cheeks burning and eyes averted, she had missed the astounded look on Yang's face as she whispered, "I think I like you too." into her book.
The near-silent admission seemed to snap Yang out of her trance, because the next thing Blake knew the buxom boxer had pulled her into the tightest hug the speedster had ever experienced. Even now, after weeks of enduring every possible hug combination that Yang could think of, nothing could touch the level of bone crushing that that one had.
Still, as much as she liked being held her girlfriend's arms, Yang's desire for near-constant contact soon wore Blake's nerves down to nothing, leading to the couple's first fight. And what a doozy it was.
Apparently Yang's tongue was just as sharp as her fists were strong, something which Blake had found out over the course of their shouting match. The two of them had argued about things way beyond what they had needed too, touching everything from Yang's obsessive flirting to Blake's intense need to keep her faunas heritage, literally, under wraps. That had been the final straw, the argument ending in an instant as Blake's palm cracked against Yang's cheek, whipping the blonde's head to the side.
Horrified by what she had just done, Blake had frozen in place. Startled golden eyes had stared at the patch of red spreading across pale skin, wishing desperately for time to rewind and her action to be undone. Yang, for her part, had clenched her hands into tight fists, and for one terrifying second Blake thought that she was going to be struck back. However, the boxer had just pushed past her and out the door, completely ignoring a clueless Ruby who had just returned from the library.
Blake didn't see her again for three days.
Squirming on the bed, Blake did her best to shove down the residual guilt from the encounter. Those three days had been the some of longest of her life, and she hadn't realized how accustomed she had become to Yang's presence until it was no longer there. Too afraid to go searching for her partner, it had been up to Ruby and Weiss to get the two of them talking again. After some clever lies ('Come on we're just going to study) and bodily threats ('I swear if the two of you don't work this out now…') the two of them had ended up alone together on the roof of their dorm, trapped from escaping by both their own teammates and JNPR.
Yang had kept her back to Blake, refusing to look away from the night sky or even acknowledge the brunette's presence. Guilt weighing heavily on her heart, and unable to find any words to try and fix the situation, Blake's mask had cracked, a few tears slipping from her eyes as she chanted "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" over and over again. Curling into herself, she had backed herself up against one of the walls when the thudding of footsteps had caused her to look up.
Shocked by the water leaking from Blake's eyes, Yang had charged towards her crying girlfriend and wrapped her up in a firm hug, pulling the shorter girl into her chest. Making soft, shushing noises, she gently combed her fingers through brunette locks. "Hush, it's okay."
Gripping the labels of Yang's jacket, Blake had burrowed herself further into the embrace. "No it's not. I hit you."
A warm cheek had pressed into her hair. "I know. But it will be."
Blake wasn't sure how long they had stayed like that, but she did remember the long talk they had had afterwards. It had taken all night, but they had worked things out. In return for Blake promising to be more open about herself and her feelings, Yang would try and tone down her enthusiasm and make sure to give Blake the space she needed.
A promise she was not currently living up to.
Again Blake's attention was pulled towards the other side of the room, this time by the blonde beginning to rock back and forth in her chair. Clack, clack, clack
To her credit, Yang seemed unaware of the noise she was making. The blonde's focus was on her textbook, one hand jotting down notes while the other worked to keep herself from tipping over. From what she could see of the text book's binding, Blake guessed that it was for their Grimm Studies class, meaning that Yang had already finished her required work for the evening and had moved onto unnecessary readings.
Recognizing the effort that her girlfriend was putting into leaving her be, Blake decided that she should reward the good behavior. Placing her book against her chest, she called out to the boxer. "Yang."
"Huh?!" Startled, Yang tilted a bit too far back in her chair, hand slamming down on her desk to catch herself.
Suppressing a chuckle, Blake schooled her face into a look of feigned annoyance. "Yang, you're fidgeting."
"Whoops, sorry babe. Guess I gotta learn how to chill with these villains huh? Heh get it? Chillin' with the villains." Flashing her girlfriend a cheeky smile, Yang laughed as the other girl groaned in abject horror.
"Will you ever run out of those damned awful puns?"
"Hehe nope! You could say I'm a pun-hit wond— umpf." A pillow smacked Yang square in the face, its thrower's aim ensuring that the blonde didn't get to finish her sentence.
Catching the pillow before it hit the floor, Yang tossed it back to the brunette. "Aw come on now, you know you love it." Blake rolled her eyes in response, but she couldn't stop her lips from twitching upwards in a small smile.
"Knew it." Blowing Blake a kiss, Yang turned around and began to pack up her books. "Anyway I'll head out now, I know you like your quiet time."
Frowning, Blake sat up on her bed and placed her book to the side. "You don't need to do that."
"Yes I do, we agreed after all." Zipping up her bag, Yang went to grab her jacket from its place on the door hanger. " I make sure to let you have adequate time to read everyday and you stop dodging me whenever I try to hug you in public."
" I know what we agreed to." Snapping slightly, Blake glared at her girlfriend. "And I'm saying that you don't need to leave in order for me to read."
"Huh?" Yang paused, jacket half way on.
"Come here."
The boxer remained rooted in place, skeptical violet eyes looking into irritated gold. "Are you sure?"
"Just get over here, you dork." Blake said. Grasping the blankets bunched up around her waist, she opening them and motioned for Yang to join her.
About to voice another protest, Yang stopped when she noticed the light blush that had begun to spread across Blake's cheeks. Shrugging her shoulders, she surrendered to the siren's call of cuddle time. "Alrighty, but you can't say I didn't try."
Tossing off her jacket, she dived into the bed. Ignoring Blake's startled "Umph," she burrowed deeper, shifting until she was pressed firmly against the brunette. Sighing happily, Yang nuzzled into Blake's chest, placing a chaste kiss into her bare collarbone before resting her head against warm breasts.
Blake, for her part, was doing her best to hold still as the blonde wriggled around in her lap. Cheeks ablaze, she waited until Yang had settled before folding the blankets back over them. Sliding down, she leaned back against her pillows and grappled around for her book, finding it only a few inches away from where she had put it down. Fumbling slightly, she managed to bring it and her arms up and around the boxer snuggled against her, using the blonde's strong shoulders as a prop.
Flipping through the pages, she found the spot where she had left off and continued from there. The warm body against hers was a welcome sensation, Yang's soft breathing lulling her into a state of contentment.
Losing herself in her story, Blake was nearing the end of her chapter when the blonde in her arms shifted, laying another kiss onto her chest. "Blake?" Yang whispered.
"Yeah?" She replied.
"Can we do this more often?" Yang's voice was soft and her speech slightly slurred, sure signs that she was nearing sleep
"Sure Yang." Gripping her book in one hand, Blake let the other roam through yellow locks, gently massaging Yang's scalp.
"Mm, good." Leaning into the touch, Yang settled back down onto Blake.
A stupidly happy smile crossing her face, Blake continued to stroke Yang's hair, luring the boxer into a calming sleep.
Blake had lived through countless hardships in her short life, but she would gladly endure them all a thousand times over if that's what it took to ensure that she ended up here; wrapped tenderly in the embrace of the girl she loved, blissfully whittling away the hours in each other's company.
There were certainly worse ways to spend a Tuesday evening.
A/N
And there we go. Hope you guys liked it, so don't forget to review and let me know.
Yang's puns were physically painful for me to write. Darling I love you, but you need to cut that shit out.