Protect me, Blake?

Chapter 3: Reconciliation

"I know what I've done is beyond forgiveness, and you despise me for it. So, if you want I'll leave, and you'll never have to see me ever again..." Blake slowly lifted her gaze, her eyes meeting Yang's.

Yang's breath hitched in her throat. People say the eyes are the window to the soul, but Blake's were like blackholes that engulfed the blonde and placed her in the brunette's world of self-loath, self-reproach, misery, and...hurt.

She could feel the turbulence within Blake's soul, getting washed away into an ocean of penitence and affliction of her own.

Her breathing grew heavier as her mind began to spiral. "No, no, no, no, NO! I can't lose her again!" Yang screamed internally. Her left hand began to tremble, her mind and heart racing.

Memories from that tragic night came rushing back to her. Of Blake laying on the ground with Adam's sword through her abdomen. Of the vile redhead's diabolical grin when Yang charged at him. And of the sky-splitting, earth-shattering pain that coursed through her body when his blake sliced through her arm...but the most heart-wrenching one was of when she opened her eyes only to find Blake gone...

Yang had lamented that she lost a part of herself; a part of herself that was never coming back. If only people knew...that what, or who, she was actually referring to was Blake Belladonna.

The woman who caught her attention on the first night at Beacon. The woman who saved her ass from an Ursa when her anger and impulse almost killed her (well...that happened twice). The woman who she was the first dance of during the Beacon Ball. The woman who broke the blonde's heart a little bit every time she'd show interest in someone who wasn't her...and the woman who left her during her hardest times...

But she can't really blame the brunette anymore...can she?

Because Yang never thought that Blake would stay forever, neither had she asked the brunette to commit her life. But...the reason she resented Blake so much, till now, was because in her heart she never felt that Blake would just...up and leave her...Without a trace to lead the blonde back to her...

But now, Blake was sitting there with that look in her eyes. The look that shattered Yang's heart, crushed her soul, and made her resent her mind. Resent her mind for ever doubting the brunette. Forever thinking that the brunette didn't care. For allowing her to hurt the woman she so unfathomably loved.

She took one heavy step toward Blake, tears streaming down her cheeks. Blake looked down at her hands as she kept sobbing quietly.

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Yang dashed toward Blake. She swooped in, slid across a few steps on her knees, and pulled Blake into a rib-crushing embrace.

The brunette gasped, the air getting knocked out of her lungs. Her eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat, breathing grew heavier as her mind processed what just happened.

"It's okay. I'm here. You're here. We are together. And no one's leaving. I got you..." Yang placed a hand at the back of Blake's head, pulling her closer by the small of her back with her other hand.

"Yang?..." Blake breathed out after what felt like hours, her hands still hanging in the air on either side of her. She wasn't sure if she should hug the blonde back.

Yang pulled back slowly and cupped Blake's cheeks, rubbing her thumbs across the cheekbones.

She gazed deep into those amber eyes like she had innumerable times before. She wished Blake could see how much it pained her to say those hurtful things. Wished Blake could forgive her for being such an idiot and misunderstanding her. Wished Blake would tell her how she can make it up for it all...

Tears stung her eyes as Blake's words kept ringing in her ears and reverberating around in her head. "I was scared of losing you..."

Blake gazed back into Yang's eyes; those lilacs were warm and glassy. Yang's regret and shame were palpable and it made her heart drop. "Why was she ashamed?" Blake's brows furrowed. She desperately wanted to tell Yang that she didn't do anything wrong. But the lump in her throat grew so heavy she couldn't utter another word.

She didn't even touch Yang. Balled her hands into fists and placed them on her thighs instead. She wished Yang could see how much it pained her to run away that day, when all her heart wanted was to be close to her partner. Wished Yang could trust her to not make the same mistake. Wished Yang could take her back in...

Yang's words kept ringing in her ears and reverberating around in her mind. "...And that I'll always end up with the people I care about leaving me!!"...

She couldn't hold Yang's gaze any longer and looked away. Yang saw a fresh flow of tears cascading down her cheeks. She also noticed how Blake didn't hug her back. Her shoulders slumped.

Yang needed the brunette to know that she didn't hate her. She never can. "I know what I've done is beyond forgiveness, and you despise me for it"...

How can she hate Blake? She never thought she could love a woman who just swooped...no...swang into her life so passionately. But...she was too afraid to admit it. Too caught up in her own insecurities to confess. Too heartbroken by people to trust again...

She shook her head and buried those thoughts into the depths of her mind. That's a bridge she'll cross when she comes to it. She couldn't be there for her partner when she needed her the most, but she was going to change that now.

She looked at Blake. The brunette's luscious, long tresses covered her face, but Yang could hear her sniffling and huffing. She raised her hand and gently tucked a strand of Blake's hair behind her...human ears.

" Her, look at me..." Yang turned Blake's head toward her by her chin, her voice a quiet whisper; but loud enough to perk up Blake's cat ears.

Yang gently took the brunette's hands in both of her own, rubbing her thumbs across her knuckles. Blake relaxed into her touch, her sniffles dissolving into the sound of the wind.

"I don't hate you, Blake. I never can..." the blonde started, her eyes fixated on their intertwined hands. "But I sure as hell am mad at myself for not being there for you..."

Yang's voice was taut but brittle. She looked up and into Blake's eyes again, her own brimming with tears.

Taking a shaky breath, she continued "But...you're not alone anymore, Blake." she placed her hands on the brunette's shoulders. She saw a flicker of hope and relief in Blake's eyes, and knew what she had to say next." "You have me, and Ruby, and Weiss. We are a team, remember? And we'll never turn our backs on you. No matter what."

Blake couldn't hold back her tears and burst out yowling upon hearing the blonde's soft and reassuring voice. She finally hugged Yang back, clutched onto her for dear life as if not doing so will efface the soul out of her body.

"I'M SO SORRY, YANG!' she cried out. Sheer relief came gushing out in the form of tears that strained the yoke of Yang's jacket...and her heart, too. The blonde held her close; could feel Blake's heart palpitating against her chest. She rubbed the blonde's back while whispering reassurances into her ears.

"I'm not gonna break my promise, I swear!" Blake buried her face into the crook of Yang's neck, tightening her grip on the blonde.

Yang pulled back and touched their foreheads together. "I know you won't..." she gazed into the brunette's ears, tender and understanding.

Having finally extricated themselves from the months of repressed emotions and feelings, the two set off on a new journey of reigniting the flames of their friendship...