By Your Bedside

When Yang awoke, the first thing she thought, as with most people, was what the time was. The second thing, however, was not nearly as common – she heard a voice mumbling from the other side of the room. She rubbed her eyes and checked the clock – 2:03 in the morning. The mumbling from the other side of the room was getting louder, and Yang could easily tell it was coming from the only other bed in the room, where Blake usually slept. In the dim light coming from the window, Yang could see Blake tossing in her sheets – something she'd never seen before.

Yang began to get up before she was stopped by the soreness in her limbs. She knew the fight from the day prior would make her sore, but she found herself struggling to stand. Nevertheless, she stood and walked over to Blake's bedside. Now, she could hear the mumbling much more clearly.

"Yang... Yang don't go – please don't go. Yang, please..." Blake's face was contorted in what looked like agony, but also despair. Yang's eyes widened, and she placed her hand gently on Blake's shoulder.

"Blake, wake up." Yang whispered. When Blake didn't respond, she tried harder. She gently nudged Blake's shoulder back and forth, and called her name louder. "Blake, wake up!"

Blake jolted awake, startling Yang. "Yang!" Blake called, breathing heavily, and hands clutched around her sheets. She looked around swiftly, only to see Yang's worried face at her bedside. "I-I'm sorry." Blake mumbled, being the only thing she could get out.

"It's fine, you don't have to be sorry." Yang let the statement stay in the air for a bit. "It looked like you were having a really bad dream."

Blake rubbed the back of her neck, realizing how sweaty it was. "Yeah..."

"Do... you want to talk about it? It's fine if you're not comfortable with that."

Blake hesitated before speaking, "It was Adam. It was when we were fighting him, but he..." Blake's eyes began to water, "He had killed you, and was laughing." Blake pushed her body into Yang's, trapping the blonde in a hug. "I was so scared Yang..."

Yang put her arms around Blake gently, "It's fine, it was just a dream. I'm still here, alive and well." She pulled back and smiled at Blake, who could only look away.

"But you're not totally fine, right? I mean, your arm-"

"My arm is perfectly fine, and my other just needs a quick repair at home." Yang took Blake's hand, "Blake, that wasn't your fault. It's in the past now. I've gotten used to living like this, so it's not a problem for me anymore."

"Not a problem?" Blake growled, "How could it not be a problem? Yang, part of you is gone because of what I dragged into your life. How is that okay?"

"You didn't drag anything into my life, Blake. You tried to cut ties with Adam, and he kept following you. It's entirely his fault for this, not yours."

"But-"

"Plus, I'm lucky to have gotten out with just this old thing." Yang gestured to her mechanical arm, the holes in the plating revealing the intricate wiring within. "I could have lost so much more."

"Yang, he could have killed you, I know, but-"

Yang sighed, "Blake, that's not what I meant." She took a second before speaking again. "I could have lost you."

Blake's eyes widened, then looked away. "I'm sorry."

Yang pressed her hand to Blake's cheek gently, and guided her head back to meet her eyes. "Blake, you don't have to be sorry. I'll admit that I did blame you at one point, that if I just hadn't intervened I would be perfectly fine. But then I realized. I realized that if I hadn't stopped Adam at Beacon, then he would have killed you probably. And to have that happen, when I could have stepped in and didn't, I don't know what I would do with myself then." Now, it was Yang's turn to look away from Blake.

Blake frowned, then drew a deep sigh. "Thank you."

Yang turned her attention back to Blake, "Wh-For what?"

"I never fully thanked you for saving me, I just realized. I've been selfish, and when I came back to the rest of the team, I thought I had to do something to redeem myself in your eyes. I was only thinking of my side of the story, not yours. I'm sorry for that."

To Blake's surprise, Yang began to chuckle. "It was actually kinda cute when you offered to help me with my bag, I won't lie. Especially because you're so short."

Blake gasped, "I'm not that much shorter than you!" Blake swatted at Yang's hand, and Yang began to laugh harder.

Yang took a moment to calm down before apologizing. "I know I shouldn't be laughing at a time like this, but I just can't help myself."

"It's fine. I'm just happy that I can see your smile." The two sat there, smiling and looking into each other's eyes. "We should get some sleep though, we probably have a lot to do tomorrow."

Yang shook her head, "Yeah, no, I agree. But Blake..."

"What's up?"

"Would it be okay with you if I slept... beside you? Like, in the same bed?" Even in the pale moonlight, Blake could tell how much Yang was blushing.

"I mean yeah, if you want to."

Yang shook her head again. "No, I'm asking if it's fine with you. If it's what you'd want."

Blake's eyes widened, but she smiled. "I'd love to, Yang. But only on one condition."

"And what would that be?" Yang asked.

Blake crossed her arms. "No jokes about it. I don't want to even hear the word 'bellabooty', do you understand me?"

Yang burst out into laughter, "Oh come on, not even one?"

"Not. Even. One."

"Oh fine, I think it's worth it to hold back for a night." Yang replied, "But I have a condition as well." Her face suddenly became serious.

"What is it?"

Yang pulled Blake into a hug, and began to whisper in Blake's ear, "If you have another nightmare, or anything like that, please wake me up. I want to be there to talk with you about it."

When Yang pulled away, Blake could only manage to nod her head. She pulled back the covers and let Yang slide under them next to her. With the covers tucked under them, and their foreheads gently pressed against the other's, they gently drifted to sleep together to the ticking of the clock.

The next morning, sun shone through the window above them, missing their heads just barely. Blake had shifted throughout the night to have her back pressed against Yang's chest, and Yang had unconsciously moved her arm to cover Blake's. However, since they were asleep, Yang would soon wake up with a face full of Blake's hair.

The door opened with a quite squeak. Ren's head poked through the door and looked towards Yang's bed, eyes widening when he saw it was empty. He swung his head towards Blake's bed, but when he saw the two were safe together, he simply smiled and gently closed the door, careful not to disturb the two. Not a second after closing the door, he almost literally ran into Ruby in the hallway.

"So? Are they together?" Ruby bounced on her tiptoes, "Are they? Are they?"

Ren chuckled and nodded his head, "But I think we should keep it a secret for now. Especially from Nora."

Ruby gave Ren a goofy salute, and turned to run downstairs, where Oscar was trying and failing to make pancakes for everyone. Ren heard a voice from inside the room, and against his better judgement, listened in.

"Ech, hairball!"

"Yang, I told you no jokes!"