Summary: For most of her life, Blake Belladonna was alone.

Author's Notes: Here's one of the specials I was talking about. For r/rwby's Bumblebee Friday.

Side Story: Red Demon

RWBY

For most of her life, Blake Belladonna was alone.

She never knew her parents. She only knew their stories.

Alone. Afraid. It made sense that she'd end up joining the White Fang.

And then suddenly Blake Belladonna wasn't alone anymore.

She had the symbol. She had the ambition. She even had the red demon.

She embraced it. She thrived in it. She revelled in it.

Until she woke up. Looked in the mirror. Saw a monster look back.

It disgusted her.

Suddenly, she didn't have the symbol. Suddenly, she didn't have the ambition. Suddenly, she didn't even have the red demon.

She had nothing.

And she realised just how alone she really was.

For most of her life, Blake Belladonna was alone.

'So Blake,' Yang started. 'Can I call you Blakey?'

'No,' Blake murmured, flicking over the page.

'Alright then, Blakey.'

Blake's eye twitched. 'Please don't.'

'Do you do anything else apart from read, Blakey?'

'Yes.'

'Like what, Blakey?'

'Could you guys like, oh I don't know, not have this conversation this late at night?' Weiss hissed from her sleeping bag.

'Blakey!'

'Stop calling me that.'

'So, it turns out that Professor Port actually set us homework-'

'No.'

'And uh, silly me, I lost the hand-out and-'

'No.'

'I really don't want to get detention so-'

'No.'

'Come on, please?'

'… Fine.'

'So…' Yang said slowly, flopping on Blake's bed. 'You're a cat Faunus.'

'Yes.'

'Wow,' Yang murmured. 'It seems so… obvious, now that I think about it.'

'Well, some people are just more perceptive than others,' Blake said wryly.

'Yeah… say.' Yang leaned in earnestly. 'Have you been scratched behind the ears before?'

Blake's eyes narrowed. 'No.'

'Can I-?'

'No.'

Yang pouted. 'Oh come on, Blakey-'

'Stop calling me that.'

'It might be fun!'

'For you, maybe.'

'And it might be for you too! Come on!'

Yang, no. I'd rather you no-!'

'So Blakey, did you have a good summer?' Yang asked, looping her arm with Blake's.

'It was alright,' Blake said, smiling softly. 'Yours?'

'It was pretty good,' Yang said easily. 'Dad was busy, so Ruby and I went camping for a few weeks. Then we just lazed around the house after that.'

'Sounds nice,' Blake murmured.

'Yeah, well.' Yang squeezed her arm tighter. 'It just didn't feel right without you and the Ice Queen. I missed ya, you know?'

Blake laughed quietly. 'I missed you too.'

'I'm sorry,' Blake said reproachfully.

'Nah,' Sun laughed, scratching his head. 'Don't be. You'll just make me feel worse.'

'You'll… find someone eventually,' Blake said quietly. 'I know you will, Sun.'

'Yeah, maybe,' Sun grinned. 'Though, can I ask why you said no?'

Blake sighed. 'I'm just not looking for anyone right now,' she said.

'Ah.' Sun nodded. 'Well, when you do, keep me in mind, okay?' he teased, punching her on the shoulder.

Blake laughed. 'Okay.'

'Yang…'

'Blakey…'

'Yang…'

'Blakey…'

Blake sighed. 'There's no getting around this, is there?'

'Nope,' Yang sang. 'You're coming with me to the bar, and there ain't nothing you can do about it!'

Blake rolled her eyes. 'Whatever,' she muttered. 'Hurry up then, it's getting cold.' Walking on further, she realised that her blonde companion had yet to retort. 'Yang?' she turned back to see Yang frozen in the spot. 'Yang?' she repeated, walking towards her. 'What's-?'

'Shh!'

'Huh?' Blake cocked her head.

Yang raised her hand to point at something in the distance. 'Look!' she whispered.

Blake's eyes followed the direction in which she was pointing. 'I don't see…' Her eyes widened. 'Oh.'

Atop a bench sat a blonde-haired boy and a white-haired girl. The blonde-haired boy's head was tucked into the white-haired girl's shoulder, while the white-haired girl's head rested on top of the blonde-haired boy's.

A small smile graced Blake's lips. 'Well would you look at that,' she murmured.

Flash.

She darted her head towards the sound. 'Yang,' she deadpanned.

'What?' Yang grinned, holding up her scroll. 'It's for blackmail purposes!'

'Man, remember the episode when The Corpirate attacked?'

'Yeah, that was so cool!'

'I know right?'

'Uh huh! I can't wait for the show to catch up to the comic!'

'Right?'

'Anyone know what they're talking about?' Weiss asked absentmindedly. Her eyes were glued to the screen as she tapped furiously on her scroll.

'Nope.' Blake.

'Nada.' Yang.

'Good, so I'm not going crazy,' Weiss said as her avatar dove for cover.

'Well, I guess it'd depend on what you mean by crazy,' Yang teased. 'I mean- dammit Blakey stop stealing my kills!'

'Then stop making it so easy.'

'Hey Blakey, whatcha reading?'

'Stuff.'

'What kinda stuff?'

'Just stuff.'

'Lewd stuff?'

'No.'

'It totally is…'

'No. It's no- hey!'

'Oh wow, this is way worse than lewd…'

'Give it back, Yang!'

'How long?'

'A… while, I guess?'

'How long's a while?'

'U-uh…' Ruby looked around uneasily. 'Since our second year?'

'Ooooooooh!' Yang squealed. 'My baby sister's got a crush!'

'She's grown up so fast,' Blake murmured, reaching over to ruffle Ruby's hair.

'Don't tell Weiss!' Ruby said in a small voice.

'Why not?' Yang asked, her eyes gleaming with mirth.

'Because… he's her best friend and… she's mine and… it's kind of weird, okay?' Ruby groaned into Blake's pillow.

'Oh I'm sure she wouldn't mind…'

'Yang,' Blake interjected.

'What?'

Blake gave the blonde a look.

'Okay fine,' Yang sighed, falling back into Blake's bed. 'My lips are sealed. Rubes, I solemnly swear that we-'

'Don't group me together with you,' Blake sighed.

'-won't tell Weiss.'

'Won't tell Weiss what?'

All three heads swung towards the opening door, revealing the heiress' frame.

'O-oh, uh…' Yang stammered.

'Yes?' Weiss crossed her arms.

Blake and Ruby looked at each other, then back to Weiss.

'Yang farted on your pillow,' they said in unison.

'Wha-?! Hey! I so did not do- Weiss, please put the sword down.'

'Yang!' Blake called out.

Yang stopped walking and turned. 'Oh,' she said stiffly. A grin plastered itself on her face. 'Blake, hey!'

Blake's stomach plummeted. 'Look,' she tried. 'About yesterday, at the museum…'

'Oh yeah, that was embarrassing,' Yang said, scratching the back of her head. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that.'

'About that,' Blake said softly. 'Yang, I-'

'Don't worry about it,' Yang interrupted. There was an underlying hardness in her tone. 'You made it clear that you weren't interested.'

'That's…' Blake shook her head. 'That's not it, Yang. Just let me-'

'Please stop.'

Blake's voice caught in her throat.

'Look,' Yang sighed. 'I just misread the situation. I should have thought things through. I mean, it's just… who knows?' She shook her head. 'Maybe I should have asked if you were… in the same boat as I was.' She gave Blake a hopeful smile. 'I just hope I didn't ruin our friendship, you know?'

'You… didn't, Yang,' Blake said quietly. 'And it's not because of that, Yang. I'm flattered, it's just that I-'

'Just give me some time, Blake,' Yang said, resting her hands on Blake's shoulders. 'I'll be back to normal in a few days, okay?'

'… Okay.'

'Okay,' Yang smiled. 'I'll see you in class!' she shouted as she ran towards the training facility.

As silence reigned, Blake Belladonna was left alone.

And the red demon laughed.

'I find us to be in an interesting conundrum.'

Blake looked away from Yang and Ruby swinging through the dancefloor. 'What do you mean?' she asked.

Pyrrha smiled. 'Our situations' she said simply, nodding towards the heiress waltzing with the knight. 'Or rather, where fate has placed us.' A laugh. 'The three of us are so similar, and yet so different.'

'I don't follow,' Blake said.

Pyrrha gave her a knowing smile. 'You will one day.'

'Going drinking again?'

Yang looked up. 'Yeah,' she said. 'There's nothing on the notice board this week, so I'm gonna go to the bar with Neptune. Wanna come?'

Blake shook her head. 'I'm fine,' she said quietly.

'Alrighty then,' Yang beamed. 'I'll be back before midnight.'

'Yang…'

'Yep?'

'How…' Blake struggled for words. 'Are you and Neptune…?'

'Oh god no.' Yang made a face. 'Guy's not my type. Makes a hell of a drinking buddy, though.' A teasing smile formed. 'Why? You jealous?'

Blake's eyes widened. 'Wha-? No! Of course I-'

Yang laughed. 'Blake, I kid,' she said, gently punching her on the shoulder. 'I know you wouldn't be.'

'You sure about this?'

Blake nodded. 'Weiss and I made a promise.'

'Well, if you're sure…' Yang trailed off.

'And what of you?' Blake asked as they continued to walk down the road. 'You going to stay with Ruby?'

'For another term, yeah,' Yang said, nodding. 'Then… I guess I'll come work with you guys.'

Blake's brow furrowed. 'Why?'

'Why what?'

'Why with us?' Why with me?

Yang shrugged. 'Being with you is fun, Blake,' she said honestly. 'I can't see myself having fun anywhere else without you, you know?'

Blake felt her heartbeat quicken.

The red demon growled.

'And besides,' Yang added quickly. 'I'll be working with both you and the Ice Queen, so it'd kinda be like Beacon all over again!'

'Well,' Blake coughed. 'I guess it'd depend if I give Weiss the "okay" to hire you.'

'And of course you will!' Yang said brightly. 'Right?'

Blake said nothing.

'Blake?' Yang stopped walking.

'We'll see.' Blake continued to walk onward.

'Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake?!'

'Sun?'

The monkey Faunus turned his head slightly.

'You're worried about Vacuo, aren't you?' Blake asked, coming up beside him.

'Kinda, yeah,' Sun murmured, looking up at the moon. 'I mean, I know I can do more good here by stopping this whole White Fang thing, but… it's my home, you know?'

'I know,' Blake said quietly. 'I'd feel the exact same way as you in your shoes.'

'Well, speaking of feelings,' Sun said slowly. He gave her a friendly nudge. 'You still not looking for someone?'

A flash of yellow ran through her mind. 'No, I'm not.'

'Well then,' Sun laughed. 'If we both end up being forty-years-old and single, my offer still stands.'

Blake smirked. 'I'll hold you to that.'

'Here.'

A glass of beer was thrust in Blake's face.

'Done with your work?'

'Yep.' Yang sat on Blake's desk, a glass too in her hand. 'I got a bottle of good stuff from the Ice Queen. Been meaning to relax a bit, so…' She indicated towards the glass on the desk. 'Drink with me.'

'Yang, you know I'm not a drinker.'

'Blake,' Yang sighed. 'Listen to me. A job like this is going to make you scratch your way up the wall - no pun intended,' she added hastily, seeing the Faunus' glare. 'You just gotta find a way to deal with the stress, you know? A drink can do that.'

Blake sighed. 'Fine,' she said, raising her glass. 'But only once in a while, deal?'

'Deal,' Yang winked. 'Cheers.'

'I used to think that we were similar.'

'Hm?' Blake looked down at the heiress. They were at the park. Weiss was sitting on a bench with her eyes closed. 'What made you think that in the first place?' Blake asked.

'Because of where we came from,' Weiss murmured, her eyes still closed. 'Because of all the stuff that'd happened to us before and during Beacon. When I found out what you were, and learned more about you… I thought that we were similar.'

Blake laughed quietly. 'And we're not?' she asked humorously.

'No,' Weiss smiled. 'We're not.'

Curiosity. 'How did you come to this conclusion?'

Weiss opened her eyes. 'You and I were always both alone,' she said. 'But the difference is that I'm always left alone.' A bitter laugh. 'But you chose to be alone.'

Blake said nothing.

The red demon reared its head.

'But you know,' Weiss said, closing her eyes again. 'Being alone isn't all it's cracked up to be.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah,' she said quietly. 'It hurts when you're left alone. The people who abandon you leave their mark in your heart, and you can't shake it. But, that said… I am… happy for all the times that I wasn't alone. Because I at least have the memories of not being lonely.' A smile. 'I didn't used to think like that, but I do now.'

Blake gave a small smile. 'Some would call that being a masochist.'

'Well, that's the thing, Blake.' Weiss opened her eyes to look at her bodyguard, a wry smile on her lips. 'Deep down we're all masochists.'

'Ugh…'

'You sound wonderful,' Blake said, amused.

'Too loud, too bright,' Yang groaned. 'How much did I drink?'

'Well,' Blake started. 'Let's just say you took full advantage of the days off that Weiss gave us.'

Yang blearily opened an eye. 'How come you're all fine and dandy?' she croaked out.

Blake shrugged. 'Perks of being a Faunus, I guess,' she offered.

'Stupid genetics,' Yang muttered, crawling onto the couch. 'Ergh, I feel terrible.'

Blake rolled her eyes. 'You'll happily take on a horde of Grimm, but one headache later and you're down for the count,' she said dryly, holding out a glass of water. 'Here.'

'Blake, you are my lord and saviour,' Yang gasped, gulping the liquid down gratefully.

'Always one for the melodramatics,' Blake murmured.

The two stayed in silence, taking in the dawn of the new day.

'So…' Yang began. 'Did I do anything uh, awkward, while I was out of it?'

'Awkward?' Blake blinked. 'Awkward how?'

'Y-you know,' Yang mumbled. 'Awkward stuff.'

'You can be more awkward than you already are?'

'Blaaaaake,' Yang groaned.

'Relax,' Blake laughed quietly. 'You didn't do anything… ludicrous.'

'Good, good,' Yang said, closing her eyes once more. 'That's good.'

Silence.

'… You did call me Blakey, though.'

Lilac orbs opened to meet gold. 'Oh?'

'Yeah,' Blake said quietly.

The red demon remained silent.

'Huh,' Yang said contemplatively. 'I haven't called you that in a looooong time.'

'Ten years,' Blake said even more quietly.

'Yeah,' Yang said, stretching out on the couch. 'Roundabout, anyway.'

More silence.

'Yang?'

'Mm?'

Blake suddenly found the ground very interesting.

'Please don't stop calling me Blakey.'

'You've been hanging around Sun a lot lately.'

Blake looked up from her guarded station. 'He's my subordinate,' she said. 'I have to see him regularly to keep him updated.'

'You see him more than me,' Yang pouted from her station. 'It's favouritism. Favouritism I tell you!'

Blake rolled her eyes. 'Stop being such a child, Yang.'

'I'm just telling it like it is, Blakey,' Yang sniffed.

Blake sighed. 'Honestly…' She hesitated. 'If it makes you feel better, I'm… in a different boat.'

Yang blinked. 'Different boat?'

'Yes.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

Blake gave her a look.

'… Oh.'

Cool. Calm. Collected. Cool. Calm. Collected.

Back at their apartment, Blake Belladonna recited these words like a mantra.

They had visited a White Fang camp today. It was the meeting place both parties had agreed on.

Blake Belladonna had forgotten what is was like.

Blake Belladonna saw brainwashed children, hissing at them as they passed by. Blake Belladonna saw human beings, gaunt and haggard, trapped in cages by their White Fang oppressors.

It all came rushing back. The things they did. The things Blake Belladonna did.

All in the name of sending a message.

They were in the meeting room. White Fang assassins at every corner. Schnee bodyguards in every crevice.

And then he showed up.

The red demon himself.

He and Weiss sat down, and the talks began.

Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. To be honest, not even Blake Belladonna knew how long the meeting lasted.

Finally the talks stopped. Weiss and the red demon stood up, shook hands and went their separate ways.

But not before the red demon looked over at Blake Belladonna.

'Good to see you,' he said, before walking out the door.

Cool. Calm. Collected. Cool. Calm. Collected.

'Blakey?'

Blake Belladonna realised that Blake Belladonna was shaking.

Worried lilac appeared in Blake Belladonna's vision.

'Blakey?' Yang repeated. 'You okay?'

Cool. Calm. Collected. Cool. Calm. Collected.

'Blakey,' Yang pressed. 'What's wrong?'

Blake Belladonna was cool. Blake Belladonna was calm. Blake Belladonna was collected.

Blake Belladonna was all of these things.

The red demon roared.

'… I'm tired of being alone, Yang.'

'You got my message.'

'Yes.'

'I… see what you mean now.'

Pyrrha smiled. 'You do?'

'I may have had some help,' Blake admitted.

'That's good,' Pyrrha laughed, her eyes twinkling. She jerked her head towards the hotel entrance. 'Now maybe you can help him.'

'Can't sleep?'

Blake shook her head.

Strong arms encircled her waist.

'Care to share?' Yang breathed.

'We're…' Blake paused. 'We're almost there… aren't we?'

'Yeah,' Yang murmured, reaching up to scratch one of her ears. 'Almost.'

Blake laughed, closing her eyes. 'I can't believe this is happening.'

'Well, it is, so you better,' Yang smiled softly. 'Now get back to bed. I need something to cuddle.'

'I hope you can forgive me one day.'

Blake didn't break focus from the president of the Schnee Dust Company's speech.

'I suppose we'll find out in the afterlife,' she said quietly.

A pause. 'You've changed,' the red demon noted.

Blake looked him square in the eye. 'I have.'

'So, we just got fired.'

'We were let go.'

'Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. We got fired. Plain and simple.'

The two of them slowly walked towards their apartment, arm in arm.

Blake sighed. 'Weiss doesn't need us anymore.'

'Yeah, I know,' Yang grunted. 'Still sucks that she fired us, though.'

Blake rolled her eyes. 'You're being a pain.'

'Yeah, well,' Yang gripped her arm tighter. 'You put up with me anyway.'

The continued to walk in silence.

'So,' Yang started. 'What comes now?'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, what do we do now?'

'Hmm,' Blake thought out loud. 'Well… I suppose we could get married.'

'Yeah,' Yang agreed. 'I suppose we could.'

The two carried on walking.

Suddenly Blake was jerked back.

'Wha-?' She turned to look at her companion. 'What was that for?'

Yang was deathly white and rigid. 'D-did you just…?'

Blake tilted her head. 'Did I just what?

'S-say we should get married?' Yang quavered.

'I…' Blake paused. 'Yes. Yes I did.'

Yang's eyes bulged.

'Yang?' Blake grew worried. 'Are you okay?'

Silence.

And then.

'… I call dibs on the dress.'

Blake blinked. '… What?'

Yang nodded robotically. 'I will gladly take your last name. Yang Belladonna has a nice ring to it, but I am the one wearing the dress down the aisle.'

'Taking my last name isn't necessary…'

'But me wearing the dress is!'

'I…' Blake's ears flattened. 'I kinda wanted to wear the dress…'

'And so you'll take my childhood dream away from me?' Yang scoffed. 'Sorry Blakey, love ya and all, but I ain't changing my stance on this.'

'… We could both wear a dress?' Blake offered.

'Please, I've seen you naked. We both know that you'll completely outclass me.' Yang leapt back. Her finger was pointed at Blake in an accusatory manner. 'Nuh uh. No way. You are so totally not taking my moment away from me, li'l miss Bellabooty!'

'Bellabooty?'

Side Story: Red Demon Fin

Author's Notes: There you have it. Happy Bumblebee Friday and whatnot. This is my first time writing about a same-sex relationship, so I hope I did okay. I have one more special lined up before I retire this fic for good, so be sure to look out for that.

This is a parallel fic that takes place at the same time in Inch's timeline. If anything, this is just an extremely condensed version of it. White Knight and Bumblebee are my OTP's, you see. Oh, and I decided not to mention Jaune by name/barely at all because the bitch got 16 chapters to himself already. Ain't nobody need more of him.

I tried to make the timeline as clear as possible. You might need to go back to Inch's chronology to get more specific "ages". I didn't really want to do the whole "at eighteen, yadayadayada". You got enough of that from the main story, so you most definitely don't need this from a side story.

I picture Blake to not be the kind of person to want to jump into a relationship right away. It's implied that she was a devote follower of the White Fang, and that she felt betrayed once she saw their new/true colours. Adam (or the red demon, as I put it here) is also a pushing factor here, as he causes the breaking point for her – making her leave for good. I wanted to tell a story in which Blake would eventually soften up enough to want something remotely romantic. Considering that in this universe, Jaune settles down at 40, it's not too much of a stretch to believe that Blake will find happiness in her 30's.

Two more things. My head canon is that eventually Blake will act as more of the nurturing older sister to Ruby (she sees her younger self in Ruby) while Yang takes a step back and lets Ruby grow. Secondly, in the canon, eclipse is soft lock at this point. In the event that they don't work out, in my head canon, Blake and Sun have a pact that if they don't find someone, they'll hook up when they're forty. It's kind of reminiscent of the Robin/Ted promise from HIMYM.

I'll also sporadically appear on GEP's account to write a one-shot or something, so be sure to look out for that. The icon for my fictions are different to GEP's standard penguin, so you'll know if it's one of mine.

Seeya. Keep it real.

- Narutochaos22