Blake

Once the battle was over, the day became a peaceful one. The teachers arrived back at the school soon after the fight, and with their help, we drove the rest of the Grimm off the campus. From there we turned out attention to recovering, repairing and rebuilding.

The attack had resulted in some serious damage to the exterior of Beacon. There was some damage inside as well, but nowhere near as extreme as the outer walls. The injured were taken to either the infirmary or the hospital; there wasn't room to take care of everyone at Beacon alone.

Ruby and Yang were both taken to the infirmary, along with Myrka—though he was kept handcuffed to the bed and under guard, in case he woke up. Many of the students were angry at Ozpin when they found out he was treating Myrka. He was responsible for the injuries of many of their friends, and no few deaths. But Ozpin explained it away as no act of charity; they needed to make sure he survived so he could be properly put to trial and punished according to his crimes.

But he wasn't waking up, neither was Ruby or Yang. The doctors told me that Yang was just exhausted; she had some other injuries, but none of them were very serious. She'd used so much of her aura, and so much energy, today that she just didn't have the energy left in her to function, but she'd be fine after a day or so. Ruby was a different matter.

Neither Weiss, nor myself, wanted to admit it, but we already knew—suspected, at least—what was wrong with Ruby. And the doctors only confirmed our suspicions. Ruby had aura shock. One of the worst cases of it they'd seen, possibly the worst. They estimated a week at least, or up to two, before she'd wake up, and they couldn't even begin to guess the odds of her recovering her aura. What Myrka had done to her was unprecedented. From what we overheard on our way in to see the doctor, it sounded like Myrka had weakened and shattered through her aura while it was still active.

So, in attempt to avoid worrying over it, Weiss and I threw ourselves into work. We slaved away for the rest of the afternoon, hauling rubble, dead monsters and any other wreckage away from the school. We cleared out the damage and cleaned up the mess. With the students that were left on their feet, we managed to clean away all of the wreckage by the time the sun hit the horizon

We picked at our dinner, but neither of us had any appetite. Then, excusing ourselves, we headed to our dorm room. Thankfully the damage had been kept to the first floor; our room was still as we'd left it this morning. My heart sank once again as we entered the room and I saw Ruby and Yang's empty beds. It brought all the worry, which had never really left, crashing back down around me.

But exhaustion took hold of me quickly. We'd been up and fighting since the break of dawn. After a whole day of battle and manual labour, my body felt drained, I'd just been too worried about Ruby and Yang up until now to feel it. But as soon as I lay down, and my head hit the pillow, I felt a wave of fatigue wash over me, and I was asleep within seconds.

It was mid-morning when I woke up, later than I usually slept and, to my surprise, Weiss was still asleep as well. I did my best to not wake her up as I crept from my bed into the bathroom. I grabbed my clothes along the way and walked into one of the shower stalls.

The hot water soothed the aching in my arms and legs. I looked down and examined my body for the first time since the battle finished. My aura hadn't been enough to protect me from all the damage those giant Grimm could dish out, bruises were popping up everywhere. While I had no serious or lasting injuries, my right side was turning a slightly sickening blend of purple and blue.

I rested an arm on the back wall of the shower and let the water pour over the top of my head and wash down my face. I took in a deep breath through my nose and blew it out as I turned around and wiped excess water from my eyes. Pain shot through me as the water hit my back. There had to be another bruise there, and the water pressure was enough to make it hurt. I turned down the pressure and let the water run gently over my shoulders and down my back.

After washing off the sweat and dirt from the day before, I put my clothes on and headed back into the bedroom. Weiss was awake, and didn't look well. She was sitting on her bed, holding her head in her hands and staring at the floor. I laid my folded pyjamas on my bed and sat down just across from her.

"Hey," I said quietly. "How are you feeling?" Weiss looked up at me. She looked dreadful. There were bags under her eyes, and she looked like she'd been crying.

"I…" she mumbled. She seemed at a loss for words. "I don't know. I'm fine physically, I'm just worried about Ruby."

"I know," I reassured her. "I am too. And I'm sure we're not the only ones."

"I know. I know." She said, rubbing her eyes. She stood up and took a deep breath. After letting it out, she put on a smile. "I'll be okay," she said. "She'll be okay. Give me five minutes to shower and get ready, then we can get back to work." I nodded and she headed into the bathroom.

I lay back on my bed and gazed upwards, at the bottom of Yang's. I was both hopeful and afraid that Yang would wake up today. I wanted to see her again. I wanted to make sure she was okay. But I didn't want to have to tell her about Ruby. I knew she'd take it badly. I didn't want to see her upset like that.

I glanced over at the bedside table as I heard my tablet buzz and picked it up, wondering who'd be messaging me now. To my surprise, it was from Professor Ozpin.

"You two take the day off today. We wouldn't have won the battle without you and your team, and you deserve a rest after all you did for us yesterday. I've left instructions for the infirmary to let you in to see your teammates and Team JNPR, should you wish to visit."

I was grateful for the consideration Ozpin was giving us, but my first reaction was one of disappointment. Work would have been a distraction, both for me and for Weiss. I had no idea how she would handle an idle day, not if she was this worried about Ruby.

But she seemed to take it in her stride. I told her about the message as she came out of the bathroom and she checked her own tablet before nodding and accepting Ozpin's orders.

"Well we're both up now," she said. "Shall we go and see how everyone's doing?"

"Sure," I nodded and motioned for her to lead the way.

We stopped by the cafeteria first to grab a quick breakfast, and then headed towards the infirmary. People were running back and forth around us as we walked, it seemed the repairs were starting today. I started to feel guilty for not doing any work to help them, but Ozpin had told us to take the day off.

A nurse told us which rooms to go to, and we decided that we'd visit Team JNPR first, as they were closer. Weiss knocked politely on the door and walked in at the sound of Pyrrha's answer. Pyrrha, Ren and Nora were all in beds, and Jaune was sitting in a chair next to Pyrrha. I had to do a double take when I looked at Nora. There was a belt running over the bed and down underneath it, holding her legs down.

"She wouldn't stop moving." Pyrrha said in answer to my bemused look. "So, in the end, they decided to just tie her to the bed."

"You're joking."

"Nope. Nora Valkyrie. Seventeen years old, and she still won't stay in bed when she's told."

"But it's boring!" Nora cried. "Why does Ren get to have fun?" Ren looked up from the book he had resting on his lap.

"I can have fun without causing a ruckus. Now settle down, you know you need your rest." He replied dryly. Nora crossed her arms and pouted, but she did calm down.

"So how are you all?" Weiss asked.

"Fine," was the chorus that answered her.

"We don't have any crippling injuries," Pyrrha said. "We should all be out by tomorrow, maybe the day after. How are you guys? Where are Ruby and Yang?"

"Oh… Um… We're fine. They're…"

"They're in another room." I cut in.

"They're injured?" Jaune asked. His voice was instantly full of worry.

So we explained the situation to them. Nora was relieved to hear that Yang was okay, but everyone was concerned when they heard the full extent of Ruby's condition.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha began. "If we hadn't—"

"No, none of that," Weiss cut her off. "It's not your fault. You three are not responsible for this at all. Myrka did this." Pyrrha looked at Weiss for a moment before nodding.

We stayed for a little while longer, filling them in on what had happened after they were knocked out. Ren had to calm Nora down halfway through the story, as she started to get too excited again. Then, once our retelling of the previous day's events was over, we said our goodbyes and made our way to Ruby's room.

My heart was in my throat when we came to a stop at the door to her room. From the way Weiss hesitated, with her hand reaching out to open the door, I could tell she felt the same way. But before I could do anything to reassure her, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

It was dead silent in Ruby's room. She was lying in bed, her eyes closed, completely still. For one horrific second, I thought she was dead. But as we got closer, I heard her gentle breathing. Still, it was a horrible sight to see. Ruby, who was usually so bright and full of energy, was laid so low.

We sat on either side of her bed. Weiss—either forgetting or ignoring the fact that I was there—reached out and took Ruby's hand in both of her own. I glanced at her face for an instant, but had to look away. The look on Weiss' face, the expression of absolute love and devotion, was enough to make me blush. It was obvious now, why Yang was always ribbing these two. She'd seen it before I did, probably before they did.

I couldn't look at Weiss' face when she looked at Ruby that way. It was too embarrassing. I didn't want to see it. I knew that that was how I looked at Yang, and I didn't want to know how I looked when I did.

"She wanted to talk to me," Weiss said. I flinched in surprise. I hadn't expected her to start talking to me. "She wanted to talk about the fight we had after I pulled her away from you and Yang, when we were trying to regroup. She was so mad." Weiss said the last with an almost nostalgic laugh. "Before Yang and I went to help out JNPR, she said we needed to talk about it. I guess she wanted to apologise."

"Weiss…" I didn't know what to say to her. Surely it wasn't me that she should be saying this to. Weiss and I had never been the closest of friends.

"Now… now it might not even matter. If she wakes up, and she can't use her aura, what will apologies matter? She'll have to leave. Have to give up her dream. What good would an apology from either of us do if that happens?"

"Weiss," I said firmly. "Don't fall into this. You know how strong Ruby is, we all do. We've seen it, time and again. She's going to come out of this just fine. You've got to believe that." Weiss didn't react. She kept gazing at Ruby's sleeping face.

"I want to." She eventually replied. "But—"

"No. You don't 'want to', you do. She's going to pull through. If she really wanted to have that talk with you, then she'll pull through, for your sake, if nothing else. When has she ever let you down?"

"Never," Weiss said with a small smile.

"Exactly," I sat back with a satisfied smile. "And don't you go thinking she's about to start now."

Weiss turned to look at me, and smiled her thanks. I blushed again. The genuine warmth and gratitude on Weiss' face was moving. It was too heartfelt. It felt weird coming from Weiss. I smiled back nervously and looked away, feeling somewhat abashed.

As Weiss turned her gaze back to Ruby, I got to my feet.

"I'm going to go see Yang," I said. "I'll give you some time with Ruby." Weiss nodded in response and I made my way out of the room. From there I headed down the hall, Yang's room wasn't far.

I knocked lightly on the door and called out her name before heading in. The doctors had said she'd be asleep for a day or so, so she was probably still out. But knowing Yang, she was prone to recovering faster than people expected.

But she was still asleep when I walked in. She was lying on her bed, resting peacefully, with a small, gentle smile on her face. She must have been having a nice dream.

I sat down next to her and found myself smiling at just seeing her face again. Even though she was exhausted, and had her other, minor injuries, just seeing her face was enough to put me at ease. I knew she was going to be okay. I couldn't imagine what Weiss was going through.

I found myself thinking back over the events of the day before: our early morning run to Myrka's hideout, the rush back to Beacon, the battle to reach Ozpin, our push to get back out, clearing the grounds and, finally, the confrontation with Myrka. And somewhere in amongst all that, I'd realised that I was in love. It was the strangest timing, but I was happy for it all the same.

I smiled down at Yang's sleeping form and thought about what I was going to say to her. I'd told myself when I'd first realised my feelings that I was going to make her mine. I just had to convince her of that. But that could wait until she was feeling better. For now, I took her hand in both of mine and gently pressed my lips to it.

"We've got a lot to talk about when you wake up, Yang." I said, looking up at her face. "I came to realise something yesterday, and I didn't get to tell you. It wouldn't have been fair to say it until everything was over, in case something happened, but I guess I can say it when you wake up. I have some other things I'll have to tell you as well. Things about my past, who I… who I really am. I hope you'll understand that I didn't keep them secret to hide it from you. I just don't want that past to come back to haunt me. But, anyway, just now, as a practice run for me, let me say: I… I love you, Yang. I really, truly love you. It surprised me at first, but I'm okay with it now. You mean the world to me, more than you could ever know. I love you."

With that said, I felt a weight lift off me. Even though I hadn't said it so she could hear, saying it once was enough to make me feel better about it. I looked back down and kissed her hand once more.

"Well, damn. I don't think I can top that. And I wanted to be the one to say it first."

My head shot up in an instant and I gaped in shock. Yang's eyes were open and she was smiling giddily. I felt my cheeks burn. I knew my face was turning bright red.

"Y-Yang…. What…? You're awake?" I stammered, too flustered to string a sentence together.

"Yep," she replied with a grin. "Have been the whole time."

"Oh… Um…" I racked my brain, trying to find something, anything, to say. Then I realised what she'd said. "Wait… say what first?"

Yang rolled her eyes and grinned once more.

"I wanted to say it to you, but you beat me to the punch." She said. Her cheeks started turning pink before she continued. Yang was getting embarrassed? "I… I guess I'll just have to settle for… I love you too." I gaped at her in shock. My mind went blank. I couldn't even force a sound out of my mouth, let alone a word. She loved me? I told myself I had to be imagining it, there was no way… But there she was right in front of me, smiling. It had to be real. I was still holding her hand, so I knew she was there.

"I love you, Blake." The words rang in my head as she said them, and dragged me back down.

"You… you love me?" I whispered.

"Yes." She whispered back.

Before I knew what I was doing, I threw myself at Yang. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pressed my lips against hers. I lost myself in the sensation of Yang: the warmth of her arms as they wrapped around me, pulling me tighter against her; the softness of her lips as they pressed against mine, making my head spin.

After what felt like both an eternity and an instant, our lips parted. Yang smiled up at me, her lilac eyes gleaming in the light. I couldn't hold back the giddy grin that stretched across my face. I rested my head on Yang's chest and sighed.

"Is this actually happening?" I whispered.

"I hope so," Yang replied. I could hear her words vibrating through the bones in her chest, it was soothing. "I'd hate to wake up and have this be all a dream."

"You've been watching too many terrible drama movies," I said with a giggle. "This couldn't possibly be a dream. My dreams are never this good."

Eventually, I pulled away and sat back on my chair. I was still holding her hand, and we were both still grinning.

"So you said we had some things to talk about?" Yang asked.

"Yeah," I replied. I felt a little nervous again. I didn't know how she'd react. How does someone react when they find out the person they love is a criminal? "Yeah, I want to tell you everything. I want you to know me."

"It won't change how I feel about you." Yang said. She always could tell what I was thinking. "Nothing you could say would ever change that. You're Blake, my Blake, and I love you." With those words ringing in my ears, I smiled, reassured, and reached my hands upwards.

"Well then, we'd better start with this." And so, gazing into Yang's loving, lilac eyes, I pulled the bow out of my hair.