The Last Sunflower (ch3)

EARLY RELEASE FOR PATRONS! THANK YOU!!

At last, the chapter where sunlight and shadow come together!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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														Chapter 3. The Promise

That should have been it.

It should have been the last time she went to see Yang.

After that, Blake planned to truly begin redeeming herself in whatever way possible.

Now that she knew Yang was awake and safe at home, Blake wanted to start by getting as far away from her as possible.

Yang didn't need to know anything about her. She probably didn't want to, anyway. She probably didn't care. Not about Blake.

So she'd leave Patch, return to the places outside the kingdoms where she'd grown up. She'd fend for herself, try to catch wind of news of the White Fang and their activities. She'd try to rejoin them, if only for the sake of finding Adam.

And she'd take her revenge, no matter the cost.

She'd do it for Yang.

If she died in the process, then who would even miss her?

Days had passed since she'd seen Yang wake. After one more night in the shed, Blake was prepared to set out, and possibly never return.

She kept that sunflower with her and kissed its petals, wondering if the ones she'd left behind could provide any form of comfort or solace for Yang.

When she left the barn for good, the ground was covered in snow once again. The air was frigid that evening when she departed. She'd gotten into the nocturnal habit by now, sleeping and hiding by day, and being active only at night when the shadows could hide her.

She trekked past the sunflower fields for the last time, and was determined to leave the little island of Patch for good.

And she couldn't explain it, but something nagged at her to go back through that forest just one last time.

/No. I should had back towards the main city where the airships are. I'll take one and get out of here.../

She turned herself in that direction, away from the sounds and scents of the ocean and the house that sat not far from its melodic sounds.

But every step in that direction felt weighted, felt wrong. Her wound had more or less healed by now, but walking this way brought her more and more pain. She tried to ignore it, pushing away the ache in her chest as though she were fending off some tangible enemy.

But it clawed at her, bit into her flesh from the inside, until she had no choice.

She was weak, and so she complied.

She whipped around and ran back through the forest, bound for her partner for the last time.

/It has to be the last time. It has to be.../

And then she heard the screams.

Not just shrieks of terror like the ones she'd heard during the battle at Beacon. Not shrill, random cries of fear.

No. These were screams she knew.

Screams of her own name.

Screams from the one voice she knew best in the world.

"Blake...!"

She could hear the faint echo of Yang's distraught voice, carrying throughout the entire forest, even though Blake knew she was at least a mile away. Yang was screaming so loudly, so desperately. Calling for her of all people.

Blake almost didn't believe it. In fact, she skidded to a halt in the snow and quieted her labored breathing, just to listen.

/It... must be the ocean... the wind... My mind's just playing tricks on me again. There's no way she would-/

"Blake, please!"

The forest itself seemed to cry out at her.

No matter how fatigued and hungry she might've been, Blake knew from experience that this voice wasn't just one of the ones in her head.

This was...

This was real.

So she ran. Faster than she ever had before in all her life.

She just ran.

Like she had when she'd first met Yang in the Emerald Forest, running to protect her from the Ursa's claws.

Like she had when she'd fought alongside her in battle, running to back her up and support her against their enemies.

Like she had when she'd left her there bleeding and unconscious, running to avoid her and the hatred Blake herself had imposed.

She ran faster than she'd ever run before.

The forest was a blur of brown and black shadows dusted by a blanket of cold white.

She ran.

Ran.

Ran...

Until at last she was there once more, at the place she'd told herself she'd never return to.

The same tree stood in its spot, all of its leaves now fallen, her shelter along with it. The black bird remained outside the closed window, tapping, tapping...

Blake had to wonder if she was going crazy after all. Yang clearly wasn't there, and the window wasn't ajar for her to call out from.

/I'm just... imagining things as an excuse to stay here longer. Because I'm scared of leaving them. Leaving her. I'm scared to go find Adam and face what I've done. I'm scared to do what I have to do, so I just imagined it all.../

She reached into her clothes to clutch the stem of the sunflower she'd brought along. She squeezed it, feeling it shift against the creases of her palm. A bit of liquid oozed from it, coating her hand. She wanted to snap it-

A sudden flurry of wings stopped her. The bird had deserted its perch on the window sill and fluttered off into the night. It distracted Blake long enough to realize something.

The window... was ajar. Only slightly.

As though someone who wasn't strong enough had struggled to close it all the way.

She climbed up the tree with swiftness and skill, unable to hide behind leaves anymore.

But if Yang had truly been calling for her...

If she was truly there and wanted to see her...

Then maybe Blake wouldn't mind being seen.

She leaned against the trunk of the tree, her superior eyes glinting in the darkness, peering towards the glass. And...

The bed inside was vacant.

"What...?"

Blake rasped the word, and realized it had been the first time she'd spoken aloud in days.

/Where is she?/

If she'd truly been calling for Blake not too long ago, why had she left?

Blake noticed something else as well. The bedside table was also empty. The vase and her sunflowers were missing as well.

Blake's heart started to pound. She felt sick.

/What's going on...? Where did she go? Did something happen...?/

She waited for a few minutes, but there were no signs of life from within the dark house.

Blake jumped back down and hurried around to the other side of the house, but paused abruptly when passing the front door.

There were footprints in the snow. A lot of them. At least four peoples' worth.

As far as she knew, there were only three people living in this house. When Blake considered their Uncle Qrow, things almost made more sense.

But then she discerned a fifth pair of prints, one larger than the others.

It looked like... four younger people, and one older person. The larger set had left the house and returned. But the four smaller sets had left and didn't come back.

"What the hell is going on...?"

Blake hurried around to the room where she'd seen Ruby sleeping several days before. She climbed the tree there and peered in through the window to find a scene exactly opposite of what she'd found the first time.

Before, she'd seen Ruby lying in one bed, alone.

Now, Yang lay in the other, and Ruby's bed was empty. The vase of sunflowers sat on a small table in between.

And even from this distance, and even though Yang had turned to face away from her, Blake could see how her shoulders were trembling.

She was crying.

Blake didn't know why it hurt so badly to see that. She had done plenty of crying in those nights alone in that rusty old shed. She'd cried until there was nothing left. Bitter, remorseful tears.

But this...

This was so much worse.

This was horrible.

She didn't know what was going on, but the footprints at the doorway and Ruby's absence from the room told enough.

Blake's legs trembled, and her feet were sore.

She was tired of running. She couldn't do it anymore.

Not now. Not like this.

Not when Yang was crying herself to sleep.

Feeling tears of her own already spilling over, Blake hurried to the part of the thickest branch that reached the house. It was just a bit lower than the window's level, and close enough to the trunk that she could lean her weight back against that for support.

She knew Yang had been calling for her. She knew it in her heart.

Yang wanted to see her, too.

So Blake stopped running.

She reached up to the glass and rapped her knuckles against the outside, in a distinct, definite manner.

Unlike the insistent bird, Blake and Yang had a small knock that was all their own. Yang would use it when coming into the dorm room late at night, when Blake was the only one still awake, reading. And Blake would use it to knock on the underside of Yang's bed to wake her in the mornings.

Two fast, one slow. She tapped the familiar pattern once, then recoiled, pressing herself against the trunk of the tree and lifting an arm to her face to bury it as she cried.

Her heart was pounding so hard. It hurt. Everything hurt.

I'm scared... I'm scared... What if she hates me...?

"Scaredy cat!"

Her instincts were telling her to run again.

Running was easy. All she had to do was jump down and disappear into the shadows.

It would be so easy. She could do it...

"But... I don't want to..."

Beneath her bow, her ears flicked at the sound of movement from above. Blake stifled her sobs behind her hand as she looked to the window, her heels raised as she prepared to jump.

But-

But she couldn't.

Not now.

The window clicked, and the sound of the sill being forced up and open filled the silent darkness. She heard the little grunt of effort, a familiar sound in a familiar voice.

Blake swayed and nearly lost her balance as her wide eyes locked on lavender.

Her heart beat in shockwaves, each one more painful than the last. From behind her hand, Blake's lips formed and spilled her name in a croaking, stammering voice.

"Y-Ya...ng..."

. . .

Yang stood there, trembling for more reasons than one.

The chill of the night, and the effort and strain that opening the window had put on her good arm were the least of those reasons.

She... couldn't believe it.

Her prayers had been answered.

Blake was there, staring back at her, wide-eyed and terrified, with tears running down her face. She looked as though she hadn't slept or eaten properly in days. Which was understandable.

Yang had... so many things she wanted – needed – to say to her. She didn't know where to start.

Perhaps her name was a good place.

"Bl..." Her voice got stuck in her throat, thick and heavy. Yang blinked away several fat tears and tried again. "Bl-Blake...? Is it... r-really...?"

Blake still looked petrified, pressed against the tree outside her window like a caged animal, ready to bolt. If she did, Yang didn't know what she would do with herself. She wasn't certain she'd be able to stop her.

Yang coughed into her elbow, hacking up something awful she was forced to swallow back down.

"B-Blake? Blake...?"

She braced her weight on her hand, leaning forward out the window, more tears dripping down. They fell all the way to the snow-covered ground below.

Still, Blake didn't budge. She had clasped both hands over her mouth now and was shaking her head, though her eyes never left Yang's.

"Yang... I-I..." She stopped, breath hitching.

Yang sniffled and clenched her fingers into a fist.

"Blake... you're... you're looking at me like I'm some kind of Grimm. Am I... really that hideous...?" She turned her body sideways to hide the stump of her arm in shame. She heard her partner gasp in horror, then blurt out more loudly than she wanted to.

"Yang, no!" she cried. "O-Of course not, Yang, I just...! I just..."

Yang rounded on her and glared directly into her eyes.

"Then prove it!" she begged. "Blake, please... I..." She reached out with her hand, uncurling her fingers, extending them towards her. "Blake... I need you... please..." She bowed her head, weighted by her tears now.

The anguish of losing so much within such a short amount of time was taking its toll on her, and her body had no choice but to succumb to the agony. She felt like she was breaking apart, piece by piece.

If Blake left her now, she knew she'd shatter altogether.

She sobbed softly over her window sill, shoulders heaving violently, hacking coughs into her collar. Her hand was still suspended in the cold night air, quivering uncontrollably. She could feel her arm sinking under the weight of her grief, until it went limp.

But instead of hitting against the windowsill's edge, she felt soft fingers catch hers.

Looking up, her eyes met Blake's again. Earnest tears fell from her partner's golden eyes, her lips trembling, but set in as firm a line as possible.

Her choice was clear.

"Yang..."

Blake lifted her other hand and cover Yang's with both of hers, squeezing.

"Yang..."

She just kept saying her name.

Yang cried a little harder, a little louder. She straightened herself up as much as possible, her fingers clutching Blake's in return. With a gentle tug, she coaxed her forward, closer to the window.

Carefully, Yang used her shoulder to push the window up as high as it could go, guiding Blake closer towards the house, keeping her steady. Yang pulled herself back inside, still keeping her grip on Blake's hand.

Blake braced her knee on the edge of the sill, then ducked her head inside. With Yang's help, she crawled in.

No sooner had her boots touched the carpet within did she find herself on her knees, with Yang collapsed before her.

For a while, it was just silence, aside from their overlapping sobs. They could feel each other shaking just as badly as they could feel themselves.

Shoulders, hands, lips. Everything was trembling, shuddering, so much so that it felt the entire house was doing the same.

Blake rested her chin on Yang's good shoulder and tucked her face into her blonde hair, taking in her calming, familiar scent. Yang burrowed into her collar, hiding her face, clinging with her single hand onto Blake's clothes.

But Blake noticed that, even despite all of the overwhelming emotions bombarding the both of them, Yang was making sure to avoid Blake's wound. She felt Yang's hand at the small of her back, gradually moving up to the center and back down again, assuaging a small portion of her pain, physical and emotional. Blake did the same, using both hands to hold her, pressing herself close to Yang's chest.

Minutes felt like eons as they passed, quiet and shaking in that lonesome room.

Blake was only faintly aware of a soft whining sound, and a little bump against her thigh told her Zwei was there as well.

It felt almost like they were back in their dorm room, simply huddling together for comfort after a bad nightmare.

But they were constantly reminded that this was only half of what they'd once had.

Ruby and Weiss weren't here.

Of the two of them, Blake was the one who managed to find her voice first. Sniffling and gasping against Yang's shoulder, she did her best to use it.

"Y-Yang... I'm suh-so... so s-sorry... I- I don't know- ...I don't know what to do. I didn't know what to do... where to go... I thought you'd hate me..."

Yang inhaled shakily, clinging to her partner as much as she could with just her one hand.

"N-No way..." she mumbled. "Blake... no way... Wh-Why would you e-even...? Blake, why would you even think that...?"

Blake whimpered, coughing softly.

"B-Because it's... what happened to you... It's my fault... it's all my fault-"

"Blake, stop it..." Yang pleaded. She held to her tighter, in case Blake tried to push her away and run again. "You know that's not true. None of this is your fault... You know that, Blake..."

Yang felt her jolt, then break down all over again, burrowing against her chest. She held her close, covering her as best she could, shielding her from the cold. She cried into Blake's hair, still trying to convince herself all of this was real.

Somewhere along the lines, she heard Blake begin to murmur more apologies.

"I'm sorry... I'm s-so sorry... Yang..."

Yang hushed her gently, whispering as much reassurance as she could muster.

"Hey, it's okay... it's okay, Blake..."

She could tell Blake didn't believe her, but the Faunus girl was too distraught to argue.

So she accepted Yang's words, and opted to believe them. Or at the very least, start trying to.

It felt like hours must have passed, because the next time Blake lifted her head, the moonlight in the room had shifted and now surrounded the both of them. She rubbed her eyes onto her forearm, gasping softly.

She saw Zwei curled up at her side, ears drooping. When she looked up, she remembered why. Ruby's bed was still empty.

Blake struggled past the lump in her throat and the ache in her chest. Feeling Yang's heartbeat against her own served to soothe her, ever so slightly.

"Yang... Where is she? Where's Ruby...?"

She felt Yang stiffen, heard her breath hitch sharply. A jolt shot through her, hard enough for Blake to feel it. She tightened her hold on her partner, clutching her back and caressing her hair softly.

"Yang...?"

The blonde shuddered against her, and Blake could feel teeth grazing her shoulder. Yang bit her partner's clothes just to stifle the scream she could feel building up inside her, trying to breathe evenly.

Blake waited for her, now vigilant, her ears alert and ready to catch even the smallest sound from her partner. What she eventually did hear were two words she'd wished she hadn't.

"She's... gone..."

Blake's heart froze. The awful ache from her stomach wound that had started to fade in recent days suddenly returned, stinging like acid.

"Wh... What...?" she rasped. "What do you-?"

"She... She just... left..." Yang whispered. "Our dad came in this morning and told me... She left last night. Took a bag of clothes, wrote a note, and just... left. J-Just like my mom... just like you..."

Her words hadn't meant to be accusatory, but they struck Blake like a physical blow.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Yang. I was scared you'd... that you didn't want to see me anymore. That you hated me. That you... blamed me... I didn't know what else I could do..."

"You could've stayed, dammit!" Yang shouted. Her voice raised so suddenly, so ferociously, it made Blake break down into tears and apologies all over again.

"S-Sorry... sorry..." Her voice dragged out in whines of pain, then tapered off.

Yang realized what she'd done and fumbled to make it right again.

"No, Blake... I didn't mean it like that... god, I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm makin' you cry again..." Yang sat back and met her eyes for the first time in a while now. She risked letting Blake go only to caress her cheek. "Hey... Blake, c'mon. Look at me. Please... I didn't mean it like that. I just... Ruby left me too, y'know? It's just like... like everyone else..."

She lifted Blake's face up, waiting for the Faunus girl to open her eyes to force out more tears. As soon as she saw that flash of familiar gold, Yang caught and held her gaze.

"But Blake... you... you came back to me. You're the first person... who came back... you came back..." She bowed her head onto her partner's shoulder and released a sigh she felt she'd been holding in for seventeen years. "Thank you... Thank you for... coming back to me, Blake... Thank you..."

And she meant it. She truly did. She hoped Blake knew that.

Yang pulled her in again, unable to stop herself from moving in to hold a soft kiss to her partner's cheek.

Blake whimpered again, sniffling repeatedly as she lifted a palm to wipe her eyes. She felt that Yang was about to pull away again, but Blake didn't let her. Fervently, she locked both arms around Yang's back and sobbed full force into her shoulder.

For some unexplainable reason, hearing Yang thanking her made the tears flow faster and harder than thinking she'd hate her.

She felt Yang's lips on her cheek again and again, heard her calming whispers despite the fact that she'd just lost her little sister. Yang was trying to forget about Ruby's absence by using Blake's presence.

But of course, she couldn't forget for long.

Eventually, Blake felt her partner's kisses come to an end, and her words of comfort ceased. Yang began shuddering again.

As Blake's tears stopped, Yang's began anew.

The Faunus girl was appalled at herself. What did she have to cry so much about? She hadn't lost her mother, her sister, and a physical part of herself. All she'd lost was a bit of blood and a few nights' worth of sleep.

And she knew for a fact Yang had lost plenty of those things as well.

Blake sucked in a sharp breath in an effort to compose herself. It was her turn to start returning the favor of comfort.

She held her partner with both arms, quietly hushing her in a way that seemed so second nature to her by now. There had been times back at Beacon when she'd calmed Yang after nightmares, and that had been simple enough. But this nightmare was real, and immeasurably more delicate of a matter.

"Yang... tell me what happened. Where is she? Do you know?"

The other girl shook her head miserably.

"No... She just... left a note, but she didn't say where she was going. Our dad went out to look for her. He was searching all day, following her footprints. But he lost the trail. A-And he said there were other prints, too. S-So she must've gone with someone else..."

As Yang described things, Blake envisioned the sets of footprints outside the house, the prints that had left and never returned. She didn't know what more she could do or say by means of reassurance, but she had to try.

"Your dad's right. There are at least three other people with her. And you know she probably arranged this in advance somehow. She went with people she knows. Probably people we know, as well. She's with friends, so you shouldn't worry too much about her. She can take care of herself, and she's got three more sets of eyes to watch her back."

She knew it wasn't nearly as reassuring as having Ruby back here with her right now safe and sound, but dashing a few of Yang's fears for her sister's wellbeing was better than nothing.

Yang seemed to appreciate the effort, at the very least. She sniffled and nodded her head against Blake's chest.

"Yeah... Guess you're right... I just... I wish she would've told me face to face. I wish she would've... trusted me..."

Blake knew she was treading on a very fragile topic right now, but if it might help her partner feel a bit better, she was willing to take the risk.

"Well," she began softly. "If she had told you, would you have let her go? Wouldn't you have told her not to, and then told your father?"

The response was silence, but that told Blake her partner was thinking about her words carefully. She went on.

"Yang, she didn't leave and not tell you about it because she didn't trust you. That's not it at all. She did what she did so that she'd have a chance of getting it done. Of course you wouldn't have let her leave. You're her big sister. But... she's Ruby."

She knew that just that explanation alone was enough to remind Yang of everything she already knew. Ruby was a young, pure-hearted girl who would stop at nothing until she'd put an end to every injustice she could possibly stop or prevent. Once she set her mind on something like this, she'd get it done, one way or another.

The way she'd done it this time had been painful for all of them no doubt, but it had been the least hurtful route in a sense as well. She'd merely slipped out in the night. No spoken farewells, no physical struggles to restrain her, no arguments or sobbing. She was just gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it but accept it and trust her.

That was the final point Blake decided to make.

"Of course she trusts you, Yang. And that's why she didn't tell you. Because she trusts you as her big sister, who will always keep her out of harm's way. But this time, she couldn't let you do that. Now, she's asking you for a little bit of trust."

Finished with all she could think to say, Blake resorted to silence once more, caressing Yang's cheeks, hair, and back gingerly.

It was her turn to sit vigil while Yang cried, trying to absorb the unimaginable reality of losing one of the last people she'd ever loved. But she did her best to remind herself that one of those people had come back, and was holding onto her right now, reassuring her that Ruby would come back in time as well.

In a way, Yang felt she deserved this punishment of being left behind. Instead of choosing to tell Ruby she loved her in return, Yang had sent her away, told her she could do whatever she wanted, and decided to wallow in her own sorrows.

So Ruby had simply taken her up on the offer to do as she pleased.

Yang was paying for her own selfishness now, and she'd bear that burden with the hopes that one day Ruby would come home and forgive her.

And when she did, Yang would hold her for hours and apologize, and she'd never let her go again.

But until then, she would just have to wait.

Again, she sighed heavily against Blake, and her eyes began to run dry. Blake held her for as long as she needed to, until Yang could find her voice once again.

"Thanks, Blake... I think I... feel a bit better about all of this..."

The Faunus girl nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I think... I do, too."

They pulled back a little, Blake still keeping her arms around Yang's shoulders while the other rested her hand on Blake's hip. They dipped their faces into their clothes to clear away the last of the tears.

Blake's ears perked suddenly as an idea crossed her mind.

"Hey... Yang?"

Her partner looked up to her with tired, watery eyes.

"Yeah...?"

Blake bit her lip, hesitated... But in the end, she went through with voicing her thoughts.

"What do you think about... about me going after her?" she proposed quietly. "I mean... no offense to your dad or anything, but I've got experience in tracking. I could find her, and whoever she's with. And... I don't have to try and stop her or bring her back, but at least I can... keep an eye on her, you know? I can tail her and make sure she's safe.

"If they encounter any Grimm or something, I can take a few of them down myself, or conveniently warn them of oncoming danger somehow. Things like that. I can follow her until she gets where she wants to be, then maybe help her with that. I'll do whatever I can to ensure she comes back home safely as soon as possible... What do you think...?"

She waited with patience in her eyes and conviction in her heart.

She knew this must've sounded almost ludicrous to Yang. To trail Ruby but not bring her home the second she'd found her? To simply help her from the shadows without revealing herself? Perhaps it was a stupid idea, but she'd wanted to at least offer it.

To her surprise, Yang had fallen silent, and a serious expression came onto her face. She was deeply considering this.

Blake waited, watching as Yang withdrew her hand and brought it to her face, sighing into the inside of her wrist. Blake reached out to rest a hand on her knee, letting her know she could take all the time she needed.

Minutes passed as Yang tried to arrange her feelings in the most logical and least painful way.

At last, she came to her decision. Her back straightened, and two pools of light purple met with gold.

"All right."

Blake's ears flicked.

"Yang? Really?"

She nodded.

"Yes. I know you can find her. And there's no one else I trust more to watch over Ruby. I know I can trust you, Blake. You've shown me that I can, over and over. And I... can't exactly do anything myself, in this condition.

"And I can't leave my dad, too. Not after my mom, Ruby's, and now her. I'm all he's got left now. I've got to stay with him. If I go after her... he'll break down again, and... I'm not sure if he'd ever be able to be put back together."

Her eyes were beseeching now, swirling with a million different conflicting emotions. Her voice wavered and broke thinly.

"So please, Blake... Do what I can't. Please... go find Ruby. Find my baby sister, and keep her safe. Make sure she can come back to us one day. Please..."

Yang slumped forward, and Blake readily caught her.

"I will," she vowed. "I will, Yang. I'll find her, and I'll make sure she comes home. I promise you."

Her words were weighted with conviction, drawn up from the very bottom of her heart and soul.

This vow, this promise to Yang, was Blake's new reason to live.

She'd forget about Adam – for now. She'd forget about taking her revenge. Right now, she would live only to see Yang reunited with her little sister.

This was her new task, her new purpose in life.

And Blake was eager to set out and begin making her life worth something.

But before that, she needed to linger, just a while longer. After all, she wouldn't be seeing Yang again for a long time - not until Ruby could.

So Blake savored her last few moments with her partner, making them last. She felt Yang's hand come to rest on her side again, palm holding gently to her stomach, over the wrapped wound. Then, she felt it bump into something on the inside of her clothes.

Blake had forgotten all about the sunflower until now, but as Yang sat back, she was holding it in her hand.

Eyes wide and threatening a fresh wave of tears, Yang stared at the petals, yellow catching silver in the moonlight. Blake felt her ears swivel a bit sheepishly beneath her bow.

"Oh. That-"

"Blake..." Yang lifted the flower to her chin and breathed it in. "You... it really was you who left them for me... I knew it was you..."

Blake shifted closer to her, gently pulling her into another embrace.

"Yeah... I couldn't help myself. I followed you guys back here like some crook and hid in the shadows. I just saw you lying there so still. You didn't wake up for days. I hoped that they could help you somehow..."

She, too, took a breath of the flower's scent. "As I was traveling here, I saw them and they reminded me of you. I was planning on taking this one with me, but I don't have any means to care for it. So you should keep it. For me."

Blake cupped the flower Yang was holding, and guided it towards herself. Dipping down, she kissed the center of the flower, then all around its circumference, brushing her lips against every petal.

Yang watched her, and with each blink of her eyes, another tear fell into her lap.

When Blake was finished, she sat up again and locked their gazes together once more.

"I'll find her, I'll keep her safe, and I'll make sure she comes back to you. It's a promise, Yang."

Yang nodded, and this time the tears fell onto the flower.

"Yeah. Thank you, Blake. Thank you..."

She laid the flower down into her lap so she may use her arm to pull her partner close, one last time.

Blake held her back tightly, nuzzling into the side of her neck. She felt Yang's lips whisper a breath onto her ear, then press against her cheek. Blake returned the favor.

Their hearts thumped together, in perfect synch.

Yang knew that even after Blake had gone, she could always feel her there.

By now, the moonlight had shifted out of the room, leaving the pair in darkness once more. But there was a new light kindled within their hearts, one they'd lit together, one they'd keep alive until they could next meet again and reset the spark anew.

The night was drawing to an end, and the sun would soon rise on a new day.

Blake took note of the paleness of the sky outside, lightening ever so slightly with the oncoming dawn. Softly, she bumped her forehead against Yang's and whispered to her.

"I should probably get going."

She placed her hands over the flower in Yang's lap and pushed it a little closer to her, urging her to keep it. Yang nodded, exhaling slowly.

"Yeah. I guess you should... Go find her, Blake. Keep an eye on my baby sister, will ya?"

She offered a smile. It was sad, regretting that she couldn't come along.

But it was also full of faith and trust in her partner. Blake's heart swelled.

"I will. It's a promise, remember?"

She let her hand find Yang's, uncurling her fingers carefully until she could slip her pinkie finger around Yang's.

Their vow was sealed.

When their fingers came away, they embraced one final time, sharing soft, small, hidden kisses against cheeks and foreheads.

At last, Blake pulled away, rousing Zwei in the process. The Faunus girl helped Yang to her feet, the latter holding onto the last sunflower Blake would leave her, with its petals full of warm, loving whispers spoken from familiar lips.

One last hug.

Blake murmured into her ear.

"I'll come back, Yang. I promise."

"I know you will. Thank you, Blake. Good luck."

They parted.

One last time, their gazes met, held, and conveyed things that words never truly could.

And when Yang next blinked, she was alone in the room again, with nothing but a flower and a warm beat in her heart as evidence of Blake's presence tonight.

She'd treasure them for as long as she needed to, until she saw her again.

Because she knew she would.

She returned to her bed with Zwei at her feet, and placed the final sunflower into the vase with the others. The dawn broke just then, casting its first rays of golden light and warmth into her room, catching on the yellow petals to make them glow.

She didn't know how long it would be until her promise with Blake was fulfilled.

But until it was, she would wait, remember, and pray for their safe return to her.

And even when the sun wasn't shining, she'd still see its color and feel its warmth in the flowers and promises left behind.

A/N: That's all for this story. Unfortunately, I'm probably not going to go into Blake tracking Ruby and the others and all of that. I'll leave that to the canon (where Blake won't even be in the picture, most likely).

I've got one more fic on the way dealing with an alternate volume 3 finale, and it's Ruby/Weiss. If you're interested, it's called On My Way To You, so look out for it!