Out of the Ashes

Team SSSN

Blake's POV

I tapped my foot anxiously in Team SSSN's living space. "Remind me again why I left (Y/n) alone with Neptune?" I asked Sun, "He might do something pervy to her."

Sun shook his head, "Nah, Neptune's not like that. He's just a flirt." The lanky boy with red hair put his hand on Sun's shoulder. "Sun would know, Neptune flirts with him all the time."

"Shut up Scarlet!" Sun yelled, pushing the red-haired boy away. The tall boy with green hair laughed from behind Sun and Scarlet. "These guys are goofs, don't mind them." The boy smiled at me. "My name's Sage." I nodded, relieved to have finally found a sane person in the room. "Blake."

Sage stood up and smiled at something behind me. "Oh, you're back. Did he wrap you up good?" I turned to see (Y/n), wearing only a sports bra and sweatpants to cover her bandaged body, and Neptune standing behind her with a satisfied smile on his face. "Heh..yeah.." I raised an eyebrow as (Y/n) looked away from Sage, her face dusted a bright pink color.

I cleared my throat and looked back at Sun. "Do you have any spare space for the night?" Sun nodded, jumping off of the sofa he was sitting on and pulling on the bottom, extending the couch into a twin-sized bed. "We've got this futon and some blankets." Sun bowed, "Mi casa es tu casa."

Scarlet yawned, and walked to the room he shared with the rest of his team. "Well, you two are all set up, we'll leave you be."

Scarlet stopped, turning to look back at Sage, who was still talking to (Y/n). "Sage! Leave the girls alone for fucks sake!" Sage said his goodbyes to (Y/n) and headed to his room, winking at (Y/n) right before closing the door.

I sighed and turned off my scroll. "Are you going to stop swooning and lay down? You need to rest." (Y/n) giggled and turned towards me, walking over to the small futon slowly.

"Sage seems like a great guy..." I hummed quietly in response, scooting my body over to make room for her on the small space. (Y/n) crawled into the bed slowly, and turned towards me as she lay down.

"Blake..." "Hmm?" I replied, not turning my body around to face her. "Blake...I know you're a Faunus, but what I don't know is why you got so angry at Weiss' comments about the White Fang." (Y/n) sighed and wrapped her arms around me yet again, resting her head on my upper spine.

"Are you really one of them?" I turned in her arms, embracing her gently. "(Y/n)...When I was younger the White Fang wasn't about violence, it was about equality for the Faunus and only that...but when our leaders changed, the White Fang became infamous for doing terrible things to people that didn't accept the Faunus...and that's how we gained equality. By killing and destroying. At first I didn't see what was wrong with a few windows broken, or a few homes egged, but when we started burning homes and....killing people who didn't agree with our ways....I knew I had to leave...and here I am." I pulled the blanket up to our necks. "A criminal hiding in plain sight."

Your POV

I stared at Blake for a few seconds, trying to detect an emotion other than sorrow and regret. After a while of trying and failing I gave up. "Blake, I-"

Blake shook her head, cutting me off. "I've always been a coward, too slow to react, too quick to run...and now someone I care about is hurt." Blake looked at me like a scared kitten, "Blake stop it." I whisper-yelled, "Stop blaming yourself for things that nobody else blames you for! You're just as innocent as anybody else! You're just as forgivable as anyone else..."

Without thinking, I slowly started to lean in to Blake's surprised face. "Stop putting yourself down, Blake." I muttered, wrapping my tail around her calf affectionately.

Blake moved her head away quickly and turned back around "Goodnight (Y/n)." She muttered quietly, a small hint of malice in her voice. "G-goodnight Blake..." I stuttered out, embarrassed at my previous actions.

'Why was I leaning in like that? Why is my stomach doing flips?' I thought to myself as I turned around opposite to Blake, closing my eyes and falling fast asleep, despite willing myself not to.