Honeycomb Hearts

The Apple of her Eye

Later that day, Yang sat the porch, chin in her hands. What she didn't anticipate about her new life in Apis Mellifera was how boring the day could be if she felt too lazy or anxious to go out and socialize. Sure, she had her phone and could spend some time playing the new craze "Arena of Amity" but for some reason spacing out and looking into the woods was plenty interesting, perhaps because it left her alone with her thoughts.

"Today's been kind of a mess, huh?" She thought to herself. The events of the morning replayed in her mind – the train mimicking an earthquake, Ruby being her cornerstone despite Yang trying to be Ruby's for their entire lives, Ruby accidentally spilling syrup all over herself at Ren and Nora's place, the day was exhausting from the start, and it didn't seem like it would finish any time soon.

A rustle from the tree in front of her broke her trance. Shaking her head and blinking rapidly, she started at the tree some 40 feet in front of her. A second rustle confirmed she wasn't hearing things, and this time a whole section of leaves shook downwards slightly, then attempted to return to normal.

"Okay, that's not normal." The blonde stood up and nearly fell immediately, the familiar head rush pulsing through her head. Once stabilized, she took a cautious step, then a more assured one towards the tree. She craned her head, looking upwards into the tree. In the shade, it was hard to make out anything in the maze of branches and twigs, but she did notice something odd – trees weren't usually neon blue or glossy. Was it a book, maybe?

Against her better judgement, Yang decided to call upwards. "Heya, anyone up there?" A jolted rustle of branches answered her question, though it was soon answered with words as well.

"Yang? Is that you?"

"Yup, the one and only!"

A head peered from up above, and two familiar amber eyes peered back at Yang. "Sorry, did I disturb you?"

"Blake? Oh right, I did basically invite her to read in the trees around here, didn't I?" Yang chuckled, "Not at all, I wasn't really doing anything to disturb anyways. Did I disturb you?"

"No, I was actually thinking about heading back into town in a minute. There's just a slight problem that... actually, it's fine." Blake veered her eyes away, looking towards a patch of grass next to Yang instead of the blonde.

"What kind of problem? Is there an arranged marriage you're avoiding, like some cheesy romance novel?" Yang held back a laugh, "Maybe you're running from your destiny to become a princess?"

"Ha ha. Very funny. I can hardly contain myself." Blake's deadpan face only added to Yang's chuckle, leading to a full-blown laugh. "But really, it's nothing."

"Okay Yang, you've never been too good at prying into people. What would Ruby say?" Yang thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Come on, we're super awesome secret holding friends aren't we? I'm here for any problem, no matter how big or small!"

"Was that a quote from She-Paw and the Puppies of Paw-er?" Blake asked, her expression growing more skeptical by the minute.

"Yeah, Ruby was watching that last night and I overheard that line. But seriously, if it's bothering you I'd be down to help." Yang crossed her arms behind her back, tilting her head towards Blake. A move that Ruby used that always caught Yang off guard.

"Ugh, fine. But you'd better not laugh at me, okay?" Blake slowly made her way downwards from the branches, carefully and monotonously. Yang could tell she was having a bit of trouble on the descent. "I haven't climbed a tree in years, and getting out of a tree was never really my strong suit, and-" Blake stopped short as a branch smacked her in the face, leaving her stranded about eight feet up.

"So, you're stuck?"

"Basically."

It took all of Yang's willpower to not make a "cat stuck in a tree" joke right then and there, possibly ruining every semblance of friendship Blake felt towards her. However, she did have some ideas of how to help Blake. "Well I don't think there's a ladder by the farmhouse, but I can just catch you. I used to catch Ruby all the time!"

"You'll... catch me." Blake's face was deadpan once again. "How old was Ruby at this time?"

"Uh, let's see... if I was twelve... then..." Yang pondered for a moment. "Ten!"

Minutes seemed to pass, Yang with a grin as outstretched as her arms looking at Blake, whose glare could be easily misinterpreted as looking at a hidden camera in a sitcom. "Come on, it'll be cool! Maybe I can catch you bridal style and be all romantic!"

"R-Romantic?" Luckily for Blake, the shade concealed the blush creeping on her face. "Fine, but if you drop me you owe me big."

The scene played through Yang's mind flawlessly on repeat – Blake leapt from the tree and fell perfectly into Yang's arms. However, when Blake finally made up her mind to leap from the tree, she leapt much differently than Yang expected – sending her mind haywire.

"I-I got you! Right-"

BLAM

Yang let out a wheeze as dust clouded around the two of them. "T-There..." Yang coughed to the side, her chest feeling exactly what you'd expect after a woman about her age falling onto her would feel like. "Maybe that was a bad idea after all. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine – are you?" Blake swiveled her head upwards towards Yang, and unexpectedly the two of them were face-to-face, foreheads nearly touching. Blake was positioned on her hands and knees above Yang, who was sprawled out on the ground. The two of them locked eyes, their breathing heavy from the adrenaline of the failed maneuver. Blake was awestruck, seeing Yang's bright lilac eyes contrast her now dusty face and striking blonde hair, and Yang was equally stunned, having the girl she constantly denied having feelings for suddenly in a promiscuous position on top of her.

Though the moment seemed like hours, only a few seconds passed until Blake pulled away, throwing herself off to the side. The two looked away, both trying to hide their blush that, if the other had seen, would have been obvious. Blake was the first to rise, brushing dirt off of her jeans, and soon offered a hand to Yang.

"Next time, Yang, get a ladder." Blake helped Yang up to a sitting position, though the blonde was still wheezing from the hit. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Yang coughed, "I'll be fine. I've had much worse."

Blake, still blushing, turned towards the town. "I should probably get going, I promised my mom we would have lunch together today."

"Oh, okay." Yang drew a deep, shaky breath, followed by a sigh. She turned to Blake, a sure smile on her face. "But next time I'll catch you for sure! I just need practice!"

"Sure, let's see if I let you try again. Anyways, I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, seeya around!" Yang waved as Blake left. Her heart was still racing, and she wasn't quite sure what part of what just happened kept it beating so intently. As she moved to get up, she noticed that the book Blake was reading was still on the ground, the bookmark miraculously still in place. She turned to call for Blake, but the Faunus was already gone, an unbeknownst to Yang, her heart too was beating faster than usual.

"Well, now I have a reason to see her again." Yang mumbled, flipping the book over to the title, "Faint of Heart – by Beverly Rouge." She slowly moved back to the cabin, perusing through the synopsis on the back of the book.

"A cheesy romance novel, why am I not surprised?"