Honeycomb Hearts

Ramblin' and Gamblin'

Sun shone in through the windows, finding itself free from the blinds and drapes, and found itself a direct line to Yang's eyelids. She grimaced and squished her eyes.

"Just five more minutes..." Yang said to nobody in particular, moving to roll onto her other side. The couch felt odd, not what she was used to – not like the one at home. She opened her eyes, which were immediately met by Blake's. Blake stood frozen, hand over Yang's shoulder and their eyes interlocked.

"Sorry, I just came to see if you were awake. I thought I heard you talking." Blake said.

"Yeah, it's fine, um..." Yang said, "Is the power still out?"

"No, it's been back since early morning. Nora came by to tell me, which woke me up." Blake said.

"Oh. Did she um... see..." Yang said.

A silence grew between them, as both girls knew what Yang was talking about, but were hesitant to say it. Yang stood up and stretched.

"I should apologize for that. I guess I just didn't know how tired I was," Blake said, "So I guess I just kind of... fell asleep."

"No, you don't need to apologize. I, uh, I kind of liked it actually." Yang said.

"Liked it? Liked it how?" Blake tilted her head, her eyes expecting too much of an answer for Yang to say.

"I mean – I didn't hate it, it wasn't uncomfortable, I definitely didn't... uh..." Yang thought back to Blake's ears flicking against her cheek, "Yeah I definitely didn't hate it."

Blake's blush melded in with the morning light. "I didn't hate it either."

The silence returned, the two of them standing near frozen in the living room, not knowing what to say or do next.

"Well, the storm's over, I should probably go back and check on Ruby. Gotta make sure there's food and everything. Not that she can't go get any herself, or that she doesn't have legs, it's just that-"

"Go ahead. Your clothes should probably be dry by now anyways." Blake said.

Yang thanked Blake and smiled before she rushed into the bathroom to change.

"You can just throw the ones you borrowed onto the floor, I'll get them later after I shower," Blake said.

After Yang changed, she walked to the front door and gave Blake a wave goodbye, both girls hoping they'd see the other soon. When Yang closed the door behind her, she felt as if she were leaving something important behind. Something left unsaid, or something left undone. She shook her head and began to jog home, shoes slapping against the muddy trail. As Blake watched her leave, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time – she felt lonely. As if part of her had just left. A feeling she couldn't put into words, which was unusual for her.

After Yang rounded the corner into the town square, she broke into a sprint. Her mind was racing with thoughts of the previous day, the night before, and whether Ruby was okay or not. She hated herself for leaving Ruby all alone, but Ruby would be fine, right? Right? She bolted through the town's gate and made haste towards her house, her chest pistoning to give her any oxygen it could. Only when she saw the house was in one piece did she slow down. She jumped up the side of the deck and threw the door open.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" Yang asked, looking fervently around the room to see Ruby was still laying in bed, asleep – but Yang didn't notice her shallow breaths. "Ruby?!"