Illusions, Delusions

A/N: RT sure does love its cliffhangers. It isn't much, but I had the idea to write this to help bridge the three week gap they gave us between episodes. As is my standard operating procedure, I rushed the hell out of the ending. Happy holidays, everyone.

"Yang."

The blonde's head jolted upright. Lost in her thoughts as she was, that sound was no trick of the mind. It couldn't be, right? Not again….

"Hello?" she whispered tentatively, addressing the dimly lit space outside of her cramped cell. There was barely enough room to stand, but she managed it by bowing her back just enough that the low ceiling wouldn't scrape against her head. Her view outside of the vertical bars that caged her didn't offer any hint to her visitor's identity. In fact, nothing at all was different in the space beyond. Her eyes were given plenty of time to adjust to the darkness in the few long hours she had already spent in here, wherever here was. She couldn't have imagined that noise too, right? Please, say she hadn't imagined it.

"A-anyone?" she croaked as her voice cracked. "Please."

Yang's eyes strained as the one person she needed most calmly walked into view.

"Bla-!" She was silenced by a finger quickly darting inbetween her cell's bars and covering her lips. Her knuckles turned white with their iron grip on the bars and tears began running anew down their established tracks on her cheeks at the mere sight of her partner. Muffled sobs broke through the seal on her lips, and she did her best to contain them when Blake began caressing her cheek and wiping the strained tears gently away with her thumb.

"Shh, it's okay."

Yang's damp lilac eyes stared dolefully up at her. "I don't know what's going on!" she said in a terrified whisper. "I didn't do anything! He attacked me, I swear! I was just defending myself!"

"I believe you."

Relief flooded over Yang at those words.

"I didn't know what to think at first in all the confusion," Blake started. She eased Yang's hands off of the bars and held them in both of her own with a gentle squeeze, and continued. "But I know you, Yang. I know what I saw wasn't something you would ever do."

"What about the others?"

"They're with you too. Ruby especially." Blake smiled, and Yang's chest swelled with pride for her little sister. "They're with Ozpin right now trying to figure this out. Everything's going to be okay."

Yang managed a smile. "When you say it, I know it's true."

"Flatterer." Blake paused, looking away to hide a small blush. "But I'm interested to hear your side of the story."

The smile quickly faded off of the blonde's face as she gave a corner of her cell a hard look.

"I… I don't know. After I won, he stood up and said 'there's not going to be a next time, blondie' and then lunged at me. That's when I hit him. But when I saw the playback on the screen… tell me I'm not going crazy?" Yang pleaded.

"You are not going crazy," Blake affirmed steadily. "I know what crazy looks like, and crazy isn't this pretty."

Yang's face lit up. "Now who's the flatterer?"

"You needed the boost," Blake said matter-of-factly, patting Yang's hands consolingly. "I don't like seeing you sad. It's like seeing the sun go out."

"You…!" Whatever Yang said next was a garbled mess of words. In lieu of proper speech, she had wrapped her arms around her partner and pulled her into what should've been a crushing hug were there not bars blocking the space between them. While the sentiment behind it was comforting, the actual hug was anything but. "You are adorable!"

"Please… let go," Blake strained out as best she could with her cheek pressed painfully into a bar. Yang did so, but her suddenly cheery disposition remained. Blake steadied and looked her partner in the eyes. "Save it for when we get you out of here." There was a hint of a smirk playing across her face. No matter how tough things ever got, Yang's happiness was infectious.

"Do you guys have a plan?" Yang asked hopefully.

Blake hesitated and looked away. "…Yes."

Yang leaned to the side and tilted her head, trying to make eye contact again. "Something wrong?"

"You're not going to like it."

"Hit me," Yang said confidently.

Blake continued to frown at a spot on the ground. A few moments passed in silence before she started.

"The plan is… to let things play out. In other words, do nothing," Blake said bitterly.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry!" Blake said, snapping her head up to finally look at Yang again. "I hate it! You know I can't stand watching things happen and not doing anything about it! I want you free again as much as you do! But if we broke you out, it would just create more problems, and ones that wouldn't be solved easily. So… we're waiting.

"…It was Weiss' idea," she finished lamely.

Yang smiled sadly. "She always was the smart one."

"She's an ice queen!"

"That too."

Blake frowned and let her gaze drop. Yang gently raised it back up with her forefinger and thumb placed under her chin and examined her partner for a moment.

"You know," Yang began, her eyes twinkling, "when I first saw you I thought that you had come to cheer me up, but I'm starting to think that I'm not the one that needed some cheering up the most."

Blake's frown persisted. "You're in jail, Yang, and… and I don't know if things are going to work out how we want them to. It could go really bad and there wouldn't be a single thing I could do about it, and that scares me more than anything has in a long time."

"Blake…"

"I don't want to lose you," the dark girl murmured.

"It's going to be okay."

"But-"

Yang squeezed her partner's hands. "It's going to be okay. I'll be fine."

"You can't know that!"

"Yeah I can."

"No, you can't!"

"Yeah I can, cause I said so!"

"You-!" Blake scowled into the blonde's shining grin. "You are insufferable!"

"You love it," Yang drawled.

Blake sighed heavily. "Okay, fine, you win this time. Everything will be okay."

"That's my girl." Yang paused. "But seriously, someone's gonna have to do my homework while I'm in here."

"Oh, not happening," Blake sassed as she turned to leave. She got a couple dozen steps before she turned and hurried back to the cell, grabbed Yang by the scruff, and planted a kiss on her cheek between the bars.

"I'll see you soon. Don't go anywhere," she said solemnly.

"Y- yeah," a blushing Yang said to her partner's retreating back. Her hand absentmindedly strayed up to her cheek as she watched the girl go.

"Wait a minute," she muttered, grabbing the bars, "was that a joke!?" she shouted at the corner Blake had just disappeared behind. She got no response.

"Yup," the blonde chuckled with her still-rosy cheeks as she retook her seat. "She's totally into me."