I had to write something after chapter 11. I wrote this chapter all this morning and just posted it right away so it's fast and sloppy as usual.

This first chapter is Blake and Yang, and the second will be Ruby and Weiss. It's only a two-shot.

I just... need this. If not in canon, then in my fics.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Finding Home

Chapter 1.

Run.

Just run.

It was all she could do.

She ran as quickly as she could, despite the things weighing her down.

Adam, for one.

She could still feel his torrid breath against her face, growling threats he was fully intent to make good on.

She could still hear his voice, even though he wasn't shouting after her.

She could still feel his presence, even though when she glanced over her shoulder every two seconds, she found he wasn't following.

But she couldn't stop running.

She knew better than anyone on Remnant that he could find her whenever he wanted to.

Her own body was weighing her down as well.

Her legs kept trembling with every step, a severe limp in her gait causing pain to shoot through her with the shock of every panicked step. Her arms felt as though they were about to give, but perhaps her heart would get there first. It was beating so quickly, and so hard, the most it had ever beaten before in all her life.

It hurt.

Everything hurt.

Her stomach ached with every breath, every step, each beat of her heart sending a pulse of agony into her abdomen. Blood splattered behind her, leaving a clear trail for him to follow should he want to.

She was petrified that he'd follow.

But some part of herself told her he'd done all he'd come here to do for now.

Threaten her.

Terrify her.

Make her suffer.

Make her bleed.

Make her watch the people she cared about most bleed.

Yang was deadweight in her arms, her boots dragging at the floor in contrast to Blake's desperate forward steps. She hadn't been very quick from the start, but now she was beginning to slow down even more.

She had nothing left. No clones, no strength to fight, no willpower to face him.

Only fear.

That was all that fueled her to keep running, gasping and choking on every other breath, tears streaming down her face from the pain, the heartbreak, the crushing, pulverizing terror.

She limped and limped her way through the hallways, dragging Yang with her, continuously forcing herself to go just one more step. Just one more...

In the end, it was all she could do to ram her shoulder against a classroom door, one that hadn't been blown open by Grimm or gunfire. She pulled Yang inside, scrambling to shut the door again once they were in. She fell back against it, and collapse to her knees while cradling Yang.

Yang.

Yang...

"Yang!"

She screamed as softly as she could, fearing he might be right on the other side of that door, waiting.

But Blake knew Adam.

He'd done what he'd come here to do, to her specifically. This was all he needed for now.

He'd carved out a hole in her heart, and left promises to fulfill her worst nightmares behind.

He wouldn't follow her. Not now.

He'd wait.

He'd let her recover – or try to – leave her for a while, let the fear fester in the back of her mind like a dark plague, let her keep living every moment of every day looking back over her shoulder, wondering if today would be the day he'd come back to finish what he'd started.

This would haunt her for the rest of her life.

And for Adam, there was no greater reward than to know that.

Blake shuddered violently as a ripple of pain tore through her from the inside out. She could feel more blood leaking out of her stomach, despite how she could feel her aura aiming to heal it.

Her nose and throat were clogged, her vision blurred by the hot, stinging tears until she could barely see Yang's face anymore. Blubbering out a gasp, Blake whimpered to her again.

"Ya...ng..."

"Starting with her..."

"No... please no..."

Her eyes were closed, but there was pain engraved in her expression, her lips parted in a breathless gasp of disbelief. She was almost unscathed at first glance, and for a moment, Blake told herself perhaps it had all been an illusion.

Maybe he'd... just hit her on the back of the head.

Maybe she was just unconscious and that was all.

Maybe-

But she couldn't stop her eyes from traveling down Yang's shoulder, over her sleeve, her elbow-

"Oh god-"

Blake's stomach twisted into a tight tangle, as though vines ridden with thorns were constricting around her insides, sinking in deep.

Yang's blood wasn't as red as her own was. There was a golden aspect to it, what Blake guessed to be her semblance making an effort to cauterize the wound.

But it wasn't enough.

Nothing would ever be enough.

"Yang..."

Blake crumpled, hunching forward despite the pain it caused her, curling over Yang's chest like a child and weeping.

Blake had always been helpless all her life. That's why she'd joined Adam and the White Fang – to make a difference. And when it hadn't been the difference she'd been intending, she left.

She'd thought there'd been strength in leaving him.

But now she knew there was nothing admirable about it at all.

She'd only left because she'd feared for her own safety.

She'd been a coward.

She'd thought Beacon would be able to make the difference in her life she'd strived for so badly.

She'd thought that fighting Grimm and becoming a huntress and protecting the world would be enough.

But it wasn't.

She realized now – too late – that it wasn't.

She realized that her wishes in life had changed again since coming here.

She didn't just want to become a huntress anymore.

She didn't want to protect just anyone.

She wanted to protect her friends, her partner-

And she couldn't even do that.

Her voice rose up, filling the entire vacant classroom in sobs that wretched themselves from her throat, knotting her stomach more with every breath.

How could I... ever think... I could be a huntress... and protect people... when I couldn't even protect the one person I care about the most...?

She screamed, not caring who or what heard her now.

Never, in all her life, had she experienced such excruciating pain.

It was everywhere – scratching in her mind, aching in her physical body, pounding on her emotions...

She couldn't cry or scream hard enough.

Nothing felt better.

If anything, it all felt worse and worse with each passing second.

She was starting to think it would never get better.

Never...

Something stirred beneath her.

Blake forced herself to bite her tongue, clamping her jaw shut to silence herself and swallow the screams. Her fingers clutched and curled tighter into Yang's clothes, so tight she could feel her nails tear through them and return to make her own palms bleed.

A cough traveled through Yang's body, and Blake moved away, straightening herself up as much as possible, though it was only enough to lift her face so she could see hers.

Yang's eyebrows were deeply furrowed in pain, so deeply Blake thought they'd leave permanent scars that way.

The Faunus girl blinked, and another stream of tears followed. She pressed a hand to her mouth and sobbed again, shaking her head.

"No..."

Of course, she'd wanted Yang to wake.

But not like this.

Not here.

Not now...

"Nn..."

A gasp flew out of Yang's lungs, and her chest heaved.

Blake watched only for a second before needing to close her eyes. She bit her palm, drawing forth more blood in addition to the tiny crescent shapes her nails had left behind.

She didn't want to see this...

But she supposed this was part of her punishment for being too weak to save her.

Yang's eyes flashed open, fluttering for a moment, her lips parted in a deep, needy breath. Her eyes were unfocused, her body still limp, save from a very slight rise and fall in her chest.

Blake didn't deserve to touch her. She didn't deserve anything Yang had ever given her, ever done for her. She knew she didn't deserve anything, especially now.

And yet... she couldn't stop herself.

She was too weak to even stop herself.

With her free hand, she reached out to touch Yang's forehead, feeling the heat wafting off her skin. Blake's body shook with more sobs as she forced her arm to move despite the trembling, brushing her fingertips ever so lightly across her soft blonde bangs. She felt her nails barely touch Yang's skin, and Blake instantly froze, almost recoiling, fearing she'd hurt her more.

But as Yang's familiar lavender eyes looked up to her, she saw nothing of what she'd expected to see in them.

There was relief, thankfulness, comfort.

Blake sunk her teeth into her palm until a steady flow of blood was traveling down her forearm. She choked back another wail, shaking her head vigorously.

Yang tried to make sense of things.

She could tell they'd escaped danger, at least for now.

She must have... passed out somewhere along the lines.

And Blake had carried her to safety.

She knew Blake had been fighting for a long time, long and hard, and even now Yang could see the blood on her.

Coughing once more, Yang dug past the lump in her throat to bring up her voice.

"Bla...ke...?"

Hearing her voice caused Blake to jolt, whimpering against the inside of her hand. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced the sobs to stay inside, where they overlapped and piled up and made her feel as though she were about to burst.

Her heart was already broken.

And yet, it seemed it could break even more.

Yang's rasp of a voice continued to croak, concern working its way into her tone.

"Blake... y-you okay...?"

Blake coughed harshly, her body jerking with such force that she ended up throwing herself back against the closed door, then slumping there, still crying, crying...

And yet, the hand she'd kept on Yang's forehead was so soft, so gentle.

She was shaking all over. Yang could see that. Blake was in so much pain. She was so scared...

"Hey, hey..." She tried to smile, but Blake didn't want to look at her, refusing to open her eyes. "Blake... hey... c'mon..." Yang reached up towards Blake's cheek, trying to rest her hand-

-her-

-her hand...

"W-What-"

There was-

-there was nothing.

There was nothing there...

Yang stared up in sheer horror at her own arm, extended in an effort to comfort her terrified partner.

She couldn't... feel anything.

She couldn't make a fist. She couldn't curl her fingers.

She didn't have any.

Something built up in her stomach, from her very core. It worked its way up into her chest, then burnt her throat like bile.

She screamed.

Blake shrunk away and sobbed again, her ears flattening so hard against her head that it was painful.

But nothing - nothing – was more painful than this.

Having to hear her, watch her, feel hear like this...

Yang's eyes went wide and round with horror. She could see the blood still trickling down the stump she'd once called her arm. Most of it had healed, but-

-but not how she would've wanted it to.

It didn't heal her hand and knuckles and fingers back. It just healed a useless stump of flesh.

Her scream faded into a flurry of sobs and curses.

Blake flinched, seeing no reason to keep herself quiet any longer.

She deserved this pain. She needed to feel every ounce of it.

Uncontrollable sobs racked her body, tearing her, shredding her deeper than his sword. Her thoughts were rampant with things she wanted to say, to scream.

But her mouth could only say one thing, over and over.

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

She shook her head, but this time couldn't tear her eyes away from hers.

The pain she saw in Yang's gaze was worse than anything Blake knew she herself could ever feel.

Yang didn't deserve this.

She didn't deserve any of this.

Blake wished it had been herself.

"You-" Gasping, Blake withdrew the hand she'd kept on Yang's forehead, pulling it up to her own mouth beside the other one. "You sh-should've let him... kill me..."

Fresh tears had built up in Yang's eyes now as well and began to overflow.

She couldn't stop staring at her arm – or what was supposed to be her arm.

She just... couldn't believe it...

Something that had always been there for her entire life, years and years of taking it for granted and now it was just-

-gone.

Forever.

And for what?

"Blake..."

She let her arm drop to her stomach, her eyes now searching Blake's past the tears. She could see the bloodstains on her clothes, deep crimson that had leaked through for a while before her aura had managed to stop it.

And she was crying so hard, shaking so badly...

Yang could see it in her eyes.

Blake hated herself.

More than anything in the world.

She truly, deeply loathed herself with every fiber of her being.

Yang's chest jolted again as her sobs doubled up on her, breath hitching.

Aside from letting Yang rest in her lap, Blake was refusing to touch her.

Yang... didn't want this...

Her arm was gone. She could see that. She could understand that that was something that wouldn't change, wouldn't come back, wouldn't ever fully heal.

But Blake still could.

That was what she wanted, more than anything.

"Bla... ke..."

Her Faunus ears flicked up beneath her bow, swiveling, intent to listen to Yang's wishes. She tried to force her sobs to become quieter, but she couldn't even do that. She just kept wailing.

But she wanted to hear Yang say it – exactly what she needed to hear right now.

"Get out of here. I don't ever want to see you again. I hate you."

She wanted – needed – to hear her say it.

If Yang told her to leave, she would gladly do it.

She'd run and run until her legs gave out, then curl in on herself and cry until she was still.

She'd run directly back to Adam if Yang asked her to, then impale herself on his sword through the heart.

She'd do anything Yang asked of her.

It was the least she could do.

After what she'd cost her.

Slowly, Blake met her eyes, expecting to see the hatred, the disgust, the loathing...

So why...?

Why could she only see sorrow, care, and tenderness?

Yang lifted her left arm this time, now able to curl her fingers as she'd wanted to and reach out for her again.

Blake wanted her to hit her, sink her nails into her throat – anything.

Anything but this.

Yang's fingers brushed against her cheek so softly, so warmly, so delicately, stroking as though Blake were the most precious treasure in all the world.

When she spoke again, the rasp had gone from her voice, leaving only clarity behind.

"Blake... 'm so sorry..."

Blake almost recoiled and slammed herself back against the door again. She almost hissed and spat and swiped Yang's hand away. She almost screamed at her how stupid she was.

But she couldn't. Again, she was too weak.

All she could do was lean her cheek into Yang's touch and break down all over again.

"N-No..." she whimpered. "Noooo- Yang... Yang no..."

She leaned over her again, tears welling up and over as she curled herself over her partner once more.

Yang's hand was still on her cheek, caressing her so lovingly.

Blake hated it.

She didn't want it.

But... she did want it.

It didn't make sense.

She knew the reality should've been Yang cursing her, shoving her away, and screaming at her until she'd run herself off the cliffs.

But she also knew Yang would never do that.

She knew Yang as well as she knew Adam.

And she knew Adam better than anyone.

Which means she also knew Yang better than anyone.

So no matter what Blake knew she deserved from her, she also knew Yang would never for a second have done such things.

Yang's pain was only because she'd failed to help Blake when she'd needed it most. Only a few of her tears were for her own agony, her own loss, but the majority were for Blake's.

The Faunus girl shook her head again, burying her face in the side of Yang's shoulder.

"No... Yang, please no..." she begged. "Don't cry... not for me... I don't deserve it- I don't deserve anything... I don't d-deserve... you..."

Again, she wailed like a child, clinging to Yang's clothes, coated in a mix of their blood. She bit the material of her shirt and cried out around it.

"J-Just tell me to leave... tell me you hate me. Please, Yang. Please..."

But Yang wasn't listening.

She let her hand fall away from Blake's cheek, then let it travel down the back of her neck, through her hair, along her spine-

She came to a halt over a warm, oozing area at the small of her back.

The sword had pierced her through.

And yet she'd managed to bring Yang to safety somehow.

Blake was really incredible.

Yang let her hand linger on that spot, rubbing gently.

It was frustrating to lift her right arm, to try to hold her, and to realize she couldn't.

It was so frustrating, it felt so strange and wrong.

She wanted to hold her, damn it.

But she made due with what she had.

She rested her right arm across Blake's back, wrapping her in the best hug she could manage.

Blake sobbed harder against her chest. Yang could feel every ripple of pain that shot through her partner's body, every thick sob, every strangled breath, every pained beat of her shredded heart.

"Blake... I'm so sorry..."

Her hand slid around to Blake's side, then to the entrance wound on her stomach. Yang flipped her hand over and pressed her palm to it lightly. She could feel Blake's pulse pounding there, even though the bleeding had already slowed significantly.

She blinked, letting more tears slide from her eyes, and back towards her temples.

"He hurt you... I'm so sorry, Blake... I'm so sorry..."

Blake couldn't believe what she was hearing.

She had to sit up, just a few inches, not enough to break Yang's trembling embrace on her, but just enough to glare down into her eyes.

"Ya-ng!" A sob cut into the word halfway as she rained warm tears down on her partner's face. "Yang- you-! You can't say that! Don't... This pain is nothing c-compared to..." She looked over her shoulder, to where only one hand was resting on her back. She shook her head and returned her gaze to Yang's.

"I deserve this pain, Yang. I deserve all of it and then some... Not you... it should never have been you..." She tried to inhale, but it got stuck in her throat. Her voice faded into a whisper, weighted with bitterness. "Why... didn't you just let him kill me...? I de-"

"Don't you dare..." Yang cut her off suddenly, making her flinch. Blake could feel the hand on her wound move again to rest on her back, holding her down, holding her close.

"Don't you dare... say it again, Blake. You didn't deserve any of this. You still don't... you never will..."

Blake felt a gurgling in her throat that rose up along with her voice.

"I do, Yang! After all of this- I deserve it more than anyone! I did this to myself a-and to you! It's all my fault-"

A sudden cough caused her body to seize, a fresh wave of pain shooting through her. Gasping, she collapsed onto Yang's stomach, cringing and curling in on herself, crying harder and harder.

"Blake-!"

Yang tried to hold her more tightly, but-

God damn. God fucking damn it!

She didn't care that she only had one hand left now. She hugged Blake for all she was worth and then some, pulling her close, stroking through her hair, cradling her head softly.

"Blake... god, Blake... don't- don't do this to yourself... Don't...please..."

For a moment they could only sob against each other, shaking and struggling to breathe.

But somehow, that came easier when they were so close.

Blake had thought that this would be what tore them apart for good. She'd lose another partner, another friend, another person she loved so dearly. Yang's presence would become toxic to her, just as Adam's had.

And her own presence would make Yang suffer every breath, repulse her until she had no choice but to drive her away.

But none of that happened.

And she knew it never would.

Not with Yang.

Yang wasn't Adam.

Yang was...

Yang was-

"Yang..." she whispered, voice cracking again. "Yang, I... I don't know w...what to do... what to say... Sh-should I run? Should I just... leave? I will. I will if you just tell me to..."

Yang let out a long, steady breath. Blake's heart was still slamming hard against hers calmer pulse. She was still so scared, so ready to hate herself if Yang gave her the chance.

So she wouldn't.

"Blake..." She maintained her hold on Blake, feeling another sob push through her. "Is that... really what you want...? C'mon. Be honest."

It hurt.

It hurt.

Yang was making her face her own deception, making her cancel the illusions she herself had cast. It was easy to create them, but not so easy to destroy them.

Blake shook her head.

"No..." she gasped. "No... Yang, I don't... I don't want to leave again... I don't want to leave you. Please d-don't... don't make me... please, Yang..."

And despite everything, Yang managed a smile. Just a small one.

"Then there's your answer, Blake. That's it."

Blake broke down all over again, her voice racked with sobs and wails.

But it wasn't so much because of pain this time. She didn't really know what it was.

She wished it was pain. That's what she deserved.

But it wasn't.

It was... it was like she'd finally found what she'd always wanted.

A place she didn't need to be scared of.

A place where she could stop running for once.

A place where she could rest, and hear that she didn't deserve the pain she imposed upon herself.

A place where she could curl up and cry freely.

She'd finally found it.

This was home.

Yang was home.

She moved her right arm, guiding Yang's left until she pressed their palms together, Blake's bloodied one over Yang's only one. She curled their fingers, intertwined them, and squeezed.

She didn't know what lay ahead of them.

She didn't know what might happen from here.

But she knew one thing for certain.

That no matter what, she could always come back, that Yang would always welcome her, pull her into a hug, and give her the love Blake never believed she deserved to feel.

The pain was real, but so was the love that burned here, so softly and warmly.

It would take time – perhaps a very long time – but they could heal.

They didn't know what the future held in store for them.

They could never know.

But there was one thing they did know.

That they could face it together.

No matter what.

This was home.

A/N: Sorry I had to kind of leave it hanging, but this isn't meant to be an overall conclusion. We'll wait for the canon to give us that.

Next chapter is Ruby and Weiss.

If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!

Please review!