Chapter Text
“Hold still while I connect the nerves.”
Yang chuckled, leaning back to make more room for her sister to work. “Okay okay, I’m not moving, I promise.”
Ruby gave her a skeptical look before going back to her work. Blake watched them from the counter, a smile on her lips. In the weeks since the confrontation in the house, Ruby seemed to have fully accepted her sister back into her life. She hadn’t had a choice, she’d said. She did understand why their dad had to be kept in the dark, even if she wasn’t happy about it.
“I still don’t really understand how it works, but I don’t really care. I’ve got my sister back and I have you to thank, Blake.”
Blake shook herself out of the memory right as Yang gave a small noise of discomfort.
“I’m almost done.” Ruby had her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she concentrated.
A knock on the locked door of the bakery made them all jump, but it was only Weiss, peering into the windows like they’d personally affronted her. Blake jump up to let her in and she breezed inside.
“Ugh, finally. It’s cold out there.” Weiss peeled back her scarf, her ever present scowl on her face.
“I’d thought you be right at home, Ice Queen.” Yang threw a grin over her shoulder at Weiss, who’s scowl deepened.
She ignored Yang, turning to Blake instead. “I hope you have something warm.”
“I’ve got just the thing.” Blake chuckled at Weiss’s bundled figure.
“A-HA.”
Ruby’s exclamation drew their attention, and she stepped back to put her hands on her hips. “Okay, try it out!”
Yang stretched her robotic arm out in front of her and rolled the fingers. She touched each fingertip to the thumb, and picked up a nearby glass. “Seems like it’s working perfectly.”
Ruby clapped excitedly and gave an ecstatic fist pump. “Yes! I knew it would!”
Yang smiled at her sister, but her eyes drifted across to meet Blake’s. Something in her eyes made Blake’s heart skip a beat.
Their usual rooftop space looked especially bright that evening, the lightest dusting of snow on the edges of the roof seemed to bring an edge of magic to everything and the gray sky promised more snowfall overnight. Yang was waiting for her on the bench, examining her new arm. Blake paused at the door for a long moment, content to watch her.
But that ever present sense that Yang always seemed to have didn’t let her escape notice for long, and soon Yang turned to smile at her. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Blake stepped out onto the roof, pulling her coat around her tighter. “Aren’t you cold?”
“Nope.” Yang shook her head. “I’ve always run hot, I guess.”
Blake joined her on the bench. Yang wasn’t content with their usual comfortable silence, however, because she turned to her and grinned big and wide. “I wanna try something.”
Blake felt her frown get deeper. “Try what?”
Yang looked down at her metal hand, then back up at Blake. “I want to try to touch you.”
Blake pulled in a quick breath through her nose, and before she could voice her reluctance Yang cut her off. “Blake, seriously. I think it’s going to work. We can touch through plastic wrap right? This should work the same way. Better even!”
“I don’t know...” Blake bit her lip, but she couldn’t deny that a growing part of her wanted to try. Desperately.
“We’ll go slow.” Yang held up her metal hand, palm up and fingers relaxed. “Trust me.”
Blake stared for a long time before taking a deep breath. Letting the cold air in her lungs help steal her resolve. She mirrored Yang’s pose, holding up her hand just inches away from metal fingertips.
Yang moved closer, and Blake held her breath and closed her eyes when cold metal touched her fingertips lighter than a breeze.
“Blake, look.”
Yang whispered, almost reverently. Blake opened her eyes to see Yang’s smiling face. Her alive face.
She barked out a sobbing laugh. Yang’s smile widened and she gradually twined her metal fingers with Blake’s. Then, she paused, glancing from their twined hands to Blake’s face. Then, she slowly, achingly slowly, moved her hand to cradle Blake’s cheek and wipe away a tear with her thumb. Even as more tears fell.
Her smile softened to become reverent. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”
Blake half sobbed half laughed. Her own hand came up to cradle Yang’s hand to her cheek. “Me too.”
And in her heart she knew that if she lived the rest of her life in this moment, that if the world itself came to an end right then and there, then she would close her eyes for the last time feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.