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After yet another action-packed day of patrolling and fighting Grimm, Yang wanted nothing more than to collapse into her bed and have her body disintegrate like she was a freshly slayed Grimm.
But she was also sweaty and sticky, and no matter how uncomfortable she was now she knew it’d be ten times worse in the morning if she didn’t get herself in the shower. Though the thought of having to pick out fresh clothes, walking all the way to where the student showers were, and going through the usual motions that one had to do while showering made her groan out loud. Honestly she was seriously considering just asking Weiss to blast her with a jet of water from Myrtenaster.
Yang saw Blake enter the room, also looking like a breeze would knock her right down.
“Blaaaaaaake” Yang greeted her.
Blake blinked once. Inhaled. Exhaled.
“Yes?” She mumbled back.
“Do you think I should shower now?”
“ Yes . I love you, but I can also smell you from here.” She wrinkled her nose to emphasise her point.
“You’re not even standing that far away!”
“And the reason I’m not in your arms trying to smooch you right now is because you smell .”
“Yeah yeah,” Yang mumbled as she rolled her eyes affectionately. “I’m gonna go shower now, you coming with?” She let out a yawn as she grabbed her towel and selected some comfier clothes to wear.
“Wait.”
Yang turned back to look at her girlfriend. Blake looked… nervous? For some reason? Her cat ears had drooped down along with her eyes suddenly finding the floor very interesting. A blush made its way across her cheeks, and she was fidgeting with her hands too.
“Blake, baby.” Yang closed the distance between them to gently hold Blake’s chin. “Are you okay?”
“Yes! Yes, I’m fine, just thought of something we could maybe do together, but it’s so silly and it’s definitely too soon in our relationship to–”
“ Blake .” Yang cut off her nervous rambling with a chuckle. “What is it that you wanted to do with me?”
Blake chewed on her lower lip, another nervous tic, and took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes to summon her courage.
“I was wondering if… you'd like to shower together?”
Blake’s blush was working in full force, eyes once again falling to the ground. Yang meanwhile, was suddenly deemed unresponsive, her brain turning that question in her head over and over again so fast it was actually starting to hurt.
“You wanna… um. Shower together?” She managed to croak out.
“I mean, like I said, that was stupid of me to say. I don’t even know why I thought that. Just forget I said it at all!”
“No!” Yang blurted out, waving her hands frantically. “I mean, I’m just surprised, but not in a bad way! We haven’t even… you know.” Yang had joined in on the blushing now. “But I’m not opposed to it, if you still want to do it.”
Blake returned her gaze back to her partner and raised an eyebrow at that, incredulous. “Are you… sure ?”
Yang gave her her best reassuring smile. “I’m sure, I want to if you want to. Plus, it could be fun!”
That convinced Blake, who relaxed her shoulders and gave a small smile in return. “Okay!” She perked, and made to grab her own fresh clothes, towel and toiletries bag. She reached out her hand, and Yang took it in hers, something that they were both grateful for being more and more familiar with time. And together they made the short trip from their dorm to the showers.
Once they arrived, they settled their stuff down at the large bench outside of the shower area in the room. Since they were at the shower room furthest away from the dorms and most students and Huntsmen were either at the dining hall or on night patrols, that meant they had the place all to themselves.
“Did you bring your makeup remover?” Yang asked as he unfolded his towel.
“Yeah, it’s right here.” Blake took out the small packet of makeup remover wipes from her bag. “But I know you’re really tired, so you don’t have to do this for me today–”
“Blake.” She looked up to the source of the soft sound. “You know I’m gonna.”
She huffed good-naturedly. “Alright then.” Blake handed Yang the tissues as they walked the short distance to the sinks.
Yang peeled at the adhesive flap and pulled out a wipe. Using his left hand, he gently held Blake’s chin in place while using his right hand for the wipe. Blake closed her eyes, which was Yang’s signal to start.
He started with her face first. Carefully, he scrubbed over the expanse of her skin where she had applied the foundation and blush. (He knew exactly where it was. He couldn’t explain it, but he liked to watch her apply her makeup. He especially liked it whenever they locked eyes via their reflections in the mirror Blake used, one of them sending a flirtatious smirk to the other.) When Yang was done, the wipe was painted with smears of beige and pink, so he threw that away and pulled out a second wipe.
It was time for Blake’s eyes next. He brushed at her eyelashes, clearing the mascara. Yang turned the wipe around and used a clean part to wipe at and around Blake’s eyelids, effectively removing away the eyeshadow. He turned the wipe again to use a new part to slowly brush over her upper, then bottom lips, to clean away the lip gloss. Unconsciously, he was poking out his tongue the entire time in concentration.
Face successfully cleaned, Yang threw away the wipe and gave Blake a gentle peck on the lips, his signal that his job was done. Blake opened her eyes and smiled into the kiss, and when they pulled away, Yang’s breath hitched at the sight of Blake’s bare face. He knew that she looked pretty and incredible and beautiful no matter what she had on, but there was something about getting to take care of her makeup for her at the end of the day, then seeing her cleaned face, that just felt so domestic to him.
Blake cleared her throat, bringing Yang back down to Remnant. Her golden eyes were crinkled from her smile and shining with excitement, and even though Yang couldn’t see his own face, he felt the same.
“So…” Blake bit on her lower lip again. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” He murmured back, his response only meant for his partner’s ears. “I’m ready.” They returned to the bench to pick up their things and step into one of the showers together, Yang closing the door behind them.
Surprisingly, the individual showers were quite roomy, with enough space for the two to move about without constantly bumping into each other. There was also a small bench fixed to one side, as well as the handheld shower head and tap attached to the wall opposite the door.
They didn’t speak for a moment, even though the tension in the air from what they were about to do couldn’t be ignored, the silence wasn’t suffocating, it didn’t hurt. Though eventually, one of them had to say it, and Yang decided to take this one, his voice barely above a whisper, afraid of breaking the fragile atmosphere.
“Um… do you want to take off your own clothes or would you like me to help you?”
Blake hummed and considered the options for a moment. This was all extremely new territory for the both of them. They were going to be intimate in a way they’d never been before, they were going to be naked together , and on top of all that, the thought of Yang slowly stripping her layer by layer for this first time made her face feel like it was on the verge of exploding. So…
“I’d prefer to take them off myself. But… maybe next time?” She ended that last part with a flirty grin accompanied with a wink while trying to steel her nerves. Next time.
“Ah, that’s no problem!” Yang replied while his cheeks turned rosy again, he was probably having similar thoughts too. “I guess that means you’re not up for undressing me either yet?”
The thought of undressing Yang also made her feel like her face was on the verge of exploding, and she shook her head to voice the negative.
“Alright then,” Yang smiled. “on our own it is.” His expression made Blake feel at ease in a way that only he could.
She decided to be the one to get the ball rolling, and bent down to untie the yellow bandana that wrapped around her ankle. Yang followed suit and released his long hair from its tie, golden locks flowing down his back.
They remained quiet the whole time as they were working to slowly shed their clothing, not wanting to say anything that would pierce the veil of this new private, special thing that they were about to share just yet. They kept facing each other as they did this though, their vision of the other only obscured for a few seconds as they took their tops off.
They took their underwear off, the last layer of fabric separating them gone. And now, as they took in each other’s bare bodies with their eyes, their breaths the only things that they could hear, it hit them both that this is really happening .
She’s so beautiful.
If you asked them who moved first, they wouldn’t be able to tell you. That didn’t matter though. What did matter was the kiss they shared when they reached each other, gentle yet searing, soft but no less passionate, encompassing everything that they were feeling but couldn’t put into words. Yang’s hands cupped Blake’s face. Blake’s hands held Yang’s waist. They held each other for what felt like seconds but also like centuries, the world outside them falling away.
They broke their kiss, but they didn’t separate from each other, their breaths mingling as they continued to cling to each other. Blake let her hands roam upwards, stopping at the line on Yang’s right bicep where skin ended and the metal of his prosthetic began. “Can I remove this for you?”
Yang only took a second to respond before he nodded. There were only a few people he actually trusted to handle his prosthesis when it was detached, and Blake was, of course, one of those people. It wasn’t the first time that Blake had removed it for him, but he much preferred to be asked beforehand, and he was grateful that Blake did every time.
Blake made to detach the arm carefully, the click resounding through the cubicle letting them know she was successful, and she turned to place the prosthesis in Yang’s wet bag and take out her travel sized tubes of body wash and conditioning shampoo, placing them at the end of the bench nearest to the shower.
She turned on the tap, nearly outright shivering when the initial hit of the water was much too cold to be relaxing, so she turned the handle slowly to the right bit by bit, until she deemed the warmer resulting temperature satisfactory. Blake adjusted the angle of the shower head while Yang crowded closer towards her so that the water could reach the both of them. This should be the point where Blake could really start to appreciate her partner’s body, watching as the droplets of water trailed their way down his tan and toned skin, but…
Even though Blake suggested this in the first place, it was all still a little nerve-racking for her, and her anxiety must’ve shown on her face, because Yang decided to lean in and give his girlfriend a small kiss on her nose, his hand coming up to rest on the nape of her neck.
“Hey. You still with me Blake?” He asked softly.
Blake nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. Just… still got some nerves that I haven’t shaken.”
“Oh yeah, me too.” They both chucked a bit at that fast reply. “But you know there’s no one else I want to be with like this.” Yang smiled and landed another kiss on Blake, this time on her forehead.
His words washed over Blake, giving her peace. “Me neither.” She thanked him by giving him a quick kiss on his cheek, causing Yang to let out a breathy exhale. She had quickly learned that those were his favourite kind of kisses from her, second only to lip-to-lip, of course.
“I love you.” Blake whispered, like it was a secret meant only for Yang’s ears.
“I love you too.” Yang replied just as quietly as he gave a beaming grin, like the sunny little dragon he was.
Yang reached to grab the conditioning shampoo on the bench, when Blake grabbed his hand to stop him.
“Wait.” She took the tube in her hands. “Let me?”
If there were a list of people Yang trusted to touch his prosthetic arm, the list of people he trusted to touch his hair would be even shorter.
He turned so his back and long blonde hair was facing his partner. It was a good thing that Blake was on both lists.
Blake smiled to herself when Yang couldn’t see, relieved that he was so trusting towards her now. It had taken some time to get here, and her leaving Yang didn’t help that, but she quickly pushed that thought away before it could fester into something ugly. He forgave her, and they came out the other side stronger and closer than ever, and that was all that mattered.
Blake got started, squeezing out a dollop of the conditioning shampoo into one hand, then rubbed both hands together to sud it up. Then, she rubbed her hands into Yang’s scalp, massaging it in his head properly. She had to stand on her toes a bit while doing that, but her good sense of balance combined with the fact that she often wore heels (not in Vacuo though, since heels and sand were not the best mix) meant that it was no sweat for her.
With the hair at the top of Yang’s head taken care of, Blake squeezed out a bit more conditioning shampoo for the rest of his hair. Bit by bit, she worked the shampoo into his hair, taking her time so that she could ensure all of his hair was properly conditioned.
Yang meanwhile, had his eyes fluttered shut since Blake first touched him. He let himself feel the water falling on his skin, the shampoo that made his hair feel cleaner already, and Blake, who’s skilled hands made him feel like he was floating. He couldn’t help the appreciative noises that he would make from time to time, something that Blake would for sure make fun of later on, but he didn’t care. Yang hasn’t felt this relaxed in… forever.
“Doing alright there, handsome?” Blake asked as her hands fell away from his hair. Brothers, he could practically hear her smirk.
Yang hummed, opening his eyes. “Yeah, I’m good. Really good.”
“I can tell.” Blake chuckled as Yang turned around to see her working on conditioning her own, much shorter hair. Once that was done and Blake had waited a minute for the conditioning shampoo to settle in her hair, she rinsed hers off first before returning her attention to Yang’s, running her fingers through his strands of hair while it was under the water to get out any stray knots. Blake guided Yang to turn around so that she could help wash away the suds that had drifted down from the top of his head and were on his face so that his eyes wouldn’t sting when he opened them.
Yang let out a satisfied sigh. “You know, I would say that after this war is over and we don’t have to be Huntresses anymore, you should go work at a salon, but I don’t want anybody else to experience that.”
Blake giggled at his little joke. “Keeping that all to yourself, huh?”
Yang’s eyes roamed over his partner’s body appreciatively. “That and more.”
And well, what else was Blake supposed to do in response to that, besides kiss her?
When they parted, Yang smirked. “Good to know that feeling’s mutual.”
Blake raised an eyebrow, and spread her arms out in a hello? sort of gesture. Yang couldn’t help but crack out laughing at that, the loudest sound they’d made since they got here. Thank the Gods there was nobody else around.
“You think you’re so funny, huh?” Blake said dryly when Yang had finally settled down.
“Um, I’ll have you know that I’m the funniest .” She poked out her tongue, and Blake didn’t know why, but it was so weird seeing her do that while naked and her hair being flatter than usual from the water, that she couldn’t help but let out a small giggle too.
Yang smiled at that, something soft in her expression that made Blake feel lightheaded thinking about what that was, before she spoke again.
“If you’d like to wash my body too… you can. If you want.”
Blake nodded. “Alright, thanks.”
“Thank you .”
Blake grinned, and promptly got started on the second part of Helping Yang Relax, taking the body wash and squirting out a generous amount of soap. She rubbed her hands together, and placed them both on Yang’s shoulders, slowly spreading out the suds as evenly as she could around the front part of her body, all the way down to her toes.
(The sight of Yang from that angle as she knelt below her made her legs feel like jelly. Good thing she wasn’t standing up then.)
The front done, Yang turned around again so that Blake could spread the rest of the soap across the back of her body. Yang slipped back into that blissful state she was in before as she rubbed the soap across her skin dutifully, making sure to not miss any spots.
Once Yang knew she was done again, she turned back around to take up more space under the water being sprayed. Blake helped with that as well, cupping her hands so that some water would catch in them, then splashing that over whatever area some suds remained.
After a few seconds of all that, Yang was officially cleaned, and she watched as Blake squeezed another blob of body wash for herself now, and started to spread it all around her body.
Yang reached out her hand towards Blake’s body but not touching it, a silent question that didn’t need to be said. Blake nodded, then picked up the body wash again and pinched out more soap onto Yang’s open palm. She turned around, her backside facing her girlfriend as she resumed rubbing the was across the front of her body.
Yang brought her hand to Blake’s left shoulder blade quickly so that none of the wash would be dropped to the floor and wasted. From there, she followed in Blake’s lead and spread out the soap across her back as best and evenly as she could. It was a bit of a challenge with her having only one arm, but she thought she did an okay job. Blake seemed to think so too, judging by all the hums and sighs she let out as Yang worked. It made Yang feel… giddy , that she knew she was the only one who could get her to react and to relax like this.
Body wash now fully applied, Yang made space for Blake so that she was the one mostly under the water now. She followed in her example earlier and cupped her hand to gather some water and poured them in the areas on Blake’s body that the overhead water didn’t reach.
Once Blake was successfully cleaned too, she turned off the tap and reached for– not her own, but Yang’s towel instead.
She took it and faced her, another silent question present on her face. Yang nodded, another silent answer.
With that, Blake took the opposite ends of the towel and wrapped it around Yang’s body, securing it with a hug. Blake leaned in for a kiss, though they had to break it off because they couldn’t stop laughing into it. They sobered up after a moment, Blake rubbing the towel across the other’s body, ensuring that it was as dry as possible before wrapping all of the towel around his body and tucking some of the top part in making sure that it wouldn’t fall down.
Once that was done, she handed Yang his prosthetic arm, letting him take care of that and his wet hair while she towelled herself off. When that was done, she handed Yang her towel, and she hung both hers and his own over the top of the shower door, which gave them a little more space on the bench as they sat down on it, knees and thighs brushing against each other, to finally start getting dressed.
After they’d changed into their cleaner, non-combat related clothes, they packed up their bags and exited the stall, grabbing their towels and draping them across their shoulders so that any excess water wouldn’t wet their shirts.
Yang reached out his metal hand, and Blake took it in hers, their eyes shining and smiles wide as they interlocked their fingers, walking out of the room and back to their own dorm.
Yang started up a new conversation on the trek back. “Did you know when I was like, thirteen I think? I tried to use my Semblance to dry my hair faster.”
“Hmm. And how did that work out?”
“At first I thought: ‘Pretty well!’ But it turns out using magic fire that you can only summon though taking hits and hitting back harder to dry your hair may not have been my brightest idea.”
“Ahh. Brightest . Don’t think I didn’t see what you did there, Yang Xiao Long. And now I wanna hear that whole story
“You know me so well, Blake Belladonna. And maybe I feel like keeping that a secret?”
“Well if you’re not gonna tell me I can just ask Ruby.”
“Wait noooo–”
Blake’s laughter cut him off, pearls of it echoing across the hallway they were in, and how could Yang not spill all his secrets to the girl who had such beautiful laughs?
So he cleared his throat dramatically, and prepared to utterly humiliate himself for his beautiful girlfriend’s entertainment. It was worth it though.
And it would be far more humiliating if Ruby told it.