Chapter Text
Blake sighed as she entered the teacher's lounge for some coffee, she just needed to get through another couple of hours, and then she'd be free for the weekend. After she graded the homework that most of her students remembered to do.
"Hello there." A kind voice said as Blake walked in.
Blake smiled and gave a nod to Pyrrha, the school's counselor.
"How long until summer vacation, again?" Blake asked jokingly as she poured a cup of coffee for herself.
"Too long, I'm afraid." Pyrrha said. "I heard the Howzin brothers are causing issues again."
Blake sighed, rubbing the side of her head. "I've had to stop them from picking on students three times since school started."
"Well, it is a new-"
"Today." Blake cut Pyrrha off. "Next time, you talk to their parents."
"Of course, can't have them disturbing the wellbeing of other students in the first weeks of school." Pyrrha said, sipping at her mug. "Recess should be ending soon. You should probably go and collect your class."
"I just got my coffee." Blake groaned. It took a moment before she noticed where Pyrrha was staring at her, her sleeve had rolled up a bit. Pushing the sleeve back down, Blake took a cautionary glance to her other sleeve to be sure.
"You're good now." Pyrrha said, offering a kind smile. "We have some subs listed if you ever need some time off."
"I'll be fine." Blake said, her ears flattening a bit. "Just happy my wardrobe's holding up."
Blake sipped at her coffee as she turned to leave the lounge. She must have taken a bit longer for lunch if recess was already done by now. Heading to the playground, she noticed half of her class was already by the door, and the other half was gathered around what sounded like a bit of shouting. Rushing outside, she pushed through the small crowd of children, to see the troublemakers known as the Howzin brothers on the ground while a gray haired girl stood over them, catching her breath.
"June Xiao Long, what is going on here?" Blake asked, looking at the two crying boys.
"They were picking on my friend." The eight-year old girl said, pointing to a doe-eared girl who was crying off to the side.
Blake let out a sigh and looked over the rest of her class. Some of the other teachers who had come to get their classes were questioning the teachers who were supposed to be watching the kids to avoid trouble like this. Looking back to the winner of the fight, she noticed that the girl's nose was bleeding as her eyes turned from red to lilac.
"Everyone else, get back to the classroom while I take these three to the nurses office." Blake said to her students before turning to the crying girl. "Would you like to speak with Miss Nikos? She might want to hear what happened."
The doe-eared girl, Sapphire Verdean watched as June wiped her nose on her sleeve before nodding to Blake.
Looking back to the boys, Blake sighed as she realized that today was going to be much longer than she wanted it to be.
Leaning back into her desk chair, Blake tapped her pen against her desk, waiting for June's parents to get there. The Howzin's were less understanding that their sons had done something wrong, playing the victim card and demanding the girl be expelled. Thankfully, Principal Ozpin had taken over, and Pyrrha also had her back with a few students confirming the story.
As the door opened, Blake expected two people to come in, only for a lone blonde woman looking about her age in a bomber jacket to walk into the room. Staring at Blake for a moment, her gaze softened as she looked at June.
"Hey, kiddo." She said.
"Hi mom." June said a bit weakly.
"Wait outside for a minute, please?" June's mom asked. "This'll only take a couple minutes."
June nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Grabbing a seat on her way over, Blake watched as the other woman sat across from her. At this range, Blake noticed her one hand was a prosthetic, and only because the gloves she was wearing were fingerless.
"Now, Mrs. Xiao Long, the reason I called you here-" Blake paused as a hand was raised in front of her.
"First of all, Mrs would imply he actually stuck around and married me. It also makes me feel old, so please just call me Yang." She said. "Now. I heard my daughter got into a fight."
"Yes, with two of the boys." Blake said, furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance. "And while they may have had their issues with other students, I can't condone-"
"Did she win?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.
"I think the more pressing matter is that if this happened with any other students, your daughter would have been expelled." Blake said, her annoyance starting to boil over into anger. "But she's been one of the more pleasant students, so her classmates vouched for her."
"And let me guess, you want to make sure she won't get into anymore fights at school?" Yang asked, rolling her eyes. "I taught her not to start fights, but to finish them. She stuck up for herself or one of her classmates. But if it makes you feel better, I'll talk to her."
"Well, I certainly hope you do, because I don't need a repeat of this happening." Blake said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "The last thing I need is one of my students solving all of their problems with violence."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about me." Yang said putting her hands on the desk and standing up, towering over Blake. "I actually give a damn about my daughter having a good life. So I hope that everyone else can keep their kids in line and I don't need to get called in because someone else can't take care of a situation, or doesn't care."
Blake watched as Yang's eyes turned from lilac to red, understanding just who exactly she meant with her pointed words.
"Now if we're done here." Yang said, turning to leave.
In a second, Blake stood from her desk and reached out, grabbing Yang by the collar of her shirt and pulling her back to face her.
"Listen here, I don't give a damn what kind of chip you have on your shoulder." Blake practically growled as she stared Yang down. "But don't think for one minute I don't care about my students. Your ass is lucky I stood up for her. So before you think you're the only one who gives a damn about the kids here, take a good fucking look in the mirror and think about where they learn it all from."
Blake shoved Yang out of her grip and continued to stare her down as the slightly taller woman readjusted her jacket. Yang looked as if she wanted to say something, only turning to leave the room as the determination in her gaze faltered.
"Y'know something." Yang said, stopping by the door. "June said you were her favorite teacher. Don't disappoint her."
Blake felt a bit of her blood run cold as Yang opened the door, and she remembered how the young girl was on the other side the entire time. Sinking into her seat as the door closed, Blake groaned into her hands as the full weight of how she lost her temper came crashing down onto her.
"Fuck."
"I let her get to me." Blake said laying across the couch she was on. "I've dealt with annoying parents before, but this was the first time I let someone get to me."
"You realize that despite being a therapist, I'm not going to give you free sessions because we're friends, right?" Weiss said, sitting down and setting some tea on her coffee table.
The two of them lived in a shared apartment, each taking their own bedroom. A little arrangement they had agreed upon after knowing each other through a few rough patches in each of their lives.
"Not asking for therapy from you, I've already got that handled." Blake said, sitting up. "I just need advice from a friend."
Weiss thought things over as she sipped her tea. Blake's ear flicked as she heard her hum thoughtfully.
"What can you tell me about this Yang woman?" Weiss asked.
"Other than she gets on my nerves?" Blake asked in return. "There's something about her that just gets to me. She walked into my classroom like she owned the place and tried commanding the entire conversation cause it had to deal with her daughter. Normally I can at least get a word in. And even with the jacket on, I think I could tell that she had some level of muscle on her."
"Blake. When's the last time you dated someone?" Weiss asked.
"You know I ending things with Sun." Blake said, taking a sip of her tea before realizing where the conversation was going. "I'm not dating her."
"I'm just saying, she sounds like a catch. And unlike Sun, it sounds like she challenges you." Weiss said, counting the points on her fingers. "And you seem to have one or two things in common from what I've heard."
"What could I have in common with her?" Blake asked, throwing her hands up in the air.
"You both care. In your own ways." Weiss said. "Yang, apparently, wants her daughter to be safe, and you want her and the rest of your students to be happy and well-adjusted. At least try to make an effort to make amends, because otherwise it sounds like there might be issues that effect more than the two of you."
Blake thought over what Weiss was saying for a moment, silently staring at her tea. "I'll see what I can do to try and patch things up, but I can't do it if she doesn't agree to do so."
"I have a feeling that she might put in an effort." Weiss said, offering a comforting smile. "I'm not entirely sure since I've never met her, but from the sounds of it, I doubt she'll back down from a challenge."
Blake let out a sigh and took another long sip of her tea, trying to drown the feelings of regret bubbling up inside of her.
"I hope you're right."