Chapter Text
Menagerie Magazine; Faunus Uncaged At Last.
This was the tag line for the agency Blake worked for, having worked in journalism for quite some time and at the same company for years. The magazine was supposed to be Faunus only, a piece of joy each week that fully represented Faunus and how they were exactly like humans.
But if that was the case, why had Weiss Schnee just bought the company and moved half of the members of her staff into the building? Because it wasn’t ending well. A merger meant chaos, and chaos meant people got fired to stop said chaos.
“I can’t stand this,” Blake grumbles as she clears up her desk, preparing for her and her desk partner to be moved a few cubes down. “I mean, Velv, why are we even moving desks?”
“You’ve been wanting to move desks for a while now though?” Velvet’s ears flicked curiously.
“Yes, but I don’t like being forced to do anything, I like having a choice.”
“Oh, and don’t we all know it-“
“Shut up!” Blake laughed, nudging her friend with her elbow as they quickly dashed a few cubes down, snagging the one directly in the centre of the room. It was perfect. Exactly in the centre and able to see along both corridors, it was also right next to the photocopier which was a godsend on its own. They had been eyeing this cube for a while, waiting for the last occupant to either die off or get fired.
Blake supposed that today must have to have some luck somewhere, so she was happy for the change in desks to some degree. Whichever head office god gave them this workspace knew her too well. Right now though, she wanted to kill the girl that was talking a mile a minute along the other side of the row, declaring that she was Miss Schnee’s PA.
“I hate this.”
“Blake.”
“What? I bet you do, too. I mean, it’s a Faunus magazine. I doubt a human could specialise in anything Faunus related,” Blake said, eyes narrowed and growling at a girl with indigo hair, who was glaring back at her from across the room. “I hate this.” She repeated.
Velvet laughed and fell back into her new office chair, ears flailing as she spun around to her desk, a cardboard box filled with her stuff being placed on the desk. “What’s with the hostility?” Velvet asked, smirking as she raised an eyebrow at Blake.
Blake paused in her beginning to remove things from her box, taking a moment to consider what Velvet just said, to consider her actions in the last hour or so before they even got into the building. She didn’t want to come off as hostile, far from it. She just genuinely didn’t think that humans could write about Faunus.
“I’m just stressed, sorry. I don’t mean to take it out on all of this,” Blake said, finger twirling in the air to gesture to the mayhem around her.
Velvet shook her head, smiling. “No, it’s fine... I thought you might’ve been slipping into that old... y’know.”
She was. But she wouldn’t admit that out loud. Because, for a start, her therapist would be furious.
“No, I’m fine,” Blake chuckled, waving her off as she turned back around to begin removing things from her box. The truth was that she would sometimes still slip into old habits, a ghostly hand on her hip and a whisper of air passing her ear, making her hair stand on end. That same sickly sweet voice telling her over and over that she would never amount to anything, that humans were not to be trusted no matter the cost.
It had been years since her ex, Adam, had been gone. Dumped like a ton of bricks as soon as she could get out. But he still affected her, one that she couldn’t quite shake.
Because now, whenever she wanted to go upstairs to head office, there was always the nagging feeling that he would still be there. Standing in front of his desk and beckoning her over, grinning like he had won a prize when in reality all he had done was rig the game and called himself a champion.
There wasn’t a lot Blake could do about it. It just hurt her thinking of all of the things he did to her. Of the early mornings where she would wake up to Adam clinging to her hips so hard that his nails would leave marks, possessive and determined to stop her from doing anything but his bidding. Of the late nights where she would just have to lie there and take whatever he gave her. Whether that be a slap, a punch, a hand slipping under the waistband of her jeans... she just had to take it.
She couldn’t get out.
But the most egregious offender was the fact that he was one of the fucking CEO’s of Menagerie Magazine when they had started dating. All Blake knew was that she came for an interview one day and left with not only a job but a handsome man’s phone number. The next thing she knew, both of those things were being dangled over her head for years on end.
The man preached he was a proprietor of Faunus rights, that he was a messiah when behind closed doors he treated his girlfriend like an animal.
Blake would never be sorry for finally getting out, would never apologise for calling the cops, and would certainly never care that it became a scandal for him, inevitably having him removed from Menagerie Magazine.
“Blake? Are you listening?” Velvet asked from somewhere behind her, causing Blake to snap out of the trance she had gone into.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” She asked, not turning around just yet, having a sneaking suspicion that every wound was wide open now, even the slightest pinch of air could send her into a panic.
“I was saying that Sun looks pissed, a bunch of new models just moved in.”
“Finally, we needed someone to give him a run for his money,” Blake giggled, Velvet joining in as they both went about setting out their mementoes on their desks. Sun wasn’t horrible, just... arrogant. In a way that extremely annoyed Blake and made her want to chuck herself out of a window if he tried to ask her out again. She respected the tenacity but she hated his lack of respect.
Blake took a step back, taking in the sight of her desk. She couldn’t help but think it looked bare. With only a few photos of herself and Velvet, then a photo of her parents being set out. Of course, she had a few selections of books to read through on her break. Additionally, there was a dictionary and a thesaurus in case she wanted to make a point to another journalist in the office.
(She had almost been placed on suspension the last time she handed someone a thesaurus and told them that they should either get their eyes checked or diagnosed for dyslexia. Which she realised was a horrible thing to say but she paid no attention to that memory. Regretting each word now that she was no longer angry.)
A swarm of people ran past their cubicle, causing a ruckus outside that caused both Blake and Velvet to share a confused look. She had to admit, Blake had worked here in this office for over five years now, and she had never seen quite so many people run in the same direction. So either for the first time, there was a fire or someone had been shot.
Both would bring a little bit of excitement to her morning, so she didn’t care what was going on.
The same girl from earlier with indigo hair was standing outside of their cubicle, her arms folded and holding an unamused expression as she watched the ongoing traffic in the corridor.
“Excuse me,” Blake said, directed towards said girl who immediately swivelled her head towards her. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, it’s just Yang making an entrance, as usual,” she said dryly, shrugging. That seemed to peak Velvet’s interest, as she leaned towards Blake to glance out of the cubicle, her ears bouncing off of Blake’s head.
“Yang? As in, Yang Xiao Long?” Velvet squealed, an excited grin on her face as she looked back over to the girl whose name they still didn’t know. The girl nodded, half smirking, “Yeah, she’s working here now.”
Blake grimaced at the thought. Yang was Vale’s top model, mostly modelling gender-neutral clothes that would typically be advertised as menswear, to make it a point that anyone could wear whatever they wanted. She had become a sort of gay icon, the phrase making Blake cringe, yet it was true all the same.
But Blake knew who she was because Yang had been the bane of her life at Vale fashion week earlier on in the year. She refused to believe that one human could be such a sloppy drunk, completely unable to be interviewed with only a few drinks down.
“At least Sun won’t be the talk of the office anymore...” Blake mumbled, ears pinning in annoyance as she slipped back over to her desk. Velvet rolled her eyes and flicked the back of Blake’s head as she passed by her, all the while Yang was down the hallway being fawned over.
The rest of their morning, going into the afternoon wasn’t at all productive. All workloads had been placed on hold until the next morning when every member of staff would be settled into their new workspace.
Blake didn’t at all mind that, it left a window of opportunity for her to catch up on her reading.
“What do you think Yang’s like?” Velvet asked as she messed around with the camera in her lap, a pile of photos sat beside her as she went through everything she needed for their next article. That was how their duo worked, with them working together for years. Velvet was a photojournalist, who had been paired up with Blake. Combined with Blake’s writing skills and Velvet’s excellent photography work, their articles were rarely a bad read.
“An asshole.”
“Is this about that time we interviewed her?”
“Yes.”
“Blake, she was out of it,” Velvet laughed, leaning back in her chair as she glanced over at Blake. “Besides, we’re probably gonna have to work with her at some point.”
Blake hadn’t considered that yet, and now that she had she wasn’t thrilled.
“You’re so petty!”
“What?! No, I’m not, I just don’t have time for assholes...” Blake pouted, kicking her feet up onto the desk as she attempted to bury herself back in her novel. She could see Velvet rolling her eyes and going back to whatever she was doing.
Or at least she thought so until a rubber band ball smacked her in the head.
“What was that for?!”
“Because you’re being a bitch! It wouldn’t kill you to get to know some of these people!” Velvet laughed, swinging to the left to avoid the ball being thrown back at her. She didn’t have to dodge at all, in all honesty, because it went straight over the wall and into the next cubicle, smacking someone on the head.
Blake covered her mouth with her hands, ears pinning back against her head, completely mortified. The ball was thrown back, directly landing in Blake’s lap. “So sorry, Reese!” She yelled, eyes screwing shut as she cringed at herself. She glared over at Velvet, who had a hand over her mouth as she attempted to withhold her laughter.
“That was your fault!” Blake whispered harshly, throwing the ball again and having it land perfectly in Velvet’s lap.
“It’s not my fault you’re a disaster!”
“Velvet!”
The phone began ringing next to Blake’s computer, causing her to stumble backwards on the chair, just barely keeping balance. Velvet began to laugh again, causing Blake to shush her as she grabbed the phone.
“Shut up, it's head office!- Hello?”
“Hello, is this Blake Belladonna?”
“Yes, this is Blake Belladonna.”
“Cool!- Er, I mean, good. Miss Schnee has asked that you and Velvet Scarlatina go to her office...” the girl on the phone trailed off, sounding like she had pressed it to her shoulder. “Is it go to her office or come to her office?- Oh, or should I have said meet you in her office-“
“Ruby, just tell them to come up.”
Blake narrowed her eyes, laughing silently at the ridiculousness of this phone call. The girl on the other end cleared her throat, saying, “Yes, Miss Schnee would like to meet you in her office, immediately.”
“That won’t be a problem, we’ll be there soon.”
Blake hung up the phone with an audible clunk, before turning to Velvet with a smirk. “We’re wanted in Weiss Schnee’s office.”
“Fuck.”
Blake thought that was the appropriate response to what she had just said.
Blake and Velvet marched their way through the building, avoiding other people like the plague. Or at least Blake was, Velvet had spoken to half of the office’s population by the time they got to the elevator.
“Everyone seems nice,” Velvet said, tilting her head towards Blake, “maybe you should get to know some of them.”
“Velv, I’m honestly still... just trying to get back to normal.” She sighed, eyes closing as she felt the scar on her hip as if the knife was tearing through tissue and muscle all over again, a hand on her throat and a voice in her head saying that she wasn’t allowed to move on without him.
“I understand, but you know I’m here to help if you need it, right?”
“I know,” Blake said as the elevator dinged and they stepped out into the hallway.
The whole top floor of the building was practically just Miss Schnee’s office. Sure, the meeting rooms were on this floor, and her PA probably had her own office as well. But apart from that the rest of the space was hers.
It never used to be, it was Adam’s years ago, so coming here always sent a chill down Blake’s spine despite him being gone.
“Can I just chill in your office for a bit? I’m bored.” Blake heard come from behind the office door, voice familiar but unable to place.
“I have a meeting, I don’t want you hanging around like a bad smell.” Blake recognised that voice, that was Weiss. She had heard her in the background of the phone call earlier.
“Please?”
“Fine, but I’m warning you if you embarrass me-“
Blake cut the reprimanding short as she knocked on the door, waiting a moment before opening it fully, letting herself and Velvet into the office.
Blake heard Velvet stifle a laugh as they walked inside. She had expected to see Weiss and her assistant, which she did see. Weiss was prettier than she knew of, long white hair pulled back into a tight braid, her light blue pantsuit fitting her better than possible. Her assistant was in the background, sorting through folders, the cross on her necklace dangling over the papers. She seemed to parallel Weiss’ outfit, wearing a black shirt and dusty red trousers.
However, what she didn’t expect to see was Yang Xiao Long, standing proudly, hands tucked into the pockets of her brown cargo pants, caramel shirt hanging loosely over a white tank top. Blake wouldn’t lie and say she wasn’t attractive, her biceps on display with the short sleeves of her shirt and the collar of her shirt somehow accentuating the muscles in her neck.
“It’s fantastic to meet you both, I’m Weiss,” She said, reaching her hand out to shake Blake’s hand, then shaking Velvet’s. She must have noticed them both staring at Yang, letting out a long sigh as she gestured towards her. “This is my... acquaintance-“
“Yang,” The blonde said, moving in front of Weiss, grinning as she eagerly took hold of Blake’s hand, “Yang Xiao Long.”
Blake couldn’t help but laugh at the awkward nervousness of the girl in front of her, completely different from the time before when she had been a mess, for a lack of a better word.
“And you must be one of the models,” Yang said, a grin sliding into a smirk as smoothly as she could. Blake chuckled again, shaking her head.
“No, I’m Blake Belladonna, one of the journalists that work here.”
“Wait...” Yang said, smile half subsiding as she tilted her head to the side, suddenly in thought. “Have we met before?”
“Yes, actually,” Blake said. There was a certain satisfaction within her that she would finally get to tell this girl off, after months of being annoyed over it. “I was supposed to interview you at the after party of the Vale fashion week, but you were already so drunk you could barely string a sentence together.”
The smile disappeared completely, replaced with mortification as she buried her face in her other hand, cheeks lighting up pink.
“I remember now...” she mumbled. Weiss was glaring at Yang, shaking her head and completely unamused by her. “I am so sorry.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Blake said, finding herself smiling as she gently squeezed her hand back. She had no clue what had come over her, suddenly very charmed by the person in front of her. She took her hand back, realising that they had been standing like that for a good few minutes now.
“Did you need something from us, Miss Schnee?” Velvet asked, bopping Blake’s head with one of her ears to grab her attention. Weiss hummed and shook her head. “You don’t have to call me Miss Schnee, Weiss is fine,” she said, drawing a hum of acknowledgement from both girls.
“But, yes, I’ve been reading through your articles. You’re quite the duo...” Weiss said, moving over to her desk and taking a file from her assistant, holding it in the air to emphasise her point.
“Thank you-“
“So, I want you both working Mistral fashion week this year.”
Blake’s voice cracked, one ear pointed whilst the other flopped forward in confusion. How... could she reply to that?
“Um... sorry, but we’re banned from working fashion weeks...” Velvet said, clearing her throat awkwardly. She and Blake glanced at each other, sharing a nervous look as Weiss went silent for a moment, fiddling with her phone.
“No worries, I had the ban lifted when I explained how half of the journalists in this building seem to be illiterate and that you were the best I had seen in Atlas and Vale.”
They both shared another look, of complete and total confusion. To be fair, Blake hated most of the people who worked in this building. And she also thought they were illiterate, which was why she hated them. They all thought they were something special when they really... weren’t. At all.
“How, exactly, did you get banned, to begin with?” Weiss asked, leaning back against her desk as she handed the file back to her assistant. Blake hummed, stuttering over herself for a moment.
“Blake got irritated by Reese Chloris’ article on skater fashion trends and handed her a thesaurus. Our last boss told us that if fashion weeks got her so worked up, then we were banned.”
“I see...” Weiss said, her acrylic nail caught between her teeth. “Please, don’t hesitate to do that again.”
“Hot and feisty, what a dream,” Yang drawled, grinning over at Blake, her hands held conservatively behind her back.
“You recover quickly,” Blake said, smirking as she folded her arms.
“I don’t need to recover, I could go all day,” Yang says quietly, winking at Blake. She never thought she would be blushing at Yang, but here she was, blushing and giggling.
“If you’re quite finished, Yang,” Weiss snapped at the blonde, eyes narrowed at her. “You can both feel free to take the rest of the day off. Nothing’s happening here anyway.”
Blake and Velvet nodded and thanked her, turning to leave the office. Yang walked behind them, stepping out of the office to guide them down the hallway. She should’ve been embarrassed, Blake knew that, but she found herself watching the way Yang’s clothes perfectly hung over her body, features flawless.
Of course, Blake thought, of course, this would happen to her. It always did, she found herself attracted to handsome assholes. Which Yang was to an unbelievable degree and she couldn’t deny that.
“Um, I’m still really sorry about that interview...” Yang said, sheepishly scratching behind her neck, gold bracelets jingling as she brought her hand up. Blake hummed and shrugged, not bothered now that she had finally got to take Yang down a peg.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine now,” Blake said, smiling over at the blonde. She had to forcibly remove herself from looking at Yang, her lilac eyes being unbelievably gorgeous. “Besides, you were drunk. You didn’t mean it.”
That slipping out of her mouth surprised her, it even surprised Velvet as she had to turn away, lips pursed in an attempt to stop herself from smiling.
“Let me make it up to you,” Yang said, stopping next to the elevator, resting her hand above the buttons to allow Blake access. “Let me take you out for dinner.”
“That sounds more like a date than a making up for past wrongdoings.”
“It’ll only be a date if you want it to be,” Yang said, grinning and shrugging. “What do you say?”
“I’ll think about it,” Blake said. The elevator dinged, the metal doors sliding open to allowed Blake and Velvet to stroll inside. Yang was left standing, looking adorably dumbfounded. Her face stuck in a wide-eyed, half smirking expression, looking almost lovestruck.
“Will you?” She asked, blonde hair waving as she stepped to the side. Blake pushes the button of their floor on the elevator.
“Probably not,” she says, smirking as the doors began to slide shut again. Yang broke out into a fit of cheerful laughter, subsiding when the elevator closed its doors and started to descend.
It left both Blake and Velvet in comfortable silence for a few moments, the whirring of the machine going on around them.
“I think she likes you.”
“She doesn’t even know me.”
“Well, sometimes people are just drawn to each other. You read books, you know what I’m talking about.”
They both glanced at each other, heads turning slowly before they burst out laughing. Attraction by some weird cosmic force was unlikely and unrealistic. Blake didn’t buy into any of that stuff for real life, had learned not to after a failed love.
Because everything with Adam had felt perfect like it was meant to be. Two passionate people coming together in a gorgeous union. Blake learned that wasn’t the truth. He was fuelled by rage, directed at things he created within his mind, screaming at the world for taking something he never deserved to have.
She had tried to ride the bull by the horns, to take control for once. But her voice always fell on deaf ears, drowned out by his overwhelming presence. Maybe that was the problem, he was handsome, a rich and powerful man who could charm a jury with his smile. But there was no way he could convince them that she stuck the knife in herself, that she had bruised places on her body that she could never reach.
Blake will never forget the look on his face, when the judge granted her a restraining order and told Adam that he would have to sign a contract, forfeiting lien to Blake for the damage he caused. She will never forget how he looked, with the burn mark on his left eye where she smacked him with a clothes iron, hidden under his sunglasses.
And she will never forget the way they rolled out the red carpet for him, letting him saunter on with his life as everyone began to sweep everything right underneath that same carpet. Meanwhile, Blake was left, sobbing into herself more than once when she realised she would likely never love again.
But a modern fairytale? That would be nice right about now.