A P-a-t-r-e-o-n reward for the-money-dog. They asked for an AU in which Yang is a famous author and Blake is her fan. Written before In The Name Of Love, which has a similar premise. It just so happened two people asked for almost the same concept around the same time.
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Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Our Own Short Story
If there was one thing Blake Belladonna was known for above all else, it was her passion for literature.
In her younger years, middle school, and high school, she'd have a new book in-hand almost every day. Whenever the teacher wasn't speaking, Blake was reading.
Of course, it had earned her the nickname of "bookworm", but as far as high school nicknames went, there were much worse things to be called, if you asked her.
She became known as almost a connoisseur of books of any kind. From smaller manga and light novels to thick-spined trilogies and sagas, she'd read them all.
But ever since she'd graduated high school and taken a year off before starting college, she'd fallen absolutely in love with a new kind of writing.
After pacing the local bookstore many times for something new and interesting to read, she'd come across a short series of popcorn novels. At the time, she'd been compelled to read something, anything, and a glance at the cover and a quick read of the back was enough to pique her interest to some degree.
And she'd been hooked.
She'd read the first book in only one night, had been entirely unable to put it down. She'd even read during dinner that night and skipped dessert altogether. She'd set out immediately the next morning in search of the next book, and had ended up buying three more of the series.
Blake found herself instantly entranced by the unique style of quirky, yet intriguing writing. The books were formulaic, and could be dramatic at times, as most of them dealt with the main character trying to solve or understand mysterious events.
But the writing was also rather humorous at times, and Blake found herself smirking or chuckling at least once almost every other chapter she read.
In this way, she got hooked on that collection in particular.
She discovered there were still several more books in the series she had yet to read, and decided to savor them by only reading one per week in order to make her enjoyment last longer.
That had been difficult, to take her time doing something she'd always breezed through. For Blake, not reading all of the books in one day took a lot of self-control.
And the days when she did get to read a book of one of her favorite series, it was like getting to drink her favorite tea after days of bland coffee.
That was how she enjoyed the first month of her year off before starting college. She'd stay at home and read, or go to the local library and read, or go to her best friend Weiss' house and read.
Weiss knew Blake was infatuated with the new book series she'd fallen in love with, but she always made an effort to take Blake out of the house at least a few times a week to get some fresh air.
"Honestly, though," Weiss had once said to her. "I feel like your guardian. If I don't take you out for some exercise and good food, I know you won't do it yourself."
And Blake had to admit she appreciated Weiss' efforts to help her fully enjoy her year off before getting to college.
Especially after she ran out of books to read.
Well, at least the ones from her favorite series, anyway.
It happened one Saturday morning, when Weiss had accompanied her excited friend to the bookstore to pick up the next-in-line of popcorn novels from Blake's favorite author. She'd scurried off to the mystery novels section with Weiss treading behind at a more composed pace.
Blake scanned the shelves, her eyes catching sight of all the familiar titles she'd already read, twice over in some cases. She followed them to the end of the shelf, reading the numbers printed on the spines.
Book 12, Book 13, Book 14...
And then nothing. A blank space sat on the shelf where Book 15 was supposed to be, and Blake felt her heart sink.
"No..."
The word was barely more than a whine of dismay, and she stood there for a moment, looking numbly at the shelf. Weiss had only just caught up to her and peered over her shoulder.
"Blake? What is it?"
Her answer was... no answer at all. Instead of replying, Blake hurried out of the aisle and made a beeline for the front of the store, where the table of New Releases sat in the display window. This was her only hope. It had to be here...
She scoured the titles arranged there, picking them up, moving them aside to check behind them, but her efforts were fruitless.
"No, no, no..." she whimpered.
Again, Weiss caught up to her, now almost panting.
"Blake! Stop running away, for heaven's sake! What's going on?"
"It's not here!" she wailed. "The new book isn't here! How could they not have it?"
"Perhaps it isn't released yet? What day was it supposed to come out?"
"Um..." Blake quickly fished out her phone and searched for the answer. "It's supposed to be out on the 28th."
"Then there's your answer. Today is only the 20th." Weiss gave a reassuring pat to her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Blake. There's plenty more to read. Look at this selection you've got to choose from."
But it was no use trying to console her. Blake let out a heavy sigh, and her shoulders slouched.
"I was really looking forward to reading that one... and now I have to wait a whole week?"
"I promise you'll survive," Weiss mused. "But I know you're very much a fan of that person's work. Have you ever researched the author? Perhaps doing something like that can help you keep your excitement levels up for the new release."
Now that Weiss mentioned it, Blake found it strange that she never actually had researched her favorite author. All she knew was their name, Yang Xiao Long, but Blake knew nothing beyond that.
"You're right! I'll do that. Thanks, Weiss."
The two of them walked around the rest of the strip malls and shopping center for the remainder of the day, until they returned to their respective homes.
That night, and all the next week, Blake spent her time researching her favorite author.
She discovered many amazing things about Yang Xiao Long.
Firstly, she was a girl Blake's own age, one of the youngest and most successful authors of their time. Blake saw pictures of her as well. She had a beautiful figure and a great sense of fashion, her hair was long and blonde and wavy, and her eyes were a beautiful lavender.
She was... really pretty.
It was while browsing those pictures when Blake noticed the girl had a prosthetic right arm, and from there she was sent on a whole new online expedition to find out more about what had happened.
It turned out Yang had once been involved in a rather terrifying, yet unusual experience. Blake was incredulous as she read over the article.
At the age of 6, Xiao Long was on a camping trip along with her father and younger sister, Ruby. In a freak encounter with an aggressive bear, Xiao Long lost her arm to the animal while protecting her younger sister. She now requires a prosthetic, which needs to be upgraded and checked every several months by a professional.
Despite the tragic events of that day, Xiao Long's sister was unharmed, and the young author later declared that the loss of her arm wouldn't stop her from doing what she'd always dreamed of doing – writing fun mystery novels. "And here I am," she told the editors of this paper. "Here I am."
Blake actually teared up and cried a little bit once she'd read the inspiring story. She had no idea the person who'd written her favorite book series had such an interesting life, and was Blake's own age to boot.
For the remainder of the week, Blake gushed about all of this to Weiss, who – being the one who had suggested that Blake research the author – had subjected herself to hearing all about her. Weiss had to admit she was impressed by the girl's story as well, and she humored Blake with every tidbit she relayed.
In that way, Blake survived the remaining week until the 15th book was released, and then read through it in only a day.
After that, it was even more waiting for more books.
But she had barely been two months into her year-long break when an announcement was made. Newspaper headlines in print and online read similar things that morning:
"Popular Young Writer's Works Get Movie Adaption."
Blake didn't know what else to do with herself other than call Weiss to tell her all about the news.
And if Blake hadn't already been Yang Xiao Long's number one fan, she certainly earned the title that summer.
Every month or so, a new book of the series would be released for her to enjoy. She read and re-read the books she already had, and ended up developing quite the major crush on Yang Xiao Long.
She was excited to discover that she had created various social media accounts, and had millions of followers on each of them. So Blake didn't feel weird or creepy in following her, either.
For the next several months, her life was enriched by the prospect of getting to follow her favorite author and be a small part of her life.
Some days, Yang posted selfies, which always sent Blake's heart into some pattern of arrhythmia. Every time she posted a tweet or updated her blog, Blake couldn't read and like it quickly enough.
Weiss became a vicarious fan of Yang's, considering how much Blake always talked about her.
The months passed by, and Blake became bold enough to send messages directly to Yang, thanking and praising her for her writing.
And Yang always replied.
Blake made sure to screenshot the conversations they had together and print them out for safekeeping.
And finally, the day of the movie adaption release was upon them.
Blake waited in line, ridden with excitement, Weiss at her side. They'd purchased tickets the instant they'd gone on sale, as this was probably the most highly-anticipated event of Blake's life thus far. She couldn't stop gushing to Weiss about how excited she was for this.
"I haven't seen much from the trailers, but it looks like they're adapting Book 5!"
"Book 5? Why not book 1?"
"Well, they're popcorn novels, which means the stories don't really have any overarching plot or continuity. So they can start at just about any book so long as they introduce the characters. Oh gosh, I can't wait to see how Celia looks!"
They (meaning mainly Blake) chatted and chatted until they were seated and the lights were dimmed. At that point, Blake made a quick tweet that she was seeing the film, then took a deep breath and consciously began enjoying the experience.
Perhaps she'd set her expectations a bit too high. Any book-lover knew that movie adaptions of one's favorite novel were almost never up to snuff. The ones that were ended up being very few and very far between.
Which was why two hours later, Blake limped out of the theater highly disappointed and strangely unimpressed. Weiss could tell right away it wasn't what she'd been hoping for.
"Was it that bad?"
She'd made the mistake of asking, so she had no choice but to listen to the long-winded answer.
"It was horrible. I mean, they got some of the parts right, but they completely changed the mystery! The humor was so dry and the characters aren't anything like I'd envisioned. Maybe I'm just being biased about that part, but they turned it into more of a horror film than anything else! And they completely omitted the part where..."
She ranted and raved all the way home, apologizing to Weiss for taking her out to see such a distasteful film.
Once Blake herself had returned home, she typed a long post about her opinion of the film, and how it didn't even come close to the masterpiece of a book it was based off of.
She was very disappointed and downtrodden for the next few days, worried that people might give poor ratings to the book series based off the movie. She didn't want this stupid film to ruin Yang's reputation or cause her to lose fans.
Blake was very defensive of her favorite series and author, and she just wanted Yang to continue being successful in her own writing, and not let some bad adaption someone else had done influence her.
Yang had been through a lot, and she'd said so herself that in writing what she loved, she was living her dream. Blake just didn't want that dream to suffer, not after Yang had come so far...
Blake's birthday was coming up, and she wasn't even inclined to enjoy it if it meant her crush and most-admired author might be at risk.
As she worried the week away, Blake had no idea what kind of surprise her best friend was planning just a few houses away...
Weiss' father knew people. She had connections.
And she was going to give Blake the best birthday present ever.
"Weiss, you don't have to do this," Blake sighed. "I don't need a gift. It's really fine."
"Nonsense. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't get you something for your birthday?"
Weiss had gone to Blake's house promptly that morning and half-dragged her out and into town. She'd taken her to a local cafe, where Weiss had already ordered Blake's favorite tea and a few treats for her to eat. But Weiss had ordered nothing for herself, and when Blake inquired about that, Weiss' response was flippant.
"Don't worry about that. I've got one more gift for you. And it should be arriving any moment."
"Arriving?" Blake parroted. "Weiss, what kind of a gift is going to arrive at a coffee shoppe?"
"You'll see. Now you should drink a bit of your tea before it gets cold."
Blake was a little suspicious about the way Weiss kept smiling at her, but she took a few sips nonetheless.
She didn't notice when the doors to the shoppe opened until Weiss suddenly stood from her seat.
"Well," she said. "This is about where I'll be taking my leave. Enjoy your birthday, Blake. You can thank me later."
"Huh? You're just gonna leave me?"
But before Blake could even begin to comprehend what was happening, Weiss was gone.
And someone else had taken her seat across from Blake.
"Heya, there! You must be Blake!"
And Blake knew that voice. She'd never heard it in person before, but she'd watched the Vines and videos, she'd seen those selfies, she'd listened to those interviews...
"Y... Y-You're..."
"Your birthday present!"
Grinning back at her was none other than Yang Xiao Long.
She was wearing a casual dress, with her hair tied into a ponytail over one shoulder, with a sunhat and shades to somewhat conceal her identity. A small orange bolero covered her shoulders and upper arms, but the joints of her prosthetic right hand were very clearly visible.
Blake almost passed out. She really did. It was a miracle she didn't, actually.
"You're... Y-You're..."
"Nice to meet'cha, Blake! I recognized you from my Twitter and stuff! You follow me everywhere! I even checked out your blog once! I'm really flattered you're such a big fan of mine!"
"You... You..."
Blake couldn't even feel her own heartbeat. She was still in shock, still living a dream she couldn't yet accept as reality. Her jaws just moved on their own and sounds came out that thankfully happened to form words, disorganized as they might've been.
"You're... you s-saw my blog? Y-You know wh-who I am...?"
"Of course I do! How could I not recognize my number one fan? I'm real glad I could finally meet you in the flesh, Blake!"
"I... I should be the one saying that..." Her hollow voice was finally getting some emotion back now, and her eyes were sparking back to life. "Yang... Yang Xiao Long..."
"The one and only! In the flesh! Well, mostly," she chuckled, waving her prosthetic hand. "Anywho, a little birdie told me today was your birthday, and after all this time of seeing your support and love of my stuff, I was more than happy to swing by and come see you!
"I hope you don't mind that I asked your friend how old you'd be turning today. 19, huh? You're officially older than me right now! My birthday's two months away yet! Heh, it's kinda neat to have my number one fan be a little older than me. Makes me feel like my work is really special."
It'd finally clicked for Blake that Weiss had arranged all of this for her, and she made a mental note to stop by her friend's house sometime later and sob her thanks into Weiss' arms.
But for now, Blake was finally awake enough to start intelligently engaging in the conversation.
"I-It is!" she said right away. "Your work is really special, Yang!" It felt so strange and so exciting to call her by name and know she could actually hear her and reply to her in real time. "Your writing is the best I've ever read! Even more than all those famous people they made us read in high school.
"You writing is contemporary, but it has a bit of old-fashioned charm to it as well. You can write drama or humor or suspense better than anyone I've ever read, and believe me, I've read a lot. Your characters are so realistic and believable, and you write emotional scenes really well!
"I mean, you write every scene really well, but I especially love the tender moments you write. Like the time in book 8 when Amber and Celia were confessing their feelings for each other. I'd always wanted them to be together and I was so happy when it was actually made canon! I almost cried. And the time where..."
She went on and on, gushing as she'd always done in the past. Only this time, instead of subjecting Weiss to her speeches, she was sharing her thoughts and feelings about her favorite book series with the author herself.
Blake told herself several times that she should probably stop talking, but she was just too excited, too thrilled.
And Yang kept smiling at her, nodding, and even blushing and chuckling a little bit. Whenever Blake stopped talking or apologized for ranting, Yang only smiled and shook her head.
"No, please! Keep going!" she'd insist. "I love hearing you talk about my work! It's really great! I can't believe you've thought about it so much!"
And so Blake would go on and on, her tea already long-since chilled as she gushed and ranted and said all the things she'd ever wanted to say about the books straight to her favorite author's face.
She only went on until one comment in particular put Yang over the edge.
"And I really love," Blake was saying. "How you're so inspired. And you always have been. Your story is incredible enough, and now you've written all of these popcorn novels that have made so many people smile..."
"Oh gosh..." Yang lifted both hands to her face to hide a very sudden rush of heat. "Blake, you're makin' me blush..."
And that was what reminded Blake of the fact that Yang was just another girl her own age (actually, Blake was a little older now). But by all accounts, Yang was still a young woman, and to have her work so highly praised and admired, even by one person, was immense enough to have her get flustered.
"I... I'm sorry," Blake mumbled, lowering her voice. "I d-didn't mean to overwhelm you. I talk too much when I get excited about your books..."
"No, no!" Yang squeaked. "Hey, don't go apologizing, gosh! You just keep making me happier and happier, I swear! You're the nicest gal ever, Blake! I gotta admit, I've always been flattered by your love of my work. I've seen every comment you've ever posted, read all your analysis on your blog, read every tweet you ever sent me... I'm really, really happy to finally meet you. You're a big sweetheart."
It was Blake's turn to blush and hide her face, this time behind the rim of her now-cold teacup.
"I just... really love your work... And you're my favorite person, too. I think you're really incredible, Yang..."
"Aw shucks, you're gonna make me blush all over again!"
"Sorry!"
"Don't be! That's not a bad thing!" Yang laughed.
Her grin was contagious, and Blake wondered if her own smile caused Yang's heart to skip a little just like Yang's did to hers.
Only now did she realize that she'd been sitting here across from Yang Xiao Long, talking to her for over an hour. Apparently, Yang just noticed the time, too.
"Well, Blake. It's been really great to meet you," she said. "I mean, really great. Seriously. I've probably been as excited to meet you as you were to meet me! But I actually gotta be somewhere soon..."
Blake straightened up right away.
"I understand you're probably really busy. Please, don't let me keep you."
"It's not you," Yang assured her. "To be honest, I'd love to stay here and chat you up all day, but I actually gotta head on home. My dad and I are taking Ruby to the aquarium today."
Blake wasn't sure why she'd thought Yang would be going to some kind of autograph signing event or something. She needed to remember that Yang was just another girl about her own age. She still lived at home with her father and little sister, and she had a normal life on top of her life as an author.
"That's really nice," Blake said softly. "I hope you guys have fun."
"Thanks!"
As Yang stood up, Blake did the same. To be honest, Blake was both amazed and proud of herself for actually having managed to remain somewhat composed throughout the encounter. She'd spoken rather normally after the initial stammer, enough to hold a real conversation with Yang.
"I should be thanking you," Blake told her. And Weiss. "Thank you for... for coming to meet with me today. You definitely made this the best birthday ever."
"Well~" Yang hummed. "How's about I make it a little better? I don't think you'd mind, right?"
From the handbag she'd been carrying on her shoulder, Yang pulled out a book. Blake's eyes widened as she realized it was the next book in line in her series, one that wasn't set to be released for a few weeks yet.
"Y-Yang! That's-"
"Not technically supposed to be out yet," she whispered. "So let's keep this our little secret, yeah?"
Blake nodded vigorously, covering her mouth with her hands so she wouldn't gasp or squeal out loud.
Yang opened the front cover of the brand new book and pulled out a pen. With her right hand, she signed it so neatly no one would've ever guessed it had been done by a prosthetic. When she'd finished, she handed the pristine book over to her biggest fan.
"It's all yours, Blake. Happy birthday. Heh, and whaddaya know? It's number 19, same age as you."
With trembling hands and tears in her eyes, Blake accepted the book. She admired the cover touched it gently, then pulled it to her chest.
"Thank you... Thank you so much... Oh gosh..."
"Believe me, it's my pleasure!" Yang admired the sight of her number one fan looking so indescribably happy. It made her heart swell with joy. "Say, Blake. Would you be okay with a hug? It's always kinda been a goal of mine to meet you and get to hug you. You're just the nicest gal."
Again, Blake knew it was a miracle she didn't faint.
"Y-Yes!" she gasped. "I-I'd love to... oh my god..."
"Easy now," Yang chuckled. "Just take a deep breath!"
Blake did as instructed and tried to calm herself down so she could savor the moment.
Yang opened her arms and pulled her in softly, wrapping her in a light, friendly embrace. Blake sobbed joyfully and thanked her again. At last, they pulled away, catching each other's gazes one last time.
"Thanks again, Blake," Yang told her. "I really appreciate all the support from you. I'm so glad I got to meet you in person. Really I am."
"Me, too," Blake sighed. "This... This was the best day of my life. I still can't believe it..."
"Don't think this is goodbye forever!" Yang said. "I live in town. I'm sure I'll see you around sometime!"
"Y...Yeah..."
"Happy birthday again, Blake! I'll catch you again sometime!"
And with a wink so quick Blake couldn't be entirely sure if she'd really seen it or not, Yang twirled around, dress and hair fluttering, and headed out of the coffee shoppe.
Blake stood there on wobbling legs, her tears finally starting to drip down.
She was so happy. So, so happy.
The book she was clutching over her chest was keeping her heart from bursting out with how happy she was.
It took her a few minutes to finally collapse back into her seat and send Weiss a text:
Please come get me so I can thank you properly.
As she waited for her friend to return, Blake marveled at the new book Yang had given her. With careful fingers, she opened up to the first page, where a handwritten note had been left for her:
Dear Blake, my #1 fan!
Thanks so much for all your support! It means a lot to me! I'm so glad to have you on board to support my dream! It was great meeting you! I feel we've started off our own little short story!
Best wishes and happy birthday,
Yang Xiao Long
And then, as if that note wasn't marvelous enough, Blake's eyes wandered down to one more line of text.
Or rather, numbers.
A phone number.
As soon as Weiss arrived to pick her up, Blake threw her arms around her and thanked her profusely for making the arrangements.
She slept over at Weiss' house that night, rambling and sobbing blissfully into her arms until she fell asleep.
A/N: I actually went over the intended word limit for this, and still it feels like it happened too quickly. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway! And I hope you liked my little Easter egg (character names Amber and Celia alluding to Ember Celica haha).
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