It is a cool, crisp autumn day. There is a slight breeze and only a few clouds sail across the sky. This peaceful weather will not last long, however. In a few hours' time, a nor'easter will blow through and last throughout the night and early morning. Best now to go out and enjoy the weather before huddling down at home. Among those that are seizing this opportunity are Blake and Yang.
The two young women enjoy their time at a little old, local café. They sit outside at a table, having a small, late lunch with each other. Blake reads one of her books while she nibbles on one of the many biscuits they have ordered as well as sipping down some earl grey tea. Yang, on the other hand, practically wolfs down a number of the baked goods. Her cup of hot chocolate she got is almost empty. Blake peers her eyes over the book, watching her fiancée chow dowtn.
"You better not fill yourself up on that or you won't be able to eat dinner. I thought you wanted to cook," Blake says.
Yang swallows what is in her mouth and brushes off some crumbs before speaking. "Come on, Blakey. These taste so amazing, I can't just have one!"
"Don't blame me if you can't finish your food tonight."
"I won't." Yang takes a sips of her hot chocolate, finishing the rest of it in a few gulps. "So, how was work today? I am guessing not much happened if you were able to leave early."
"Yes, there wasn't much to be done. Really all I had to do was attend a meeting, which was them just going over how everyone has been doing, and we were told about some cases and other problems that have begun to arise that we will need to take care of soon. After that we were allow to go home. Especially with the storm coming, no one really wants to be driving in bad weather."
"This is true. Honestly, I can't wait to start working. The bar still is getting touched up and what not but hopefully it will be running soon and be the hottest place in Vale."
"Please don't set the place on fire. I didn't save up and ask people for favor to get that place for you to torch it," Blake jokes.
A small grin forms on Yang's face as she plays along. "I'll do my best not too. No promises, though."
Blake only rolls her eyes. She is about to go back to her book when she hears a low rumble. Her cat ears perk up at the sound. Looking up she can see the once bright, blue sky begin to grey. The storm is looming and drawing close. It's early but at least it has given people a warning that it will be here soon before it unleashes its havoc of wind, electricity, and rain.
Another noise catches Blake's attention. She turns her head back at her future wife. Yang is clutching and rubbing her right arm, where skin meets metal. She is hissing through her teeth, sucking back the pain from the change in weather. Blake had notice Yang massaging it before, not taking much note in it knowing Yang just does that sometimes. Guess she was wrong.
Slowly, Blake reaches out for Yang's metal hand and squeezes the cold appendage, hoping that Yang can sense the feeling with her arm acting up the way it is.
"You okay?" She asks.
"I'm fine. Just stings a bit. Pins and needles. Nothing to worry about and nothing that I am not use to."
"You sure? You know that you can tell me anything, right?"
"I said I am fine, Blake," Yang says, a bit too defensively. "I know I can tell you anything but I am fine, honest."
Blake can sense Yang is not telling the truth. Her lilac eyes stay off to the side, pointed down at the ground below her. How she just spoke also gives it away that there is something she wants to keep hidden. Blake has noticed something has been bugging Yang for a couple of months now. There are times Yang zones out completely or only has half her attention on something. She also has become distant at times, wanting to be left alone. Could be just bad memories coming back up with the colder and darker weather or it can be something else.
Whatever the cause or causes may be, Blake knows not to push. It will only make Yang not want to tell even more. As long as it is not completely and negatively effecting her, that she is not on the verge of harming herself, there is no need to press for answers. Yang will come around and tell Blake her troubles when she is ready.
"Okay, Yang." Blake answers. She rubs her thumb against the top of Yang's hand. "How about we wrap the rest of the biscuits up and take them home? If the power goes out, at least there will be some more food that won't go back right away. That and I don't think either of us wants to be caught out in the rain and with that storm seeming to be arriving early, best we leave now."
Yang gives a small nod, still looking down. Blake gives another squeeze, which finally causes Yang to look up. She gives a soft smile to the blonde. Yang returns the favor before she waves over a waiter.
Night falls and the storm begins to rage on. Wind howls and roars as it moves through the kingdom, knocking down anything that stands in its way. Rain beats down against the ground and windows, rapidly tapping away as if it wants to be let into people's homes. To finish off the sympathy Mother Nature as composed, lighting illuminates everything in a bright, white light, while thunder fires off canons that echo and ripple through the air. This is only the start and there are no signs that it will be reaching its finale any time soon.
Sheltered in place in the safety of their home, Blake somehow is like a rock, unaffected by the storm. She lies motionless on the bed, only her light breathing and occasional twitch of her torn, left cat ear gives it away that she is deep in sleep—oblivious to the realm outside her own. Meanwhile, Yang is wide awake, watching the faunus peacefully sleep.
Being careful not to disturb Blake, Yang caresses her future wife's cheek, giving herself some comfort from the storm going on outside and the one that goes on inside of her body. Her mind is filled with so many thoughts she cannot keep up with them.
The nor'easter outside brings back to memories that have been burned into her heart and mind. The storm reminds Yang of when she was a small child and saw her mother for the last time, kissing and hugging her good-bye before disappearing into the dark rain. The other memory is much stronger.
With it still aching, Yang's bionic arm now rest on the other side of the room. The pain of her arm is a reminder of what happened all those years ago when she was a teen and the hate filled, fall out with Blake afterwards, all because she was blinded by rage. The thought consumes her mind.
Yang pulls her hand back and sighs. How can she tell Blake how she feels? It took so long to finally get to where they are now and Yang doesn't want to make her feel bad for what occurred all those years ago. Even though they made a promise with each other to keep few secrets between them, Yang does not want to re-open that old scar Blake has. But as their wedding day draws closer and closer, the stronger her own pain becomes and she fears she will not be able to hold it in much longer.
She knows that Blake would never intentionally harm her. She has proven time and time again she will fight tooth and nail to stay. However, Yang's fear still lingers and stays inside of her. Like a demon made out of shadows, some days Yang forgets it lives within. Then, it appears one day, staying close and always following her around. Right now it has its cold fingers wrapped around her heart and squeezes tightly.
Stop thinking like this Xaio Long. Blake won't leave again, she'll stay. You are over reacting and need to calm down. Blake is here…She is here and that is all that matters. No need for you to worry or for her to worry. Deep breath…
Yang repeats in her head to stay calm and relax her mind. She tells herself that it will be okay. It settles her down only a little but enough for sleep to begin creeping over her. Yang does not bother fighting it. Her body becomes heavy and darkness covers her eyes, bringing her into a restless slumber.
Yang does not know where she is. The place is pitch black; she can barely see her hands out in front of her. She squints, trying to get a better look at her surroundings. The outlines of her hands start to appear, followed some trees. Looking up Yang sees clouds moving away enough for pale moonlight to stream through for some yards' sight. Now with her vison clear Yang can see where she is. Right in the middle of a dense, eerie forest.
All the trees are dark and bare of any leaves. Their branches intertwine at the top, forming sharp and odd shadows down below. Looking at the bark of the trees, Yang can swear she can see them take faces with sharp teeth and evil eyes. Out in front of her is stony, dirt pathway just big enough for a signal person to walk through. Behind her is a fortress of trees, rocks, and bushes, forbidding her from stepping back. Her only choice is to move forward.
She starts her trek through the woods. The only sounds the fill the area are her own breathing and her feet crushing fallen twigs. There also is no other life another than hers here, as far as Yang can tell. She sees nothing to tell her otherwise. This place is like an endless loop. Everything looks the same and it seems to go on forever. Yang wonders if there is even an end to this path or if she is heading nowhere.
After walking around for who knows how long, the landscape changes. The trees start to part ways and the pathway becomes wider. Yang is brought into a large, circler opening. All the trees sit as the edge, glaring at Yang as she enters the clearing. Yang starts looks around, avoiding the imaginary stares she gets. At first she does not see anything or anyone, nothing to give her comfort. But then her eyes find something.
Standing with their back turned to Yang is a person. Wavy hair that curls at the ends reach down to their mid-back. There is a pair of dark cat ears on top of their head. Yang notices that the left one has been torn from a long ago fight.
"Bl-Blake?" Yang says. Why would she be out here all by herself? Her gut is telling her something is up. As Blake turns, it is confirmed things are not as they seem.
Blake has a large, unfriendly grin on her face and her eyes are cold. Shivers run down Yang's spine, the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and goosebumps form all over her arms. Never before has she seen Blake like this. Fear begins to grip Yang. She swallows a lump in her throat.
"Blake…" Yang repeats, "What are you doing out here?"
Blake does not answer, at least not with words. There is a slight chuckle from the faunus before she turns around and disappears into the other side of the thick woods.
"WAIT!" Yang shouts before booking it after Blake. "Where are you going?! STOP!"
Yang runs as fast as she can, trying to catch up to Blake but no matter how fast or hard she goes, Blake always stays ahead of her. Yang tries her hardest, though. Even as her legs start to ache and her lungs begin to burn, Yang still chases her. Nothing is making sense and everything has begun to confuse her. She needs answers…She needs Blake.
Something catches her foot, a root sticking out from the earth. Hard ground comes up at Yang. After her initial hit, Yang tumbles a few feet before stopping on her stomach. Yang groans and hiss through her teeth as pain rolls over her. For whatever reason her aura has failed to keep her safe. She can feel the stings of cuts and the discomfort of buries start to form all over her body. To make matters worse, when she struggles to her hands and feet she promptly falls back down when pain shoots from her foot throughout her body. Yang lets it passes before looks back. Her foot is twisted at an odd angle.
"Crap…" Yang mutters. She cannot move any farther, what does she do now? Blake is out of sight and now the forest has become even eerier as adrenaline pumps through her veins. She's all alone in the cold, dark forest. She is on the verge of crying.
A noise spooks her. Yang whips her head around and finds Blake has reappeared out from the shadows. She says or does nothing, only staring at her fallen partner, watching her.
"Why did you run, Blake? Why aren't you helping me? What are you doing?" Yang asks, tears in her eyes. Blake gives no answer. This only angers Yang. She curls her hands into fist and she grits her teeth. "Why are you doing this? Do you like seeing me in pain? You like watching me suffer and beg? What is your problem?"
This time she gets an answer. Blake, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, kneels down, placing one foot on Yang's bionic arm. She stares at Yang with those still cold, amber eyes before turning to whisper a single word in Yang's ear.
"You."
Before Yang can process the word in her mind, with unforeseen strength, Blake's foot adds more pressure. Suddenly, Yang's arm shatters. She lets out a blood curdling scream as the last of the nerves of the arm fire off into her body before dying. The tears in her eyes fall down, streaming down her face. She looks at Blake.
"Why?" Is all she asks. Once again, Blake is quiet. Yang watches the faunus step back into the forest, disappearing into the darkness, leaving Yang all alone again.
Blake eyes blink open. The storm outside still rages on, showing no signs of stopping any time soon. By the short intervals between the lightning and thunder, it is right on top of Vale. This isn't, however, what wakes her up. Storms are easy to sleep through once it just becomes ambient noise. What has disturbed her slumber is much more important.
Yang is mumbling something in her sleep. As Blake's vision clears from her own dreams, she notices Yang is clutching a ball of blankets tightly in her fist. Fear is written all over her face and beads of sweat have formed on her forehead, giving a slight shine when light fills the room. Blake can also feel heat radiating off of her fiancée, a side effect of her semblance and fright.
Blake pushes herself up on her elbows. She knows Yang is having a nightmare, a bad one at that. It has been some time since she was last awoken by Yang's dreams. The blonde does not thrash about or speak loudly in her sleep when her mind turns against her, unlike Blake herself. However, of course, the worse the dream, the more apparent it becomes to the outside world.
"Yang." Blake says in a soft voice, just loud enough to be heard. Yang does not respond. She only tightens her grip on the sheets and starts clutching her jaw.
"Yang, wake up." Blake places a hand on Yang's shoulder, giving her a slight shake. This finally rouses her.
Yang's eyes fly open, glowing a bright, crimson red, before she snaps up to attention. She clutches her chest as her heart pounds against her rip cage and she gasps for breath.
Blake does not do or say anything, letting Yang's brain return to her. She does not want to frighten Yang any more than she already is. A bolt of lightning brings Yang's mind back. She snaps her head towards the window on the wall before her still bright eyes land on the faunus.
"Blake?" Yang says.
"Yes, Yang. It's me." Blake moves closer to Yang and takes her hand in her own. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine. I'm fine…Just a bad dream, that's all."
Blake narrows her eyes. Whatever has plagued Yang's mind still lingers, it is written all over her face and she is shaking. Blake lets go of Yang's hand and place's them on her face. She gently begins rubbing her thumbs against Yang's cheeks.
"Can you look at me?" She asks. Yang listens and flicks her glowing red eyes up at Blake. "I know something is up. You have been acting off for a while now, I've notice you staring off a lot and just not being as chipper as usual. What's wrong?"
"Blake, it's nothing yo—"
"Stop." Blake sternly says, cutting Yang off. "I know you. You keep things bottled up inside of you. You stay quiet because you don't want to be a burden on others and would rather help them first than yourself. I also know that there will always be secrets between us, we can't possibly tell each other every signal aspect of our mind and body but please Yang, tell me what is wrong. I hate seeing you torturing yourself. So please tell me, I'm begging you."
Yang takes a moment to answer. She doesn't know what to say exactly. How can she tell Blake that why she has been acting differently is in part because of her? Even though unintentional, it has helped caused her mind to go wild. But she should know, she deserves not worry. Taking a deep breath, and looking down at the mattress, Yang releases her breath in a sigh and speaks. "I'm…I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
Yang squeezes her eyes shut, trying to think of how to tell Blake how she feels. "I'm afraid that you'll leave me again."
"Yang…"
"I know it's stupid and that you would never do something like that but I just…You know about Raven and my mom, and then the whole thing with Beacon and what occurred after that. And after seeing what happened to my father, losing both of his loves and being so broken, I feared that would happen to me. That once I'd open my heart to someone, they would smash it and leave me all alone. And…it did happen." Yang voices begins to crack and tears begin to stream down her face. Her breathing becomes harsh and small hiccups come out of her as she lets everything she has bottled up over the past few months pour out of her.
"I-hic-just don't want to be hurt again but I know it's my own damn abonnement issues. It's my own stupid, irrational fear that is making me think such things. But as the wedding day draws closer and closer, it just gets worse and worse. The more-hic-the more I think about it the more intense it becomes. For every happy outcome I think of, there is a worst case scenario that pushes it aside. "I'm sorry Blake. I'm so-hic -sorry for thinking such things. I try not to but I can't help it and I feel so bad for thinking you would do something like-hic-that. That you won't come back. I'm so sorry."
"Shh-Shh," Blake wraps her arms around Yang, bringing her close to her body. Yang buries her face in the crook of Blake's neck, letting herself be overcome with cries and shivers. Blake begins rubbing her fiancée back, trying to bring her some sort of comfort. "It's okay, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. There is nothing to be afraid of."
"I know but…but I can't help it."
"I understand, Yang. It's okay. You know that it's unreasonable but you are telling me it. I swore that I would always be with you, that I would do everything in my power to keep that promise after leaving you all those years ago. I'm not going to go back on my word. Just take a few deep breathes and relax a little."
Yang listens. She takes large breathes, calming her shaking body and giving some clarity to her mind. Once Yang has become relatively composed again, Blake lifts her up to face her again. She sees that Yang's eyes have returned to their normal hue. Blake wipes some tears away and places a kiss on Yang's forehead.
"It's okay to be afraid, it's okay to worry. You've been through so much and pushed through it all. You've broken and fallen but have gotten back on your feet all the time even if it takes you awhile some days. I can't blame you for what you think. If it makes you feel better, if things somehow don't work out between us, I promise to always be by your side still, I will always be a part of your life whether it be as your wife or just a friend. I hope to god that the latter doesn't happen but if things come up, we do what we are doing now. Communicate. We will talk about what is wrong and what is bothering us and work through it. We will make sure that nothing splits up and I swear to you I will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Okay?"
Yang sniffs back some tears and flashes a small smile. "Thank you, Blake. I needed to hear that even if I know none of what I think is true. Thank you."
"Anytime, Yang. I'm always here if you need me."
Yang nods before nestling herself back into Blake's arms, not wanting to leave the comforting scent of her oatmeal infused soap on her skin and the warmth of her body. Taking the hint, Blake manages to rest back on the bed with Yang still wrapped in her arms. Neither women let's go of each other as they slowly drift back into sleep. Before she allows sleep to take over her tired body, Yang whispers, "I love you, Blakey."
"I love you too, Yang." Blake replies. She waits for Yang to drift back to sleep and to make sure that she is not about to have another nightmare before joining her in slumber.
Few Months Later
Yang half listens to the priest talking by her. She is fidgeting from her itchy, golden dress she wears but also at this moment laid out in front of her. Soon, she and Blake will finally be one. Yang cannot keep her eyes off of her almost wife. Blake adorns a black dress with sparkles that shine like the stars in space. She also wears one of her dark, silky ribbons to tie back her hair into a braid. Yang can feel her hand becoming clammy and her stomach filling with thousands of butterflies.
She finds it hard to read how Blake feels. Even after all these years, Blake still easily puts on a calm face but Yang knows that she must be just as nervous. She also sees her golden eyes are filled with joy and happiness. The more this moment goes gone, the more perfect it becomes.
Finally, Yang hears the priest ask her if she takes Blake as her wife.
"I do," Yang answers, smiling wide. The priest looks at Blake and asks her the same question.
"I do. And I also promise never to leave her as long as I can fight," Blake adds on as a slight reassurance for Yang. The blonde mouths a 'thank you'.
"You may now kiss," The priest says.
Neither Blake or Yang hesitate. Both wrap their arms around each other, pulling the kiss closer. When they finally break away, Yang rests her forehead on Blake's. Overcome by the warm feeling of joy, small lines of tears fall down her face. Blake chuckles when she sees this.
"You dork. Why am I not surprised you're crying?"
"You're one to talk." Yang reaches up and wipes away some tears that have appeared on Blake's cheek. "You know that this makes you just as big as a dork as I am."
"I didn't even realize I was doing that. I guess I'm just overwhelmed by everything."
"I know how you feel. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. This is one of the happiest moments of my life."
"Ditto."
The two lock lips with each other once more. They stay in each other's embrace for a longer time, not wanting this to end. Any inkling fear Yang has inside of her is pushed far back into her mind. Blake's reassurance and how this moment plays perfectly in front of her rids her of any dark thoughts and replaces them with hopeful ones.
As they let go of each other, Yang suddenly lifts Blake up, cradling her in both arms. Blake gasps before grinning and laughing. Yang's own smile grows as she begins carrying her new wife down the aisle to start their next chapter in life together.