An AU oneshot. Mostly centered around Yang and her journey into becoming an adult with a side bumblebee. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Not the characters, not the show, nothing.
Yang doesn't really remember her real mum. She had left soon after Yang was born and there had been no contact from her since then.
But that's okay because Summer is a pretty cool mum. She bakes awesome cookies and she knits the best scarves ever and Yang gets to boast to her friends at nursery because she's the only four year old with her own, specially knitted scarf. Summer is warm and kind and really nice to cuddle with when Yang's feeling sleepy. She tells the coolest bedtime stories and because she's really smart, she can answer all of Yang's questions.
Summer calls Yang her 'little bee' because Yang's favourite colour is yellow and she always runs around loudly in the house like a bumblebee.
But best of all, she makes Yang feel special; she tells her that her hair is really pretty and that she's the smartest kid she's ever seen. When Yang is with Summer, she doesn't ever feel lonely or sad or unwanted.
Also, her Dad's finally starting to smile again so that's another plus.
Yang has noticed that Summer's stomach has gotten really big and round. Dad told her that it's because she's going to become a big sister soon. She finds the news super exciting. She could play with her little sister, eat cookies together with dad and Summer and have fun and be a big, happy, family.
See? She's doing fine without her real mum.
Because Summer is an awesome (better) mum and she makes the best cookies ever. With Summer as her mum, the house is always filled with laughter and every day is fun and exciting.
Yang bets that her real mum probably didn't even know how to bake any cookies and she probably didn't know how to knit really cool scarves.
And Yang bets that she probably didn't make Dad smile and laugh nearly as much as Summer does.
000
When Ruby Rose is born, Yang stares at the crying baby with a childlike wonder. She looks so small in dad's arms but her voice is so loud. Staring at Ruby makes Yang feel all weird and warm and tingly inside, but in a good sort of way. Dad lets her hold Ruby's hand and when the baby's soft, tiny hand wraps itself around her thumb, she finds herself gasping in awe. Ruby kind of looks like Summer and Yang is immediately smitten with her little sister.
Lying in the hospital bed, Summer is smiling the brightest smile Yang has ever seen. She's covered in sweat and her face is red but Yang thinks that she's the prettiest mum in the entire universe because she's looking at them (dad, Yang and baby Ruby) with absolute happiness and warmth and love in her eyes.
And Dad, gosh, is crying and crying and he just won't stop. But he's not crying in the sad kind of way; he's crying in the happy kind of way. Even a four year old girl like Yang can tell.
But through his tears, he's still smiling really widely and Yang doesn't think she's ever seen dad so happy and content
Yang smiles too because both Dad and Summer are smiling.
They're smiling, they're happy and they're content. And together, they are a family.
She hopes that they can stay this way forever.
000
Yang finally starts to call Summer 'Mum' and it feels perfect.
000
Ruby is nearly one year old now and she's already crawling around the house. Dad always tries to catch her but every time she's caught, Ruby simply wriggles out of Dad's arms and starts crawling again.
She's really fast and Mum calls her a 'speedy little monster'. She even knitted Ruby a red blanket with the nickname engraved on it. Ruby's really attached to it and won't go to sleep until she's clutching the blanket in her hands and chewing on the corner with her tiny little teeth.
Both Dad and Mum adore Ruby.
At first, Yang had been jealous because she had felt that baby Ruby was stealing all the love and attention away from her. She was scared that Dad and Mum wouldn't love her anymore now that they had a new, cute baby. She was afraid that they would leave her, just like her real mum had left her. But Mum had pulled her into the warmest hug and had told her that she loved her babies equally no matter what and would never abandon any of them. Mum's voice had been so warm, genuine and full of conviction that Yang kind of feels silly for having been thinking that way.
Now, instead of playing with her friends from school, she plays with Ruby instead. She pulls funny faces and retells her favourite bedtime stories. Ruby always listens in silence with wide eyes. Yang's pretty sure that Ruby doesn't really understand what's she saying but it's still nice to know that her little sister likes bedtime stories just as much as Yang does. She lets Ruby crawl over her belly and she even lets Ruby pull her hair and her cheeks. Sometimes it hurts but that doesn't matter when her baby sister is giggling and smiling so adorably. When they go outside, Mum sometimes lets Yang push the pram. It's hard though, because the handle is just barely within her reach and she has to stretch her arms really high to hold the handle.
Mum tells her that she's an awesome older sister. It gives Yang a sense of pride and she promises Mum that she'll always take care of Ruby.
000
Ruby can walk now. She walks really slowly and wobbles a lot but it's a big progress and Yang feels really proud of her sister. When Ruby took her first step, both dad and Mum had been there. Yang had been sleeping in her room so she had missed the big moment and she had been very disappointed the next morning. But she giggled when Mum told her that dad had been crying and nearly squishing poor Ruby to death with his hug.
Ruby is now walking towards Yang with a cute smile and Dad and Mum are watching from the side.
When Ruby reaches her, she tries to pull her sister into her lap but the baby wriggles out of her grasp and crawls away. But then, something amazing happens.
Ruby lifts a chubby finger and vaguely points in Yang's direction. She's smiling and gurgling, making baby noises until suddenly, she shouts, "Aang!"
Yang's eyes grow wide with wonder as she turns to ask Mum if Ruby had just said her first word. Mum nods and smiles warmly. Yang turns back to Ruby with an ear splitting grin and she scoops Ruby into her arms and starts to gently tickle her baby sister. Ruby wildly flails her arms and legs, giggling and shouting Yang's name again and again. The way Ruby says her name isn't quite right but it doesn't stop Yang from feeling like happiest girl in the whole wide world.
000
Yang finds out that going to a primary school is completely different from going to a nursery or a playgroup. Now that she's seven years old, she has to start properly learning about older kids' stuff, like history, English writing, religious studies and all that. It sounds complicated and scary but Mum tells her that she'll be fine because she's a smart kid.
She has her own backpack to carry books and stationaries around and it's yellow to match her hair. She's wearing the school uniform: white polo shirt, red jumper, grey skirt, white socks and a pair of new, shiny black school shoes. She had been extremely excited when she had tried on her (first ever!) school uniform the night before and had even begged her Dad to let her go to bed with it still on. Of course, he had refused and she had been forced to change into her pyjamas.
She looks out of the car window and grins when she sees the school building slightly ahead of them. There are already lots of kids standing with their parents in front of the school gates and everyone seems to be just as excited as she is. She bounces up and down in her seat and as soon as the car comes to a stop, she quickly opens the door and dashes out of her Dad's car. Her Dad comes out and gives her a kiss on her forehead before waving goodbye.
Yang follows the other kids into the school building and as soon as they enter, a kind looking lady is waiting for them near the school's reception desk. She leads them into the hall where they're all given a coloured name tag. There are four different colours (Red, Yellow, Blue and Green) and all the kids with the same colour are in the same class. Yang has a red nametag and although she's slightly disappointed that she didn't get yellow, she's still happy with what she got.
All the kids with a red nametag sit in a circle and soon, a young looking woman joins their circle with a small smile. She has wavy dark brown hair and bright eyes. She introduces herself as Miss Fall. She doesn't smile at them warmly; her smile is more like a smirk and she intimidates a lot of the kids but Yang strangely finds herself liking her teacher.
Miss Fall gives them time to talk to each other. Immediately, everyone starts bunching up into small groups and starts to talk amongst themselves. Yang doesn't join any group though, because she wants to be friends with everyone, not just a set of people. So she jumps from one group to another, introducing herself and making lots of new friends. When she's done going around all the groups, she decides to look around the hall to see what everyone else is doing. All the other classes are doing the same thing and everyone seems to be really excited and hyper.
Except for one girl.
Yang focuses on the blue class and the girl who seems to be separated from everyone else in her class. Yang is immediately drawn to the girl's shoulder length black hair and her intelligent amber eyes. The girl doesn't seem too upset that no-one is talking to her. In fact, she seems to be ignoring anyone trying to speak to her by avoiding eye contact and shying away from attempts at conversation. Yang is immediately intrigued because she's never seen anyone who doesn't like to make friends before. She can't think of any reason why someone wouldn't want friends. Friends are fun to talk to and play with and friends look after one another. Friends make you smile and laugh. Having friends mean that you're not alone. Friends are a great thing to have.
Yang wonders if the girl is just really shy.
Maybe, if that's the case, she could friends with the girl. Yang doesn't have any problems with talking to shy people and she's good at making people smile. She would be an awesome friend.
As if sensing the fact that she is being watched, the girl looks up and meet's Yang's gaze. Yang flashes a friendly smile and waves cheerfully at the girl. But she frowns slightly when the girl quickly looks away without waving back.
Miss Fall gathers everyone and starts leading them out of the hall. Yang tries to catch another glimpse of the mysterious girl but she gives up when her eyes take in the sea of black haired kids within the crowd.
She thinks that it would have been nice to at least learn the girl's name.
000
Yang doesn't see the girl again until a month later.
During the month, Yang had quickly become everyone's favourite person to talk to and is already considered to be the most popular girl in her class and even possibly the entire year. She is always smiling and looks out for everyone. When someone has forgotten their pencils, Yang lends them her own; when someone has spilled their lunch, she gives them a portion of her lunch that Mum had woken up early in the morning to make; when someone is crying, she approaches them and gives them a hug. She even freely chats with the intimidating Miss Fall, a feat that no one in the class had ever had the courage to do.
So naturally, everyone is drawn to her like bees to a flower and she finds it impossible to feel lonely with so many people constantly surrounding her. (Which she doesn't mind because feeling lonely sucks.)
She's been having so much fun settling into her new environment and getting to know her class that she had completely forgotten about the existence of the mysterious, black haired girl she had made eye contact with on the first day.
But as Yang makes her way towards a group of friends, she sees shoulder length black hair and intelligent amber eyes. She immediately stops in her tracks, her minding flashing back to the first day of school. The girl is still sitting alone, in the corner of the playground and away from everyone else. She's sitting on a bench with a book in her hands and Yang notices that no one is trying to talk to her anymore. Everyone is ignoring her, pretending that she doesn't exist and for some reason, Yang feels a small surge of anger rising in her chest. She wonders if the girl hadn't made a single friend since the beginning of school.
Just then, four boys approach the girl and one of them plucks the book out of her hands. Despite the girl being half way across the playground, Yang almost hears the soft, startled gasp as the girl snaps her head up to stare at the group of boys towering over her. The tallest boy –Cardin Winchester- waves the book around carelessly in the air and sneers as the girl tries to get it back. The other three boys are laughing and calling names.
Everyone is scared of the boys and they're pretending that nothing is wrong. Yang can't help but feel disgusted at her so-called nice and caring friends are simply turning their heads away from the blatant bullying. They don't even have enough courage to go to a teacher for help.
Yang frowns and runs over to the four boys. She approaches Cardin and shoves the boy roughly, causing him to lose his balance and land on his butt. He gives a cry of pain and Yang takes this chance to snatch the book from his hand. The boys are about to retaliate but Yang threatens to call Miss Goodwitch and they're at least smart enough to take the warning and run off.
Yang turns her attention to the girl and offers her the book whilst briefly thinking that it's pretty thick for being a children's book. The girl is staring at her with cautious eyes as she takes back her book and holds it close to her chest.
"Are you okay?" Yang asks because the girl seemed pretty upset earlier.
The girl continues to stare at Yang before answering, "I'm fine." Her voice is quiet but it's firm and steady; each syllable is spoken clearly. In fact, Yang is surprised at how unaffected the girl seems to be, considering what had just happened a few minutes ago. Most kids would be considerably upset but this girl is strangely calm and unflinching. There's a hidden strength behind those amber eyes and Yang finds herself silently admiring it.
"Thank you," the girl says, after a long stretch of silence.
Yang doesn't know whether it was said to simply fill the silence or because the girl is truly thankful but she grins back nonetheless. "I'm glad your book is okay," she says. "My name's Yang. What's yours?"
The girl hesitates for a second before answering. "Blake," she replies quietly, her eyes slightly downcast.
Yang's grin stretches wider because she finally knows the girl's name: Blake. Yang thinks the name suits the girl perfectly.
"Blake? That's a cool name," Yang compliments. She sits next to Blake on the bench and turns her head to smile at the dark haired girl. "Hey, Blake, wanna be friends?"
Blake's expression morphs into a one of surprise as she darts her eyes to stare at Yang. But instead of saying anything in response, she averts her eyes to the opposite direction. Before Yang can prompt Blake for a confirmation, the bell rings and Blake quickly walks away.
Yang stares after the dark haired girl, feeling disappointed that Blake hadn't said yes. But she quickly brightens up when she reminds herself that Blake hadn't exactly said no either.
000
The next day, Yang wakes up impossibly early and bounces into her parents' room. They're going on a school trip to the big zoo in the middle of the city and Yang is really excited since she's never been before.
Dad is grumpy as he wakes up and Mum gently shushes her when she talks a bit too loud because Ruby is still sound asleep. When both her parents finally get out of bed, she quickly rushes to the bathroom where she washes her face and brushes her teeth.
In the kitchen, she scoffs down her breakfast too quickly and starts to choke on her cereal.
Mum reaches over and pats her gently on the back and gives her a glass of water.
"Woah, little bee, slow down. If you get sick, you won't be able to go to the zoo will you?" Mum says with an amused smile.
Yang pouts because she knows it's true but she can't help but be really excited. She slows down though because she doesn't want to risk the chance of missing the trip.
After breakfast, Dad drives her to school where two coaches are waiting in the driveway. Already, there's a large group of kids standing in small circles and excitedly chatting with each other. Out of the car window, she spots Blake standing to the side, all alone.
"Remember, always stick with the teacher and never go off on your own. Be on your best behaviour and-"
"And never follow strangers. Yes, I know dad," Yang says, her eyes periodically flicking to Blake outside the car.
Dads sighs and smiles at Yang. "Alright. Have fun darling," he says. Yang nods and quickly hurries out of the car. Carefully weaving through the crowd, she runs to Blake and taps the girl on the shoulder.
"Heya, Blake! Can I sit next to you on the coach?" she asks cheerfully.
Blake gives a small, startled jump before turning and frowning at Yang. "Wouldn't other people want to sit next to you?" she asks.
Yang pauses and cocks her head to the side. "Yeah… but I want to sit next to you. So? Can I?"
"I..." Blake starts, her frown slowly disappearing. "I guess you can."
This immediately earns Blake a blinding smile from Yang. "Cool! We're going to be the bestest friends ever!"
The smile she receives in return is hesitant and awkward but it's a smile nonetheless and Yang counts that as a victory. Somewhere in the crowd, a teacher loudly calls everyone to line up and Yang takes this as her cue to grab Blake's hand and drag her towards the front.
"Come on, let's hurry up and get to the front. We can sit in the front seats if we're quick enough!" Yang says to Blake.
Blake doesn't say anything but her approving, although reluctant, nod alone is enough to brighten up Yang's day and make her smile from ear to ear.
On the coach, they end up taking the front seats and spend the whole trip looking out of the front window and playing 'I spy'. Blake wins by a landslide since she knows all sorts of difficult words that Yang doesn't even know how to pronounce. Usually, she's very competitive and hates losing but with Blake, she's surprised to find that she doesn't care.
At the zoo, they end up in the same group so they stick together for the rest of the trip. Their supervisor is Miss Fall and her comments about the lions eating naughty children is enough to silence the kids and cause them to stand at least few meters away from dangerous looking animals.
But Blake is different. She loves all the animals and her eyes sparkle every time she looks at one. She especially seems to love the black panthers and lingered around the cage for at least five minutes. Yang also likes the black panthers because they remind her of Blake. Their black fur reminds Yang of Blake's hair and their eyes resemble Blake's intelligent amber eyes- always alert and wary of their surroundings.
When she shares this particular thought with Blake during lunch, she's awarded with a soft laugh from the black haired girl. It's the first time Yang sees Blake so open and happy and the fact that she's the only one in school who has seen this side of Blake makes her feel warm and proud inside.
"Well I thought the monkeys resembled you – loud, lively and silly," Blake says with a smile but it immediately slips off her face and she looks away, face flushed.
Yang frowns at the curious display. Friends teased and insulted each other all the time so it didn't really bother her at all. If anything, it made her happy that Blake felt comfortable enough with her to start a light banter. But seeing Blake's reaction, Yang thinks that maybe Blake is insecure and not familiar with how friendships work. She remembers Mum telling her that not everyone is comfortable with themselves as she is and some people need a lot of reassuring.
So she gently takes Blake's hand and squeezes comfortingly. "I get that a lot," she says with a casual shrug, enough to tell Blake that she didn't take any offence from the comment.
They settle into a comfortable silence. It's something that Yang is not too used to but she thinks that it's kind of nice and relaxing with Blake. Slowly, but surely, she feels Blake tightening her grip and shuffling closer.
They're getting weird looks from some of the other kids but Yang doesn't care. She really doesn't.
000
Five months later and they're practically inseparable.
By now, everyone has stopped inviting Yang to hang out with them but she's fine with that if it means spending time with Blake.
Blake had noticed and tried several times to distance herself from Yang but she never succeeds. Yang never lets her.
Now that they've become close friends, Yang had seen many sides of Blake and has learnt many things about her friend, up to every trivial detail. Blake isn't really good at speaking to people, especially if she's never met them before. But when it comes to expressing her opinions, she uses lots of words and can be very expressive. She's pretty passionate about animal rights and is a vegetarian. (She can't be vegan though because she likes milk way too much.) Blake loves to read books; it can be about anything – history, science, fiction- and she absorbs knowledge like a sponge. She enjoys listening to calm and relaxing music and she's really flexible. She's mostly quiet and reserved but has her quirky side sometimes comes out to tease Yang with really witty comments. Her favourite colours are black and purple. She admitted to liking yellow as well and hearing this caused Yang to grin like a fool for the rest of the day.
These things aren't even scratching the surface of the mystery that is Blake but Yang is happy enough to be allowed to continue to find out and explore.
000
One Friday after school, she invites Blake to her house for a sleepover.
Blake tries to come up with excuses but by now, Yang is experienced enough to know when her friend is lying and when she's not.
In the end, she manages to convince Blake to come over with a well-placed bribe and her best puppy eyes that Blake always seems to fall for.
Blake promises to come to Yang's house by 5pm and they go their separate ways.
At home, Yang quickly finishes her homework and waits for Blake to come. The hour hand has reached 4 a long time ago and just as the minute hand reaches 12, the doorbell rings. Yang would be shocked at the scarily precise punctuality if she hadn't already known that Blake was kind of a perfectionist about being on time and taking responsibilities.
She rushes downstairs in excitement and finds Mum greeting a fidgeting Blake in the doorway. She notices the constant shifting of her friend's eyes and her stiff shoulders and realises that Blake's feeling nervous. Yang puts on her best happy grin and waves at Blake enthusiastically. Immediately, Blake's shoulders relax and a small smile settles on her face as she finally meet's Summer's eyes and quietly says thank you for having her over. From Summer's huge, warm smile, Yang can already tell that her Mum approves of Blake.
She quickly pulls Blake upstairs to her room where to change into their pyjamas. First, they watch a movie about a hero saving his village from invasion and when they finish, they move onto video games. After a while, Blake notices the chess board on Yang's game shelf and quickly abandons her controller to take it out and challenge Yang to a game. Although Yang is actually pretty good at chess, she loses badly against Blake. As a punishment for losing three times in a row, Blake draws thick moustaches below Yang's nose and tells Yang to read with her before going to bed.
Yang agrees but only on the condition that Blake reads out loud, otherwise she would have a hard time keeping up with Blake's reading speed.
At dinner, Blake initially shies away from conversation but eventually opens up and smiles naturally as she talks to Yang's parents across the table. Ruby, who is now three years old, giggles happily at the new addition to the dinner table and climbs onto Blake's lap after finishing her dinner. She talks Blake's ear off in incoherent words but Blake doesn't seem to mind at all. When Yang goes up to read Ruby her bed time story, Ruby demands for Blake. When Yang tells this to Blake, she can see that her friend is surprised but pleased. Blake enters Ruby's room and at the little girls' insistence, reads the bed time story.
Yang should feel hurt that she had been replaced but she doesn't. She's just happy that both her parents and her younger sister love Blake almost as much as she does.
Almost because she's pretty sure that nobody loves Blake as much as her.
Once Ruby's asleep, they go back to Yang's room and climb into the bed. Blake brings out a book from her bag and reads it steadily in her calm voice as they snuggle beneath the warm covers.
During the middle of chapter 6, Yang falls asleep with her arms around Blake's torso.
000
Five years pass and they enter secondary school. They had taken the eleven plus exam as well as the English and Maths exams for the same school and they both passed. They're still best friends and as close as ever. They've had their fights now and then but nothing had lasted long. Yang could never be angry at Blake for a long period of time and she generally sucked at holding grudges anyway. Since their first sleepover, Blake had been welcomed by Yang's family and started to visit frequently. She was practically a part of their family now, to the point where she was given a spare set of keys to the house.
But during the five years of their friendship, Yang had never been invited to Blake's house. Whenever she had tried to bring up the subject, Blake would always change the topic or evade the question. It was the same whenever she tried to talk about Blake's family. Eventually, Yang came to the conclusion that Blake was purposely avoiding the topic of her family and was uncomfortable by the subject. But as much as she was curious about the reason behind Blake's odd behaviour, Yang didn't push for information. Blake would tell her when she was ready.
Days passed and they adjusted to their new school. They are older now and are expected to be more responsible. There are a lot more subjects to learn but other than that, Yang finds that secondary school isn't all that different to primary school.
Life has once again become a routine. They go to school, sit through morning lessons, eat lunch, sit through afternoon lessons and go home. They always take the bus together and Blake always follows Yang to her house and stays there for a few hours before heading back to her own house.
Before they know it, they're already sixteen and busy preparing for big exams.
Today, it's raining really heavily outside and the sky is a sombre grey. It's a Friday afternoon anyway so Yang convinces Blake to sleep over.
It's near midnight when Yang is pulled away from her dreams by sounds of choked sobs. She groggily opens her eyes and reaches blindly to turn on the bedside lamp. When the light is on and she turns to look at Blake, she is alarmed to see tears streaking down her best friend's face.
"Hey, hey, it's just a dream," she whispers soothingly, reaching to gently rub Blake's back. She continues this motion until she feels Blake stirring and waking up.
"Yang?" Blake calls out, her voice thick with fatigue.
Yang hums, wrapping Blake into a warm hug. "Bad dream?" she asks softly. She feels Blake burrowing her face under her chin before nodding. They stay in that position for a few minutes, neither speaking nor making any noise.
Eventually, Blake speaks up. "My parents are going to divorce," she says, her voice quiet and slightly trembling. Yang tightens her embrace, silently encouraging and reassuring the girl. They don't need words to convey their feelings. Blake takes a shuddering breath. "They've always been arguing and shouting. I tried to drown out the noise but it would always reach my ears, even if I was buried under my covers. Dad's been drinking a lot and mum's always busy with her work. They always argue about me and now they're going to divorce."
Yang feels her heart breaking for her friend. Now she knows why she's never been invited to Blake's house and why Blake seems to enjoy spending time at Yang's house more than her own. She doesn't pretend to know what it must have been like since her own parents are the most loving couple in the world and rarely raises their voice in the presence of Yang and Ruby.
"Blake…" she says, unsure of how to continue. What do you say to that? No amount of 'I'm sorry' could make it better.
"Can we just… can we just stay like this and not say anything? Just for tonight," Blake asks, her voice desperate and pained. Yang has never seen Blake like this and she hates how helpless she is. She wants to take away her friend's pain but there's nothing she can do other than to be constantly there for Blake and support her in the best way she can.
Yang closes her eyes. "Of course. Anything for you."
000
The divorce is swift and Blake remains living with her mum.
When she comes over to Yang's house and cries in her arms for the last time, Yang thinks to herself, God, I love her.
The realization does not seem earth shattering or eye opening. It feels natural and obvious. Yang wonders how she's been blind to it for so many years. Some may say sixteen is a young age to fall in love but Yang doesn't agree. She just knows that Blake is the one. There's not going to be anyone else.
000
For Yang's seventeenth birthday, Mum buys her a motorbike. It's a mixture of vibrant shades of yellow and orange with alluring black streaks. Yang is beyond ecstatic (she has wanted one forever) and fawns over her new bike for hours. Ruby, who is now nearly thirteen (thirteen!), begs to be taken on rides and Yang promises that she will sometime soon.
She eventually decides to name her bike 'bumblebee'. When Ruby comments that the colours remind her of a bumblebee and how Mum used to call (and sometimes still does) Yang 'my little bee', she just knows that it's the perfect name for her beloved bike.
000
They're eighteen and five months away from applying for university.
Blake's relationship with her mum has improved by leaps and bounds ever since the divorce and Yang is all too happy to see her best friend smiling so frequently. Blake still comes over to her house almost every day and her mum also comes along for dinner from time to time. Blake's mum and Yang's parents have become great friends and having dinner together is like a big family gathering. Someday, Yang hopes that they can truly and legally be a family for real. It's a long way away and Yang hasn't even confessed her feelings but she has hopes that it will one day come true.
So it seems like a cruel, twisted joke when she is called to the school office and told that her Mum has been involved in an accident and has passed away. A police officer explains that some kid had chased after a ball into the middle of the road and would have died if it hadn't been for her Mum shielding him with her own body. The officer then talks about how brave her Mum was and how thankful the kid's parents are but Yang doesn't hear any of the words.
The words 'Summer Rose…car accident…passed away' just continues to repeat again and again inside her head until she properly registers what's going on.
Her Mum is dead. Gone. Never coming back.
There is no pain and there are no tears of sadness. Everything is just numb and Yang doesn't think she feels anything.
Oh god, Ruby and Dad.
She wants to cry for them. If not for herself, she wants to cry for her Dad and her little sister who both adores Mum no less than Yang does. But in the end, she cannot cry. No matter how hard she tries, she just can't seem to produce any tears.
She sits silently in the back of the car as Dad comes to pick her up. She doesn't talk and neither does her Dad. They both stay in complete silence with an air of thick tension looming above their heads. Yang notices that Dad is not crying either. Somehow, she understands. Probably not for the first time, Yang recognises just how similar she and her Dad are.
She immediately locks herself in her room and sits on the floor with her back against the door. Her phone buzzes and she listlessly checks the caller ID. Her heart clenches in her chest when she sees 'Blakey' with a smiley face and a picture of them pulling funny faces in the background. She slowly cuts off the call and clutches her phone tightly in her hand. After a few seconds, it buzzes again but this time, it's a message. Yang unlocks her phone and reads the message.
Blakey: Are you okay? I heard you were called during your lesson. You don't have to tell me over the phone if you don't feel like it. Can I come over today or do you want to be alone? It's okay if you don't want me to come.
Yang slowly types back a message.
Yang: Not today.
She hesitates before sending the message. As soon as the message was read, she immediately receives a reply.
Blakey: Okay. You can talk to me later. Hope you feel better soon.
Yang reads the last message over and over again and she soon finds her vision being blurred by tears. For the first time since she's received the news of her Mum's accident, she lets herself cry.
000
The funeral is a few weeks later. Blake and her mum found out the day after the accident and they've helped to plan for the funeral seeing that Yang's Dad was too emotionally wrecked to properly function. Ruby hasn't been speaking since she's been told and rarely comes out of her room. Meals are less frequent and when it does happen, they eat in silence.
As they lower Summer Rose's body into the ground, Yang feels Blake reaching out and grasping her hand. Yang's Mum has always been like a second mum to Blake so it's understandable that her best friend would be just as upset. Yang interlocks their fingers and silently squeezes their hands.
000
It's a month after Summer's death and Yang's grades are already dropping. She hasn't been on her bike as it brings way too much painful memories. Dad has been shutting himself in his study and Ruby's always in her room or at a friend's house. Their family has turned into a mess in the span of a month and Yang has no idea how to fix it. How can she attempt to help her family when she herself is a total wreck? She's been pushing Blake away for a while and has started getting into fights with the neighbourhood kids. She sometimes ditched school and stayed out late.
Sometimes, she wonders how things would be if the kid hadn't chased after the ball. Then her mum would still be alive and her family wouldn't be such a mess. Other times, she feels irrationally angry at everything. She's angry that the kid ran after the ball in the freaking road. She's angry at the kid's parents who couldn't even look after their one child. She's angry at the driver who couldn't stop in time. She's angry at the doctors who failed to save her Mum's life. She takes out the anger through violence and once it's over, she feels angry at herself for getting into fights and being such a mess.
She knows that Blake is worried about her. She knows and she feels guilty but she doesn't know how to stop worrying her best friend. She doesn't know how to ask for help. Yang doesn't want to face Blake and show her how ugly she was on the inside. What if Blake decides that Yang is not worth her time and leaves? The mere thought terrifies her out of her mind. She can't lose another person who she loves with all her heart.
She feels as if her life is spiralling out of control and she has no idea how to stop it.
000
Her salvation comes in the form of a very angry teenage girl.
For the first time in a while, Yang is alone with Blake and before she can even give an excuse as to why she should leave, a hard slap is delivered to her cheek.
She's been in many fights so this level of pain doesn't even register but it's what she sees that strikes the dead centre of her heart and breaks her already broken heart into tiny little pieces. Blake, her best friend and the person she's in love with, is furious. Her amber eyes are blazing with anger but they are also wet with unshed tears. There's a slight, almost unnoticeable tremble in her hand. And before Yang can comprehend what's going on, she's swept into a tight embrace.
"Blake…?" she calls out hesitantly.
She feels Blake's arms tightening around her waist. "What have you been doing for the past month? You've made me sick with worry. Why didn't you come to me? Aren't we…best friends?" There's an almost inaudible crack in her voice as she asks her last question.
Yang closes her eyes and melts into the embrace. It's warm and it feels safe and she forgets all her troubles when she's holding Blake. How had she been so stupid and blind? This is where she belongs. She wasn't alone to deal with everything. She had Blake.
She wraps her arms around her best friend and buries her face into Blake's hair. The familiar scent of her shampoo brings tears to her eyes and she feels as if a dam holding in all her emotions had finally broken. "Yeah…" she replies weakly as tears continue to fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."
"Shh…it's okay. Just let it all out. We can suffer together," Blake promises as she gently rubs circles on Yang's back.
As she silently cries out her sadness, Yang feels her heart slowly being mended back together.
000
Yang is slowly healing. She makes more effort in drawing Ruby and Dad out of their shells and she thinks that they've made a lot of progress. They eat together a lot more often and share stories. Although it's nothing like it was before, it's progress.
Ruby's made a new friend at school, a girl called Weiss. During dinner, Ruby seems to talk about Weiss the most and she even occasionally smiles. Yang doesn't know who this Weiss girl is or what she has done to make Ruby so happy but if she ever sees her, Yang is going to first give the girl a big hug.
Dad is being more active recently and goes out of his way to look after Yang and Ruby. He seems more determined than ever and Yang can only think it's because they are the only ones he has left and he doesn't want to lose them.
Yang thinks that whatever that may happen in the future, it'll be okay. Because they are a family and they will have each other.
000
Two years into university and Yang finally confesses.
She has no idea what took her so long but she's just glad that she still has Blake and they're still together.
The confession doesn't turn out to be romantic or special. In fact, it isn't even planned. It happens during a quiet study session in their shared apartment. Blake is reading a book on the other side of the table whilst Yang is finishing off her essay. As she takes in the peaceful face of her best friend, Yang once again thinks to herself how much she loves Blake.
Before she realises what's happening, her mouth is moving on its own. "Hey Blake," she starts.
Blake glances up, taking her eyes off her book to give Yang her attention. "What is it?"
"I think I'm in love with you," Yang says. It's nothing thoughtful or romantic or accompanied by a huge gesture of affection. It's casual and simple but to them, it's all that they need. They don't need further words or big romantic gestures to convey their feelings. When their eyes meet, everything that needs to be said is silently said.
Blake smiles in amusement. "You think?"
"I know," Yang corrects. "I've been in love with you for a long time."
"I know," Blake says with a soft smile. "And I've also been in love with you for a long time."
"I guess both of us are idiots then," Yang says with a wry grin.
"I guess we are."
Their first kiss is gentle and short and it's kind of awkward but both of them know that nothing would compare with the feeling that they're experiencing right now.
000
By this point, Yang knows that life and hardship comes hand in hand. She knows that as long as she lives, there will always be ups and downs.
But whatever that comes her way, she'll be ready. Because she has Blake and Blake as her. They have their families. They have their friends.
Even if life tries to rip them apart and attempts to destroy her family, Yang will stick on like glue and she will never let go.
That's why… you can stop worrying about us, mum. Dad, Ruby, me and Blake. We all have each other. We all have you in our hearts.
Yang still doesn't know anything about her biological mum. But that's okay. Because Summer Rose, her real mum will continue to live vividly in her memories and her heart. Life will move on and time will pass but this fact will remain the same.