Blake rode on the back of Yang's motorcycle, her arms wrapped around her girlfriend's well-muscled stomach. A red silk blindfold was secured over her eyes leaving her to completely trust in her partner, but she was unafraid. As vulnerable as she should feel, effectively blind and unbalanced on a speeding vehicle, the excitement of a night out with her charismatic girlfriend overruled any from of caution that the Faunus would typically be more inclined to prefer. Blake had grown accustomed to the blonde's brand of surprises and many of the them entailed this crimson colored blindfold. The night air whipped around them and set a sharp chill in her bones, so she pressed her body closer, savoring the warmth provided by Yang's semblance.
After listening to the rumbling of the engine and the sound of air whooshing past her helmet for the better part of thirty minutes, Blake decided that she had no clue about where she was being taken. Six months into their relationship, she had found that Yang seemed to still effortlessly amaze her. Just as her mind began to be swept away in a flood of reverie, Blake felt the motorcycle slow down dramatically as it rounded a final curve before coming to a stop.
Yang cut the engine. "You can look now, gorgeous. We're here."
Blake blushed at the remark as she could hear the grin in her partner's voice. She removed her helmet and slipped the blindfold off of her eyes. Yang was beaming at her, obviously pleased with herself.
"Okay, we just have to be quiet and it'll be easy." Yang set her helmet on Bumblebee's seat and surveyed the building in front of them. She sauntered over to the entrance, hips swaying confidently, drawing Blake's eyes to her form, causing the Faunus' blush to deepen.
Blake couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile at the back of her girlfriend's head. While silence was her own specialty, it certainly was not Yang's forte. She didn't know what Yang had in store for the night, but it appeared that perhaps that a little trespassing was on the agenda. The large dome shaped building was unfamiliar to the Faunus. She scanned further into the distance at their surroundings and it became clear that they were on the outskirts of the Vale and the city lights were dim and far had pulled around to what appeared to be a locked maintenance entrance. A foreboding steel door was padlocked with a large iron lock.
Yang smiled mischievously, "I know what you're thinking. You're wondering what this is and how am I planning on getting in."
Blake shook her head as she mentally upgraded their adventure to breaking and entering.
"Oh, no. I have faith," she said sincerely. She knew that her girlfriend had probably not anticipated this barrier, but Blake also come to appreciate Yang's flair for improvisation. The blonde's ability to think on her feet created a certain reliability even in the face of her over-pronounced spontaneity that Blake had come to trust. Even when the pair encountered a problem, they were often saved by Yang's wit, or on many occasions her charm.
"I know we will get in. But I'm more than curious about where we are."
"You'll have to see," Yang said in a melodic and playful tone, winking at Blake.
Blake dismounted Bumblebee and walked over to stand with the blonde who was now standing with the overgrown lock in her hand. She felt the heat in the air before she even reached Yang's side. An acrid odor reached her sensitive nose as metal began to hiss in the brawler's hand. Blake could see the grey lock turn molden red as Yang heated the device until she ruined its integrity. With a quick pull she yanked the hot metal off the door handle and tossed it onto the dirt where it landed with a sizzle.
"I can see that you're impressed!" Yang flexed her bicep cockily and laughed as she read the astonished look on Blake's face.
Blood rushed back into Blake's cheeks. She had always been impressed with the utility of her girlfriend's semblance. The raw power and energy behind an aura like hers left Blake feeling enticed, hot, and more than a little overwhelmed. Even melting metal was almost an effortless task, an easy demonstration of how strong Yang's semblance was. Although she was certainly not a delicate flower herself, Blake felt a security in knowing how powerful her partner was and to have that fire exist in someone so sweet and good natured proved that there was justice in the universe after all.
Yang slowly opened the maintenance door and held it open with her boot. She signaled for Blake to go inside and as the Faunus crossed in front of her, Yang's hand lightly grazed the small of her back, sending a shiver up her spine. The blonde let the door latch shut behind them, stranding them in blackness.
"Uh, Blakey, you see a light switch?" The Faunus could hear her partner fumbling the darkness. After a few moments as her eyes adjusted, her low light vision allowed her to clearly see the hallway that they found themselves standing in. She easily found a light switch and flipped it on.
Casting her gaze down the bleak and industrial looking hallway, Blake realized she still had no clue where they were. The lack of signage wasn't helping her ability to guess.
"I love being sneaky with you," Yang said offhandedly. Blake laughed as she nodded in agreement.
"And I just adore that laugh," Yang said as she reached over and clasped Blake's hand in her own, immediately extinguishing the remaining chill she felt from the night air. Blake flushed again. It never ceased to amaze her how many times in a single day Yang could manage to send blood rushing to her face. It left the Faunus feeling rather discombobulated during most of her interactions with her partner.
Yang led her through the hall and the next room, a small utility office. Yang opened up a cabinet and pulled out a duffle bag. Blake looked at her questioningly.
"I hid this here, before this place closed a few hours ago," Yang said as though that explained everything. It did at least answer where Yang had disappeared to earlier. Blake had gotten used to her partner vanishing for a bit on their date nights, since she usually had orchestrated some master plan ahead of time. It was amusing and incredibly endearing to Blake how little planning Yang typically engaged in, with the exception of these adventures. It made her feel warmly touched as she realized what a priority she must be in her girlfriend's life.
"I have to say I'm impressed with your foresight as always," Blake smiled as she pulled Yang to her for a quick peck on her lips. Half a year later, she had yet to be able to control her urge to kiss her partner any time she had the chance.
"And I will hope to always be this impressive!" Blake caught a hint of pink spreading to her partner's cheeks as she received the compliment.
Yang fished around in the duffle bag and pulled out a flashlight, which she clicked on. As she stood in front of the door, the blonde turned and bit her lip as she looked back at Blake.
"Ready to see where we are?" she asked oddly bashful for once, violet eyes searching Blake's face.
It occurred to Blake that maybe Yang was worried she might not like this surprise... but in her heart, Blake had unshakeable faith that she would love whatever this one was too. To date, she had loved them all. Her heart fluttered in her chest as more images of their adventures flashed in her mind.
Yang pulled open the last door revealing a large room. It appeared as though it was a lecture hall of sorts. Rows of seats rose up from the center of the room, radiating out to give the best view to anyone attending. Even with the limited lighting indoors, Blake could see a podium up front and what appeared to be a rather fancy looking projector.
Yang reached back and grabbed Blake's hand and led her to the ground level where the dais stood. She handed the flashlight to Blake.
"I know you don't need it to see, but if you wouldn't mind? I have to set a couple of things up," Yang had been grown to fully appreciate the scope and effectiveness of Blake's night vision, just like Blake had come to understand the limits of Yang's.
"Of course," Blake said as she obliged and shined the flashlight on Yang. The blonde's assets were in full view as she bent over to open the bag and began to empty its contents on the floor. Blake's mind began to drift as she appreciated the curve of her girlfriend's body and the way that her hips seemed so grabbable...
"Uh, Blake, how about in front of me?" Yang winked at her as she caught the Faunus distracted and red faced.
"Sorry…" Blake murmured as she refocused the light to actually be helpful to her partner.
The brawler pulled out a large blanket and two pillows out of the bag, placing them on two of the seats in the middle of the closest row. She gestured for Blake to sit in one of them. The Faunus sat down and repositioned the soft pillow under her head while curiously watching her partner.
Blake still had not figured out why Yang would have brought her to a very not romantic looking lecture hall. Well, at least until the blonde walked back over to the projector and pressed a button on its front. In majestic and rapid form light danced up to the domed ceiling and shapes began to take form. A soundtrack with expansive orchestral music started to play from speakers placed all around the room.
In an instant, the everything above them transformed into a vast night sky. But this was not the usual firmament that existed outside in the cold air that Blake loved to spend her time looking at. It was brilliantly focused on planetary aspects past Remnant, ones that Blake had entirely forgotten were even out in the heavens above. Celestial bodies emanated radiant colors of hues of pinks, blues, bronzes, and deep reds. Stars twinkled above them as Blake's breath was stolen from her. In a word, it was stunning.
The planetarium… Blake remembered that she had told Yang back when they were just partners how she used to study the night sky, creating her own constellations in the absence of formal knowledge. Yang had thought it was adorable and even had Blake show her the designs she has imagined.
"Oh, Yang... It's... this is beautiful!" Blake sat back against her pillow taking it all in.
Yang sat down beside her with an ungraceful plop as she unceremoniously reclined her own chair and kicked her feet up on the back of the seat in front of her. She looked over to Blake, who followed suit and found the button on her arm rest to set her own chair back to match Yang's. The blonde flapped the blanket up in rather dramatic fashion, covering both of them in its fleece comfort.
Blake turned her attention to the "sky" above, feeling herself getting lost in its splendor. Her heart also called out in response to bittersweet nostalgia as old memories began to resurface and water built up in her eyes. She reached her hand across the wooden armrests, only to find that Yang's hand had already begun its voyage over to her as well. As their hands touched, a jolt of electricity shot down her spine. She intertwined her fingers with the brawler's savoring the feeling of the softness of the girl's skin. Yang gave her hand a squeeze.
After a few minutes of quiet between them, Blake blinked the tears from her eyes and turned onto her side to look directly at Yang. The blonde turned to face her as soon as she realized attention was on her.
"Yang..." The Faunus struggled to find her voice.
"So do you like it?" Yang's smile had spread to her eyes and violet orbs looked back at Blake tenderly.
"I never told you, but I love the stars so much because of my mom. I used to have trouble sleeping after my father died, night terrors, that kind of thing." Blake's throat tried to close as she shared her story. Talking about the past... Her family. It was never easy.
Yang's face had changed to one of sadness and concern. "Oh, Blake... I'm sorry." She looked worried that her surprise had inflicted unintended trauma instead.
"It's okay," Blake said reassuringly, "This is actually a good story." She clasped Yang's hand tightly between both of hers taking comfort in their warmth.
"So my mom, she would hear me crying and come and try to comfort me so I could go back to sleep. At first, nothing worked. I was too young, too upset, I think."
"One night, she had the idea to show me the stars. It was the clearest night you could imagine. So she sat me down and pointed out the "cat" constellation first."
Yang couldn't help but interrupt, "The cat constellation? Where's that? You never showed me that one."
Blake chuckled, "Yes, that one wasn't a real one either. My mother never told me that there were formal names for these things. Maybe she didn't know. But she pointed out the cat one," Blake pointed above them outlined a feline shape in the stars. It took some imagination, but it was still there.
"Oh, I see him, how cute!"
"Yes," Blake said with a smile," cute. And she told me how cats, in addition to being adorable, were also noble, that they were guardians. Even in the sky, the cat constellation watched over the moon, the other planets. His ears and eyes always on high alert, ready for danger. She explained to me that my father was a guardian too. That's why he had left us, he had sacrificed himself to protect others. But she told me there was a bright side, the cat above us, his job was also to guide other cat guardians to watch over their loved ones. So she told me that's where father was. Taken to his place to watch us from the stars."
"On subsequent nights, she told me other stories. One of the merciful rabbit, the cunning owl, the sweet deer. After she was gone too, I started making up my own constellations, my own stories. I think you picked a perfect place. I didn't even remember that this was here."
"Blake..." Yang didn't seem to have the words. She reached over to wipe a stray tear from the Faunus' cheek.
Blake pulled herself into Yang's embrace, effectively laying on her reclining partner.
"Thank you," Blake cuddled closely and whispered into Yang's ear, "What did I do in my last life to deserve you?"
Yang kissed her gently. "I can think of a thousand reasons from this life," she said as her mouth turned up into that charming smile again.
Blake kissed Yang more deeply, pouring her soul's gratitude into her lips. She could feel her partner's body beginning to heat up and a cocoon of warmth enveloped them inside of the blanket. Her sensitive ears picked up both of their heartbeats as they quickened. She loved being this close to Yang, she could smell the scent of toasted almonds and honey, the almost musky char that seemed to just follow the blonde. Like a distant campfire with added sweetness burning off of it. She ran her fingers through supple, yellow locks as she continued kissing Yang. Blake felt her girlfriend's strong hands run up her back as her body was pulled closer into Yang's form. It was so easy, so simple, so intoxicating to get lost in her embrace.
And apparently, also very distracting. With all of her attention on their exchange, Blake's keen ears failed to hear the approach of the night watchman. The couple was caught off guard and in a rather embarrassing position, with the Faunus laying on top of her partner's body. Artificial light distorted the display above and stars were forced to fade away as the main light was activated.
"Who's there?" A deep and accusing voice sounded off from the stairs above them.
The pair froze as they looked up at an angry looking man in a security uniform.
"Ooohh... I didn't think of night security," Yang whispered in astonished ignorance.
Blake giggled and blushed, as she got off of Yang and rolled her eyes. So much for foresight...
She waited patiently as Yang tried to talk the man out of reporting them to the police. She couldn't help but love the way Yang could skate out of a problem. Flirting was usually her chosen weapon. But that was likely compromised by the fact that they were just caught making out. So tonight they weren't so lucky. The blonde was able to talk the guard out of filing a police report once he found out that they were huntresses in training at Beacon. With the ugly state of affairs with all of the erupting Grimm, students were often cut some slack. However, he did insist on calling Professor Ozpin and forced them out of the building immediately. Even the knowledge of consequences didn't hinder the excitement of the ride home, nor the playfulness that resulted from their increase of adrenaline when they got back to the dorms. The partners fell asleep, tangled up in each other's arms and cuddling until Professor Ozpin himself showed up in the morning to deliver their sentence.
They got two weeks of detention when the guard followed up on his promise trespassing and breaking into the planetarium. However, as always, the crime was well worth the punishment.