The doorbell rang and Yang sat up from where she had been laying in Blake's lap. Blake trailed off, she'd been reading to the blonde who had been listening attentively, her reactions both very vocal and adorable. "That's probably Ruby."
"Aww man, now I have to put real pants on!" Blake laughed, covering her mouth to try and stifle it when Yang glared at her.
"Sorry." She managed to say around her giggles.
Yang grumbled and stood, shuffling over to her jeans. She stripped right there and Blake nearly gave herself whiplash looking away. Yang had no boundaries, often encouraging Blake to stare but there were some things Blake just wasn't ready for yet. Yang changed into her jeans and went to grab her shirt but realized too late it was still in Blake's bathroom. It wasn't wet but it was still dirty and probably still had blood on it.
"Hey Blakey? Can I borrow a shirt?"
"Help yourself. I'll meet you downstairs okay?" Yang nodded and Blake went downstairs. She could hear Ruby in her living room and when she turned the corner Ruby saw her immediately.
"Blake!" The smaller girl immediately darted towards her and grabbed her in a tight and energetic hug. Had it been anyone else Blake would have flinched away and stopped them, but Ruby was far too innocent and endearing to say no to. She hugged the girl back and Ruby squeezed her. "Thanks for everything Blake. Especially Yang. She spends too much time looking after everyone else and sometimes she needs someone to make her slow down or look after her. You're the best." Blake smiled even though Ruby couldn't see it.
"It's alright, I owe Yang a few already." Ruby released her and giggled, stepping back. All her attention had been focused on the smaller girl so she hadn't immediately noticed her parents sitting together on the couch or Yang thumping down the stairs. Her back was to Yang but the instant Ruby caught sight of her older sister she bolted around Blake and ran for her. Yang was ready and opened her arms and Ruby leapt into them, legs wrapping around her waist, arms circling her neck.
"Hey Ruby." Yang said, smile big and bright, obviously happy to have her sister back.
"You're not too hurt are you?" She asked, gasping when she caught sight of the cuts on her cheek and jaw. They looked infinitely better than they had last night but still looked painful. She carefully reached up and delicately traced one of the angry red lines. "Yang…"
Yang smiled sadly but placed a big wet slobbery kiss on Ruby's cheek, making the younger girl shriek and squirm away. "Aww it's so cute of you to worry!" She laughed a bit at Ruby wiping furiously at her cheek with the sleeve of her hoodie. "I'm okay sis, Blake and her parents took great care of me. You won't even know they were there in a few days!"
Yang caught Blake's eyes over Ruby's shoulder and smiled at her. She returned the gesture and motioned Yang into the room. The blonde set her sister back down and the three of them dropped onto the couch opposite Blake's parents, Blake herself in between the sisters. She found Yang's hand and held it in her lap.
"Alright, first things first. It's very nice to meet you Ruby. I'm Emile and this is my wife." Blake's father spoke, tone warm and welcoming. "We already get the impression you'd be wonderful to have."
Ruby smiled brightly and Yang shared a smaller smile with her girlfriend. "I wouldn't say wonderful…." She teased.
"Hey!" Ruby replied indignantly, a pout on her lips. Blake bit back a giggle while Yang just grinned back at her sister. "Oh! Before I forget, Mr. Belladonna, Weiss offered to let me live with her so as to not make money too tight for you. She also said she wants to help pay for Yang's expenses."
Yang stared at her sister, mouth opening and closing uselessly. "When did she say that!"
"She called back while you were asleep, I forgot to tell you, I'm sorry." Blake said sheepishly. Yan jokingly rolled her eyes but gave her hand a squeeze.
"Some warning would have been nice."
"By the way Yang, Ruby said Weiss wants to help out financially." Blake retorted cheekily. Yang rolled her eyes and gave her a light shove.
"Nerd." She whispered.
Blake's parents cleared their throats and the three of them turned their attention back to them. "That's very kind of her, we'll have to talk further with her about it of course." Ruby nodded and settled back against the couch. "Now Ruby you're absolutely welcome here as well as Yang. That matter aside, theres simply the matter of retrieving your possessions from your home and what will be done once Yang graduates, as I understand Weiss is a senior as well and you're a year behind her?"
"Yes sir."
Emile laughed. "Darling, no need for 'sir' you can call me Emile, no need to be so formal." Ruby gave a toothy grin and dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Does Weiss plan to leave for school?"
"I'm not sure, last she mentioned I think she was accepted into Vale right here but it wasn't her first choice." Emile nodded understandingly.
"Very well, we'll return to that matter at a later date. For now we need to focus on regaining your possessions, just the basics such as clothes and close personal items. Would you and Yang feel comfortable returning with my wife and I to gather those things?"
"I'm okay, Yang?"
Yang was chewing her lip and rubbing her thumb over Blake's knuckles, both nervous habits of hers. Blake leaned in to kiss her and whisper in her ear. "I'll be right there with you, I promise I'll hold your hand the whole time if that's what you want. I won't let him anywhere near you." She glanced at Blake and clutched her hand.
"I think I'll be okay. Chances of him actually being home are slim anyways. If we're gonna do that now would be best. Get the jump on him so he can't get into our rooms and tear everything up. Well get into Ruby's room. I blocked mine up and there's a good chance he never managed to budge the door." Emile nodded thoughtfully and his wife spoke softly to him.
A few moments passed in tense silence before Emile stood. "There's a good chance he's not home correct?" Yang nodded once. "Do you have keys?" Again Yang nodded. "Alright, let's go, better soon rather than later. We'll leave immediately mes petits." Yang smiled at the French name of endearment. She was nervous about returning, scared if she was being honest with herself. But with Blake and her parents with her, she knew she could handle it.
The five of them got into the Belladonna's car, Ruby wedged in the middle as she was the smallest of the three. Yang was silent the whole ride, steeling herself in case her father was home. Ruby's knee bounced up and down with nervous energy. Blake regarded the two sisters nervously and prayed to any god that would listen that their father wasn't home.
The trip was short, and to Yang it seemed like only seconds whereas driving away last night had felt like hours. They got out and Emile asked Yang for her keys. Passing them to the large man he went to the door. He rang the doorbell and after ten seconds of nothing rang it again. He waited fifteen seconds (Yang was counting in her head, fingers twisting in the hem of her shirt before Blake took them and held them tightly in her own hands.) When again there was no response he unlocked the door and motioned the rest of them to follow.
"Go with them Ruby. I need to climb in my window to get back into my room. Grab some of the boxes from downstairs for our things okay?" Ruby nodded and grabbed Yang in a hug, holding her tight.
"It's gonna be okay Yang." Yang nodded before Ruby let go and followed Blake's parents into the house.
"I'm coming with you." Blake said, her tone leaving no room for argument. Yang smiled and nodded, taking one of her hands again before leading her around to the back of the house. TO get to her window she needed to climb up the tree in the back yard and leap from it to the roof. Blake almost blanched when Yang explained what they had to do.
"Are you insane? Yang you'll hurt yourself!"
"I won't promise, I've done it before. Look watch me, I'll go first and then I'll help you okay?"
Blake bit her lip but let Yang clamber up the tree. She was rather agile and quick, it was obvious she'd scaled this tree many, many times before. When it came time for her to leap the small gap Blake was nervous and gnawing at her lip, when Yang leapt she actually bit hard enough to make it bleed.
She worried for nothing as Yang made the leap easily. She gave Blake a smile and told her to come up. Following her girlfriend she climbed the tree, copying what Yang had done earlier. Yang waited near the edge of the roof. "You have to jump now. Just jump, don't over think it. Don't worry I promise to catch you." Blake eyed the gap nervously.
Taking a deep breath she leapt. She landed fine but she could feel herself tipping backwards. Her eyes widened but before she could cry out Yang was there, one hand grabbing hers, the other going to her waist and pulling her forward towards safety. Blake almost crashed into Yang who simply smiled and brought her close, locking her arms around her waist and kissing her. "See? Promised I'd catch you." Blake smiled and kissed her again.
"You did." Yang released her before taking her hand and carefully leading them to her window. She slipped inside and dropped to the floor with a thump. She helped Blake in and down. Together they moved her dresser out of the way and opened the door to see Ruby in the hall with four cardboard boxes.
"I found four, so two each. I guess that's all we get…"
"Sad, boxing our whole lives into only two boxes isn't it?"
Ruby's lower lip wobbled, the first sign of weakness. "Yang…" Yang cooed and immediately dropped to her knees next to her sister and pulled her into her lap, cradling her head and shushing her gently.
"It's okay, it's okay, I promise everything will be okay." Ruby cried and clung to Yang like a lost child. Blake felt a pang of sadness lance through her when she realized that's exactly what Yang and Ruby were, a pair of scared and lost children. Ruby got herself together remarkably fast with mutters of 'we have to be quick, and, I'm okay, let's just get this over with.'
They stood and Yang tenderly wiped Ruby's eyes and smiled softly and kissed her forehead. "It's okay, thank you for being so strong, I promise, once we're safe and everything settles down I'll spend the whole day with you and we can cry and just let it all out okay? I promise but until then I need you to keep being strong for me okay?" Ruby nodded determinedly and hugged Yang.
"Let's do this. You take Blake and her parents can help me." Yang nodded and ruffled her hair.
"Good girl, let's get it together and get out of here."
Packing was a dull affair. First the Pack all of Yang's things, her Xbox, and a few other things she insisted on taking with her. There were a few things and even fewer sentimental items to grab. In the end they had one box of possessions and the second was full of clothes. With Blake's expert packing skills (that she had of course learned from her father, he had immigrated from France after all,) They managed to get almost all of her clothes, leaving behind a few that Yang said she never wore anyways. Ruby finished not long after them with an almost identical outcome.
They managed to get all four boxes into the car, two in the truck and two on the floor of the back seat, it would be cramped but it was manageable. Just before they could get in and drive off a car pulled up in front of the house. Yang tensed and her hand flew to Blake's shirt, clutching the material.
It was their father.
"Ruby get in the car." Yang ordered. Ruby looked at her, wavering between emotions. "Ruby, now." She glanced at her father getting out of his car, narrowing his eyes at them. "Ruby please!" she begged.
Thankfully Blake's mother took her by the shoulders and gently lea her to the car before going to stand next to her husband who was standing defensively in front of the girls. Blake copied him, stepping in front of Yang, angling her body to the side so she could protect the blonde and still hold her hand and keep an eye on her. Yang held her hand tightly, her other hand fisted in her shirt, clenching to tight her knuckles turned white.
"What's this?" Taiyang barked. Emile stood tall and strong, not backing down at all.
"It's come to my attention you've been hurting Yang. She won't be staying here anymore, she'll be coming home with us and you're not to bother her of Ruby ever again. We will not hesitate to protect them." Taiyang scowled and stepped towards them and Yang flinched back, her grip on Blake tightening.
Blake gave her hand a squeeze but didn't take her eyes off the blonde man, ready to defend Yang physically if it came to that.
"What if I call the cops?" He snarled, his yellowing and disgusting teeth showing.
"Then you'll have to explain all the abuse you've put these girls through, so please feel free to get the cops involved." Taiyang scowled before flipping them the bird.
"Fuck you." He spat. He turned his gaze to Yang. Blake expected her to flinch again but when she looked back she was proud and stunned to see her glaring right back, eyes cold.
Taiyang turned his attention back to Emile and Blake felt a bit of satisfaction in the fact that he had to look up slightly to meet his eyes. "Fuck you, you can keep the little fuckers. Those tiny bastards aint good for nothing anyways." He gave one last scowl before walking around Emile and into the house. Emile relaxed and turned back to Yang.
The blonde was expressionless. She simply released her hold on Blake and went to the car, getting in. Blake stared at her parents, distress visible both on her, and her mother's face. Emile simply shrugged. "She'll be alright darling, just be there for her when she finally cracks." Blake nodded and got into the car after Yang who was staring at her lap, clenching and unclenching her fists. Ruby had a lost look in her eyes as she fidgeted.
Her father got in the car and backed out, beginning the drive home in silence. Once back at Blake's they all moved the boxes into the guest room. Blake's mother prepared the Room for Ruby's stay. The four boxes that contained their lives up until this point rested in the corner. Ruby crawled onto the bed and sat cross legged, staring at her feet. Her phone rang suddenly, startling Yang who jumped violently next to Blake. Ruby glanced at the screen before answering.
"Hey Weiss…" She had a short conversation before pausing to look up at Yang. "Can I stay with Weiss tonight?"
Yang nodded and Blake could see her eyes were glassy. She was so close to tears but she was holding it together, just barely. "Of course. Say Hi to Weiss for me and make sure to thank her okay? You need someone to comfort you and I can't…. I can't be that right now." Ruby looked to be on the verge of tears herself. She nodded and finished her quick conversation with Weiss. Once she hung up she got up and hugged Yang.
"I Love you." Yang held her tightly, rocking her slightly and kissed the top of her head.
"I love you too. Go be with Weiss and don't be afraid to call if you need anything okay?" Ruby nodded and squeezed before stepping away. "Go tell Blake's parents okay?" Ruby nodded and left the room. Yang stood silent for a moment before following her sister out of the room but instead of going downstairs she took a right and went into Blake's room.
She followed and found Yang sitting on the edge of her bed. Cautiously going over to her she knelt down to catch her gaze. "Hey Yang?" When their eyes met she smiled sadly and reached out to cup her cheek, wiping away a sole tears. "It's okay, your safe here, let it go." She paused before leaning forward to kiss her. "I'll catch you, I promise." Yang bit her lip before she burst into tears.
Blake guided Yang onto the bed before crawling on herself and pulling Yang into her arms. She held her as tightly as she could, kissing the top of her head and cooing softly. Yang sobbed into her chest and Blake could catch what she was saying here and there. "Yang I love you so much, I love you and I promise I'll never stop. I love you, you're not useless, and you're beautiful and brilliant. I Love you." Yang sobbed loudly against her, face pressing into her chest. Blake could feel her heart breaking at the sounds of pure anguish coming from the blonde.
After nearly an hour Yang had cried herself out, drifting into a deep sleep, the kind where exhaustion has worn you down and you don't dream, where your safe from your mind, if only for a few hours. Yang still clung to her in her sleep and Blake continued to hold her for all it was worth.
She couldn't but help feeling relieved. For now, things were still messy and uncertain, but it was over. It was over and Taiyang would never hurt Yang ever again. It was over.
(A/N: first I'd like to apologize for the wait on this, I have no idea how many of you follow me on tumblr but for those of you who don't, I have been incredibly sick these past few days. I was on so many drugs and pain meds it was ridiculous. Had I written this on these drugs I would have put out something with the quality of creepypastas such as Clockwork: your time is up and Jeff the killer (which are both horribly written but are fun to read when you're sick as butts) But I digress, please accept this extra-long chapter as an apology XD Now unfortunately the next chapter is the last and is more an epilogue of sorts. It wraps up all those loose ends and unfinished details. Thank you all for being on this incredibly journey with me! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for the finale last week you can PM me here or shoot me an ask on tumblr where I have the exact same user name. Until next week and once again thank you for your patience!