They broke away slowly, their lips connecting again and again, soft and lingering before they finally stopped.

Yang smiled with her hands still cupped around Blake's face.

Blake gently clasped her hands and brought them down to her lap and focused her gaze on them.

"Was that… Was that okay?" Yang asked, sounding nervous.

Blake blushed, and smiled shyly. "It was more than okay…"

Yang looked elated. "Wow…" she whispered. "So what happens now?"

"I don't know… I've never felt like this before…"

"Me either…" Yang murmured.

"Yang, I need to know," Blake said seriously. "Are you sure? Are you sure you want to do this-"

"I'm sure, Blake." Yang tucked a strand of hair behind Blake's ear and tilted chin so she was looking at her. "I… I want to be with you."

"But my life is so complicated. I have so much baggage and-"

"I don't care," Yang said, shaking her head. "I meant what I said. I want to be with you no matter what." She laced their fingers together and squeezed. "Do you want to be with me?" Yang asked in an almost timid voice.

"I do…"

"Then that's all that matters. Whatever happens we can handle it together."

"Yang…" Blake searched her face for any signs of doubt. There were none, Yang was so sure of herself, a trait Blake always admired. She desperately wanted to believe her and find the same certainty within herself. "It's just… Adam's trial is coming up… And I'll have to testify. The man who was in the building, he's still recovering in the burn unit… The others from that night refused to say anything. I'm the only one who was willing to testify…"

Yang slipped an arm around Blake's shoulders and pulled her in close, tucking her head under her chin. "When?"

"The 24th… If Adam doesn't get convicted, I think he'll come after me or do something-"

"That won't happen."

"But what if it does?"

Yang's grip tightened around Blake protectively. "Let him try..."

Yang was waiting outside the apartment in the early morning light when a Range Rover pulled up to the curb. It was six am. Yang stifled a yawn as she adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder. Blake stepped out of the car and her amber eyes immediately sought Yang's, looking for any trace of second thoughts.

Yang remembered how nervous Blake was when she shyly asked her to accompany her to LA for the trial. She was surprised she even felt the need to ask. To Yang, it was a non-issue. Of course. Of course she would go with her.

Yang smiled softly at her and after a few hesitant seconds, Blake smiled back. A gruff clearing of throat interrupted their silent conversation. Tukson stepped out of the driver's seat and walked around with his hands in his pockets.

"This is Yang. My…" Blake chewed on her words. Was it too early to call Yang her girlfriend? They hadn't even gone on a date yet. It was all so new. She was afraid that not introducing Yang as her girlfriend would hurt her feelings, but she didn't want to have that talk with Tukson when tonight they would be in the same hotel room. She settled for part of the truth. "My best friend."

"Hi! Mr… Um… Tukson." Yang realized in the middle of her disjointed greeting that she has no idea what Tukson's last name is.

"Tukson's fine," he replied with an amused grin. "Here, let me take your bag."

Blake shot her a mildly reproachful look. Mr. Tukson, really?

Yang shrugged. What? She was about to open the door to the back seat when Blake opened it and slid in.

"What?" Blake asked when Yang didn't get in.

"Nothing, I just thought you were going to ride shotgun," Yang said, snapping out of it and sliding in next to her.

Tukson now relegated to chauffeur status got into the driver's seat and waited until they had their seatbelts on before driving away.

He pulled onto the I-5 South. It was going to be a long 15 hour drive. It would definitely not be as scenic as the coastal 101 route, mostly shades of grey, concrete and steel but Blake knew that this trip wasn't meant to be fun.

Blake sighed and stared out the window, watching the guardrails fly by in one continuous blur. She was reminded of the drive months ago, heading in the opposite direction. Her and Tukson staring straight ahead at the road, barely a word exchanged between the two of them.

It was a blur what happened after she snuck away to call 911. Adam was still admiring his handiwork, watching the smoke and flames rise higher into the night sky. Blake felt sick to her stomach as the painful cries of the janitor became less frequent.

Thankfully the fire department arrived along with the police. Adam and the rest of the gang scattered off like flies, but Blake stood frozen on the spot. They didn't get very far, most of them getting caught within minutes of running.

Blake remembered vividly the look of betrayal on Adam's face when they finally caught and took him away. He knew it was her.

Blake got taken away too, handcuffed and brought to the police station where she was fingerprinted and had her photograph taken. She remembered shivering as she sat on the hard plastic bench, scared to death that she would be going to jail.

That night Tukson was at the police station filling out a report. Someone had broken into his vehicle and stolen the stereo. He glanced in Blake's direction and did a double take.

"Kali?" he asked striding over, completely forgetting about his report.

Blake vaguely recognized that name from her past. She hadn't thought about her biological parents in so long. Kali was the name of her late mother. She stared dubiously up at the stranger standing over her who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

Tukson caught himself after a few seconds. "Sorry. You looked like someone I used to know… Are you related to Kali Belladonna?"

Blake was silent for a long moment before answering. "She was my mother. She died in a car crash long ago." It was a practiced response.

And that's how it all started. Tukson said he knew her parents long ago and he asked her a million questions about her life. The timing was awkward considering she was about to be charged with arson and possibly a whole host of other crimes.

Tukson stayed for as long as he could until Blake was finally called in for questioning. He said he had to leave but that'd he back. Blake didn't think that she'd actually see him again but despite her doubts, Tukson did come back.

To prove that he knew her parents, he showed her an old college photo of the three of them together. They looked happy, smiling into the camera like old friends.

He stayed during the arraignment and afterward when she was released to the custody of her foster parents until her hearing in juvenile court. Blake kept expecting him to leave but he stuck around for weeks. For some strange reason that Blake couldn't comprehend, Tukson seemed to genuinely care about her. He helped her get an attorney who got the charges dropped arguing that it was her first offence and she was the one who had called for help.

When the charges were dropped, it was like a weight had been lifted off of Blake's shoulders. She was relieved but also a little sad that it would be her last interaction with Tukson. But to her utter shock and amazement, it wasn't the end. He had applied to become her legal guardian to take her out of the foster system. Blake still couldn't quite believe it even to this day.

Two hours on the road and it was officially the quietest trip Yang had ever been on. Boring. She glanced over at Blake who was silently staring out the window. She took a quick glance at Tukson who was concentrated on the road and then slowly started to inch her pinky finger towards the dark haired girl's hand.

Blake looked over with a start when their little fingers touched. Yang was trying to look discreet, averting her gaze, looking at the car ceiling, out the window, anywhere but her. She smiled at Yang's antics and grabbed her hand fully, squeezing tight.

The blonde finally looked over, blushing a little. "You seem so far away."

"Just thinking…"

"About?"

"About the first time I was on this road. It was kind of a shitty time in my life." Blake saw Tukson glance at her in the rear view mirror. "But... Also good in some ways…" she conceded. "Like getting a fresh start. I'm pretty lucky with the way things turned out," she said catching Tukson's eye in the mirror.

Yang nodded sympathetically and squeezed her hand back.

"Let's take a selfie,"

"What?"

"A selfie, surely you are familiar with the term," Yang said getting out her phone and sitting beside her on the picnic table bench. "It's our first road trip together."

Blake just sat there and stared at her, holding her plastic bottle of water. They were just outside Redding, having bathroom break at a truck stop. It wasn't anything special, just a few mountains and trees in the background.

"C'mon. It'll be nice."

Blake was about to say no, considering the purpose of the trip but Yang's persistent smile won her over. She begrudgingly scooted closer to the blonde and managed a small smile as Yang put her arm around her and snapped the picture.

Yang happily studied the screen of her phone. Blake took a glance as well. She thought she looked a bit too serious looking into the camera, her mouth curved in the barest hint of smile that didn't truly convey the amount of happiness she felt just being near Yang. The blonde, on the other hand, looked beautiful. The shades of purple in her eyes shimmering like a lavender lake on a sunny afternoon. Only one word came to Blake's mind: Lucky.

They got into LA around 10:30 pm, road weary and bone tired. They checked and filed down the hotel hallway with their bags in tow. Tukson told them to be ready at zero seven hundred hours sharp and went into his own room, yawning as he said goodnight.

Blake and Yang opened the door to their hotel room and went inside, their eyes gradually adjusting to the dark.

Yang turned on the lamp and plopped face first on top of one of the room's two double beds.

"I am so tired!" she groaned.

Blake sat on the edge of the other bed and plugged her phone into the outlet, double checking that her alarm was set for six am. She was pretty tired from the drive as well but she wasn't sure that she'd be able to sleep tonight. There was so much riding on tomorrow. She thought maybe she should prepare more, re-read the notes her lawyer sent her so she wouldn't incriminate herself, iron the business casual clothes-

"Blake, you're getting quiet again," Yang said looking up with her with her chin resting on her forearms.

"Sorry, just getting nervous."

"You'll be fine. You should probably get some sleep now, it'll be a pretty early start tomorrow."

Blake nodded and started pulling out her sleep clothes from the bag. Yang did the same, taking off her jacket and crossing her arms to pull the hem of her T-shirt up.

"Yang, what are you doing?" Blake sputtered.

Yang stopped midway, shirt half off with her toned stomach showing. "Oops, sorry. I guess I'm so used to changing in locker rooms with other people around, heh…" She looked down awkwardly. "I'll change in the bathroom…"

"No, you don't have to. It just surprised me…" Blake chastised herself for being such a prude, they were together after all. To make up for it, Blake turned around and took off her own shirt. She thought she could feel Yang's eyes heating up her bare back before the blonde also continued changing.

Blake slowly turned around when she was done. They were both wearing cotton T-shirts and shorts for bed. She shyly looked down at her feet as Yang smiled softly at her, making sure she was okay.

Blake wondered anxiously about what they should do next. Should they kiss goodnight? She honestly wasn't in the mood for kissing, feeling way too nervous about tomorrow but she felt like she should at least do something to show Yang how thankful she was to have her here with her.

"Well… Goodnight," With a determined look in her eyes she walked up to Yang and threw her arms around her neck, tangling her fingers in her blonde hair as she pressed her face into her neck.

Yang was surprised at first but quickly hugged her back. "Goodnight," she whispered in her ear.

They pulled away after moment and went to their respective beds. The beds were only separated by a couple of sparse feet, but the distance felt far to Blake as she slipped under the covers and faced the opposite wall.

In the middle of the night, Yang heard Blake tossing and turning in the dark.

"Blake?"

Yang heard a whimper and without another word, she threw the duvet aside and made her way to Blake's bed. It looked like she was having a nightmare, her were eyes tightly shut and she was trembling under the bed sheets.

Yang lightly touched her arm. "Blake, wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Blake opened her eyes suddenly and her hand sprang out to grab Yang's bicep. Her chest was heaving and it took her a few moments to realize where she was.

Yang stroked her hair soothingly. "It was just a dream."

"Sorry… Sorry I woke you up."

Yang shook her head, and held her close. "It's okay."

They stayed like that for a while, Yang holding her and kissing the top of her head every once in a while.

Blake hugged her tighter. "Yang?" Part of her hated asking. "Would you mind… Staying with me tonight?"

Yang pulled away a bit to look her in the eyes. "Of course."

Blake made room for her on her bed and Yang slipped in behind her, pressing her front against her back and their legs together. She hesitantly draped an arm over her midsection.

"Is this okay?"

Blake nodded, taking her hand and clutching it to her chest.

They lay together for a while not talking but not sleeping either. Blake savored the feeling of being in her warmth.

"Sorry I'm being such a baby," Blake mumbled.

"Shhh, you're not a baby. I let Ruby sleep with me when she has a nightmare... And my mom Summer used to let me sleep with her whenever I had a bad dream."

A comfortable silence passed between them.

"Do you miss her?"

Yang paused before answering, "Every day."

Blake laced their fingers together and gave her hand a squeeze, letting Yang know that she was there for her too. She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.