Author's Note: Heads-up, this contains some more risque moments than my previous entries. Let's bumble them bees, baby.
Entry 5: In The Garden of Dreams
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Yang was worried about her partner. Again. It seemed to be a thing with the cat Faunus, a thing that Yang was beginning to realize was just part and parcel of Blake's life, like Ruby's dorky optimism, or Weiss's prissiness, or her own concentrated, unadulterated awesomeness. So with that in mind, Yang resolved to figure out why, exactly, it was that Blake hadn't left Atlas Academy dormitory in the three days since they'd arrived at the floating city. Where the others had taken the opportunity to take in the sights and replenish their supplies, Blake had contented herself with reading in Team RWBY's borrowed quarters and exercising in the academy gym.
Unlike previous outbreaks of Blakey behavior, the girl didn't seem to be upset or withdrawn, she appeared to be sleeping well, and was generally in good spirits, so why hadn't she stepped foot outside in three whole days?
Not being one to ignore a problem once she noticed it, Yang opted to take the direct approach, plopping down heavily at the foot of the bed where Blake was reading.
Blake's eyes never left her book. "Hi, Yang," she said warmly. "You seem bored."
"I seem worried about you," she said. "Again."
" Wait, what?" Now Blake had her full attention on her partner, her book lowered to rest on her chest.
"You haven't left the academy in days, Blake. What's up?"
The cat Faunus gave a heavy sigh. "It's nothing, or at least, nothing we can do about right now."
"Try me," Yang said, sitting up against the wall and giving Blake a determined look. "You'd be surprised how many problems I can fix."
The smile that Blake sent her way was small and sad. "I don't think this is one of them."
"Is it Adam?" Yang asked, her voice and expression now softer, less brash.
"No." Blake shook her head resolutely, her long black hair falling across her shoulders. "I stopped letting him control my life when he was alive, and I'm not about to start now that he's gone."
Yang looked to her hands, one warm and soft, the other unfeeling and artificial. Why was everything a mystery with Blake? "Well, if it's nothing we can do about, why don't you let me take your mind off it? Come out with me. We can do something fun, just you and me, out on the town."
"Oh, Yang," Blake sighed. Her tone sounded both fond and melancholy, as if she were trying to explain an unpleasant truth to a child, or Ruby. "Tell you what, why don't you look up some places around town and run them by me?"
"Oh no." From across the room, Weiss picked up on what Blake had been hinting at, and did not look one bit happier for the knowledge. If anything, she looked like she was about to be ill. Blake just gave her friend a resigned little shrug. This was something that Yang was just going to have to learn for herself, a painful but necessary lesson, like figuring out that fire burns.
"Fine," Yang, not catching the exchange between her teammates. She wouldn't have understood the connotations if she had, anyway. She pulled out her scroll and began thumbing through local announcements. "Hey, the Atlesian Grand Opera is putting on a show tonight. It's all ritzy and sophisticated, just like you. We could get dressed all fancy, take the town by-"
"Read the fine print under the announcement."
"What? Well…" Yang peered closer at the small text at the bottom of the graphic announcing the opera. "Black tie dress code, no alcohol on the premises… no Faunus are permitted at this venue?!"
"You won't see Faunus in formal attire in higher Atlas unless they're wait staff," Blake informed her, matter-of-factly.
"The Atlesian Grand Opera can get stuffed," Yang growled. Her scowl deepened as she scrolled through other Atlesian attractions, restaurants, and clubs, seeing just how many of them banned Faunus from them outright. She was mad at Atlas, of course, mad as hell, but she was more angry with herself. How had she never noticed that they had never seen any Faunus when she and her friends had been out and about? No, scratch that, she had seen a few as menial laborers and custodians, never any actually enjoying the upper city the way the humans around those places were. Yang felt like a complete and utter heel for never realizing that Atlas, at least the upper city, was completely hostile to her partner.
"Okay, well, this movie theater says it admits Faunus," Yang began. "We can go see a movie?"
"Atlas Multiplex?" Blake asked.
Yang checked. "Uh-huh."
"We still wouldn't be able to see the movie together."
"What?!" Yang checked the smaller print. "Species segregated seating enforced?!"
"I would have to purchase my ticket at the front, walk around to the back to get in, and then sit in a separate area designated for Faunus," Blake said, as matter-of-factly as of she had been discussing the weather. "Let us fall to our knees and thank the Atlas Multiplex for their beneficence."
"Motherfucker!" Yang threw her Scroll to the ground, her irises red with fury. She didn't swear often, but when she did, it meant that she was well and truly wrathful. "Where are Faunus supposed to go to do anything, then?"
"The lower city, of course. There is a Faunus district on the ground. But I'd have to take a Bullhead to get down there, and I'd need a good reason to come back up. I don't know of any Faunus in the upper city that aren't also attending the academy. I'd be suspicious, and that brings the cops, and since I'm not actually a student here, I'd probably get arrested. It's a lot of trouble and attention, so I just stay in here."
There was a silence as Yang absorbed her partner's words. The blonde turned to address Weiss, who was sitting on her bed with her shoulders slumped and gaze downcast.
"Weiss, I want to burn your hometown to the goddamn ground."
"I hear there's an organization you can join to do just that," Blake said, her tone dry. "But the Grimm mask is a bad look."
"Yeah, I'd look like my friggin' mom," Yang spat. She flopped onto her back next to Blake. "Why didn't you say anything? We wouldn't have gone if we knew you couldn't."
"You all were having fun," Blake said with a little shrug. "I didn't want to hold you back. The world is wide open and full of possibilities, for humans."
The cat Faunus felt Yang's arms wrap around her, her partner pulling in close to her with the sort of easy intimacy that they had cultivated recently. "You're worth more than all the Dust in Atlas," Yang told her, pressing her forehead into Blake's shoulder. "This city is stupid."
Just then, the door opened, and Ruby Rose popped into the room. "Hey guys, I was talking to Jaune, do you want to-" she cut off as she took in the mood of her teammates. Weiss looked dejected, Yang was clinging to Blake as though she would fade away if she didn't, and Blake was sitting up in her bed, her book laying neglected on her chest as Yang nuzzled her.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head. "Did someone die?"
"Atlas sucks," Yang announced, her voice slightly muffled.
"Your sister wanted to take Blake out tonight… but virtually nowhere in the upper city would accept them," Weiss informed her.
"What? Why not?"
Yang proceeded to call Atlesians a series of shocking expletives that threatened to peel the paint off of the dorm room walls.
"Quite," Weiss agreed. "To be more specific, the establishments of the upper city discriminate against Faunus as a default."
"That's awful! Why would they do such a thing?"
"My mom wrote a book about it for her doctoral thesis," Blake suggested. "But to make a long story very short, the rich Atlesians keep the poor human Atlesians from turning on the upper class by directing their ire towards a smaller, physically distinct minority. The lower class humans get a simple answer to why things go wrong, and get social capital from being above the Faunus. It helps if they see society as a zero-sum game; if something benefits Faunus, it must hurt humans. If something hurts Faunus, it must help humans. For example, the Atlesian Grand Opera doesn't admit Faunus; if a human wanted to reach success as an opera singer, eliminating an entire category of people from competition means that their own chances are increased. Limiting Faunus opportunity creates a steady supply of cheap, disposable labor for conglomerates like the SDC, as well as desperate recruits for the military. And if the Faunus boil over into riots, violence, or the White Fang, then that proves that we're vicious beasts that need to be controlled by humans."
Blake was met by three incredulous stares. "My mom was the first Faunus to earn a PhD in sociology from a human academy. She's very smart."
"So… what does that all mean for us?" Ruby asked.
"Means I need to keep out of the way so our mission can go smoothly," Blake said.
Ruby's mouth tightened into a line. She shared a look with Weiss, who nodded and stood up next to the young team leader. "Okay," Ruby began. "We might not be able to make it all the way right, but we can make things at least a little right for our beloved teammate!"
"Yeah!" Weiss and Yang cheered, fists raised, while Blake just raised an eyebrow.
"Weiss, you're with me!" Ruby ordered. "Blake, keep doing Blakey things! Yang, snuggles!"
"Snuggle-lock initiated!" Yang reported, continuing to cling to her partner. Blake rolled her eyes fondly as Ruby and Weiss dashed out of the room, no doubt to inform Team JNPR of their discovery. She had no doubt that they would all cease doing any more business in the upper city than was strictly necessary; her human friends might be a little oblivious about Faunus issues, but they were all good people, and once those issues were pointed out to them, they wouldn't stand to see one of their own mistreated. There still wasn't a whole lot that they could do while keeping a low profile and working on their mission, but it was the thought that counted, more than they could know.
With that, Blake settled in for a quiet morning of reading, though this time, she had a warm, comfy Yang keeping her company. Her people's struggle still weighed on her, but for now, she could put the outer world aside and just enjoy the snuggles.
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A few hours after Ruby and Weiss's departure, someone knocked on Team RWBY's door. Blake's cat ears perked up, and Yang pulled out of the sleepy stupor in which she'd been resting. It was probably someone from JNPR, since Ruby or Weiss wouldn't have bothered knocking.
"Come in," Blake called.
Instead of one of their friends from their sister team, the bright, irrepressible cat Faunus of Atlas Academy rolled in on her skates. "Oh hi, you guys," she called out, her pink tail swishing happily back and forth. "Please tell me I'm interrupting something. I can come back later, if you need."
Blake realized the connotations of the both of them in bed, with Yang clinging to her. Those weren't bad connotations, but they weren't quite accurate to what the young women had been doing either. "Nah, we're just getting up, Miss.."
"Oh, don't tell me you forgot me already. I'm Neon Katt, coolest kitty in Atlas!"
Yang gave a little shrug. "So… how can we help you?"
"You guys need to get dressed, duh!" Neon tossed a couple of dresses onto the bed the two shared. "It's totally date night! Your friends are all super busy setting everything up, so I volunteered to get your lazy butts out of bed already!"
"Date night?" Blake asked, looking to Yang.
"This has got Ruby all over it," Yang replied. She stood up and examined the white dress, clearly meant for her. The blonde then looked up at Neon who waved happily. "You're not going to leave so we can change?"
"Why?" Neon asked, her face utterly devoid of subterfuge.
"Oh, I don't know," Yang began. "Just thought I might be too 'top heavy' for your viewing pleasure. Never did go on that diet, by the way."
"Ooh, you're not taking a little tournament trash-talk seriously, are you?"
Yang just stared at her.
Neon stared back with a little kitty smile on her face.
Yang pushed her out of the room, ignoring her protest, and slammed the door.
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Blake and Yang followed Neon down the hallway, with Blake having mollified Neon's hurt feelings with a few kind words. The rainbow cat Faunus led them into a small auditorium, the entrance to which had apparently been decorated to imitate an upscale Atlesian restaurant. Both girls recognized the telltale signs of Weiss decor in the doilies and white curtains.
They were met at the door by a grinning Nora, wearing a vest with a bow tie. "Hello!" she called cheerfully. "Belladonna, table for two, correct?"
"That's us," Yang said, playing along.
"Great! We have a table reserved just for you!"
Blake rolled her eyes, clearly expecting for it to just be a single table in the auditorium. To her surprise, the entire place was full of tables, each one seating Faunus or Faunus-human couples. Flynt Coal was up on stage, playing that smooth jazz on his trumpet, occasionally busting out the quartet for more complex pieces. Blake's golden eyes were wide as she saw Jaune, Nora, and Ruby waiting tables, alongside Weiss Schnee, of all people. The Schnee girl was a good sport about it, too, taking pictures with Faunus students while posing with her serving tray. Blake knew that seeing pictures of a Schnee doing waitressing, let alone for Faunus students, would drive Weiss's father into an apoplectic fit.
"This is amazing," she finally said. "This must be just about every Faunus student in Atlas Academy here."
"I know, right?" Yang was looking around. "How did they get all of this set up in just four hours?"
Jaune slid up next to their table, dressed similarly to Nora and carrying a tray with wine glasses and a bottle in a small bucket of ice. "Wine for ze distinguished ladies?" he asked, in an exaggerated accent. "We have a lovely '32 Red, personally looted from ze Schnee family wine cellar."
Yang giggled helplessly as Blake blinked in shock. "Wow, when Weiss wants to troll her dad, she goes all out, huh?"
"Oui, nothing but ze best for ze fine Faunus of Atlas," Jaune said with a wink. Blake smiled from ear to ear as she held out a glass for Jaune to fill. After he finished with hers, he filled Yang's, and the two had a little toast.
A small chime came from Jaune's scroll. "Excusez-moi, mademoiselles, I must attend to ze main course. I shall leave ze bottle, yes? Yes, of course. Au revoir!" With that, their friend was off again, leaving Blake and Yang to stare in stunned silence before breaking out in laughter.
"What… what even was that language?" Yang gasped between her laughter.
"I hear Weiss likes it," Blake said, leaning in conspiratorially.
"Oh, the scandal!" Yang mimed fanning herself.
The wine really was quite good, and the knowledge that it would piss off Jacques Schnee to no end to know that it had been swiped to serve freely to disenfranchised Faunus students made it even sweeter to Blake and Yang. Spite makes any drink go down smoother.
The double doors to the auditorium burst open as Team JNPR carried in platters of food. Lie Ren wore his "Please do nothing to the cook" apron, as well as an outrageously tall chef's hat. The diners began to applaud as the human teenagers began serving plates heaped high with succulent meats, bowels of fine, fresh produce, and, most critically of all to Blake, the mouthwatering ichthy goodness of high quality seafood.
Jaune came to their table with a platter of seafood. "For ze distinguished ladies, sesame seared ahi tuna, halibut Florentine, and salmon sashimi. Bon apetit!"
Blake had died and gone to fishy heaven. Yang was no epicurean when it came to seafood, but even she could tell that it was very good. She ate, sipped her wine, and watched happily as Blake, practically doing a giddy dance in her chair, nearly had a fish-induced orgasm as she tried the ahi tuna. Her kitty smile was in full force, even showing her canines, which Yang hadn't known she could even do.
"Excuse me. May I have your attention please?" On the stage, Flynt Coal tapped on the mic. The excited chatter died down as the diners waited for Flynt to continue. "Thank you. Now, it's no surprise that Atlas is a raw deal for a lot of people. But of all the people, no one's got it worse than the Faunus. So, some friends of ours from Beacon Academy had this idea, to show how much our Faunus friends and teammates mean to us. This night is just the start. Team FNKI is proud to announce that we are calling for an academy-wide boycott of all businesses that discriminate against the Faunus!"
The room erupted into applause, with Blake clapping politely. It wasn't that she doubted their sincerity, so much that there were still many teams in Atlas that had no Faunus members, and may not care enough to join. She wished Team FNKI well in their attempt, but had reservations as to its success.
When the applause had died down, Flynt spoke up again. "We know we can't change Atlas overnight, but we want our Faunus colleagues to know that they are not forgotten and they are not alone."
A smattering of laughter broke out as Neon, changed into a shimmering violet sheath dress, stalked onto the stage. Her crush on her team leader was the stuff of school legend. She crouched down, ready to pounce, even wiggling her butt in anticipation of her lunge.
"And so, we hope you enjoy this night. Thank you, and-"
"But Flynt!" Neon pounced, hopping onto Flynt's back, her tail swishing happily. "How is it date night if you're up here, and not sitting with me!"
"C'mon, Neon, I'm doing the music for these people! I'll make it up to you-"
"I believe I can take over," Weiss appeared on stage, her own microphone in hand. "After all, we can't have this girl have anything less than a perfect evening, can we?"
"Aw, damn it, Schnee." Flynt, obviously defeated, allowed Neon to drag him offstage to a candlelit table.
Blake settled in to listen to her famous friend give a live, solo performance. As she polished off the last of the fish, she allowed herself to simply relax, scooting her chair next to Yang so she could snuggle on her for a change. For the life of her, she could not recall ever feeling so comfortable in a crowd, even in Menagerie. She allowed herself to imagine a future in which this was the norm, humans and Faunus intermingling freely, no White Fangs, no Cardin Winchesters, just different people coming together.
Like herself and Yang. Yang was loud, brash, and usually entirely unsubtle, but she was strong in ways that Blake could only dream of being. When Yang was with her, she didn't just feel accepted, she felt safe. She hoped Yang had prepared herself, because Blake was never going to let her go again.
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The night was, by all accounts, a remarkable success. Morale amongst the Faunus students had never been higher, and a surprisingly large segment of the human students had already signed a boycott pledge, with possibly more to come. Weiss had shut down her father's blotchy-faced screaming by simply inquiring if begrudging minor comforts to raise morale among the brave Huntresses and Huntsmen of Atlas was the official stance of the SDC, or just his own, completing her grand troll against him. But most importantly, to Yang's estimation, was that her partner had had a grand time, smiling and laughing, enjoying the night that Atlas would have denied them.
So, she was a bit surprised when, as they arrived at their team quarters late that night, Ruby and Weiss had split off.
"We're, uh, doing a sleepover with Team JNPR," Ruby said.
"Without you two," Weiss added.
Blake and Yang shared a look before regarding the other half of the team. "Um… why?" Blake asked.
"Just shut up and kiss my sister already, she's, like, so gay for you!" With that, Ruby was gone at Semblance speed, dragging poor Weiss with her for the ride.
The cat Faunus turned to Yang, a sly look on her face. "Is that so?"
Yang's face was red. "I… would probably have worded it differently, but she wasn't wrong" she admitted.
"Well… we can't just leave you hanging out here, can we?"
Yang's eyes widened. "Blake-?"
Blake took her face in her hands and pulled her into a kiss. Yang melted into her, full of desperate need. Blake pulled at the straps of Yang's dress, offended by the cloth that stood between them. She felt a bed at the back of her knees and fell back onto it, pulling Yang on top of her, her lover's blonde hair spilling like golden fire across bare flesh. At some point, her own dress was pulled off of her, but Blake was far beyond modesty at that point, arching her back to give Yang full access to her. She needed Yang's lips on her, craved it more than anything she had ever wanted before in her life, and was overjoyed when her lover indulged her.
Blake fell into the kiss of the flame, and lost herself in its warmth.
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All things considered, it was a lovely garden that Blake found herself in, though for the life of her, she could not recall where it was, or how it was she had found it. Vines adorned marble walls and columns, flowers blooming wildly in an uncontrolled explosion of joyous colors. A waterfall fed a pool of crystal clear water, the sounds of gentle cascades filling her ears. The sun was high and bright, warm and inviting, and Blake relished the feel of it on her bare skin.
As she stretched languidly, she realized that her head rested on Yang's lap as the other woman knelt next to the pool. She felt Yang's fingers stroking through her hair. They were both nude, but somehow, Blake felt no sense of concern or embarrassment to this. This garden was their place, their paradise, and here, the world could never touch them.
"You're beautiful," she said, studying the way the sun glinted off of the water beads that clung to Yang's bronze skin.
"Gee, tell me something I don't know," Yang said with a wink, prompting Blake to giggle. Paradise or no paradise, Yang was Yang. Always would be.
"I love your Yanginess," Blake told her. "Just… all of it. You're strong and stubborn and silly, and sexy… and you care. You care so much. You're the most amazing woman."
"Well, you see the things I can't," Yang said in turn. "You've always been front and center in the fight for justice. You're as mysterious and all embracing as the night, as enticing as the shadow. How can I be the most amazing woman when I'm holding her in my lap?"
"We'll split it," Blake said with a sleepy smile. "You be the most amazing woman for one week, and then I'll be the most amazing woman the next."
"Sounds good to me."
"I wish we could stay here forever," Blake said. "Just you and me… and maybe some delicious fish."
Yang scrunched her nose at her. "Oh you and your fish," she said. "Unfortunately, we can't stay here."
"Why not?"
Blake woke up.
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Well, she was certainly not in a garden of paradise, but this wasn't the worst morning she'd ever had. Yang was pressed in close to her, their legs intertwined in an intimate embrace. If not for the fact that both women had worked up a sweat the previous evening and were now in dire need of a shower, it would have been downright dandy. Well, that and the state of the bedsheets. Morning cleanup was definitely a priority. She smiled as she felt Yang stir in her arms.
"Morning, gorgeous," she said.
Yang fixed her with a look, as she took in her surroundings and the events of the previous night came back to her. She fixed Blake with a brilliant smile. "You stayed," she breathed.
"Well yeah. You're kind of stuck with me now," she said.
"Jeeze, by the state of these sheets, I might be stuck to you now," quipped Yang.
After some brief work disentangling themselves, Yang rolled out of bed, pulling into a long stretch. Blake marveled at the interplay of muscles, her lover's body being both practical implement of war and chiseled work of art.
"You're beautiful," Blake gasped.
"Gee, tell me something I don't know."
A beat.
"Did you-" Blake began.
"With a garden," Yang continued.
"What… what does that mean?"
"Magic? Semblance? Natural aftermath of damn good sexing? Who knows?" Yang shrugged. "It was nice, though."
"It was."
"Maybe one day, when all of this is over, we could go looking for it again."
"You mean like the real world?"
"Sure. Just you and me, not a care in the world, traveling the globe to find our secret places."
"I'd like that." Blake looked up to Yang. "But… I'm pretty sure that I'll find it wherever you are."
"Aren't you sweet?" Yang winked at her.
"According to you from last night, I apparently taste like honey."
Yang blushed again, unused to having been outflirted. Well, that was a state of affairs that could not stand.
"Well, only one way to find out for sure," she said. "Wanna join me in the shower?"
All the Grimm in Remnant wouldn't have been enough to keep Blake away.
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Entry Endnotes: The racial dynamics in my version of Atlas aren't subtle, but sometimes I think RWBY is a little too subtle about the plight of the Faunus. The way I see it, if the SDC is comfortable enough to start branding Faunus, in the face, than Atlas is probably pretty damn bad for Faunus, probably equivalent to Apartheid South Africa, or the United States for most of its history. The point is, you don't get an organization like the White Fang without heavy oppression, the portrayal of which RWBY has tended to shy from.
I love having Weiss troll her dad.
I don't know if this is a comfortable level of risque, so let me know what you think. I just felt like making it explicit that, yes, they banged, and yes, it was awesome.
While I was in the editing phase of this entry, Shadow282's "Random Thoughts" had an entry whose synopsis hit on some of the same themes as this entry. I almost deleted this, but after reading the other story, it went in a different enough direction that I felt comfortable posting this. And check out "Random Thoughts," while you're at it; the chapter with a remorseful post-Volume 5 Raven and an increasingly pissed-off Taiyang is my favorite.
See you all next time!
-Mahina