That wasn't too bad of a wait that time - only 3 weeks. Hope you all enjoy :)
Blake:
With a deep sigh, Blake firmly placed her pencil down on her desk. She stretched her arms above her head before proceeding to flip through each page of her test, quickly checking each of the answers for accuracy. Satisfied, the faunus silently stood with her belongings, placed the packet on Oobleck's desk, and left the classroom – finished with classes for the week.
Taking note of how she'd left before the final bell, Blake decided to walk over to Yang's last class of the day to hopefully meet up with the crazy blonde before she tramples anyone in the hallway. As the dark-haired girl made her way through Beacon's spanning halls, she began to feel somewhat anxious. It was finally Friday, meaning it was time for whatever 'date' sort of activities Yang had planned.
Blake had Yang promise that the pair wouldn't do anything super romantic or 'datey', so to speak, but Blake was still somewhat worried about her girlfriend's judgement. Blake knew that Yang genuinely tried to empathize with her fear of judgement – whether it be about her sexuality or faunus-heritage, but ultimately Blake suspected that Yang herself could never fully understand. It wasn't in Yang's nature to remotely care about how strangers' thought of her. Blake just hoped whatever activities ahead of them would keep their relationship appearing only friendly – nothing more. The past few days spent with Yang were fulfilling and loving, but did little to reassure the faunus that everything would in fact 'be okay'.
Upon arrival, Blake leaned against a row of lockers outside of the classroom. While fiddling with her scroll, she silently thought, 'I also kind of hope we won't do something generic like dinner and a movie. I'd like to believe Yang to be more creative than Sun…'
Just then, the bell blared its freeing ring, initiating lines of classroom doors to slam open with hordes of students making their escapes for the weekend. Blake spotted her partner almost immediately by the tall huntress nearly shoving other students out of her way.
"Yang!" Blake called through the crowd, waving her hand for additional effect.
The blonde huntress halted her charge as she quickly looked around for her call's source. Upon spotting her girlfriend, her face lit up with a grand smile. She eagerly approached and nearly yelled, "Are you ready?"
"Uh yeah," Blake quietly replied, trying to signal Yang to tone things down in the busy hallway, "Although, we should probably leave our bags in the dorm first…"
Blake noticed Yang wasn't carrying her bag with her, which Yang seemed to also simultaneously realize.
"That sounds great to me! We will execute that flawless plan in just a moment," Yang laughed as she frantically bolted back into the classroom to retrieve her abandoned bag.
…
After a quick visit to the dorm and a friendly send off from Ruby and Weiss, the black and yellow pair began their stroll to the main exit of campus. The sun hung well above the horizon as a refreshing breeze flowed softly. It seemed to be one of those objectively perfect days, which arbitrarily brought a bit of reassurance to Blake. The faunus repeatedly told herself things would be fine, praying such repetition would lead to belief.
As they walked shoulder-to-shoulder, Blake remembered she still had no worldly clue as to where they were going.
"So, Yang, what's the plan for this afternoon?"
Yang thought a moment before replying, "Are you going to make me tell you? Isn't it fun to simply enjoy the anticipation?"
"I think you mean suffer in anxiety…"
"C'mon, kitten, have a little faith in me. I promise that no one there will suspect a thing, and we'll both have an absolute blast together."
Blake sighed – still failing to completely relax about the situation.
The taller girl nudged her, adding, "There will also be plenty of good hiding spots to go make out in if you want."
The faunus responded to Yang's suggestion with a playful shove and a subtle blush.
"Alright, alright," Yang laughed, "It seriously will be fine, though. If you'd like a hint, our destination is somewhere downtown. You can shoot out some guesses as we walk there. Plus, regardless of how much you pretend to hate your time there, we can snuggle in the dorm room later on tonight."
"I guess so…"
Blake faced the pavement, feeling both nervous about this undercover date and angry at herself for obscuring it into such a big deal.
"Y-Yang…" Blake stuttered.
"Yeah?" Yang turned to look into her partner's golden eyes.
"I know this sort of thing is really important to you, so I'm going to try to make the most of it… whatever it is…"
Yang beamed, "I know you will. Thanks, Blake!" She gave the shorter girl a half hug – pulling her in with one arm, adding, "Although, you probably shouldn't tell me such loving things if you're opposed to me hugging and kissing you out here."
Blake pushed her away, chuckling, "You're ridiculous."
"I try my best," Yang grinned.
The two continued onward to their destination, passing Beacon's gates into the proper city of Vale. The roads grew packed with vehicles and pedestrians as they approached the denser, downtown area. It had seemingly occurred to everyone to venture the town on their Friday afternoon.
Blake took note of how they were walking past just about every one of her guesses. They walked past the movie theater … past bowling … past the library… As they approached the docks along the edge of Vale, Blake became worried the plan was something fishing or aquatic related. She didn't care for seafood thaaat much.
After passing the final block to the docks, Yang excitedly announced, "And here we are!"
Confused, Blake gazed over in the direction Yang was wildly waving her arms towards. With a slight grin forming, Blake thought, 'This will be interesting.'
They had arrived just next to the pier where an expansive carnival sort of event had been set up. Among the colorful, flashing lights strung about, there appeared to be numerous attractions including a ferris wheel, a rickety roller coaster, and one of those towers that drop passengers from its peak. Even from their relative distance, Blake could already detect the intoxicating fumes of a feast of hot food.
Blake's gaze panned back to her girlfriend who stood looking at her, clearly awaiting her reaction and approval.
"So, this part of the Vytal Festival just opened up yesterday, even though the Colosseum battles don't start until next weekend," Yang explained, "We may not have placed to compete in combat this time, but we sure as hell can benefit from its attractions…"
'Well this is definitely unexpected,' Blake thought, 'Then again the pier is usually empty, so I couldn't very well have guessed this was the plan. Regardless, this is definitely an event that a pair of believably platonic friends would attend, so as long as we don't make out on the ferris wheel and Yang doesn't win and gift me a dumb prize…'
"Oh um," Yang quickly added, "There's also plenty of restaurants and other places to bail to if you-"
"Let's go."
"W-What?" Yang stammered, "Really?!"
With a nudge, Blake repeated with a warm smile, "Let's go! I love the idea, Yang."
"Ahhhh - I really want to hug you, but don't worry - I won't – god damn it," Yang squealed, "Alright, let's check the place out!"
…
Metallic brakes loudly screeched alongside an orchestra of mechanical gears and motors. However, the horrendous sounds did little to limit the enthusiasm and adrenaline rushing through the two partners as their cart of the rollercoaster grinded to an eventual halt in the station. The ride was relatively short but accomplished plenty of thrills by nearly diving into the water numerous times.
"Encore! Again! Again!" Yang yelled as she jumped out of their cart and extended a hand to aid her partner climb out. After lifting her safety bar, Blake graciously took hold and pulled herself up.
"That was the third time already. Shouldn't we explore more of the attractions?"
"What!? The line is still like completely empty, though!"
"Yeah," Blake chuckled, "because everyone's paranoid the ride's structure will collapse after being 'recklessly' dismantled and reassembled countless times. I'm sure the line will stay relatively empty all afternoon."
Yang rolled her eyes, "I remember hearing we're all far more likely to die to a random vending machine, or maybe something actually dangerous like a grimm. Whatever, though. What would you like to do now, then?"
Blake casually pointed over to the massive drop tower constructed at the end of the pier. The cylindrical tower stood far above everything else around it. The sides were painted black, white, and red with big plastic feathers sticking out, seeming to simulate riding a nevermore.
"There's probably a great view at the top," Blake suggested as she began inching towards the target.
"Ooo we can probably see Beacon from up there. Yes, let's check it out." Yang excitedly agreed as she followed the faunus towards the tower's line.
The pair were surprised to find this attraction had an equally short wait time. It seemed the other visitors were far more interested in playing games for prizes and stuffing their faces with food.
Before long, the two reached the front and strapped into their seats aside one another – facing back towards the city of Vale. The ring of seating was mostly vacant, giving the entire side to the pair.
"I hope you're not afraid of heights," Yang teased as she took hold of the safety bar.
"Yeah," Blake humored, "I've definitely not already jumped out of dozens of airships during our training."
Chuckling, Yang continued, "Then again, I guess you always land on your feet and can die like nine times anyways, right?"
"Wow. You really figured it out," Blake grew a bit more monotone.
"A fear of heights would really be a catastrophe, huh?"
Yang just about burst into giggles as Blake deeply sighed, wishing she could erase such a pun from human history.
Thankfully before the conversation could devolve any further, the ride's safety announcement blared out of a nearby set of speakers. All passengers were instructed to keep their safety equipment secured and to actively avoid getting themselves killed. With a mechanical whir, the tower's ring slowly began its ascent.
"Oh ho ho – here we go!" Yang cheered, swinging her free-hanging legs.
As the mechanism slowly lifted its passengers, the view of Vale slowly expanded, and as predicted, Beacon eventually became visible atop its grand cliffside. Once the majority of the city came into view, the ascent jolted to a stop. They had reached the peak.
"Wow, now this is a view if I've ever seen one," Yang muttered, starry-eyed.
Blake nodded in agreement. "You can even see a bit of Forever Fall."
"Yeah…" Yang basked for a moment before playfully adding, "It still doesn't compare to you, though."
Blake's heart fluttered as she tried to suppress a blush. 'Oh my god, Yang,' Blake thought, 'How am I supposed to possibly respond to a heartful compliment like that? Also, I swear if anyone else on this ride heard that-'
Lacking a substantial response, Blake simply placed her hand over Yang's – slightly awkwardly so through their safety bars. They both continued to gaze off, soaking in the moment.
"Wait a second," Blake suddenly remembered, "When on Remnant is this tower supposed to-"
A metallic cling suddenly rang which released the tower's hold on the ring of seating. The riders all screamed as they began their extremely fast return to the surface. After a second, the breaks engaged which slowed the ride down to a gradual -though not too particularly comfortable - stop.
…
"You were so totally terrified, Blake," Yang insisted as the pair walked along the pier. "I was almost convinced something was actually wrong with the ride by how you were screaming."
"I was caught off guard," Blake asserted. "If you wanted me to be properly attentive then don't send such brutal compliments my way."
"Brutal compliments?" Yang laughed, "I compared your beauty to the view of the city. I didn't think the line was that great."
"No," Blake chuckled, "but you meant it… so genuinely… and that's the part that uh … affected me…"
Blake cursed at herself as she felt another blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Well, if you liked that compliment so much," Yang mused as she leaned in closer and began to whisper, "You should also know that you're drop-dead gorgeous, you literally make my day every time I see you, and I absolutely love-"
"Yang!" Blake interjected as she motioned her arms to draw attention to all the people around them. The creeping blush had practically enveloped her face by now.
Yang raised her hands in defense, chuckling, "I know, I know. I'll stop…"
"…for now," she added with a wink.
'Why do I love her, again?' Blake began contemplating.
"Hey, we should totally get some food now," Yang suggested, pointing out one of the nearby food stands, "Are you down for some pretzels?"
'Nope, it was definitely not her appetite…' Blake ruled out.
"Pretzels sound great." Glancing over to the drink stall next-door, Blake added, "What are your thoughts about getting some milkshakes as well?"
"That will be a definite yes. I'll grab the pretzels and meet you back here?" Yang offered.
"Sounds like a plan to me. See you in a minute," Blake agreed.
The pair split off to complete their individual food missions.
The line at the drink stand cleared out much faster, resulting in Blake returning first with a hefty vanilla milkshake in each hand. She really wanted to start drinking her's but thought it better to politely wait for Yang to show up.
Without her hands free and thus her scroll inaccessible, Blake glanced around the pier as she waited. Yang had just reached the front of the line and was finally putting in their order. The faunus blissfully smiled watching her partner interact with the cashier.
'Aside from Yang's antics,' Blake thought, 'This date has been entirely successful. I'm really glad Yang wanted us to do this. We're basically just hanging out as 'friends', but this has an important difference from us simply hanging out in the dorm.'
Blake awkwardly wiped a forming tear from her eyes while still holding the drink in her hand.
'It's still truly amazing that Yang agreed to keep our relationship a secret for me,' Blake continued thinking, "I'll really have to think of a way to thank her somehow…"
As Blake continued her train of thought, her gaze randomly travelled around her surroundings. She took notice of some kids playing ring toss – they likely wouldn't win anything. She also saw a woman furiously kicking an arcade cabinet – it seemed that she definitely didn't win anything.
Blake's gaze panned slightly further, and suddenly she froze.
'No…' Blake thought as her heart beat hastened, 'Oh no… I can't… I can't deal with this… Why the hell are-'
A group of four guys strutted along the pier just across from Blake. All of them wore pompous, designer clothing, and had resting, smug expressions seemingly begging someone to challenge them. They truly didn't appear to be anything too out of the ordinary, but Blake distinctly remembered these monsters. They walked parallel to Blake's position, but as far as Blake was concerned, the group was about to surround her.
'T-those are the same guys from the movie theater … that night with Sun … they harassed those girls for kissing … they… I couldn't do anything about it… I…'
The guy in the lead suddenly began laughing as he pointed ahead of them. His companions quickly joined him as they all began walking a bit faster to some target.
Blake looked over and realized it was about to happen again. Down the pier a bit stood two more guys – a human and a faunus with what appeared to be fox ears. They were holding hands as they looked out at the ocean…
'I – I should do something!' Blake thought. 'I…'
Blake began to envision herself in the place of the girls at the movie theater. The real world melted away from her. She began to hear screaming from all around her. The sounds violently rang in her ears. She couldn't hear herself think. Someone suddenly pushed her to the ground causing her bow to fall off – revealing her ears and faunus heritage to the world. The screaming only intensified. The hatred only grew stronger. Why was she hated so ruthlessly for simply existing? Why couldn't she be what everyone expected her to be? Why-
"Hey, I'm back! What's up?"
Yang's voice jolted Blake back to reality.
"Oh uh um uh…" Blake stammered.
The faunus kept staring a the group of oppressors who had just surrounded the poor, unsuspecting couple.
"Blake!?" Yang began to grow worried. "Hey, what's wrong? What's…"
Yang tried to look over at whatever held Blake's attention.
Through the noisy commotion of the pier, a phrase rang clear from the group, "What, are you two fucking gay or something?"
A moment later, the group's leader suddenly shoved the fox faunus to the ground. His partner began yelling ferociously as he shielded the faunus.
Yang's brow twitched as she realized what was happening.
"Hold this," Yang demanded, forcing two pretzels into Blake's arms.
Surprised, Blake scrambled to keep hold of all the food suddenly in her arms. Yang began walking towards the group with her fists clenched. Blake realized what was about to happen. The blonde's eyes had already abandoned their usual lilac selves.
Yang:
"No," Blake hissed, "Yang, wait!"
Yang didn't hear her though. Yang was locked onto her target with blood red eyes. As she approached, the brawler slowly heard more and more of their despicable dialogue, only making her blood boil further.
"With a faunus no less? Why not just fuck your dog and save yourself the trouble?" one laughed.
"Nah, that's clearly just not freaky enough for these things," their leader claimed, "These scum fucks are on a whole other level. They even have the nerve to display this shit in public."
"Hey, fuck off, man!" the faunus' partner yelled, "How about you mind your own fucking-"
The group's leader punched him in the gut, forcing him to collapse to the ground next to his partner.
"Don't you fucking take that tone with me you degenerate faggot," the leader hissed, "You're lucky the lot of you aren't round up and fucking burned like the scum that you-"
Out of seemingly nowhere, Yang's fist collided with the leader's head. The cracking thud startling the entire group.
The leader stumbled, but before he could completely lose his balance, Yang grabbed him by the neck and directed another critical blow directly to his face. The horrendous snap of a broken nose was clearly heard. Still before the group could fully react, the brawler lifted her target by the neck - nearly choking him - and tossed him over the railing, into the ocean below.
"What the fuck!" One of the followers barked, "You stupid bitch! You're dead!"
As he threw a punch towards her head, Yang effortlessly caught his fist in her hand and retaliated with her own punch directed to his side, hoping to break every rib he had.
The man back-peddled as he held his gut in agony. The other two slowly stepped back as well.
As clearly and calmly as she could manage, Yang growled, "Don't let me ever see your pathetic faces again."
The three remaining men scrambled away – utterly terrified.
Yang stood motionless, glaring at the whelps until they were entirely out of sight. Her eyes slowly returned to their usual purple as she began taking a few deep breaths.
Around her, Yang noticed a few people staring at her, although most seemed either approving or plainly confused. She didn't really care though. She'd made it clear what was going to happen if someone had a problem.
Yang turned back to the poor couple, still sitting on the ground. She quickly extended a hand and helped each one up.
"I'm sorry," Yang stated plainly.
"S-sorry?" The faunus repeated. "Are you kidding? You totally just saved us!"
"Yeah," his partner added, "That was probably going to get much worse before you stepped in. I don't think there's any words I could even say to properly thank you enough."
Yang smiled – mostly because the two were safe, but also because she managed to save them like a proper huntress.
"Well, there was no way I wasn't going to do something," Yang insisted. "I'm just glad you're alright…"
Yang suddenly remembered the main reason she'd intervened and glanced back over to her girlfriend who still stood motionless.
"Hey, excuse me, guys," Yang said as she left back towards Blake.
"Hey," Yang softly greeted, as she carefully took her share of the food out of Blake's arms. "A-Are you alright?"
Blake's eyes were wide and already forming a fair amount of tears.
'Oh no,' Yang thought. 'I … I could tell those absolutely disgusting creeps were bothering you, Blake. I thought I was protecting you! I thought that-'
"Yang…"
"Y-yes, Blake?!"
The faunus suddenly dropped the pretzel and milkshake from her grasp. Yang was surprised as the meal clattered to the ground, but even more so when Blake suddenly crushed her in a suffocating hug.
"Thank you…" Blake softly squeaked as tears began to roll down onto the blonde's shoulder.
Yang returned the embrace just as tightly – relieved Blake was okay and ecstatic that Blake was hugging her. In the warmth of her girlfriend's arms, Yang felt invincible. She was ready to take on a hundred more scumbags – a thousand – hell, infinite!
The brawler wasn't about to let anything hurt the most precious girl in the world.
Softly, Yang whispered back, "I love you, Blake, and no one on Remnant is going to stop that."
So the past few chapters have basically been fluff now that Blake and Yang are together. I thought it was important to explore the daily activities of team RWBY to emphasize things returning to normal. This chapter, we finally had fluff exclusively between Blake and Yang 3 ... and we also got really serious again...
The set up of the group of assholes ALL the way back in Chapter 5 finally paid off. Seeing Yang overcome them will hopefully help Blake gain some confidence. This is probably one of my proudest chapters...
Also I know that other RWBY fics out there have done the whole date at the carnival thing, but I hope I managed a unique take on it.
This basically ends the mini - arc about their first undercover date thing, but not the end of the 2nd arc. There kind of isn't a second arc really... we're just setting a lot of elements up for the final - 3rd arc.
Expect more fluff for the time being, but don't worry - things are going to get serious soon enough. It also very well be a long time until chapter 16 (college is a thing), but I'll see what I can do.
Finally, thanks once more to you 199 followers. Please let me know if you want this to continue - motivation is important. Please leave your feedback/ suggestions on how I could improve, and please have a great day :)