Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.
Author's Note: Oh wow, there's been so much positive feedback on here and tumblr for this fanfic, and it makes me so happy that you all liked the first chapter and the idea. :D
As promised, here's chapter 2!
Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading for me. :D
Reeves3.
Chapter Two
By the time Saturday rolled round Blake's nerves had reached an uncomfortable level where her stomach kept twisting and turning. Kit appeared to be in the same boat as Blake, yet was curious to go swimming for the first time. She also seemed very happy, and excited to show off, that her new swimming costume had Ariel from The Little Mermaid on it.
"Kit, are you ready to go?" Blake called, from the bottom of the staircase.
"Yeah," shouted Kit, from inside her bedroom. Blake waited for a few seconds then heard hurried footsteps run along the landing and down the staircase. The plait Blake had styled Kit's hair into swung from side to side as she bounded up to her mother's side clutching her swimming bag.
Peeking inside her bag Kit checked she had everything then pulled it tight. "I'm ready! Are you?"
Blake smiled and showed Kit her own swim bag that was hanging off her shoulder. "As I'll ever be." She replied, trying not to show how nervous she really was.
Opening the front door, Kit stepped out first and waited by the car as Blake locked up the front door, then opened up the car for them both. Instead of putting on any music Kit chatted about the current book she was reading, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and which House Blake would be put in.
"Everyone wants to be in Gryffindor but I think you're a Ravenclaw mum because you're really smart."
"Oh really?" Blake asked, interested. "And what House would you be in?"
Kit shrugged. "I think I'd be in Ravenclaw with you. I want to be a Gryffindor, but I don't think I'm brave enough."
"You're plenty brave enough Kit," reassured Blake. "You're facing a fear today and so am I; you can be both brave and smart just like Hermione is."
"Yeah, that's true. We'll be Ravendor's, mum," giggled Kit, causing Blake to laugh too.
In ten minutes they had made it to Vale's Leisure Centre, arriving at twenty minutes past ten, where Blake parked next to a sleek yellow and black sports bike. Kit hopped out the car and walked around to the front as Blake got out of the driver's side.
"That's Miss Xiao Long's bike," Kit pointed out. Blake eyed the bike as they walked past it, heading into the building. 'Of course she would drive something like that,' she mused, thinking how perfectly the colours suited Yang.
The doors automatically opened as the two of them approached, just as a family with two kids were leaving, and they silently slid shut once everyone was out the way. There was a faint smell of chlorine in the lobby with a circular reception desk stationed in the middle, while chairs and a couple of vending machines lined the walls. A sign above them indicated that the hallway in front of them led to the sport halls while the steps lead to the gym. To their left were two doors, each one with a plaque on it, signalling they were the male and female changing rooms for the swimming pool. Two men, one with electric blue hair and the other with sandy blond, stood on opposite sides of the counter as the blond showed the other something on his phone.
"-look at them and she's like 'really? In front of my salad.' It's so funny," laughed the blond, a similar coloured furry tail curling up behind him.
"I can't believe they're doing that. Honestly por-oh hey!"
At the blue haired man's sudden alarmed voice, the monkey faunus slammed down his phone on the desk and the pair of them greeted Blake and Kit with wide smiles. The name tags on their shirts read 'Sun' and 'Neptune'.
"I better get to my next session upstairs. I'll see you later Nep," Sun quickly said, grabbing his phone before rushing off towards the stairs. Neptune said a quick 'see ya' and turned his attention to Blake and Kit.
"Hi there, welcome to Vale Leisure Centre, looks like you're going for a swim. Kids go in free but for adults it's £2.50," said Neptune, opening up the till.
"We have a lesson booked with Yang Xiao Long, do I still need to pay or does the fee I pay her go towards the centre?" Blake asked, reaching into her bag to get her purse out just in case. Realisation broke across Neptune's face and he grinned while shutting the till back up.
"Ahh, you're one of Yang's students! Then nope you don't need to pay here. What you pay her, a small portion goes to us too so she can rent out a couple of lanes for her lessons," he explained. Blake nodded and stopped reaching for her purse as Neptune handed her the log book to sign herself and Kit in.
"Alright, perfect," he said, taking the book back from Blake. "Over there are the changing rooms, have fun with your lesson."
"Thank you," said Blake, following Kit as she rushed ahead to the doors. The smell of chlorine got stronger as they entered the changing room. Light blue lockers lined down one wall while opposite them were several cubicles for private changing and in the centre there were benches and pegs for people to rest and hang their bags or clothes on. Further down there were more cubicles but each one had a shower fitted in it. The tiled floor was wet and slippery under their shoes as Blake led Kit to the centre of the room where the benches were.
Having planned ahead the two of them were already in their costumes, so after removing their clothes and shoes they took their towels out of their bags and stuffed their dry clothes in their instead. The wet floor under their feet wasn't very pleasant as Blake led them over to an open locker where they stored their items. Locking it up Blake tied the plastic bracelet with the key on it around her wrist and the second she was finished Kit grabbed her hand.
Her ears were flattened against her skull and she was biting her lip while jittering on the spot. Blake knelt down in front of her.
"It'll be alright, I'll be beside you all the time and you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with," she reassured. Kit nodded, still trembling slightly.
"Besides it's me who should be the nervous one. What are these people going to think of a grown woman not being able to swim?" Blake teased, making Kit smile. Holding hands, the two of them walked down the length of the changing room and towards the showers where it turned to the right leading out into the pool. Walking out onto the pools side, the sight of the water caused Blake's insides to squirm uncomfortably and her heartbeat joined in the fray, thudding in her chest like a jackhammer the moment she saw Yang.
Honestly it was like a scene out of Baywatch just seeing her standing at the shallow end of the pool, clad in a sunset orange one piece, with her wet hair tied up in a loose bun. By her feet was one fully inflated armband while she held the second up to her mouth to blow air into it. She noticed Blake and Kit appear through the entrance and took the nozzle out her mouth while turning to face them. For the second time in just a few short seconds Blake was blown away once more. Yang was missing her right arm from above her elbow, leaving a scarred stump, and Blake hadn't even noticed.
'I could have sworn I shook her hand the other day with that hand,' thought Blake, thoroughly puzzled. Kit on the other hand seemed less puzzled and more fascinated as all her fear from before seemed to fly right out the window as she let go of Blake's hand and ran towards her teacher.
"Miss Xiao Long, what happened to your arm?!"
It happened in slow motion in Blake's eyes as Kit slipped on the wet floor and started falling face first to the floor. As if she had predicted what was going to happen, the second Kit had started running, Yang had already surged forward, dropping the armband, and wrapped her arm around Kit's chest saving her from injury. Blake rushed over as quick as she could in a stiff walk while Yang helped Kit stand back up on her own feet.
"Careful there, Kit Kat. First rule when you're at a pool is no running along the poolside," warned Yang.
Kit played with the end of her plait. "Sorry miss," she mumbled, sheepishly.
Yang grinned at her and brought that grin up to Blake too as she reached Kit's side. "It's no problem and you can call me Yang while we're not in school, okay?"
Nodding her head Kit smiled up at Yang then pointed at her stump. "But what happened to your arm? It was there yesterday."
"Kit!" Blake scolded, then glanced apologetically at Yang. "I'm so sorry, she's-,"
Yang held up her hand, cutting Blake off, and beamed at them. Blake didn't miss the hint of sadness behind it no matter how wide Yang smiled. "It's alright, I get it a lot from people."
She looked down at Kit and grinned mischievously. "Do you ever see those signs at the zoo that say 'don't feed the animals'?" Kit nodded her head, her attention solely focused on Yang, and even Blake was enraptured with where this story was going. "Well, you should listen to them, a penguin did this to me."
Matching frowns appeared on Kit and Blake's faces making Yang laugh at their expressions. Blake quickly realised Yang was masking the truth with jokes but Kit hadn't realised and was trying to figure out how a penguin could do that. Before she could ask any more questions however Yang picked up the fallen armbands and handed them to the young faunus child.
"Here, slide these up your arms," she said, then beamed at her students. "So, are you two ready to swim?"
If Yang was hoping for an enthusiastic response to that she didn't get one. Yang shook her head at the two of them but was smiling anyway. She lead them over to the edge of the pool as Kit slid an armband up each arm. The first two lanes were sectioned off by lane dividers while everyone else, Blake spotted several young men and women, a couple of elders and a family of five, who were all splashing and swimming lengths up and down on the other side of the divider.
Yang sat down at the edge of the pool, sliding herself into the water and turned to face Blake and Kit who remained standing at the side.
"Alright, let's get you two comfortable, how about we start off with you both sitting on the edge and dipping your feet in?"
Doing as they were told Blake carefully lowered herself on the floor, as she noticed Yang's eyes on her, she urged herself to remain calm. This was the first time in a long time she was showing this much skin and it happened to be in front of a rather attractive woman whose attention she currently had. Once Kit and Blake had seated themselves on the edge of the pool they put their feet into the water next. It was pleasantly warm.
Yang bobbed in front of them. "So, let me ask you two, what's bothering you most about getting in the water?"
"I don't like the water. It's scary," answered Kit, straight away.
Yang arched a fine brow. "And why's that?"
Kit kicked her feet, making small splashes, as she thought about her answer. A couple of seconds later she gave a small shrug. "I don't know," she admitted.
Yang nodded her head. "Okay, and what about you Blake?"
"I never learned as I was growing up so I never saw it as a skill worth having. Also, I've never really enjoyed being in big bodies of water."
"Fair enough," said Yang. "But trust me when I say that swimming is worth knowing. It may one day save your life. Now this area here is only one meter deep and the deepest point at the other end is five meters deep, we're not in the ocean and there's nothing that can hurt us here. Blake, I want you to join me in the water and show Kit Kat it's not scary."
To show them how shallow it was Yang stood up to full height and the water stayed rippling around at her waist. Blake blushed, embarrassed that such a small amount of water was causing her to fret, fears were irrational, she knew that and the logical part of brain told her she would be fine. Taking a deep breath Blake slowly slid herself into the water and Yang came to stand next to her.
"See, already conquering your fears, nice job," said Yang, smiling.
Blake let out an unsteady laugh. "I've still got a long way to go."
"Well you've made your first big step. I want you to practice slowly lowering yourself further into the water and let me know if you want a pool noodle or a kickboard to rest on. Keep a hand on the side if you would prefer," instructed Yang. Blake nodded, as she decided that keeping a hand on the side would be best for now as she slowly bent her knees.
"How do you feel about joining us Kit Kat?" Yang asked, taking a few steps over to Kit. Blake looked over at her daughter, who looked tempted, and smiled encouragingly. After she and Yang had talked at the school Blake had realised she didn't want to project her own fears onto Kit, which she reluctantly admitted she had been doing, if accidentally, and now wanted to make amends by being there for her daughter and fighting their fears together.
Kit continued to nibble at her lower lip as she stared down at her lap.
"Do you want to swim like the Little Mermaid?" Yang asked, pointing at Ariel's smiling face on Kit's swimming costume. Kit looked down at the Disney character then looked back up at Yang full of doubt.
"No one can swim like a mermaid."
Yang smiled deviously and backed away from Kit turning away from the two of them to face the deep end of the pool. With a small jump Yang extended her arm forward and dived under the water, where she remained, as she kept her legs together and moved them up and down in time with her rising chest and lowered hips. It was as if she was making a wave motion with her body. When she reached the halfway point she turned around underwater and started doing the same mermaid swimming technique until she arrived back to Kit and Blake.
She breached the water in front of Kit, took a few deep gulps of air, and wiped the water from her face. Kit was watching Yang in amazement with a wide grin spread from cheek to cheek.
"I want to do that!" She exclaimed, excitedly. She shuffled forward on her bum right to the edge of the pool but Yang grabbed her around the side before she could drop in.
"Let's lower you in slowly like your mum is doing, yeah? We'll have plenty of time to swim like a mermaid in the future," laughed Yang. Kit nodded but was still grinning widely as Yang gently lowered them both into the water. With the armbands around her biceps Kit remained floating above the water safely but Yang still kept a hold on her because she didn't want to rush her.
"How did you hold your breath for that long? Will I be able to do that? Can you teach me?" Kit asked, in rapid fire.
"All in due time," said Yang. Blake watched them as Yang carried Kit over to her and indicated to the side of the pool behind Blake. "Could you grab the pool noodle for me please Blake?"
"Sure."
Turning around Blake reached for the light blue pool noodle and let it float in the water next to them. For the next twenty minutes Yang let them continue to get used to being lowered in the water until Blake finally got the water going over her breasts. Speaking of, Blake couldn't help noticing how the young men, who were secretly fighting amongst themselves to get as close to the other side of the pool divider as possible, once they completed a length they stopped in the shallow end to simply ogle at Yang's voluptuous chest. Blake had obviously noticed the buoyancy of Yang's breasts but she had respectfully adverted her eyes unlike the men who were openly gawking at her. When they realised they had been caught red handed by Blake, spotting the glare she was giving them, they swam off.
"The pair of you are doing amazing," complimented Yang. "Alright Kit Kat, let's get you holding onto the side with one hand and getting used to floating on your own."
Drifting over to the edge Kit grabbed the side of the pool and Yang let go of her. Kit kicked her legs in a small panic but once she realised she wasn't going under the water she relaxed. Slowly, she tested to see if she could touch the floor.
"I can stand up here," said Kit, her chin tilted up towards the ceiling to stop the water from splashing in her face.
"Great job! Hold onto the side and keep kicking your legs while I help out your mum for a bit," instructed Yang. Kit nodded her head and did as she was told as Yang moved over till she was by Blake's side. "Are you ready to try floating in the water?"
Blake's stomach filled with butterflies with how close Yang was to her. The blonde grabbed the pool noodle and placed it in front of Blake's chest before sliding the two ends under her arms. Yang then drifted round to stand directly behind Blake and positioned herself to act like a chair. Her arm hovered around Blake's waist but didn't touch her which ramped Blake's heartbeat up from ten to a thousand.
"Whenever you're ready lift your feet off from the floor," murmured Yang, her voice extremely close to Blake's left ear. "I'm right behind you in case you panic and lose your balance."
Blake swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. Why did her daughter's P.E teacher have to be the most beautiful and sweetest woman she had ever laid eyes upon? Deciding to focus on the task at hand Blake took a few timid little steps off the floor before slamming her feet back down on the ground.
"You won't go under. I'm right here," promised Yang. Nodding her head Blake breathed in deep, squeezed her eyes shut then lifted her feet clear off the floor. Her body dipped but she stayed above the water thanks to the pool noodle as she gripped hold of it for dear life. Her legs kicked wildly out below her, accidentally hitting Yang's legs a couple of times, as she struggled to stay calm.
A gentle hand touched her left hip, and Blake felt her cheeks heat up as she felt herself sitting on Yang's thighs under the water. "Easy, nice gentle kicks, your weight is resting on the noodle and keeping you afloat. Keep your eyes on me and take deep breaths."
Yang moved slightly to Blake's right so she could see her more clearly but kept her legs stationed underneath Blake. Opening her eyes Blake turned her head and stared at Yang as panic filled her eyes. She watched Yang start some rhythmic breathing which Blake started to mimic as she stared into Yang's reassuring gaze. Blake's heart and legs started to slow down after a couple of minutes and Yang gave a gentle smile.
"You're doing it," she said. Blake blinked, wondering what she was talking about, and finally took her gaze off the blonde only to see that Yang had moved away from her and now she was floating on her own. Blake's ears perked up and she let out a small laugh.
"Unbelievable. My parents won't believe this when I call them up later," breathed Blake, relieved, making Yang chuckle.
"They'll be very proud as I'm sure you are too. Take a look at Kit Kat," she said. Turning her head in the other direction Blake saw Kit floating on her own too and was grinning happily. Pride did indeed swell in Blake as she watched her daughter reach a new milestone, and overcome her anxiety and fear from earlier.
"How're you doing, Kit Kat?" Yang asked, swimming over to Kit. Blake chose to ignore how reluctant she felt to have Yang move away from her.
"Good, this isn't so bad," she admitted. "I can't wait for swimming lessons next Wednesday."
"You'll be fine and your mum will be there too," said Yang. Kit and Blake both nodded their heads and Yang glanced up at the large clock towards the deep end placed high on the wall. "Unfortunately our time is up. I've got my next lesson in five minutes. Do you have any questions about anything?"
"Yes, I do," mentioned Blake, gaining Yang's attention. "What time next Saturday?"
Yang's grin was going to stay in Blake's mind for a while.
When they got out of the pool and handed the armbands back to Yang, Blake led Kit back into the changing rooms after saying thank you and goodbye to Yang. They rinsed themselves off in the shower first before retrieving their items from the locker, then picked a cubicle to get dried and dressed in. Blake was the first one to finish up getting dressed before waiting a few minutes more for Kit to appear. She exited a short while later but had ended up putting her top on back to front so Blake quickly helped her put it on the right way around before they left the establishment.
In the car Blake put their bags in the backseat before starting up the engine and slowly backing out of the car park.
"So you didn't know Yang was missing an arm?" Blake asked, inquisitive.
Kit shook her head. "I know she has one though. She picks us up so we can slam dunk the basketballs."
Blake smiled fondly at the idea of Yang doing that. "She must wear a prosthetic then," she figured. A troublesome thought rumbled in her mind then like a thundercloud. "Kit, don't mention it to your other classmates, alright?" She stressed. "I think Yang hides it at school for a reason."
A small nod confirmed that her daughter understood. "Okay, mummy, I won't."
Author's Note: Be weary of those penguins...O_O
I hope you liked the chapter and don't forget to leave a review! :D
Reeves3.