Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.
Author's Note: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews in the last chapter, all of you reading, all the favourites and alerts too. It makes me want to dance with happiness. :P
Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading more me! :D
I hope you all enjoy this chapter too, as now the plot thickens. Muhahahahaha!
Reeves3!
Chapter Four
"Mom, can we go yet?"
Blake looked up from her book. Her feet were tucked underneath her, as she sat curled up at the end of the settee, with a blanket partially covering her bare feet. Beside her stood Kit holding her swimming bag by her side and shifting her weight from one foot to the other impatiently. Peering behind Kit's shoulder at the clock resting on the fireplace mantel, Blake took note of the time.
"We've still got half an hour until our lesson. Why don't you do some drawing?" Blake suggested, pointing at the stack of blank paper and array of crayons under the coffee table. Kit glanced behind her at the clock too, slumping her shoulders with the knowledge she had to wait some more before they could leave. Pouting a little, Kit dropped her bag and Blake reached a hand across to rub her daughter's arm reassuringly. With a small smile Kit sat down on the floor and reached for a piece of paper and a pencil then started to draw.
For twenty minutes Kit drew a picture and Blake finished off the chapter she was reading. The second Blake bookmarked her page and placed it down, Kit twisted around to glance at her with a grin and her ears perked up. Blake let out a laugh.
"Yes, it's time to go, go put some shoes on."
Kit scurried up off the floor, grabbing her bag, and ran to go put on her shoes. Blake stood up with a stretch, feeling her costume constricting against her under her clothes. She moved to the front door where her shoes waited and slipped them on. With their swim bags in hand Blake and Kit left the house and clambered into the car. On the short drive the two of them played the red car blue car game. By the time they arrived at the Vale Leisure Centre Kit had ended up winning with sixteen red cars against Blake's twelve blue.
Rain was falling as the two of them got out the car but they weren't bothered too much by it, except for the occasional ear twitch, as they headed for the entrance hand in hand. Neptune was sitting behind the desk dealing with another customer as Blake and Kit walked by to the changing room. He gave them a friendly wave and Blake gave a small nod in acknowledgement.
There were several women drying themselves off at the line of benches as Kit and Blake entered and picked a space in the corner to get undressed. Once they were done Blake stored their items in a locker and tied the plastic bracelet around her wrist tightly. Blake followed Kit, who was walking as quick as she could without slipping to the entrance of the pool, eager to get into the water.
"Yang!"
'Or to get to Yang as quick as possible,' mused Blake. Not that she could blame her. The blonde in question was sitting at the pools edge leaning back and kicking her feet lightly in the water. A huge grin spread across her face as she saw the pair of them, and Kit eagerly pattered up to Yang's side.
"Hey Kit Kat, didn't you do fantastic on Wednesday?"
Kit bashfully glanced down as she nodded her head. "Can I get in the water?"
Yang appeared generally surprised by the sudden request but she let out a laugh. "Of course you can. Let's get your armbands on you first though, yeah?"
As Yang handed Kit the pair of armbands Blake took a moment to look around the pool. It was busier than last Saturday, with a several more families playing games with their children with borrowed inflatables, a couple of teenage boys were trying to impress some women in their twenties by jumping off the diving board, and a group of three men were relaxing in the deep end laughing with each other. Blake spotted Sun sitting up on the lifeguard tower keeping an overhead view of everyone.
Water splashing by her feet made Blake glance down to see Yang in the water facing Kit who stood at the edge. Yang wrapped her arm around Kit, who put her small arms around Yang's neck, and lifted her up before gently lowering her in the water. Kit let go of Yang and the blonde waited until she saw Kit was content to float on her own and removed her arm from around Kit.
"You remember the washing game?" Yang asked, cupping some water in her hand and splashing it on her face.
"Yup. I even practiced in the bath," replied Kit.
Smiling Blake sat down at the edge of the pool, crossing a leg over the other, content to watch Kit practice floating in the water and splashing water over herself. She saw Yang move over to her however and knew she wouldn't get the luxury of sitting out of the water all lesson. Blake uncrossed her leg and noticed the movement catching Yang's attention. She watched her look, almost fascinated, upon the length of it and lightly bite her lip. Blake gave herself thanks for spending time the previous night shaving them smooth, along with the top of her thighs where the costume didn't quite cover.
Blake lightly kicked her leg splashing water up Yang's front and breaking her out of her reverie. Yang's face flushed realising she had been caught staring. Embarrassed, and a little unfocused Yang blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"So, Blake, are you ready to get wet?"
Blake blushed too but let out laugh as Yang sank under the water. She quickly resurfaced wiping the water from her face.
"That sounded better in my head," she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It's alright," she said, "and to answer your question, yes I am."
With a deep breath Blake picked herself off the side slightly then dropped herself into the water coming face to face with Yang. She hadn't expected to be that close to the blonde however. She could see herself in the reflection of those lilac orbs and, Blake hadn't noticed before, but there was a light scattering of freckles going across the bridge of her nose. The water around them also heated up slightly and Blake sincerely hoped it was just Yang's body temperature and nothing else.
"Uhh g-great job, there was barely any hesitation there," commented Yang, her throat bobbing as she swallowed.
"What are you doing?" Kit's voice interrupted them.
The two of them jolted apart, as though they had been electrocuted, and they turned to Kit who was standing next to them looking up with those curious honey coloured eyes.
"About to start our lesson!" Yang exclaimed, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kit didn't seem to buy the excuse though as her eyebrows knitted together but she didn't say anything, simply accepting the kickboard Yang handed to her.
"Okay so today, I'm going to start teaching you both the basics of the breaststroke. It's the most common swim technique that people learn, it's probably the only swimming stroke that casual swimmers learn," began Yang. "First though I want you, Blake, to get comfortable in the water again and start maybe splashing some water onto your face and over your head like Kit was just doing."
Blake nodded, even if the butterflies in her stomach were begging her to protest.
"So, while your mum does that Kit Kat, you and I are going to practice the frog kick we use for the breaststroke," said Yang, sending a quick nod in Blake's direction to let her know she could start.
For ten minutes Blake dipped herself in and out of the water then stopped occasionally to pour water over her head as she watched Yang help Kit. Her daughter was laying on her front with the kickboard at arm's length as Yang held her body up, by keeping her hand underneath Kit's stomach, while instructing her how to do the frog like motion with her legs. Kit broke out into a fit of giggles each time Yang made a pun about frogs.
Yang met Blake's gaze and gave her a wink before slowly moving her hand off Kit's stomach. Blake's heart jumped fearing Kit was about to sink but relief spread through her when she saw Kit managing to stay afloat and pushing herself around with her legs. It didn't last long though because Kit soon realised she was doing it on her own and panicked slightly, however Yang was there to quickly put her hand back and keep her balanced.
"Don't do that again," moaned Kit, playfully.
Yang chuckled. "Yeah, but you did it!"
Kit's face broke out into a grin as she realised she had done it then looked over at her mother and asked if she had seen.
"I did indeed," said Blake.
"And guess who's turn it is now?" Yang asked, her eyes sparking as she looked over at Blake.
"Moms turn!" Kit cheered, bobbing over to Blake. She got behind Blake and attempted to push her towards Yang.
"Alright Kit Kat, while I help out your mum, I want you to hold on to the edge of the pool and keep practicing the kicking motion," said Yang. Kit nodded her head and, once she stopped trying to push Blake, she did as she was instructed. Blake hadn't moved a muscle and Yang held out her hand for her.
Blake's eyes flickered back and forth from Yang's hand to her eyes, feeling panic creep over her skin as she willed herself to put her trust in Yang. 'She knows what she's doing, she won't let me go under,' repeated Blake, in her mind, banishing the irrational fears with a logical thought process.
"Let's get you practicing floating with the kickboard first like we did last week with the noodle. Remember, there's no pressure and we go at your pace," reassured Yang. That sealed the deal for Blake as she hurdled over a mental barrier of negativity and placed her hand in Yang's.
Grabbing hold of the discarded kickboard with her free hand, Blake felt herself being led further into the deeper water until it came up to their breasts while they were standing. They turned to face towards Kit so they could both keep an eye on her.
"Do you feel happy here?" Yang asked, wanting to be sure.
Blake gave a nod. "So long as I can touch the floor still."
"You're doing great. Hold the float to your chest and cross your arms over it, that's it, now I'm going to get behind you and you can lift your feet off the ground whenever you feel ready."
Once Yang got into position behind her Blake took a deep breath then lifted her feet off the floor. Her body tilted back but Yang's arm blocked her from going too far back where water could splash up into her human ears. Blake let her legs gently float around below, doing a couple of relaxed kicks now and then, as she let her breathing become more controlled. It was actually kind of nice to simply float around like a buoy bobbing along in a vast ocean.
"Do you want me to let go?" Yang offered, her hand and forearm firm against Blake's spine.
"Umm, maybe if you do it slowly?" Blake suggested, and Yang complied.
When Yang's hand left her back completely Blake felt her body protest slightly as she arched back up, but her legs evenly balanced her body, along with the float, and she slowly relaxed back down. The water lapped at her ears slightly causing her breathing to quicken but Yang came into her point of view wearing a massive smile while indicating for her to take deep breaths. Nodding shakily Blake took several deep breaths, and Yang watched her carefully for a couple of minutes before swimming back behind Blake to help her get back into standing position.
"How was that?"
Blake smiled. "It wasn't too bad. I was a little nervous when first lying back and you letting go but it was good."
"Excellent. Now how do you feel about doing that on your front?"
Blake was less hesitant about answering this time. "Yeah, let's give it a go."
Holding out the kickboard in front of her Blake kept her feet on the ground as she worked up the courage to lie forward in the water. She almost jumped clear out the water when Yang placed her hand on her stomach.
Yang let out a small chuckle. "It's okay, I'll be keeping your body up to a more natural position when swimming."
Blake's fingernails dug into the foam of the float. She rarely let anyone else touch her there, only her doctor or Kit, but knowing that Yang wasn't there to hurt her she reigned in her initial flight response and allowed Yang to keep her hand there. She leaned some of her weight onto Yang's hand, her one arm strong enough to hold up Blake's body, and started doing the frog kick motion Kit had been doing earlier. Together they made their way back down to the shallow end with Yang keeping a secure hold of Blake along the way and never taking her eyes off her.
"Leave her alone!"
Several things happened at once in a short space of time.
Yang and Blake's eyes shot to Kit. Blake let go of the kickboard in surprise and Yang struggled to hold up all of Blake's weight causing her to go off balance. When Blake felt herself tipping forward she leaned back as quick as possible and wrapped an arm around Yang's neck to keep herself from going under, then wrapped her other arm around her too to keep her secure. The pair of them looked at each other, searching each other's eyes, then snapped their heads back towards Kit.
Her hands were balled into fists, red tipped ears pressed flat against her scalp, as she growled with her teeth barred towards the three men on the other side of the divider. Blake and Yang glanced towards the men and saw them with one arm behind their backs, splashing about uselessly while laughing uproariously. Yang's arm slowly slack around her and Blake looked back at Yang to see her expression crumble. Blake's heart went out to Yang but her daughter was upset too so she dropped her arms from around Yang and made her way to Kit. Yang soon followed her.
"Kit, ignore them," said Blake. She picked up her daughter and sat her on the side of the pool bringing her hands up to turn Kit's head away from the men. Kit wriggled out of her mother's grasp and furiously shook her head.
"But they're saying mean things about Miss Xiao Long!"
"What are they saying, Kit?" Yang approached them, appearing oddly calm for someone who had witnessed people making fun of her.
"They called you stumpy and a one arm bimbo," argued Kit, frowning.
"Don't repeat that word, sweetheart," Blake added, quickly. Kit nodded her head briefly, yet her attention was more focused on the men who were still laughing with each other.
Yang gently touched Blake's elbow. "I know this is pretty rude to interrupt our lesson to do this, but do you mind if I take care of these guys?"
Blake bit her lip. "You're not going to fight them are you?"
Yang calmly shook her head. "Nah. You'll see."
Blake stood in front of Kit and the two of them watched as Yang headed over to the men.
"Do you guys mind? I'm trying to teach here," started Yang. The men's laughter died down and they removed their arms from behind their backs. One of the men, muscular and dark haired with light blue eyes, smirked at Yang.
"What are you teaching them?" He asked, smugly. "How to swim in circles?"
Yang gestured to her stump."Do you have a problem with my arm?"
"It's ugly looking but not really," he replied, with a half-hearted shrug.
Lilac eyes narrowed in their direction."So you guys just like to make fun of people with disabilities?"
None of them answered and Yang's pissed disposition changed suddenly as she smiled brightly. "Hey, do you guys want to race?"
One of the other men with a crooked nose, that had obviously been broken at some point in his life, wonky yellow teeth from years of smoking, and balding brown hair let out a scoff. "Sure, I don't mind beating a cripple." His two friends quickly agreed with him.
"How about we make it interesting?" Yang suggested, earning the men's attention. "If I win, you and your friends will never come back to Vale Leisure Centre again."
The final guy, shoved forward between his other two friends, his frizzy black hair sticking up all over the place and shouted eagerly. "And if one of us wins you'll give us a hundred lien each!"
"Deal!" Yang agreed, she turned her back on them but glanced at them over her shoulder. "I would shake my hand on it, but you know," she said, scathingly.
Yang headed back to Blake and Kit who had watched the whole exchange with inquisitiveness but before Blake could ask any questions she desirably wanted to ask, the lifeguard, Sun, stopped at their side.
"Is everything alright over here? I heard the little one yell," mentioned Sun, looking between Blake and Kit, Yang, and the three men.
"Yeah, everything is fine," said Yang. "These guys just challenged me to a race, that's all."
Sun let out a low whistle then shook his head pitifully at the men. "You guys are screwed," he chuckled.
"Whatever pool boy," said wonky teeth, dismissively.
Sun crouched down next to Blake, who was now sat next to Kit on the side, as they watched Yang and the three men line themselves up.
"Want me to call it?" Sun asked, grabbing his whistle. There was a unanimous agreement and silence fell upon them all. "On your marks... Get set... GO!"
The four of them pushed off from the wall simultaneously.
"Go Yang!" Kit cheered, clapping her hands.
Blake watched with rapt fascination as Yang quickly took the lead with powerful leg kicks and her arm going around in a circle over her head as she turned her head to the side to catch her breath. When she reached the deep end of the pool she performed a graceful flip turn under the water and continued the same swim technique on the way back. Each time Yang's head surfaced slightly Blake could see an incredible amount of focus and determination etched on her face.
Yang's hand touched the finish line by the time the men had started to turn around at the other end of the pool. Kit let out a cheer and kicked her legs splashing water about as Yang stood up in front of the three of them, taking deep breaths but wearing a huge smile. Blake met her gaze and she grinned at her causing Yang to return it if a little timidly.
The three men finally reached the shallow end, all scowling at Yang and grumbling among themselves. Yang's smile faded as she looked over at them.
"Now get out of my pool," she snarled, her eyes flashing dangerously.
Sun let out a whoop as the men pushed themselves up out the pool. "Don't go up against a national champion next time!" He shouted, grinning broadly.
Blake's ears perked up at the title, but Yang didn't look too impressed.
"Sun," she warned, pointedly.
The monkey faunus' tail swished from side to side. "Ah, yeah, sorry Yang."
Figuring Yang didn't want to talk about that Blake asked the second question which was on her mind.
"Your pool?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow.
"Hey, I've been swimming in this pool since I was two, I have a right to call it mine," said Yang, defensively, crossing her arm but wore an adorable pout. Blake let out a laugh forcing Yang to break her serious character and laugh along with her.
{-}
An hour later Blake and Kit were back home; Kit was in the lounge continuing her drawing from earlier while watching cartoons as Blake sorted out the weeks washing in the utility room. She put the washing machine on and her ears twitched as she heard the letterbox creek as the post was shoved through it.
"Postman's here mom!" Kit yelled, over the TV.
Blake rolled her eyes and headed into the hallway to pick up the post. There were a couple of bills, a letter from the bank and one from Vale Police.
Her heart leapt up to her throat where it got stuck, making it difficult to breathe as her chest constricted at the mere thought of what information could lay inside this envelope. With shaking hands, Blake slipped a finger under the slip and ripped it open. Quickly taking out the letter Blake unfolded it and her eyes frantically scanned the contents.
Dear Miss B Belladonna,
On behalf of Vale Police Parole Board. I, Andrew Carter, am writing to inform you that the prisoner, Adam Taurus, who you testified against in court has had a meeting with said parole board, where they have agreed to allow Mr Taurus to be released from prison.
We are aware of your current restraining order on Mr Taurus, applying to you and your daughter, Kit Belladonna, meaning that we have taken precaution of your current whereabouts and placed Mr Taurus in a location fitting of the restraint. For your safety Mr Taurus is located at Flat 24, Berksley Lane, Downtown East, Vale. Do not attempt to go near him.
Mr Taurus will be monitored constantly, via a tracking device and a supervising officer, until the remaining time on his sentence is fulfilled. If Mr Taurus goes within two hundred yards of your location Miss Belladonna, then we will be alerted immediately and police will be dispatched to arrest him. We would like to remind you that Mr Taurus has no knowledge of your current location since you have changed address while Mr Taurus was incarcerated.
If you have any concerns or questions to ask the parole board, please contact us using the information provided below. You can also ring Vale Police and ask to speak to the corrections officer, Scott Howard.
Sincerely,
Andrew Carter, Head of Parole Board.
Numerous curse words travelled through Blake's mind. Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes readying to spill down her cheeks as she struggled to take a breath, all the while anxiety churned at her stomach threatening to make her lunch reappear. She could have sworn she felt the scar on her stomach tingle.
'Focus Blake,' she urged, herself. She took some unsteady breaths and clasped her hands together in front of her trying to stop them from shaking.
All her mind could process that she and her daughter were in danger. 'I could move us, I could take Kit far, far away and start a new life where he would never find us.'
Blake was halfway up the stairs to start packing their bags when Kit came running into the hallway with her finished picture in her hands.
"Mom, look what I drew," she cried out, holding it up in front of her.
A tear trailed down her cheek as she took the picture off Kit and gave it a closer look. It was the two of them swimming along with Yang all wearing big happy smiles.
Realisation struck Blake like a lightning bolt as she remembered that she had already started a new life. The moment Adam had been locked away she had searched for a new place to live to raise her daughter. There was no way Adam could find them, she knew it wouldn't stop him from trying though, but even if he did he wouldn't get near them.
She also couldn't uproot their lives like that. Their whole world was here, her job was here, Kit's school and few friends were here, and Blake wanted to be here for Yang. She didn't have a lot of friends herself, only Velvet and her wife Coco, but she was positive she wanted to be friends with the blonde. Her heart wanted to be more yet Blake struggled to allow herself to; not when the trauma from her past liked to creep up on her. Adam had always told her that no one else would want to be with her as a ploy to keep her to himself. It had taken four years of counselling to remove that horrid belief from her mind but occasionally she couldn't help taking it to heart despite being told otherwise. After all, she figured, why would anyone want to be with her who had such emotional baggage?
"Do you not like it, mum?" Kit asked, quietly.
Blake noticed she was crying fully and she wiped away the tears. "I love it, sweetheart. These are just happy tears."
Kit stepped up a couple of more stairs to wrap her arms around Blake and she returned the hug with a massive squeeze of her own.
Author's Note: They've dealt with assholes but now the biggest asshole of all is out of jail! Dun dun dun! ;)
Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think! 3
Reeves3.