8 Days After Cinder's Invasion
Things were starting to settle down around the Kingdom and repairs had been started. Cinder's Invasion had left hundreds of Atlesian and Valean soldiers' deaths. The student body had taken considerably fewer casualties, but there were still deaths. However, the citizens of the Four Kingdoms united and helped to rebuild and recover. The wound of war cut deep, but the close friendship would soon mend the gap.
Blake and Yang walked together, hand-in-hand, from the hospital. Ruby was stable and Weiss hadn't left her side for a moment. This had afforded Blake a lot of free time to think about the future. After the Festival, and what happened to Yang, Blake was more certain than ever about what she wanted to do. She had spoken to Ozpin about it and he had given her his blessing. She really wanted to ask Taiyang, Yang's father, but after he'd gone missing, that wasn't really an option. She decided that she would rather beg forgiveness than ask permission.
Her fingers intertwined with Yang's, and she enjoyed the surprisingly soft feeling of her lover's skin. As her thumb ran across Yang's knuckles, Yang looked up into sky and sighed, rubbing the back of her head with her other hand. Blake leaned into the taller girl and Yang grinned. She released Blake's hand and draped her arm over the lithe girl's shoulders. "Whatcha thinkin' about, kitten?" Yang asked, nonchalantly.
Blake laughed softly, "What makes you think I'm thinking anything in particular?"
Yang shook her head and flashed her teeth at the dark-haired girl. Scratching in-between her ears, Yang replied, "Your ears twitch and your eyebrows furrow in an extremely adorable way."
Blake purred lightly. "That's…probably true," she acquiesced. She elbowed Yang and pushed away from the tall blonde. "Hey, Yang? I think I left something back at the hospital. You go on ahead, okay?"
Yang raised an eyebrow but didn't push the subject. Leaning in, she kissed Blake softly. As their lips met, Blake's heart fluttered and she suddenly felt faint. She steeled herself and pulled Yang closer. Breaking apart for only a moment to breathe, the two lovers' lips crashed together again, passionately. Blake let Yang go and Yang stumbled backwards, surprised by Blake's ferocity as much as Blake herself was. Blake pushed Yang away playfully. "Go on, you. I'll meet you back at our room, okay?"
Yang nodded, still dizzy, and teetered off comically. Blake covered her laugh with her hand before turning around. Her expression slowly set into stony determination. A solitary everfall tree leaf fluttered through the air. Blake snatched it with her cat-like reflexes and she inhaled the sweet scent. She knew how she wanted to do it now.
"Weiss," Blake said from the doorway, "I need your help."
Yang sat on the edge of the new king-sized bed that had replaced the treacherous bunk beds. Blake and Yang had kept the old dorm, while Weiss had claimed the new one across from Jaune and Pyrrha.
She collapsed backwards onto the sheets and stared at the ceiling, seeing patterns in the spackled whiteness. She grabbed one of the pillows and held it close. Her mind filled with images of Blake. She remembered every time that the smaller girl had kissed her. From her neck to her hands to lower, softer skin, Yang thought of every time that those slender lips had graced her own, fiery skin. The brawler fidgeted and checked the wall clock. Fifty-five minutes. Almost an hour. Where is she?
As if on cue, Yang's scroll dinged with a new message. She fumbled frantically and opened the device.
Yang,
Please meet me by the center fountain in Silver Square. Wear something nice.
-Weiss
Yang sighed. Weiss? Why would Weiss want to see me? She pulled herself up and went to the closet. And why does she want me dressed up? Yang shrugged, donned the dress she'd worn for prom, applied a light amount of makeup and red lipstick, and then left the room, locking the door behind her. As she disappeared down the hall, Ren poked his head out of the doorway.
"Yes," he said into his scroll, softly. "Understood."
The sun was beginning to set as Yang entered the courtyard of Silver Square. The name was a bit misleading, as the entire square burned with a red-orange light from the everfall trees that reflected off of the shiny metal park benches, fountains, and artistic sculptures. The trees, contained in planters, accented the square at even intervals, and the evening sunlight set the entire square ablaze. It was a popular place for couples and Yang knew that Blake had come here more than once during their first semester. It was Blake's favorite place to read, outside of Yang's lap.
Yang soon spotted the heiress. She was dressed in a long, crimson gown that beautifully highlighted her hair and complimented her pale skin. The oldest member of Team RWBY raised an eyebrow and walked up to the heiress. "You, uh, you look beautiful, Weiss," she said, awkwardly.
Weiss actually blushed and fidgeted with her hands. "Thanks, Yang. You, too."
"So, where is she?"
Yang's perceptiveness completely threw Weiss off guard and she looked up at Yang, apologetically. "That easy to figure out, huh?" Weiss sighed and stepped backwards as Jaune, Ren, Sun, and Neptune all stepped out from behind trees or fountains, wearing their tuxes. They all formed a wall on either side of Yang. Nora was tangled up in Ren's arms, wearing a surprisingly striking black gown. She grinned and elbowed Ren, who smiled at Yang.
Yang blinked and turned around, seeing Scarlet and Sage, also dressed up, fall into line beside Sun and Neptune. The boys looked very uncomfortable in their suits, although Sage smiled deeply at the blonde who had suddenly become the center of attention.
As Yang whirled around, staring at Weiss who stood in front of the fountain, she opened her mouth to speak, when a soft voice spoke up behind her.
"Hello, Yang."
Yang turned and saw Blake standing at the other end of the group. Professors Cole and Lapis stood on either side of her, both in formalwear.
She was stunning in the evening light. She had light purple eyeshadow and subtle black lip gloss accenting her features. Yang's gaze drifted downwards to see that she was wearing a flowing, white gown. A small purple bow held her long black tresses into place and her cat ears twitched slightly. She slowly walked towards Yang and as she neared, Yang realized that Blake must be wearing very high heels because she stared straight into the Faunus's eyes.
Blake gently cleared her throat and took Yang's hands. "I, uh, wanted to apologize for disappearing, but after all of the craziness of the past few days, it's made me realize that I can't put this off any longer."
"Blake, kitten, what is this?" Yang asked in a hushed tone. She stared into Blake's amber eyes and the Faunus smiled, placing a hand on Yang's cheek.
"Yang Xiao Long," Blake began, and Yang could already feel the tears welling up. Just the way she said her name was full of love and sweetness and—Dust, can I just interrupt her to kiss her right now?
"Since the day I met you, you have been the truest of friends. You encouraged your little sister to try and be friends with me and despite my…hesitation," Weiss and Blake shared a small smile at that, "you made it happen. Now, thanks to that seemingly small act, I have gained bonds that are stronger than any I've ever had before, bonds that will last a lifetime. When you first found out about my secret, you kept it for so long. I know how hard that must've been for you," Yang raised an eyebrow and Blake softly kissed her cheek. "Thank you. When I ran away, you didn't give up until you'd found me, even if Ruby did technically find me first."
Blake placed another kiss on Yang's cheek. "Thank you." The Faunus took Yang's hands and looked down at them. "Every day, you've challenged me to be the best I can be. Every day, you've loved me harder than the day before and every day, I've found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with you."
Yang sniffed and Blake wiped away a lone tear that had fallen from the young woman's face. Behind her, Azura sniffed loudly and Cole elbowed her, eliciting quiet laughter from the group.
"Yang Xiao Long, I have grown into the person I am today, and into the Huntress I am today, because of you. I was able to face my past and overcome my demons because of you. I was able to fall in love and gather the courage to do this..." she motioned with her right hand and Azura stepped forward, tears staining her cheeks. In her hand, she held a small, wooden box, hand carved with elaborate designs.
"Yang Xiao Long, I want to spend every day of my life with you. I you to be the first thing I see when I wake up and I want you to be the last thing I see when I fall asleep. When I see the future, I see you. I see us. I see kids and a house, and at least one of us hunting monsters while the other tells wildly exaggerated stories to our children about what the other is doing. I see waffles and pancakes in the morning, and I see tuna at night."
Yang smiled and laughed softly before wiping her face again.
"Yang," Blake plucked the box from Azura's grasp. "Will you marry me?"
Blake didn't get down on one knee. She knew that Yang wouldn't want that. There was no need for theatrics or grandiose groveling. She stared deep into Yang's tear-filled lilac eyes and opened the box.
Inside sat a thick golden band. Blake swirls laced around the band, knotting and curling across the piece of jewelry. In the center of the topmost of the band sat a jewel encrusted yin-yang symbol. One side was white diamond, the other was black onyx. Yang's hand flew to her mouth and she took a step back. Her gaze flew up to Blake and as their eyes met, Yang stepped forwards and grabbed Blake in one of her signature bear hugs.
Their lips collided and Yang kissed Blake furiously before releasing the now-breathless woman. "Yes, Blake, yes! Always and forever, yes!" Her lips found Blake's again, desperately trying to say a million things at once with the contact. She poured all of her love and desire and acceptance and want and passion into the next kiss, desperate to show Blake through the simple contact of two pairs of lips, the depth of emotion she felt for the young Faunus.
As Blake disentangled her fingers from Yang's blonde hair, she giggled and slipped the ring around Yang's finger. No sooner was the ring on, than Blake was being twirled around in the air by Yang. The brawler laughed with giddy glee and pulled the smaller girl into her arms. "I love you, Blake! I love you so much!"
They kissed again and several of the onlookers rolled their eyes, but every single one of them had a big, stupid grin plastered across their faces.
"I wish Ruby and Pyrrha could've been here," Blake murmured into Yang's ear.
"They'll just have some good news when they wake up," was Yang's soft reply. She scooped the Faunus up into her arms and spun around. "Thank you all, seriously, for this!" she called out.
Soft applause broke out and as Yang grinned at everyone, Blake mouthed at Weiss, thank you.
Weiss smiled and curtsied slightly. The heiress's face broke out into a grin as Yang nuzzled Blake and their noses rubbed together. Several small kisses, nose rubs, and twirls later, Yang quickly waved at the group of friends that had gathered and almost danced all the way back to their dorm room.
Crossing the threshold, Yang let Blake down on her feet and kissed her deeply. "I love you, Blake," she said, a soft tone of seriousness seeping into her voice.
"I think you said that," was Blake's reply. She grinned and brushed a stray lock of golden hair from the brawler's eyes.
"I mean it, Blake. I've never meant it as much as I do right this very moment. And every day from now until the end of time, I'll mean it more and more. I didn't get a speech prepared and I'm not good at them, but baby, I love you so much. I'll do anything for you, no matter what. You're mine, forever. And I'm yours. I love you, Blake. I love you, a thousand times and a thousand ways and a thousand years, I'll always love you."
Yang's voice actually cracked slightly and Blake's hand on her cheek soothed the emotional Huntress. "I love you, Yang, forever."
"Forever," echoed the blonde, the statement still holding a considerable impact. Yang glanced at the ring that now adorned her finger. She smiled at Blake and kissed her again, the first of many, many more.
Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY. Things and stuff with personal things and stuff and I'm really just so sorry. I promise, I'l get back to uploading every day. That said, FFN is being a stupid **** and not letting me upload new Documents. Therefore, I am having to replace my backup of Chapter 2 with Chapter 3. I hate doing this but it's the only way I can manage to publish this chapter. Here's to FFN figuring their crap out. *growls*
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have one or two more planned for this series before I focus all efforts on Part II. That said, once Part II starts, I MAY still upload short stories, so it's a good idea to have this story followed just in case. Part II will be taking place five years after Part I and so I will be doing many, many filler chapters in here. Chapters of missions or day-to-day activities or even the next Vytal Festival, stuff like that, just to fill in the gaps.
It's coming...soon!