Two chapters in two days! Woohoo!
I think that we could all use some more fluff in our lives right now...prepare to get your daily dose!
When Blake woke the next morning, she felt as if she were waking up from a dream. The events of the past few days felt too…surreal…to have actually happened. First, meeting Yang - in a bathroom of all places - then going on several dates with the beautiful blonde, being surprised at every turn by the type of person Yang was turning out to be.
And yesterday…she really couldn't believe what had happened yesterday...
Not only had they finally kissed, but Blake had kissed Yang first. Blake.
Never in a million years would she have thought that she would be the one to initiate any kind of intimacy between the two of them. Even though she had wanted to kiss the girl after their date at the zoo, she hadn't been able to find the nerve to make the first move.
But in that moment, when they had been standing together on the sidewalk, she had felt like it was just the right thing to do. After playing laser tag, with the friendly competition, and seeing Yang let that little girl tag her repeatedly during the game…Blake had felt overcome with fondness for the blonde. The way Yang cared for the people around her was enviable, especially for someone like Blake, who was much more reserved. And this feeling had come out in an unexpectedly amazing way.
Not only had she finally found the daring to do it, but she had actually kissed Yang twice. Sharing a longer one when Yang had walked her home after their dinner.
Since then, she had devoted practically every waking second thinking about Yang and those kisses. She wouldn't want to say she was obsessed, but she certainly wouldn't mind doing it again. And again...and again...
Fortunately, she knew that Yang felt the same way from the ridiculously goofy grin the blonde sported after each kiss.
When Yang had invited her out again today, she hadn't hesitated in accepting the invitation. Although, from how Yang had described it, they would actually be attending an event Yang had been scheduled to make an appearance at. Even though Blake had questioned whether they should be seen together like this, Yang had assured her that it would be ok; it wasn't 'that type' of event, whatever that meant.
And so, in what Blake was determining was typical Yang fashion, the blonde had only given her a time and the vague instruction to 'wear something you can run around in and don't mind getting dirty.'
Black shorts with a white tank top seemed to fit that bill perfectly – it was precisely what Blake would wear to the gym…if she went to the gym, that was. Now all Blake had to do was eat breakfast before her date would arrive in time for their early start this morning. She could only imagine what sort of event would call for such casual attire…but the mystery was just part of the excitement.
She began second guessing her choice of clothing right when the buzzer sounded, announcing Yang's arrival.
"Yes?" she asked, gazing at her reflection in the hallway mirror one last time.
"Miss Xiao Long is here for you," Charlie's voice replied from the intercom.
"I'll be right down."
Even though she had known Yang was coming to pick her up this morning, hearing the blonde's name still filled her stomach with butterflies. Grabbing her keys off the counter, she found herself staring at the elevator doors seconds later, waiting impatiently for them to open once more.
When they did, she was surprised to find Yang and Charlie once again in the middle of what appeared to be a highly animated conversation. Only this time, the blonde was actually sitting on the edge of Charlie's desk; tan, toned legs dangling towards the ground while the two shared a laugh about something.
Their attention turned to her as soon as she stepped into the lobby, allowing her to throw a raised eyebrow in Charlie's direction at how comfortable he had allowed Yang to make herself after they had met just two times. She then granted herself a few moments to check out her date…actually, to check out her girlfriend.
Thankfully, Blake didn't seem to have been too off target in her outfit. Yang was sporting a short pair of black shorts along with a yellow spaghetti strap top. But, as with everything else, Yang was clearly the more glamorous of the two - that was probably just something Blake was going to have to get used to.
Although…from the way Yang was looking at her right now, she might imagine that the blonde would put up an argument over who had the better outfit.
Blake felt a familiar flush dust her cheeks while Yang looked her up and down, judging her clothing for…something – she couldn't really be sure what. Finally making a determination, Yang gave her a big smile after hopping down from her perch on Charlie's desk.
"You're in pretty good shape, right?" Yang asked as she approached Blake, grin still on her face.
Blake smirked at the abrupt greeting, forever on the lookout for any opportunity to throw the blonde off her game. It was a rather easy thing to do, and Blake always found the results to be particularly adorable…
"Well, good morning to you too," she replied with a smile, knowing that the greeting would cause Yang to stumble.
And stumble she did…right into a big vat of stutters as she attempted to correct the perceived mistake.
"O-oh right, good morning!" the blonde replied hastily, an endearing flush lighting up her cheeks. "How has your morning been? Well, I imagine it probably just started…but you know…and, um, you look amazing, by the way."
Blake couldn't help herself, letting out a giggle while she watched Yang struggle through what she thought must be the proper morning greeting. Of course, she was more than happy to help Yang out of the predicament she had all but forced the girl into.
"You look amazing, too," she responded softly, drawing that signature radiant smile back into the light. But the longer they stood there smiling at each other, the more uncomfortable Blake became. Something about those lilac eyes was so disarming...like Yang was looking into her very soul.
"So…are you going to tell me where we're going now?" she asked hopefully, trying to direct attention away from herself.
"Nnnnnope!" Yang responded gleefully, confidence back at full charge. "You'll see when we get there! But before we go…any chance for a good morning kiss?"
The question was whispered as Yang leaned close to her, eyes twinkling with unconcealed playfulness. Blake was sure that her expression registered purely as shock at the boldness of the request – her mind going temporarily blank as to how to appropriately respond.
Thankfully, her brain began firing on all cylinders seconds later, allowing her to answer in the cheekiest way possible to save face.
"Kisses are earned, not given," she responded with a smirk, walking by Yang towards the lobby doors so that they could get going.
As expected, Yang let out a good natured laugh from behind her before jogging to catch up.
"Ohhh, I plan to earn one, don't you worry," the blonde remarked happily as she reclaimed her place by Blake's side.
Blake tried to prevent Yang from seeing her smile, opting to open her own door to the now familiar car parked in front of the building.
The drive to wherever they were headed ended up taking fifteen to twenty minutes – just enough time to make it to the more suburban part of Vale, where there were fewer skyscrapers and more houses with sizeable lawns and swimming pools. Blake hadn't been out this way in a long time, but she knew it was the area of wealthy neighborhoods and large tracts of still undeveloped land.
Leaving the neighborhoods behind, Blake was surprised to find an entire field filled with parked cars and people. When Yang turned the car into the 'parking lot' (actually just a large area filled with gravel), Blake finally saw a large painted sign that gave away what their activity would be for the day.
'9th Annual Vale Valley Mud Run'
"A mud run?" she asked incredulously as soon as the words sunk in.
The only response she received was a laugh while Yang parked the car and hopped outside, running around the front of the vehicle in order to open Blake's door before she had the opportunity to get it herself.
"Do you think you can do it?" Yang asked, a fair amount of concern in her voice while waiting for Blake to exit the car.
"I…think so…"
"I've been participating in this particular mud run for nine years running now," Yang remarked proudly. Gesturing towards the registration area, Blake followed her date carefully through the crowds of other participants, noticing that many stopped and stared when they passed by.
Blake could certainly understand why they would stare – what with Yang's excellent figure and…form fitting shorts…but that didn't help put out the tiny spark of jealousy unexpectedly flitting around her chest.
The feeling was instantly dispelled when Yang grabbed ahold of her hand, guiding Blake the rest of the way to the registration booth together.
The two girls manning the table instantly recognized Yang, lighting up when they saw the girl approaching them.
"Good morning," Yang greeted the girls pleasantly.
"G-good morning!" the girl on the right stuttered while the second girl shuffled the papers in front of her nervously.
"Yang Xiao Long, here to check in. Oh, and I hope you don't mind that I brought my girlfriend."
Blake flushed at the term, which drew the two girls' stares in her direction – most notably to their still intertwined hands. She loosened her grip on Yang's hand in discomfort, which drew a questioning gaze from the blonde before she obligingly let go. The second she did, Blake felt ashamed that she had let two strangers make her cut off the display of affection. Trying to cover up the act, Blake hastily picked up a pen from the table as one of the girls pushed a form towards her.
"O-of course, that's ok!" the first girl responded while Blake began filling out the form in front of her. "She just needs to fill out that form and we'll get a number for her."
"Perfect," Yang replied, giving Blake a wide smile that only made her feel guiltier. "Are you ready to get dirty?"
"Yes," she replied firmly, determined not to allow that incident ruin her day with Yang. "I do think that white might have been a poor color choice though…"
Yang laughed at the observance.
"It wouldn't have mattered what color you chose…we're going home covered in mud regardless!"
"Uh…Y-Yang?"
The question brought their attention back to the registration table, where the two girls were staring at them with eyes wide in adoration.
"H-here are your numbers for the race, just stick them on the front of your shirts. And they'll be expecting you at the race podium in fifteen minutes."
"Great, thank you!" Yang responded, taking the two numbers and handing one to Blake.
"The race podium?" Blake asked inquisitively, following Yang away from the table.
"Yeah…They ask me to give a little kick off speech each year to set things off. It's no big deal, really."
Blake looked at the girl curiously while they walked between various groups of race participants. There was something Yang wasn't mentioning, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
Approaching the starting line, marked by a giant banner broadcasting the word 'start,' a man wearing a baseball cap and holding a clipboard motioned hastily towards them.
Yang turned towards Blake, smiling apologetically.
"I'm going to go do this thing, then meet you right back down here and we'll start, k?"
"Of course," she responded with a smile. "Go give your speech – I'll wait right here."
Yang flashed her another winning smile before bouncing off after the man in the hat, leaving Blake standing in the midst of the other race participants at the starting line. Glancing around the field, she could see the outlines of several large obstacles surrounded by pools and pools mud. Tall walls, inflatable slides…a whole cornucopia of hurdles was stretching out in front of them.
Nerves began bubbling in her stomach when she finally thought about the grueling amount of physical activity in her immediate future.
She wouldn't necessarily say she was in poor shape…but it had been quite some time since she had undertaken anything of this magnitude. She ate right and made sure to get outside regularly, but other than that, being an author didn't really necessitate a vigorous workout routine.
Her date, on the other hand…well, the blonde's scant clothing revealed precisely how much time she spent working on her figure.
Speaking of Yang, Blake noticed the girl climbing up onto a small stage equipped with a single microphone directly to the right of the starting line - accompanied by an older woman whose aura seemed to suggest she was in charge. The attentions of those in the crowd drifted towards the stage as more and more of the participants realized that the run was about to begin.
From her place twenty feet or so from the stage, Blake's eyes quickly focused upon Yang, only to divert away when she realized those lilac eyes were already staring directly back at her. More race participants began to scoot in closer to her, preparing to hear the kick off speech.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," the older woman began with a gracious smile at the crowd of anxious runners in front of her. "It is a pleasure to see all of you here bright and early for the 9th Annual Vale Mud Run – benefitting the three Vale Animal Shelters located within our great city."
The woman allowed a pause to stretch out, providing enough time for the crowd to give a quick cheer before she continued.
Blake now realized what it was that Yang hadn't yet told her. This was a charity event Yang had brought her to - for animal shelters, no less.
She hadn't thought it was possible for the blonde to become any more endearing, but apparently she'd been wrong.
"It is my honor to introduce to you the beautiful and talented Yang Xiao Long, one of our long time Mud Run supporters. She's going to get us started here today. Yang?"
A loud round of applause passed through the crowd when Yang stepped up to the microphone to begin speaking.
"Yang Xiao Long? Jeez she's even hotter in person than in the movies!"
"I told you she'd be here. She comes every year!"
"I heard she just started dating some author – think that's true?"
Blake's ears burned at the comments from the people standing beside her. She did her best to focus all of her attention on Yang, attempting to drown out the people around her.
"Good morning!" Yang's voice rang out cheerfully through the microphone, causing the applause to die down while a few people shouted 'good morning' in return.
Yang grinned, eyes finding Blake's one more time before she continued to scan across the crowd.
"I know the real reason you're all here is to jump in some mud, so I'll keep this as brief as possible. Your entry fee and donations today go directly towards the animal shelters servicing the greater city of Vale – finding forever homes for those animals that have been…a little less fortunate in their lives. If the awareness raised today can send even one dog or cat home to a new family; well, then we should all consider this event to be a success."
A smattering of applause broke out when Yang paused, which Blake joined in with. Yang's passion for this cause rang through with every syllable she spoke aloud, making it nearly impossible not to feel motivated to help her succeed.
"So…without further ado…everyone be safe this morning. Have fun and, most importantly, get muddy!"
Raucous cheers broke out, the energy in the crowd becoming charged in preparation of the start signal. The older woman handed Yang a starting pistol, which the blonde promptly pointed up in the air and fired.
A loud crack rang out, immediately followed by a flurry of activity. Blake stepped quickly to the side to avoid being trampled by the swarm of people pushing by her through the starting gate, still cheering while they made their way towards the first obstacle.
Yang appeared in front of her moments later, bouncing up and down with unreleased energy.
"Ready to go?"
When Blake nodded, Yang turned and gestured for Blake to follow her over the starting line. There was a short distance of grass to cover before they reached the first obstacle, which they crossed at the easy pace Yang set.
"So…animal shelters, huh?" Blake asked curiously as they jogged amongst the other run participants.
"Yeah…I wish that I could actually adopt a dog or a cat, but I just work too much right now to be able to take care of one. So, I try to help in another way!"
"I take it you're a dog person then?" Blake teased – figuring that Yang's high energy would be much more suited to owning a rambunctious dog.
The laugh she received in response only furthered the suspicion that she was correct.
"Well…I'd like to say both, but I might be slightly more of a dog person. My little sister is kind of like a hyperactive puppy sometimes, so maybe that's where I got my fondness for them."
Blake laughed at the logic, remembering that Yang had mentioned having a younger sister - two years younger, if she remembered correctly. Ruby - the one who was currently traveling around the world by herself.
They slowed to a walk in front of the first obstacle – a field of small inflatable pools arranged like a tire run that they would have to jump through. The bottom of each pool was filled with muddy water, splashing out after each racer jumped from one and into another.
"Are you ready?" Yang asked with a grin, eyes twinkling happily.
Glancing down at her clean, dry clothing one last time, she nodded her head. With that as her answer, Yang took off through one row of mud 'tires,' spraying muddy water in all directions as she made her way towards the end.
Not wanting to be left too far behind, Blake chased after the girl, feeling her left sneaker completely drenched the second she jumped into the first miniature pool. The damage being done, she followed Yang as quickly as she could.
Stepping out of the tires at the end of the row, she could hear her shoes squelching with each step - completely water logged. Mud was splattered up her legs as far as her knees, but her shirt had managed to stay dry, so far.
"Don't look so thrilled with yourself," Yang commented with a laugh. "We only just got our feet wet. The wire crawl is next."
"The…"
Blake followed the direction Yang pointed, finding rows of low hanging wire strung over the muddiest patch of earth she had ever seen.
Letting out a small groan, she still managed to smile when Yang tugged her by the hand to run over to their next obstacle.
It turned out that the 'muddy' tires hadn't been all that muddy compared to the wire crawl, as Blake soon found out. Getting down onto her belly, she slithered her way under the rows and rows of wire, feeling the cold mud squishing out of the way beneath her hands and legs.
When she finally pulled herself up at the end, Yang immediately giggled at the sight of her - her front completely covered in a thick layer of mud up to her neck.
Of course, Yang was equally mud covered - but the actress somehow managed to make it look fashionable.
"Come on, muddy!" Yang called out as she led the way to the next obstacle.
The two of them made their way through the obstacle course - adding more and more mud to their collection at each stop. They raced up a pyramid climb, only to slide down a muddy ramp on the other side. Next they ran through a pool filled with nearly two feet of muddy water, which Blake found actually helped clean her shoes somewhat, they had been so filthy.
They crawled through long, inflatable tunnels with the bottoms lined in mud. They flew down a slip 'n slide covered in muddy water. And now they had finally made it to the very last obstacle...a seven foot tall wall they needed to climb over.
Blake had done pretty well with all of the other obstacles today, but of course they had saved the hardest for last - when she had almost no energy left in her arms. The easy way out was an option - she could just step around the side of the wall and forfeit trying, but she was never going to do that in front of Yang.
Jumping up, she was able to grip her arms over the top of the wall, but couldn't quite find the right foothold to push herself over the top.
"Uh...can you give me a boost?" she asked Yang as she hung there.
After several seconds of her arms burning and silence from her date, she looked back towards the ground, finding Yang just staring at her with a blush on her cheeks. Blake felt a flush of her own appear when she realized what the blonde had been doing.
"Are you going to keep staring at my butt?" she asked playfully, the pain in her arms seeming to lessen while she focused on Yang's embarrassment.
Finally knocked out of her stupor, Yang rushed forward to help her - but instead of boosting her up by one of her feet, like Blake had expected, the blonde pushed both hands against Blake's butt, throwing her up and over the wall with a small squeak of surprise. Thankfully, she was able to hang onto the wall long enough to somewhat gently drop herself down into the fresh pile of mud waiting on the other side.
Yang flipped over the wall a few seconds later, face burning just as red as Blake's must be.
"I could have just given you a leg up, huh," the blonde said in embarrassment, causing Blake to burst into laughter.
"Naw, that was much better."
"But look! We made it!" Yang gestured behind Blake towards the finish line thirty yards away, undoubtedly trying to divert attention away from her most recent blunder.
They jogged the last remaining steps and Blake could finally start to feel her muscles protesting the amount of activity she put them through today. Her arms in particular were screaming at her from all of the climbing and crawling around on the ground.
Thankfully, waiting for them on the opposite side of the finish line was a table filled with cups of water - along with some of the most adorable adoption dogs who were all eagerly saying hello to all of the race participants.
"So...first mud run?" Yang asked after downing most of her cup of water in a single gulp, pausing for a few seconds to kneel down and pet an extra energetic terrier who made his way over to her.
Blake nodded while drinking her own cup, currently too thirsty to take a second to respond with words.
"You did great though. And you look fantastic."
She glanced down at herself, finding not an inch of her body that wasn't covered in a thick layer of brown. She had to let out a laugh at how ridiculous they both looked; even the stick-on numbers they had been given earlier were unreadable.
"If this is your idea of looking fantastic, I'm surprised you haven't show up on more magazine covers wearing this."
"I've tried, but the mud just doesn't photograph very well," Yang replied as she stood up, looking at Blake with eyes twinkling in amusement.
After sharing a laugh, Blake gave Yang another smile.
"Thank you - for bringing me today. I had a lot of fun. Although my body will certainly hate me for this tomorrow…"
Yang laughed, but her smile said that she was thrilled Blake had enjoyed herself.
"So, does this mean you'll come with me next year?"
The question was innocent and unassuming - and from the radiant smile on Yang's face, the blonde hadn't even recognized the weight of it.
But Blake blushed when she answered, imagining what another year with this girl would be like.
"Sure, I'll come next year."
The two of them spent the next few moments saying hello to nearly every one of the adoption animals at the event, while chatting with various other participants who wanted photographs or autographs from Yang. Of course, the blonde was completely willing to satisfy any request asked of her, except for the exceedingly brazen man who asked for a kiss. He was rather coldly shot down by the actress, much to Blake's approval.
And now that the event was winding down, the two of them were walking back across the 'parking lot' to Yang's car.
"Are you sure we shouldn't change or...shower or something?" Blake asked a second time, looking down at the now dried mud that was flaking off of her whenever she moved. "I don't want to fill your car with dirt."
"Don't worry about that! I'll just have it cleaned tomorrow," Yang answered easily, waving one hand in the air to dismiss any of Blake's concerns. "It's just dirt, after all…"
She smiled, grateful that Yang wasn't super concerned about keeping her vehicle in immaculate condition.
When the car came into view, she heard a small cough from beside her - making her to turn to find Yang looking slightly nervous while at the same time trying appear confident.
"So...uh...did I earn that good morning kiss yet?"
Blake's eyes widened at the same time the butterflies in her stomach came back to life - not having expected the request.
Stopping in front of the driver's side door, she somehow managed to gather enough nerve to lean forward and give Yang a tender kiss on the lips - the feeling sending waves of energy pulsating through her veins just like it had yesterday.
Pulling only partly away so that she and Yang were still breathing the same air, she whispered, "Good morning."
When Yang's only response was the grin like a madwoman at her, she blushed and backed a little further away - abruptly realizing that they were still out in public.
"You know, you don't have to ask every time you want to kiss me…"
"Really?" Yang asked in surprise as Blake turned and started walking towards her side of the car.
"Really," she replied, turning back to give the blonde a reassuring smile only to find Yang's lips crashing into hers again. Her back quickly met the surface of the car as Yang pressed against her - kissing her much more passionately this time.
For a brief instant, she wondered how they were both covered in mud, yet Yang still smelled absolutely incredible. The thought instantly disappeared when she felt Yang's hand slide up from her hip, the movement slightly dragging up Blake's shirt and drawing the softest of moans from the back of her throat.
It was only when Yang pulled away did she realize that other people in the parking lot were now openly staring at them. Her face immediately blossomed into a full flush, but Yang didn't seem to notice or mind at all.
"You know, you might be the filthiest girl I've ever kissed in a parking lot," the blonde said with a pleased grin before walking around the car to open Blake's door for her.
"So you've kissed dirtier girls then?" she asked with a smirk, following the girl over to her seat.
"Nope! You're by far the filthiest," Yang answered proudly, before her eyes widened in horror.
"I mean! I'm obviously not saying you're filthy in that way. W-well, I guess that maybe I wouldn't know that yet but -"
Blake giggled and silenced the girl with a quick kiss on the lips before sliding into the car with a smile.
She couldn't wait to do this again next year.