I swear I've been writing a lot more than I've been posting! But two items today - THANK YOU to Mr. Blender for drawing the cover for the story! If you haven't checked out his stories yet, you should! If you have any interest in super cute white rose and bumblebee, that is :P
Second, I'm going to start posting another story I've written tomorrow - Bumblebee, of course - called Caught. Keep an eye out for it if you're interested in a story with some more drama lol it's not terribly long, but hopefully good!
But for now, more fluffy Bees ~~
"Are you sure I look ok?"
"Yang - you look amazing. If there's ever a day when you don't look amazing - believe me, I'll let you know."
She placed one hand reassuringly on top of Yang's rapidly bouncing leg, calming the movement almost instantly. Today, she'd finally made good on her promise to have Yang meet one of her friends, which was producing the very adorable unintended consequences on display before her.
After Yang had let her feelings slip, the two of them had been nearly inseparable - whether that meant spending time together or texting/talking on the phone. She felt the urge to tell the blonde that she loved her all the time now, for any reason. All of Yang's cute qualities, which she would have said she 'liked' before, she could now say that she 'loved' - and, best of all, she could tell Yang that she loved them.
But could she say it right now? While sitting at this table waiting for Penny to arrive? Because she really did love the sight of an anxious Yang Xiao Long...
"I don't understand why you're so nervous, anyway," she said instead, not able to help a small smile at how incredibly on edge the blonde seemed to be right now.
"This is one of your oldest friends we're talking about! It's important for her to like me!" Yang nearly wailed, her other knee beginning to bounce up and down uncontrollably.
It was really sweet - how much importance Yang was placing on this meeting with Penny. The blonde had taken the time to look immaculate for the occasion - her blouse and jeans matching perfectly and without a wrinkle to be seen, not a single strand of hair out of place while still appearing appropriately disheveled.
To the average outsider, the girl would have been the epitome of poise and beauty at this moment, but Blake knew much better. The fidgeting knee was the most obvious giveaway, but there was also the way those purple eyes refused to rest on one subject for more than a few seconds, the slight clamminess in her palms that Blake had felt on their walk here, and the faintest of blushes that refused to leave Yang's cheeks.
She supposed that it made sense for Yang to be nervous to meet one of her friends...it wasn't like Blake had any family for Yang to try to impress, so friends might be the next closest thing.
Of course, it really didn't matter what any of her friends thought of Yang now. The blonde was in her life, regardless of what anyone else said. And no one's opinion was ever going to change that. She could have told this to Yang, but for right now it was much more enjoyable to watch the girl fidget uncontrollably.
"She'll love you...but maybe less than I do," she assured Yang, grinning when the adorable blush she had been hoping for made its appearance.
"Why don't you focus on something else while we wait for her to get here?"
"Uh...Ok…"
Yang glanced around them in search of an alternative topic of conversation. They were currently sitting outside one of the more popular lunch restaurants in Vale, waiting for Penny to arrive. There were plenty of people passing to and fro on their own missions for the day, plenty of subjects Yang could latch on to...
"So you said you haven't seen her in awhile?"
She giggled when Yang's eyes finally settled upon her, clearly unable to think about anything other than the impending meeting.
"She's pretty busy, what with being a heart surgeon and all...I usually feel bad taking her time away from literally saving lives. She kinda works like a machine, but even machines need a break once in awhile, right?"
"Absolutely," Yang replied with a grin, the blonde reverting to her usual self the second Blake was in need of reassurance.
A flash of orange hair caught her attention then - picking out Penny from a distance as the girl approached their table from behind Yang's chair.
"Ready?" she asked, smiling at how quickly the grin dropped from Yang's beautiful face as the girl practically shot from her chair and politely turned around to greet their guest.
"Penny!" Blake called out to the girl, waving them in their direction. Penny spotted them the next second and came hurrying over to their table.
Her brow furrowed in confusion when Penny raced up to Yang first and threw her arms around the girl's neck in a big hug. Only after hugging Yang did Penny come over her and give her a hug, as well.
"Yang! Blake! It's great to see you!"
"Uh…you two know each other?" she asked in bewilderment, noticing that Yang was now laughing and nodding her head, any semblance of nerves completely destroyed.
"Yang is the older sister of my good friend Ruby!" Penny answered for the both of them before turning to Blake with sad eyes. "Oh, you never got to meet Ruby, but you two would be great friends."
"Penny would join Ruby and I when we were hanging out sometimes, so we got to know each other a little bit that way," Yang explained in further detail, still chuckling at the coincidence. "But seriously, Penny is a common name - I never even thought that your Penny and Ruby's Penny would be the same one! And Penny, I didn't know you were a heart surgeon - you only said 'doctor!'"
"A heart surgeon is a type of doctor, Yang! But how is Ruby doing? I haven't heard from her in many days."
The genuine worry was evident in Penny's voice as the three of them took their seats at the table, Blake continuing to stare at the two girls while trying to adjust to the new situation.
"Ah...yeah that happens, but don't worry too much. She's probably just lost her phone again," Yang responded with a slight wave of her hand, seemingly completely unconcerned about her sister's well being. Blake knew that that was far from the truth - and that Yang pretended to be indifferent in order to try to convince herself that she wasn't worried.
"I can't believe you two already know each other," she voiced her internal thoughts out loud, still dumbfounded by the sheer coincidence of it all. "And here I thought I was going to see Yang stuttering and nervous for an entire lunch."
"There are other things you can do to make me sputter-y and nervous," Yang replied with a wink.
She felt a blush as she turned away from the suggestive look Yang was now giving her. She watched Penny turn back and forth between the two of them several times, thankfully still blissfully oblivious to that type of conversation.
"So Penny, how's work?" she asked in order to keep her friend from asking any questions that she really didn't want to answer.
"Work is sen-sational!" the girl responded with an emphatic motion of her arms and a huge grin.
The phrase caused her to raise an eyebrow.
"Sensational? What happened to 'spectacular?'"
"One cannot use the same word forever, Blake. At least, that's what Friend Ruby once told me!"
"Ah, that does sound like something Ruby would say," Yang added while unfolding her napkin and placing it in her lap. "Always trying to change, that one. Always moving forward, and always at the speed of light."
Blake stared at Yang for a moment, stunned by how comfortable the blonde now was, before turning back to Penny.
"But 'spectacular' is so much better than 'sensational!'"
Her voice had a slight whine to it, but she didn't like how everything she 'knew' about Penny seemed to have flipped upside down at this moment. First, she turns out to already know Yang - now she's changed her catchphrase?
"Hmm...which word do you prefer more?" Penny asked, directing the question towards Yang.
The blonde blinked like a deer caught in headlights when both girls turned to look her way.
"Uh...well...it doesn't really matter what I think," she finally answered, trying to diplomatically wiggle her way out of a true response.
"Which one do you think Friend Ruby likes more?"
Yang looked guiltily at Blake before muttering a soft 'sensational,' causing Penny to light up once again while Blake shook her head.
"This day is not turning out at all how I thought it would be," she commented, not failing to notice the twinkle reappear in Yang's eye when the blonde opened her mouth to add something inappropriate.
"And if you want your evening to go as planned, you won't say anymore on the matter," she quickly added, cutting off the comment before it even appeared. Of course, the blonde still winked suggestively before pretending to pull a zipper across her lips. Blake rolled her eyes but smiled regardless at the girl's continued antics.
"What do you have planned for the evening?"
Blake flushed at Penny's innocent question as Yang burst out laughing.
"Oh, you know, we're just going to be eating out and stuff," Yang replied with a wink while Blake tried to silence the girl with her glare. "So Penny, how are things going besides work? How are things with your dad - he still have a stick up his butt 'bout you living alone?"
"Things besides work are well and my father is well - the last I checked he did not have a stick up his butt, but I will make sure to double check with him. I imagine he would have needed to go to the hospital if that were true…"
Yang's eyes widened in horror at how misconstrued her question had been, waving her hands in front of her as if that would make it disappear.
"N-no! Don't ask him that! I meant...is he still being overprotective?"
"Oh...well yes, of course. Didn't you notice the two bodyguards who followed me here?" Penny gestured over her shoulder towards the two towering men loitering near the entrance of the restaurant. Now that they'd been pointed out, Blake realized they did look awfully suspicious and out of place in this environment.
"You can't even come to lunch alone?" she asked in shock. "What does he think we'll do?"
"It's not you two he's worried about - it's all the people I had to pass on my way here. But it's not so bad...they're nice guys!"
The waiter appeared by their side, putting their conversation temporarily on pause while he took their orders before disappearing once again.
"I must say that I'm pleased you two are now spending so much time together - you make great partners!" Penny commented happily once the man had walked away.
She grinned at Yang - Penny's ringing endorsement of their relationship more than she'd been expecting from the normally oblivious girl.
"And when Friend Ruby returns, I will finally introduce you. You two would make good partners, too!"
Blinking, she looked at Penny in confusion while Yang burst into giggles.
Just when she'd thought Penny understood...the girl threw a rather awkward monkey wrench into things.
"Uh...Yang?"
"That one's all yours," Yang replied, waving both hands in front of her chest while continuing to giggle.
Sighing, she turned towards Penny, who had been raptly listening to their words.
"Penny…" she began slowly, "Yang and I are together...as in, dating together."
She didn't understand how Penny still failed to grasp these simple social concepts after all these years, but it was one of her more endearing qualities - even if it made situations like these uniquely embarrassing.
Penny blinked at her explanation while processing the information - she could practically see the gears spinning in the girl's head while she sorted through the strange idea.
"Like married, together?" she finally asked, making Yang burst into more laughter before struggling to control herself.
"...yes, like married together," she replied, figuring that might be as close as the girl would get to understanding what she was trying to say.
"Ah, well even if you and Yang are married, you and Ruby can still become great friends!"
Flushing at the words, she just nodded her head, too mortified to continue speaking at the moment.
"So Blake, since we're married and all now...are you thinking you'll take my last name or should I take yours?" Yang asked, eyes dancing with amusement.
She narrowed her eyes across the table at the girl while their waiter set plates filled with food in front of them.
"I would think you'd be in a hurry to take mine and remove association with some of the ill-advised decisions you've made so far under yours," she replied deadpan, bringing a blush to Yang's cheeks but not lessening the girl's grin.
And why wouldn't Yang be grinning? The girl must be enjoying this topic of conversation immensely. But Yang was supposed to be the one squirming through lunch, not the other way around!
"Yang Belladonna sounds great!" Penny chirped, completely missing the silent battle going on between the two of them and deepening a blush on both of their faces.
"Thank you, Penny!" Yang replied happily. "Blake Xiao Long sounds good too, doesn't it? Then Blake can be associated with all of my misdeeds."
She flushed deeply from the wink Yang sent her direction, but also from the way Yang's last name sounded attached to her own. Yang Belladonna didn't sound all that bad either...
"W-when do you think Ruby will be back, Yang?" she asked instead, trying to change the subject to anything all three of them could speak about and reasonably expect Penny to understand.
"A few weeks, a few months, tomorrow...I never really know…" Yang replied, much more glumly than Blake had expected. She looked back at the blonde, feeling guilty that her question had caused such a reaction.
"When Ruby does return, we should get together for lunch again!" Penny added, clapping her hands excitedly. "Oh, that will be fun! Then you can finally meet Ruby!"
Blake smiled at Penny until a question popped into her head.
"Wait, what do you mean 'finally' meet her?"
"Because I tried to introduce you when we were in school, remember? At that party right before we graduated, but Friend Ruby had left too early…"
"Woah woah woah," Yang cut in. "Are you telling me that Blake actually went to a party in college?"
She shot Yang a glare, but Penny continued unaffected by the comment.
"Oh yes - a party filled with foam! It is one of my fondest memories from school."
Laughing, Blake vaguely remembered the dark house filled with dirty foam that reeked of spilled beer. That was the same party she'd seen that idiot girl…
Her eyes widened when she remembered the purple eyes and blonde hair - that effortless smile that had stopped her heart.
"Yang, have you ever jumped off a roof before?" she asked out of the blue, catching both of their attentions at her question's abruptness.
"Yeah! Into a swimming pool. Why?"
She smiled and said "no reason," allowing the two girls to continue their conversation as if nothing had happened. Yang glanced at her in confusion, but shrugged her shoulders and kept trying to pry more details from Penny about what Blake had been like in college.
But she kept glancing over at Yang the rest of lunch, now clearly remembering how they'd met years earlier while they were still in school. She would have to tell Yang about it later, since the girl didn't seem to recall much detail from the party.
If someone had told her back then that that foolish party girl would be the one she'd end up with, she would have told that person they were out of their mind. The two of them couldn't have been more different - one wild, free, without a care in the world - the other reserved, responsible, with ambitions that kept her grounded.
They had both changed from that night, but Blake wished she'd been wise enough back then to see all of the good qualities that still shone through Yang's eyes - her kindness, loyalty, selflessness, and passion.
Thankfully, she'd been given a second chance - and this time, she could understand just how much she needed someone like Yang in her life.
And as she caught a few of the loving glances Yang snuck her way, she realized that maybe Yang could use someone like her, as well.