The Strong And The Timid.
A couple of days has passed since Blake and Severa's hang out, which nearly ended with Severa being killed by spicy food, but it was fun non the less. Blake was sitting on her bed, reading. The rest of her team were out doing other things, so Blake had some time for herself. She sat in silence, reading and thinking about the time she spent with Severa. Despite them being really different, they still bonded well. However the silence was broken when she heard the door open. She looked and saw it was non other than her partner. Another person Blake handed bonded with despite their clear differences. Strange coincidence.
"Blake, I need to talk to you" The blonde fighter said.
Blake looked up from her book "About what?".
"About Bernadetta" Yang answered.
That made Blake curious and she closed her book "Why don't you speak to Severa about that?".
"I did, but she didn't have any useful advice. All she said is that she and Bernadetta must've bonded quickly due to being partners and living together. She is not as social as I am... And neither are you, but that's not important, you seem good at reading people, and I heard you could speak to her without her getting scared of you, so I need your advice on this" Yang explained.
"Alright. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I will do my best" Blake said as she sat up on the bed.
"Thank you" Yang said as she sat down next to her partner.
"Alright, what do you want to know?" Blake asked.
"I need you to tell me how I can approach her without her running away" Yang said with a sigh "I tried to talk to her before. But she is always so scared. Am I really that scary?".
"Well you are a big girl, and your strong build can intimidate people smaller than you. And Bernadetta barely even reaches your chest. But I think that is only part of the reason" Blake said.
"Guess my muscles can be scary. But what is the other reason?" Yang asked.
"The other and most likely biggest reason. You are way to forward" Blake answered.
"What?" Yang asked confused.
"You are strong, confidant and outgoing. All good qualities, but not the best approach when it comes to Bernadetta. As you have already noticed, she is extremely shy and easily scared. So if you really want to approach her without her running away from you, then you need to be more gentle with her. Be calm and slowly make her understand that she has no reason to be scared of you, that she is safe around you. Do that and instead of running away, she might go to you to feel safe" Blake explained.
Yang thinks about what Blake said before she nods "Yeah, that makes sense. Thank you Blake".
"You're welcome. Still why do you want to get to know her so badly?" Blake asked.
"Oh, personal reasons. But I am sure you can figure it out" Yang said before getting up "Well I hope your advice works. If not, then I guess I am just hopeless".
Blake smiled as she watched Yang leave. She had a feeling why Yang wanted to get close to Bernadetta. Still, she had a feeling that Bernadetta wasn't as scared of Yang as she used to be. So Blake was confidant that Yang wouldn't have to much trouble to finally get to know her.
Yang looked around but couldn't find Bernadetta anywhere. She sighed, looked like she wouldn't get another chance to talk to her after all. But then she heard something... it sounded like a flute, and it sounded really nice. Following the sound, Yang finally saw who was playing... it was Bernadetta. She was sitting by herself, playing a flute and she was really good at it. So good in fact that Yang couldn't bring herself to interrupt her. She just stood there and listened.
Bernadetta continued playing for several minutes before she finally finished "That felt nice. Good thing I found such a privet spot to play, would be real awkward if someone heard me".
"That was beautiful" Yang suddenly spoke.
"AH! Who's there!? Enemy!? Enemy is attacking!" Bernadetta screamed in fear.
"Wow wow wow! Calm down Bernie, it's just me!" Yang said quickly.
"Wait, Y-Yang? Hold on... did you hear all that?!" Bernadetta asked in embarrassment.
"I was already looking for you. I just heard music and you happened to be the one who was playing. So it was just pure luck on my end" Yang answered.
"Ahhh! No! This is so humiliating!" Bernadetta said, looking ready to run.
"Wait! Please Bernadetta, don't run away from me again... it honestly hurts to see you being so terrified of me" Yang said in a calm and a little sad tone.
"Wait, me being scared of you makes you sad?" Bernadetta asked, finally calming down a little.
"Yes. I don't want to hurt you Bernie. I just want to talk to you, that's all. But every time I try to approach you, it always ends with you running away" Yang answered.
Now Bernadetta looked guilty "I-I'm sorry Yang. Please don't be sad, I won't run away anymore".
"Thank you Bernie. I'm sorry I scared you so many times, I will try to be more gentle with you from now on" Yang promised.
"Oh, thanks, that does sound better" Bernadetta said as she had finally calmed down completely "But why do you insist on getting to know me? I am not really that interesting".
"I wouldn't say that. There is just something about you that makes me want to talk to you. And of course it helps that you are really cute" Yang said before she remembered what Blake told her "Oh, sorry that just came out!".
Bernadetta blushed "Umm, thanks? I guess".
She didn't scream or want to run away, looks like Yang was doing good "Anyway, if you don't mind me asking. Why are you so scared of everything?".
Bernadetta looked away "I... was isolated for most of my life".
"What?" Yang asked.
Bernadetta sighed "If you insist on knowing me, then let's sit down first... I feel I can trust you with this".
Yang nods, happy that Bernadetta was willing to talk to her, so they sat down next to each other "Alright Bernie, I'm listening".
Bernadetta took a deep breath "My father... is obsessed with money. He is one of the higher citizens of Atlas. But despite his already considerable wealth, he's never satisfied. He only married my mother because she was also a rich person. He's only ever seen me as bait for a rich husband. To train me to be a good, submissive wife, he'd do things like tie me to a chair and leave me there all day, challenging me to stay quiet. All so I would be attractive for someone who wanted an obedient wife who did what they wanted. My mother did her best to protect me, but more often than not she was powerless to do anything".
Yang got wide eyes. That was horrible! After growing up with such a nice dad, Yang couldn't believe any farther would do something like that to his own child.
"I tried hard to do as he asked. Honestly, I did. But... it would go on for so long... only times I was allowed outside was so he could bring me along to rich parties, hoping I would catch the eyes of a rich man so my father could have me marry him. I never got to make any friends, and every time it looked like I was close to getting a friend, my father would always step in and put an end to it. Even going so far as to have his guards give someone a violent beating just for being friendly to me... and that is why I am so scared of everything. Because I never got to experience the good things in the world... And the only reason I came here was because I was attacked and mom didn't think I was safe in Atlas anymore... but I feel like part of the reason was to get me away from my father so he couldn't hurt me anymore, her last attempt to protect me from him" Bernadetta finished explaining.
Yang felt rage build up in her gut. A strong urge to hunt down Bernadetta's bastard of a father and break every single bone in his body. She snapped out of her angry state when she heard Bernadetta start sobbing. She looked and saw Bernadetta holding her face with one hand while tears was leaking down her face.
"I tried my best! But nothing I did was ever good enough! I was never good enough!" Bernadetta screamed.
Yang had no words that would make Bernadetta feel better. So she did the only thing any half decent person would do. She gently pulled Bernadetta in to a hug, and the tiny girl didn't get scared or try to break free. She just cried loudly in to Yang's chest, years of pain and abuse just pouring out all at once. To think someone so sweet and innocent like Bernadetta, had to endure something so horrible. She just kept on crying, and Yang didn't care that her top was being soaked by Bernadetta's tears. She just let Bernadetta cry, she needed this.
Later, Yang was carrying a sleeping Bernadetta in her arms. She cried so much she fell asleep, so Yang decided to bring her back to her dorm. She was light as a feather, so there was no struggle at all for someone as strong as Yang. When they got there the door was locked, meaning Bernadetta's team wasn't back yet. Yang had to use Bernadetta's scroll to unlock the door. Once inside she carried Bernadetta over to one of the beds... not knowing which one was Bernadetta's, she just placed her on the closest bed.
Yang removed Bernadetta's boots so that the bed wouldn't get dirty and then pulled the blanket over her. Yang watched Bernadetta sleep for a few moments. She looked a lot more peaceful now. Looks like getting all that built up pain out really helped her. Yang was about to leave until she noticed something. It was hidden under Bernadetta's bed, which confirmed that Yang made a really good guess. But being curious, Yang took out the object from under Bernadetta's bed and was surprised by what she saw.
It was a painting... of her? Bernadetta had painted a picture of her? She looked at Bernadetta who was still sleeping calmly. Then a warm smile spread on Yang's face. So all this time Bernadetta secretly wanted to get to know Yang as well, she was just to shy to do it. This just added to the list of things that made her cute. Bernadetta didn't deserve any of those horrible things her father did to her. She was a very sweet and kind girl, held back by the fear that was put in her by someone that should've made her feel safe.
Yang put the picture back where she found it before giving Bernadetta a kiss on the cheek and whispered "Sleep well, little Bernie".
She then left the room and closed the door behind her. As Bernie, she just slept... and for the first time in what felt like years... she was smiling.
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A short chapter to focus on a future paring that I felt really needed more attention. A paring between two characters that couldn't be more different from each other. But you know what they say: Opposites attract.
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Tell me what you think.
