Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Okay, this needs to be perfect.”

“Blake, he’s going to love it.” 

Blake and Weiss were walking around the mall together while Ruby distracted Yang. It was one of their usual get-togethers - Nothing new, but this one was special. Almost a full year has passed since Yang had gotten their top surgery and Blake couldn’t be more proud. Early in their relationship, Blake always noticed little things about Yang and their preferences towards compliments. She used ‘handsome’ one day, it was just a joke at first, but Yang always melted when she said that. At first, it was nothing they batted an eye at. Then it started progressing from compliments to presentation - Clothes started to change, how he presented himself started to change, and Blake was there to witness all of it. 

As time went on, she noticed certain things that Yang seemed uninterested in or winced at. They were walking through stores since they needed to change their summer clothes to fall, so they decided to do some cleaning and donate clothes. Blake found her usual clothes - Sweaters, jackets, or stealing Yang’s items, so she was done rather quickly. But Yang’s outfits were harder to come by. They went to almost every store near their house before they subconsciously wandered into the men’s section - Later finding long-sleeved polos that Yang immediately fell in love with. Weeks passed and they were invited to a party where they had to dress up. The same thing happened again until Yang found a suit he loved.

Blake always took notes on how he acted - One because she loved him with everything she was and two because she wanted him comfortable in his own body. She looked up things for him, found more styles that suited him, and so many more things until one day - rather nervously, he brought up the conversation about himself. She didn’t even have to think twice when they were finished talking. She just wrapped him up tightly, congratulated him, and loved him even more.

Weiss smiled as they walked through the isles, “If you didn’t tell me of your plan, I would’ve assumed you were getting married again from how uptight you are about this.”

A bright blush painted Blake’s cheeks as he pierced ears laid down from embarrassment, “Shut up.” She grabbed a shirt off the rack and held it out to Weiss, “Is this one nice?”

“If Yang wore that, he’d look like those dads that always talk about grilling.” Blake raised her brow with a small smile. Weiss chuckled, “Alright, you win - although, I don’t think that’s what you should buy if you’re planning this extravagant surprise for him.”

Blake sighed, “This is going nowhere!” 

“Blake, relax, it’ll be fine.” She took the shirt out of Blake’s hands and set it back down then took out her phone. “Ruby said they’re buying parts for Bee, so we have an hour or so to find what we need. What’s something both of you could do or something you both take an interest in? Is there something he’s been thinking of recently? And something appropriate , please .”  

“Weiss!” Ears pinning down from embarrassment. She wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t have to say anything… Blake thought it over for a bit before her ears went straight, “Tattoos and flowers.”

“Tattoos I understand, but flowers?”

With determination, Blake nodded, “Sunflowers to be exact - Yang told me stories when he used to garden with Summer. Those are kinda his favorite flowers somewhat by default - He’s been thinking of making a garden actually. The only thing now is what could we do with that information…”

Both of them went silent as they thought over what they could get. This was mostly Blake’s gift, Weiss and Ruby wanted to give Yang a small gift - but they were thinking of going out to dinner and splurging so that was somewhat ruled out. Out of nowhere, Weiss started laughing, making Blake smile,

“What’s so funny?”

Weiss rolled her eyes and motioned Blake to follow her, “Follow me, I remembered something on the glass display up front - It’s something sweet but at the same time, it’s something he’d totally buy himself. When you see it - You’ll call me a genius, although we both know I am.”

“Alright, Princess, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

She scoffed, “You’ve been hanging around Yang too long if you are calling that accursed nickname.”

“First, they’re my partner, second, we all know you love it.”

Weiss picked up speed meaning Blake had won their small argument. A few twists and turns later, they made it back up front, Blake saw it, making her ears go upright and her mouth slightly open. She looked back and forth between her best friend and then back to the mannequin - It was perfect, she just hated that Weiss was right.

With a bright and victorious smile, Weiss patted Blake’s shoulder, “Go on, tell me I’m a genius.”

She frowned and turned away, “I’m going to get a worker to get it off the stupid display.”

In truth, she loved it and was thankful - She just wasn’t going to admit that to Weiss, even though she had a feeling her friend knew. They continued to go in and out of stores, debating on whether they should buy it with most of the outcomes being they shouldn’t. They bought a few clothes, some sentimental gifts, and a few things Yang would like in general - though they had to go in and out of the mall multiple times, they didn’t enjoy that. Once everything was set, they decided to look for their partners who said they were by the ice cream shop.

“How much sugar do you think Ruby has consumed in the last two hours?”

Weiss huffed, “Probably the entire store.”

Blake shook her head as they got closer to the shop and spotted amazing gold hair. She smiled softly when her ears picked up Yang’s laughter - He was vibrant no matter where he was. From long, blonde hair, to the contagious laughter, honestly, everything about Yang was vibrant and Blake would have it no other way.

When Yang and Ruby caught sight of them, they both smiled brightly and waved, making Blake and Weiss walk even quicker. She probably didn’t play it off well since she heard Weiss’ laugh behind her along with her heels picking up. Ruby rushed over to Weiss’ side as Yang went to Blake’s.

“Hey, beautiful.”

A soft pink painted her cheeks - If you had told her a few years ago she’d get this lucky she would’ve never believed it. “Hey yourself. What have you and Ruby been doing?”

Yang’s eyes sparkled, “I got more parts for Bee! Look!” Placing down the bag in their hands and taking out a few items, “Bee’s been making a weird noise - I’m thinking it’s either the oil or the engine itself. The weather is getting warmer so it’s probably not cooling down like it should. I might need a new oil cooler in general if I’m honest, I forgot to date the last time I changed it.”

Blake loved his rambling, “You never showed me the parts you bought, love”

“Oh- right, sorry.” He scratched the back of his head with a dorky smile before turning back to the items on the table, “I bought new screws and wrenches - I used the ones back home a lot last summer since it was hotter than normal, so they’re probably worn down. I didn’t buy it yet, but I put my name on a new stand for Bee - that can wait until it’s really summer though.”

She patted his back, “That’s good, I’m glad you found those. Are you ready to go?”

He nodded with a bright smile. Blake and Weiss went to get ice cream together before they left since Yang and Ruby already had some. Ruby and Weiss would help her out some more before the time came and made Blake promise to tell them how the gifts would go before the pairs went their separate ways. 

“Hey, babe?”

Yang hummed, not taking his eyes off the road. He offered to drive since Blake looked tired - which she was after all that shopping. “Yeah?”

“Are you still thinking about getting another tattoo?”

“I’d like to.” He shrugged, “It’s not really a need right now though.”

“If you could get it right now, what would it be?”

“Actually… I was thinking about getting something here,” Tracing the scars under his shirt, “I found out you could get some there - The design? I don’t know yet.”

Blake looked out the window and smiled. You’re making this easier for both of us , she thought. Before she had a chance to comment, Yang spoke up again.

“But our anniversary is coming up! I wanna save money and splurge on you - I already have a bunch of ideas.”

She saved the thought of him wanting another tattoo for later, but her ears flicked as soft pink painted her cheeks, “You always do that - Anniversary or not.”

Yang stuck out his tongue and then chuckled, “I just love you a lot. And I know you secretly love it too.”

“I do. Do you know what’s coming up before our anniversary though?”

Blonde brows pinched together as they pulled into the garage, “I don’t think so. It’s not Mom or Dad’s birthday, right? That’s a little after our day.”

She smiled knowing Yang was talking about her parents. She shook her head, “Nope. If you don’t, I’m going to make it a big surprise.”

“I’m not good with surprises!”

“ That’s what makes it even better. Now, I need you to help me get stuff out of the trunk but you can’t look. If you look…” She had to think of something to threaten him with even though she knew she didn’t need to, “I’ll uh… I’ll return Bee’s parts.”

Yang just gasped and hopped out of the car. Blake got out and saw Yang grabbing the bags with their eyes closed shut, making her laugh echo through the garage before grabbing his hand.

“You’re such a dork.”

“You love me!”

A few weeks passed as Blake continued to plan her surprise for her partner. Yang was just as bad as Ruby when it came to surprises - She wondered how Weiss managed to hide Ruby’s birthday presents for the last few years. Anyway, today was the day she would finally be able to give Yang their gifts. She had to work some overtime, and save money because truthfully she didn’t know how much it was going to cost, but it would all be worth it. Weiss and Ruby pitched in and bought a few things but they would have to go out and grab the stuff, which was fine.

It was the weekend and it was a peaceful morning. The birds chirped, the sun shone softly into their room, and Blake looked at her partner’s peaceful sleep. Blake pushed back beautiful blonde hair before following the soft sides of Yang’s face - his sideburns had gotten longer, almost reaching his jaw. Her hand trailed down even further toward his chest, tracing the scars that had been healing extremely well. They were still visible and Yang wore them with pride - The scars wouldn’t fade for a year or more, but with research and the help of doctors, they seemed to be almost gone.

Blake shuffled closer, “Wake up, baby.” She whispered, planting soft kisses on freckled, tanned skin. Yang let out a snore, making her chuckle. She continued kissing everywhere she could reach even when lovely lilac eyes opened.

“Morning… Beautiful.”

She smiled as she gave him one more peck on the lips, “Morning, handsome. Did you sleep okay?”

He nodded, shuffling closer to her until he was practically smushed into her chest, “Great.”

With a roll of her eyes, she kissed the top of blonde hair, “Today’s the day you finally get your gifts. Did you ever figure out what today was?”

“No - I even looked through our calendar.”

“Alright. Can you face me, Sunflower?”

The blonde shuffled back up and onto his pillow where he was met with such soft, caring ambers. He’d stare into them all day if he could. A sleepy smile came across his face when Blake cupped his cheeks.

“I love you.”

She chuckled, “I didn’t even tell you what today is yet, silly.”

He turned his face slightly to kiss her palm, “Don’t care - I still love you.”

“I love you too, Yang, so, so much. Never doubt that, ‘kay?” He nodded so she continued, “Today is the year anniversary of you getting your surgery.” Lightly tracing his scars for emphasis on what she was talking about.

That definitely woke Yang up, “It is?”

“Mhm.” She couldn’t help but get a little emotional as small tears shined in her eyes, “I don’t necessarily remember when you told me everything or the day we put labels on it, so I apologize for that, but I do remember this. This was as important for you as it was for me. A new step forward in your life and I was so happy I got to be a part of it, and for the fact I still am.” She looked back up towards clouded lilacs with a few tears falling sideways into the pillow, so she gently wiped them away, “I can never express how proud I am of you. You’ve come so far in so many parts of your life - This, your arm, and even things before that.” She softly kissed salty lips, “You’re truly amazing, Yang, and I want nothing more than to celebrate this with you.”

She yelped slightly when strong arms pulled her in close, their bodies now flushed together. Yang’s face was tucked into her neck - She could distantly feel it get wet from tears but that was fine, it was Yang. Blake combed through wild blonde hair as she hushed their cries. 

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to-”

Yang shook his head, “Let me?”

Blake smiled even though he couldn’t see it, “Of course.”

A shuddered breath escaped before he began, “Thank you f-for everything. I don’t even know what else to say… You- You remembered something so important that didn’t even cross my mind. To think just a while ago you were helping me bind even after surgery to now… to now just freely being able to walk without it on is… I can’t even describe it.”

“You did it all by yourself.”

He shook his head again, “You helped me through it all.”

Blake just hummed - They could go on for hours debating on the topic they both knew they were correct on. When Yang’s sniffles subsided, he kissed her neck softly before resting back on the pillow with a small smile that kept growing, prompting Blake’s to grow as well.

“What’s so funny?”

“… Can I get my presents now?”

The Faunus rolled her eyes as she got out of bed knowing Yang’s eyes were trailing her body. “Nope, I’m hungry so until I eat, you can wait.” Already making her way towards the bathroom.

Her ears flicked to an offended gasp and the sheets being shuffled quickly, meaning Yang was right behind her, “But today’s my day!”

+++

After washing up, Blake started making breakfast as Yang took their turn in the bathroom. Maybe it was a little mean, but she brought out the gifts but wouldn’t let him open them up until after he was done eating lest he make a mess. He pouted at first, saying how he’s waited a year for this and how it was his day - which was technically correct, but Blake was the boss, just like every other time. 

Yang practically inhaled the last bite of his food which made Blake roll her eyes, “The boxes aren’t going anywhere, y’know.”

“Doesn’t matter!” He took both of their plates and placed them in the dishwasher before coming back with a bright smile, “ Now can I open my gifts?”

Blake chuckled, “Go ahead - and be gentle.”

“Are you saying that because I’m heavy handed?” As he started to rip the paper and tear the tape off the box.

“Yes.”

“Rude.” There was a bit of silence before Yang saw his first gift. There were three colognes - two of his favorites and the other was a new one he’s never heard of before so he started reading the label.

“You don’t understand how hard that was to find. It was always out of stock until last week.”

“Thank you,” Yang sprayed it over his wrists with a chuckle before he let out a happy hum, “This is great! No wonder it was out so much…”

Blake smiled brightly, “I’m glad you like it - Truthfully, I was worried you wouldn’t. I liked it so I thought you’d like it…” A soft blush painted her face as the words came out.

“Well, I love it.” He was about to grab one of the smaller boxes before Blake stopped him.

“W-Wait-” Yang’s brows rose as his hand stopped midway - Blake’s blush grew darker, “I forgot to tell you to save that for last.”

A chuckle escaped from the blonde, “I almost thought I did something wrong.” He pointed to a long thin box, “Can I do this one then?”

The Faunus nodded so he went with it and quickly lifted it up. There was tissue paper hiding what seemed to be clothes. A smile started to spread as he lifted it up before he belly laughed. Tears pricked his eyes before he started talking, his laughter breaking up his words.

“How did- Where did you find this?”

“The mall and it was Weiss’ stupid idea.” It was a simple tan button up with sunflowers and a matching pair of shorts. “Check the corner of the box.”

Yang searched around until he felt something which was a matching bow tie, “This is hilarious. I love it.” He chuckled one last time as he folded the clothes again, “This is something I’d buy myself.”

Blake groaned, “I hate Weiss.”

“Did she say something like that when you guys were looking at this?”

“Yes and I’m upset about it. Also,” She got up for a moment, grabbing an envelope and plopping back down next to him, “I want you to read this first then open the box.” Giving him a soft peck as she slid the rectangle box closer.

He nodded, ripping open the envelope carefully and started reading. Blake watched intently at her partner’s reactions. A wide smile spread, laughter rang throughout the room, and a few tears fell, but they were all from love. Yang mutely wrapped Blake up for a big hug, one she melted into instantly. They basked in each other’s warmth before detaching and sharing a kiss that expressed both of their emotions.

“I love you.” Yang whispered just centimeters away from Blake’s lips.

“I love you too.”

He pecked her lips one last time before turning back to the box, “This the last one?”

Blake nodded, “From me, at least. Weiss and Ruby got you something but we have to pick it up.” She rested her hand on his thigh, “And please, please just accept it.”

Blonde brows pinched together as he lifted the lid off Blake’s last gift to find a gift card. It was the same shop he got his dragon tattoo on his shoulder from. He smiled and was about to thank her, but he turned the card around to find how much was on it, his eyes going wide.

“There’s no way I’m accepting this.”

“Yang-”

“Blake, this is- like- like… eight months of rent!”

It really wasn’t. Probably three, maybe four months, but she chuckled, “We don’t pay rent, my parents pay it.”

He blushed but didn’t falter, “That’s besides the point!” Then his cheeks were cupped softly, making him sigh, “You didn’t have to do all of this.”

Blake smiled softly, “I wanted to. You’ve been waiting to get a new one for forever now - I know you’ve been saving up this entire time but I wanted to give this to you. Plus it’s your fault for telling me that one day I asked about it.”

A defeated huff left him, then he smirked, “I hope you know that all the money I saved is going towards you now.”

“Gods, what have I done?”

He bumped their heads together, closing his eyes, “Thank you.”

Blake just pecked slightly chapped lips, “We should go get the stuff the others bought you now.”

“I wanna stay like this just a little longer.”

She smiled with a soft hum, “Alright.”

+++

“I can’t believe I’m doing this again…”

“Do you like it?” Blake asked hesitantly

Yang thickly swallowed, “Y-Yeah.”

After Yang put away his gifts, they went to pick up the gifts Weiss and Ruby bought. Blake already knew what it was, she was just surprised at how much there was - She honestly didn’t know if it would all fit in the car but that was besides the point.  Ruby remembered a few things Yang and Summer used to do together which was garden and luckily for them, they had more than enough room in the backyard for it. Ruby made the list while Weiss bought the items. Blake thanked them tenfold even if they said it wasn’t necessary - they were just glad they could give something special to Yang.

Blake leaned against the house as Yang started scooping out some dirt, “This was just a you and her thing, right?”

A sad smile appeared, “Yup. Before… everything happened, we’d check up on the flowers all the time, water ‘em, make sure none of ‘em were dying - simple things.”

“Any special memories of gardening?”

Yang thought over it for a moment before he bursted out laughing. He grabbed a small shovel and started doing the motions by memory.

“So Mom was the gardener of the family, right? She’d plant sunflowers, tulips, all types of flowers - especially roses. For the longest time I thought Mom made her and Ruby’s last name ‘Rose’ because of her love for the flower.”

Blake chuckled, “That’s adorable.”

“Right? Another funny one I remember was that I always made a mess.”

“Nothing’s changed then.”

Yang huffed but continued, “Mom would give me a task and I’d try my hardest to follow through. If she needed a big thing of water, I’d run as fast as I could and grab it - but I had to run back and forth multiple times considering how much I spilled.” Once he planted everything correctly, he grabbed the watering can and poured slowly. “Oh yeah, for as much as I love being outside, nature and I weren’t friends when I was little. Bandages were all over my body after gardening.” He saw the question on Blake’s tongue already, “Don’t ask how - I don’t know myself.”

“Noted.”

“But despite that, I’d always be next to her - Funnily enough, that was a way to control my anger, if that makes sense. She taught me how to be gentle with the flowers, I guess that’s why she trusted me with Ruby a lot… Anyway, after a bit of learning how to plant the flowers myself, she made a section of sunflowers just for me - When they were fully grown, we made flower crowns with them… She was so proud of me…”

Blake stopped leaning on the house to wrap her arms around Yang’s midsection, “Is that why you love them so much?” She mumbled into his shirt.

“Somewhat. Since my name wasn’t based on a flower, she picked sunflowers for me, which is kinda funny now that you call me sunflower. Flowers were Mom’s favorite thing other than baking - Now that I think about it, Ruby took Mom’s baking skills while I took gardening skills.” He placed gloved hands on Blake's as a shuddered breath escaped him, “Whenever we pass by roses I always remember her, but when we pass by sunflowers, I just remember being a kid with her.”

She held him tighter at the mention of his childhood, “Is that a good thing?”

It took a while to answer but he nodded, “I’d like to think so.” They stood in silence for a moment before he spoke up again, “Blake?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I know what tattoo I want.”

Cat ears flicked as she let go of him and stood by his side, “What do you want?”

They booked an appointment right after gardening a few days ago and managed to get a spot that was canceled last minute. Yang was excited because they were the ones getting it and Blake was excited since she took part in it. They didn’t find good photos on the internet for what Yang was looking for, so Blake offered to draw it out for him. It took a while considering she wasn’t drawing as much as she used to, but when she was confident with her finished project, she showed Yang and he immediately loved it.

Yang was sitting in the reclined chair with the sunflower shirt Blake got him, while the faunus held his hand as they waited for the tattoo artist to bring back the stencil.

“Nervous?”

He shrugged, “A little. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a tattoo.”

“This is a big one for you - They’re gonna be poking you for who knows how long.”

“Please, I’m immune to pain.” Blake just rolled her eyes before leaning her head on his shoulder, making him kiss in between cat ears, “Thank you for everything you do for me.”

She smiled and leaned up to kiss his neck, “Anything for you.”

The tattooist came up to them holding two identical stencils with a bright smile, “I’m back with everything. Excellent drawing by the way - You know the drill, I’m gonna put this on the area you tell me to, you decide if you like it, then we start. Sounds good?”

“Sounds great.”

They smiled and went through the motions. Blake held up the mirror for Yang so he could see if he liked the placement. Once he did and after asking Blake if it was good, which she agreed it was, they started right after. There wasn’t much Yang could do, but Blake did entertain him by catching him up on how her parents had been and everything going on with work. A bit into the process, Blake and the artist had to switch places which was fine, their room was surprisingly big which was a nice touch. 

After hours and hours of sitting and making sure Yang was okay, they were finally done. He was very sore - One from laying down in the same spot for so long and two because the needles were all over his chest, but he was happy. Blake made him drink some water before helping him up so he could stand in front of the mirror. The faunus saw tears cloud his eyes as an excited gasp left Yang.

A mix of sunflowers and stems were placed over his scars with a few petals falling down to add some effect to it. The shading was amazing, the highlights were a work of its own, the detailing was out of this world, and just- neither of them could believe it. Yang turned around with the biggest smile ever as if he was a kid on Christmas.

“I love this.”

Blake smiled brightly, wiping the stray tear that fell from his eye, “I love it too. They still have to wrap it so don’t move too much.”

“Trust me, I don’t wanna move at all, I’m sore.” He bumped their heads together, “I love you so much.

She just chuckled before grabbing his shoulders and gently kissing his lips, “I love you too, Sunflower.”

Chapter Text

“Dad, please, you need to rest. Mom and I can take care of the tavern just fine.”

Blake was trying to convince her father to rest for a while after he got injured taking care of the horses they had gotten just a few weeks ago. Ghira was basically the chief of the town - Everyone followed his orders, they were all civilized, and they were neighbors to each other, of course, he’d offer to help take care of some rowdy horses. Despite his strong build, one of the horses caught him off guard and kicked him real good - a deep purple on his side now. He would be fine within time, probably within the next few weeks, but if he continued being stubborn it would take even longer.

“I’ve been serving drinks for a while now, everything will be fine.”

Ghira huffed from his bed, “You know I hate doing nothing.”

She sighed with a soft smile, “I know, Dad, but if you keep moving and don’t do what the doctors told you to, then you really won’t be doing anything for a long time.”

He grumbled something under his breath but gave in, “Alright. I’ll rest here for a bit, but if anything happens to you or your mother, leave the tavern. You’ve seen how rowdy it can get when the sheriffs go overboard.”

“I will, I promise.” She leaned her head against his arm and nuzzled it softly, “Now, stay here and rest. Mom will visit you sometime in the afternoon.”

After she grabbed everything he’d need while they were gone, she made her way outside. It was a nice day, not much going on in town. Children were playing games, horses galloped up and down the road, and everyone was enjoying their peaceful time. She tucked in her shirt and fixed her belt that had her family’s emblem on it, before pushing open the double doors and waking into her father's tavern. It was a slow day, quiet thankfully, probably a handful of regulars, nothing she couldn’t handle.

Blake smiled at the customers before passing the small gates to stand behind the bar and see if her mom was already there, which she was if her ears said anything about it. Kali must’ve heard her as well since she walked out of the doors a moment later.

“I see you got your father to lay low for a moment, hm?”

She huffed, “He’s so stubborn.”

“Reminds me of someone I know.” Chuckling at Blake’s pout, “Do you mind serving the drinks today? I have to sign a few things for restocking.”

“That’s fine - Today’s slow anyway.”

Kali smiled and kissed her cheek before going back to the room she was previously in. Blake blew out a deep breath and started working. She grabbed a few bottles of beer she remembered the regulars got, soon making small talk with them for a moment, then moving on to the others and asking what they wanted refills on. More rounds of beer were passed around, a few bottles of rum, and some food were brought out, but overall it was smooth sailing. 

Blake then stayed behind the counter cleaning up a few glasses and strategically positioned them so they all fit in their designated spaces. The jukebox was playing its usual music - probably the same song Blake had heard many times, but it was a good song nonetheless. Her ear flicked from the wooden doors opening - her usual welcoming sentence died on her tongue when she looked back up.

She’s seen sheriffs come into her family’s establishment before, thankfully, the one that would always be in here was gone for who knew how long - hopefully, he stayed gone in her opinion, but that wasn’t the point. The point was a sheriff was in her tavern, but a tall beautiful one at that.

Long blonde hair flowed down his back, almost below his waist. Scars and freckles covered his tan face - Blake noticed there was a cut on his bright pink lip as well. He wore a tan western pearl snapback shirt with golden accents, a belt with what looked like a burning heart, and boots that clicked on the ground every time he took a step. His posture gave off confidence like no one else’s. He started walking straight toward her and in her dazed state, she stuttered,

“W-Welcome in.”

Blonde brows rose, “O-Oh, hello! Uh-” His voice was higher than she had imagined, but she didn’t question it when he sat down on the stool in front of Blake, “How are you?”

Blake smiled, “I’m great - What would you like?”

“What do you mean?”

“What would you like to drink?” She reiterated, “We have an Old Fashioned whiskey, we’re somewhat low on beer today but that should be back tomorrow, rum,” She shrugged, “Almost anything you want.”

“I didn’t know this was a tavern…” The blonde whispered. However, that didn’t pass by cat ears.

“You walked in here without knowing what this place was?”

“… Yes.”

Blake laughed, the blonde laughing soon after, “Gods - Good thing today is a quiet one or the others would be on you.”

“I bet they would.” He smiled, “Can I get an Old Fashioned then?”

“Comin’ right up.”

If she said so herself, making an Old Fashioned was her specialty. She grabbed a glass and went through the motions with ease - a few teaspoons of water then mixed the sugar in until it dissolved soon after, she added the whiskey, counting to 3 quickly just like her mother showed her, grabbed an orange they kept for their cocktails and twisted the peel along the rim before dropping it in, then added two cherries.

“Damn, you’re good.”

She raised a brow, “You should see me when I have to do something with Brandy in it.” She slid the glass over, “There ya go.”

The blonde smiled, lifting it in the air as a thank you, before taking a big gulp before lilac eyes went wide, “This is amazing!” He took a few more sips - almost finishing it then and there, “You’re like, magic!”

Feline ears shifted with a smile, “Thank you.” She rested her elbow on the counter then rested her chin on her hand, “What’s your name?”

“Yang. Yang Xiao Long.”

She liked that name. She liked it a lot. “Blake.”

“No last name from you?” He teased.

“Well, if you looked at our sign out front, you’d know it.” A bright blush painted tanned skin. Blake just chuckled and saved him the misery, “Belladonna.”

“Blake Belladonna, huh… That’s beautiful.”

A soft pink painted her own cheeks. She’s gotten compliments before - Some from good people, some from bad. She’d just brush it off with a small smile and a quiet ‘thanks’, but this one seemed genuine. Clearing her throat, she then asked, 

“I’ve never seen you around, did you just move here?”

Yang hummed into his drink before placing it down with a soft ‘clink’, “Technically not - I like to travel around a lot, explore any and everywhere I can. Nothin’ too fancy.”

“Are you going soon?”

“I ain’t going nowhere if you keep making drinks as good as this.” Shaking his now-empty glass with a smirk.

Blake rolled her eyes, grabbing the cup and refilling it, “I don’t know, I might make a bad one so you don’t take up our entire whiskey stock.”

“Then I’ll simply drink something without whiskey in it.” He challenged.

“Absolutely horrible.”  She couldn’t help but smile. She’d never clicked with anyone so quickly. It was nice. “Another Old Fashioned for you.”

“Thank you.” This time he just swished the cup around, the cubes clinking against each other, “Is this your establishment?”

Blake shook her head, long black hair swinging side-to-side, “This is my father’s. He made this all by himself - A place everyone could come in no matter what they looked like. Human, Faunus, anyone really. One day I might take over, but I don’t know if I want to. The idea of exploring somewhere other than here sounds like a dream.”

Yang’s eyes brightened up, “That’s amazing. I wish I could do something cool like that.”

“You’re a sheriff,” The Faunus chortled, “I’d be thinking that’s cool enough.”

“Maybe… Gets kinda lonely being, well, alone . Hop from one town to the next - Everyone’s intimidated by this shiny badge,” Flicking the star on his chest, “I worked hard for it, it just ain’t fun doing it alone.”

Her ears folded down in sympathy, “I guess so… but maybe one of these adventures you’ll find something worth sticking around for.”

The blonde smiled, “I think I already have.”

The next day was somewhat the same. Ghira insisted he could go into the tavern and do some things, at the very least just clean the glasses, but Kali and Blake shut that down quickly. The bruise was doing somewhat better since he listened and didn’t do much, but it was still a good purple. Kali decided to stay with Ghira so that left Blake alone with the tavern. She would most likely close it before it got too busy, but that was her job for later. She already told the people cooking in the back what the plan would be, and they agreed, so she stayed up front doing drinks again.

Her ear flicked to the doors opening softly barely an hour into opening. A few people were already there, but this one was funny. She chuckled as the blonde made a beeline over to her and plopped right down in the same seat they were at yesterday. 

“Are you lost?”

Yang shook his head, “Nope! I read the sign this time. I’m surprised I missed it considering it’s big and bold.

“My thoughts exactly,” Blake smiled, “Whatcha thinking of getting today?”

“Same as yesterday.”

“So just water?” She teased, already making the drink in front of Yang.

Yang just chuckled, leaning further into the bar, “You’re a cruel one, Belladonna, I like it.”

Blake finished Yang’s drink quickly, already sliding it over, “You’re the cruel one considering you’ve taken my first stock of whiskey.”

“I’ll put in a generous tip.” Pink lips quirked up slightly. 

The Faunus huffed as she started working on other drinks. She was able to get a few things done quickly - Thankfully they were mostly beers so she could take about three in each hand. Grabbing said drinks, she rounded the bar and went around the place serving each person with a small smile, chatting with a few of them as she went along. Her ears flicked since she felt eyes on her, but she already knew whose they were, making her take a bit longer to get back to her spot. 

When she turned back around to go back to the bar, she saw lilac eyes trained on her. This feeling made her heart skip a beat but she found herself not minding it. It felt nice to be wanted, like this at least. 

She rounded the corner and stood back in front of Yang, not making contact with purple eyes to see if anything would happen.

“You’re awfully beautiful.”

Blake chuckled, “Are you trying to make me say your drink is on the house?”

“No, I’m serious.” That’s when Gold looked up to find a sincere expression on the blonde’s face, “You’re the most beautiful gal I’ve ever seen.”

“W-Well, thank you.”

Yang smiled as they pulled out a few coins, more that was needed actually. “I’d love to stay, but alas, this town needs its protection.” He winked, “See ya soon, Belladonna.”

The heat on Blake’s cheeks intensified. She nodded quickly, “Goodbye.”

And just like that, Yang became a regular. He came in almost every day for the past two weeks after patrolling around town. Blake got to know more about the blonde and she enjoyed them - He was bright, always smiling, and his eyes lit up the place. Yang wouldn’t always drink, maybe he’d get one and call it a day, but he’d always sit in the same spot as the first day he wandered into the tavern.

“Switched from Old Fashioned to a Gin Tonic, huh?” Blake teased.

“I can’t stay if I take all of your whiskey now can I?”

Blake rolled her eyes, “Nope.” Her ear flicked, “Now that you mention it, when are you leaving?”

Yang stared down at his glass, “Dunno. I haven’t wanted to leave town yet. It’s nice being here. The people are nice, food’s amazing, and,” He smiled, “You’re here too.”

Blake blushed deeply. She’s started taking a liking to the blonde. She was about to comment before wooden doors burst open, hitting the walls, and hurting her ears. They folded down quickly, almost pinned into her head, and then when she found out who caused it, she frowned. 

Their “usual” sheriff was back in town. Unfortunately. For the last two weeks, it had been peaceful, now it wasn’t going to be since Adam was back. His outfit was nothing but black and red with a giant flower on the back of his attire. An eye patch covered almost half of his face, a few scar marks barely peeking out from it. Blake hurried to grab a cup and fill it with whiskey before he could cause a scene - Yang was here and she didn’t want Yang to see that. She saw the words on the tip of Adam’s tongue, already sliding his cup towards him with practiced ease. He practically snatched it off the counter and chugged it down - Amber eyes caught a glimpse of Yang’s confused yet upset state.

She took a small breath, preparing herself for what she hoped wouldn’t take long, “A-Adam… What are you doing here so soon?”

A wicked smile spread across his lips, “I managed to exterminate the outlaws. They were pathetic.”

Blake knew what he meant by ‘exterminate’. Sure they were outlaws, humans to be precise, so they needed to be taken care of. But in Adam’s eyes, that meant torture. It meant death. Everyone knew he didn’t like humans - despite the years of finally managing to make their town peaceful and quiet, that wasn’t good enough in his eyes. They started it all, we should fight back and do the same to them . That’s what he’s always said. Even for the ones that were standing up for Faunus - At first she admired it, but now she absolutely hated it. She had no power over him and if she tried to do anything her family would be at risk. They all knew it.

“That’s… good.” She noticed Yang’s drink had been empty for some time so she grabbed it and started making his drink again. Amber flicked up to lilac’s - trying to convey she was sorry he had to see this.

Adam slammed the glass down hard, her ears folding back before she could stop them. “Get me another.”

“But I have to get his-”

“I don’t care.”

“That’s not how you talk to a lady.”

Yang made himself known by standing up, making Adam finally bother to look over at him, slightly tilting his head up to make eye contact. The entire tavern was silent - Blake didn’t even realize the jukebox was off too. The bull’s face twisted into a snarl when they met.

“A human?”

“Yeah, what’s it to you?”

“Pathetic.” Instead of waiting, he snatched the entire whiskey bottle and drank it from the source. “The hell you doing here?”

Yang simply shrugged and crossed his arms, “Gettin’ a drink - A whole lot nicer than you.”

Blue eyes flicked down to the star on Yang’s chest. The snarl on his face turned into a wicked smile. Nothing but trouble and Blake knew it.

“Sheriff, eh?”

“That’s what the badge is for.” A smirk tugged at his lips when Adam let out a scowl. “What does that have to do with this?

“It just means I have every right to kill you.” He started walking towards the door, yelling so everyone could hear, “Watch your back cowboy - There’ll be a hole in it next time we meet.”

The wooden doors slammed the walls once again. Blake saw Yang’s fists clench a few times, his jaw tight. “Yang, you need to leave town.” Her voice panicked. “If he finds you again, he’ll-” The words died on her tongue when the lilac she admired was now crimson.

“Why would I do that?” His voice was dark - Not like Adam’s, it seemed like it was posed as a challenge.

“He’ll kill you!”

“I’ve been in a handful of fights, he’ll be a walk in the-”

Blake’s head shook quickly, “No, no, no, you don’t understand. Adam plays dirty - He’ll kill anyone who’s in his way. And the fact that you’re human doesn’t help your case!”

Yang took a steady breath and sat back down on the stool, mumbling a soft ‘thank you’ for the drink she had made him. He swirled the glass softly, the ice hitting the sides before he sighed again, his eyes back to lilac looking back up at Blake.

“Does he always do that?”

Her ears folded down, “Most of the time unless he’s in a ‘good mood’.” Raising her hands slightly for air quotes. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Hey, it’s nothin’. It’s not like you asked for it anyway.”

“I guess so… but you really need to get out before he gets you.” Her heart felt tight saying those words - She didn’t want him to go.

“I’m not leaving. If he wants a fight I’ll let him have it.”

“Yang-”

“Thank you, Blake.” A gentle smile made its way on his face as he pulled out more coins than he needed and placed them on the bar. “I’ll see you sometime soon, yeah?”

Her ears shifted down further, “Be careful - If you need somewhere to lie low my home is always available.”

The blonde chuckled, “Easy there, you gotta take me out to dinner first.” The Faunus blushed furiously, her ears shifting uncontrollably as she stuttered before giving up with a groan. Yang just laughed loudly as he took a few steps towards the door, “I’ll be back soon.”

She couldn’t say anything back since he was already gone. Her eyes flicked down to the golden coins Yang had set down, carefully picking them up and counting how much they totaled up to. Her heart tugged once again - This covered his drink, the entire bottle of whiskey she lost, and even a little bit more. He always gave her a little bit more than usual, everyone who had extra to spare did too, but this felt special in its own way. Next time he came she’d make sure to put it on the house.

Black brows scrunched tightly with a slight pout - It had been a while since Yang was last seen at the tavern. She cleaned the glasses, stacking them carefully on each other, then wiped down the counter. Once that was done, she opened the register and started counting the mix of cash and coins, letting her mind wander.

Had Yang left without a word? No, that couldn’t be it - He didn’t seem like the type to do that. Maybe he got sick? That could be a possibility, though she felt like she would’ve seen the signs. Maybe a flushed face or his words being slurred, maybe even sensitive to loud noises. She knew from personal experience that her ears hurt more when she was sick. 

“Why are you talking about being sick?”

Her ear flicked to her mother’s voice - She didn’t know she was grumbling out loud. “S-Sorry, I’m not sick. I was just thinking of someone.”

“The blonde cowboy?” Blake didn’t answer but her bright blush was enough for Kali, “When was the last time he was here?”

She counted the days in her head for a moment, “9 days - It’ll almost be two weeks and… I’m worried.”

Kali’s expression changed from teasing to being curious. “How come?”

“It was Adam again…” From the corner of her eye, she saw Kali’s ear shift down. “He threatened Yang. They’re both sheriffs so if they really wanted to duel they have every right to do so. I tried to convince Yang to leave but he said he wasn’t.” She sighed, “I’m starting to think he did leave before things got bad - It was probably too dangerous to come back here…”

“When was the last time Adam stepped foot into here?”

“Same time as Yang.” Her ear flicked, “Why?”

Kali took a few coins from Blake and started counting as well, “I’d be thinking our so-called ‘sheriff’ would come to gloat if he did something to your blonde.”

She let out a small squeak, “He’s not my blonde, how- E-Either way, you’re right. About the Adam part.” She sighed, “I just hope Yang’s okay.”

“I as well - He’s increased our pay ever since he came in.” 

Blake rolled her eyes playfully as her mother laughed. They did their usual thing - Kali managing the orders while Blake made the drinks swiftly as time went on. An hour or so passed before someone burst through their wooden doors again. Blake frowned until she realized it was just one of the regulars who would come after their duties patrolling the town. It was Sun. If her father was here he’d be immediately thrown out because he didn’t like him. Sun looked rather surprised, almost on edge to say whatever he needed. Blake’s ears flicked curiously as she and Kali walked up to him. 

“Are you alright?” Kali question first.

“No- I mean- I’m fine, great, but it’s not about me. It’s about Adam.”

Blake shifted, “What about him?”

“He’s dead.”

“What?!” Both of the cat Faunus practically yelled. A few others in the tavern made a commotion but Blake paid no mind. “What do you mean ‘dead’?”

“I was patrolling the outskirts of town when I found him. There were three shots. Here,” pointing at lung, “Here,” moving to his shoulder, “And the last one right there.” Tapping his forehead with his tail, “He was cold when I reached him - I know he wasn’t the best towards your family but I thought I should tell you.”

Kali was about to ask another question but Blake beat her to it, “W-Was there anyone near him? Like did you see anyone leave the scene? Another sheriff or something.”

Sun pondered over it for a bit before a sigh left him, “No, sorry. If it was a duel there’s nothing we can do about it - It’d be different if it wasn’t, then we’d have to find out who did it.” Then he whispered under his breath, “Though I think we’re all kinda glad.”

Blake felt disappointed, “Okay, thanks…”

“It’s nothing. I need to go back to the station. One of our guys is gonna be out for a few days - He would handle everything for us.”

Kali smiled, “I’m glad you got a new recruit. I know you’ve been looking for some time.”

“Yeah, Yang’s been a real lifesaver for the last few weeks.”

Blake’s ears shot up, “Yang?”

“Mhm, you know him?”

A blush spread and she already knew her mother wore a smug expression but paid no mind. “Yeah, he’s… Do you know where he is?”

“Up in one of the rentals. I can show you if you’d like.”

She turned to her Mom, “Can I-”

“Go ahead, I can handle the tavern for a few hours.”

With that Blake swiftly and quickly went along with Sun - They had been friends since school, despite that Ghira never liked him. A troublemaker as he liked to say. Either way, he was trustworthy and nice. They walked and talked as they made it through town - Sun gave a few things he knew about Yang. He came from an even smaller town called Patch which Blake thought about was quite far. He did say he liked adventure so it made sense. 

They arrived at the small wooden house. It looked very cozy. Perfect for the golden cowboy. Blake’s ears swiveled over to the horse's stomp before Sun threw his thumb up towards it.

“I’m gonna take care of Ember, she surprisingly likes me! Ya need anything?”

She chuckled, “No, thanks Sun.”

She watched Sun walk towards the horse who continued to stomp - She distantly heard him talking to her, and as if the horse was responding, she’d neigh. She sighed and knocked on the door, patting her thighs and making sure she looked at least a bit presentable. A cat ear flicked to the sound of heavy footsteps then to the door unlocking, revealing the blonde she had missed for quite some time.

“Hi, Yang.”

The brightest blush Blake had ever seen quickly spread across Yang’s face, this time not from alcohol. Though her head tilted when Yang jerked his entire body to hide behind the door.

“B-Blake! How- What are you doing here?”

“I haven’t seen you in a bit and Sun stopped by, he showed me the way here.”

“Right…”

She swallowed thickly, “Do you… Not want me here?”

“No! Gods, Blake, I’m actually really happy to see you. It’s just-” A big sigh left him.

“Yang?”

“Just don’t get upset?” 

The question made Blake’s brows furrow, “Why would I…”

That’s when Yang shuffled slightly from the door revealing lots of wraps for some reason. At first, her eyes fell to his stomach - Abs hidden underneath his healthy tummy. There were scars on his chest too. She quickly diverted her eyes to look down at the wrap and followed all the way to his arms and that’s when she saw it. The wrap was covering what seemed like a wound on his shoulder with a sling on top to hold his arm up.

“What the hell happened to you?!”

Yang winced, “I kinda uh, got into a fight.”

Blake brought her fingers to her nose, rubbing away an oncoming headache, “What kind of fight gets you shot like that?”

“Ones with Adam.”

Ambers snapped open, “That was you?”

Lilacs fell down, “Yeah,” A strained smile appeared though, “He told the truth when he said there’d be a hole in my body.”

“Gods, you’re so… so stupid!” She practically yelled, “I told you to leave before you got hurt!”

“Blake-”

“Don’t, just-” Despite her anger, she just sighed, her heart filled with so many feelings she didn’t really care. It was in the past - Yang was safe. Technically. And that’s all that mattered, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Yang smiled, “Wanna come in?”

The Faunus nodded, “I’d like that.”

When she got in, she noticed it was even cozier on the inside. She took off her boots, placed them by the door and looked around. There wasn’t much decor - Mostly just paintings from what she assumed were bolted by the landowners, a few plants, a big couch, a small TV in the corner, and a few other homey items. 

“How’s the tavern?”

“Slow, which is good. My mom joked about missing you - She said you increased our pay.”

A belly laugh came from the blonde, “I’ll make sure to come by soon.”

They sat down on the couch, the TV giving them a slight background noise. Yang leaned back with a loud sigh, his head falling down onto the cushions.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come by or say anything. I was going to but… I didn’t want you to see me weak like this.”

Her heart tugged, “I would never think that.”

Lilac looked over at her, searching for a lie soon enough, finding none. He smiled softly, “Thank you. I really missed you.”

Gods, how adorable could this cowboy get? Without thinking, she leaned just enough to kiss his chapped yet soft lips. He squeaked but then leaned more into it, soon sighing into it. They broke off a moment later - Both blushing and smiling like high schoolers.

“I missed you too.”

“I can tell if that won me a kiss.” He giggled.

Blake rolled her eyes, “Dork.”

He smiled, “Guess I’m yours now, huh?”

She stared into lilacs - A million things racing around them but that could wait for a later time. They had all the time in the world to learn more about each other. “Yeah, you are.”

Chapter Text

It was a long day after work and honestly, Blake just wanted to shower and crash into bed. Well, after spending time with her amazing partner that is. Yang said she’d be home early because there was a package she wanted to get before Blake got home, not that Blake minded. Nothing was going on that the Faunus could think of on the top of her head but she wasn’t worried. 

With a big sigh, she pulled into their complex and turned off her car shortly after. She didn’t want to cook so she was thinking of delivery - It’d been a bit since then so she could easily order a big pizza for the both of them. Blake grabbed her things swiftly, hauling them over her shoulder, walking inside and into the elevators. Once she reached her door, she unlocked the door swiftly, putting her keys on the hook as she took off her heels.

“Yang! I’m home.”

There was no response. Her cat ears swiveled to try to locate where Yang was - Maybe she was just asleep, but it wouldn’t be a surprise, Yang always worked hard. Sometimes more than she needed to but that’s what made the blonde, well, them.

Blake went through their home before she heard pattering in their room. A soft smile came across her face as she scurried over and opened the door. She was about to surprise Yang - Try to sneak up on the blonde since she was the master of surprises in their home, but once the door was fully open, her eyes met panicked lilacs. 

Yang was standing in front of their mirror with simple sweatpants and a top that made her chest flatter than a sports bra would. Black brows pinched but she didn’t want to make this awkward for her partner.

“I’m sorry - I can just stay in the other room while-”

“N-No! It’s fine, promise! Just- uh-” Yang quickly threw on a shirt that was haphazardly thrown on the bed. “Sorry you had to see all that.” Scratching blonde hair as she shifted, making the wood creak underneath.

“No, I’m sorry, I should’ve knocked.”

That made Yang smile, “It’s our home, babe.” A sigh escaped from pink lips as she sat down and patted the spot next to her. Blake smiled back and walked over, not without stealing a quick kiss.

“How was your day?” Blake asked, she didn’t want Yang to talk about something she didn’t want to just in case.

“Day was good - Tiring, so basically the usual. The shop wasn’t busy today so I have a feeling tomorrow it will be.” She shrugged, “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” Blake chuckled softly. Yang then asked her the same thing. “Was yours just as busy?”

“Definitely. You’d be thinking people would be smart about these deals and whatnot but nope, absolute idiots.”

Yang just hummed in agreement as Blake leaned on a strong shoulder with a content sigh. It was always nice coming home to Yang. Sure there were ups and downs they’d face but the small moments like these make it all worth it. Blake’s ears started dropping but flicked back up when Yang spoke up again.

“Do you want to know what I was trying out?”

“Only if you’re comfortable with it, sunshine.”

A soft chuckle made Blake’s head shift slightly but Yang nodded, moving golden locks around. “I’m comfortable with it. It’s just… hard to explain if that makes sense.”

Blake took Yang’s hand into hers, “Take as long as you need. If it’s too much you can always do this later or tomorrow even.” She looked up into soft lilacs that held the world in them, “I’ll be here for you. No matter what.”

“Gods, you’re perfect.” Yang breathed out. A few beats passed before she started to speak again. “I bought myself a binder.”

Her ears flicked, “Binder?”

“It’s to… bind my chest - Kinda in the name. Chest binder and all that.” Yang fiddled with her robotic hand, clinking the metal on itself. “I’ve been- I don’t know…”

“Hey,” the Faunus interrupted, “Take your time.”

Lilac searched golden eyes to pick out any lie she already knew wouldn’t be there. A nervous smile came across her face with a light blush, making freckles pop out more than usual. 

“Well, I’ve been a bit dysphoric about my chest. I mean, you’ve heard all the comments I get about it.” Blake nodded for her to keep going. “I was scrolling and saw someone talk about everything I had been feeling. I haven’t worn a dress in years - Mostly suits or anything under that category when we’re out at fancy things. I found out that it's more masculine and when I kept learning more and more about it, it just felt- I guess liberating?”

“Are you transmasc?”

“I think so- Wait, how’d you come to that?”

A soft chuckle came from Blake, “That’s how Sun was when were kids.”

“Really?!” Yang turned her whole body towards Blake. “I never noticed!”

“He doesn’t talk about it unless you bring it up. Forgetful and all that.” Chuckling at the thought. “Does this change anything? Pronouns and all that.”

Yang took a moment to think about that. “Maybe? I might have to think about it. But… Maybe saying ‘Their and Theirs’ might be cool for now.”

Blake nodded, “We can try it all if you’d like.” She kissed their cheek, “I’m proud of you for figuring it out - I’m glad you feel safe with me to do that.”

“I always do.”

Blake chuckled softly, standing up and patting her clothes to straighten them out. “I think you should talk to Sun about this - He’ll have some tips. Though, I remember he wore tape instead of binding but y'know, everyone’s different, but that’s just my opinion.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” The blonde also stood up, patting their chest, “This is amazing - I love it already.”

“I’m glad.” But then her ears flicked to the package on the bed. She grabbed it and went through the small card that it had. “You’re only supposed to wear it for under 8 hours. You can hurt yourself doing more - And don’t work out with it for the same reasons.”

Yang peeked over Blake’s shoulder, reading all the concerns that came with it. “Huh… Okay, I’ll have to get used to that. You might have to remind me though.”

“I will.” Blake carefully put everything on their dresser before walking back to Yang. “I’ll even help you when you get stuck.”

“You’re already praying for my downfall, huh?”

“Possibly.” They both laughed for a moment, and then Blake pulled them down into a quick kiss, both of them humming until they parted, bumping their heads together. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Blake smiled once more, patting the freckled cheek before stepping away. “We can talk more about this later - I’m hungry.” She smirked as she walked to the door, “I’ll be waiting in the living room, handsome.”

A furious blush along with lots of stuttering came from the blonde. Their heart picked up from feeling a mix of excitement and embarrassment - Not because they didn’t like it, just because they wanted to hear more of that. A deep sigh left them before they checked themselves out in the mirror once more, posing a bit and standing sideways to see the results. A big smile came across their face - This was going to be something new for them and they couldn’t wait.

“Trust me, the dude’s great! See?” Tracing the very light scars on his chest. “He told me everything I needed to do, I surprisingly followed it to a T, and now we’re here!” Sun smiled when Yang laughed. “I helped him move once I was healed, I bet I could ask him to squeeze you in a spot.”

Yang took a sip of his drink as he started pondering over all the things that could happen if he had this surgery. Almost a year had passed and lots had changed in the best ways possible. First, it started with binding and small comments like ‘handsome’ or ‘charming’. Then his pronouns changed a lot - That’s when it started feeling more real and could accept he was Butch, especially after Sun’s added help. A few months, maybe close to the five-month mark, he started taking meds, now giving him more small blonde hairs on the side of his face.

He then nodded after a few beats with a smile already peeking out, “I think I’d like that.”

“Let’s do it!” Sun’s tail waved happily as he pumped a fist into the air and then asked for a high-five. Yang entertained him and gave him one with a chuckle.

Right now they were at a big get-together with their friends but he and Blake were about to leave since they lived farther away. Yang had already said his rounds of goodbyes but he wanted to talk to Sun and all the benefits he’d get if he got the surgery he’d been thinking about for a long time. This was something he didn’t know he would ever get but now it’s his only thought and that made him more excited to get it. Blake was on board - She was Yang’s number one supporter through all of this and he was so grateful, she just asked him to make sure this was something he’d want because it would be a permanent change. To be honest he would have made the appointment the next week of their conversation if she hadn’t said that.

Speaking of, Blake walked over, a small red cup in hand, as she patted Yang’s back, “I said bye to everyone. Ruby tried to convince us to stay longer and Weiss had to stop them.”

Golden hair shook from side to side as he got up, “Ruby never fails to make me smile.” With said smile, he sent one to Sun who sent one back, “Thank you for everything, Sun. I’ll make sure to talk to you one more time before I get it.”

Enthusiastically, Sun shot up and wrapped his tail around Yang, hugging him tightly and patting him on the back. “It’s nothing, just a friend helping a friend.”

“Either way, thank you.”

He nodded as he let Yang go to move over to Blake, hugging her more gently. “See you guys soon!”

A soft laugh left Blake, “We’ll see you soon.”

After a small walk to their car, they got in with big sighs, Yang turning it on and backing out as they started heading home. The sun was just starting to set, making the sky a beautiful mix of yellows, oranges, and pinks. Yang’s hand was resting in between them, and soon after Blake laid hers on the cold mechanical hand.

“How’d it go?”

“It went great! He told me everything I’d need to do before and after the surgery.”

Blake’s ear flicked and a big smile that Yang couldn’t see since his eyes were on the road appeared on her face. “So you’re gonna get it?”

Yang gave a quick nod, his own smiling spreading. Then they hit a red light and he couldn’t help but smile like a kid on Christmas. “I’m gonna get it. I’m so ready.”

“I’m proud of you,” Blake said, shifting slightly in her seat to hiss his cheek. “I can’t wait for this next step of yours.”

“I can’t either. It feels unreal.” He turned his head to face her, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me all these years. Myself and everything in general.”

“It’s nothing, sunshine. But,” she chuckled since she cut Yang off before he could ramble on how much she’d helped - even though they practically have this talk every day. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I can be a part of this with you.”

A childish giggle came from Yang as the light turned green - He was so excited, he couldn’t wait for the time to pass.

“Y’know how I said I was excited about all this? I was - still am since I finally got it, but I was not ready for this soreness!”

Blake huffed with a smile, “Babe, Sun and the doctors told you everything that would happen for the first few weeks or so.”

He pouted, “Doesn’t mean I enjoy it.”

“Oh, I know that’s a big lie.” Flipping the page in her book. “I’m not even looking at you and I know there’s a big smile on your face.”

Somehow managing to pout and smile at the same time, he laughed, “Can’t argue with that.” He was walking back and forth in their living room - A vest around his chest to keep it clean and help the area heal. The doctors said he’d need to move around a lot but not too much so he wouldn’t hurt his chest. “Now that I’m forced to walk, it’s kinda boring.”

That’s when Blake had to close her book to let out a loud laugh, “You’re so dramatic.”

“That’s my middle name, baby!”

“It sure is, love.” Then she got up, “Sit on the couch, you should put an ice pack on - The docs said it would help with the pain. And remember, no stretching your arms up above your head.”

Yang nodded, “Yes ma’am.” Waddling over to the couch and plopping down carefully. 

After probably a month after Sun hooked him up with the doctor he went to, he finally got his top surgery. The first three days, maybe four, were the most uncomfortable. A mix of the anesthesia, and the compression on his new scars, not to mention soreness, was a lot. He’d been through worse - His arm and all that, but this felt so different. A good different, a great different even, just lots of soreness and swelling.

Blake came back with two ice packs with long strings on them so they could wrap around his chest easily - He could tie it and not have to worry about holding it as long as he sat down, which was great. Blake had taken some time off work even though Yang said he’d be fine. Funnily enough the first few days he just wanted to be by her side - Stubborn, but cute.

“Sit up for a second.” Yang lifted off the couch, Blake quickly tying it carefully, then nodded when he could sit back down. “Good?”

“Great.”

“Need anything? Water, a snack,” Blake shrugged, “I could even go out and grab some pickup.”

The blonde shook his head, patting the spot next to him. “Maybe we can ask for delivery? Or maybe have Weiss and Rubes stop by with food.” A gentle smile spread. “I just wanna be here with you.”

Blake didn’t know what she did to get such an amazing partner but she’s so thankful. Even the smallest things mean a lot to her. Yang means a lot to her.

“I’ll call them and see what they say. If not, we can just get the food from the diner down the block - But you can’t eat those cheesy fries. Gotta eat healthy for a bit.” Grabbing the remote and sitting down next to Yang.

“Rude but fine. But call them later,” Leaning his head on her shoulder. “I just wanna spend time with you.”

Blake smiled. “I’d want nothing more.”

“So!” Waving his yellow tail back and forth, “It’s been a year since you’ve gotten your surgery. How do you like it?”

Yang smiled, “It’s the best thing ever. Thank you for helping me out with everything.”

“Told ya it’s nothing - I know you’d do the same for me if it was swapped.”

“You bet.”

“Now c’mon! We gotta find a suit for our soon-to-husband!”

The blonde’s heart picked up a bit as he smiled brightly, his scars showing since he left the buttons open, and walked right behind Sun. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Yang was pacing back and forth in their room - It was the first ball they would be hosting after the blonde discovered a few things about themselves. The ball wasn’t until later, they still had hours to prepare, especially since Yang had been restless all night thinking about everything that could go wrong. The metal on his chest clanked against itself as he kept moving. Maybe he shouldn’t do this so soon - Maybe he should just wait a little bit longer when there isn’t a big crowd. Cameras and articles would be made as soon as the press saw a few things he’d done about his appearance.

Golden hair had grown on the sides of his face, his voice a tad deeper - nothing too drastic, and after experimenting with a preference of how he was addressed, lots of things had changed. Blake had said this would be a great opportunity to show himself to the kingdom after fully figuring out himself and accepting how he wanted to be presented.

“You’re in your head again, love.”

“Of course I am,” Yang muttered, “This is huge! Not only for us but for the entire kingdom.”

Blake sighed gently, “I know it is, but I don’t think much is going to change. Truth be told, I think my father would take care of that rather quickly.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Yang ran a hand through his hair, a nervous tick Blake had seen countless times. “To think I’m more anxious about this than our own wedding.”

Golden, pierced cat ears flicked to the side - It had been two years since they had gotten married and almost a full year of Yang figuring more about himself. 

“Well, this time you won’t be alone in one place - I’ll be right next to you the entire time we are attending the ball. We both know this is mostly for my parents but like I said, I think this would be a good chance to show yourself in a bigger setting.” But then a warm smile spread across her face, “If you truly don’t want to, we can just say one of us is sick. We’ve done it before.”

The blonde chuckled, “Oh yeah, I know.” He sat down next to Blake, “Sorry, it’s just… Only you, the King and Queen, Ruby, and Weiss, then a few of the men I order around know about- this .” Gesturing to himself. “I don’t want to let the kingdom down - I don’t want to let you guys down.”

“Xiao Long, when have you ever let us down?”

“You know what I mean.”

The Princess leaned on a cold metal shoulder, intertwining their hands together - her flesh hand caressing black and yellow fingers. “I don’t think you have anything bad to worry about. I know this is something big for you, just like how it was when we first announced we were together, but this is something that would move us forward even more.” She smiled up at lilacs, “It’ll be okay.”

He searched gold eyes before letting out a defeated sigh, soon after chuckling. “You always know what to say.”

“I’m just always right.” She laughed when he lightly bumped her shoulder with his. “Do you have everything set?”

“Yup! Let me show you.” He got up and started to walk over to their giant closet, pulling out a suit bag with, obviously, a suit. Blake got up as he started unzipping the bag to find a clean white blazer with a golden button up - To the side of it held a black tie to fit it all together. “Tada!”

“This is amazing… How did you pick this one out?”

A soft blush spread across freckled cheeks, “Actually, your father helped me with this. At first, Kali was going to help me but then changed her mind and brought the King over.” He smiled, “I think we made a pretty good team with this.”

Blake nodded in agreement, “You guys really did.” Then her ears flicked, “Is the binder you’re wearing right now going to be the one you’ll wear with this too?”

“Yeah, it’s the one that matches my skin - It won’t show anything technically.”

“How long have you worn it?”

Blonde brows scrunched up for a second before he snapped his fingers, “About 3 hours, nothing too bad. Before you scold me I’ll remember not to wear it the entire day. I’ll try to take a break before we go to the ball.”

The Princess smiled as she raised on her tippy toes and gave a small peck to his freckled cheek. “Good - I’ll still remind you if need be.”

“Thank you.”

She hummed as she patted his bicep, making him smile back, “You’ll do amazing tonight, don’t worry about anything, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.”

+++

Now it was finally time for the ball to commence. Blake was wearing a casual dress - At least to the ball’s standards. It was a simple purple dress with long sleeves, patterns along her chest and neck, and a small train in the back. It was perfect, Blake absolutely loved it. She also loved the one standing next to her in their amazing suit. It fit Yang just right - Showed off how much work he had put in over the years for their kingdom, showed how he wanted to be presented, and not to mention he was just handsome overall. 

Despite their talk earlier and after the hours of preparing the other knights, the stress never left the blonde knight. He was rocking back and forth as he was standing, playing with his prosthetic, and then occasionally Blake would find him combing through his golden hair - Making her suspect he was anxious once more.

“Hey, if you aren’t ready to attend this ball then we can go, I’ve been watching you and how you’ve been acting for the last few hours. 

“Nope, I- I want to do this. Not just for you or everyone else - Don’t get me wrong, I am doing it for everyone, especially you, but this is… this is something for me.” A soft blush painted his cheeks, “I think I’m… excited? These are close kingdoms and some are even friends in a sense, so I don’t think it’ll go bad or anything, y’know?”

She nodded with a smile, “I’m glad you’re excited.” Then she chuckled, “Worse case is that you take a few people out - You have the authority to do so.”

The melody of Yang’s loud laugh slightly echoed as they looped their arms together as they walked down the steps and out to the floor.

The ball had already started a while ago. They didn’t necessarily have to be there, this was mostly for the King and Queen, but it was Blake’s parents and Yang’s in-laws, so of course they’d attend something big for them. Heels echoed as the Princess kept walking down, making some Faunus with heightened hearing turn their heads to greet their new company. When some caught sight of Yang - Their ears flicked or they tilted their heads in curiosity. Nothing bad, just taking in the change of the knight that’s been by their side over the biggest deals or trades.

Yang made sure that Blake had taken the final step down safely, the Princess fixing her dress once more in case of any ruffles, then made their way through the crowds. The reason why this was so important was because Yang hadn’t been in the spotlight for a bit. It was quite hard considering he had to be by the Princess’ side all hours - It was his job after all, but that meant everyone, especially the press, would see him more often than not. To be fair, nothing drastic changed, mostly just the hair on his face and his voice but people haven’t heard it yet so there were no worries there.

One of their partnering kingdoms whom they considered a friend came up to them. She was a nice Faunus, a sheep Faunus to be exact. Then they noticed there was someone almost rivaling Yang’s height who was holding her hand. She was a panda - Darker spots on her somewhat pale skin with black ears on top. They both bowed in respect when they finally made it over to them.

“It’s good to see you again,” Blake said.

The other Princess smiled, “You as well. Thank you for inviting us. This was the perfect opportunity to show off my partner.”

Bright smiles spread across Blake and Yang’s faces when they looked over at the panda who had a soft blush.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Yang said, holding out his hand to them who took it gently.

“Nice to meet you too! She said this would be a good opportunity to go out as a couple and such.” The red on her cheeks increased as she spoke. Then she smiled back, “I see you both thought the same thing as us.”

The blonde hummed in agreement, “Yup! Our partners know exactly what to do.”

They both laughed as the princesses rolled their eyes, sticking up their own conversation. “How long have you both been together?”

“A few months - You both are finding out at the same time as everyone else. We wanted to make sure everything would be okay before then.”

Blake groaned, “Gods, tell me about it. Exactly what happened for us and we waited more than a year to do that.” Rolling her eyes with a fond smile. 

The sheep smiled before cocking her head to the side, “So when did this happen?”

“A year or so but there weren’t any drastic changes until a few months in, hence why now he’s finally done something about it.”

“Well, I’m happy for you both. You two have changed so many lives, ours included.” The sheep’s eyes flicked to her partner for a moment before going back to Blake. “This is just another thing that’ll benefit your kingdom and many others.”

Blake smiled softly, golden eyes going to the blonde and staying there, “That’s all we can hope for.”

+++

The night went on and everything went smoothly. Probably better than they both anticipated. Lots of questions were asked, especially by the press, but it was fine - They were all nice about it, plus the night wasn’t about them. Sure it was nice getting the attention about such a big topic but that’s exactly why they planned it this way. 

As soon as they got back to their room, maybe even before that, Blake was already kicking off her heels with a loud groan.

“I can’t believe you convinced me to dance. Especially in these heels, they are terrible for that.”

Yang chuckled as they started to take off his suit carefully, laying it back in the bag the same way he got it out just in case they had to attend something like that.

“You enjoyed yourself, I know you did. You were laughing so much!”

Blake rolled her eyes, “Only because you’re a dork and were doing silly things the entire time.”

“I was being charming, thank you very much.” He pouted.

“Ah, yes, of course.” She unzipped the back of her dress, letting it pool at her feet as she purposely avoided Yang’s gaze knowing he was looking at her with admiration. She picked it up, only wearing her bra and underwear, then put it away before stealing one of Yang’s shirts and throwing it on.

She smiled when she found Yang in the same spot, still looking at her with love and admiration. Gracefully, she walked over and patted his chest.

“You have to take this off love.”

The blonde nodded looking down at their binder, blonde brows furrowing for a moment before a shy smile made its way on his face, “Think you can help me out of it?”

Blake huffed out a laugh, nodding and moving Yang’s long hair carefully so that it wouldn’t get messed up from taking it off. She purposely went behind him just in case he didn’t want to be seen like that right now - He never said she had to do that, but Blake knew sometimes he didn’t want to be seen like that and that he appreciated it when she did simple things like that.

Yang carefully lifted the binder, slipping out of it with Blake’s help, before setting it down on the dresser. Without even asking, Blake already had a big shirt of his prepared so he could slip it on. A deep chuckle and a ‘thank you’ came from him as he put it on, turning around to face Blake soon after. A big yet soft smile spread on his freckled face.

“I really love you.”

The Princess smiled up at him before capturing his lips gently, telling him everything he needed to know in such a simple gesture. “I love you too.”

Chapter Text

Yang huffed as he opened the garage and rolled Bumblebee in. It was a long day at the shop especially since it was hot - Seemed like everyone’s air conditioning was broken this summer but oh well, he was home and that’s all that mattered. He took off his helmet and shook his long hair out, finally getting a fresh breath of air, then parked Bee to the side far enough from Blake’s car in case she needed to go out. After stretching and groaning when a few bones popped, he made his way inside his home.

Once he walked in, he started taking off his boots and dropped his keys in the bowl before he gently spoke out loud, “Blake, I’m home!”

“In the office!” She quickly yelled back.

Blonde brows scrunched - Before he left work Blake was already in the office early in the morning. He made his way towards the office, knocking gently waiting for permission even though Blake always insisted he didn’t need to since it was their home - but when they bought it the office was specifically for Blake, that was his reason at least. A chuckle came from the Faunus before she granted him permission, leading him to open the door slowly, a bright smile spreading once he got a look at his girlfriend.

It was cute - Blake’s very curly hair seemed to be going in every direction, no doubt curling into olive skin, glasses on the tip of her button nose as she sat crisscrossed in the big gaming chair quickly typing away on her computer. Yang bought the chair a bit after they moved in together since she was always writing at her desk - It was big, cushiony, and had lots of room for the Faunus to move around in case she needed a new way to sit. 

He made his way over as Blake turned towards him with a smile reflecting his own, “Hey, beautiful.” Bending down slightly to capture soft lips with his own.

“Hey, handsome, how was work?”

A groan left him while Blake chuckled, “It was good but so tiring. You’d think everyone planned to come in today - Not to mention it was hot as hell. Enough about me,” He cocked his head towards the computer, “What have you been doing?”

It was her turn to groan, taking off her glasses and folding them to put up later, “I’m going over the final revisions of this book - I need to get this done. The deadline isn’t for another week or so but I want this perfect, so I gotta do a few more things before I close it for the night.”

He took a moment to process her words, “But you’ve been in the office since this morning, have you eaten anything?”

“Just a snack here and there, nothing major.”

“ Blake.”

“I know, I know,” She huffed, “I’ll get up in a moment, let me just-”

“Nope.” Yang quickly grabbed the back of the chair and spun Blake around slightly, causing her to yelp before bursting into small laughter, making Yang smile and playfully say, “I will carry you out of this room and force you to eat something.” He never wanted to make her feel forced to do anything she didn’t want to - which she was always grateful for.

Blake let out a defeated sigh, “Alright, alright.” She reached the mouse and clicked a few buttons before turning it off, then smirking up at Yang, “Well?”

The blonde chuckled as he scooped her up carefully, Blake’s legs wrapping around him as they started moving around the house. Blake lightly scratched his scalp and kissed his cheek, “My boyfriend is awfully strong.”

A bright blush and dopey smile appeared on his face from the compliment, “Only for you.” An idea popped into his head, “Do you have anything planned this weekend? That’s not related to the book.” He saw those words on the tip of her tongue, making her slightly pout.

“Not anything I know of.”

“Good - We’re gonna go out somewhere. Only if you want to though, I’m fine with staying inside if that’s what you want. It’s kinda hot this week but I saw it’ll be cool Saturday so-”

She silenced him with a gentle kiss lest more rambling went on, “I’d love to go out.” They got to the kitchen, Yang gently setting Blake down, before the faunus pushed him out, “Go shower - You stink.”

“What?!”

“I’ll cook something for us while you shower, simple as that.”

He nodded and turned around until a smirk started to spread on his face, “You could always join me.” Adding a wink afterward.

“Alright, loverboy, as tempting as it is, we’ll use all the hot water and forget to eat, let alone shower in general,” She smiled, “And after you said something I got really hungry.”

He let out a chortle as he walked away, “Fine, fine.”

The week passed by and it was still busy, but thankfully it was the weekend and Yang could finally put in motion his little plan for Blake. It was abrupt, he had to make a few phone calls to a friend, but it worked out in the end. He was honestly quite excited about this - It was all for Blake and he loved doing stuff for her. She was smart, amazing, beautiful, talented, honestly, there weren’t enough words to describe how perfect Blake was. 

He had just finished his drive over to the flower shop to buy her some red chrysanthemums as a ‘let’s go on a date!’ surprise, even if Blake already suspected that was the case - Didn’t stop him from buying them though. All Blake was told the entire week was that she needed to dress up for something she’d be accompanying Yang to. He was surprised to hear that the faunus had something planned for that but didn’t ask anything further, he’d see it soon enough.

His heavy footsteps creaked the floorboards slightly so Blake knew he was about to go into their room, turning the handle with his metal hand while the flesh one held the flowers gently.

“I’m back! For being a Saturday, I’m surprised the shop was as busy as… it… was…”

Whatever words he was going to say died on his tongue when he caught a glimpse of his girlfriend in the mirror. She was wearing a black open-back dress with sleeves - Yang could already tell there was nothing underneath that dress and it was already driving him mad, with the high heels that lifted her curves just the right way. Blake seemed to be fixing the golden wristband she got a few months ago as her ear flicked to the sound of Yang’s voice - A smirk already spreading on pink lips.

“I was wondering what was taking so long,” She turned around with the same smug smile, “How do I look?”

“Like a goddess,” He replied instantly, his voice slightly breathless while his eyes traveled up her body, “I almost don’t want anyone else seeing you like this.”

Blake hummed as she sauntered over to fix his tie. Yang wore a simple brown dress shirt with a brown binder underneath so it could blend in better, dress pants, and suspenders holding it all together. He swallowed thickly, slightly squeezing the bouquet in his hand before he remembered he actually needed to give them to Blake.

“I-I got these for you.” A bright blush spread, whether it was from Blake standing so close that he forgot his own plans, he didn’t know. But when he saw his girlfriend’s face soften, his heart picked up a bit.

“These are beautiful, Yang.” Gently fixing the flowers that had shuffled out of place.

He shuffled slightly, “You’ve been working so hard on your new book. I wanted to do something nice for you, almost like a congratulations.”

Amber eyes shined before she wrapped her arms around him, effectively hiding her face, “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“You accepted me,” He smiled into dark hair reminiscing about him coming out to Blake a year into their relationship - Nothing changed, unless you count the fact Blake loved him even more. “I’ll never thank you enough for it.”

“You don’t need to.” Pulling back slightly then capturing his lips into a soft kiss, one he smiled into.

However, it soon became deeper as they were fighting for dominance and right now they both knew Blake was winning. Blake wrapped her arms around Yang’s head, mindful of the flowers, while threading the other into his hair, slightly scratching his undercut. Yang had to fight back the whimper threatening to escape, quickly pulling Blake closer by the hips to regain some sort of control over this - Not that he minded not having any. 

Blake was the first one to pull back as Yang desperately tried to push back into it but was stopped by a soft hand and a cruel smirk that meant nothing but trouble.

“ That was just a treat. If you’re good, you’ll get more later.”

“Blake.” Gods he was so close to begging but was gently pulled by the tie Blake was ‘supposed’ to fix.

The Faunus led them towards the kitchen so she could find a vase for the flowers, “C’mon pretty boy, you don’t want to be late to our reservation, do you?”

He knew this was a battle he wasn’t going to win, “N-No.”

“Good.” She did the last few touches on the flowers before turning back to Yang with a softer smile, “Ready to go?”

“Yes ma’am.”

+++

The ride was excruciating since Blake had her hand on Yang’s knee the entire time, tracing his pants lightly, getting higher as the minutes passed. Every time he looked over, the faunus always had her eyes ahead of them, her smile never leaving knowing good and well what she was doing. When they found a good parking spot, Blake pretended none of that happened - A devil in disguise as an angel, he thought.

His face was bright pink and brought out his freckles more than they usually were. He felt like he should freshen up a bit so he turned over to Blake with a sheepish smile,

“I-I’m gonna say we’re here now and use the bathroom real quick.”

She chuckled, “Go ahead - I’ll text you if they call it early.”

Blake watched him walk over to the host only hearing bits and pieces of their conversation, then watched Yang head to the bathroom to the side of the restaurant. She sighed, leaning on the wall and closing her eyes, listening to the violins play with soft piano in the background - She couldn’t help but feel her heart beat a little faster thinking of Yang.

She’s been working on her novel for what seems like years at this point but that wasn’t really the point. She’d been so focused on that and the deadlines that she’d forgotten about her own needs, which Yang always caught before she did. Despite being in the hot weather all day, tired, he’d always make sure she was taking care of herself whether that be cooking her a big meal or giving her a simple massage from sitting down too long.

A laugh escaped from her as she remembered Yang the entire week - Ever since he asked if she was doing anything then soon after answering no, he was quick to set everything up. They were lucky to get their spot in the restaurant since this was the type of place you needed to ‘know a guy’ - Luckily, their best friend was the one and only Weiss Schnee herself so they got it fairly easily, though Blake suspects that they had a small argument from the yelling and teasing she overheard that night. Never a dull moment with those two.

“Good evening, beautiful.”

Her brows pinched knowing she’d only accept that nickname from one person, but it wasn’t the one she wanted. She opened her eyes to a man in front of her with a smile that seemed so confident, it was honestly unsettling.

“What do you want?”

Blake almost wanted to laugh at how his face turned from being smug to shocked by her tone, but he regained himself quite quickly. “I was just wondering what a beautiful woman like you was doing alone in this place.”

“I’d be thinking I’d come to a restaurant for the purpose of eating but apparently not.”

His lip curled, “Feisty, aren’t you?”

“Some might say.”

A deep hum vibrated through his chest as he took a step closer, “I’d love to see where that would take us. What do you say?”

She crossed her arms over her chest as her ears flicked to the sound of heavy boots. She smiled softly - To anyone who didn’t know her, it looked rather sweet, but that was far from what it was intended for. It was cold, deadly almost. She didn’t say anything knowing what was going to happen soon enough.

“May I ask what you’re doing?”

The man turned his head slightly to catch crimson eyes staring down at him, his face shifted, evidently annoyed with the interruption, “Who are you?”

“Not important, I asked the question first. What are you doing?” Yang answered punctuating the question again. Taking a step closer to Blake - almost blocking her from his view.

“Can’t you see we were in the middle of something?”

“Had no clue,” It was so sarcastic Yang surprised himself, “I don’t think she’s interested.”

He clenched his fist, “Do you want to take this somewhere else?”

Yang’s eyes darted to him and then behind him before a smile appeared on the blonde’s face, “As much as I’d love to,” Ending it just in time for the host to walk over.

“For Mr. Xiao Long? Your table is ready.”

Blake walked to Yang’s side, making him instinctively place his metal hand gently on her waist, “You’ll have to excuse me and my wife - It’s time for dinner.”

The man was rather flabbergasted, to say the least - Blake heard his words die on his tongue as they followed the host. The faunus still felt the cold metal seeping through her dress, it was tight, not to the point of bruising or anything big like that, it was more of a protective hold. Before she met Yang, a hold like that would have terrified her - and made her want to run. But this was Yang, this was safety. If anything she walked closer to him.

They arrived at their booth, both scooting in and moving the silverware the waiters placed down as they asked what wine they wanted for the night. A simple red wine was ordered, as well as an appetizer, before Blake put her chin in her hand and leaned towards Yang,

“Care to tell me what that was about?”

Yang scoffed with an eye roll, “An idiot - You’re totally out of his league. It’s almost sad thinking about it.”

“Charming, but I was talking about your comment.”

“What comment?”

“Me being your wife, ” A smirk appeared on her lips as she watched Yang’s face flush, “I see my boyfriend was rather jealous tonight, hm?”

He swallowed thickly, adjusting his collar and playing with the napkin in his lap, “I didn’t even realize I did that…” Letting out a nervous laugh, looking everywhere but Blake, “It just slipped out.” A soft laugh came from across the table, making him smile back at the faunus. It was like a beautiful song. 

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.” That’s when her own blush spread, “I was rather surprised to hear that… but I didn’t mind it.” Her heart fluttered at the thought of calling Yang her husband one day.

Before they could get more into that topic, probably saving them both from embarrassment, the waiter came back with their appetizers, filled their drinks, and asked what they wanted as their main course. Yang got a steak and Blake got fish, both of them sharing the sides that would come along with it. There wasn’t much to talk about since they always talked about their day before bed, but Yang started to talk about some mechanical issues he was working on back at the shop - mostly rambling, never sticking to one thing, not that she minded. She could listen to him ramble all day. She knows he does the same for her when there’s something important to her.

The night passed them by - The food was amazing, the drinks made them relax more than they already were, and the entire night was going great. Though Yang only stuck to two drinks so they didn’t have to take a cab. It’d be a hassle to leave their car in the parking lot all night. 

Yang grabbed the door and motioned Blake to walk ahead. She patted his bicep with a laugh, “Thank you handsome.”

If Yang were a faunus with a tail, Blake knew it would be swaying side to side quickly with how much he loved that compliment. Add fluffy ears in his hair, a big tail, and his dopey grin - He’d look like a big puppy. He did the same thing as he made it to the car then hurried over to the driver's side, quickly getting situated and going back home.

“I hope that was okay?” He sheepishly started, “I know it was abrupt considering I asked you Monday, but you’ve been working so hard I just wanted to give you something.”

Blake laid her hand on top of Yang’s mechanical hand, tracing the small yellow paint that was slightly cracking since it was overdue for a redo. “I absolutely loved this. You’ll never know how much stuff like this means to me.” She shuffled just enough at the red light to give her a peck on the cheek, “I love you.”

A child-like giggle came from him, making his face red from smiling too hard. “I love you too!”

Chapter Text

Yang was pacing back and forth - Metal hand on his chin making his lips slightly pout, blonde brows furrowed tightly, and bright pink painted on his freckled cheeks. He and Blake were going on a small trip. But it wasn’t just any trip. He was finally going to see Blake’s parents for the first time. He was rather nervous about meeting them. They technically already had the entire day planned. They’d arrive, visit Blake’s childhood home, meet the parents, and stay the night there. There wasn’t much to it - Maybe they’d make plans as the day went on, it would be a little before lunch when they’d arrive so they had lots of time to figure things out.

“You’re making the other passengers stare at you.” Blake chuckled.

That didn’t stop Yang from moving back and forth. They were on a boat to Menagerie, they had planned this for a bit, but now that it was finally here he couldn’t stop worrying.

“This is huge, Blake! This is like- I gotta put up my best act or something. What if they hate me?”

The Faunus rolled her eyes at his dramatics, “They aren’t going to hate you - You’ve heard me call them before, they already know a bit about you. Mom was excited to hear that we had finally made time to come over. They’ll love you.”

He finally stopped pacing around to go back to Blaks’s side. He crossed his arms on top of the railing and stared out into the ocean, letting the wind blow his hair gently in the wind, huffing when his bangs blew on his eyes.

“I just wanna make a good impression on them. Especially after…” Yang didn’t want to utter the name of the man that caused Blake so much pain.

Blake sighed, placing a gentle hand on top of his back, rubbing up and down. “I understand, but they’ll see that you aren’t like him. You actually care about me and love me.” Yang turned his face to the side to catch beautiful amber eyes, making Blake smile. “They’ll love you just as much as I do.”

Yang searched ambers to pick out any lies that he already knew would never come, it was just his nerves. With another sigh, he lifted up and then smiled at her, “What exactly are they like?”

An even bigger smile spread across the faunus’ face. “Well, Mom is kind and welcoming. She’s always helping everyone around town - Even when I was little she’d take me and we’d help them together. I will say when you get on her bad side she is quite scary. Don’t worry though, it takes a lot to make her upset. My dad is… in the simplest way possible he’s blunt - straight to the point.” A small laugh escaped from her, making Yang chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing, I was just thinking about it. His bluntness. When Sun and I would hang out, I brought him over one time and my dad immediately said ‘I don’t like you’.”

That made Yang relax a bit more, “I don’t know, Sun probably deserved it.”

“Possibly, but they’re both amazing.” Her smile slightly fell, “Even when I chose Adam over them, when I finally was ready to face them they welcomed me back with open arms.” She looked back over to Yang, “Just be yourself, I promise everything will go smoothly if you do.”

+++

They got off the boat, Yang carrying most of their luggage despite Blake saying she could carry at least two things - The best she got to helping was taking her thin jacket and a single bag, which was the lightest of them all. Yang looked around fondly at Blake’s childhood home. 

The streets were crowded with people, only a few cars were on the road but nothing too major. There were vendors all over with so many things to buy. Food, clothing, and so many other things to choose from - It almost looked like it never ended. Yang was lucky that Blake warned him that it’d be a bit on the hotter side and she was right. Thankfully, he was wearing a thin polo, the zipper slightly down showing a bit of his chest scars, nothing too bad, and khaki shorts below the knee - Blake said he looked like Tai which made him chuckle.

After walking a little longer, they stopped on a hill, taking a slight breather. Yang took in the scenery there and smiled, “This place is really beautiful, I like it.”

“I’m glad.”

“Which one is yours?”

“That one down there.”

Yang followed her line of sight and pointed to what he thought she was looking at, but she shook her head and dragged his metal hand over a little bit, making him point to the biggest house on probably the whole island. It took a moment for him to process that big mansion relating to Blake but when he did,

“That one’s yours?!”

Her ears folded slightly at the sudden rise in his voice but the same thing happened with Sun so she was kind of prepared for it, “Yeah, but trust me, it changes nothing about what I said earlier.”

Yang was about to say something but Blake had already started walking down the hill carefully, so he quickly picked up their luggage once more and hurried to her side. 

Once they made it to Blake’s house, Yang set down their stuff next to the door as Blake knocked on the big golden rings to signal someone was at the door. Yang made sure there wasn’t any dirt on his clothes, patting himself down just in case - He heard Blake chuckle right next to him causing him to as well. A moment later, a woman who was just a tad shorter than Blake, opened the door with a bright smile. She immediately wrapped her arms around Blake when they locked eyes.

“I’m so glad you both could make it.”

“I am too,” Blake answered back, slightly muffled into her mother’s shoulder. When they separated the hug, Blake took her space right next to Yang. “Mom, this is my partner, Yang. Yang, this is my Mom.”

Yang fixed their posture and stood up straighter, holding out his metal hand with a shy smile, pink already spreading throughout his face. “Hello, Mrs. Belladonna, I’m Yang! Well, Blake already said that so-”

He was cut off by small arms wrapping around his body and pulling him into a light hug - his arms slightly in the air since he was shocked by the sudden turn of events. Not that he minded, he was just extremely caught off guard.

“Blake has told us much about you.”

“Good things I hope?”

A scoff escaped from her as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard, “Great things.” She pulled back from him with a gentle smile, “Just Kali is fine, dear. Although, I don’t know how my husband would want to be referred to.”

“O-Oh, alright, I can try that.”

Happy with his answer, she motioned her head back slightly as she looked at Blake, “Your father was fixing up the last of his work before he came down, so you can just put your bags down and wait for him.”

Before Blake could even get a word out, Yang was already hurrying to grab their items so she couldn’t grab anything. The blonde let out a belly laugh when Blake groaned.

“Why won’t you let me help carry anything?”

“‘Cause you don’t need to do anything, I got it.”

She let out a defeated sigh and rolled her eyes as she passed her mother but then suddenly stopped when she realized she wasn’t following. “Mom? What’s up?”

“Do they always do that for you?”

“Oh yeah, all the time. One day he’ll let me help whether he wants it or not.”

Pierced cat ears flicked to the side as she studied her daughter’s partner. Yang grabbed all their things without a complaint and shuffled into the house, setting the bags down where Blake asked him to. The older faunus watched their small interaction, already seeing the love behind lilac eyes. She smiled softly, pleased at what she was already seeing.

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the house, making them all turn around to find Ghira coming into the room. His eyes immediately landed on Blake, both of them walking up to each other and hugging. 

While this interaction was very cute, Yang was sweating bullets. Blake said her father was tall but not- not this tall. Ghira could probably give him a disapproving look and he’d be blinked out of existence. When the Faunus finally detached from each other, Ghira’s gaze immediately zoned in onto the blonde, his brows furrowed as he studied him. Yang swallowed thickly, once again holding up his metal hand and waving nervously.

“H-Hello, Mr.Belladonna- Sir. I’m Yang Xiao Long.”

“I know who you are.”

Ghira’s deep voice and tone made Yang shrink a bit, “W-Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you both! I uh- Sorry we couldn’t visit sooner, my job’s kinda busy so it’s hard to find lots of time off and-” Thankfully Blake nudged him lest he start going on a bigger rant.

“What exactly do you do for work?” Even brighter eyes than Blake’s were staring into the poor blonde’s soul - As if he’d already messed up.

“I work as a mechanic, sir. I own the shop with my sister - I do mostly cars, motorcycles, all that stuff and she does more complex things like this,” flexing his mechanical fingers in the air, “Though sometimes I’ll help her if there’s ever too much.”

The big man hummed - Whether it was approval or not Yang didn’t know. Luckily Kali came into view with a gentle smile, “There’s a new restaurant they made a few weeks ago - We haven’t tried it yet but if you’d like we could have that for lunch.”

Blake’s ears rose as she smiled, “I’d like that. What about you?” Looking over at Yang.

“I’ll go anywhere you go,” Getting a light punch and laugh from the faunus. Yang smiled and continued, “Plus you told me the food here is amazing, ‘course I wanna try it all while we’re here.”

Yang caught Kali smiling from the corner of their eye, though he heard a slight huff from Ghira - Yang knew this wasn’t gonna be easy, gods knew how it went with his dad. But Blake said to just be himself and that they’d love him. It would probably take time, but he’d be sure to do his best.

+++

They arrived at the restaurant after a short walk, Blake and her parents mostly catching up with a few cases where Yang was roped in by a question from Kali. It seemed like Kali was doing all the questioning while Ghira was the one who stayed quiet and intimidating - At least that’s what Yang was thinking, because it was really working.

It was actually very pleasant - It was an outside restaurant with a view of the ocean. He didn’t think this place could get more beautiful but it did. The waiter brought them over to a nice table where the waves were practically background noise. Yang hurried before Blake and pulled out her chair, closing his eyes with a big smile like she was a Queen.

“For you, m’lady.”

“How charming.” 

She surprised him with a quick kiss on the cheek, a smirk written on her face as a bright blush painted his tanned skin. She caressed his cheek softly, her fingers grazing over the short blonde hair of his sideburns going down to his chin. It took a while to get the results Yang had wanted for that - He took some tips from Qrow because when his father showed him that went terrible. Apparently, Qrow also taught Tai, who knew?

Yang sat down across from Ghira, Blake sitting across from Kali, and started to look over the menus. Blonde brows scrunched as he tried to think of what to get before Kali spoke up.

“Yang, how has Menagerie been so far?”

“Oh, this place is amazing!” He beamed, “There’s so many things to see and do. Blake told me she was gonna show me old places she’d visit later in the week but yeah, this is really nice. I already love it here.”

The older faunus smiled, “I’m glad you think so. How’s the traffic where you both are? Being a mechanic and all.”

He groaned while Blake laughed, patting his back. “It’s so bad, especially in the summer. When I drive my motorcycle, Bumblebee, it’s easier to get around but when I don’t it’s painful.”

“You drive a motorcycle?” Ghira asked.

Lilac eyes went wide for a split second, “Y-Yeah. I’m safe with it and all that - Got the jacket and helmet, the whole run down. It’s just something my mom used to say I’d look cool driving so…” He just shrugged.

It seemed like both the parents picked up the hidden meaning behind his message so Ghira then asked, “Do you go with him on his journeys?”

“Yeah,” Blake answered, “He's very cautious about driving it. It’s his prized possession after all.”

“Hey, it took a long time to build.” The blonde pouted.

“You made it yourself?”

He smiled at Kali’s question, “Yup! Started a little after I got my first job.” Dragging out the ‘little’ as he thought. “My uncle taught me some stuff then I worked on my own projects - Now I just tune her up from time to time with ease.”

Blake chuckled as she added, “There are practically tune-ups every week. Our garage was too small for his little workshop so he built one by himself.” She smiled softly, stirring the straw in her drink, making the ice clink on itself. “We live in a cabin back in Patch - It’s cozy. Yang, his dad, and a few people they knew had made it from the ground up. It’s perfect.”

Kali showed a wide smile, her ears flicking to the side just like Blake’s when she heard something she liked, but Ghira was still unreadable. He wasn’t making any moves to start anything bad, not that Yang thought he would anyway, just nothing to give him a clue if he was doing well so far.

They continued to talk and catch up with the waves crashing upon themselves in the background, their food coming around shortly after. Yang learned many things about Kali and Ghira but this was mostly him meeting the parents so he answered more questions than he got to ask. How he and Blake met, families, random facts about him, and more - He even got to show off his top surgery scars when Kali saw them peeking out from his dress shirt. He then told them that’s why they didn’t meet sooner, Yang had taken off the recommended time his doctor gave him, and Blake did as well to help, so they had to make it up. Once they learned that they both smiled - even Ghira, which was a big victory for Yang.

Finishing their amazing food, Yang let out a big sigh from being full and tired. The waiter came back after a little bit, putting the bill on the table. As soon as they left, Yang snatched it before any of them could get to it - Surprising both the parents, leaving Blake to groan and Yang to puff out his chest with a big smile.

Kali’s ear flicked with a tiny smile looking between the two, “What’s so funny?”

“Yang always does this.” Blake started, putting her elbow on the table and holding her face in her hand, “Whoever touches the bill first gets to pay and nine times out of ten, he wins. Seems like he couldn’t make an exception for today either.

“Nope! You both showed me a great new restaurant and this is my thank you.” Pulling out some lien and handing it to the waiter as soon as they came back before anyone could protest. Lilac eyes caught sight of golden ones looking across from him - He swallowed thickly as Ghira stared at him.

The Faunus took a moment before a smile slowly spread on his lips, “It seems like you passed the test, Xiao Long.”

Blonde brows rose up quickly, “What test?”

“To see if you were worthy of my daughter.”

“Dad-”

Ghira cut off Blake’s protesting. “At first I didn’t like the fact Blake was back with someone, especially after the events it caused with our family. If it weren’t for my wife I would’ve kicked you out by now.” That made Yang’s heart stop for a second until Ghira spoke again, “But I see that you actually care for my daughter - How much you both love each other.” He looked Yang dead in the eye and smiled, “I approve of you and think of you as part of our family, Yang.”

The blonde felt his eyes water but he wasn’t going to cry. With a smile as big as a child getting a gift for Christmas, he nodded. “Thank you.”

“I can’t believe you kept the act up that long,” Blake said, her voice a tad lower as she spoke to her Dad who just shrugged.

Yang turned to Blake in a split second, “Wait, you knew?!” 

“Of course I did, that’s why I said just be yourself. If I didn’t you probably would’ve messed up by now.” Leaving the blonde speechless, she nodded to herself as she thanked the waiter when they brought back the change. “Case in point.”

Yang couldn’t even protest against that. He let out a huff and pocketed the change with a pout. When he looked back up to the parents, they were both smiling at them. His heart skipped a bit when Blake intertwined their hands together - flesh holding metal, looking into beautiful ambers. He did well. He did good for Blake, and that’s all that mattered.

Chapter Text

Yang grumbled as something continued to hit his face softly. It was small, barely noticeable - Didn’t mean he liked it though. 

The last few years have been eventful in all the best ways. Yang had been questioning how he wanted to present himself and his beautiful wife was there with him through it all. Simple things like clothes or calling him more masculine nicknames always made his heart skip. Eventually, he decided he wanted top surgery - It took a while to think about, especially after just starting his low dose of testosterone just a few months prior. But after he got it, he felt more like himself. Blake was there by his side through everything and after a year of getting used to his new version of him, she asked him an important question - One they both had been thinking about for a few years.

One more smack to Yang’s face was enough to wake him up with a frown that never lasted long once he saw lilac eyes looking back at him with tiny cat ears flicking uncontrollably.

“Luna was impatient this morning.”

The blonde grumbled as he looked up to find his wife resting on her elbows beside him - Her black curly hair going in all directions with a warm smile that always made him fall in love with her more and more.

“She gets it from you.” He answered, leaning over to grab his prosthetic so he could scoot up higher into the bed without any problems. “How long have my girls been up?”

“This one surprisingly let me sleep in a few minutes, but we’ve been up for probably just half an hour. Then she started doing grabby hands towards you and then started hitting you awake.”

Yang chuckled, “Good to see you tried to protect me.” He picked up Luna, setting her on his tummy, who babbled happily. “Morning, cub.”

Blake shuffled to rest her head on Yang’s shoulder, smiling at their small interaction. “Can’t believe a year and more has passed with her. She’s gotten so big.”

“She looks a lot like you.”

“I’d say she looks like you.”

Luna still had cat ears just like Blake and dark, curly hair, but her eyes were bright lilac with a constellation of dark freckles on her cheeks that continued throughout her body. The baby Faunus was smaller than most - But Kali said not to worry about that, that’s just how Faunus were born. Luna was now rubbing Yang’s tummy as if she were making bread.

They both laughed, “Looks like we got a future baker in the making.”

“Dork.”

“Listen, it’s just the truth.”

Blake let out a soft laugh, “We should get up - I’m hungry and I bet she is too.”

“Are you hungry, Luna?” More baby babble came from her, making Yang nod. “Gotcha - Guess it’s time to eat.”

+++

Yang and Blake were sitting on the couch while watching Luna play on the little mat her aunts gave her as a birthday gift a few months ago. She was sitting up while playing with the hanging toys, making random noises anytime something different happened. 

“She’s getting better at those learning games.”

The blonde nodded, “Agreed. Soon enough she won’t be able to fit in there though.”

She just hummed, “I know.” That’s when Luna looked over to them, crawling over quickly. “Hey, baby.”

Luna grabbed onto the cushions and used them as leverage to stand up, looking between both her parents with a big smile. Blake smiled down at her - She was about to say something but Luna beat her to it by babbling loudly.

“Is that how you feel?”

The baby faunus’s ears shifted down in anger until she said, “Ma!”

Both parents were surprised, Yang immediately scooped up Luna and set her on his lap excitedly, “Say that again.”

It came out a little broken but after a few seconds of making squeaking noises, she was able to do it again. “M… Mama!”

Blake wrapped her arms tightly around both of them, her ears shifting to the sides as a few tears slipped, her excited voice broken up by a few sniffles, “Great job, baby!”

Tiny black ears flicked uncontrollably, giggles ringing throughout the living room from all three of them. Yang bounced her his knee before lifting her to his face and kissing her chubby cheeks. “That's my little girl.”

Small hands grabbed the sides of Yang’s freckled cheeks, squishing his face a bit before she showed a toothless smile, “Dada!”

Blonde brows shot up, “What did you just say?” 

“Da!”

Blake chuckled, taking Luna and kissing Yang’s cheek, “I guess our girl’s first words are both Mama and Dada,” She smirked, “How do you like that new name?”

Lilac eyes shined before he wrapped his girls up into a tight hug, “I love it a lot. It feels… different. A good difference, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.”

“I’m glad.” She looked down at Luna whose eyes were fluttering and staying closed longer each time. “How about we all take a small nap?”

Yang let out a quiet huff, “She barely did anything today.”

“Speaking takes a lot of energy. I mean, you’re a good example of that.” She teased.

“Rude.”

Blake didn’t bother to answer, just shuffled them slightly, leaning into Yang as she held Luna securely in her arms. “Well, I’d like a quick nap - She has the right idea.”

Yang wrapped his arms around the both of them, his hands resting softly on Blake’s lower stomach. “Go ahead, I’ll get her if she wakes up.”

The now tired faunus just hummed, snuggling deeper into her husband, “M’kay. I love you.”

“I love you too.”