Who: Yang and Blake What: Yang has something to tell Blake. When: Sometime before this post Where: A park Warnings: Family friendly
There was tea, but no crumpets, but Yang thought the donuts she’d picked up would make up for the lack of crumpets. She didn’t really like crumpets all that much anyway.
She perched on the back of a bench near the … well ‘their’ spot in the park, that still had a lot of good memories and emotions for her, despite everything, waiting for her faunus friend, an access panel on her arm open as she tweaked the gears a little bit with a tool. Her arm was a rainbow of colors and she’d had a lot of fun with spray paint over the weekend.
Blake had no idea what Yang wanted to tell her, but she’d been mentally preparing herself to tell Yang that she didn’t, and couldn’t, return her feelings if that particular subject ever came up. The simple thought of that topic made her anxious, but she had a feeling that was more due to the fact she didn’t feel attraction and she’d always have the repulsion to physical relationships thanks to her abusive ex.
As it was, Blake was doing a lot better now than she had a few months earlier. Therapy paired with her Dreams of finding her own footing within herself and putting her mind to taking back the White Fang from Adam’s radicalization of it had helped her journey here in this life. She’d gotten closure with her ex. She’d reunited with her parents. She was looking into the possibility of getting her own apartment. She was even looking at going to college. The latter two were still in the early stages of figuring things out, but she was excited about them. She’d never done things for herself like that before, and it meant everything to her to be able to do them.
Arriving at their spot, Blake had a bow in her hair to hide her cat ears. Something she hated doing, but she also still had some complicated feelings on being Faunus in this world. She at least wasn’t wearing an over-sized t-shirt like she had been for a long time, but she was still dressed conservatively. She was still self-conscious of the scar she’d gotten from Adam stabbing her. It may have been warm out, but she wore a long-sleeved shirt, though the fabric was light so she didn’t overheat.
“Looks like you were busy,” Blake commented as she drew close to where Yang was sitting, obviously noting the rainbow paint scheme.
Yang looked up, face breaking out into a sunny smile. “Yo! And thanks! I figure I can be in your face about it for people who can’t.”
She scooted aside to make sure Blake had room on the bench. “Picked up some tea, and some donuts. Thought about sandwiches but wasn’t sure they’d keep.”
Closing the hatch on her arm, Yang glanced over Blake and smiled again. “You’re looking good. Uh, like …” She waved her hand, trying to find the right word so Blake didn’t think she was checking her out. “Happier.”
“I like it,” she commented before she sat down on the bench. Even if she knew where she was on the sexuality spectrum, Blake probably wouldn’t wear the colors like Yang did. Blake wasn’t exactly the in-your-face type. “Donuts definitely work.” Blake had no qualms about donuts.
At the comment about being happier, she smiled at Yang. “Thank you, I am happier.” She also felt more at peace about things. Having gotten the closure she’d needed, Blake could finally focus on the future instead of constantly worrying about the past. She’d still have her bad days, of course, but they would be fewer than they had been. So long as nothing triggered her on a regular basis, of course.
That meant more to Yang than she’d realized it, and her smile at Blake only brightened. She dropped a baggie into Blake’s hands and then held out one of the cups of tea. “That’s so great! I’m so happy for you, Blake.”
It was all she’d ever wanted for Blake, and if outside circumstances hadn’t interfered Yang would never have said anything about her feelings. At least not for a much longer time. But maybe things were going to be okay anyway.
All Yang had ever wanted for herself was her little Beacon Family to be together. And Blake was as much a part of that family as Ruby was. Just in a different way from Weiss. (and Yang would be the first to admit the whole thing with Weiss was a surprise).
“How about a toast? Donuts and tea to brighter futures.”
“Thank you. It feels good, but still a little strange, to feel happy. To feel safe.” Because Blake finally felt safe here. At least as far as her ex and Scientology went. She still worried constantly about Colleen and what Scientology was doing to her, and she did fear being swept up in that crap. But she hadn’t been Sea Org, so they’d mostly left Blake alone. Which was fine by her.
Blake finally had a life that was hers. She wasn’t someone else’s property, and she wasn’t part of a cult. She was her own person that was finding their footing in the world. And now she was going to start establishing her own place in the world. A place of her own, an actual education at a college where she could get a degree and actually make a life for herself. It was stability, and that had been something she’d missed having.
“I can definitely toast to that,” she agreed with a smile.
Yang hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted to hear Blake say that until she’d said it. If it felt this much of a relief to her she couldn’t imagine how it felt for Blake and she had to fight the urge to hug her. Her only real regret was that she couldn’t have been part of that healing process, even if she understood why.
That was okay. They could reconnect, Yang was positive of that.
Toast done, Yang settled back. “What are you gonna do? I mean, I know you wanted to study. I’ve been taking courses to do social work, but I haven’t settled on exactly where I want to focus yet.”
In many ways, Blake felt like a completely different person. Yes, she still had anxiety, she’d always have her triggers and traumas, but she felt free. And for the first time in her life, her life was completely her own. Scientology wasn’t brain-washing her anymore. Her ex wasn’t controlling her every breath. She was a new person, and she was starting to find her own footing in the world, the actual world and not the one Scientology pretended existed.
“My parents told me they’d help with school if I wanted to go. I think I’ll take them up on it. Being able to go to an actual school and not a Scientology school will be amazing.” Blake still needed to figure out if she needed to actually take a GED or not, along with some other logistics, but she definitely knew what she wanted to do with her life.
“That’s good! School is.. Well.” Yang rubbed the back of her neck. “It’ll be an experience but mostly a good one I think, once you’ve settled in. If you want to check out some campuses in the area I can show you around. I don’t think you just want to go to a place without seeing the place, you know? That’s almost as important as what they teach. You don’t even have to like, pick a major right away. Just do the classes that every major needs at first, before you start specializing. That’s what I did at first too. And then, like I told Weiss when she was figuring out what to do with her life, focus on what you want to do and do it. The only person who can stop you is you.”
She grinned at Blake. “I’ll be cheering for you and helping however you want and need me to help.” She’d told Blake that ages ago and it had never changed.
“Oh there is no doubt that I’ll enjoy it and have a good experience at school. It’ll be universes better than a Scientology school.” Blake wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t explain how terrible Scientology school even was, since it tended to focus on, well, Scientology’s teachings and principles more than anything. Plus they didn’t have teachers so much as an adult in the room.
“Oh, I already know what I want to do. I’m looking at various colleges and narrowing it to the ones that would give me the best education, then I’ll go visit those places.” Blake definitely had a plan and no one was going to stop her this time.
Not even the crazy of Orange County.
Yang nodded, taking Blake’s disgust at face value. She’d read enough that she still got really angry about it. Blake had been hurt so much by them, and Yang would never forgive it.
“What do you want to do? If it’s okay asking.”
Blake wasn’t the only one hurt by Scientology. Colleen had had it worse given she’d been SeaOrg. But in reality, anyone subjected to Scientology had it bad. Some just worse than others depending on individual experiences.
“Psychologist. I want to help abuse victims the way that I’ve been helped. Help them see that they can get better and have hope again.”
“Thats awesome!” Yang gently nudged Blake’s with her own, conscious of Blake’s personal space and taking a bite from her donut as she did so. She swallowed, then added, “I think you’ll be great at it. And not just paying it forward. You’re a natural listener.”
The way Yang looked at it, it was like owning her trauma; something she’d had to come to terms with herself. She glanced down at her right arm, flexing the mechanical fingers thoughtfully. “I’m really happy for you, Blake.”
A little smile crossed Blake’s face. “I just know that I can help people the way I was helped. I want to try and let some light shine into the darkness that can seem so endless.” Which it did. Blake had never thought that she could escape the hell she’d been living in, but she’d managed to escape Scientology, with Colleen’s help. And then she’d gotten the chance to get professional help.
And now here she was, standing on her own two feet in a way she’d once thought was impossible. And if Blake could fight back and conquer the darkness, she knew other people could as well. They just needed some help to get things started.
Smiling back, Yang tossed her now empty cup, bouncing it off the edge of a trash can and then inside. “Like I know happily ever afters aren’t real. But things can be better and people can find a balance that makes them happy. Between facing and moving on from the bad and accepting that you can have good things. Friendship, family…” She waggled the last bit of her donut and popped it in her mouth. “Donuts.”
She brushed the crumbs from her fingers. “And then sometimes unexpected things happen and since I don’t want things to be awkward or surprising next time we’re all together I’m just gonna say it, but Weiss and me are sort of a thing.”
“Exactly. Things can be better, and a balance can be found. It may not be perfect because nothing ever is perfect, but it is stability. And stability is extremely important.” Blake had sorely needed the stability, which Orange County seemed like the most unlikely place to find it given how chaotic it was here, but it was still stability.
She took another bite of her donut, but she paused at Yang’s statement. “Are you? I’m very happy for you both.” Blake said with a smile. And it was...a huge relief to her. Even while she had done her best to ignore it, she’d still had the anxiety of feeling pressured to return Yang’s feelings whenever they were around each other. But now that Yang was with Weiss and that was now a non-issue? Blake could actually fully relax around Yang, instead of feeling like she was walking on pins and needles all the time and trying to keep her anxiety to a minimum.
If asked, that was definitely one of the reasons Yang had wanted to tell Blake. So that she wouldn’t feel that anxiety any more. Oh, a part of her would always love her, those feelings didn’t just disappear. But she’d moved past them, and it was honestly a relief for herself too.
She still wanted that house though, with the four of them and maybe Ilia.
Just different sleeping arrangements than she’d originally envisioned.
“I meant what I said online, you know. When I was talking about different kinds of love. That you’re family, and you always will be. I’ve always had these...surface level friends. But I always wanted the kind of … connection, that found family. So I hope we can build towards that here. With the people we are, here.”
“I know, Yang. Family is something I haven’t had in years.” Of course, she also didn’t trust all that easily, not since she’d left Scientology. After all, it was difficult to tell who was a Scientologist that was trying to drag her back.
Colleen was family, and Blake was more than grateful to her for getting her out of Scientology before she ended up one of the forgotten dead. Ruby and Ilia were family as well. Now without the added pressure of being the object of Yang’s affection, she could forge a healthy relationship with her and with Weiss.
Yang smiled happily, something loosening in her chest. She wiped at her eyes. “Hey, did you ever learn enough French to read that book?”
“I’m still working on it. Mostly there, but I got side-tracked by other things.” Most notably being her therapy and working through her problems. She’d needed distractions, of course, but focusing on learning a foreign language wasn’t always easy when she was trying to manage anxiety and PTSD-related nightmares.
That made sense, and Yang didn’t want to push or pressure Blake. “I’ve been taking some Spanish. I figure it’ll be really useful out here, and there are some other reasons it’ll be useful too. Kinda different but I think already knowing two languages it’s not as hard as it might be if I just knew the one. Wonder if I can pick up French too. Might be fun and the look on some peoples’ faces would be worth it.”
“Knowing multiple languages is always a good thing. Especially when you can surprise people with it.” Blake was fluent in English and Japanese, and she was getting more proficient at French, even if she couldn’t yet carry on a conversation in it. Or translate an entire book written in French. But she would get there in time.
“That gives me an idea,” Yang said. Her eyes flashed with mischief and excitement. “I’ll teach you Korean if you teach me Japanese.”
“You’ve got a deal there,” Blake said. She wouldn’t ever turn down learning, regardless of topic. She liked learning, and spending time with her friends.