Chapter Text
A bright screen shone in her face, her tablet lying comfortably against her legs. Looking at the bottom of her laptop she could make out it was 5 am.
It’s so late.
She stretched her arms and legs, making the tablet fall down beside her. Pulling her legs up and placing the tablet in its original place, Blake looked back at her piece. A woman with grey hair and piercing blue eyes stared at her in a stern pose, almost looking down at Blake as she started adding the shading on her face.
I have to finish this though…
A big yawn escaped her mouth, her hand instinctively reaching for the mug beside her, but as she picked it up she could feel it was empty. Sighing, she placed her tablet beside her and went out of bed – mug in one hand – and found her way to the kitchen. Rummaging around for a bit she tried to find any coffee bags, but had no luck. Somehow, she had gotten through her stash already, the big box sitting empty in front of her as she tried to imagine the last time she actually looked inside.
“Could’ve sworn I had more.” She placed the box back and went back to her room, but as another yawn escaped her mouth she decided against it. After putting her laptop on sleep mode she went into the hall to put on her shoes. The sight frightened her a bit. It was littered with clothes, socks, shoes and jackets lying everywhere her eyes could see. She hadn’t been here in days. After searching for what seemed like an hour, she found a matching pair of shoes and grabbed her favourite hoodie, one she had made herself. It was a dark blue hoodie that fitted her perfectly, made slightly longer so it was extra baggy, and an added pair of cat ears on top, stuffed with wool. She shook it a bit and the unfamiliar sound of coins was heard inside the ears. She opened the zipper that attached them to the hoodie and counted the money, before putting it on and placing the money in her pocket. Grabbing her keys and a small shopping bag she left her apartment, went down the cold steps of the main hall of the building and finally got to the streets.
Her face met soft sunlight as she rounded a corner. Summer had started early this year, and even though her apartment was hidden away from the sun, the heat became unbearable during the day - so much so that she could hardly sleep, leaving her longing for a cup every hour or so.
A smile played on her lips as the sun blinded her. It wasn’t often that she stayed up this late, but the piece she was working on was for a regular and – knowing them – they’d love it if it was finished quickly, as she had heard they used her drawings to describe their characters in more detail.
She rounded another corner and saw her second favourite place in the world: the local coffee-shop. They always opened way too early, and she loved it. This wasn’t the first time she had run out of coffee bags, and the store owners had started to view her as a regular now.
The bell above her rang softly as she opened the door, and a surprised face perked up, quickly turning into one of knowing.
“So soon already?” the man said to her as she moved to the counter. “Been working hard?”
Blake rubbed her eyes. “Very,” she said sheepishly, trying to hold back a yawn. “Thanks for opening up so early, Ray.”
“That’s Raymond to you, Miss Blake,” he said, as he went to work on an order she hadn’t placed yet. “Pick out a number of bags from there.” And he pointed towards an unfamiliar rack, full of packets that were filled with coffee bags or beans. She walked towards it, searching for her usual ‘Soft Black’. She found it next to ‘Medium Black’ and wondered if that would be better for staying up so late. Deciding against it, she grabbed a handful of ‘Soft Black’ and went back to the counter.
She handed over the money into Raymond’s outstretched hand and received a cup back.
“Your usual,” he said, “now with reusable cup.” And as he grabbed the bag from her, she looked down. The cup had been made of a different material then she was used to, but – taking a sip – found out the taste was luckily the same. As he handed her packet back, now filled with coffee bags. He said: “You can wash it like a normal cup or glass, and when you bring it here, I’ll give you a discount.”
She thanked him and took another sip of her coffee as she headed out. “Thanks Ray.”
He scowled behind her as the door closed, the sun back on her face as she lowered her new cup.
She heard footsteps behind her when she was heading home, blond curled locks shooting past her before she could even turn her head. The person’s hair was obscuring most of their body, but the calves underneath showed they were doing this more often.
Blake took another sip of her coffee, the heat still unbearable for her tongue, but tried another sip anyways. Suddenly she felt herself being pulled backward, strong arms catching her as she fell down, some of the coffee spilling on her shirt.
“What the-“ but Blake’s scream was silenced by two big purple eyes looking into her own, a face of worry accompanying it. Blake recognised them as the person that had just been running in front of her, the golden curls crowning her face in an almost divine way. The sound of a car speeding away from them filled her ears, and beside the person’s face, she could see it in the distance.
“I’m so sorry,” the person said, “it looked like you didn’t see the car coming so I tried to stop you but-“ And Blake was pulled up by those strong arms that were holding her, making sure she was balanced before letting go. “It didn’t go so well,” they finished, an embarrassed chuckle leaving their throat. Was it her lack of sleep or was that one of the most beautiful sounds she had ever heard? She decided on the first; the coffee hadn’t done its job yet she supposed.
Blake looked them up and down, the blond locks in a ponytail upon their head. The sides were shaved, leading down into an undercut, leading further down to strong-looking shoulders and a tank top. They seemed to be female, the strong bust hard to miss for anyone looking at her. She was wearing shorts, her leg muscles shining with sweat in the light. After a few seconds of silent admiration, Blake finally spoke.
“You saved me.”
The woman smiled at her. “Uhh… I guess I did.” Another moment of silence went by, before the woman broke it. “You seem very tired. Are you okay?”
“Are you not?” Blake answered as she looked to both sides before crossing the street, the blond following her closely.
“Not really, I just woke up.”
Blake yawned in response, her body automatically following the road back home.
“Is it okay if I bring you home? I’d hate to see such a beautiful person stranded somewhere they don’t belong.”
If Blake’s cheeks could blush they would, but her lack of care of it made it hard to figure out if she was blushing or not. She nodded.
They walked in silence, the sun on their back as they rounded the corner.
“So… what kept you up all night?”
“Commissions,” Blake said shortly.
“You’re a writer?” the woman asked. Blake shook her head. They had arrived at last at her doorstep. “An artist?”
“Yeah,” she said, turning towards the door before realising the woman obviously wouldn’t come upstairs with her. “Thank you for walking with me…”
“Yang.”
The name sounded beautiful in her ears, she couldn’t resist repeating it to herself. “Yang…”
The blond let out a small laugh. “What’s your name?”
“Blake,” the black-haired woman answered. As she looked up at Yang - her face soft and kind - she didn’t want to go upstairs anymore. Despite her cold behaviour towards the blond, she would love to get to know her better… when she was more awake.
“That is a beautiful name,” she heard Yang say.
“Yang?” The blond cocked her head. “I want to thank you for saving my life. Can I invite you to an art gallery on the… somewhere this month?” Blake’s mind tried to find a date, or at least the place, but her head only allowed the piece she still had to finish - the cold demeanour so vastly different from the woman standing in front of her.
“I’d love to,” Yang answered. “Can I get your number, then? I’ll text you as soon as I’m home, then you can tell me where to go.” She smiled at Blake, the warmth making her cheeks almost blush again.
Blake felt her pockets - she usually had an emergency pen in there. Finally, she found it, and showed it to Yang, who held out both of her arms.
“If one of them wipes out.” She winked at Blake, who – now almost completely on automatic mode – rolled her eyes in reflex and wrote her number on both of the woman’s arms.
“I’ll see you then,” Yang said as she stretched her arms, and waved as she set of.
“See you,” Blake whispered. She watched Yang until the end of the street, a yellow speck slowly disappearing from view as it suddenly went away. It took Blake a few moments to realise the blond was gone, and – sighing – she turned towards her door and went in, hoping to finish the piece as quickly as possible.
Excuse me for putting this disclaimer here, but I believe it is necessary. I want everyone to be able to enjoy my works without it being stolen from me.
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