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Blake screamed out, her eyes connected with Yang’s, as Adam plunged his sword down into her partner’s stomach.
“Stay Away From Her!!!” Yang roared as she charged at the red headed demon in front of her. In a flash, she felt pain and warmth, but it wasn’t coming from her arm. Yang staggered to her knees as she felt hot, heavy liquid flow from her neck as she started to choke. She tried to move her hands to her neck to staunch the flow. Nothing happened. She continued to choke as Adam slowly, step by step, made his way to her. Yang turned her head and saw not only her right arm gone, but her left as well. She was armless and frozen in place as Adam got closer and closer. His sneer held her as he brought his sword up and swung it down on…
The heavy rain and wind rattled the windows and Yang startled awake. Her sheets were soaked in sweat, yet again, and her heart raced in her chest. Her ragged breaths were too loud in her ears. Knowing she wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon, she wearily got off her bed, rubbing her tired face with her remaining hand.
Yang headed to the upstairs bathroom and quietly closed the door before she turned the light on. She looked at her neck in the mirror. No blood. No slash. Yang splashed some cold water on her face and closed her eyes as she tried to calm down after her nightmare. Yang felt her left hand tremble and clenched it tightly to try and make it stop. She couldn’t.
Yang knew she had to check the bandages on her…on her right arm. She hadn’t changed the dressing all day, refusing to look at it, and about made her father cry when he pressed her on it, and she certainly did make Ruby cry when she tried. Yang couldn’t do anything but disappoint everyone in her life. At least when they left, this time it would be because Yang chased them away. Yang tried to force herself to look at the arm, but gave up after a minute of futility.
Yang turned off the bathroom light and quietly made her way down the stairs to the kitchen, where Zwei moved from his little living room bed to follow her around. For sure she was not getting to sleep anytime soon. She poured herself some milk and took it with her to the coffee table next to the couch, where she had left her book. Yang picked up the book and flipped on the book light, and started to read, seeking the safety she only ever now felt within those pages. Zwei settled to sit on her feet as she read.
A half hour later, the rain was still pelting the windows in heavy sheets, and Yang felt her eyelids grow heavy. She was about to allow herself to nap on the couch when she heard Zwei get off the couch and bark softly at the front door. Yang set her book down and headed to the door.
“What is it, Zwei? Is there something outside?” Yang looked through the peephole, but just saw the dark of the night. Zwei kept on huffing at the door. “I know you don’t want to go out in this,” Yang said to Zwei, but he continued to nose the door and look back at Yang. She sighed. “Alright, but I’m not cleaning up after you.” She turned on the porch light and unlocked the door but Zwei stayed in the doorway, now whining.
“You see, I told you…” Yang’s breath caught in her throat as with the porch light on, Yang could now see that they had a visitor.
Blake, completely drenched, was standing out in the rain just looking at her.
Yang closed her eyes. “It’s another dream. I fell asleep on the couch and I’m dreaming again.”
“Yang…”
Yang refused to open her eyes. “Nope. I’m dreaming. Wake up. Wake up.” A cold, wet hand held her cheek, forcing Yang to open her eyes. She was looking straight into the golden irises of her partner.
Blake spoke softly. “I’m not a dream, Yang. I’m here. I…I came back.”
“I’m not so sure,” Yang said, now afraid to close her eyes just in case Blake vanished.
Blake pulled her hand back and gestured to the inside. “Do you mind if we debate this further inside? It’s a bit cold out here.”
Yang was now noticing Blake’s shivering as the rain continued to pelt down on her. She nodded dumbly and allowed Blake to head inside. Yang closed the door behind her and looked at Blake, standing in the middle of the living room holding her right elbow with her left hand, her eyes never leaving Yang.
It was too much.
“You’re soaked.” Yang gestured to the downstairs bathroom door. “Go dry up and I’ll bring you some fresh clothes.”
“Yang…”
“I’ll…I’ll be right back.” Yang tried to not run up the stairs away from Blake, but she needed to get away from her. Yang went straight into her sister’s room where she was sleeping soundly and promptly shook her awake.
“Wha…what? Yang?” Ruby blinked her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay.” Yang brought her voice down to a whisper. “Blake…is…downstairs.”
Ruby was now truly waking up. She looked at her sister. “Blake?”
Yang nodded. “I couldn’t sleep so I went downstairs to read and Zwei was whining at the door so I thought he wanted to go out but when I opened the door he didn’t go but there was Blake, just standing there in the rain, and I thought it was dream and I kinda still do but I invited her in and sent her to the bathroom to get dry and I said I was gonna get her some clothes and Ruby, what do I do?”
Fortunately Ruby sorted through and followed her sister’s rant expertly. “Get her some clothes?”
“Oh. Yeah. I can do that.”
Ruby got up and started looking through the closet in Yang and Ruby’s shared room. Yang had moved to the spare room when Ruby was still healing and decided to stay, but still kept most of her clothes in her old room. Ruby threw a pile of Blake sized clothes on her bed and looked at her sister.
“Those should do for tonight. Where do you want her to sleep?”
“What do you mean where do I want her to sleep?!” Yang’s voice pitched up.
“Like do you want her to sleep in here with me, or on the spare bed and you sleep in here, or leave her on the couch? If you leave her on the couch then I’ll grab some spare blankets and a pillow for her.”
“Oh. Um…” Yang thought about the messy room of misery she had been living in for the last month and the sheets probably still damp with cold sweat. “The spare room is kinda messy, maybe put her with you or on the couch?”
Ruby nodded. “Why don’t you bring those clothes to her and ask her what she would like?”
“You’re not coming?”
“Nope. Either I see her when she comes up to this bed or I see her tomorrow. Besides,” Ruby smiled, “she’s not here for me.”
“You…you think she’s here for me?” asked Yang, flabbergasted.
“Duh.” Ruby thrusted the pile of clothes into Yang’s arm and she held them against her chest. “Now go bring Blake some clothes. It wouldn’t be great to just get her back and let her freeze to death.”
“Right. Yeah.” Yang turned around and carried the pile of clothes to the downstairs bathroom. “Hey, Blake. I got some clothes for you.” The door opened and Yang immediately felt like she had to close her eyes. “I have my eyes closed if you wanna just grab them out of my hand.” Yang felt the clothes be taken from her hold.
Blake quietly said, “Thank you,” and Yang heard the door close.
Yang rested on the door. “So you have two options for where you will sleep tonight. We can put you with Ruby or on the couch. What…what do you think?”
“Just a second, Yang.”
“Right. Cause, you know, you’re changing.”
The door opened to a much drier Blake and Yang only now noticed that Ruby had given Yang all of her own clothes which Blake now wore: a large yellow hoodie and black sweatpants. Seeing Blake in her clothes was a striking sight.
Blake looked at Yang’s slack jawed face and a worried expression came over her. “Yang, are you alright?”
What an absurd question, Yang thought, but fixed her shocked expression. “I need sleep. Like you do I’m thinking. Where do you want to sleep?”
“What were my options again?”
“Bed in my old room with Ruby, or couch?”
“Where are you gonna sleep?” Blake asked innocently and Yang’s mind was going a mile a minute.
“Um…I moved into the spare room…after.”
“Do you mind if I sleep on the floor in there? I…I don’t want to be far from you,” Blake said in a small voice.
Yang was sure her heart couldn’t take too much more of this.
Blake saw Yang’s expression and was quickly backtracking. “Sorry, I don’t…I can sleep on the couch.”
“No,” Yang cleared her throat of the emotion clogging it. “You can sleep on my floor.” Yang moved away and went into the hallway closet to pull out some fresh blankets and a sleeping bag. She tried to balance it all in her one hand, but it fell to the ground.
Blake immediately bent down to pick up the blankets. “Let me help you.”
Yang couldn’t help but block Blake from helping. “I got it,” Yang said tersely.
“Oh, right. Of course,” Blake said in the same small voice.
Yang picked up the sleeping bag and blankets and watched as Zwei settled back down into his little dog bed next the couch. Yang led Blake up the stairs to the spare room. Yang set the linens on the floor near the window and turned to straighten up the room a bit. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting company.”
Blake was laying down the sleeping bag and fixing the blanket. “Yang, it’s perfect.”
“It’s really not,” murmured Yang to herself. Yang finished her quick clean and handed Blake one of her pillows. “Here.”
“Thanks.” Blake adjusted the pillow and got into the sleeping bag and laid down, pulling the blanket over her shoulders.
“Are you warm enough?”
“Very.”
“Good.” Yang was still standing awkwardly.
“Yang, maybe we should get some sleep.”
“Right. Sleep.” Yang got back into bed, grateful that at least her sweat soaked sheets had dried. Yang laid back and stared up at the ceiling.
“Yang, you…you should know how sorry I am…for leaving.”
And yep, Yang’s heart had reached its limit. Sudden tears filled Yang’s eyes. “You’re here now.”
“I am, and I promise, I’m not going anywhere. Night, Yang.”
“Night, Blake.” Yang stayed up until she heard the heart-wrenchingly familiar light snores from her partner. Finally with enough peace to fall back asleep, Yang fell into a dreamless slumber. In the morning she’d face another day, but this time with her partner back at her side.