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The raven-haired pirate swung around over the railing, her boots landing on the cobblestone of the castle walls with an audible thud.
“Hey,” she began, flashing a confident grin to her evening’s companion. The princess, guised in much more humble garments, returned the greeting with one of her own, and a warm smile.
As conversation and indulgences of the evening drew thin, the pirate asked the question that had been on her mind since their first chance encounter. “If things were different, do you wish we could have been soulmates?”
The question caught the princess off guard. She hesitated, and reluctantly glanced at the writing on her wrist.
“Yes…” she began, tears poking at her eyes as she looked back up to her lover’s gaze. “I think that would be nice. I… I hope we could be, in another life at least.”
The bell above the door rang, the now-college graduate stepping in proudly, her framed diploma tucked carefully under her arm to eagerly show off.
“Hey”, she began, offering the girl behind the counter a small wave as she pulled up the diploma with an eager grin. The golden haired flower girl matched the smile with one of her own, sharing in her girlfriend’s enthusiasm at the accomplishment.
Congratulations and enthusiastic pecks on the cheek only carried the conversation so far, and eventually the topic of future plans reared its head. Knowing that their paths might eventually diverge, the graduate asked the question that was certainly on both of their minds for the past several months. “If things were different… Do you wish we could have been soulmates?”
Though she knew the question might one day come, the flower girl could never have prepared for it. She bit her lip, hesitating instead of answering.
“Yes… I think that would be nice.”
Her voice cracked, not wanting to accept the reality of their station.
“I… I hope we could be. In another life, at least.”
The witch's familiar leapt down from the table, the cat prancing towards the entrance to crawl between the legs of their favorite visitor. As the lady knight entered the witch’s domain, it’s master called down from her hiding place.
“Hey,” she offered simply, her lighthearted tone betraying the weight in both of their hearts.
The knight stood solemn, silent in her resolve. Whatever they had, whatever they could have had didn’t matter now. She had a duty to her kingdom, her own feelings could hold no weight right now.
The witch frowned, her lip quivering ever so slightly. She recognized the conflict in her love’s face, in her heart, and how even she would be powerless to sway her. They both knew how the night would end, though neither would pretend to desire it.
Approaching the knight, the witch spoke softly, perhaps more for her own sake than anything else.
“If things were different, would you wish we could have been soulmates?”
“Yes…” came the knight’s reluctant reply, a hand raising her visor while the other rested on her sword. “I think that would be nice...”
She leaned into her love’s touch as the witch rested a hand on her cheek. Slowly, they both leaned in, enjoying one final kiss as friends and as loves, not as enemies.
“I… I hope we could be… In another life, at least.”
She drew her sword.
As Yang sat on the deck of the ship, looking at the encroaching sunset, footsteps stole her attention away, her eyes being drawn to the raven-haired faunus approaching from behind. They offered one another a small smile, Blake wordlessly asking to sit beside, and Yang offering it with a quick wave of her hand.
Accepting her place beside Yang, the two indulged themselves in simple conversation. Topics were shallow, the last mission, their next destination, but with pleasant company the two of them could have talked about nonsense and still enjoyed the evening. As the orange of the afternoon sky shifted to a violet evening, conversation gradually dried up, and the two instead took to quietly enjoying one another’s company, not needing words to express their comfort around one another.
Their hands rested between them, just close enough to be felt, yet still separated by an ever so insignificant distance, one that still seemed insurmountable at times.
In such an environment, Blake became ever more conscious of the lump in the back of her throat, one that threatened to spill over ever since her time at Beacon, her time with Yang. A question burned in the back of her mind, and had been for years. Though with things as they are now, with
She was snapped out of her musings by a voice. A warm, concerned voice, form her parner beside her.
“Blake?” was all she was offered.
Meeting Yang’s gaze revealed the concern in her eyes, concern she was doing a terrible job of keeping out of her voice.
She reached over, fingers ghosting from Blake’s shoulder down to her back, fingers curling in an approximation of a hold.
Though as Blake tensed, almost flinching at the gesture, Yang’s expression fell, and she sat back, giving her partner a modicum more space, allowing her the chance to speak.
“H.. Hey,” she managed to squeeze out, the lump in her throat growing ever more present. “If things were different… Would you wish we could have been… soulmates?”
The question caught Yang off guard, and she hesitated in responding.
She stole a quick glance down to her arm. Hew new arm, shiny and yellow. She smiled, looking back up to return Blake’s gaze.
“No.”
Blake choked as a breath caught in her throat. The question had been gnawing at her heart for months, years even, and finally working up the courage needed to ask it had elicited the worst response she could have gotten. She felt like crying.
Yang continued her soft smile, allowing her arms to fall to her sides instead. “I don’t think we need to be.”
Her ears flattening against her scalp, Blake looked away from Yang, burning a hole in her lap with her gaze as she unsuccessfully fought back the tears in her eyes. She was grateful she was at least holding back a gross sob, but that didn’t make her heart hurt any less.
She looked back up, ready to apologize and leave, only to see Yang’s smile, bright and warm as the other girl looked down at her. On top of hurt, she could only feel confused. Was Yang enjoying this?
“Let me ask you something, Blake. What exactly is a soulmate?”
“Are… are you joking?” Blake eventually managed to answer, the sobs deep in her throat masked only by the confusion in her voice.
“Indulge me,” Yang quickly fired back, her smile shifting into a knowing grin.
“A soulmate is… Your destined partner. The love of your life. Your perfect match. Everyone is waiting for theirs.”
“And?”
“And?” Blake retorted, almost offended. “And what? Isn’t that what everyone wants at some point? Their perfect fairy tale romance?”
Yang hums, looking back up at the final remnants of the setting sun.
“Seems simple, doesn’t it? See, I’ve thought about it before, and I’m not sure I agree. I’ve told you about Summer before. She and dad weren't soulmates. He and Raven were. I don’t think that’s a fairy tale romance. But what he and Summer had… Now that was a love story. The universe didn’t need to play matchmaker for them, now did it?”
Blake rubbed the tears from her eyes. The weight in her heart and throat was still present, the sting of rejection still fresh in her mind, but she could at the very least try and remain amicable for the conversation, bottling up the pain for some time more private.
“I… guess I see your point. It just feels so… Not wrong but… Strange.”
She couldn’t deny Yang her feelings on the matter, even if it was one she struggled to share herself.
Yang hummed again, looking back to Blake.
“Tell me… What does it say on your wrist?”
She frowned, and quickly covered both the writing and scars on her wrist from view. Images of black and red flashed through both of their minds, culminating in one fateful encounter atop the waterfall. Heartbreak joined with guilt, and Blake couldn’t help but wish she had never set them on this topic.
Yang nodded.
“That’s just what I mean. If that’s how soulmates are supposed to work, then I don’t really care about them. Besides...”
She nudged Blake’s shoulder, beckoning her to look up as she waggled the metal fingers on her opposite hand.
“I don’t see anything written here. So who cares who I’m ‘supposed’ to be with.”
She gives Blake another soft smile, one that Blake actually manages to return with one of her own.While still hesitant to properly disagree with the opinion, she could at least understand Yang’s intentions with the subject.
“Whoever I end up with is going to be my decision. Doesn’t that sound more romantic to you? A love strong enough to be an outstretched middle finger to the universe?”
The ghost of a giggle coming from the faunus was all Yang needed to know her point had gotten through, and she laid her hand back down in between them, turning her gaze one last time to the horizon.
“I think I see your point,” she whispers, resting her hand atop her partner’s. “It actually does sound kind of nice.”
She leaned in, resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Yang leaned in, placing a short, chaste kiss on the other girl’s head, before reciprocating the gesture in kind. Their fingers loosely intertwined, thumbs dancing absentmindedly over one another.
Maybe this was better than being soulmates.