"Blake Belladonna, will you marry me?"

The words bounce around inside of Blake's head, ringing in her ears, looping on repeat. Her mouth is hanging open, her eyes wide. Yang's in front of her, on one knee, holding open the small ring box. Is this happening? Is this a dream? Today has been stressful, so stressful, and it wouldn't surprise Blake to realize that this is all just a stress-induced dream. She'd had plenty of stress dreams before, although they hadn't happened in years, and never quite like this.

"Blake?" Yang asks again, pulling Blake back into reality. Not a dream, very real. Yang's waiting for a response, and Blake is stunned, her mouth still gaping open at the sight of Yang on one knee.

Blake snaps her mouth shut. She doesn't say a word, but instead, dives for the dresser.

Yang's frozen in place, her own jaw dropping open as Blake turned her back to her.

What is she doing?

Panic is starting to set in. Out of all the ways Yang has been expecting this to go, this isn't one of them.

Blake fumbles with her purse, which is sitting on the dresser, discarded when they had gotten home for the night. She's struggling to get it open, the zipper catching itself and getting stuck repeatedly.

"Blake?" Yang asks again, a new sense of fear in her voice.

Blake doesn't respond, still struggling with the zipper. She finally gets the purse open, grabbing something inside of it. She spins back around on her heel, steps towards Yang, who is still kneeling next to the bed. She drops down herself, matching her stance, on one knee, and stares directly into Yang's eyes. She pulls out a small black box, opening it and holding it out in front of Yang. Yang's eyes drop from Blake to the contents of the box.

A dark steel ring with a beautiful yellow crystal.

"Yang Xiao Long," she says at last, "will you marry me?"

There's half a beat of silence before Yang dives forward into Blake's arms, hurriedly colliding her lips with Blake's, as if she might disappear if she waits another second. The boxes fall to their sides, tumbling down to the floor. Blake grabs Yang's head with both hands, finding an anchor in her hair, and tangles her fingers in it. Yang tugs her arms around the small of Blake's back, pulling her closer as Blake does the same with Yang's head. A million sparks fill the room, between them, around them, everywhere. The moment is so passionate, so encompassing, so them, the whole world could have literally blown up around them, and they wouldn't even have noticed.

Blake finally pulls away when she's out of breath, resting her forehead against Yang's.

"The answer to your question," she says between deep breaths, amber locking in with the purple of Yang's eyes, "is yes."

It takes them a moment to get fully situated. They grab the tiny boxes off the floor, sliding the rings onto each other's fingers. Both rings are gorgeous, shining off of the lamp light above them. They're sitting there for a few extra minutes, admiring the choice that the other made.

"Perfect, yet uncoordinated," Yang says, looking at the purple crystal on her finger.

"Just like us," Blake replies, looking up from the shining yellow gem on her own hand to meet Yang's eyes.

"Just like us."

Blake looks up at the clock. It's nearly 4:30am. "We should try to sleep," she says again, echoing herself from earlier in the night.

Yang lets out a small laugh, shaking her head. "Yeah, okay. I've got a million feelings and thoughts and none of them are related to sleep."

Blake smiles back gently. "I figured as much."

Yang settles in next to Blake, resting her head on Blake's shoulder as they lean up against the bed together. Things are silent for a while. It's a comfortable silence, only the steady breathing filling the room.

There are about a million thoughts running through Yang's head every second, bouncing around inside her brain without any sign of stopping. Tonight's been so much, so, so much, and she doesn't exactly know how to feel. Happy? Sad? Everything. Everything. She needs something, a goal, a plan, something to keep her going. Without it, she knows how fast she can fall apart.

For a moment, she's brought back to her bedroom in Patch, just after the Fall of Beacon.

Yeah, Yang needs something, and she needs it fast, or things are going to go exactly as she remembered them.

"How fast can your parents get to Vale?"

Blake blinks twice at Yang's sudden question. "What?"

"How fast do you think it'll take them to get from Menagerie to Vale?" Yang repeats.

"I don't know," Blake admits, pausing for a moment to think. "A week, at the very least. Whenever the next boat leaves. There's one or two ships a week, but it's a several day trip, and usually it's harder to secure tickets last minute."

"Great," Yang says with a nod, the gears rapidly turning inside of her brain, "we have at least a week to plan our wedding then."

"Wait, what?"

Thirty minutes later, Blake is sitting in front of the computer in the study downstairs, still in her pajamas with her hair tied back, taking deep breaths. Part of her can't really believe she got talked into this, but the other part of her knows that she'd do anything for Yang.

And when Yang had explained her reasoning, well, there was no way in hell that Blake was going to say no to that line of thinking. She knows just as much as Yang does that Yang needs this right now.

Blake takes one more deep breath, and then taps the screen a few times, prompting a new window to pop up.

Calling: Mom

It rings four times before the window comes to life, filling with the image of Kali Belladonna. She's sitting in the office in her home in Kuo Kuana, concern in her eyes and a small frown on her face. Her ears are bent slightly, matching her concerned facial expression.

"Blake? I wasn't expecting a call from you at this hour- isn't it still nighttime over there?"

"It's five in the morning," Blake responds, glancing at the clock in the corner of the screen. There's a hint of exhaustion in her voice as she realizes just how long she's been up, but she knows she's got to hang in there for at least a little bit longer.

"Is everything okay?" Kali asks immediately, her voice and eyes filled with worry.

"I…" Blake takes a deep breath, and holds up her left hand, simply showing the ring.

"Oh my Oum! Congratulations sweetheart!" Kali claps her hands together twice. "I knew it was happening soon, but I didn't know exactly when Yang was planning to ask…"

Blake's jaw drops, along with her hand as it falls back into her lap. "Wait, you knew?"

Kali nods with a smile. "Yang did her research. She asked both me and your father for our blessing. She said she knew it's traditional to ask a Faunus's mother for blessings instead of the father like human tradition. She is Yang, after all, so she wanted to try and blend the traditions. She asked us both your father and I last time you two were in Menagerie."

"That…," Blake pauses, searching her brain for the dates of their last trip to visit the Belladonnas. Finally, she exclaims, "That was nearly a year ago!"

"She said it wouldn't be for a bit longer, but she wanted to do it in person, and she didn't know when she'd get to see us next, so…" Kali shrugs.

Blake's heart skips a beat. There is a reason why she's making this call, and there's more to it all than she's told her mother. She needs to get this over with, so she can maybe get at least some sleep today. "Mom… How fast can you and Dad get to Vale?"

Kali's ears flatten against her skull. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Blake swallows hard, taking a deep breath. "Earlier tonight, we got some bad news. It's…" Blake trails off, the words failing her. They're sitting in her throat, unable to break through to her lips. Cancer, cancer, cancer.

"Take your time," Kali says gently. She looks for a second as if she's going to try to reach through the screen and put a hand on Blake's shoulder, but she stops herself before her hand got more than an inch or two away from her body.

"We were on our date, earlier tonight," Blake begins, her ears drooping as she talks, trying to work her way through the story so the word stops getting stuck on her tongue. Cancer, cancer, cancer.

"I was going to ask her then, and by the looks of it, so was she. But then we got this call… and…" Her ears fall flat against her skull. Cancer, cancer, cancer.

"Tai… Tai has… cancer. A lot of it. It's starting to attack his aura. Three to nine months, they said. A-another year will be a miracle," she stammers, words spilling out like vomit once she gets past the word.

Kali's eyes grow wide, her ears mirroring her daughter's as they flatten against her skull. "Oh my Oum, I'm so sorry to hear. That's awful."

"We're moving to Patch for the time being, to stay with him as long as possible. Ruby and Weiss too. We got back a couple hours ago, and we start packing tomorrow. Well, today, but you know what I mean."

Kali nods, her eyes soft. "When are you two having the wedding?"

"Soon," Blake says. It's the only true answer she can give. "I managed to talk Yang out of having it the moment you and Dad get to Patch. I'd like to have you two there to help with some of the planning, and give us more than like a week to prepare. I don't think it'll be longer than a month, and I'd like you two to be here as soon as possible." Blake finally looks back up at her mother, looking at her eyes through the screen. "If that's okay with you, that is."

"Blake, honey, of course it's okay with us," Kali replies immediately, having to stop herself from reaching out again. "Your father is down in the village right now picking up some dinner from the market. I'll send a guard for him as soon as I hang up and start packing."

"Do you know when the next boat leaves?" Blake asks.

Kali bites her lip and shakes her head. "No, hang on." She pulls out her scroll, doing some quick typing. "There's one that leaves tomorrow. No available tickets though. I'm sure your father can manage something." She types some more. "There's not another one until next week. We'll have to get on that one tomorrow."

Blake nods once. "Okay. Just let me know when you've secured tickets and when you're leaving Menagerie. We should be moved into the house by the time you get to Patch."

"Of course," Kali replies, placing down her scroll. "We'll be there soon, I promise."

Blake nods again, her eyes drooping, the exhaustion finally hitting her in full swing as the adrenaline from earlier is beginning to wear off. "I need to sleep," she says simply, unable to explain herself with anything else.

"Go to bed, sweetheart. We'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom," Blake says back with a small smile before hanging up. She leans back in her chair, letting out a long sigh.

This isn't how it's supposed to happen.

Blake shakes her head at the thought. Since when is anything in her life going according to plan? What exactly even is her plan?

Happiness. That's always been the plan.

Blake lets out another sigh, standing up and heading for the staircase.

She knows all too well that the plan never comes together easily, and they have a very long journey ahead of them. Life's never exactly treated them kindly, and they've gone through plenty of long and perilous journeys before, but this one's different.

There's something unsettling about knowing that the incoming death is certain, that the emotional trauma that's about to unravel is destined, and nothing can change that.

It's going to be different, and Blake isn't exactly sure how that's going to play out for them.

Yang's waiting in the bedroom for Blake to return, sitting cross-legged on the bed and staring at her ring. Her head jerks up when Blake enters, lavender eyes wide.

"How'd it go?" she asks immediately.

"Good," Blake replies, climbing into bed next to Yang and pulling back the covers. "There's a ship leaving tomorrow- well, actual tomorrow, because of the time difference…" Blake trails off before shaking her head. "They're going to try and secure tickets and will text me the information when they have them."

Yang nods, crawling underneath the blankets too. "That's good."

"Yeah." Blake holds open her arms, allowing Yang to snuggle up into them.

"I love you," Yang says softly, nestled into Blake's neck.

"I love you too," Blake replies, giving a gentle kiss to the top of Yang's head.

"I sent a picture of the ring to Ruby and Weiss," Yang says, after a moment of silence. "I didn't get a response, so I assume they went to sleep."

"I'm sure we'll get an excited scroll call in the morning," Blake replies. She knows it's the truth, and that they will certainly be pulled from sleep in just a few hours with a screaming scroll call from Ruby, and Weiss in the background, trying to calm her down, yet congratulating them both. It's the only thing she can expect Ruby and Weiss to do, having been on a team together for all of these years.

Yang nods, but says nothing else.

Blake pulls her closer, breathing in Yang's scent as they lay there, comfortable with the silence that fills the air once again.

"I'm sorry," Yang says softly, breaking the silence after a few minutes. Her voice is trembling slightly, although it's hard for Blake to tell with just two words.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Blake replies, looking down at Yang nervously. She knows where this is going.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she says softly, staring at the far wall, unable to look Blake in the eyes. She's physically trembling now, and the shakiness in her voice is much more obvious. "And now your parents have to rush out here, and everything-"

"Yang," Blake says firmly, cutting her off. "Look at me."

It takes a moment, but finally lavender eyes look up to meet amber.

"You have nothing, and I mean nothing, to be sorry for. We have a messy situation, but we're doing the best we can. We, and yes, we, are together in this. Just like always. We're there for each other."

"There for each other," Yang repeats, a phrase she's said a thousand times. There's a moment, a half a moment when she's in an airship above Argus again, holding Blake's hand while they recount the fight with him. Yang blinks, and she's back in their bed in Vale, safely tucked under the blankets and in Blake's strong arms, rings on their left hands.

"Yes, exactly," Blake says, running her fingers through Yang's hair. "It's going to be hard, but we're going to get through it, okay?"

"Okay," Yang replies, allowing herself to melt into Blake's touch and be comfortable against her in the bed. "I'm really scared."

"I know. Me too."

"I don't want him to die." Yang's voice cracks as she speaks, and at last, the tears finally come, the trembling increasing in speed.

Blake continues to run her fingers through Yang's hair, gentle and repetitive. "I know, baby, I know. Let it out. Let it all out. I've got you. I've got you."

Yang does exactly that, shaking and crying into Blake as the sun slowly begins to rise through the window.

After a while, Blake changes to rubbing Yang's back in large circles, doing her best to allow Yang to cry while still keeping her calm. She needs this, she absolutely needs this time, and there's no way Blake is going to try and take that from her, but she isn't going to allow her to fully break down right now either.

That time will come, and Blake knows it, but not right now. Not yet.

There's still so much more life left to live, so many more memories to be made. So much can happen in nine months. So much.

The crying and shaking finally subsides, and Yang has finally fallen asleep in Blake's arms. It's only when she hears the gentle snores of her fiancée does Blake allow herself to close her eyes and drift away into a much needed sleep.

AN: Sorry for the delay in uploads, folks! It's midterms season, and I've been sick, so the last couple weeks haven't given me a ton of time to write. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I wanted to get it out there. It's shorter than I'd like, but I think coming to terms with chapter lengths is something I need to work on more, so I'm definitely trying.

Thank you to everyone for all your support so far on this work! It's going to be darker, but also has elements of fluff and good-feelings. Tai will die from his illness, so if that's something that is triggering for you, I don't recommend reading this story.

Updates will be less frequent than Two For One, since the chapters are both (ideally) longer and heavier in content, but I promise I'm working on it with the same level of devotion. This chapter was nearly finished a few days ago, but I went through and added some more content a few times until I felt that it was acceptable enough that I could publish it. Again, I'm working on that whole getting better at chapter length acceptance thing, but it's a work in progress.

If you'd like updates on this fic and my other works, check out my fic tumblr, SuperbBirbFics! You can also find me on my main at pancakeswithketchup. If you'd like to support me by buying me a ko-fi, you can find me on there at SuperbBirb. Thank you so much for your continued support and feedback, I absolutely adore it and all of you lovely people.