Red Carpet Romance - Chapter 41 (Patreon)

“You know...when I said I’d help, I didn’t realize that meant I had to come with you.”

After parking in front of a modest, two-story home on a street filled with them, Yang shut off the engine and turned towards the model in the passenger seat.

“You’re my best friend, Pyrrha.  And best friends accompany their very nervous friends when those nervous friends want to ask their girlfriend’s parents for permission to marry her.”

“Are you going to make me ask for you?”

“Depends on how it goes,” Yang admitted before rubbing her hands together, opening the car door, and stepping outside.

With Blake’s childhood home looming in front of her and Pyrrha somewhat-reluctantly beside her, she took a deep breath and headed towards the front door.  She wouldn’t say she was nervous - she’d say she was very, very nervous about the conversation to come.

Right now, only Pyrrha knew that she wanted to ask Blake to marry her.  But Pyrrha was her best friend, could keep a secret, and wouldn’t think horribly of her if she wimped out.  If she went through with this though, two more people would know about her plans - and those two people happened to be exceptionally close to Blake.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”

Just steps from the front porch, Yang spun around and tried to retreat to the car.  She might have made it too had Pyrrha not grabbed her arm to stop her.

“What?  Why not?”

“Because!”

That was a good enough answer for Yang, but Pyrrha frowned and didn’t let go.

“Because,” Yang tried again, resorting to hand motions when her words faltered.  “Just - because - once they know, I have to ask.  There’s no backing out or changing my mind, like ever.  That’s it - I have to ask.”

“And?”

“And?  And doesn’t that seem like a lot of pressure?”

While Pyrrha’s brow furrowed, Yang glanced at the house and felt her heartrate increase.  Now that she thought about it, this was it.  This was the last moment she could change her mind.  Once Blake’s parents knew, she had to ask - period, end of story.  She would have to ask soon, too, otherwise they would wonder why she was dragging her feet.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the more people who knew, the more people who might accidentally spill the beans to Blake.  Yang wanted it to be a happy surprise if or when it ever happened, but that couldn’t happen if Blake found out beforehand.

The worst part?  The one person she wanted to talk to for advice was the one person she couldn’t say anything to.

“Maybe we should come back later,” she suggested.  Before she ran back to the car, however, Pyrrha stepped in front of her.

“Yang.”  Pyrrha set both hands on Yang’s shoulders and lightly shook her.  “Calm down.  Asking them doesn’t start some invisible timer you have to follow.  Besides, you’re probably in a bigger rush than everyone else - because you know you want to spend the rest of your life with her, and you know you want to start your ‘happily ever after’ sooner rather than later.”

Just thinking about spending the rest of her life with Blake - of marrying Blake - made Yang’s heart flutter.  She’d always thought she had a pretty blessed life - with Ruby, her dad, her friends, and a job that let her take care of the people she cared about - but nothing could explain how lucky she’d felt ever since meeting Blake.

Blake was her person.  The one she was supposed to be with.  She’d never really believed in soulmates before, but she wholeheartedly did now.  Nothing else explained how much she loved Blake.  Or how, after all this time, she still wanted to spend every waking second together.

They didn’t have to get married to stay together forever, but she wanted to make the gesture.  She wanted Blake to know, without a doubt, that she was in this for good.

“You’re right.”

Breathing out some of those nerves, feeling her heart resume control, she nodded.

“You’re right,” she repeated with even more certainty.  “I love her, and I want to marry her.  I’d marry her today if I could, but I want to do this the right way.  So...the sooner I ask, the sooner we can...get married.”

“Exactly.”  With one hand still on Yang’s shoulder, Pyrrha gently turned her around and prodded her up the sidewalk.  “You’re a hopeless romantic, by the way.”

“You’re one to talk,” Yang scoffed as they reached the front porch and took the last few steps to the door.

While Pyrrha smiled and shook her head at the response, Yang paused to make sure she looked modestly presentable - a somewhat difficult task with a literal supermodel standing beside her.  Once confident in her appearance, the one aspect of this she had complete control over, she took a deep breath and let it out in one long sigh.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered before raising her hand and ringing the bell.

Her nerves returned when footsteps approached, but she wouldn’t back down now.  Not that she even had time to as the door soon opened, revealing an almost spitting image of Blake.

“Yang!  What’re you doing here?”

“Hi, Mrs. -”

“Don’t you dare call me Mrs. Belladonna,” Blake’s mom interrupted before pulling Yang into a hug.

“Kali,” Yang corrected herself.  “I’ll get used to it one day, promise.”

“Or you could skip Kali and call me ‘Mom,’” Kali added with a sly smile that made Yang’s cheeks warm.

Kali always caught Yang off guard by making comments like that, which Yang then overanalyzed trying to figure out exactly what they meant.  This time though, she wasn’t the only one taken by surprise.  When she snuck a glance Pyrrha’s way, checking if her friend interpreted the suggestion the same way, she found Pyrrha’s brow raised in surprise.

“Um, sorry to bother,” Yang said to keep the conversation moving.  “We were just in the neighborhood and thought we’d stop by.”

When Yang motioned towards Pyrrha, Kali’s eyes widened with recognition.

“Oh - you’re Pyrrha Nikos,” she said while Pyrrha gave her a kind smile.

“Please call me Pyrrha.”

As Pyrrha reached out to shake Kali’s hand, Kali laughed - a bright, happy laugh that reminded Yang so much of Blake.

“And you can call me Kali.  But come in, come in.”

With Kali waving them through the doorway, Yang sent Pyrrha one last look before walking inside.

The Belladonna’s home looked just like she remembered it from the few times she’d visited before - quaint, cozy, and bright.  Her heart warmed as memories of those prior visits floated to the top of her mind.  Each time, she’d learned something new and downright adorable about Blake.  Blake was usually mortified at the creative ways her parents found to embarrass her, but Yang thought it was incredible.

“What a great surprise,” Kali continued as she led them further into the entryway.  “Ghira?” she called upstairs, confirming Blake’s dad was home and prompting another small burst of nerves at the same time.  “Can you come down here?  We have visitors.”

A muffled acknowledgment drifted down to their ears as Kali turned back to Pyrrha and Yang.  Her eyes sparkled with delight at the unexpected company, which seemed like a good start to this...endeavor.  At least Yang wasn’t interrupting important plans or anything like that.  The last thing she wanted to do was rush through such an important conversation.

“Would you like something to eat or drink?” Kali offered while they waited for Blake’s dad to arrive.

“Oh, I think we’re good.”

Yang turned to Pyrrha for confirmation, but Kali was already shaking her head.

“Nonsense.  You can’t come over and not eat.  Just wait a minute and I’ll scrounge up something.”

Before Yang could insist that they were really fine, Kali motioned for them to wait and hurried into the kitchen.  No sooner had Kali disappeared did Pyrrha nudge Yang’s side.

“‘Mom?’” she whispered, her arched brow suggesting far more than the word did.

“I know, right?  I think that’s a good thing?”

Yang actually wasn’t sure if Kali’s offer was a positive sign or not - she went back and forth between thinking Kali was just very kind or that Kali really wanted another daughter - but Pyrrha responded with a look of disbelief.

“I can’t tell if you’re joking right now...”

Before Yang could explain her reasoning, which she’d overthought quite a bit by now, Blake’s dad appeared at the top of the stairs.  As soon as he spotted them, he smiled and hurried down the steps.

“Yang!”

“Hey Mr. Be-”

That was all Yang got out before he wrapped her in a big, crushing hug.  It was like being hugged by a bear.  A very friendly, very strong bear.

“We haven’t seen you in forever!”  Once the hug ended, he held Yang out at arm’s length.  “How have you been?  And where’s my little girl?”

After briefly searching for Blake as if she might be hiding in the foyer somewhere, he gave up and smiled at Pyrrha instead.  As usual, his welcoming nature and untempered love for his daughter made Yang smile.

“Blake’s wrapping up a meeting with her publisher,” she explained.  “But this is my friend, Pyrrha.  We were in the neighborhood and thought we’d stop by.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Pyrrha,” he told Pyrrha while extending his hand for a handshake.  “We just saw that new billboard of yours downtown.”

“Isn’t it gigantic?” Yang asked, much to his amusement and Pyrrha’s embarrassment.

“It’s pretty large -”

“But gorgeous,” Blake’s mom added as she rejoined the conversation.  “I’m making some tea,” she informed them, subtly suggesting there would be no leaving until they shared at least one cup together.

“Would you like a tour?” she offered Pyrrha.  “It might not be much, but it’s always treated us well.”

“Your home is lovely,” Pyrrha replied with a kind smile.  “And I’d love a tour.”

“Ghira, why don’t you show them around?”  Blake’s dad happily accepted the task, but Kali gestured for them to wait.  “But first, let me take a picture of you two.”

“Kali…”

“Oh shush, Ghira,” she said while pulling out her phone and motioning for Yang and Pyrrha to move closer together.  “We need to put up more pictures of Yang anyway.  On three, girls - one...two...three.”

Yang smiled on ‘three’ then watched Blake’s mom look at the screen.  Evidently pleased with the outcome, Kali hummed to herself before picking up one of the framed photographs on the entryway table and showing it to Pyrrha.

“We love having photos of Yang around here,” Kali explained while Pyrrha looked at a picture of Yang and Blake from their last visit.

“You put that one right here?” Yang asked as soon as she saw it.

“Of course!”

“I was having such a bad hair day though…” she joked, smiling when Blake’s parents laughed.

“Sorry, Sweetie, but there’s no such thing as a bad hair day with family.”

The response, and the adoring look Kali gave the picture while setting it down, filled Yang’s heart with love and butterflies.  Blake’s parents had always been extremely nice to her, sometimes going as far as doting on her.  She’d never expected them to welcome her so quickly and easily into their lives, and Blake’s life, but she felt so fortunate that they did.

But that could also be part of the reason why she was so nervous.  She didn’t want to say or do anything that made them think worse of her or treat her differently, especially not when the way things were made Blake incredibly happy too.

They might consider her family, but did that mean they’d want her to marry their daughter?  She hoped so, and sometimes thought so, but...there was a big difference between being ‘the girlfriend’ and ‘the daughter-in-law.’

“Alright, honey, give them a tour now.  I’ll check on the tea.”

Waving Ghira away, Kali smiled and gently squeezed Yang’s wrist before heading back to the kitchen.  The small gesture didn’t go unnoticed by Pyrrha, who sent Yang another look - this one caught somewhere between disbelief and amusement.

“Ok, girls,” Ghira said while leading Yang and Pyrrha away from the front door.  “Welcome to our home.  Kali and I have lived for the past...twenty years or so.”

“Twenty-three!” Kali called out from the kitchen, to which he chuckled and shook his head.

“The past twenty-three years,” he corrected before waving towards the open doorway on the right side of the entryway.  “There’s the living room,” he explained before motioning to the left.  “The kitchen and dining room are through there.  Then upstairs, we have the bedrooms.  I’m guessing you’ll want to see Blake’s.”

“Always.”  As if that needed anymore saying, Yang added several fervent nods to express her interest.  “I love seeing where Blake grew up,” she added while she and Pyrrha followed Ghira upstairs.  “It’s like seeing a little piece of what she was like as a kid.”

“That’s why we’ve kept it the way she left it.”  Turning right at the top of the stairs, Ghira led them to Blake’s old bedroom and pushed the door open.  “I think we found some new baby videos for you, too.”

“You didn’t,” Yang gasped, her smile growing when he laughed and nodded.

“They were stuck in some old boxes we never unpacked.  Kali and I figured we could watch them the next time you’re over for dinner.”

“So you’re free tonight?” Yang joked, smiling as he laughed and motioned her into Blake’s room.  Learning that more baby Blake videos were in her future was enough to make this trip a success.  So successful, in fact, that maybe she didn’t need to bring up the question that brought her here…

“This looks...exactly how I’d expect it to,” Pyrrha commented as she stood in the center of Blake’s room and looked around.

“Right?”

Standing beside Pyrrha, Yang spun in a slow circle to soak in as much of the atmosphere as possible.  While small, the room was unmistakably Blake’s.  From the bookshelves stuffed with books to the notebooks crammed onto the desk (none of them were diaries - Yang already checked), the room had retained Blake’s personality long after she moved out.

Being here always made Yang wish that she’d met Blake years earlier, like in college or even high school.  Even though the additional years of maturity meant they were ready for a long-term relationship when they finally met, she was positive they would have hit it off regardless.  She could just imagine lounging on Blake’s bed reading a magazine while Blake did homework or wrote in her notebooks.  Blake would probably coerce her into doing her own homework before too long, but she would have done so willingly as long as they got to spend time together.

“She was always so independent,” Ghira commented while Yang looked at the pictures still sitting on the bookshelves.  “We figured she was more likely to end up alone than settle down with someone.  Then you came along.”

When Yang turned towards Ghira, he smiled and nodded at her.

“Never thought she’d choose an actress,” he added while wrapping an arm around Yang’s shoulders and pulling her close.  “Can’t say I’m complaining.  I’ll support whatever makes her happy, and that’s you.”

Yang’s heart just about burst from the kind words and even kinder smile aimed her way, but Pyrrha beat her to a response.

“That’s so sweet…”  Pyrrha looked between the two of them before smiling at Ghira.  “I remember feeling the same way about Yang - never thought she’d end up with someone so calm and composed, but now I can’t imagine her with anyone else.”

In just a few sentences, Pyrrha completely won over Ghira.  Now positively beaming, he reached over and patted her shoulder.

“Sometimes you never know who you’ll end up with.”  Thinking about the statement, he chuckled and shook his head.  “Never thought I’d meet the woman of my dreams handcuffed to a table in the police station either.”

“Handcuffed...to a table?” Pyrrha repeated while following him back into the hall.

“Oh, it was nothing serious,” he added as they went.  “She just got into a little tussle at a protest, that’s all.”

“Why do I feel like there’s more of a story there…?”

While Ghira laughed at the memory, Yang took one last look around Blake’s room before following.  Imagining Blake’s life in this warm, humble home always put her at ease, somehow.  As if she could feel the love, laughter, and happiness shared within these walls.

One of the first things Yang had fallen in love with was how grounded and real Blake was.  Even though accomplished in her own right, she didn’t let success go to her head.  She believed in being a good person while following her dreams, and she knew that ego never got anyone very far.

Celebrity never had and never would matter to her - that was how Yang knew that Blake loved her for her, not for her name.  The movie posters, red carpets, and glamour didn’t work on someone who didn’t care about status, and that knowledge had only made her fall more in love.

“This is one of the spare rooms,” Ghira was telling Pyrrha by the time Yang caught up to them down the hall.  “If you ever need a place to stay, you’re more than welcome here.  Any friend of Yang’s is a friend of ours.”

“That’s so kind of you.”

Looking genuinely grateful for the offer, Pyrrha lightly tapped her fingers to her heart and smiled.

“Ghira?” Kali called upstairs then.  “Are you done yet?”

“Just gotta show them the yard!” he answered before motioning them back to the staircase.  “The yard is my favorite part of the entire house.”

“Technically not even in the house,” Yang pointed out, smiling when he laughed at her joke.  Noticing Pyrrha’s look, she mouthed ‘what?’ while they headed downstairs together.

Maybe she was telling more horrible jokes than usual, but she couldn’t help it.  When she got nervous, she told jokes or made a fool of herself.  Considering she wanted Kali and Ghira’s approval to marry their daughter, making a fool of herself didn’t seem like the best options right now.  Maybe after she and Blake got married...

“The yard’s been my project ever since Blake moved out,” Ghira explained while leading them onto the back patio.

He wasn’t joking when he said the yard had been his project for years and years now; it literally looked different every time Yang saw it.  The flowers and shrubs were immaculately trimmed, as usual, but the latest addition was a firepit sitting amidst several patio chairs.  There used to be benches, but apparently those had been removed in favor of creating a comfortable conversation area in the center of the pristine yard.

“Is that for s’mores?”

When Yang pointed at the firepit, Ghira chuckled.

“I made a steak over it the other day.”

“Really?”

While Yang was slightly baffled at the thought of cooking steak over an open flame, he patted his stomach and grinned.

“It was excellent.  I’ll make one for you sometime!”

Knowing better than to decline the offer, she just smiled as if that sounded wonderful.  For all she knew, maybe it tasted great.  The only thing she’d ever cooked over a fire was a marshmallow on a stick, so she wasn’t exactly an expert.

“Do you garden?” Pyrrha asked after spotting the elaborate setup on one side of the yard.

“I do!  Got a pretty green thumb, if I do say so myself.”

While he beamed, Yang playfully grabbed his hand and looked at his thumb.

“Huh.”  Even though his thumb was perfectly normal - although just as massive as the rest of his bear claw - she playfully nodded.  “You’re right, I never noticed that before!”

Again, he laughed - and this time rustled her hair a little too.  And again, Pyrrha sent her a look that said the joke wasn’t that funny.  This was one of the reasons she loved Blake’s dad though - they shared the same sense of humor!  Blake groaned pretty often whenever the two of them got on a roll, but Yang had it on good authority that she found the jokes funny too.

“But that’s about all there is to it,” he began only to be cut off by Yang’s phone ringing.

“Oh, sorry,” she said while scrambling to pull it out of her pocket.  As soon as she saw the name on the screen, she smiled and held it up for him to see.  “It’s Blake.  I should get this.”

The news somehow made him even happier, as he smiled and said, “Come on inside when you’re done” before heading inside.  After flashing a thumbs up at the instruction, Yang motioned for Pyrrha to stay put and answered the call.

“Hey gorgeous!  What’s up?”

“Yang, what’re you and Pyrrha doing at my parents’ house?”

“What?”  Caught off guard by the question, Yang glanced at Pyrrha before nervously laughing.  “What makes you ask that?”

“My mom just texted me a picture of you and Pyrrha.”

“Oh...”  Presented with that damning evidence, Yang knew there was no hedging her way out of this one.  “Yeah, uh, that’s because we’re over here.”

“I can see that,” Blake replied with a laugh.  “I was wondering why.”

“Oh, just because - um, could you hold on a second?”

Before Blake replied, Yang lowered the phone and motioned Pyrrha over.  Apparently, frantic hand gestures were enough to capture the model’s attention, as she quickly walked over and gave Yang a concerned look.

“What?”

“It’s Blake,” Yang whispered, covering the speaker and holding the phone away from her.  “She knows we’re here!  What do we do?”

“Well, if she knows we’re here -”

“She wants to know why we’re here.”

“Then tell her we just stopped by.”

“But I can’t lie to her!  Even if I try, she’ll know.”

“And you don’t think this will clue her in,” Pyrrha responded while motioning to what Yang was doing right now.

Maybe this was a little suspicious, but the situation had just swung closer to the worst case scenario.

Actually, the worst case scenario was that Blake’s parents said no, then Blake said no.  Since neither of those things had happened yet, this was the worst thing Yang could imagine.  She couldn’t tell Blake the real reason she was here, but she didn’t want to lie.  Not that she could lie anyway.

“Just...you talk to her.”

When Yang held out the phone, Pyrrha immediately backed away and shook her head.

“She’s your girlfriend,” she mouthed.

“Please?”

Yang added her best pleading expression with the request.  Fortunately, her best pleading look was pretty damn good - Pyrrha quickly caved.

“Fine,” she said before grabbing the phone and holding it up to her ear.

“Hey Blake, it’s Pyrrha.  Yes, Yang’s fine.  If you count her normal amount of crazy as ‘fine.’”  When Pyrrha smiled at the cheeky comment, Yang made a face.  “We were in the area,” Pyrrha continued unphased.  “And Yang wanted to stop by and say hi.  Your parents are lovely, by the way.  They’re very gracious to put up with her.”

Hearing Blake’s laughter through the speaker, Yang put her hands on her hips and shook her head at Pyrrha.  Pyrrha, however, listened for a few seconds before nodding.

“Ok, I’ll let her know.  Take care.”

Knowing only one side of the conversation, Yang immediately motioned for Pyrrha to tell her what Blake said.  Pyrrha, however, casually ended the call and returned the phone with a smile.

“She says to call her when you’re free, and she knows you’re up to something.”

Sighing at the response, Yang pocketed her phone and ran a hand through her hair.

“Alright,” she said before forcing a smile.  “I can deal with that, I think.”

“Recent evidence to the contrary.”

“She caught me off guard!” Yang protested while Pyrrha laughed and shook her head.  “Now that I know she knows, I can think of something that throws her off the scent.”

“Like what?”

After thinking about the situation, which was now more complicated than expected, she snapped her fingers when the perfect solution came to mind.

“I’ll tell her I’m working on a surprise for her.”

“And that will work...how, exactly?”

“Then she’ll stop asking!”  Sensing Pyrrha’s obvious disbelief, Yang nodded.  “It’ll work.  She loves surprises - she loves my surprises, at least - so she won’t pry until I get it all planned.”

“How long will that take?”

“Could be a while,” Yang admitted.  Considering it took weeks just to make it this far, she had no idea how long the rest of this would take.  “But step one is today,” she added, smiling as her determination returned.

“Girls?”  Poking her head outside, Kali smiled when she found them.  “The tea’s ready.  We can sit in the living room and catch up?”

“Sure!  We’ll be right there.”

As soon as Kali nodded and ducked back into the house, Yang’s smile disappeared.

“Oh god.”

Now that the moment was upon her, she felt a little bit like she might throw up.  But she couldn’t throw up.  Not only would that be disgusting, but it would totally ruin the moment.  No way could she ask for permission to marry Blake after puking all over the back porch.  That, and Blake would never let her live it down.

“I can do this, right?” she asked, turning to Pyrrha for support.  “I can ask them if I can marry their daughter?  Who’s more precious to them than...anything in the world, probably?”

She expected a pat on the back or some other encouragement - all she got was a look of disbelief.

“You realize they adore you, right?” Pyrrha pointed out, but Yang waved away the assurance.

“I don’t want them to stop adoring me!”

“Why would they stop adoring you when you tell them you want to love their daughter even more than you already do?”

“I don’t know!”  After running her hands through her hair, Yang took a deep breath and let it out in one long exhale.  “Ok, I can do this.  You’re right - they like me, so why wouldn’t they want me to marry their one-and-only daughter?”

“Yang, they’re already asking you to call them ‘mom’ and ‘dad.’”

“Yeah, that’s sweet, right?”

“It’s more than sweet,” Pyrrha said before sighing and setting her hands on Yang’s shoulders.  “They’ve already accepted you into their family, don’t you see that?  Now the only thing you have to do is...make it official.”

On an ordinary day, without this huge question looming over her head, that was exactly how Yang felt.  Blake’s parents were part of her extended family, and she knew that they would only grow closer as time went on.  In Kali, she’d found the teasing, mothering figure she’d missed for most of her childhood.  And in Ghira, she found her partner-in-jokes.

“You’re right,” she breathed out before nodding.  “You’re right.  They’re like my family already, and I want to be a part of theirs, so…I should ask.”

“You should,” Pyrrha replied, still holding Yang’s shoulder while leading her inside.  “And I’m glad I’m here to witness it - they’re going to be thrilled.”

“I hope so…” Yang muttered as they made their way into the living room.  There, Kali and Ghira sat on the sofa, idly chatting to one another before noticing Yang and Pyrrha’s presence.

“Ah, there you are.”  Ever the hostess, Kali motioned towards the steaming cups of tea on the coffee table.  “I made your favorite.”

“Which is conveniently Blake’s favorite,” Yang pointed out while picking up one of the mugs and taking one of the chairs near the fireplace.  Taking a sip of the hot, floral tea, she sighed happily.

“You always have the best tea,” she said while carefully holding the cup in her lap.

“Thanks to years of buying every different kind I could get my hands on,” Kali replied with a laugh.  “Courtesy of a certain tea-drinking daughter.”

“But your hard work paid off!  Now I know exactly what brands and flavors to buy.”

While Blake’s parents laughed, Yang gave Pyrrha a meaningful nod.  If Blake was borderline obsessive about anything, it was her tea.  Not all tea was made equal, apparently.  But, after much trial and error, Yang could now list all of Blake’s favorites in order of preference based on mood and weather.  If that didn’t make her worthy of spending the rest of their lives together, she didn’t know what did.

“We watched one of your movies the other day,” Kali continued while Yang sipped the tea, willing it to give her strength.

“Again?”

“It’s fun to watch now that we know you.  Although…”  Leaning forward, Kali raised one hand to her mouth and lowered her voice to say, “Ghira always skips the part where you ‘die.’”

“I can’t watch that again,” he explained.  “Makes me want to tear those bandits limb from limb...”

When he made a wringing motion with his hands, Yang chuckled and held out a hand to stop him.

“No need for that!  I’m just fine, see?”

“I skip that part too,” Pyrrha admitted before giving Yang a thoughtful look.  “There’s something really painful about it.  Even if you know it’s not real, it makes you think about if it was...”

Sensing the consensus of the room - a feeling Blake shared, which was why Yang had to spoil any fake death, near-death experiences, or even modest injuries - she tried to lighten the mood.

“You’re going to make me blush,” she joked.  “Didn’t realize I was that good at acting.”

“You’re very believable.”  After patting Ghira’s knee to cheer him up, Kali smiled and turned her attention to Yang.  “You’re still working on the last film, right?”

“Yeah!  We’re wrapping up in just a couple weeks.”

“Do you know what you’ll do next?”

“Not yet.”  Yang’s knee jittered up and down now, so she kept the cup of tea far away from it.  “I have a few good offers, but I think I’ll take a little time off first.  Spend a month or two with Blake, just...hanging out.  Or travel.  Maybe I can convince her to take a break and go to a beach or something.”

Honestly, if she got things in order, if she finally asked, and if Blake said yes, the upcoming break could be the perfect time to celebrate their engagement.  That was a lot of ‘if’s...but thinking about the possibility was enough for her to get goosebumps.

“But we’ll see,” she concluded with a smile.  “Everything’s still up in the air.”

“If you can convince Blake to take a break, you’ll have accomplished the impossible.”  While Ghira chuckled at the comment, his wife nodded from beside him.  “She’ll hardly stop and smell the roses,” he added.  “Not even the roses I nurtured from tiny seeds into adults!”

“She smelled those,” Kali reminded him.  “I saw her.”

“But only for a second…” he grumbled while Yang chuckled and took another sip of tea.

Even though she hadn’t had many conversations with them without Blake around, this was far more comfortable than expected.  She could probably sit here and shoot the breeze with them for hours.  Going over their lives, cracking jokes, or - her personal favorite - talking about Blake.  In Blake’s parents, she’d found two people just as willing to fawn over Blake as she was.  Maybe that was why she liked them so much…

They would make great parents-in-law.  And if Yang wanted to one day call them as much, she had to put herself out there and hope for their acceptance.

“About Blake,” she began only for her resolve to flutter when they turned towards her.

“There’s something Yang wanted to ask you,” Pyrrha added before Yang could even consider a diversion.  She sent Pyrrha a look of disbelief instead, but Pyrrha simply smiled and said, “That’s why you invited me, and you know it.”

Pyrrha was probably right, but Yang would never admit as much.  She also couldn’t back out of the question now, as Blake’s parents looked at her with various degrees of confusion and concern.  She had to ask them now and...it was terrifying, but also really exciting.

She wanted to marry Blake more than anything, and this was the first step.  She would take millions of steps for Blake, over glass or lava if she had to.  In comparison, this was a walk in the park.

“Ok.”

Decision made, she set her teacup on the coffee table and wiped her clammy palms on her sides.

“Pyrrha’s right, I wanted to ask you something important.  It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now and...I just don’t want to wait forever.”

Now that she had their full, undivided attention, she took a deep breath and focused on her favorite thing in the world - Blake.

“I love your daughter more than anything,” she said, knowing that was the only place to start.  “She’s the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful person I’ve ever met.  I’m so lucky to have her in my life, and over the past few months I’ve been thinking that...”

With her love for Blake bubbling to the surface, impossible to contain any longer, she took a deep breath and smiled at the man and woman she also wanted in her life forever.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with her.  So, if you’re ok with it...I want to ask her to marry me.”

In the brief silence that followed, Yang worried she hadn’t said enough.  Then Kali and Ghira exchanged looks.

Then they were smiling.

And suddenly...it felt like her heart might burst from happiness.

“Of course you can,” Ghira said while Kali hurried over and pulled Yang into a hug.  That was everything Yang had wanted and hoped to hear, but she still looked at him as if she hadn’t heard that right.

“Really?”  Numbly returning Kali’s hug, she held Ghira’s gaze as he stood and joined them.  “Are you sure?”

“Of course we are, sweetie,” Kali replied, laughing as she held onto Yang’s shoulders.  “We’ve been waiting for this day for a while now.”

“We thought Blake might beat you to it,” Ghira added along with a chuckle and reassuring pat on Yang’s back.

“What?  ...really?”

“You should hear the way she talks about you.”  After giving Yang another hug, Kali motioned for her to sit on the sofa beside them.  “So don’t worry about us.  You have our full support.”

Now that Yang knew their answer, and saw it in their sparkling eyes, she couldn’t believe she’d ever been so nervous.  A glance Pyrrha’s way confirmed that her friend was thinking the same thing, but that was all water under the bridge now.

They said yes.  They liked and trusted her enough to let her marry their only daughter.

As long as Blake said yes too.  But...Blake would say yes, wouldn’t she?

“Now the most important question,” Kali said, erasing those future concerns by patting Yang’s knee.  “How are you going to ask?”

“Honestly?”  Focusing on how relieved she felt right now, Yang laughed and shook her head.  “No idea.”

“Do you have a ring?”

“Uh, nope.  Not yet.  I wanted to talk to you guys first, so...guess you could say I’m still on step one.”

“Step two now,” Pyrrha pointed out.

“Yeah, step two,” Yang agreed with a grin.  “Now I have a lot of planning to do.”

Now that she knew she could ask without hurting anyone’s feelings or making anyone upset, she would throw herself into planning with every spare thought and moment she had.  She had to buy a ring.  She had to figure out what to say, when to say it, and where.  She had to hope Blake didn’t catch wind of this before everything came together.

“Fortunately, I have a couple great helpers.”

When Yang winked Pyrrha’s way, Pyrrha didn’t even roll her eyes.  Instead, she smiled and dipped her chin.

“You know I’ll help however I can.”

“Thanks, Pyrrha.”  After smiling at her best friend, who was there whenever Yang needed her, Yang sighed and looked around the room.  “And there’s Ruby too,” she added.  “Between the three of us, we’ll have something figured out in no time.”

“That’s so exciting.”  Again, Kali reached over and patted Yang’s knee.  “Really, we couldn’t be happier for you two.”

“Thank you.  And you, uh, won’t tell Blake, right?”

“Of course not.”  While Kali shook her head, Ghira did the same.  “We’d never ruin that surprise for her, but when you decide how you’ll ask -”

“I’ll make sure to let you know.”

With that settled, Yang leaned back against the sofa and smiled.  So many thoughts raced through her mind right now, but she was thrilled by everything that just happened and everything she felt right now.

“I’m really excited too,” she added to no one in particular before glancing at Pyrrha.  Looking at Pyrrha reminded her of her other obligations though, and she quickly leaned forward to check the time.

“Whoot, we should get going, huh?”  Once Pyrrha checked the time and made a ‘yes, possibly’ gesture, Yang smiled at Blake’s parents.  “Pyrrha’s so popular now, I can only borrow her by the hour.  If I don’t get her back on time, I get charged double.”

“I have an agency party tonight,” Pyrrha explained while carefully setting her cup of tea on the table and standing up.  “I’d love to skip it, but…”

“It’s required attendance?” Yang offered as she also stood to leave.

“Unfortunately.”

“That’s more than ok.”  After lightly slapping her husband’s leg, Kali stood and motioned them into the entryway.  “It was very nice to meet you, Pyrrha.”

“You too,” Pyrrha replied with a polite nod.  “Thank you for letting us take some of your time.”

“Oh there’s no need for thanks.  This was more than worth the visit.”

When Kali smiled at Yang again, Yang walked over to give her one last hug goodbye.

“Thanks for coming to see us,” Kali added in a soft voice while patting Yang’s back.

“Of course.”

Once the hug ended, Yang smiled as familiar amber eyes gave her a look of appreciation that warmed her heart.  Turning towards Ghira next, she raised her arms for a hug.

“Try not to break any ribs?” she asked, only for him to laugh and pick her right off the floor.

“Come back soon so we can watch those videos,” he reminded her before setting her back down.

“Oh definitely.  Can’t wait to see more of adorable little Blake.”  When they both smiled at the thought, and Ghira set his hand on Kali’s shoulder, Yang backed towards the door with a smile of her own.  “Hopefully, I’ll have an update for you soon.”

Leaving the conversation at that, she opened the door and hurried outside.  As soon as Pyrrha joined her on the patio and the door closed, she looked up at the sky and sighed.

“What a relief,” she breathed out, only to look over and smile curiously when Pyrrha laughed.  “What?”

“You’re getting married,” Pyrrha replied, and Yang’s cheeks instantly flushed.

“We don’t know that yet -”

“Please.  Blake will say yes, then you’ll have to plan a wedding, then the two of you will be married.”

“Jesus, Pyrrha.”  Hunching over and gripping her chest, Yang tried to control the wave of happy and fluttery emotions that sentence caused.  “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Of course not.”  The smile on Pyrrha’s lips suggested otherwise as she led them back to the car.  “But this will be fun.”

‘Fun’ might be a stretch, but one thing was for certain - Yang had never felt more blessed than she did at this moment.  She had wonderful friends, wonderful family, and the most amazing girl to call her own.  Honestly, if Blake agreed to marry her, she would be the luckiest person alive.

“Thanks for coming with me.”  Meaning those words in their fullest, she looped her arm through Pyrrha’s and pulled her friend close.  “Probably couldn’t have done it without you.”

“No need to thank me.  You know I’m more than happy to help.”  After the two of them shared a smile - the type of smile that said no other gratitude was necessary - Yang squeezed Pyrrha’s arm and waved a hand out in front of them.

“Alright, now you have to help me come up with the best way to propose.”

“I was worried you’d say that…”