Always by Your Side - Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Glancing at the clock for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour, Blake sighed and kept pacing in front of her desk.  Mistakenly, she thought she’d be able to read or write - or be the least bit productive - while waiting.  Instead, she paced across her room while the minutes slowly ticked by.

After the unexpected, emotionally-draining conversation she had with her parents today, she’d sought out Yang’s presence only to remember that Yang was away from the palace at the moment.  Without Yang’s gentle, never-ending support to calm her down, her emotions roiled in her chest and captured every corner of her mind.

Her parents had noticed her souring mood and finally asked what was wrong.  At first, she tried to pretend it was nothing, as any good, capable princess would do.  But they pressed, and she admitted that the constant dates and suitors were wearing on her.

She’d expected a reminder that life as a royal wasn’t easy.  Instead, they immediately called off the search for her future husband and apologized for putting too much pressure on her.  Her mother, surprisingly, grasped that adding responsibilities and asking her to start a relationship at the same time had been too much.

Blake didn’t mention that her new responsibilities weren’t so bad now that she’d gotten the hang of them, or that the steady stream of appearances didn’t make her nervous the way they used to.  It helped that she enjoyed the praise Yang gave her after each one, which she looked forward to earning each and every time.

She let them believe adding a relationship was too much for her.  What else was she supposed to do -  tell them she already found someone outside of their wishes?  That while they planned for Menagerie’s future, she fell more in love with the person assigned to protect her?

Not mentioning Yang had been difficult.  The entire conversation had been difficult.  But the worst part was not being able to run and tell Yang every detail as soon as it ended.  Instead, Blake was forced to wait, and waiting made her yearn for Yang’s presence like never before.

Her parent’s decision was a relief in many ways, but she couldn’t escape the dread that this was only a reprieve - a stay of execution.  They’d already put the objective out there - now, she knew what her future held.  So, even though she intended to enjoy her extended time with Yang as much as possible, she knew that their time was still more limited than she wanted.

Yang knew it too.  She was better at hiding it, but Blake sensed it in her hesitancy to move further than they already had.  She was protecting her heart because she knew this would eventually end, and Blake couldn’t blame her.

That didn’t stop Blake from wanting all of Yang’s heart, but it meant she didn’t dare ask for it.  She tried to be content with what they already had, but that was harder to do with each passing day.  Every time she saw Yang’s smile or felt the subtle warmth of Yang’s presence, the desire to make Yang hers - in every sense of the word - only grew stronger.

Those thoughts flitted from her mind the instant someone knocked on the door.  Knowing that knock anywhere, she hurried to answer it.

“Come in,” she said while already halfway across the room.  Her stride only quickened when the person she’d missed so dearly stepped through the door.

“You’re back.”

Yang hardly had time to close the door before Blake reached her, wrapped both arms around her neck, and pulled her down for a kiss.

The moment their lips touched, Blake’s hesitance to move forward melted away.  She knew they shouldn’t, and that they were, in some ways, scared to, but when Yang kissed her like this…

The greedy, affectionate kisses sent fire roaring through Blake’s veins.  She’d ignored that fire so many times before, knowing it led nowhere but heartbreak, but tonight...it burned so brightly, she gave in.

While effortlessly deepening the kiss, she grabbed Yang by the front of her jacket and pulled her away from the door - destination, Blake’s bed, if they made it that far.  Once Yang started walking forward, chasing Blake’s lips as if the past few days had been hard for her too, Blake reached up and shoved the jacket off her shoulders.  A few shrugs later, it fell to the ground - an unnecessary barrier between them when they already had too many.

But it wasn’t enough.  Their hungry, passionate kisses - Yang’s hands on the small of her back, teasing the hem of her shirt - none of it was enough.  Emboldened by sheer desire, Blake slid her hands up the front of Yang’s shirt before grasping the top button and quickly undoing it.

“Easy there, Princess...” Yang murmured against Blake’s lips, but Blake didn’t stop.  And she didn’t tell Yang not to call her Princess either, because Yang didn’t use the term in the same way anymore.  She wasn’t calling Blake the Princess of Menagerie.  She was calling Blake...her princess.

Blake wanted to be Yang’s princess more than anything in the world.  So, even though she knew why they held back - neither of them wanting to throw their heart into this knowing they would get hurt - she pressed forward.  As soon as the top four buttons were unfastened, she pulled Yang’s shirt open and felt her lips falter.

“God…” she breathed out, pausing their kisses as her eyes locked onto Yang’s breasts.  Having groped, fondled, and stared at them so many times by now, she couldn’t describe how turned on the sight made her.

With Yang’s shirt out of the way, she leaned forward and kissed Yang’s collarbone.  Yang’s soft moan didn’t tell her to stop - nothing Yang was doing right now told her to stop - so she kissed every bit of skin she could get her lips on.  All over Yang’s collar, her heart, and then…

“Do you always wear lace?” she asked while sliding her finger along the edge of the bra cup, noticing Yang’s responding shudder.

“I, uh, like to look nice.”

Smiling at the disjointed response, Blake trailed her fingers along the base of Yang’s bra and gave her the opportunity to pull away.  But Yang didn’t pull away.  Her hands clutched Blake’s sides instead, providing all the encouragement Blake needed to push Yang’s bra up and out of the way.

She wanted Yang now more than ever before, but she still stopped and stared at Yang’s chest as another line fell behind them.  Her breaths were already heavy, spurred on by rampant lust that only grew when Yang looked at her through half-lidded eyes begging for more.

If Yang wanted more, Blake would deliver.  Leaning forward, she pressed greedy kisses up and down Yang’s breasts, silently marveling at just how soft they were.  After covering both with quick kisses, she lavished one with her full attention - kissing, licking, and sucking on it while her hand explored the other.

When Yang dropped her head back and let out a low, throaty moan, Blake felt a sharp pang of desire between her legs.  They’d always stopped themselves before this point, but now the temperature between them was rising, and Blake didn’t want to stop until they followed this mounting pleasure to its conclusion.

With that desire taking over, Blake slid her free hand up Yang’s inner thigh before pressing it between her legs.  A second, louder moan only spurred Blake on, making her suck harder on Yang’s nipple while pressing harder and rougher between her legs.  The breathy gasps and moans slipping through Yang’s lips were driving Blake crazy with lust, but the fabric of Yang’s pants fought against any friction she wanted to create.

Yang’s pants had to come off.  So, with her lips still latched onto Yang’s breast, Blake lowered her other hand and fumbled with the button.

When someone suddenly rapped on the door, Yang broke away from Blake like lightning.  Quickly pulling her bra back into place and redoing her buttons, she headed towards the door without a pause.  She even grabbed her jacket from the floor on the way, and - after sweeping a hand through her hair - had everything back in place by the time she opened the door.

Whoever was outside murmured a few words, but Blake couldn’t pick them out over her heartbeat pounding in her ears.  When Yang accepted a tray holding a teapot and teacup, however, she understood.

“Thank you,” Yang told whoever had delivered Blake’s afternoon tea before closing the door and bringing it over.  After setting the tray on the coffee table, she straightened up, clasped her hands in front of her, and cleared her throat.

“I, uh, still need to debrief everyone.  I just...came to see you first.”

“Thank you.”  Still trying to come down from the rush of adrenaline, Blake took several seconds to compose herself before sighing.  “I missed you…”

“I was only gone a few days,” Yang replied, her eyes sparkling in amusement as she returned to Blake.

“It was still too long...” Blake muttered while Yang’s hands settled on her waist.  The contact reassured her that what happened hadn’t been too much.  Or, at the very least, they’d both consented to crossing those boundaries regardless of the potential fallout.

“I’m sorry...the place was bigger than I expected.  It took a while to find all the exits and come up with a plan.”

Blake hummed at the explanation, but it only added to her troubles.  Yang had proven herself to be one of the most capable members of the security staff, and the rest of the palace was starting to take notice.  Her responsibilities were increasing and, right along with them, Blake’s worry.

Blake didn’t want Yang taken away from her, but she couldn’t exactly tell Yang to be worse at her job.  She could easily be head of security if she wanted to be...but Blake didn’t want her to want that.

Blake didn’t want Yang to be with anyone else, period.  She was selfish.  And Yang made her happy.  She didn’t think it was a leap to believe that she made Yang happy too, so why couldn’t they just be...happy together?  Why did the world insist on tearing them apart?  And why was there nothing Blake could do to stop it?

But...why couldn’t she stop it?

She was the Princess of Menagerie.  There was no rule that she had to marry into another royal family.  There was no rule that she couldn’t date a palace employee.  It was uncommon, unheard of, and unlikely - but it wasn’t against any rules.  At least, it wasn’t as long as her parents said it wasn’t.

“I want to tell my parents,” she blurted out.  Yang immediately froze, her eyes wide and her posture stiff as she stared down at Blake.

“I want to tell them about us,” Blake repeated, feeling more certain and determined the longer she thought about it.  Maybe foolishly, she thought Yang would be happy, or excited, perhaps.  Instead, Yang’s smile was feeble, at best.

“What’s wrong?  Do you...not want them to know?”

The thought hurt more than Blake would have expected.  She’d always assumed Yang wanted to be with her like she wanted to be with Yang, but maybe...

“That’s not it.”  Gently running her fingers through Blake’s hair, Yang gave a smile that was both sad and...scared.  “I just...don’t want to lose you...”

Understanding Yang’s greatest fear - that Blake’s parents would order them apart and force them to never see each other again - Blake shook her head.

“That will never happen,” she said while brushing her fingers across Yang’s cheek, feeling her heart race like crazy.

Worry and uncertainty filled Yang’s eyes, but Blake knew this was the right thing to do.  Their only other option was passively waiting for the heartbreak to reach them, but she refused to do that any longer.  She might be a princess, and there might be rules she had to follow, but that didn’t mean she had to be miserable.  She would fight for happiness.  She would fight for Yang.

“No matter what they say,” she whispered, resting her forehead against Yang’s and staring deep into her eyes.  “You won’t lose me...I promise.”