Darkest Nights: a RWBY Story

Chapter 26: Through The Night

The military tug moved almost silently through the still waters. It was the second night of their four day journey to Menagerie and Jason was standing at the bow of the ship, looking out over the water, Blake by his side.
He sighed a little. The night was peaceful.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
It was Blake's low, soft voice that broke the calm silence of the night.
Jason smiled at her.
"It's just hard to imagine that just over twenty four hours ago, we were still on that island."
Blake nodded.
"I know what you mean. It feels like a lifetime ago already."
Jason looked down into the water and, by the light of the moon, saw a school of fish swimming alongside the boat.
He glanced back over at Blake and smiled. She was his destiny, he knew that now– his past, present and future.
She caught his eye and grinned, reaching up to trace the scar on his cheek.
They heard footsteps on the deck behind them and turned to see Yang approaching.
"Hey Yang."
Jason said.
"Hi."
She replied, leaning against the railing next to him.
"Feeling better"
Yang nodded. The first few hours on the boat the night before hadn't exactly gone well, Yang being prone to seasickness.
Blake gave Jason a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I think I'm gonna go read for a while. See you later."
"Alright."
Jason sad, watching Blake walk back to the cabin with a slight smile playing across his face.
After a moment, it was Yang who spoke.
"So, what was it like on that island?"
Then, realizing it might be a sensitive topic she added,
"If you're willing to talk about it of course."
Jason and Blake had told everyone about the island over breakfast that morning, but didn't go into much detail.
"It was weird."
Jason said, once again looking out over the water.
"No matter what we tried, we couldn't seem to get away from it. We even built a small boat at one point but, no matter how long we sailed, we would always just end up back on the island. After the first month or so, we pretty much just accepted that we weren't going anywhere."
Yang let out a low whistle.
"Well, at least you had Blake with you."
She said.
Jason nodded.
"I don't think I could have made it through without her. The whole time we were there, she was the one thing that reminded me that our world,"
He gestured around him,
"This world, was real."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the purple flower he had picked before they left the island. The most interesting thing about the whole thing was that, while it had been three months on the island, it has only been a couple of hours in the real world.
He pocketed the flower again.
Yang smiled.
"I'm just glad you made it back alright."
The two were silent for a moment, looking out at the sea.
"Well,"
Yang said, stepping back from the railing,
"I think I'll go see how Talia's doing. It's been good talking to you though. I'll see later."
After giving him a brief, friendly hug, yang headed back to the cabin.
Jason remained on the ship's deck a little while longer, enjoying the quiet.
Eventually, he decided to head in himself.
As the tug was designed for military use, the accommodations weren't exactly spacious, the rooms were relatively small, with two beds in each.
As he approached the door to the room he and Blake shared with Yang and Talia, he saw Blake standing in the hallway.
Jason put a hand on the door handle when Blake stopped him.
"I'd give them some space if I were you."
Blake said.
Jason raised an eyebrow.
Blake grinned a little.
"Something tells me they've taken the chance to... unwind."
Jason chuckled as he and Blake sat together in the hallway. Leaning, backs against the wall, they smiled at each other as the tug moved swiftly through the night, headed for Menagerie.