King Kong: The Faunus and the Beast

Chapter VI

Sun was asleep when Blake returned.

After that last conversation, she'd spent the rest of the day doing everything she could to stay out of the room until the sun had gone down. She could tell he was asleep when she heard slight snoring. She rolled her eyes. She hated his snoring, but she'd rather have to come in late to his snoring than talk to him about what happened earlier that day.

Sun was sleeping on the couch. It wasn't supposed to be Blake's night in the bed. She stepped into the cabin, shutting the door behind her. She looked at Sun for a moment, wondering if she should wake him up and force him into the bed. But then, she really didn't want to talk about what happened earlier. She'd make him sleep in the bed two nights in a row after this.

Blake climbed into the bed, and stared at the ceiling. She thought about Sun. She should've kept him out of this. She should've run away from him before he could catch up. Running away had always kept the people she cared about from hurting. It didn't help her, but that didn't matter.

Then, it came back to her. The island. Sweat was starting to form on her forehead. She took deep breaths, but nothing could keep the thoughts away. Those warnings. The beast. The mere idea of the beast she had heard of unsettled Blake to her core, keeping her eyes wide open. She didn't toss or turn. She'd stopped doing that days ago when she knew it wouldn't work.

Blake was tired of pretending she could sleep tonight. She sat up, and held her knees against her chest. It took her a second to realize she hadn't taken her shoes off. She reached down, pulled them off, and tossed them to the corner of the cabin. They made a noise when they hit the wall, and Sun flinched.

Blake covered her mouth with both hands in horror, and her eyes widened as he started to stir. He sat up on the couch, rubbed his eyes, and looked at her.

"Oh." He spoke up as he saw her. "Hey."

Blake lowered her hands from her mouth. "Hi."

"Blake," he said, "we need to talk."

She avoided his gaze. "I figured."

Sun stood up from the couch. He picked up her shoes, and walked over to her.

"I know you just took these off," he said, "but put them back on."

He handed them to her. Blake looked down at the shoes. She looked at Sun, confused, but did as he requested anyway. Once her shoes were back on, Sun took her hand. His grip was gentle and reassuring, even as he started to pull her out of the room. Blake blushed at the contact. She made no attempt to stop him from dragging her. She didn't want to talk to him about this, but he deserved to have the conversation he wanted.

Sun led her through the door to the deck. He brought her to the crow's nest. There, he let go of her hand, and started to climb. Blake stood at the ladder, watching him go.

"Sun!" she called.

He didn't respond. Once he was at the top, he peered down to her. Blake sighed. She shook her head, and started climbing the ladder to follow him. She made it to the top, and Sun helped her up and onto the crow's nest.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"I've been looking for really nice places on the ship," Sun said. "Places I can go to clear my head when I'm afraid. This one is my favorite so far."

Blake stiffened. Did he know she was scared?

"Sun," she said, trying to keep her composure, "I'm not--"

"Just look," Sun said.

He put his hands on her shoulders, and turned her to look out at the world from high up here. Blake stared out at the night sky, which was reflected on a beautiful ocean. She had seen many views like this before, and it meant very little to her in this moment. But, she had to admit, it was calming.

"It's a nice view, Sun," she said. "But you don't need to worry about me. I'm perfectly fine."

Sun stepped up beside her, and looked directly into her amber eyes.

"Blake," he said, raising his voice, "stop!"

Her eyes widened in surprise, but Sun continued before she could fight back.

"Yeah, I hate this collar, and I am terrified, but I'd fight through all of this again if it meant protecting you. I understand that you don't want to talk about your emotions. I don't want to either. But we're stuck in this together, and whether you like it or not, we need to fight together. We need to be here for each other."

Blake lowered her head in shame. She hated opening up to others. It was so difficult for something that should be so simple. She just wanted to be left alone.

Sun let go of her, and took a few steps back to give her her personal space.

"I know you don't want to talk about your emotions," he said. "I'm not going to force you to tell me anything. Just know that, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

A pressure inside started to lift within Blake, and she found herself looking back up and into Sun's dark-grey eyes. He had a look of empathy. She hadn't seen that look in so long. There wasn't any sign of manipulation or lying. He was being entirely honest. She still wasn't comfortable sharing her feelings with him, but she at least felt comfort in knowing he was there for her.

"Thank you, Sun," she said, her empty tone of voice gone, replaced with one of gratitude.

He smiled, and nodded. "We can head back to the cabin now."

He headed for the ladder, and started climbing down.

Blake looked off to the stars one last time. She smiled.

"You know what?"

Sun paused, and waited for her to finish.

"This is actually really nice . . ."