This is a sequel to the previous chapter, so more Sunflowyr (RenxYang). It's set several weeks after the last one ended. And apparently I'm on an angst binge

Check out dashingicecreams Sunflowyr artwork on tumblr, it's amazing. Same with their monochrome artwork, or their Pyrruby artwork, or any of their stuff in general actually…

Ren had expected that cuddling with Yang would be like holding on to a very hot and solid rock, given the blonde's fiery aura and rather impressive physique. Instead it was, in his opinion, the equivalent of holding onto a hibernating bear or a dragon, if the dragon had hair instead of scales. A very affectionate, hairy dragon prone to punching him in her sleep and waking him up every few hours by accident.

Because Yang snored, loudly. Enough that he could swear it made the bed shake slightly, despite its heavily reinforced frame. And no matter what position they ended up in, somehow her long, luscious hair managed to find its way right into Ren's face. The tickling sensation it provoked never failed to irritate him just enough to force him out of sleeps welcome embrace. This morning proved no different.

Still worth it he thought his body temporarily awake and alert. Knowing that going back to sleep would be impossible, for a few minutes at least, he opened his eyes and saw that Yang was still lost in the land of dreams. His body now fully awake, he registered that their limbs were tightly intertwined, making escape a literal impossibility if he wanted to avoid waking her.

Based on the lack of noise in the room, besides Yang, the rest of his team were probably already awake and gone. If he had to guess, Pyrrha and Jaune were probably out training and Nora had mentioned spending some time with team SSSN last night. More specifically with Sun. The two of them had been competing for the title of "Prankster of Beacon" over the last month, and she had taken to the challenge with gusto. Since it was a Friday and neither of them had any morning classes he remained motionless, trying to relax his body and mind enough to fall back asleep.

Even if Ren had been a morning person, he would have changed to accommodate sleeping in with Yang, because the blonde desperately needed all the rest she could get. Despite her high-energy appearance, Yang was chronically sleep deprived. It was one of the reason she spent most of Professor Port's class napping instead of goofing off. Her constant late night activities and information hunts left her sleep schedule a convoluted mess, meaning she got a paltry four hours on average instead of the bare minimum of eight. And despite bribing her with cuddling and breakfast in bed, she continued to ignore her body's desperate need for rest.

He was on the verge of slumber when fate decided to intervene. Yang twitched in her sleep, causing part of her hair to tickle his nose right where it was most sensitive. Unable to stop his body's response, Ren sneezed. Loudly.

The resulting explosion of noise was enough to rouse Yang. Blinking several times to clear up her still bleary vision, the blonde let forth a huge yawn. Now consumed by guilt, he tried to think of a suitable apology for interrupting her all too necessary sleep, again.

Yang surprised him by smiling lazily as she said a quiet "Good morning" and snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Ren was so shocked that he remained prone for a few seconds, and then he pulled her as tight against him as he could manage in his still drowsy state. Based on her breathing, Yang was trying to get back to sleep. He had expected her to be grumpy, which was her usual reaction.

As surprising as Yang's reaction was, it was merely more evident that she was finally learning to relax, something everyone attributed at least partially to Yang spending more and more time with Ren. Normally Yang always had a certain tension in her features, a level of hardness and alertness that all hunters and huntresses needed to develop if they wanted to survive. All of them kept their guard up during combat situations, but Yang's guard was up all the time. Awake or asleep, no matter the surroundings, she had almost always remained on edge. The only time Ren had ever seen her lower it even slightly was when she was alone with Ruby. Yang knew that she could be vulnerable around her sister without any risk of getting harmed, emotionally or physically.

Recently, however, that had started to change. Ren figured it had less to do with him and more with the new friends she had been making since they all got to Beacon. They were all competent fighters, people Yang could trust to watch her back, but more importantly she trusted them. To her, team RWBY and team JNPR were more than just classmates, they were family. And she was beginning to realize that they would rather destroy their own auras then intentionally hurt one another. Barring training, obviously.

The surprising thing was, none of team JNPR had publicly put up any serious resistance to Yang sleeping in JNPR's room since they had started dating. It didn't happen every night, since Ren and Yang's schedules didn't always match up, but it wasn't exactly a rare occurrence either. Pyrrha thought the entire thing was adorable, and thus voiced no protest. Jaune complained about the added noise at first, but living with seven sisters had taught him to grow adjusted to new sounds quickly, so his sleep schedule only took a minor hit.

Nora, on the other hand, had privately voiced her complaints to Ren several times. Even now Nora had issues with falling asleep, an issue developed when she was a child, before she had met him. It had taken her weeks to grow adjusted to the sounds of Jaune and Pyrrha sleeping, though she never complained once, considering the lack of shut eye a worthy price to pay for finally having a home and eventually a family.

The same issue arose after Yang started sleeping in Ren's bed. Nora had collectively managed no more than three or four hours of sleep over the course of that first week, leaving her exhausted, irritable and likely to argue with anyone and everyone. Even now she was still prone to waking up at random intervals due to a particularly loud snore from Yang. But she knew how much Yang meant to him, so she hadn't asked her to leave once.

Team RWBY protested, though for entirely different reasons. Ruby already most of her nights sleeping elsewhere, cuddling with Pyrrha, or Emerald, or sometimes both at the same time. Once Yang started sleeping in team JNPR's dorm, Blake and Weiss quickly came to enjoy their "alone time," and did not like having to restrain themselves three or four nights a week. Thank god the walls are soundproof Ren thought.

He was pulled out of his musings by the feeling of Yang groaning into his shoulder, apparently having failed at her efforts to go back to bed. Deciding a little teasing was in order, Ren whispered into her ear "If you would just cut your hair, this would stop happening."

Yang moved until her face was inches from Ren's, their noses almost touching, mouth open in a silent scream. After a few seconds she recovered and growled back "I could beat the shit out of you"

Ren merely smiled back and said "I know," capturing the blonde's lips with his own before she could protest any further. Yang's unsaid threat died in her throat as she melted into the kiss, pulling Ren even closer, a feat he had considered impossible. Then again, the blonde was achieving miracles on a daily basis at this point.

Kissing Yang was another experience that was different then what Ren had expected, given the blonde's fiery personality and constant flirtatious attitude. He had expected their romantic activities to be hot and heavy from the beginning, moments of explosive fiery passion. Instead they were slow, gentle and affectionate, a gradual buildup of intensity that was as much emotional as if was physical.

He had asked Yang about it during their first official date, and she had explained it in terms of building a fire. You could just pour gasoline into a bucket and strike a match, which would give you a huge amount of fire that quickly burned out. Or you could start small, using tiny pieces of wood that gradually became bigger as the fire grew in strength and intensity. Either way you achieved the same result, but one way burned for hours and could be sustained as long as you had fuel while the other died out in a handful of minutes. To her, relationships required the same approach, romantic or otherwise. You had to put in time and effort, the fuel that kept all relationships going, and do things properly if you wanted the bond to last.

It was moments like those that only added to the long list of reasons that Ren had fallen for Yang.

To this point the kisses they had shared were soft and chaste, which seemed odd when coupled with the fact that they were already sleeping in the same bed. Viewed from the outside it seemed contradictory, confusing and out of the normal order of relationships. But to them it felt as natural as breathing. They had developed closeness, both physical and emotional, as friends long before Ren had overheard Yang's talk with Ruby. Making the transition to a couple hadn't changed a thing, merely added to the list of activities they did together.

Eventually Yang pulled back, sticking her tongue out as she voiced her usual complaint. "You have terrible morning breath."

"So what's the plan?" Yang asked sulkily as they both walked out of Professor Port's class, finally done with classes for the week. "It's finally the weekend, which means it's date night, and you get to pick, since you won paladin-Grimm-huntress. Again."

Ren smiled something that was becoming an increasingly common sight these days, and responded "You need to stop picking paladin so much. As for tonight, it's a surprise. Be in your room and ready at 8, I have a few things to get ready." Without another word Ren turned and walked off.

Yang stood there for a second, shocked that he had walked away so suddenly, before she called out her only question. "What do I wear?"

Ren, now a handful of paces away, turned around and walked back, mentally smacking himself for forgetting such a vital piece of information. "Something you won't mind getting dirty. And good walking shoes."

Yang, now very curious as to where they would be going, asked "So what, are we going on a picnic or something? Since if that's the plan, I could always wear a sundress or"

"Yang, you can wear whatever you want" Ren interrupted, trying to stop her before she guessed any further. "But I'm warning you, it might get grass stains on it."

"Alright, alright. But don't you want to show off your girlfriend?"

Ren had to stop himself from laughing as he said "There won't be very many people where we're going." He paused for a moment, closing the distance in an instant and pulling a now flustered Yang tight against him. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear "And I already have trouble keeping my eyes off you."

Without another word he backed up, and paused at the look on Yang's face, her expression the perfect mix of embarrassment and happiness. She was blushing; her face redder then the cloak Ruby always wore, and seemed perilously close to self-combusting based on the steam trailing out of her ears. Her mouth was open but silent, as if she couldn't find any words to say.

Once again Ren successfully contained the laughter bubbling up in his chest, though not without far greater effort than before. Deciding to not push his luck, Ren walked off without another word, leaving Yang to mutter something about "stupid boyfriends" and begin the long trek back to her room.

Now alone, Ren began to jog towards his destination; the outer edges of the Emerald Forest. A week prior he had stumbled on a clearing near the edge of the forest that perfectly suited his needs. Far enough from the school that students wouldn't wander in aimlessly but close enough to the forest edge that encountering a Grimm there was highly unlikely. He had spent several days in the clearing, just to make sure his guess was correct, and hadn't encountered a single creature, so chances were they would be safe from interruptions.

Taking out Stormflower, Ren found his target and began to cut.

Several hours later he stood in front of Yang's door, dressed in a simple t-shirt and pair of pants. He raised his hand to knock, only for the door to be yanked open. Standing before him was Ruby, a panicked expression on her face. Without a word she ran around Ren and sprinted straight for team JNPR's room, pausing to throw a quick "Hi Ren" over her shoulder.

Before Ren could ask what was going on he heard a familiar voice call out "Ruby get your gay ass back here right now." He turned to see what the commotion was about, only to freeze in shock. When he had told Yang to dress for outdoors, he had expected a pair of cargo shorts and a tang top, given that it was spring and the blonde was a living furnace. Instead she was wearing something else, the sight of which short-circuited every neuron in Ren's brain.

The dress hugged her torso tightly, accenting her still developing curves while at the same time highlighting the blonde's heavily muscled arms and shoulders. It stopped partway up her thigh, highlighting her perfectly sculpted legs. The paleness of the dress gave her an ethereal appearance, presenting her as some otherworldly figure sent from heaven itself. A goddess of battle and beauty rolled into one divine package, gracing him with her presence.

Yang was undeniably attractive, something that hadn't changed from the day they had arrived at Beacon. But until now, it had always been just another piece of information about her, something he had always thought about in a clinical way. Like how the moon was shattered or Nora could crush a Beowulf's head with one fist.

Now for the first time he understood exactly how beautiful Yang really was.

Yang noticed the expression on his face and silently smirked, clearly enjoying the effects her wardrobe choice was having on him. After a few seconds she decided it was more important that he breathe then stare at her, so she walked over and thumped Ren on the back. "Nice to know you're capable of being surprised. So where are we going?"

Mental clarity restored, Ren took a few seconds to compose himself and answered "Follow me." He turned and walked down the hall without another word, Yang falling in step next to him. He didn't utter a sound of protest when she intertwined their arms and hands; instead he tightened his grip on her hand, enjoying the feeling of warmth that was always emanating from every inch of her skin.

They walked out of Beacon and started towards the clearing, Yang occasionally bumping into Ren with a playful nudge. Within a few minutes they had reached their destination; a large grassy field now illuminated by the light of the moon. Any tall surrounding trees had been cut down and turned into a makeshift barricade, providing a modicum of isolation while simultaneously ensuring that the clearing would have continual access to moonlight.

Ren led them to the center of the grassy field, where a blanked had been laid, rocks lining the edges to hold it down against the wind. It was large enough that they could both sit down comfortably with plenty of room to do so immediately, Yang mirroring his actions a moment later, confusion evident on her face. But she trusted Ren, so she merely sat across from him, patiently giving him time to collect his thoughts.

After a minute Ren bent forward, and without any warning or explanation ripped his shirt off and tossed it to one side. Yang, now utterly confused and more than a little worried, sat there staring at him. He normally took great pains to remain clothed in public, never changing unless he was guaranteed privacy. But he trusted Yang, and more importantly she had a right to know.

So he sat there, watching as her gaze was inevitably drawn to his chest, and Ren knew what she was looking at. The same sight he saw in the mirror every morning, for those brief moments he forced himself to look. To see the damage his past had inflicted, the reminder that would never fade. Twin slashes that started at his collarbone and went to his hip, flowing across his chest like two parallel rivers. Thanks to Aura and multiple medical treatments the scars no longer caused him pain when he moved, but nothing could be done to get rid of them entirely. Even if removing them was possible Ren didn't want to. They were his reminder and his burden, and could be discarded as easily as he could give up his name.

After what felt like an eternity to him, though in reality it was only a few minutes, Yang looked away from his chest and directed her gaze at his left arm and chest, her eyes drinking in the sight. Unlike his other painful reminder, his dragon tattoo was at least pleasant to look at. Each scale and ridge on its body was intricately defined, drawn such that no two were alike. Its head was mid roar, the beginnings of a plume of fire exploding outward of a wide open mouth filled with impressively sharp teeth. The tattoo stretched from his collarbone and snaked its way across his arm, the body ending on his lower back. Despite its complexity the tattoo lacked color of any kind, as if the artist had been forced to stop halfway.

If either of them had ever wanted to determine the exact moment their relationship had begun, it was the moment Yang had glimpsed a part of that tattoo in the gym. It had taken her weeks to find out whose body it was crafted onto, and until now she had only seen the entirety of the piece one other time. It was another part of Ren's past he was very touchy about, and she had known better then to push.

Now however, he was letting her look for as long as she wanted, committing every inch of it to memory. Another eternity passed, both of them lost in the twilight, swept up in the beauty of the moment.

Eventually Yang looked up and asked "Why?"

Ren smiled, amazed at how much Yang communicated with that one simple word. Her confusion, her understanding and above all else the joy she felt at how much he trusted her. So much so that he was willing to put himself on display like a piece of art, giving Yang the opportunity to fully see the outer damage his past had inflicted.

Now, however, he had to reveal the inner, the far harder of the two pains to bring out into the light of day, or in this case moon. He took in a deep breath, and slowly began to guide her through the rivers of his past. "Since hundreds of years ago, this mark has been used to tell friend from foe by my family. Anyone bearing it is connected to them in some way, either as a tool to be used or one of the hands wielding the tools. Though only those born into the family directly get a tattoo like this."

He paused for a moment, waving his hand at his entire left side, before continuing "Over time, their enemies learned to copy this, which caused issues. In order to counteract their infiltration efforts, a second method of identification was embedded into the tattoo. Something that could only be activated with Aura, and only in a specific way. It ensured that the heads of the family could always determine friend from foe."

As he finished speaking, Ren closed his eyes and activated his aura, sending several simultaneous bursts of aura to specific pressure points along his left side. The resulting increases in heat, blood flow and aura level, coupled with the moonlight spilling onto his body, caused the secret of the tattoo to reveal itself. Color began to slowly appear in the tattoo, growing steadily brighter until Ren's left side was positively glowing.

The dragon was now bright and alive, its scales a vibrant violet, with piercing green eyes that gave Yang the feeling the beast could rip itself off of Ren's skin at any moment. Ren took in a deep breath, and shifted his aura flow a very slight amount, transforming the violet color to a bright yellow, the effect he had desired from the beginning.

Ren lowered the aura output to a small trickle, which reduced the tattoo's color to a dull but still captivating amber yellow, and opened his eyes to see lilac eyes staring back at him from only inches away. Eyes filled with unshed tears, offset by the smile that graced her face. It was a smile unlike anything Ren had ever seen on Yang before. It reminded him of the look on a doctor's face after they finished operating on a patient or on a priest's face after saving a sinner's soul.

Ren felt a burning hand trace across his chest, a solitary finger slowly and carefully tracing every square inch of tattooed surface it could reach. Eventually the finger stopped, replaced by a palm that rested right at the center of the dragon. Right over his heart.

Yang held her hand there, and looked at him. Truly looked, down to the depths of his soul. Ren was unable to look away from those deep lilac pools, hardly daring to blink or breathe for fear of shattering the voiceless understanding that now existed between them. It was weak at best, but still frightening and terrible to him. To think that anyone could see him, the real him, like this with such clarity was scary. So, so scary.

Without looking away Yang began to speak in slow, even tones, Ren hanging on her every word. "Your heart already knows what the mind refuses to accept. The anger you feel, the rage that burns through you, it is merely a shield, a defense created by something else."

She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in, before continuing. "Pain. The pain of having loved someone who tried to kill you, the pain of being betrayed and hunted by those that should have cared about you more than anything. You hate your family because it is easier to hate then to admit how much you still love them."

"Because admitting that would mean acknowledging the pain inside of you. And it already hurts so badly you would rather poison your heart with hatred or tear it out of your chest with your own two hands then admit it is there. Imagine how terrible the pain would be if you were to acknowledge it. To embrace it and accept it."

Ren raised his right hand to her cheek, cupping her face in the palm of his hand. Yang leaned into the touch, putting one hand over his while the other remained over his heart. In this moment, nothing existed but the two of them, and a shared understanding of a pain no human should be forced to go through.

Desperate for understanding, he asked Yang "How do you deal with it? How do you feel like this and keep it under control, keep yourself from going insane?"

Yang smiled at him, a small, sad smile. The kind of smile you would see on a parent about to tell a child its pet just died. "I didn't. I still haven't. Not fully. But I had to ignore it, I had to set aside. Because Ruby needed a mother. I couldn't hope to replace Summer, not even a little, but I had to try. For her."

"So I smiled, I buried the rage and I smiled. Day after day, month after month, I kept the smile painted on my face. I got so used to wearing it; it became painful to take it off. On the outside I was happy and loving. Internally I was all sorts of messed up, but I couldn't afford to let it show. So I shut it away, buried it so deep that I forgot it was even there."

It was at this point that Yang started crying, a single tear trailing down her face, followed by several others. But she swallowed, and fought through the pain enough to continue. "But it's still there and I miss her so much and I"

She stopped talking in shock as Ren grabbed her and pulled her close, seeking to provide her with the same support and comfort she had given him. He held her as she began shaking with the effort of holding the pain in, felt her fingers dig into the muscles of his back. "You don't have to hold it in. I can take it" he breathed into her ear.

Yang took a deep breath, and began to shakily talk as she cried, broken words streaming out of her. "I...I'm just so a...angry at her. She…she wasn't supposed to die. Dad just fucking lost it, he broke down, he couldn't take it. I needed him, and he just..." Yang paused to inhale, forcing herself to stay in control long enough to finish. Her fingers now dug into Ren's back hard to draw blood, leaving bloody streaks running down his body as her arms crushed his sides. But compared to the pain Yang was in, this was nothing.

"I…I hate Summer so much. Everything went wrong after she…how could she just leave us, how could she leave me. She was my mother, and she just….she abandoned me. I hate her, I hate her, I"

"You love her." Ren interrupted, his words causing Yang to sob even harder. "You love her so much it destroyed you when she died, and you couldn't even grieve, because your little sister had just lost both her parents and needed you."

Yang was now a sobbing, trembling mess in his arms, her breathing ragged as she cried rivers of tears. She managed to choke out "why, why did she have to" before the agony inside her overwhelmed her and she surrendered to its relentless pull. She opened herself to the suffering in her heart, poured out the pain in her tears. Her body clung to Ren like it was the only island on an endless sea, a place of, stability and safety, a shelter in the storm. He held her as she let out the agony that had been caged for far too long.

As Yang cried, Ren did his best to silently communicate that he understood, and that he accepted her feelings. He knew that her rage was unique, and that it caused her no small amount of guilt and self-hatred. Because most of the students at this school had experienced some form of hardship in their lives, lost family or friends to Grimm or other horrors. They understood anger; they had felt rage and hatred and directed it outward. The Faunus students, or at least the vast majority of them, had endured racism and bigotry for most of their lives. They had faced cold, uncaring humans who hated them for their very existence. They had felt hatred directed towards them, and tried their best to resist its invasion into their souls. So there were plenty of students at this school understood hatred, both inner and outer.

But how many of them could say they had hated, and had been hated in turn, by their families. Had endured an endless stream of violence and anger from the moment they could walk, simply because they had been born into the wrong household. His parents had cursed him from birth, hating him because he was the wrong gender, because he was too talented, and most of all because he was too soft. He failed to properly learn the lessons they taught him day in and day out, rebelling just as much as his older brother had complied. He refused to become the tool they were shaping him to be, and they hated him for it.

Yang understood his hatred and pain, and he now understood hers. She had felt it at a younger age, but if anything that only magnified the suffering she had been put through. She hated her mother for leaving, hated her step mother for letting herself be killed, and hated her father for being too weak to hold himself together. But not Ruby, never Ruby. And that was what had saved her in the end, because Ruby gave her a source of light in her life, something that could cut through the darkness. He had found his own in Nora, but only after his soul had been stained.

Slowly, gradually, he felt the flow of Yang's tears lessen, felt her body go limp in her emotional exhaustion. Wordlessly he leaned backward until he was lying on the ground and she was on top of him, his aura-enhanced body easily able to bear her weight. Yang's face was no longer pained, for which Ren was eternally thankful. Instead, she looked tired, resembling the way Weiss looked after 48 hour study marathons.

Yang shifted off and curled into his side, grateful for his strength and support, for his silent acceptance of everything that had just transpired. She looked up at Ren, and whispered "I love you," before snuggling closer against him, his body warm against the faint chill of the night. He enveloped her in a hug and looked at her, gazed at the fiery, powerful, pain filled girl in his arms. The fire that was quickly growing in his life, and in his heart, burning bright against the darkness that had filled it for so long. He looked down at her and responded "I love you too."

For what felt like forever they laid in each other's arms, basking in the moonlight. Both of their innermost hearts and souls were barricaded, surrounded by high and strong walls that they thought would never come down. But tonight those walls were destroyed by the trust and love that existed between them. Their pain was still there, and would probably never fully fade, for the past cannot be undone. But in this moment, this everlasting twilight the pain was reduced to a dull ache, numbed by the love that permeated through every fiber of their beings.

Hours later, when the eternal march of time finally forced them to leave, Ren and Yang walked hand-in-hand back to Beacon with a single, all-consuming realization. Alone, they could not hope to overcome the pain and anger that poisoned their hearts. On their own, their lights were too small, too weak to fight through the darkness that surrounded them, that filled their souls. But together, they were strong enough to burn.

This was not what I had planned. I tried to make it happy, I promise. But obviously, that failed.

Feedback is always appreciated, good, bad or anything in between. Hope you guys enjoyed!