Greetings, everyone! As many of you know, Volume 5 picked me up and threw me right back onto the Black Sun ship, and thank goodness for that! From the interaction between Sun and Blake to the fact that Miles hadn't intended for Blake to actually slap Sun in that one infamous scene (miscommunication with the animators, apparently), my former misgivings are basically gone. Falling out of love with a beloved ship isn't fun, but I'm now back to stay!

Just so you know, this chapter isn't connected with the Seamonkeys chapter. Chapters are unconnected unless I specifically say otherwise.

Enjoy!

After her experiences with Adam, Blake spent a long time actively avoiding falling in love. She already knew the pain of falling in love with the wrong person. She knew what it was like to stare vainly at her hand, waiting for the red string to appear, and hating herself when it didn't.

Of course, Adam had made it seem like it was all her fault. Clearly, they were soulmates. The red string simply hadn't appeared because Blake hadn't loved Adam enough. Blake had apologized and tried to love more.

Even after she left him, it had taken a long time for her to realize that it hadn't been her fault. It had been Adam. It had always been Adam. He hadn't loved her, not really. And, even if he had, there was no way her soulmate could be someone like him. Fate wasn't that cruel, right?

Still, Blake couldn't help but wonder who her soulmate was. What if it did end up being someone like Adam? What if she fell in love with someone who wasn't her soulmate? What if she did, but didn't love enough? She hated herself when that last thought surfaced.

So, she resisted falling in love. Even when Sun came into her life, she found it in her to keep her emotions in check. She rolled her eyes at his genuine smile. She pushed aside the warmth that filled her when they danced together. When she went to Menagerie, she did everything to try and drive him from her side for good.

But she could feel her resolve being chipped away. What made it worse was that Sun had no idea what he was doing! He wasn't like Adam, who would have actively whittled away at Blake's defenses until she was vulnerable and helpless. No, Sun wasn't doing anything intentionally. He had no idea that Blake's mind was in shambles.

All he knew was that he loved her, and that he wanted to help her and be a part of her life, whatever that ended up meaning.

He wouldn't abandon her if the red string never appeared. He wouldn't turn away if his romantic feelings faded or were never returned. He was her friend, no matter what. He told her that frequently, and he never tried to push anything, even though every look at those shimmering gray eyes showed how much he wanted to.

Blake wanted to as well, but the fear held her back. She thought back to how broken she had been in Adam's hands, and hesitated to hand her heart over to anyone else, even someone she knew would never hurt her intentionally.

Her fear persisted until they reached Mistral, where it reached unimaginable levels. She was going to confront Adam. She was going to see him again. She didn't know if she could handle the terror, the humiliation.

Sun held her hand on the ride there, sensing her disquiet and assuring her that everything would be okay. "This will be different," he assured her. "It was just you and Yang last time. There's way more of us now. He won't get a chance to hurt you, or anyone else. We'll make sure of it."

Ilia was sitting nearby, staring at her hands. Blake knew that a thousand conflicting feelings were going through her old friend's mind: love for Blake, self-loathing, confusion, and a new, betrayed, disgusted feeling that was evident in her expression when Blake finally told her the extent of Adam's prior abuse.

Blake felt pity for Ilia, already knowing on some deep level that she wasn't her soulmate. Ilia was the type of person to yearn for a soulmate. And she'd been pining for Blake for years! We'll meet new people in Mistral, she thought. I know Ilia will love someone else eventually.

Would Sun love someone else eventually? The thought made Blake slightly queasy, and she pushed the feeling away.

When they did confront Adam, however, the most incredible thing happened. The fear vanished.

It didn't lessen. It just vanished.

Of course, Adam was still dangerous and had to be handled accordingly, but that deep emotional baggage abruptly left Blake as she looked down at him from the rooftop. He was…pathetic. His control over her, over the White Fang, faded in the face of Blake's words, in the face of the Faunus of Menagerie who saw him for what he was. Any semblance of competence he may have had left along with his control, like the two qualities were a married couple leaving an undesirable home in search of another.

Adam's reaction was that of an oversized two-year-old having a temper tantrum. Blake would have laughed if it wasn't so weirdly sad!

She nearly did laugh when Sun said his bit. Later on, she and Ilia would snicker over the fact that Sun literally told Adam that he was a loser with no friends.

And that's all he was, truly. He wasn't some undefeatable monster. He wasn't a force of nature that had any control over Blake's life anymore. She remembered how seriously she had taken his threat to destroy everyone she loved, and compared that certainty to now. He could try and target people if he wanted, but he had no power anymore. The most he could do was lash out from the shadows. He was reduced to little more than an insect.

Blake was fearless for the first time in her life when she fought Adam with Sun at her side. The only moment of fear came when Sun tried to follow Adam into the trees, and that was only a brief moment of a different, easy to understand kind of fear.

The fight continued, and Sun ran toward it.

Impulsively, Blake reached out and touched his shoulder. He stopped, looking at her with surprise. "Be careful," she urged. As she met his eyes, she was certain that she could feel the gentle grayness of them seeping into her entire being, making her braver still.

Sun smiled, all warmth and gentleness and hope. "No promises."

They parted, and a sharp, electric feeling leaped through the air between them. It pumped with their hearts, through their blood, and into their hands. As they moved away from each other, they remained bound by the red string that danced and glowed in the charged air.

Blake had to force herself to leave him and seek out her teammates. The separation was painful. She could see it in the anguished look Sun shot her over his shoulder as he ran off in the opposite direction. Don't die, Sun, she thought. You'd better not die!

When the battle finally ended, she felt Sun approaching her. He grinned down at her. Then, in a swift movement that left her breathless, he grabbed her waist with his tail and spun her around so that she was facing her teammates.

Even though they had just discovered the red string, Sun was urging her to see to her team before him. Blake felt the love for her selfless, pure-hearted soulmate increase tenfold, and was thrilled when she didn't feel any fear threatening to push it away.

Sun felt a pulse on his hand, felt a wordless expression of gratitude and love traveling between his heart and Blake's. He couldn't stop grinning. I knew it! He had known, somehow, with every fiber of his being that Blake was the one! Ever since he first saw her take off her ribbon, he had known.

"Go on," he muttered. "We got time. Go." He watched as she reunited with her team, and felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad it was you," Kali whispered, nodding in Blake's direction.

Sun smiled. "Me too." He looked at Ghira, his tail twitching hopefully.

Ghira looked at Sun's left hand, at the happy flush in the boy's cheeks, and then at Blake, whose ears were twitching with excitement. He let out a sigh. "I suppose I can get used to you," he muttered begrudgingly.

Kali rolled her eyes. "He likes you," she whispered to Sun. "He's just a jackass sometimes."

"Kali!"

"Sorry, sweetie. Only speaking the truth!"

Sun snickered, then glanced over his shoulder. Blake was walking back over to him, and so were their friends. Friends… He touched his hand to Blake's cheek, even as he took out his Scroll with his other hand. "Speaking of team reunions…"

Between seeing the rest of Team SSSN again, learning what was going to happen next, and celebrating with everyone, it wasn't until late at night that Sun and Blake were able to be alone. Sun found her sitting at the couch, sipping tea. There was a second, fresh cup on the table, which he gladly picked up as he sat next to her.

"Hey," he murmured, nudging her side with his tail.

Blake smiled warmly at him. "Hey." She scooted closer, leaning against him, letting out a sigh that seemed to carry all of her burdens at once. For a moment, she thought she saw the ones involving Adam turning to smoke and dissolving to nothingness. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sun asked, even as he felt her emotions through the string. "For not figuring your feelings out sooner? Blake, I get it! You had a lot going on. I wasn't expecting anything from you."

"And you still stayed."

"Of course, I did!" Sun put his cup down. "I'm really hard to get rid of, you know?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know. Trust me." She put her cup down and turned to face him. She watched his smile fade into a different, but somehow happier expression, watched his eyes take on a new intensity that thrilled her. She touched his warm cheek, closed her eyes, and gave herself up completely.

The kiss was warm and tentative, consisting of several chaste touches. Sun wrapped his tail around her waist, pulling her just a little closer. With one hand, he gently stroked the string that twirled between them. I love you, he thought.

Blake's whole body felt hot, her skin tingling with a static-like sensation. She touched the string with a shaking hand. I love you too.

They pulled back, eyes locked, and smiled at the same time. Sun pushed her hair behind her ears. Blake placed a hand on his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat.

"Wanna sleep here tonight?" Sun asked. "I mean, we don't have to do anything! That's not what I'm thinking. Just…if you don't want to be alone, you know?"

Blake smiled, snuggling gladly against Sun, seeing the faint glow of the red string even as she closed her eyes. "I'm not alone," she murmured, feeling her first peaceful sleep in months approaching her fatigued mind with the eager familiarity of an old friend. "Not anymore."

I really missed this collection! Soulmate AUs are a ton of fun (and I may or may not have another fic planned in the future that has a basis of both soulmates and dæmons…) It's fun to explore what the concept of a soul connection can do to a relationship, and how it effects the people involved.

Tomorrow will be the last day of the Week of Solora, and will have another "Wings of Dust" update. After that, it'll be two werewolf days a week, and Dragon Tuesdays. After "Once in a Shattered Moon" is done, Fridays will be devoted to whatever oneshots and shorter chapter fics I feel like doing. I hope you guys enjoy the ride!

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!