Yawning and slowly waking up from her slumber, the lilac eyes of a tall blonde-haired teenager met the sunlight piercing through a small window, as she lethargically rose from her bed before turning to face the clock and sighing to herself, it was nearly midday. This was not how Yang Xiao Long expected her 18th birthday to go. She was supposed to be at Beacon, it'd be loud, crowded but at the same time comforting because she'd be around her friends, there'd be her little sister, Ruby probably devouring most of the cake before anyone could return for a second slice, she would then be scolded by Weiss who would try to hide any amusement she took from witnessing this. There would be Jaune and Pyrrha being appropriately awkward with one another, sharing the occasional smile and small talk. Nora would be her usual loud and rambunctious self trying to get Ren to join in with her antics with only partial success. Then there's her partner who would probably just be quietly watching the proceedings or simply be reading in the background. Yang would make sure this wouldn't be the only thing she did and would do her best to convince her to join in on the fun though even if she declined, Yang would be satisfied to just talk to her for a little while. And yet there was no Beacon, no friends, no awkward small talk, no cake devouring, nothing satisfying; Yang would even settle for hearing someone direct a groan her way for one of her underrated puns, then again she wasn't exactly in the mood to make one.

All that was there to keep Yang company on her birthday were some cards from friends wishing her to have a nice day and apologising for not being able to make it, a few unopened presents and a chocolate cake, untouched. Of course, she had her dog Zwei and her dad, Taiyang who also popped in to check how she was from time to time but the conversations were beginning to get so repetitive over the past few months that Yang soon became numbed by them, unable to really care or provide any new response to him, she knew he meant the best but right now there wasn't much that could be done. Despite the constant care from her father, the loud barking she could hear from her pet dog in the room next to her and the cards and presents from her friends, Yang had never felt more isolated in her life.

After quickly showering and getting dressed in silence, Yang slowly made her way to the kitchen. Settling for having the same cereal she had for yesterday's breakfast out of the convenience, Yang didn't need much time to weigh the possible options for the day's activities.

Hmm, I could stay inside all day... or I could have a walk. Yang told herself in the recent weeks approaching this day to try not to think of it as a big milestone birthday or even as a birthday as this would only make it more disappointing; still, that didn't mean she should do absolutely nothing. Nope, instead she would be doing next to nothing, much better.

Ooh, how exciting! A walk around Patch, just like all the other days where I didn't stay inside all day. Yang had no qualms against the island she grew up in; there just wasn't much for her to do there after graduating from Signal Academy, at least, not with all her friends being absent and the state she was currently in.

While Yang was making progress since the incident, it was slow and tiresome. She no longer would just stay inside all the time but would take walks around the island with her dad and Zwei on occasion or on her own if she wanted fresh air but wasn't in the mood for talking. While Taiyang didn't initially approve of letting Yang leave on her own, she was eventually able to persuade him otherwise explaining that she'd eventually need to stop relying on others again sometime and walking on her own would be a good place to start, plus Patch was still well protected and free from Grimm so there was little to worry about. Yang's birthday just happened to be one of those days she'd rather have some time to be alone.

After finishing her cereal and quickly washing the bowl, Yang exited the kitchen and started putting on her boots.

"Just going for a walk, dad, won't be too long." Yang stated with some extra volume to make sure her father heard it.

"Okay, do you want me to come with you?" Taiyang replied quickly though he was confident with what the answer was going to be, he still felt compelled to ask.

"No thanks. Bye."And with that, Yang swiftly exited the house, closing the door behind her.

Yang didn't feel particularly good about not letting her father walk with her for her birthday though she rarely felt truly happy on many of her birthdays looking back. Of course she had her friends from Signal, her dad and her little sister to enjoy them with but truth be told, a lot of the time all her birthdays did was remind her of what she had lost and what she felt like she could never get back. She'd put on a smile; act grateful and polite but that thought always lingered in the back of her mind, unable to be forgotten. Perhaps it had been foolish of her to hope this year it would be different. Now on her 18th birthday she felt like she had lost more in the past year than she has ever before so she was certainly not in the mood for talking today.

Yang scrunched her face walking away from her house, trying to justify wanting to walk alone, looking back at her recent conversations with her dad or the odd student she'd bump into on her recent walks. When she was in the mood for talking, she was surprisingly open, willing to talk about what happened and share her thoughts on her arm, Ruby, Weiss, Ozpin, Beacon and Pyrrha; there was one particular topic that was not up for discussion with Yang though and she made that blatantly clear if anyone would try to mention it.

As much as she avoided talking about Blake with others, the Faunus was never far from Yang's mind since she heard about her running away or even before then if Yang was perfectly honest with herself. The problem being that these thoughts regarding her partner now were consisting of the same series of unpleasant questions Yang would constantly ask herself:

Will I ever see Blake again?

Why would she run away?

Does she simply not care about anyone at Beacon... or our team... or me?

No, this is Blake she has a tendency to run away from her problems.

So, was I only a problem to her? Unable to find a satisfactory answer to this question for what felt like the thousandth time, Yang tried to block these thoughts from her mind though that only seemed to bring up more questions about her:

Why couldn't she at least tell me why she ran?

Would any answer be good enough? Good enough for her to just leave me after I told her about my past and how—Clenching her left hand into a fist for a moment before relaxing and letting out a groan, Yang settled onto a small wooden bench by a lake. Taking slow controlled breaths, Yang tried to find some measure of solace in the quiet surrounding. Staring at the lake and finding a drained, apathetic expression within a familiar pair of lilac eyes she refused to accept as her own, Yang turned her face away with a feeling of disgust.

"How could I let this happen to me?" Yang thought aloud.

"Why did I have to be so stupid and just-"Yang suddenly started cringing, unable to finish that sentence. Despite how mad she was, she could not regret doing what she did. Yang soon started pondering a new question-

If Blake was to just suddenly appear now, what would I do? Suddenly, Yang was flooded with a series of suggestions:

Hug her.

Shout at her.

Ignore her.

Cry.

Make inappropriate arm pun.

Demand an explanation.

Calmly ask for explanation.

Ask how she has been.

Groaning once more and now lying down on the bench, facing the clear blue sky, Yang turned her head to look at what remained of her right arm for several moments until two words brought themselves to the forefront of her mind:

Find Blake.

Yang was aware this idea was likely insane, no one knew where Blake was, she had gathered that much the first and only time she talked about Blake for any real length of time with her dad. But Yang also believed she would not be able to make progress until she found the real answers to these questions which have been exhausting her mind for the past few months. Yang has no idea how long it would take to find Blake: maybe just a few days, maybe a few weeks, maybe longer. There was also the tiny minor issue of being in absolutely no condition to fight off Grimm right now and for all Yang knew, Blake could be in the very heart of the outbreak right now. Of course her dad would never let her go; she would need to run away without an explanation and hurt someone she cares about in the process.

I need to do this. It's for the best. He wouldn't underst—oh.

Yang would not know why Blake left her until she heard it from the Faunus herself. While it was probably a rather obvious statement to most, it was something she had much difficulty coming to grips with. She could theorize as much as she wants about the White Fang, Adam or what Blake really thinks but there would be nothing factual about it. However, running away just like Blake had done with no explanation to anyone would almost certainly not have anything good come from it. Yang looking for Blake now would have been a rash move even if she didn't lose an arm recently but now it would likely lead to just getting hurt even more or at the very least frustrated with herself for not being able to find her which would only hinder her mental recovery. In fact she probably wouldn't be able to truly make any significant progress recovering from this until she accepted that she won't know the answer and stopped spending significant portions of each day trying to solve this mystery. Perhaps now she was forced to take time to consider things before leaping into action, Yang could get something positive from this. Thus, there was really only one question left for Yang to ask herself:

Do I trust Blake?

Yang attempted to organise the big mess in her mind that was her thoughts and feelings regarding her partner- her initial memories did not give her the evidence she wanted though. When Blake inadvertently revealed to the team that she used to be part of the White Fang she ran away and needed to be tracked down by the rest of the team the next day.

She would've definitely come back if we didn't find her, right?

She wouldn't have just left the team for good. She wouldn't just leave us for good, would she?

Shaking her head, and trying to dismiss these hypothetical questions as pointless, Yang resumed to looking at her memories of her partner. Blake told her about how she ran away from Adam and the White Fang after their methods became too violent and extreme for her to justify. One of the last times Yang talked with Blake, she was reluctant to believe Yang's innocence after the incident with Mercury. Suddenly Yang felt a shiver travel down her spine, her hands started to shake as tears started freely flowing down her cheeks.

Does Blake trust me? Did she ever trust me?

Before she was given any time to consider that question, Yang heard a familiar high-pitched voice call out her name in concern.

"Yang?"

Quickly wiping her hand across her face in a feeble attempt to mask what she had been doing, Yang looked up to see a short, black-haired girl in a black dress with distinct silver eyes standing next to her.

"Oh, hey Rubes, what are you doing here?" As much as she wanted to sound happier at seeing her sister for the first time in a few months, Yang's current worries prevented her from having such joy.

"I came over to surprise you for your birthday; dad told me you went for a walk so I figure I'd check the usual places."

Yang frowned. "Did he also tell you I'd rather be alone?"

Ruby gave a nervous smile in return. "Oh. I guess he forgot... Sorry. I'll just be back at home then. I'll still be around for the rest of the week if you're more up for talking later." Giving her sister one last hopeful look, Ruby turned around and started to sullenly make her way towards her home until she heard the single word she wanted more than anything right now.

"Wait."

Immediately stopping in her tracks, Ruby smiled briefly before turning her head to see Yang staring intensely at the ground between her boots, not bothering to check if Ruby heard her request. Slowly walking back towards her sister, Ruby felt her anxiety growing with each step she made before finally reaching where she had previously stood.

Hearing her sister approaching, Yang shut her eyes tight, slowed down her breathing before deeply exhaling and breaking the lingering silence: "Do you... think... Blake ever cared about us? About me?"

Taken slightly aback by the question, Ruby paused, carefully trying to think of the right way to word her answer until she noticed Yang was now staring directly into her eyes, pleading for an answer.

"Of course she does!" Ruby answered with as much assertion she could muster. After, seeing the lack of reaction from her sister, she felt compelled to quickly continue. "Blake may not be the best at expressing her feelings most the time but I know she cares about us and she cares about you, Yang. In fact, whenever she seemed truly happy it usually traces back to you. You're the one who talked Blake out of her obsession with Torchwick and the White Fang and convinced her to go to the dance which was the happiest I ever saw her. The first time I really saw Blake enjoying herself was when she was with you in the Emerald Forest. You should've seen her when you beat Mercury in the tournament, she was overjoyed, she literally—" Ruby paused for a moment, noticing Yang was now looking back down on the ground and visibly cringing. Giving her sister an apologetic look, Ruby tried to get back on track: "The point is, Yang, you always seem to know how to put a smile on Blake's face. If someone would ever ask me "Why does Blake seem funnier than she used to be?" Or "Why is Blake now more open towards people?" Or "Why is Blake a happier person in general?" I'd give them the same answer every time. We may have only known Blake for a little less than a year but it's obvious that you changed her since we first met her at Beacon and I know she's grateful for the support you have given her since." Ruby looked at Yang, trying to gage any sort of reaction from her older sister but all Yang did was continue to coldly stare at the ground.

I am so sorry for this, Yang. Ruby silently sighed as she was preparing herself for a different way to approach this along with the possible repercussions. "Actually, maybe you're right." Ruby said bluntly. "Maybe she doesn't care about you, I mean, it's obvious you don't care about her so I guess that makes—"

"What?" Yang said with quiet conviction still facing the ground.

"It's like what you said to me last time, right? Sometimes bad things happen but it's not a big deal. You'll be able to get over it in time."

Yang finally looked up at her sister, her eyes now red and beginning to fill with tears once more, looking straight at the silver eyes of her sister. "What do you mean "get over it"? How can you think it's not a big deal?" Yang was now starting to lose control of her breathing and stumbling over her words.

Ruby, resisting the strong urge to stop this act and apologise but no longer able to look directly at her sister; simply stated "I thought you didn't care about Blake."

Yang couldn't take it anymore; she clenched her hand into a fist, slammed it on the small bench and stood up. "Of course I care about Blake!" Yang screamed with enough volume to scare any birds within a few hundred feet from her but she could not care less at this point. Yang's mind was now racing, recalling the first time she saw Blake's amber eyes, barely visible above the book she was reading but no less stunning; the insight and knowledge Blake had in and out of their classes which seemed near limitless; the passion Blake had when she defended her beliefs against Weiss or Yang herself; the way Blake always maintained such grace and composure even when she was fighting it was more like a dance which Yang had the pleasure of having with Blake on a night she doubt she would ever forget.

"Why?" Ruby meekly replied, who now took up the role of looking at the ground between her boots.

"She's the smartest, most driven and beautiful person I know." Yang exclaimed quickly in response, now pacing back and forth. Ruby tried to prevent a massive smile from forming on her face though her effort was unnecessary since Yang was too caught up processing what she just said and expressing her other thoughts to notice anything her sister was doing. "She does not let her past define her. She would not let anything come between her and doing what she thinks is right." Yang was now practically gasping between each sentence she spoke before she stopped her pacing and finally shouted with all the energy she had left "I love her! I love her and I might never see her again!" Her voice cracking as she finished the last sentence, Yang paused for a moment before slowly catching her breath and sitting back down on the bench covering her face with her hand, her back now cold and her whole body trembling. All Ruby did was look at her older sister for a few short moments but to both of them it felt like one remorseful eternity until Ruby finally broke the silence.

"Yang... I... I'm sorry. I just thought—"

"Let's just go home." Yang interrupted with a flat tone. Yang slowly got up from the bench once more, her head hung low and her mind too drained to try and put up any sort of façade for her little sister now quietly walking alongside her. The short walk back home remained silent for the most part until Yang finally spoke: "So are you heading back to Haven after this week?"

"Actually," Ruby replied: "The rest of the team and I are heading to Atlas. Long story short, we did all we could right now in Haven. Speaking of which, we were wondering if you'd be up for coming along, you could try and get a new—"

"I appreciate the thought, Rubes but I'm still not sure if I'm ready yet." Yang interrupted again before internally scolding herself for how she has been treating her little sister who has only been trying to help her.

"Oh. That's fine, take all the time you need." Ruby said, trying to sound as supportive as possible but failing to mask the disappointment in her voice.

Turning to see her little sister's dejected look, Yang put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, giving as sincere of a smile as she could, attempting to appease her without outright lying: "I'll think about it and see how I feel by the end of the week but no promises, okay?"

"Okay." Ruby replied with a much brighter tone than before. Satisfied with being able to cheer her sister up so easily but also concerned that she got her hopes up a little too much, Yang noticed they were now just outside their home.

"Hi dad, we're back." Yang called out after opening the door but there was no response. "Dad?" Yang called out once more only to be met with silence again.

"Oh that reminds me; dad said that something suddenly came up at Signal Academy so he would be out most of the afternoon, something about preparing more safety and security precautions." Ruby chimed in.

"Oh, okay. Wait, then why wasn't the front door locked?" Yang questioned.

"Oh... I guess he forgot." Ruby figured. Shrugging, Yang took off her boots and walked past the kitchen. "Hey, aren't you hungry? Don't want to get anything for lunch?"

"No thanks." Yang responded, heading towards her room.

"Oh, well, you don't happen to have any birthday cake left, do you?" Ruby asked trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Yes." Yang said with a sigh. "There's plenty left in my room." With her cake-craving sister just behind, Yang opened the door to her room but immediately froze upon entering.

"Hi." A timid, unsure but pleasingly familiar voice said from inside the room. Standing in front of Yang, wearing her usual white v-neck shirt, black leggings and large bow on top of her long raven hair, was her partner who was now staring at Yang with those unforgettable amber eyes, her face uneasy, her hands shaking and her appearance even more breathtaking than Yang could remember.

"Hi." Was all Yang could say before hearing a quick, high-pitched, slightly-repressed scream of joy from behind her, turning around to see Ruby by the door who simply raised her eyebrows and smiled before closing the door and leaving them alone to talk. Not currently concerned with her sister's recent crafty actions, Yang turned her attention back to the more pressing issue of the person standing in front of her.

"Yang, I am so sorry for—" Yang would not let Blake finish that sentence before she put her in the tightest hug she could manage with one arm which was pretty damn tight if you'd ask Blake.

"I missed you so much." Yang cried out, not daring to let go of her partner.

Caught pleasantly off-guard, Blake wrapped her arms around Yang before closing her eyes as tears gently ran down her cheeks, warmly replying, "I missed you too." The two huntresses stayed there for a while, neither wanting the moment to end before eventually breaking the hug and sitting down on Yang's bed. Blake took a few moments to mentally prepare before finally speaking: "Yang, when I saw what Adam did to you, I couldn't live with myself, it w-was my fault. I-I wasn't strong enough to stop him." Blake stammered but resumed after a brief pause, her confidence now faltering but still urging herself to continue: "I thought that if keeping my distance from you and our friends meant that it would protect them, protect you from Adam so that he or anyone else would never be able to lay a finger on you or anyone again then it was what I had to do. I couldn't bring myself to tell you before I was going to leave because I was worried I wouldn't be able to leave if I saw you one more time. E-Even if it meant that y-you would... hate me for it." Blake buried her now sobbing face in her hands.

"Hey, I don't hate you. In fact, that couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, I was mad at you for a while but that was mostly because I was worried I would never see you again or never know how you felt about me." Yang wrapped her left arm around Blake pulling her close.

"I was also scared." Blake eventually admitted. "I'm sorry." Blake said once more, her eyes still hidden behind her hands. Yang removed her arm from around Blake's back and gently placed her hand on Blake's cheek. Blake finally moving her hands from her eyes, looked up to see the comforting, lilac eyes and kind, empathetic smile of her partner in which Blake found the strength to continue: "I e-eventually realised that it didn't matter h-how far I was from you, I couldn't be sure of our team's or your safety unless I was here to see it myself. It also didn't matter if I was weak because I can get stronger and will fight for Remnant, my friends and you until last my breath." Blake instinctively took Yang's hand in her own and sat up to look at her partner's face, now only a few inches from her own. "It also doesn't matter if I was scared because I can't imagine anything worse than no longer being able to see you... You were always there for me, Yang. You always took the time to make sure I was okay. Even when I'd argue with you or not listen to your advice, you didn't stop trying to help. Even when I had my doubts about you, you were there by my side protecting me. I could not have possibly hoped for a better person in my life... I love you." Without hesitation, Yang filled the gap between her lips and Blake's own, giving her partner a sweet tender kiss. Caught off-guard once more but quickly reciprocating, Blake wrapped her arms around Yang, deepening the kiss into something more passionate and longing with Yang more than willing to comply as they explored each other's mouths.

After eventually pulling her lips apart from Blake's for them both to catch their breath, Yang, now holding onto her partner's hand once more and sounding the happiest she has been for months, excitedly said: "I love you too." Seeing Blake's smile broaden, Yang felt the pounding in her chest grow faster. However, this moment did not last long before the couple heard a loud knocking on the door.

"Hey, sorry if I'm interrupting anything but can I please have some of that cake now?" The devious, high-pitched, moment-killing little sister inquired.

Hearing Blake lightly chuckle, Yang groaned and eventually conceded, "Fine, you can come in." Slowly opening the door, Ruby cautiously walked inside and observed the room, one small bed, one large clock on the wall, below the aforementioned clock there was a small pile of wrapped presents and cards, on top of the bed was one blonde sister giving her a death glare and holding hands with her amused, raven-haired teammate who was affectionately leaning her head against her blonde partner's shoulder and finally next to them was one delicious chocolate cake on top of the—Wait, what? Something's different from usual...

"Wait... Are you two now...? Like a...?" Ruby asked with as much eloquence as she has been known for.

Yang turned to face Blake once more, seeing her smile brightly without hesitation, a smile she would never grow tired of, a smile which told her everything she needed. "Yeah, I guess we are." Yang stated, finding it hard to believe where she was now considering how she was feeling only a few hours ago.

"That's awesome!" Ruby was now ecstatic. "I am so happy for you both, I just—"

"Hold up for a second, sis." Yang requested unable to hide some of her amusement. "Exactly how long have you been planning this?"

"Oh, Blake didn't tell you?" Ruby sounded mildly surprised.

"I had a lot of stuff I needed to get off my chest." Blake astutely noted.

"Oh well it was only this afternoon." Ruby explained. "I was on my way home to see you and ran into Blake heading the same way looking for you. When we finally got there, dad explained that you had gone for a walk and that you weren't in the mood for talking. Blake got nervous and was worried about how you might react to seeing her but she also told me she was done with running away." Blake felt Yang's hand tighten its hold on her own as Ruby continued explaining: "I was also a bit worried about how this would go so I asked dad if it was okay for Blake to stay here while I went to talk to you by myself which he was fine with and if Blake could stay for the rest of the week, assuming things would work out. He said that if Yang is okay with it then he is okay with it."

"Oh I am more than okay with it." Yang chuckled.

"Right." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Anyway, so after I left Blake here, I went and found you, hoping to try and subtly find out where you stood with her. None of that preparation I made on the walk seemed necessary though since she was clearly on your mind when I got there."

"You always were." Yang said fondly as she turned to look at her girlfriend once more.

"Okay. This is getting too sappy for me right now." Ruby noted approaching the chocolate cake. "I'm just going to take this and leave you two to it." Quickly grabbing the cake, Ruby started to leave the room before stopping herself, remembering one more thing to ask Yang: "So, do you think you'll be up to leave with us for Atlas now?"

"Sure, as long as Blake can come too, if she's up for it." Yang answered.

"I'd love to." Blake quickly replied.

"Well duh, I was hoping you'd come along too." Ruby answered matter-of-factly before having a certain realisation dawn on her: "Whooo! Team RWBY's getting back together! Atlas here we come!" And with that Ruby left the room fearing some old cheesy ballad might suddenly start playing in the background if she stayed any longer.

"Oh, your present!" Blake suddenly remembered. Reaching for her well-hidden rucksack from under the bed and pulling out a rather large wrapped up rectangular object from inside.

"Huh? You really didn't have to..."

"I wanted to." Blake stated. "Happy birthday, Yang." Blake said with sincerity, handing the present to Yang. Tearing the wrapping paper off to reveal a brown box, Yang opened the box to reveal a rather intricately designed, glistening, gold gauntlet with several chambers holstering a magazine of red and orange shells, a duplicate of the one gauntlet she had left and the one that was disintegrated. Yang for a few moments just stared at the gauntlet in disbelief. Getting increasingly worried about the sensitive context of the gift, Blake opened her mouth to speak only to be caught in another tight hug by her girlfriend.

"Thank you." Yang felt tears coming down her face once more before simply asking with genuine curiosity: "How?"

"I might have snuck into Signal Academy a couple days ago and borrowed a few things while I was there." Yang gave a sly grin to Blake's explanation whom after squeezing Yang close to her once more, reluctantly broke the hug and picked up the gauntlet. "Oh and it may look the same but I made sure to make it more responsive to basic gestures for when you're getting used to a new cybernetic arm." Blake paused realising she may not have considered all the possibilities: "That is if you're planning on getting one... Oh crap, I just figured that you would, I'm sorry I should—"

"Don't worry, Blake." Yang interjected keeping a warm smile on her face. "I do plan on getting one, sooner rather than later, in fact, especially now with this." Yang looked at the new gauntlet once more and started lightly laughing.

"What is it?" Blake asked, looking perplexed.

"It's just... I would usually get my hopes up too high for my birthdays when I was younger so that when the day arrived, sure I would enjoy it but it never quite lived up to what I was hoping for. Now with the week leading up to today I was just hoping I would find something interesting to do and then all this happens. Thank you for the best birthday I could have hoped for." Yang, now positively beaming, turned to face Blake once more before planting a quick kiss on her cheek causing Blake to get surprisingly flustered.

"It... er... was... quite alright..." Blake managed to get out, her cheeks growing red.

"No, it was more than that, it was puurrrfect!" Yang replied, a sly grin returning to her face.

Blake's flustered look immediately switched to a deadpan expression with a groan. Yeah, Yang's back to her old self, alright. Looking back to her girlfriend who was now giggling at her reaction, Blake found herself caught in another of Yang's extra tight hugs causing them both to tumble onto the bed and for Blake to finally surrender her demeanour and join in with Yang's giggling. Wouldn't have it any other way.