The doorbell rang and Yang rubbed at her bleary eyes. It was another bad night. She knew it wasn't anyone she wanted to see. Ruby and Weiss always called ahead and Blake…..Blake was dead. Yang sighed and rolled over on the ratty old couch, putting her back to the room and pushing her face deeper into the pillow. She wasn't in the mood to deal with whoever was on the other side of that door.

The doorbell rang again, longer this time. Yang swore loudly and stood. Fine, they could have her attention- but she wasn't going to be pleasant. Stomping to the door she yanked it open, a snarl already on her lips. On the other side of the door was a small woman, cat ears straining to flatten atop her head, amber eyes stared up at her and a tentative smile painted her lips. "Hi Yang."

Yang had to grip the door to avoid flat out punching her in the face. "Is this some sort of sick prank?" She growled. "Get the fuck off my doorstep." The woman Yang refused to believe was Blake flinched and her ears flattened.

"This… This isn't a joke Yang, it's really me." Yang laughed but it was hallow and devoid of joy.

"Yeah right. I totally believe you." The Faunus fidgeted uncomfortably and gripped the hem of her shirt and nibbled at her lip. It was something Blake had always done when she was uncomfortable or insecure and seeing this behaviour again only fueled Yang's rage. She opened her mouth to yell at the woman to leave her alone when she beat her to it.

"You have a scar on the inside of your left thigh from a mission five years ago, someone shot you with an arrow while you were leaping at them through the air and you couldn't dodge in time. You said it made you more interesting, gave you character." She paused to meet disbelieving lilac eyes. "You have three tattoos but Weiss and Ruby think you only have two. The first you got when you were 15, it was Ruby's symbol on your right shoulder blade. The next one you got was your own symbol, on the small of your back. You made a grim joke about it helping to identify the body when you eventually died in a grand explosion. Then when you turned 19 and we'd been together for a year you jumped the gun and got mine, right here." Blake reached out, never breaking eye contact with Yang and tapped the soft spot just to the left of her hip.

Bottom lip trembling, Blake succeeded in grabbing the blonde's hand. "I swear to you Yang, it's me, it's Blake. I'm home." Yang was stoic, unspeaking and unmoving. A few tears slipped down pale porcelain cheeks and Blake could barely speak around the emotions stuck in her throat. "Please, let me in?"

Without a word the blonde stepped aside and opened the door, letting the other girl in. Blake slipped into the apartment and wiped her eyes. Part of her ached for Yang to reach out and cup her cheeks, wipe away her tears like she always had, she longed to fall into strong arms and cry. Yet that was impossible. Blake had literally just shown up out of nowhere after being 'dead' for three years. Matter of fact, Yang's anger should explode any moment now.

Right on cue Yang whipped around, eyes crimson, face contorted in rage and pain. She gave Blake a rough shove, knocking her off her feet and forcing her to sit on the couch. "What the fuck Blake!? What the fuck! Why would you do something like this? What on earth could compel you to fake your own death! It tore me apart! It hurt Ruby and Weiss! You Know I've never seen Weiss cry that hard? By the end of your funeral she could barely stand, she literally needed to be held up by Ruby and I. Not that we were any better! What makes you think can just come back here, back into my life just like that?" Yang was shaking, her fist clenching and unclenching and Blake knew she so badly wanted to hit her, make her hurt the same way she'd made the blonde suffer.

"I know you're angry-"

"Angry? Angry! Im furious! I come home to find you've not only eaten all my cookies but there's blood everywhere and you're nowhere to be found! I found your bow torn up and bloody and I held onto that scrap of fabric for three fucking years Blake! It's all I had left of you!"

Blake couldn't help it. Even as tears rolled down her cheeks, even as Yang stood with barely contained rage inside her, Blake laughed. It was weak and watery but she laughed.

Yang tensed, the rage almost visibly amplifying as a look of bewilderment crossed her features. "What's so funny?" She demanded, crossing her arms.

"You come home to a blood smeared kitchen and of course you also realize I've eaten all the cookies. I mean Ruby I can understand but…" Blake couldn't keep talking, her giggles consuming her. The stress of the situation had finally gotten to her, making her snap but in an entirely different way from Yang.

Yang actually seemed to soften, a smile tugging at her lips. She strode to the couch and without a word Yanked Blake to her feet. There was a brief moment of panic and she thought just for a second she thought Yang was going to hurt her, but then strong arms were wrapping around her, holding her like a vice. Blake stopped laughing as Yang tucked her face in the crook of her neck, all traces of anger gone, now replaced with the sadness she'd been holding in for so long.

Blake could feel Yang's tears rapidly soaking through the thin material of her t-shirt, as her entire body shook with the force of her sobs. Blake wasted no time in wrapping her own arms around her and holding her tightly. She held her as hard as she could. They stood there for however long, just clinging to each other, holding the other as tightly as possible. "Promise me you'll never leave me again." Yang managed to croak out, her voice broken and fragmented by her tears.

Blake squeezed her, crushing her. "I promise. I promise I'm never leaving again." Yang nodded and squeezed back. They lapsed back into silence then.

Blake knew there was still so much that needed saying, wounds that needed tending too, and the psychological damage that would never be fixed but Blake would try her best. Things were nowhere near perfect, they were barely okay. But standing here, cradling the blonde in her arms and being held back just as tightly, it was enough for now. She was finally home.