A/N A look at how Yang and Blake are coping.

"You need to eat."

Yang turned away from her father and looked out the window at the snow covered tree branch.

"I'm not hungry."

Her father sighed. "Yang… You can't just lie here all the time. Why don't you go for a walk, meet up with some friends?"

"What friends?" Yang asked. All her friends were either dead or gone. Ruby was gone, Weiss was gone, and Blake… Her fist clenched around the bed sheet.

Taiyang stared dejectedly at the floor. He was never particularly good at talking to his daughters, Summer was.

"I know you suffered a great loss…But it would be better for you to come to terms with it sooner than later. It's not healthy to let it fester."

"Yeah and you're such a great role model on how to deal with things!" she snapped, sarcasm dripping off each syllable.

Yang regretted it the minute she said it as she watched her father put his head in his hands. He didn't deserve that.

After a moment, he sat up and brightened. "I got a letter in the mail from General Ironwood. He says your new arm is ready and we can travel to the Vale safe zone to get it attached."

Yang unconsciously rubbed at her stump. "Really? It's ready?"

"Yup."

The corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly and she felt something that she hadn't for a while; hope.

Cries of agony filled the operating room as Yang's new robotic arm was being attached. Because of the nature of the procedure, Yang would have be semi-conscious in order for them test the efficiency of the nerve sensors. She was strapped to the bed, sweating and gritting her teeth against the pain as they connected the ends of her nerves to the wires.

"Do you need a break?" a worried nurse asked.

"No!" she groaned. "Keep going…"

Slowly the metallic skeletal arm came to life, fingers twitching and bending when she willed them to. The experience was other worldly to Yang. She still couldn't quite believe that the hard piece of metal was a part of her, now and forever.

Yang would have to spend the next few months in physical therapy learning how to utilize her new arm. She forced her dad to go back to Patch, claiming that she needed space and him hovering over her would just make it harder. Yang knew he wanted to take off after Ruby anyways, the daughter that still had a future… Her therapist told her not to think that way, but she couldn't help it, she spent hours trying to do the simplest tasks with her robotic hand, and the future looked anything but bright.

One of the exercises was to place a series different shaped blocks in their corresponding holes, more often than not, they wound up on the floor, along with the whole table when Yang lost her temper. That happened a lot in those early days, glasses and food trays thrown against walls, broken door handles, and shattered windows.

Day by day it got better. Yang finally mastered the day to day tasks and was able to start combat training again. Being able to train did a lot for her self-esteem and emotional state. It was a part of her, ever since she was a little girl practicing boxing moves with her dad. For the first time in months, she started to feel like herself again, although she wasn't sure if she had truly accepted things they way they were yet.

She had locked her feelings, Blake, all the events from that night in a dark box at the pit of her stomach. At times, the contents threatened to spill out, especially at night in that phase shift between sleep and wakefulness. Yang forced herself not to think of Blake and why she left, much too painful like a fire brand brought to her chest. Despite her best efforts though, her thoughts drifted unwittingly back to her raven haired partner like a moth to a flame.

Blake woke up from a restless sleep on a bare mattress in a rundown apartment that she called her temporary home. She had the dream again, moments from that night forever burned in her memory.

Blake reached for Yang's hand with a desperate need to hold on to her. She looked so beaten, so frail, like she could float way at any second. She saw the shock on Ruby's face as she gazed at her unconscious dismembered sister.

"I'm sorry," Blake cried, tears filling her eyes and spilling over. "I'm so sorry!"

She curled in on herself, laying her head near Yang's hand. Blake scarcely heard the others talking around her, eyes completely focused on the fallen blonde brawler. She never let go, even when they placed them on separate stretchers. Blake held on, wanting to hold her hand for as long as possible because she knew what she was about to do.

She was steeling herself for it, ever since she carried Yang away from the monster that was her former partner. She was to blame for the atrocity that had befallen her partner and closest friend. Adam hurt Yang, nearly killed her because of her. She would never be the same again, irreparably damaged because of her. What if he came after them again? How could she ever be in her presence when she would forever be the reason why she lost her arm? Yang would hate her, Blake was sure of it, so she would save her the trouble...

The airship was landing, Blake rolled off her stretcher and kneeled beside Yang. She took a moment to memorize her long dark blonde lashes, the faint almost invisible freckles on the tops of her cheeks, the gentle curve of her mouth that always cheered people up and joked. She leaned her head in, breathing in the sweet scent of her breath and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

The doors opened and she bolted, hearing Sun's nonsensical protests behind her, running as fast as her legs could carry her, away from it all.

Blake had stayed in the dangerous part of Vale, away from the safe zone. She spent her days gathering any information she could find on the whereabouts of Adam, killing Grimm for practice and to earn some under the table lien. Her thoughts often went to Yang, how she was doing, how she was coping. She even entertained the idea of going to Patch to secretly spy on her, but she stopped herself. Blake knew that she couldn't be trusted to stay away if she was that close to Yang. She thought if she was able to kill Adam and obtain justice for Yang, maybe, just maybe she could redeem herself in her eyes. But hope was fleeting, she knew Yang would never forgive her, and that's what she deserved.

Blake sighed and started to gather her combat gear. Beacon, the once shining school, was now a hot bed for Grimm activity because of the frozen dragon perched at the tower. It was the perfect place to train, even though the memories scratched painfully at Blake's heart, but she accepted it as penance for her failure.

One crisp spring morning Yang decided to head to the school. The decision was impulsive, like others in the past. Winter had finally given up its grip on Vale, and Yang had gotten bored of roaming the fractured city within the confines of the safe zone. She knew the area around Beacon was dangerous and full of Grimm. Yang had yet to try out her new arm and its modified Ember Celica in a real combat situation, and the prospect excited her.

She walked through the courtyard, stepping over cracked and fallen stone pillars. It was eerily quiet. Nothing disturbed her walk as she made her way to the burned out library. The wood was faded, the windows broken, cracked glass on the ground shining through the melting snow, just a shell of the grand building it once was. Blake's favourite place.

Yang closed her eyes as she remembered the night that had changed her life forever. In that moment, there was only Blake. Her anguished cry of pain as she was stabbed in the stomach. The deep seeded need to stop him from harming her any further. The unbridled fury she felt that he had hurt her, her partner, her best friend. She had never been so angry in her entire life. It all culminated in that moment, a crystallized point in time and space. She didn't even think she had control over her body at that point, tears in her eyes as she launched forward to her doom. Everything was Blake, Blake was everything. And now there was nothing, just a horrible aching emptiness. Yang didn't think it was possible, but when Blake left, it hurt more than losing her arm.

Blake had seen her first, that unmistakable flash of golden blonde hair in the otherwise grey surroundings. She looked good, albeit a little thinner than she remembered, her violet eyes slightly sunken in on her otherwise flawless face. She was wearing dark brown leather jacket, both of the long sleeves were filled out and for one blissful moment Blake had a wonderful fantastical idea that what happened that night was just twisted figment of her imagination, that Yang was still whole and happy. But alas, with her sharp faunus eyes, she saw the silver metallic sheen of her right hand and she knew that this was the new reality.

Blake followed her silently through the shadows, watching her every movement as she walked through the ruins of the school and made her way to the library. Yang was here, Yang was alive. Blake longed to talk to her, longed to touch her and confirm her existence, but she couldn't. She was doing well without her, without her baggage, without her psycho ex-partner, and with that thought, Blake was content to just watch her friend for a little while longer. As long as she was okay, she didn't mind.

Yang took off at full sprint, running away before the tears could fall. She ran until her lungs protested and her chest heaved, hunched over, barely standing with her hands on her knees. Why? Why did this have to happen? Yang mustered all her strength to hold back the tears. Then she heard an ominous growl, two Ursai circling her, no doubt attracted to all the negative feelings stirring in her heart. Yang smiled bitterly, a choked chuckle escaping her mouth.

"You monsters chose the wrong day to mess with me."

She leapt forward in a full attack, straight punch with her left followed with a hammer fist through the skull with her right.

Too slow, Yang thought as her prosthetic arm whirred, the movement slowed by the turning of metallic gears. Too heavy. Her right arm was stuck in the cracked white and red mask of the first Ursa, she struggled to pull it out of the fleshy black ink, months of inactivity finally taking its toll. She turned around and wrenched herself to the left as a vicious swipe of claws caught her right arm, crying out in pain as the silver limb roughly detached, falling to the ground in a heap of metal and sparks.

Yang backed away. Her sleeve was ripped but thankfully the smaller metal apparatus connected to her actual nerves and flesh was still intact. She continued to back away, watching the Ursa stalk threateningly towards her, sharp teeth bared in a twisted grin, like it was contemplating how best to kill her. A stone pillar met Yang's back and she slumped down against it. So pitiful. Just a short time ago, dealing with two Ursai was child's play, and now she was going to die at the end of their claws.

Fear gripped Blake as she watched Yang slump down, apparently resigning herself to her fate, blatantly giving up. Blake's body reacted on its own, and half a second later, her sword was through the Ursa's head, standing in front of Yang who was staring wide-eyed at her.

Anger at her partner was the first emotion that flitted through Blake's mind. What's wrong with you? Why didn't you fight? Don't you want to live anymore? But it left as quickly as it came, when she realized she had no right to feel that way after what she had done to her.

Blake wanted to run, she wanted to so badly but she was frozen on the spot by Yang's intense lilac gaze. She winced at the pained angry expression on Yang's face as she sat dejectedly at the base of the pillar. Blake extended a hand and Yang slapped it away, choosing to slowly push herself up using her legs and one arm.

It was too much, the fury, the hatred, the exhaustion in her face. Blake turned to run, away from all the feelings that threatened to choke her, but she stopped hearing Yang's voice.

"Running away again?" she asked bitterly. "Is it because you can't stand to look at me? Because I'm crippled and broken?"

Blake's voice croaked out on its own, "W-what? No!" She tried to approach but Yang shoved her back.

"Then why did you leave? Why did you abandon me when I needed you the most?!"

A lump settled in Blake's throat and she was suddenly unable to talk.

Yang shoved her again and looked at her feet. "I tried so hard to forget you. I tried so hard to stop caring, but I couldn't!" she screamed, looking up at Blake with tears streaming down her face. "You stupid, selfish, coward!"

It felt good. Felt good to get shoved and yelled at. She deserved it. In her mind she was a worthless awful person. All the mistakes she made lead to the person that she cared about the most getting hurt and maimed, and Blake wished for more punishment.

"It was all my fault… I thought you hated me…" Blake said, voice barely a whisper, directed more to herself than anything.

Yang was stomping towards her and Blake was hoping that she'd strike her down.

"You idiot!" Yang yanked her into a fierce one-armed embrace. "How could I possibly hate you?!" she cried.

Yang clutched at her desperately, crying her heart out as Blake braced against her, completely in shock. The words she spoke were alien to her. Yang didn't hate her? After a few long moments standing there getting rocked by Yang's trembling body, Blake returned the hug, holding her as tight as she could, mumbling apologies between sobs.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

They were both ugly criers, eyes unrecognizably scrunched, hot salty tears squeezing through, each breath shuddering uncontrollably, and snot dripping from their noses.

"Don't ever leave again!"

"I won't. I promise. I never should have left you, I won't ever leave again," Blake gasped into her hair. "I promise, I promise."

Blake muttered that same phrase over and over incoherently they held each other, sobbing and crying. They stayed like for hours until the sun started to set, signaling the end of the day and the start of a new tomorrow that they would face together.

The Next Day

"Does it hurt?"

Yang wanted to say 'not at all' or make up some joke but nothing came to her, so she settled for the truth. "Sometimes."

"What do we do now?"

"We get Weiss back and then we go after Ruby, simple as that."

"Yang...?"

"Hmm?"

"Nothing…"

"Tell me later, okay?"

"Okay…"

A/N So that finale, yeah. I made an AMV (anime music video) to make myself feel better, if you google 'bumbleby make it to me' you can find it on my tumblr Bumbleby Addict (username sachiel21). It was never meant to be sad, but apparently some viewers cried when they saw it, I guess that what happens when you put a song about love and longing with some of the clips from the later episodes. Sigh.