Summary: Yang finds help in her friends. Will Blake be able to do the same?

A/N: Sorry about the wait. The V5 finale, and various other things in my life, delayed me. But I've been dying to share this chapter for a long time, so, I'll be quiet and I hope you enjoy it.

April (Spring)

/

It was just another lazy, boring weekend for Yang. All she had been doing lately was forcefully focusing her mind on school, and relishing how soon she would be graduating. She'd worked hard to get where she was; there was little point in throwing it all away. After the bell rang at school in the afternoon, she'd decline all invitations to be social, then it was back to the Branwen home to have wordless dinners with her uncle before he disappeared into the night (whether he was working or going drinking, she didn't really care).

She was tired, constantly, due to faking a smile everyday just for appearances. By late March, she thought it was time to at least pretend to her friends that she'd gotten over what had happened. She was just as tired of the looks they gave her when they thought she wasn't paying attention, so, she turned back into the old Yang – the Yang she had been at her old school. It was frustrating that she couldn't ever seem to escape the façade of being okay for other people.

The blonde, currently sprawled on the couch, was staring at the television that droned with whatever the hell was programmedon a Saturday afternoon. Re-runs of old sitcoms that never went off the air, even decades after they were over. Catching the famous tune I'll Be There for Youmade her switch the channel swiftly, not in the mood to be reminded that Blake, her supposed friend, was not there for her.

She'd been trying to find her way after her unexpected parting with Blake, but that was the whole issue. Yang felt as if being with Blake was the way she was supposed to go in life. It had crossed her mind many times lately that her own father had been through the same thing before, not once, but twice. Though they'd mended their relationship, it was never what she wished it was – these kinds of troubles would only bring up old memories for him, and she never wanted that for her dad. She also, in truth, didn't want his advice; he had crappy coping mechanisms, and he would be too harsh on her (unintentionally, or not). He had a certain way of looking at the world, and it was often-times too simple for Yang's liking. She really didn't want to hear you're moping, Yang. He'd be all, up and at 'em. Which would have just seemed hypocritical, considering he never was up and at 'em when he was left alone by people he loved. Then they would have an argument about iy, and she was just...so not up for that.

She knew he had been heavily reliant on Summer's parents after Raven left him, as they tried to welcome him into their daughter's life the best they could, despite living in Germany. While the Rose family descended from Deutschland, Summer and her parents had been born and raised in America; Yang's non-biological grandparents moving to Europe way before way she was even born. They had been around for a bit after Summer passed away, but they had their own lives to get back to. Eventually, they entrusted the children to Tai. They had never found out how bad of a job he did; Tai much too ashamed to admit anything to them whenever they called, and always making sure to present a happy home upon their infrequent visits.

Yang felt guilty about how they'd been lied to, but as a child, she was afraid she would lose her last parent if she told them of his incompetence. She never wanted to burden anybody, either. Thus, she hadn't ever seen much of Ruby's Oma and Opa, but Yangknew that Tai had started asking for advice once he had shaped up. He started calling them frequently, basically doing anything they told him to, particularly when it came to Ruby – he always hoped Summer would have wanted them to have a say in her life.

Yang supposed that having followed their advice so much, her dad had never really found his own way to deal with things, his own way to live his life. He searched for guidance from others, combining it into his life to find stability. She couldn't ever tell if what was in his head; his parenting techniques; his lessons to her, were his own. She didn't want to take after her father, no. She wanted to find her way to fix things, she wanted to do it on her terms.

If she could ever bring herself to do that. In all actuality, she often lost track of time these days. Sitting around not really paying attention to anything tended to do that to a girl. She almost wished she could go back to being a mentally frantic mess, instead of someone that thought about nothing and nothing of substance. What if searching forever for a way to cope was better than never finding a way at all? At least she'd be doing something, rather than nothing.

She barely stopped herself falling off the couch when her phone vibrated, essentially kick-starting her lethargic heart from its dull existence. Finding a text message alert, she idly tapped on the screen to read it.

Nora and I have been missing you at the gym. We wouldn't want you to atrophy and Nora beat you at an arm wrestle.

Pyrrha, lovely, considerate Pyrrha. The red-heads that she'd befriended had their own love of physical workouts, and that message was not even subtly baiting her to get out of the house. They had always trained on Saturday, spotting each other and competing to be the one that could do the most reps or push-ups, or anything they could think of that was measured numerically. Deep down, Yang missed the burn of her workouts, and the camaraderie of girls that didn't only care about yoga, or Pilates, or whatever current fitness trend was taking the world by storm. Suddenly, she had the desire to blow off some steam, maybe bring back a semblance of the best parts of herself.

Yang replied that she would be there.

Maybe it was a sign that she was starting to find her own way.

In the warm and sweaty atmosphere of the gym, where clanking of various equipment and grunts or groans (which frankly, was not something they could ever resits giggling at) broke the odd silence, three young women finally collapsed on the mats and panted for dear life. Pyrrha and Nora had put Yang through her paces, and it had become obvious that she'd neglected her body lately. Still, Yang relished the feeling of being utterly spent; her body only looking for a place to rest and her mind much too out of it to think about anything but her screaming muscles.

Unable to stick to just taunts and jabs about each-other's shape and form, Pyrrha interrupted their cool-down period with something she'd been dying to say since Yang arrived. "It's unlike you to miss a work out, Yang, let alone weeks and weeks of them."

Not offended by the thinly veiled concern in her statement, Yang smiled guiltily.

"Yeah!" Nora sat up, giving the blonde a competitive grin. "I thought for sure you'd be afraid that I'd get ahead of you!"

Just glad that she was regaining a sense of normality, Yang casually shrugged, not thinking twice about her response. "I know. I wasn't really thinking about it. I've been totally distracted."

"Dare I say," Pyrrha was unsure if she was about to tread on thin ice, but she was never one to be afraid of doing the unthinkable, "distracted by a certain someone?" It went without saying who that someone was.

"You could say that," Yang heaved a struggled sigh, still regaining her breath.

Nora, not a big fan of ambiguity, steered the conversation in the direction she was most interested in. "What, you still pining after Miss Cool-and-Mysterious that reads smutty books when she doesn't think anyone can see?"

Yang whipped her head towards her in surprise, while Pyrrha let out a small gasp. "Nora-"

Raising her hand, Yang stopped Pyrrha before she could continue. They were just trying to look out for her, although, Nora did it in a roundabout way. "It's okay, guys. You've probably been stepping on eggshells around me this whole time. I'm sorry. It's just..."

Yang was unsure of what to honestly say. Would they understand what she'd been going through? She stared at the ground, wrapping her arms around her legs and pulling her knees to her chin. Her friends shared a look over her discouragement.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Yang turned to see Nora with a pensive expression – a rarity. "You really liked her," Nora said, no doubt in her voice.

Nodding slightly, Yang returned her head to rest on her knees. "I still really like her, Nora. Like, a lot." It was hard to admit, especially when she didn't want to think about it.

Crossing her long legs, Pyrrha sat in front of the blonde and lightly touched her arm in a comforting manner. "Do you want to talk about it? I did notice, Blake had been acting quite aloof the few weeks before her…absence. And I mean more aloof than usual."

Blake was being weird? Before she ran off? Yang hadn't noticed. Did her friends see everything that she hadn't? If she thought about it, it would explain Blake suddenly freaking out about the flirting – because it wasn't sudden, it was weeks in the making.

"That makes sense, actually," she acknowledged aloud, "I guess everyone's been dying to know why."

"We kinda hoped she'd come back and we wouldn't have to ask," Nora awkwardly admitted with a laugh. "But it's been almost two months, and you haven't been the same since." Even she knew that.

"You how you told me to tell her that I like her, Pyrrha? At Sun's party?" Yang asked tentatively, not a big fan of the night in question. Pyrrha nodded, and Yang began to rub her neck in nervousness. "She was freaking out about how much I flirted with her, one day in particular. So, I explained everything to her, like you suggested. That didn't go over so well."

"You're kidding?"

Yang felt herself frown. "I wish I was. She said no."

"Oh, Yang, I'm so sorry," Pyrrha reached out again, but Yang's demeanour quickly changed.

"But that's not it at all!" The blonde stood, her energy and adrenaline returning at the mere recollection of her and Blake's conversation. All she had wanted to do was chase after the Faunus, but she had chosen to let her go. "I don't get her, because she said she feels the same way! But then she got even more freaked out about her- about something, and said we wouldn't work out. She wouldn't change her mind. I've been trying to get used to it-"

"That's silly!" Nora sprang up to join her, their energy combining to boost the shorter girl's spirits. "You can't give up on love!"

"I never said I-"

"That's it, no more being miserable!" Wildly motioning with her arms, Nora shouted in her very Nora way. That was to say, it was loud and commanding. "Our duty as your friends is to help you get Blake back! Love will prevail!"

Her enthusiasm was not shared by Yang, who had only just begun to accept what had happened. "I don't think-"

"Don't think, just do!" Nora wouldn't take no for an answer. She'd take nothing but yes for an answer. Her friends needed their help to find each other.

Yang was surprised at her insistence. It wasn't like she hadn't already tried. "Do what? I did everything I could, but she won't talk to me!" She didn't mean to sound so negative, but her patience was already running thin.

"There's gotta be a way! Did you even bother to ask anyone to help you?!" Nora questioned incredulously, pointing out a fairly important thing to Yang.

"Uh, no, I guess I didn't," the blonde admitted, the gears in her brain turning slowly to the realisation that she'd done the same thing as Blake; shut people out.

"We're wasting time! Treading water waiting on a wave!" Nora marched towards the locker rooms, Pyrrha and Yang glancing at each other in slight confusion as the girl disappeared through the door.

As they slowly moved to follow, Nora's head popped back out, her turquoise eyes bright. "We're not getting any younger, here! Let's go, slowpokes! We have a lot of work to do, Pyrrha!"

"I'm gonna look like such an asshole if Sun was wrong," she muttered to herself, searching for the button she needed. It was slightly difficult to see it at dusk, but she was able to catch the pesky triangle symbol in the slowly dying light. She hesitated, doubts beginning to form.

But, remembering how she'd gotten this far, she psyched herself up, pushing the doubt to the wayside. "I will not let my heart ache. I won't be treading water waiting on a wave," she echoed Nora's coaching words. "Nope. I will not let my heart ache." She pressed play before she could chicken out, and lifted her arms above her head despite the dully protestant muscles, staring down the compact double-storey townhouse before her.

As the rhythmic strumming of guitar chords filled the air, she said a silent apology to the people that would absolutely wonder what the hell she was doing. The lyrics drifted out, the melancholic melody gradually growing stronger.

How can I put it, you put me on. I even fell for that stupid love song
Yeah, yeah, since you been gone
How come I'd never hear you say, I just wanna be with you?
Guess you never felt that way

As the chorus dropped, she swore she saw movement in a top-storey window.

But since you been gone!
I can breathe for the first time

Curtains drew open in the very same window, the glass panel sliding open and revealing a face Yang swore had never looked so beautiful. The song continued but it was white noise to her at that point, because she could breathe for the first time in forever, and she so hadn't moved on.

On Blake Belladonna's front lawn, Yang Xiao Long stood; a plan devised by Jaune, determination from Nora, encouragement from Pyrrha, wisdom from Ren, a Bluetooth speaker borrowed from Neptune, and critical knowledge from Sun all helping her.

The utter disbelief on Blake's face was palpable. She had to shout over the music, "Yang! What are you doing!?"

Lifting the speaker a bit higher in the presence of Blake, Yang also had trouble yelling a reply. "I'm serenading you! I saw it in a movie!" It was kind of cliché, but her friends had taken her mention of the famous movie scene as a wonderful idea for a plan. That had been the push for Yang.

Blake, meanwhile, still looked like a deer in headlights. "But that song was about breaking up!" It wasn't exactly a normal occurrence for her; someone serenading her, and the song choice was baffling her on top of the fact that Yang was there.

"I know!" The blonde shouted with confidence.

Taking that as a sign that there was just no stopping her with common sense, Blake disappeared out of sight, sprinting as fast as she could down the stairs to the front door. Wrenching it open, she approached Yang quickly to shut off the music to try and avoid drawing any more of an audience than there may have already been.

Yang squeaked a noise of surprise as the Faunus began to drag her by the arm. She took the few seconds to take in her appearance – Blake dressed like she'd never really seen. Black lounge pants and a black cardigan over a yellow shirt….which was pretty out of the ordinary for the girl that favoured neutral colours. As they entered the house, the moment and her staring was squarely cut off with the slam of the front door.

Five seconds of tense eye contact between them passed.

"What's going on? How did you find me?" Blake demanded, breaking the silence.

"I told you, I'm serenading you," Yang put Neptune's speaker down on the floor, her confidence unwavering. "And I didn't find you, Sun ratted you out."

Blake rechecked every precaution she'd ever taken to prevent this exact scenario. "But...I didn't tell Sun my address."

"Well, he knew this street. So, I knocked on everyone's door asking if they knew of you, and which house you live in," Yang gave a bashful smile to Blake, hoping it didn't come across the wrong way. "They did."

Blake was having trouble hearing how much dedication it had taken. "But why, Yang?" And she was partially annoyed that she'd been forced into this situation, even by someone that would never hurt her.

"Because Summer used to tell me to chase my dreams."

Yang was fairly sure that Blake was blushing at the implication, if how quickly she looked away was anything to tell by. It was a tiny bit mean to flirt with her when she was well aware of her feelings – and that her feelings conflicted with her actions. But this was her last shot, so there wasn't anything to lose.

Having recovered from Yang's bold statement, Blake turned back to her defence, trying to keep her resolve. "Does that have anything to do with why you're blaring Kelly Clarkson to the whole neighbourhood?"

"It's because my life sucked without you. The woman has a way with words." Yang laughed, but briefly, her semi-joke was not taken extremely well by Blake. "And, well, you kinda already broke up with me before giving me a shot, so it kind of makes sense to use a breakup song. In a dumb way."

Blake sighed, hugging her arms around herself. "You shouldn't want a shot. There shouldn't be a shot at us. You shouldn't even be here..." She began to worry that her fears would come true, if she was being watched.

But Yang's voice begged, "Can you just hear me out?"

Blake had no choice. At this point, there was no way of getting away from this, from Yang. She knew where she lived, and there was nowhere left for her to go that wasn't worse than this. And she knew that whatever Yang was about to say wasn't going to be what she wanted to hear – she was so close to falling off the rails completely and giving in.

Just like always, Yang commanded every shred of her attention. She was tall and powerful, especially in her boots, but not intimidating. It was like a moth to a flame; Blake instinctively gravitated towards her as she shone the brightest.

"I've never really chased my dreams before. I'm not even sure I had any before this. And I'm not really sure how my dreams found me, but I guess that's the way you are. You found me first, so, then I had to find you. And I tried so hard, failing at every turn. Without our friends, I would have let you go. You can't go through everything alone," Yang said, hoping that she could get that message through. "But now I'm here, and I just want to be with you, Blake. I want you to see that you're free to love whoever you want. And I don't care if people don't like it, because I'm not in it for them, I'm in it for you and me."

Blake shut her eyes, Yang's words washing over her in waves. She was afraid, but for all the wrong reasons. She was afraid that Yang was so dedicated to her and that she didn't deserve it.

"But...if you tell me now, that you don't want this, don't want me…I can't force you into anything. As much as I'd want to, I can't stop you leaving me if that was what you chose. It'd be a mystery to me why you'd go through all this only to give up. You have to know Blake," Yang stepped close to the Faunus, gentle coaxing her hands away from herself so she could hold them. Blake didn't resist, not even completely sure if this was really real. She'd almost convinced herself she'd never have love again, let alone Yang's love.

Yang gazed into amber eyes with conviction. "There's nothing I won't do for you. Whatever you're afraid of, I'll protect you, be right by your side the whole way. I don't know if it's always gonna be as hard as this was, but I promise you I'll be here no matter what. And not just me, everyone else, too. We all miss you."

Blake knew she couldn't really promise that, but she so badly wanted to believe it. This wasn't at all what she'd planned. Nothing since she had met Yang had gone the way she'd planned, but her life the last eight months had been better than she could have ever hoped.

Yang could see how conflicted Blake was. But, she came to say something, and she would talk until her words were exhausted. She'd never been this determined in her life; used to dragging her feet because she never cared how far she got. Ever since she met Blake, that had changed, she had no set destination but she wanted to move forward again. And she wanted the same for Blake; for her to have ambition, be unafraid, and do the things that she wanted without inhibition.

"I want you to make the choice based on what you want," Yang didn't dare look away, fearing that if she did, she would come across as anything but wholly sincere. "I'm only here because I didn't to want lose my chance to show you that what I feel for you is real." It was a tad vain of her to have come here, acting like some sort of saviour, when she had been as depressed as she'd ever been not even a week ago.

But there was no way in hell Yang would make her intentions vague – Blake didn't need someone that would manipulate her and trick her. "And I'll be here, even if it's only just as your friend," she let Blake's hands go, backing up a step. She'd done what she needed to, now it was up to Blake, once and for all.

"What?" Blake almost couldn't believe her ears, and she had four of them. "You want to just be friends?"

"If that's what you want, Blake."

What did she want? What she wanted and what she had prepared for were two different things. Blake had told herself that she simply couldn't have the person that had just shown up at her doorstep, that it was too dangerous. That for all her guilt of the unknown, she'd run away scared, and was willing to break both their hearts because it was easier? Both outcomes she'd deliberated over were undesirable, but now, Yang was offering her another option. Just friends.

"Do you honestly think we can be just friends? Pretend there's nothing more, knowing what we know?" Blake was careful to take in Yang's reaction to her question. If she were to label it, she'd use the word sheepish.

"I think we could. But..." Yang glanced at her cautiously, unsure if Blake wanted to know her true thoughts.

"But?" Blake let herself echo, curiosity once again killing any other instinct she had – like she lived for nothing but the thrill of the chase.

"I'm getting real tired of having to pretend," Yang said, tiredness ebbing into a slight upturn of the corner of her lips.

Pretend was what Blake had done almost their whole friendship; pretended she wasn't a Faunus, pretended like she hadn't sent romantic signals, pretended as if she wasn't into Yang. And then she had pretended like everything would be okay, like she hadn't hurt her best friend,and that Yang would magically forgive her over time. Not five minutes ago, Blake let her stand in front of her and pour her heart out, but was she pretending to hear her out for Yang's sake, or her own? Who benefited from this?

Blake felt it; she was teetering on the edge, so willing to throw caution to the wind because why couldn't she just be happy for once? Would she hold on, or let go? Letting go was all she'd ever known. But would she waste this opportunity, her second chance? Would she let her heart ache forever, tread water waiting for that perfect wave, and risk losing it all?

All she'd wanted to was leave her old life behind, but never once did she think about what came after. When would her new life begin?

Staring at the human being that was Yang Xiao Long told Blake all she needed to know.

"So am I," Blake voiced her decision. She chose to be honest and vulnerable. She chose Yang, for herself, and not for anybody else. "I want you in my life. And not just as a friend."

Slowly, a grin grew on Yang's face, as she ran a hand through her hair and exhaled the breath she had been holding. "Thank fuck for that, Blake," she chuckled out of pure relief. "Because I missed you."

"I'm sorry," Blake tried not to let guilt interrupt the happiness of the moment, Yang taking her hand and pulling her into an embrace. She nestled her face in Yang's neck, instantly soothed by the strong scent and all-encompassing warmth that was now hers to absorb. "I missed you too. So much." She would never move again if given the option; her doubts disappeared and the dark clouds above her head fled in shame as the light of her life was beside her once more.

"What do we do now?" Yang still held onto Blake despite the question, but she was pretty sure she couldn't stand there for hours like that even though she wanted to. "It's been kind of a tiring day for me, I could use a nap, but I can go home?" Even though they'd reconciled – more than that, even – there was still some uncertainty in it all. She had a feeling they'd need to talk about a lot of things.

Blake leaned away, shaking her head slightly. "You can stay, if you want," she was not inclined to be without Yang again so soon, after so long. Suddenly she was self-aware as Yang's fingers came up to her neck to run along the hem of her cardigan. "But, um, let me change out of these clothes." Her brain kicked into overdrive at the slightest possibility of either of them shedding a shred of clothing, a million scenarios (all embarrassing) running rampant in her imagination. Not that she was thinking about...that. No, it was much too soon for that.

"Change?" A small raspberry blew from Yang's lips. "You look fine! Great, even. You could be wearing a garbage bag and I'd be happy to see you." With a slight bias, Yang still thought Blake would be able to pull even the most trashy thing off – pun intended. Needless to say, she then gave the Faunus a once-over, mentally trying to replace her current outfit with a garbage bag. It occurred to her again that Blake was wearing yellow.

Blake shook her head again, this time in disbelief. "Why would I wear a garbage- nevermind, I don't..." she saw a questionable expression dawn on the blonde's face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"That's my shirt," Yang said, all too smugly. Her eyes shone with a mischief that made Blake want to dig herself into a deep hole only to escape the stupid feeling of embarrassment that had taken over.

She must have looked like a walking disaster with her – Yang's – yellow shirt and her beet-red face.

"No it isn't?" She cringed in weak denial. Why she bothered denying it when Yang had pulled enough of her cardigan away to prove herself right was anybody's guess.

Yang gasped scandalously, beginning to circle her like she was prey. "Blake Belladonna, you thief," she continued to tug away at the outer layer to reveal her stolen property in all its glory; Xiao Long revealed on the back as her proof.

Blake turned in place, blush still running rampant across her face and neck. "It was an accident!" It was the truth, but she still had no reason to have kept it.

Yang humoured her a little, teasing coming to the tip of her tongue like she'd never lost her beat to dancing the line between them. "You just accidentally came into possession of my crappy old shirt? And accidentally put it on your body?" She wasn't exactly bothered by the concept of Blake in one of her favourite shirts (or any of her shirts at all). "It's been missing for months. Like, before Christmas."

"It smelled like you," Blake was contrite in her reasoning, knowing it would have been wrong to never give it back. "I only found it a few weeks ago, under my bed. I figured it got mixed up in my stuff, and I wanted to give it back-"

"Keep it," Yang interrupted her rambling, an ever-present smile only growing fonder as the seconds went by. She decided to take it easy on Blake, just in case she made the Faunus' heart weak pumping all of that extra blood. "Anything mine is yours."

The simple proclamation eased Blake, but she was certain she was smitten, finding the audacity to play coy as if Yang hadn't already confessed to her twice. "Even your heart?"

Yang's head tilted, a half-smile leaning with the angle of her face as her lips parted in quiet surprise. "Wow."

"What?" Blake asked, finding herself smiling right along with her. It was contagious. Yang was contagious, but she'd never get sick of it, never get sick of her. They had become love-struck teenagers in record time, and Blake finally understood what all those stories that she'd read had been talking about.

"That's super corny, Blake," Yang felt a familiar sense of understanding herself. One that dated back to very early in their friendship, as if they'd been waiting to come full circle and realise what they needed from each other. It was kind of touching.

"Yeah, well," Blake shrugged halfheartedly, because she didn't mind one bit that it was true. "You're super gay. For me," and she really didn't mind that that was true. How she would have laughed if she'd been able to tell her past self how she would have the same conversation twice; that the meaning would eventually shift beyond friendship.

Yang, always striving to get a genuine laugh from the Faunus, was chuckling. "The term is Blake-sexual, thank you very mu-"

But it wasn't funny anymore, not as Blake was suddenly close, shushing her; finger barely pressed to her lips mid-sentence.

"Hey, I've got an idea," golden eyes glimmered mischievously, looking up at Yang. "Don't speak, okay?"

Now Yang was the one with the weak heart, falling to pieces when the thought occurred to her that there was absolutely nothing stopping them from doing whatever the hell they wanted to each other.

It was nerve-wracking. "But-"

"Uh-uh," Blake stopped her again, but with slightly more pressure. Their height difference was more pronounced with Yang in her boots and Blake without any at all, and the blonde could see Blake having to tear her eyes away from her mouth just to look her in the eye.

The thought that Blake wanted her was exhilarating, but terrifying. Yang knew she was scared because what they had was real, unlike anything she'd ever experienced. The feeling had never been mutual before; she'd always tried to please others before herself, but it was different with Blake.

"Now, this is the quiet part," Yang heard Blake whisper, much closer than she'd ever been.

If Blake wanted to kiss her, Yang would let her steal her breath away. Yang placing her hands on Blake's waist, pulling to lift her like she was weightless just enough to reach her waiting lips was all the encouragement she needed.

Blake had imagined this moment a few times, but it was incomparable to the real thing. Not only that, but she was kissing the girl that she had been convinced at first glance was shallow. She was falling for someone that she had thought would be a horrible partner. She deepened the kiss; trying to support herself by snaking her arms up around Yang's neck, the brush of their lips crossing into much more intimate territory as the blonde reciprocated.

Yang wasn't sure why she was so eager; why every second that passed made her want more. But, she would gladly walk along down that path and turn what Blake gave her into the desire to give back more, embracing the mystery that was the thing she had for Blake Belladonna.

Maybe Yang would never solve the mystery; she had wanted to, but maybe it was better that she didn't. Her life never failed to deliver surprises, but they wouldn't always be as hard to get through as they'd been in the past, and if Blake was going to be there to support her then she would have the strength tackle anything head on.

A smile crept onto Yang's face, and Blake sighed in contentment as she pulled away ever so slightly. Yang hummed quietly, trying to commit the feeling and moment to memory. She hadn't let Blake be the one that got away, and she wouldn't ever let her go. The warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart made her sure of that.

"I'd take a vow of silence if that's gonna become a thing," Yang joked, gently nudging the Faunus' nose with her own, so enraptured with the way Blake was looking at her; with such adoration, as if she was the sun itself. She was going to be end up in a lot of trouble if a kiss was all it took to turn her into putty in Blake's hands.

"I have wanted to do that for a long time," Blake admitted, revelling at the opportunity to act upon her affection – and her freedom to do it in the future.

Lowering Blake to the floor, Yang resisted the urge to tease her about it, choosing a different question. "Do I live up to expectations?"

"I think it's a good thing that you're not at all what I expected."

"I'll take it," leading Blake to the couch, Yang laughed as she tugged the smiling cat Faunus towards her. "Now come and kiss me until I fall asleep."

While Yang had napped, Blake had quietly set about making something edible for dinner while she listened to the occasional soft snore drift in the air. It was about time she returned the favour of cooking a meal, after all, even if she knew it wouldn't measure up to Yang's efforts. In fact, it had been rather simple, but as they sat down together in the evening, Yang still shovelled it into her mouth and sung her praises in-between chewing.

Then they did the washing up together; Yang scrubbing away the little that was left behind on their plates while Blake dried – the shorter girl having to resort to whipping her tea towel at the cheeky blonde's butt for whistling when she had bent over to put away the pots and pans.

Of course it was incredibly domestic, but neither of them were complaining if their future held the same enjoyment that could last a lifetime.

When Yang had suggested an early bedtime; involving nothing but the promise of cuddling up with a good book, Blake was happy to oblige. Even in the unfamiliar environment of Blake's house, Yang felt welcomed when she was presented a brand new toothbrush followed by a kiss on the cheek. But, as they hopped into Blake's bed wearing each other's clothes, she counted herself luckiest of all to nuzzle into silky cat ears, placing a kiss between them in silent reassurance.

And as Yang asked Blake to read aloud, the hushed commentary of Yang's unbridled thoughts added a new element to a story Blake had experienced many times over already. And she wasn't at all offended as she felt Yang's head lean heavier against her own as she drifted off to her narration, setting aside the book so they could settle down, murmuring their goodnights under covers, pressed together not only because the small bed called for it, but because they could.

For the first time in months, they both resisted restlessness, sleeping soundly. As always, Blake woke early by habit, but instead of a feeling of disappointment and unmotivation because of her choices, she felt like the bright brand-new day outside waiting for her. The crack in the curtains did little to block the unyielding sun rays that rose in the northeast, shining beams playing along the floor and in the golden pool of Yang's hair as she slept like she belonged in Blake's bed.

At that very moment, Blake was the only person in the world to see the sight – the glow that radiated was almost holy; only she could know how much of a blessing her existence was. And not just that, she was able to wake up every morning knowing Yang chose her, like some sort of magic she didn't understand. But, just because she didn't understand it did not mean she wasn't convinced that she should never let it go. Yang was someone she should never let go.

She'd wasted so much time already; losing track of the things that she wanted while the White Fang clouded her mind with their own designs. Blake was proud of herself for not relinquishing control of her life, taking back the right to choose the happiness that she deserved – not letting her status as a minor hold her back from cutting ties with the church she so desperately wanted to leave behind. They would not find out what she'd done, and they probably never would, so there was nothing they could do to stop her. Not anymore. She was going to do things her way.

A low grumble came from Yang's throat as she turned on her side, eyes blinking lazily in the face of day. The noise became satisfied as Blake came into focus; Yang idly thinking she could get used to mornings like this. Everything in her life felt perfect for once – she hadn't felt that way since before Summer had died.

Blake snuggled back towards Yang; taking a break from admiring her, amused at her dopey smile a few inches away.

"Hey, baby," escaped from Yang's lips. Though, in her sleepy haze, it sounded more like a half-garbled hey, beebee – which made more sense than it should have to the Faunus. Blake didn't ever think she could handle some sort of pet-name like that, but, with Yang...it just made her heart fill with love. It was so casual, yet anything but.

She afforded Yang a chaste kiss returning an affectionate, "Hey," eliciting another pleased hum. Before she could even consider getting carried away, Blake insisted removing herself from bed – otherwise she would stay there for much too long. "I'm going to take a shower. You should get up when I'm done."

Crawling out of bed was easy, but for Blake, as lidded eyes trawled over her form; Yang's volleyball shirt that draped over black underwear her only saving grace, the hard part was walking away when Yang announced, I like you in that.

She wasn't surprised when she returned to find Yang snoozing again, deciding to leave her a little bit longer while she had her morning tea. After mulling around the kitchen, the embodiment of pure bliss, she sat down in the kitchen with her steaming brew. An almost imperceptible rustle caught her attention – Yang had almost succeeding on sneaking up on her.

"I know you're there," the Faunus stated, not allowing any surprises around a liquid sure to burn the both of them.

Yang let an aw of disappointment out, opting instead to hug Blake around the shoulders from behind.

"Looks like you've got a backlog of mail, there," she observed, the small table almost overtaken by the pile of papers.

Blake simply sipped at her tea, leaning into her warmth. "I suppose I do," she eventually replied.

Sensing apprehensiveness of the topic, Yang coaxed her a little more. "Blake, there's a lot of huge-ass envelopes."

"I can see that."

Yang sighed, moving herself to sit across from Blake. If she wasn't going to say it, then there was no choice but to be blunt. "It's April. They're college applications, aren't they?"

"When I moved, I planned to go to college and move far away from here," Blake said slowly, gauging the blonde's reaction.

The aforementioned reaction was furrowed eyebrows on a fallen face. "You never told me that."

"You never asked," Blake shrugged, displeased with how forlorn Yang had become, "but it wasn't something I wanted to really discuss."

"I didn't think about it. I never wanted to go to college," Yang revealed, realising they'd missed plenty of topics of discussion that she was suddenly curious about. "Still don't. But I should have asked you," she added hastily.

"Yang, it's fine. It's not that important to me, not anymore," golden eyes pointedly stared, trying to convey a message. "I have other options, now."

"But you're so smart," Yang threw out her opinion, not really sure she wanted to be the reason Blake gave up a better education. There were many things the bookworm could excel at.

"I'm glad you think so," Blake said, smiling as she continued to drink her tea. Yang had already given her the compliment umpteen times over, but the effect never wore off. "What did you plan to do after graduating?"

"Funny story. I was going to go back home, but, now..." Yang stood, partially avoiding giving any real answer. She had time to think about it, anyway, her dad having already made it clear he would be happy to have her home without any pressure. "I have other options," she winked, beginning to like the way Blake had phrased their newfound relationship.

"That's a coincidence."

That may have been an understatement. They could have the chance to find their way in the world together, even if wasn't what they had planned.

"Yup! Now, speaking of options, what's for breakfast?" Yang dropped the topic, starting to feel the beginning of hunger grow in her stomach.

"No sex joke? I'm impressed," Blake spoke into her cup, throwing a cheeky sideways glance at Yang.

"I'm actually hungry," the blonde whined, a pink tinge colouring her fair skin at the implication, embarrassed at how forward Blake was being with her.

"Hey, look," the Faunus turned in her chair, gesturing Yang to sit in the seat next to her. After all, there was no time like the present to broach the topic. Yang sat, her bare legs threatening to distract Blake. Of course she didn't put any pants on, she mused. No shame.

She powered through, not wanting to freak out the unexpectedly hesitant Yang any more. "Just because I'm very much attracted to you, doesn't mean I'm expecting anything. I'm content to move at our own pace."

Yang nodded, not surprised at how considerate Blake was being. It was odd, really, how she felt the need for direction. She knew they both wanted the same thing, but she didn't want to take the initiative – she wanted Blake to be happy, and Yang knew that the best thing for them was to show that she trusted Blake to guide her. But, she was also apprehensive about her first real relationship. She so badly didn't want it to end in heartbreak, and she had to make sure that they communicated properly before any misunderstandings pushed them apart.

"Well, I like the things you've been doing," Yang said truthfully, having found there was hardly anything weird about kissing Blake. "I just don't want us to end up so impatient that we rush through everything. I want to learn and take in things that will make us...us, but together..." she chuckled, rubbing a hand through her hair. "I've been listening to Nora too much."

Blake took her hand as it retreated from golden locks. Yang was turning out to be just as sweet when it came to romance, and though she had some...urges, Blake had no desire to skip the things Yang was talking about.

She ran a thumb over the dips of Yang's knuckles, absentmindedly feeling old scars where the skin had once torn. "Are you worried that I don't feel the same way?"

"I know you were hesitant enough as it is," Yang answered, "and just because we're at this point now, doesn't mean whatever that held you back in the first place is suddenly gone. Right?"

Yang couldn't admit that she was nervous; afraid that she might be more inexperienced than Blake. It seemed naïve to assume that someone as pretty and wonderful as her had never been in a relationship – and she couldn't bring herself to ask, in case it was a painful memory.

"You're right," Blake didn't push her for another reason. She was happy to let things play out. "If we were to just...take it slow, at least for a little while, I'd like that. And, if we could keep it to ourselves…?"

"I can keep a secret. You know that."

"Once I'm eighteen, I'm no longer legally tied to the White Fang. It's a complicated story, but I think that'd be best."

"I'll take you out on your birthday to celebrate, then," Yang concluded, not fussed about being discreet. It would probably be fun. She smirked. "But, for now, I'll be your dirty little secret."

"I know you're joking, but, please never refer to yourself as that again," Blake said as she moved away, looking slightly mortified. She tried to hide her face while finishing the last of her tea.

"Because you're not ashamed of me or because the sexual connotation is too much for you?"

She could hear Yang chuckling, despite the fact that it was for both of those things that Blake didn't consider her a dirty little secret. Agreeing to take it slow with such a serial teaser was going to be such a task.

"I will tell you the answer on my birthday," Blake eventually said, no hint of any emotion in her voice as she got up to wash out her cup in the sink.

"Haha, I know what it is now," Yang chanted childishly behind her back, Blake just thankful she had a distraction to hide her blush.

Oh, yes, such a task.

"I have a question," the blonde once again moved on, her attention span for one thing not really strong in the light of her ecstatic mood. "When isyour birthday? Now that I need to know, and all."

That was one of the things Blake had also failed to mention. Yang figured it hadn't rolled around yet – still, she supposed it was probably normal that friends didn't always talk about their birthdays for no reason, and they hadn't exactly had a smooth friendship the last few months.

"It's next month. The ninth."

"Huh," Yang said thoughtfully. "You May-be older than me."

Blake finally turned, pretending to be unamused at the pun and the proud expression on her face. "Judging by your sense of humour, it should have been obvious," she taunted, smiling slyly. She had really missed their banter.

"Wow, harsh. I give you the ammunition to make fun of my age, but you go for my jokes instead," Yang acted offended, pouting dramatically.

"Okay, give me a do-over," the dark-haired Faunus giggled, unable to hold back. "Haha, I'm older than you. I win, so you should..." she faked contemplation. "You should kiss me." She enjoyed the ridiculousness of it all; acting her age instead of like the whole world was weighing on her shoulders. Maybe this wasn't what she had planned, but it certainly felt right. Blake wasn't to think that they were in for a life free of disappointment; a picture perfect masterpiece, because even the best works of art had flaws and mistakes. But there was something liberating knowing that Yang wanted to be by her side, and she was about to be released from the choke-hold that the church of the White Fang had around her neck – they had no influence over her and what she would become.

"That's more of a win-win, in my opinion," Yang approached, coming to press Blake against the counter as she fulfilled the request. Lingering for a moment, she had hardly lifted her lips away from Blake's when she whispered, "You can do me over any day."

"There it is." Rolling her eyes, Blake couldn't stop the corners of her mouth turning up at the innuendo. She expected nothing less from Yang.

Blake had thought she was hopeless, but really, nothing was hopeless. Now, the heartache of her past could begin to heal.

A/N:

Song: 'Heartache' - go to u tube and put this on the end of the URL: /watch?v=FHKmBiHzt4w&list=PL2TG4Pr0BdqnPO_7z2oPG8KwibPIiLiCy&index=10

There's a lot of imagery and speech taken from this song but it just worked so well. It's one of my absolute favourites. Sometimes I can't always incorporate things, but, turns out Rose can be a German name, and so it kinda just made sense to make Summer's lineage German so I could slot in the Oma and Opa thing. Plus, I always wonder about the adult's parents since they're never mentioned.

Anyway, remember the brief beeunion in canon? I was in the midst of writing this chapter back then. It didn't really give me any help writing as I'd hoped, but, at long last they are...together. My babies. I'm so happy, ahh (now let it us see some real bee talks, CRWBY!)

Did you like my version of my own beeunion? A few things link up in this chapter. Three to the past and one to the future...but that's spoiler territory. Only four chapters and a epilogue remains!