The faintest tinge of noise forced the girl laying in bed to an upright resting position. The room was cold, and the wooden boards creaked and groaned as she surveyed the confines of her darkened room. The wind rapped lightly against the panes of glass separating her from the icy gales outside. Despite her fluffy covers, she still felt the chill of the air seep deep into her bones. The girl let out a soft sigh, knowing no amount of blanket could ever truly warm her.

She swallowed, and shuffled back into her covers, turning to face the window in her room. She gazed at the barren trees outside, eyes simply looking out over the landscape. She blinked a few times, perhaps expecting to see something within the forest stirring about. The slightest hint of a shadow, or the silhouette of an unidentifiable figure would suffice. Alas, there was nothing to satiate her desire.

She turned over again, shutting her eyes and slowing her breathing, nestling deeper into her sea of superficial comfort.

Dancing on the precipice of sleep once again, Yang Xiao Long was ready to succumb, but darted up once again, this time in the shadow of another person. Her breaths came out shallow and quick. She fought the stinging in her eyes and tried to focus on the figure before her.

"Yang," it said, in a soft, familiar voice.

Yang halted all action, allowing her eyes to gradually adjust to the shadows of the room. The moonlight barely illuminated the tall dark girl standing at the foot of Yang's bed. No, she wasn't dark, it was just her clothes.

"Yang," it said again, awaiting a reply.

"Blake?" Yang muttered, staring at the Faunus. It nodded and walked over to the side of Yang's bed, sitting down on a stool from the other side her room.

"I… I wish I could have come earlier," Blake said, not looking Yang in the eyes.

Yang saw her eyes trying to dart upwards, yet failing at every attempt. Yang began to grip her blanket tight. She could feel her brow furrow and her jaw clench as she peered at the girl sitting next her; the Faunus's ears drooped low, and her head tilted down to the floor.

"You… You wished? You ran! You ran away when we needed you!"

Blake could hear a hiss in Yang's reply. She finally mustered enough strength to look at her previous teammate, and felt her chest collapse as she made eye contact.

"It wasn't safe… I couldn't… I mean, I got you-!" Blake was stuttering, and glanced over to the side of Yang that wasn't facing her. A short stub stuck out of a wrinkled shirt sleeve.

Yang grabbed her shoulder and turned away from Blake, her back now facing the Faunus.

"Blake, you… Why are you here?" Yang's voice quivered a little, partially from the cold around her.

"I wanted to apologize," Blake explained, "for what happened, and for what I did to you."

"What, you mean this?" Yang asked, holding out her bandaged stump. "I don't want your apology, Blake. Not for this."

The wind whipped up outside, banging against the house a little more ferociously than before.

"What do you mean," Blake replied, "not for this?"

Yang shifted her body fully around, sitting face-to-face with Blake. She lowered her head to stare Blake directly in the eyes and shot her a furious glare. Blake backed away a little, but stared back, witnessing the fire burning in the blonde's eyes.

"For this!" Yang choked, her voice cracked and tears now apparent sliding down her cheeks. "For my heartbreak, and my trust towards you, and my faith in our relationship; our team!"

Blake could feel a welt building up in her throat as well, though she forced back the tears pushing against her eyes. She watched as Yang's lips shuddered and her mouth stretched open. She was trying hard to not sob too loudly, fluids streaming down her face now.

Blake sat there, just watching her cry into her own shirt. She didn't fight back the tears now, but she refused to turn into a blubbering mess like the girl weeping before her.

"It was my fault," Blake said, wiping her cheeks. "Your injury, our team… Everything was my fault." Blake sniffed and inhaled shakily. "My past caught up with me and almost got you killed."

"Sh-shut up!" Yang said, rising from her bed. Blake shot up as well, backing away as quickly as Yang was approaching her. They made their way to the other side of the room, Blake's back against the wall, peering up at the sniffling, incensed woman before her.

"Do you think that really matters?!" Yang lifted her left arm and cocked it back, hand clenched into a shaking fist. "Do you think that any of that matters now?!"

Blake tensed her body, readying herself for when the blow would strike. She closed her eyes and waited.

"Do what you want, Yang, if it'll make you feel better," Blake told her. "Weiss is gone, Ruby is gone, and you're harboring so much anger and resentment right now. I deserve all of it."

Yang was breathing heavily, her whole body starting to tremble with the same vigor as her fist. Cheeks flustered red, and body boiling hot, she barely noticed the chill of the room anymore. "I… Said… To shut up!" She shouted.

Blake flinched as Yang's fist launched towards her head. She heard a loud crash followed by the splitting of wooden boards, and felt a few slivers of wood tap her cheek. As she opened her eyes, she caught Yang's gaze once again.

"Y-Yang?"

"It's… okay," she peeped out between soft hiccups. "You… You're talking a lot, Blake. That's got to mean you're upset too, right?" Removing her arm from within the wall, Yang rubbed the tears and snot out of her face and threw her head on Blake's right shoulder. Blake's eyes widened. "I am angry," she continued.

"I'm angry that you left, and I'm angry that you didn't say a damn thing when you did, and I'm also angry that this ha-happened to our team… I'm angry about a lot of things, Blake. But…"

Yang could feel Blake's arms wrap around her, and she used what little she had to do the same.

"I think I understand," Blake said, interrupting Yang's speech. "I hurt you in more ways than one, and I hurt the team by not being there when you guys needed me."

"You came back," Yang said, chuckling a little. Blake simply stood there now, letting the other girl embrace her for what seemed like an eternity. "I was worried you had just given up."

"I… I almost thought to," Blake replied after a short pause. "After what happened at Beacon with Cinder and the White Fang, I just wanted to run, and never come back."

The two girls released their embrace and Yang smiled. Blake returned the gesture with one of her own. "I'm glad you didn't," Yang told her.

"There umm, was a reason that I came by, Yang," Blake said, walking back towards the bed. Yang turned around to face the Faunus and sighed.

"I guess it wasn't just to say sorry, huh?" The blonde girl returned to her bed and sat down, offering Blake a spot next to her. Blake accepted, it and Yang leaned over to rest her head on her shoulder once again. They sat like that for a minute before Blake finally leaned her own body into Yang's.

"Adam is still out there, and he knows about you guys," Blake said, tearing the silence. "Originally I thought I was going to look for him, but I realized that I was just running, like you said."

"What do you plan on doing?" Yang asked, lifting her body upright.

"I need to make sure he doesn't harm any more of my friends," Blake replied, looking at her friend. "I need to make sure that the White Fang won't harm any more innocent people."

"Do you really think you can do that?"

"I have to try. That's why I came here, to say goodbye to you and Ruby before I left," Blake explained. "I have to do this alone, for my sake as well as our team's."

"I think I get it," Yang said, turning her gaze down to the floor.

"This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I can't say that I blame you, or expect you to accept it as an excuse," Blake continued. "I just want you to know that this time, Yang, this time I'm not running away."

"Heh… Just… Do whatever you want, I don't care," Yang replied, facing away from Blake now. "I'm just going to lay here."

"Yang?"

"That… That was the last thing I told Ruby, before she left with Jaune and the others to Haven. The last real thing that I meant," Yang said. "Some sister I am—Some friend too."

Blake didn't say anything. Instead, she rose from her seat and began walking towards the bedroom door. She turned around after setting her hand on the door knob and stared at the pitiful figure, hunched over her bed in the cold darkness.

"I said I needed to do this alone," Blake began, "but maybe I was wrong about that."

Yang looked up. "What good am I? even as emotional support, I seem to be working with a handicap," she told Blake.

"I know this isn't you, Yang. This isn't the fiery young woman who made Team RWBY happy and warm," Blake said. "I thought that maybe, I could restore that flame inside of you if I came back. To be honest, I was hoping you would want to come with me."

Yang scratched her head and laid back down on her bed. "I mean, it was good to see you, Blake, I won't lie," she replied. "But there's nothing I could do to help."

"You could… just be there," Blake said. Yang looked over to her friend. "I know I'm not one to talk about presence," Blake went on, "but I see now how broken you are, and I can feel your emotions, torn to shreds. I hear the pain in your voice, Yang, and I grieve like you do about Pyrrha and Penny, and every second that I look at you just sitting there, it breaks my heart.

There is nothing I can do or say that would pull you from this slump, not now… I was selfish and didn't want to think about the consequences of my actions… But believe me when I say that you're not alone in this, Yang."

"I know, I believe you," Yang replied, smiling at her friend. "Blake, come here."

Blake retreated from the door and sat down on the bed again. She looked down at Yang, and Yang looked right back, just smiling.

"What?" she finally asked.

"Thanks," was all Yang said, reaching up and lightly caressing Blake's cheek. "I'm pretty tired though, so you should probably get going."

For a while, neither of them moved. No one spoke, yet both of them knew what the other was thinking. They peered longingly into each other's eyes, locked in a visual embrace. "That's what I would say, if I were strong enough to believe it myself," Yang whispered.

"I see," Blake replied, giving Yang a small grin. She placed her hand gently over Yang's. "In that case, I guess it wouldn't hurt to get some rest before I leave."

The Faunus lifted her feet from the floor and laid her head down on a second pillow. Yang shimmied over a couple of inches, and allowed Blake to reside under her blankets. She smiled, closing her eyes and taking in the aroma of the other person in her bed.

"I'm warm," Yang said, causing Blake to face her. "The warmest I've been in a long time."

"I'm glad," Blake replied. "I had hoped to accomplish just that, though maybe in a different way."

"Is this… uh, too weird for you?" Yang blushed.

"N-no, that's not it," Blake replied, a wave of red washing over her face. "It's just… I've only ever felt this way with one other person and… And now I—"

"You aim to stop him," Yang finished. Blake nodded. "Hmm… you know something?"

"What is it?"

"I never told you how beautiful your eyes were," Yang said, a full grin appearing over her face.

Blake blinked a couple of times and moved her eyes away for a moment. She returned her stare, and smiled. "I've observed from a distance, but, I never told you that I like it when you smile," Blake said just then.

"I guess we both have things that we'd like the other to know about," Yang said.

"So it seems," Blake replied. "Shall I start?"

"You know, Blake… You really don't have to," Yang said, pressing her mouth against Blake's.

"So, you're certain about this?" Taiyang asked, grabbing his little girl's shoulders and massaging them a bit.

"Yeah, Dad, I think I'm ready," Yang said, placing her hand on his face. He gave her a toothy smile.

"Yeah, I suppose deep down I know too," he said, giving her a big hug. He stroked her golden locks and kissed her forehead before letting his daughter go.

"I promise I'll look after her," Blake said, standing in the main doorway of the house.

"I know you will. You girls will always look after each other, a heck of a lot better than I can, that's for sure," Taiyang said.

"We'll stop Adam, we'll find Ruby and the others, and we'll rebuild our team, no matter what it takes," Yang said. "I let Ruby go off on her own while I sat in a slump all winter. I'm going to show her that I didn't give up; that I do care," she looked at Blake, "and that together, we're stronger than anything else in the world."

"Please, be careful," Taiyang said.

Both Yang and Blake nodded, heading out the door into the icy slush. The sky was clear, and the air was crisp, filling the blonde woman's lungs full of bloom. Blake motioned for her partner to hold out her hand, and fastened a single gauntlet to her arm. She covered Yang in a brown cloak Taiyang had given them, allowing it to rest easily over her right shoulder.

From the doorway, Taiyang stood silent, watching as they started on their path. Yang waved one final good bye, and she and Blake left the house behind.