Finally, they were all back together.
It had felt like an eternity since the last time Yang had sat around a table with all three of her teammates. They were all here, together, safe, and they had just taken their first step toward victory after successfully defending Haven, and with it, the Relic of Knowledge. The Spring Maiden was… safe, and that was a good thing, Yang supposed. So long as she kept her mother's secret, no one would have to know that Raven was the true Spring Maiden. But somehow, she knew it wouldn't be the last she'd see of her.
Everything was finally starting to go Team RWBY's way. So why did Yang feel so… so defeated?
She glanced around the large dining room table, from her own teammates to the remaining members of JNR, to Sun, and to that quiet girl who sat beside him at the very end, away from everyone else. Yang had learned that her name was Ilia, and that she had come from Menagerie, where Blake and Sun had apparently been since the Fall of Beacon, rallying up Faunus to take back the White Fang.
She was happy for them… or at least, that was what she told herself. Adam had proven that he could no longer be trusted as a leader, and the White Fang was now back in the hands of Blake's father, whom up until now, Yang didn't even know existed. She had a family… a complete family, with two parents who loved and supported her, who had forgiven her even after she'd denied them, left them, and became a rogue warrior for the White Fang. And Sun… somehow seemed to be a part of this, too. That made sense, Yang guessed. He had always seemed to have an easier time getting through to Blake than Yang or anyone else had…
Yang wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there in silence, lost in her thoughts, when she felt a light nudge on her left shoulder. She looked up at Ruby, who had an excited and expectant smile on her face, as if she was waiting for Yang to tell the punchline to one of her jokes. Yang glanced around the table again, only to realize that all eyes were now on her, most of them sharing Ruby's expression, but Weiss noticeably watching from across the table with a certain hint of concern.
"Sis, come on!" Ruby urged her, giving her shoulder another gentle shake. "Show them the cool trick!"
"O-oh," Yang muttered sheepishly, now turning her gaze to the cybernetic extension of her right arm. She made a fist before releasing it, and let out a sigh. "Maybe later?" she finally said, feigning a smile as she looked back up at her audience. "I kind of just finished maintenance on it."
Her sister nodded with an understanding smile, and turned her attention back to the rest of the group. "Well, it was hilarious! Nora was practically pinned against the wall!"
"Oh, it wasn't that funny," Nora said with less enthusiasm than usual, giving a noticeable eye-roll as she seemed to recall the incident. "But technically I still won."
The rest of the table seemed to chuckle at Nora's expense, and Yang did her best to laugh along, but she couldn't help but feel like the atmosphere was different, tainted by her own self-conscious thoughts.
"It sounds like we missed a lot while we were away!" Sun cut in suddenly, that big, goofy smile of his plastered across his face. "But you know, you guys missed quite a bit in Menagerie, too! Getting an army of inexperienced soldiers to be fighting-ready in just a couple of weeks definitely wasn't an easy task!"
A couple weeks? Yang thought to herself, but didn't dare to speak out loud. But you were gone for an entire semester.
"It's a good thing Blake and I are experienced Huntsmen now, though!" Sun continued, elbowing Blake, who simply responded with a roll of her eyes and a smirk.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," she murmured. "But, yes, we had a lot of help. I'm just glad it all worked out in our favor. Not just for the Faunus, but for Haven, too."
How did you even learn about Haven? Yang wanted to ask, but she still couldn't bring herself to speak directly to Blake. Something about all of this just felt so… so off. Blake hadn't even heard of Salem until Emerald had made her appear right before all of their eyes, and she still hadn't exactly explained just how Adam had become involved in the assault on the academy. There were still so many questions, so many things that just didn't add up, and the more Yang tried to make sense of it all, the more she found herself at a loss for words.
"So… what's going to happen next?" Ruby asked, her tone much more serious than it had been before. "For the White Fang, I mean."
Blake let out a small hum. "I'm not exactly sure… But my dad's led the Fang before, and the people of Menagerie look up to him. I trust that with a little help and cooperation, we can start something better… Something great."
Yang bit her lip. Dare she ask the question that had been on her mind all evening?
Fortunately, she didn't have to. "What about you, Blake?" Weiss added with genuine curiosity, not the slightest bit of suspicion or accusation in her voice as she beat Yang to the punch. She really had changed. She really had meant all of those things she'd said to Yang about trusting Blake and keeping her close. Everyone was progressing, so much, but Yang…
"I was hoping I could catch up with my team," Blake answered sheepishly.
...It was too much.
"I think we'd all like that," Ruby happily agreed.
...She felt stuck.
"We're glad to have you back," Weiss said with a nod.
Their eyes were all on Yang, now. It was her turn to say something. To tell Blake that everything was going to be okay. That everything was going to go back to normal. That they could just…
"Right," Yang squeaked out weakly, finally forcing herself to meet Blake's gaze. "We could really use the extra help."
...The extra help? That was what she really wanted to say? Well, it was true; no one except for Ozpin truly knew what they were up against with Salem, and now that Blake had gotten herself mixed up with the assault on Haven, it seemed helping them all in stopping Salem would be the next logical step.
But it was obvious to everyone at the table that there was more weight behind Yang's words. That they could sense the unease Yang had been feeling all night, that something just wasn't quite right. Blake did her best to shrug it off, but Yang could still see the hurt in her amber eyes as she tried to smile. She could see the guilt, the remorse. It was almost too much for Yang to handle.
"Hey, uh," she started again after a long moment of an unbroken silence, "I think I'm going to head to bed." Yang stood up, refusing to meet any of her friends' gazes. "It's been a long night."
"You can say that again," Nora said from the opposite end of the table with a small groan, but Ren's hand on her shoulder quickly brought her to silence once more.
"Yang."
It was Blake this time who broke it.
Yang swallowed. How many times had she heard her name on Blake's tongue in the past couple of hours? How many times had it made Yang's heart lift, only to drop back into the pit of her stomach a moment later? How many times had she wished to hear that exact word, that exact voice, when Yang was back in Patch, when she wished Blake was still there beside her to chase away all of her demons?
"I'll see you in the morning."
It was a simple promise, one Blake had made to her night after night at Beacon, a promise Yang didn't ever feel she needed to keep. But that was then… before Blake had left her. Before she'd woken up every morning to an empty room, and a house that was equally as empty while her father was away at work. Somehow, Yang knew that Blake meant it this time. But somehow, Yang wished that she hadn't.
"Yeah," she finally whispered as she turned to take one last look at her former partner. "You will."
And then she walked away, her footsteps heavy, but just as swift. She kept her head down the entire time, praying that no one would notice her tears.