Y'all know the drill, this idea wouldn't leave me alone so I'm inflicting it on you. This fic has been partially written in my head for a while, and I'm actually fairly pleased with how it turned out. Please enjoy!
Content warning for emotional manipulation.
The wind howls and snow swirls around Yang's feet as she shuts the back door of the Arc-Terracotta house and lets out a long sigh. Her breath immediately turns to fog in the bitterly cold air, but Yang herself is impervious to the biting chill.
She takes another deep breath and lets it out slowly. She just needs a minute, that's all. Just a few seconds to herself, away from the crowded house, the frenzy of planning, and Blake constantly hovering at her back. She knows that her partner means well, but that doesn't stop her from getting frustrated. Especially when she already has a headache from the sheer noise of a large group of people crammed into close quarters.
A couple more slow breaths and Yang feels the pressure in her temples slowly begin to fade. She shuts her eyes, bracing herself to head back inside, when she hears the grating sound of metal dragging against metal, like a sword being unsheathed. Adam!
Yang's eyes fly open, and she readies her gauntlets, looking around wildly. But instead of the man who has been haunting her dreams since the fall of Beacon, her eyes land on the swirling red and black portal that has opened in the middle of the backyard—and the dark-haired woman emerging from it.
For a long moment, Yang and Raven stare at each other. Yang's mouth is hanging open slightly in surprise, while Raven looks as calm and collected as she always does. Well, almost always.
Finally, Yang allows herself to relax slightly, although she doesn't put away Ember Celica. "What are you doing here, Raven?" she asks warily.
Raven smirks at the question, and Yang has to repress a sigh. She's really not in the mood for games tonight. "Why, can't a mother come visit her daughter?"
"That would be a first for you," she snarks, rolling her eyes. "Don't you have anything better to do?"
Raven purses her lips. "Your complete lack of manners is charming as always. I would have thought that Tai would have taught you to be more polite. I mean, really. Pointing a weapon at your own mother?"
Gritting her teeth, Yang refuses to rise to the bait.
"Never mind that. You're a long way from home, Yang. What are you doing in Argus?"
"None of your business." Yang folds her arms across her chest.
"You're going to Atlas, aren't you." Raven shakes her head in disbelief. "Despite my warnings about how futile fighting against Salem is, you're still just going to go along with Ozpin's plans?"
"I am," Yang says, glancing behind her at the back door. She doesn't want any part of this conversation. Someone will come looking for her soon, most likely her sister or Blake. "Ruby thinks it's worth a try, and I trust her."
At the mention of her sister, Raven's expression turns sour. "Of course she does," she mutters.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Raven ignores the question. "You do realize that Salem can't be killed."
The words aren't any easier to hear this time around, but Yang takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders. "I know."
"You know?" Raven's eyes go wide, and she takes a step back. "Then what do you think you're doing?"
"Even if we can't defeat her in the end, we can still fight back and do some good where we can." Yang meets red eyes squarely with her own gaze. "And just because we can't kill Salem doesn't mean that there's no way to stop her."
"Then you're just a hopeless fool."
"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm trying to do some good in the world, which is more than I can say for you."
"How dare you, you little—" Raven cuts herself off, but Yang can tell that she hit a nerve. "You know I saved your life. You should be grateful."
"Yeah, you saved my life once. After abandoning me as a baby and then ignoring me for seventeen years. Real mother of the year material, you are."
"I—"
Yang has had just about enough of this, thank you very much. And she isn't in the mood to hear any more of Raven's pathetic excuses. "Why did you even come here, anyway? I know that you didn't just come to chat."
Raven is silent for a moment. Just as she opens her mouth to speak, the back door creaks open.
"Hey Yang, I'm not trying to rush you or anything, but we were going over the plan one more time and I wanted to get your thoughts on—" Ruby finally looks up and notices Raven, freezing in her tracks. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were—"
Yang cuts her off. She feels slightly guilty, even though there isn't a single trace of accusation in Ruby's tone. Raven had been working with the enemy last time they'd met, after all. "It's fine. Raven was just leaving." She shoots the other woman a pointed look.
Raven smirks. "Oh, I'm not in any hurry. And I'd love to have a conversation with the daughter of Summer Rose."
Ruby looks at Raven warily, biting her lip. "What do you want?"
Yang takes a step forward, so that she's standing between her sister and Raven. She hasn't forgotten what happened at Haven.
"Really, Yang, I'm insulted that you'd think I would try to hurt your sister."
"Like I'm going to trust you or anything you say."
Raven ignores the jab. "So, Ruby, Yang tells me that you're leading your little group on a pointless mission to try to stop Salem."
"I wouldn't say that it's pointless," Ruby argues. "It's only pointless if we don't even bother to try."
"That's very cute," Raven smirks. "Inspiring, really. But I must ask: do you enjoy watching your friends die in vain?"
Ruby flinches. "Don't you dare talk to my sister like that!" Yang seethes. She can feel her semblance activating, melting the snow around her feet.
But Ruby just takes a step forward, putting her hand on Yang's shoulder. "I don't—" she pauses to clear her throat. "I hate seeing my friends get hurt. We've lost so many people already. But if we don't keep moving, keep trying, then we'd be letting down the people who have already died fighting." She looks up at Raven calmly. "I don't force my friends to fight at my side, and as much as I wish that they'd just stay safe, it's their choice, in the end. And I know that we stand a better chance if we all work together."
Raven scoffs, but Yang ignores her, giving her little sister a proud smile.
"You could join us, you know," Ruby says gently, reaching a hand out towards Raven. "It's not too late, you know. You can still fight to make things better."
Raven swats Ruby's hand away, her expression twisting in disdain. "Join you?" She laughs, but it's harsh and cold. "You must be joking."
Yang takes Ruby's hand in her own, glaring harshly at Raven. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"
"And you're a pair of pathetic fools. I don't know why I even bothered to try."
"Look, if you're not going to help, then just leave!"
"Of course," Raven replies coolly. "I intend to." She pauses briefly, sighs, then continues. "I just hope you know that Summer wouldn't want you doing this."
At this, Ruby's calm and collected demeanor crumbles, and she flinches hard, sniffling. It's the last straw for Yang. "Don't you dare try to tell us what our mother would have wanted for us!"
"I am your mother, Yang."
"Sure, you might have given birth to me. But Summer raised me and cared for me. Parents are supposed to be there for their children, and you never were. Don't you dare call yourself my mother when you haven't done a single thing to earn the title!"
She doesn't wait to hear Raven's response or even bother to see if she's leaving like she said she would; instead, she just slings an arm around Ruby's shoulders and steers them both back towards the house, only glancing back when they're standing on the back steps. The yard is empty. Raven is gone.
Good riddance.
"Yang?" Ruby tugs lightly on her sleeve. "I'm sorry."
"Me too."
"I mean, I know that you looked for your mom for so long, and I'm sorry that this is how it turned out." Ruby takes a deep breath and tries to stop rambling. "You deserve better than that."
"I know," Yang murmurs, before drawing Ruby in for a bone-crushing hug. Her sister squeaks in surprise, but returns the hug with enthusiasm, resting her chin on Yang's shoulder.
"All right," Yang says, releasing Ruby and turning to open the door. "Let's go finalize our plans to steal an Atlas airship. Man, I can't believe that you're the one dragging me into a life of crime. I always thought It'd be the other way around!"
"Yang!"
"Love you sis," she says, brushing past Ruby on her way back inside.
"Love you too!"
Yang thinks that she has a pretty good idea of why Raven came for her little visit, but in the end it doesn't really matter. She's got everything she needs right here.
For anyone who wants to claim that I'm being too mean to Raven or that she's OOC or whatever, I would like to remind you that one of the first things she did after Yang finally found her was mock her daughter for taking so long to find her. So yeah, I don't think that my portrayal of her is a stretch at all. I don't actually hate Raven, I think that she's a fascinating, complex, and well-written character, and I hope that we get to see more from her in the future. I also think that she's a shitty mom and that Yang deserves better. Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed it. Please leave a review if you liked it!