A/N: New Year, new chapters. Buckle up for this one y'all.

Blake was pacing back and forth in the living room of her small apartment, fully decked out in the beautiful ball gown Weiss had sent her, complete with jewelry and slightly cumbersome heels. She was still reeling from her poker game with Yang last night, and the conclusion she came to on the way home.

Did Yang…did Yang have feelings for her? No, that was absurd, why wouldn't she have made them known after all these years? Why keep them hidden? 'Because you're with Sun, dummy.' A voice that sounded very much like her mother's rang in her head. Was that the reason Yang had been so distant all these years? Because she had been harboring these affections?

Blake shook herself. There may have been a time that Yang had those feelings, but they had certainly gone away once she had lost her arm. It was entirely Blake's fault, how could Yang have feelings for her after that?

Her train of thought was interrupted by her scroll buzzing for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Huffing in annoyance, she checked her messages, expecting to see a text from Sun. He had been messaging her all day about the talk they promised to have that evening at the ball. Along with 18 unread messages from her husband, there was another from the driver Weiss had set up to take her to the benefit letting her know that he had arrived.

Blake quickly checked her appearance in the mirror one last time before hurrying downstairs. There was an odd buzzing in her chest at the prospect of seeing Yang tonight, along with a gnawing at the pit of her stomach that was entirely due to the conversation she would have to have with Sun. It was odd for her to have all these feelings at once. The dread of talking things out with Sun was painfully familiar, but the anticipation of seeing Yang was…new. But not unwelcome.

This was going to be a long night.

oO0Oo

The ball was in full swing by the time she arrived, and the place looked absolutely stunning. Silver streamers were hung tastefully all across the ceiling, there was an ice sculpture of the Schnee crest in the center of the room, and waiters could be seen weaving in and out of the crowd, offering small finger foods and keeping everyone's champagne glass full. Blake smirked to herself as she took in the scene, Weiss definitely knew how to throw a party.

"Damn, Weiss has still got it, huh?" a voice said from behind her. Jumping slightly, Blake turned to see Yang eyeing the ball room, smiling when she met her eyes. Blake was surprised by the blonde's outfit choice, a very simple white dress, falling just below her knees. It reminded her of the outfit her partner had worn to Beacon's dance all those years ago. She looked beautiful.

Catching herself staring, she turned away with a nod. "I never have to wonder about Weiss's consistency. The Ball has never been anything less than spectacular every year."

"And I would thank you to say that again once the press gets ahold of you," Weiss said from behind Blake, laughing softly when Blake jumped again.

Ruby giggled from her place on Weiss's arm. "Should I be worried that it's this easy to sneak up on you Blake? You are handling security at the SDC, you know."

The rest of Team RWBY laughed at Blake's expense, while the faunus put on a fake pout. She knew they were just teasing her like they did when they were back at school, but none of them knew the real reason she was so jumpy. There were a thousand thoughts racing through her mind, all of them about either Sun or Yang, her two incredibly boisterous blondes. 'Well I guess I have a type…'

Blake snapped out of her thoughts when Weiss tugged on her arm, leading them over to the "red carpet" portion of the dance hall. The reporters had been eyeing them excitedly, no one had gotten a picture of all four members of Team RWBY together since the end of the war. The photographers were practically fist fighting each other to get the best angle of the huntresses.

Ruby led the way over, as she always did, grasping Weiss's hand and waving at a few photographers. She turned and gestured for Yang and Blake to join them, smiling brightly at the pair. Blake recoiled slightly, not used to the bright flashes of dozens of cameras, or the shouting of the reporters hoping to get some inside scoop from her.

"Pick three spots on the back wall behind them and rotate between looking at them, try not to look into any one particular lens, and don't listen to a word the reporters are saying, it'll only make them shout louder if they think you're actually listening to them," Yang muttered in her ear, offering some advice she had picked up over the years of dealing with the press.

Blake gulped and nodded once, committing everything Yang had just said to memory. "Shall we?" the faunus asked, offering her left arm for Yang to take. Her partner looked surprised for a moment before grinning and taking her arm, only for Blake to wince slightly when she felt cool metal loop through her arm where there should have been warm, tan skin. Just one more reminder of how she had let Yang down, and why they had to have this Ball in the first place. One more reminder of why Yang couldn't possibly have feelings for her.

Yang noticed her former partner frowning and leaned in to whisper again. "Don't forget to smile too, although the brooding thing always did work for you," she finished with a wink. Blake allowed a laugh to escape at the comment, and about a dozen flashes went off trying to capture the moment. Weiss looped a hand through Blake's other arm when the duo got close enough, and the camera flashes were truly blinding. Yang's tidbits did help though, and soon enough they were out of the limelight.

"Well now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Weiss asked, clapping her hands together. "I'm off to make nice with all the donors, feel free to mill about, just make sure the press gets at least a few more pictures of the three of you here, particularly you Blake. And if you feel so inclined, answer some of their questions." With that, Weiss kissed Ruby's cheek and took off into the crowd, shaking hands and giving her best smile to the partygoers.

Ruby sighed, a look of adoration etched across her face. "My wife is awesome. So, I'll be over there guarding the snack table if you need me, good luck with those reporters!" She dashed off to the nearest table, grabbing a plate a loading it up with as much sweets as she could get her hands on.

Blake laughed at her team leader's antics. "She hasn't changed at all, has she?" she asked, leaning up against a pillar and looking at Yang.

"Actually, she really has," the blonde responded, smiling after her sister. "She was pretty messed up after Jaune…I didn't know if she would ever be okay again. The first year was really hard, she would have panic attacks, night terrors, sleep-fighting. She was a danger to pretty much everyone around her, including herself. Weiss, Penny, and I never left her alone, not even to sleep. But we got Ruby into therapy, she started training with dad, and one day she said had a dream about Jaune. That he said he was fine, and with Pyrrha, and, y'know, happy. I think that was the turning point for her."

Blake was a little shocked at how candid Yang was being, and how much Ruby had been through to get to where she was now. "She's pretty much back to the way she was before, but every now and then she has bad days. And she's a hell of a lot more mature than I ever thought she'd be," Yang said with a chuckle, thinking back to all the times Ruby had given her a stern talking to over the years.

"What about you?" Blake asked after a few moments of silence. "How have you been since the war, really?" The faunus was looking intently at Yang, trying to pick up on any small clue the blonde might drop.

"I'm…well, I'm-"

"As beautiful as ever?" A voice saved Yang from having to delve into her feelings, both women turning to see who had interrupted their conversation.

"Coco!" Yang said, surprised to see the fashionista, but nevertheless giving her a hug in greeting. The blonde was surprised even further when she let go of Coco's shoulders, but the brunette's arm stayed around her waist. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, you never come to these things!"

"Well I figured I couldn't pass up the chance to see you all dolled up," Coco winked at Yang, smirking slightly at the confused look on her face. "Blake, it's so good to see you again. How are you and Sun?" she asked, hand still firmly planted on Yang's hip.

"Um, good! We're good! It's great to see you Coco, it has definitely been a while," Blake managed to get out, tearing her eyes away from the woman's arm around Yang.

"We'll catch up for real later tonight. For now though, would you mind if I stole Yang for a dance?" It wasn't really a question, as Coco had already begun to steer the blonde towards the dance floor, tossing a wave over her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Yang whispered, confused at the show Coco had been putting on. They weren't this affectionate in public, never giving each other more than a quick hug and a warm hello.

"I'm helping you, of course," Coco responded, slightly exasperated. The woman guided Yang's hands to her shoulders, placing her own on Yang's hips. She began to sway softly to the music, taking Yang with her. "I know that you and Blake are trying to rekindle your friendship, and it won't hurt to let her know that you're not hung up on her…even if you still are," Coco finished rolling her eyes. The effect was ruined by the smile on her face, though.

"I…thank you Coco, that's actually really nice of you," Yang said, genuinely touched that her friend would show up for her like this.

"Of course, you'd do the same for me, wouldn't you?" It was a rhetorical question, but Yang smiled and nodded anyways. "Now tell me, how have the past few days been? I know you four are spending a lot of time together for the press."

As Yang began to recount the last week for Coco, Blake couldn't take her eyes off them from across the dance floor. They were very familiar with each other, indicating that they had certainly spent time together since Blake had last seen the brunette. The way she touched Yang's faced so casually, the way she made Yang laugh so easily...there was something more there. And it made Blake irrationally jealous.

'Regardless of whether or not Yang has feelings for you, it seems like you have some feelings for her.' Kali's voice rang in her ears again. Coco twirled Yang around just then, earning another laugh from the blonde, and Blake had to turn away to prevent her blood from boiling. She admonished herself internally for being so emotional. 'Stop being so angry, it's only fair that Yang found someone, didn't you do the same with-'

"Sun." Blake found herself face to face with her husband as she turned around. He wore a very strained smile as he pulled her in for a hug and a peck on the cheek, they were still within range of the paparazzi after all.

"Hey Blake," he greeted her somewhat cautiously, as if she might run off any minute. Blake hated this because it wasn't entirely unfair. She felt like sprinting to the nearest exit and taking off into the night. Just as Sun was opening his mouth again, Blake felt a small whoosh of air at her back and suddenly her team leader was by her side.

"Sun! It's so good to see you! I missed you at the last ball, how have you been?" Ruby asked innocently enough. But the reason she hadn't seen Sun at the last ball was because he and Blake had been tucked in one of the side rooms at the benefit hall, having an intense screaming match about Blake's next mission. She shifted uncomfortably at the memory, but Sun just smiled.

"Hey Little Red, it's good to see you too." His smile dropped then as he looked back to Blake for a moment. "I'd love to catch up, but Blake and I were actually gonna take a walk, get some fresh air." Blake scowled in annoyance, he didn't even give her the option of enjoying some of the ball. He wanted to talk right here, right now.

"Sounds fun! I'm gonna have to steal her for a little bit though, the reporters wanna ask Team RWBY some questions now that we're all together again. They'll probably want a photo or two I suppose…I'll get her back to you when I can!" And with that, Ruby grabbed Blake by the elbow and steered her away towards the sea of reporters, already beginning to take pictures as the two women walked over.

Blake started smiling for the cameras with Ruby but was a bit confused. "Didn't we already do this?" she muttered in Ruby's ear, continuing to pose for pictures.

"Uh, yeah, but you were drowning over there with Sun, I had to toss you a life preserver somehow," Ruby whispered back, smiling and waving at the reporters.

Blake was a bit taken aback at how perceptive her team leader was, but also extremely touched that Ruby would do that for her. After so many solo missions, she forgot what having backup was like. She looped her arm around Ruby's waist and gave it a squeeze of appreciation, and Ruby threw her arm around Blake's shoulders. The camera flashes increased exponentially then, and she turned to see Wiess had joined Ruby's side while Yang walked up next to Blake.

"Excellent, you're both here," she said, nodding at Blake and Ruby. "Feel like answering some questions?" It wasn't exactly a request, as Weiss was gently leading them towards the reports, who were practically climbing over each other to get at the team, recording devices in hand.

As soon as they were close enough, each of the women were bombarded with what seemed like a million questions. It was very overwhelming, as Blake could hear about a dozen reporters yelling her name, as well as the questions they were asking her teammates.

"Blake! Blake! How does it feel to be back in Vale again?" That was a simple one, so Blake honed in on one reporter.

"It's been very nice to be back. I hadn't realized just how much I missed it until I was here again." It was a short answer and gave nothing away, which was exactly what Blake had intended.

"Blake! Are you here on a mission, or just to catch up with your team?"

"Well…there's nothing better than killing two Nevermores with one stone, right?" She had to think about how exactly to answer that question. Most of the work she was doing at the SDC was strictly confidential, but Weiss had also said she wanted whoever was behind the cyberattacks to know that Team RWBY was onto them. 'This is pretty difficult, how had Yang managed doing this on her own for so many years?' Blake thought to herself, her eyes flashing over to her former partner.

The reporters were paying much closer attention than Blake anticipated, because suddenly all the questions directed at her were centered around Yang.

"Blake, why did you and Yang split as partners? Was there an argument?"

"I-well, you see-" she could hardly finish her sentence before another reporter piped up. Four or five of them had peeled away from her teammates to barrage her with questions when they heard the subject change. Blake and Yang's split was clearly a point of contention that had been gossiped about for years with little to no resolution.

"Did you feel as though you were never compatible in the first place? Ozpin had received some criticism in the past for his pairing methods."

"We always fought well together, it wasn't like that-" More and more of the reporters were closing in on her, she started to feel claustrophobic and extremely anxious.

"Was it because Yang couldn't keep up after her injury, were you better off solo?"

"N-no, no of course not! We-"

"Did Yang lose trust in you after the loss of her arm? "

A strangled noise escaped out of Blake's mouth. She was about to turn tail and run when she felt a hand on her shoulder, a very hot hand. She turned to see Yang standing next to her, a slight tinge of red in her eyes that were currently narrowed at the reporter. He looked terrified, clearly recognizing that he had overstepped. The look of panic in his eyes turned quickly to fear as the blonde started walking towards him, her voice shaking with anger.

"Yang can answer her own damn questions about her own damn arm. Yang can fill you in on the fact that saving the world is pretty exhausting, so she felt like she deserved a break. And Yang doesn't need her partner interrogated like a criminal by some dickhead reporter. Now why don't you get out of here before I take that camera and shove it up your-"

"Ooookay I think that's enough questions for the evening," Ruby intercepted her sister just before things got too ugly. Grabbing both Yang and Blake by their arms, she steered them away from the reporters and further in towards the reception hall while Weiss did some damage control with the remaining reporters. It appeared that the man Yang advanced upon had wet himself. "I'm gonna go help her, just try to enjoy the rest of the night, okay?" Ruby sent a sheepish look Blake's way before hurrying off to her wife's side.

"Yang, I-" Blake began, intending on forming some sort of apology but stopped when she saw the red hadn't quite left her former partner's eyes.

"What a prick," the blonde practically spat out. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that, those guys don't know what the hell they're talking about. You're totally allowed to brush off any questions about me that those idiots have the nerve to ask you. 'Did Yang lose trust in you after the loss of her arm', I mean really, who the hell would ask you something like that?" Yang didn't seem to be looking for an answer, which was good because Blake was at a loss for words. Between the surge of guilt she felt after hearing those questions, gratitude that her former teammates were still looking out for her, and whatever feelings came from Yang standing up for her so fiercely, all she wanted to do was be alone to process the last few minutes.

Yang's gaze shifted from Blake to a spot somewhere behind them, and her jaw immediately clenched. The red in her eyes was replaced with a much duller shade of lilac and Blake turned to see what might have caused such a reaction. Her stomach twisted with even more emotions when she caught sight of her husband making his way over, his eyes flitting back and forth between the pair of them.

"Um. Hi Yang," Sun said as he came to a stop in front of her, clearly nervous. He and the brawler had never really gotten along very well, and now Blake had some idea of where the divide had started. "Would you mind if I stole Blake from you for a bit?"

Yang's eyes had hardened at his phrasing, something Sun clearly missed, but Blake now noticed. How many more of these moments had flown under her radar over the years?

"I don't think it's really up to me, why don't you ask your wife if she wants to go with you?" The blonde crossed her arms over her chest, not breaking eye contact with Sun.

"O-okay," he stuttered a bit, not quite sure how to respond. Sun gestured to the gardens, now looking at his wife. "Blake?" He said her name like a question, but it still bothered her that he didn't actually ask if she wanted to go or not. She would have either way, not really seeing a logical reason to not go on a walk with him, but it still felt presumptuous.

"I'll catch up with you later," Blake said to Yang, following her husband out of the hall and into the cool night air. The change in temperature was even more noticeable after having spent so much time next to Yang tonight, she had forgotten how much heat her former partner threw off. She quite enjoyed the warmth and shivered a bit now that it was gone.

"Do you want my jacket?" Sun offered, grabbing his lapels to show he was willing to give it to her.

"No, no…let's just get this over with," Blake said, hugging her arms in an attempt to stay warm. She started walking away from the building, trying to get as much privacy as she could. She only made it a few steps however before Sun grabbed her arm.

"Oh wow. What a great way to start Blake, real nice." He looked genuinely hurt, but angry too. "I've been trying to talk to you all week, and that's the first thing you're gonna say to me?" His voice was raised now, but either he didn't notice or didn't care. They were still within earshot of the ball, and a few patrons had popped their heads outside to what the commotion was.

Blake was very aware of their growing audience and tried to gain some control of the situation. "Sun, maybe we should take this somewhere more private, I don't think-"

"No! I've been going crazy these past few days with the radio silence. I wanna talk, and I wanna talk now." Sun crossed his arms and squared his shoulders, a determined look set on his face. Blake hated that look, it never meant anything good was about to happen.

"Fine. You wanna talk? Let's talk." She was angry now, all the emotions she had tried to compartmentalize bubbling to the surface. "I tried setting a boundary with you. I needed some time to process, to think. But just like always, you completely ignored what I needed." Blake's voice was starting to get loud too, but she saw Weiss in her periphery, shooing away any curious guests.

"What about me?" Sun shouted, bringing her attention back to him. "What about what I needed? I hate when you just leave me to chase myself in circles, go absolutely insane trying to guess what you're thinking. You have to meet me halfway here." He threw up his hands, clearly frustrated with the situation they had found themselves in. When there wasn't an immediate response, he sighed and looked down. "You know, I've always loved you so much more than you have ever loved me."

Blake felt her heart break in that moment. It broke because how could someone she loved said that about her? It broke because this fight felt different, it felt final. It broke because the man standing in front of her wasn't the happy-go-lucky faunus she met all those years ago. He was sad, dejected, tired.

And it broke because he was right.

Then, slowly, the anger crept in.

"How…how dare you say something like that to me?" Blake was visibly shaking, Sun's eyes snapped up at the unexpected response. "You think I never loved you? That I didn't care?" That wasn't what he had said, but she was so furious in this moment that it didn't matter. "I spent years feeling so guilty that I wasn't what you wanted. Years of laying awake at night wishing I was different, wishing I would be better for you. I can't help that this is the way I am, that these are the things that make me happy. You knew going into this who I was and what I wanted. Did you think that I would just magically change? Wake up one day and want to settle down?"

Sun's expression suggested that yes, he did think that would happen one day. And that only served to piss Blake off even further. "No, you don't just get to put this on me. Wake up Sun, we're terrible for each other. All we've ever done is hurt each other. I don't want to do that anymore, to you or to me. I'm done. We- we're done." Her words hung in the night air between them, and it suddenly felt like they were miles apart. Sun's face was unreadable, swirling with so many emotions it made Blake sick to her stomach.

She couldn't stand the look on his face a moment longer, so she turned and ran back into the ball. Several party-goers near the door tried and failed not to glance her way, clearly hearing the argument that had just taken place. Blake looked around then, trying to find a familiar face, anything to distract her right now, only to wish she hadn't. She spotted Yang leaving the party with Coco, the brunette's hand on the small of her back, sporting a not-so-innocent smile.

Tears sprang to her eyes then, finally overwhelmed with the events of the evening. This was too much, this was all too much. She felt a hand on her arm and jerked away, expecting to see Sun, but softened when she saw her former team leader giving her a concerned look.

"Do you want me to get you out of here?" Ruby asked, speaking quietly and slowly. Blake could only manage a nod before she was swept away, leaving behind a pile of rose petals as Sun came back inside.

Blake began to cry somewhere on their journey back to her apartment. She had gone through just about every emotion she could tonight, but the last one she felt before falling into a dreamless sleep was unexpected.

She felt relieved.