It seemed as though nobody wanted to break the long and awkward silence that arose between the five people in the room, although Yang wasn't entirely sure if things just seemed to be going unnaturally slow for her. Still, after what felt like hours, Ghira was the one to speak up.
"Look, I understand things are strange right now," the bulky faunus said, his voice booming with a mixture of confidence, frustration, and a hint of sarcasm. "Your tournament got interrupted, terrorists blew up your school, and then you and all your friends got hurt. It's rough, I know. Now call me old-fashioned, but if you're going to break into my bedroom with your stripper friend, try to seduce my wife, and then put your mouth all over my daughter, you at least give yourself a proper introduction."
"Dad!" Blake yelped at his bluntness, but Yang stepped forward, flashing her a grin as she approached the man. It seemed as though his question was just the kick in the pants she needed to get her brain and voice working again.
"Hello, Mr. Belladonna, I'm Yang, I'm your daughter's partner. Sorry about… well… this. I just couldn't wait to see Blake. I travelled a few thousand miles to reach her, I had to rescue my sister and her new team from Mistral, I kind of accidentally beat up Weiss's family to-"
"You what?" Sun exclaimed but Neptune put a hand on his shoulder to pull him back.
"-to get her and my sister to help me reach here, had to force Neptune to get over his fear of water because he wouldn't get on the ferry-"
"Hey I wasn't scared!" Neptune started to interrupt but Sun returned the favor and pulled him back.
"-and had to carve through a lot of grimm, bandits, white fang, and everything else separating us. So I'm really sorry for making a mess of things but… hey, that's how it is."
"Hah, I'm just teasing you kid. What, you think we don't have television here? The Vytal Festival was the only thing airing for a week straight, we know everything about all of you."
"Huh?" Yang half-said, half-exhaled in confusion.
"I just wanted to greet you right. I'm Ghira, and you already met Kali," he said, holding out his hand which Yang shook. His grip was strong and firm, and it seemed as though he was trying to assert a little bit of an intimidating presence by squeezing a little too tightly. The sort of thing any dad would do his little girl's suitor. It was also the sort of thing he realized a too late that it would backfire against him as his hand couldn't compete with the vice grip provided by Yang's hard metal hand. Yang cracked a grin at the man as their eyes locked, sharing a knowing lookg.
When she went to shake Kali's hand, the older woman instead gave her a warm hug. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"Now…." Ghira calmly stated. "Can we get out of my bedroom?"
Simply nodding, Yang took a step back, her back bumping into Blake's chest, the faunus caught off-guard at the unexpected contact.
"Come on, Yang, I'll show you the living room," she said, grabbing her hand and pulling her away.
"So you were gonna try to serenade me away from Blake?" Sun teased Neptune after waiting a moment for Yang to be out of earshot, his lips curling upwards into a massive grin.
"Hey, I didn't have to be a junior detective to know she didn't have to worry, but Yang wanted to account for every possibility, and she needed me for some backup so…" Neptune shuddered involuntarily. "Do you want to be the one saying no to Yang when it involves Blake?"
"Ha, good point."
"Ahem," Ghira cleared his throat.
"Oh, right," Sun said sheepishly to the big man before starting to head out, Neptune in tow. "You should see the fridge here, dude, Menagerie has some pretty good ice cream. It's all locally sourced."
"I like her," Kali said to her husband when the two were finally alone.
"Hey, it's bad enough she's stealing the heart of one of the women in my life, it better not be both." His comment earned him a playful, yet not-quite-harmless, punch to the shoulder and a grin from his wife.
"You know what I meant," she replied. "These last few weeks have been wonderful, being able to see our baby after so long, but it broke my heart too. You saw how she'd get when she thought nobody was looking. It was like… like she had no hope. Throwing herself into her plans to take back the White Fang because she had nothing else to-"
"Now, now, don't be that way," the big man said, drawing his wife into a comforting hug. "You remember what it was like being a teenager. You have trouble understanding your emotions and feel everything ten times as hard. But Blake's a strong girl, she always has been. She would have been fine in time. Her partner finding her and admitting her feelings – as poorly as she handled it – at least means she won't have that hole in her heart weighing her down so much."
"You're right," Kali sniffled, drawing her wrist up to wipe her eyes with her pajama sleeve. "You know, you try and act so big and tough and wise, but I know you're just dying inside to know more like a gossiping schoolgirl."
"At least I'm not the one who broke the door trying to eavesdrop on her last month," Ghira replied. "Although… I guess if this makes me the father of a teenager with a new girlfriend, I can say I'm glad I don't have your ears – and your hearing."
Kali's smile turned grim as she looked from her husband, to the door of her bedroom, to the door of her daughter's bedroom across the hallway.
"So..."
"So…."
Blake and Yang sat next to each other on the couch, neither one quite sure how to start the conversation. Whether by intention, coincidence, or providence, Blake had steered them towards a plush loveseat in the living room, though the aptly-named piece of furniture wasn't helping stimulate discussion.
Suddenly, Yang snickered, and Blake turned around to see what she was looking at. She had heard Sun and Neptune approaching on their way to the kitchen, but now that she saw them she noticed that the faunus was veritably dragging the other boy along.
"He just bought a gallon of peanut butter banana ice cream today. They're not leaving that kitchen for at least half an hour." Blake snickered.
Yang smiled, glad to see Blake getting out of her shell, if even for just a moment. Which reminded her….
"Holy shit, I still can't believe you kissed me!" she exclaimed, causing Blake to blush. The girl took a deep breath to regain her composure, smiling when she realized exactly how to respond.
"Well… I couldn't lose you to my mom," Blake finally teased back.
"Hey no fair! It was dark… and I was in a hurry," Yang said, deflated.
"I know… I just know you like it when I'm feisty," she winked at the blonde. "And… and I'm glad you still like me. I was afraid you'd hate me when I… after I-"
Yang was on her feet in an instant, kicking against the ground to shove herself across the loveseat and onto her partner, gripping her fiercely in her arms. "No. Never. The past sucks, but you're here now."
Blake gasped, burying her eyes in the crook of Yang's neck and letting the warmth envelop her.
"But all I do is hurt you," Blake whispered softly after a few minutes. "I abandoned you. And your arm! Your arm…."
"It's nothing," Yang said, not releasing the faunus from her embrace, her voice slightly muffled from Blake's head. "The only thing that hurts is not having you. Promise you'll stay with me this time, that's all I need."
"Why aren't you angry?"
"I already know what it's like always being angry. Hell, my semblance is all about anger, it's like even my soul is always pissed off." Yang pressed her lips to Blake's forehead for a quick kiss. "When you left I was so angry I felt like ripping the house in half and stomping out. But that anger was just hiding that part of me was missing. When I think about you, when I'm with you, what's there to be angry about? I missed you so much, I don't want to waste my time fighting with you. I don't want to get angry at you and be the reason you cry. I want to just be with you. I want to be able to hold you."
"I… I'd like that," Blake responded by tightening the hug.
"I'd like to be able to kiss you."
"I'd like that too."
Yang brought her mouth down to Blake's and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"And…." Yang smirked, her chin rubbing against Blake's cheek as her face slowly made its way up. "I'd like to…."
"Oh God, Yang, really?" Blake groand, embarrassed. She knew Yang enough to know what was coming.
"…eat up those adorable kitty ears on your head." True to her word, Yang gave a brief, playful lick to one of Blake's faunus ears, before leaning in so she could whisper into it. "I love everything about you Blake. Seeing you hide yourself with that bow, it just makes me hate that the world makes you feel ashamed of them. Your beautiful ears, I bet they can hear my heart pounding right now because I'm saying way more than I ever though I would to you but I haven't slept in a week so it's making me crazy and ha I guess now I'm rambling…."
"I hear it, Yang," Blake whispered back. "I hear your heart."
She took a deep, calming breath. One in, one out.
"I also hear my parents listening in around the corner!"
Kali held back a giggle as she listened in. It seemed as though her daughter's partner had a thing for ears. Previously, she had only ever seen team RWBY on the television during the Vytal festival, but seeing Yang in-person and how strongly she felt about Blake gave her a sense of unparalleled joy. She had been so worried that after Adam, the White Fang, and the fall of Beacon, it would be hard for the girl to ever be happy again, only to see her practically melting.
She was so focused on the scene, in fact, that she was taken aback when Blake suddenly shouted that she could hear her. She had been so careful too, she didn't want a repeat of just a few weeks ago when she was listening in and… Ghira.
It wasn't her mother that Blake had detected, it was her father. And Kali could see the hulking, boisterous faunus poorly hiding himself against the corner just before the living room, his breathing loud and his feet careless.
"Honey, did you get the ice cream yet?" she called loudly, thinking quickly and decided that a little white lie would be her best way of trying to at least save some degree of her husband's dignity.
Sun looked at Neptune.
Neptune looked at Sun.
Both looked at the empty carton of peanut butter and banana ice cream in front of them.
Both looked at the empty carton of Kali's off-limits emergency vanilla bean ice cream.
Wordlessly, Sun approached the kitchen window, opening it, before jumping out and running away, Neptune right behind.