Thawing

A few minutes later found them all seated around the wooden dining table in the corner of the living area, three steaming glasses of cider sitting in front of them.

Yang threw hers back in one go, ignoring the incredulous looks of both Blake and Pyrrha. She let out a small sigh of contentment when she finished. She had forgotten just how good the Mistralian Huntress was at making the spiced liquid. They sat in silence for a few moments before Pyrrha finally broke it.

"So I take it you guys aren't here to give me Yang's RSVP?"

Blake shook her head. "Sadly no, we're here to recruit Beacon's Spear and Shield." At Pyrrha's questioning look, she added, "I'll explain when Jaune's here."

Pyrrha nodded, before noticing Yang seeming entirely confused by something. "Yang? Is something wrong?"

The blonde woman opened her mouth and closed it, before appearing to finally find her voice. "RSVP?"

Pyrrha lifted an eyebrow. "You're the only one who hasn't responded."

"To what?"

"Her scroll's been disconnected for years, Pyrrha, and I doubt she was listening to me when I told her last year."

"Told me what?" Yang asked through gritted teeth. She hated when people skirted a question instead of just answering it.

Pyrrha held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers, making the light dance off of something on her ring finger. It was only then that Yang noticed the beautiful gold band with a flawless emerald set in the top, flanked by two smaller garnets.

She gaped at it, wide-eyed. "You're getting married?!" The crimson-haired Huntress smiled and nodded. "To who?"

Beside her, Blake rolled her eyes. "Who do you think?" Yang looked at her, face still disbelieving. "Jaune, Yang. She's marrying Jaune." Yang's eyes somehow got even wider, and her jaw slackened somewhat in shock. Blake had to smile at that. It was good to see normal emotions back on her partner's face. "Speaking of," the faunus turned to look at Pyrrha, who was having her own little chuckle at Yang's reaction, "where is Beacon's mighty Shield?"

Pyrrha took a gulp of cider before answering, "Still in bed. He seemed pretty exhausted last night. I think I may have ridden him a little hard."

She lifted the mug back to her lips as Yang asked in a hesitant voice, "…on the mission?"

The other woman looked her square in the eye as she set her glass back down. "Sure," she said with a smirk, and Yang could not recall having ever seen Pyrrha look so smug.

While she sat there, trying to work through all of the information she'd just been presented, the door to the room closest to them opened, and out stumbled a spectacularly unclothed Jaune Arc. He had seemingly just woken up, judging by his bleary eyes and ruffled head of hair. It was longer now, Yang noted, reaching to the base of his neck. That wasn't the only thing that had changed about him, either. Dressed as he was in only a pair of white boxers with little red hearts, Yang got a good look at the rest of his body. She had to admit, it was fairly impressive.

Where once the young man had been lanky and thin, he was now tall and broad, with firm muscles toning his body. His baby face had hardened into strong features, and somehow the spattering of stubble on his chin only added to his appearance. Yang couldn't deny that Jaune had come into his own.

Aesthetically, anyway.

"Good morning, beautiful," Jaune yawned, stumbling toward them, the presence of the other women failing to pierce his sleep-ridden brain. He leaned down and pressed his lips gently to Pyrrha's.

Pyrrha was smiling when he pulled away. "Good morning yourself."

Jaune grinned at her. "Any chance of coffee?"

"I'll get a pot going while you grab a shower. Before that though, darling, don't you think you should say hello?"

His brow scrunched as he tried to decipher her words, before he glanced up at Blake and Yang. Blue irises grew to the size of plates.

Blake bit the inside of her cheek to keep from losing it. "Morning, Jaune," she said shakily, amusement bubbling behind her voice. The young Huntsman didn't react, instead turning to Yang as his mouth moved wordlessly.

Yang watched him silently, too many thoughts and words pouring through her head. She wasn't really sure what the best way to deal with this situation would be, so she just said the first thing that came to mind.

"Nice boxers."

Jaune's face turned the same color as the hearts on his underwear, and he bolted away into the bathroom with a small squeak. As soon as the door shut, Blake lost control. She grabbed her sides and leaned her forehead against the table, laughter shaking her whole body.

Yang looked at Pyrrha. "That's what you're marrying?"

She looked at the bathroom with a small smirk. "I'll admit there's still some room for improvement," she stated lightly. Pyrrha stood and headed back into the kitchen. "Either of you want some coffee, or anything else?"

"Whiskey, if you have it," Yang said, but upon seeing Blake narrow her eyes at her, she mumbled, "I mean, coffee."

"Coming up." Pyrrha turned and began fiddling with the coffee maker. "You like it black, right? I remember that always horrified Ren."

"How is he?" Blake asked. "And Nora?"

The machine gurgled, and began pouring out a steady, steaming stream of dark, bitter liquid. "They're on a mission up north, at the moment. Last I saw them, though, they were the same as always. Nora was Nora, and Ren…"

"Yeah," Blake said tiredly. "Got it."

Yang looked between the two women, noting their grim expressions but saying not a word. She didn't have any clue what was going on with Ren. Besides, she had enough of her own problems to deal with. There was another stretch of silence until the bathroom door crashed open, and a blur of blond and white flew into the bedroom. Despite the whole 'being engaged to Pyrrha' thing, it seemed Jaune was still an awkward idiot, and Yang felt the corners of her mouth lift up a bit. Good to see some things never change.

"I think that's the first real smile I've seen from you in years," Blake commented in a soft voice, and Yang's head whipped around. The faunus was staring at her, a smile of her own gracing her face.

"Yeah," Yang whispered, glancing down at the forest green tablemat in front of her, "I guess it is." Her partner reached over and gently took ahold of her hand under the table. Yang made no attempt to stop her. It was comforting, and she wouldn't even bother trying to deny it. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotions for her, an unruly, impassible storm that beat, battered, and bruised her. Through it all, though, there had been Blake. Strong and steady, a lifeline. Yang knew that from here on out was going to be no easy journey either, and that she'd need all the help she could get. The amount of strength she drew just from holding Blake's hand was immeasurable, and she found herself gripping just a bit tighter.

She was shaken from her musings as a mug touched down in front of her, the aroma of fresh coffee wafting into her nostrils.

"One black as sin coffee," Pyrrha announced cheerily as she returned to her seat, another glass set on the table before her.

Yang murmured a quick "thanks" before taking a large gulp of the scalding liquid.

"How can you stand that?" Blake asked.

"What?"

"Drinking it when it's that hot!"

Yang shrugged. "It's just never really bothered me."

"Doesn't it, I don't know, burn?"

"Takes a bit more than that to burn me, Blake." Like a psychopathic pyromancer. Her right arm gave a dull throb of pain, but she ignored it. The old wound acted up every once and a while; she had long since gotten used to it.

"I forgot you drank coffee like an insane person," a new voice cut in, and they looked up to see Jaune once more emerging from the bedroom, this time thankfully dressed in a pair of jeans. He was finishing pulling a plain black t-shirt down over his torso as he walked over to them. Pyrrha wordlessly handed him the second mug, and he accepted it with a smile and a chaste kiss. Pyrrha had other plans, though, tangling her hand in his still-damp hair and pulling him further down into the kiss.

"Are they always like this?" Yang questioned in a voice just loud enough for them to hear.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"…and you've put up with this for how long?"

The two finally broke apart, Jaune with a dazed, stupid grin and Pyrrha with that same self-satisfied look from earlier. "Blow it, Yang," she said, and Yang fumbled to find a response to that, not used to Huntress using such abrasive words.

"Has Weiss been rubbing off on you?"

"Pretty sure any 'rubbing off' she does nowadays is with her bodyguard," Blake murmured.

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing, anyway, now that I have you both here-"

"Hold on a minute, Blake," Jaune cut her off. He had taken the seat to the right of Pyrrha, who was at the head of the table, and was staring intently at Yang. His face was serious, and Yang didn't know what to make of that. Jaune Arc with a serious expression was something she had never really experienced. He had always been a bit of a goofy dork before the Siege, but she could see from just his face that her earlier assessment had been off. While some traits of his teenage years may have remained, he had grown up, and more than just physically.

"Yang," he started, voice level, and Yang flinched, her hand tightening around Blake's. She found herself unable to meet his gaze. Jaune had always had kind eyes. It had been one of the things Yang had always liked most about him. No matter what was going on, or what happened, those sapphire irises had always been warm and honest. She didn't wish to see them fill with anger and disdain now. She wasn't really sure she could handle that right now. The huntsman opened his mouth to speak, and Yang braced herself for the scathing tirade she was sure would follow.

"Welcome back."

The brawler's head snapped up so fast Blake was worried she'd get whiplash. "Wh-What?" she stuttered. She was amazed to find that Jaune's eyes showed none of the heated disappointment she had been expecting. Instead, they were filled with gentle warmth, and his face displayed a large smile.

"Welcome back, Yang," he repeated, and Yang found herself at a loss for words.

"Th…thanks," she murmured hesitantly. She felt Blake squeeze her hand, and looked over to see the faunus grinning at her. Yang couldn't believe this. Jaune and Pyrrha had accepted her back with not a single word of complaint. After what she had done, leaving them all behind, they still welcomed her back with open arms.

It hurt. Not in the horrible, empty way that Ruby's death did. Nor in the way the seared flesh on her arm had. No, this was...relieving, cathartic. It was like a purge. She hadn't realized it until now, but she had missed this, missed them. And to have them invite her back into their lives without any sort of hesitation inspired a great wave of emotion. Her chest felt tight, but she couldn't deny the warmth welling in her stomach and spreading through her limbs.

"It's good to see you, too, Blake."

"And you, Jaune."

"Anyway," the blond motioned with a hand, "I'm sorry for interrupting, please continue." He lifted his mug to his mouth.

Blake gave him a smile. That was Jaune for you. Dense as a brick, but so sweet and sincere it was almost painful. He probably had absolutely no idea how much those few words he had directed at Yang had impacted her, but Blake did. She could see just how much it meant to her partner. Between the smiling earlier, and the range of emotions she saw flashing through her lilac eyes now, Blake put to bed the last of her doubts about bringing Yang along. Consequences be damned, she had made the right decision. They still had another shot at Roman anyway, and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she'd really care if they didn't, if it meant Yang continued on the path she seemed to be on. Pyrrha noticed what Jaune had unintentionally accomplished too, and placed a hand on his arm, beaming at him.

"Anyway, yes," Blake said, causing the attention to focus back to her, "the reason we're here. I know you two know that I had a mission this week." They nodded, and she continued, "What you don't know was the objective of that mission. To infiltrate the village of Ashfall, on Vacuo, and capture Roman Torchwick." The mug Jaune was in the middle of lifting slipped from his hand. Fortunately, Pyrrha's reflexes kicked in and she caught it before it smashed on the tabletop.

"Roman?" Jaune asked, voice stunned and disbelieving. "You found him?"

"We got lucky. Picked up a message from an outpost on Patch last week. Traced it back to Ashfall. Ozpin got an operation together immediately and assigned me. I would have told you guys, but Ozpin told me to keep it strictly to Beacon operatives only."

Pyrrha's eyes slid to Yang. "So that's why…" her attention returned to Blake. "So, what happened?"

Blake sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Frankly put, we failed." Yang flinched and averted her eyes to the floor. "Roman got away with three airships full of Dust, and almost managed to kill us by calling a pack of Beowolves. Fortunately, I got a tracking device on his ship. He's gone to Atlas."

"Weiss," Jaune said.

"Ozpin's already contacted her, but he recommended I grab you guys as well. What do you say? You in?"

The two Beacon graduates looked at each other, and an unspoken message passed between them. Jaune knocked off the rest of his coffee and set the glass back down. "When do we leave?"

Blake smiled. "Tomorrow morning. We'll take the Shadowswift. Meet us at the docks by ten."

He nodded. "I'll need to run my armor by the forges today then. Fix up the dent that Deathstalker put in it."

"And I need to switch in for my winter core. My leg's been acting up recently anyway, and it'll only get worse up in Atlas," Pyrrha said. She noticed Yang giving her the same confused look from earlier. "Oh, right, I guess you wouldn't know." She slid from her seat, her hands going to unfasten her jeans.

"Pyrrha, please," Blake held up a hand. "I'm flattered, but shouldn't we at least wait until later? I mean, you fiancé is right there."

"Oh don't mind him," Pyrrha fired back in sultry voice, throwing in a wink that probably would have given most men a heart attack.

"H-Hey!" Jaune spluttered.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Oh, relax, Jaune. I'm just showing Yang my leg." She shimmied her jeans down to her ankles while Jaune grumbled to himself.

Yang gaped at Pyrrha's exposed skin. Well, mostly skin. Her left leg included quite a bit of something that was distinctly not flesh. The outside of the entire limb was almost entirely made of metal, from her thigh down to her ankle. A strip of aquamarine light ran the length of it, and she could see some smaller channels of light feeding off it and out over the whole device, like circuitry. The whole thing was the color of tarnished gold. There was some scar tissue around the edges, but for the most part, the mechanical was grafted seamlessly into the organic.

"What…" was about all Yang could manage, but it seemed to be enough, as Pyrrha answered anyway.

"Remember that injury I got from the explosion Jaune and I got caught in during the Siege?" Yang nodded numbly. "Well, it did quite a number on me, primarily my leg. There was no way I could've continued to be a Huntress, as torn up as it was. So much of my muscle was shredded, and we won't even talk about my tendons and ligaments. Anyway, Weiss pulled some serious strings, and set me up with an experimental prosthetic program. They carved out all the useless bits, and replaced them all with this guy." She bent it a few times, and Yang marveled at its apparent flexibility.

"Does it function like a, you know, normal leg?"

"For the most part. It's a bit stiff sometimes, especially come winter, and there's a still a few kinks they have to work out. I have to go in for checkups every now and again, and when the temperature drops I have to pop out the dust core for one that will keep the circuitry from freezing up. I lose a bit of speed, but it's worth it."

"Pyrrha, that's…" Yang didn't know what word best fit here. Incredible? Morbid? Cool? Awful? She went with a profound, "Wow."

"Right?" Jaune interjected, standing and moving to wrap his arms around Pyrrha's waist. "My wife's a cyborg. How awesome is that?"

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "Your fiancé, I think is what you meant to say. You're not out of the woods yet, Arc."

"Good thing I like the woods then." He leaned down and captured her lips again, cutting off her retort.

"Okay, well, before Yang and I get a full crash course on 'shit we don't need to see,' I think we're gonna head out," Blake interrupted the couple before they could get carried away. She stood from her seat, and Yang did the same.

"You sure?" Pyrrha asked. "There's an empty room here, we wouldn't mind having you."

"No, thank you, Pyrrha. For now, at least, I think staying on campus might be a bit much," she glanced sideways at Yang, who looked thankfully relieved. She stepped forward and embraced the crimson-haired woman tightly. "We'll see you tomorrow." As she moved to hug Jaune, Pyrrha stepped up to her partner.

"It was really, really wonderful to see you again, Yang." She wrapped her arms around the blonde's shoulders, and Yang weakly returned the gesture.

Jaune came over next, and rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's good to have you back," he said simply with a smile, and Yang could only offer a nod, still completely blown away by the two of them.

They exchanged last goodbyes, and Blake and Yang departed the warmth of the dorm, stepping out into the chilling early winter air once more.

"So…where now?"

The brunette brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Back to my place. C'mon."

Blake took a heavy drag from the cigarette and exhaled. The past few days had frayed her nerves more than a bit, and with everything happening so fast, she hadn't really found time to partake in her little calming ritual. The nicotine coursed through her system, soothing some of the more intense anxiety pulsing through her body.

"Oh, I see how it is," came a familiar voice behind her, and she glanced over from her position leaning against the balcony railing to see Yang standing in the doorway to the inside of her apartment with her arms crossed. "I can't drink, but you can light up whenever you see fit." Yang found it was getting easier and easier to talk to Blake.

The faunus turned back to the sky and pulled the cigarette from her lips. "I don't get intoxicated from smoking. Thought you were asleep?"

"Turns out I'm not so good at that these days."

Blake wordlessly held out the pack to her left, the butt of one of the cigarettes poking out. Yang glanced at it and shrugged, grabbing it as she joined her partner on the stone balustrade. Before she could even ask, an old lighter swung into view, and Blake flicked it open with ease. She struck the flint and a flame burst to life. Yang moved her face close to the fire, inhaling deeply when the cigarette finally lit. The blonde closed her eyes and savored the rough burning sensation in her throat. She didn't make a habit of this, but sometimes it was really relaxing.

Both of them stared up at the sky in silence for a while, nothing but the sounds of the city and acrid smell of smoke to interrupt them.

"It feels like we've been here before," Yang commented quietly.

Blake laughed lightly. "The moon was green then, if I recall correctly." She took another drag before adding, "Do you remember what I told you then?"

"'I'm not going anywhere,' wasn't it?"

She hummed an affirmation, before leaning over and resting her head on Yang's shoulder. "I meant it," she stated simply.

"I know…you're still here." Yang's hand tentatively sought out Blake's, and the faunus gladly met her halfway.

"Told you."

Together they watched the night sky until long after their cigarettes had ashed, and for the first time in four years, Blake found that she didn't mind the cold so much.

A/N: WRITING PYRRHA IS SO MUCH FUUUUUUUUUN, hahah

So what'd we all think? Got some adorable little Arkos in there, and look, the pain is at a bare minimum, if it's even there at all! And even an explanation on Pyrrha's leg! I'm being so good to you guys this time

This chapter was actually supposed to cover both these events and the next chapter's as well, but it seems that the more I write this story, the more fleshed out it becomes, and suddenly I'm thousands of words in and nowhere near where I thought I was going to be on the outline. But hey, that's a good thing! More story! Whooo!

Also, guys, I love you. Seriously. Like, holy hell. This is only chapter 9, and I've already broken 100 reviews and a 100 follows?! That's just, asjandkjhskjdhaksjdh *melts into an appreciative, unworthy puddle*

You guys are amazing, thank you so, so much for you support