Yang emerged from the bathroom, her hair and body wrapped in individual towels. There had been no sleep the previous night, try as she might to settle in next to her longtime friend. All she had was regret for starting a fight with Jaune, and the feeling that not only was she right, but she should've held her tongue regardless. The combination of factors just left her feeling empty inside, all while staring down the barrel of setting out for Vacuo. Yang knew that it was the absolute worst time to be dealing with interpersonal conflicts, and yet, she just couldn't stop herself from voicing her opinion when it came to a matter of apparent justice. Once again, that family trait of stubbornness and needing to get involved had put her in a bad position.

Just like it had done for Ruby.

That thought kept creeping back into her mind at inopportune moments and latching on to her heart in a way that was terrifying. It wasn't just that she had lost her sister- it was that she was beginning to feel more and more like her sister. It was as if she was the only one willing to speak up sometimes, the only one calling people out, and the only one unable to just let go of things that the others seemed to easily move past. Yang hated that feeling, and knew that she needed to work on it. Meditation seemed to be less of a want and more of a need by the day, but even that was starting to fall short. She needed something else. Something she felt like she never had to begin with… but Yang wasn't quite sure what it was.

Upon re-entering the bedroom, Yang found Blake sitting alone on the bed in her nightie. The faunus girl looked relatively rested by comparison, and she held a towel over her arm as she waited patiently for the bathroom to become available.

"Feeling any better?" the faunus asked, scratching at her scalp.

"Not really, no," Yang said flatly as she walked over and sat down upon the mattress next to her friend. "I really appreciate you trying to talk me down last night, though. And… I know you're right. It's not my place to start a fight, and I already caused issues yesterday with Neo, and just… gods damn it, I'm a mess. I feel like I'm falling apart at the worst possible time. We don't need this right now."

"But we do need you at your best, so if you're going through shit, we'll all help you along," Blake reminded as she stood up into a stretch. "That includes Jaune, and… probably Neo? In her own weird way? She seems to be trying to play ball with us so far."

"She does," Yang agreed as she laid back to stare up at the ceiling. "I'll come around. I guess I'm just in the moping phase right now."

"We've all been there," Blake reassured as she gave Yang's thigh a gentle pat. "I kinda had a hissy fit followed by a moping period for several months that led to me running away to Kuo Kuana, but… you know. Sun. The best thing in my life came from it. Maybe the same will happen to you, once you get your shit together. I mean… Jaune and Corsac are something, right? Speaking of, Corsac came by while you were in the shower. He took the other upstairs bedroom and wanted to make sure you were doing okay."

"I'll talk to him soon," Yang replied before letting out a sigh. "Go shower. Once I get dressed, I need to go apologize to Jaune. I trust your mom. No matter how I feel about Saphron, I'm sure Kali will take care of it. Not my place to make demands."

"It's not," Blake agreed as she headed for the bathroom. "For what it's worth… every fiber of my being is screaming for us to turn around and go help in Argus and Mantle, too, but I think once we get to Vacuo, we'll feel justified looking at the big picture. Trust Jaune. Trust the group. We'll be okay, and so will Saphron. We have to focus on the major, potentially world-ending issue right now. Not just individual people."

"Yeah," Yang agreed, closing her eyes. "See you soon."

As the bathroom door closed, another opened… though of a very different sort. Brilliant red light flooded the room, the intensity enough that Yang knew what was happening immediately through her eyelids. The blonde sat up immediately to watch the portal open, her expression anything but amused.

"…you've gotta be fucking kidding me," Yang offered as her mother entered the bedroom.

"Good morning to you, too," Raven returned with a nod as the portal closed behind her, cutting off the temporary view of the Atlas Academy infirmary. Carried under her arm were two rectangular boxes, one quite long and the other much smaller. "Rough night?"

"Yeah, and not the fun kind," Yang answered as she looked the Maiden over. "That's… shiny…"

Raven lifted her new mechanical arm, showing off the muted rose-gold coloration. The design was quite like Yang's Ember Celica gauntlet, though trimmed down and more aerodynamic around the wrist and knuckles. Where Yang's former arm had several parts capable of shifting around and hidden weaponry mechanisms, Raven's prosthetic seemed to be entirely focused on replicating a human limb as closely as possible with minimal flair beyond the inherent luster of the metal and a row of strange, translucent discs running up the side of the forearm. And odd, swirling liquid seemed to be moving about within them, colored a wine red that seemed quite like Raven's eyes.

"Very," Raven agreed as she lowered the limb back down to her side. "Pietro Polendina is a wizard with prosthetics. Here's yours, and some new fingers for Neopolitan to replace the temporary set she was given, as well. Your arm has all of the upgraded functionality you received while in Atlas, and the laser cannon is apparently more efficient, now. Pietro found a way to passively charge it by slowly leeching your aura until the battery is full."

Yang watched quietly as the boxes were placed down next to her on the bed. She had expected to want to rip the longer one open and regain her missing limb once again as soon as possible. She had expected to be excited over the upgrades and whatever other small, hidden features she might discover rather than feeling almost apathetic. She had expected Raven to leave without another word, or perhaps just an informal 'good luck', and to be okay with that. Instead, as she watched the older woman turn around, draw her sword, and ready herself to reopen the portal, Yang stood up from the bed and said something that neither of them saw coming.

"…Mom?"

Raven quite nearly dropped her katana in shock. After pausing a moment to make sure she had heard correctly, she slowly sheathed the weapon and turned back toward Yang, looking tense.

"…yes?"

Yang found that her voice had left her. There was no plan for a follow-up… though there had really been no plan to address Raven at all. It had just happened, and Yang had let her emotions put her brain on autopilot. The only thing left to do was let that trend continue, wherever it took her.

"Can we… can we talk?" Yang tried, almost at a whisper. Her usual strong, confident tone had wavered to that of a nervous child, and she suddenly felt very small. "I'm having… I-I'm having some issues, lately. Fitting in with the group, and biting my tongue when I should, and… also with a boy. One that I'm seeing."

The hard edges of Raven's features softened a bit as she removed her hand from the hilt of her sword and let it fall to her side. Unsatisfied with the pose, she shifted her weight to one side and folded her arms across her chest, doing her best to look at anything in the room but her daughter.

"…been there. Still am, in some ways. Talk to me."

"You want me to?" Yang asked. "I mean… is it okay if we do this? If we start… just suddenly acting like a family?"

Raven took a deep breath and finally turned to face Yang, locking eyes.

"We shouldn't have to act. I… did a lot of selfish, stupid things that tore us apart, Yang. For a long time, I tried to justify them by saying I did it all to protect you and Tai. In reality, I did them to protect myself and no one else. It wasn't just Salem and Ozpin I was running from, though… it was responsibility. Motherhood. A tied-down life that I thought I didn't want after I already had it. After living the alternative and seeing how much pain I caused you two and myself… I fucked up. I was too scared to just let go and give myself to the family. I thought it was brave to stand on my own. I thought I was giving up a part of myself to be with you… but I was really keeping a part of myself that had always been there, hidden, from you, because I just couldn't accept that I was anyone else but an independent, rebellious badass. I was trying to bury my gentle side, because I didn't think it should exist in a world like this."

"…been there," Yang replied with a smirk. "I get it. Probably better than you think."

"That doesn't surprise me. You're… my daughter, after all," Raven mused as she took a few steps to sit upon the bed. "I wish I knew that already, though. I missed so much of you growing up, and becoming this… this overwhelming force that I've been hearing about from everyone up in Atlas. The stories they tell about you…"

"All good, I'm sure," Yang joked as she sat down next to Raven, feeling just as tense as the older woman remained.

"…a lot of them are incredibly embarrassing and make me wonder what the hell is wrong with you," Raven said flatly. "And… honestly, that makes me proud. You're an individual, standing against everything you think is bullshit even when you probably shouldn't. You have friends who know that and still have your back regardless, and… you're apparently in a relationship with two men, which… I don't know what to think about that, but you're in a loving relationship regardless. You're everything I was trying to be, at something like half my age."

"As much as I still resent you… you are still pretty cool. Don't sell yourself short," Yang admitted as she leaned sideways into Raven's shoulder. "I mean… you're the Spring Maiden, for starters. That's something."

"I guess it is," Raven said noncommittally as she hesitantly draped her natural arm over Yang's shoulder. "All this is to say… I don't feel like I deserve to be called 'Mom' when I've missed so much of your life."

"And I don't particularly care what you feel like you deserve," Yang countered. "You're here now, and if you're willing to try to make up for lost time… so am I. I've already lost family, and several people are probably going to lose some of theirs in the upcoming war. Keeping a grudge going is ridiculous when I could have a family again here and now, even if it's imperfect."

"And is it ever," Raven commented with a sigh. "Your father and I are… getting closer again, too. I see no reason why we shouldn't at least try."

"Fuck that. No pretending. No trying. No half-steps and vague promises to slowly accept each other over some undefined period of time. Let's just… do it," Yang suggested. "That's our way, isn't it? Charge in headfirst and deal with the consequences later?"

"And drive Taiyang crazy doing so," Raven agreed. "You really are my daughter, aren't you? If we're doing this, then… go ahead. Tell me about your stupid boy problems. Just keep in mind that my advice might be terrible, considering how bad I am at making life decisions..."

"From now on, you get to hear all the stupid boy problems," Yang warned. "Especially the ones that I cause."

"…is this one of those?" Raven asked, fearing the answer.

"You know it," Yang answered with a sad little smirk.

Raven let out a sigh and pulled Yang to lie down in her lap while shaking her head.

"Of course it is," the Maiden lamented. "Alright, Yang. What did you do this time?"


Author's Note:

Holy shit, something going right for once. What a novel concept for this story.

-RD