A/N: So, just to elaborate here. Voices was a Bumblebee story where Yang lost her life saving Blake's, and in the process, her aura was merged with the Faunus girl's. And along with that package came both her semblance… and her spirit, if you will.

Days of Yule

Chapter 5: Hearing Voices

Blake glanced around the picturesque setting, nervous despite the continuous reassurances being spouted inside her head. She shouldn't have accepted Ruby's invitation to come visit Patch for winter break, she should have just stayed at Beacon where she could hang out in the library and their room and spend time with her girlfriend without feeling this nervous knot in her stomach. Had Ruby even bothered to ask her father? What if he threw her out the moment he saw that she was there? She could probably get back into Beacon for break if she left now before most of the teachers finished heading out.

*Oh come on, that's a little overdramatic, isn't it?*

Blake still startled a bit when Yang answered her supposedly-private thoughts, though she was finally used to it enough that she didn't noticeably jump.

It's not being dramatic, it's being practical, Yang! I have no idea how you father is going to react to me being here. This is the first Yule since you...since you died and he's probably going to be upset!

*He might be, but if I know Dad he'll put on a brave face for Rubes. And besides, kitten, Rubes was right. You're basically family at this point. And, if we're being honest here, I could really use a little bit of family time.*

Yang…

Blake frowned, feeling how despondent the usually unshakably cheerful girl was. She hadn't even fully considered how this would be affecting her partner. The cat faunus straightened her shoulders determinedly. It was Yang's first Yule being a ghost. The least that Blake could do was let her live vicariously.

*Did you mean to make that pun? Because it was a good one. Not the best, I mean I've definitely done better, but it was still alright! Also, you're feeling guilty again and if we have to have this conversation about it not being your fault one more time, Belladonna, I'm going to start singing the song that never ends and you will have to deal with the consequences.*

Blake snorted a little, shaking her head at her partner's antics.

Let's just go inside.

She could feel how nervous Yang was under her bluster, along with the melancholy and nostalgia that were compounding as they, she, walked inside of the Xiao Long house. She could hear Ruby, who had gone ahead when Blake had needed to take a minute, talking to someone further inside. She couldn't recognize the voice but after sending a questioning feeling to Yang she received the memory of a tall black haired man with red eyes talking to his nieces at Signal. She knew now, as if she had always known, that Uncle Qrow was here and that Ruby was talking to him in the kitchen.

*He's probably here to make sure Dad's alright. He stayed with us for a while after Mom died, too.*

Blake blinked, shocked back into reality where she was separate from Yang's memories. It was hard to distinguish their individual pasts and experiences sometimes, especially when they were freely being shared like that. The faunus made her way into the kitchen, following the voices both in her head and out. Pausing once she arrived at the doorway, she took in the sight in front of her. Ruby was there, perched on top of a counter and chatting with her Uncle who was sitting backwards in one of the chairs from the kitchen table. They seemed to be in an intense debate about the newest issue of the girl's favorite gun catalogue so Blake turned her attention to the third person in the room. The blond man was leaning against the counter not far from his daughter, though he seemed content to just listen to the conversation instead of taking part. His eyes, so familiar to Blake after knowing Yang, were underscored liberally with purple bruising, as if he hadn't slept well in weeks. The whites were tinted red, bloodshot and still a little watery even as he smiled softly in the direction of his youngest child.

*I don't think I've ever seen Dad look so...bland.* Yang sounded subdued and worried, something Blake could feel spreading into her own consciousness and making her already present concern for the man worsen. *Shit, sorry kitten, didn't mean to share.*

Before she could respond, the raven-haired girl found herself the center of attention from the occupants of the room she stood at the threshold to.

"Blake! Are you feeling better now? I'm sorry I didn't come back out to check on you but I didn't know Uncle Qrow was going to be here and I haven't seen him since before coming to Beacon and I wanted to make sure that everything was set up for us here and there's a guest bed for you that's all set up that I can show you after dinner and-"

Blake cut off her team leader, gently snagging her shoulder to stop the brunette from continuing to bounce back and forth in front of her. "It's fine, Rubes. I'm sure that everyone's just as happy to see you as you are to see them, and I can sleep wherever. It's no bother." She smiled slightly at the other girl, noting out of the corner of her eye how Taiyang had jerked a little when she called his daughter Rubes. She had forgotten by now that it was something that Yang exclusively had done, with the entire team getting used to Blake's 'Yang Moments' and no longer mentioning them.

Ruby relaxed, smiling in return at the older girl before setting her chin and turning to the men behind her, both of whom had focused completely on the cat faunus though Qrow seemed far more at ease about her presence than the blond.

"Dad, Uncle Qrow, this is my teammate Blake Belladonna. Blake, this is my dad and my uncle Qrow."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Thank you for allowing me into your home for the holidays, Mr. Xiao Long." Blake figured that being respectful was probably her best bet right now, seeing as Taiyang still hadn't taken his eyes off her or said anything, merely standing there with his arms crossed and eyebrows pinched. The air was thick with tension, even Yang watching silently to see what would happen.

After what felt like an eternity of standing as still as she possibly could, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with the man whose daughter she had gotten killed, Blake felt the tension leak out of her spine when he blinked, nodding minutely at her.

"It's nice to meet a member of my dau-of Ruby's team. I was beginning to think she's ashamed of me!" His smile was tight around the edges, but it was enough for Ruby to take her queue, protesting wildly that it had only been a year and it wasn't her fault that everyone was busy all the time. Blake relaxed further as Qrow joined in on the conversation father and daughter were having, leaving the faunus a quietly unobserved moment to pull herself together.

Oh my Oum, that was terrifying. Yang, I don't know if I can do this.

*You'll be fine, kitten. He just needs a bit of time to warm up to you. I'm pretty sure Uncle Qrow likes you! At least, I think he'll help Ruby keep Dad busy enough for you to take a minute. He's cool like that.*

I hope you're right.

*I'm always right. Don't go getting your tail in a twist over spilled milk. It's always a long day in this house.*

Yang, I swear to Oum.

Blake smiled slightly, eyes distant as she listened to the bright laughter echoing through her head. She didn't notice the violet eyes observing her curiously from across the kitchen.

Blake shifted again in her borrowed bed, unable to get comfortable even after lying awake for what had to have been hours. She turned to her back with a huff, opening her eyes to watch the moonlight play along the ceiling as it pooled through the windows with their curtains cast apart.

*You know, instead of both of us laying here bored for the rest of the night, you could get up and do something.*

What would you suggest? I'd rather not cause any trouble, especially after the lacklustre introductions today.

*Yesterday.*

What?

*Pretty sure it's after midnight, kitten. That means that you met Dad yesterday, which means that today's a whole new day!*

It's still been less than twenty-four hours, Yang. I don't think that's anywhere near enough time for him to have gotten used to the idea of having me around. It certainly isn't enough time for me to start causing problems, with or without your help.

*Alright, alright, fine. We really need to patch this up, but that can wait until the morning.* She ignored Blake's indignant snort, continuing her train of thought as if there had been no interruption. *Why don't you just head down to the kitchen. Pretty sure we'll have milk somewhere, and that way you can heat some up to relax and we can try the whole sleeping thing again.*

Unable to think of anything better to do, Blake heaved herself up out of bed, swinging her legs around to slip on the slippers she had left sitting next to it. She made her way out the door, through the hallway, and down the stairs as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake any of the other current occupants. Creeping around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, Blake noticed that there was a light on in the kitchen, causing her to hesitate briefly before gathering her Yang-inspired courage and continuing. She regretted it instantly when she saw who was in sitting at the table.

Grimmshit.

When there were no immediate repercussions to her presence, the huntress in training turned her focus more towards studying the figure of Taiyang. He was sitting there, head in his hands, under the dim light from over the sink. There was a mug placed in front of him as if he'd just come down for a cup of tea before becoming distracted. As Blake watched, she took note of his shoulders as they gently shook.

*Oh. Oh, Blake. I think...is he crying?* Yang's voice sounded almost broken. Without thinking about it, the raven-haired girl took a step forward, freezing as the blond's head shot up, wary eyes turning to meet hers.

"Oh, Ms. Belladonna. I didn't think anyone else'd be up right now." He wiped roughly at his face, voice rough.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep. I just came down to get something to drink, I didn't mean to disturb you."

Taiyang waved her off, focusing back on his mug while Blake, with some soft encouragement from her partner, got herself a cup of milk. She didn't bother to heat it up, wanting to get out of the kitchen as quickly as possible. She paused before leaving the room, wanting to say something but unsure if she should. "Mr. Xiao Long...I'm so sorry for everything."

"You're sorry. Why should you be sorry?" Blake froze before turning to watch the brittle sounding blond warily. She recognized that tone from when Yang was feeling particularly fragile and overwhelmed, and therefore had a good idea of what was coming. Sure enough, the despondent man, face now twisted with pain, slammed his mug down onto the table. "Do you have any idea how hard it is, knowing that my little girl didn't even get to see the real world outside of Beacon? That she d-died because she went headlong into a fight that she wasn't ready for?"

Blake didn't even notice that the others were awake until Qrow was standing in between her and the rageful blond, Ruby having stopped next to her near the doorway. All she could hear was white noise, ringing through her ears while the guilt crushed her from the inside out. She didn't even notice her diminutive leader guiding her into the living room until they were sitting on the couch and Ruby's worried face was centered in her vision.

"Are you alright, Blake?"

"I'm fine," she started. "You should go check on your father. I'll be fine." She could tell that Ruby didn't believe her, knew she would refuse before she actually made the motion to do so. The two girls sat in silence for a moment, worrying, until a ruffled looking Qrow lead an equally mussed Taiyang out of the kitchen. Blake couldn't meet his eyes, looking instead down at her hands clasped in her lap and hoping that things would be alright. Yang hadn't even spoken since watching her father break, and the faunus could only hope she wasn't reeling too badly.

"Ms. Belladonna...Blake. I should apologize."

Her head snapped up, seeing the blond man perched gingerly on the coffee table in front of her. His spoke softly, his eyes fixated on the carpet. "For what, sir? You didn't do anything."

"But neither did you. It wasn't your fault that Yang was in that warehouse, and I heard about how you and your teammates caught the guy who was responsible." He met Blake's startled eyes, peering up from under his fringe. He quirked a very small, crooked smile. "We all know how stubborn she could be, especially when it came to people she cared about. I don't doubt that there was no way you could've made her stay behind."

Blake sat there, frozen, listening to him talk. She had this impulsive feeling building in her throat, one she had a horrible idea that she was going to regret, but she didn't know if she could stop it.

"I am happy that I finally got to meet you. Yang never stopped talking about you. Or your other teammate, the Schnee girl, but at least with you it was always good things." Taiyang seemed to be caught up a bit in the past, his eyes gone distant as if he couldn't see Blake sitting in front of him anymore.

"Yang's not…" Her voice caught in her throat. Was she really about to do this?

*Blake? Are you sure about this?*

Not at all.

"Yang's not...not completely dead. I mean, she is, but she isn't."

Both of the men in the room were now fixated on the nervous, raven-haired girl. "Wha'da you mean by that, kid?" came from Qrow. He looked piercingly at her like he was daring her to be making a joke about something like this.

Taking comfort from the presence of Ruby next to her, and the warmth of Yang in her head, Blake forced herself to explain. "Well, when Yang died she was using her semblance to protect me. There were some...unintentional side effects."

*Thank you for that, Blake.*

The girl smiled softly, curling further into her pillow. It had taken a while for the faunus, with the help of Ruby, to convince the two men that she had Yang being a ghost in her head, but it had been worth it. Taiyang had broken down crying again, but Blake had played go-between for the two Xiao Longs until the early morning hours, which lead to her current situation of trying to sleep, take two. She started a bit at the laughter that came singing out from her partner.

*That sounded like something I'd say. I really am rubbing off on you, though not in the funnest way…*

Yang. No.

*Yang, yes!*

Blake groaned softly, pulling the cover up tighter and shutting her eyes firmly, hoping her girlfriend would get the hint that she just wanted to sleep right now.

*Fine, fine. Go to sleep, kitten. There's plenty of time to talk tomorrow, and all of break to spend working things out.*

As her breath deepened and she sunk into the arms of her dreams, Blake couldn't help but think that that prospect wasn't nearly as frightening as it had been less than twenty-four hours ago.

Maybe this Yule won't be so bad, after all.

*That's the spirit! Get it? Cause I'm a ghost?*

Good-night, Yang.

*Night, Blake! Talk to you in the morning!*

Yeah. Maybe it would all turn out fine in the end. After all, she would always have the annoyingly loveable blonde to help her get through things, and that was really all she needed.

SilvanaCrowe A/N: So. Well. This was a thing. I had a heck of a time writing this, but I hope I did the original story justice! Um...have a little angst to go with your Holiday Cheer? Thanks everyone for reading!

Dongyrn A/N: I can write angst, but it's not my favorite thing, particularly at this point when I'm trying to keep my spirits up with the holidays here. So I cannot fully express my massive appreciation for SilvanaCrowe to doing this chapter for me, 'cause otherwise it was just going to be skipped. Also, I'm going to have to enlist them to write Yang from here on out because they do such a better job of it than I do.

Whelp, now we're caught up to my more recent stuff. So, next we'll revisit a story I just finished called Ember Legacy, my Fantasy Dragon AU epic worldbuilding journey. Well, it was epic for me to write, anyways.

Stay shiny!