Yang's right foot would not stop tapping, no matter how much she attempted to restrain herself. Usually, whenever she got anxious like this, she would simply work out her nerves with some light exercise, something physical to get herself out of her troubled mind. However, given that she was sitting at a table outside a ramen shop and surrounded by people enjoying their food on that cool Sunday evening, this wasn't really an option. Yang thought of taking a quick run around the block to calm herself, but she knew that she had to stay there and wait for two very important people.

Yang wished that she could claim the idea of meeting up at A Simple Wok for the "talk" – after all, the sisters loved coming there on summer nights to grab a bowl of Mistral Special each – but Weiss was the clever one, as always. The heiress also cited that since they would be discussing whatever they needed to discuss in a public place, the conversation would naturally have to be civil; in Weiss's own words, "You two dolts have to be the loudest I've ever met, and I will not have you two shouting at each other."

Yang smiled weakly upon remembering that. At least we still have that in common after all this time, she thought glumly. No - I can't be thinking so negatively now of all times. C'mon, Yang, you got this – you gotta be good for Ruby.

In an effort to distract herself, Yang scanned the area around her. Springtime was upon the city, so the manager of the ramen shop had brought out tables in response to the increased traffic he was getting at the stand. That evening wasn't particularly busy, as everyone was likely preparing for the start of the new week, but there were still a number of patrons. Families, friends, couples – they were all slurping up noodles with grins on their faces. It was a very lively and happy atmosphere, appropriate for the time of year.

Yang listened to their chatter idly, thinking how nice it would be for her spring evening to go as cordially as the others'. But with the change of seasons also come storms.

"We're here, Yang!" The sudden voice calling out from behind her almost made Yang jump out of her seat. Damn, just how on edge am I? The blonde swiveled around to greet the new arrivals, who were just close enough to where she could make out their faces. Weiss waved at her from afar, while Ruby, lagging behind her roommate a few steps, quickly looked toward her feet. Yang knew that their second reunion wasn't going to be easy for either of them, but seeing her sister avoiding her gaze twisted her gut something awful. Still, she resisted the urge to frown.

Yang returned the gesture as the pair got closer. "Hey, Weiss!" She then cautiously added, "Ruby."

Her sister looked up at her and for the first time, Yang got a good look at her face. She looked a little wearier than the last time they ran into each other and had an uncharacteristic dread in her eyes. Yang noticed that the red highlights that her little sister had been playing with three years ago had expanded into fully red-tipped hair. The older sister couldn't help but smile a little upon seeing that – Yang had been the one to suggest that Ruby toy around a bit with hair dyes. Her taste in clothing didn't seem to have evolved too much, but between their previous encounter and that moment, she had started wearing more fetching outfits; right then, Ruby had on a plaid red shirt tucked into skinny black jeans. Yang would have been more proud of her appearance were it not for the situation at hand.

"I hope it didn't take too long to get here - I know this place isn't really the easiest place to get to," Yang said as the two reached the table.

"Of course not," Weiss replied matter-of-factly, taking the seat next to Yang and gesturing to Ruby for her to sit across from her sister. "I would never have picked this place if it turned out to be a hassle."

"Right, right, how could I assume you wouldn't have thought of that?" Yang joked lamely, still trying her best to keep her gaze from wandering over to her sister as the new arrivals sat down.

Weiss must have noticed the unease in both Yang's and Ruby's expressions as she clapped her hands together, getting their attention. "So, what are we ordering?"

"I'll take a Grand Mistral!" Yang blurted out almost immediately.

Weiss chuckled lightly and shook her head. "Of course you would. And what about you, Ruby?"

The little brunette was slow to reply. "I'll have that, too," she said with a small, weak voice. She glanced at Yang for a moment but then quickly returned her eyes to the table.

"Well, if both of you are getting that, I will just go ahead and do the same," Weiss got up from her chair, earning confused looks from the two sisters. Yang wasn't sure what exactly she was up to. Unless… "I'll go ahead and take the orders for all three of us at the counter and leave you two with some time to chat." With a smug expression and a nod to Yang and Ruby, Weiss turned on her heel and headed toward the ramen bar.

No, no, no, don't leave me here alone! Yang wanted to scream right then as she watched her friend leave, but she knew better than that. No, she couldn't panic now - the ball was in her court, and Yang had to do something with it. Still, Yang cursed Weiss under her breath for leaving her alone with Ruby before turning back around in her seat to face her sister.

Unsurprisingly, Ruby didn't seem to be too pleased with Weiss leaving them to their own devices either. Even though she did her best to not look directly at Yang, the blonde could see the telltale signs of her discomfort: fidgeting in her seat, rocking back and forth, scratching her nose. Yang let out a quiet sigh, one Ruby wouldn't be able to hear. Sure, the whole purpose of the meeting that evening was to have the two estranged siblings reunite, but some part of Yang was still not quite ready to face her sister, especially not when she seemed this unwilling. Yang had to make an effort, though – no time like the present, right?

"So…" Yang started without going anywhere in particular. How does she start up a conversation with someone who's been out of her life for almost three years? She didn't know how much or how little she changed in all that time or even how Ruby felt about her. Heck, it was impossible to read someone when their head was pointed to the ground, her expression hidden by red-streaked hair. An idea popped in Yang's head to break the ice. "I like what you did with your hair, by the way. Red looks good on you."

"Thanks," Ruby said shortly without looking up. It was clear that she wasn't going to be much of a conversationalist tonight.

Yang was hoping that complimenting her hair would've opened her up a little, but perhaps it was still something too closely related to her and not her little sister. Weiss was still at the counter, though, and the blonde wasn't about to wait out the next several minutes in silence. It was going to be awkward one way or another, so she might as well continue trying to reach out to Ruby.

"What about Zwei? How's he been doing?" Yang hadn't thought about it, but she hadn't seen her energetic corgi ever since she left home. She didn't particularly miss the dumb dog, but she could imagine he would have been a handful for Ruby.

Her little sister was playing with a splinter on the edge of the table when she replied brusquely, "He's fine, like always." She didn't seem interested in continuing any sort of dialogue, which Yang could understand. Nevertheless, the blonde continued on the best she could.

"How's it like to go to Beacon? I remember you were really excited to come when you got your acceptance letter." Excited was putting it lightly; Ruby was positively ecstatic when she got that letter. She wouldn't stop talking about it for a whole week and she thought up of all the new adventures she might have in Beacon. Their family had lived in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale that was dotted with small summer homes and cottages, so for all her life, Ruby had never set foot in a city. She wanted to stay up late and wander the streets of Vale, see all the people milling about, and experience the high life of the city, but most of all, she wanted to attend the same school as her big sister…

Ruby finally stopped inspecting the patterns on the table and lifted her head up, albeit not while looking directly at her. "It's alright, I guess. Not everything turned out the way I thought, but other things turned out better." Yang's mouth twitched painfully as she suppressed a wince. She knew perfectly well what her sister meant by things not turning out well – that would be her disappearing from Beacon and Ruby. The blonde did have a reason, a very good reason for leaving, but she doubted that either her sibling or Weiss would understand her.

Speaking of which, the heiress finally returned to the table. "The cook said that he'll be coming by in a few minutes with our food, so we have some time to kill," she said as she sat back in her chair. She then looked between the two sisters, both silent, and asked, "I hope I didn't interrupt whatever conversation you two were having, do I?"

"We're… we still need to break the ice, I think," Yang conceded, smiling nervously. Once again, Ruby didn't say much.

Weiss rubbed the bridge of her nose and let out a tired sigh. "I see you two are going to need some handholding with this one." She paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "Alright, let's start simple. So far, I've gathered that whatever is going on between you two is because of something that happened a long time ago and it's made you upset with each other. Other than that, I have no idea what in heaven's name happened." Weiss had held up two fingers to demonstrate the facts she knew and turned to face her roommate. "Ruby, I know you wanted to explain yourself last Friday – why don't you start? What happened?" Great, she's starting with her – now I'm going to sound like the bad guy.

The brunette stole a quick glance at Yang with sad eyes before turning to her roommate; no doubt she found it far more comfortable to talk with her. "Well, it all started when Yang came home for the summer two years ago. She's usually super excited and stuff and ready to go on adventures and stuff, and back then, that's exactly what I saw, but…" Yang didn't think it was possible, but Ruby's voice got even more weighted with melancholy. "That's not what I felt. Like, she smiled and joked around like always, but it kept on seeming like something she threw together right as I would turn around and see her —I couldn't help but feel like it was all to hide something." Weiss's mild bewilderment didn't escape Yang's attention. For as long as she'd known her, Yang had been upbeat and energetic, so it must have sounded strange to hear about when she had been in the dumps. I'm only human though…

"I didn't do anything for a few days, thinking that Yang was just in a bad mood or something, but even after a week, she'd still be sad. If anything, it only got worse. I tried talking to her about it, but she'd just give me that half-grin and make up some excuse for how she was feeling. 'It's just that time of the month.' 'I didn't get enough sleep last night.' 'I had a bad dream.'" The blonde winced upon hearing those excuses being recited back to her. She remembered how stupid they were; Yang wasn't fooling her sister, just herself.

"When that didn't work, I tried cheering her up by talking about how things had been going for me – how me and my friends celebrated our graduation from Signal High, how I found out that a lot of them were going to the same college as me, how my final grades turned out – and it actually seemed to work. Yang was really happy for me, and I was happy that she was happy and that I helped. But…" Ruby looked straight into Yang's eyes as she paused, and Weiss followed suit. The older sister wanted desperately to look away in shame and escape the subtle yet piercing gazes, but she wouldn't let herself do it. After all, Ruby wasn't running away from the memory, so how could she? No, this was something she had to face, painful or not.

"The next morning, I woke up late as usual and went down for breakfast. Dad had made strawberry pancakes for us, and it looked like Yang hadn't gotten to them yet, which never happens. Every time we have pancakes, she always beats me to them, so, of course, I took the opportunity to stuff as much as I could into my mouth before she could stop me." A ghost of a smile appeared on Ruby's lips. It was no happy memory, but the way she spoke about it must have triggered a hint of nostalgia. The feeling didn't last long.

"After the 5th one, though, sis hadn't come down yet – probably had some bad sleep again – so I called out to her from the kitchen and said that if she didn't come down in 30 seconds, I would've finished all the pancakes. That ought to have worked, right? But I didn't hear anything from her room. I was a little worried at that point, but I didn't dare think that something had happened to her; she was just sleeping in really late, or maybe she wasn't hungry yet, that had to be it." Yang fidgeted in her seat, anxious at how Ruby was building up to the moment. It sounded like such a good idea to her at the time, but many things she had done two years ago were like that.

"And then, I opened the door to her room and, man, it was a mess. Like, I know Yang is messy, but this was just a disaster." Even though this happened ages ago, Yang could still notice a certain annoyance in her voice, a welcome shift from her gloomy tone for the evening. Even if it was only just for a moment. "Her clothes were everywhere, drawers were spilling over with stuff, her bedsheets were all messed up, and… Yang wasn't there, and neither was her backpack. I panicked and searched for something, anything, to tell me where she went; considering how shitty she had been feeling, I didn't like the ideas that popped into my head. I soon found my answer, though, when I noticed a wrinkled piece of paper left on the desk with Yang's terrible handwriting. She… she…"

Ruby's voice quaked right before she stopped herself and reached down into her pockets and pulled out her wallet, much to the confusion of the other two girls at the table. Neither Weiss nor Yang didn't seem very certain where the little brunette was headed, but once she produced a folded, slightly crumpled piece of paper, her sister realized it had to be the letter in question. Yang remembered how she hastily tore out a scrap piece of paper out of her notebook to scrawl down her message before leaving, but she never imagined that it would become so important to Ruby. After all this time, she still holds that bit of me close to her, she thought ruefully.

Ruby unfolded the lined paper and stared at it for a while. Her face contorted with emotions rising and falling on the surface. Weiss, wanting to move on with the story, cautiously probed Ruby for an explanation. "What is it, Ruby?"

No response.

"Is that the piece of paper you were talking about?"

Ruby nodded, eyes fixed on the page in her hands. Nothing more than that.

Uncertain of what to do, Weiss's mouth opened and closed wordlessly until she asked, "Do… do you want me to read it?" She extended her hand out to Ruby with her offer.

Ruby shook her head with a quiet "No" and began to recite what was written.

"Dear Dad and Sis," she began before stopping suddenly. Yang was almost annoyed with how Ruby was taking her sweet time to read the letter, but she wasn't the one who was left behind without a proper goodbye. Ruby a few deep breaths to calm herself down as much as she could and started again.

"Dear Dad and Sis, you might have noticed that I've been feeling a little down recently. Well, that's a bit of an understatement – I'm feeling really shitty right now. Sorry, Rubes, I know I'm not supposed to say that around you." Ruby laughed breathlessly upon reading that. Yang didn't know if that was her attempt to lighten the mood, but the emptiness of it only made her more tense.

"I know why I'm feeling this way, and I know no matter how much you want to help me, there isn't anything you can do. This is something I have to figure out for myself, and I'll be back once I've got everything in my crappy head sorted." Ruby sniffled a bit, wiping her nose before continuing feebly. "I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I hope you'll understand."

Ruby had to stop again, sniffling a few times more. "Goodbye. Yang."

Tears were welling up in Ruby's eyes and the letter shook a little in her hands, but she was able to choke back her sadness for just a little longer. "I thought maybe I had said something wrong, something to make you mad at me for not understanding how you felt, and for the next few weeks, I couldn't stop thinking about what I could have done differently to convince you to stay." Ruby speech grew increasingly frantic. "Dad was no help; he just shut down like he's always done. He said that you'd have a plan and that you'd be fine, but I wasn't so sure. Hell, I wasn't fine then." Ruby seemed to have noticed her voice rising because she sat back in her seat and collected herself.

"Soon, we got another letter about you, but it was from someone strange – an officer in the Valerian Army." For the first time in a while, Ruby's eyes lit up, though Yang wasn't sure it was from joy or because of the light bouncing off her glistening tears. "On the one hand, I was so happy to hear that you were still alive and well, but on the other hand, I had yet more questions to ask, and you still weren't there." Yang swore the air around the table grew cooler in just then.

Ruby then sprang up all of a sudden, leaning forward with her hands on the table and looking at her sister square in the eye. The brunette would've looked in that moment if she didn't look so sad. "Why didn't you tell me about deciding to join the army? Why join the army in the first place? How was the army supposed to solve your problems?" The force of Ruby's words shook both Weiss and Yang, who jumped in their sets slightly.

"I tried to reach you in every way I could – phone, email, even sending letters to nearest army base – but I never heard back from you." All of Ruby's trepidation from earlier had gone out the window as she continued her tirade against Yang. "Eventually, I had practically given up all hope with you and just accepted that I wasn't going to have a big sister anymore." Ouch. Those words cut deep into Yang.

"And then… you show up out of nowhere three days ago as if nothing happened." Ruby let those words hang in the tense air for a moment before continuing. "So there you have it. That's what happened to us."

The three of them sat in silence. A waiter came by with their orders in the meantime and set down heaping bowls of food in front of each girl. He must have noticed the situation at hand and asked if there was anything else he could bring, but Weiss quickly dismissed him. At any other time, they would have immediately dug into their meals, but they were so transfixed by Ruby's revelation that none of them cared. Ruby started playing with the noodles absentmindedly as if to signal her desire to withdraw from the conversation; easily enough, Weiss turned her attention to Yang.

"You certainly have a lot of explaining to do," she stated coolly, leveling an unfriendly gaze at Yang. Yang figured that since the Weiss had known Ruby longer than herself, she wasn't likely to earn the heiress's sympathy. She even edged closer to where her roommate was sitting, making the situation at hand much more confrontational than Yang was comfortable with. Sure, she didn't expect everything to be all sunshine and rainbows, but she had hoped that when Weiss offered to hear the both of them out, she wouldn't take sides. Regardless, it was time for her fess up.

In truth, Yang didn't want to say anything. She had hoped that it might be enough to simply say that she needed time to herself, time to sort out the thoughts that flooded her head back then, but Yang knew that answer wouldn't satisfy anyone. She hoped that she would not have to reveal any of the wounds in her past. Most of all, though, Yang hoped that she could go through the rest of her days without thinking of… her. Not her dark hair, not her shining amber eyes, and especially not what she did on that fateful night. Yet as she started caving under the pressure from the other two girls sitting at that table, Yang knew that she had no choice but to peel back the bandage.

Meekly, the blonde finally said, "I am not proud of my decision back then. I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted to leave Ruby in the cold like this, but I needed to."

Weiss remained unconvinced. "And what was so important that you had to abandon your sister?" she asked, not bothering to hide her displeasure.

Yang stopped herself from wincing at the heiress's tone and steeled herself before continuing. Here goes nothing. "I had a friend back then. Heck, I'd even call her my best friend. We met before our first day of college started when I found out she was my roommate. I didn't know very many people here in Vale, so she naturally became my first friend. She wasn't the kind that I would usually make friends with – she's quiet, I'm loud, she liked to stay in, I liked to go out, she worked hard, I hardly worked – but we just kinda worked, you know? I got her to break her out of her shell, and when she did talk, she always had something insightful to say. She was the coolest cat you'd ever meet."

The blonde paused as she got caught up in the nostalgia of those better times, her mouth creasing into a small smile. However, she knew those were all but distant memories at that point and returned to her story. "But…" Yang felt her muscles tense up and her fist clench under the table as she remembered the last morning she saw her friend. The shock from back then still felt just as real to her at that moment. Her body trembled and her mind swam violently as she attempted to quell the old memories. No. There was no way she could tell them how her world got turned upside down. But… she owed her new friend and sister a proper explanation.

"…one day, I learned that she wasn't who she said she was," Yang said evenly, managing to keep her emotions from surfacing. "She was never the friend I thought she was, and, worse, she broke my trust. That was almost two years ago, the morning after the last day of class, but even now, I still hate thinking about it." Just like right now, she added to herself. Still, Yang knew that she wasn't going to get any sympathy for that from Ruby or Weiss, so she continued on.

"Like Ruby said, I came home that summer with the shittiest mood ever. I was still torn up about my friend's… actions, but I tried to put on a good face for the family – I didn't want my little sis to think anything was wrong. That didn't work, of course, and she got worried about me." Yang noticed Ruby's face darken, and she knew perfectly well why. It probably took all her willpower not to blurt out her scathing response, which only made Yang feel worse – even in that moment, Ruby was still nice enough to let her finish. "I couldn't tell her what had happened, though, because as much as she means well, there was nothing Ruby could do or say to help me-"

"What, just like right now, how you're still not telling us what had happened?" Ruby interjected suddenly, leaning forward slightly. There was a bitterness in her voice that was mirrored in her expression – clearly, she wasn't interested in hearing Yang's excuses.

"If you would just let me finish, I just might be able to explain that," she returned with narrow eyes. Sister or not, Yang didn't take kindly to anyone who interrupted her. Once Ruby leaned back to her original seat, the older sister continued with a sigh. "As I was saying, this wasn't a problem that Ruby or Dad could really handle, and I needed to stay away from Vale for a while, so I got the idea to join the army."

"And how exactly does that solve anything?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"I needed to be somewhere different to clear my head, but there wasn't much opportunity for employment for a college dropout like me outside the city other than flipping burgers at a fast food joint, but that wasn't going to be how I spent the rest of my days." Yang started to twirl up some noodles with her chopsticks as she remembered the panic that started to set in after being away from home for a few days. She had left without a second thought, so sure that something would pop up for her to do, but it quickly became apparent that she wasn't going to survive in the outside world. Yang needed purpose and structure desperately.

"About a week later, I was in a gas station, buying some crappy junk food keep myself going, when a very tall guy in fatigues stepped inside. I honestly don't know what he saw in the lost, stupid girl carrying everything she had in a duffel bag – maybe he just knew – but he walked right up me with a smile and a handshake. Turns out this guy was an army recruiter, and through him I joined the army." Yang took the noodles she had spun about her chopsticks and shoved them into her mouth. She was done talking for a while, and food was the perfect escape from the conversation, even if for just a moment.

Neither of the other girls were interested in their meals, though. "And how did that work out?" Weiss asked. There was nothing in her demeanor to indicate that she was judging Yang, but the blonde couldn't help but feel like she was being interrogated.

Yang took her sweet time chewing on her food despite the stares being leveled at her. Once there was no more food to swallow, Yang continued her story. "Well, I'd be lying if I said it was all sunshine and rainbows. I mean, being in the army did what I had hoped – giving order to my messy life – but it was so damn frustrating. Had to wake up super early every day, had to follow a ton of dumb rules, got into trouble every now and again. Still, it helped me. It helped me to bury my thoughts so I didn't have to carry them around all the time."

Ruby slammed her fists on the table, rattling their bowls of food and capturing everyone's attention. There was going to be no calm resolution to this situation."Yang, you keep talking about how much of a burden this was for you to bear, but why didn't you let me help you share it? Sure, you still might have not wanted to tell me what was going on, and maybe if you did, I still wouldn't understand what it was all about, but I would still be there for you. But no, you thought I would be too much of a burden as well and took on everything yourself."

Yang almost didn't notice it, but Ruby's voice grew more desperate and less angry – even her silver eyes seemed like they were pleading with her. "Why, sis? Why don't you ever let me help you, even when you know you need it? I wanted so badly to make you feel happy again, but instead you c-cast me aside to go join the army. Y-you didn't even let me say goodbye to you!"

The girl started drawing in quick, short breaths, and her quivering mouth made it difficult for her to finish her next few words.

"It's j-just like… just li-l-like with… M… Mo…"

And in that moment, it all became so very clear to Yang. I was just like Mom. Mom, who died in a car accident hours after Ruby had gotten in a fight with her…

In what seemed to be one fluid motion, Yang jumped out of her seat, dashed over to where the now-crying Ruby was, and wrapped herself around her. I had abandoned her like Mom had. Just that thought alone invalidated everything she did up until that point. I ran away for selfish reasons and left Ruby like this.

Whatever fortitude or self-control Ruby had up until that point evaporated the moment the blonde hugged her tight, and her weeping quickly became loud sobbing. Each painful gasp and sharp convulsion from her little sister cut deep into Yang.

I did this to her. It's my fault she's been holding in this sadness for so long.

She could feel Ruby's runny nose and many tears dampen her shirt, but it didn't matter to her at the moment.

Even when I tried to keep my sadness away from her, I still made Ruby cry. Gods, what kind of sister makes her own cry?

She tried to summon up the will to say something, anything, to begin to comfort her little sister, but everything she could think of seemed meaningless. Nothing could atone for what she had done to Ruby. Yang's eyes started welling up with tears.

What have I done?

"I'm sorry, Ruby. So, so… so…"

She could barely hold back her emotions anymore. The guilt of abandoning her sister, the shame of acting like such a coward, the fear of having ruined Ruby's life; all those feelings assaulted Yang. Some people from the other tables had turned around in their seats and stared at the two sisters – no, only at Yang. They were judging Yang, judging her for the two long years of sadness she made Ruby endure.

And then there was Weiss. Yang couldn't read anything from those icy blue eyes. There was nothing there but cold disdain. Like she was looking at something hideous. A monster.

I am a monster.

The levee broke. Tears poured freely down Yang's face as squeezed her sister closer to her. They were a sobbing, pathetic mess. "I'm here, R-ruby," Yang choked out between sobs. "I'm not g-going anywhere anym-more."

Yang rocked the two of them back and forth gently. More people around them continued staring at their pitiful little scene, but she didn't care. A little embarrassment was nothing compared to the shame she felt for abandoning Ruby like this – hell, she deserved every bit of it. She was an embarrassment of a sister. Still, even after all that, the little brunette was in her arms, and at that point, there was nothing more she could ask for in the world.

I'm never going to abandon anyone like this again.

They never did finish their Grand Mistrals.

Wiping the last of the tears from her cheek, Yang lazily watched the lights of the city pass through the bus window as she and the other two girls made their way back to Beacon.

To her right was a sleepy Ruby, who was resting her head on her sister's shoulder – the poor girl had exhausted all her energy when all her emotions poured out not more than an hour ago. She looked so peaceful, with only her puffy eyes as a reminder of her sadness from earlier. Yang went to pat her head in comfort but hesitated; the guilt of having inflicted such anguish on Ruby weighed heavy on her, and she felt like she didn't deserve the simple pleasure of taking comfort in her sister. Not after I denied that to her for so long, she thought bitterly to herself.

Instead, she looked past Ruby's resting form and found Weiss looking straight at her, but the heiress quickly turned away without saying a word. She had been particularly cold toward Yang ever since they had left A Simple Wok, and Yang couldn't blame her. Weiss had just witnessed a glimpse of her ugly history and no doubt she was reconsidering how she saw Yang. Perhaps she wouldn't want to stick around her anymore? That would mean that she'd probably quit going to the gym, but as much as that would disappoint Yang, she didn't mind too much. At long last, she was back together with her little Ruby, and at that moment, that's all she cared about.

It was several minutes before the bus finally came to a halt in front of the Beacon dormitories. It was still a bit of a walk to get to Ironwood Hall, but they weren't going to get much closer by bus. Weiss immediately jumped to her feet and made her way off the bus without looking back at the sisters, but she still waited for them on the sidewalk, glaring impatiently at Yang. Yang tried to get out of her seat, but Ruby wouldn't budge from her shoulder. The ride must've rocked her to sleep, she concluded to herself as she attempted to shake her gently awake.

"Hey, Rubes, we're here, it's time to go home," Yang whispered in her sister's ear, but with no effect. She repeated herself a little louder, this time shaking Ruby a little harder, yet she had dozed off like a log. At that point, the bus driver gave her an annoyed glare, so the older sister thought quickly and wrapped Ruby's limbs around her to carry her out. A couple people on the bus stared at her quizzically, but Yang didn't pay them any attention.

Once outside, Weiss huffed at her, "Took you long enough." Yang didn't care for her attitude, but she supposed that she wasn't really in a position to ask for kinder treatment. Besides, she'd warm up soon enough, right?

The three of them made it back to the dorm without much incident. It had been a long time since Yang gave her sister a piggyback ride, and Ruby had grown a significant amount since then. Still, Yang regularly lifted heavier weights in the gym, so her small body was nothing. In fact, Yang couldn't stop herself from smiling just a little bit upon remembering how she used to carry her around all the time when they were little. Those were simpler times; no worries about her moral character or her standing as a sister.

Yang was so lost in thought that she almost forgot that Weiss was walking beside her. She was awfully quiet, but Yang figured that it wasn't for lack of things to say. She could tell by her hurried pace and rigid posture that the heiress was tense – was she holding back something? Whatever it may be, Yang was happy to wait to find out whatever she might have to say.

After scaling the accursed stairs – honestly, would it kill the university to install an elevator in this place? – Weiss led the two sisters into her room, her expression still uncomfortably blank. By that point, Ruby had fallen into deep sleep, as Yang could tell by the heavy, rhythmic breathing that was tickling her neck. She took in the room for the first time, now that she actually was permitted to enter.

Unsurprisingly, she could easily figure out whose side was whose; Weiss's bed and desk were both neatly organized, while Ruby's scattered stuff defined the boundaries of her half. Some things never change, Yang quipped to herself with a small smile. She carried Ruby to the edge of her bed and gently bend down to let her off. Even in her drowsy state, her sister seemed to instinctively know that she was in bed, for the moment her body touched the covers, she started to wrap herself up in them. A feeling of warmth washed over Yang as she witnessed this, her nostalgia taking her back to happier times. Well, this is a happy time, too, I guess, the blonde mentally interjected, and she went to rustle Ruby's hair with her fingers. Much to her delight, this elicited a small smile from the tired brunette.

Yang didn't realize that Weiss was still at the door until she called out to her, saying, "Yang, can I talk to you for a moment?" Her voice was calm yet deliberate, and Yang knew whatever she had to say was important. But why did she wait until then to talk?

"Sure," the blonde replied cautiously, failing to hide her unease. "What is it?"

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you'd step out here," Weiss said, gesturing her head away from the door. That certainly didn't sound ominous to Yang, and she definitely didn't gulp down hard in response, but she'd had done enough running away for a while, so she might as well face the music. Yang rose from the side of her sister's bed and walked slowly back out onto the walkway.

"Close the door," Weiss said curtly.

Yang obeyed, but still rose a confused eyebrow. "You know Ruby can't hea-"

SMACK

Before she could finish her sentence, though, a stinging pain slammed into her cheek with a loud "clap!" The blonde quickly turned to face the offending party before her, arm still outstretched. Angry words were about to burst forth from Yang's mouth, but she was quickly cut off by Weiss's own.

"How dare you do that to your sister?! How would you ever think it's a good idea to abandon your family for your own stupid, selfish reasons?" Weiss was absolutely livid, shoving an accusatory finger in Yang's face as she shouted. Yang had not expected such an explosive reaction. "You've shown yourself to be a bit of an idiot before, but I didn't think you were capable of doing something this horrible to your own sister! Flawed as she may be, Ruby is a wonderful girl, and with the way you treat her, you don't deserve someone that kind as your sister!"

And there it was. The anger that Weiss had pent up inside her finally surfaced, and it hit Yang like a freight train. The trainer didn't dare say anything, lest she accidently set her off again.

Weiss's huffing and puffing died down after a little bit – that must have been most of the anger that had been bottled up inside her – and she composed herself before resuming. "I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I have a sister as well," she started solemnly, yet without losing her severe tone. "Winter's her name. She's a year and a half older than I, and I never really had the chance to be close to her. As soon as she was of age to start learning what it took to be an heiress to the Schnee family name, I spent less and less time with her until I only ever saw her at mealtimes. I didn't know why she was gone, but I hated it. I always wanted to have a sister, but instead I got a ghost."

Weiss shook her head. "I never was never given the opportunity to have a meaningful relationship with my sister, so it's insulting to see how you vanished from Ruby's life as if it didn't matter. The way she talked about you… you were everything to her." At that point, Weiss didn't sound angry anymore, just disappointed. "I don't care what kind of good reason you had, but family should be something precious that you never throw away. Take it from someone who never had one."

Yang was positively stunned, both by Weiss's harsh words and her bleak story. Her attitude, however, was unsurprising; Yang knew that her actions two years ago were unacceptable, but still she somehow hoped that once she faced her sister, all would be well. And she knew that a rational person like Weiss would never take kindly to her story, but Yang did not expect such an intense reaction from the heiress. Perhaps this was the end of their short friendship? She wouldn't blame her for wanting that – after all, she didn't owe Yang anything.

Weiss hadn't said anything more, but she continued to glare at her expectantly in the silence. Was… was she expecting an answer to that? Yang had enough of defending herself; all she wanted now was some semblance of peace. With shoulders slumped down in defeat, Yang quietly said, "I'm sorry."

The shorter girl cocked her eyebrow in confusion. "Why are you saying that to me? You should be telling that to Ruby, not me."

"No, you deserve an apology from me as well." Weiss eyed her cautiously, but her silence was permission enough for Yang to continue. "When I first met you at the gym, I saw someone who was nervous and unsure of herself, frustrated that things weren't working out your way, and there was even a hint of sadness to your words when we talked. Back then, I saw a lot of Ruby in you – hell, you two are even the same age – and right then, I told myself that I had to do everything in my power to help you out. Of course, it can't absolve me of my guilt for abandoning Ruby, but maybe, just maybe, I could prove to myself that I wasn't a complete scumbag by helping you."

Yang noticed that Weiss's expression had softened significantly when she mentioned the comparison to Ruby – perhaps she herself saw some truth in those words – but she still continued with her apology. "Well, I thought I had done an alright job of cheering you up, but then I dragged you into this whole family mess that you never needed to see." Yang started pacing the walkway as she feverishly tried to explain herself. "I am glad that you could help me get my act together and for setting up this whole thing today, but all I've given you in return is stress and anger. So, I'm sorry. I saw something in you that I shouldn't have and it's because of that I got you roped into something you shouldn't have ever had to deal with. I'm happy for what you've done, but I'm sorry that all this had to happen."

Once the blonde finished her apology, she found it difficult to look Weiss in the eye. It's probably time for me to go – I've said what I needed to say, and I don't think Weiss has anything more for me. With that thought, Yang pivoted around to face the stairs and made her exit.

Before she could take another step, though, Yang felt cool fingers tugging on her arm. Was Weiss not done with her yet? Yang couldn't fathom anything else that the heiress might have to say to her, but if wasn't planning on seeing her again for a long time, she might as well hear her out. When she turned around, though, Yang was surprised to see that the face looking back at her was a sympathetic one.

"Yang, don't get me wrong, I still think your treatment of Ruby up until tonight was appalling," she started cooly and evenly. Yang tensed up in anticipation for more scolding. "But… at the same time, I know you're not a terrible person. Sure, you've done some very stupid things in the time that I've gotten to know you, but that just means you're an idiot."

The trainer couldn't help but laugh at this comment. "Weiss, if this is your idea of cheering people up, you're sure doing a bang-up job," she quipped.

"If you would just let me finish, you'll see what I mean," Weiss retorted lightly. Yang quickly composed herself after that. "As I was saying, you may be an idiot, but your heart is in a good place."

Yang was caught off guard by the compliment. "After what you learned today, you still think that?"

Weiss paused, seemingly pondering over this question. "I do. I mean, you were right about me when I first came to Gold's for the first time – I was in a bad place, and if it weren't for you, I can't imagine being much better. And from what I've gathered, you may have left your sister behind, but I can see guilt still weighs heavily on you." The heiress sighed as she rubbed her brow - this whole affair had tired her out a great deal.

"I still don't know just what was so bad about what happened to you two years ago that you thought abandoning your family was the appropriate choice, but here you are now, back with Ruby. You've made a mistake and now you're correcting it. A little late, of course, but better late than never, as they say."

All of a sudden, Yang couldn't stop her lips from quivering. She surely didn't deserve anyone to treat her kindly after all that she's done, but here Weiss was, extending the olive branch to her with a soft smile. How could this be? Was she finally headed in the right direction in life? All she did was face her guilt and admit her shortcomings, and somehow, that was enough to finally reunite with her sister, and it was all thanks to the short, sarcastic, stressed-out and yet sympathetic girl standing before her. In the short time since Yang befriended her, Weiss had already made a dramatic change to her life, one that she'll never forget. How can I thank her for what she's done?

Without thinking, Yang pulled in a startled Weiss for a tight embrace. She wanted to say something sweet to the heiress in return for all she'd done, but all that came out were the sobs she had been fighting back down. The blonde held onto her friend, seeking the same comfort Ruby had found in her earlier, and rested her head on Weiss's. Weiss had tensed up at first in reaction to the sudden hug, but she quickly relaxed and let those muscular arms hold her close and returned the gesture. "You big crybaby…" she teased lightly, resting her head on Yang's ample chest as it rose and fell with each of her sobs.

The two of them stayed like that for quite some time, and it wasn't until a bit after Yang's crying finally died down when they let go of each other. Yang immediately noticed that Weiss's hair was dotted with glistening tears and messed up from her tight grip on the girl. "You look like shit," she joked with a weak yet genuine laugh.

"You should see yourself," Weiss replied with a teasing smile. "You're an absolute mess right now."

"Yeah… yeah, I really am," Yang said as wiped away her tears and sniffed up the last of the snot that was clogging her nose. Damn, that sounded disgusting. "Thank you, Weiss, for everything you've done for me. I really don't know if I would have ever been able to face Ruby without you kicking my ass into shape."

"It probably would've taken another few months before your guilt consumed you from the inside out," the heiress quipped, earning a pained expression from Yang. "As for kicking your ass, consider that payment for all those times you gave me extra sets at the gym."

Yang grinned for the first time that evening. A big, stupid grin. "Please, that's nothing – I'd make you work out more even if all I got was a Klondike bar." After Weiss shot her an annoyed glare, the blonde chuckled and continued on. "But for real, thanks. You've been an awesome friend, even if we've known each other for less than a month."

The heiress, who was straightening her tangled hair at the moment, paused at the mention of "friend", which made Yang worry. Does she not see me as the same? With uncertainty, Weiss said, "Well, that's what friends do for each other, right? You've helped me, and I've helped you. I don't suspect we'll stop doing that for each other."

"You suspect right," Yang replied with a wink, a gesture to which Weiss responded with a subtle crease of her mouth. "Anyway, you've got classes tomorrow, and I've got another early start to work as well, so I should probably get back home and leave you be."

"How are you getting home? You didn't bring your motorcycle with you."

"Well, I'll just-" She had forgotten about that one little detail somehow. "Crap, it's still parked near A Simple Wok, isn't it?"

"That would be my guess." Weiss said "guess", but her smug face showed that she knew that fact for some time and was just waiting for Yang to realize it. She shook her head as she suppressed a giggle. "You're really hopeless, aren't you?"

"Heh, that seems to be the theme for today, but fret not! Come tomorrow, I'll be one hundred percent Yang Xiao Long again."

"You say that like that changes anything."

"Ooo, laying on the sass tonight, eh, short stuff?" Seeing the smaller girl's huffing was just what the doctor ordered. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, then – same time?"

"Of course; wouldn't want to miss another muscle torture session now, would I?" Weiss replied with a roll of her eyes, but her trainer knew she meant nothing by it. She started making moves toward her door, but as she turned the handle, Weiss stopped to regard the blonde one last time. "Oh, and get some good sleep tonight, Yang. It would be a shame to see you still in as sorry shape as you are now."

"Oh, we'll be seeing about how in shape we are tomorrow, alright," Yang returned before the heiress closed the door behind her. "G'night, Weiss."

"Good night, Yang." And with that, Yang was by herself. She didn't know why, but she felt fixed at that spot for what seemed like ages before remember how she needed to retrieve Bumblebee. This late, it would take at least an hour to get her bike back and return to her apartment, so there was no time to waste if she wanted to get enough sleep to not feel grumpy the following morning.

As she bounded down the stairs from the fifth floor, Yang couldn't stop smiling. No matter how painful today had been, she was able to mend the rift between her and little Ruby, and Weiss was supportive the whole way through in her own way.

Yang was absolutely certain of one thing: today is the beginning of something wonderful.

BETA: Jefardi

EDITORS: Jefardi, condor700, and Just_one_more_

Remember how I said I wasn't going to have yet another 2-month delay between the last chapter and this one? Yeah, I do too. 2 months have passed, and here we are. Last time, I had a bit of writer's block and exams to study for, but this delay was a little different.

My friend Jefardi, for whom I edit the super cool story "Acceptance", was reading through my early draft for this chapter and ran across a little peculiarity in the plot, so he pointed it out to me. Turns out this "little peculiarity" was actually a massive plot hole that required me to sit down and reorganize a good third of the future story. Understandably, I felt really damn irritated that I had to sit down and go back to the drawing board, but it was necessary work no matter what I felt about it. After a couple weeks, I had finally came to a solution which thankfully salvaged a good portion of my plans that I thought were doomed, but at that point I was so damn burnt out from agonizing over the projected plot that I had little energy to work. On top of that, this was not an easy chapter to write by any stretch of the imagination. The beginning and end came to me naturally, but I struggled a lot with nailing the actual intervention between Ruby and Yang. It was too easy to make it into blocks of monologue – it almost still is – but I did my best to break it up in a manner that wouldn't be difficult to read. These things along with my travels at the beginning of August (went backpacking along a portion of the Appalachian Trail and attended RTX) pushed back work on this chapter for way, way too long, but I'm so happy that I've finally gotten it out. Thank you all for your patience!

So what were the results of the changes I mentioned? Nothing major so far, but I have retconned the bit about Yang being smug/angry upon seeing Ruby for the first time. After writing this chapter, it didn't make any sense anymore, so I changed it. Also, a slightly minor change happened during the time of writing this, being Winter's age. I've always seen her as the little sister, but RTX showed me that that was certainly not going to be valid anymore (when they announced her at the RWBY panel, I couldn't help but groan as it messed up that detail for this chapter lol). Another change that I ought to mention would be my release schedule, or the lack thereof. Ironically, now that school has started, I'm actually going to have a better time of writing than I had over the summer. I'm not going to make any promises about times of release or anything like that, especially since this is going to be my final year of college, but I'll be in a better environment for writing, which should translate to more frequent chapters. I have high hopes, at least.

Anyway, enough of that – how about that chapter, eh? This is sort of like the climax and resolution to the first arc of Feel the Burn, so to speak, and there's a LOT going on here. Ruby and Yang finally sort their shit out, we get a deeper glimpse into Yang's past (and bits of the family), I squeezed in a fun season metaphor, and we end on a good note between Weiss and Yang. Some of you might be wondering when the Freezerburn shipping will start, and all I can say to that is what I've said before: this is going to be a very slow burn, but the next arc will feature the beginning of something like that (keyword being "something"), so stay tuned! As always, I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts on how this chapter turned out and what you're looking forward to in the future now that Ruby and Yang are reunited for good.

Well, balls, this is a long-ass note, isn't it? Alright, that's all for now! Coming soon: Weiss and the sisters take some time to unwind for real.