Chapter 5

You Are My Sunshine

(A/N: If you have enjoyed reading "The Prodigal Stray" and would like to see where Yang and Blake's journey goes from here, please be sure to check out its sequel "The Twilight Dragon" which picks up shortly after where this chapter leaves off. I hope you enjoy. God bless)

It was while leaning on the larger girl for support that Blake began recalling tales of the cozy cottage from the sisters. It was owned by Signal Academy and normally rented out to the family during the summer months, but obviously an exception had been made after the school went on indefinite hiatus. Instead of fresh air blown from the sea, they were breathing clean air brought down from the mountains in the rolling hills of Patch, where there was plenty of space for motorcycles and speed semblances to race along side each other, along with a strawberry garden out back that more resembled an orchard and replanted every year as soon as possible.

The faunus still wasn't strong enough to climb the short flight of stairs on her own, and so had to rely on her former partner whose irregular breathing pattern she was becoming increasingly aware of. Yang's skin was becoming clammy and slick to the touch, but she continued on stubbornly, only pausing once they made it to the top and a door with a burning heart and rose insignia stood to their left.

With a gentle nudge, the door creaked open and Blake's instincts and heightened senses immediately warned her of danger. Across the room with two beds, a monochrome corgi lifted its head from atop the more unkempt of the pair which had a red comforter and a matching blanket it was snuggling up with.

"Hey, Zwei," Yang called, handing Blake the strip of bacon she had nabbed from the table before stepping away. "Look what the cat dragged in."

The small dog's stump began to wag back and forth, and his long tongue fell out of his mouth as he hopped down to greet them. He gave the faunus a curious look of brief recognition, but he seemed more preoccupied looking between the girls' legs, perhaps expecting someone else to come up the stairs. That changed however when his nose twitched and suddenly the girl with cat ears had his undivided attention, or more specifically, what she was holding.

The petrified faunus held out her shaky hand and the creature licked its chops. Although most found the beast 'adorable', it was a facade and in reality a monster spawned out of the same pit as Grimm. It might have had all of her former roommates fooled, but Blake was far too cunning to be deceived.

Holding her breath and careful not to make any sudden moves or else risk agitating the hellhound, she dangled the strip of bacon out in front of her, the beast's head following left to right. She knew time would be of the essence or else Zwei would take a finger or two with him, if not her entire hand.

The faunus-eating beast made ready his deadly pounce, his demonic eyes rolling in the back of his head, and with all the strength Blake could muster, she threw the bacon down the stairs where the creature followed at a speed that would've made even the caped-girl jealous.

She then slammed the door shut, locking it behind her and leaned her back against it in case the hungry corgi came back for more. The blonde watched on with a raised brow while her chest continued heaving, and Blake gave her a triumphant smile and a thumbs up.

"Congratulations," Yang deadpanned. "You have now outsmarted an overweight corgi that barks at the ceiling fan. And he still hasn't figured out how to open doors you know."

Blake grumbled something to herself about having saved their lives, but quickly found herself looking around the room that was in a late state of disrepair. Dirty clothes, beauty magazines, stacks of school supplies, and empty bottles were strewn about the floor, along with a pile of poorly aimed tissues by the trashcan next to the bed Zwei had been napping on. It looked as though someone, or someones, had started unpacking but never finished as there were over a dozen unzipped duffle bags laying around with a myriad of contents spilling out. She eyed a couple of the magazines, unsettled as they all looked as though they'd been intentionally ripped, with all the models' once perfect bodies now disfigured.

The beds being separated by about five feet surprised the faunus. She had always just assumed the sisters would sleep in a bunk bed like they did at their home at Signal and previously at Beacon, but thought perhaps it may have had something to do with the low ceiling. Looking around, there were several posters taped to the walls, all of which were to the elder sister's liking of shirtless guys either standing at the beach or posing in rock bands, with one particularly remarkable and brazen poster even for Yang hanging directly above the half-made bed with a yellow comforter. Blake caught herself staring up at the ceiling for how long she wasn't sure, and regrettably ripped her eyes away while at the same time closing her dry mouth. It had to be said, her former partner had excellent taste in half-naked men.

Lightning flashed and she braced herself for the thunder. On the other side of what she assumed to be Ruby's bed before her sister had taken it over, there was a large window with the Patchwork Mountains in the distance, as well as the front walkway. However, what caught her eye were the photos atop the nightstand. One she recognized as Yang's mother, a beautiful young woman who would've been the spitting image of her daughter except for her crimson eyes and raven colored hair which matched her name. She was smiling while posing seductively in too small of a Beacon uniform as was the norm for her, but as was the case with every photo of Raven Branwen, Blake couldn't help thinking of her as the woman who had tragically died on a mission with her team, leaving behind a daughter who'd been just barely old enough to remember her.

Next to her were the sisters at the beach as children building sandcastles, with Ruby perhaps five or six already the more skilled of the two. It was the last photo however, hiding slightly behind the other two that caused her heart to skip and made it difficult to breath. It was of the newly formed team RWBY, mere moments after they had walked outside from the official ceremony. Their huntress clothes were dirty and slightly tattered after having survived a day in a Grimm infested forest, but life and excitement were abundant in their eyes, even the ones who tried hiding it. Written across the top in red marker were the words 'New best friends!', and Blake couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in her chest as smiley faces and hearts were drawn beside each of them.

They all looked so young, but no more so than Ruby, the youngest team leader in Beacon's illustrious history having just turned fifteen weeks before the first semester. She never looked happier as she gave the camera a peace sign while her other arm was wrapped around her new partner's waist, whose thin smile was forced looking, but the faunus had later learned it to be genuine. At the time she had foolishly found Weiss as stuck up and cold, which wasn't entirely untrue, but it was only now after learning her every quirk that she noticed just how awkward and unsure of herself the normally authoritative, albeit petite, girl looked, which was the complete opposite of the blonde who practically towered over her while having a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Yang was winking at the camera, or more specifically at the cute boy she'd asked to take their picture, but the dark haired girl she had her other arm wrapped around looked as though this was the last place she'd wanted to be. She stood there with her wiry arms folded against her chest, smiling politely while looking at something off camera as though it were more important than those standing around her. Her amber colored eyes like the other girls' were noticeably brighter than usual, but Blake found herself loathing this morose girl, and wished she didn't recognize her.

She went back to the cheerful blonde, whose arm she thought looked as though it were keeping her from running away, and the longer she studied her the more sure she was that Yang had changed the most in the time since. Stealing her eyes away, the faunus found her former partner staring back at her, looking more like a young woman than the teenage girl she once resembled, and her smile almost looking painful as though it didn't belong, which she seemed to realize.

"What's wrong?" She frowned worriedly.

Blake sighed wishing this moment didn't have to come. "Take your shirt off, Yang."

"Sorry?" She blinked, cleaning something out of her ear. "Um, aren't we moving a bit quick for that? Shouldn't you at least buy me a drink first? That's how it normally works."

"You know what I mean," Blake said, her cheeks turning a shade of pink while her misty eyes burned with determination. "I'm sorry, but I need to see where he stabbed you. I need to see for myself that you're alright..."

Yang swallowed as panic began setting in. For the first time she appeared to be nervous around her best friend, and the rare sight of fear filled her eyes.

Her shallow breathing quickened, sputtering like a sickly motor as her body trembled. Closing her eyes and almost against her will, she removed her impotent arm from its sling and pulled the strap of her yellow top down so it was easier to maneuver out of the way. She then played with the hem of her top nervously, but swallowing again she raised the tank over her right shoulder and nearly over her head, and after a moment shyly covered her exposed chest with her other arm, not that it wasn't anything the other girl and former roommate and locker room buddy of her's hadn't seen before.

Before, the blonde who hadn't had a concept of modestly and that lived and breathed for swimsuit season could've stood there completely naked, confident and without a shred of self-consciousness as her body was examined, especially by a friend, but all that had been taken from her.

Partially covered by her arm was a dark bruise a little wider than a hand breadth. The discolored skin was unsightly, almost reminiscent of dried blood, and even more noticeable due to her complexion being much lighter than before. As if becoming more at ease, Yang lowered her arm to show more of the injury without completely exposing herself, and in an instant the faunus could feel the spinal fluid leave her cord.

A terrible, ugly scar was just to the left and below her heart, having just barely missed it and pierced a lung instead, and all at once the nightmare came rushing back to Blake. Her best friend readying her final swing, prepared to guard the opponent's katana with her right gauntlet when the wicked blade effortlessly cut through it along with her arm before finding itself lodged in her chest with blood trickling down. Just as Blake had screamed her name, she watched Yang continue forward and strike Adam square in the chest with the other gauntlet, and then the sound of a shotgun ringing out.

His limp body collapsed onto the ground, followed by her's not a moment later, her arm dangling at an unnatural, sickening angle as it stubbornly hung on even with the exposed bone cleaved in two.

Blake would forever be haunted by the girl's shrill screams and whimpers as she removed the blade that was still pulsating with aura from her chest. Crimson immediately began pouring out as she applied pressure to the wound, and she had no choice but to listen to what should've been her best friend's final breaths as she drowned on her own blood, it staining her lips as she coughed and choked.

The lights of her red eyes faded to lilac before they too went out, and then the blood stopped being pumped through her fingers...

Cautiously, Blake moved across the room and raised an unsteady hand as if to touch the scar, her fingers hesitating just above the skin. Despite its vile appearance, it seemed almost harmless now.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be." Yang's chest heaved as she was having difficulty breathing. "I wouldn't do anything differently, and with my aura it's not like I'll have the scar forever. But even if I do, would it really hurt the property damage that much?"

She removed the arm and with a lopsided grin gestured toward herself. Blake's face turned a brighter pink as she averted her tearful eyes laughing. She then took a step back and motioned for the girl to cover herself as she went for an infamous Yang Xiao Long hug that could break spines and/or cause asphyxiation, and the blonde did as she was beckoned, pulling her top back down and returning the withered arm to its sling.

From the relieved look of her face and from knowing her former partner all too well, Blake knew that was Yang's own unconventional way of changing the subject, but now that it would be much less uncomfortable, she gladly accepted the embrace.

Blake was gentle at first thinking Yang was the one consoling her, but from the way her body shook and pressed closer, she soon realized just how much more the other girl needed this, and probably had since the day she woke up without her best friend by her side. Yang took great pride in her perfect body and her immense willpower, and having both stripped from her had left her with what she believed to be nothing.

"They're gonna take my arm, Blake," she cried. "It used to never stop hurting. I could feel where the doctors grafted the bone back together, but now I can't feel anything below the shoulder. Except, I can still feel his blade cutting me. It's always there, like a dull knife or candle burning. Even when I'm asleep. And... and I can still remember how my arm just hung there. The bone, the skin... Oh, God..."

She sobbed on her best friend's shoulder, her walls crumbled and all pretense gone. Downstairs, Yang was the same girl who had cared for a father battling crippling depression and a shell shocked little sister after they had lost the most important woman in their lives. All before the age of ten. And later who had always been there for her teammates when they needed a shoulder to cry on. But up here in her retreat, far away from the people she had sworn to protect, Yang didn't have to be strong for anyone, much less herself.

"They're not going to take your arm, Yang."

"Yes they are," she repeated almost hysterically. "They're gonna take it, please don't let them cut off my arm. Not again. Please, Blake, I don't want a cybernetic..."

"I promise they're not gonna take it and you're not gonna need a cybernetic," Blake soothed, a little more forcefully. It broke her heart in ways Yang could never imagine hearing her like this, as she had always been the strong one of the team. She was both the big sis and mom that two girls on the team never had growing up, and she was always the first person at someone's side after they had a nightmare. It was against the natural order as Blake knew it, but now it was her turn to comfort the comforter.

Blake took a cue from the older sister and started playing with her hair just the way she liked, but soon found herself just holding the larger girl, letting her know she was there and that she wasn't going anywhere this time.

"Yang, you are the strongest, most amazing person I have ever met, and you are the best thing to ever happen in my life. I swear to you that you'll be back in your bikini having guys drooling all over you by summer, and after the surgery you'll be beating them in arm wrestling matches and making them buy you drinks again." She hugged her tighter, struggling to keep the tears at bay and sound strong for someone else. "But even if you don't, you're still Yang, the same person who accepted me for what I am and where I came from, and I don't know what I or anyone else would do without you..."

The blonde sniffled and squeezed her tightly until Blake thought her head might pop off like a tube of toothpaste, but finally the embrace loosened and she felt a kiss between her cat ears.

"Thank you." Yang wiped her puffy eyes on her top, her bottom lip quivering. "Speaking of drinks..."

She stumbled across the room, flustered and nearly tripping over piles of dirty laundry until she found herself at a mini-fridge in the corner that looked awfully familiar. Opening the door, she retrieved two bottles filled with of peculiar liquid that changed colors on their own accord, and Blake thought she may have spied some leftovers that also looked familiar hiding in the back.

"You stole the fridge," Blake laughed, somehow unsurprised.

Yang flashed a quick grin, still wiping her eyes. "Well yeah. No one was using it, and when Weiss told the Atlesian Knights to get all of our stuff, that's what they did. She got the bunk beds and flew them back to Atlas with her, and I called dibs on the fridge and the therapeutic shower head in the divorce. Your stuff-" She caught herself, then quickly lowered her eyes and spoke in a low voice. "I was having a rough couple of days, okay maybe a couple of weeks, and when Dad asked what we should do with the stuff you left at Beacon, I told him to just burn it. Your books, your clothes, and even the birthday presents you got for me. Everything that reminded me of you..."

She took a deep breath, her chest still rising and falling at an irregular pattern, and glanced up to meet the faunus in the eyes who appeared ashamed as well as a little hurt, but not the least bit surprised or even upset. "But luckily Rubes was there, and they both know better than to listen to me when I'm upset..." She smiled sheepishly, trying to comfort the girl while still being honest with her. "Your stuff's safe at Signal's storage house, but we're not gonna be able to go anywhere until the storm lets up. I hope you like wearing tops and boy shorts in the meantime. You can try wearing some of my cargo pants or sweats if you'd like, but you'd probably need a belt. And I have no idea where any of my t-shirts are."

She gestured with the bottles still in her hand at the mess all around them.

"Don't worry about it." Blake patted her on the shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I wouldn't have blamed you, but thanks for not setting my books on fire."

"Thank Rubes, and here, this should help us sleep." Yang handed over a drink, popping the cap off her's while Blake struggled for a moment. The necks of the glass bottles clanged together and they both paused briefly as if silently deciding what they should drink to. The liquid warmed Blake's insides and she couldn't help herself from smiling as it reminded her of old times, but frowned when she realized the other girl was guzzling her's down.

"You can't sleep without it can you?" She eyed the empty bottles around the room, counting a couple dozen.

Yang tilted her head back to get the very last of the drops, but once finished she shook her head.

"The sleeping pills and relaxers aren't working anymore, and Rubes hid the booze after I-" She licked her lips and suddenly couldn't look at her best friend anymore. "After I had one of my bad days, and had an accident..."

She was quiet for a moment, waiting for Blake to saying something, but when the faunus didn't say a word she cleared her throat. "From that day on she made herself in charge of doling out my painkillers and medication, and making sure I didn't do anything stupid." Yang's knuckles turned white as her grip tightened around the bottle, threatening to shatter it as her lip curled bitterly. "Like I said, I was having a really bad day, and just wanted it over..."

Blake covered her mouth with a shaky hand, but she soon angrily grabbed the girl's arm in which she was holding the empty bottle. Her anger left as quickly as it'd come, and she soon found herself face to face with the blonde, looking at her with new found gratitude and appreciation.

"I'm doing better though, and I don't have nearly as many days like that anymore. Ruby would've never left if she was worried or didn't trust me. She let me have my drinks again after all, but that's mostly because I could just ask Dad and he'd buy me more. He's in charge of my pills now, but all I have to do is complain about my arm flaring up or that it feels like someone's jabbing me in the chest with a hot poker and he'll give me whatever I want." She looked out at the storm then back at her best friend, a small grin appearing as her eyes lit up. "I still have my bad days, but for some reason I don't think I'm gonna have many more days like that."

Blake took the bottle from her and interlaced their fingers together, her eyes just as bright. "Neither do I..."

Yang laughed suddenly, perhaps a sign that the alcohol was having an early effect on her, or that she was just excited and giddy to have her best friend and partner back after all this time.

"Alright, so which bed do you want? Or would you like to share?"

Alcohol or Yang being Yang? Who could tell?

She took a look at the sleeping arrangements and giggled. Okay, so maybe the drinks were stronger than she initially thought...

"Yang, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but your sister and I don't exactly shop in the same clothing department." She gestured down at her gangly self. "The two of you can share a bed without a problem because she's practically half your size. If we shared a bed, we'd wind up kicking the other one out."

"Alright fine," she feigned disappointment. "Then whose-"

"Dibs-on-the-bed-and-pillow-Zwei-hasn't-been-drooling-on!"

It took the blonde a moment to decipher what she'd said, but when she did her grin widened. "Heh, you just wanna fall asleep bathing in my scent don't you, Blake-Blake?"

She snorted as the idea both appalled and amused her, something that wasn't uncommon around Yang. "My nose is stopped up, and it looks like you haven't slept in your own bed in awhile."

"You didn't answer the question, Blake-y" she sang to the other girl's annoyance. "So does that mean you're wanting to fall asleep staring up at the ceiling at my boyfriend with your night vision? Having sweet dreams while surrounded by my intoxicating, heavenly scent?"

"N-No! And for the last time, your scent is NOT 'intoxicating', at least not to me,and you're ANYTHING but 'heavenly'! And stop it with the pet names!"

"Sure you don't." She winked suggestively while the other girl fumed.

"A-alright fine! Maybe yes to your boyfriend, but definitely no to your scent. And on that note, I think I'd rather sleep on the floor..."

"Nah, let's share."

Without warning and looking as though she were walking on a boat from the way her legs wobbled, Yang began kicking items out from between the two beds. To Blake's surprise, once there was a little clearing she then graciously hopped up onto the yellow bed and carefully began removing the sinful poster which was attached to the ceiling with some sort of putty. Hopping back down, she rested her left leg against the bed frame and after posing suggestively with her so-called boyfriend for a moment, she gritted her teeth from which a yell escaped, and the bed violently slid across the gap forming a single bed with her sister's.

Then with a bead of sweat rolling down her brow, she jumped back up and centered the poster perfectly in between. After she was done, she rubbed her sweaty palms on her shorts smiling coyly. "I've been meaning to do that for awhile."

Blake stared at the scene at a loss for words, but finally said what always came to mind when Yang was up to her antics. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"

The blonde shrugged and began making sure the poster was stuck to the ceiling, or was just wanting a moment or two face to face with him. While doing this, Blake noticed something familiar at the blonde's bare feet and pointed. "Is that Ruby's cape?"

"Huh?" Yang glanced down and quickly scratched the back of her neck. "Oh um, Rubes took a spare and left me- I mean Zwei with her's. Zwei, he hasn't been able to sleep without it..."

Yang hopped back down and strolled over to the incredulous-looking faunus and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, much like she did to her little sister every night before bed time, causing the other girl to blush.

"Blake, I love you and I don't care if you and Weiss can't say it back because-"

"She loves you," a voice interrupted, causing both girls to jump in surprise at the shadow sitting at the foot of the yellow bed. Slowly, it became a perfect copy of the dark haired girl even down to her gaunt appearance and the bruises covering her entire body.

"Not in that way," the real Blake snapped, looking at the miserable girl in contempt.

A smile flickered on the shadow's lips. "Your every thought is mine remember? Even the ones buried deep down." It got to it's feet, casually strolling across the room while swaying Blake's hips in a way their owner had surely never done before.

It came to a halt before its mirror image. "Unfortunately you're telling the truth for once, Blake-y," she cooed, glancing over the blonde, her unreadable eyes lingering over her form. "What do you say we make a Yang sandwich anyway, Blake-Blake? You think about doing it all the time with Sun..."

"DO NOT!"

"Why don't you tell Yang how we became such good kissers?" The shadow blew herself a kiss. "Or all those times where miss 'always lands on her feet' slipped in the shower and used her naked self to break her fall? Or how about the time when you were fifteen and wanted to impress those boys you thought were hot so we-"

Blake made a shrieking sound and the shadow laughed. Yang watched on amused, but also baffled by the conversation taking place before her.

"Alright fine," it said growing suddenly serious. "Why don't you tell her that we... that you love her back?"

The faunus swallowed, and before she could say a word, the shadow turned around facing her former partner.

"She..." The shadow hesitated, clearing having difficulty. "I love you Yang. You, and your sister and Weiss, are the best thing to ever happen to me. You're the only reason she can find a single redeeming quality about herself, and when we ran away I thought she'd lost that for good."

It may have had more to say, but Yang embraced the copy, careful not to break the illusion. It hugged her back, it's body beginning to feel more like the real thing.

"I bet this makes pronouns kinda tough, huh?" Yang smiled, looking between the two.

"That's all you have to say?" Blake snapped, her eyes on the floor as she sniffled.

"Talking about myself, herself, and our-self and jumping between first and third person isn't easy alright," the shadow explained, a tired expression on its face. "She- I needed a swift kick in the Bellabooty, so that's what we- I did. Also, she loves it when you call it that."

"LIAR!"

Blake moved forward as if to strangle her clone but it was like grabbing actual shadows and it reappeared behind her.

"So..." the blonde drawled, looking between the two with a crooked grin. "What is this 'Yang sandwich' you were talking about? Is it something like 'fun in the Sun' that I used to tease you about? Or when I told Pyrrha how you 'wanted to climb Sun like a cat climbs a tree'? Or the time I snuck up on you in the shower? Or that time us and JNPR were playing truth or dare? Or when..."

As she continued giving more examples, each getting increasingly more mortifying than the last, the clone merely watched passively until without any warning, it closed the distance between their lips. Yang's eyes went wide as saucers, just like Blake's, who watched herself kiss her best friend while silently screaming.

Finally after what felt like an eternity of watching the clone devour the blonde's lips it finally released her, Yang dizzy from the lack of oxygen while the shadow gave a sultry grin that quickly turned triumphant. "Finally! The great Yang Xiao Long has met her match and been left speechless! Call this payback for all the times I nearly died of embarrassment because of you, and for EVERYTHING I've ever had to put up with in public, with your sister and Weiss, and when we were alone together!"

Yang's face was scarlet for the first time Blake could remember, but it was still nothing compared to her own, especially not when her shadow slapped them both on the rear and winked before dissipating.

"Wow, Blake," Yang said after a couple minutes of silence, wiping her lips. "You really are a good kisser."

Literal steam was released from both of the faunus' pairs of ears as it almost sounded as though she were impressed. "You didn't have to kiss her back," she hissed, wiping her own lips subconsciously.

"I was just being polite, and you didn't have to use tongue. Or give your shadow a tongue for that matter..." Her face soured. "Also, your aura tastes disgusting..."

While Yang spat and tried to get the taste out of her mouth, Blake gagged and suddenly had the urge to brush her teeth as her shadow's faint, though not quite faint enough, sensations were still with her.

"I have a fever, I'm obviously drunk, and my evil twin did it!" she sputtered to the blonde's laughter.

"Come on." She gestured toward the bed. "I would tease you some more, but you win for now, so let's just get some sleep."

Yang went over and flipped the light switch so they were nearly in pitch black, and Blake grabbed her by the hand to lead her safely back to the bed. They pulled the comforters back and crawled under the thin sheets on their respective sides, pulling the red cape up to their chins.

Sleeping under the covers was against the norm for Blake as too often in her childhood she'd seen them be the cause of someone's death when a hungry Grimm wandered into camp. Even at the end of her six months at Beacon she had still preferred curling in a ball atop them, but here beside her best friend, her mind was finally at ease.

Yang being a hot sleeper usually wasn't much better as she'd often wake up sprawled all over the place, and even now she was kicking the sheets away while keeping her sister's cloak covering her.

She was getting her right arm comfortable when a body pressed against her side, and turning her head she was face to face with bright amber colored eyes in the darkness.

"You were the light," she murmured in awe.

"Huh?"

"There was a light, I was following it down from the mountains. The entire time, until I forgot what I was doing, I thought it was your porch light. But that was you wasn't it? You were hoping I'd see it and find my way back..."

Yang could just barely make out her expression, but nodded as her every feature was on display for the faunus.

"I should've died out there you know. I dropped Gambol Shroud, and I didn't even realize until now."

"We'll go looking for it when-" Fingers softly touched her lips.

"That's not important right now," her voice cracked. "Yang, not a day has gone by that I was actually thankful for you saving my life. Not a single one. I still haven't thanked you, not just because I don't know how, but because deep down I still wish you hadn't."

Her hands moved down and removed the limp arm from its sling, and then she lifted her body up so it was resting comfortably underneath her.

"Yang," she whispered, pressing closer, "the last time I held you like this, you died in my arms, and it tore something out of me. It took every drop of aura I had left, but I made your heart keep pumping and your lungs keep breathing. My soul was in your empty body, and I felt the exact moment you came back to me..." She began to weep, and pressed her forehead into the other girl's. "That night was the first time I ever told anyone that I loved them, and I thought it was going to be the last. I know I have trouble saying that word, but I'm going to say it again. I love you..."

She flared her aura for her former partner who attempted to flare her's back, but she was the one swallowed up this time. While every member of the team had kept some small part of themself private when wrapping each other in their souls, Yang had always been the most generous showing her most intimate self while Blake was by far the least. Now for the first time, she shared everything, almost afraid to leave anything about herself out. Blake Belladonna became like another person as she relived events from her past, thoughts and emotions she tried to hide, and together they journeyed to discover just who this person was.

When she had spent everything she had, all that aura she had refused to use herself, their intertwined souls slowly began to separate, both gasping for breath and laughing as nothing really needed to be said now as nothing was hidden between them anymore.

"You're incredible," was all Yang could say, still hanging onto the fleeting shadows in her mind that for so long had been a mystery.

"Thank you for saving me," Blake said breathlessly. "I didn't deserve to be saved, and I don't believe I was worth being saved, least of all by you. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I promise I'll never leave you again."

"You better not," she replied sleepily. "If you do, I'll follow that Bellabooty to hell and back, and after I'm done kicking it, I'm dragging it right back here."

"Goodnight, Yang." She settled down on her back, using the girl as a pillow like she knew her partner enjoyed. "I've missed you."

"Night-night, Blake-Blake," she said, playing with her hair. "I've missed you more."

The faunus smiled as her ears were tousled and another kiss planted in between. In all her life Blake had never felt at peace, with herself or anyone else. She could hear her partner's precious heartbeat, and took a deep breath. To a faunus, a person's scent was as distinctive their as aura. She could smell roses due to the cloak atop of them, and faint traces of expensive perfume that had been a gift from the heiress. But the scent unique only to her best friend was strongest. A mixture of her special shampoos and conditioners, as well as sweat and aura.

She often found that describing someone's scent was much like describing color to a blind man, but even she had trouble putting words to Yang's. All she could think of was sunshine as her chest rose up and down, and realized after a moment that both their breathing as well as their heartbeats were synced, just as they were before.

Blake flared her aura again and she could feel the body beneath her react, and the limp arm give the most subtle of squeezes. She opened her eyes and smiled at the poster staring down at them, enjoying the view.

"I'm home..."

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. It saddens me to see "The Prodigal Stray" come to an end as writing it has meant a lot to me, and I deeply appreciate all the kindness and support you've shown me the past month while writing it. I hope it has been a source of encouragement for you as it has for me, and I hope you've enjoyed seeing Blake and Yang reunite and their bond grow stronger than ever. If you've enjoyed this story and would like to see what happens next then I highly suggest reading "The Twilight Dragon" which picks up shortly after where this story left off. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made this story possible and blessed me with all of you. God bless)