Work Text:
The five of them looked on in amazement at all the various airships in the distance. They had finally made it to Vacuo and it looked like they weren't the only ones.
Yang placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, you did it! Your message got through!"
"Yeah..." Ruby said, still shocked by what she was seeing. It wasn't all for nothing and here was the proof.
Weiss turned to them. "So now what? Do we start walking? We really are in the worst clothes for this, not to mention heels and sand don't mix well."
Yang grinned. "I could always give you a piggyback."
"I will decline. Besides, I wouldn't want to make your new girlfriend jealous."
Both Yang and Blake blushed when Weiss said girlfriend .
Yang turned to Blake, nervously. "Do you want to?"
"Do you?" Blake asked.
Yang nodded rapidly. "I really do. If that's okay?"
Blake took Yang's hand. "More than okay. I'd love to be your girlfriend."
Weiss sighed exasperated. "Really? You all didn't establish that already? Please tell me you did more than just makeout in the Punderstorm."
"Hey, we did! We said we loved each other," Yang defended.
"But you weren't girlfriends? Are you two just that bad at talking?"
"Weiss, we're figuring it out." Blake said calmly.
Ruby cleared her throat. "Maybe we should focus on how we're getting to Shade Academy. Too bad we had to leave Juniper behind."
Jaune exhaled. "Yeah. I'm gonna miss them. We were together for a long time."
Ruby looked across the sands. "Maybe we should - "
All of their attention shifted to a red portal forming in front of them.
Ruby knew exactly who that portal belonged to and the memory of her and her mom flashed in her mind.
Meanwhile Blake noticed just how tense her girlfriend had gotten. "Yang?"
But Yang's focus was on the woman emerging from the portal.
She had wild black hair, pale skin, and red eyes. Blake felt she looked familiar kinda like...
"Mom?" Yang questioned.
Raven's eyes landed on Yang and her eyes softened. "Yang." She said it like it was a desperate plea, a plea for Yang to be real. Raven took a step forward, but stopped herself. She then let her gaze fall on the rest of Yang's party and a slight smile appeared on her face. "It's about time."
"How long have we been gone?" asked Weiss.
Raven looked at Weiss. "Schnee," she said in acknowledgement. "Six months."
Ruby gasped. "That long? But what has Salem-"
Raven held up her hand. "How about I get you to the people who can answer those questions? They'll be happy to see you.'' Only Blake heard what she mumbled next. "I know I am." She opened a new portal. "Are you coming?"
Ruby was the first to move. She knew she would have to confront Raven about Summer soon, but not before she talked to her sister. Yang deserved to know.
When Yang didn't move, Blake lightly tugged on her girlfriend's hand. Yang let out a heavy exhale, but let Blake lead her towards the portal. Yang saw Raven's gaze dip down to their conjoined hands and Yang just held Blake's hand tighter as they entered the portal.
When Yang exited the portal she saw the shocked faces of Qrow and Robyn as they stood across from them. No one knew what to do for a moment.
Then a voice came from the door behind Qrow. "Qrow, are you coming to the meeting?"
Ren, Nora, and Oscar came out and when they saw their new company, Nora's hands flew to her mouth in surprise.
Yang had her arm around Blake's shoulder and the group smiled as Ruby said,
"We're back."
Nora was the first one to react.
"Ahhhhh! " she screamed as she launched herself at Jaune. "When did you get back?! Where did you go? Why did you dye your bangs white? Are Blake and Yang finally a couple now?" She started shaking his shoulders. "Why aren't you saying anything?!"
Ren interrupted. "Because you haven't given him a chance yet, Nora."
Jaune smiled. "It's a long story."
Meanwhile Qrow was embracing Ruby and Yang, happy tears filling his eyes.
Nora, Ren, and Oscar made their way to the group, but Nora paused when she reached Blake. Nora just looked up at her and grinned. When Nora didn't say a word, Blake blushed and nodded.
Nora let out a triumphant holler and looked over at Ren. "I win! Pay up!"
Ren smiled, but handed over the lien to Nora.
"What?" Jaune asked and Nora opened her arms and gestured at Blake and Yang with extra emphasis. "Oh, that."
"Oh, that!? When did it happen!? I need all the details!"
Blake took Yang's hand. "And we'll tell you, but first we should probably catch up on what Salem's doing."
Nora grumbled, but followed Oscar and Ren as they went along with Jaune inside.
Robyn looked at the new couple and nodded, before following.
Qrow held Yang's shoulders. "Congrats Firecracker. It's about time you two figured out your stuff."
"You're telling me!" Weiss exclaimed, pulling Ruby along.
All that was left then was Qrow, Yang, Blake, and Raven, still standing off to the side.
Qrow looked over at his sister. "Be nice," he said before leaving.
Yang faced Raven, Blake at her side. Yang was ready for Raven, but her mom was looking over at Blake who was evenly meeting her gaze.
"So, you're the partner and now girlfriend, I guess."
"I am. And you're the person who gave birth to her and then abandoned her."
"If I remember correctly, so did you, after she lost an arm protecting you."
Blake took a step forward, never letting go of Yang's hand. "I did, but I came back and I promised her that I’m not leaving her again. Can you say the same?"
"What if I could?" Raven asked, now turning her gaze on Yang. "This is the end times. When I thought I lost - when I thought you were gone forever, I made the decision to help. So, yeah, I'm here to stay.''
Yang was overwhelmed, but Raven was the Spring Maiden. She couldn't put her feelings over the good of the mission. Yang didn't like it, but they needed Raven and her power. But she didn't know what to say.
When Blake saw how overwhelmed Yang was, she spoke up. "I'm sure they're happy for the help."
Raven looked again at Yang, but moved on. "I'll see you both around." She transformed into a raven and flew off.
Blake faced Yang and held her face. "Yang?"
"Not what I was expecting."
Blake nodded. "You okay?"
Yang shrugged. "I'll get over it. We should meet up with the others."
"Yang."
"I know, but it can wait. We should figure out what happened while we were in fairy tale land first."
"Okay, but later?"
"We'll talk. Promise."
"Alright then, lead the way."
Yang smiled and pulled Blake by the hand inside.