For The Better (Epilogue)

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS!

Thanks so much for all the support of this fic! I'm glad to discover a lot of people could relate to the characters and how I wrote them!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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															Epilogue

Time flew by.

Yang always thought these four months would be the longest, most mundane, awful weeks of her life, having to wake up at 8AM on Saturdays to make a 9AM class where everyone around her would only give her dirty, judgmental looks and mumble under their breaths.

As it turned out, the people she met in Glynda's support group sessions ended up becoming some of her closest friends.

The summer months arrived, and everyone finished up their college semesters. Yang was thankful to be done with school, and her parents were soon busy preparing to have Ruby come back home. Blake would be coming back to their neighborhood as well to enjoy her time off from school together with her girlfriend.

Yang had always thought she'd be bitter towards her sister and her old best friend.

But the anger management classes had helped her immensely, and after reconciling with them on the phone weeks earlier, and having them visit during their previous time off, things weren't uncomfortable between them anymore.

As soon as Ruby walked through the door, she hugged her mother and father, but seemed hesitant about her big sister.

But Yang had wasted no time in opening her arms and inviting Ruby in for a massive hug. She did the same for Blake when she later came over to visit.

Yang no longer held any meaningless grudges against them, nor was she bitter about their relationship. She didn't resent Ruby and Blake, or even Summer anymore.

She never thought she'd be lucky enough to fall in love like normal people did.

But maybe miracles could happen. Maybe she'd gone through enough horrible things in life, and now it was her turn to be happy.

She continued going on dates with Weiss during their free time, and even snuck out on one more midnight drive with her.

Weiss' father hadn't yelled at her for being late for something in over two months now, and the white-haired girl's life had improved significantly without the added stress.

The same was true for Yang. Her anger management methods had helped her significantly, along with the support of her family. Nowadays, she only ever wrote one or two pages a week in her notebook, or crushed a few eggshells from the bowl Summer had left for her. She was talking more at mealtimes, calling Blake and other friends more often, and going out to enjoy the season with Weiss.

Life was just... getting so much better.

So it was difficult for her when Glynda announced their final session was upon them. Finding out that she'd only get to meet these amazing new friends one last time made Yang sad, but she realized she only felt so strongly because she cared about them all so much.

When the morning of their final session arrived, Yang left early to pick up Weiss. She stood beside the car and opened the passenger's side door, waiting. As soon as she saw her, Yang blushed.

"You look gorgeous as always."

Weiss was wearing a beautiful blue sundress with a white bolero over her shoulders. Her hair was loose for the first time in a while, and a small snowflake-like clip was positioned above one ear.

"Thank you." Weiss kissed her softly, then hopped into the car.

They drove to their building, all the while Yang commenting on how Weiss' appearance made her feel cooler in the summer heat.

They signed themselves in for the last time, then entered the gym.

That morning, as their friends trickled in, everyone was trying not to cry.

Glynda asked them to give speeches about their struggles and successes these past few months. Everyone took their turns and told of the progress they'd made, how far they'd come, and how far they still anticipated to go.

Every person there ended their speech by thanking their instructor.

When the last person had spoken, Glynda was trying to stay composed as she stood. She gave a speech about how wonderful they'd all been for her, how she'd loved every minute of working with them, and how proud she was for all the progress they'd made.

"I know you're all going to go far in life. If there is anything you can take out of these classes, please let it be the knowledge that I am proud of you, and that you are not alone. To help you remember that, please feel free to exchange contact information with your fellows. Thank you all for a wonderful session. I wish you all a happy summer."

Everyone applauded, a few people cried. Yang was surprised to find she was one of them. Weiss had to dab her sleeve over Yang's eyes and kiss her nose to help her feel better.

Everyone exchanged numbers and addresses, and a few people made plans to meet up the very next day. A group of them decided to go out together right now and invited Yang and Weiss along. Yang politely refused this time, but promised to join in the next time.

"Right now," she said. "I gotta show off my girlfriend to the family~"

But before that, she and Weiss went to give their personal thanks to Glynda. The woman smiled kindly and dipped her head.

"I'm very honored I could have you girls in my sessions. You're free to stop by any time should you need to, for any reason. I'll still be seeing you around town, I'm sure."

They shook hands, spoke a few final words of gratitude, and parted ways.

Yang and Weiss walked through the office lobby and signed out one last time. Then, hand in hand, they headed out the doors into the warm, sunny day.

"Sooo~" Yang said, trying to hide her sniffles. "You ready to meet my family? Ruby and Blake are there now, too. I know they're gonna love you."

"I'm sure I'll love them, too," she said.

"Buuuut not as much as you love me, right?" Yang grinned.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Of course not."

Weiss paused on the sidewalk and tugged Yang down to her for a kiss. Yang happily complied, wrapping her arms around the girl's back and shoulders, pulling her in close. Weiss was a breath of fresh, cool air on this hot summer morning.

They parted, eyes meeting as they always seemed to do after a kiss, shimmering lavender and sky-blue.

Yang realized she'd never really said it before, but she wanted to say it now.

"I love you, Weiss. I really do. I just wanna be with you. And we can deal with all our problems together and help each other like we have been. I never thought I could change like this. But I did change, and it was all for the better. And it was all because of you."

She'd started to cry again, her hands shaking where they were pressed against Weiss' back and shoulders.

Weiss could scarcely believe she'd actually just heard those words. But then again, she'd known of Yang's feelings long ago, as well as she'd known of her own. They'd never spoken directly of their love before, but they'd shown it in many other ways.

Reaching up, Weiss cupped her cheek, catching the tears on her thumb to brush them away.

"I love you too, Yang. Thank you... for loving me."

Before she realized it, there were tears running down her cheeks as well. Yang reached up to clear them away. They each chuckled softly, seeing the other crying like this.

"Weiss, you're a crybaby."

"You started it, you big oaf."

Another gentle laugh.

Another gentle touch.

Another gentle kiss.

The air around them was warm and light, and even when it became cold and gray, they would still be together.

Until the next summer passed them by, and every other after that.

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A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and for the support of this story!