The tails of his blue jacket danced in the cool air, billowing in the ocean breeze that constantly swirled through the trees on the island of Patch. The leaves had just begun to turn color as summer gave way to the harvest months. In a few weeks the small island would be painted in shades of golden ambers and deep crimsons, but for now, the landscape was still green.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Yang asked from beside him they came to the edge of the wood. "It's just, you were so close to getting what you wanted."

"What I've always wanted, Yang, was to start a family." (F/N) responded. "It just turned out I already had one."

She smiled sadly up at him. "It's just, I can't help but feel like you're leaving everything behind just for me."

"Yang." He laughed, shaking his head. "That is exactly what I'm doing."

"Oh." She frowned.

"Chin up." He said, gently nudging her side. "It was always my intention to leave that life behind. Trust me when I say that after seventeen years of leading The Family, to finally have that burden lifted from my shoulders is a great relief."

She smiled again, this time more ingenuously. "Do you think they'll be okay without you?"

"I trust Alastair will prove to be a more capable leader than I ever was." (F/N) answered as they reached an upward slope of a large hill. "Unlike me, his path is a straight line. His purpose is not one shrouded in deception and disguised as something else. A singular goal will make his rule much more straightforward, and he can rely on the sins as much as he needs to, something I was unable to do during my tenure as Head of the Demons."

"How did he take it?" She asked.

"He was surprised, to say the least." (F/N) replied, lessening his gait so Yang could better keep pace with him. "Objectionable also. He believes himself to be unfit of the role, but he's always thought too little of himself."

"And he's okay with you walking away?" Yang asked.

"Quite the opposite." (F/N) chuckled. "He had a few choice words for me once I revealed to him the entirety of my plan. He even threatened to walk away from it all. But The Family of Sins is where he belongs. I know it, and so does he. It's why I chose him to be my right hand. Since the beginning, it was only ever a means to an end for me, but he believes in The Family. Believes in its cause. He always has. And once I reminded him of that, he graciously accepted."

The two took pause as they came to the crest of the hill. Before them lie an expanse of lush green field, dotted occasionally with huts and houses. The midday sun cast its golden rays upon the landscape, washing over the wildlife and bathing the grazing livestock in its warm light. Ahead in the distance lie another forest that stretched from one coast of the island to the other. Its edge marked the beginning of the Xiao Long property, and on the other side of the forest they would find the house in which Yang had been raised.

"What about Raven?" Yang asked quietly.

(F/N) sighed heavily as he stared out at the fields below. Several days ago, after Yang had returned to Anima and come to terms with her heritage, and after (F/N) had handed leadership over to Alastair, he had departed for the west end of the continent to make one final appeal to the woman who had started it all. It took little effort to infiltrate her camp, and after gaining a private audience with her, he explained the situation. He told her how he and Yang had reached an understanding and that he would be leaving The Family of Sins and moving to Sanus. He told her how he would return her to Taiyang, thanking him for everything he had done, and begin building a relationship with Yang. He gave her a time.

"I'm leaving everything behind so I can be a part of our daughter's life." He had told her. "Even if that means leaving you behind too."

"I did what I could." He told Yang. "And I hope she chooses us. I hope she chooses you."

Yang hummed but said nothing, continuing to gaze out at the sun's reflection in the water. "How much longer?" She asked.

Shaking his sleeve up his wrist, (F/N) checked the cracked face of his watch. "She has three minutes."

Yang crossed her arms to hug herself and (F/N) wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a light squeeze as they waited. The seconds slowly dragged by, eventually giving way to minutes. At five minutes past the time he had given Raven, Yang finally spoke in a quiet voice.

"She's not coming, is she?"

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. And with those two words, he finally released the last bit of hope to which he had clung to for the past twenty years. "We shouldn't keep your dad waiting any longer."

He pretended not to see her wipe away her tears as she slowly nodded. He himself had yet to cry, he didn't seem to have the tears to do so. He was sure they would find him later. With heavy footsteps the two solemnly continued onward. The gentle breeze caught her golden hair in the wind and his long jacket. It bit at the wetness of Yang's cheeks and caused her to shiver. And then very suddenly the wind died.

Beside her she noticed (F/N) had already come to a stop. His gaze was set back towards the top of the hill, joyous disbelief mixing with the tears in his eyes. A long vertical line cut in the fabrics of space itself began to ripple and widen into a swirling portal of blood red. From its ethereal depths stepped Raven Branwen.

For the third time in his life, (F/N) slowly extended his hand towards her, and after twenty years of waiting for her, she finally took it. He released a shaky breath, like he could hardly believe it was all real. Smiling, he tightened his grip around her hand as the gap between them closed. The portal disappeared, and with it, so too did that chapter of their lives. Together, the three resumed their trek through the grassy fields, the first steps in writing a new story. A story filled with chapters where Yang knew her mother and Raven listened to her heart. A story unfamiliar to them. And (F/N), with his daughter on his right and the woman he loved on his left, began anew, and started down a path towards once again building a family.

End

Epilogue:

For the third time in his life, (F/N) slowly extended his hand towards her, and after twenty years of waiting for her, she finally took it. He released a shaky breath, like he could hardly believe it was all real. Smiling, he tightened his grip around her hand as the gap between them closed.

"You're here." He whispered, staring into her deep red eyes.

"Third time's a charm." She whispered back, snaking her arms over his shoulders, and resting her forehead against his.

The world seemed to spin backwards until the two teenagers were back at Beacon. Him, pale skinned and debilitated, lying in his bed as she hovered over him with her blade against his throat. The small distance between them closed until the gentle meeting of their lips brought them twenty-three years into the future.

Stepping out of the embrace, Raven's eyes finally rested upon her daughter. "Yang." She said quietly. "There's nothing I can say to you. No apology or gesture could ever make up for the things I've done. I won't insult you by asking for your forgiveness. But if you could somehow find it in yourself to not hate me, well, that would be more than I deserve."

Yang stared at Raven with a mixture of anger, joy, hatred, and longing. This was everything she wanted, but it didn't feel anything like she'd expected it to. "I..." she said. "I'll try."

Raven said nothing but nodded in appreciation. Turning her head to fully absorb her surroundings, she quickly identified their location. "Patch?" She asked unsurprised. "I suppose I do owe Tai." She said, a hint of shame in her voice.

(F/N) gave her hand another light squeeze. "We both do." He said.

The two exchanged nods and together the three began in the direction of the Xiao Long household, (F/N) walking between Yang and her mother.

"Um, just to give you a heads up, I have a sister. Ruby."

"I look forward to meeting her." (F/N) smiled.

"And... uh," Yang continued, "Uncle Qrow will be there also."

(F/N) chortled at Raven's sigh at the mention of her brother's name. "Quite the reunion." He laughed.

"If we're having a family gathering," Raven glowered at (F/N), "it only seems fair we invite him, too."

(F/N) immediately stopped laughing and frowned at Raven. Now it was her turn to have a laugh.

"Invite who?" Yang asked, feeling like she was clearly missing a rather important piece of information.

"Who knows, Qrow might have even brought him along." Raven smiled. "They're still drinking buddies last time I heard."

(F/N) cursed under his breath.

"Who are you talking about?" Yang asked again, looking between the two of them.

"Well, do you want to tell her or should I?" Raven asked.

"No." (F/N) growled wearily. "No, I'll tell her."

"Tell me what?" Yang asked, the last of her patience leaving her.

"You, uh, you may have another uncle." (F/N) coughed.

"What?"

"My brother." (F/N) groaned. "Dante."

Author's Note:

Inspiration for the Seven Sins: In Christianity and related religions, each of the seven deadly sins has a unique demon associated with it in lore. Following is the name of each demon, its associated sin, and the relation to the characters I created. Each of the sins responsibilities was associated closely with their respective sin. Names for the characters were chosen to closely sound like those of the names of their respective demon. Additionally, true to RWBY naming customs, each character has a color or similar in their name. Each color was also chosen specifically to correlate to the sins, ie; green with envy, red with rage.

Pride, Minister of Security. Demon: Lucifer. OC: Lucian Ebonwood. Color: Ebonwood, as in ebony

Wrath, Minister of War. Demon: Satan. OC: Celine Rouge. Color: Rouge, red in French

Lust, Minister of Diplomacy. Demon: Lilith. OC: Lilith Lila. Color: Lila, as in lilac

Greed, Minister of Finance. Demon: Mammon. OC: Mason Shar. Color: Shar, yellow in Mongolian

Gluttony, Minister of Agriculture. Demon: Beelzebub. OC: Bezalel Oren. Color: Oren, orange in Malay

Sloth, Minister of Labor. Demon: Belphegor. OC: Balthazar Kulrang. Color: Kulrange, gray in Uzbek

Envy, Minister of Trade. Demon: Leviathan. OC: Levi Evergreen. Color: Evergreen, as in green.

(Alastair, or Alastor, is a demon in Greek myth who follows greater commanders of sin, in the story, (F/N). Urdin is blue in Basque).