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acelikesturtles · 4 years

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“What’re You In For?”

Prompt: #22 (Two Miserable People at the same Wedding) - Raphael x Olivia

Warnings: Light Alcohol Mention, Cursing (duh, its Raphael)

Word Count: 1,568

A/N: This is from an ask game that I reblogged a couple days ago. It took me a while to finish editing it because I really and truly prefer quality of my work over quantity, plus I needed to find the right soundtrack for this so I could focus 110%. I hope you like it @headhalfling!

As much as Raphael cherished April as a friend and Casey as his “fourth brother”, he had despised almost every last moment of the last 8 hours. The tie around his neck was too tight and the suit that April requested be tailored to his exact measurements still felt like it was smothering him. When he had finished the first suit fitting at the lair he had figured that all it would take to break free from this prim and proper prison was a well-timed stretch. That is, until Leo had very gently patted him on the shoulder and reminded him that they were putting all these fancy trimmings on for April and Casey, and that after the "incident" at their engagement party, Raph would likely do better blending in.

Oh yeah, that.

As if the clothing and the standard wedding formalities weren't enough to bother Raph, he had promised April he would only have one glass of champagne after the last time. Out of respect (and maybe a fair deal of embarrassment) following the unforeseen events of the engagement party, he decided that it might be best to stay alert, especially since being a ninja and all doesn't really pay in hard cash. Or at least...not enough cash that could cover the fees associated with a professional carpet cleaner.

One finger lazily circled around the brim of his empty champagne glass. Amongst all the chatter in the room his eyes remained fixed on Casey and April. He couldn't tell if he was trying to read their lips and decipher whatever lovey-dovey conversation they were having or perhaps just trying to understand the ins and outs of the event in general. He couldn't really say that he'd ever felt in love, and maybe he was just being incredibly cynical, but this felt like a strange way to celebrate it; stuffy outfits and distant cousins you've only seen twice in your life didn't seem like a celebration of love or a union of two families but like a strange ritual that he couldn't quite wrap his mind around.

Just as his brain was finally translating something admittedly pretty juicy happening between the happy couple, someone shuffled past him and took a seat beside him, drawing his attention reluctantly away. She didn't seem to be paying him much attention, instead tapping away at her phone rather furiously with one hand while brushing stray strands of blue hair away from her eyes. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she set her phone face down on the table and grabbed the entirely unclaimed glass of champagne sitting in front of her place mat, then tapped her fingers rhythmically on the sides.

"What're you in for?" She said playfully then took a small sip from the glass.

He laughed, then leaned back in his chair. "Does 'best man' count?"

"Hey, sure, I'm not the police. Besides, I knew that already." Once again pushing her hair from her eyes, she crinkled her nose when she smiled. "You guys were, er, I guess--you are--kind of distinct. Kinda cool if you ask me."

She set the champagne glass back down, before gazing up at her new conversation partner. Her striking hazel eyes connected with his own and caused him pause for a moment. Again, full of surprises, she didn't seem to react in fear or shock so much as intrigue at his physical appearance. He couldn't say that this wasn't a first, all night long at both the engagement party and this reception he and his brothers had been getting unwarranted looks that definitely indicated the unspoken feelings of the person staring. This, however, was different. As for how, he wasn't quite sure, but for now he simply felt unusually awkward and unable to figure out what he was supposed to say next. Mikey was always the better one at socializing. It was in his blood. Raph on the other hand, despite all the time he had to learn, was about as good at talking to humans as a fish was at flying.

He glanced down at the name tag that had been so carefully placed in front of where she sat before taking a shot in the dark that maybe she was the table-mate that hadn't showed up yet. Awfully late for her to arrive now...but not impossible.

"Umm...are you Lorraine Bri-...Brinch-...you know what, fuck, not even trying to pronounce that."

"What?" She followed where his eyes led to the cutesy black and gold calligraphy neatly engraved on a piece of folded card stock. She frowned and shook her head. "No, that's not me. My name's Olivia. Does make me wonder who that is though, and why they didn't show up. Kind of disrespectful, to not even RSVP honestly."

"Well what about you?" Raph countered. As if he even cared about this random other woman's dignity when he didn't even know who she was beyond her impossible to pronounce last name. "I didn't see you until just now."

"I’ve been here,” she responded. She broke eye contact with Raph and began picking at the skin surrounding her fingernails. She had noticeably callused fingers which matched the overall aesthetic of her chipped and unpainted fingernails. “I just don’t really want to be here. I don't typically like stuffy events like this, as much as I'm really glad to see Casey and April together. These things make me anxious, and I would drive home, but that wouldn’t be cool because I’m the photographer’s ride." She gestured vaguely towards the woman in a pantsuit with long black hair that had been tirelessly capturing every last angle possible of the bride, groom, and bridal party.

"Hey, uh...me too." He answered. He was starting to feel anxious too seeing the way that she picked at her fingernails. “These events, they aren’t really for me. This tie ain’t doing it for me either, its kinda been choking me,” He gave her a small smile, hoping that it might ease her mind to have someone sympathize with her, even if it wasn’t entirely on the same page. Again, Mikey would’ve been better at this kind of thing than he was, but it helped that the connection between them was already sort of going well. Well, aside from him accusing her of being late to the wedding, that is.

Olivia’s eyes narrowed on his black and white striped tie. She pressed her lips together, holding back a smile while a short breathy laugh escaped her nostrils. “Well, there’s your problem. You tied it too tight, dummy. Here-”

Her callused hands reached up and began loosening the fabric fastened around his neck. Earlier when he had tied it himself he hadn’t bothered to ask for help, assuming that this was just how ties were supposed to feel, but the gradual feeling of relief that came with the freedom to move his neck like normal was ethereal. While she couldn’t fix the constricting fit of his suit, having the tie a little looser was already helping him feel more relaxed and adjusted. Their eyes locked again as she gently pulled her hands away from the satin, although this time something felt different. Like he was sweating. Everywhere.

With the relief of one discomfort came the creation of another. He cleared his throat.

“Thanks.”

“Hey, anytime, I learned how to tie those for a friend of mine a couple years ago. You should’ve asked for help from somebody sooner.”

Now he was beginning to feel really embarrassed. Did she think he was stupid? Or incapable of learning how to do normal human stuff like tying a goddamn tie? “Nah, they’re busy, didn’t wanna bother ‘em.” Now that made him at least seem noble.

“Well you weren’t bothering me.” She smiled and raised an eyebrow. “I doubt you would’ve bothered your brothers by asking for help, their ties don’t seem to be bothering them.

Fuck.

Still feeling sweaty, Raph shrugged and chuckled. “Awright, fine, then I’ll call you next time I gotta wear this damn thing, yeah?”

Once the words had escaped his mouth he realized how silly they must’ve sounded, but he didn’t take them back. He wasn’t an entirely socially inept fool, that was Donnie’s job. She paused for a moment at his words and began searching his eyes for an answer that he didn’t know he had in him. This was uncomfortable and sweaty and hot...but he kind of liked it. Raph swallowed and broke eye contact with her unceremoniously then twisted the watch on his left wrist back into center position.

“Maybe I will.”

Olivia reached into her silver crossbody that until now, had been closely kept by her side entirely untouched. She uncapped a black ballpoint ink pen and scribbled a string of numbers onto a blue sticky note that had already been lightly doodled on (likely during the ceremony) with rough sketches of motorcycles juxtaposed against delicate daisies and baby’s breath she had likely seen in April’s bouquet. She tore the sticky note off and nervously stuck it onto his placemat. With a quick swig of the rest of the champagne left in the glass she had claimed, she stood up from her chair and gave him one last smile before hurriedly heading off in the direction of her photographer friend, leaving Raph with more questions than he did answers.

Maybe this whole lovey-dovey shit wasn’t so dumb after all.

#prompt #although it was technically from an ask game but hey #tmnt #acelikesturtles #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #bayverse tmnt #authoring by ace

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moonsandstar-s · 7 years

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The Final Warning - Chapter XXXVI

Chapter XXXVI - Per Unitatem Vis

Summary: As the year draws to a close, peace has finally dawned. The time for unity has arrived. In the Vytal festival, it is time for heroes to rise, bringing glory to their kingdoms. But as autumn dies, the first winds of winter blow over Remnant, chilling the hearts of the people; breathing doubt into their souls. Long-buried secrets will triumph, and every action will have a consequence. Ruby must reconcile herself with her own fate. Weiss struggles to escape her legacy. Blake cannot erase memories. Yang’s search leads her into more peril than ever— but none of them can outrun fate. Shadows turn on shadows, and bonds shatter as they are tested to the limit. For in dividing them, they will fall and burn; at the eye of the storm, no peace lasts forever. In the end and beginning of time, there is a place where the sun never rises, and the dead delight to teach the living. A great danger is rising from the darkness. It’s time to take sides. The final warning is coming. The first chill of winter is the most deadly; it is the chill that kills more than any other. The first betrayal is the most damaging; it is the act that shatters bonds of love and trust, crushing even the strongest heart, tearing teams apart. AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7745314/chapters/24079854 Weiss

With every mile they passed, the golden thread that Weiss could feel within her heart grew looser and looser as the strain that constricted it gradually faded away, and she knew they were drawing nearer with every spin of the wheels on the track. Closer to Ruby, closer to the heart of Mistral, and closer to the end of their journey.

As the sun was falling at the end of the third day, Weiss made a strangled little noise, and Yang immediately slowed down the cycle and cast a worried glance back at her. “Weiss, what’s wrong?”

“She’s here,” Weiss managed, feeling something in her heart swelling and growing warm as the last of the strain dissolved entirely. “We should see her any second now.”

Blake tensed up, and Yang— while she didn’t say anything— looked distinctly pale, her expression shadowed. Anxiety showing the jerkiness of her movements, she gunned the cycle again, before letting out a whoop as they careened over a hilly ridge with a bounce and the land spread out before them, warm, golden rays of dying sun bathing the forest and meadow in rosy and flame hues. As they pulled to a stop at the bottom of the hill, the rushing wind briefly parted the trees in a cacophony of whispering leaves, exposing four long black shadows that extended from their owners.

Weiss was off the motorcycle in an instant, dropping her duffel as she saw them fully: four swiftly moving figures; one blonde and blue, one green and black, one ginger and pink, and then one black and red, and she was running forward, leaving Blake and Yang behind, the ground flying away under her feet as Ruby turned around and gasped as she saw her. It was a mirror image of the night at the Fall of Beacon, where Ruby had towards her and they had crashed together, except now, the terror and bloodshed of the night was replaced by bittersweet sorrow and a winter sky, as pale blue as a robin’s egg.

“Yang? Blake? Weiss?” Jaune was saying, plain astonishment stark in his voice, and Nora was squealing their names, and Ren looked— for once— actually taken aback, his eyes wide as he surveyed the ragtag group. Weiss, though, only had eyes for Ruby, her Ruby, here and whole, her round face and innocent eyes replaced by a lean look and a shadowed gaze.

All at once, the spark inside of her sputtered out, and she drew back to look at her partner fully. She didn’t dare acknowledge the feelings and the single thought both of them were experiencing in their Bond: the night the Tower had fell, and when Weiss had kissed her, before Ruby had murdered someone at the top of the Tower, and almost died.

“Weiss,” Ruby whispered, her hand coming up and barely brushing her cheek before it dropped away abruptly. “You’re here,” she marveled, her voice full of wonder. “You’re all here. I— how did you—?”

Her voice crumbled into nothingness as she saw Yang, a couple steps ahead of Blake. She was walking towards her sister warily. Ruby’s expression drained of shock and wonder, replaced by a coldness— and, dare she say it, an anger— that startled Weiss.

Ren and Nora cleared off, out of earshot of the group, perhaps sensing the palpable tension. Jaune remained behind, looking frightened, and Weiss could see Ruby’s eyes locked onto her sister. There was not wonder there, or shock. There was just a bitter, cold anger.

This is their moment, Weiss realized. I can talk to her later. Family is the most important… and they’re much closer than just family.

That made her think of Winter, and with a burst of sadness, Weiss edged away, following after Ren and Nora. She caught Blake’s eye, indicating that she should join her and leave the sisters alone, and with a troubled glance at Ruby and Yang, who were looking at each other silently, she complied.

/ / /

Yang

When she saw her sister’s face and her cold silver eyes, the world seemed to fade away to a blur. Yang was barely conscious of Weiss scurrying away after Ren and Nora, and Blake following her, but some instinct kept her feet shuffling forward until she was standing across from her sister.

For the first time Yang could ever remember, Ruby moved away from her. Her eyes were cold silver, like a too-bright sheet of ice. She didn't say anything— another peculiarity— but her gaze traced Yang's form, coming to a rest on her prosthetic. Yang was gratified to see almost a flinch ripple that icy cold mask; so, Ruby wasn't completely changed. She couldn't hide her guilt— nor could Yang hide her shame.

Ruby cleared her throat. She was taller, her face sharper and more angular, pale, like the winter snow had changed her. Her voice crackled with stiff anger. "Jaune, can you go? I think I need to talk to my sister."

"Yeah. Uh, are you sur—“ He broke off as Ruby's silver eyes— blazing, now, with a new flame— bored into him. There was rage there, flashing like fire. But Ruby was never angry.

Her sister's fury scared her more than anything.

"Yeah, sure," Jaune muttered. "Um, have fun, I guess."

Yang snorted. "Unlikely." With a sad glance at her— she regretted her tone; Jaune had lost someone he loved, and unlike Yang, there was no chance of him ever getting her back— he scurried off, leaving Yang and Ruby alone.

"Why are you here, Yang?" Ruby's voice cracked like a whip through the still, frigid air, snapping Yang's attention back to her. She stared at her sister in disbelief. When she'd envisioned her reunion with Ruby, it had involved hugs, forgiveness, tears - not them staring each other down like thin, angry wolves, bitterness thick in Ruby's eyes. "Why leave Patch and its safety and your isolation? Why all this?"

Yang managed to find her voice, the facsimile of pain throbbing through her severed arm. The prosthetic did a lot, but it would never, ever feel again. When she spoke, her words were thick, dragged from her like thorns. “I…I made a mistake."

"Yes. You did. But I already knew that." Ruby’s face was more chilling than the winter all around them. "Do you expect me to say I love you again and forgive you, just like that? I already tried. You knew what happened to me, all of us— you knew I almost died and so did Blake and so did Weiss! You made a promise to always protect us and be there for us when you became a member of this team— but you pushed us away." Anger lit her eyes until they shone like embers. “You didn’t care.” Her voice rose. “When mom died, you were there for me! You didn’t let grief ruin you and neither did I! I expected you to be there for all of us after the Fall of Beacon, but you shut yourself off from everyone because you thought you were the only one who suffered. Sure, you lost a lot. Maybe more than all of us. But you didn’t lose everything; you didn’t lose your entire world and have it ripped out from right under you. You didn’t lose someone you used to love; you didn’t kill someone to save someone else’s life like Blake and I had to do. You didn’t have to be dragged back into a terrible place like Weiss. We’re all allowed to grieve, but that shouldn’t take us away from what we still have left. You were supposed to be there for me and you weren’t!”

“I—”

"You left me, Yang," Ruby said, and the anger was gone, and it was like a cry torn from her. "You left me alone."

"Ruby," she said, and suddenly the fragile strength she'd built up shattered in on itself, snuffed out like a flickering flame, and she was crying and everything was broken, torn, dead. Ruby was gone. She had died in spirit on that night: a stranger inhabited her body, and no matter how they moved forward, every part of their old lives was gone forever, including the only sister she had ever known. "Ruby, my baby sister, please, please, stay."

Her little sister, but also a stranger to her, pulled her close, and she cried and cried, knowing that things would never be the same, that every part of the life they had shared was dead. Ruby, God, I'm so sorry, I let all of you go, I let all of you down. I abandoned you when you needed me most, like mother, like daughter. You left Patch and didn't come back; that's Summer's fate, now yours. I wasn't there for you; that was Raven's choice; we're repeating history.

"Things will never be the same," she whispered into Ruby's shoulder, breathing in the scent of snow and smoke, "will they?"

"She's gone," Ruby said hollowly. "Everything's gone."

Pyrrha, Penny, every part of our old lives.

“No,” Yang muttered, lifting her head. “No, I won’t accept that. We didn’t lose everything.”

“We—”

“Everything changed,” she said, “but the most important things stayed with us. Our team, our family… I lost an arm and a partner and my sister, and now I have all three back. You lost the familiarity of what you knew, and your team, and two of your friends, and you’ve lost so much, and you still have so much to lose, but you’re here… here, fighting for the better fight, not giving up, and not backing down. Because you’re a Huntress, Ruby. A Huntress and a warrior. Not because you have to be, despite what Qrow told you… but because deep down, it’s who you are, and no powers or genetic eye color is going to change that.”

Ruby managed a watery smile. “Did you practice that speech, or what?” Then her smile slid away, her eyes darkening. “I guess all of what you’ve said is true, and I’m happy for you. You should be happy, after everything. But sometimes I just wonder how any of this could possibly be for the greater good.”

“Do you want to tell me about what happened to you the night of the Fall?” Yang asked softly.

Ruby’s gaze grew guarded. “I asked you to talk about it with me before, remember? You didn’t care then. Why now?”

Yang flinched. “I— I was wrong. I’m sorry for not listening to you before, and I’m sorry for pushing you away. It was selfish and bullheaded of me to do. You’re my sister, no matter whose blood runs in our veins, and you always will be. I should have been there for you, I should have protected you, and I wasn’t… but I’m here now. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what. So tell me what happened.”

Ruby looked away, her eyes clouding. “You know that I went up into the Tower because Jaune called us and told us Cinder was going to kill Pyrrha, so I had to save her. I went up there, but I— I was too late,” she managed, before she began to cry.

Yang reached out and held her hand, and with a choked noise, she went on.

“Cinder shot her in the heart and it was horrible, Yang, she was choking and gasping for air but it was too late, and I saw her die, I saw her eyes just go all dim and she fell on her side. Cinder touched her, and then she… she started to burn.

“She burned down to ashes, and the storm scattered them away.”

God, Yang thought, unable to shake the image of the epitaph on Summer Rose’s grave. Thus kindly I scatter. “Ruby, I—”

“It’s not over.” She took a shaky breath, memories swirling in her eyes. “I saw Pyrrha die, and Cinder turned to me, and then it happened: my head built with pressure before it felt like I exploded. There was just this pain, really intense... it felt like my skull was shattering. Silver light just— it set me on fire, Yang. I rose up in the air, because it was so much more powerful than I was, and it took control of my body and pulled me in every direction, before everything went dark. I thought it was over, I was dead, nobody could feel that sort of pain and live to tell about it… I was in the shadows, and everything was gone. That was when I blacked out, I think. Qrow found me then, he said. I went into the tower and froze Cinder alive. It stopped her heart instantly.” Ruby looked down and away, shadows chasing shadows in her eyes. "I froze the fire who started this all. I killed her, even if I didn't mean to. I don't know what I would have done if things turned out differently. I don't know if I would have killed her all the same, but Cinder is gone, and I thought she was my friend. But she was the biggest enemy all along. I've learned a lot along the road about her. She knew Ozpin; hated him, and she murdered him and Pyrrha before I murdered her. She allied with Adam and Mercury and manipulated Emerald into working for her. I don't know where they are now. They've got nowhere to go, and I guess they hate me. I took away all they had. I killed three people, Yang! Three people... sure, they were evil, but I took away their lives… they were people, maybe with hopes and dreams and families, and I ended their lives."

Yang frowned. "I always knew there was something very twisted, very wrong with Cinder... It was hard to explain. But I put it down to isolation and past events. God, how wrong I was..."

Ruby nudged the snow with her boots, revealing ashy, frozen dirt underneath. "Yang..." She shivered. “You know what Weiss— what she said to me that night, but did she— did she talk to you about it at all?” There was a look of half-hope, half-fear in her eyes, though Yang knew she'd be hard-pressed to get her to admit it.

"She was very worried about you. She never said it to me, but I could tell it was eating her up inside, worrying about you.” Yang swallowed. "I think she gave up on that ever happening the instant she saw her father again, though."

Ruby sighed. "I knew it really," she said after a while. "Deep down, I knew nothing could happen between us. She loves - loved - the me before all this happened, all this tragedy. How do you live through that sort of thing and keep what's important? But I'm not that Ruby anymore." Her eyes were brimming with tears. "I never got to tell her I loved her, too. And now I never will."

"It's not all that bad." Yang tried for a comforting tone. "There's always a second shot, Ruby. Maybe you can try again. Maybe she can learn to adjust to the new you: she's changed too, don't forget. Maybe this time, you can do things right." She looked at the slightest hint of green, a sprouting shoot in the thawing dirt. “Maybe this time, we can do things better. This is our second start. We can’t— we can’t waste it.”

“Yeah.” Ruby wiped at her nose and eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. Things aren’t all terrible, though, you know?”

“Really?”

Ruby took her hand, the prosthetic one, and squeezed it, her expression fierce with certainty. “Really. You’re here. And I’m… I’m so happy that you are, you know? I’ve tried so hard to act like I know what I’m doing, to keep it together for Jaune, Ren, and Nora, but it’s hard, not having what’s familiar. I don’t know what I’m doing. But to have my team here with me— well, that’s better than anything. I missed you so much. I love you, Yang. I don’t want to lose you again.” She lowered her head. “Dad might not always need us, but we’ll always need each other. Because we’re family.”

“And family means no one gets left behind,” Yang finished, hugging her sister close, her heart brimming over with emotion. “I missed you, too. As much as I missed them, maybe even more.”

“I still can’t believe you’re all here with me… and Weiss… oh, Yang, what am I going to say to her? How can I talk to her?”

“If I can reconcile with Blake, you can do it with Weiss, too. I guess I’d better let you go make up with her, hadn’t I?”

“Yeah, I think you’d better.” Ruby let out a long breath. “I hope she doesn’t look at me like some freak. I could think of worse things to mark an inherent trait besides silver eyes. I could have a double-forked tongue, or ram horns, or something.”

“Well, so much for normal knees,” Yang said, her voice muffled as she spoke into Ruby’s shoulder, a mixture of laughter and tears mingling with in it.

Ruby let out a laugh, her shoulders shaking with it, and Yang was relieved to hear a genuine note of happiness in it. “Normal knees are overrated, anyways.”

/ / /

Ruby

There was a certain terror that came from plunging into battle— like when she had jumped a rocket locker to Torchwick’s ship, or raced up the side of Beacon Tower, or fought the Grimm for her life. Walking up to Weiss, who was standing apart from the others, looking composed and carefully, neutrally blank, inspired a whole different category of ‘terror’, and it was a lot more nerve-wracking than going into battle. At least when she was in a fight, she was always sure of herself— her footing, her actions, and her skill. Being around Weiss never had her sure of anything, and as she neared her, her heart began to thump almost painfully in her throat. Her palms dampened, beading with sweat, and she wiped them on her combat skirt, clearing her throat as she stopped next to her partner.

Weiss looked up, and the mask of neutrality fractured for an instant, her eyes flickering with fear and sorrow, before it was replaced by a film of ice. “Hello, Ruby,” she said, her voice calm, and with a note of ice that Ruby hadn’t heard from her in a long, long time. Her father, Ruby thought with a sinking heart. Oh, Weiss, no…

“Can we talk?” she asked quietly, attempting to ignore the covert glances from Ren, Blake, and Nora.

Weiss frowned. “In private, I assume?”

“I think that would be best,” Ruby replied, and Weiss looked as if she had been slapped. With a nod, she led the way away from the group into a grove of trees, and Ruby followed her, hair whipping back as the wind picked up.

Weiss stopped under a bare-leaved oak tree, once they were out of earshot. She looked terribly different, and the bright Mistral sunset brought out how angular she looked. Her eyes were dark and empty, her face thin and unhappy. Ruby did not touch her. The last time she had seen this girl, they had been clinging to each other in the shadow of desolation and ruin, and fear of the uncertain future had made them both do things that they normally wouldn’t have ever done. She didn’t know how to feel now— trekking out in the wilderness of Mistral wasn’t normal, really, but she had plenty of time to think about things, and now that Weiss was here, it felt like the fragile peace she had built back up had been smashed to pieces all over again.

Weiss was silent, looking off at the mountains in the distance, as if Ruby wasn’t even there, but that didn’t fool her. She had seen Weiss running over the ridge towards her like her life depended on it, and she had seen the heartbreak in her eyes… but she didn’t dare prise into their Bond to figure out what, exactly, was going on.

“So,” she began. “You came here with Yang and Blake… did you help Yang get her prosthetic?”

“Yes.” Weiss’s answer was soft, almost inaudible. “The General helped.”

Ruby decided to try a different approach. “So, did you help Blake and Yang reconcile, too?”

“No. They did that on their own.”

Ruby frowned. “Do you know if my Dad was mad that Yang left? And how’d she do it?”

“Sun helped her. I don’t believe your father was upset with her,” Weiss answered, sounding less cold, but still short.

“Did— did you see anyone on the way here? I can’t imagine you wouldn’t, after the Fall’s chaos…”

“Yes. We saw Team CFVY, and a relative of Blake’s. No others.”

An awkward silence descended around them, Weiss still persistently avoiding her gaze. .

“Weiss, y— you’re not upset at me, are you?” she blurted, her eyes round with worry. “Because it’s lonely, Weiss. Having a power that separates you from everyone and everything is really, really lonely. Having people talk behind your back, having them be scared of you because you were born with something you couldn’t help, having even your own family look at you like they don’t know you anymore… it’s lonelier than anything.”

Weiss watched her with inscrutable, cool blue eyes. It was impossible to guess what she was thinking.

“Weiss,” Ruby said again, half-pleading, her voice softer than a breath of wind. “Please.”

Weiss’s eyes dropped to her feet. “I’m not upset,” she said quietly after a long pause. “I’m… concerned, I believe… and frightened. I suppose it’s strange, really, to imagine that someone you know well is separated from you by destiny, that they are headed down paths where you are unable to follow…”

“I don’t want this,” Ruby repeated, clinging desperately to that one truth, that one safe haven among a swirling storm of uncertainty and fear. “I just want to be normal. I don’t want to be talked about.”

Weiss’s eyes flashed at her. “People are going to talk, Ruby. I saw what happened. Everyone in eyeshot of Beacon saw it… what you did, it was this enormous, blinding flash of light originating from the peak of the tower, like a star going into supernova… a chill, this coldness, swept over everything before fading out. And then you were the only one to come out unscathed… Pyrrha was gone, without even a— a body— and that girl from Emerald’s team, that Cinder, was completely frozen, like ice, as well as the Grimm wyvern… not to mention Ozpin’s absence and the flow of Grimm to Beacon. It was something no one has ever seen. And it scares you, I can tell, but you have to face that all of that is a direct result of whatever you did. People are scared, Ruby, because you have a power no one has ever seen, a power to bring something as old as time to its knees and walk away virtually unharmed…”

Horror swept over her. “I… when you say it like that, I…”

“It makes it all too real, does it not? We’ve all had to deal with the repercussions. You’re no different from us in that regard,” Weiss added, a hint of bitter irony in her voice.

Ruby felt her throat close up at the look on her partner’s face, as if she had become a stranger. A huge abyss had opened up between them with a few careless revelations from Qrow. She felt Weiss’s fear of the future, uncertainty of the present, stunned terror that she was barely repressing, through the Bond— but most of all, Ruby felt her sadness.

“I want to go home!” she burst out, feeling a stinging pressure behind her eyes. “I wish this hadn’t happened… I miss Pyrrha, and Penny, and Ozpin, and the old Yang… I want to be a kid again, I want my mom to be here so she could explain all of this silver-eyed stuff, too… I want the worst thing that could happen was burning a batch of cookies in the oven.” She stared hopelessly, helplessly, at her feet, unable to bear looking up and seeing her own heartbreak reflected in Weiss’s eyes. “I wish I could go back.”

Weiss’s blue eyes slid away from her. “We can never go back to the way things were, Ruby.”

“I want to go home, Weiss,” she whispered, her voice cracking, and then before she knew what was happening, she was crying, and Weiss had pulled her into her grip, and she was crying into her partner’s shoulder; deep, soundless sobs that felt like they were being wrenched from her very bones. “I’m s— sorry, I’m so sorry… I’m sorry for letting them die… for not being good enough to s-s—ave everyone…”

Weiss’s fingers stroked through her hair, soft and comforting. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s going to be all right, Ruby. It’ll be all right…”

I miss my mom, she thought, a terrible misery swirling through her. I miss Penny, and Pyrrha… I just know if I had just been faster, stronger, better, I could have saved them both, I could have prevented this, all this…

“It’s my fault,” she choked out, words muffled, into Weiss’s shoulder. “All of those deaths… they’re my fault.”

“No,” Weiss shot back, her tone bald. “You didn’t know. It was the fault of those who killed them, who manipulated them… it’s not your fault, and we did the very best we could. You tried as hard as hell with the hand that you were dealt… don’t blame yourself.”

Ruby sniffled, and drew back, swiping roughly at her eyes. Weiss took her by the shoulders, forcing her to meet her steady gaze— unwavering blue eyes, one of which was slashed with a diagonal scar, yet another reminder of the suffering that all of them had borne in their pasts.

“You’re my partner,” she said. “And a Bond means you stick with and trust your partner no matter what. I don’t care what you did, what powers you might have because of some so-called line of warriors… You’re still Ruby to me. Still flippant, still annoying at times, still determined to play the hero …. but ultimately, you’re still you.” She gave her a watery smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Let them treat you like an outcast, but they’ll be exiling me as well… because I won’t leave you behind. Okay?” Weiss looked at her, and for one of the first times, Ruby got the sense that she was looking at her and really seeing her— seeing and understanding. “I will never leave you.”

This is our second start, Yang had said. We can’t waste it.

She leaned forward towards Weiss, almost of her body’s own accord, reminded for the briefest instance of the last time this had happened— Grimm circling in the sky, screaming from the courtyard, a fight to the death taking place above their heads. But the sky here was filled with clouds and gentle starlight, not Grimm, and the only thing surrounding them for miles was not danger— just friends, and family, and the promise of a better future than the one they had left behind. Anywhere I go, I’m home as long as you’re beside me.

Their lips brushed, and Ruby went up on her tiptoes like a flower extending its petals towards the sun. There was no desperation in this, no fear, just a quiet warmth that kindled in her chest and warmed her from the inside out, like a summer’s night. Warmth trickled through her veins, her Bond flaring up, almost with a soft glow. Hesitantly, unsure, she slid her hands up, resting them on Weiss’s shoulders. Weiss let out a soft, murmuring noise, her hands curling against the back of Ruby’s neck.

She pulled away. “Weiss, I never said anything back to you that night Beacon fell,” she whispered, and resting their foreheads together, her eyes still closed. “I— I kind of love you, Weiss. I don’t ever want you to think I don’t.”

Impossibly, Weiss broke into a smile, blue eyes shining. She didn’t say anything back, but she didn’t have to, because in the Bond, Ruby could feel what she had said. Love hummed there, a quiet, content glow that lit her up and chased away the shadows of uncertainty and fear.

And for now, that was enough.

A/N: DISNEY REFERENCES AHHHHHHH.

#RWBY #Weiss Schnee #Ruby Rose #Team RWBY #Yang Xiao Long #Blake Belladonna #Team JNPR #Arkos #Bumbleby #Renora #Whiterose #White Rose #bumblebee

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