A gift to the very first friend I made here. I have no beta reader, so if there's any mistake, I apologize. Nobody around me watches RWBY *sad face*
I do not own RWBY.
Ruby sighed as she saw the people in town busy decorating their shops with red liquids, pumpkins and fake skeletons.
Sure, she loved the idea of getting sweets and just enjoying the festival with her elder sister Blake, but they both knew that their friend from college would never spare them from that one particular thing they hated the most – Halloween parties.
Ruby Rose, eighteen, was considered a genius as she got moved two years ahead and was accepted into this prestigious academy together with her sister. She was famous for her brain, her trademark red cloak which she wore everywhere she went and last but not least – her social awkwardness.
And Blake, being the elder sister, also hated crowded places with strangers shaking their hips and flirting with each other, so she was on the same side with Ruby.
They were well known for their stubbornness when it came to social activities, so after the umpteenth time inviting them, majority of the students gave up.
Well, except for a certain ginger.
Somewhere in between begging and threatening and breaking legs, Nora Valkyrie had successfully dragged the both of them to a Halloween party which would be held at seven o'clock sharp in a vacant house near the wood.
This is gonna be a long night.
The sisters let out a heavy sigh before walking into the huge house. Well, at least they didn't have to wear costumes, right?
#
"Yang? I'm going to the agency now." Came Pyrrha's voice from the living room.
"Text me when ya get there." Yang shouted, her voice slightly muffled due to the shower steam and the thick wooden door.
"Will do. Stay safe, Yang." There was the sound of door shutting as Yang turned off the shower water.
"Stay safe, huh." She mumbled to herself, "What kind of danger will I be in?"
Yang Xiao Long was a freelancer, taking whatever job that was available as long as the pay was worth it. From completing assignments of those lazy college students to cemetery maintenance, all would be done efficiently when it comes to the blonde.
She was fearless; not even digging graves in the middle of the night would scare her. There was one thing that she was afraid of though – spiders, and only her best friend slash roommate Prryha knew about that.
There was something else that Yang was afraid of, but not even Prryha knew about it.
No one can know about that.
Being a thrill seeker, Yang had stopped college and had decided to just look for adventurous jobs that could fulfill her desire. Freelancer was the right job for her as it was challenging, although she might have given a thought on treasure hunting, but being an orphan also meant that her financial aspect wasn't ideal. Eventually, her dream job became more of a life goal for her.
Due to several incidents that included some puns, several punches and a nasty kick, she had decided to move out from the teen shelter with her best friend Prryha Nikos on an early age. Both had came to an agreement of sharing all the fees, food included, and live together in a cheap apartment they found near the wood.
Pyrrha worked as a model and was really busy, but she would make sure to tell Yang her whereabouts. Yang did the same too, for that they could only rely on each other.
#
The living room was decorated nicely. Despite being really unhappy, Ruby had secretly praised whoever was in charge of setting up the venue. Several fake skeletons hanging from the ceiling that looked so real; bats and pumpkins being arranged nicely at every corner and Dust, the sound effect was really spooky.
"Sis, do you wanna get some drink?" Ruby looked at Blake, who just sat there and face-palmed at the thought that she actually agreed to come.
"I would love to." she smiled.
"Okay, wait here."
The beverage was well hidden. It took Ruby some time before she finally found a huge jar of red colored liquid with the label 'Blood' on it.
She was almost certain that it was strawberry juice.
There was a 'Monster bar' somewhere near the other end of the room, but Ruby had decided against it; she knew what would happen if Blake got drunk. And Blake's tolerance for alcohol was really bad.
As she was about to fill the second cup with the 'blood', something yellow caught her eyes.
Dust, that girl is gorgeous!
Several years ago, Ruby kind of came up with a conclusion that she was not into boys. Their parents, Summer and Qrow had accepted it with open arms and she was more than happy about it.
A tall blonde girl with confident smile was mixing drinks at the bar. Ruby stopped filling the second cup of blood and had decided that her tolerance for alcohol was way higher than her sister. She clumsily passed Blake the cup and walked to the bar, trying to get a closer look to the beautiful woman.
"Hello pretty, any specific drinks you want?" the blonde lazily puts her chin on her palm as Ruby approached the counter.
She was wearing an orange tank top with a black short, not displaying even a slightest amount of discomfort at showing off her figures. And if Ruby had that kind of rippling muscles and magnificent bust, she would probably do the same. Just a little bit more reserved by not showing off her cleavage.
"Hey, ya alright?" the blonde showed concern as Ruby did not answer her.
"Huh? Oh I…I'm alright. What would you recommend…"
"The name's Yang."
"Hi Yang. My name is Ruby. Ruby Rose."
"Nice to meetcha! Well, how about a strawberry sunrise?"
"That sounds wonderful. Although I have no idea what that is."
"Not a drinker?"
Ruby shook her head.
"Okay, I will go easy on ya!"
Ruby watched as Yang mixed several drinks together, and then put a little umbrella on top of it before passing it to her.
"I prefer it with no ice." the blonde gave her a wink.
Ruby's heart skipped a beat as she quickly gulped the drink to hide her embarrassment.
"Whoa, slow down little red!" Yang said as Ruby choked.
"Ugh, I just saw my whole life flashes in front of me…"
The blonde gave out a cheerful laugh as she held out her right hand, "Well, we're friends now Ruby! Hope we can talk more! C'mon, buddy-handshake!"
Ruby nervously took Yang's hand and was genuinely surprised at how warm and gentle it was. The blonde looked like she could punch a gang leader across a pillar with her bare hand, but her grip on Ruby's tiny hand was tender.
Time stopped flowing around them. Both froze in the moment, unwilling to let go of each other's hand, desperately trying to enjoy the feelings for as long as possible. They had to separate however, when Nora's bubbly and loud voice interrupted the whole place.
"Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the climax of the event!" she threw up both her hands as she jumped onto a wooden table, followed by a huge applause and squealing from the audience.
"It's getting more and more difficult…" Ruby whispered as Yang jumped over the counter swiftly and landed beside her. Well, she didn't practice parkour for fun.
"It's not like we have this kind of party everyday! Just enjoy it, Rubes!" Yang put her hand around Ruby's shoulder and pulled her near.
Ruby blushed upon hearing the nickname.
"Ruby?" her sister's voice came from another direction that she was facing.
"Blake? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ditch you!" Ruby quickly tried to shift away from Yang but the latter had a solid grip.
"It's alright." Blake smiled gently, "I see you made a new friend."
"Ah yeah, meet Yang, my cru…new friend!"
No! Bad Ruby! What were you thinking?!
She stopped herself before blurting out her thoughts.
Her sister raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Well, nice to meet you, Yang. I'm Blake, Ruby's older sister."
"Aww kitten, stop acting like we're meeting for the first time!" Yang ruffled Blake's hair.
"You two knew each other?!" Ruby's high pitched voice had almost broken their eardrums.
"Whoa, chill down Rubes. Blakey happens to be one of my…well, customers. I'm a freelancer you see, and she bought a few services from me."
"Services?"
Blake shot Yang a deadly glare, but Yang was fearless.
"Yeah, like delivering some books to her apart-"
"Yang-"
"Oh, so you're the one delivering books we ordered! Weird, I've never seen you before?"
"Well, that's because I'm a ninja." Yang smirked, "Wait, you guys were sisters? But you guys have different last names?"
"I was adopted, but I took dad's name. Blake Branwen sounds way nicer than Blake Rose anyway."
The trio chuckled as they were interrupted by the mighty Nora Valkyrie.
"C'mon, pick a paper!" said the ginger, holding a box that looked like a skull with papers in them.
"What is this all about?" Blake crossed her arms.
"Pay attention better next time, human! We're going to explore that rumored haunted mansion near the wood! Each pair will be locked down inside for ten minutes! Come on, pick a paper! Oh and, don't show others, we'll have random pairings today!"
They obediently picked the crumpled papers and proceeded to look at their paper.
Please let Yang and I be in the same team…please please please!
"Okay guys, look for the people who has the same number with you!"
The whole party went into a total chaos; people shouting for numbers and bumping into each other almost immediately after Nora finished her announcement.
"Yang, what's your number?" Ruby asked the blonde.
"Six. What's yours?"
"…Nine." Ruby said, disappointment shown in her voice.
"Well I can-" Somebody chose this exact moment to slap Yang's ass. The blonde turned around furiously only to see a smirking Coco leaning against the counter.
"Hey, blondie."
"Hey Coco."
"Sweet, I've got number six too."
"Umm…Coco? Do you mind if you switch number with Ruby? I kinda want to…be in the same team with her. Are you ok with that Ruby?" Yang scratched the back of her head and looked at Ruby, waiting for approval.
Ruby's heart almost burst out as she timidly nodded.
Yang wants to be in the same team with me? With me?!
Coco Adel folded up her paper and looked at Yang, "Well, if I can cut your pay in half, then sure."
"…Fine." Yang said, "You're a devil, you know that?"
"No I don't." Coco handed her paper to Ruby and Ruby gave her hers.
"Who's your partner anyway?" Yang looked around.
"The partner is right in front of you Yang." Blake said in a sassy tone, showing her paper with an ugly writing of number nine on it.
"Aww, don't be sad! We didn't forget you kitten!"
"Come Blake, let's ignore the blonde." Coco put her hand around Blake's waist and the latter followed her before giving her little sister a playful wink.
Ruby was still too happy over the fact that Yang was willing to give up half her pay just to be with her for those ten minutes, but at the same time she felt guilty.
"Yang, I'll pay you back the amount that Coco cut it off." Ruby said.
"Don't worry about that little red! Maybe you could just…y'know, pay me back using…something else." Yang smiled sheepishly.
"Wh…what?"
"Can I have your phone number?"
#
Ruby and Yang were the sixth team to be locked down in the rumored haunted mansion. According to Nora, the place was once owned by a rich family who got murdered one night by some highly skilled assassin and the investigation on the case did not get solved even until today.
Shrieks could be heard from the inside of the house, but Yang just shrugged it off by saying that it was probably the wind.
When it was finally their turn, both got excited and ran into the house without waiting for the guidance from Nora.
"Good luck in there, Ruby!" Came Blake's shouting on the other side of the door.
The air inside was significantly cooler compared to the outside. They were allowed to bring a flashlight and their cell phone just in case.
It was so quiet in the corridor; they could only hear the sound of their breathing and heartbeat. Ruby subconsciously held Yang's hand as they continue to venture deeper into the house.
It wasn't long before they arrived at a majestic stairs. Yang shot Ruby a 'let's go' look and the latter nodded as they made their way up, each step measured carefully in case the old building couldn't support their weight.
The second floor wasn't as dark as the first floor. Broken windows had allowed the moonlight to shone inside the house, providing them enough light to move around without the flashlight.
There was a well-designed door at the end of their path. Both agreed that that was their last place to explore before the time was up. The door gave out a creak as the blonde opened it slowly. The windows here were broken too and the moonlight shone on a huge piece of portrait that was located just beside the bed, as if it wanted to show it to them deliberately.
It was an elegant white haired heiress in a blue and white colored dress sitting in front of a mirror. Her expression was somewhat sad with a pity smile on her thin lips. Those blue orbs of hers were being drawn so beautifully and detailed that Ruby swore she could feel her loneliness in it.
"That must be the daughter of the family." Yang signaled Ruby to sit down on the floor as she did so, suggesting that they spent their last few minutes here admiring the portrait.
"She's so beautiful." Ruby said as sat down beside Yang, still holding her hand tightly.
"Indeed. I'm pretty sure she eats salad and apples with a scowl on her face for lunch though."
Ruby chuckled slightly imagining the sight.
"Hey Ruby, I…ah!" Yang shouted loudly all of a sudden and shocked Ruby. The poor brunette jumped and leaped straight into Yang's embrace. The latter simply fell into a burst of laughter and patted her back.
"Yang! Stop that! It's not funny!" Ruby pouted.
"I'm sorry…hahaha, but you look so cute when you're scared." the blonde wiped her tears as she rubbed soothing circles on Ruby's back with her other hand.
"Saying that doesn't make me feel any better!" Ruby pinched Yang's face before letting go and stomping out of the room.
Before she was able to do so, Yang grabbed her wrists so tightly that it hurt her.
"Ouch…Yang, it's painful!"
"Sorry." Yang let go and looked down; her golden bangs covered her face and the moonlight illuminate her, making her looked just like the portrait on the wall. Ruby could feel her apologize wasn't only for the jump-scare or the grip on the wrist, but it was way deeper than that. Sighing, she sat down facing the blonde, brushing her hair out of her face.
"It's alright."
"Don't leave me alone…"
Ruby was startled. She could feel the mixed emotions of anger, hatred, despair, and intense horror all compressed in that one single sentence Yang had whispered.
"I will not leave you alone." she smiled and pulled Yang into a warm hug.
"I'm sorry."
"Ssh…it's alright."
"I shouldn't have scared you. Please don't leave me."
"I told you I'm not leaving you Yang. Do you…mind telling me what made you so scared?"
She could feel Yang's body trembled a little before hearing her answer.
"I'm an orphan. My dad died a long time ago and my mom…she abandoned me. I can't remember it very clearly. I was like…five years old? All I can remember is me sitting in a place so dark I couldn't even see my own fingers. Then I saw a silhouette; it was a woman. I recognize that scent…she was my mom. I could see her abandoning me and just walk away like that, leaving me in the darkness. I'm scared Ruby. I'm scared of darkness. Not dark places but…you know, darkness. It's so cold…"
"I understand, Yang. I can help you walk out of it."
"No you can't!" Yang broke the embrace and stared into Ruby's silver orbs, two lines of tears on her face, "I've been trying to walk out of it. I've been trying to escape, but not even my best friend can help me. I-mmpf!"
Ruby leaned in and planted a kiss on the blonde's lips with her own. Yang was surprised and tried to shift away but she couldn't resist the sweet scent of roses coming from the brunette's lips. Eventually she relaxed and melted into the kiss. The smaller girl even tried to put her tongue inside the blonde's and the latter had allowed the contact. They finally broke the kiss a minute or so later, panting and struggling for air.
"That felt…amazing."
"I'm sorry I didn't ask for your permission."
"It's alright."
Both had decided to just stay there until Nora and the gang got worried enough to come up and look for them. A little payback for dragging her to come to this party, according to Ruby; although deep inside she might have to thank Nora a million times for doing that, or else she wouldn't have met this gorgeous blonde.
Ruby started to sing lightly as Yang leaned on her shoulder.
Listen to my voice
Calling you, calling you out of darkness
Hear the devil's cry of sin
Always turn your back on him.
The song in the end is 'Out of Darkness' from DMC 4.
Thanks for taking your time to read my story. And yes, Blake had Yang deliver the books she ordered specifically when Ruby wasn't around.
