A/N: Just a quick RubyxBlake one-shot I felt like cooking up besides working on chapters for my longer series. Review and enjoy!
Steel on steel. The clang echoed inside the thick walls of the train cart. For a second, Blake thought nothing of it. But, after that sound of Gambol Shroud on Adam's blade entered her ears, she knew nothing would be the same from now on.
Adam didn't say a word. He just looked at Blake through his soulless mask as she stared wide-eyed at the two humans in front of her. The children held themselves in a final embrace before Adam's blade tore through the air to end their lives before they even began.
The brother, sticking to his father's strict words of manhood, held his sister under his body as she cried. That same father laid in a pool of blood not inches away from them. Blake could see small spatters of it on the boys white sweater and overalls.
Blake wasn't sure why she couldn't blink. She attributed it to anger, fear, and heartbreak. But, Blake knew that this same moment was just an ill repeat of her own life. A father, a mother, and a brother that were struck down before her mercilessly. She couldn't even remember the face of the human that did it.
In that second, Blake wished she didn't stop the blade. She wished every damn human suffered the same fate that she did. Yet, she did stop the blade-Adam's blade. The blade of her partner. The blade of the man who took her in when she was starving in alley ways because she couldn't manage to steal the tuna from the docks that day. Tears began to flow down her eyes.
Adam loosened his grip and allowed his sword to limply dangle from his wrist. He swiped the remaining blood off and sheathed it. The clicking of the hand guard snapped Blake into reality.
"A-Adam! I-I'm" she said as her savior walked to the next cart. He looked back.
"Do that again. And I'll kill you." He disappeared behind the connecting doors. Blake watched the door, expecting him to come back and make it all better like he did many years ago. But, Blake knew. Nothing would be the same now.
She looked once more at the children cowering below her. There faces were covered with blood and their teeth were ripping out of their lips like jagged daggers. They pounced at Blake. Instantly, Blake drew her blade.
Before Blake awoke, all she could remember was those teeth sinking into her neck.
Ruby jolted when she heard Blake scream. It didn't sound like the surprised kind of scream either. It sounded like she was scared for her life. Ruby didn't realize that a simple pinch in the back of Blake's neck would scare her so much. "I'm sorry!" Ruby blurted as the brunette held her heart and panted heavily. Ruby could see the beads of sweat flowing down her forehead. "It's just you fell asleep during our book report! I didn't want to wake you, but it was getting late and I figured you'd like to go back to the dorm and sleep there instead. But, it's totally OK if you want to sleep here. I mean not that you have to. I'm sorry! Just go back to sleep if you want to!"
"It's fine, Ruby" Blake said mustering a weak smile. "It was just a bad dream. I'm fine really." She retrieved a handkerchief from her blouse pocket to dab her sweat away and realized her hands were shaking vigorously. She clasped her hands together in hopes that it would stop. But, the shaking just became worse. The same tears in her dream also began to appear. Blake realized that she was having a panic attack.
Without second thought, Ruby embraced Blake. Other students in the library were shocked and gawked at the sudden affection. But, Ruby didn't care. Her reputation at Beacon was non-existent to begin with. Regardless, she felt this was what a leader should do for her teammates.
Blake's symptoms subsided over time. She realized halfway through the ordeal that her head was against Ruby's chest and her arms were wrapped around her like a kind mother's. She was ashamed that her tears had stained Ruby's uniform and that her clawing grip had wrinkled it.
Blake focused on Ruby's heart beat for no particular reason. All she could remember is that she wanted her fear to end and Ruby's beating heart was the only thing to distract her. After fifteen minutes, Blake was confident that she could function normally.
Ruby let go of Blake upon her request, although she still stayed intimately close in case she was about to relapse. "Thank you," Blake said. Her voice was still shaky, but Ruby felt the confidence returning to her voice.
"Hey! No problem. That's what I'm here for." Blake smiled warmly.
"Let's head back," she said while adjusting her bow. "I'm kind of hungry." Ruby giggled. Only Blake would blush by admitting she's hungry.
"Sure. I'm starving too!" As Ruby stood, she felt a warm feeling surround her cheek. Blake laid her lips on Ruby's forehead and her lips puckered for several seconds, before sliding her hand off of her cheek.
"Thanks again, Ruby," Blake said, staring into Ruby's eyes.
"N-no problem!" Ruby Rose turned ruby red.