Alright, so this is kinda sudden but i I had the idea for this piece yesterday and I figured why not. A few people seemed to like Come Back to Me despite my poor opinion of that work, so I've taken up the habit of writing smaller works for all of those ideas I think of but don't really think deserve being written.
Its not well written due to me writing a little bit of it yesterday and hammering out the rest today.
Its not my best work, its not horrendous (i think) but its not great either. I'll settle for saying that this piece is decent, not good, not bad, but decent. It is kinda long with a little over 9500 words , but i think its manageable for a single read.
I'm not gonna get much more into it, any errors are entirely my fault as I only quickly skimmed it as my final proof read.
I have nothing else to report so enjoy.
Pardon My Intrusion
The first sensation that hit Blake's faunus enhanced senses was the smell of disinfectant. The room reeked of potent odor of bacterial death due to chemicals. It washed over her and clung to her flesh, as if she had bathed in bleach.
The next one was the blinding light above her, it cut through her eyelids to burn the retinas resting behind them. She scrunched her eyes close harder to block out the insistent rays of light.
It took some time to adjust to the barrage of sensory information that was bombarding her, but after attempting to open her eyes and failing when she winced at the bright light above, someone flicked a switch and turned it off. In that instant, Blake knew she wasn't alone, the worse case scenario played through her mind. Maybe Adam had captured her. She attempted to reach for her weapon, which usually rested on her back, but the muscles in her arms protested against the movement.
A voice cut through her panicked mind.
"Relax Mrs. Belladonna, I'm not going to hurt you."
Blake knew that voice, her head and eyes snapped towards the sound. There sat Glynda, her emerald eyes were as calm as ever, her posture even more so. But when she glanced away from Blake, to the far side of the room, a flash of worry crossed her features. Blake, following Glynda's line of sight to the other side of the room, nearly gasped when she saw her team leader, Ruby, lying in the hospital bed next to her.
The younger girl was covered in bandages, most of which were stained with a brownish-red hue; wires and an IV were connected to what little flesh remained uncovered. The wires connecting to a monitor that rest on a cart on the far side of the bed, it displayed: heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate and volume, as well as aura levels.
What caught Blake's eye the most was the aura meter because it was completely empty, normally when someone gets hurt and falls unconscious the body continues to regenerate their aura to assist with wound healing. But Ruby's meter was at zero, even if the younger girl had been drained of all her aura, it wouldn't remain at zero for so long, it would only do that if the person were dead.
Fear suddenly gripped Blake's heart, her own heart rate spiking in turn. Her gaze snapped back to Glynda, who was watching the onyx haired girl carefully, with a question on her lips. Before she could speak Glynda answered her unspoken question.
"No, Mrs. Rose is not dead, you can see her heart is beating just fine." Blake glanced back at Ruby's monitor; indeed her heart was still beating. Blake cleared her throat before responding.
"Why is her aura so low? Why is she so injured? I remember we were on a routine mission to clear the forest of grim … but why is she like that when I'm just fine?"
Blake gestured to her own body which was unmarked by any wound, her muscles were still sore but aside from that she was unharmed. Glynda stood from her chair and moved to sit on the edge of Blake's bed. The older blonde seemed to struggle with her words at first but found her resolve before continuing.
"You two were in … an incident. From what we gathered from your other two teammates, you and Mrs. Rose had been separated from the rest of your team. You fought well and struck down many grim, but a Nevermore ambushed you two. Somehow it identified Ruby as the one who killed it brethren, from initiation, and targeted her. You jumped in front of her to protect her from the incoming attack … Is everything I've said so far accurate?" Blake nodded mutely, the memories of the attack coming back hauntingly vivid with Glynda's retelling.
"From here on out are only my speculations as to what happened. You flared your aura to brace for the impact of the Nevermore's feathers, at the same time Mrs. Rose did as well. Both of your auras expanded out to form a shield of sorts, and in that instant your two auras fused … but it wasn't enough. Eventually the razor sharp feathers tore through the shield and bombarded the two of you-"
Blake could feel the stabbing pain that seemed to cover her entire body resurface as the memories flooded her mind.
"When the emergency evacuation ship picked up the you both, you Mrs. Belladonna, were completely shredded with too many wounds to count. The EMT's were ready to give up on you, given how much of your blood you had lost. Mrs. Rose on the other hand was in better condition, but was still in a critical state. Only a few dozen of the feathers that had pierced through you hit her. The initial prognosis for you two stated there was a very high chance we would lose you both …"
Bile surged up Blake's throat. She had stepping in front of Ruby to save her, but in the end she only succeeded in nearly killing the both of them. She washed down the bile with the water that Glynda offered to her before nodding to the blonde for her to continue.
"One of the EMT's noticed that your aura was pulsating, as well as giving off a dull glow. They reported seeing the blood pouring from you wounds stop all at once. Your blood pressure and heart rate began to climb to stable ranges, and your breathing evened out. You're aura appeared to have been kicked into overdrive, for it returned twice as early as normal and was healing you at rates never before seen … but Mrs. Rose on the other hand was only getting worse. Her aura had yet to kick in like yours did. Had Mrs. Xiao-Long not been present to supplement Mrs. Rose's aura with her own, we would have lost her."
Blake had to bite back tears at the prospect of losing Ruby. The young prodigy was irreplaceable in their team and in her heart.
"But when the ship reached the hospital things got worse. The staff called Taiyang when Ruby's condition didn't improve and when Mrs. Xiao-Long became exhausted from pushing her aura into her sister. When he did arrive we discovered …something." Glynda readjusted her glasses before continuing.
"Taiyang, who is well versed in aura control, was able to push more aura into Mrs. Rose than her sister could … it was then that we found out why you were recovering and Ruby was not. When Taiyang pushed his aura onto Mrs. Rose, rather than seeing a drastic improvement in her condition, we saw a near miraculous recovery from you. In a matter of seconds nearly all of your wounds were completely healed, not even scar tissue remained …"
"We suspect that when your auras merged a link was formed. This link allowed for the two of you to form a barrier stronger than either of you could have achieved alone. This link persists even now between you two." Blake was stunned into silence, she had never heard of an aura link forming between two people. Before she could fully process this revelation, Glynda continued.
"The incident with the Nevermore, followed by your and Ms. Rose's arrival to this establishment … occurred less than 30 minutes ago."
Blake felt as if Yang had puncher her in the gut with all her strength, as the air left her lungs.
30 minutes … I went from deaths door to completely healthy in a matter of hours, no less than an hour … but how? In terms of aura, I've always been a sprinter, never being able to sustain my aura for longer than a few seconds. Hell, I can only activate my semblance for a brief instant. No matter how you look at it my aura isn't capable of mass tissue regeneration of this scale in a matter of 30 minutes.
And why is Ruby's condition even worse, if no one else I would expect Ruby to be able to maintain her aura for long enough to-
Horror took root in Blake's features. She slowly turned her head back towards her team leader. The younger girl's aura meter still read zero. The bandages wrapped around her petite body were soaked in perspiration and blood, the look of strain on her face was all the confirmation Blake needed.
Glynda watched Blake with a careful eye, not daring to interrupt her student.
Before denial could set in Blake decided to test the link Glynda spoke about. She reached for her aura, only to release an audible gasp at how much was within reach. Never before in her life had she ever felt so much before, she had gotten used to having to make the best of her miniscule capacity.
The amount of aura within her served as a momentary distraction, she returned to her original goal and pulled out a small amount of this new pool of aura and pushed it out of her body. The aura easily slid in the direction of her unconscious team leader. Blake pushed her aura through this path that seemed to lead directly to Ruby, until she saw the younger girl's body glow with the characteristic light of an aura. When she checked Ruby's monitor her aura meter had a sliver on the far left side of the previously empty bar.
Blake released a relieved bark of laughter before pushing the rest of the portion of aura into Ruby. The bar crept along until it stopped just below the halfway mark. The injuries marring Ruby's face began to slowly close, and the pained expression disappeared as well. Blake released the tension in her body and eased back her aura, satisfied that Ruby had enough aura to heal herself.
But the moment Blake released the aura she was pushing into Ruby, the bar was quickly sapped back to zero, Blake could feel the aura she just pushed into Ruby flow back into her body. When the aura monitor hit zero once more an alarm sounded from the monitor. In an instant Ruby's attending doctor burst through the door, followed by a handful of nurses and other staff. Blake recoiled from the invisible connection she felt with Ruby when a stabbing pain in the crook of her arm cut through her mind.
In the next instant Blake felt as if her entire body was riddled with wounds all over again. She felt bandages tightening upon her skin, the jostling of her bed, as well as labored breaths hitting her face.
In her panic she turned to Glynda for help, only to find the blonde looking straight at her from across the room. In her peripheral she saw a woman lying in a bed, next to Glynda, with jet-black hair and cat ears atop her head. She snapped her head to the left to get a better look at the other woman, only to find the door next to her bed. Glynda had returned to her position at the foot of her bed, seemingly without moving a muscle.
A shout caused her to snap her head back to Ruby, the younger girl's bed was surrounded with medical staff busily checking her vitals. An out of breath nurse was leaning in close to Ruby's face, one hand held an eye open while the other flashed a flashlight on the eye to check for pupil contractions. Some of the nurses were redressing the bandages on her body, while another was hunched over Ruby's right arm with a needle already halfway into the younger girl's pale flesh.
A dizzying combination of worry, fear, shock and confusion swirled in Blake's head. A surge of heat washed over her skin, calling forth a slick layer of sweat in an instant. Her head felt light and heavy at the same time, and the edges of her vision began to go dark.
The sight of Glynda leaning towards her while calling her name was the last thing she saw before darkness swallowed her whole.
The swarm of grim around her never grew thin. No matter how many time she cut, slash or stabbed their numbers only seemed to grow. A Nevermore's screech pieced the sky and shook the ground, a cease in the endless onslaught allowed both her and the surrounding grim to look to the sky.
The harbinger of death circled high above, stalking its prey below. The surrounding grim halted their advance and instead formed a perimeter that destroyed any hope of escape. She felt her heart rate double when realization hit her. The flying death dealer above, as if sensing her epiphany, entered a vertical dive straight for her.
Her mind raced, trying to find an escape route, until a shout broke her concentration. Her head snapped upwards just in time to see the endless barrage of feathers hurtling towards her with impossible speed.
She closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
Suddenly a force knocked her down. The sickening sound of a thousand spears impaling on flesh filled her ears. Pain erupted from her body, littering her flesh from neck to toes. The heavy stench of blood filled the air above her, but when the air grew stale as the barrage continued, she realized something was hovering above her.
She slowly opened her eyes, fearing what she might find. A curtain of darkness draped over her face, but through the hazy she could see a body above her, the roots of feathers pierced through the body above, nearly missing herself. With a desperate puff of air she blew, what she realized was hair, from obstructing her vision.
Liquid pools of gold, devoid of life, bore into her pools of silver.
Blake jolted awake; this was the fifth night in a row for this nightmare. She felt her heart tripping along at an alarming rate, a thick layer of sweat covered her skin. It was always a haunting experience to see yourself die in a dream, but she knew from the familiar twinge of pain in her chest that it haunted her a million times more.
The onyx haired girl lied still in her bed, waiting in silence. The sound of small feet impacting with the hardwood flooring told her Ruby was up. A muffled sob and a sniffle cut through the silence, followed by the sharp intake of breath from Ruby, who was now holding her breathe. When no one stirred from their sleep, Ruby slowly made her way to the bathroom.
Blake was close behind her, her skill in stealth kept her hidden from Ruby's detection. The younger girl slipped into the bathroom and closed the door before turning on the light. Blake waited just outside. The younger girl turned on the sink and splashed some water on her face to get rid of the layer of sweat that covered it.
These nightmares were starting to take their toll on the younger girl; before Ruby even noticed them tears were streaming down her face. Without realizing it, she was sitting on the floor desperately trying to muffle her sobs so to not wake her teammates.
Blake entered the bathroom the moment she heard Ruby's cries. She slowly approached the younger girl on the floor, before kneeling down and collecting her in her arms. Blake whispered reassurances into Ruby's ear, all the while rubbing circles on her back. Ruby only sobbed harder and clung to her even more in response.
The older girl's heart broke a little bit every night upon seeing Ruby like this, so broken, so afraid. She felt the weight of Ruby's fear in her shoulders, tears of her own threatening to spill over.
No, I have to be strong, for Ruby. She needs me right now, and I am the only one who knows what she is going through. I wish I could take all this pain away, I wish I was the one who-
No, thinking like that doesn't help.
When a loud sob escaped between Ruby's lips, Blake instantly responded.
"Shh, its okay. I've got you. You've got me. We're both fine, we're both alive. Everything is going to be okay … everything's going to be okay."
Ruby nodded mutely as she buried her face in Blake's chest. Tears quickly stained her night shirt but she could hardly care. The sight of Ruby breaking in her arms made everything else insignificant and unimportant.
After some time Ruby finally passed out in her arms. With trained ease, Blake lifted her up into her arms with one arm supporting her back and the other lifting her by her bent knees. She was about to kick the closed bathroom door down to get out, but it opened from the other side.
The worried faces of Yang and Weiss peeked through the door. A silent question was on the lips of both women, but was cut off when Blake gave a curt shake of her head. They both sighed in resignation, sharing a worried look between the two of them, before moving into action.
This being the fifth nightmare in a row, all of them had learned their roles when their team leader cried herself into unconsciousness. Weiss walked over towards Ruby's bed to fix the blankets and return the discarded pillow to the bed. Yang moved to take Ruby from Blake's arms but was stopped when the onyx haired woman shook her head.
After the first couple times, the three teammates learned that only Yang was strong enough to lift Ruby's petite frame above her head and up onto the suspended bed. Yang gave her partner a puzzled look before hiking her thumb towards Ruby's bed. Blake responded with another shake of her head and nodded her head towards her own bed.
Yang and Weiss' eyebrows soared towards their hairline, but with no way to argue while being as quiet as possible, they just went along with it. Weiss retrieved Ruby's pillow and placed it on Blake's bed, alternating between the left and right of Blake's pillow before cocking her head in Blake's direction. Blake nodded her head to the left before Weiss settled the younger girl's pillow in to desired position. Yang pulled the blankets back and held Ruby while Blake settled down into her bed. The blonde leveled a mischievous smirk at Blake, who returned it with a glare of her own, before settling her baby sister down onto the sheets of Blake's bed.
Blake pulled the blanket up over both of them before tucking it under Ruby's chin. A look of worry passed over the younger girl's face, which prompted Blake to roll Ruby onto her side and pull the younger girl's back against her front, hugging her from behind. Yang released a muffled squeal at the adorable sight before receiving a well-aimed pillow to the face.
Being linked to her team leader, Blake could say, was something unlike anything she had ever experienced. She has always prided herself on being excellent at reading people, and knowing what they were thinking. It proved incredibly useful during duels and combat. But this was nothing like that.
The link that formed between them appeared to allow travel of more than just aura. Blake would often feel the emotions of the younger girl wash over her at random times. Like when the mention of lunch reached Ruby's ears, Blake would feel Ruby's nearly unbearable craving for cookies. Or when they were on their way to Professor Port's lecture, she felt Ruby's sense of dread form in her gut.
This continued for any number of occasions where raw emotion would overflow from the bubbly team leader. Those ill contained emotions would pour through their link and Blake would feel all of it. Of course, she had enough self-discipline to be able to differentiate from her own emotions and Ruby's. And it was that same self-discipline that prevented Ruby from being bombarded with a torrent of potentially confusing or scary foreign emotions from Blake.
Blake's upbringing in the slums of society made her both physically and mentally strong. She prided herself on her ability to emotionally detach herself from certain things, but Ruby was not one of them. Ruby was the only one who accepted her heritage from the start, who welcomed her into her heart with open arms and a shining smile. It was Ruby who wiggled her way into Blake heart, and by the end of initiation Blake knew she was falling. It wasn't until that night at the docks did Blake finally admit to herself that she had fallen for her team leader.
This whole experience only served to make Blake fall harder and harder for Ruby. There were times during lunch when Blake would be receiving happy and content vibes from Ruby, who was munching away at a stack of cookies, only to be caught off guard when a pang of worry shot through the link. Without lifting her head, Blake would glance up at Ruby to see her staring at the table with a worried look, only when Yang asked Ruby what was wrong, would Ruby point out that Blake wasn't eating.
The fact that Ruby was so worried about her skipping a meal, or that she felt such a powerful emotional response to Ruby's concern, proved to Blake how much she meant to Ruby. The younger girl could go from being on cloud nine with a plate full of cookies, to looking like a kicked puppy over something so small and insignificant, but the fact that it was her own health and safety that got Ruby so down made her fall for Ruby all the more.
Other times when Weiss, Yang or the members of team JNPR, would talk about certain embarrassing topics, one of which being dating, Blake could feel the embarrassment washing over Ruby. Underneath all of that flustered embarrassment, Blake could feel a hint of dread, which would resonate every time Ruby stole a glance at Blake.
Blake wasn't sure what to make of this phenomenon. She hoped it didn't mean that Ruby felt her overwhelming emotions and was dreading being asked out by her. She really hoped that wasn't it.
These kinds of thoughts plagued Blake endlessly; she worried about being found out by Ruby through their link. She trained even harder to keep her emotions in check, even seeking out the tutelage of Ren on how to meditate to control her emotions. It all seemed to help, because Ruby never reacted when Blake felt a surge of affection shoot through her. Ruby never flushed bright red when a less than innocent thought crossed Blake's mind during combat practice. So, Blake was pretty sure Ruby had no idea about her crush, which both relieved and worried her.
Everyday, Blake would analyze Ruby's unfiltered emotions, looking for any kind of hint that someone had caught the younger girl's eye. She could identify the familial love Ruby felt when Yang did something sweet for her. She felt the sisterly love when Weiss gave her a rare compliment, and she felt the content happiness that poured out of Ruby when they were all together. But she didn't know how Ruby felt when she was in love.
She couldn't really ask anyone else to explain the feeling, after all everyone experiences things differently. She knew how she felt when Ruby made an endearing comment, or did something extremely cute or adorable. But she had no frame of reference, but at the same time she didn't really want a frame of reference.
After debating with herself for several days Blake decided to go for it. She asked Ruby to meet her in the library after class to talk. Blake didn't miss the pang of worry that shot out of Ruby at the request, but she decided to not say anything else.
When she arrived at the library, a plate stacked high with cookies in her hands, she felt the familiar buzz that traveled up her spine telling her that Ruby could smell the cookies.
"Blake! Over here! Over here!" The younger girl received several annoyed glares in response to her raised voice, none of which she saw. Blake returned each of the glares angled at Ruby with her own terrifying stare, the onlookers quickly turned back to their studies when a shiver of fear hit each of them.
Blake set the cookies down on the far corner of the table, out of Ruby's reach, before sliding in the seat opposite her fidgeting team leader. Ruby lunged for the cookie stack, before Blake stiff-armed her in the face. The older girl too extra care to not harm Ruby, making sure her palm landed on the younger girl's forehead.
"Relax Ruby, you'll get the cookies, but first I want to run some experiments." Ruby stopped struggling before leaning back in her chair with a pout. Blake's swooned at the sight before she plucked one of the cookies from the stack and held it out to the younger girl.
Ruby reached for it, but Blake pulled it back at the last second.
"You can have it … but you must agree to help me." Ruby nodded fiercely. Blake gave her the cookie.
"You don't need to bribe me with cookies to help you, I would help you with anything anytime." Ruby mumbled around her cookie. Blake's heart melted at the comment, but acted as if she didn't hear.
"Okay, so I want to test this link-thing that Glynda told us about. She said that while aura can be shared between the link there is a possibility for other things to be shared as well. I wanted to wait until we both were sleeping better and had a good nights rest before testing out this link."
Blake gave a wry smile to Ruby, who returned it with equal unease. Last night was the second night in a row where Ruby wasn't plagued with that nightmare. It was only a coincidence that the nightmares stopped when both of them started sleeping in the same bed. Blake's constant presence seemed to keep the nightmares at bay, which was something both of them were grateful for.
"Have the nightmares stopped for you too?" Blake nodded her head. "That's good! But isn't it kinda weird that both of our nightmares stopped around the same time?"
A pang of worry shot through Blake, one that she desperately hoped Ruby didn't feel. Ruby didn't know that Blake felt so much through the link. Blake, Yang and Weiss decided that it may cause Ruby unneeded stress if she knew, and so the three of them kept Glynda's debriefing between the three of them.
"Maybe this link goes deeper than we initially thought?" Blake feigned ignorance, all the while hoping that Ruby dropped it.
"Maybe … I hope its not, like, showing you my nightmares or something, I'd be so embarrassed if you saw how childish my dreams are, especially the ones I got after the accident. They were so stupid and childish, I had no reason to be crying over them." Ruby released a laugh that sounded entirely forced, while Blake could only frown.
Your nightmares were far from childish. They made me cry the first few times I saw them. Oh Ruby, you have nothing to be ashamed about. If I were a better teammate, a better friend, I would help you allay those insecurities of yours, but I can't without revealing how much I receive through the link.
"Anyways, I wanted to see if I could feel some emotions through the link. Glynda said that raw emotions might be transferable. So these cookies are to help motivate you."
"You're all the motivation I'd need though" Ruby's mumble was nearly inaudible, not even Blake's faunus enhanced hearing picked it up.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Ruby could only blush and shake her head no.
"Okay, well first I want to start with something simple." Blake plucked another cookie from the pile. "Can you think about the happiest time of your life? A time you were really, really, really happy?"
Ruby responded with a blush. Blake could feel Ruby hesitating through the link.
"You don't have to tell me what it is if you don't want to. I just want to see if I can feel anything through the link …" She felt the tension leave Ruby's emotions, before an incomprehensible wave of joy washed over her. Ruby was actively pushing the emotions through the link trying to let Blake feel them. Blake, who had grown accustomed to the small vibrations of emotions that leaked through the link when Ruby felt something powerful, was ill prepared for the torrent of emotions now being forced onto her.
Before the happiness radiating off Ruby could overwhelm her, Blake gave her the cookie, and the link shrunk back to its normal flow.
"Could you feel it?" Ruby asked, while happily munching on the cookie.
"Yes, I could. You were really, really happy. What were you thinking about?" Ruby's only response was a bright red blush. Blake felt worry trickle through the link. She caught herself before she scared the younger girl off.
"Ah, that's right, I said you didn't have to tell me if you didn't feel like it." Ruby emotionally and visibly relaxed.
"Alright, next-" Blake lifted the next cookie. "I want you to think about a time when you were really sad … if you want to skip this one you can." Ruby shook her head once before focusing her eyes on the table between them.
Slower than last time, the link swelled to accommodate the swell of emotions being forced through it. Before Blake could even feel the emotions she knew she was going to regret asking this one. A crushing despair slammed down over her head, like a breaking wave crashing over her, it drowned out everything else in the room. Blake could feel her heart aching from the strain; she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She felt like bringing her knees to her chest and sobbing her heart out.
All the while, Ruby's stare bore holes into the table. The younger girl was deathly still, her face not showing any of the emotions currently assaulting Blake. For a brief moment Blake thought that such a face on the younger girl would give her nightmares, before another heavier wave of despair crashed down upon her again. Blake felt like she was drowning in sadness, she could hardly breath from the weight of the emotions, and her beating heart filled her throat and ears.
Through the emotional bombardment, Blake glanced up at Ruby, only to find the younger girl's eyes brimming with tears. With the torrent of emotions sapping her strength, she mustered what little was left to lifted her arm and pushed the cookie into Ruby's mouth. The sudden sensation of sugar and cookie on her taste buds shook Ruby from her depressed mood and brought the color back to her face. With the halting of the overpowering sadness pouring through the link, Blake could feel it beginning to drain away.
What on earth could have caused Ruby so much sadness? No one as sweet, kind, caring, and cute as Ruby should ever have to face anything like that. If we ever get together … no even if she doesn't return my feelings I will do everything in my power to help her forget that sadness. I fear what such sadness would do to sweet innocent Ruby if she were left alone with those thoughts.
Blake made a silent resolution to make Ruby so happy she would forget all of that sadness, before speaking again.
"Ruby … if you don't want to relive something, you don't have to … I care more about you and your wellbeing than the outcome of this experiment …" Blake's heart melted at the sensation that flowed through the link. She had yet to put a name on it, but it was one of the most pleasant sensations she felt from Ruby and she only felt it on rare occasions.
"I'm okay Blake … I was just thinking about-" Blake popped another cookie into Ruby's mouth when she felt that same heavy feeling trickling through the link.
"You don't have to tell me. Lets just move on." Ruby happily munched on the cookie, all the while nodding.
"Okay, next I'm going to say some names. I want you to take the first emotion you feel and try to push it through the link. Can you do that?"
"I'll try."
"Ready?"
"I was born ready!" Blake released a light giggle.
"Yang."
The sensation of unconditional love flowed through the link. Ruby truly did love her sister, there were traces of annoyance or worry, but the dominating emotion was compassion.
"Weiss."
Ruby hesitated for a brief moment, before emotions similar to Yang's flowed through the link. It was slightly less intense than Yang's and the balance between compassion and annoyance was leaning more towards the latter. But all in all Ruby saw Weiss as a slightly more annoying and frustrating older sister, like Yang.
"Me."
Again Ruby hesitated, only this time for a half a second longer. Eventually that same unidentified feeling passed through the link. Only this time it was much more full and complete. It filled Blake completely, leaving her skin abuzz and her heart fluttering at the sensation. It was hard to breath, but not in an unpleasant way. She felt her eyes glaze over as a pleasant hazy descended upon her mind, at the same time a pleasantly painful ache started in her chest.
Blake shook her head to clear her thoughts, before continuing.
After going through a long list of people, ranging from Nora to Cardin, even including Ozpin, Blake finally let Ruby rest. Her treat for sticking through the entire list was the rest of the cookies on the plate. Blake confiscated one cookie for the final test.
"Alright Ruby, this is the last one I want to test, but it's a little bit different that the other ones … do you have anyone you like?" Ruby was visibly taken aback by the question. Blake powered through the awkwardness.
"Do you have anyone that you like-like? As in, are you in love with anyone?" At this point Ruby was sporting a blush to match her cloak. She had yet to shake her head no, prompting a lump to form in Blake's throat, which prevented her from inquiring further.
Ruby's emotions were all over the place, Blake couldn't make heads or tails of it. After a short silence, Blake cleared her throat to tell Ruby to forget it, but Ruby nodded shyly before she could speak. A new lump formed in Blake's throat, this time for an entirely different reason.
I'm too late. She already likes someone. She already loves someone. She is already in love with someone else. I'm so dumb, I should have acted sooner … I should have-
Before her thoughts got away form her, Blake cleared her mind and motioned for Ruby to push the feeling through the link.
Blake released a gasp when a familiar feeling poured through the link. It was the same feeling that made her skin buzz in pleasure. It made her spine tingling. Her heart fluttered and that same feeling blossomed through her chest. It was the same sensation that Ruby pushed when Blake had asked her to think about her.
Oh dust … she's in love with … me!
The gasp that Blake released startled Ruby. Who took the sound badly and immediately stood to flee. The younger girl became a blur of rose petals as she bolted out of the library. Blake was too lost in her own world to notice the angry glares from those around her.
She loves me! That feeling she got when I said I care more about her than the experiment … and the time I bought her a giant cookie for being released from the hospital … and the time when she first woke up and found me sitting next to her perfectly fine … Oh dust, I should have noticed it sooner. I … I need to confess, Ruby deserves to know. I … I kinda wish I was brave enough to confess before I knew she liked my back though … No, no. Don't think like that. Stand up, track down Ruby and tell her you love her.
Blake stood from her chair with such force, the wooden structure of the seat tumbled across the library floor. The surrounding students cringed at the sound of wood scrapping across the floor. When they turned to the onyx haired girl who caused the racket, she was gone, and the library door closing in the next instant.
"C'mon Ruby, you can't just tackle me with a bear hug mid-stride with your semblance powered full blast! If it was anyone other than me you would have killed them!" The brunette in Yang arms had her face buried in her ample chest. A low mumble escaped the younger girl's mouth, but it was indecipherable.
"Ruby …" Yang pushed her baby sister away by the shoulders, but when Ruby refused to meet her eye, Yang lifted her chin with her hand.
"Ruby … what's wrong? What happened?" The tears in Ruby's eyes told the blonde that something happened. She knew her temper was prone to go out of control when it came to anyone hurting Ruby, but she held out hope that it was something far less harmful than bullying.
"B- … Blake and I were in the library … she wanted to run an experiment on our aura-link-thingy …"
Yang released a sigh of relief. If Blake was involved it couldn't possibly have been that bad. Yang was fully aware of Blake's intentions towards her sister, she already went 'big-sister-mode' on her and threatened her life should she hurt Ruby. The way Blake trembled in fear when she shook her hand at the end of it had told the blonde that Blake would sooner die than hurt Ruby. Yang cleared her throat before speaking again.
"Yeah? What did you and Blakey test?"
Ruby sniffled once before responding. "First she wanted me to think of times when I was happy or sad, then push it through the link."
"Okay, what did you think about?" Ruby's only response was a shake of her head.
"Ruby … you can tell me anything. I know I have a tendency to tease you, but I promise I won't if this is really bothering you. What did you think about?" Ruby hesitated, but the worry in Yang's lilac eyes destroyed the younger girl's resolve.
"When she asked me to think about something happy … I thought about Crescent Rose, I thought about y-you-" Yang squealed in delight as she squeezed Ruby against her. "-and Weiss." Yang's breath hitched, a blush slowly creeping up her neck, Ruby's knowing look certainly did not help. "And I thought about having what you two have with the person I like."
Yang nodded for her to continue. She promised she wouldn't tease Ruby about this, so she decided to not level her sister with a knowing gaze of her own.
"When Blake asked me to think of something sad … I … I thought about … Mom." Yang tightened her hold on Ruby just a little bit, enough to tell the younger girl that she was there for her.
"I thought about the incident … I imagined what it would have felt like if it happened differently. I imagined Blake pushing me out of the way, rather than shielding me. I imagined what would have happened if I hadn't willed so much aura into Blake right before passing out … I imagined waking up in the hospital only to find that Blake had d- … died."
Ruby's sobbing renewed. Yang tucked her baby sister head back under her chin and slowly rocked her back and forth. After a few moments, Ruby calmed down enough to continue.
"Next she asked me to think about you … and Weiss … and her … and a bunch of other people. At the end she asked me to think about who I like." Ruby ducked her head down against Yang's chest, the confused blonde had to pry her sister away from her before speaking.
"That's it? Then why are you crying?" Ruby shook her head.
"Because she figured it out. She figured out my sick, twisted feelings."
"You stop right there Ruby Rose. I absolutely forbid you from ever describing anything about yourself as sick, or twisted. You are my badass, super smart, adorable, weapon-nut of a sister, and I won't stand for you degrading yourself!"
"But-"
"No buts, you hear me?!" Ruby nodded.
"Now, what feelings did she figure out?" Yang was still in her over-protective mode and was using her intimidating voice, so Ruby had no choice but to explain.
"She- … Blake figured out that I like her … that I like-like her … she figured it out and gasped in disgusted shock." Yang's head was spinning, trying desperately to comprehend that her sister like-likes Blake, who has been crushing on her for quite a long time now. Yang was so surprised the second half of Ruby's statement was pushed to the back of her mind. The gossip monster within her was drooling for the details, and took over before she could control herself.
"Since when?" Ruby's face displayed her confusion and puzzlement.
"Since when did you know you like-liked her?!"
"Oh … since initiation, the way she took on the Nevermore all by herself after swinging across the ravine. She was so cool and calm. After initiation I knew I liked her, but it wasn't until later that I found out I like-liked her- … Wait you're getting off topic! She doesn't feel the same! But now she knows how I feel and its going to ruin Team RWBY, Blake's gonna leave, you and Weiss are gonna elope, and I'm gonna be left here to be the laughing stock of what is left of Team RWBY!"
Yang nearly doubled over in laughter, nearly.
Blake chose that moment to burst through the dorm room door, looking flustered and out of breathe. Ruby jumped in surprise from the sound of the door slamming against the wall. Her adrenalin was pumping and her semblance was active before she could register who burst through the door. As she spun, Ruby caught sight of jet-black hair and a pair of amber eyes.
Her nerves were shot from explaining things to Yang, so she opted to escape. The only way out was the now open door behind Blake. With her aura flared and her semblance on at full blast, Ruby bolted for the space between Blake's right side and the doorframe, but Blake slid into her path. Ruby spun, changing the trajectory of her escape to the other side of the door. But just as she planted her foot to lunge through the door and escape, a force slammed into her body.
The impact sent the younger girl to the ground, with Blake on top of her. The onyx haired girl immediately grabbed Ruby's wrists and pinned them to either side of her head. Blake positioned her feet to rest over Ruby's legs to prevent her from lifting them, and her pelvis held down Ruby's.
The younger girl was efficiently and perfectly trapped, but that didn't stop her from fighting back. She desperately tried to lift Blake off of her, even going as far as to flare her aura to boost her strength. But Blake simply flared her own aura to counteract Ruby's. Eventually Ruby became exhausted, and she stopped struggling.
Blake's amber eyes locked onto Ruby's own silver ones. The older girl's face was emotionless, but Ruby swore she saw anger in Blake's features. Ruby flinched when Blake leaned towards her to reposition her body to a more comfortable orientation. The flinch did not go unnoticed by Blake, her brows furrowed in worry and her eyes filled with sadness.
Ruby felt a painful twinge in her chest at the look Blake was giving her, but opted to speak rather than let her regret consume her.
"Let me go Blake! I know you don't- … I know that I can't- … I … I just know … okay? I know, so let me go!" Ruby started struggling anew, but halted when Blake put all her weight on to her restraints. This time, an angry flare really did pass through Blake's features.
"You don't know anything." The tranquil fury in Blake's voice sent a shiver of fear up Ruby's spine.
Ruby could feel a fire beginning to boil in her chest, she felt so angry, so frustrated. Why?
"You don't understand! You never did and you never will! I hate you! Let go of me! NOW!" Blake flinched at Ruby's sudden outburst.
The lapse in Blake's concentration gave Ruby enough time to throw the older girl off of her, but Blake activated her semblance and recovered before Ruby could reach the door. She tackled Ruby to the ground again, this time wrapping her arms and legs around Ruby from behind to restrain her. All the while Blake's thoughts were racing.
Why is she so angry? I'm the one who should be angry, she keeps avoiding me! Does … does she really hate me now? Is what I felt earlier … hatred? Why? What did I do wrong?! Why does she hate me?!
Sadness and grief gripped Blake's heart. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her grip on Ruby released, but the younger girl didn't flee. When Blake opened her eyes to look at Ruby, she found the young brunette sitting up and facing her. Ruby's hands were shaking as tears poured from her eyes. A look of confused terror was etched on her features. Ruby took a shallow breath before whispering out.
"What is happening to me? I was so angry just a second ago, and now I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest … why did I say that? I didn't mean it, I just felt so angry … but why?" Ruby broke down into sobs once more, just as a wave of comprehension swept across Blake's mind.
Blake's sadness was extinguished instantly, immediately followed by Ruby's halted sobbing. Blake crawled over to the stunned and confused Ruby, before climbing on top of the younger girl, pinning her to the ground just as she did the first time.
Blake leaned down so that her face aligned with Ruby's, their eyes locked together in silence. Blake took a deep breath, closing her eyes and gathering her resolve, before opening her eyes once more.
Blake poured her all through the link. After weeks of holding everything back, of hiding everything from Ruby and the link, it was such a relief to release it all. Blake pour all of her feelings through the link, her admiration for Ruby, her reverence, her respect, and her love. When Ruby's eyes dilated and her breath hitched, Blake bore down upon her through the link several fold.
The sheer volume of love and compassion flooding into her body made Ruby's head swim and stole her breathe away. Her entire body buzzed with energy and excitement, she skin was tingling and numb, yet grew sensitive to the feel of Blake's skin against her own.
A weight bore down upon her chest, crushing her heart, yet the pain was pleasant. If the weight were going to crush her to death she would gladly submit to the blissful feeling it gave while doing so. Hot air filled her lungs, and no matter how quickly she breathed, it only seemed to grow hotter. Her heart was trying to beat out of her chest, each beat echoed in her ears.
Underneath all of the new and blissful feelings filling her now, Ruby felt a pleasant calm settle over her mind. As if all of her problems were gone and the issue from moments ago was resolved, she didn't know why but she felt like she had a very happy future ahead of her, in her bliss Ruby felt herself pushing back against the torrent of emotions that were washing over her. She wasn't fighting them, she was reciprocating them.
Blake could see and feel what she was doing to Ruby. She could also feel how happy this all made the younger girl feel. As she forced every last bit of love and affection she felt through the link, she was caught off guard when she felt those same vibes of adoration and love rebounding back through the link. Ruby was gazing up at her with piercing eyes and a brilliant smile that washed away any doubt of fear Blake had.
Blake leaned down, just as Ruby lifted her head. Just before meeting in the middle both girls whispered to each other.
"I love you, Ruby."
"I love you, Blake."
Before meeting in a seering kiss.
Blake instantly decided that kissing Ruby, while pushing their feelings through the link into each other, was the greatest thing on the planet. Better than tuna salad, big empty boxes, and catnip. To Ruby, the taste of Blake's lips was a million times better than any cookie or sweet.
Both girls desperately wanted the kiss to last forever, but the sound of a wolf-whistle broke the moment. Blake sat up, resting down on Ruby's lap, while Ruby propped herself up on her elbows. Both girls eased off the link, except Blake who kept a constant and steady flow of adoration flowing through the link. Ruby smiled in response before sending through a burst of love to Blake. Both girls quickly got lost in each other's eyes, only to be dragged from this blissful moment again, by the sound of a camera shutter.
Yang was a short ways away; sprawled across Weiss' bed, scroll in hand. A mischievous smirk was plastered across a furiously blushing face. Noticing she was discovered, Yang quickly sent the picture to Weiss before her scroll could be taken. But neither Blake nor Ruby moved to grab the device and delete the picture.
Blake flipped her hair and cleared her throat before speaking up.
"You better send that picture to me later Yang. I'm going to save it for the rest of my life." Ruby blushed in response before Blake mashed their lips together again, as she pushed the younger girl to the ground once more. All the while Yang was snapping picture after picture of her partner and sister making out on the dorm room floor.
"So let me get this straight-"
"None of us are straight!"
"Yang!"
Weiss's flustered face was met with a cheeky grin from Yang. Blake and Ruby were sitting on Blake's bed across the room. Ruby was in Blake's lap, as the two of them watched the bickering couple go back and forth. Ruby leaned back into Blake, sending a small puff of content happiness through the link when Blake wrapped her arms around her smaller frame. Ruby felt the rumble of Blake's voice reverberate through her back before she heard what her girlfriend said.
"They are so cute together." Ruby responded without thinking.
"Nothing will ever be as cute as you though." Blake squeezed Ruby to her a little tighter as the compliment.
"Actually, there is one thing that I think is cuter than me …"
"Oh yeah?" Ruby countered, a knowing smile already dancing upon her lips.
"You." Blake nuzzled the nape of Ruby neck, eliciting a giggle from the younger girl.
An uneasy feeling settled over the seated couple. Blake hesitated to speak, Ruby felt her nerves and turned around in Blake lap so that she was straddling Blake.
"Something on your mind?" Ruby wrapped her arms around Blake's neck, securing her hands behind her head.
"It's … its about the operation." A look of understanding flashed across Ruby's face.
"I know where I stand concerning it, but you haven't told me if you want to go through with it or not." A pout formed on Ruby's lips, Blake could hardly resist the urge to devour those impossibly soft and silky lips, but the matter at hand needed to be addressed.
Before Blake could speak, Ruby broke her pout to speak.
"Yeah, well, you may have figured out 'where you stand' but you've refused to share your decision with me!" Blake's cat ears fell flat against her head, a look of regret washed over her face as her eyes diverted from Ruby's.
The younger girl unclasped her hands from behind Blake's head and brought them up to either side of Blake's face, firmly planting her palms against Blake's cheeks. She used the new position of her hands to tilt Blake's head and gaze back until their eyes met once more. Blake's emotions were going haywire through the link, Ruby could feel the struggle raging on within her girlfriend heart, so she patiently waited for Blake to figure things out.
"I just don't want to pressure you into going one way or another …" Ruby huffed in exacerbation.
"Fine. I already decided what I want too. So why don't we say what we each want at the same time, like adults." Blake released a giggle at Ruby's attempt to be more adult like.
"Okay Ruby … just … you know that I love you, right?" Ruby beamed back at her girlfriend.
"Of course, and I love you just as much, if not more!" Blake smiled before leaning in to give Ruby a small peck on her lips.
When they pulled back both girl took a deep breath. Ruby spoke first.
"Okay, so the question is ... do we want to get the link cut?"
Both girls nodded to each other before answering, Blake's answer was a half a second earlier than Ruby's.
"No."
"Yes."
Pure fear bloomed over Blake's face, before she could pry the younger girl off of her Ruby voice burst out.
"Wait! I meant no! I meant no! I thought you were going to say yes, and I wanted to go with whatever you wanted, so I said yes! But no, I really don't want it cut. I love being able to share even the simplest feelings with you without words. It makes us closer than any couple ever! I really, really, really, really, really love you! I meant to say no! Please believe me Blake-"
Ruby was cut off when Blake mashed their lips together. A content sigh escaped from Ruby as she melted into her girlfriend's embrace. The kiss went on, for what seemed like hours before Blake pulled back. Blake recovered from the extended kiss first and spoke up in a forgiving tone.
"I know you meant to say 'no.' I could feel you regretting your answer before you said it. It just took me a minute to put two and two together. So we're both in agreement? We're not going through with it?" Ruby beamed at Blake again, nodding her head vigorously.
"Thank Dust! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry Blakey … can you forgive me?" Ruby gave her the puppy dog eyes, even though Blake had an aversion to dogs the look was still irresistible to her. A sinister thought flashed across Blake's mind as a creepy smile wormed its way through her lips.
"Of course I can … after you receive your punishment!" Blake lift Ruby from her lap before tumbling down on the bed. The older girl proceeded to tickle Ruby all over, a smile never left her face. Ruby squealed and bucked beneath her desperate for peace, or air.
On the other side of the room Yang and Weiss were sitting on the heiress' bed hand in hand, they were watching the adorable sight of Blake and Ruby waging a tickle war, all thoughts of operations or tough relationship decisions wiped from their minds. They were simply happy and together, and they would continue to be so for a long time to come.
Weiss broke the silence between her and Yang as she leaned her head on her shoulder and squeezed her girlfriend's hand once.
"They are so cute together."
End of Pardon My Intrusion