Ruby had to admit, Weiss' wedding was beautiful. Weiss herself was even more beautiful as she kissed the man who was now her husband. Standing at her place as the maid of honor, Ruby wiped away a stray tear as she applauded for her former teammate and best friend. Yang and Blake, the other bridesmaids, were cheering for their friend and former teammate from their spots next to Ruby. All three of them were wearing simple yet elegant gowns that matched their unique hair colors. Well, all four of them if you also counted Weiss' white wedding dress.
"I'm so happy for you, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, pulling Weiss into a hug as soon as the wedding reception started. Ruby wiped away another tear that had leaked out of her eye as she pulled away.
"Thank you so much for coming, Ruby." Weiss responded with a smile. "I was so worried you wouldn't make it because of that job in Atlas." Weiss rubbed under her eyes to keep tears of happiness from falling as Ruby's had. The head of the Schnee Dust Company had spent many restless nights worrying whether her best and closest friend would finish her work as a huntress in Atlas in time for her wedding. It wouldn't have felt right without Ruby there. But Ruby had pulled through at the last minute, as she always had.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Ruby assured her best friend.
I've never missed any of your weddings.
"Now hurry up and go see your man. You've got to have the first dance, remember!" Ruby laughed as she pushed Weiss towards her new husband. Ruby waved merrily as Weiss laughed and cheerfully made her way through the crowd to her husband. She greeted and graciously accepted the congratulations of all she passed, including Blake and Yang, who were each carrying a plate of food they had taken from the buffet line. Weiss managed to diplomatically and happily navigate the crowd of guests to her husband, arriving just in time for the first dance to start. The first song was familiar to Ruby; it was a heartfelt and beautiful love song that she had shown Weiss years ago when they were still students at Beacon. Weiss had insisted it was too sappy for her tastes when Ruby first introduced it to her, but Ruby had soon caught Weiss listening to it in private only days later. Even then, it took Weiss days more before she reluctantly admitted to Ruby that 'maybe the song is okay.'
While the newlyweds took the first dance in the center of the reception hall, Ruby's smile flickered as she gravitated towards the edge of the room to grab herself a drink. "Who would've thought that Weiss of all people would ever get married, right?" A voice asked jokingly from behind Ruby.
How many times have you told that joke now, Jaune? Not as many times as Weiss has gotten married, but close.
Ruby turned around as she made sure to stabilize her smile, greeting another old friend. "Watch what you say about my best friend there, Jaune." Ruby scolded playfully, giving the newly appointed teacher at Beacon a light punch on the arm. "And hello, Pyrrha, good to see you again." Ruby greeted with a quick hug to the married couple.
"Hello again." Pyrrha greeted courteously as she returned the hug.
Ruby was careful not to squeeze Pyrrha too hard, afraid of putting too much pressure on Pyrrha's very, very pregnant belly. "How are the twins doing?" Ruby asked conversationally.
"They're very energetic." Pyrrha said with a smile. "Though unfortunately that means I'm usually very tired as well," She added, fondly rubbing a hand over the bulge in her dress. "But I'm still doing better than Jaune." She finished with a giggle, giving her husband's hand a loving squeeze.
"This is so stressful." Jaune complained. "They're due any week now and I feel like I haven't gotten any sleep in months."
"How do you think Pyrrha feels?" A familiar voice laughed from behind Ruby. Yang had finally made her way to Ruby through the crowd, with Blake right behind her. The tall blond reached out and shook Jaune and Pyrrha's hands, unable to hug them while also holding a plate of charbroiled pork. Her Faunus girlfriend did the same, also unable to properly hug them while holding a plate neatly covered in slices of raw fish.
"She sleeps just fine." Jaune grumbled. "Out like a log all night, snoring and- umph!" Jaune's grumbled complaint was cut short as Pyrrha elbowed him in the side, smiling innocently all the while, giving everyone a laugh as Jaune doubled over.
We always laugh so joyfully at Weiss' weddings.
The first dance ended while the small group of old friends made their small talk; Weiss and her husband finishing up with a dramatic flair followed by a kiss. The audience applauded the skillful performance, many joining the newlyweds on the dance floor as the next song started up. Weiss and her husband separated after the song, each having promised other guests dances throughout the event.
Her husband gave his second dance to his thirteen year old sister, twirling the small girl around on his feet like a child, much to her embarrassment. Weiss, on the other hand, immediately and unerringly located Ruby in the crowd and dashed over to grab Ruby's wrist. "Come on, let's have a dance!" Weiss laughed giddily, dragging Ruby to the dance floor.
"I'm not really a dan-" Rub began to protest, but was immediately overruled by Weiss.
"It's my wedding. You have to do whatever I want." Weiss joked as she placed Ruby's hands on her waist and shoulder. Because Ruby was a full head taller than Weiss, the reluctant redhead instinctively took the lead. "See, I knew you remembered the lessons I gave you at Beacon." Weiss boasted triumphantly as they began dancing. Ruby smiled knowingly.
How could I forget? You've taught me hundreds of times.
Despite her earlier protests, Ruby easily slipped into the shoes of a dancer, surprising even Weiss. Their dance was graceful, natural. Like they had been made for each other. They mesmerized onlookers with their footwork, amazed with their spins, and dazzled with their twirls. Their dance was a show unto itself. But eventually the song ended, as all songs do, and the pair separated. Ruby gave a formal bow while Weiss curtsied, each holding their pose for only a moment before they couldn't contain their laughter at the silliness of the situation they found themselves in.
"That was fun." Weiss managed to gasp out through fits of laughter. "It's been a long time since you and I have had a chance to just have fun like this."
"Too long." Ruby agreed. "You were busy planning a wedding and running a company, and I was busy working as a huntress." Ruby shrugged. "But that doesn't mean we care about each other any less."
"You're right." Weiss said, embracing her best friend. "It means a lot to me that you could make it." She reiterated emotionally.
"No problem, I only had to cut a few corners on that last job." Ruby assured her lightheartedly, eliciting a chuckle from Weiss.
"Am I interrupting something?" A voice asked from over Ruby's shoulder. Both girls turned to see Blake standing there, now free of her earlier plate of fish. "Or may I have this dance?" She asked while giving a smile and a small bow to Weiss as she extended her hand in invitation.
"You may." Weiss giggled as she curtsied to her friend and took her hand.
Ruby waved her goodbye as the song started and the pair started dancing, their contrasting dresses creating a monochromatic whirlwind as they twirled around each other. With the start of the next song, Ruby found that she had to make an active effort not to stop and stare at her best friend.
I should go. I've been here longer than I meant to already.
Finally summoning the willpower to tear her gaze away from Weiss, Ruby unobtrusively exited the reception hall to the adjacent hallway, slipping into an empty, unused room across the hall. Her shoulders shuddered for a moment before she allowed herself to collapse on to her hands and knees, tears finally breaking down her mental dam and streaming down her face. Ruby's mouth stretched open to release a silent wail into the darkness, unwilling to give voice to her pain and give away her location outside of the reception.
The redheaded huntress was so caught up in her pain that she failed to notice the door to the room quietly open and close again as another entered the room. "I'm sorry, Ruby." A motherly voice whispered as the speaker pulled Ruby into a warm embrace, pulling Ruby tight against her in an effort to comfort the young woman in her arms. As Ruby cried into the shoulder she knew to be her sister's, Yang used a trickle of her aura to give her golden hair a glow, providing some dim lighting for the previously darkened room.
"I thought for sure it would be different this time, Yang. I was so close." Ruby whimpered into Yang's bosom several minutes later. "You saw how well we fit together tonight, even after nearly a year apart this time. But I still failed. I need your help to go back again."
Just one more time.
"You said that last time, and the time before that, too. The last dozen times, you've said that. You need to stop this." Yang said sadly.
Ruby immediately pulled her head away from Yang, her eyes widening in surprise and shock. "No! I was so close, I'm sure that I could get it next-"
"Ruby, stop." Yang interrupted, her voice firm. "We've done this over and over again, so many times. And it always ends like this. You need to stop this. You're going to break yourself. Maybe it's about time that you accepted that this isn't meant to be." Yang stroked Ruby's face gently, wiping away a tear. "I never should've agreed to help you with this in the first place."
"How could you say that?" Ruby replied in astonishment. "We both got something out of our deal."
"You took advantage of me while I was grieving, Ruby." Yang explained, her voice filled with understanding but also heavily tinted with regret. "And as reluctant as I am about doing so, I've held up my end of the deal time and time again. But look at what's happening to you. I think it's about time you learn to accept that she never picks you, Ruby. Is it worth it? Putting yourself through this? I know how you must feel, but-"
Ruby leapt to her feet. "You know how I must feel? You?" Ruby nearly yelled, only just barely maintaining the presence of mind to watch her volume lest the party guests hear her from the other room. Ruby pointed to herself with her thumb, tapping her chest. "I've lost Weiss more times than we can remember! Hundreds of times!" Ruby pointed accusingly at Yang, who was still crouched on the floor. "You only had to lose Blake once!"
"You can't compare our losses like that, Ruby." Yang growled.
"It still hurts just the same!"
"That's just another reason why you need to stop! There are too many memories; there's too much sadness and desperation in your head. If you really love Weiss enough to put yourself through this, maybe you should just be happy for her and stop this craziness. Let her go." Yang argued, her hair glowing even brighter as her emotions heightened.
"I know I should be happy for her every time she marries someone else, but I can't bring myself to feel it. Like who ever she married this time. I don't even remember his name." Ruby explained frantically, pacing back and forth.
"It's 'Maris', actually." A voice said from the doorway. Yang and Ruby turned to the doorway in a panic, not expecting their conversation to have been overheard. In the dark silhouette of the open door, they could see glowing amber eyes watching them carefully.
"... Blake." Yang greeted cautiously. "Done dancing with Weiss already?"
Blake flipped on the light switch next to the door as she cocked an eyebrow at Yang. "That dance ended almost ten minutes ago."
"Oh." Yang let out a nervous laugh. "Whatcha been up to since then?"
"Nothing much. I just overheard part of an interesting conversation." Blake said, obviously choosing not to play along with Yang's feigned ignorance. What little color Yang and Ruby had in their faces immediately left as they realized the implications of Blake's words. "Care to explain this lunacy I'm hearing?"
"So you heard us, huh?" Yang sighed, her voice sounding defeated. "We can tell her, right?" Yang asked, turning to look at Ruby. "It's a little late to be hiding it from her now, if she heard us talking."
"Might as well. Won't matter later anyways." Ruby sighs before stalking out o the room past Blake. "I'm going to the bathroom."
"Well then." Yang started. "I guess I'll start at the begin-"
"Not quite." Blake interrupted, much to Yang's confusion. "I think we should start with 'You've only lost Blake once,' don't you think?" Blake said, unsuccessfully hiding her displeasure. "We've never gotten into a fight big enough to break us up. We've barely even been separated for any long period of time since we started dating at Beacon."
"I really should start at the beginning, it won't make any sense if-" Yang pleaded.
"No." Blake interjected, her voice filled with determination. "I love you, and I know you love me. How could you have 'lost me' when nothing like that ever happened?"
Yang's shoulders slump as she gives up trying to fight against Blake. "I lost you on the night before my twenty-eighth birthday." Yang whispers, staring at the floor- no, through the floor, into her own memories- as her eyes start to tear up. "You're driving back to our home after picking up my birthday present. It's dark outside and raining heavily. A bus loses control and hits your car only one block away from our apartment." The tears are falling freely from Yang's eyes now. "I hear the crash from our kitchen, where I'm fixing dinner. I run outside to investigate and see you lying in the middle of the street, where you were thrown from your car."
Yang sniffs and tries to wipe away some of the tears while attempting to shift to a more comfortable sitting position on the floor, pulling her knees tight against her chest with her arms. "You're… you're covered in blood. But you still smile when I grab you. You make a witty comment about me not having a jacket in the rain. I try to call for help. You tell me you love me, and that you're sorry. Then you say goodbye. And then you're gone." Yang finishes her story and emerges from her memories, looking up at the Blake standing in front of her. "That's how I lost you."
Blake was as silent and unmoving as a statue. The only signs of life were the occasional twitch of the ears on the top of her head as she was processing what Yang had told her. Blake could see that Yang was in pain from this… memory… but Blake had to get more information before she could understand what was going on. "Yang, you only just turned twenty-five. And I'm clearly still alive."
"That's why I said I should've started at the beginning." Yang said with a teary chuckle, wiping away her tears and using a tissue to try to at least make herself look presentable.
"A long time ago, but still on this exact day, Weiss broke Ruby's heart." Yang started. "Weiss got married just like today, but with someone else. Who it was isn't important to the story. I think he was a doctor."
"… Okay…" Blake said slowly, still confused but willing to wait for Yang to continue and explain further.
"And to put it simply, Ruby couldn't take it. She had tried her best over the years to win Weiss over romantically, but it never quite seemed to work out. There was always an interruption, or someone was busy, or there were too many other people around." Yang continued. "And on the day of the wedding, Ruby watched as the woman she loved married someone else in front of her." Yang finished sadly. "Watched as she finally felt the pain of losing someone she never really had."
"Ruby never thought to just tell Weiss her feelings before things got that far?" Blake asked disbelievingly.
"Ruby was young, and scared." Yang shrugged. "And when she did manage to work up the courage through alcohol or the atmosphere, there was an interruption of some sort. Ruby was convinced the universe didn't want her to confess to or be with Weiss."
"Uh huh." Blake said skeptically, sitting down on a chair next to the door as Yang continued her story.
"Then, a couple weeks after the wedding, Ruby disappeared. Poof. Gone. No trace of her anywhere." Yang said, gesturing as she talked. "We all organized a search for her- You, me, Weiss, our friends from school, my father. But we couldn't find her anywhere. After about a week though, I got a message from Ruby where she told me she just wanted to be alone for a while and to stop looking for her. And because I trusted Ruby to make her own decisions, I did. I called off the search and told everyone that she was fine and it was just an accident resulting from poor communication." Yang sighed. "I should've known better. None of us saw Ruby again for two years, or even heard from her except for a short message once every couple months to assure me she was still alive."
"Two years?" Blake asked incredulously. "Let's just say I'm on board with your story so far, for now. None of us tried to find her for two years?"
"You've seen how fast and how skilled Ruby is. Do you think that any of us could find her if she didn't want to be found? We tried to find her, every once in a while. But we never even came close to having even a hint of success." Yang explained with an exasperated sigh. "But back to the story- she showed up at our apartment after two years, looking a little disheveled and dirty. Other than looking like she stopped properly grooming herself, she seemed to be a picture of health. Boy was I wrong." Yang was rubbing her temples at the memory.
"She told me she found a way to 'win Weiss back.'" Yang continued. "I thought she meant something along the lines of breaking up her marriage, or something equally ridiculous. But then she told me about how she had spent the last two years trying to figure out how to move through time."
Blake couldn't keep quiet at this. "Yang, this is getting more unbelievable by the minute. Is this just some elaborate joke?"
"I wouldn't lie to you about anything, Blake. I swear that everything I'm telling you is true." Yang assured her, moving over and pulling up a chair to sit next to her lover.
"Okay. What next, then?" Blake asked softly, trusting Yang as she always had.
"I thought Ruby had gone insane." Yang answered bluntly. "And I told her so. I tried to take her to the hospital, but she refused. On top of that, she told me she succeeded. She spent years experimenting with dust, aura, technology- anything she could think of. And that's when she discovered that the secret to her dream was something available to her all along. Her semblance."
"Isn't her semblance speed? How does that work?"
"It is. But as Ruby experimented, she accidentally discovered that if she moves quickly enough, her place in time becomes sort of… fluid." Yang explained, gesturing strangely. "And if she keeps moving at the right speeds, and then stops at the right place at the right moment, she comes out at an earlier place in her past. The only difference is that she still keeps her memories, even though she's back in her younger body in the past."
"How on Remnant does she go proving that to you?" Blake interrupted.
"You don't want to know." Yang answered with a shudder. The memory was obviously unpleasant. "But to put it simply, the reason she came back was cause she had a proposal. She didn't have the aura strength needed to go far enough back to when she thought she needed to go. On her own, she could only go back a couple months before the strain was too much. And trying short hops back through time made her so nauseous that she lost her focus and just fell back out where she started the last jump."
Yang let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "So she wanted me to help solve her problem by adding my aura to hers. With my aura and her semblance, she said we could both go back far enough into the past to do things differently, to change history."
"I can't believe you agreed to do that." Blake said softly.
"I didn't!" Yang said defensively. "I told her that her plan was crazy, and that she needed help."
"Then how are we having this conversation?" Blake said smugly.
"Because you died." Ruby said as-matter-of-factly, walking back into the room and closing the door behind her.
"It wasn't quite that simple, but yeah." Yang agreed, putting her head into her hands. "After I told Ruby I wouldn't help her, she left again. And life went back to normal. But then, a few months later…" Yang left the rest unsaid.
"I died." Blake finished.
"Yeah." Yang whispered.
It didn't look like Yang was planning on continuing her story at this point, so Ruby continued while Blake pulled Yang into a tight hug. "I heard about it a few days after it happened. I was in Atlas, talking to Penny about looking for ways to use their military tech to augment my own aura at the time." Ruby crossed her arms and leaned against the door, idly picking at strands of her long hair. "And when I heard, I came back to both comfort Yang and ask for her help a second time. And… I convinced her to help me by telling her how she would be able to be with you again." Ruby at least had enough of a conscience left to look a little guilty as Blake glared at her.
"I can't believe you took advantage of your sister like that." Blake growled. The Faunus was livid that Ruby had taken advantage of her girlfriend in such a horrible fashion.
"It was a deal we both agreed to." Ruby argued back defensively. "She got to see you again, and I got to go back and fight for Weiss."
"As much as I'm sure it hurt, I still-" Blake started, pulling Yang even closer.
"It's okay, Blake. You don't have to tell her. I've had this argument with her many times." Yang said from her spot on Blake's shoulder.
Blake had to take a few moments to collect her thoughts before continuing. "How far back did you go?"
"Our first day at Beacon, when we're getting on the airship." Yang answered, sitting up straight again. "The day we all meet each other for the first time, to start completely fresh."
"So you changed history just to have an extra nine, maybe ten years with me?" Blake asked, disapproval clear in her voice as she looked down at Yang.
"I missed you." Yang said softly, looking away from Blake and back down at the floor.
Blake couldn't maintain her tone of disapproval at seeing even just the memory of such heartbreak on her lovers face. "I suppose I can't say I wouldn't do the same, if I was in your shoes." She amended. "What did you change in our history for these extra few years?"
"Which time?" Ruby asked, now twirling a long lock of hair around one finger.
"… What do you mean, 'which time'?" Blake asked. "I thought you said this happened almost… seven years ago?"
"That's just our starting point each time." Yang said, still looking at the ground. "We've done this more than once."
A chill raced down Blake's spine at the implications of Yang's revelation. "… How many times have you done this?"
There was a long pause as both sisters were obviously reluctant to answer. Yang finally broke the silence. "I don't remember, exactly. Had to have been a couple hundred by now."
"A least two hundred." Ruby clarified softly, her voice heavy. "Less than four hundred. It's… it's getting hard to keep track. The memories keep stacking up. Things start to blur together."
Blake had no words for the feelings coursing through her at this moment. Astonishment? Disbelief? Awe? Sadness? What could she possibly feel after hearing this? Had they ever considered the repercussions of rewriting history over and over? How many lives had they changed, over and over again, for their insane quest? How could their minds not break under the weight of so many lifetimes of memories?
A million questions flew through Blake's mind before she could settle on one to ask. "How… I thought you were just going back to win over Weiss?" Blake finally stammered out. "Why would you keep going back?" Ruby just turned her head away, unwilling to meet Blake's gaze. "Yang?" Blake asked.
"Because the second time, it was worse." Yang explained quietly. "Ruby tried too hard to win over Weiss, and they ended up becoming farther apart. They were distant partners at worst, marginally close acquaintances at best. Once it was clear it wasn't going to happen, we went back again. I didn't want to leave you, but in my grief I had promised to help her until she won over Weiss. I didn't want to break my promise to my little sister."
"After the first couple times, we started running into problems." Ruby said. "We remembered too much from each previous… attempt. We remembered every big event that would happen, as well as everything about your pasts. It was starting to get confusing. We would accidentally reveal that we knew things that you hadn't told us yet. We started having to pretend to not know things, with our family and friends as well as in school."
"You'd be surprised how well you can learn the material in a class when you spend thousands of years on it." Yang said, trying to lighten the situation with a joke, albeit unsuccessfully.
"Thousands of years?" Blake whispered. 'Disbelief' only scratched the surface of what she was feeling right now.
"Going back hundreds of times, an average of eight to nine years each time." Ruby clarified. "It adds up."
"Are you trying to tell me that after all this time, Weiss has never picked you?" Blake asked incredulously. "By the numbers alone she should've picked you at least once, especially if you're actively trying to-"
"I know!" Ruby interrupted. "You're right! Statistically, I should've had her at least once, right? But I haven't! It's just ridiculous, isn't it?" Ruby fell to her knees, clutching her head as a new set of tears began forming in her eyes. "I've loved her for so long and she never loves me back, not the same way I love her. It's so unfair."
Blake was unsure how to react to what Ruby was saying, so she delayed by turning to Yang. "Weiss always picks Maris? Or the doctor you mentioned?"
Yang shook her head. "Not always. Because of Ruby constantly experimenting and changing history, Weiss has married a lot of different people. A doctor one time, a businessman the next. She's even married other people we know. She's married Jaune a couple times, and Pyrrha other times. Neptune a good number of times, and even Sun once."
"That kinda lends a bit of weight to her thinking that the universe not wanting it to happen, don't you think?" Blake said, awkwardly trying to lighten the mood ever so slightly.
"Well, like I was telling her earlier. Maybe some things just aren't meant to be and we should start to accept that." Yang said sadly, moving to comfort Ruby.
"This may not be the most appropriate time to ask this question, given the situation, but I have to know," Blake started as she watched Yang crouch next to Ruby. "How many different people- " Yang realized what Blake was going to ask and tried to gesture for Blake to stop, but Blake continued on- "have I been with?"
"One!" Ruby jumped up, eyeing Blake angrily. "You only ever date and marry one person. You pick Yang every time. You two live happy lives every time while I watch Weiss leave me over and over and over again! How unfair can this be?" Ruby jumped up off of the ground and gestured angrily, throwing her arms every which way in her frustration. "Not only do you two have everything I've ever wanted with Weiss, you have it every time!"
Yang was rubbing her temples with her fingertips, clearly she had heard this before and was trying to avoid it. "Ruby, why don't you-"
"No! This is the first time we tell anyone what we're doing and she just brings that up, how else am I-" Ruby was immediately silenced with a loud smack as Blake slapped Ruby across the face in anger.
"How can you have lived as long as you say you have and still be such a child?" Blake yelled in return. "Love and loss and everything in between are all a part of life. Anyone else in the world should have and would have eventually used it as a learning experience, a happy or sad memory to become a part of their mosaic of memories that makes up their lives. But not you! You've basically been throwing a temper tantrum for several hundred lifetimes. Why are you abusing such power just for the sake of a relationship you never had?"
Blake swung her head over to Yang. "And you! Why would you go along with this for so long? I get that you promised her you'd help, but there comes a point where you have to put your sister's well-being above an ill-conceived promise! And I understand you missed me," Blake said quickly, before Yang could counter, "and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in your place. But for as long as you guys have been doing this, surely somewhere along the way it must have crossed your mind that this was a destructive path you're on."
Yang was hanging her head in sadness and shame, unable to offer any defense in the face of her girlfriend's accusations. In contrast to Yang, Ruby was shocked and seemingly stunned by Blake's tirade and the slap. It made for an odd scene in front of the glaring Faunus.
"I… I know I've made mistakes." Yang stammered. "It's just… the closer we get to… to that birthday, the more scared I get that some accident, some twist of fate will take you away from me again. And I can't deal with it. I get terrified. I start getting nightmares, and having a hard time sleeping. But then… then we go back. And when we go back, I know you'll be safe. Because I've lived it, lived it hundreds of times. I know that you'll be safe for a little longer, that I can protect you." Yang was having a hard time speaking as she approached the verge of crying.
Ruby just stood up, a blank look in her eyes, and spoke in monotone. "I'm going out for some air. I'll be back later. I need to… think, or something. I don't know." Then she was gone before Blake or Yang could stop her.
Knowing that trying to catch Ruby when she wanted to be alone would be a lost cause, Blake instead turned to Yang and sat next to her on the floor. "I'm sorry if what I said sounded mean." Blake said softly. "It's just… well, let's just say it probably looks different from where your standing than where I'm standing."
Yang wiped away a tear. "No, I understand what you're saying and I agree. I've just been too scared to do anything about it."
"You never seemed to have a problem with bravery when diving headfirst into trouble though." Blake smiled, ruffling Yang's hair softly and pulling her head into her lap.
Yang managed to smile. "Different kind of bravery."
"You know," Blake said, lowering her voice as she leaned over to speak into Yang's ear. "I may have yelled at you, but you certainly earned a lot of brownie points tonight."
Yang turned her head up to look at Blake. "How did I do that?"
"Finding out that you've stayed faithful to me for thousands of years without once going for someone else, even though I would never know if you decided to experiment with someone else just one time?" Blake grinned. "It may seem natural to you, but you can't imagine how I feel after finding out that I'm the only one for you. That even after so long you never got bored of me." Blake closed the last few inches of distance between them and kissed Yang, deeply and passionately.
"I could never get bored of you." Yang assured her when they finally separated. "And no amount of time could ever change that." Yang smiled a brilliant, loving smile before leaning in to kiss Blake, which was happily returned.
I didn't want to listen, but Blake is right. Anyone else would have, and should have, dealt with grief normally. I've abused my power far too many times. I keep ripping off the emotional scab and bleeding myself over and over again.
Ruby was sitting on a bench outside, in front of the reception hall. She had told Yang and Blake she would go for a walk, but quickly found that the effort wasn't worth it and just sat on a bench outside. Her energy was now being directed towards thinking, as much as she would've liked to avoid doing so. It was much easier to just go through the motions again and again, experimenting as she went.
"Great. The one time we tell someone what happened and they yell at us." Ruby rubbed her eyes to try to wipe away some of the tears she was imagining were still there. As she idly resumed twirling a few strands of her long hair around her fingers, Ruby stared up at the cloudy night sky. The last hints of sunlight had vanished shortly before she sat down, and only the street lights illuminated the dark clouds that had gathered overhead. "Ugh, what do I do?" Ruby whined to herself.
"About what?" A voice asked from directly behind Ruby, startling her.
"Ah!" Ruby jumped to her feet and spun around in surprise, despite immediately recognizing the voice. "Weiss, you startled me." Ruby said with a chuckle to hide her nervousness. "I was just thinking out loud. Nothing to worry yourself over." Ruby replied calmly, sitting back down on the bench. "What brings you out here?" She asked in an attempt to subtly change the subject.
Weiss wasn't dissuaded so easily though, and sat herself down next to Ruby. "Pyrrha said she saw you step out so I came to see if everything was okay." Weiss raised one eyebrow questioningly. "Well?"
"It's nothing, just thinking out loud." Ruby said again in what she hoped was a believably innocent voice.
Weiss just sighed at Ruby, the hint of a smile on her face. "Ruby, you're my best friend. I can tell you're hiding something from me. I'm not leaving until you tell me."
I can't exactly tell you about my troubles this time, Weiss.
"I… got into an argument with a friend, about another friend. I was just thinking about that and mulling it over." Ruby answered vaguely.
The newlywed took Ruby's hand in hers. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Ruby couldn't help but let out a quick laugh at the irony of Weiss' offer. "Ha! No, I think it's too late for that. This is something I have to figure out."
Weiss pulled her best friend into a sideways, one armed hug from their seated position. "Well I'm sure you can figure it out then. You're a smart girl." Weiss said confidently. "I'll always be here for you if you need anything at all, even if it's just someone to talk to. You know that, right?"
Ruby smiled at her best friend and partner. "Of course. It's just hard to deal with sometimes."
Watching someone I love go and love someone else is the hardest thing in the world.
"I'll be fine." Ruby finished, just barely managing to keep her voice cheerful. She opened her mouth to change the subject, but nature took care of that for her as she felt a rain drop bounce of the tip of her nose, soon followed by several more.
"I had hoped the rain would hold off until tomorrow." Weiss smiled, waving her hand above her head to create a slowly spinning glyph the acted as an umbrella for the pair of young women and their bench.
"The universe has a wicked sense of humor like that." Ruby agreed sagely. "You should really get back inside, Weiss. Wouldn't want your hubby to think I stole you away on your wedding day, right?"
Weiss let out a hearty laugh. "I suppose you're right. What a scandal that would've made." She finished, reaching over and taking Ruby's hand. "Let's go."
Ruby allowed Weiss to pull her to her feet, walking back inside the building hand in hand as the glyph followed them and kept the worst of the rain off of them. Once they were back inside, Ruby separated from Weiss. "I should go look for Yang and Blake to make sure they haven't had too much to drink and decided to get intimate in a closet somewhere." Ruby joked to hide her nervousness at being alone like this with Weiss, holding her hand.
"Will you come back to the reception?" Weiss asked, sensing Ruby's unease.
"I'm feeling tired after my trip, and I may have had a little too much to drink myself." Ruby lied smoothly. "If Yang and Blake are also out of commission, I may take off early."
Weiss pouted. "I wish you could stay longer. I don't get to see you often enough." Weiss smiled. "Let's make some time to take a little vacation next month, just us two, okay?"
"All right." Ruby agreed with a small grin. "Sounds like a plan." Ruby hugged Weiss, then leaned down a little and kissed Weiss on the cheek. It took every ounce of Ruby's willpower not to plant that kiss on Weiss' lips, but she managed to restrain herself. As it was, the kiss was already very near the edge of Weiss' surprised mouth. "See you… another time, okay? Bye, Weiss." Ruby quietly said as she walked away down a dark hallway.
"Bye, Ruby." Weiss whispered, her finger tips reaching up to touch her cheek where Ruby had kissed her, the foreign sensation leaving the bride with vague questions in the back of her mind about Ruby and what she thought of her.
Blake had fallen asleep on Yang's lap as they rested and waited on the floor of their empty room for Ruby's return. Blake's ears twitched occasionally, reacting to a dreamscape that Yang was unaware of. Yang simply watched Blake sleep, her loving gaze never tiring of the cat faunus and the peaceful look she wore on her face as she slept. Blake began to purr contentedly in her sleep as Yang softly ran her fingers through her hair, brushing it and stroking it gently.
Blake's eyes opened groggily after a few moments, looking towards the door. "Ruby's back." She informed Yang quietly, stifling a yawn.
Blake's prediction proved true a few seconds later as Ruby quietly opened the door and quietly walked in to the room, checking behind her to make sure no one was out in the hallway before closing it again. "Hey."
"Yo." Yang answered, still stroking Blake's hair. "You okay?"
Ruby answered with a slight nod, keeping her eyes on the floor. "Yeah."
"I apologize if what I said earlier came out a little more harshly than I intended." Blake chipped in from her spot on Yang's lap.
"No, you're right. All of this was… a bad idea." Ruby admitted. "And, well…" Ruby glanced up nervously. "I want to go back one more time." She held up her hands to stop the protest that were already being directed her way, desperate to finish her request before it got bogged down in an argument before it was ever completed. "Wait wait wait! Let me finish." Ruby quickly added. "Just this once. One more time to let things play out from the beginning- and whatever happens, happens. No more going back or changing history."
"I'm not sure…" Yang started, but Blake touched her hand gently to stop her.
Blake then got to her feet, pulling Yang with her. "Just once more? You promise?"
Ruby nodded determinedly. "One more. I promise."
"I think that taking one more time to get a real fresh start to let things play out isn't a bad idea." Blake agreed. "Yang?"
Yang looked hesitant, but after a seeing Ruby's determination and Blake's agreement, she tentatively agreed as well. "As long as it's just once."
"Thank you." Ruby whispered as her eyes began tearing up again. "I promise I won't do anything like this again."
"Yang." Blake said unexpectedly. "Is it possible to take more than just you two back?"
Yang looked at Blake curiously. "Should be. Do-"
"Take me with you." Blake interrupted, her eyes bright with a determination just a strong as Ruby's.
Lilac eyes turned to silver eyes for confirmation, which was given easily. "All right then." Yang consented. "It won't be easy, but I think I'm strong enough for the three of us. And if you link with me, then it should be no problem."
"Thank you." Blake smiled.
"Well, I would feel bad not taking you now that you know." Ruby grinned, wiping away the wetness under her eyes.
"No point in putting it off any longer then." Yang said, clapping her hands together. "You two ready?"
"Wait, we're doing it here?" Blake said, startled.
"We can do it anywhere, actually. Might as well get it over with. It's not like we can prepare for it like a vacation." Yang shrugged.
"Well… now that you mention it, I guess you're right. Preparing seems a little silly." Blake giggled. "What do we do?"
"Link your arm with mine." Yang said, sliding her left arm around Blake's right arm and locking them together. "And take your other arm and give it to Ruby." Yang continued as Ruby moved to stand in front of them. Blake held her left arm out in front of her as Yang did the same with her right, allowing Ruby to grab both their hands tightly, interlocking her fingers in theirs. "And hold on tight, and don't let go no matter what."
"Got it." Blake confirmed, slightly nervous. Ruby had her eyes closed, and was taking slow, deep breaths.
"Now, open yourself up to your aura and let it flow into me." Yang continued before taking a deep breath. "Let me have control of it, and trust me to use it wisely." Her hair began to glow a blinding gold as she accessed her massive reserves of aura.
"No problem there." Blake smiled, following Yang's instructions, letting the cool stream of her aura flow into Yang's fiery inferno. It always amazed Blake how powerful Yang was, but feeling her aura this intimately reinforced that point more than just watching her fight ever could.
"And I didn't want to say this until the last second so you wouldn't be nervous- but everything you've ever felt in the last eight years- emotions, physical sensations, everything- will be reversed and condensed into the next few minutes and it might feel a little overwhelming, but you'll be fine." Yang said quickly.
Blake's head spun so quickly to look at Yang that her hair spread out behind her like a fan. "What do you-" Blake started to question in a slight panic.
But Yang didn't want to give her time to dwell on it. "Go, Ruby!" Yang interrupted forcefully.
Suddenly, before she could even begin to formulate a response or objection, there was an immense force that pulled Blake off of her feet. And then they were gone. They weren't in the reception hall anymore, they were west in Vacuo on a mission a few months ago. Then Mistral, for Jaune and Pyrrha's wedding. Then up north in Atlas, studying a new species of Grimm. They were everywhere they'd ever been , but only for the briefest of moments before they were somewhere else.
And Yang was not exaggerating when she warned Blake about feeling everything they had felt. She felt stabs of pain as she was injured, happiness as the good times rolled by, sadness as friends were lost, pleasure as her nights with Yang all flew by. Each of these feelings lasted only an instant, but there were just so many. Eight years of everything she had ever felt, in her head and gone again before she had time to properly process it.
But as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Blake was standing at a landing pad, and she quickly recognized this as the time when she was waiting for her turn to board the airship to Beacon Academy, at the beginning of her first day at Beacon. And then the significance of what had just happened hit her. She had just traveled through time. She had believed Yang's story, sure, but believing it and then experiencing it were entirely different experiences.
Blake looked around, only finally noticing that Ruby and Yang weren't with her. She was worried at first, not to mention disoriented, but she soon realized that it made perfect sense for them not to be with her at the moment, because they weren't here at this point last time either. Blake quickly found her mental footing and boarded the airship without incident, handing her bags off to the luggage handlers.
She stared out the same window she remembered staring out of all those years ago, looking down at the shrinking city below her. She heard a pair of booted footsteps stop behind her with her sensitive ears, and a voice soon followed. "Hey there sexy, what's your name?"
Blake turned around to find a much younger Yang than she remembered standing behind her, but still wearing the familiar, loving grin she always had. "I'm Blake. You're not too bad yourself, hot stuff." Blake responded, playing along with Yang's game.
"Call me Yang." The blond girl laughed. She walked closer to Blake, standing next to the window Blake was just looking out of. "It feels a little weird meeting you this early." She said quietly. "But it'll be a nice change of pace."
"You could've warned me about the whole 'condensed feelings' thing a little earlier, you know." Blake grumbled jokingly.
"I didn't want you worrying about it too much." Yang shrugged. "How was it?"
"Not as bad as I worried it would be." Blake admitted. "More than a little jarring, though."
Yang just laughed. "That's a very diplomatic way of putting it."
"Where's Ruby?" Blake asked, looking around. Yang pointed a thumb over her shoulder. Blake followed the direction her thumb was pointing and saw Ruby walking out of the bathroom on the airship, towards them. "Wow, I had forgotten how much shorter than us she used to be."
"Not 'used to be', Blake." Yang corrected. "'Is.' You have to remember that we're starting over. We can't let slip what we did, or change history too much. We'll also need to pretend we don't know each other in public for a little while, at the very least."
Blake nodded in understanding as Ruby sidled up on the other side of Yang. "Of course."
"You'll get used to it." Yang smiled, taking Blake's hand in her own. Blake just rested her head on Yang's shoulder, taking comfort in her presence and confidence. Yang would take the lead, and show her the way. As she always had.
Ruby said a quick 'goodbye' to her sister and Blake as she exited the airship, lagging behind to ensure a certain event happened. She had done this so many times that it was reflex at this point, but Ruby had to make an active effort to think about how she would change history now that Blake and Yang were already together. Hundreds of years of experience proved to be a satisfactory teacher though, and Ruby knew how to change things ever so slightly to compensate for Blake's small change in history.
Ruby stood with her back against a pillar that ran along the main pathway up to Beacon, placing herself between the landing pads and the academy. She lazily tossed her scroll up and down, silently counting down in her head.
Nineteen…eighteen…seventeen…
Then there was the sound of someone walking down the pathway in heeled boots, a luggage cart being pushed by two others close behind. Ruby smiled at the familiar sound in the distance.
Eleven… ten… nine…
Ruby could faintly hear another person walking much farther behind them, someone who was a little wobbly on their feet after being airsick. Just the right distance away.
Three… two… one.
Ruby "dropped" her scroll on the ground beside her, letting it bounce into the way of the girl in heeled boots and the cart. "Whoops!" Ruby called out, chasing after it, pretending to have been unaware of the incoming person and cart.
"Hey, watch ou- oomph!" a white haired girl called out before colliding with the bent over Ruby Rose, knocking both of them off their feet. The men pushing the luggage cart swerved out of the way to avoid crashing into the two girls, causing some of the cases of dust to fall off the cart and bounce onto the ground.
"Ugh." Ruby groaned, feigning dizziness.
"What are you doing?!" The girl called out.
"Uh, sorry!" Ruby sat up and apologetically helped the angry girl to her feet, quickly wiping the smile off of her own face before Weiss could see it.
"'Sorry?' Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?" Weiss asked in frustration.
Ruby had to keep a smile from creeping up on her face. Even under different circumstances, the words were very nearly the same as their usual first encounter. "…uh" Ruby moved to help put the boxes back onto the luggage cart.
"Give me that!" Weiss took the box away from Ruby. "You can't just drop this stuff, you know! You could've blown us off a cliff if this had fallen wrong!"
"I'm sorry!" Ruby apologized again, holding up her hands and 'accidentally' knocking the box out of the other girl's hands, sending falling to the floor in between them. And as Ruby expected, it hit the ground at just the right angle to crack a bottle of red dust and generate a small explosion that covered Weiss in black soot.
One of Weiss' eyebrows twitched in anger, and Ruby could practically see steam coming out of her ears from her fury. "You complete dolt! How do you expect to be a successful student at this academy if…" Weiss continued on, but Ruby wasn't listening. She was just happy to be back, and happy to see Weiss again.
You know, Weiss, I've almost missed being lectured by you. And who knows, maybe this time will be different.
Ruby brought her cape up to block her face, pretending to cough into it as she hid a happy grin behind it.
I'd like to hank TCR for giving me some feedback before I published this, the assistance is much appreciated!