The night air was mild, with a light breeze blowing. The moon was glowing brightly, bathing the world in a pale light. The night was also exceedingly silent, save for the soft, rhythmic breathing of the young woman sitting alone atop the roof of Beacon Academy. Comfortably silent, at least to her. Far from the scorn and ridicule she endured on a daily basis. It hadn't always been like this. She'd once been popular, even idolized by some, due to her natural beauty, easygoing charm, and her fighting prowess. But everyone had secrets, and once hers had gotten out, her fall from grace was swift. And hard. Her little red secret.
Yang heard the roof access door opening and didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
"Hey, sis." She greeted, trying to put some cheer into her voice, and patted the concrete beside her. Her red-clad sister promptly ambled over and plopped herself down, wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist.
"Hey." She responded, nuzzling the older girl's cheek. "What'cha up to?" Yang chuckled before tousling her hair.
"Nothing much. Just thinking, you know? Enjoying the view, too." Her gaze returned to the sky. "The moon and stars are bright tonight. It's pretty." The girl hugging her smiled.
"Not as pretty as you are." The blonde decided to give her sister a firm noogie at that, which the younger quickly protested. "Hey, what was that for?" Yang let out another short giggle as she kissed the scythe wielder on the forehead.
"That was for making one of the corniest, most cliche statements I've heard in a while." was her response. Ruby frowned, but returned to hugging her sister tightly, while the blonde stroked her hair. They remained that way for a long while before the redhead piped up again.
"Sis? Are, are they right? Is there something wrong with us?"
Yang scowled momentarily before her features softened.
"How about you tell me. Is there?" She questioned, fixing a serious gaze on the other girl. Her sister scrunched her eyebrows.
"I don't know. I don't think so, but then why doesn't anybody accept us?" the redhead murmured, sniffling, and Yang had to resist the urge to violently strike something. Instead, she settled for leaning over and cradling her sister.
"Shh, hey, don't worry." She whispered, continuing to stroke the back of her head. "You'll always have me. And you still have Blake, and Weiss, and Team Juniper. Just remember not everyone is a closed minded nincompoop." Ruby giggled at her sister's use of such a childish term.
"I know. Some days are better than others though." The redhead sniffled again. "I got pushed into a bunch of lockers today, and someone stole my lunch money. There's also the names, like always. It's just hard." Yang squeezed her a little tighter.
"I know baby girl, I know. It won't be like this forever though, I promise." She stroked her sister's head. "In a couple years we'll be out of here. We can get our own place, I can get a job to support us, it'll be fine." Ruby smiled slightly in response.
"Yeah, it'll all be fine." Her smile faltered for a moment. "I wish it didn't feel like our 'happy end' was an eternity and a half away, though." The blonde startled her sister for a moment by quickly picking up the petite scythe wielder and plopping her back into her lap. "Yang, what are y-" She was quickly silenced with a finger over her lips.
"Ruby Rose, everything is going to turn out fine, and I don't want to hear another word of negativity pass through your pretty little lips, do you understand me?" The redhead sighed, then nodded. "Good. Now, let's just sit and look at the stars, okay? Just like we used to when we were kids." Ruby smiled brightly at that. Yang rubbed her arms while staring up at the sky. "I remember you used to try to count them all." Her sister giggled.
"Did I really?" she asked, chucking softly. "I must've been pretty goofy back then." This caused her sister to laugh as well.
"Oh?" she retorted lightly, "am I hearing this correctly? You don't think you're still goofy now? Well then I've got some bad news for you." Her sister huffed in mock annoyance, crossing her arms. Yang decided to seize the opportunity and wrapped an arm firmly around the stomach of the girl on her lap, while tickling with her free hand. The redhead had no escape and soon devolved into a giggling mess. The older sister relented after a few seconds, allowing her partner to catch her breath.
"Why do you always have to do that?" Ruby whined after a few moments, huffing again. Yang grinned and kissed the back of her head.
"Why?" She responded with a grin. "Because I love seeing you laugh and smile." The younger girl blushed but said nothing. A comfortable silence returned as their gazes rose back to the night sky, with the blonde falling deep into thought.
A short time later, the blonde noticed a light snoring coming from the girl in her lap. Smiling, she simply hefted the petite scythe-wielder and carried her back to their room, tucking her into her bunk. With a great stretch and a yawn, Yang tossed her outerwear towards the wall and was about to hop into her own bed before she noticed Ruby's half-lidded eyes gazing at her.
"What, no goodnight kiss?" The redhead murmured, only half awake. The blonde smirked before heaving a heavily exaggerated sigh.
"If I must." She rolled her eyes and hopped up to plant a quick peck on Ruby's lips. The latter smiled before shuffling around under her covers.
"Thanks sis." she murmured. "Love you." She then drifted back into unconsciousness. Yang brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes before sighing.
"Love you too." she whispered as she stepped off her foothold and climbed into her own bed. Within minutes, the brawler too was fast asleep, content within the reprieve of her dreams before the pair had to face another day.
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A/N: Thank you for reading. Constructive criticism always welcome.