"Aren't you a little too old for fairy tales?"
It wasn't exactly the question that Ruby would have expected that would lead to her relationship with Blake. But as a fifteen-year-old in the children's section of a library in Vale, she felt that she had to explain herself to the face underneath the gracefully arched eyebrow of her teammate.
"Not all of them are fairytales." She guested to the small pile of books on the table which she had claimed.
"Oh?" Blake had several large, imposing volumes tucked under her arm.
"Really. And I'll show them to you when I get back." Ruby said defensively.
"I can't wait." Blake replied, waving one arm as she crossed to the self-service cubicle.
Blake slowly walked back, enjoying the late summer sun as a walk rather than catching transportation, so Ruby had time to prepare her argument for choosing picture books rather than the dense fiction, autobiographies and occasional romance novel that Blake normally read.
"What do you know of the Lunar knight?" Ruby asked, right as Blake walked in through the door.
"It's some sappy fairy tale." Blake said. "About a hero who slays a terrible monster and marries the princess."
"And what about the Tales of the Bard? The Nightsnapper? The Shallow Sea? The Two brothers? The Girl in the Tower?
"All fairy tales."
"Ah, but what about their origin?" Ruby had laid out the previously mentioned books, and set a larger, older book next to them.
The Anthology of the Mythology of Remnant.
Blake decided to humour Ruby, and sat next to her, facing the semicircle of books. Ruby opened the Anthology at a dog-eared page.
"See here?" She pointed. An armoured figure, looking very similar to the one on the cover of the fairy tale.
"The Lunar knight may be a story about adventuring alongside his talking horse, but the origins are way cooler. Everyone knows that Xanthus, his talking horse was given the ability to speak after he retrieved a necklace from the Lunar goddess. But the Lunar goddess gave him another gift. A spear taken from her brother/husband, which he used to kill him in the godly civil war. The fairytales don't mention that sort of thing."
"Really?"
"It's apparently too violent or complicated for young children, so they leave it out. But here, the Lunar Knight has a whole chapter dedicated to him."
Blake shuffled closer to Ruby and the anthology.
"Okay. Tell me more."
Blake ended up learning a lot more about the half-forgotten myths she knew, how they were linked by an overarching mythos, a pantheon of gods and goddesses, petty and fascinating. She read about magic, wondering if powers gained outside Dust and Semblances existed.
Proverbs and sayings gained more weight, and after an hour, Ruby had let Blake take the book and flick through it, excitedly showing her younger teammate pages and illustrations.
"Mind if I borrow this?" Blake asked.
"Sure."
"Hey, how about we grab coffee and a bite to eat at the Library café tomorrow?" Blake asked. "I want to read some more fairytales."
Ruby looked up from where she was taking notes from the books. She smiled. "Definitely."
Blake found herself chatting with Ruby about the various links during dinner. She knew Ruby had heard or learnt it all before, but she was very enthusiastic. Weiss had her head buried in a textbook as she ate. Yang was looking on as her sister and friend debated and chatted. She smiled down at her food, happy that they'd found something interesting to talk about. Ruby had an uncanny ability to draw Blake out of her shell.
The next day, Blake walked with Ruby into Vale, to the café. They sat at a small table and ordered.
"I was a little rude before. So what were you doing with those adaptations of the mythologies?" Blake asked.
"My thesis for the final year with be about the links between the mythology and culture that most don't know about. I had to request the Anthology from the archives."
"Planning somewhat in advance?"
They stopped their conversation as a waiter brought them their drinks. Blake took hers black, Ruby pouring in a liberal amount of milk.
"I've been wanting to do it ever since I heard about the Lunar knight. And Yang read it to me when I was seven." Ruby replied.
"That's some dedication." Blake said.
"When you're doing something that you love, you be as patient and precise as possible." Ruby paused. "What's your passion, other than reading?"
Blake thought. Aside from campaigns for equal rights during the peaceful White Fang era, there weren't many activities that a White Fang terrorist could do when they gave every day to fighting.
"I... I don't know." She admitted. "Everything that I do, it's to move on to the next target. I can't stop thinking about the next leader or cell that's still out there. I read because I can't or couldn't afford to invest my time in anything else. Books are easy to put down or pick up."
Ruby's face fell.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be such a sensitive topic."
"Hey, it's fine. How about you show me more of your passions?"
Ruby drank the dregs of her coffee.
"Sure. We need to get back to Beacon, so if you want to withdraw any books, do it before we leave."
Blake found herself in the weapon foundries. Specifically, behind the scenes. Where students went to upgrade or repair their combat gear. Ruby was in a classroom adjacent to the forge room, computers lining the walls. She waved to Blake from one of the screens.
"Okay, I seem to be following you around a lot and asking 'why am I here'?"
"Well, you wanted to see what I love doing. Which is..." Ruby raised her arms as if she was about to play a piano, then pressed the enter button with a single finger. Her login details were accepted and a screen very different to the usual school network appeared. Clusters of files, saved to the desktop and not the folder labeled 'projects' cluttered the screen.
"Wait... Are these all designs for different weapons?" Bake asked.
"The ones in-progress, yeah."
Blake sat down. "That's..."
"Yeah, I have lots of ideas." Ruby chuckled. She handed Blake the mouse. "Go on, take a look!"
Blake clicked on a file named 'Blaze kickers v3.5.2'
A 3D blueprint opened. It showed designs for shotgun greaves, very similar to the ones she'd seen Mercury use against Pyrrha. But the colour scheme was very similar to Yang's.
"Are these Ember Celia for feet?" Blake asked.
"Yang likes to punch. But if she had another option of attack, she could become a better fighter." Ruby confirmed.
"Fighting more intelligently than before." Blake agreed.
"Yeah." Ruby replied. "She relies on strength and power. She keeps on getting beaten because her opponents outthink or known how to beat the simple punches. If they get her before her semblance kicks in, she's out. I don't want her to get permanently injured, or worse."
Her voice fell.
"She can beat Grimm, but one on one? With an experienced enemy?" Her voice wavered.
Blake put her hand around Ruby's shoulder.
"You care. And don't worry. I have her back."
Ruby sniffed and nodded. "I've been trying to tell her, but she just nods and says she'll concentrate next time."
"We can get Weiss involved and have an intervention for Yang." Blake suggested. Ruby's eyes lit up.
"Yeah! She'll listen to all three of us!" She said.
"And this... This is one of the things you're working on?" Blake asked, returning to the greaves.
Ruby nodded.
"One of many. I'll show you."
Blake may have had experience surviving outside Vale, fighting for her life and well-read, but she deferred to her leader again.
Building up a model of Gambol Shroud took her the afternoon, and she was forced to remove her aching fingers from the workstation's drawpad, keyboard, mouse and stylus. She had no idea how she'd do it without Ruby's guidance.
"... And that's just the planning stage. You need to go into the foundry and build prototypes before you're done."
They had finished in the foundry, and Blake had been in touch with both Weiss and Yang to meet back at their dorm.
"Hey sis, Blake. Have fun together?" Yang greeted.
"Yeah. Can we talk?" Ruby asked.
"Sure, what about?"
"Yang as your partner, I've got to say. You love your sister and your team, but the disregard for your own safety is worrying."
"Yeah, I've heard this before." Yang sighed.
"No, Yang." Weiss interjected. "Neo nearly killed you. Surely that's enough for you to rethink something."
"It's the heat of the fight. And you lost to Banesaw."
"Yes. And I've worked to correct it. I've researched better glyphs, taken more lessons for better techniques. All you've done is cleaned Ember Celia."
"Yang, please." Ruby pressed.
Yang looked at the three faces and smiled softly.
"Tomorrow- and you can all come with me for this- I will sign up for a refresher course in self-defense and advanced mêlée combat."
Ruby threw herself into Yang's arms.
Weiss and Blake both sighed.
"Thanks for arranging this, Blake. I owe you." Ruby said.
"Buy me coffee tomorrow, after Yang's signed up."
"Deal." Ruby replied.
Yang waited until Weiss and Ruby had gone off to take Zwei for a walk before talking to Blake.
"Since when have you and Ruby been getting coffee? Is this a date?"
Blake nodded.
Yang smiled.
"Awesome! I get to do my 'big sister' spiel. So, as you very well know, hurt her in any way and I'll…"
"Break my legs?" Blake said, stopping Yang right in her tracks. Yang raised a finger, glaring at Blake.
"I'll… damn, I had something for this. Thanks for ruining the moment."
Blake shrugged.
"Well, on a lighter note, if you have any problems or just want to talk, come see me. I'll do all I can to ensure your relationship benefits you two and is a happy one. Ruby's got a lot of stuff going for her, and you'll benefit from being with her."
Blake nodded, overwhelmed. "I… I don't know what to say."
"Think of me as your big sister. Or don't, in case that's a bit weird."
"Not as weird as the Lunar goddess' relationship with her handmaiden. Who was also her sister."
"Oh my god she's turning you into a nerd already!" Yang laughed, raising her hands in mock defence.
"No, it's just that… I've never really had a family before. This means a lot."
"Well, you've got Weiss, Ruby and me to be there for you if you need us."
"I know."
Coffee was bought back in the cafe, the silence tangible as they both searched for a conversation topic.
"This is... kind of awkward." Ruby chirped.
"I think I need to say something." Blake nodded. Ruby shuffled forward in her seat.
I've spent more time with you in the past two days outside practice and lessons than I do in a week. I keep myself to myself but I like doing things with you. You give me a new perspective, a new view on things."
Ruby reddened. "And I like being the one who does that. I can see a side to you that you don't use that much."
"You may be young, but you seem to have a lot to teach me." Blake smiled back.
She placed her hand over Ruby's, smiling at how she flinched slightly, but leaned in close.
"I'm happy to teach. I bet you've got some stuff to show me as well."
Ruby had her eyes scrunched up and her lips were ridiculously pursed. Blake chuckled to herself but chose not to ruin Ruby's moment. She was making an effort, and Blake appreciated it. She gently pressed her lips up against Ruby's.
Ruby flushed and broke the kiss.
"Was that good?" She asked.
"Lesson one. Kissing. Let me show you how it's properly done." Blake replied, pulling Ruby into a deep, passionate kiss.