Hello, and welcome to this fine set of stories, belonging to 'The Rose Thief's universe. If you're reading this, and haven't read the official story yet, I'd recommend doing so. You'll certainly enjoy it, and it'll make reading these side bits a lot more enjoyable too!
Those of you who know The Rose Thief, might have read this Spin-Off already. Don't worry though, a lot more one-shots, spin-offs and alternate universes are to be expected here, and I do take requests! I made a seperate story after several requests. Mainly because this will make the official story a better read, and because I came up with a lot of fluffy or funny stories, that are quite impossible with the story's main arc.
So, having my intentions out of the way, I sincerely hope you enjoy this read, leave a follow or review, or maybe even a request!
And for those of you that haven't, read the main piece "The Rose Thief"! Follow me on this adventure won't ya? :)
I'll see you in the next chapter!
It was a peaceful night, a handful of clouds drifting lazily across the deep black canvas, passing in front of the moon in the otherwise clear night sky. The unmistakable shrill sound of chirping crickets, the gentle bubbling of falling water from a fountain and the rustling of leaves all contributed a steady and restful atmosphere that settled across the estate. A muffled crunch of gravel underfoot accompanied Ruby Rose as she made her way through the garden, hugging the shadows as she did so. The mechanic's toolbox in her right hand was filled to the brim with all sorts of tools one might use for breaking and entering, and already her arm was feeling the strain. Over her shoulder an empty dufflebag was slung, which hopefully - at the end of the night - wouldn't be so empty.
In front of her a tall building towered imposingly over the young girl, it's expertly carved fortifications casting long shadows across the garden. It was a big mansion made out of solid red bricks, the reflection of the moon shimmering in the many windows. The whole building screamed something authentic, important and, best of all, expensive. It was an impressive piece of craftsmanship the likes of which she could only dream of owning, and there wasn't a single fiber in her body that hesitated about the wealth that was hidden behind these walls.
"Finally." Ruby thought, breathing out a sigh born of deep-exhaustion, "Why is this so heavy?" The irritated redhead muttered to herself as she set down the toolbox, wincing slightly as her arm protested one final time against the load it had been carrying, and flopped her weight down in the gravel of the garden's foundation, not even bothering to pay attention to the rough, uncomfortable feeling of the small stones against her behind. "And now we wait." she mused as she settled herself against the wall, arms crossed and head cocking against the cool brick. And before she knew it, Ruby was asleep enjoying a lucid dream of what her life could have been had she been so fortunate to have been born to such status that she lived in that mansion. Before long, though, her dreams became more Ruby-esque; miles and miles of cookies and candies, and treats of all shapes and sizes.
"Ruby." A voice echoed through her head, muffled by her subconsciousness trying to shut out everything that interfered with the dream she was having.
"Ruby?" The voice persisted, this time a little louder and Ruby felt herself slip away from the candy-wonderland she'd been experiencing mere moments ago, amazed by the candy-cane trees spreading as far as the eye could see over the cotton candy made ground.
"RUBY!" Ruby eyes flung open wildly to someone violently shaking her shoulders, and she shot to her feet, her hands flailing around in blind panic as she instinctively attempted to strike her unknown attacker. And to the surprise of both, she actually struck them, with one of her hands connecting hard with their face.
"Who-whaatt?" Ruby stuttered, still partially asleep, a mixture of panic and confusion filling her mind, her heart pounding deep in her chest. Lashing out like that when unexpectedly dragged from sleep had become a habit for Ruby, acquired over many unpleasant years of sleeping rough and being woken by complete strangers every now and then. And unfortunately, much to her own fright, not everyone had the right intentions for the sleeping beauty.
"Son of a.." She heard muttered from nearby, gazing down to see a very familiar blonde laying sprawled in the gravel, a furious red handprint throbbing on the side of her face where Ruby had unwittingly hit her.
"Ruby, what the hell!" Yang shrieked, flames beginning to form around her and sparks of undiluted rage glistening in her reddening eyes that were trained solely on Ruby.
"Y-yang?" Ruby's face whitened, the anger in her sister's eyes puncturing through her like a knife. "I'm so sorry! I must have drifted off." she reached out a shaking hand, feeling a wave of relief wash over her as her sister's features softened and Yang took the proffered hand and allowed herself to be helped up. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine sis," Yang groaned, rubbing the newly-formed bruise that now decorated her left cheek. "Y'know, I expected Blake to be the first one to smack me like that." she chuckled, nudging her elbow teasingly in Ruby side, receiving an amused snicker from the youngster.
"What's it that you're talking about, and why am I being involved in it?" As silently as her faunus heritage would suggest, Blake dropped to the ground from a nearby oak tree, landing next to the two sisters and regarding them both with a questioning look.
For all the feline grace and elegance that Blake demonstrated as she leapt from the tree, there couldn't have been a greater contrast to the snapping of branches and cries for help as the hapless Jaune Arc tumbled to the ground, landing with a muffled thud on the hard gravel. He pushed himself up with shaky hands, managed a weak "Hey guys" before collapsing back down.
Jaune had been asked to join them on this robbery, for he could carry more than the girls. It was a good learning experience for him as well; giving him the opportunity to try out new skills in a real situation where the outcome mattered. That combined with his natural enthusiasm to help out made him an obvious choice to be a part of their team.
"Hey Jaune." Ruby replied, helping him to his feet with a slight smile, just as she had done with Yang a moment ago.
Yang grinned at the theatrics of Jaune, still holding her sore cheek in her palm, already heat flooding to the surface of her face. She turned to focus on her feline partner, her eyebrows raised suggestively and her lips pulled in a smirk. "And hello there, kitty-kat. Lookin' mighty fine tonight." She purred.
"Cut the formalities," Blake stated wryly, a slight hint of sarcasm in her tone. Ruby could have sworn she saw the raven-haired girl's face ignite for a couple seconds, but shrugged it off when Blake continued her speech. "Anyway, seems we're complete. Shall I begin?"
All three of them nodded in unison and Blake swiftly retrieved a pencil, a flashlight and a blueprint from the backpack Jaune was carrying. Using a handful of stones as paperweights, she spread the blueprint on the gravel for all to see, giving Jaune the task of keeping the flashlight trained on it so they could all clearly see every last detail. "Welcome all, here on this fine eve-"
"Blakeee-" Ruby interrupted, pouting. "We don't have all day-" she paused for a second, "eh night for this. Get to the point."
Blake's eyes narrowed dangerously for a brief moment, her ears falling flat against her scalp before clearing her throat very deliberately and continuing. "So, since starting these meetings with a greeting apparently isn't a thing anymore, let's move on to the topic at hand." So saying she pointed with the pencil at the paper and tapped it a couple of times. "This mansion has a significant quantity of valuables stored inside. According to our intel the owner will be gone for the rest of the weekend, so this is the perfect opportunity to strike." Blake finished before being interrupted by barely suppressed giggling from Yang and Ruby, the faunus looking up with a mix of confusion and irritation. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Yang spluttered, nearly choking in her laughter. "Purr-fect opportunity." At that both sisters burst into a laughing fit, their legs shaking violently as they struggled to remain upright, tears forming in their eyes and the still night was suddenly filled with their high-pitched giggles.
"I can't believe you two." Blake hissed, her furious gaze trained on the two of them before turning to Jaune, the blonde-haired boy also fighting back a chuckle. Upon noticing the fierce amber orbs staring unblinking at him, Jaune swallowed nervously, quickly biting back his laughter.
"That wasn't funny." He deadpanned, his eyes looking around as he deliberately didn't meet Blake's withering gaze.
Blake sighed in a mixture of disappointment and resignation. She should be used to this by now, but clearly she was crazy for going on a heist with these nuttbrains. "As I said, a good opportunity. Sun's already scouted the place and the security is light." Her pencil bounced on a couple spots on the map. "Here and here are tripwire traps, so be careful not to hit those if you don't want the alarm to be triggered. Is this clear?"
Again she received a nod from everyone.
"Pretty much everything inside is valuable so just take what you can. Our entrance and exit is here, and our backup exit is here." She pointed to a front-facing window and another one on the far side of the house.
"Alright then, that's all we need to know. This should be an easy job if we work quickly. If everyone's ready then we go in through this window," Blake paused for a moment, climbing to her feet and walking the short distance to the house, rapping her knuckles against a window next to her. "We should be okay. Yang, want to do the honors?"
"I'd love to." Yang exclaimed with a sly smile as she got up to her feet. She opened the toolbox Ruby had brought with her and retrieved a screwdriver and a hammer.
Ruby raised an eyebrow in confusion, making her way to the toolbox herself before glancing inside. Much to her chagrin, the toolbox was now empty, except for one particular item that raised her confusion and chagrin even more. It was a stone. And a big one too.
"Why is there a stone in the toolbox!?" Ruby shouted in a whisper, grabbing Yang by the collar of her jacket and looking at her with a bewildered look that threatened violence. "Where are my tools?!"
"Well," Yang said, freeing herself from the grip before forcing the edge of the screwdriver under the frame of the window using the hammer. "The screwdriver is to open the window, and the stone is a plan B for when the screwdriver doesn't work." She paused, putting away the screwdriver and grasping the window frame, pulling back with her weight but failing to force it. "Like now." Yang puffed before turning around. "Also, your tools are fine, they're in our room."
Ruby let out an exaggerated groan, before throwing herself against the wall in a way to make her frustration known. Blake and Jaune, simply stood back, snickering as they did so: Ruby should have known Yang would try to prank someone, especially her sister should have seen that coming.
After a few moments, Jaune stepped forward, offering his assistance to Yang who was still trying to brute-force the window. "Yang, should I he-" Suddenly the frame gave way under Yang's violent mannerisms, chunks of wood flying through the air and hitting Jaune right in the face with a thump, knocking him to the ground and the air out of his lungs in the process.
"Oompfh" Jaune grunted, as he - like Yang earlier - was now sprawled in the gravel, his face hurting all over, and a small line blood trickling down from his nose.
"Nailed it!" Yang patted herself on the back, completely ignoring the wounded Jaune scrambling at her feet. "And I didn't even need the stone."
This elicited a long, deep groan from nearby as Ruby slumped forward, feeling defeated.
"Let's go in," Blake proposed, already leaning through the now-opened window. "Standing in this cold is making my spine shiver."
In her time spent in Vale, Ruby had seen the interiors of many fine houses and stately homes. She'd been privy to some of the most exquisite decor and delicate furnishings around, and some of the most valuable artifacts money could buy - and then proceeded to make off with said items. Still, she'd not seen anything quite like the sight that lay before the four of them, and Ruby breathed an amazed "Wow!" as her brain struggled to process the grandeur laid out in front of her.
The room was vast: far larger than any she'd been in before, with two sets of windows running parallel to each other. Thick, heavy curtains of burgundy and gold complimented the gold trimmings of several paintings lining the walls, each depicting a long-dead ancestor of the estate. From the ceiling hung a crystal chandelier, inlaid with diamonds and swinging ever so slightly in the breeze from the open window. A bear-skin rug was sprawled out across the floor, reaching from a designer-brand couch that seemed bigger than Ruby's room to a flat-screen tv the size of a small car.
As everyone entered the room, Ruby took a second to examine some of the paintings. Stern, dour faces scowled down at her as though they knew the purpose of her trespass that night. She'd never really seen the purpose in art: lots of portraits of people long dead wasn't her cup of tea especially when she had no idea who those people were. Having said that there was a smaller painting she'd initially missed that showed a majestic dear, it's coat shining a brilliant white as it stood proud atop a waterfall and she had to admit it was simply enchanting.
"Yeah, uh-" Yang began in a dry tone, flopping herself on the couch, her dufflebag thrown casually on the floor. "We're going to need more bags."
"Just take the stuff that's valuable and nothing more." Blake responded calmly, her eyes surveying the room. "Although, even that might not fit our bags."
"Uhh," Jaune stuttered, raising a finger in question. "So what do we do now?"
"We raid what we want," Ruby murmured, grabbing a plate of cookies that was left standing on the table before sneakily putting it away in her bag, spectacularly failing in her attempt to go unnoticed. She noticed Blake's withering scowl out of the corner of her eye, and forced an innocent grin as Blake shook her head disapprovingly and continued to focus her attention on the job.
"Given how big this place is I think it's better if we split up. One group searches upstairs, the other searches downstairs." Yang suggested, getting to her feet before sauntering over to Blake, throwing an arm around her waist and pulling her close, much to the feline's obvious discomfort. "I take Blakey."
"What!?" Ruby flinched, looking at Yang with a pout: mock hurt etched on her face. "Why do I have to go with Jaune?"
"Hey!" Jaune shouted in disbelief, pausing in the middle of shoving a statue in his dufflebag, "I'm not the worst y'know?"
"Ugh. Fine." Ruby puffed, turning an apologetic wry smile at Jaune. "Sorry for that, Jaune."
"Okay then~" Yang continued, still holding the reluctant raven-haired girl close to herself as she indicated towards the giant staircase that dominated the hall. "How about you two search upstairs, and we continue clearing this floor?"
"Sure." Ruby and Jaune said simultaneously before they strode out the room towards the great staircase, already deep in a fairly amusing conversation about jumping on the bed they'd most likely come across while searching the upstairs bedrooms.
"Typically Ruby." Yang chuckled, a broad smile etched on her face as she watched her sister scurry away. She pulled Blake close against her, the other girl not even bothering to break herself free this time and instead nestling closer into the blonde with a content sigh.
In and amongst the rush of everyday life it's not often that people get a moment of true peace. A moment where nothing seems to truly matter because in that moment everything is perfect in every possible way. A moment where you're with the people who mean the most to you, and that's all you could ever want from life. A moment that sticks with you until the day you die.
Right now, with Blake holding her close, Yang was experiencing such a moment. She gazed around, taking in the luxury they were surrounded by. Her heart ached for it: for the heavy curtains, for the crystal chandelier, for the paintings. Even the bear skin rug. She'd spent her whole life struggling and fighting and being turned away, and at times it had seemed like she'd never win. There had been times when she'd had to go without food for days at a time so that Ruby didn't have to. But this was the end goal: this was what it was for. So that she could give a life like this to Ruby and Blake and Jaune and all of them. All the people who no-one wanted. They deserved a warm bed and a roof over their heads. And in this moment, Yang had never been more sure of herself: she could and would do everything in her power to make that happen.
"Let's go." Yang's voice sounded a bit shrill, the blonde still deep in thought as they left the room, hand in hand, to search the rest of the house.
Ruby's eyes glistened upon flicking the light switch on in what appeared to be the master bedroom, finding herself drawn to the undoubted comfort of the king size bed situated in the center of the room. The deep purple sheets matched the same style of burgundy and gold curtains as were found downstairs. In the corner of the room, a marble statue of a scantily clad woman rested atop an oaken pedestal. At the foot of the bed a small bedside table with a miniature mahogany chest and an adult novel atop it faced a much larger oak cabinet, the heavy doors pulled shut. With her trademark grin, Ruby skipped over to the bed and flopped down gracefully.
"Ruby, what are you doing? We could get caught!" Jaune whispered loudly, looking around nervously.
"Ah c'mon Jaune, you gotta have fun in what you do! Learn to live a little." Ruby pouted as she climbed down from the bed. She retrieved her dufflebag from the side of the bed and grabbed a chocolate-chip cookie from the bottom of the bag, happily munching on it . "Want one?" She offered, pieces of partially-chewed cookie flying out her mouth, much to Jaune's distaste.
"Uhm, I'm fine, thanks." Jaune pulled a crooked smile before placing his own bag on the bed, opening it up ready for the contents of the room. "Let's get loaded."
Ruby smirked as she finished her cookie and made her way over to the cabinet. Behind the heavy oaken frame and glass windows were several treasures, both modern and antiquities, that would all do nicely for their haul. The contents of any one of the cabinet shelves were worth more than most people would earn in a year.
Ruby's enthusiasm was short-lived, as despite her best efforts the handle refused to budge: a considerable barrier to her thieving.
"Damn. Jaune, have you found a key anywhere?" Ruby spoke up, tapping her finger against the glass of the cabinet and squinting at the goods secured within. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jaune's curious gaze focused on the cabinet.
"Nope." He shrugged, turning back to fumbling with a small box on the nightstand next to the bed, a simple padlock in the shape of a heart denying him entry.
"Alright." Ruby spoke resolutely before walking to the toolbox she - as much as she hadn't wanted to - was forced to take with her. Opening it with a click, she reached down in the box, her hands gripping around the stone that was in there, praying a silent 'thank you' to Yang. As much as she hated to admit it, it looked like the stone would have a use after all. "Hello there sweetheart." She caressed the stone, deliberately imitating holding a baby.
"Uhh, Ruby?" Jaune looked up from the box that still seemed beyond him, seeing Ruby take a couple steps back, holding the stone in a slingshot position above her waist behind her. "What are you-"
With a grunt from exertion, Ruby hurled the stone forward, it soaring majestically through the air for a split second before crashing against the door with a thundering force and the ear-puncturing sound of breaking glass as shards covered the ground in front of the cabinet.
"Thank you stone." Ruby whispered with a smile as she carefully retrieved the stone from amidst the mountain of broken glass, shoving it back in the toolbox. The cabinet was seriously damaged, along with more than a few of the treasures within. Standing in front of the broken cabinet, she greedily started grabbing at the now exposed wonders: a handful of pearls displayed on one of the shelves, shortly followed by an expensive looking statue and what appeared to be a golfing trophy. At least, that's what Ruby assumed: the figurine holding aloft a golden golf club would seem to indicate as such.
By now, Jaune had learned not to question the madness and he wasn't even remotely surprised by Ruby's actions anymore, instead deciding to just keep persisting with the mahogany box. It took a few more seconds of fiddling with a hair clip he had found before the lock clicked open and Jaune opened the small case, revealing a set of matching jewelry inside.
He glowered for a moment before carefully placing the contents in his bag, taking a brief moment to appreciate each one as he did so. It dawned on Jaune that he'd probably never held anything that valuable in his life. Looking at the last piece inside the chest, he wondered for a moment. It was a slender gold bracelet with brilliant shining rubies embedded in it.
"How much do you think is worth?" Jaune questioned, handing it over to Ruby, who was now standing behind him.
The second she saw the piece of jewelry, Ruby's eyes widened. Everything about it was simply gorgeous with a definite spark of elegance to it and incredible attention to detail, from the mountings of the rubies to the intricate patterns carved into the precious metal. It must be worth a small fortune, or at least the souls of a few poor fellows, making this. She knew instantly the perfect person for this: a person who'd suit this bracelet like a well-worn glove around a hand, but she had to play this carefully. If Jaune or the others knew what this truly was then there was no way she'd be able to keep it.
Ruby shrugged indifferently. "Gold looks fake, rubies are plastic. Probably won't fetch more than a handful of pennies."
"Argh." Jaune groaned in frustration, refusing to take the bracelet when Ruby offered it back. "Keep it, it's worthless anyway."
"Bingo." Ruby cheered inside her head, making a small jump as soon as Jaune had turned around. She couldn't wait to see the look on Weiss' face when she received it as a gift, and the thought of how happy this would make the young officer made Ruby glow with content.
Jaune was about to discard the now-empty case when his eyes caught a flash of red hidden in the dark corner of the case. Rather hesitantly he peered into the shadows, his curiosity piqued by what appeared to be a tiny red button. Why was it there? Could there be a secret compartment to the jewelry case? Jaune didn't know but he was damn sure he was going to find out.
A small "beep" seemed to sound from somewhere within the badly damaged cabinet, drawing the attention of both young thieves. A miniature door that had previously been camouflaged in the wall swung open, revealing the unmistakable form of an Altesian combat droid, albeit on a much smaller scale. The robot rolled slowly out, its eyes glowing a threatening shade of red as it surveyed the surroundings.
"He is so.. Cute!" Ruby squealed, making a small jump in the air.
"Hehe, yeah, I never knew they were that small. It's barely the size of a dog."
"I know! It's adorable! Can't wait to tell Yang about this."
Before Jaune could reply, the droid rolled forward, two arms swinging out from the side of its body, each seemingly armed with an ironically, miniature version of a minigun.
"Oh boy-" Ruby began before she was cut off by the ear-splitting sound of twin barrels rotating and hundreds of bullet casings crashing to the floor as the robot opened fire.
Fortunately, Ruby's consciousness was faster even than a bullet and in a flash she was out of the door, a traumatised Jaune being dragged unceremoniously along for the ride.
They waited for a moment to catch their breath, their ragged breathing drowned out by the gunfire tearing up the adjacent room. After what seemed like an eternity, however, it stopped and the ringing in their ears began to die down.
"Hey Jaune," Ruby began with a smirk, "You think that ever happened to the owners?"
"Maybe, Ruby, maybe." He chuckled good-naturedly before getting to his feet and offering a hand to his red-headed companion.
"Come on, there's still a couple rooms left to search upstairs and then we've got to meet up with the others. I just hope nothing like that happened to them."
"Woah…" Yang breathed in wide-eyed wonder as she opened the door to the mansion's garage. Rows upon rows of classic cars filled the vast space, each with several lights trained on it. Even the cheapest of these would be worth more than everything she had ever stolen in her lifetime combined, and the car enthusiast within Yang was having a mini-breakdown. Everything was in flawless condition, as though they'd just rolled off the factory that day: it was all she could dream of.
"Think I just climaxed." Yang chuckled embarrassed, a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
"Don't be so dramatic, we're on a job." Blake scowled, passing her companion further into the garage, "Though I have to admit some of these are rather nice."
"See!" Yang grinned, "I knew we'd get that flame sparking in ya sometime!"
"Not likely," Blake responded, "What's that one over there?" She pointed her finger to the center of the showroom, where an object stood in the center of bright lights, on a pedestal with a sheet covering the treasure that lay underneath.
Yang turned to see what Blake was looking at and found herself drawn to this mysterious object. Given the theme of the garage so far she was pretty certain it would be car-related, but what set this apart from the rest?
"Can I?" She asked sweetly, earning another eye-roll from Blake. "Please?"
"Why ask?" Blake said teasingly, "If I said no you'd still look underneath."
"Very sharp observation!" Yang chirped, skipping across the room.
The scent of leather seats and rubber tires, of fresh paintwork and fuel was almost intoxicating to Yang as she approached the pedestal. Cars and vehicles in general were her 'thing' and this was as close to heaven as she'd ever been. Ever since they'd moved to Vale it had been her dream to be able to afford a luxury car for herself and Ruby. To Yang it had always been one of those things that rich had that she couldn't, but that didn't stop her longing after the comfort of the seats or the thrill of her hair whipping about in the wind as she cruised along the beachfront, watching the sunset. If only she could spend more time here with Blake it would be absolute perfection.
"Ready?" She asked Blake who was still watching from the doorway.
"Just do it."
"Okay! Ladies and gentlemen, I, Yang Xiao Long, am proud to present the best of the best, the creme de la creme! This!"
With an exaggerated motion, Yang removed the sheet to reveal the sleek panels and hand-stitched seats that she'd dreamed about for years. It was a vintage car from a few decades ago, back when they made cars purely for car lovers, and everything about it called out to Yang. The chrome grill contrasted nicely with the beautifully molded black panels, and the fold-away roof allowed for truly pleasurable driving, always assuming the weather complied.
"Holy…" Yang mumbled under her breath.
"Okay you've seen what's underneath, can we get back to searching the rest of the house? We can't take any of these with us so they're worthless as far as we're concerned."
"Or, how about we take this beauty for a ride!" Yang beamed, "You know, cruising along the winding roads, the night sky looking down on the two of us. No-one else around just us, the car and the road."
"Nice try Yang," Blake replied unamused, "we're wasting time here. Put that cover back on and follow me: we still have several rooms to search."
"But Blaaaaake!" Yang pouted.
"No means no Yang."
"Okay okay geez. I'll catch up with you later, maybe there are some goodies here."
"Yang Xiao Long, I swear to god, do NOT play with that car, do you hear me?" Blake glared menacingly at the sheepish blonde.
"I wasn't going to!" Yang lied, "I'm just putting the cover back on, that's all."
"You better." Blake called behind her as she left the garage and headed back into the main part of the house.
Yang waited for all of three seconds to make sure Blake was definitely gone, before she turned back eagerly towards the car on the pedestal.
"Let's see what you've got, sweetheart." Yang purred, rubbing her hands together in satisfaction.