The Letter: A RWBY Fanfic
By R. A. Howard
The house was too damn quiet. It had been since Ruby had left, off to save the world or something. Yang didn't know, or really care. It was just one more abandonment in her life. Even her dad was leaving her alone rather than trying to draw her out; he'd searched for Ruby, but she'd left no clues as to where she was heading, other than she'd be with Jaune, Nora and Ren. She hadn't even said goodbye. Letters don't count.
Yang plopped down on the sofa beside the screen and blinked back tears. With the Central Transmit Tower down, she'd not bothered watching anything. A Scroll lay on the coffee table; after a moment she picked it up and opened a search on the Scroll's archives. Anything was better than being left alone with her thoughts. But all there were was old videos and family movies. More things to remind her of being alone. She flicked her finger across the screen and the titles swirled past in a blur, finally pausing on R.
Raven.
She forced herself to take a breath. The file was archived, but was still saved in the Scroll's memory. Her Dad had saved a file on her mother. Her fingers twitched away from the screen, and then she laid the Scroll on the table, taking her own Scroll out, and copied it. Her hand trembled as she forced herself to wait for the file to finish loading, and then confirmed she wanted to open the file.
Her Scroll flickered for a moment as it opened the file, and Yang blinked in surprise as her stepmother Summer stared nervously back at her from the screen, looking so much like Ruby with shortish hair that faded from dark to red at the tips. She reached toward the screen to turn it off but paused as Summer started to speak. It had been so long she'd forgotten the sound of the woman who'd raised her as her own for the first five years of her life.
"Raven," Summer paused and took a shuddering breath. Yang's eyes widened. She'd never seen her mother like this... she looked like she'd been crying, her silver eyes, so similar to Ruby's, shimmering on the screen. Summer closed her eyes and composed herself as she forced herself to speak again. "I—you're never going to get this letter, Raven. I know that. You're gone. Probably dead. I mean, Qrow's looked everywhere for you and hasn't found a thing. You know? Tiayang still misses you. Even now. It's been over a year since you left. A year since—since you gave birth to Yang. And ran."
The last two words were short, chopped. Anger bled through them, and Yang recoiled as Summer's eyes opened, gleaming in the light. She'd told Ruby so many stories about how awesome their mom had been. But she'd rarely mentioned this bit... on how her eyes would burn when she caught Yang doing something stupid and got hurt. Summer shook her head and turned away from the screen.
"I—Yang's doing well. She's got me wrapped around her little finger," Summer said, her voice calming, and a small smile lit up her face. Yang's throat tightened. Summer blinked away tears with her next words, and Yang rubbed her own eyes as the screen blurred suspiciously. "She's a daughter to me. I remember that moment I realized how much I love her. She'd just woken up and was burbling and waving her little hands around. She looked right at me with those huge beautiful lilac eyes and smiled. My heart skipped a beat—I teased her, told her I knew she was trying to wrap me around her little finger."
Summer glanced around with a smile and leaned in toward the screen to whisper "it worked." Yang smiled back at her mother, blinking away tears. "I mean, who couldn't love her? I—I don't understand," Summer said, her voice getting tight. "I don't understand why you left. I remember when Qrow called, told me to come over to Tiayang's place. Immediately. I got here and he told me you were gone. Not dead... for a moment that's..." Summer closed her eyes, trembling, and turned away from the screen again.
"I hate myself. I—maybe it would have been better if you'd died. I mean... you're my friend! Maybe my best female friend! Sure, you're reserved. You always hid a part of yourself. Qrow's like you that way, though I drew him out eventually. But I thought you—why'd you leave? How could you?!" She turned back to the screen, tears streaming down her face.
"So yeah. Qrow calls and he's panicking and angry. You'd just... left. He said you told him you didn't want to raise a kid and just walked out! Why'd you—Qrow insisted he was going to find you. Bring you back," she trembled and drew in a shuddering breath, her voice barely breaking with her next sentence. "Damn it, you broke Tiayang's heart! You went and said 'I don't' want this or her' and left! Flew away!"
Yang clenched her eyes shut, clenching her fist so hard her nails cut into her palm while she struggled to keep sobs in. Abandoned. Again. She half-heard Summer continue to speak in the background, her voice anguished at first and then half-laughing, half-crying. "I love you, you know. You're my friend. But I really really want to smack you upside the head. Heh... you're fast, but I'm the one member of our team who could keep up with you and smack you upside the head.
"Remember how Qrow would joke when we got into fights in school he was going to get Tiayang some popcorn? Oh, I remember when you smacked him after he did it! It kind of defused our argument, didn't it? I don't even remember why we were fighting. You didn't agree with my tactics or something. I mean... we're friends but we're opposites in so many ways."
Summer paused and took several breaths, and Yang took the opportunity to wipe her eyes on her forearm. She was reaching toward the Scroll to turn it off when Summer started speaking again. "You know? Qrow was drunk when I arrived? He was drinking something you and Tiayang were given for a housewarming gift. He'd been crying when he called. I know he had been. He'd stopped by the time I got there. He was drowning those tears with that bottle." Summer paused, looking down at her hands, and then looked back up to stare at Yang through the screen. "Why'd he think I'd know how to care for a baby? I'm no mom! I used to play with weapons as a kid, not dolls!"
Just like Ruby, Yang thought. Ruby's just like her.
Summer smiled suddenly, looking past the screen. "He walked me through changing Yang that first time. Who'd have thought your brother would know how to change diapers and how to prepare formula? Oh Raven... he should have stayed, not me," she sighed and shook her head. "So yeah. He went after you. I'm left with Tiayang and with this beautiful bright bundle of squalls, shrieks, and messy diapers," Summer laughed, her eyes lighting up as she pushed the hair away from her eyes. "And smiles. And those beautiful smiles."
Her face reddened and she drew her hands up over her chest. "Oh man. She wasn't so happy my first night here. I'd stayed to help Tiayang get things together. She woke in the middle of the night all crying and hungry and I picked her up and—and she tried to nurse from me. Oh Dust, my face is burning!" Yang's face blazed as well and she glanced away. She could barely remember Summer nursing Ruby. "And Yang just—she tried to—right through my pajama top! Tiayang came in and he started laughing and then started crying... why, Raven? Why'd you leave? Why'd you abandon them? Abandon us?
"Tiayang—heh. You know? At first he was just bumbling. He had no idea what to do. I mean, neither did I! But he started getting things together. I had to kick his ass a few times... oh you stop," Summer leaned back, raising an eyebrow, and added "Yang's asleep. She's not going to pick up that language from me. If you have a problem with it, Miss High-and-Mighty, come back and wash my mouth out with soap. If you can."
Summer paused and then shrugged. "I stuck around. I had to, I couldn't just abandon him! So I gave up going on assignments. I took a couple that were near the cabin. And then Tiayang got a job teaching at Signal. Teaching!" Summer shook her head, her smile lighting up her eyes. "I think more than Yang, that teaching job helped him pull things together. So yeah. I stayed. I offered to watch Yang for him." She glanced down and murmured "for me."
"Her first smile. Snagging my hair in her hands..." Summer laughed, her hands brushing back hair which reached her shoulders. "Your daughter has a very strong grip! She wouldn't let go and I was so scared of hurting her! Tiayang came to my aid. He distracted her with a plush Grimm." Summer rolled her eyes and Yang couldn't help but laugh at the exasperated tone in her voice. "I swear, I have no idea why he thinks toys of the very monsters seeking to kill us all are suitable toys for our daughter but-" her eyes grew strickened. "His!" She closed them and sighed. "No. Yang is our daughter now."
She sniffed hard, her eyes shining again with unshed tears as she stared into the screen. "How could you do this, Raven? How? Why? I'm stealing your daughter's love! She—I remember when she first called me mama! She looked right at me and said mama. Twice! She wasn't babbling or anything. She looks at me and sees her mother! She calls me mama all the time now! She loves me! If Qrow arrived this very second dragging you behind him she wouldn't know who you are! Oh, she'd look at you with her beautiful eyes... and she'd be so happy to see you! But you'd be a stranger to her. She wouldn't know who you are. She'd call me mama, not you!
"Do you know how much this tears me up? I love you, Raven! You're my friend! But you abandoned her! You abandoned Tiayang. You abandoned me! And for what?" Summer's voice cracked as the tears flowed down her cheeks. "What? What was worth losing your daughter's love? What is worth having me become her mother?! I wasn't ready for this! I have no idea what to do! Is that it? Was it fear? You didn't have the courage to take your daughter in your arms? What, you thought she'd make you soft?!
"I hate you!" Summer shouted, and Yang cringed, hugging herself close. "How could you! You just had to have it your way, didn't you? You screwed up everything! All our hopes, our dreams... and why? Because you're scared? You don't think I'm scared? I'm a huntress! You know, one day I could go off on a mission and not come back! Who'll raise our children then? Who-"
Summer stopped, her eyes wide. For one moment Yang saw fear, before Summer smothered it, forcing it down. Her voice was much softer now. "Um... yeah. Children. I—I don't know how it happened." She rolled her eyes and her tone was exasperated again, half-joking, trying to pull herself out of the maelstrom of emotions swirling around her. "No, you don't have to tell me about the birds and the bees, Raven. I know how... it's just." Summer sighed. "I feel like a ghoul sometimes. Except you're not dead. I hope you're not. You're just gone..." Yang could barely hear Summer's whispered plea "please don't be dead?" She took a deep breath, her voice wavering as she struggled with words, trying to avoid silence. "You're just gone. And I'm here spending all my time at the cabin. Tiayang's here. I've a mom to your daughter. I've fed her, changed her, I play with her. And he's become an awesome dad. He's a real papa wolf. And then Qrow came back. He hadn't found you and he was drunk. He said something—he joked at how Tiayang and I... he asked when we're getting married..."
Summer closed her eyes and the stress just seemed to drain from her. She opened them again, her eyes pleading, and whispered. "I slept with him." She suddenly looked taken aback and quickly added "Tiayang. Not Qrow. Oh man that would be—yeah, that would probably be a bad idea!" Her tone grew exasperated and her eyes glinted with spirit again, her confession out there. "You turned your brother into a drunk. There's another reason I owe you a smack!" In a softer voice she added "but I suppose you're owed a smack in return. I mean, I slept with the father of your child. It's been—Dust, easily over a year now. And we're Yang's parents now. She's running around everywhere. I swear it was just yesterday when she was starting to crawl and now? Now she's running helter skelter everywhere and trying to outrace me."
Yang could hear the laughter in Summer's voice as she said "I like to pretend I can't keep up and she's giggling and finds it hilarious... I'm pregnant." Summer blinked and swallowed. She hugged herself and glanced over her shoulder and then back to the screen. "What am I going to do?" She asked, looking lost for one brief moment. "What's Tiayang going to say?" She blinked and rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I'm being an idiot, aren't I. I mean, he's going to love her. Or him. But I have to admit... I kind of want a second daughter. And there's with that damn guilt again, Raven. You had to—
"Thank you," Summer sighed, her eyes shining once more with suppressed tears, and the screen blurred before Yang wiped her sleeve across her own eyes.
"I hate you. And I love you so much. And I've stolen your daughter's heart. I've stolen the man you crushed on since you first saw him at Beacon and you left but—but I'm pregnant. And we've become a family. A family!
"Please come back?" Summer pleaded, reaching out toward the screen. "Please? I want Yang to know you. I want her to have two moms. I want my friend back! Nothing's more important than your daughter and family. And you're my family. And I'm sorry I've kind of stepped into your place. Taken your nest. You left. You tore up everything, everyone. And now I'm pregnant and I'm scared and yet I do want this. I do want my child. I want to raise her with Yang. I want Yang to be her cool big sister. I want us to be family.
"Come home, please?" Summer begged, tears running down her cheeks again. She clenched her eyes shut and then reached out toward the screen. The Scroll went dark. All Yang could hear were her own sobs as her grief found an outlet.
"Blake..."