( * * )
Shadows… They were everywhere… Running… Screaming… From fire… Fire that caught them… Hurt them… Laughing… At their screams… Their pain… Its gold eyes shining with glee…
Ruby awoke with a frightened gasp, her eyes snapping open. She panted desperately, looking around for shadows and fire. It took a couple of moments for her to recognize her team's dorm room, bathed in moonlight. The soft breathing of her teammates was the only thing that pervaded the night's silence.
Calming down a bit, Ruby laid her head back onto the pillow and let out a shaky breath.
That dream again. Even after all this time, well over a year since her freshman year, the memories of the Vytal Festival still haunted her.
Ruby closed her eyes and buried her face in her pillow, tears beginning to run down her face as she sniffled, a soft sob escaping from her quivering lips.
She nearly jumped when arms tightened around her midsection, making her aware of the body pressed up against her back.
"Hey," a familiar voice whispered, "You okay?"
Oh yeah, Emmy snuck in tonight. For whatever reason, her girlfriend would sneak into the dorm some nights to cuddle with Ruby, always waiting until after the rest of Team RWBY fell asleep. Not that Ruby minded: she just figured it was a thief thing.
"Bad dream?" Emerald's voice brought her back to reality.
"… Yeah…"
"... Was it the fire dream?"
"N-no." Ruby didn't want to talk about her nightmare, especially with Emerald. She wasn't the only one who got scars from what happened.
The arms withdrew, and the press of Emerald's body disappeared from Ruby's back. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and allowed herself to be rolled over.
Red eyes examined her tear-stained face. Emerald let out a tired sigh. "You're still the worst liar I ever met," she said softly. She reached out and began petting Ruby, smoothing out her hair with each gentle stroke of her hand, "We really need to work on that."
Ruby closed her eyes, savoring the contact. She didn't know why, but Emerald petting her always felt so soothing.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. She felt Emerald's free hand take hers.
"You don't have to apologize," she said, giving her hand a squeeze, "It takes awhile to get over these things. Believe me, I should know."
Ruby looked at her girlfriend. "That's not what I'm apologizing for."
Emerald's hand stilled, her expression hardening slightly.
Ruby averted her gaze. She could never look the thief in the eye when the subject was so much as implied, the fear and shame she felt when Emerald and Mercury were placed in Team RWBY's custody their second year flowing back.
"We already talked about this," Emerald's tone was still soft, but it had a slight edge to it.
"I know, but… you looked up to her, even with what she did," Ruby's voice was small, fresh tears threatening to pool in her eyes, "And that she did so much for you and Mercury, and…"
"Ruby," she felt a hand cup her cheek, "Look at me."
Reluctantly, Ruby's silver eyes met Emerald's red.
"I get it," Emerald's tone was firm, "It… It still gets to me, yeah, but I get it. You tried to get her to back down, and she wouldn't. You didn't have a choice; she didn't give you one. You did the only thing you could do. If it was me, I'd probably do the same thing."
She let out a sigh, "I won't lie: I hated you. I really did. I thought you were an annoying, stupid, goody-two-shoes little kid who didn't know the first thing about the real world. And I was kind of right." She flashed Ruby a smile, "But then I learned you're more than that. You're a fun, smart, silly girl who loves strawberries and can swing around sniper scythe twice your size. Wait, sorry – a customizable, high-impact sniper scythe."
Ruby giggled softly. She felt Emerald's hand shift to the back of her head, and was pulled closer, their foreheads touching.
"You're a good person, Ruby. Don't ever think otherwise."
Ruby smiled, tears streaming down her face.
They lay there for a few moments, basking in each other's presence.
"You good?" Emerald asked.
Ruby nodded, "Yeah."
"Good. C'mere." Emerald wrapped her arms around Ruby, pulling her close. Ruby melted into the embrace, linking her arms around Emerald's neck and tucking her head under her chin.
"Now get some sleep," Emerald whispered into her hair, "You don't wanna flunk Goodwitch's test tomorrow."
Ruby took in a deep breath, taking in the smell of the peppermint scented soap Emerald used, "Goodnight, Emmy."
In a few moments Ruby drifted off, lulled by her girlfriend's warmth and heartbeat.
( * * )
Well, apparently I planned on this being a multi-chapter fic instead of a one-shot without letting me know. Curse you, me.
And look, a chapter that's equal parts fluff and drama!
Yeah, I don't really have any concrete plans for this: but since I'm currently stuck on Emerald/Ruby, I guess I'll use this as my dumping ground for my Gems fics.
As such, let me get a few things straight:
First, there won't be an update schedule. I'm doing this mostly for fun and I have other things to focus on. So don't be surprised if there's a one-to-six month's gap between updates.
Two, the closest I have to a concrete plan for this is that all chapters will be one-shots, unless stated otherwise, and they all take place in RWBY's third year at Beacon. I'm not sure if I'll ever get into the second year proper, but I'll probably allude to it in the fic, like I did here. And, I'm not sure if I can do romance well, we'll have to see.
Three, the genre of each chapter will depend solely on what I feel like writing, as evidenced with the difference between the first and second chapters.
So, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed it.
Edit: had to take it down real quick - for some reason the line I had disappeared, so I needed to edit the thing. Sorry.
