AN: In no way am I connected to RWBY or Rooster Teeth
Qrow could count on one hand how many times Tai had asked for a swig from his flask. He was very certain this was going to be one of those days.
After Mercury had said his choice, he had turned around to reunite with the girls. He had accepted their hugs, but Qrow saw him tense up as he was touched and take a deep breath. He saw Emerald whisper to him, but he had stayed at a distance to avoid pressuring him. He didn't hear the words. Ruby smiled at least.
The first thing he had done was buy scrolls for Emerald and Mercury. For the time being, Mercury had handed his to Ruby. Qrow had then given Ruby quite a bit of money and told them to go on a shopping spree. The two were going to need a lot more than one set of clothes. He hadn't gone with them, but told Ruby to get what they needed for now and to keep unnecessities to a minimum. He wasn't expecting Ruby to be left with any money.
At least the kids weren't spoilt.
Qrow had asked for, and had been granted, a meeting room in Hotel Dawn. It was on the fourth floor and the window overlooked the shopping street they were currently on. He had asked Tai to meet him here and, given that Ruby had just led the other two into a three storey store, he would be able to see her leave it. Qrow was amused to Zwei happily trot along, separate from Tai and sit outside the shop.
Tai looked exhausted when he walked into the room and collapsed in the chair. "This had better be good Qrow. I want to see my daughter."
Qrow gestured out the window. "She's in that building. The situation's a little more complicated than you think and you aren't going to like it."
"You know what sort of week I've had. I just want to see Ruby."
"Ruby…" Qrow didn't know the proper way to tell someone this, especially a father, but Tai obviously had little patience at the moment. He didn't blame him. "Tai, do you know what an Animin bond is?"
"Doesn't ring a bell. You're saying Ruby's somehow bonded to someone?"
"Two actually. All three of them are bonded to the two others. They need to be kept close together or there's a very good chance Ruby's going to end up ill again."
That convinced Tai this was a conversation he needed to have now. "This bond was the reason Ruby was ill?"
"Yep. The other two, Emerald and Mercury, met last Friday. As two of the bonded had met, they wanted to search out the third, which happens to be Ruby. Two days ago, Emerald was badly injured and the illness shifted to her so Ruby could go them. I don't think it was until Ruby bumped into Mercury she began to think clearly again."
Tai rubbed his head and let out a sigh of relief. Ruby hadn't run away intentionally. "So this bond influences their decisions?"
"I don't know. All I know is that they have to stay together until it stabilises. They can't be very far apart without feeling pain. I imagine that if one of them gets separated, one of them is going to fall ill until it sorts itself out. At the moment, if one dies so do the others, which could be the same day to the same week. That changes when it stabilises, though they don't know that. From talking to them, now they've found one another, there doesn't seem to be any influence to their decisions." From the bond anyway.
"I've heard about something like that, actually. It was between two though, not three."
"I know of five others, but it was the same thing. One of them was between three and the rest two. An Animin bond. No idea how they're formed."
"How far apart?"
"One of them was a twenty minute walk away from the other two this morning and that was too far."
"So separate houses isn't going to be enough. Have you explained this to their families?"
"They don't have any. Emerald was a street kid less than a fortnight ago and Mercury had been physically abused by his father before he killed him that very Friday. They have no one."
"Mercury killed his father?" Understandably, Tai was very concerned about that.
"He was trained as an assassin. The thought though was that he was just pushed too far that night and he had had enough. He himself hasn't said anything."
"He is bonded to Ruby? Can't it be broken?"
"Not without killing Ruby."
Tai's eyes caught the events out the window. Qrow followed his gaze. Ruby had left the shop and had very happily caught Zwei when he jumped into her arms. After a moment, Emerald petted him as well. Mercury seemed to have been delegated to carry the shopping bags, but he didn't approach the dog until Ruby and Zwei turned to look at him. He reached his hand out for Zwei to sniff and jerked it back as if electrocuted when the dog licked it.
The girls laughed.
"Who was his father?"
"Marcus Black."
Tai rested his head on his thumbs. "Haven't heard that name in a long while. Most thought he had retired or had been killed and the body was never found."
"Emerald did say it took all day to find their house and that was with directions. It wasn't until they saw the fire that they found it. I never knew the guy had a son."
"Who's 'they'?"
"Quite possibly the worst person who could have taken them in."
Ruby put Zwei down and gestured to the other two. She gave Zwei one final pat and slipped inside the next store. The other two followed, Emerald giving the dog a pet as well.
"Someone completely immoral, I take it."
"One of the first things she wanted them to do was kill someone else. The three got in over their heads and she abandoned them to die. That's how Emerald was injured." Qrow wasn't going to tell Tai about the Maidens, but he didn't need to. To Tai, who they attacked would be irrelevant.
"And they went along with that?"
"I don't think Mercury knew any better. I doubt his father taught him morals. Emerald was so grateful to have somewhere to belong that she was going to do everything she was told. For a kid who had been starved of basic human rights all her life, she wouldn't care about right and wrong compared to the one who saved her."
There was no way to keep Emerald and Mercury away from Ruby. Without locking up Ruby as well, the other option was to essentially adopt the pair, at least for the short term. Depending on how they settled, that may need to change.
Tai knew that as well. He would never hurt Ruby, so he had to put up with the other two. Yang would agree, with a few curses.
"Okay, let's start with Emerald. What do I need to know?"
Qrow studied everything he had seen about her, both from what she had said to her interactions with Ruby and Mercury. With a little encouragement from Ruby, Emerald had spoken about her past, but what did that mean for them? What problems could occur with her staying with them?
"Emerald is rather simple. She grew up on the streets on her own. No one raised her or she doesn't remember it and she remembers being quite small. Despite that, she does know how to interact socially. She's longed for a family all her life. She is already very fond of Ruby. When they thought they were threatened, Emerald put herself between Ruby and that threat."
Tai managed a smile. "I wonder what Ruby would say in gaining another protective sister. Don't imagine Yang will be very happy." That was an understatement. "Any problems that you can see?"
Now that he mentioned it… "The only thing that might be a problem is that she's been promised a better life before and that nearly ended in her death. I don't think it's fully clicked yet that the last person who took her in didn't care about her at all. When it does, I'm not sure how she'll react."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, then." Tai rubbed his temples. "I'm guessing Mercury's going to be a little more of a problem."
"Emotionally, he is by far the weakest of the three. He was physically abused by Marcus, but that's all I know. I've seen scars on him and he isn't used to physical touch. He tolerates it from the girls, but I don't think he will for anyone else. Most likely, he associates touch with pain."
"Ruby will cure him of that. Qrow, please tell me one thing. Is this a romantic bond?"
That was an interesting question, but it did have a simple answer. "No. At least not on its own. It's definitely a choice between them. There was an Animin bond between twins and one couple with the same bond both married someone else. They were successful marriages too."
"So there's no need to worry about Mercury becoming Ruby's boyfriend?"
"Mercury doesn't know how to be a friend, never mind boyfriend. To get him to that stage is a hell of a lot of progress. He genuinely cares for Ruby though, so he's going to be spending a lot of time with her."
"If he knows his boundaries with both Ruby and Yang, fair enough."
Mercury's words came back to Qrow. He had to be handled a little more delicately than Emerald.
"Be careful Tai. He's a very strong fighter, but he is very willing to take the pain that comes with leaving and if he leaves, Emerald will as well. If he feels threatened, he'll go. Don't push him. It took a bit of convincing to get him to stay."
"Even with the Animin bond?"
"Whether they become ill or not; that's a guess. They all receive pain when they are apart, with a greater distance meaning greater feeling. Mercury is very used to pain."
Emerald would probably adapt to home life quite easily, even though she had been living rough nearly all her life. Mercury, despite being used to living under someone's roof, was probably going to struggle.
Ruby didn't like clothes shopping. This time though, it wasn't the constant changing of outfits that bothered her.
In honesty, Ruby had expected Emerald at least to have fun and she could tell that she did. The problem though was shared between both her and Mercury: they chose very little. It wasn't that Ruby was short on money, Uncle Qrow had given her plenty. She had thought they would take full advantage. For some reason, they didn't.
When she spotted Mercury cast an eye over sleeping bags though, she immediately knew what they were thinking. Ruby rubbed his wrist, bringing his attention to her. He didn't jerk as badly to her touch that time.
"You're…not sure about this at all, are you?"
Mercury gave her a smile. It looked genuine, but she was sure it was forced. "It's nothing."
If he was lying, then he was very good at it. Ruby was sure he was. His pulse was too fast for him to be telling the truth.
"It'll be okay Merc."
Mercury didn't answer. Emerald re-joined them then, giving Ruby the compass that they had bought. Next term at Signal, she was going to be learning about surviving alone in the wilderness and had been given a list of things to get. Yang had broken hers.
They weren't sure what was going to happen when term started at Signal again. Not only did Ruby and Yang attend Signal, both Dad and Uncle Qrow taught there too, even if Uncle Qrow was sometimes part time. Mercury knew he turned seventeen soon and Emerald thought she was about that age as well. Uncle Qrow agreed that they were skilled enough to get into Beacon with Yang, but there was still a term at Signal left.
They had two weeks before that though.
At the next clothes shop, Ruby was a lot more insistent. Emerald caved in rather quickly, but she had to pull out the puppy dog eyes on Mercury. He had more resistance than Dad, but he still gave up rather soon. Emerald found that funny.
The chuckles faded when Ruby led them into a Mechanic's. She had no idea what sort of maintenance Mercury's prosthetics required, but it was a necessity. He quizzed her a bit on her toolbox at home and he told her she had everything he needed. Her response was to tell him to get a few parts that may be damaged and needed replacing or upgrading.
Mercury did wander around a bit, before he stopped and ran his fingers down a bullet chamber for a shattered police gun. "Ruby, does anyone in your family use Dust rounds?"
"Well, Dad and Yang do. Uncle Qrow does sometimes. Why?"
"I fancied a better long range."
"Oh, okay. There's got to be a Dust shop around here." Ruby was surprised he had any long range at all. She could see why he would want to improve.
Mercury gave her a funny look. "What, just like that?"
Ruby didn't understand. "Yes…? Is something wrong?"
"Dust is pretty expensive Ruby," Emerald pointed out.
Then Ruby understood. They didn't see Dust as a necessity. "It's okay. If Uncle Qrow complains, I'll give him some of my money. I just want to see it. What Dust do you want?"
"Are you sure?" How stubborn was Mercury going to be? "I can't pay you back."
"You can pay me back by showing me how it works. So what'll it be?"
"…Wind. Wind will do nicely."
Yang jumped when she heard the front door and ran at a speed that rivalled Ruby's to see who it was. As it happened, it was Dad and Zwei. Before disappointment and panic could set in, Zwei barked with his tail wagging. He was in a good mood.
"Where's Ruby?"
"She's on her way home, rather slowly, with Qrow. With a few new friends."
Those words were a relief in so many ways. "New friends? Good for her." Ruby struggled sometimes. "Did they find her?"
"Actually, she found them-"
"What, did she knock into them or something?" She chuckled.
"Apparently yes, actually." That chuckle became a laugh. After dumping a few bags in the guest room, Dad went into the kitchen and then pointed at the sofa. Confused, Yang sat next to him. "There's a few things you need to know about them."
"Like what? Are they bad for Ruby?"
"Just the opposite."
Dad told her a bizarre tale then. Ruby was somehow bonded to two strangers. When the strangers met, Ruby became ill because she was alone. Ruby then ran halfway across the Kingdom to find them, chasing after a feeling that caused them to meet. All because of a bond that made no sense. Why was Ruby connected to someone who grew up outside the Kingdoms and someone who had been a street kid in Vacuo? At least Uncle Qrow knew what it was and Dad had heard of it.
"So the two are staying here for a while?"
"Until the bond stabilises at least so they can be away from each other without harming them. We'll go from there, then."
Yang had no problems with that. She could share her family for a short while. "So what are they like?"
Dad actually seemed to think about that. "They're both rather solitary. They're certainly not social butterflies. Emerald's quite friendly, but Mercury prefers to be alone. I honestly don't know them that well. I only met them today."
"So they're mostly unknowns. Cool." She would have some fun with that.
Two hours later, Yang heard the front door again. This time, she heard a well-loved voice calling for her. Whether Ruby liked it or not, she got a Yang bear hug. "Do not do that again Ruby," Yang scolded as she mostly let go. Uncle Qrow slipped past them.
"I won't. I promise." Ruby did look very guilty, but Yang had to be sure.
"So, how long you grounded for?"
"Until I go to Beacon."
Yep, Ruby was miserable enough. "It could be worse Ruby."
"That's two years Yang!"
"He'll probably let up on your birthday." Although, Ruby's birthday had been last month, so she would still be waiting a while.
"That's still too long."
"Ruby…You scared the life out of us."
Ruby did look depressed. "Yeah, I know."
Yang rubbed her hands together. "Now that's out of the way: introductions!"
Ruby certainly perked up. "Right. Big sis Yang, meet Emerald and Mercury."
Right, first impressions. For starters, they were either hers or Ruby's age (and Yang was thinking probably her own). Emerald was guarded, but curious. Yang was sure she was the street kid. She did seem okay with being around Ruby though. Mercury was different. While Emerald had been studying the house, his eyes had remained on people. Right now, his grey eyes were staring at her with disinterest. He was also a few steps away from the girls.
Solitary, huh Dad?
Well, at least looks wise, Ruby could have done worse. Mercury had better stay away from her romantically though.
"Good to meet you," Emerald answered first.
Mercury smirked. "Likewise."
Things were going to get interesting around here.
Taiyang liked being an early riser. Too much time in bed was time wasted and he always had something to do. Today, his first order of business was to water the flowers outside. It had been quite a few days of sun and no rain.
He was skimming through the kitchen cupboards when he sighed.
"Qrow, would it kill you to hum a little tune or something when you sneak up on people?"
"Probably."
A thought occurred to Tai. He turned around and leaned against the counter. "So any particular reason you are up this early?" Usually he wasn't up for another hour when he was home.
"Just wondering if you knew when one of our new guests went outside this morning."
Tai frowned and glanced at the cupboards. There was nothing missing, so whoever it was hadn't had breakfast. "Which one and what are they doing?"
"Mercury and he was meditating until I opened the front door. Then he became very defensive."
"Anyone else up?"
"Not yet."
Tai hummed. If no one had eaten yet, then they may as well eat together. He needed to go on a shopping trip anyway, so he may as well use what was left. There was easily enough for a scrambled egg on toast. Possibly with bacon and mushrooms if he didn't overcook them.
The night before, Tai had planned to cook salmon for the four of them, though Ruby running off had kind of ruined that plan. When he found out he was hosting an additional two and would be for a little while, he had changed that to lasagne. Not only was it easier on short notice, it would also be able to teach him a few things. He also didn't have enough salmon for all of them.
He had seen Emerald was malnourished. Despite Cinder's many crimes and cruelty, it would seem she kept her promise to Emerald. She was already on the way to recovery for that, as she ate more than she should have been able to if she was fresh off the street. She also waited for Ruby and Yang to take their share and only went for hers when Qrow and Tai made it clear they were moving after her. Emerald didn't take any more than the sisters did.
Mercury didn't even approach the table until the others were seated and after Qrow made a comment about poisoning the food. While Tai had given Qrow a death glare, he did hear a snort of amusement from Mercury. By the time he turned around, Mercury was in his seat. Like Emerald, he didn't take any more than the sisters did.
There were two things that Emerald and Mercury shared. The first was that they ate very quickly. The second had been easy to see as Yang and Ruby had been eating with them. When Ruby and Yang ate something, they ate their favourite parts first, so they picked their way through both the lasagne and the salad at the same time. Emerald and Mercury didn't; they focused on the higher nutrition before moving on to everything else on the plate.
There was a slight problem for Tai. He had figured out by the end of that dinnertime that these teens would eat anything that was put in front of them. They would also eat the best things for them first. This did make it a little difficult to determine their favourite food.
Come to think of it, they probably don't have any.
"The full breakfast Tai?"
"What? Are you not hungry?"
Qrow scoffed. "Like I was turning that down even if I wasn't. What I meant is that they may start to get used to this."
"That's the point." Tai narrowed his eyes. "They're kids Qrow. I get that they screwed up. I get that they haven't really be punished for it other than their injuries. I also get they only did it because they didn't have another option. Until they prove otherwise, I'm deciding they're not bad kids and that's how they're going to be treated."
Qrow gave him a look that he had learned to define as 'that is either the best idea ever or it is going to backfire horribly'. It was surprising how often those two statements coincide.
As it was Qrow who brought them back here in the first place, Tai knew he was on board with it. No matter how reluctantly.
"I also get they make Ruby happy and, quite frankly, she needs to learn how to make friends."
Qrow chuckled at that. "Good luck finding another person near her age that can speak technobabble, as Yang likes to call it."
Okay. Positive: Ruby could talk easily about a topic she really liked. Negative: it didn't deal with the problem that she struggled to talk about anything else other than technobabble.
"Yang also asked what happened to the Scrabble board."
Tai rubbed his temples. "It's in the cupboard in my room. Do they even remember what happened last time?"
Qrow grabbed a mug of coffee. He must be tired. "Probably not. To be fair, I looked and 'chillax' is in the dictionary."
"Since when?"
A shrug was his response.
Still, a game of Scrabble would keep them out of trouble for a few hours. Yang and Ruby alone could be a handful. Who knew what trouble they could get into with two more accomplices?
Speaking of which…
Tai heard a door open quietly. It certainly wasn't Yang as she liked to slam them. It was also on the ground floor, not upstairs. That meant it was Emerald.
He pushed the bacon around a little. At the edge of his vision, he could see her eyeing it. Maybe she noticed he saw or suspected it, because she began backing out of the kitchen very slowly.
"Emerald." She froze when Tai called her. He turned to face her properly, though much of his focus remained on not burning the bacon. "How many slices of toast do you want?"
It very obviously took a few seconds for that question to register with her. She glanced at the loaf, maybe counting how many slices there were. "Two please."
At least I don't have to teach her manners.
"Hey kid." At Qrow's words, Emerald immediately shifted her attention to him. Defensive. That didn't change when Qrow threw her a cereal bar. "Go get the others for breakfast, would you?"
Emerald was munching it as she headed outside.
"Bribing her already?" Tai asked, almost laughing. He had caught Qrow doing that quite often with the sisters.
"Different reason," Qrow replied. "Tai, do you know why they immediately offered to do the dishes last night?"
"To be useful."
"Yep. Also to earn their meals. And I'm rather worried about the fact Mercury seemed to consider that there was something in the food last night. Not sure if he's paranoid or used to that."
Tai sighed. He glanced out the window. Mercury was now in view, munching on something. Maybe half of Emerald's cereal bar. They were heading back to the house in silence.
"At least I don't have to worry about them trashing the house," he muttered under his breath. "So, for the time being, let them do the dishes." Until they felt comfortable enough that they knew they weren't going to get thrown out.
"Don't worry Tai. I'm sure you can find other chores for the sisters to do."
Tai glared at him. "Now there are five of us for your Semblance, if you don't start pulling your weight, you'll be joining them."
The front door opened. The two adults didn't visibly acknowledge it.
"Okay, not happening." Qrow's scandalous expression was a little too extreme. Still, this was a topic that always resulted in an argument. "And you can't make me."
"Then I'll put your flask into the naughty cage." Raven had helped Summer pick out the best bird cage for the job of putting him in it, only to find herself in it before Qrow. The flask would do just fine. "I have blackmail material and I'm not afraid to use it."
"You'll have to catch me first."
"Over a pile of cookies, I think Ruby will see it my way."
"That's just low."
"Do I need to hide the blender as well?"
"All right, all right! You've made your point." Qrow sighed, becoming serious. "This isn't going to end well Tai."
"I'll be the judge of that."
Qrow glanced at the stairs. It would seem that the two were having a difficult time getting the other girls up. Or probably just Yang. "I thought the idea was to try and sort these two out. Where does getting them killed fit into that?"
"Hey, you know what's going on and, for some bizarre reason, you seemed to know how to get Mercury to eat last night. I can see he's going to be the problem one, so you're going to help. He seems to like you more than me."
His brother in law scoffed. "It's not 'like' Tai. He knows where I stand. He has no idea about you. He's looking for an ulterior motive."
Tai frowned. "He's not going to find one."
"That's the problem and he's not going to believe it."
"And thank you for agreeing to stay." Tai turned off the flame and started to load the plates; Qrow grumbling behind him.
Emerald and Mercury left the upstairs bedroom and he headed to theirs to change. She approached and asked if she could help. Tai smiled at her and asked her to set the table. She returned his smile as she complied. Ruby appeared not two seconds later and chatted about the rules of the Conquering Remnant game as she immediately joined in.
/
Qrow would go on record and say he wasn't happy with this arrangement. He didn't have much room to complain as he didn't like being too much of a hypocrite. A little was fine, but too much and there went his nieces respect.
Still. It had to be a street kid and the son of the most dangerous assassin in the past hundred years at least.
If it had been Cinder that was bonded to Ruby, she would have been visiting her in prison until it was settled. End of story.
At the moment, said street kid was on the couch as Ruby and Yang gave her a crash course on their favourite shows while the assassin kid was outside being irritated by Zwei-
Wait. What?
Qrow had wondered where Zwei had gone. Mercury was leaning against a tree in the shade, literally doing nothing. Nothing but glaring at the dog anyway. Said dog kept pouncing on him, nudging him and generally just being a nuisance. A few times, he bounced away and took that position of front legs bent in the dog way that said 'I want to play'.
Zwei liked them. Qrow had seen one of Yang's friends almost bitten by him and it turned out she had upset Ruby earlier that day. He tended to be a good judge of character. Tai and Qrow still chuckled at the time they took him to Signal and he took an immediate dislike to Mr Shields. While not a bad man, he was certainly the least well-liked by the students. Qrow had no idea if he was actually trustworthy in a fight.
Back to the present.
Zwei had just licked Mercury's arm before bolting back into that playful position.
Qrow tensed.
Mercury just swatted at him. There wasn't much effort in the act. Even if Zwei didn't have aura (how it was so strong, Qrow had no idea), it wouldn't have hurt even if it did connect.
Qrow relaxed slightly.
So not an animal abuser. That is one sign of a psychopath, which means so far so good.
Tai immediately saw these two as normal children, just like Ruby and Yang. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he did know some of the problems Raven and Qrow had had.
More importantly, Raven had gone back to the tribe.
I wonder if Tai is so willing to give them a chance because he feels he failed Raven.
Qrow glanced at Emerald. She was far more relaxed than Qrow would have thought. In fact, he would use the word 'comfortable'. There wouldn't be many problems with her.
Zwei licked Mercury's arm again, but didn't back off. Mercury ignored him completely.
Tai had had to go out shopping. Qrow would agree that it was needed, but why did he have to disappear for a while on their first full day here?
It didn't look like they were going to cause trouble though. They were just quiet. It was a bit sad when they were compared to Yang and Ruby, who really struggled to sit still for more than ten minutes.
Something that Emerald obviously had no idea how to respond to.
Zwei had given up trying to get Mercury to play. Instead, he had jumped in the teen's lap. Clearly annoyed, Mercury shoved him off. He just kept it up and the teen in turn kept shoving him off.
It would seem the dog had gotten his game.
He's not hurting him though.
The kid was certainly stubborn. This game continued for well over four hours. In fact, it only stopped when Tai called Mercury in for dinner. When Mercury got up, Zwei then stole his spot.
Then Ruby didn't let him out of sight for the rest of the evening. From her point of view, he had spent enough time alone today. So she got out the board games, starting with Conquering Remnant because it took several games to get the hang of it.
Qrow then saw Zwei lying on the couch, staring at Mercury with his tail wagging.
Tai met Qrow's eye. He just inaudibly sighed in response. Yeah, he did want to help these kids. It didn't change the fact they tried to rip a Maiden's soul out, so he was a little uneasy having them around his nieces.
Please kids. Prove me wrong.
/
"This might be a bit cold."
Taiyang carefully placed the damp cloth against Emerald's side, his arm around her shoulders. She flinched slightly, but made no noise. He cleaned it as gently as he could. It was healing and healing well. It would probably be a week or so before it faded completely.
"There you go. All done."
The bandage was then put on and the painkillers offered. Emerald may not want them during the day, but she had agreed to take them tonight as pain had kept her up the night before.
Probably wasn't the only thing.
"Thank you." Emerald hopped off the couch.
Mercury had been watching very closely as Tai treated her wound. He hadn't shown what his injuries were, neither had he told them. Nothing had been missing from their first aid kit either and that was the second thing Tai had shown them. The first had been their bedroom and their sanctuary from them.
Yang and Ruby had already gone to bed a few minutes ago. They headed to their room without a word to Taiyang or each other.
Tai packed the med kit away and placed it in one of the lower kitchen cabinets, where it always lived.
When he put it back, something hit the floor. Tai picked it up and chuckled. He glanced back at the dog that was in his bed, but was staring at him with one eye shut.
"Really?"
Zwei closed his open eye.
Tai slipped the piece of metal into his pocket. He would return it to Mercury in the morning. No one knew why Zwei insisted on this game of hide and seek, but while Mercury was very frustrated, he didn't do anything to the dog causing the problems.
Maybe Qrow was right. Maybe the teen was using this to closely investigate what was in the house, even if he was furious at Zwei for hiding his things in the first place. Qrow had helped the dog by conveniently leaving furniture in places that allowed Zwei to reach higher hiding places, such as the money drawer.
"Zwei, parts for the boots he's working on is fine. Things he needs for his legs are not."
Zwei whined. He rolled out of the dog bed and, ears drooped, ambled over to the cupboard where they kept the records from their STRQ's time at Beacon. His nose caught the hoop and a hop back opened the door. His head vanished for a second before reappearing with something in his jaws.
So that's where the flat head screwdriver went.
Tai took the screwdriver and, after a moment, changed his mind and gave the metal piece to Zwei. With a wagging tail, the dog put the metal piece in and shut the door. He trotted/skipped his way back to the dog bed.
Taiyang wasn't blind to their discomfort. Still, he needed some way to help them relax.
Or maybe, Zwei has a good idea.
Scrabble was easy enough to explain the rules. For Ruby, it was more difficult to win when there were three or four rather than two, but it was more fun.
Besides, Emerald and Mercury had never played before, so they shouldn't be good.
Ruby shifted her letters around. She had an 'r' and 'e', so she could put them at the front of something or at the end of it. A glance at the scores showed she was only 10 off Emerald's current score, who was currently winning.
How does she look at her mess of letters and see words like 'dawdle'? I would be stuck on 'waddle' and there was nowhere to get that out. And she got the 'w' on a triple letter. I would have tried to get 'de-' or '-ed' out.
Mercury did it Ruby and Yang's way; he put letters that went together, but only after shifting them around randomly. He hadn't been doing well, but then so far he had only used one consonant and he worked around the ones on the board. Maybe he had a bad hand.
At the moment, Yang had gotten 56 points, so she was catching up. Still 21 off though.
Ruby shifted her letters around. She couldn't see a good place to go. There was one place that would get her 13 points, but there must be something more.
Hang on…
There was one word. Ruby counted the points: 54. That was pretty good and it took advantage of a triple word too.
Naturally, Yang piped up. "Ruby, what is that supposed to mean?"
Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. I saw Uncle Qrow use it against Dad once. He didn't tell me what it meant and Dad allowed it."
"I don't know Ruby. 'Strappado'…That doesn't even look like a word."
"It is," Mercury commented idly, shifting his letters around again. "It's a method of torture. Your arms-"
"You've made your point, Mercury," Emerald cut in, sharply.
Ruby swallowed, hands shaking a little. She took her four letters back. Put three out. "13."
Mercury frowned. Emerald glared at him. He didn't say anything. He just kept moving his letters around.
Emerald switched letters.
Mercury put out 'clads' for 17.
Yang groaned. "I was hoping for a little more than that." Then she studied the board again. And grinned. Then she put out her seven letter.
"No," Ruby replied instantly. "We agreed on that. 'Chillax' is not a word."
"Yes it is."
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!"
"No it isn't!"
This continued for about three minutes. Ruby did not care. It was not a word when Yang tried to put it out last time and it still wasn't a word. She did not care that Uncle Qrow had found it in the dictionary afterwards; they had agreed last time not to use it.
"What's going on in here?"
Uh oh.
Dad.
Ruby and Yang pointed to each other. "It's her fault!"
Dad sighed and looked to the other two. Both girls tensed there. But Emerald was trying hard not to laugh and Mercury had been watching with a slight smirk.
In unison, they shrugged.
One glance at the board had Dad groaning. "Of course."
Ruby folded her arms. "It shouldn't be allowed. It wasn't last time and we didn't agree to it."
"It's in the dictionary Ruby," Yang replied cheerfully.
"We didn't allow it last time and we aren't allowing it this time."
"Okay, let's do it this way." Dad dug into his pocket and pulled out a lien card. "Whichever way this lands up, that's who wins the argument."
"Seriously?" Mercury asked.
Dad nodded to him. He flicked it up in the air. It was spinning a lot.
"Line." "Colour."
The lien landed colour side up.
"Yang wins Ruby. It's allowed and it's allowed for all future games."
Ruby grumbled and folded her arms. However, Yang had won fair and square, so she was going to let it go. "Fine."
Yang rustled her hair. That didn't improve her mood. Emerald winning the game did.
Then Ruby got 'chillax' for 118 in the next game. She won that one, with Mercury a close second. She was in a very good mood then.
Both Tai and Qrow knew it would happen and had expected it to be soon after they arrived.
Three days.
Fortunately, the fight didn't happen inside the house. For whatever reason, all four kids had been outside when it started.
Tai was first alerted by the sound of Yang's gauntlets. They continued for a few minutes, but they stopped by the time he got there. That hadn't been a display. They were around the back of the house. He joined Qrow, who had come from the opposite side.
By the time he got there, Yang was already panting on the ground. Mercury was on his feet a little distance away with no sign of fatigue. Ruby and Emerald were farther away still with Emerald's hand on Ruby's shoulder, probably stopping her from interfering.
When Mercury ran forward though, the hand slipped and Emerald called her friend's name. He didn't stop to her voice, but three steps after he skidded to a halt and backflipped back. Emerald looped an arm around his shoulder then.
"Fight's over Mercury. You've already won. Now you need to stop."
Mercury turned his head to Emerald. He wriggled out of her grip, but he didn't move closer to his downed opponent.
Yang had never lost in close quarter combat before. When she did lose (however rarely) she wasn't normally a sore loser about it. When she brought her fist back to fire another shot, Tai caught her eye and firmly shook his head no. She scowled, but didn't attack.
Mercury saw her move. Fortunately for Yang, so did Emerald. After he moved to dodge it, she pulled him farther to the side, knocking him off balance for a moment. She didn't let go of him. He stopped when he noticed Yang hadn't fired.
Tai definitely saw his discomfort when Emerald grabbed him then. However, that wasn't important right now.
"What happened here?" Tai had been expecting a scuffle sooner or later (probably sooner) and had been willing to just let it happen. This though wasn't just a scuffle or even a spar. That had been a proper fight.
Yang didn't waver under his gaze. Keeping her red sights on Mercury, she stumbled back to her feet and growled.
"Get out of my house."
Mercury scoffed and shoved Emerald off him. "Fine."
"Mercury wait!"
Mercury ignored Ruby. He walked straight past Qrow into the back door. With a blank face, Emerald followed him. She didn't say anything to stop or encourage him.
"I'll try and handle him," Qrow whispered to Tai and also slipped inside after him.
Ruby turned her back on her sister and wandered into the woods. Yang, looking confused, started to go after her.
"Yang. Inside, now."
Yang glared, but did as ordered. The guest room door was closed and Tai didn't hear any voices. That wasn't good.
Once they were in his daughters' room, he shut the door behind him. Yang stood in the centre, looking less angry now and more upset.
"What happened Yang?"
"When I call the cops, it will dealt with."
"You just threw someone out of this house Yang! I had better get a good explanation for that."
"Dad, he's a monster! He killed his own father, for Dust's sake. I wasn't going to let him stay here and kill us. He should be locked up."
"Yang, I'm already aware of that." He should have been completely truthful with her from the beginning, but he had wanted to see more of Mercury's personality first and how he reacted with the girls (he almost had to be forced to). This mess was partly his fault.
"What? You let…Why would you do that?" Anger, with a hint of betrayal. He didn't blame her.
"For the same reason he was invited back here in the first place: Ruby."
"She'll get over it."
"And the bond Yang?"
"It's to keep all of us safe. She'll…" Yang sat on her bed, head down. "She'll manage. If she has to, she'll still visit him. Emerald's still here anyway."
"Emerald will leave with Mercury. Ruby would be alone."
"Emerald would leave? I thought…"
"You thought she would stay with Ruby. All three want to stay together Yang, but if something like this happened, Emerald was always going to leave with Mercury. Ruby's got a family; he's got no one."
"That's his fault."
"He had a good reason Yang." May as well tell her the rest. "His father was an assassin and he had been trained as one as well. Physical abuse was either part of that or just because the father felt like it. One night, he was pushed too far. He had enough and the only way to escape his father was to kill him."
Yang bit her lip. She wasn't convinced. "What about the person they tried to kill?"
How had this argument started? What exactly had the two been talking about before this came up?
"Both Emerald and Mercury tried, Yang. They failed and the person who hired them left them to die. That was why Qrow was tailing them in the first place. When he realised their connection to Ruby, we didn't have a choice. Circumstances turned them into criminals. We had hoped to change that."
"It won't happen."
"It could have. Neither of them ever had the choice. Emerald didn't want to be a thief and I'm sure Mercury would have chosen a different relative than the one he got."
"We don't get those choices."
"No, we don't."
"…Did she know?"
"Yes."
There was a brief silence. Yang traced circles on the mattress.
"So what happens to Ruby now?"
"If Qrow doesn't convince him to stay, we'll soon find out."
/
It didn't take Mercury long to pack. He had never really unpacked and had apparently been ready to go at a moment's notice. He also wasn't in the room when Qrow got there. Emerald shoved one last thing in, flung the bag onto her back and told him Mercury had already left.
"That was fast," Qrow commented as he heard the front door close.
"He was probably planning to leave me here. That's not happening."
Probably. Mercury knew that Emerald loved it here and would want to stay. Also, it was easier on the two that were together if the trio were split up. He knew that Emerald would follow him and had left before she could.
Mercury hadn't gone far. Ruby had confronted him and it looked like the two were arguing. Whenever he stepped forward, she would step in his way. He knew by now he couldn't outrun her, but it was obvious he didn't want to physically fight her.
Verbally was another matter entirely.
"-not important."
"Not important? I want you to stay. Emerald wants you to stay. What do you want?"
"Emerald's fine here. It's not worth getting my throat slit."
"Enough."
Qrow's interruption grabbed Ruby's attention. Mercury walked around her, not bothered by Qrow's presence at all. While it took a few seconds, Ruby did intercept him again.
"Running away Mercury?" Qrow asked with his arms crossed.
"If that's how you want to put it: yeah." He didn't sound bothered at all. It didn't seem like he cared either way.
"You're not afraid of a Maiden, but you're afraid of Yang?"
"I learnt not to fight a lost battle." Translation: killing her is far more trouble than its worth.
"Where would you go?"
"I'm good anywhere."
"No money?"
"I'll get by."
"On your own?"
"No change there."
Had an answer for everything, didn't he? However, Qrow had no doubt that if Mercury walked away now, he could never be saved. He would walk the path Marcus had pushed him down. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but he would someday. He would share the same fate, even if it wasn't the exact same death.
Ruby didn't like those answers either. She stepped forward and swiftly wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into his chest. Her voice, muffled by the jacket, was barely audible.
"Please don't go."
Mercury had frozen; his hands clenched at his side. For a second, Qrow thought he was going to hit her. When he brought his shaking arms up, he placed his hands on Ruby's shoulders and tried to gently push her back.
She just held on tighter.
"Ruby…You're too close…"
She didn't budge.
Mercury's grip on her shoulders must be getting painful. Qrow could see his knuckles were nearly white, even compared to his paler than normal skin. Even so, he was either unable or unwilling to put too much power into his shoves.
Ruby had made her want clear. If he was honest, Qrow wanted him to stay as well and not just because he had to for Ruby's sake. From what he had glimpsed of the real Mercury Black, he liked him. The problem was that those glimpses were from before they came to Patch.
This wasn't the first time Ruby had hugged him. Although, this was probably the first time he hadn't been partly expecting a touch of some kind. He was still wound up in that fight, a fight that by his expectations, wasn't finished. Had Marcus taught him a fight was only over when the opponent was dead, or at the very least incapacitated? Ruby's display of affection then wouldn't even enter his mind.
If so, that was a teaching they needed to overrule.
Emerald, who had been silent and still until now, placed her bag on the floor and walked towards them. Her hands slipped under Mercury's bag and her muscles began to flex. A massage.
Mercury didn't relax under those ministrations. If anything, he became more unnerved. "Emerald…"
"Calm down, Merc. Don't think and just answer. Would we hurt you?"
"…Not intentionally."
"Would you hurt us?"
"Not intentionally."
"Who's more important: Ruby or Yang?"
"Ruby."
"Me or Yang?"
"You."
"Try five for five Mercury. You or Yang?"
"Me."
"Exactly. Now we've established the bimbo doesn't get a choice and you shouldn't listen to her. Besides, you haven't finished those greaves yet and she can be your new test dummy."
Qrow knew he should defend Yang there, but he could see Emerald was getting through. Ruby didn't defend her either, so she agreed Yang had been out of line. Having an argument was one thing, throwing someone out of the house was another matter entirely. Until then, Emerald and Yang had gotten on fairly well. It wasn't just going to be frosty between Mercury and Yang.
Qrow honestly didn't blame her.
"Emerald, if I can't leave when I want to…How is it different from before?"
We wouldn't beat you.
Ruby nuzzled him. "We won't hurt you."
Mercury didn't respond to her.
Emerald tilted her head a little, clearly thinking. "I wouldn't argue with you Mercury, if I thought this was what you want. But I don't think it is."
"Know that for a fact, do you?"
"Yes, I do."
He managed to rasp out a chuckle. "Glad one of us does."
It was clear Emerald did. Mercury didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay with his new family: Ruby and Emerald. He hadn't tried very hard to throw them off, despite how uneasy and agitated he was. By now, he had stopped trying at all.
"I had better go face my cold reception now, huh."
Emerald hummed and stepped back. "Think of it this way, Merc. A few more months and Yang's off to Beacon. We won't be seeing her for a while."
"There is that."
"What do you mean?" Ruby looked up at him. "I thought you were going too."
"Our thought was in a couple of years."
"A couple…Really?"
"Really," Emerald confirmed, smiling.
Qrow watched the three with a keen eye. If they stuck together, they would be fine.
AN: I would like to give a big thanks to all my readers. I honestly wasn't expecting this kind of response to this idea. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
One thing I should mention was how one sided the fight was. One reason is that Yang is canonly weak to kicks and another was that she hasn't had as much training as she had in "Fall". She also wasn't expecting him to be that good as she had never seen him fight. She knew he killed, she didn't know how and he looked unarmed.
