We have got to figure something out about these nightmares… for all of us... Ruby thought to herself as she quietly carried Marigold to her father's room again. Cinder's been gone for almost a week now and she's still having nightmares about the night at the docks? Maybe she needs to talk to a therapist?
Ruby sighed, Maybe Roman should too… Ruby watched for a few seconds as he tossed and turned in his sleep before he turned to his side and reached out across the bed as if searching for someone.
Ruby nearly tripped in her rush to set Marigold down so Roman wouldn't wake himself up. Like every night since they got there Roman instantly found Marigold in his sleep and pulled her into his chest to hold her tighter, they both quickly calmed into sleep.
Just as Ruby started to tiptoe out of the room Marigold's tiny voice broke the silence of the night.
"Ruby?" surprised by how awake Marigold sounded Ruby crouched down to whisper.
"Yes sweety?"
"Can you stay?" Marigold stared at Ruby with the brightest green eyes almost willing her to stay.
"Of course." Ruby said with a smile as she carefully laid herself on the bed, thankful that Roman was such a deep sleeper.
This wasn't the first night Marigold had asked her to stay, each time she did Ruby would wait until Marigold was asleep again before leaving and heading to her own dorm.
Although there was that one night where I fell asleep here until 5 in the morning Ruby smiled to herself as she started to drift off, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if I had stayed…
Warm...why is the bed so warm and...fuzzy? Ugh don't tell me Marigold brought the dog into the bed too… I told her it could only sleep in her bed… or Neo's...Oh well, might as well get up I'm sure Red will be here...any...second…
Roman slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at a large black and red blob. He rubbed his face against his pillow trying to clear the sleep from his eyes. The blob was way too big to be the dog and last time he checked the dog didn't wear red.
Red! What the hell is Red doing in my bed? Did something happen last night? Why don't I remember her even coming into the room? Did Marigold-
Roman's eyes darted along the bed until he found Marigold cuddled up into Ruby's chest. His eyes only got wider as he realized how they had been sleeping.
Marigold was snuggled between them, facing Ruby, her head against Ruby's chest and Ruby's head resting protectively over Marigold's. Roman followed Ruby's arm and realized that she had her arm draped around Marigold, her hand was resting on his forearm.
Roman was just about to start contemplating why her hand was there when he realized where his own hand was…
His arm was also draped over Marigold, almost running parallel to Ruby's, with his hand resting just above the curve of her hip.
I've got to move before she gets up! She'll freak out! I'm freaking out-
Roman's mental battle stalled as Marigold started to wiggle around in her sleep, he could only see the back of her head but he was pretty sure she had just woken up and was now wondering the same thing he had been only seconds prior.
"Ruby?" Marigold mumbled still sounding half asleep. To Roman's abject horror Ruby opened her eyes, first blinking up at him before moving her head back to look at Marigold as she came into focus. Trying to pretend to still be asleep Roman closed his eyes just enough to be able to watch them through his lashes.
"Mhhm?" Ruby asked trying to fall back asleep as her eyes slipped closed again.
"You stayed…" Roman watched as Ruby made a tiny frown, her nose and eyes scrunching up as she opened her eyes to look at Marigold again.
"Of course I stayed, I always stay when you ask me too."
"B-but sometimes I wake up and you're not here." Roman watched as Ruby seemed to be trying to work something out in her head, while he tried to figure out just how many times she had stayed the night and he never noticed.
"True, but I always come back, right?" Marigold only nodded her head and Roman watched the light bulb go off in Ruby's eyes.
"Marigold, is that why you keep having nightmares? You think I'm not going to come back?" Again Marigold only nodded her head, trying to bury her face into the blankets.
Roman watched as Ruby opened her mouth several times as if to speak before quickly closing it again.
Ruby sighed, "Marigold, I can't promise that I will always come back." Roman heard Marigold gasp and he almost wanted to tell Ruby to lie but he didn't say anything as he just continued to watch Ruby explain, "I go to school to be a huntress and sometimes huntresses get hurt." Marigold opened her mouth to speak and Roman knew she wanted to tell Ruby not to be a huntress, "But I want to be a huntress so I can keep protecting you and your Daddy."
Marigold's jaw snapped shut with an audible click, "So I will promise that I will come back every time I can, ok?"
Marigold seemed to be thinking it over before answering, "You promise?"
"I promise on the giant stacks of pancakes we ate last week. I will stay until your Daddy kicks me out." Ruby and Marigold both laughed and Roman couldn't help but wonder why she thought he would kick her out.
"Can we have more pancakes?" Ruby groaned and Roman almost laughed, glad he wasn't the only one starting to get sick of pancakes everyday.
"Fine, but first-" Roman felt a sudden shift in the bed as Ruby picked Marigold up, "Attack Daddy!" Ruby cheered as she dropped Marigold towards his face.
Instinct overrode all other thoughts as Roman's eyes snapped open, he quickly put his arms out catching Marigold just inches away from his face. Roman held Marigold there, staring at her as Marigold squealed in delight kicking her legs in excitement. Ruby laughed as Roman turned his head to glare at her.
"Really Red?"
Somehow Ruby had pulled out her scroll and managed to snap a picture just as he turned to her.
Ruby grinned, "Really Orange." Using a burst of her semblance Ruby jumped off the bed causing petals to rain down on the two Torchwick's. "Now come on! Let's go make breakfast!"
Marigold practically threw herself out of her father's grasp as he sat up and begrudgingly followed behind them.
"I want mangoes on my pancakes!" Marigold cheered.
Ruby looked back towards Roman, both of them making faces of disgust at the suggestion.
"Are you sure hun, cause that sounds awful." Roman asked as he watched Marigold skip into the kitchen.
"Ya, wouldn't you rather have strawberries or.."
"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Roman and Ruby said simultaneously. They both blushed but sported grins all the same as they looked at each other before making breakfast.
Neo finally joined the world of the day walkers just as Roman sat Marigold down for her pancakes. Neo took the seat next to Marigold but frowned in disgust at the piles of mangoes on top of the pancakes beside her.
Who's idea was that? Neo signed as she pointed at Marigold's plate.
"Hers." Roman and Ruby said together, Neo's eyebrows rose in surprise but she didn't comment at their new found ability to finish eachothers sentences.
Neo watched in silent amusement as Ruby folded her chocolate chip pancake like a taco. Just as she was about to take a bite Roman snuck up beside her and tapped her shoulder. Ruby turned her head and Roman reached around and stole her pancake, waiting until she turned back around before taking a bite in front of her. Ruby looked shocked.
"Hey that was mine! Eat your own!" Ruby shouted as she reached across the table to try and steal one of his pancakes as well.
Being a whole foot taller than her Roman lifted his plate above his head holding it just out of her reach as he stuck his tongue out at her, laughing when she started to pout. Giving up and not willing to lose any more of her pancakes Ruby sat back down beside him and quickly started to devour her pancakes.
Neo thought it was kind of cute how they were obviously flirting with each other and neither one noticed.
So what are we doing today? Neo signed, Ruby shrugged her shoulders.
"What do you want to do? It's Saturday so I am free to do whatever." Neo and Roman both frowned, pulling out their scrolls to check the date.
"Uh, Red? Today is Friday." Ruby dropped her pancake in shock.
"What time is it?" Ruby winced afraid to hear how much time she had left.
"8:55." Ruby's eyes went wide.
"I'm gonna be late! I gotta go!" Using her semblance Ruby rushed from the table and scooped up her books and bag from the night before. Running back to the table she shoved her pancakes in her bag, ruffled Marigold's hair and kissed Roman on the cheek before running to the door.
"Bye Marigold! Bye Orange! Bye Neo!" Ruby shouted as she slammed the door shut and raced off to class.
Neo's fork clattered to the floor as she stared at her brother in shock. Roman sat there with his hand on his cheek equally in shock as his cheeks turned pink. They sat in silence for several minutes as rose petals slowly fell to the ground around them and Marigold munched away at her soggy mango covered pancakes as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Did she just- Neo didn't even finish signing, Roman instantly nodded his head, his hand still covering his cheek.
Are you two- Again Neo didn't get to finish her sentence as Roman shook his head no.
Do you want to? Neo watched the blush creep up her brothers neck until his face was as red as Ruby's cloak.
Well that explains all of your flirting earlier. Neo smirked.
"I wasn't flirting!"
Roman. You stole her pancake like a five year old with a crush. You were finishing each other's sentences!
"It's not- I mean I like her- but-" Neo smiled a truly kind smile.
I'm happy for you, you dum-dum.
Ruby made it to class just as the bell rang. Professor Port gave her a rather curious glance as she ran to her seat between Weiss and Blake huffing and puffing but not technically late.
"Very well. Now that class has begun we shall discuss tactics on defeating Sea Grimm, but first! A story from my youth about my own experiences with the beasts of the sea! I was a strapping young lad-"
Ruby sighed in relief when she realized Professor Port wasn't going to punish her. Finally able to breath she pulled out her bag and grabbed what was left of her pancakes, thankful that they hadn't been smushed into her books yet.
Weiss gave her a disapproving glare as she started munching on them quietly but didn't say anything before returning to her notes. Blake gave her a curious smile and Yang was too busy staring at her scroll to notice.
"Sleep in late?" Blake whispered leaning in so Ruby could hear but still looking ahead, in case Professor Port glanced their way.
Ruby shook her head, "Not really. I've been so busy with class, Marigold and all this extra training with Roman and Neo that I thought it was Saturday. We were in the middle of breakfast when Roman pointed out it was Friday. I barely said goodbye before running here as fast as I could. I-" Ruby's brain stalled as she replayed in her head everything she had done before running out the door.
Blake finally looked at Ruby when she suddenly stopped talking, "Um Ruby? Are you ok? Your face is all red."
Ruby stared unblinking into space as she replayed over and over again the exact second she kissed Roman Torchwick on the cheek.
"Um, Ruby?" Blake asked again slightly worried when Ruby didn't answer.
"I kissed him..." Ruby whispered so quietly even Blake didn't hear it.
"What?"
"I kissed him..." Blake's eyes went wide, obviously having heard her that time, "I can't believe I did that…"
"You kissed him?" Blake practically hissed in her ear trying not to let anyone else hear. Ruby nodded once before dropping her head to her desk with a loud thud.
Ruby sat there for several seconds wondering how she was going to fix the mess she had made when her scroll started buzzing. Ruby tilted her head, slightly confused when she saw it was Roman calling her. Ruby was just about to raise her hand and ask to be excused for a second when Ms. Goodwitch flung the door open.
"Ah, Ms. Goodwitch, to what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting my classroom?" Professor Port asked not even phased by her entrance.
"I am sorry Professor, but I believe I have something for Miss Rose." flicking her riding crop behind her as she made her way down the stairs Goodwitch levitated a purple sphere of energy with Marigold inside.
"Marigold!" Ruby shouted, flying out her seat to grab the girl.
Professor Goodwitch put her hands on her hips as she dropped her sphere making Marigold land safely in Ruby's arms.
"I suggest you keep a better eye on her Miss Rose. Young Marigold here barged into my classroom shouting your name in an attempt to find you. I suspect she also interrupted Professor Peach's and Professor Oobleck's classes as well."
The room was silent for a brief second except for the incessant vibrating of Ruby's scroll.
"Thank you Professor, I'll be sure to apologize to the other Professors." Glynda smiled as she left the room and Ruby turned to face Professor Port who had remained silent.
"I'm sorry Professor Port, do you mind if I take Marigold home real quick? I'll be back as fast as possible I promise."
"Nonsense Miss Rose, the child may stay, I was just getting to the best part of the story! You wouldn't want to miss it!"
"A story? I want a story!" Marigold cheered, Ruby wanted to argue but Port insisted.
"Right you are young las! Now tell me what is your name?" Professor Port asked in a very kind tone.
"Marigold." Marigold mumbled almost shyly.
"Excellent, Miss Marigold. Now if you would kindly take a seat with Miss Rose. Miss Rose I suggest you answer your scroll. Miss Marigold, are you ready to hear the tale of how I vanquished the Great Sea Grimm?"
"Yay!" Marigold cheered as she took a seat next to Ruby, who quickly fired off a text simply saying, 'got her.'
Roman was sure his heart had only started beating again when Ruby finally texted him back that Marigold was safe.
He quickly texted Neo and she appeared seconds later standing right beside him. Neo frantically searched the room and quickly looked up at Roman, wondering where her niece was.
"She's with Ruby."
Do we need to go get her? Neo signed. Roman frowned grabbing his scroll again to ask Ruby.
They didn't have to wait long before Ruby texted back that Marigold was fine and to meet her in the cafeteria at lunch.
"No, Ruby says to meet them at lunch...So now what?" Neo shrugged.
Wanna go bug team JNPR? I like them. Neo said with a smile.
"I'm pretty sure they are in class too Neo. And you just like that Nora girl because she's hyper and crazy like you."
Well there is that. But it was so great last week when we hung out at the bookstore with them! That Pyrrha girl figured out who we were almost instantly and she didn't even freak out! None of them did! It was really cool to just be accepted for once.
"True, although that John? Jaune? The blonde one, he's kinda…"
Naive? Green? Way out of his depth?
"All of the above? I'm no expert in fighting Grimm but he dropped his sword like four times, just trying to show it off!"
I know! But I think that Pyrrha is training him or something. She seems really attached and he's...well…
"Oblivious?" Neo nodded her head silently laughing.
They both sighed sitting in silence for a few seconds before Roman got twitchy again.
"Is this what it's like to not have to plan a heist every day? 'Cause I have to admit, it's kinda boring." Roman said as he made his way to the couch taking a seat and staring into space.
Get a job?
"Where the heck am I supposed to get a job?! I can't exactly turn in a resume that says 'past experience, theft'." Roman grumbled picking up the pillow from the couch and covering his face with it.
Neo waited several minutes before poking him in the side, with a dramatic sigh Roman removed the pillow.
I don't know about you but Ozpin already offered me a job. He wants me to work undercover with Ruby's Uncle Qrow to find more of Cinder's associate's that are working for Salem.
"What!? Neo that's dangerous! We are trying to get away from all of that nonsense to stay safe!"
Roman, we did get away from it. The bad side of it at least. We'll never really be separated from it, especially if we stay with Ruby. Neo gave Roman a happy smile, And I know you and Marigold want to stay. I'll be fine. I'm starting with a couple of missions in Minstral anyway. Apparently something fishy is going on with the headmaster of Haven.
Roman nodded his head but looked nervous, "I'm glad you get to do something you love Neo but I can't leave Marigold for days at a time to run missions. I barely got by with the schedule Cinder had me on and look where that nearly got me? If Ozpin-"
Go talk to him if you're so worried! He said he already had a plan for you, go see what it is!
"I will, before we head out to meet Red I'll see him first."
"Ah, Mr. Torchwick, just the man I was hoping to find."
"Professor Ozpin!" Roman shouted just a little too loudly. He'd been hopelessly lost in this maze of a school trying to find Ruby's classroom. Even after living at Beacon for a little over a week now he still had trouble navigating the halls, there were no signs, no directory, nothing!
"A little lost?" Roman gave an embarrassed nod making Ozpin laugh, "It's quite alright, happens to everyone. Walk with me, I believe Miss Rose is in professor Oobleck's class currently. Tell me, have you thought at all about what it is you want to do, now that you are no longer a criminal?" Ozpin asked as he lead them to Oobleck's room.
"Um, kinda, not really. I know I want to be able to come home every night so I can be around for Marigold but other than that I haven't really put much thought into it yet. But I guess I'm willing to try whatever it is you want me to do sir." Roman said awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Roman was afraid that he would see disappointment in the head master that had been so generous when he didn't automatically sign up to do something useful like Neo. He knew he could do something useful, but he'd already put work before his daughter and he wasn't going to do it again.
Finally looking up, Roman was shocked to find a kind and knowing smile shining back at him, something like mischief sparkled in Ozpin's eyes and Roman was a little nervous to find out why.
"I'm glad to hear it Mr. Torchwick. I already have something in mind that I think you will find fits your- needs. If-"
"Really? What is it?" Roman asked beyond excited, he hadn't been able to think of anything he could do all day.
Ozpin chuckled, "If I am going to tell you, we might as well inform Ms. Rose as well." Ozpin smiled as he opened the door to Oobleck's classroom, Roman finally realizing that they had been standing in front of the same door for several minutes now.
"Headmaster Ozpin, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Oobleck asked as he zoomed across the room to stand in front of him. Ozpin smiled as he made his way down the stairs with Roman awkwardly following behind him.
"Sorry to interrupt Dr. Oobleck but I decided now was as good a time as any to introduce our newest student, Mr. Roman Rosewick." Ozpin stepped aside, gesturing Roman's presense to the entire class.
"WHAT!?" Roman shouted as his head whipped around to stare at Ozpin, wondering if he'd actually heard him right.
Ozpin gave a light chuckle as he put a hand on Roman's shoulder giving it a gentle but incredibly firm squeeze. Roman snapped his mouth shut but couldn't stop the blush from creeping up his face as Ozpin kept talking.
"Mr. Rosewick here is a very- unique student. As many of you now know, last week three criminals infiltrated our school and were posing as students. They had plans to attack the city of Vale during the Vytal Festival. With the help of Miss Rose, Mr. Rosewick was able to come to me and inform me of these plans which we were then able to stop. His-"
"Daddy!" Marigold cheered from Ruby's lap at the front of the class as she finally caught sight of her father. Squirming her way out of Ruby's lap Marigold raced towards her father as Ozpin laughed lightly.
The blush on Roman's face disappeared and was replaced with a smile as he held his little girl in his arms, "Any particular reason you decided to run off again this morning?" Roman asked not really expecting an answer. Marigold looked ashamed.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to play with Ruby." Marigold mumbled into Roman's chest as she tried to bury herself in his shirt. Roman smiled, patting her head.
"Please tell me next time." Marigold only nodded her head. Ozpin suddenly cleared his throat gaining everyone's attention again.
"Um, yes. As I was saying, Mr. Rosewick's daughter, Miss Marigold, whom I am sure you have all met, will also be joining us here at Beacon. Simply as a safety precaution, I assure you. And since Ms. Rose was the one that managed to help them, she is also their protector until given further notice." Ozpin paused looking at all the shocked, confused and even bored faces of the students around him. He took special note that Ms. Schnee and Ms. Xiao-Long appeared completely floored while Ms. Belladonna was smirking at the blush on Ms. Rose's face.
Looking beside him, Ozpin almost laughed out loud at the blush that was all over Roman's face as well.
"Now I expect you all to make Mr. Rosewick feel welcome. Dr Oobleck, my apologies for taking up your class time." Ozpin said with a slight bow, making his way out of the classroom and back towards his office.
Oobleck simply nodded his respects and waited until Ozpin had closed the door behind him.
"Now then! Mr. Rosewick if you would please take a seat beside Ms. Rose that would be greatly appreciated. Miss Marigold have you stabilized your energy levels?"
Marigold blinked owlishly at the man, making the poor doctor sigh.
"Are you ready to run again Miss Marigold?" Marigold's face lit up as she threw herself out of her father's arms and jumped directly in front Oobleck.
"Yes sir Dr. Oo-beck sir!" Marigold cheered giving a sloppy salute that looked more like she slapped herself in the face.
"Uh.." Roman wasn't sure what exactly was going on.
"Get to your seat young man! Chop, chop!" Roman jumped and quickly made his way over to Ruby who was still staring at him like a goldfish out of water. Skooching into his seat as calmly as possible Roman leaned over just as Ruby did.
"What just happened?" they whispered to each other simultaneously. They both grinned at each other, not noticing Blake's snort as she stopped herself from laughing at the pair. Ruby leaned back towards his ear with a smile on her face.
"Marigold was getting antsy and asked Dr. Oobleck if she could run with him while he taught class. He told her she could as long as she didn't get in his way. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so much while giving a lecture." Ruby said as she pointed to Dr. Oobleck and his little shadow who was racing back and forth between the chalk boards as he lectured on about the Great War.
Roman smiled for a second as he watched Marigold keep up with the green haired professor who seemed to thrive off coffee.
"So what about you?" Ruby asked. Roman shook his head.
"I honestly have no idea. Neo has decided to take a job offer from Ozpin doing undercover work with your uncle. I went to talk to him about how I didn't want a job that took me away from Marigold and he said he had the perfect job for me. We walked in here and...well you saw what happened." Roman sighed still trying to imagine how he was going to fake being a student let alone a….
"And now you're a future huntsmen in training?" Ruby said almost giggling at the thought. Roman shrugged not sure how to answer as they both turned back to the lecture.
Suddenly Oobleck and Marigold both stopped in the middle of the lecture hall floor.
"Yes, Mr. Winchester?" Oobleck asked as Cardin raised his hand.
"Professor Oobleck why does-"
"That's Doctor Oobleck!" the whole classroom froze as Marigold jumped out in front of Dr. Oobleck shouting and pointing a finger at Cardin.
Everyone stared at the little redhead in shock, even Oobleck looked stunned. Suddenly Oobleck burst out laughing.
"Right you are Miss Marigold." Oobleck said as he patted her on the head before turning back towards Cardin, "You should take notes Mr. Winchester. A two year old has learned in an hour what you have failed to in an entire semester." Several snorts and snickers were heard across the room as Cardin fumed in his seat. "Now where was I? Ah yes, now-"
Marigold waved towards Ruby and her Daddy waiting until they both gave her a thumbs up before continuing to race around in the good doctor's shadow.
"So why are we going to JNPR's room?" Roman asked as they walked down the halls, Roman holding one of Marigold's hands and Ruby the other as they swung her between them. Neo quietly following along behind them.
"Mhh, because we can. We all decided that it's been a rough week and that we all needed a break to just hang out and have fun. Jaune ordered pizza, Nora wants to watch a movie, I brought card games and you just became a student! Might as well act like one." Ruby said with a smile as she looked back at Neo who was still wearing a shit eating grin at her brother's new career choice.
Ruby had barely even raised her hand to knock on the door when Nora swung the door open with a crazy smile on her face.
"Welcome team Ramen (RRMN)!" Nora shouted. Ruby blinked at Nora like she was crazy while Roman and Neo frowned at each other wondering if they had missed a memo.
From inside the room they could hear Pyrrha and Jaune laughing as Ren sighed.
"Nora, Ramen isn't a color. Please come in." Ren said as he pulled Nora out of the way allowing everyone else to enter.
Pulling out her scroll Neo started typing, Why are we team ramen? Nora smiled at the message.
"Because! That's how we get team names, they throw together all of our initials and then make a word, like ruby and juniper. So the huntress, two ex criminals and a baby make ramen!" Ren sighed again as Neo looked at Nora wondering how many marbles the girl was missing.
"You can ignore her. She gets overly excited about everything." Ren smiled at his best friend.
Suddenly Jaune's scroll buzzed, "Awesome! Pizza's here, Ren you want to help me go grab it?" Ren was just about to agree when Marigold whined.
"Pizza? But she said we were having ramen!" Marigold pouted, pointing a finger at Nora, who could only shrug apologetically as everyone else laughed.
Roman was just about to tell Marigold that she would have to wait when Jaune interrupted.
"We can still do that. Weiss and Blake went into town. Weiss insisted on picking the deserts this time since apparently pizza isn't high class enough." Ruby and Pyrrha both laughed, "I'll ask her to get some ramen too. I only ordered 14 pizzas so we'll need more food anyway." Jaune walked out the door to go call Weiss before it was too late.
Neo eyes lit up with excitement while Roman almost looked nauseous.
"14 pizzas? How many people are we trying to cram into this room?!" Ruby blushed into the hood of her cloak making Pyrrha laugh again.
"Well, Nora, Ruby and Yang usually eat three pizzas each on their own. The rest of us can usually eat a whole one ourselves as well. So that doesn't actually leave enough for the three of you to eat at all." Pyrrha said with a smile as she finished tidying up the room and threw several pillows on the floor.
Roman looked over at Ruby in shock, "And I thought Neo ate a lot!" he chuckled to himself as he found a spot on the floor and pulled Marigold into his lap, Ruby taking the space on his right and Neo on the left. Nora flopped into her bed beside them while Ren finished up his homework.
Jaune finally poked his head back in the room, "Ren you wanna-"
"I'll do it!" Pyrrha shouted with just a little too much enthusiasm as she jumped up to follow Jaune outside with a wide smile on her face.
Nora and Ren shared conspiratory grins but didn't comment.
By the time Jaune and Pyrrha made it back to the room Ruby, Roman, Neo and Ren had started a game of blackjack while Marigold sat in Nora's lap watching Beauty and the Beast, both redheads were glued to the screen.
"We're back!" Jaune cheered trying not to drop his stack of pizzas. "Hey Ruby? Can you go wake Yang? Last time I tried -"
"You were nearly thrown out the window." Ruby laughed getting up from the floor, "Sure, I'll be right back." Ruby put her hand on the doorknob but quickly turned back around.
"Actually, before I do that…" Pyrrha tilted her head to the side.
"Something wrong Ruby?"
"Sorta… You see, I haven't exactly told Yang or Weiss about… well, anything…" Ruby looked at her feet ashamed, "And… I was kinda hoping you guys could help me tell them tonight since-"
"Since we took it so well?"
"Since we figured it out ourselves?" Pyrrha and Ren asked simultaneously.
"Since you can help me hold Yang back if she tries to kill anyone!" Ruby said just a little too loudly.
The room was silent for all of ten seconds before everyone burst out laughing.
"No problem Ruby." Jaune said between chuckles, "I'm sure Nora can hold her down." Ruby smiled, quickly walking across the hall to wake her sister.
"-I'm just saying, Ruby could have found a more diplomatic way to inform her team that she was taking on this responsibility! I mean seriously, a classroom announcement? You-" Roman was sure that the Ice Princess could have ranted on forever, but her whining was starting to ruin his concentration on the card game they were all playing.
"Well to be fair, Red didn't know Ozpin was going to be making me a student. In case you didn't notice, I was just as shocked as everyone else in that classroom!" Roman laughed as he rubbed his forehead, still trying to wrap his head around being a future hunter.
"That's one thing I don't get," Yang said, "How did you know so much about who the White Fang was working for and those fake students? Did you know Roman Torchwick?" Yang asked as she reached for another card.
Everyone in the room was silent except for the sound of Nora and Marigold laughing at whatever was happening in their movie, they were the only ones still watching it.
Not knowing what to say Ruby looked at Roman who was staring at Yang, his eyebrows had disappeared into his bangs.
"You know Blondie," Yang jumped at the nickname, "You are really close, you might even say that Roman Torchwick and Roman Rosewick are almost the same person." Roman gave her a very pointed look willing her to understand.
Yang gasped, her eyes were the size of dinner plates as she looked between Ruby and Roman. Roman was smiling once he realized that she had answered her own question while Ruby just looked worried. The rest of the room, minus Weiss, didn't seem to really care. Yang glanced at their faces and realized they must have already known, even Blake!
"You-you guys knew about this?" Yang asked in a whisper as she pointed a finger at all of them.
Nora seemed to sense the tension in the room growing as she paused the video and carried Marigold over to where they were all sitting, choosing the spot between Neo and Ren.
"Technically we figured it out last week." Ren stated as he pointed to all the members of team JNPR, "We all hung out at the bookstore while we were waiting for the evacuation to end. Pyrrha recognized Roman first and then the rest of us just sort of fell into place. Nora and Neo became fast friends." Both ladies smiled at each other.
"Well crazy attracts crazy." Roman muttered earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Neo. "Ow! Neo!" Ruby and Marigold both started laughing at him.
Everyone watched as Yang's eyes flickered back and forth from lilac to red, taking a deep breath in Yang finally looked back towards Roman.
"Fine, but if anything happens to my sister, I will kill you!" Yang shouted pointing a finger in Roman's face. Ruby glanced over at Marigold, afraid that she would be upset by the threat but was glad to see that Ren had the foresight to cover Marigold's ears. Roman only nodded his head not super worried since he had no intention of hurting Ruby.
Ruby looked over at Weiss hopeful for a brief second until she saw Weiss's face. "Uh, Weiss? You okay?" Everyone looked at the heiress and could practically see the wheels in her brain smoking.
"You're - You're having sex with Roman Torchwick!?" Weiss shouted.
Ruby and Roman's faces both sported instant blushes but also looked incredibly unimpressed. Nora quickly slapped her own hands over Ren's that were thankfully still covering Marigold's ears. Neo fell over in a silent fit of laughter as Jaune, Pyrrha and Blake all face palmed in shame.
They were both still blushing but Roman managed to look at Ruby with a serious face, "Really Red? Why didn't you tell me? I would have at least put my cards down." Roman was fighting back his blush with a smirk certain that Ruby would only be more embarrassed.
To his surprise Ruby burst out laughing, falling over much like Neo, as she clutched her sides from laughing. Soon the whole room followed suit except for Weiss who just looked pissed off.
"How is everyone so calm about this!?" Weiss demanded once everyone had started to calm down.
Blake was the first to answer, "Well I figured out who Marigold was before Ruby did! She convinced me to give them a chance, just like you guys have given me." Blake smiled at her friends.
Yang looked a little guilty as she spoke, "I can't really say anything bad about them since I'm dating a criminal...I never thought Ruby would be into bad boys too, but I guess she had to learn something from me!" Yang laughed as Ruby blushed again.
"Yang!"
"Seriously?! And who exactly are you dating?" Weiss asked, completely forgetting about the situation at hand as she turned slightly to glare at Yang.
"Hei Xong is his name but he goes by Junior. I wouldn't say he's a criminal… more like an informant for both sides." Yang answered honestly not really afraid of the heiress, "Looks like you're the only one on our team who isn't into bad boys princess!"
"Hey!" Blake shouted trying to defend herself.
"Oh don't try to hide it Blake! I read your diary all the time! You might not be dating Adam anymore but you still have feelings for him!" Yang cheered. Blake blushed, her embarrassment quickly turning to anger.
"You read my diary!?"
Yang instantly realized her mistake, jumping up to run for it when Marigold's sweet little voice finally interrupted the fray.
"Daddy? Why do they look like that?" Everyone's brains stalled as they tried to figure out what the girl was talking about.
"Why does who look like what?" Roman finally asked looking at his daughter and realizing she had gone back to the frozen TV screen.
"Ooohhh! This is the best part!" Nora shouted as she re-joined Marigold by the TV as they both stared at the image of Belle and the Beast as they danced together.
"It means they are in love." Jaune said with a smile, remembering the countless times he was forced to watch this same movie over and over again with his sisters.
"What?" Marigold asked sounding surprised.
"The way they look at each other, it means they are falling in love."
Marigold's tongue poked out of her mouth as she seemed to be thinking about something very carefully. Everyone watched as a tiny little lightbulb went off in Marigold's mind and her face split into a wide smile.
"So that means you and Pea-ra are in love too!" Marigold said as she jumped in front of Jaune and pointed at him and Pyrrha. Pyrrha instantly hid her head in her hands as Jaune blushed and tried to stutter out a No. The rest of the group was giggling at their expense.
"Uh huh! You said that means they're in love!" Marigold pointed back at the screen, "Rem and Nora look at each other that way and Nora told me they were in love! Pea-ra looks at you that way too! So you are in love!" Marigold put her hands on her hips as if to prove her point.
"Sh-she does?" Jaune asked sounding surprised as she turned to look at Pyrrha who was still hiding her face.
"Mmh-hm! And that's how Daddy looks at-" Roman practically flew out of his spot on the ground, clamping a hand over Marigold's mouth.
"Oookay…. I think you've embarrassed enough people today!" Roman shouted as his face turned red. Neo gave him a knowing smile while Ruby just looked confused.
Jaune and Pyrrha were staring at each other, their faces slowly getting redder and redder.
Neo looked over at Nora who was wearing a wicked grin. Nora caught her stare, seamingly in silent communication both ladies smiled as Nora carefully made her way behind Jaune while Neo went behind Pyrrha.
"Now!" Nora suddenly shouted startling everyone in the room. They all watched as Neo shoved Pyrrha into Jaune, knocking them both flat on the ground leaving Pyrrha practically laying on top of Jaune. As a finishing touch Nora threw a blanket over the two of them.
"Alright teams! I think it's time we leave these two alone!" Nora cheered as she practically dragged Ren to the door, flinging it open and making her way out.
Weiss sighed as she quietly made her way to team RWBY's room across the hall, frustrated that once again she was the only one having issues with this new situation. Yang and Blake were laughing as they left the room and headed out to do who knows what.
Ruby held Marigold on her hip as she ejected the movie and promised Marigold several times that they could finish it in their apartment while Roman lectured Neo on teasing the 'poor kids' too much.
Jaune and Pyrrha both absolutely refused to move from underneath the blanket they had apparently become paralyzed under. Roman was sure if he came in the next morning they would still be in the same position.
Roman flopped onto the couch as Ruby put the movie in for Marigold to finish, the tiny toddler sat as close to the screen as Ruby would let her, zoning out the other occupants of the room entirely as she fell into her fantasy world.
Ruby quickly signed a goodnight to Neo who walked straight to her room and passed out from the days excitement.
Ruby poked Roman in the leg, making Roman crack an eye open,
"Scoot over." Ruby whined, just as tired as he was. Roman moved less than an inch but Ruby didn't even care as she threw herself onto the couch landing half in his lap and half on the couch beside him.
Roman grunted at the impact but didn't try to move her off or give her more space, instead choosing to take up even more space by laying down across the couch and dragging Ruby to lay in front of him instead, throwing his arm over her so she wouldn't fall off. Both of them quickly passing out before they could think about the positions they were in.
"-and then he died! It was scary... but then he came back to life with magic!... But he looked funny."
Roman could feel the vibrations of Ruby's laughter against his chest as Marigold explained how her movie ended the night before.
Remembering just how exactly they fell asleep last night Roman felt his face start to heat up.
I can't believe I did that… So lost in his own thoughts Roman didn't even notice the girls conversation change until Ruby started to move. Roman's eyes shot open when he realized she was turning to face him as she held Marigold in between them.
Almost in perfect sync Marigold and Ruby both mumbled a good morning as they snuggled closer into his chest.
"Um, morning?" Roman blushed, Ruby seemed to realize his hesitation, blinking her eyes open to look at his face.
Roman wasn't sure what she was looking for but whatever it was she must have found it as she just smiled at him.
"Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to trap you on the couch…" Roman said figuring he needed to say something about how they fell asleep last night. Ruby laughing was not the reaction he expected.
"Don't worry, you didn't. You'll notice that Marigold and I made it in to our pajamas." Roman blinked at her before looking down to see that she was right.
"When the movie ended Marigold decided to crash with us, and when I say crash, I do mean crash. She tripped on the edge of my cloak and pretty much fell on top of me." Ruby snuzzled the top of Marigold's head making the girl giggle, "Being the middle part of this Torchwick," Ruby paused laughing to herself, "Sorry, Rosewick, sandwich I decided that it was about 100 degrees too hot for me to fall asleep again, so I changed us into our pjs. I tried to get Marigold to sleep in her own bed but she insisted that if I was going to sleep on the couch so was she." Ruby smiled at the barely contained look of surprise on Roman's face when he realized that she chose to stay.
Several emotions flitted across his face as he tried to figure out what was going on between them and why he hadn't noticed how much closer they suddenly were.
"Is- is this the new normal for us?" Roman asked, Ruby shrugged.
"I have no idea what normal means when it comes to us."
"You kissed me yesterday…" Ruby hid her face in Roman's chest
"Just on the cheek!"
"True, but why?" Roman pressed.
Ruby bit her lip, looking anywhere but his face, "...'cause I've wanted to...For a while now...I didn't mean to do it like that! I was in such a rush and it just happened! I didn't even realize-
"Ruby." Ruby's head snapped up to look him in the eyes.
"Me too." Roman smiled, leaning in to kiss her.
Ruby's eyes went wide, unable to stop the whimper that escaped her lips as he kissed her lightly on the nose.
Roman smirked playfully at the sound as he leaned in a second time kissing her gently on the lips. Ruby hummed in delight at the feel of his lips against hers, neither of them wanting the moment to end.
Until Marigold started laughing.
They both jumped, blushing at having completely forgotten that Marigold was still happily laying between them.
"What has you laughing?" Roman asked.
Marigold only smiled snuggling deeper into his chest, "Nothing, just, happy."
THE END!
Thank you my friends for sticking with me this long! I tried my best to keep this fic as sweet and wholesome as possible. I'm sorry it took so long to complete but now I can finally focus on all my WIP's... I have 17 right now... Half Rosewick and half Hummingbird...So keep an eye out if you are interested!
Also you may have noticed that this is the end but there are 2 chapters left! Well the next 2 chapters are bonuses courtesy of a few fans who realized that I mentioned deleting some of my work for this fic and they asked if I could post it anyway! So if you are curious keep reading, if not, it was great having you! The next 2 chapters are alternates of Ruby and Roman's (and Neo's) first interactions from way back in chapter 1 when Ruby was trying to get Marigold home. They are un-edited so please ignore any mistakes and they don't actually have endings. So just assume they end the same way the entire fic did. Enjoy!