AN: Long time no see, guys and gals and other. I'm very sorry about the lack of updates, half finished ideas have been sat on my Ipad for months collecting dust but things got hard at home and I'm on the home stretch for my course at the moment so its noses to the grindstone over here.
I will not promise a more regular update schedule but I can promise I'm still not abandoning this story. This update is not long by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel proud of it simply because I managed to write anything at all with how things have been in life.
This chapter focuses more on whiterose simply because that is what the story asked me to write. The bees will always return though.
Please leave reviews guys, they really make me smile and reading them gets me back to writing when I'm struggling.
(writing this chapter felt like coming home)
The sounds of fingers smashing buttons with almost no semblance of strategy filled the living room as the Rose-Xiao-Long sisters participated in an epic showdown of Mortal Kombat. Yang's jacket had been haphazardly discarded over the back of the pristine white sofa whilst she and Ruby sat on the floor cross legged, intense concentration shown in their stuck out tongues and crinkled brows.
Ruby's character was losing as Yang's jabbed it repeatedly in the body, causing the health bar on the leader's side to rapidly fall.
Ruby suddenly threw her hands up in the air in despair, dropping her controller as Yang's character dealt the killing blow.
"Boom! Yeah! FATALITY." Yang mimicked the announcer as the victory screen showed and her younger sister let out a groan in defeat.
Yang laughed victoriously, punching the air before leaning over and not so gently punching Ruby in the arm.
"Come on sis, you almost had me that time!" Yang encouraged before Ruby turned to face her, a look of exasperation on her soft features.
"Ten years playing fighting games and I still can't beat you." the leader said, smiling a moment later to let Yang know there were no hard feelings.
Ruby watched as the blondes large smile faded and was replaced by a more thoughtful and distant look.
"What's up?" Ruby asked after a few moments, pulling Yang back. Yang's eyes snapped to her younger sister's mismatched gaze and she sighed gently, shoulders slumping.
"Well I've been meaning to ask you about something and I guess now is as good a time as any." The blonde explained, fingers playing with the end of her locks thoughtfully.
"Ask away." The younger woman invited, leaning subconsciously a little closer to her older sister in her curiosity.
"Ruby, what do you know about Aura infusion?" Yang asked quietly, surprising Ruby.
"Well I know we do it with our weapons to create the sensation of an extension of our own body-" She began before Yang stopped her with a raised hand, palm towards Ruby.
"No, not like that. I mean, theoretically, is it possible to infuse your aura into something so it can be used for someone else?"
Ruby's surprise was evident, but she recovered quickly, gazing intently at her uncharacteristically serious older sister.
Yang was again struck by how much older her sister seemed, how much more mature she was from the cookie devouring, hyperactive child who had arrived at beacon with her four years ago. Ruby appeared to be able to gaze right into Yang, her mismatched eyes not straying, piercing through her.
Yang did not break her stare and after a tense few moments Ruby sighed deeply, her eyes wandering before leaning back with a light thud, her shoulder blades bumping against the sofa.
"There are very few records of that being done, and even fewer of them are of it being done successfully. Combining your aura for use in something for someone else would put a lot of stress upon you, especially when there's a distance involved between you and said object. I suppose you'd need to combine your aura with the aura of whoever would have the thing, to stop them from rejecting it like a failed organ transplant."
Ruby explained whilst Yang listened intently before leaning back against the sofa, mirroring the younger women, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Why do you ask?" Ruby queried after a few beats of quiet thought, looking to Yang to confirm her suspicions about her intentions.
Yang however had other ideas, shaking her head and flashing a small smile, concluding that she needed to pursue a few more avenues of information before she spoke to her sister again about this.
Ruby studied her sisters face, her eyebrows furrowing for a moment before smoothing out again as a large sigh escaped her lips.
"Okay Yang. Whatever you're doing, just promise you'll be careful."
Yang nodded her head quickly before Ruby continued.
"and if you ever want help with anything, you know where I am. Weiss too, if you need, you and I both know she's the cleverest one of us along with Blake."
Yang laughed at that, a short bark of agreement, shifting the mood lightly.
"Yeah, I guess it doesn't run in our family to test very well." She said with a bright smile.
Ruby giggled, the taught seriousness of earlier fleeing her features as she remembered the many times Yang had passed by the skin of her teeth during Grimm studies.
If I hadn't had Weiss pushing me to be a great leader and I hadn't stayed up revising all those nights, I probably would have ended up with similar marks. The woman mused briefly before she saw Yang pick up her Xbox controller.
"One more?" Ruby asked with a smirk.
"Hell yeah, you are so going down again Rubes!" Yang exclaimed,
As Yang's player began to just absolutely destroy Ruby's yet again, the red themed woman couldn't help but think about her sisters questions.
I know what you're thinking, sis. Ruby glanced over at her older sister, who was violently mashing combos on the Xbox controller, a manic smile on her face.
I know how much she means to you, but please be careful.
Later
"Thank you both for such a lovely meal." Blake said politely as she and Yang pulled on their jackets in preparation of their departure from the house.
"You're very welcome, of course." Weiss said with a small but warm smile, "We will come to you next week, yes?"
Yang smiled brightly and hooked her arm around Blake's shoulders jovially, causing the faunus to blush slightly.
"Of course, princess, I'll try and make sure Blake doesn't just give you all tuna sandwiches." Yang joked playfully, causing Blake to flush even redder and slap Yang's arm in indignation.
From beside Weiss, Ruby let out a loud laugh as the heiress hid a chuckle behind one hand. Ruby held the other, her thumb running affectionately across her lover's knuckles.
Yang stepped forward and pulled her younger sister into her signature crushing hug, lifting the still slightly shorter girl off her feet.
"Have a good night sis." Yang said affectionately and she held Ruby, holding on a little too long.
"Yang! Can't. Breathe." The young leader managed to squeak out.
Yang laughed after a moment and let go of Ruby, the younger huntress taking a deep breath, seeing if this was the time Yang had finally managed to crack one of her ribs.
I'm surprised she hasn't after a lifetime of those hugs. Ruby thought this with no real anger or indignation, only affection showing for her older sister.
I'm glad things didn't change between us.
Yang took a step to the right so she was right in front of Weiss. The brawler began looking her up and down in a way that made the usually unshakeable heiress feel nervous before Yang broke into a large, sunny smile and placed a hand on the ice princess's shoulder, squeezing it affectionately.
"That goes for you too, Weiss." The blonde told her, internally proud she could still affect the ice queen.
"T-thank you, Yang." Weiss stuttered, quietly sighing in relief when Yang turned and headed back towards the door.
"Okay Blakey, time to hit the road." Yang exclaimed as she moved past her partner with a smile before she threw the door open.
"See you guys!" Yang called out as she walked down the small drive and over to her bike that was parked against the curb and pulled on her helmet, carefully clipping up the chin strap, making sure not to catch her hair in it.
Blake walked to the doorway before turning back to her teammates.
"Goodbye Weiss, Ruby." She said, bowing her head slightly at them both in turn before sending a small but loving smile at the couple and following after her partner. Blake hopped onto the back of the now growling Bumblebee and put on her helmet before holding onto her warm partner.
Ruby and Weiss watched from the doorway as the bike speed off down the road and into the distance, shutting the door once they were out of sight.
Ruby leant heavily against the door that her teammates had just exited through, a small huff escaping her lips. After a beat of quiet, Weiss stepped gracefully towards her younger lover, wrapping her arms around her in a tender embrace, her face turned into the taller woman's neck affectionately.
Ruby chuckled as she held Weiss against her, the reverberation in her chest making her smile softly.
They stayed like that for a moment longer before Ruby felt the imperceptible shift in Weiss's body that led to her lips meeting the leader's neck.
Ruby stiffened briefly before thawing a little and pushing Weiss away just enough so that she could look into the pale blue eyes that stared back lovingly.
One lightly calloused hand came up between them and Ruby hesitantly brushed her fingertips over Weiss's cheekbone, with the shorter woman closing her eyes and leaning almost imperceptibly into the touch.
Ruby's touch traced lightly down to Weiss's neck as she willed it not to tremble.
Weiss's eyes opened at Ruby's hesitation and showed a familiar emotion bubbling just underneath the surface. The sight made Ruby's breath catch and she moved her hand to tangle her fingers into the hair at the nape of her partner's neck, causing a gasp from Weiss before it was silenced by the dark haired girl's lips crashing against hers.
The kiss was passionate, filled with unfulfilled desires the two shared.
Each woman was trying to say something different through the moment, the kiss an attempt at the dialogue that neither was truly ready to speak aloud.
The frenzied touch of Weiss, her hands cupping her lovers face and cradling the back of her head was a desperate attempt at reassurance. The answering fervour of Ruby's hands, one holding Weiss close at the base of her spine and the other still locked in her snow white mane, was a strangled cry of torn anguish, a bittersweet mix of uncertainty and the need to express love.
It was not the first time they had shared this kiss, in fact it had almost become routine. Weiss, however, hoped that the rest of the script they had followed since the accident would be abandoned tonight.
As their mouths moved together one of Weiss' hands strayed from Ruby's face and travelled down her body until it rested at her hip gently.
Ruby's white button up had come untucked a little during their embrace and Weiss took the opportunity to slip her deft fingers under the material to trace patterns on her lover's hips with her fingertips.
Weiss's forefinger brushed over puckered flesh and Ruby immediately froze before pulling her face away from her girlfriends, a pained expression crossing her angular features, causing a feeling of guilt to settle in Weiss' stomach like a stone.
"Ruby, I-" The white haired woman started, her eyebrows pulling together. She made what felt like a monument outs effort to not let herself tear up.
A finger was pressed gently to her lips as Ruby looked away dejectedly, down to the floor beneath them.
"Let's get to bed, I'm exhausted." The red themed woman said dully before gently unwinding herself from her girlfriend and moving past her, further into the house moving towards the bedroom they shared.
No matter how many times they read through this mental script together, it never lost its sting as Weiss was left staring at the space Ruby had been moments before.
The woman kept a straight face as she wandered through the house, years of being a Schnee being all that stood between her and the release of her emotional anguish.
As Weiss entered the bathroom that sat a few doors away from the room where she knew Ruby was lying in, she began to feel herself get swept under in the tide of emotion she was holding back.
Hold it together, Weiss.
The pale beauty removed her clothes, sparing a glance in the mirror at the single large burn that ran up the side of her torso and shoulder, stopping just below her collar before stepping into the shower and turning it on.
Weiss stepped under the cool water, closing the sliding glass door behind her before standing under the shower head, feeling the rivulets of liquid running down her face.
In one sharp exhalation of breath, she was on the floor of the shower. Weiss lifted her hands to her mouth to stop any sounds that might escape, knowing that the cascading of water would only cover so much, no matter how much she wanted to scream.
The naked woman curled in on herself as the liquid continued to rain down on her.
The streams of tears that fell from her eyes mingled with the fresh water before disappearing down the plug hole. The cold of the water could not soothe the burning trail Ruby's fingertips had left across her cheek, nor the helpless ache that had made its home in her chest.
Come back to me, Ruby.
The slender woman lay there for what seemed like an eternity before the energy expended in her outburst exhausted her, pulling her into unconsciousness as the water pouring on her slowly became colder and colder.
She slept the sleep of the emotionally drained, dreaming of weightlessness, only awaking briefly to darkness as she felt soft material dry her skin and hair gently before she was enveloped in comforting warmth. The semi-conscious woman would recognise only a brief flit of silver above her face before darkness claimed her again.
