A Harsh Reality Ch. 8: Where One Thrives, Another Struggles
Already hit 30 followers and I hit 10 favorites {think that just happened}, Jesus. My personal fastest growing story {surpassing Child of Grimm}, but no surprising. Then again, who doesn't love Bumblebee? Also, ChaosPhoenix13 said that this story was made purely because I liked my back story on Tragedy of the Chessboard and wanted to make a story on it. I can honestly say that is 100% accurate.
He stepped out of the airship, and looked over at the expecting faces.
"He was unsuccessful," he said immediately. "Adam perished, but that's not surprising. He failed to listen to what he told us."
"What?" The White Fang leader cried out. "He was one of my top agents!"
"He was a fool in this situation. But it did confirm one thing, they are vulnerable. He almost took down the kitty cat, and came very close with the golden girl. That inspires confidence for a situation that'll expose just them."
"Do not argue this," the woman in red said. "Roman is correct. Besides, Blake may of have had a weakness for him, but his hatred for her clouded his better judgement. We will discuss future plans later. For now, we need to focus on getting more supplies."
Beacon Academy: Airships Bay
The airship landed, and the door opened up. Yang had given her best explanation of what had happened between Blake and Adam, while she held Blake close. She was still a mess, unable to contribute anything to the conversation. Yang's aura was one that just radiated warmth, comfort, and the feeling of safety. Blake could understand why Ruby had always been so trusting of her older sister, now feeling that same trust. He can't be that anymore, Yang had said just as she before she had kissed Blake. It hadn't felt like a comfort kiss, or a pity kiss, it had felt as though it was a promising kiss. A promise that Yang would do everything she could to protect Blake. Though, Yang hadn't let the others know of her kiss.
The four girls finally exited the airship, and saw Professor Ozpin waiting on them.
"Hello RWBY," he greeted. "I understand from Ruby's report that it was more then a small group of White Fang."
"Bullshit," Blake mumbled.
"I'm sorry?" Ozpin asked, his face showing confusion.
"You knew that there wouldn't just be a small group of White Fang, didn't you?"
"Are you suggesting that I was fraternizing with the enemy, Ms. Belladonna?" He asked, pointing out the obvious flaw with her accusation.
"No, I'm suggesting that your infinite intuition lead you to know that something bigger was going on with the White Fang." Blake stared daggers through her red eyes, and Yang just used a little bit more of her aura, attempting to get the emotional girl under control.
"You wouldn't be completely wrong to say that I wasn't suspicious there would be something more going on," Ozpin said. "I am aware of your background Ms. Belladonna, but you were the team that was selected as the best one for this mission. I did worry that it might be a setup, but that was a risk I had to take. Now, you are not only excused from classes for today but tomorrow as well, the standard time for a grieving teammate." Ozpin nodded to Blake, her expression still remaining as angry as before. He turned to leave, and then glanced back. "I do still expect a report by the end of the day."
The four girls watched him leave, and then began their walk back to the dorms. Yang was still trying to comfort Blake, her aura starting to run a bit low.
"I can't believe it," Weiss said, choosing to steer clear of their mission. "We are back at school for one day, and then we're out for two more. This is unbelievable."
"Chill out Weiss," Ruby said, trying to rub the heiress' arm. "One was for a mission, and now Blake is grieving. Don't worry, we didn't have much yesterday anyways." Weiss was going to make an argument, but she saw how much agony her teammate was in. She had tried to help, bring their minds away from their mission, but she had failed. It wouldn't surprise Weiss if Ruby had no thoughts about her beyond a partner. She realized that Yang still hadn't let go of Blake, and she just decided to keep quiet.
The four girls opened up their dorm room, and Yang slowly led Blake to her bed.
"There, there Blakey," she said in a soothing voice. "Just lie down." Blake obliged, and stared up at the ceiling. It pained Yang to see her partner feeling so low. There was nothing that she could do that she hadn't already done. Then again, Yang thought. She quietly joined her partner in the bed, and wrapped her in another hug. She flared some more of her aura, trying to get Blake to feel a little bit better.
Ruby and Weiss looked on as Yang kept her partner in a warm embrace. Ruby had been in situations where she was sad and Yang had decided to comfort her. She knew that Yang's aura was very soothing, and that she was doing everything she could to calm Blake down. That being said, Ruby couldn't help but feel helpless. Her teammate was lying on her bed, in clear agony over her loss, and Ruby could do nothing but idly spectate.
Blake continued to lay in Yang's embrace. She still felt sad over the loss of Adam, but she was finally coming around. Yang's arms felt like a cove of safety, a place she would never leave. Blake felt strangely okay with Yang kissing her, for even that felt comforting to her. Blake now found herself unable to deny everything that she had felt for Yang, and she was happy that Yang still held her. The fact that Yang hadn't yet given a single mention of her kiss led her to believe that all she was focused on was comforting Blake.
"Ruby, Weiss," Blake said softly. "Can you get me some tea?" Ruby and Weiss nodded, and turned to leave to get some. "Wait, do we not have any?"
"Nope," Weiss replied as she exited the room. "We'll be back soon, okay Blake?" Blake nodded, and watched the two girls leave. Blake slowly turned over, and faced Yang. Her face was within inches of Blake's, and she still held a look of concern.
"Blake," Yang said. "Do you want to sleep?" Blake shook her head, and then looked back at the door.
"Yang," Blake said softly. "I appreciate everything you've done. I just want you to know, I'm no longer as sad about Adam."
"That's good," Yang said, stroking Blake's hair lightly.
"And one more thing, thank your offer." Yang's expression changed for a moment, but then it returned to it's concerned state after she realized what Blake had meant.
"I shouldn't of have kissed you then," Yang whispered. "It was wrong, I took advantage of you, and-." Yang was cut off by Blake leaning into her, and planting a kiss on her lips. She pulled out, and looked Yang in the eyes.
"You did more for me then you know," Blake replied. Yang smiled, and flared just a little more of her aura. The warm feeling finally got Blake to a point of sleep, and Yang gently tucked her in. "You made me this tired," Blake accused, as her eyes struggled to stay open.
"You need rest," Yang replied calmly. "Night Blakey." With those words, Blake couldn't stay awake any longer.
Ruby and Weiss
Weiss quickly paid the merchant, and then turned around. She was eager to return to the dorm, not wanting to keep her teammate waiting for too much longer. An unfortunate reality of Weiss' life had been losing people that were close to her, and she could empathize with Blake's pain. The only difference, was that Adam had tried to kill her, and Yang. Either way, your view on someone you care for is never changed, Weiss was quite familiar with that in the relationship between her and her father.
"I'm glad we could get her tea," Ruby said, her voice lacking the usual cheerful quality that it normally possessed. "Yang seems to have the rest taken care of."
"Don't you find it strange how close Yang is getting with Blake?" Weiss asked, trying to show something to her leader. Ruby shook her head, knowing exactly what Weiss was talking about.
"I know what you mean, but Yang's always been that way. Me, her friends, everyone. She would do the same for you." Weiss realized how accurate that statement was, and her suspicions were slightly lowered. "Either way, I don't think Yang would try something like that at this point in time." Weiss nodded again, her suspicions even lower then before.
The two girls reached their dorm again, and silently opened up the door. They peeked inside, and saw Yang sitting nearby Blake's bed, with the Faunus asleep. Yang looked up at her teammates, and then back down at Blake.
"She's had a long day," she said quietly. Ruby and Weiss nodded, and placed the cup of tea on the counter.
"How is she?" Ruby asked, knowing what a loss can do to one's mental state.
"Better," Yang replied. "I think I finally used enough of my aura to calm her down, and enough to get her to sleep."
"That's good," Ruby said, keeping a close eye on her teammate. Blake stirred slightly, making the three girls freeze. She opened up her eyes, and noticed all of her teammates staring at her.
"What?" She asked.
"I thought you'd sleep longer," Yang replied. "Correction, you should of have slept longer. I used enough aura to get you to that point."
"I've never been a good sleeper," Blake replied. She sat up, and walked over to the counter. She quickly picked up her cup of tea, and generously took a sip. "I think that I've let myself apply logic to this situation," Blake mumbled to herself. "Adam tried to kill me, tried to kill Yang. I did the right thing." Yang watched her teammate stand in the kitchen, speaking silently to herself.
"Hey Blake," Yang said, remembering something that made her sister feel better. "Do you mind if I take you out tonight?" Blake seemed surprise by the request. "You can pick the place. We can eat, or go to a park, or to a fair, or just do something to make you feel better." Blake looked over at Yang, and nodded slightly.
"Just a dinner," Blake replied. "Should be fine. Just a nice, quiet dinner between you and me." Blake was mumbling the final part, but Ruby and Weiss had heard what she had said. Yang was already looking for a place with an open reservation, not really paying much attention to her teammates. Ruby and Weiss seemed fine by the fact that Yang and Blake wanted to go out for a dinner, and even more fine with the fact that they wanted to go alone. It did trigger some form of suspicion, but neither of them gave it much thought.
"Alright Blakey," Yang said. "I got us a reservation over at a restaurant called the White Serpent in an hour."
"Early dinner," Blake said, a grin evident on her face.
"All they had." Yang went into the bathroom the get ready, leaving the other three to start on the work they had missed. It was difficult for Blake to stay on task, and it eventually forced her to ask Weiss for help. Blake hated the feeling of being unable to focus, but she hated the sadness even more. It was difficult to shake it, but Blake had to keep rationalizing it. It was the only way to keep her from going insane.
An Hour Later
Yang and Blake were both still dressed in their normal attire, not wanting to make a large deal about the event. They said their goodbyes, and exited the dorm. Ruby and Weiss looked over at each other, and then down at their feet. Neither of them really knew what to do, both of them having completed that days work a little earlier. Ruby climbed onto her bed, and began to sketch. Weiss decided to start studying, really unsure of what exactly what to do.
After a little bit of this, Ruby looked at the door. She had felt like an incapable teammate, and incapable leader, and worst of all, an incapable friend. She needed to do something to calm her mind.
"I'll be back," Ruby said, tossing down her sketchbook.
"Where are you going?" Weiss asked, trying to keep her attention on her work.
"On a walk," Ruby replied calmly. "I need to clear my head." Weiss nodded, and watched her partner leave. As soon as Ruby closed the door, she regretted allowing her to leave. Weiss was suddenly left alone again, unsure of what to do with herself. All she could do, was keep studying.
Ruby
She walked around on the Beacon campus. Ruby had considered visiting team JNPR, but they were all busy with class. She had considered circling back around to her dorm, but with the way Weiss was with Ruby, she didn't think it was a good idea. That left her with very few options. Distracted, Ruby pulled out one of the bottles of water she had grabbed. She briefly wondered why it had no label, but she was too distracted to give it much thought. She took one drink, then another. After the fifth or seventh swig, Ruby realized why it didn't have a label. Yang always took off the labels to bottles of water she claimed as "hers," and there was only ever one reason that Yang ever claimed a bottle of water.
It wasn't water.
She was too far in to reverse the effects of the clear liquid, but she could at least tell herself to get to the dorm before her terrible alcohol tolerance caught up to her. She started to move fast, putting the bottle away as quickly as possible. How had she not noticed this? She felt even worse then before, but the feeling of uselessness was being replaced by the distant feeling that alcohol supplied {A/N}. Ruby tried to move along quickly, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Soon, she found her normal mind replaced with the stupid mind that always came after a drink.
Weiss
She sat in her bed, her books sprawled out in front of her. Blake and Yang had been gone for a while, while Ruby had been out on her walk for a few minutes. Weiss was already feeling lonely. She had spent the entire summer feeling alone, and now it looked like she would have to endure the feeling just a little longer. She missed her leader terribly, wishing that she'd return soon. She heard some stumbling in the hall, and let out a sigh. Some other idiot had either gotten to alcohol, or gotten injured. Either way, there was still no Grimm fighting or sparing yet, so that would mean they had to do something really stupid. Weiss heard a loud bang outside of the door, followed by the door unlocking. Oh no, she thought.
The door slammed open, and Ruby stumbled inside. Weiss could already tell that she was drunk. How much Ruby had was beyond her, but it was clear that the girl had a little too much.
"Hey Weiss," Ruby greeted, her speech greatly slurred. "How are you tonight?"
"Ruby, what did you do?" Weiss asked.
"Well, I went on a walk and I took a bottle of water, and that was Yang's bottle of water." Weiss thought for a moment, and then remembered why the brawler claimed bottles of water. "I got about six good swigs in, and then realized it wasn't water."
"Ruby!" Weiss scolded. "Lay down!" Ruby stumbled forward, and tried to climb on top of her bed. She almost fell off, forcing Weiss to pull her down. "Okay, change of plans. You will sleep on my bed until you're sober. I'm going to get you some water, stay put." Ruby nodded sloppily, and Weiss quickly grabbed a bottle of actual water. Luckily for her, Yang had too much to drink on the weekends so they had plenty of straws. Weiss grabbed one, and placed it in the bottle. She returned to her partner, and held out the straw for her to drink out of.
"There you go," Weiss said. Ruby generously drank from the bottle, and Weiss thought over the situation. She knew that that day was going to be about Blake, and she also knew that Ruby wouldn't do this intentionally. Either way, Weiss was going to have to try and nurture the girl to health before Yang and Blake returned. This is how my day is being spent, Weiss thought. I was feeling lonely and useless.
"You know Weiss," Ruby said drunkenly. "I always thought you hated me, and I thought that coming here would be bad."
"I don't hate you," Weiss said, forcing Ruby to take another drink.
"Aw, thanks Weiss. I just feel awful as a teammate, you know? I feel like I let down Blake, I failed to lead you guys in the fight. I'm glad I have people like you." Weiss continued to sit next to her bed awkwardly. Everyone was a different kind of drunk. Ruby was one of the worst kinds, an honest drunk.
"You're not a failure of a leader," Weiss reassured her, jamming the straw back in Ruby's mouth. "You're a good leader."
"You really mean it?" Ruby asked, her words jumbled from the alcohol and straw. Weiss nodded, and Ruby quickly removed the straw from her mouth. She pulled Weiss in, and laid on a sloppy, drunk kiss. It took all of Weiss' will power to push Ruby off of her, and then looked over at her drunk teammate. That was supposed to be a moment that Weiss looked forward to, but she didn't want to take advantage of the drunk girl. It just wasn't in her nature.
"Ruby, go to sleep," Weiss commanded, trying to get her to stop tempting her. Ruby nodded, and then Weiss looked down at the water. "I will wake you up every so often to get you water, don't be alarmed." Ruby nodded again, and went to close her eyes.
"I love you Weiss," she grumbled. Weiss felt her heart swell, and then break immediately. Despite Ruby's truthful nature, it was more then likely the alcohol forcing Ruby to do this.
"Just sleep," Weiss said sadly. Ruby finally closed her eyes, and Weiss just felt sad.
End: Nice and long chapter, and I will probably address the end of that day in the next chapter. Onto the A/N, I have never once tasted alcohol, nor have I ever seen someone drunk. My sister is 20, so I've seen people hung over. I'm literally guessing what alcohol makes someone feel like. I did not address the Bumblebee date, and I probably won't. Two things I pretty much can't do as a writer, and that's lemon/smut/yuri/whatever the fuck else it's called, and dates. It's my kyrptonite, so use your imagination for that date. Other questions, comments, follows, favorites, feelz for Weiss, and feedback is appreciated.
