Thank you to LightInside for all the help getting this mess sorted out.
With a plateful of bagels, Ruby watched as Weiss poured multiple cups of coffee from the community coffee pot in the hotel lobby. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place but everything felt so somber.
After finding out about Luna, Weiss and Ruby set out to find their teammates and break the news, only to learn that Blake's parents were coming to visit them today with news of their own.
While Ruby was sad that something had happened to Luna, they'd only met once and there wasn't much personal attachment.
However, when she broke the news to Yang it was as if Yang had been hit by the stinger of a Deathstalker. They'd found Blake and Yang just coming home from wherever they'd been that night and they seemed off. It was strange and it brought up a lot of questions, but the moment Ruby gave the news everything shifted.
Yang was quiet and retreated into herself, something Ruby knew she could do from time to time. When they were little, there were days when Yang wouldn't say much. She wouldn't be mean or dismissive, just…quiet.
Last night was much of the same. They didn't sleep much, all of them together in one room as they talked about things and made preparations.
Ruby had mentioned that they were being far too lazy when it came to the reason they were here in the first place and that needed to change. The job came first.
She was happy when Weiss readily agreed with her and supported it.
However, they had one obstacle left and that was the pending arrival of Blake's parents.
Unfortunately, a night of stress and little sleep led to a morning where they all needed strong coffee and a good breakfast.
"This coffee looks disgusting," Weiss grumbled and put another cup on the tray she was carrying. She peeked back at Ruby and gestured at her plate. "Are they fresh?"
Ruby grabbed one and took a bite, it was…a struggle. "They're…strong little bagels."
"You mean they're stale?"
"I'm trying to be positive about it."
Weiss sighed. "Stale bagels and low rate coffee. Considering the prices this place charges you'd think they'd have decent fare."
Looking around, Ruby studied the faces of the few staff members in the room, knowing Weiss was speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. Not that Weiss cared, she spoke her mind regardless of how someone felt. Especially when she felt someone was doing something wrong. Ruby didn't disagree, she just didn't feel the need to say it out loud.
Thankfully, the staff seemed about as excited to be there as Weiss was and didn't pay much attention to her angry grumbles.
Once the last cup was poured, Weiss tucked it into the tray she was carrying and picked up a handful of cream cheese packets.
Ruby couldn't help herself from loving this small moment between them. She thought of how this could be her future. Hotel breakfasts with the girl of her dreams while they traveled around Remnant hunting monsters and helping people.
Of course she imagined Blake and Yang there as well, but Weiss was the one she pictured when she thought of the future. In a way, Ruby couldn't imagine a future without Weiss Schnee in it.
"Why are you smiling?" Weiss asked with a curious glare.
Ruby felt her face heat up and smiled even more. "Nothing, just that you're kinda cute when you're grouchy."
"I'm not grouchy! "
Ruby laughed. "Come on, the bagels are getting…even colder."
Weiss scoffed but followed Ruby back to the elevator. The ride up was quiet, but Ruby took the opportunity to kiss Weiss on the cheek.
"What was that for?"
"I don't know, this Luna thing just kind of…makes you think, right?" Weiss frowned. "You never know."
"Thus why I took the chance to tell you how I felt." Weiss' cheeks were the lightest hint of red.
She could be so adorable. "I'm glad you did. We'll have to find time to finish what we started last night." Ruby winked and Weiss blushed even more and Ruby felt like she'd won some kind of prize.
"After we deal with this Grimm, of course." Weiss said sternly.
Though Ruby couldn't disagree. "I know," she sighed. "Yang's really taking this hard."
The elevator reached it's level and they started down the hallway towards Yang and Blake's room. "She and Luna bonded quite easily. You saw how much they conversed on the boat."
"I guess," Ruby shrugged as she bit into a bagel without taking it off the plate. "She's just real upset and –"
'Ruby," Weiss scolded and Ruby stopped in her tracks. "Please don't talk with food in your mouth. You know I don't like that."
"Oh right," She swallowed a thick piece of bagel and worried for a second that it might not go down. Thankfully a second swallow finished the job. "Sorry, they just smell really good."
"Well they look like the bread they used to serve us at Beacon. Strong enough to shatter a watermelon." As they continued walking, Ruby realized that Weiss wasn't moving very fast. Granted, she was carrying multiple coffees, but Weiss was basically a ballerina (though she hated every time Ruby said that) so balance was never an issue for her.
"You want me to carry those?" Ruby asked, even though she had her hands full.
Weiss glared at her. "I'm fine."
"Then why are we turtling our way to the room?"
Somehow, Weiss managed to glare even more. "The Belladonna's may arrive at any moment and I don't want to disturb them."
"What? Weiss, they're Blake's parents. She's said nothing but good things about them." Weiss didn't respond but Ruby could see her tense even more and soon enough her steps stopped entirely. "Weiss?"
"Perhaps I should go back to our room. At least while they're here. It will be crowded and Yang is upset. You'll need to take care of her. I should probably prepare for our next step with this monster and –"
"Hey," Ruby stopped her and stepped over to her suddenly panicking girlfriend. "What's all this about?"
Those blue eyes looked at her and they were filled with uncertainty. "You remember how Blake felt about me when we first met. What she thought of my name and my family."
"Weiss, that's not going to happen again."
"Why wouldn't it? You think Blake hated the Schnees? Her parents have probably been dealing with my family even longer."
Ruby shook her head and was suddenly wishing she didn't have a plate of bagels in her hands. "You're not your family. Blake saw that and I'm sure she's told her parents all about you too. Good things, because she loves you."
Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time Ruby had had this conversation with Weiss. It was the same thing when Weiss first met her father – this fear of being hated. Weiss had dealt with it her whole life. As soon as people figured out her name, they immediately assumed she was every bit the jerk that her father was. They blamed her for the horrible things he'd done. Things Weiss had no part in, things Weiss had worked tirelessly to fix.
Much like they did with Blake, people had a tendency to judge Weiss before they said one word to her.
"Ruby I…I don't want to go in there."
It was as pleading as Weiss had ever been and there was no strength Ruby had that could force Weiss to do anything she didn't want to.
With a smile, she balanced the plate of bagels on her right hand and took the coffee from Weiss with the other. It was tricky, but she managed to corral them both.
"I'll go deliver the goods, see how Yang is doing and then I'll come find you and we can get started on planning our attack, okay?"
Weiss' bottom lip was quivering ever-so-slightly. If Ruby wasn't so concentrated on studying her, she might not have noticed.
Suddenly, Weiss leaned in and kissed her – careful not to make her drop anything. "Tell Blake I'm sorry." Ruby nodded, knowing Blake would understand. She and Weiss always seemed to understand one another. "And if Yang needs anything, let me know. I can make a trip to town and pick her up anything. Alcohol, chocolate…a punching bag."
"I'll ask, though I could use some chocolate." Weiss narrowed her eyes and Ruby laughed. "I'll see you soon." She said, as she walked to Blake and Yang's door.
When she looked back, Weiss was stomping away – clearly angry with herself.
"It's so good to see you," Blake's mom pulled her in for a hug, the second since she'd walked into the room with her husband in tow and Blake happily accepted it.
She'd missed her parents, having not really seen them since after Beacon fell. Things were much better, in that she communicated with them throughout her time at Haven. But this was the first time since she returned to her team that she'd had the chance to be in the same room as them.
"You too, Mom." She peeked over her mother's shoulder at her father. "Your beard is getting kinda crazy, Dad."
Ghira let out a hearty chuckle before placing a soft hand atop Blake's head. "I think it's more intimidating this way."
Kali rolled her eyes. "He says that, but then everything he eats gets stuck in there and it hardly looks intimidating."
"As long as it's not grey," he said with a wink and Blake couldn't help but smile.
Eventually though, she had to address the giant fire breathing dragon in the room.
Or in this case her partner that she'd been making out with not ten hours earlier.
Turning back, she looked at Yang who was sitting at the small table in the room by the window just watching the family reunion. She had a soft smile on her face, but Blake could tell that she wasn't doing too great with the news of Luna's passing. Blake knew Yang wanted to know more and wanted to research, but she hadn't said anything because she wanted Blake to be able to see her parents.
"Guys, this is…my…" she genuinely didn't know how to finish that sentence. Everything between them was still so undefined.
"I'm Yang, Blake's partner."
"Ohhh," Kali's face lit up. "So you're the one responsible for helping pull my grumpy daughter out of her shell."
Blake groaned, suddenly regretting that second hug. "Mom…"
"I don't know about that," Yang said with a shrug before she was then engulfed in a hug.
"That's what that Wukong boy told me. He said that you were all sunshine and fire and that you did a lot of good for my baby girl."
Over Kali's shoulder, Yang locked eyes with Blake and winced, but then as she hugged Kali back, Blake grinned and shook her head. After all, she couldn't really deny any of it.
"Your uh…your daughter has done a lot for me too. Helped me get through Haven with passing grades."
That was a lie, plain and simple. Yang never needed help with her studies, she would just go to the library with Blake all the time. Somehow, Yang never really spent much time studying but always passed every exam and every class with flying colors.
Weiss hated it just a little bit, how naturally gifted Yang was in the classroom.
As Kali finally let Yang go, she still hung onto Yang's arm and both of them turned to Ghira.
When Blake looked back, Ghira had that same look on his face that he did when Sun sat at the dinner table with her family years ago.
He strode over to Yang and Blake wondered if he was going to be as hostile with Yang as he was with Sun. He'd always been protective, not that she could blame him given Blake's dating history – but Yang was no threat.
Sun hadn't been either, but Yang was her partner and her friend and at this point they'd shown no inkling to the fact that Blake's tongue had been in Yang's mouth last night.
Blake held her breath when Ghira put his hands on Yang's shoulders. She studied Yang's lilac eyes and noted how Yang didn't look worried or afraid, she just stared at him. Blake had no idea what was going on and was prepared to step in, when suddenly her dad smiled.
"That boy was a pain in the ass, but he told us what you did for our daughter." That's when Ghira's eyes fleetingly glanced down at Yang's bright yellow and black arm. "Seeing it now, I want you to know how grateful I am."
Yang's expression softened and she looked at Blake with affection in her eyes. "I love your daughter, sir. I would die for her." Yang then looked back to Blake's dad. "Even if she sometimes ignores me for books and weird animated television shows."
"Ha!" Ghira broke out into a hearty laugh as Blake watched the sweet moment die right in front of her. "I like you." He patted Yang on the shoulder, nearly knocking her off her feet, but Yang seemed to enjoy it. "You've got a good one here, Blake. Knows you as well as I do."
"You liked some of my weird animated shows, Yang. Don't lie."
"Some of them have bad ass fight scenes."
"Don't pretend you haven't ranted to me about the romance," another voice came into the room and Blake turned to see Ruby coming in with a handful of food and coffee. Kali was quick to shuffle over and help the poor girl before she dropped everything. "Hi," Ruby said with a smile as she was suddenly face to face with Blake's mother. Then her eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, your earrings are so cool! Blake, why don't you have rings in your kitty ears?!" Then Ruby's expression turned to one of horror. "Oh, I'm sorry! Was that offensive? I don't know if talking about your Faunus ears is okay or not but they're so cute and…not that you're cute – you're a grown woman. If anything, you're very attractive for your age." Ruby paled as Yang tried to hide a snort of laughter. " NOT THAT YOU'RE OLD!"
"Relax, dear." Kali laughed and put an arm around Ruby's shoulder. "You must be Ruby. Everything Sun told me about you is true. Blake, she's adorable."
"Where's Weiss?" Yang asked and Ruby looked back to the door.
"She wasn't feeling well. She wanted to apologize to you two, but she went to lie down."
Ruby was lying and Blake knew it because Ruby always looked at the floor when she lied. If she were being honest, Blake wasn't sure how Weiss would react around her parents or vice versa. She'd told them about Weiss before and how she wasn't at all like the Schnees they'd heard about – but old wounds healed slowly and Ghira had dealt with discriminating humans longer than Blake had.
However, in true Weiss fashion, the moment her name was mentioned, the door opened and she stormed inside with a furious look on her face.
"Ruby!" She cried and Ruby darted away from Kali and to her girlfriend's side.
Weiss seemed to hesitate for a moment, looking around the room as all eyes were on her and she seemed to go a bit paler in the face when she looked at Blake's towering father.
"Weiss, what's wrong?"
"Me," yet another voice spoke and Blake saw Ruby and Yang's uncle Qrow step up behind Weiss with a smirk. "Came looking for you and I got the ice princess instead."
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby burst across the room in a flurry of rose petals and hugged her uncle. "What are you doing here?"
He patted her on the head, but Blake could tell that he wasn't in the best mood. "Luna was a friend and I was her personal contact…plus I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."
"Qrow Branwen." Ghira's voice surprised everyone, especially Blake who turned to see her father stalking towards the door.
Out of the corner of her eye, Blake saw Yang stand up and she watched Ruby step out of the way while Weiss moved well into the hallway.
Knowing Qrow as she did, Blake had seen many interactions like this go sour. Qrow had a tendency of rubbing people the wrong way and though Blake had no idea how her father could know him – she had little hope it was a positive experience.
However, the moment her father's deep laughter filled the room, she saw everyone in the room relax.
"Had no idea you were the father of one of my niece's teammates." Qrow stepped into the room and shook Ghira's hand. They shared a laugh and that's when Kali bounded over and put an arm around his waist.
"Oh it's so good to see you, Qrow! It's been too long!"
"Wait?" Blake couldn't stop herself. "You guys know him?"
All three adults looked at her. "Qrow helped us take down some nasty Grimm a few years back. One of the best humans I've ever met. We fought, we drank, we danced!" Kali said.
Qrow smirked. "Your mom's got some serious moves." Qrow said with a nudge of Kali's shoulder. "That was the best mission. I can't remember the last time I had homemade food every night after work." Blake didn't know anything about this and she could only assume it had happened in the time after she'd left her parents. Just behind Qrow, Blake saw Weiss walk away with Ruby suddenly chasing after her. She was about to ask what was wrong, but Qrow spoke again "So what brings you two here?"
Ghira sighed and suddenly he was looking at Blake. "There's been some movement among the White Fang. We knew Blake was close and figured we should come and check on her and the team. We wanted to talk to you about some things, Blake."
"Well don't let me keep you, I need to head out and deal with stuff. A friend of mine died last night and I need to see what happened." Blake noticed how Qrow sobered as he talked about Luna.
"Can I come?" It was Yang and she'd been so quiet that Blake almost forgot she was there. Their eyes met for a moment as Qrow nodded his approval. Everything had happened so fast that they didn't have time to talk about any of it. "You talk with your parents and we'll meet up with Ruby and Weiss later to plan our next move. We're going to end this Grimm sooner than later."
Blake could only nod, still wishing things could go back to the way they were the night before, when it seemed like everything was falling in place for her. Before the White Fang showed up again to ruin everything.
With Yang following Qrow out and Ruby having chased down Weiss, Blake was now alone with her parents in the room. She shut the door and turned back to see both of them watching her.
Kali had a smile. "You didn't do your team justice, Blake. They're all wonderful."
"Though the Schnee girl didn't say anything." Ghira added.
Blake winced. "Yeah she's a little intimidated by you two I think."
"Well she shouldn't be! You're her teammate, that makes her like family!" Kali was a mom through and through – to everyone she felt deserved it.
"Family's a touchy subject with Weiss." As much as Blake wanted to see Weiss loosen up around her parents, that wasn't the reason they were here. "So the White Fang?" She broached the subject as cautiously as possible – fearing the worst.
Ghira pinched the bridge of his nose. "They've upped their recruitment throughout Menagerie and we're getting reports of children being taken from their homes. Which, if true, means that they're not just recruiting but kidnapping and the local branches in Menagerie are denying everything. I'm afraid the entirety of the White Fang is polluted at this point."
Blake's heart broke, not that she expected the White Fang to ever be what it once was, but they were now nothing more than a terrorist group. If that darkness had infiltrated the White Fang located in Menagerie, then they were a threat to the safety of the entire island.
"What do we do?" Blake asked, the tremor in her voice betraying her.
"Your father is planning to reach out to General Ironwood for help in removing the White Fang's presence."
"What?" Blake nearly fell over. "You...what? Dad, if you ask the leader of the Atlesian military to help fight the White Fang, you're basically declaring war in Menagerie."
"They declared war first when they started stealing children from their homes!" Her father's voice rose and Blake cowered just a bit. She'd been in screaming matches with him before and always hated when he yelled. Considering she was the cause of it more often than not. He seemed to notice her recoil because he took a step backward. "It's the only option we have, Blake. This is the decision we reached with the other elders. It's an imperfect solution to an impossible situation."
Blake knew it wasn't a solution – how could it be? To start a war in their own country, a country not even big enough to house them all, would be devastating. Even if they could stop the White Fang, so many innocent lives would be lost.
"It's him, isn't it? He's the one causing all of this?"
Kali stepped over and put her hand on Blake's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up about this, Blake. Adam Taurus' wrongdoings are not your curse to bear."
If only she could believe that. If only she hadn't supported him so much early on and helped him reach the point where he was running his own branch of the White Fang and turning them into what they eventually became.
If only she didn't feel like it was her responsibility to tear down the empire he was trying to build. "He needs to be stopped." She said with almost no emotion in her voice. "You have to cut the head off the snake." She looked her father in the eyes.
He sighed. "We're trying, Blake – but he's taken to hiding and we can't pinpoint his location. We know he's the voice of this uprising but it's enough of a threat now that we can't keep hunting him and hope to hold off what's happening."
Blake knew what she had to do. "Let me deal with Adam."
"Honey, no." Kali tried softly and put a hand on Blake's shoulder, but she shook it off.
"Mom, I have to do this."
"I'm handling it, Blake."
"You're not! You're going to start a war in Menagerie. You need to remove Adam Taurus from power and I can find him."
Ghira shook his head sharply. "It's too dangerous, and if our best scouts cannot find him then what makes you think you can?"
"Because he wants to find me ." She hated raising her voice at her parents – it reminded her too much of when she fought with them before running away. But this was her fight and she knew she was right. "If I…put myself out there…he'll come to me."
"Blake," her mother's voice sounded so sad that it broke Blake's heart.
"If I weren't your daughter, just another hunter who offered to help you and who had an in with Adam, would you turn that down?"
The intensity in her father's face did not soften, but his shoulders slumped ever-so-slightly. "You are my daughter and more than that, you're only one person."
Blake set her glare in deep, suddenly wishing she had a box to stand on. It was hard to match intimidation with a man as large as her father. "Adam is my responsibility!"
"This fight goes well beyond one man, Blake. The members of the White Fang that are doing these things have made their choice. This is no longer about that man, it's about the safety and future of our home."
"I want to help!"
"Then stay away from all this and keep doing the work you're doing! "
Voices were raising and Kali was trying to step between them. Blake couldn't imagine not being a part of a fight against the White Fang. They'd taken her childhood from her, nearly stole Yang from her.
"We need to calm down. We all want the same things." Kali spoke softly and Ghira was the first to back down. Blake was all but standing on her tiptoes, trying to look as powerful as she could. Ready to fight for her place in this battle. "Your father is right, Blake." It all came crumbling down when she realized her mother was against her too. "It's too far gone for one person, any person to stop what's coming. The White Fang is much more than Adam Taurus and we need help."
Blake looked at her mom and felt the tears in her eyes. She was scared. Scared of what might be coming and scared that her parents didn't seem to want her help. She was scared that if a war did start she might lose them.
"Mom," her voice broke.
Kali gathered Blake up in her arms. "You know as well as we do about responsibility, Blake." She drew back, but kept her hands on Blake's shoulders. "Your father is Chieftain and it's our responsibility to keep Menagerie safe. We love you for always wanting to do the right thing. For wanting to help people, but this fight is bigger than you now. It's bigger than even us. That's why we're seeking help."
Wiping at her eyes, she still didn't want to believe that she couldn't just stop all of this if she could find Adam and remove him. He was such a loud voice in the change the White Fang took. Blake had been at his side the entire time and didn't do anything about it then. And when it was too far gone to fix, she ran and now it had become this.
It was her fault. She should have done more and now she couldn't do anything.
She felt a hand press against her face, large and warm - it was her father. Looking up, he was smiling at her. "You're doing wonderful work, Blake. We're so proud that you graduated and became a huntress and are here, now, helping people." She grabbed his hand, wanting to hold on to this comfort of her parents. "This is your fight, Menagerie is ours."
She wanted to believe him so badly.
