Unwelcome Visitor
Chapter 10: Reunion
It had been a couple of days since Ruby and Yang had confessed their love for each other, and right now, the two women were getting ready for a reunion that the blonde had planned. Yang had called Weiss to get in touch with all of their family and friends to come see Ruby after she had been missing for two years. She had also reserved a restaurant for them to have their reunion. Right now, their teammates, JNPR, CFVY, SSSN and their family were going to attend. It seemed like Yang was not the only one who had missed Ruby a lot.
The older of the two women was making sure that her hair was perfect, when she noticed Ruby standing in the middle of the room, staring down at her feet. The redhead looked like she was about to go to her own execution. Yang decided that it was best to stop focusing on her appearance and to support the younger woman.
''Something wrong, Ruby?'' the blonde asked. ''You look like the world is about to end.''
''I'm worried, Yang,'' the redhead answered in a quiet voice. ''How will everyone react to us being together? I just... I just don't want to cause you any unnecessary grief.''
Yang let out a sigh and walked up to Ruby. She wrapped her arms around the scythe-wielder and pulled her close.
''You worry about things too much, you know?'' the brawler whispered gently. ''I already told you that they're okay with us being together, so why are you still worried? Besides, even if they all had a problem with it, I would never let go of you. You are way too important to me and I will do anything for your sake.''
''R-Really?'' Ruby asked.
''Really,'' Yang answered before giving the younger woman a kiss. ''Now, where are the keys to your car?''
''Why do you need them?''
''Because I don't think that a monster truck is exactly a proper vehicle for a family reunion. Also, I'm driving.''
Ruby frowned a bit. She knew from experience how Yang's driving was, so she had good reason to be worried over her red sports car.
''How about I drive? You can guide me to the place. I'm not exactly confident in leaving my car in your hands,'' the redhead said.
''Not happening. I want to test it out, as it looked really good. Besides, I need to make absolutely sure that you have no chance to run away,'' the blonde answered.
''Is that also why I'm still wearing this collar?'' Ruby asked and pointed at the collar that took away her Aura that was still around her neck. ''Haven't I already proven that you can trust me?''
''It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that a lot of people were hurt by your disappearance and are quite angry with you. I just want to make sure that you don't try to escape once they come to kick your ass for revenge.''
''WHAT!? I thought you said that I had nothing to worry about!''
''In my defense, I said that you had nothing to worry about them not accepting us being together. I never said anything about them giving you a beating.''
''...So how bad is it going to be?''
''Well, Weiss and Blake definitely want to punch you in the face. Uncle Qrow and my mom probably want to give you a spanking. I'm also sure that Coco wants kick your ass, and Nora probably also wants a piece of you, except she'll use her hammer.''
Ruby paled at what she just heard. She knew that her friends and family were hurt by her leaving, but she never expected them to want to physically punish her. Not to mention that since she wouldn't have her Aura, she would be in for a painful day.
''Isn't that a good reason for you to take the collar off me?!'' the redhead practically screamed. ''If I don't have my Aura, I'll be turned into soup, once they get their hands on me!''
''Hey, it's a risk that I'll have to take,'' Yang said with a mischievous grin. ''If I let you have your Aura, you could use your Semblance and run away! We can't have that, now can we? Besides, I'm pretty sure they know how to hold back enough not to cause any permanent damage.''
''...Somehow that doesn't set my mind at ease.''
It wasn't a long drive to the restaurant, but Yang still managed to scare Ruby with her reckless driving. By the time the two women arrived at the reunion, the redhead was pale, sweating and trembling.
''Oh, come on, Rubes! It wasn't that bad!'' Yang said with a laugh.
''Yang, I think i saw my life flash before my eyes, when you nearly hit that truck!'' Ruby said angrily.
''How was that my fault? He was on the wrong side of the road.''
''He wasn't on the wrong side! It was a one-way road!''
''Details, details,'' the blonde said as she got out of the car. ''Come on. We gotta go see the others! I'm sure they're very excited to see you again.''
''Considering what you told me before we left, I don't think that I can be as enthusiastic as you,'' the redhead mumbled.
''Oh, stop that! Besides, you should be more worried about what we are going to do after this! I'm going to have you pay me back in every possible fun way for all the grief you have caused me in the last two years!'' Yang said with a predatory grin that sent chills down Ruby's spine.
The two women walked into the restaurant and saw that the whole place had been set up just for the reunion. There were lots of food and drinks on the different tables, one of which was a big pile of cookies that immediately caught Ruby's attention. All of the guests were spread around the place, talking with each other and enjoying the treats.
Ruby felt her legs freeze in place when she saw all the gathered people, but Yang simply took hold of her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.
''No worries, Rubes. When I'm here, everything will be alright,'' the blonde whispered, before dragging the redhead with her. The duo was soon noticed by all of the guests, who soon surrounded.
''Ruby, is that really you!?''
''Man, it's been too long!''
''Why did you leave, Ruby!? WHY!?''
Ruby was getting bombarded with questions from her friends. Thanks to them coming at such rapid rate, the redhead was unable to answer any of them. Luckily, Yang quickly got things in order.
''HEY! ONE AT A TIME, DAMMIT! SHE CAN'T ANSWER MULTIPLE QUESTIONS AT THE SAME TIME, SO FORM A LINE OR SOMETHING!'' the blonde yelled, silencing all the noise and restoring order in the room.
''How about we let the family go first?'' a familiar male voice asked from behind the gathered mass of people. Soon three people emerged from behind everybody. These were Qrow, Raven and Taiyang, with the drunk at the front of the trio.
''U-Uncle Qrow,'' Ruby managed to stutter.
''Hi, kiddo. It's been a while, huh?'' Qrow said. Even though the dusty old crow was giving her a kind smile, Ruby couldn't help but look down at her feet in fear and shame. This man had been her idol for most of her life and she had betrayed his trust.
''Uncle Qrow, I... I'm sorry. I just- I didn't know what to do and-''
Ruby's apologies were cut off by a hand gently ruffling her hair. She looked up to see Qrow smiling down at her without even a trace of anger in his eyes.
''Ruby, while I am disappointed that you decided to run away without a word, especially since you should know that you can always talk to me about anything, I'm currently just relieved to see that you're alright,'' the scythe-wielding man said.
Once she had heard such relieving words, Ruby couldn't help but start crying. She latched onto the man and started sobbing uncontrollably. Qrow, being the good uncle that he is, simply hugged the young woman back and offered her comfort.
''Hey, don't I get anything?'' another familiar male voice said. Ruby turned towards the source of the sound and saw her adoptive father, Taiyang Xiao Long, stepping forward. ''Hi, Ruby. You miss me?''
''Hi, ummm... Mr. Xiao Long, I guess? I mean, what am I supposed to call you?'' Ruby asked awkwardly.
''Well, I was kind of hoping that you would still call me dad,'' the blonde man replied.
''Dad it is then,'' the redhead said with a smile. ''By the way, do you know about... you know...''
''About you and Yang? Sure. We all do.''
''Are you okay with it?''
Taiyang looked down on the ground and scratched the back of his head. He knew that this was going to be very awkward.
''To tell you the truth, not completely,'' the blonde man replied, causing Ruby to look down sadly and everybody to give him angry looks. ''It's just that... the both of you grew as my daughters, you know? It just feels weird to see you two have the relationship that you do. However, at the end of the day, I just want the same thing every parent wants of their children and that is for them to be happy. I just need some time to get used to this, okay?''
Ruby felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. She had been afraid that Taiyang would oppose her new relationship with Yang. Even though he might not be related to her, he was still her father in her eyes and she wanted his approval above others. To hear that he wanted them to just be happy was better than what she feared he would say.
''Tai, mind moving aside?'' Raven said as she pushed the blonde man away and stepped in front of Ruby. ''I think you've already had your turn, and there are many people waiting for theirs.''
''Still as rough as ever,'' Taiyang said as he laid on the floor, where his wife had just pushed him. ''Can't believe I'm married to her.''
Now it was Raven who was standing in front of Ruby. To say the least, the young redhead was terrified. The swordswoman had always been an intimidating person, but now she was absolutely terrifying. The redhead couldn't believe that this woman was Yang's mother. She only hoped that the older woman was not too angry about her getting together with her daughter, not to mention her disappearing for two years.
''M-Mrs. B-Branwen... I-''
Ruby's words were cut off by Raven, who said with a gentle smile, ''Ruby, I've told you already that you can call me Raven. Also, you don't need to be so afraid of me. I'm not going to bite you.''
''Raven. Right,'' the redhead said, feeling a lot better than she did a second ago. ''Are you alright with me being together with your daughter?''
''Ruby, there has always been one person that I have trusted over anybody else. Even more than my spineless husband or my useless brother,'' the swordswoman said, causing said two men to groan. ''Do you know who that is?''
Ruby shook her head, not knowing the answer.
''That person was my best friend and your mother, Summer. I have seen how you're like your mother, not just in looks but in personality as well. Any person that is like her is someone I can trust with just about anything. Even my daughter.''
The younger woman was glad to hear that Yang's mother thought so highly of her. She honestly felt honored by such words.
''Although, can you promise me one thing?'' Raven suddenly asked.
''Yes?''
''Can you PLEASE try and make Yang stop making those horrible foods of her? It disgusts me just to think about the stuff that she makes.''
''Oh, so even you have been subjected to such horrors?''
''More than once, I'm afraid.''
''HEY! I'll have you know that the stuff I make is high-class! HIGH-CLASS!'' Yang cried out, feeling offended.
''The only thing high about your foods is the amount of grease,'' Raven said with a roll of her eyes.
''That's so true,'' Ruby said with a chuckle.
''Hmph! Fine, be like that! You're not getting any of the next meal I'm making, mom!'' the blonde said angrily.
''Thank God for that...''
''Ummm... Is it our turn now?'' a timid male voice said, catching everyone's attention. Jaune Arc stepped forward with his two teammates. Even though they had lost Pyrrha, they decided not to change their team's name or get another teammate in honor of their fallen comrade. While many would think that they would struggle without a fourth team member, they trio had proven that they were more than capable of completing missions with just the three of them.
''Hi, Jaune,'' Ruby said with a smile. ''How have you been doing with... you know...''
''Pyrrha?'' the blonde man finished for the redhead, who nodded. ''To be honest, it still haunts me sometimes. Pyrrha wasn't just my partner. She was my teacher. Someone I idolized. Someone who treated me better than anybody else had before. And also my first real love.''
''Her death hurt us all,'' the redhead said and looked down sadly.
''I know. I still sometimes get nightmares of that time. And sometimes I can't help but think about her,'' Jaune said in a sad tone. He then suddenly smiled and looked at his teammates. ''But thanks to all my friends, especially my team, I've been able to move on. Her death may haunt me, but I'm sure that I'll get better with time.''
''You forgot to mention your wife,'' Nora suddenly said with a snicker.
''Your what?'' Ruby asked with wide eyes.
''Nora, I wanted to tell her myself!'' the knight scolded his teammate with a blush on his face. ''Besides, we aren't married yet!''
''Hold on a second, Jaune, you have a wife!?'' Ruby asked, shocked by this revelation. ''Who is it!? Nora!?''
''Oh dear God, NO!'' said ginger shouted in response and furiously shook her head.
''WHAT'S UP WITH THAT REACTION!?'' Jaune yelled at Nora, offended by her sudden and overly enthusiastic denial. He then turned his attention back to Ruby. ''Also, I can meet women outside my team, Ruby.''
''But who is it!?''
Ruby's question was soon answered, when the door to the restaurant opened. Everyone turned to look towards it and saw none other than Winter Schnee there.
''Apologies that I'm late. I had a lot of work today and I had trouble finding a spot to park my car,'' the white-haired woman said.
''I thought that we had calculated that the parking lot would have just enough spaces for everyone,'' Qrow said with a raised eyebrow.
''Yes. But someone parked their red sports car in such a manner that they took two spaces.''
Ruby and all of Yang's family turned to stare blankly at the young blonde woman.
''Yang, how many times do I have to tell you that you should really follow the traffic laws?'' Raven asked.
''Hey, Ruby was with me! She could have easily seen that I had accidentally parked the car in a wrong way! Why is all the blame on me!?'' Yang quickly defended herself.
''Maybe because i was too busy recovering from the near death experience that is having you as my driver!'' Ruby yelled at the blonde.
While most of the people were focused on Yang, Winter walked up to Jaune and wrapped her arms around.
''Hi, honey,'' the soldier said and gave the blonde knight a kiss. ''Did I miss anything?''
Seeing the show of affection between Winter and Jaune, Ruby turned to stare at them with wide eyes and said, ''You're with Winter!?''
''Yeah, that's how it is,'' Jaune replied with a small smile.
''How did you two get together!?''
''Well, we were doing some missions in Atlas, when she suddenly got interested in us. She tagged along on some of the missions we did and even helped us improve our fighting skills. A couple of days after that, she suddenly walks up to me, grabs the front of my shirt and says that we're going on a date. That's kind of how it started.''
''A real woman takes what she wants,'' Winter stated smugly.
''You said it!'' Yang said cheerfully and gave the white-haired woman a thumbs up.
Before Ruby had enough time to comprehend what she had just witnessed, Nora suddenly appeared right in front of her.
''Anyways, Ruby, how have you been!? You've been keeping yourself in shape, right!? If you haven't, I'll whip you into shape myself! Also, have you upgraded your weapon!? I-''
The ginger's rapid flow of questions was stopped by Ren, who pulled her away from the redhead.
''Ease up a bit, Nora. Ruby can't answer your questions at such a pace,'' the man said calmly, before looking at Ruby with a smile. ''It's good to see you again, Ruby.''
''Likewise, Ren,'' the scythe-wielder responded with a smile. She then turned her attention back to Jaune. ''So, how did Weiss react to you getting together with her sister?''
''Why don't you ask her yourself? It looks like she wants to have a word with you,'' the blonde knight said and pointed behind Ruby.
''RUBY ROSE!'' someone very familiar screamed. Ruby started to sweat as she turned around and saw her former partner, Weiss Schnee, stomping towards her. The current head of the SDC's face was red from anger and the glare she was giving the younger woman was downright murderous. ''You have some nerve to show your face to us after that little stunt you pulled! Do you have any idea how it affected all of us!? I couldn't sleep properly for several days, which affected my work in the company! That is all your fault!''
Ruby felt like shrinking on herself as Weiss finally stood in front of her, glaring down at her with all of her might. The redhead felt like she was back in Beacon, getting scolded once more by her partner.
''You suddenly up and disappear, only to walk in front of us after two years!? What in the world makes you think that that's completely fine!? After all the damage you caused, you should be crawling on the floor, begging for forgiveness!'' the white-haired woman yelled, before she looked down and her voice became much softer and quieter. ''Do you have any idea how much I've been hurting? I had no idea what caused you to suddenly disappear. There was no note or anything to tell us what you were doing. I even feared that some criminals had gotten their hands on you. I was honestly worried over you.''
Ruby looked up to see tears falling down her former partner's face. It broke her heart to see her friend in such a state.
''More importantly, you didn't say anything about what was bothering you to any of us. We're your friends, Ruby! How could you not trust us? Especially me, your partner. Why wouldn't you say anything to me?'' Weiss said before looking up at her former partner with tears covering her face. ''HOW COULD YOU NOT SAY ANYTHING TO YOUR BEST FRIEND!?''
The fencer started to bawl like a small child, right there. The scythe-wielder did the only thing she could think of and pulled the crying woman into a hug.
''I'm sorry, Weiss. I'm so sorry,'' Ruby whispered with tears falling from her eyes.
''You dolt. I'll make you pay for all the grief you caused me,'' Weiss whispered back as she returned the hug she was receiving.
After the two former partners had their tearful reunion, it was Blake's turn to greet Ruby. To say that the redhead felt awkward would be an understatement. Having heard of the cat faunus' feelings towards her, she didn't know how to strike up a conversation with her friend.
''Hi, Blake!'' Ruby greeted her friend nervously. ''So... ummm... how have you-''
''Ruby, if you're nervous because I used to have feelings for you, you can stop worrying. I have already gotten over that,'' Blake said with a kind smile.
''Oh, really!? That's good to hear,'' the redhead said in a relieved tone of voice. ''But why didn't you say anything? If you had made your move, things could have turned out differently.''
''Do you really believe that?'' the cat faunus asked with a chuckle. ''Even back then, I knew that things would turn out this way, no matter what I did.''
''What do you mean?''
''Whenever I saw you with Yang, I sensed a warmth that I knew I could never replace. If I tried to get between you two, I would only cause further heartache to all of us. My only wish back then was that either you got together with Yang, so I could move on, or you gave up on her completely, giving me the chance to win you over. My only regret is that I didn't help you, even when I knew that you were in pain. If I had, maybe we could have avoided all of this.''
''I-I'm sorry, Blake. I never noticed your feelings for me. I-''
Ruby's apology was cut off by Blake giving her a strong hug. The cat faunus held the younger woman close and even rocked her back and forth a bit.
''You didn't do anything wrong, Ruby,'' Blake whispered with a smile on her face. ''The only thing that was wrong was you running away. I have done that for the most of my life and I know that it doesn't solve anything. I wish that you had known better, but I guess it can't be helped. However, at the end of the day, you're a wonderful person and you deserve to be happy with the one you love.''
The two women kept hugging each other for a while, until finally breaking off from each other. Ruby was glad that she hadn't ruined any of her relationships with her family and friends. It seemed like she had been worrying over nothing.
''By the way, I heard from Yang that you got together with Weiss,'' the redhead said.
''Yes. It's probably the best choice I have ever made in my life,'' Blake said and wrapped an arm around the white-haired woman's shoulders.
''Really? From what Yang told me, I thought that you two got together to further your goals.''
''Oh for the love of- She's still doing that? How salty can a person be?'' Weiss asked in a frustrated voice.
''What do you mean?'' Ruby asked, curious about what her former partner was talking about.
''She's been jealous over us getting together, while she herself couldn't get together with the girl she liked, meaning you. Because of that, she tell others that our relationship is nothing but a front cover. It's honestly annoying.''
''Also, does she force you to play video games with her while being a bad winner and a sore loser?'' Blake asked with a smirk.
''How did you know about that?'' Ruby asked with wide eyes.
''Who do you think beat her in all of those gaming tournaments?'' the cat faunus asked with a laugh.
''That's because you cheated and used cheap tactics! Otherwise, I would have won!'' Yang suddenly yelled while pointing an accusing finger at Blake.
''Sure. Keep telling yourself that while you enjoy your silver medals,'' the raven-haired woman responded with a cocky smirk.
''Grrrr! I'll get you next time!''
From that point on, Ruby got to meet team CFVY next. Coco and Velvet had started their own fashion studio, with the fashionista as the designer and head of the whole thing, while the rabbit faunus became their photographer and occasional model. Fox had started a school that taught blind children to use Aura and to fight the Grimm. That way they would be able to protect themselves and others against the monsters that terrorized the world. Yatsuhashi had returned to his home village and became it's guardian, protecting it from Grimm and bandits. Although the four of them were separated, they still kept in touch with each other.
When it came team SSSN's turn, Ruby learned that Sun and Neptune had become actual detectives and were even partners. Scarlet had started a career as a musician and Sage had become a wandering Huntsman. It seemed like they were living their boyish dreams.
The party went on in pretty much a calm manner, with the people having fun talking with each other and enjoying the food. People were especially keen on talking with Ruby, since she had been missing for two years. However, this put the redhead at an uncomfortable spot and made her rather tense and nervous. Yang noticed this and decided to help her relax a bit more.
Or at least that's what she thought she was doing.
The blonde's method of helping the younger woman involved giving her all sorts of alcoholic drinks throughout the night. This eventually led to Ruby getting drunk. While it helped her get over the nervousness, she started to face all sorts of other problems. To say the least, it was quite a night, since the redhead was so drunk that she was hardly able to sit on a chair, much less do anything that one would expect her to do there.
After the party, Ruby and Yang were walking towards the red sports car they had used to get there. The younger of the two was holding on the older one for support. Yang had not had a single drop of alcohol during the whole night, as she needed to be the driver for them.
''You know, while I was nervous about meeting the others, I had a good time,'' Ruby managed to say in her drunken state. ''It was good to see them.''
''See? I told you that you were worrying over nothing,'' Yang said with a grin. ''Now let's get you home.''
''Are we gonna go to bed?''
''Nope! I've got something better planned for tonight!'' the blonde replied cheerfully. She then turned Ruby around in her arms so that they were staring at each other. ''Remember when I said that I'm going to have you pay me back in every possible fun way? Well, tonight I'm going to have my first payment and I've got something good planned for us. And remember, whatever I say, goes.''
''You know, this is the first time that I like you saying that,'' the redhead said with a giggle, causing Yang to grin widely.
''Oh, you better get used to it. I'm going to make you like it,'' the brawler said before capturing Ruby's lips in a kiss.
Author's notes: After some thinking, I decided to remake this chapter. This is because I care about each and every one of you and I don't want to leave any of you with a bad taste. However, since there are some of you that liked it, I've been thinking about adding the original chapter as an extra. Hope you all are okay with that.
Anyways, the next chapter will be a small epilogue and will be the last actual chapter. Hope you guys check it out!
Until next time.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.