A shorter bridge chapter. This wasn't planned, but I decided to add it in when I realized the drastic shift in tone putting the Valentine's chapter right after the last would create.
We'll see how the Valentine's special goes. There are good reasons why I shouldn't write ship fics. Then again...
Coming in Convergence: Ships, some of which may be sunk, and perhaps a vampire or two to go with them.
Oh, and a reminder: This story has a TVTropes page. Google "rwby emergence tvtropes" without the quotes to find it.
25: Love and Loss
"So, Yang, have you heard about that movie that came out last week? Jupiter Ascending?" Gavin asked, sidling up to the blonde girl by her locker. Stay cool...
She nodded, shutting the metal door. "Yeah, that's the sci-fi from those guys who made The Matrix, right?"
"Yeah. This one's about some alien chick or something," Gavin explained. "It looks pretty cool, anyway."
He continued quickly. "Anyway, I was going to see it with the guys, but they bailed, so, I was wondering if maybe you'd want to see it with me?"
She giggled. "Are you asking me out?"
"Uh..." Damn it, she was far from the first girl he'd dated, and she wasn't even the first weird one! So why was it so awkward? "Maybe?"
He took a deep breath. "Will you go out with me?"
"Sure, why not," Yang replied after a moment of thinking. Good idea or bad, she had nothing better to do. It was time to get back into the game. She laughed. "You're so awkward. Were you afraid I would say no or something?"
He sidestepped the question. "Well, no, but-"
Yang raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"I dunno, you're kind of different from the girls I've dated," Gavin admitted. "Not that it's bad or anything!"
"Well, maybe it's time for a change." The bell rang, signalling the start of the classes they were late for. Yang slung her backpack, stepped away, and winked at him. "See you on Saturday."
"Yeah, I just really don't like Valentine's Day," Connor said, eyes downcast.
"Why not?"
"It's the one day of the year that's supposed to be all about love and sweethearts and stuff, and I thought this year would be different, but..." He shrugged. "I still can't get a girlfriend to save my life."
He expected a laugh, or an insult, or at best a half-hearted apology. Instead, he heard something he never thought he'd hear. "Do you want me to be your date?"
Did he? She wasn't the most beautiful girl in the school, but she was still pretty, even if she looked a bit weird. And she was a very nice girl who stood up for him. On the other hand, she could probably have any of the guys in their grade.
It took him a moment to process that he'd just been asked out by a girl way too good for him. "No, that's okay, you don't have to..."
"But do you want me to be your date?"
"I guess-"
"I can't hear you!" Ruby joked.
"Yes?" It was unsure and came out more like a question.
"You'll actually go out with me?"
"Of course, Connor!"
"Why?"
"You'll be sad if you spend the day alone. And I don't want you to be sad. Because then I'll be sad."
"You know, Ruby, you're the first girl who cared whether I was happy." That sounded pathetic and he knew it. He also knew that sounding pathetic was really, really unattractive.
So it was surprising when the girl squeezed him into a tight hug. She was warm, soft, and smelled faintly of roses. "Nobody should be alone if they don't want to. I know you're smart and sweet and those girls don't see it and it's really unfortunate."
He knew it was a pity date, but he'd take it.
"So, Ruby and Yang both have dates," Weiss mused to Blake. The girls in question were in the kitchen failing to make dinner, leaving the monochrome duo alone in the living room. Behind them, the TV newscaster droned on about a daring rescue mission in Syria.
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying something?"
She shook her head. "No, just making an observation. I wasn't really expecting them to make that kind of connection."
"We could be here for a very long time, Weiss, maybe the rest of our lives. It's bound to happen at some point."
"I know," Weiss admitted. "It just doesn't seem right."
The faunus girl raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"
"No," Weiss snapped with an icy glare.
"So, no White Rose? No Freezerburn?" Blake suggested with a smirk. "Monochrome, then?"
Weiss turned red. "What- no! What the hell, Blake?"
"I'm just fucking with you, Weiss," the black-haired girl dismissed after she had stopped laughing.
"Picking up the local vernacular?"
Blake chuckled at that. "You're worse."
There was an awkward silence between the two, which Weiss eventually interrupted. "We've changed, haven't we?"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"I'm agreeing with you, Weiss," Blake replied. "Not too long ago, we wouldn't be having this sort of conversation. You were too wound-up, and so was I."
"Yang's right, you know," Weiss said. "It's easy to settle in, to just go with the flow. To take the path of least resistance."
She paused. "What if there is a way back? Can we go back?"
"Well, if there is a way back-"
"You know what I mean."
Blake shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. If we're here long enough, we could build new lives, forget who we were. I don't think the question is if we can go back, though. What we've learned, what we are, that's for life. The question is whether we'll want to or not."
"Do you?"
"Right now?"
"Yes."
The faunus pondered it for a moment. "I have. Torchwick, the White Fang, Adam, they're probably still out there, doing whatever the hell it is they're up to."
"You still worry about that, huh?"
"I try not to let it get to me, because I can't do anything about it, but yes," Blake admitted. "It still bothers me."
"Well, if it's any comfort, I have my own concerns, too."
She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care about the company anymore."
Weiss nodded. "I don't. But I do care about Winter. As far as she knows, I'm dead. She's not allowed to show any grief. She's now the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. I know she's capable, but... I always hoped she would have a better life."
She finished the last sentence with a sad tone that Blake rarely heard from the former heiress. "I'm sure she'll do fine."
"I hope so," Weiss replied quietly. "I left some stuff for her, but I don't know if it'll help or-"
"Dinner's ready!" A boisterous voice shouted, interrupting their conversation. "And we didn't start a fire this time!"
GreatWyrmGold: You say "also Monty's death", what else are you referring to?
anonymous: Can you provide a source for that? Although it would not surprise me if they issued such a statement, this is the first I've heard of it, and in any case I would like to see the exact text.
MrKaboom: It's ambiguous whether it's actually the White Fang calling the shots or not. They could be trying to turn public opinion against the White Fang, although their primary goal seems to be to get the Atlesian military involved. And... you're right about the hybrids, sort of.