In the end, they drifted towards each other. Two people who hadn't been able to truly look towards the future since this all began.
Back then, any hopeful chatter about the future was just that, chatter; the future was a more daunting as it crept into being the tangible present.
Grimm still roamed the land, air, and seas, though their numbers had thinned a bit over time. There was still a need for hunters and huntresses in the world. After all, it had always been her dream to be a Huntress, hadn't it? She remembered how she so happily explain how cool and romantic being a Huntress was, and how she wanted to help people. It felt like a century ago. Her want to be a Huntress was still there, as strong as ever, it just took a while to uncover again.
Oscar didn't have a dream of the future, or at least not of his own future. The last thing he remembered ever wanting was to leave his Aunt's farm, to see what else was out there. Then just like that his goals were not his own. He kept his sense of self, but hadn't been living a life that was his own since adolescence. That vague idea of helping people was a nice thought. He was a skilled fighter now, not as refined as the rest of the Huntsmen he'd worked with, but he could fight off Grimm just fine.
One by one their friends and companions found a place in the world. It was easy to feel left behind, no matter how many calls or invitations to visit were sent. Ruby never said that though, never allowed herself to even fully think it. She was thrilled to see everyone happy, and always took up invitations, whether it be to merely visit, help rebuild, or attend important meetings in this newly more peaceful world.
Given so many places and things to be, none seem to fit quite right. When Ruby grew restless enough to take off without an aim, Oscar was by her side, just as aimless. It was always better to aimlessly wander into the woods with a friend.
There was always a town being tormented by Grimm, always trade routes no longer passable, always children wandering into dangerous places.
They rarely made much money, neither of them needed much nor did those towns have much to give. More often than not they would just take a place to sleep for the night, and food, if offered it. It worked well, no goal was needed but to walk in a direction until more people in need of help ran into their path.
It became routine. Not in the dull way that brushing teeth and waking for work became routine, but rather in the warm, comfortable way that crawling into bed and reading a book would become routine.
They didn't have to say a word for their fighting styles begin to mesh, and meld to complement each other, that was just the nature of fighting alongside a good companion.
Through laughter and teasing in the day, while they fought for others, and in the bad days where a smile was near impossible, they slowly found themselves again.
There was no clear end goal, rather the future became whatever was in front of them. Neither had put a word to what they were to each other since the day they left. They didn't have to say a word to drift towards each other.
It always made Oscar's heart skip a beat when Ruby grabbed his hand, or sleepily leaned against him. He never stopped to consider that reaction, it'd happened since the first time he ever saw her so he figured it was just a side effect of being near someone so incredible.
Ruby always felt warm when she held Oscar's hand, and sometimes she'd feign exhaustion just so she could lean against Oscar for longer without him moving.
Sometimes the villages they stayed at had only one bed to offer. Neither thought anything of sharing a bed. Neither was so oblivious as to not know why other people would be uncomfortable with that arrangement. Just that they didn't care if it was just the two of them.
There was no helping how they slept- that they both had a tendency to latch onto whatever was near them when dreaming. There wasn't a night spent like that where they didn't wake with one or the other ending up the little spoon, or just as a mess of limbs tangled awkwardly.
It was nice to wake to cuddling against someone warm- even if that someone was definitely cutting off blood flow to Oscar's leg with the way she'd wrapped herself up.
When a nightmare seep into Ruby's dreams, Oscar would just stroke her hair until he could wake her.
When nightmares hit Oscar, he would struggle against an unseen enemy. Ruby would shake his shoulder and wait for him to open his eyes.
As soon as Oscar saw and recognized her, Ruby would hold him tight, burying her face against his neck.
They stopped accepting offers of a second bed.
One particularly bad night they both were plagued by bad dreams. Ruby awoke from hers because of Oscar's thrashing about. She wasn't all there as she shook him awake like usual. When Oscar focused on her face, he was startled to tears running down her cheeks. He held his arms open and she took the invitation immediately. They both cried as she tucked her head under his chin.
Shuttering breaths eased into even and calmer ones gradually.
Ruby nuzzling against him turning more into affectionate and playful rather than just looking for comfort.
A barely-there kiss just under his ear, then a pause, and a little questioning nudge.
Oscar shivered, tilting his head to the side and chuckled. A silent answer to her silent question.
From there it gradually became commonplace to give a kiss on the cheek, or forehead, or just pepper each other with little kisses like that occasionally. Or- as Oscar was incredibly fond of doing, bringing Ruby's hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.
The first time they actually kissed was rather uneventful, just as natural as any of the other kisses had been. Ruby was already in bed, burrowing into the sheets with just a tuft of her hair poking out from the top of the blankets. As soon as Oscar was near enough, one arm darted out from where she was cocooned, dragging him in with the strength of a Huntress who easily wielded a giant scythe.
He almost stumbled and fell flat onto the floor, but instead landed on the bed, right onto Ruby.
She squeaked at the weight of him crushing her before dissolving into giggles.
Oscar squirmed to get under the covers, making no efforts to stop squishing her in the process as his giggling matched hers.
He looked down at Ruby, giving her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. It was the first time he'd ever noticed her face flush from that. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him down to give him these now familiar butterfly kisses, anywhere on his face. Like she wanted to make him laugh even more. If that's what she had wanted, that's what she got. He laughed and playfully gave her a little push like he was fending off being tickled.
For half a breath did both their laughs hitch as Ruby brushed her lips against his.
There were no fireworks, no stunning revelations. They both kept laughing like children as Ruby continued to press kisses to his face.
They didn't always wander the lands.
Sometimes they went home- or rather to the homes of their friends and family.
Ruby would go on a mission with Yang, or help where she could with the organization Weiss and Blake were working to build.
Oscar would visit his Aunt, help on the farm, or visit other friends- he had come to find Jaune as a really good friend despite their rocky beginning.
Oscar and Ruby would spend months apart living their own lives and maintaining their own connections to the world. Eventually they always drifted back together, wandering the world side by side.
Kisses became so commonplace for them that Ruby could read what Oscar was saying just by his lips on hers.
'I missed you.'
'You are ridiculous.'
'Goodbye for now.'
'You are incredible.'
Kissing was easily added to their repertoire of ways to communicate, and ways to make each other laugh.
'I missed you.'
And Ruby lingered longer on that kiss, when Oscar pulled away like normal, she stood on her tiptoes, threaded her fingers in his hair, and kissed him again.
'I missed you too.'
From then on, it wasn't uncommon between them to continue on to a third, fourth, or countless kisses. Eventually came a time when it blended together they didn't separate until they were panting for air.
Such a slow and easy transition, that it was nearly impossible to tell from day to day. Over the course of months would it slide into deeper kissing, nipping and playing. They chased what made each other happier in the moments between Grimm fights and traveling.
Four years since they first started traveling together and they both were decidedly more mature in appearance, and more confident attitude.
When Oscar would visit his friends, he always had a couple of bite marks just below his jaw where his collar didn't quite cover.
He would forget about it if not for his friends always having some cheeky remark to make about it.
His face would flush red but every time he shrugged it off.
Everyone who knew Ruby well had something to say about the grin she wore as she spoke about her and Oscar's adventures. Ruby would roll her eyes at them, covering her mouth as she laughed away their comments.
Sometimes fighting Grimm didn't follow the routine,
Sometimes someone got hurt.
This wasn't the first time, wasn't the worst time either. A swarm of Grimm had chipped away at their aura levels slowly, and didn't seem to subside.
Ruby hadn't used her eyes since Salem. She didn't think to use them either. Yet they glowed dimly as she threw herself between Oscar and the swing of a massive claw. It sent her flying off, slamming her back against a tree.
She woke with Oscar kneeling beside her, tapping her gently.
Sitting up quickly was a mistake, her whole side felt like it was being stabbed.
She whimpered quietly, laying back down then trying much more slowly to get up. It wasn't the worst. She wasn't dying. Some broken ribs, a gash running from her shoulder to elbow, and probably ugly bruises. All things her aura would have guarded her from if it hadn't been depleted.
It may not have been the worst time, but in that moment as he watch Ruby take that hit, it was like the ground under him shifted.
Anytime she got hurt in battle, he worried, like anyone would worry about losing another.
In that moment everything was so sharply in focus, and a choking fear coiled around him.
It wasn't about that hit even. He knew she could survive that. Instead it was as if for the first time he could see what a world without Ruby in it might feel like, and that feeling made him sick. He took care of the remaining Grimm with what little energy he had left, nearly thanking the gods that no more came.
With Oscar's help, Ruby could stand and walk.
At the time, she was too busy fighting the pain to notice the way Oscar shook, or the look in his eyes, the aftermath of adrenaline and a moment of realization.
When Ruby finally got the chance notice, she was resting and bandaged up. The nearest town didn't have much in the way of medical care, but her aura would help once she could build it back up.
Oscar sat on the edge of the bed, staring absently into space.
Ruby reached out with her unbandaged arm, tugging on a lock of Oscar's hair that had fallen over his eyes. That got Oscar's attention, but it was easy to tell something was still on his mind. She pulled back the corner of the sheets. He hesitated for just a moment, not wanting to jostle her injuries.
He made the wonderful mistake of looking into her eyes though. There had never been a time that he had been anything less than helpless to the looks she gave him.
Once Oscar laid down with Ruby, he melted, trembling. Ruby pulled him close, nudging her nose against his, before giving him a kiss.
'I'm here.'
And another.
'It's okay.'
Oscar's response was gentle against her lips yet tinged with a desperation for her to understand.
'I never want to lose you.'
'I need you.'
"I love you." Oscar whispered.
Ruby grinned, laughing as she gave him a peck on the cheek.
"I love you too." Ruby said like she was reciting a simple fact.