A/N: Update 9. The last chapter will be posted this evening.

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Scribbles

-old, together-

It felt like days before she was able to find a moment to herself after the beginning of the end.

The actual location of her breakdown wasn't ideal- a broom closet hardly lacked the poise that she preferred to carry at all times- but she had to make due in such times. She was honestly lucky she had found an intact building in which she could breathe momentarily.

Of course, that 'moment to herself' came with the company of someone else. She could never break down in solitude anymore, it seemed.

"The Grimm have been driven back to Vale's borders," James murmured, sitting down on a small box nearby. The light from the single bulb hanging from the ceiling exaggerated the shadows on his face, making him look empty, hollow.

That certainly matched how she felt. Her Aura was drained after using her Semblance to fight and restore as much of the city as possible. She was running on less than fumes at that point. "You'll be heading back to Mantle soon?" she said numbly.

He nodded. "With the CCTS down, we need to regroup. I don't know when I'll be back again after I leave. The Council isn't going to take any of this well."

"Fuck your council," she spat, ignoring his momentarily disbelief at her crassness. "Does your council understand how many lives have been lost? How many homes destroyed? How many children taken? Does your council understand that we've encountered the apocalypse?"

He sighed, hanging his head below slumped shoulders. "…None is this could have been predicted."

She leaned heavily against the closet door. "I know. But…"

"But?"

She closed her eyes, centering herself. There was no point getting too worked up- she simply didn't have the energy for it. "…We'll make it through."

"Oh, you're confident."

"Look at the students, James," she explained. "Look at how hard they're fighting. They… they're not going to let this be the end."

"...You're right."

For a moment, they shared a tranquil silence together. The world did feel like it had ended, but their students still lived on. They had been absolutely incredibly over the last few days, fighting harder than anyone would have expected of them. They had managed to push through the tragedy and the fear. They would keep fighting to bring back balance to the world.

So, it was only far that their professors did the same. We let this happen. It's our duty to fix it.

"Remember the day we met?" James murmured suddenly.

She paused, a rueful smile automatically crossing her lips. "Well, yes. You have no idea how much I wanted to kill you."

"Why didn't you?"

She shrugged wearily. "Who knows?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face, too. "Was it my good looks?"

"Shut up, old man," she snorted. "More like Ozpin wanted us to get along, so I sucked it up."

At the mention of the late headmaster of Beacon, James' face fell.

She let out a long, shuddering breath. "…I wish Oz was here."

James smiled weakly, bringing a little light into Glynda's heart. James understood her sense of loss. Ozpin had been his mentor, his colleague, his captain, too.

But, their time alone was over. Her pocket beeped- a local message from a squad captain who needed to make a report. She needed to get back to work.

"We'll fix things, Glyn," James said quietly, standing upright again. He reached out and cupped her cheek, wiping away some grime off her skin with a callused thumb. "We'll fix it all."

She allowed herself to melt into his touch for just a moment. After all this time, you're still here with me. Who would've thought it? "Yes, we will."

And with that, they headed back out onto the ruined streets of Vale, ready to fight by their students' sides once more.