RWBY: The Redeemer

Beta-read by Starlight's Poet

Chapter 26: Semester Break (IV)

It was early in the morning, when the sun had yet to rise on the horizon, where Claude found himself standing on one of Beacon Academy's balconies overseeing the mountain range.

It was the day - the day where Claude would reveal the truth about himself to his nieces. While he could not reveal the 'whole' truth, Ruby and Yang at least had to know about their relationship with him. Still, it did not change the fact that he had been lying to those girls during the entire first semester, even longer, considering when they met for the first time.

The questions he feared came back in vengeance since the moment of truth was nearing; would they believe him? What would they think of thim next? Would things stay as they were? Could they act like a proper family, or at least act normally after everything had been said and done?

Claude was used to the chilly weather in the morning, but the thoughts caused him to shiver a bit.

Then, he noticed someone came by his side, as a mug of steaming coffee was placed next to him on the balcony railings. "Good morning, Mr. Rose. How are you doing?"

"...Ozpin." Claude nodded in thanks as he took the mug and had a sip. "To answer your question…. It kind of varies."

Ozpin glanced from his own mug with a raised eyebrow. "...Oh? Care to elaborate?"

"Come on, Oz. You know what's happening." Claude sighed as he ran his hand through his locks. "I'm going to tell those girls; about who I am, and who they are to me…" He then took another sip. "I don't know what to make out of this, okay? I'm confused as hell right now." He slumped towards the railing and hid his face under his arms.

Ozpin hummed before he led his gaze away from Claude towards the view in front of him. "So are you afraid, Mr. Rose?"

Claude only peeked from behind his arms. "Gee, how did you know?"

"Trust me, Mr. Rose. I've been in your shoes more than once." Ozpin sent him a knowing smile. "How do you think I felt whenever I had to reveal I am some kind of, spiritually immortal wizard, for the first time? Not to mention my knowledge on the truth behind the old legends and stories around Remnant?"

Claude looked up and shrugged - that was a fair point. "...So? Any advice for me?"

"My advice? Hm…." Ozpin gave the question some thought. "I don't believe this counts as advice, but keep this in mind. There will be consequences whether you tell those children the truth or not. You can only choose which consequences you can live with."

With that, Ozpin turned around and took his leave. "Have a pleasant day, Mr. Rose and… Good luck."

oXo

The morning went on; Claude was rather fortunate that team JNPR was doing independent team training, with Claude's regimen as their homework. He was not sure if he could mentor them properly with so much stuff weighing his mind.

But on the other hand, he had nothing to distract him from those thoughts of his - crap, the hell do I do? At the moment, Claude was walking alone through the streets of Vale, spending time until it was the time for him to go to Patch.

While he was contemplating what to do, a voice interrupted him. "You know, a posture and expression like that is unbecoming of a huntsman."

Claude looked up to see Glynda Goodwitch standing before him. Her get-up was similar to the one she usually wore, but her black trousers were replaced with a knee-length silk skirt with black stocking, and she had forgotten her cloak. All in all, her clothes could still be considered formal, but a little more casual.

"...Glynda." Claude blinked as he approached the woman. "What brings you here? Don't you still have work to do at school?"

"My job is done for the time being since we are on school break. So I have the next few days for myself." Glynda replied. "Speaking of, I was kind of expecting you to spend time with Peter and Barty."

"Peter and Barty volunteered to look through Rome's intel." Claude replied.

"...And you're not helping them?" Glynda raised an eyebrow.

Claude sighed with a bitter smile. "I wanted to, but turns out I was, per Barty said, too distracted to make results."

"...Distracted?" Glynda asked with furrowed eyebrows, though there was a hint of concern in her tone.

Claude, however, simply met Glynda's eyes with his own. "...I'm telling them today."

It took a couple of seconds for Glynda to catch what Claude meant. "...Oh."

"Yeah, so… I guess I'm kind of fucking nervous here. Terrified, maybe." Claude said with another intake of breath.

"Claude." Much to Claude's surprise, Glynda had approached and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "...You need to calm down."

"I believe I have calmed down." Claude retorted.

"No, not completely, at least." Glynda retorted back. "...Have you prepared anything for later?"

Claude rolled his eyes around in thought. "Just a rough script of what I'm gonna say to them… I'm pretty much gonna wing the rest."

Glynda sighed before she grabbed his hand and tugged him along. "...Come with me."

Claude blinked as he was being pulled around by the deputy. "Um, Glynda? Where are you taking me?"

"You seriously need help, Claude; and I'm not going to let you make a fool out of yourself when you face those children." Glynda huffed.

A few minutes of walking later, Claude found himself inside what appeared to be a gift-shop along with Glynda. People were walking around, looking at the trinkets and other merchandise.

"...Glynda?" Claude asked the woman next to him.

"Yes?"

"Where are we?"

"As you can see, Mr. Rose, we are in a gift-shop. For your information, I always come to this store whenever I want to buy some presents for my parents in Mantle."

Claude then glanced at Glynda, who was looking around with a mild curiosity. "Okay… Why are we in a gift-shop?"

"It is important to bring a present or two whenever you visit your family, Mr. Rose." Glynda said with a lecturing tone. "Not to mention, considering what you are going to reveal to them, I believe presents can help you set up the mood, giving them a good first impression."

Claude blinked at the woman - that was actually a good thinking. "...Okay, I can see your angle here. So I just need to buy something nice for Ruby and Yang, right? What kind of present, though? Expensive ones? Something edible? Or whatever goes to my pocket?"

"While it is the thoughts that count, choosing what to buy carefully is also essential." Glynda fixed her glasses. "We can start by looking around first and see whatever catches your fancy."

"Er…. Sure, let's do that." Claude shrugged. They began to look at various merchandise and whatever the shop could offer.

It took a while, but Claude finally purchased a bag of cookies and sweets from the gift-shop, courtesy of Glynda's advice. Currently, the two were having brunch at a nearby restaurant.

"Thanks again for helping me, Glynda. I think the girls would love this…. Assuming things go smoothly." Claude eyed at the bag of presents next to his seat.

"It's no trouble, I have free time anyway." Glynda waved off as she took a sip from her iced lemon tea. "Honestly, the best thing I can offer is good luck wishes."

"True, true." Claude nodded as he drank his iced mocha. While they were still waiting for their food, he decided to strike a conversation. "...So, you seemed to know your stuff about picking up presents. You really do this a lot, don't ya?"

"I do." Glynda easily replied.

"So how is your family doing back in Mantle?" Claude asked.

"Well enough. Though I wish they would act their age more often. They have been retired for 10 years, for goodness' sake!" Glynda replied with a sigh.

"Not that I've met your family… But what did they do?" Claude asked with curious eyes.

Glynda sighed, "Nothing much, actually. Just scroll-call every week."

Claude blinked, "...That doesn't sound so bad."

"Yeah, until they kept asking the same question over and over that you're sick of it." Glynda said with a small scoff.

"Like, what? When you're getting married or something?" Claude asked jokingly.

However, Glynda merely glared at him and Claude spotted that her ears were red. "Oh, shit! For real!?" He ended up laughing a bit.

Glynda could only sigh - Claude Rose learning of her predicament with her parents was the last thing she needed when she was on a break. "Yes, yes, my parents had been nagging at me to find myself a man. Laugh it up."

It was amusing to see a snarky Glynda Goodwitch, but Claude knew better than making fun of her. "No, no, it's not really that weird…" He said with a placating hand gesture that calmed Glynda a bit as she raised her eyebrows at him. "...I mean, back before I went out with Raven, sometimes Summer would keep egging me to find a girlfriend myself."

"Right, I guess I can see that…" Glynda nodded before she mused, "Still, looking at things now, it's weird to think that you dated Raven once upon a time".

Claude scoffed with amusement. "Yeah, now that you mentioned; it is weird now, to think about Raven and I." He looked down on the table before glancing up back to Glynda. "...Though I don't think it's not as weird as you and Jimmy. Seriously, how did you start up? And why would you even break up with him if you know that your parents are gonna be pissy about it?"

"It was some time before my internship to Beacon Academy that I decided to end things between us, considering James planned to tie himself with the military, I don't think a long-distance relationship is healthy for either of us." Glynda replied off-handedly.

"Hm, you might have a point." Claude shrugged. "I take it your parents didn't take your break-up well when they found out?"

"Truth to be told, my parents didn't really like James at first." Glynda replied with a small amusement in her tone. "...But when they heard James had become a high-ranking military official and headmaster of Atlas Academy, they began to ask if I want to go back with him. The nerve…" She ended with a grumble.

Claude only chuckled before he asked again, "Speaking of, how did Jimmy take you dumping him?"

"Not too well, obviously." Glynda sighed again as she leaned forward on her arms by the table. "But years later, when we met again during Vytal Festival, we agreed that we've done the right thing…. Although he would always send me offers to work in Atlas every now and then."

"Heh, so the guy hasn't completely moved on, eh?" Claude gave a knowing grin.

The food finally came; Glynda ordered a simple sandwich set while Claude ordered a large serving of pasta.

"Enough about me, how are you now? Are you ready to face your family later?" She asked with her bespectacled eyes meeting Claude's.

Claude looked down again, his eyes closed for a brief moment before he opened them again. "I… I think I'm better now." He smiled honestly at Glynda. "Really, thanks, Glydan. For this."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but you're welcome." Glynda replied with a knowing smile. "Now, let's eat. You will need a full stomach when the time comes."

[Okay, I'll make sure that Ruby and Yang are at home by the time you're here. Do you want me to keep their partners out of this?]

"No, considering what happens next, I might as well let them know."

At the moment, Claude was talking to Taiyang via Scroll call as he was boarding the airship towards Patch. The bag of gifts he had purchased with Glynda's help was resting next to him.

[I see…. Qrow just arrived this morning and is currently…. Walking off his hangover, I think. Oh, and…. Are you sure you want to do this today? Because something is off with Ruby.]

Claude blinked and his eyes narrowed slightly. "...Did something happen? How is she?"

[Well…. I don't know, she's been kind of out of it since the morning, and she just played it off whenever I or Yang ask if anything is wrong. With her current condition, I don't think it's the best idea to drop our bomb. Perhaps wait for another day or two until Ruby sorts herself out.]

Claude sighed into his gadget. "If that's the case then it can't be helped. Still, I'll come over and have a look, maybe I can help her."

[Yeah, I guess you can do that. Y'know, lately Ruby's been idolizing you as much as, if not more than Qrow. I don't know if that poor drunkard is willing to hand you his title as the best uncle around.]

Claude only laughed at Taiyang's joking tone. "Ha, then I guess revealing my real identity to those kids doesn't sound so bad, after all."

[Just don't be surprised if Qrow suddenly stops drinking just to one-up you in front of the girls…. Assuming he will ever stop drinking.]

"One can always hope, Tai. Anyway, my ride is nearly there. I'll see you later." Claude then ended the call.

The airship landed, Claude disembarked and began this journey to the Rose-Xiao Long Residence. It was a fine day with a few clouds in the sky, yet he found his legs were rather heavy as he made his way to his destination, his mind became clouded with fear and anxiety as he slowly closed the distance. On the way, he dropped by a flower shop to buy a bouquet of flowers - a mixture of roses and tulips; he heard from Glynda that those flowers are suitable for reconciliation.

By the time he was in front of the steps leading to the house, Claude's breathing was rather heavy. "It's okay, Claude. You can do this. You have everything you need." He spoke to himself as he re-adjusted his grip on the gifts and flowers. "Those girls need the truth, Yang needs you, Ruby needs you. You can do this!" he whispered harshly.

"...Yeah, I can do this." He kept repeating the words like a mantra as he smiled to boost his self-confidence. "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…. Oh, gods, I can't do this!" His expression immediately morphed to panic as he turned around to make the run.

"...Where are you going?"

"GYAAH!" Claude shrieked at the sudden appearance of one Qrow Branwen right on his face. "Goddammit, Qrow! What did I tell you about sneaking behind people!?"

"Don't remember." Qrow cheekily replied with a grin. "But seriously, Zapper. What are you doing?"

"Nothing, just about to leave." Claude replied a tad too quickly as he dropped the gift bag and the flower next to the front door. "In fact, why don't we grab a drink or two? I remember they should be another bar that opens at this hour..."

Qrow, however, wanted nothing of it as he caught Claude as the latter was about to drag him away. "Nope, nuh-uh, where do you think you're going?"

Claude's (forced) cheerful demeanor suddenly morphed to panic as he pushed against Qrow. "I'm having a panic right now, man! I can't do this!"

In response, Qrow then slapped his old friend across the face. "Look at me, Claude." Qrow did not shout, but his tone was surely serious as he stared at Claude dead in the eye. "I won't let you back out just because you get cold feet. You are the only link Ruby has for her mother, your sister; and both her and Yang deserve to know that they still have another family around. So get your shit together, or else Summer would be rolling in her grave now."

Claude and Qrow merely stared at each other for a few moments, until the former drew a deep breath. Soon, Qrow slowly released his grip as Claude straightened himself up. "...You okay, now?" The older huntsman asked.

Claude nodded. "Yes…. Yes, I'm good."

"So are you ready?"

"Yes, but…" Claude pointed up a finger. "Tai said there's something wrong with Ruby. Maybe we need to sort that one first before the big reveal."

Qrow blinked for a few times but shrugged in the end. "...Fair enough, just be sure not to drag it too long."

"Yeah…" Claude then glanced back at the house. "...So everyone's at home?"

"From the last time I recall, yep. Come on, Zapper, the sooner you finish this, the easier it will get in the long run."

"Okay…. Here we go." Claude took another deep breath before walking towards the house. "...You with me?" He glanced hopefully at Qrow.

The old huntsman simply snorted and patted Claude's shoulder. "Sure thing, zapper. I got your back."

Nodding thanks, Claude then stepped forward and knocked on the door. The wooden platform opened to reveal Yang with Zwei by her feet.

"Oh, hey, Sterling. Fancy having you come here." The blonde gave a small grin. "...Seems you ran into Uncle Qrow too."

"Yeah, good to be here." Claude smiled while Qrow waved. When the dog barked in greeting, Claude kneeled down to caress its head. "Long time no see, little guy. Miss me?" Zwei simply barked as it revelled in the sensation of Claude's hand on its head.

Claude then stood up while picking up the gift he bought from Vale. "Um, is Ruby and everyone else home? I… got some stuff."

Yang raised her eyebrows at the flowers and sweets in Claude's arms. "Well, everyone's in, but…" Her expression shifted slightly. "Ruby's been out of it since morning and I don't know why. You probably came at the right time with these presents; they should cheer her up somehow. Come on in, we just finished lunch and can use some deserts."

The three and Zwei then stepped in, then they found Blake reading a book in the living room and Weiss and Taiyang were in the kitchen washing dishes. "Hey, fellas. Guess who's here!"

"...Hi." Blake's greeting was short, but her smile was telling enough that Claude's presence was welcome.

Claude eyed at the faunus' head and smiled. "...See? You do look better without the ribbon." He said as he set the gifts on the table.

"Yeah, I've tried." Blake snorted before she returned her attention back to her book. When Zwei sat next to her seat, however, Claude noticed Blake's frame visibly tensed on the couch, as she did her best to ignore the mutt staring at her like a piece of meat.

"Mr. Cole." Weiss greeted him as she walked out from the kitchen to the living room, and Claude blinked at the sight of the heiress wiping her hands with a towel.

"Hey, Weiss." Claude greeted as he glanced at the kitchen where Taiyang was. "...Mind telling me what you're doing earlier?"

"Nothing much, just helping Mr. Taiyang washing the dishes." Weiss shrugged.

Claude blanched slightly with wide eyes. "...You, Weiss Schnee, just did the dishes?" He then turned to Qrow. "Er, Qrow? Can you check the sky outside?"

Qrow, who has already made himself comfortable on the other couch, simply popped open his flask and took a swig. "Meh, knowing my luck, we might have a meteor falling on this very building as we speak."

Yang, Blake and Tai actually laughed lightly at the joke. Weiss, on the other hand, gave Claude a pouty glare. "What was that supposed to mean, sir? I can do menial work whenever I want to."

"Relax, Weiss. I was just kidding with you." Claude chuckled while holding up his hands placatingly. He then looked around to notice an absent member. "...Say, where's Ruby?"

Immediately, the mood in the room dampened slightly as Weiss, Blake and Tai had small frowns on their faces. "...Ruby just went to her room as soon as the lunch ended. Perhaps you can talk some sense into her?" The heiress replied.

"Sure, why don't you call her downstairs first?" Claude nodded as his mind was telling him that something was seriously wrong.

"I'll go get her." Tai volunteered as he had finished his chores.

While waiting for Taiyang and Ruby, Claude asked the girls when Yang and Weiss took a seat on the same couch as Blake. "So, how's the vacation so far?"

"It's fine." Blake replied without leaving her eyes off her book.

Weiss was the next to answer, "It's been fine and productive, Mr. Cole." Then, Claude blinked at the sight of Weiss giddily waving at Zwei, as if the dog was a national treasure.

"Yeah, we're gonna surprise you by the time the next term starts, teach." Yang quipped with a grin.

Claude smiled as he nodded; inwardly, he could not help but sigh at his alias - Sterling Cole, it was a reminder how things would change once Claude told everyone of who he really was; now his anxiety returned again.

Minutes went by - Yang and Claude began to notice that Tai was taking his time to get Ruby down. The house was not too big, it should have taken only a minute to walk upstairs and back. "They sure took their time…" Claude noted.

"...Yeah, but I didn't hear any commotion. Is Ruby falling asleep or something?" Yang mused.

A second later, Tai arrived with Ruby in tow, but something was off. Ruby froze when she saw Claude in the living room, her hands were holding a piece of paper. Tai on the other hand, looked conflicted.

"Ruby? Tai?" Claude quickly walked towards them with a worried look. However, when he only took two steps forward, he stopped when he saw Ruby flinched and took a step back herself. "...Tai?" Claude glanced at his brother-in-law.

"Well…." Tai was completely at a loss of what to say, as he gestured between Claude and Ruby.

However, the young girl clenched her jaw as she steeled herself, before she stepped forward. "...Sterling?" she asked with a doubtful tone.

"Yes?" Claude replied, and the rest of team RWBY with Qrow were looking worried of what was going on.

"I…." Ruby chuckled nervously. "I found something… This morning." She then revealed the picture in her hand - an image of a young man and woman, both having a pair of silver eyes. "...This is you, right?"

"...Oh, shit." Qrow whispered as he recognised the picture, while team RWBY quickly huddled around their leader to look at the picture.

Then, the girls turned to Claude with confusion in their eyes. Blake, however, had an inkling that she had slowly connected the dots. "...Sterling? What's going on?" Yang asked.

Claude looked frozen for a second before his expression morphed into that of resignation, as he glanced between Tai and Qrow - who could not do or say anything in return. He sent a small smile to the group of girls, his eyes particularly were sad when they met Ruby's. "...You girls get yourself comfortable. This might be a long story."

The girls of team RWBY glanced at one another before they gradually situated themselves in the living room. The girls huddled together and squeezed inside the larger couch, with Tai and Qrow taking the other; there were three couches in the living room, and Claude took one single couch with Zwei sitting next to him, as he stared at everyone else.

Claude sighed before he began. "Let's see….. Where to start…." He tapped his finger on his lap before he stood up again, facing everyone. He then took a seat on the floor with his legs crossed beneath him, lowering himself before everyone. "...Okay, I'll start with an apology. I've been lying to all of you about something. I'm sorry."

Everyone blinked at the sight of Claude lowering his head on the floor. The girls glanced at each other in confusion; Yang and Ruby silently asked for their father and uncle for any clues, but the adults' faces remained impassive, as if telling them to simply listen for the time being.

Claude then lifted his head up again, meeting everyone's eyes with his own. "Sterling Cole was simply an alias, a spur of the moment. My real name is Claude Rose, the older brother of Summer Rose." His eyes then met Ruby's wide ones. "...Which makes me your biological uncle, Ruby."

Team RWBY was more or less stupefied by the revelation, as Ruby, Blake and Weiss were regarding their teacher with wide eyes. Yang on the other hand, was narrowing her eyes in bewilderment. "...What?"

Claude simply closed his eyes for a second before he met Yang's gaze. "My name is Claude Rose. Summer's brother, and I…" He glanced at Qrow, who merely raised his eyebrows at him, before he returned to look at Yang awkwardly. "I used to… kind of date your birth mom."

Yang flinched back as her eyes blinked at him, not expecting to hear the last bit of the information.

It was Claude's tactic for the time being - he would simply go to the point of the truth and let that sink into the girls' head before he proceeded. Telling everything on the get-go would only serve to confuse them even more.

"Alright, hold it right there." Weiss decided to be the voice of logic. "Are you saying that you…" She pointed at Claude, "...Are one and the same person as the man in the photograph?" She pointed at the photograph that had been placed on the table.

Claude then met Weiss' skeptical looks. "Yes, I am."

"Is that so?" Weiss' tone remained skeptical as she kept her eyes on the man on the floor. "...This photograph is roughly decades old, are you implying that you are actually in your 40s?"

At Weiss' insinuation, Claude merely shrugged. "...Yeah, in a way."

"Okay, stop, stop." Yang stood up and held her hands up. "Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Yang." The girl turned to see her father addressing her. "...It's your uncle. Well, honorary uncle." Taiyang tilted his head at Claude.

Yang had trouble in believing that her father agreed with the supposedly shit-show. She turned to Qrow, who was not chugging his booze - the man simply met her gaze and nodded with a serious expression.

Weiss was still in the middle of making the heads and tails of the entire talk; Blake, on the other hand, was looking at Claude as she traced back her previous findings during her past short investigation on him - the lack of records despite him being a graduate from Beacon, could it be the reason, because she had yet to look back far enough?

Weiss then spoke up, her face began to lose her composure. "Wait, that means…" She became even more confused as she pointed between Claude and the picture. "This doesn't make sense. How do you explain the relation between you and the photograph? How does it explain that you are the same person?"

Claude exhaled before replying, "According to Qrow…" He pointed at the man in question. "I had been labelled missing in action, later killed in action for the past 20 years… Until he found me unconscious on the road between Vale and Vacuo a few months ago - A few weeks before Beacon first semester began."

The room went into silence as the girls digested what they had heard so far.

"Okay, enough." Yang gritted out, her patience thinning. "Just… tell us the whole story first. We seriously have no idea what the fuck you're trying to tell us here."

"Yang!" Taiyang rebuked the use of profanity by her daughter, in front of his younger one.

"Tai." Claude interrupted, his eyes met with Taiyang's, and a few seconds later, the Xiao Long patriarch exhaled as he said no more.

Claude then regarded Yang, who was currently giving him judgemental looks. He could not blame her - he would be pissed himself if he were in her shoes. With another sigh, he began, "...It all started during a recon-mission that went wrong over 20 years ago. My team, along with team STRQ had to fend off a Grimm horde heading towards a settlement outside the Kingdom of Vale and Vacuo."

Thus, everyone listened to Claude retelling the story of the fateful day; Tai and Qrow noticed that Claude omitted the name of his teammates, his and Summer's use of their true power; but it was still enough to tell what had happened from his point of view until he found himself waking up in Beacon Academy.

By the time Claude finished his story, the girls were staring as if he had grown a couple of heads. "So… Are you saying you time-travelled 20 years?" Blake was the one who spoke up.

"Looking at the situation, that's one conclusion I can only come up with." Claude replied.

"Heh, that's a story, I guess." Yang retorted, her face was a mix of amusement and mortification. "...That's a good one. Now come on, what are you really hiding?"

"...That my name is Claude Rose, never Sterling." Claude simply replied as he met Yang's eyes with his own. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, no. This is just ridiculous." Weiss spoke up. "Your story doesn't prove anything about who you really are. Assuming that you are truthful about your real name, you can't be the same person from the picture dated back 20 years ago!"

Claude regarded Weiss for a moment - the heiress had a point; his story alone would not be enough to prove his real identity. He then glanced at Ruby; his young niece was still regarding him with a lot of questions in her silver eyes.

Claude then glanced down at the floor, and before the girls could have asked anything again, he mused, "...The 30th Vytal Festival."

All eyes blinked when Claude muttered those words. Team RWBY found themselves pausing and listening to Claude's next words. "As soon as we arrived at Vacuo, what Summer looked at first was the restaurants, wondering if they sold any good desserts, and what kind of sweets somewhere like Vacuo had."

Weiss and Blake only glanced at each other, wondering what Claude was talking about now; while Ruby and Yang blinked at the mention of their mother.

Tai and Qrow blinked as they recognised the story, watching as Claude's lips stretched into a small, fond smile.

"She was livid at the idea of Vacuo's desert cookies, which she dubbed, 'tastes like sand mixed with sugar', and she found it disgusting. Of course, she then proceeded to look into the weapon's shops next. At least that lifted up her mood a bit." Claude mused further with an amused snort.

Weiss and Blake were still confused, unable to ascertain what kind of angle Claude was trying to pull, but on the other hand, Ruby and Yang knew what Claude was talking about.

It was one of stories that Summer once told them before they lost her; one of her past adventures during her youth.

"...Then she tried to upgrade her weapon, which she dubbed 'Falling Blossoms'. Heh, I personally prefer her weapon's name to be 'Falling Leaves', I sometimes didn't really get her naming sense."

"How…?" Yang interrupted. "...How did you know those stories? Actually, it still doesn't prove your involvement." She immediately tried to use her logic.

Claude sighed, "It's because I was in some of those stories to watch them unfold. You can ask Tai and Qrow there." He pointed at the two adult men. "I still remember Tai never stopped whining how 'dry and scorching' Vacuo was, and Qrow was busy keeping Raven… and himself from picking fights with the locals. The whole thing in the Kingdom back there felt like a total dog fight, but uglier where everyone's a winner. I don't know about now, though." He ended with a shrug.

The girls turned to the aforementioned adults; who returned their gazes before they glanced at each other for a second. "The guy is telling the truth, kids. You better believe him, as crazy as it sounds." Qrow was the first to talk.

"I know these all are hard to digest, but for now, I just want you to listen." Tai spoke afterwards.

The girls - Yang and Ruby in particular, could not believe that their parents were going along with this madness. They turned back to Claude - does this mean that Claude truly time-travelled through 20 years of time?

"But even Atlas's science and technology haven't touched the theory of space and time yet! You can't just simply spew out time-travel and expect people to believe you!" Weiss argued.

The real problem, however, that the girls knew that their elders would not choose something so ludicrous if they wanted to lie. Messing with their heads, probably, but Ruby and Yang knew better than to distrust their parents. Sterling - no, Claude, however? They only knew him for a few months, it was not enough basis for them to completely trust him.

Still, the way he spoke, and how Tai and Qrow did not interrupt or stop him; heavily implied that Claude was telling the truth, at least the truth as he knew it.

"Girl, just because Atlas hasn't known, doesn't mean it's impossible. Atlas ain't as powerful as their propaganda said." Qrow scoffed, earning a glare from the Schnee.

"Qrow." Claude rebuked him by simply calling his name. And there it is - in the girls' eyes, Tai and Qrow were supposedly the adults here, yet Qrow Branwen obeyed by raising his hands up in surrender as soon as the younger man chided him; not to mention his backing on Claude's claim.

Speaking of, the young huntsman sighed as he stood up. "Look, it's gonna take forever if I try to prove you that I'm not lying about my background. I simply want to tell you that my name is Claude Rose, older brother of Summer Rose. The whole time-travelling thing? I say it's not even conclusive yet. All I knew was, I passed out while fighting a grimm off my friend and sister's back, and the next I woke up, everything had gone ahead of me by 20 years. I can't force you to believe me all of those, but at least believe me…." Claude's eyes softened as his shoulders sagged. "...I'm your friend; and for anything it's worth, I'm sorry for lying this whole time."

He bowed his head deeply to the floor for a second before he wordlessly proceeded to walk out of the house. Zwei only looked at him with a sad whine while everyone could not do anything else but to watch the door closed.

The day went on, as Weiss and Blake were in their assigned room, minding their own things. The girls just finished their shower; Weiss was combing her hair while Blake was leaning on her bed with another book in hand.

Things had not gone well after Sterling - no, Claude Rose's revelation about himself. Ruby and Yang needed some time for themselves to sort their thoughts out.

Eventually, the silence was broken as Blake looked up from her book. "Hey, Weiss."

Weiss glanced at Blake through the mirror's reflection, as she kept combing her white hair. "...Yes?"

"What do you think about… the talk earlier?"

The comb paused for a second, as she actually looked at Blake's reflection. "Honestly? I don't know what Mr. Co- Rose is thinking. Saying something ludicrous as time travel. As if lying about his identity wasn't bad enough." She then put the comb down and put her hair in her signature ponytail. "...What about you?"

"I…. am just as lost as you, all of us." Blake's face was that of worry. "But… I don't think Claude was lying."

Weiss turned on her seat with wide eyes. "Blake, did you actually believe that nonsense?"

"Well, not the time-travel part, of course." Blake defended. "I mean the part about him being Ruby's uncle."

Weiss sighed, "While the idea wasn't completely unfounded, but we still don't understand how he's the same person as the man from a 20 year-old photograph."

"Relatives, maybe? Like father and son?" Blake asked.

"I thought so at first, but after looking at it a few more times, the resemblance is way too uncanny, even for a direct relative." Weiss replied. "My point is, he looks way too young to be 20 years older than us, even with Aura application."

"...Didn't Claude just mention that he's not sure about the time-travel as well?"

Weiss shrugged, "That he did. At least he did not intentionally try to mislead us…. But that still doesn't help the case."

"We also have Mr. Xiao Long and Mr. Branwen vouching for him." Blake pointed out another fact.

"That actually makes this whole debacle harder to understand." Weiss sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Those two had no reason to back up the lie, since this matter is related to their family, but they didn't explain the photograph either."

"They will recover in time, I hope…. But I'm more concerned about how Mr. Rose will explain himself to Beacon, assuming all of us will report our findings."

"Um, about that…" Blake held up a finger. "...The faculty might have known about Claude longer than we have."

Weiss blinked at her teammate. "...What?"

"Well…" Blake looked slightly panicked on her slip-up, as she looked briefly left and right. But a second later, she decided to tell Weiss about her running into the sparring match between Claude and Ozpin.

"...Doesn't that mean you also knew all along?" Weiss asked with a somewhat accusatory tone.

"In my defence, it's not my secret to tell, and I didn't have any idea of what's going on either." Blake held up her hands.

"...Fair enough." Weiss calmed down. "But if the teachers know about this…. That means at least he was truthful about his real name, and he might actually have a good reason for going with the fake name."

"Does that mean the stuff about him and Professor Port was a lie as well?" Blake quipped.

"Maybe, maybe not." Weiss shrugged. "We'll get all the answers eventually. This kind of information is something that will eventually go through everyone sooner or later."

Blake hummed. "...True."

A minute later, Blake then closed her book as she got up from bed, eliciting a questioning look from Weiss. "Blake, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go find and check on our resident time-traveller. Hopefully he's still on the island." Blake replied with a small joking tone. "...I'll make sure to return by dinner time. See you later."

oXo

"...There you are."

Taiyang found his daughter venting out her frustration on the punching bag hung on a tree branch in the backyard. The girl simply threw a glance at her father before she returned her attention back to the sandbag.

Tai simply took the silent treatment in stride as he walked closer, watching the way his daughter moved - it was full of anger; she was not exactly training, she was venting.

"You okay, firecracker?" Tai asked while using the affectionate nickname Qrow originally came up with.

Yang stopped in her boxing, her hands holding the punching bag as she let out a breath. "What do you think?"

Tai scowled lightly at his daughter's impolite tone. "Yang…."

Fortunately, the girl seemed to notice her outburst. "Sorry, it's just… What the hell was that about?" She sighed harshly.

It was Tai's turn to sigh. "...That's basically what it is, sweetie. Claude just wanted to straighten things up."

"But… it's crazy! He just said he's our uncle!" Yang protested.

"Crazy as it sounds, it's true." Tai retorted. "I can't enforce what you want to believe, but I can only ask you to give him a chance."

Yang met her father's gaze for a few minutes until she sighed. "That's…. The worst part is, I… know he was telling the truth."

Tai blinked, "...You do?"

"Yeah…" Yang stepped back from the punching bag as she looked up at the afternoon sky, her eyes slightly watered. "I…. I slowly remember."

Yang closed her eyes, as a small drop escaped her eyes. Back when things were fine, little Yang and Ruby would spend time listening to Summer's stories about her past. She could not fully remember all of it, but she did remember Summer's expression whenever a certain someone was brought up.

"...And now I realize it was him all along." Yang then faced Tai once again. "...Why did you go along with him?"

Tai then gave Yang a small smile as he turned to take a seat by the tree. He patted the spot next to him, silently asking his daughter to sit with him. She hesitated for a second, but she complied eventually.

"The reasons are simple enough." Tai began, with Yang paying attention. "...While it wasn't my secret to tell to begin with, first and foremost, Claude is my, as well as Qrow's friend." He smiled at his daughter. "In fact, if it's not for him, neither you or Ruby would've been born."

Yang blinked, then she recalled the part where Claude had to protect his friends from a grimm horde. "If you're to ask me, I say Claude was watering down what had taken place 20 years ago. The situation was a lot worse." Tai then re-told the story of that fateful day through his own perspective.

"...In the end, Claude chose to make the last stand to hold the line, so all of us could get back to safety and the reinforcements could help us." Tai sighed. "All of us were devastated for a while. We recovered eventually, but we believed we'd lost him… Until Qrow found him unconscious in the middle of the road outside of Kingdom borders."

Yang looked down, taking her father's words until she asked another question. "...He mentioned something about dating my mother."

"Raven, yeah." Tai's smile turned a bit awkward. "I personally had a hard time describing their relationship, but at least Summer believed that they were in love. I mean, if you're to see how they acted back in the day, you'll get what I mean."

The explanation was vague, but Yang chose to settle with the answer. "...Okay. So Raven decided to move on to you after Claude… Vanished?"

"Honestly, I don't know anymore." Tai's face became melancholic. "She might have been trying to move on, or looking for some kind of replacement… But if it's worth anything, she took care of her pregnancy quite seriously until you're born."

Raven had been a sensitive topic for both father and daughter, so Tai decided to move on before things could have become too awkward for them. "...Anyway, now that you know, mind telling me what you're planning to do?"

Yang took a deep breath and closed her eyes, re-thinking everything that she had listened to since Claude's revelation. A few moments later, she let go of her breath as she came to a decision.

oXo

Ruby was at the place where she always ran to whenever she had problems. Sitting on a cliff overlooking the town, with the gravestone of her mother before her. That was how Qrow managed to find her.

However, it seemed the girl noticed his presence as she threw him a weak smile. "...Hey, uncle Qrow."

"How are you doing, squirt?" Qrow replied good-naturedly as he took the spot next to his niece.

"Confused, maybe… kind of disappointed and scared as well." Ruby replied as her eyes returned to the verse on Summer's grave.

Qrow had some experience of looking after Ruby and Yang back when they were children, but damn, he still had no idea how to approach this kind of issue; it was one of the reasons why Qrow became less of a teacher and more active as a huntsman once again.

Nevertheless, he decided to go straight to the point. He sighed before taking the dive. "...Look, Ruby. I know that it's wrong for Claude to lie to you this whole time, but he never meant to hurt you."

"Yeah, I know…" Ruby replied as she buried her head between her knees. "It's just…. I feel silly, you know?"

"...Why?" Qrow asked with a raised eyebrow, before he took out his flask of booze from his coat.

"I…. Promise you won't freak out?" Ruby eyed her uncle.

Qrow snorted as he unscrewed the cap of his flask. "Rubes, I've seen you in your silliest moments way before you went to Beacon. How bad can this one be?"

Feeling reassured, Ruby then looked away as her face heated up slightly. "Well, it's just… when I still knew Claude as Sterling, I… might be crushing on him?"

Much to Ruby's mortification, the older man slightly choked and lightly knocked his chest, as he coughed with a smile on his face.

"Uncle Qrow!"

"Sorry, sorry…" Qrow said between coughs and dry laughs. "But seriously, that's actually not that weird. Claude does have that kind of effect around women."

Ruby only pouted for a few more seconds before she scoffed away. Returning her attention at the view beyond her mother's grave.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Qrow apologized again. "...But still, now that you learned who he really is, do you think differently of him?"

"I… I don't know." Ruby's eyes returned to the gravestone. "I'd be lying if I say I wasn't upset, but… I can't bear the idea of him disappearing as well."

"Hm, I guess that's something." Qrow nodded, before he ran his hand through his locks rather awkwardly. "So… I know I'm asking a lot, but can you give him another chance?"

Ruby was silent for a moment, and before Qrow could have said anything else, she suddenly began speaking, "Y'know, I… had these dreams."

Qrow paused on whatever he was about to say, as his niece carried on.

"I dreamed about mom… Saying something about someone who's going to come back home. The first few times were kind of blurry, but I remember she asked me to welcome someone back." Ruby smiled bitterly. "...Then, the dream became clearer as I heard her telling bits about this person… I guess it's been Claude all along, huh?"

Qrow stared at Ruby's expression for a few seconds before he took another sip from his flask as he looked far ahead. "Summer had always looked up to Claude as long as I've known them… And to be honest, I kind of look up to him too. He used to be rough around the edges when we first met, but it didn't take too long until our teams hung out together whenever we could."

Ruby listened as Qrow's expression grew somber. "...Then on that day, when Claude sacrificed himself for all of us… Summer refused to believe that he's gone until the end. Why do you think there's no grave erected for him?"

Ruby blinked at the epiphany as she looked back at her mother's grave.

"That's why Summer rarely talked about Claude, he's sort of a sensitive topic for her. She hated it when people talked about him as if he died…. Heh, I guess her words stuck with us, that we forgot to build Claude's grave even after we made Summer's. But hell, ain't that work out, Claude actually returned, just as Summer had always believed in."

Ruby smiled and closed her eyes, where some tears leaked out and ran on her cheek. "Say… Uncle Qrow?" Ruby called out. "...Can you tell me a bit more about Claude? Like, what he's like?"

In return, Qrow only smiled knowingly. "Sure, I guess we have some time before dinner."

Claude was lounging inside one of the bars that had opened around the hour. He swung the glass in his hand slightly, swishing the iced amber liquid that reflected his face.

His mind drifted back to the conversation where he finally revealed who he was to his nieces. Now what? Claude had no idea why he was still on Patch. He had come and done his objective - now both Ruby and Yang knew who he really was. Though, how would they think of him now?

In any case, things would not be the same anymore. Then again, Claude did not mind should Ruby and Yang grew to resent him; he had it coming and he was going to man up. As long as he could keep looking after them, that was all he could ask.

"...There you are."

Claude blinked and turned to see Blake standing behind him. "Hey, Claude." the girl greeted.

In return, Claude simply raised an eyebrow at the girl. "...I don't think you're old enough to walk in here."

Blake simply pursed her lips as she looked at Claude defiantly. "It's fine as long as I don't actually buy anything from their shelves." She then took a seat next to him and glanced at the bartender. "Cider or milk, maybe?"

The said bartender simply smirked as he pointed his finger at her knowingly before going to work. While waiting, Blake turned to him. "...How are you doing?"

"Crappy, I guess." Claude shrugged as he took a sip from his glass. "...What are you doing here, Blake?"

"Just want to see how you're doing." Blake admitted as her drink - which was an iced apple cider, arrived in front of her.

"As you can see, I'm doing fine. I appreciate the gesture." Claude replied. "You should go back and check on Yang and Ruby. Those two will need you."

"Mr. Tai and Mr. Branwen are taking care of them." Blake replied as she took a sip of her drink. "...Are you going to be okay, though?"

"...Yeah." Claude replied after a second of silence. "I'll be fine."

Blake, however, did not buy any of it. "...Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't think I want to." Claude bluntly replied. "Please, Blake. You should go home."

"You know, I can understand a little of how you feel. I've lied to them too, remember?" Blake replied as if she did not hear Claude's plea.

"Blake, no offence, but comparing your past lie with mine is like… comparing your cider to my bourbon." Claude pointed at their respective drinks.

Blake shrugged, finding herself conceding with the analogy. "Maybe, but if things worked out for me, don't you think things will work out for you too?"

"I have nothing against optimism, Blake. But… I have been lying to them longer than you did; and I am supposed to be their family to boot." Claude gave a bitter smile.

Blake could only look down as she stared at her drink. After taking another sip, she then asked, "...Why did you lie to them in the first place?"

Claude sighed as he looked up to nothing in particular; his eyes were wandering around. "Imagine you fall asleep; you felt you only slept for less than a day, but when you woke up, everything around you had gone ahead by far - your home, your friends, your family, everyone you hold dear; all had grown ahead of you by 20 years."

Blake listened and found herself frowning, feeling awful of herself as Claude ranted on.

"...That's what happened to me, Blake. My friends, my ex, my sister are older than me now, have made their own family, even. The woman I once loved before had gone marrying one of my closest friends, and just disappeared not long after giving birth to her first daughter."

Blake's expression grew somber as she saw Claude tightened his grip on his glass; his silver eyes started to tear up.

"...Worse, I soon found that my sister died, before I could've even apologized for every wrong I've done to her. 20 fucking years… That's the amount of time I've missed, I never got to see her grow, graduate and become a huntress; I never got to see her completing her first mission, I never got to see her falling in love with Tai, her wedding, her birthdays… And when I met Yang and Ruby for the first time - the only link and family I have… I freaked out."

Claude said as a single tear ran on his cheek. "I freaked out upon seeing them, Blake. My own nieces; and I ended up acting like a stranger to them, all because I was too fucking scared to accept the truth that everything had moved on ahead of me."

Blake did not expect to see Claude Rose looking so vulnerable. She always remembered him as a strong, confident, easy-going man who had helped her, and taught her peers the ways of combat and being a huntsman and huntress.

Fortunately, Claude soon regained his bearings as he wiped the tear tracks away from his face. "...Sorry, that was embarrassing." Claude said with a brittle smile. "Now that I've told them who I am, everything will definitely change, and I gotta own my own mistakes." He finished with a deep breath.

Then, Blake placed her hand on Claude's shoulder and gave a supportive squeeze. Claude's eyes were greeted by the sight of the girl smiling gently at him. "I still don't know what's actually happening, but I don't think you should worry about Ruby and Yang."

Claude blinked as Blake retracted her hand and returned her attention on her cider. "...I only knew them for a few months, but if they can accept me who had actually hurt people in the past, I think they can accept you, considering you're the one who confessed first; that honesty ought to count for something."

Then Blake threw another smile at Claude. "So…. why not take another leap of faith at this point?"

Claude stared at Blake for a few seconds before a more genuine smile appeared on his face. "...Never thought you have a knack for counselling. Hell, I was actually offered to be counsellor by Ozpin not long ago."

Blake only chuckled in return. "Back in… my old group." Blake purposely omitted the name of the said group, considering where they were, "Some new members need some pep-talk after a hard mission. So I might know a thing or two." She then smirked knowingly. "...And if you're actually gonna be a counsellor, be sure to remember who showed you the ropes."

"Yes, ma'am." Claude nodded as he downed the rest of his drink, as Blake also followed-suit.

"So are you ready to go back?" Blake asked while Claude paid for both of their drinks.

Claude took a deep breath as his face looked more refreshed somewhat. "...Yeah, I guess I am."

The trip back home did not take long without any incidents taking place. Soon Claude and Blake were standing in front of the Rose-Xiao Long residence.

Claude took another deep breath and knocked the door a few times, and was greeted by Yang Xiao Long opening the door. Claude could not help but feel a little tense; Blake herself could only watch as Yang regarded both of them.

However, the tension faded as Yang's lips stretched into a small smile as she opened the door wider. "I was wondering where you two went to. Didn't know you guys were having a date around the town."

Claude blinked, not expecting the teasing. Blake was caught off-guard slightly as a faint shade of pink adorned her cheek and she huffed while walking into the house. "Very funny, Yang." She however, threw a small smirk towards her partner and Claude before disappearing into the house.

Yang watched Blake going to her room for a bit before she turned back to the other man. "Come on, Claude. What are you waiting for?" She gestured inside.

"Um, Yang…?" Claude could not help but ask as he followed his honorary niece into the house. "Listen, about earlier-"

Whatever he was about to say was stopped by a slender finger over his lips.

"Shh…" Yang hushed as she smiled at him. "I'll be honest Claude; I'd be lying if I say I wasn't pissed at what you did, but…. Then again I can't keep blaming you while dad and uncle Qrow asked me to give you a chance, not to mention I at least owe it to Summer for everything she'd given me."

Claude was speechless when Yang put her hands on her hips as her smile grew into a grin. "...But that's one of the three strikes you had there, buddy. Two more strikes and you'll get yourself the boot. You also need to talk with Ruby later, am I clear?"

Claude found himself smiling, "...Yes, loud and clear."

"Good, now come on. Dinner's about to start." Yang then led Claude to the dining area where Tai, Qrow and the rest of team RWBY were waiting for them.

The first thing that Claude had his eyes on were Ruby; when their eyes met, Claude felt a burden was lifted off the shoulders when his niece smiled at him. "...Hi, everyone."

"Look who's back." Qrow gave a lop-sided grin as he leaned on his forearms on the table.

"Come on, you arrived just in time." Tai also greeted as he prepared the dinner.

Once everyone was situated on their seats, Claude began, "Err, look, girls; I'm not asking you girls to believe everything I told you today, but-!"

"Mr. Rose." Weiss interrupted by addressing Claude formally, as her eyes met his. "...I honestly still don't know what is going on, who you are, or your actual relationship between my partner and her sister…" However, she then gave a small smile. "But perhaps I'm willing to leave it alone, as long as the part where you stand with us remains true. I don't really care much about everything else at this point."

"...Thanks, Weiss." Claude smiled at the heiress as he turned to Ruby.

"...No more lies and half-truths, okay, Uncle Claude?" the young girl asked.

Claude closed his eyes and nodded at her, and the dinner began. During the meal, Ruby then asked, "So… how's your real team like?"

Claude chuckled when Ruby emphasized the 'real' part. "Honestly, a bunch of rag-tags if you ask me. However, I didn't lie to you about my partner being a knob-head of the highest order."

"Must be one helluva team." Yang mused. "Have you met them, by the way? Rather, do we know them?"

Claude stared at Yang for a second before shrugging, "...I have, and you do."

That caused the girls to pause in their eating while Tai and Qrow were watching with interest. "Care to tell us who they are? Actually, I'm also curious of who your partner is."

In return, Claude simply took another scoop of his meal and smiled at them. "...I can't tell you that."

"You remember that you promised for no more lies, don't you?" Yang asked with raised eyebrows.

"True." Claude pointed his forks at the blonde. "...But lying means I intentionally lead you to a wrong conclusion or intentionally omit something as well. Now, however, I'm telling you the truth that I cannot tell you about my team. Not yet, at least."

Claude met every single girl in the eye, conveying the sincerity of his words. Yang scowled, but she did not press any further. Weiss was looking skeptical while Blake sighed. Ruby, on the other hand, maintained her smile, albeit it shrunk a bit.

"Can we know why, at least?" Ruby asked.

"They're having a secret assignment from both me and Ozpin… Well, my partner is on the field, to be exact." Claude reasoned. "...And neither he or my team can reveal anything that might link them back to me or Beacon."

The girls seemed to accept the reasoning, although their faces did not show them liking it very much.

"...If it's worth anything; while I can't tell you about my team. I'm not going to stop you from investigating during your free time."

The girls perked up while the adult men blinked and stared at Claude. "...Really?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, take this as an extracurricular work from me." Claude shrugged. "You are free to pursue the truth, but don't expect the answer will come by easily. Of course, you're not allowed to use inappropriate methods to gain information either. So what do you say?"

Qrow and Taiyang were sending silent messages through their looks - whether it was okay or not for Claude to do this, which the latter simply replied with a smile, prompting the former two to sigh a little.

Team RWBY on the other hand, regarded each other before sharing nods. "Alright, we'll take this on." Ruby nodded at Claude with a confident tone.

"Goodluck, that's all I can say to you." Claude smiled in return.

Thus the dinner that night went by without much incident.

It was night, when everyone had turned into bed. Ruby was staring at the ceiling in her darkened room with her snoring sister by her side, unable to fall asleep.

Her mind was filled with the revelation she had received earlier that day; she was still unsure about the whole time-travel, but the other part of her mind knew that Claude Rose was her missing uncle, the link between her and her late mother. She felt happy, but awkward at the same time due to the feelings she once had towards him.

Then again, the rational part of her mind reasoned that 'crush' did not equal to that kind of affection; it was an attraction, which most likely emerged due to her repressed memory about the tidbits of Summer's story about her 'missing' brother.

She got up from her sleeping position, feeling to get some drink, when she caught something outside her window.

Claude Rose, still garbed in his usual clothing and gear from today; was walking outside with a basket in hand. Curious, Ruby decided to change her clothes, put her cloak on, and go after him.

She kept a safe distance walking behind her uncle as she watched Claude walking towards a familiar direction. Soon enough, Ruby found that he was heading to Summer's grave on the cliff overlooking Patch. He sat down before the gravestone, placed the basket next to him and he took a cup and thermos out of it. He then poured the steaming content of the thermos into the cup, before he put the said cup on top of Summer's grave, before he poured himself a cup with the thermos cap.

"Would you like some, Ruby?" Claude called out without really looking behind him, causing Ruby to let out a brief 'eep', not expecting to be caught. When Claude turned his head to meet her eyes, she saw him smiling knowingly.

The girl then smiled and laughed sheepishly in a mild embarrassment, but she still came over and sat on the ground next to her uncle. "How long have you known I was following you?"

"I knew someone followed me when I left the yard, and confirmed it was you when I entered the woods." Claude said with closed eyes, before he offered his steaming cup to his niece. "Here, have some. The night can get quite cold after a while."

Ruby took the warm cup with both of her hands and took a smell before she sipped the content. "...It's delicious." She noted.

"White milk tea with some honey, your mother's favorite." Claude informed with a pleased smile.

"I see…" Ruby nodded before she offered her cup back. "Thanks, though I already drank from it." She offered the cup back with a sheepish smile.

Claude in return, simply held his hand up. "Just drink all of it. It's yours."

"But how about you? I mean, you originally wanted this for yourself." Ruby argued.

Claude only shrugged before he took the cup on the gravestone and sipped from it. "...I can share with Summer."

Ruby only blinked at the sight. "...Is it really okay for you to do that?" She was not the complete spiritual type, but she always thought it was not appropriate to take an offering intended for the dead.

"Summer and I share a lot of things, Ruby. Trust me." Claude then put the cup - still not empty yet, back on the gravestone. "In fact, your mother's gonna haunt me if she knew that I left you without anything warm in this cold."

(BGM: Home by Casey Lee Williams)

Ruby found herself giggling as she kept the cup. "...Say, uncle Claude?"

"Just Claude is fine, Ruby." Claude interrupted. "...Keep the 'uncle' title for Qrow, he deserves it more than me." After all, the guy had been there for Ruby during the past 20 years since Claude's disappearance.

Ruby seemed to catch on as she nodded. "Then, Claude. I never got to say this earlier, it…. Felt kind of weird to blurt it out in front of everyone."

Claude got his curiosity piqued as he turned his sitting position so he could look at Ruby's face. "I… kind of remembered my mom talked about you when I was still small. I can't recall word for word, but I remember enough that she spoke highly of you."

Claude's gaze softened at Ruby's words, before he smiled while giving a brief glance at Summer's grave.

"She always believed that you're still alive somewhere, doing what you do best, and will return one day." Ruby put her cup down as she stood up, walking around in nostalgia. "...I didn't understand back there, since I was barely able to talk, but now I do." Claude stood up as Ruby turned to face him. "...You came back, just like she said."

"...But I was late by 20 years, though." Claude looked down in shame.

"Maybe, but I guess it's better late than never." Ruby shook her head as her smile became a little sad. "However, I remember one thing she kept asking me whenever she talked about you."

Ruby then gave Claude the brightest smile as her silver eyes met his. "...Welcome home, Claude."

Perhaps it was a trick of light at night that played Claude's mind, but for a split-second, Claude could have sworn that Ruby looked taller, her hair a little longer and her red cloak was replaced with that of a purest white. Then, Ruby blinked when she saw tears suddenly poured out from Claude's eyes. "Claude? You okay? Did I say something wrong?" She asked with a slight panicked tone.

It was not as if Claude's expression shifted or anything, the tears just suddenly poured out from his eyes. "N-No, I'm fine…" Claude then wiped his tears away, but they did not stop leaking from his eyes. "H-huh…? It's weird, I-I can't stop…"

Ruby herself had no clue as she watched the tears keep coming out from Claude. She unconsciously looked at her mother's grave, inwardly asking for help. However, she blinked at something.

Perhaps it was the cold air, or the moon playing tricks on her, but Ruby briefly saw a visage of someone - a woman, putting her arms around Claude and hugged him closed from behind.

Ruby suddenly found herself knowing what she should do next. She closed in and wrapped her arms around Claude's body, pressing her face against his torso in the process. "...Welcome home." She said it again.

Claude stiffened in his niece's embrace, and soon he slowly wrapped his own arms around his niece's frame. "I…. I'm home."

Ruby felt his uncle's arms holding her gently, yet she had a feeling that the arms would not let her go, that the arms would keep her safe. "Welcome home." She said it again.

Claude himself realised that those two words coming from Ruby - Summer's daughter, was something he wanted to hear so desperately. His friends had welcomed him back, but Ruby's 'welcome back' just felt… right.

Welcome home.

"I'm home…!" The dam finally broke and Claude sobbed, all while kissing the top of Ruby's head. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry…! I'm home!"

Ruby's eyes dropped a lone tear as she kept holding his uncle, allowing him to let out all of his regret.

"Welcome home…"

"I'm home!"

"Hm, welcome home."

"Yes, I'm home… I'm not going anywhere…!"

Ruby and Claude spent their time before Summer's grave in each other's arms, the former found the latter had at last, come home.

So, how did you think of the revelation? I've done my best to make sure that nobody acts OOC while still reacting in at least somewhat realistic manner. Constructive reviews only, please!

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