Thank again to everyone who's reviewed and followed these one-shots. You guys are awesome. Gonna finish all the prompts this weekend, so keep an eye out! Also, a special shoutout goes to lavenderboy19 on Twitter. One of his tweets helped inspire me to finish this prompt, so I wanted to thank him via a shoutout. Hope you guys enjoy!

All characters belong to Rooster Teeth

Ruby felt something coarse underneath her skin as she tried to gain her bearings once again after she, her teammates, and Jaune all fell a second time. Once she had regained her senses enough, she grabbed some of the coarse material in her hand and realized very quickly that it was sand. Sand...wait a minute. Could they be…? Were they really back on Remnant?

Standing up, Ruby called out, "Guys, I think we're in Vacuo!"

As the others stood up and brushed the sand off of their bodies, Blake looked around at the sandy terrain and said, "Ruby's right! We made it!"

Tears formed in Weiss' eyes, relief the only expression she was capable of showing, "We're home."

"But there's one tiny problem," Yang mentioned, "Which way is Vacuo?"

Glancing around, Blake then spotted something in the distance and pointed to it, "I think I see something that way! Is it Shade Academy?!"

"Only one way to find out!" Ruby yelled back then motioned for everyone to follow her, which they did without hesitation.

For what seemed like hours, the group of five trekked the sandy dunes near Vacuo, hoping and praying that some sign of civilization would appear before them soon. To try and gain some attention, Yang fired some projectiles into the sky in an attempt to alert someone to their presence. Seconds later, they saw a familiar pink bomb blow up just ahead of them. It was Nora! She had seen them!

"Come on!" Ruby cried, "We're almost there!"

Gathering everyone into her cloak, Ruby used her Semblance to fast track their way to Shade Academy, where Ren, Nora, Oscar, Qrow, and Winter were all waiting for them at the entrance. Once everyone was settled back on the ground (Blake was a little shakier than the others), the two groups wasted no time rushing into each other's arms. Winter held her little sister tightly, which Qrow did the same to his nieces, and Nora tackled Jaune and Blake to the ground with Oscar and Ren dogpiling on top of them. Tears were impossible to stop on all fronts and even a few loving familial kisses were exchanged in the midst of it all.

"We need to head back inside," Winter then said, wiping her tears away, "I'm sure you all could use some rest after...whatever it was you went through."

"That's a story we're going to need all day to explain," Ruby admitted, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

"So let's not waste any more time," Qrow agreed with Winter, "Besides, Klein can check you guys out and make sure you're a-ok."

Yawning, Weiss added, "Please tell me a bed comes with that."

"Bed, showers, food that's actually edible, take your pick."

"I call the shower," Blake weakly muttered as they all began the small walk to enter the academy.

"Save some hot water for me," Yang lightly whined.

As the group made their way to the entrance, Oscar grabbed Ruby's hand to pull her back so they could have some alone time. Ruby was discreetly relieved, as she didn't particularly want to hear Nora go on about how Neptune was still afraid of water.

"I'm sorry I worried you," she said, wrapping her arms around herself, "We've...been through a lot the past few days."

Oscar said nothing, but responded by embracing Ruby tightly, catching her completely off guard. After a few seconds had passed and the shock had worn off, Ruby smiled and returned the gesture ten fold. She could feel Oscar's hand rubbing her back as a means to try and solidify to himself that she was, indeed, really in front of him and not an illusion from the Vacuan heat.

"I cried for hours once Winter told us what happened," he admitted as his voice began to crack, "The entire time you were gone, all I could think about was you. But then I remembered how you once told me that, if you had died instead of Pyrrha and Penny, they'd keep fighting on for your sake. So that's what I chose to do...keep moving forward."

Tightening her grip on Oscar's shoulders, Ruby replied, "Well, I'm here now. And we can keep moving forward...together."

Pulling away but still keeping his hands on her waist, Oscar said, "Just promise me you won't fall into any more dark abysses."

With a slight shrug, Ruby answered, "Anything can happen, Oscar. But I'll try and avoid that from now on."

Smiles remained on Ruby and Oscar's faces as they let their foreheads touch, their breaths lightly tickling each other's faces. Neither wanted this moment to end, but they knew it wouldn't be long before someone came and interrupted the mood. And that someone was almost Winter Schnee, had Qrow not been the ultimate wingman and told her to give them some time before dragging her back inside. The two chuckled at the display, but were grateful Qrow was supportive of them to an extent.

"Maybe we should head back inside," Ruby suggested, "We could both use some sleep."

"Yeah," Oscar agreed as he yawned, "That does sound good."

Holding hands, Ruby and Oscar started heading back to the entrance of Shade Academy, ready to indulge in some well-deserved sleep. Neither of them were entirely certain as to what was going to happen from that moment on, but one thing would forever be a certainty. They would always be by each other's sides until the end. And it was a promise neither of them ever intended to break.