Hello! To all my wonderful readers the people who have Followed and Favorited this story, I am pleased to be present you with the next chapter! It's longer than I thought it would be and I didn't even get to put everything I wanted in it so that stuff will just have to go in the next one, but for today, you can all have this one.
Starring Ren and Nora!
Word Count: 12,672
Enjoy!
"Ruby!" Leaping from the tree, Nora stumbled her way across the field, her entire body still shaking from the blast of wind, but she didn't care. She was more concerned with the way Ruby wasn't moving. Sliding the last little bit to the caped girl, Nora quickly crawled to her side, gripping her shoulders tight and shaking her hard. "Come on, come on, come on, wake up."
"Nora." Ren called when he caught up, gently gripping her arm. When she didn't stop shaking the girl, he tried again. "Nora, you need to let her go."
"No!"
"Nora! Shaking her isn't helping. You need to stop." Ren stated firmly, pulling his partner back into a tight embrace to try and calm her down. Reaching around her with one arm when he felt her settle slightly, Ren felt for a pulse in the younger girl's wrist, noting that it was relatively normal all things considered, before focusing back on his partner. "She's fine. I think she just passed out. We'll just have to wait for her to wake up."
"But what? How? What?"
"I don't know. But we should probably get her back to her dorm. I doubt she's going to wake up anytime soon, that looked like it took a lot out of her." Ren explained, letting go of his partner in favour of scooping up the smaller girl. He frowned slightly when he noticed how light she was but pushed that aside, and stood, carrying the girl back to the main part of the campus.
Nora followed close behind, picking up the two weapons as she went, twisting the Sai blades around to find a way to retract them. She must have done something right when a moment later they snapped closed, scaring the living daylights out of the girl. Nora grinned in success before she jogged to catch up with her partner.
"I still don't understand what's going on. Was she upset about her love life? Maybe it was about what happen with Team CRDL?"
"I don't know, and I don't know what we just saw either, but it didn't seem unfamiliar to her so maybe she could tell us when she wakes up. Whenever that is."
"Yeah… and what are we going to tell the others? We can't just say that we followed her and then she was crying and then she was screaming at then she killed a massive pack of Grimm and then she managed to literally blow us away with a weird silver light. That's just weird."
"We'll think of something."
Ignoring the looks they were getting, Ren and Nora slowly made their way back to the dorms, trying to be careful not to jostle the girl too much, lest she wake up. As much as they both wanted answers, they knew that even without the weird power outburst, today was a long and hard day for the girl and she deserved her rest.
It was a wonder who she was talking about, though. Was she in love with someone? No, that didn't make sense, she said that they were together. So maybe she loves two someone's and they love each other? That sounds more like it fits. But who could it be that she loves? None of them have been here long enough to form even strong friendships, so that means that she knew them before she came to Beacon. But then who? And what other worries did she have that weren't like that of a normal 15-year-old? Besides her early entrance, which, according to what he'd heard, she earned completely on her own, so she wouldn't be stressed about that-
"Ahem." Jarred from his musings, Ren noticed that they had made their way through the dorm and were now standing in front of Team RWBY's door.
Smiling down at Nora in thanks, she just smiled and leant across to knock on the door. Not receiving a response, both teens frowned before Nora tried again. They waited a minute before trying a third time before they gave up. Shrugging to each other, the both turned around and crossed into their own dorms, figuring that they could just tell the other team whenever they return.
Noticing that their team happened to be gone too, Nora shrugged before directing Ren to put the sleeping girl in her bed. Moving forward to remove her shoes before tucking the younger girl in, Nora watched as Ren went about closing the curtains and making the room as dark as possible. Looking to each other, they smiled before quietly moving away from Ruby, leaving her to sleep peacefully as both teens started on their homework, knowing that they couldn't do anything loud and didn't want to leave her alone in case she woke up.
Glancing back to the girl only a few minutes later, checking to see if she was alright, they both caught each other's eye and smiled. They may have to talk about it eventually but they both knew that they would follow Ruby to the ends of Remnant if that's what she asked of them. Somehow, she had managed to pull the pair of them in, and neither of them really wanted to escape her little orbit. Ruby seemed very much like a little sister that they wanted to protect but knew that she would lead them to some of their most interesting moments in life.
'We'll protect her the same way we've protected each other. With love, attention and by following her direction. Never will we let her be alone again.' They both thought, smiling to each other before moving back to their tasks, the silent promise hanging between them.
The group of five teens moved slowly over the courtyard, on their way back to their dorms. It had already been an hour and a half since they left their dorms and each of them was both worried about Ruby and wondering where Ren and Nora had gone. They said they were going for pancakes, but they weren't in the cafeteria and they weren't in any of the student kitchens, which was really odd.
While they had all only known each other for a week, there were somethings that the others caught onto quickly. One was that if Nora said she wanted pancakes, she was going to get pancakes. And two was that if Nora wanted pancakes, Ren was always with her, either to make sure that she didn't eat all the available ones to just make her a batch of her own.
Approaching their building, they all noticed Weiss just reaching the door, not even giving them a moment of her attention before walking in. "Looks like someone hasn't had enough time to calm down."
"Yep. I hope Ruby doesn't come back to her like this though, she has enough on her plate without adding sour Weiss Cream to it."
Hearing simultaneous groans, Yang grinned and moved onward, opening the door with a flourish and holding it for the others.
"Really Yang? Was that really necessary?" Blake asked as she walked past, giving her partner a side eye before walking off, not really expecting a response but rolled her eyes at the affirmative hum she heard.
The two half teams finally made it their dorms, deciding to turn in for the night as it been a long week and they had eaten enough to cover dinner anyway. Yang was still distracted, worrying about Ruby when she heard a confused noise escape Jaune.
"Ruby?" Jaune was definitely confused. He had noticed when Ruby went missing and after the talk they had with Yang he kind of acknowledged that gloomy would also include wanting to be alone, not in his teammates bed.
"Shhhh." Both Ren and Nora hissed when they heard several other questioning sounds. They had been pretty good for the last hour, but Ruby would shuffle slightly if there was too much noise in the room, and while she wouldn't awaken, she would be very distressed and both teens wanted to avoid that if it was possible.
Jerking back slightly from the shock of being shushed at their own door, Jaune asked again. "What is Ruby doing in our room?"
Ren sighed slightly, realising that they weren't going to be quiet when he heard Ruby shuffling again. Tensing, Ren and all the others watched as Nora gently started to brush her fingers through her hair, carefully avoiding the small rose in her hair, knowing from the past few times she'd tried it that somehow Ruby could tell in her sleep if someone was touching it and would become even more upset.
Finally getting the girl to settle once more, Nora glared at the teens in the doorway before slowly shifting off the bed to push them back out the door, Ren joining them quickly.
"Where did you find her?" Yang softly asked, understanding completely what most likely would have happened. Ruby didn't pass out like that unless she blew up a little which must have been what the chilling breeze that swept through the academy must have been, considering that it wasn't anywhere near winter anymore.
"We saw her by the cliff edge, leaning against a tree and went to make sure that she was okay. She was really upset, about quite a few things if what I could understand was right, and just ended up falling asleep. We brought her back here because nobody was answer Team RWBY's door and we didn't want to wake her up, so we've just put her in Nora's bed for the time being." Ren replied, tone flat, not giving away at all that he might not be telling the truth.
Yang simply gave them a raised brow in response before shrugging and nodding on, agreeing that it was something that Ruby would likely do. Yang was a little worried about trying to move her sister though. It would have been fine, maybe, if she wasn't on the top bunk but she was. And that was only if she didn't try to kick everyone who tried to pick her up in the face. She had a tendency to do that sometimes.
Flinching slightly at the memory of one of the more painful times, Yang sized up the pair of defensive teens standing in front their door. "Have you tried to move her since you put her down?"
"No. We just wanted her to sleep so we left her be. She has been stirring rather easily though." Ren informed the blonde, making her purse her lips in thought.
"I'm gonna try and pick her up and take her back to our dorm but there may be a chance that she won't want to move and kick a fair bit. You may have to put up with her for the night if she doesn't want to move." Yang said, quietly making her way into the room. Being careful not to make too much noise as she crossed the room, Yang gently removed the blanket from her younger sister, having to tug a little at the tight grip she had on it.
Being as careful as she could be, Yang softly slid her arm under Ruby's head first, knowing she'd need her other hand free if she decided today was a kicking kind of day. Slowly lifting her arm, Ruby's head and upper body following, Yang was yet again very thankful for her spare hand, only just blocking the surprisingly fierce kick aimed straight for her head.
Keeping her grip on Ruby's leg, Yang quickly lowered her sister back to the bed, gently returning her leg to the bed before pulling the cover over her again. "Yeah, it's not happening today. Sorry. Once she's found something that she's found safe she doesn't like to leave it. Which is kind of surprising that she finds you safe Nora, but maybe not…"
Yang thought on her options for a few seconds before returning to the pair who had looked after Ruby when she couldn't. "Do you mind if she stays in your bed? Just for the night, I promise."
"Yeah, it's fine. Ren and I have shared a bed plenty of times, Ruby can have mine until she returns it tomorrow." Nora replied, her usual excitement clear but her voice equally as soft as Yang's.
"Awesome, I'll just grab something from our room quickly. I'll be back." Disappearing for a few seconds, Yang returned with a small stuffed crow in her hands, gently tucking it into her sister's hands and watched with a small smile as she curled around it on instinct. "Welp, that should do it. As long as you keep it down, Ruby will surely sleep until well into tomorrow, so she'll be fine. Don't worry if she doesn't wake up until closer to lunch but I will come by and check on her in the morning when I wake up. Night guys."
Walking back out of the room, Yang crossed back over the hall into her own room, moving slowly to lie on her bed, thinking about just what could have happened with Ruby that afternoon. 'I should have been there…' Blankly she acknowledged as Weiss got into bed and Blake went to the bathroom to get ready for the night, lost in her thoughts, she jostled slightly at the light knock on their door.
"Yeah…?" She asked, opening the door to see Nora shuffling her feet slightly in the hall, Her pyjamas on and her hands behind her back.
"Could I talk to you for a minute in the hall?" She asked quietly, which was a bit of a shock for the blonde but not too much of a stretch from what she'd seen just before.
Nodding her head, Yang stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her. "What's up?"
Nora, looking down the hall both ways, slowly pulled her hands out from behind her, holding up the two handles for the blonde to see. "I wanted to give these to you, I figured they'd be safer in your care than they would be with me." Seeing the look Yang was giving her, Nora explained as much as she could, which wasn't much. "I don't really know what happened, one minute she was sitting on the edge of the cliff, the next she was running and tripped and crying and screaming and some other stuff happened, but I don't really get it, and then she passed out. There was some fighting and she did try to cut down a portion of the forest which would be why I have these. I didn't know if anyone else knew though because Ren checked the school records and they aren't there, so I thought maybe you could take them?"
Yang sighed but nodded and took the handles anyway. Ruby was probably going to freak out a little bit when she wakes up without them but it's better than everyone seeing them. Mumbling her thanks, Yang tucked the handles into her pockets and turned back to her door when she had a thought. "You know… This will technically be Ruby's first ever sleep over."
Nora smiled lightly, before bidding the distracted blonde goodnight, watching as she went back to her room and closed the door. Sighing slightly, Nora slumped and made her way into her own room, quietly shuffling over to Ren's bed and flopping down on the small available space left.
It was still early but both teens on the bed were exhausted, not just from trying to chase Ruby through the forest and not get blown away in the wind storm that was her powers, but also the long week they just finished. It was official, they had survived the first week of Beacon and had four more years of it. Nora groaned quietly at the thought before turning her head to look at Ruby, still sleeping peacefully in the older girl's bed. 'At least we won't be alone.'
Staring out his large windows, Ozpin frowned in thought. He had noticed the bright light in the edge of the Emerald Forest just after classes were finished that afternoon and was worried. It wasn't just the light though, because it only lasted a few seconds before it disappeared, it was the slight chill that seemed to sweep the academy and the rather concerning message he had just received from Qrow, who hadn't even been gone for half a day.
"What's wrong with Ruby? Something happened."
Ozpin wasn't sure how the other man knew but he honestly didn't have an answer to the question. He had never seen Ruby use her eyes before and wasn't sure if that's what it was. Although it would make the most sense, it just made him even more worried. There wasn't enough Grimm around the school to really quantify using her powers, which would mean that she would have had to be under emotional stress, which was the problem. He heard from Glynda and watched the footage of her fight with Team CRDL and while she didn't technically do anything wrong, it was certainly not common for one student to go up against a whole team and shatter each members Aura like she did.
The sound of his Scroll ringing on his desk distracted his from his thoughts. Moving away from the windows, Ozpin noticed that it was Qrow who was calling, and became confused.
"Qrow?"
"Oz, what happened?"
"I don't understand, what are you talking about?" Moving to sit at his desk, Ozpin perched on the edge of his seat, leaning forwards to rest his elbow in his knees.
"I'm talking about Ruby and the complete lack of Grimm I've encountered the whole day."
"It's not entirely uncommon to find patches of land where there isn't Grimm, Qrow." The sliver haired man sighed, leaning back. He was worried that something bad had already come up on his mission and was concerned.
"That maybe so, but I'm not talking about only small packs of Grimm here and there. I'm talking about none. I have not seen any Grimm for the past couple of hours at all, even though all the tracks I've found point to the fact that I should have. So, I'm asking again, what happened with Ruby?"
"None? At all? That's… not very likely at all." That was strange, and almost unheard of. What kind of creature could scare away so many Grimm like that. Or even kill that many if that was what happened.
"Ozpin." Qrow snapped, he was worried and didn't really want to wait for the other man to get his focus back. "Ruby?"
"I'm not sure. After she left me she went to class, utterly smashed a whole team by herself in combat class but that's about all I know in relation to her. I did see a bright light coming from the edge of Emerald Forest just after classes this afternoon, which I'm assuming was her." The older man informed, a slight tilt to his head as he thought.
"So, it was her, I knew that chill I felt was familiar. Shit." Several similar curses followed the first before Ozpin could interrupt.
"That chill was Ruby? I'm not sure I understand Qrow." Straightening in his seat, Ozpin turned back to the windows, as though just looking out them would let him see the younger girl.
Qrow sighed before he spoke, "Sometimes when Ruby's overly emotional and she can't let the power slowly leak out like it does when she goes on a killing spree, she releases it in one large burst. To do it without alerting everyone with a giant pillar of light in the sky, she'll try and push it in different directions, generally resulting in a slight chill sweeping everywhere as the released power searches out Grimm to destroy. She hasn't yet found a way to do it without sending everything around her flying back in the windstorm she creates, but she's been getting better."
"How far does the power reach? Does it have a distance it stops at or…" trailing off in thought, Ozpin frowned. He'd have to get someone to check out the Emerald Forest if what he was hearing was right.
"It travels as far as it has to until it runs out. Ruby's cleared out Patch a few times by doing it, but we've never measured how far out her power reaches. I'll tell you when I start to encounter Grimm again, considering I've been travelling in a straight line for most of the day."
"That would be very helpful, yes… I don't understand what would have set her off though. She seemed fine when she left my office after you'd left."
"That may be, but Ruby's been through a lot and if she utterly smashed another team in Combat Class, then someone must have pissed her off and then today would have been a very emotionally taxing day. And if she didn't have the chance to just get it all out by hunting down Grimm, then it doesn't exactly surprise me if she blew up a bit."
"I guess I'm going to have a talk with her than. I need her tell me what happened, especially since she was in the Emerald Forest by herself." Ozpin frowned. She could have been seriously hurt if she was emotional and attracting Grimm.
Qrow chuckled at how successful the man might be if he tried so soon. "I'd give her a few days… but that's just me. She might be a bit difficult to find though if your gonna look for her. She's rather an expert and avoiding people she doesn't want to see."
"Why wouldn't she want to see me?" Not that anyone could see him, Ozpin still tilted his head in confusion. 'I thought she liked me…'
"She just blew up because she was upset." Qrow explained, knowing the frown that was undoubtedly growing on the other man's face. "Ruby's gonna be embarrassed about it with you, that, and she wants to seem more mature while she's up there. Plus, what are gonna say? You need to see her just because? Or because you think she wiped out all the Grimm with her magic powers? That's gonna go well. Wait until you have a reasonable excuse to actually call her up to your office otherwise it's going to look odd."
"Fair enough." The he conceded before another thought hit him. "That might take a while though… Could you call her?"
"I can but it would have to wait until tomorrow. If she had an outburst of power like I think she did, then she's probably passed out."
"Well I guess that makes sense. I just want to make sure she's okay, I can ask her about it later. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Ozpin asked, quickly typing up a request for Glynda to go for a quick scout through the Emerald Forest tomorrow.
"Not really. Nothings happened so far, besides the lack of Grimm, that I could report and I'm not even close to where I need to be." Qrow shrugged before an idea came to him and he smirked. "You know though…" He all but purred into the Scroll, knowing that the sudden change in tone would grab the distracted man's attention.
"Hmmm?"
"I could really use your help with something… a bit more personal." He continued, his deep voice rolling over the words like the smoothest honey.
"And what would that be?" Ozpin asked, all his attention suddenly on his Scroll and the very attractive voice coming out of it.
"You could…" Qrow paused, waiting for the expectant hum before continuing. "Hang up the Scroll and get back to work, you lazy butt." He drawled, shattering the moment like a window.
"Qrow…" The other man groaned, annoyed at how easily he was caught in that stupidly simple trap. "I'm going to kill you one of these days."
"Maybe." He agreed. "But I should really be going, so bye." He sung before hanging up, laughing slightly before putting his Scroll away before he moved into the Inn door. Now, for a drink.
"I am seriously going to murder him one of these days." Ozpin grained before he put his Scroll down and returned back to the paperwork before him. 'Sometimes,' he thought, 'I hate my job.'
Waking up after an outburst of power was never a gentle thing for the silver eyed teen. It was never a slow awakening of the senses where she had time to roll over and stretch. It was a harsh jerk of the body before she shot up with a gasp and scared the living daylights out of everyone else in the room, evidenced by Jaune's terrified scream.
"Ruby!"
And that was the only warning the younger girl got before she was clobbered by the boisterous blonde.
"Yang?" Ruby gasped out. Her lungs were being squished to an inch of their lives, but she could still recognise that it was not her room they were in. "Where am I?"
"Oh yeah, this is Nora's bed. She and Ren brought you back yesterday after you fell asleep in the forest. I did try to move you, but you tried to kick my head off, so I let you be." Yang explained once she was done suffocating her sister.
"The forest…" At the sharp look Yang sent her and glance she threw at Jaune, Ruby understood. "Oh yeah… that."
Ruby cringed at the flat look her sister through at her and looked at her lap, idly noticing that she was still in her uniform from the day before. Thinking through what happened, Ruby winced at the way she might have hurt her friends before she remembered that she'd dropped RoseBud. Scrambling a bit, Ruby felt her empty thigh holsters and panicked. "Yang-"
"I have them-" Cutting herself off, Yang remembered that Jaune was still in the room, puttering around. Clearing her throat in annoyance, she glared at the boy before he got the message and left, rushing out the door with a slight squeak. Watching as the door closed Yang continued, "Nora picked them up and gave them to me last night. She didn't tell anyone because Ren checked the school records and they weren't registered.
Pulling the handles from her pockets and tossing them over, Yang commented, "You know, for someone who doesn't want anyone to know about them, a fair few people know about them."
"I know," Ruby said, feeling over the handles before she put them back in their holsters. "I didn't think they'd follow me though… Were they okay? Did I hurt them?"
"They looked perfectly fine to me. They were doing homework when we got back and neither looked or moved like they were injured at all. I think they were more worried about you, really. They shushed us whenever we were talking too loud and you'd move." Shrugging with the thought. Looking back over to the bed, Yang sighed slightly at the way Ruby's head was hanging down. "Look, I'm certain that they are both fine and if you just go and explain what happened to them, they'll be happy to see you awake. It's already just passed lunch time."
Ruby nodded, moving the blanket off her legs and swinging out to get up before she was stopped by a heavy hand on her head. "That did not mean you could leave without explaining what happened to me first though."
"Oh, right." Moving to sit back on the edge of the bed, Ruby tried to make sense of what happened the day before. "I was really upset, I guess and sat on the edge of the cliffs. I tried to go further down where people wouldn't be able to see me, but I heard Nora calling my name and panicked a little. I didn't want them to see me like that so ran into the trees and ended up reaching the edge of the forest and tripped and I was screaming a little I think. I could hear the pack of Beowolves coming so killed them and I was on a war path basically but then there weren't any more and I was pissed and then Ren and Nora showed up again and I knew my eyes were already lit up with the wings and I panicked even further and then I tried to release it into the ground but it just flattened and then it was huge and then I released it and then I passed out."
Yang only sighed at the end of the tale, trying to wrap her head around what she heard. "Okay… you said you were crying? Why were you crying? You're not usually that upset after Qrow leaves."
"I think it was a bit of sad and angry crying mixed together. I was upset at Qrow leaving and I also saw him with his partner and I just… I just want that. I want to be loved and cared for and adored in the same way he shows it for his partner. And I can't even hate him for it either, because the person he's with is just as amazing and special and kind and caring and its just so annoying." Ruby all but growled, her anger coming back as she thought over the topic in mind again. "Its annoying and painful and I hate everything because if it, but I just can't hate them. And then there's the fact that I have stupid powers that come out of my eyes. What's with that?! Why couldn't I have been normal? Why did I have to be born with stupid powers and wake up from that stupid dream and unlock all these stupid things and now I have two stupid loves and neither of them will ever acknowledge me as anything but a stupid child and just, ugh!"
"Uncle Qrow is seeing someone?!"
"That's what you got from that?"
"Well, yeah. How long has Uncle Qrow been seeing someone?"
"For ages. Like, I don't even know if they were together before I was born. They don't tell anyone because of who they are and because Qrow's always away only such long missions and stuff…"
"But who? Who could he possibly be with? Is it Goodwitch?"
"What? No! Ewww, that's gross. Why would you think that?"
"Then who is it? Is it Peach?"
"No! Stop asking! If they wanted people to know, they would. I found out by accident and just never told anyone." Ruby said, standing up and walking away, hopefully out of the room and out of the conversation. "I'm going to find Ren and Nora. I'll see you later."
Watching Ruby walk out the door, Yang smiled gently at her younger sisters back, chuckling lightly to herself. "It could only be Ozpin, really."
Grumbling to herself about Yang, Ruby quickly made her way across the hall and into her own dorm and thanked whatever she could that all of her team had already gone out for the day. Grabbing an outfit quickly, Ruby raced into the bathroom for a quick shower before she went out to look for her friends, fairly certain that she had grass stains all over her.
Stepping out of the dorm building, Ruby smoothed down her outfit for the fifth time that minute, still surprised at how nice the simple outfit felt. She had gone shopping with Coco about a month ago and knowing the younger girls style, Coco took her to one of the more expensive stores that specialised in what the older girl called 'Lolita'.
The simple, no ruffles, high collared and long puffy sleeved blouse was a beautiful soft red and silky smooth to the touch and went surprisingly well with the under breast, black vest with gold buckles. The soft velvet look and feel of the vest constantly surprising the younger girl as she ran her hands over the material. Coco had been having the time of her life picking clothes off the rack for the smaller girl, but Ruby was forced to put her foot down when the older girl pulled out a skirt full of ruffles and bows. Instead, Ruby had spotted a plain black knee length skirt and begrudgingly compromised with a matching red petticoat and a pair of low heeled black ankle boots, a slight strip of wine red velvet along the sides and small bat wings along the top with a matching pair of wine red thigh high stockings.
With her trusty cape pinned to her shoulders, Ruby smoothed out the imaginary crinkles one last time before marching off into the courtyard in search of the odd pair. Making her way into the middle, Ruby slumped slightly when she realised that she didn't actually know where the pair was.
"Ruby!" Turning at the call of her name, Ruby saw all of Team CFVY walking towards her, Velvet waving at her as she walked.
"Looking good there, kid. I knew you'd pull it off great." Coco commented, nodding towards her outfit. Ruby only grumbled slightly at having to wear the heels with it but knew that she may be in a situation where she's wearing heels and will need to fight and knowing how to at the very least walk in them for now, would be best.
"So, what are you doing out here looking so slumpy?" Velvet asked, giving her a side hug as soon as she was close enough.
"I was actually looking for a couple of friends, except I'm not really sure where to start. I kind of blew up at them yesterday and wanted to apologise."
"I saw the black haired and the orange haired one heading for the student kitchens if you wanted to ask them?"
"Really?" Ruby perked up, looking up to Yatsuhashi who had voiced the thought. "The loud and the quiet one? Which kitchen were they headed to?"
Yatsuhashi just pointed back in the direction of her dorm building. "They came from the cafeteria, but I saw them going back to the first-year dorms. I think one of them said that she wanted pancakes."
Turning to look back at the building, Ruby nodded, leaning and jumping up to give each of them a kiss on their cheeks before she dashed off back to her dorm building in hopes of finding her friends in the large kitchen, sending back a quick thank you as she ran.
Coco grinned as she watched the younger girl run off, admiring how well she's gotten used to running in the heels before walking off, the rest of her team following. They didn't really have anything to do that day, so they were just going to head down to the city for a bit, although now that she's seen how well Ruby pulled off the outfits she found for her, Coco may just have to go and buy some more. "Hmmm."
Poking her head around the corner of the main kitchen, Ruby breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that both teens were there, Ren standing at the stove flipping pancakes while Nora babbled at the island in the middle. Walking into the room slowly, Ruby cringed at the way both teens heads snapped in her direction at the sound of her heels on the tiles. "Ummm, hi?"
"Ruby!" And once again, the young teen was tackled in a ferocious hug, Ruby only just able to brace herself before they both fell to the floor.
"Nora?"
"We were so worried about you!" Nora shouted, pulling back slightly to give the girl a once over, checking that she was still fine before squishing her back against her chest. "Don't you ever do that to us again."
Ruby slumped at those words, she knew that they'd be upset with her. "I'm really sorry guys, I didn't mean to blow up like that and I didn't mean to hurt or scare you. I can usually handle it differently and I promise I won't ever do that around you guys again, I swear."
"What?" Pulling back again, Nora looked down to see the younger girl slumping down into herself, her head bowed. "Oooooh, you thought I was talking about the weird light." The older teen nodded before reaching up to pat at the hooded girls head lightly. "No silly, I was talking about how you suddenly passed out in the forest. The weird light thing was odd but kind of cool."
"What? But I thought… You shouldn't be… you think it's cool?" Was all Ruby could really get out, confused at what the older girl was saying. "Why would you think it was cool? I could have blown you away. If we were by the cliffs, I could have pushed you right off!"
"Well, yeah." Nora agreed, ruffling the hair beneath her hand. "But we weren't, and you didn't, and we didn't fall out of the tree, so all is well." She claimed with a smile.
"But- but you…"
"What matters now is that we are all safe, and you are awake." Ren said, noticing the fish like face the younger girl was sporting. "Would you like some pancakes?"
"Ummm… yes?" Ruby answered, hesitantly moving towards the island, not sure what to make of the situation. Sure, nobody who had learned about her powers had reacted too bad, but that didn't mean that no one would, and Ruby was always waiting for the person who would scream and run in terror.
"Come on." Nora said, already sitting at the island again, not so patiently waiting for her pancakes. "I'll even share mine."
Ruby smiled slightly at the offer, moving a bit more confidently towards the chairs before she caught the shocked look Ren sent her way. "What?"
"Nothing much." Ren dismissed with a slight shake of his head. "Nora just doesn't usually share her pancakes, is all."
"Oh, well, if you don't have enough I can just go grab something else…"
"Don't be silly. I can spare a couple of silly pancakes. Plus, I don't think you've eaten since the plain sandwich you had at lunch yesterday and it's already past lunch today, I think you need them more than me."
"You sure…? I don't want to be taking your food…" Ruby asked, looking down at the counter before her.
"It's fine. I always make extras in case she decides she could eat a dragon worth of them." Ren explained, spinning away from the stove with two plates of pancakes, one stack significantly higher than the other one and placing the smaller stack in front of the hooded girl with a quick wink, finally getting a small giggle out of her. Ren smiled to himself as he turned back to the stove to cook another load of the fluffy food, knowing that it only took a couple of minutes at most for Nora to demolish the giant stack he had set in front of her.
Ruby chuckled slightly at the mental image of a giant Nora snacking on a dinosaur sized pancake before she dug into her own plate, just the smell of the food making her stomach grumble with the sudden reminder that she really hadn't eaten in just over 24 hrs.
The kitchen was quiet for a couple of minutes while the two girls ate, Ren fluidly working at the stove when Nora broke the quiet. "So, what was that light? And what was with the wind? I thought your Semblance was speed or something."
Ruby's head shot up at the questions before she lowered it in thought. She knew they deserved an explanation, but she wasn't sure how they were going to take it. "Well, to start with, my Semblance isn't speed, it's turning into petals, I can just use one to make the other and I'd prefer it if we could talk about the other thing in a more private area if you guys don't mind. I don't actually want anyone to know about it…"
"That's cool. I don't really know anywhere that is private besides our dorms though. Would they work?" Nora asked, shoving her last pancake in her mouth, only to be greeted with the sight of Ren carrying another stack over.
"Not really. If either of our teammates are in, then we can't use them, and I don't want them to even know that I'm trying to tell you guys stuff." Ruby sighed, leaning back in her chair as she thought over places that would be safe for her to talk about her power.
Ren and Nora shared a surprised look before they both shrugged and moved back to what they were doing. If it was that much of a secret, they could respect that, but they still didn't know where in the academy they could talk, they had only been there for one week.
Moving back to the stove, Ren started cleaning up, having cooked all the pancake batter and was getting started on his dishes when he heard an annoyed groan and what sounded like a head hitting the table. Looking back, Ren could only watch as Ruby repeatedly thumped her head on the counter top, groaning and mumbling about someone stupid or something. Glancing at Nora with a quirked eyebrow, he only got a confused shrug in response before she slowly reached over to poke the girl in the shoulder.
"I really don't think you should keep doing that… Your gonna start hurting your head." Nora said, a worried frown painted on her face. She couldn't quite hear what the girl was saying but she knew by the tone that she was not happy.
"It's fine. I have enough Aura to not even leave a bump." Ruby sighed as she slumped back in her chair. "I do know a place that we could go to talk, but I don't really want to go their because that would mean that I'd have to talk to the stupid man and I don't want to do that. Yet. I mean, I know I'll have to at some point but still. I practically just threw a tantrum in the forest and I just don't want to see him. Ugh."
"Is there anywhere else, that would guarantee privacy though? To the extent that you want?" Ren asked, finishing quickly with his dishes and reaching over to swipe both plates and cutlery from the bench, quickly turning to back to wash them before putting them in the drying rack and emptying the sink.
"Not really, no." Ruby sighed, sliding down the stool. "And he already knows about all this, so it would really matter if he was there or not, I just don't want to see him."
"And who is this mysterious 'him'?" Nora asked, leaning over her chair, pushing her face right into Ruby's. "Is it one of the guys you were yelling about yesterday?"
At Ruby's shocked blush, Nora pumped a fist in victory before jumping off her chair to stand next to the shorter girl. "So, who is it? Is it someone in our year? Wait, that wouldn't make sense, you don't know anyone from our year. Is I someone from the years above us? No, that wouldn't make sense either. Is it a teacher? That doesn't make any sense either. Are we even staying on the academy grounds? That makes more sense, we're going into the city."
"Nora, you have to let her answer if you want a response." Ren chided as he moved around the counter to stand next to his partner. "Though I am curious too."
"This is going to make things so awkward, but I really can't think of any other option right now…" Sighed Ruby as she too stood, pushing her chair in before she turned to the curious pair beside her. "We will be going to the Headmasters office to talk."
Not bothering to see their reactions, Ruby turned on her heel and quickly walked away, straight out of the dorm building and towards Ozpins office in the tower.
The older teens could watch as Ruby walked out the door, both shocked at the recent discovery they had made about the younger girl. "So, Ruby knows the Headmaster so well that she can use his office for person talks whenever she likes." Ren tried to rationalise.
"Are you kidding me?! That is not what that means. That means that one of the two guys she was freaking out about yesterday is the Headmaster. She doesn't just know him well, she loves him." Nora corrected, jumping in front of her still shocked partner. Not hearing the sound of Ruby's boots on the floor anymore, Nora looked around quickly. "And she's already gone. We have to go."
Ruby didn't pay any mind to the other people around her, ignoring any looks she was getting in favour of walking as quickly as she could to the tower. Hearing Nora shouting for her to wait up, Ruby paused slightly and looked back to see the orange haired girl dragging a stumbling Ren behind her as she ran through the courtyard. She watched as the pair finally reached her, Nora bouncing happily on her toes while Ren tried to straighten out his clothes. "You okay?"
"Fine. She does that a lot."
"I can't believe that you know the Headmaster." Nora half whispered. "Is that a secret, too?"
"Yes, I know him. Yes, it's a secret. No, you can't tell anyone else." Ruby replied, sending a half glare at the partnered pair. The glare didn't hold long in the face of Nora's grin and Ren's steady nod, instead she nodded and continued on walking as a thought came to her. "I should probably call ahead though, just to make sure Goodwitch isn't there or something…"
Ignoring the obvious looks Nora was sending her, Ruby pulled out her Scroll and speed dialled his number mumbling to herself the whole way. "I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this…"
"Ruby?" Ozpins surprised voice asked, having spoken to Qrow, he wasn't expecting to see her at all for a few days, let alone calling.
"Hi… Can I borrow your office for an hour? I need the privacy and couldn't think of anywhere better." Ruby sighed, looking skyward which was a mistake because it just pointed her gaze straight onto Ozpins windows.
"Of course. Nobody's up here and nobody should be for a while." He responded, looking down into the courtyard, not really expecting to see her down bellow and was surprised to see her and two others walking towards the base of the tower. "Did you want me to stay or leave?"
Ruby thought for a moment, debating if she really wanted to try and deal with him but decided that if she was going to be using his office, she should probably talk to him. "You can stay." She finally sighed.
"Okay. I'll see you soon."
"Yeah." She said, moving to hang up before she stopped. "Hey Oz?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you." And with that she hung up, pocketing her Scroll and again ignoring the way Nora was mouthing 'Oz' to her partner.
Walking into the tower, Ruby happily greeted Delilah at her desk before walking around the side of the elevators to the staircase door. Not hearing their steps behind her anymore, Ruby looked back to see them standing in the middle of the foyer giving her a weird look, Nora pointing towards the elevators. Ruby just shook her head and crooked her finger at them, nodding her head to the doorway in front of her before walking through it beginning the climb up.
Looking up to her partner with a confused look only for Ren to shrug, Nora did the same as she walked over to the door and through it, surprised to see a staircase. "Woah." Her voice echoed up, bouncing off the walls in the limited space available.
Hearing Nora's whispered awe, Ruby stuck her head out over the railing from 10 floors above them, quirking an eyebrow at them. "Hurry up, we have to get to the top to get to Ozpins office and if your just gonna stand there and gawk, we'll never get there."
Hearing them finally start their way up the stairs, Ruby listened as Nora asked about the stairs, Ren explaining that they were most likely emergency stairs and connected to each floor before wondering how nobody else knew about them.
Ruby just smiled before using her Semblance and floating up to the top, reforming in front of the door, listening out for the other two who were still many floors below her. Taking a deep breath and flattening out the non-existent wrinkles in her skirt before knocking gently on the door in front of her and opening it gently.
Hearing the knock on his door, Ozpin was shocked. Never had Ruby knocked on any of his doors since the first year she started visiting, she had always known that she was perfectly welcome in his office.
"Ruby?" He called as she slowly walked into the space. It wasn't meant to be a question but at the way she was looking to the floor and the way she was nervously wringing her hands, he was a little bit worried. She hadn't been this anxious around him in ages.
"Hey Ozpin." Ruby whispered, not quite sure how to go about talking to him. "I, ummm, I brought Ren and Nora with me. I needed to talk to them and this was the only place I could think of that would be safe…"
Standing up, Ozpin made his way around his desk to stand just before the shuffling girl with a gentle, almost sad smile. "It's fine Ruby, your always welcome up here, you know that. This about what happened yesterday, isn't it?"
Ruby winced and ducked her head down, nodding but not wanting to look at him. Hearing him sigh, Ruby cringed and started fidgeting with the ends of her cape, not really sure what to say. She had expected him to move back, maybe even go back to his desk when she heard his feet shuffling but when his black shoes suddenly came into her line of sight on the floor before her, she snapped her head to look up the silver haired man, who just swept forwards to pull her in a tight hug.
Feeling Ruby start to shake slightly in his arms, Ozpin ducked his head to rest his cheek on her head, breathing in the subtle scent of roses. "I talked with Qrow last night." He started and had to tighten his arms slightly when she made a move to step away. "He called me, worried about what happened with you. He explained what most likely happened and said that you'd try to avoid me for a few days, at least so what ever you need to talk about must be extremely important. The only thing I'm worried about is you. Are you okay?"
Slumping into his arms after trying for a couple of seconds to get away, Ruby just nodded, rubbing her forehead against his chest. "Mm' fine" She mumbled, not really bothered to elaborate. She felt him nod in response before he released her, nodding to the door that was about to open.
"I do believe your friends are here now."
Ruby just nodded in agreement and watched as Nora jumped into the room, the door banging against the wall as she slammed it and Ren walking in calmly after her, gently closing the door behind him.
"Hello Professor Ozpin, thank you for letting us use your office.
"Miss Valkyrie, Mister Ren, a pleasure to see you both." Ozpin greeted, stepping back to his chair. "Feel free to use the sitting area, I'll just be here if you need anything."
Ruby flicked him a quick smile as she lead both teens over to the sofas, Nora sending her quirked eyebrows as she looked back and forth between the silver eyed girl and the silver haired man. "Nora, cut it out."
"Aww dang it." Nora pouted, flopping down onto the two-seater, moving over slightly to let Ren sit next to her. "So, I have a looooooot of questions."
"I'm sure you do."
"And I want answers to all of them."
"I'll try my best."
"Cool. So, what was the light? Why were you crying? What are those weapons? Where did you get them from? Are you magic? Can you fly? What does your weird light thing do? Can you kill people? Can I kill people? Wait, not important. How did you get up hear so fast? How do you know the Headmaster? Are you friends? Is he what you were crying about? Can I break his legs?..." And on she rambled, losing Ruby somewhere not long after that.
Cutting the older girl off, Ruby moved to answer as best she could the many questions asked. And so, set the mood for the next hour, all three teens sitting in Ozpins office as Ruby tried to explain as best she could what her powers were, and that so far, they hadn't hurt anyone so far unless they fell over in the wind surrounding her. Some of the questions she didn't know how to answer, like if she was magic. She assumed so but really that was just a speculation based off the fact that it wasn't related at all to her Aura or her Semblance. And then there were questions that she didn't want to answer, like the ones about Ozpin and if he was what she was crying over.
Ruby purposely avoided looking over in his direction for the whole of their conversation, skipping entirely over the questions about her crying in the forest, until Nora repeated a question she hadn't covered. "So, can you kill people with your weird eye power thing?"
Ruby had to think over it for a few seconds, looking back at all the situations where there wee people involved in the same area that she had used her power. Besides what she said earlier about the wind, nobody had ever been even hurt by her power, so she assumed not, but Ruby knew what would happen when she assumed something.
Begrudgingly looking over to the silver haired man, Ruby called out to him slightly, knowing full well that he had been listening to the whole conversation anyway. "I think you'd know more than I would about this…"
"That is true." He agreed, standing from his desk and moving towards the teens slowly. The information Ruby was asking for was rather sensitive and he wasn't sure that he really wanted to be giving it out to the two older teens.
Sitting himself down on an armchair across from them all, Ozpin spoke. "As far as anyone knows, the Silver Eyed Warriors have only ever been able to physically harm four people with their power."
"Why do I sense capitals?" Nora whispered as she leant over to her partner.
Ozpin just smiled and shrugged as he watched but straightened again when the bubbly orange haired girl turned towards him with a rather serious face.
"I think my most important question though is, are these four-people dead or are they too reincarnated or something?"
"Why do ask?" Ozpin inquired. It wasn't usual for anyone to think that maybe there were people who were reincarnated.
"I want to know because if there is only four people in the world she can hurt, then there is four people in the world who could be coming to make sure she can't, and I need to know if they will be, to be able to protect her." Nora responded, not an ounce of humour anywhere on her face. She was dead serious, and she wanted an answer.
Looking from Nora to Ren, Ruby noticed that they both shared the same look; one that said that not even a dragon Grimm could stop them from trying to protect her, let alone one little Headmaster. "You guys…."
"Yes-"
"No." She firmly stated, cutting Ozpin off but not caring. "No. I don't care if they are or aren't alive, you two are not getting involved. I can not let you two get yourselves into a mess like this."
"But Ruby-"
"No, Nora. This isn't a game, or even just a small little thing that you can just join if you want. This is huge, and I won't allow anyone, especially not friends to be put in this kind of danger." Ruby said, her voice monotone as she spoke, knowing that getting angry would do nobody any good.
"We're your friends?" Nora asked, a small gentle smile stretching across her lips as she shuffled forwards in her seat, trying to get closer to the girl.
Ruby was shocked by the question, it was random but looking into the older girls smiling face, Ruby could only offer a sad smile in return. "Yes, you both are. Or at least, I'd like you to be, but I just can't let you do this to yourselves. People have died, guys. Genuine people that I care about have died and are going to die because of my stupid eyes and the further away from me you are, the better."
Nora watched as Ruby's head bowed, her hair falling down to cover her face and her shoulders shaking slightly. Glancing over to Ren, she quirked a smile before she hopped up and around the coffee table sitting between them, flopping down right next to Ruby. Reaching around, Nora gently grasped the shaking shoulders and pulled her into a side hug, Nora pulling her as close as she could. "Ruby, you may want to protect us, but we want to protect you. And that means we can't let you go on alone. We've done that before, and sometimes the best people to help are your friends."
"No, if I let anyone else in then your just going to get hurt, and I couldn't stand it if you got hurt." Ruby said, chocking slightly on the small gasps of air she was getting, her throat tightening as she tried to hold back tears.
"Ruby." Nora cooed gently, slowly starting to rock the girl in her arms as she felt arms wrap around her waist in almost death like grip. The younger girl was shaking and shuddering, but her grip was strong, clearly trying to make sure the older girl wouldn't leave. "People get hurt all the time, and sometimes people get hurt badly, but I would rather get hurt knowing what was happening and protecting you than anything else."
"She's right. Nora and I have been alone for most our lives, Ruby, we've only ever had each other. Let us have you too and we can promise that we will fight by your side, always." Ren said as he too moved and sat on Ruby's other side, reaching over to wrap an arm around both girls' shoulders. Idly, he noticed when the Headmaster quietly stood and left through the same door that they'd come in but ignored it in favour of Ruby and Nora.
Ruby started to shake her head when she felt Nora gently kissing her hair, a sign of affection that she hadn't felt in long time that wasn't from Qrow. Slumping in the older girls arms, Ruby thought about what they were saying. She could continue to deny them, pushing them away and only having a somewhat awkward relationship with them as she had denied them the kind of friendship that she so deeply craved, or she could let them in. She could let them be the friends that she could go to whenever she needed someone to understand, that wasn't her sister.
"What would you do if I kept on saying no?" Ruby asked, her voice muffled in Nora's shoulder but clearly curious.
"I would keep following you anyway. We've already decided that we'll follow you wherever you go, Ruby." Nora responded with slight cheer, Ren just humming his agreement.
"So, it doesn't matter if I decide to try and run off on my own, you'll always come with me?"
"Always." Ren promised, his voice kind and gentle as he shared a smile with Nora.
"But what about when we graduate? You have Team JNPR, you can't just leave them." Ruby tried to argue.
"Not all teams stay together after they graduate." Ren said, giving the snuggled girl a pointed look. "And I do believe that's what you were going to do anyway though, wasn't it? Leave your team once you graduate so that you can go off and not endanger anyone?"
Ruby cringed slightly when she realised the truth in that statement. "Yeah…" She sighed. "Fine, you can follow me to the ends of the earth and possibly your early deaths."
"Considering our choice in profession, I think any death we have will be early." Ren said, a small grin quirking at his lips as he listened to Ruby's dry tone.
Ruby huffed a small laugh at that, pulling back slightly from Nora to give the black-haired teen a dry look, to which he just chuckled. "Okay, I guess. I don't really understand why you would want to follow me and my dangerous adventures, but you are free to do so."
"Why thank you oh kind one. We are forever in your debt." Nora mockingly bowed and grinned when she got a laugh from the younger girl. It was nice to see her smile again, that hadn't really happened for a few days and it was odd, but Nora did need to clarify something for the younger girl. "Look Ruby, at some point yesterday Ren and I agreed that you don't deserve to be alone. Ever. And we plan to be the people that make sure you aren't."
"The never ending 'Little Sister' role, huh?" Ruby sighed.
"No." Ren argued, causing Ruby to turn towards him with a raised brow. "As a leader. We know somehow that you can and will lead many people on many adventures if you let them, and we want to be there every step of the way. Not to make sure that you are safe and protected and held back from all the possibilities you could explore, but to have your back on each mission you choose."
Ruby looked back to her lap in thought, mindlessly pulling at the edge of her cape again. "I've never thought of anything like that… I always thought that once I graduated from Beacon I would go off and hunt down who ever it is that is threatening my family and the innocent people of Remnant. I never thought that there would be anybody beside me on my journey." Looking back up and smiling at each of them on either side, Ruby leaned over and gave them both a hug each. "Thank you."
Ren and Nora smiled at each other again, pleased to have finally gotten through to the girl and were going to respond when the sound of a Scroll ringing cut through the air.
"Bah! That's probably Qrow! Crap, crap, crap." Ruby jumped from the sofa, quickly digging out her Scroll and holding in front of her, a slightly apprehensive look on her face. Ruby let it ring a couple of times before calming slightly. Taking a deep breath, Ruby finally answered, her response making all three teens cringe as they heard the obviously fake cheery tone she put on. "Hey Qrow!"
"Ruby." And just like that, the flat tone and the entirely unimpressed way he said her name and she was flopping back into one of the other sofas with a huff.
"Yeah, okay…"
"I'd say I heard what happened, but I didn't, I had to tell Ozpin what happened." Ruby cringed at that. He was away for not even one night and she already had a slight melt down. "I did though, feel it, which is impressive considering how far out I am, so I'm only gonna ask this; are you okay?"
"Yeah," Ruby sighed, the tiniest of smiles growing on her face when she heard his voice. She loved his voice, a lot. "I'm fine. There was a couple of friends who were with me at the time and carried me back to the dorm. I only woke up about two hours ago and I've been trying to explain what happened to them and for some odd reason they've decided to join me on my quest of loneliness."
"Quest of Loneliness?"
"Why do I hear capitals?"
"Because I put them there. Now the Quest of Loneliness?"
"It's what I've been calling the time after I graduate Beacon in my head." Ruby shrugged, not even bothering to react to the groan she heard from the other end. Looking over at the pair on the sofa, Ruby mimed that she'd take the call outside and stood, listening to Qrow on the other end try and explain that she wouldn't be alone.
"Not anymore." She agreed with a small smile, looking back to the sofa one last time before she closed the glass door to the balcony behind her.
Looking to each other, Ren and Nora shrugged to each other before Nora flopped back into the surprisingly soft cushions. The sofa was really comfortable for a man who looked like he only used the desk chair.
Ren took to watching Ruby through the glass as she paced around on the balcony, talking to the mysterious Qrow. He was mentioned slightly in the previous conversation they had, he had helped train her with the secret weapons and taught her how to use her Scythe but neither teen thought that the man would be as important as he appeared to be.
Ruby had been down and frowning since the moment they saw her in the kitchen, and only in the past couple of minutes had she started to smile, but not even ten words from this man and she was giggling and smiling and happy. There was an undercurrent of sadness there though, that both teens had seen when he seemed to mention the Headmaster.
Looking back to Nora, Ren noticed that she too was watching Ruby through the glass with an almost manic grin stretching across her face. "I would bet my left leg that it was both the Headmaster and this 'Crow' person are the one's she was yelling about yesterday."
Ren hummed slightly in agreement, it certainly seemed that way. "Your whole leg?"
"From the thigh down." Nora agreed, still watching as Ruby spin in a little circle with a smile on her face, the skirt flaring out around her. "I still need something to attach a prosthetic to if I'm wrong. Not that I think I am. Because I'm totally not. I can totally see it too. Ruby seems to know the Headmaster quite well and he is a rather attractive man, I guess."
"I agree that this 'Crow' person is one of them and maybe the Headmaster too, but I don't think I'd like to bet my leg on it. I quite like mine where they are." Ren responded, sending a quick quirk of the lips in Nora's direction before he went back to watching the balcony. Ruby was an entirely different person out there talking to this person, and he was hoping that she came back inside the same.
"Yeah, fair enough, you are the careful one." Nora agreed, before a thought hit her and she frowned. "You know what this means though?"
"What?"
"If I'm right – which I totally am – than the Headmaster totally made her cry yesterday." Nora said, her frown deepening as she saw Ren look at her with an identical frown.
He hmmm'd in agreement, not at all happy with the thought of Ruby being hurt by the men she appeared to love. He did not approve, she was fifteen and already had her heart broken. That was probably that sad undertone they were hearing before.
Both teens sat there for a few minutes, thinking of all the implications that statement meant. How long had she been in love with these men? Did she actually love them? Looking back out to the balcony and seeing Ruby leaning back against the railing a sweet smile painted along her lips, both teens mentally nodded. It was love.
Hearing Ruby opening the door again, what must have been about five minutes later, both teens watched as she said her final goodbyes, a small, quiet 'I love you' only just floating over to the teens.
Watching as the younger girl sighed and slumped back against the closed door, her eyes fluttering shut as a sad smile stretched across her lips, Nora grinned and jumped up, leaping over the coffee table to stand on the opposing sofa. "Ha! I knew it!"
Jostling from her lovely daydream about spending forever with her beloved Qrow, Ruby jerked back in fright, hitting her head against the door behind her. "Ow… Nora. What was that for?"
"You're in lo~ve." Her grin was terrifying, and Ruby was rightfully afraid of going back to that side of the room.
"I- I'm… no it's not…"
"Yeah you are, and I want to know all about it." Nora said, a bit gentler as she slowly coaxed the girl back to the sofas. "So, I've heard about this 'Crow' person, and you just got off a call with him with a love-sick face on, so I want to know everything."
"I can hear the 'c'." Ruby said, sitting down gently back in her spot between the two older teens. At the odd look from Nora she elaborated. "Qrow is spelt with a 'q' not a 'c'. And yes, I love him, and no, he doesn't love me. He never will, not in the way I want…"
"Well, you never know these days, he might." Nora tried, mostly to see if her theory was correct.
"No, he won't. To start with, he's technically my honorary uncle. He's Yang's uncle by blood but everyone thinks he's mine too by default. He'll never see me the way I want him to, I'm just his kid niece who never stopped following him around." Ruby sighed. It was a sad but honest truth that she had come to years ago.
She was young, yes, but she wasn't stupid, and she knew that Qrow had so many more years of experience in everything on her. He was an experienced Hunter who had seen the worst of the worst of the world and still decides to go back out, and, to Ruby's utter disappointment and embarrassment sometimes, she would never be able to satisfy him or fill his needs.
Ruby knew that Qrow had a type when it come to the women he liked to bed, and Ruby was not it. He liked girls who were flirty and pretty and usually a bit closer to his age and knew that one night was all he could offer. They fawned over him and his manliness and loved the fact that he was a brave and stupidly good looking rugged Hunter. That, and he liked them tall, which Ruby was definitely not.
Ruby was a short and socially awkward 15-year-old. She was blessed with good skin but didn't care for make up or making herself look pretty, although she was very partial to skirts and sometimes liked to look cute. She also understood what being a Hunter was like for him and didn't like to make a big deal out of all his missions, not anymore at least. She saw his nightmares and the glazed over look in his eye whenever he came back from a bad mission. Ruby respected his dedication and trained harder than anyone else to be the best she could possibly be. She wasn't ever going to be the kind of girl Qrow liked, and as depressing the thought was, she at least knew that he still had Ozpin, the only man in his life that could ever measure up to something they could both call a life partner.
"And the second?" Nora wondered softly, still trying to get to her point but realising that maybe it would actually hurt the girl to try and say it out loud. Ruby had just spent the last minute lost deep in thought and was a little worried when a wry, almost self-depreciating smile grew on her lips before a softer one replaced it.
"He's got someone already and doesn't need me butting in." Ruby responded her self-depreciating smile back along with a matching tone. "You know this already though, don't you? Considering I'm fairly certain you were close enough to hear me yelling yesterday."
"Yeah, we were. I just wanted to double check." Nora admitted, not even bothering to be the slightest bit bashful. "I do have to ask though, from what we heard yesterday, there was two people you loved, and they were both together…"
"That didn't sound like a question, Nora. And by your tone, I'm guessing you already know the answer your looking for, don't you?" Ruby responded, leaning back into the cushions but still looking at the orange haired girl from the corner of her eye. At Nora's nod and expectant look Ruby sighed. "You want me to say it out loud. As though that could make it different somehow… I am in love with Ozpin, the Headmaster of this academy and one of my first friends ever. And yes, just to clarify, I am in love with Qrow, my first and greatest love and yes, they are both together and terribly in love with each other. And no, I will never do anything that could ever possibly get between their relationship, they deserve each other so much and I'm just glad that they have each other. I could never risk them or their happiness."
"Even at the cost of your own?" Ren asked, noting the strong sense of conviction he could hear in her voice. It was admirable to be so selfless, but he was worried about her. Her heart must be utterly broken.
"Especially at the cost of my own." Ruby replied, leaning back to stare at the clockwork above them. "You know, for so long I've thought that I would always be alone. Once I was done with school, I would go off and people would stop having to worry about me. Qrow could finally be with Ozpin, Ozpin could finally be with Qrow. Yang could go off and be the thrill seeker she's always been, and dad could go back to doing what ever he wanted to do. My happiness was never something to be considered when I planned it all out. I needed to finish my mission and the only way I thought I could do that was by going it alone and letting everybody be happy doing what they want, finally not having to be around to look after me."
Looking back to the two teens and their very worried expressions, Ruby smiled up at them, her face practically glowing. "But I don't have to be alone anymore, right?"
Beaming at the smaller girl, Nora jumped on her, suffocating her with a hug. She was just so glad that Ruby didn't feel like she had to be alone anymore, it meant that she had completely accepted that they were going to follow her to the ends of the earth and that she'd never leave them behind.
Ruby didn't even struggle under the weight of the older girl, happily snuggling into her chest as she was smothered, lightly laughing at the comical sight they must provide to the chuckling Ren.
Life in that moment was perfect for the young teen, and despite the fact that she would never have her love returned from the two it mattered most, she knew that she was still loved, and wouldn't have to be alone.