Just an idea that has been bouncing around in my head for a while, since I felt like it was unfair for Ruby to get pushed out of talking to Yang and Weiss like that when she's been trying so hard to help. Set in volume 5, right after Yang and Weiss reunite with Ruby. Enjoy!
Steam is pouring off the surface of the scalding water in the sink, but Ruby hardly even notices the heat as she plunges a dish into the water and starts to scrub furiously. She's using far more force than necessary to clear the remnants of dinner off the plate she's holding, but again, she barely notices. Her mind is too focused on the events of the day, especially the conversation she'd overheard between Yang and Weiss.
Yang snapping at her had stung, but Ruby has known her sister long enough to not be surprised when her sister's temper flares. Sure, some small, selfish part of her might be tired of getting yelled at by her sister when she's only trying to help, but she'll get over it. It's fine.
No, what's not fine is having her sister shove her away and refuse to tell her what's wrong, only to hear her break down and explain everything to Weiss. And it wasn't just that Ruby had just had bad timing—Yang had snapped at Weiss when she'd knocked on the door, assuming that the other girl was Ruby and insisting that she still didn't want to talk.
But despite her insistence, her sister had been more honest with Weiss than Ruby has even seen her—than her sister has ever been with her. Maybe it's silly, but deep down, that really hurts.
And really, Ruby is being selfish. She should be happy, really, to see Yang and Weiss bonding. They've always been the two members of team RWBY that hadn't gotten along so well. It's nice to see that they've gotten closer.
But it still hurts, to know that after all her efforts to reach out and be a good friend and a reliable leader and partner, that Weiss still won't come to her when she's having problems like this. And to know that despite how much time has passed and how much Ruby tries to prove herself, her sister still insists on pushing her away and putting up a façade in front of her.
She sets down the now-very clean plate with more force than necessary. It thuds loudly as it collides with the countertop. Whoops. She grabs a half-full glass, dumping its remaining contents in the sink and prepares to scrub it as well.
The glass shatters in her hand. Ruby blinks in surprise. She must have been gripping it too tightly, and now it's been reduced to a pile of glass shards at her feet. Blood trickles down her thumb; she must have been nicked by one of the broken pieces. She sticks the injured finger in her mouth and crouches to pick up the mess. She'd better clean this up and quickly finish the rest of the dishes so she can get to bed.
It's been a long day. She hadn't slept well last night, after all the excitement of Yang and Weiss' return, and she'd woken up way too early. She'll feel better after she gets some rest.
Unfortunately, she doesn't feel any better in the morning. She sleeps badly, interrupted by the now-usual nightmares about the Fall of Beacon, and once again finds herself waking with the sunrise, unable to fall back asleep. She hopes that this isn't the start of a new routine.
But with the threat of Salem on the horizon, there's no time for breaks or excuses. So, Ruby pushes her exhaustion aside and drinks several cups of coffee in an attempt to feel more awake before heading to the dojo to join the others for training.
The coffee doesn't help. The caffeine just leaves her feeling jittery, without even making so much as a dent in her exhaustion. Bummer. Still, Ruby didn't come this far just to let her friends down.
She volunteers to spar first, hoping that she'll feel a little better once she gets moving, and finds herself facing off against Jaune, their friends watching eagerly from the sidelines. She shakes her head to clear it, before getting into a proper fighting stance, fists at the ready.
It still feels strange, fighting without Crescent Rose.
Jaune ends up making the first move, and they quickly fall into their usual routine, trading blows as they make their way back and forth across the floor of the training room. Yang and Nora cheer loudly for their respective teammates, but Ruby does her best to ignore the distraction and focus on maintaining a good hand to hand technique.
Everything seems to be going well, and Ruby has just spotted an opening and is preparing to move in when Jaune abruptly lunges forward, sweeping her legs out from under her and sending her crashing to the ground. She curses under her breath and attempts to struggle to her feet, glancing up at Jaune to see how much time she has to recover.
And for a moment, it's not Jaune standing over her, but Mercury, taunting her and preventing her from helping Pyrrha and Penny. Mingled terror and fury fills her veins.
"Leave me alone!" she shrieks, lunging to her feet. With one swift move, she shoves him and sends him stumbling back. Good.
"Ruby?" Mercury says, but his voice doesn't sound quite right. She blinks, freezing in place, and suddenly Mercury is replaced with Jaune. The blonde is frowning at her, eyes narrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"
"I—" Ruby feels like she's been knocked off her feet again, like the world around her is unsteady. It's obvious that Mercury isn't here, he never was, but it had felt so real. "I'm fine," she replies weakly.
She wishes that everyone would stop staring at her. It feels like the walls are closing in around her.
"Are you sure?" The question makes Ruby jump, even though Weiss' voice is quiet. Her partner looks—afraid. Whether it's for Ruby—or of her—she can't be sure. Beside her, Nora is looking at Ruby with wide eyes, and Yang opens her mouth to say something—
It's too much. It's all just too much. She can't be here right now. Before her friends can say anything else, Ruby summons her semblance, vanishing in a cloud of rose petals.
She doesn't stop running until she's back in her room. She just—she needs to be alone right now. She ignores the cloud of rose petals fluttering around her feet as she rematerializes, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She even shoves a chair in front of it for good measure, before diving into bed and curling into a tiny ball, pulling the blankets over her head as if they can somehow shield her from what just happened.
Hopefully, the others will take the hint and just leave her alone for a bit. She just needs a few minutes to get herself under control, figure out what happened, without everyone staring at her like she's some kind of zoo animal.
After all, they're always so intent on making sure that she gives them space when they're upset. Surely, they'll be willing to do the same for her.
And anyway, she doesn't even need to talk about it, she's totally fine, really. It's only been a few minutes and already her breathing is starting to slow down. She's not shaking anymore. A few more minutes and she'll be ready to go face the others, reassure them that she's okay, that they don't need to worry—
Her train of thought is interrupted by a loud bang.
Someone is knocking loudly on the door. Very loudly. So much for giving her space.
"Ruby!" her sister demands. "Open up!"
Ruby's sigh is smothered by the blankets. She debates ignoring Yang, staying silent and pretending not to hear her sister.
"Ruby?" Weiss' voice is softer, more hesitant. "Are you okay? We were worried about you, after what happened earlier."
She sighs again. Great. They both came after her. She better respond before either Yang breaks down the door or everyone else comes to check on her. Or both.
"I'm fine, guys."
Her sister snorts. "C'mon, Ruby, none of us are going to buy that right now. We all saw how you freaked out back there."
"You looked like you saw a ghost," Weiss says gently. "I know it's hard, but can you try to tell us what happened?"
It's a nice idea, but difficult to go along with when Ruby herself isn't sure what happened. And she really doesn't want to talk to anyone right now. So, she reuses the line that Yang tried to use on her yesterday. "I really don't want to talk about it right now."
"Well, that's too bad," Yang retorts. Ruby can hear her shifting impatiently on the other side of the door. "You can't keep bottling this stuff up and not telling anyone."
Ruby almost laughs at the hypocrisy, except that she doesn't really feel up to laughing right now.
"You know that you can talk to us about anything, right, Ruby?"
Ruby wishes that she could believe what Weiss is saying. But if she's being honest? She's really not so sure. It's not like they were willing to talk about her about their problems before, so why should she trust them to listen to her when she wants to talk about things that are bothering her? Especially when it's something as weird as this.
"Ruby?" Weiss asks again. She sounds almost like she's pleading.
"No," Ruby murmurs quietly. Once again, the sound is lost in the mountain of blankets surrounding her.
"Sorry, Ruby, I didn't catch that," Weiss replies. She and Yang are being surprisingly patient.
She clears her throat. "No," she says again, loud enough for her teammates to hear this time. "I don't know that."
There's a pause. "You don't know what?" Yang asks, sounding confused.
"I don't know that I can talk to you guys about anything."
The statement hangs in the air for a moment. It feels strange, heavy, to have said it out loud.
Yang scoffs again, breaking the silence that's fallen over the three of them. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Ruby sighs quietly. Now that she's said it out loud, she feels vulnerable. She wishes that she could take it back, but she doubts that the other girls will let her turn back now. "It means that I have a hard time believing that I can come to with my problems when you guys refuse to come to me with yours!"
She can hear Weiss gasp, as if startled. "Ruby, we don't—"
"Yes, you do!" Ruby quickly cuts off her denial. "I overheard what you guys said yesterday. Do you know how much it hurts to see your friends hurting and to not be able to do anything about it? To be constantly shoved away and snapped at when you're just trying to help?"
Now that she's started talking, it's like she's on a roll.
"Ruby, we didn't mean it like that," Yang says hastily.
"You guys think that I don't get lonely? I just crossed an entire continent without my teammates! I spent the whole time worrying about you guys and hoping that you'd be okay and missing you, and then I finally get you back and you still won't tell me anything! How am I supposed to trust you and talk to you about things when you won't do the same for me?"
Once again, silence descends over the three of them. This time, it feels more thoughtful than hurt though.
Surprisingly, Yang is the first one to speak up. "Ruby, I'm sorry. I promise that I wasn't trying to make you feel that way." He sister pauses, chuckling softly. "I guess that, even after all these years, even though you don't really need me to, I'm still trying to be strong for my baby sister. But you're not a baby anymore."
"And I'm sorry, Ruby." Weiss takes a deep breath. "I guess after going back home, I got used to being alone all over again. But I'm not trapped there anymore. And I'm not alone anymore. I have you guys with me. Both of you."
"So c'mon, Rubes, please open the door. We're worried about you."
"I might have convinced Ren to make some hot chocolate."
Ruby laughs quietly. "I'd like that." She throws off the covers and makes her way over to the door, moving the chair away and unlocking it. Upon opening the door, she finds her arms full of her partner and sister as they pull her in for a hug. "Thanks, guys."
Whatever happens next, at least the three of them are together again.
Now, if only Blake could be here too.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.