Again
Sometimes Ruby had fantastical dreams, like something from a fairy tale.
They took place in a world of magic and mayhem, of people with strange powers that could do practically anything. It appeared to be a world of wonder, but there was darkness as well.
It seemed like she was some kind of hero, cloaked in red, hunting and killing creatures of darkness and blood. Sometimes, she fought other people, too, with manic grins and fire and dripping poison. A figure larger than life with veins of black and a condescending smile.
Others fought by her side, standing against the darkness as well. Out of all of them, three of them stood out the most. A golden fire that punched through any obstacle. Their own personal shadow, flitting in and out of the battlefield to take out unaware targets. A steadying presence of white and blue, supporting her and the others, wherever help was needed.
Their enemies were strong, but together they were stronger.
In her dreams, she cut through everything in her path. Sometimes with a scythe, sometimes with a gun. Almost always with these three by her side. She never gave up and kept moving forward, no matter how much she wanted to crumble and fall, no matter how much it hurt as people, her allies, fell around her.
Ruby never quite knew what to make of them.
As a child, the dreams had frightened her. Sure, her being a hero and fighting monsters was cool, but there was so much sorrow, so much pain. It was unbearable.
She always ran to her sister Yang whenever one of these dreams overwhelmed her. Ruby thought about going to her parents and waking them, but it just didn't...feel right. So she'd climb into Yang's bed and let her older sister sooth her.
Especially when Yang whispered that she had dreams, too, and Ruby realized why the golden brawler in her dreams had been so familiar.
But recently, something about the dreams changed.
Ruby woke up once more with tears in her eyes. She heaved a shuddering breath before wiping the tears away and sitting up. Even then, it didn't stop the yawning gap that spread throughout her chest.
For some reason, the dreams now filled her with a deep yearning. Like something was missing. She'd woken a few times with her hand outstretched, reaching for something or someone, but she had no idea what it could be.
Ruby groaned and flopped back down. She was getting sick of this.
However, she couldn't stop her grin as soft barking preceded Zwei hopping up onto her bed. "Aw, did you sense I needed a friend?" She asked, smushing his cute dog face and giggling when he licked her cheek.
As she pet him, Ruby went over her options.
Part of her wanted to go to Yang over her worries, but at the same time, if she was being honest…
Things changed after Ruby met Yang's new girlfriend, Blake.
She wasn't sure why that would've changed anything. Blake was super nice, if a bit quiet compared to Yang's usual tastes, and always seemed to have a book on hand. Ruby really liked her and she'd never seen Yang as happy as she was now. Blake seemed to ground her a lot and she helped Ruby reign her in before things got too wild when they went out together.
Ruby was really happy for Yang.
Maybe she was just lonely. She mused on the thought as she finally got up to feed Zwei, who happily followed her to the kitchen.
It was true that it had been forever since she'd been on a date. She hadn't really done that since she and Penny had decided they were better off as friends back in high school, and though they usually would hang out, Penny had been caught up in a robotics project with her club lately.
And Yang hadn't been spending much time in their shared apartment lately, frequently out with Blake when she didn't have class or work.
That was another reason she didn't want to bring this up to Yang.
But still…
"One week." She promised herself. "I'll give it one more week to get better before I tell Yang."
Though even if she did figure this out, Ruby had a funny feeling that whatever she was reaching for was getting closer and closer.
Ruby groaned and thumped her head on the wall.
Not only had she had another dream last night, but this just had to be the week where the owner of Yang's usual gym would be on a trip.
Given that Yang currently fought MMA tournaments to earn her part of the rent, she had to keep in shape. And Ruby had fallen for her puppy eyes when her sister had asked if she could use her student pass to gain access to the university's recreation center.
Ruby knew for a fact that the community college Yang went to had a perfectly good gym for her to use, but apparently, the padding here was better for her and Nora to spar on.
Ruby sighed and slumped against the wall. Without her pass, she had to wait for Yang in the rec's lobby and waiting area, but at least Yang had agreed to give Ruby rides to and from the university in exchange for its usage. And Ruby preferred a ride on Bumblebee over the bus any day.
Besides, she didn't really use the rec center much. She'd always been more into running cross-country as well as track and field sports when it came to athletics, and she could run pretty much wherever she wanted.
She was debating whether or not to get out her headphones with how long Yang was taking when she heard the clash of metal upon metal.
Perking up, she followed the noise to one of the windows overlooking a training room. At the sight below, her eyes began to sparkle. "Whoa."
Two fencers faced off against each other in full regalia. Ruby vaguely noted a cluster of similarly dressed people standing to the side, but just like them, her eyes were trained on the fighters.
They jabbed and deflected each other's foils, dancing back and forth as they tried to get the better of each other and score a point. They were moving a lot more quickly than most fencers she'd seen before. There was something mesmerizing about their fight, but the one to Ruby's right drew her attention the most.
There was something in their stance, their movements that seemed almost familiar. As if she'd seen them before. After Ruby's chosen fencer scored a point, they briefly withdrew and as they shook off the round and readied themself for the next, Ruby knew she'd seen these fighting forms before, but how—
"Ruby!"
Ruby jerked away from the window, and turned to see her sister emerging from the closest locker room accompanied by Nora.
"Hey, have a good spar?" Ruby asked.
"It was awesome!" Nora gushed, her gestures as big as her grin. "Especially since the loser has to pay for pancakes for supper!"
"Ugh, I don't even know why I took that bet." Yang rolled her eyes. "Besides, don't you like Ren's pancakes the most?"
"Well, Ren got called in to teach yoga tonight, so he can't make me some. You," she pokes Yang in the chest, "on the other hand, have promised me some. And after that workout, I could use the carbs."
"I thought you were supposed to stock up on carbs before a workout."
"And I need them afterward to help recover from the workout."
"Whatever." Yang huffed. "Hey, Ruby, I'll pay for you, too. Wanna come with?"
"Sure!" Ruby responded now that she knew it was safe. Everyone in their friend group had learned not to get in between Yang and Nora's bantering, especially when a bet was in the works.
Yang turned to her again as they walked out of the recreation center. "By the way, what were you looking at? You seemed pretty intense."
Ruby thought back to the fencer that had caught her eye, but now she couldn't tell what had caused that sense of familiarity. "Don't worry about it."
"Oh ho, got an eye on someone!" If Ruby had been looking at her sister and friend, instead of stuck in her own thoughts, she would've noticed how the others had suddenly tensed.
"Don't be ridiculous; I just saw something kinda neat." Ruby brushed it off and instead chose to focus on what sort of pancakes she'd get instead.
Nora and Yang relaxed.
That night, for the first time, Ruby noticed that the person in white who was always by her side jabbed a rapier the same way the fencer did in order to release a burst of magic.
When she awoke, she decided that it must be a coincidence.
"Hey, I'm back!" Jaune scrambled to put his hat back on as he emerged from the break room.
Ruby laughed. It was still early afternoon, in that lull between the lunch rush and the after school/work crowd, so she hadn't been too worried about him being late. "Too busy talking to your girlfriend?" She teased.
Jaune's face erupted in red, which only confirmed her suspicions.
Pyrrha was actually super sweet, so Ruby was glad that Jaune had found someone who truly appreciated him. Jaune was nice, if sometimes a bit fumbling yet over-the-top in his affections, but Pyrrha seemed charmed by it. Ruby wasn't sure if they were officially together yet, but it was clear to anyone that they thought the world of each other.
Part of Ruby still wondered where exactly that goddess of athletics had emerged from, but apparently Yang had met her through MMA tourneys and decided she and Jaune would be a good fit. Ruby cared for Jaune, he was a beloved friend and a comrade at their jobs at the coffee shop, but she never would've thought of pairing the two together.
But somehow, it seemed to be working out.
"You going on your break?" Jaune asked, looking way too invested in the checkout's buttons, but Ruby decided to let it slide.
"Yep!" And Ruby flounced off to eat her lunch and check her scroll.
It was as she was getting to the best part of the meal, dessert, that she could hear the commotion through the door.
"Excuse me! This is not what I ordered!"
Ruby immediately tensed up.
Jaune had gained a lot of confidence since he and Pyrrha had met — he had finally started standing up for himself — but he still hated heated confrontations.
As the irate customer's voice rose higher and higher and Jaune's responding stammers became apparent, Ruby began to gather her things. She didn't want to cut her break short, but she didn't want to leave Jaune all alone when the back people wouldn't come out to help—
"What's that supposed to mean? Do you even hear how ridiculous you're being?" A new voice cut through the ruckus.
It was silent for a moment, but as Ruby leaned towards the door, she heard the conversation resume, only much quieter now and with the newcomer taking the lead. She could no longer hear the words being said, just the sharp tone of the newcomer and Jaune's more relaxed and neutral voice.
With things seeming to calm down, Ruby decided that she could probably finish her break before going out.
When Ruby left the break room, everything seemed to be back to normal. Some regulars were sitting at tables with their drinks and treats, others tapped at their laptops, no one was in line, and it didn't look as if anything had happened.
"Everything okay?" She asked tentatively as she joined him at the counter.
Jaune jolted at her words and swung to face her. "Huh?" He certainly didn't look like the anxious mess he usually was when there was a bad customer.
Ruby glanced around. "I heard…"
"Oh!" Realization lit up his eyes. "Yeah, sorry for worrying you. Luckily, someone who was in line came to my defense."
"Really?" Ruby couldn't think of anyone who'd stand up for a random barista.
"Yeah. Really cut that lady down to size and sent her packing." Jaune smiled. "I tried to offer her a free drink, but she told me she didn't need a reward for being a decent person."
"Huh." Whoever this person was, she sounded pretty great.
"Seems like that certainly hasn't changed." Jaune muttered to himself.
Ruby tilted her head in question. She wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that. It was almost like he knew that person, but in that case—
Jaune blinked rapidly. "Ah!" He smacked his forehead. "That was the perfect opportunity…"
Ruby blinked back at him. "Opportunity for what?"
"Don't worry about it." He chuckled sheepishly, slumping over the counter. "Let's just say Yang's going to be annoyed with me."
Ruby wasn't sure what Yang had to do with anything, but she shrugged it off and got back to work.
In her dreams, she heard someone calling her name.
"Thank you for joining me." Blake said as she slid into her seat.
"No problem! I don't mind getting to know my sis's girlfriend," Ruby replied, her smile widening into a grin, "especially if she's paying for it."
Blake snorts, but she still smiles back at Ruby.
In truth, Ruby was glad to have some one-on-one time with Blake. She wanted to get to know her better seeing as it really seemed like she'd be sticking around for a while.
Besides, something about Blake felt incredibly familiar. Despite how Ruby usually got nervous around new people, she'd always been at ease with Blake from the start.
"So what've you been working on in class?" Ruby leaned forward, because Blake always had some of the best stories due to all her quirky classmates. Not that Ruby could really talk, but Blake's friends were in an entirely different field.
"From my major or minor?" Blake smirked like the cat who caught the canary. It was a fair question though as the people in her environmental science major were a different brand of crazy from her literature minor.
"Environmental science!" Ruby swung her feet in anticipation, because that group was the fun kind of crazy.
"Okay, so Sun—"
The two of them spent lunch swapping stories about their classes and hobbies. Ruby really liked how attentive Blake was when she talked, and she could see how Yang found the other girl's steady nature appealing.
And before Ruby even knew it, lunch was over and Blake was getting up to settle the bill.
"I'll be right behind you!" Ruby waved her on as she struggled to get a textbook she'd gotten out to make a point back into her bag.
Blake chuckled. "Okay, don't take too long." She said as she headed to the register.
Ruby frowned down at her bag. It'd been easy enough to get the book out, so you'd think it'd be easy to get it back in.
Her efforts were interrupted by a squeal at the next table over.
"There's a new video on Snow White's channel!" A girl gushed to her friend.
"New song or…" Her companion pulled out their scroll and flipped through the apps.
The girl shook her head. "Looks like she's singing something from an opera this time."
"I heard she was actually training to sing opera." The video finally must have come up as they both leaned over it. Ruby could hear the sound of a piano playing an introduction even from where she was standing. "I wonder why she quit and decided to make a video channel instead."
"Her real name is right there. If I had a dad like hers, I'd rebel by doing the complete opposite, too."
"Wait, that guy?! They're related?! Is that why a decent chunk of her songs boil down to telling someone to go f—"
Ruby tuned them out and listened to the singer instead. Whoever it was had a voice that was clear and strong, easily hitting the heights without wavering for a second. She wasn't singing in English, but it sounded almost sad to Ruby, a lament. She didn't know much about the technicalities of music, but she knew that this person was good.
The music drew Ruby in, leaving her immobile. Part of it was the music itself, but she couldn't stand to think of this person being sad. She didn't want them to sound as heartbroken as they did in this song. It wasn't right.
"Ruby?"
Ruby blinked out of her stupor to see Blake in front of her, a worried frown gracing her face. She glanced down and saw that her book had finally slipped between the other items in her bag and she quickly zipped it up.
"Sorry 'bout that!" Ruby laughed as she swung her bag over her shoulder.
"Are...are you okay?" A wrinkle was forming between Blake's eyebrows. "You looked…"
"Yeah." Ruby reassured her, rapidly waving her hand. "My mind just kinda poofed out of here for a second."
Slowly, Blake relaxed and smiled. "Okay, if you're sure…"
"I am!"
"You know, I may be dating your sister, but I think of you as my friend, too." Blake said quietly as they began to walk out. "You can talk to me if you need to."
A tension in Ruby eased. "I will. Thanks."
Blake led the way out, but Ruby couldn't help but glance over at the other table one more time. The song had ended at some point as their scrolls were back on the table, but Ruby heard one last snippet of conversation as she turned forward again.
"In one of her Q&A's, she once mentioned that a good amount of her songs were actually based on her dreams…"
In her own dreams that night, there were no monsters. There was no fighting. There wasn't even that prickly feeling that accompanied the few calm dreams like this that sometimes happened, as if she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
No, instead there was a white glow and cool fingers running through her hair. Distantly, she heard the sound of singing.
She couldn't tell what the words were but she knew it was a lullaby.
And she slept soundly through the night.
Ruby wanted to die.
Not really but it was a close thing as her head thunked on the table and she groaned.
She loved building stuff, she really did. Getting her hands dirty as she fiddled with gears, valves, pistons, wires, and pieces of metal gave her the greatest joy in her life. It was what she wanted to do with her life and she wanted to know even more about it.
But admittedly, the reading for it was drier than a desert.
"Will you put me out of my misery?" Ruby whined. "Or at least discover a way to beam the info right into my brain?"
Penny giggled as she looked up from her typing. "Apologies, Ruby, but I do not think that is humanly possible. And I have no wish to do you harm."
Ruby pouted as she turned her head towards her. "A real friend would do it," she grumbled.
"I highly doubt that."
Ruby sighed and sat up. "I know you're focused more on robotics, but are you classes as dull as mine?"
"I think the issue is that you are a more hands-on learner than that your lessons are dull." Penny pointed out. "But no, I find everything fascinating." Her eyes shone and she smiled as she turned back to her paper, finishing it off with a last few taps.
Ruby hid her smile behind her hand as she propped her book back up.
She was happy her friend got to pursue something she was so passionate about. Even if things hadn't worked out romantically between them, Penny was still one of her best friends and she wanted the best for her.
"I believe I shall go get some snacks. Would you like anything, Ruby?" Penny pushed her laptop back as she moved to get up.
"Cookies, please!" Ruby brightened at the thought.
Penny chuckled. "Of course." She walked towards the vending machines.
With Penny gone, Ruby no longer had a convenient distraction. Sure, the two of them had come to the library in hopes of getting their work done so they wouldn't have much over the upcoming weekend, but with only her readings left to do, Ruby's brain was spiralling.
She needed something to concentrate on!
"I'm sorry I can't talk louder; I'm in the library." A quiet voice said on the other side of the bookshelf behind her.
Ruby's ears perked up. She leaned back in her seat, though part of her knew it was wrong to listen to others' conversations. At the same time, she didn't want to jump back into her readings just yet.
So eavesdropping it was.
"Yes, I did hear that."
The voice sounded familiar to Ruby, though she didn't know why. Clear and feminine, Ruby could just imagine that the speaker matched it. Her posh tone was not something she'd ever been around before, so there was no reason why she'd know it. That thought made her chest squeeze a bit but she didn't know why.
Whoever was on the other side of the line seemed upset by something, just by the way they made the speaker pause before responding.
"I...I cannot speak for Father or Mother. However, I know that I will be there. I know how hard you've worked for this." She paused again, before hesitantly saying. "I...I am very proud of you, Whitley."
The tone suggested that the words were unfamiliar to her, but also that she was trying to say more. There was something quite endearing about that, and Ruby wanted to peek through the shelves to see who this was, to figure out why there was this unfamiliar familiarity.
"Ah!" The speaker stopped and Ruby could hear them pull something from the shelves. "I found the book I was looking for. Anyway, I promise you I will be there tonight…"
Her voice faded away as the speaker returned to wherever she'd come from. Ruby was surprised by the disappointment she felt.
Part of her wanted to go after the voice, but that would just be creepy. After all, she didn't even know who it was, and she'd just been eavesdropping on her. That wasn't exactly a good basis for getting to know someone.
What would she even say? "Hey, I know this is weird, but you sound familiar despite us never talking before?"
That probably wouldn't work out well.
"Ruby! I have obtained the cookies!" Penny held them up in triumph along with a bag of her favorite chips.
"Ah! Thank you so much!" The perfect distraction from her distraction. Ruby reached out to take her cookies. However, she gaped as Penny pulled them up higher than her grasping fingers.
"Apologies, Ruby, but you can only have them if you finish your reading." Her beaming smile belied the cruelty in her words.
Ruby just stared at her in horror before letting her head meet the table again. "Killing me would've been preferable.
Penny just laughed.
Her dream that night was strange. She was all alone in a grand manor of white and blue. But unlike the comforting presence of the same colors that was usually by her side, this place was cold and lonely and the ostentatious decor felt like a pressure trying to squish her down.
She hated it and didn't get much sleep.
Ruby's hands were shaking as she clasped them together. It was all she could do to keep her breathing steady, because she felt like she was on the edge of a panic attack.
It hadn't been a good day. She hadn't expected it to be after the restless night she'd had, and she was grateful that she only had one class and then her practical scheduled for Fridays.
She thought if she could get through those two things, then everything would be fine. She wasn't scheduled for work until Monday, so she'd have the entire weekend to rest and recover from the terrible night of sleep.
She should have been home free.
She just…
She hadn't expected something like this to happen.
"Hey." Yang gently touched her shoulder, prompting Ruby to take a gulp of air. "Hey," she said more firmly, "don't worry. We'll find him, okay?"
"Okay." Ruby knew she sounded weak even as she tried to smile at her sister.
Ruby had been taking Zwei for a walk through the near-by park. She'd admittedly been zoning out a bit, looking forward to taking a nap before maybe ordering a pizza for supper. But she should have been paying more attention. She should have known better.
If Zwei saw something that interested him, he'd be after it like a shot.
One moment, he'd been there, and the next, his leash had been yanked out of Ruby's slack hand as he'd gone off chasing something.
Ruby hadn't been too concerned at first. It wasn't the first time this had happened nor would it probably be the last.
The problem was, after following in the direction he'd gone, she couldn't find Zwei anywhere.
She looked high and low, all over the park. She asked everyone she came across whether they'd seen him. She even checked the surrounding streets for any sign.
None.
After her third sweep through the park, Ruby had called Yang for help, just barely holding back tears.
Now, hours later, Zwei was still nowhere to be found and it was taking everything in her not to break down.
"What-what if someone dognapped him?" Ruby asked as Yang guided her in the direction of their apartment. Yang insisted that they stop for the day as the sun was beginning to set and they were both exhausted. "Or he ended up in the street and-and—"
"That's not what happened." Yang stopped her train of thought. "Zwei's smarter than both of us. He knows better than that."
"B-but he also knows to try not to leave us behind, and…" Ruby sniffed and rubbed at her eyes, her shoulders curling in on themselves. "I just—I'm sorry, Yang."
"Hey, it's okay." Yang soothed, rubbing her back. "It's gonna be okay. It's not your fault."
"B-but…"
"Listen, I know you're kinda tired today and that's why you feel like crap, but this isn't your fault." She winced. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it was my day to walk him. So if anything, it's my fault."
Ruby let out a watery breath. "No, it's—"
"Nope. Not letting this fall on you." Yang flicked her forehead, making Ruby jolt back. Then her expression softened and she rubbed the back of her neck. "Listen, Ruby, I know I haven't been home much lately…"
"It's fine." Ruby dug through her pockets for a tissue to avoid looking at Yang. "I know you and Blake are still getting to know each other. It's fine."
"Well, that's not the only thing." Yang opened the door to their apartment complex and bit her lip. "The truth is—"
"Arf! Arf!"
The sisters startled and swung around at the barking.
"Zwei!" Ruby burst out crying as she ran to hug him. "You're okay!" He licked at her tears as she cuddled him closer.
"How…" She heard Yang come up behind her.
"Miss Rose. Miss Xiao Long." They looked up to see their building manager squinting at them.
"Ah, where did you find him, Mr. Shopkeep?" Ruby couldn't help but ask, wiping away her tears. She stood up, not letting Zwei go for a second.
"A young lady found him and followed the address on his collar to bring him home," he replied, letting go of the other end of Zwei's leash. "I told her you weren't home and she wanted to wait, but after seeing that Zwei knew me, she agreed to leave him with me."
"Oh, did you catch her name?" Ruby wanted to thank her. This had been some of the worst few hours of her life in recent memory. Whoever this person was, she had practically saved her right now.
"Ah, I forgot to." Mr. Shopkeep frowned and scratched his nose. "But I don't think she'd be too hard to miss if you tried looking for her. I don't think too many people have pure white hair at your age."
"White...hair?" Ruby's head tilted at that, but Yang seemed to perk up at that.
"White hair. Did she have pale skin and light blue eyes?" She hurriedly asked. At his nod, she stopped for a moment, before continuing with, "Did she have a scar on her face?"
He blinked. "Yes, she did. Over her left eye."
"Do you know her?" Ruby turned to her sister.
"Sorta." Yang rubbed her face. "Thanks, Mr. Shopkeep. Let us know if you ever need help." She called as she grabbed Ruby's arm and led her to their apartment.
"So, do you know who helped?" Ruby asked again once their pizza was finally ordered and she'd settled on the couch with Zwei in her lap.
"This is what I was trying to tell you." Yang sighed before flopping into an armchair. "The truth is, since shortly after we started dating, I've been helping Blake find someone. A-an old friend, I guess you could say."
Ruby connected the dots. "This was her?" She leaned forward.
"Yeah, sure sounds like it," Yang groaned. "It's just from everything we've been able to gather, she's so close! Like, everytime it seems like we've found her or about to meet her, she manages to slip through our grasp." She waved her hand flippantly. "It's like the universe is trying to taunt me."
Ruby thought of how Yang managed to track down her birth mother back when she was still in high school just to give her a piece of her mind. Considering how hard that had been, with Raven constantly moving to avoid the law, she could see how frustrating this would be, especially as this mystery person appeared to live in the exact same city.
"Do you want my help?" Ruby asked.
Yang sighed, but she seemed to actually think it over. "Maybe. We'll see." She snorted. "If anyone could find her, it'd probably be you."
Ruby wasn't sure what the basis of that assessment was, but if the time came, she'd gladly help find this girl.
At the very least, she wanted to thank her for bringing Zwei back home.
That night, the presence of white and blue laughed at her as it skated past her, but their words were as clear as a bell.
"Thank me later!"
Ruby was glad that she'd gotten a decent night's sleep, but she knew that she was going to have to talk to Yang about her dreams. This week had just been the worst with them being even stranger than normal.
However, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to bring it up.
That's why she needed some sugar and caffeine, the lifeblood of a college student.
Ruby scowled. Yang had used up the last of the coffee, so now she had to leave the apartment to get some. Sure, it meant she could go to her favorite place that also had some awesome cookies, but it was still more effort than she wanted to give due to the draining events of the previous day.
Maybe it was because the previous day was still on her mind, or maybe her dreams had primed her to notice, but a flash of white caught her eye.
Ruby automatically turned towards it, and it was like seeing the dawn after stumbling through the night.
Long white hair pulled up into an off-centered ponytail.
A light blue pea coat.
A startlingly red scarf wrapped around a pale neck.
Somehow, Ruby knew this was it.
"Hey! Excuse me!" She ran after the girl. "Uh, I know this might sound weird, but did you find and return a dog yesterday?"
The other girl paused before she turned around, saying, "Yes, but how…"
Light blue met silver.
And suddenly, this was no stranger.
Oh, no.
This was Weiss.
The one whose eyes she had met in the Emerald Forest, cementing her as her partner. The one who had fought and cried and bled by her side as they fought against Grimm, against the corrupted White Fang, against Salem and her forces.
The one who'd always been there for her and tried to catch her when she fell.
The one who really had been the best partner she ever had.
Weiss's eyes widened. "Ruby?
"Weiss!" Ruby couldn't stop herself from pulling her into a hug. For a second, she worried that this might be weird since it's their first meeting in this life, but luckily, Weiss readily returned the hug.
"Is it weird to say I missed you, even if I didn't remember until now?" Weiss asked.
"I get that, too." Ruby chuckled as she drew back, but she kept her arm wrapped around her as she gently traced Weiss's scar. "How did you get this this time?" After all, there weren't any Grimm anymore.
Weiss huffed. "It's a long story."
"I've got time. Are you busy?" She really hoped she wasn't.
"I was heading back to the library to work on homework, but," Weiss smirked at Ruby's pout, "I suppose I can put work off this once."
"Wow, Weiss putting aside work for little old me? I can't believe it!" Ruby laughed.
Weiss rolled her eyes, but she still slipped her hand into Ruby's and tugged her along. "C'mon, dolt. Still cream with five sugars?"
"Of course!" Ruby bounced along beside her, her heart lighter than it's ever been.
Because she can have this now. She can go get coffee with Weiss while her biggest worries are just her classes. She can hold her hand just because she wants to, not because she's afraid or needs comfort or it's the only way to stop them from shaking.
In a world without Grimm or Salem, they can just be themselves without having the weight of the world on their shoulders.
"I see some things never change." Weiss sounded annoyed but Ruby could see her smiling.
"I guess not." Ruby hummed, and thought back on her dreams that'd been plaguing her all her life but especially this past week.
She thought maybe they were a sign of something wrong, that she was haunted or something.
But maybe they'd just been trying to guide her back to Weiss all along.
That would make them nothing less than a blessing.
"I dreamed about you." Ruby admitted.
Weiss looked back at her with a twinkle in her eye. "I dreamed of you, too."
Hand in hand, no longer just in dreams, Ruby and Weiss moved forward, together again.
AN: Don't know if they've reincarnated so far in the future that Grimm, Semblances, and magic are nothing more than fairy tales, or if they've reincarnated into a world where none of those things ever existed. Don't know and it's not really relevant.
Anyway, after all the work everyone put into in their past life (RWBY canon), the Brothers decided that everyone involved would get to reincarnate into new, more peaceful lives after they died. Not everyone would remember their previous life, but those who did would receive dreams of their past lives and only remember that life when they met the eyes of their partner (*cough* soulmate *cough*). So though they are pretty similar, there are some changes to their lives and their personalities may change slightly when they recover their memories (like, Jaune gaining confidence when he remembered his previous experiences as a leader but still getting used to it so he hates confrontations; or Nora and Ren didn't find each other until near the end of high school so they had time to figure out who they were as individuals in this life). So after regaining their memories, Yang and Blake decided to track down Weiss, and they helped Pyrrha and Jaune hook up.
You could also consider this a college AU, I guess. Here's a rundown of our main 8, plus Penny:
Yang is an MMA fighter and she's going to community college for business because she wants to open her own dojo and she especially wants to teach kids self defense, so she's also working on getting certified for that.
Blake is working on a degree in environmental science with a minor in literature. She's also debating going into law so she can defend the environment against corporations more directly.
Weiss was in training for opera and ballet since she was young. Jacques decided to be a full-time politician in this life and mapped out their lives so they'd benefit him. But he was still an abusive crap head. When Weiss was 16 and she started fully rebeling against him, he threw a glass at her and that's how she got her scar in this universe. However, this was the last straw for Willow and she packed her stuff, grabbed Weiss and Whitley, and left him. She checked herself into rehab for alcoholism, which she still struggles with, and left Whitley and Weiss mostly in Klein's, her childhood friend, care. Weiss started her music channel after her recovery, as composing and singing helped her cope, and she decided to go to college after high school. She's double majoring in music and chemistry.
First thing I should note is that Summer Rose is alive in their new lives. She had a very bad accident when Ruby and Yang were kids, but she lived. Ruby debated between going to trade school to become a mechanic or college for mechanical engineering. She ultimately decided to go to college so she could build newer and better engines.
Ren is a history major and he also teaches yoga classes. His family is all alive, so no worries there, and he and Nora met at a career exploration convention during a panel about history majors.
Nora also is an MMA fighter and she's majoring in exercise programming and sports medicine. She wants to look into helping people through physical fitness without pushing them past their limits.
Pyrrha is also an MMA fighter, but she did track and field as well. She and Ruby nearly crossed paths in high school, but Ruby never watched most of the field events. Pyrrha attends college on a sports scholarship and she's looking into psychology to become a therapist.
Jaune is an education major specializing in early childhood education. He still can't believe he had to put up with all his sisters' teasing in two lives now as the only boy in the family.
Penny was adopted by Dr. Polendina as a baby. He raised her with the help of his friend Maria. Pietro is still one of the foremost minds when it comes to robotics and so when Penny also decided to study robotics.