Ruby took another shaky breath as she pushed the button marked with a 26. Holding her breath, she stepped back and watched the doors close.

This is such a stupid idea, she thought. Her head tipped back and she was met with her reflection. Her eyes were wide, and even with such a limited view of her body, she appeared tense. Not a great way to approach the situation. Ruby's head swam with the possibilities of what could happen after today—would he take it well? Or would Neo's warning materialize in all of the ways she hoped it wouldn't?

Ruby knotted her fingers together in an effort to stop them from shaking. The elevator halted suddenly, alerting Ruby that she had reached her destination with a ding. She stepped out into the chilly hallway, looking around the corners as if he would be standing right there, waiting for her. He wasn't, and Ruby didn't know why he would be, but something about him put her on edge. Maybe it was because he always seemed two steps ahead of her.

Ruby exhaled and started walking. She knew which apartment was his, and to know how much closer to him she was getting was dizzying. It was all so surreal—Ruby never thought she would see that boy ever again, and then it turns out to be the criminal she's been after since before she started attending Beacon?

Ruby turned the corner and swallowed. With her eyes, she found the door she was looking for. Each step taken with trembling feet, she sauntered over. All that was left to do now was knock.

She raised her fist, hesitating. If she turned around now, she could leave and pretend this never happened. She could continue living her life the way she planned and forget all about Torchwick. Biting her lip, she realized that wasn't an option. She stopped fidgeting and commanded herself to knock on the door, ignoring her stomach as it dropped when she realized the deed was done.

Footsteps approached the door and Ruby stepped back, averting her gaze from the peephole. They stopped suddenly, and Ruby's breath caught in her throat. She was sweating. For a moment that spanned several seconds, nothing happened. It was as if time stood still. But then, through the door, she heard the sliding of a chain followed by the click of a lock.

The door swung open, and in the doorway stood Torchwick. Ruby looked up and was surprised to find that the expression on his face reflected the same shock she felt.

Face heating up, Ruby spoke. "We need to talk."

"Yes, I imagine we do," he responded. The look on his face abated into a calm, analytical glimmer in his eyes. It might've been Ruby's imagination, but she saw the edge of his scar behind the thin curtain of bangs hanging lazily over the right side of his face. He stepped to the side, allowing her to enter.

Ruby quietly passed him and stepped into the foyer.

"Where's your weed whacker?" he asked, the closing of the door giving Ruby a sudden start.

Ruby reached instinctively behind her back, remembering only after that she chose not to bring Crescent Rose. "I left it at home."

Circling around Ruby to face her, Roman nodded. "I see."

He looked down at what she was wearing—a black t-shirt and shorts—and back up to her eyes, narrowing his eyes slightly. Hooking his thumbs through the belt loops in his pants, he walked into the kitchen. "Déjà vu, huh, kid?"

"Yeah," Ruby breathed.

Roman picked up a half-full glass off the counter and turned to face her. "Let's skip the conversational foreplay and get right to it." He tipped the glass back, taking a swig of his drink with a grimace.

Ruby crinkled her brows together. "Get right to what?"

"Over the past week, we've come to an understanding, and that's how I'd like to keep things."

"Um, what exactly are you talking about?"

Roman sighed. "How I helped you that one day in the subway."

Ruby nodded slowly, drifting into a pensive trance. "I think we need to come clean."

"How so?" Roman drawled, one eyebrow quirked.

"You haven't killed me yet." Ruby muttered meekly, tucking her chin.

Roman picked up on what she was trying to say. "How much has Neo told you?"

"Enough," she responded.

Roman swirled what was left of his drink in the bottom of his glass. Ruby was avoiding eye contact, and if he looked closely enough, he could see that her hands were shaking. Finishing his drink, he set the empty glass down on the counter and took a step towards her.

"Who else knows?" Roman's tone was stern.

Ruby shook her head, not making a move to look up.

His temper wore thin. "Look me in the eye, and tell me who you told."

Her bottom lip quivered. "Just my sister."

Roman set his jaw and ran a hand through his hair. "And who's she gonna tell?"

"No one."

Roman scoffed. "Really."

"Yes, really!" Ruby threw her fists down to her sides. "She knows that telling someone would be throwing me under the bus. I don't want this to get out just as much as you."

Sighing, he resigned to the cabinet. "Want something to take the edge off?"

Ruby scratched the back of her neck. "No, I'm underage."

Shrugging in response, he opted for a sizeable decanter of scotch. "Never stopped me." He filled up a second glass halfway and handed it out to her.

She reached out and took it in both hands. When he retracted his fingers, the skin they brushed against tingled. Ruby's skin suddenly flushed, and she was glad that Roman was looking in the other direction.

She quickly took a sip of whatever he handed her, immediately recoiling at the taste. "God, that's horrible!"

"Nobody really drinks for the taste alone."

Ruby traced her thumb on the edge of the glass. "So what now?"

"I think," he started, stopping to consider his words, "it would be best for us to go our separate ways."

Something tugged in Ruby's gut. "What do you mean?"

"We continue as if you were just the girl that thwarted a robbery in-progress, and I'm the guy committing a string of crimes in Vale."

Ruby caught onto "a string", but she decided not to say anything. "I don't think I can go on like that."

He frowned. "We have to."

Ruby felt something in her chest snap. "So, is this goodbye?"

"I think so, yeah."

Ruby bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She thrust the glass back to him, which he took without a word. She turned and walked to the door, reaching for the handle.

She turned back one last time, scanning his face for something, anything. But his face was wiped clean of any emotion, blank and unwavering. Ruby closed her mouth and turned to leave.


My computer is such a bitch.

To China Moon: It's compensation for the fact that I update inconsistently.