A/N: Happy (belated) 2022! I am the worst... sorry for the 4 month delay. Been pretty lazy lately, was chided by my SO for failing to update the story T_T she's right though, I can't just leave you all hanging. Thank you for following/favourite-ing this story even though it's been on hiatus for a while! Means a lot to me 3
Hope you enjoy this one! Ruby is finally here :p
Coming back to this fanfic is giving me RWBY withdrawals... really looking forward to Vol 9, whenever it turns up :)
Finals are finally over! Yang plopped down on her bed, relieved that her 2nd Year at Beacon University had concluded. This semester was a mess… Partying way too much and… meeting Blake… Yang blushed, happy that no one else was around to witness her red face. I didn't manage to get much studying done. Hopefully my projects made up for that!
Besides being able to finally relax, Yang was excited since her sister Ruby had just started her school holidays and was coming over to Beacon to visit for a week. Glancing at her phone, she realised that Ruby should be arriving soon. Yang quickly scanned her room and noted the messy state it was in. "Eh," she shrugged, it wasn't like Ruby would mind anyway. The redhead's room back home was even messier, with books and bags strewn all across the floor. Tai had long given up on the mess, his endless nagging in the past not changing either of the sisters' behaviour.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. "YAAAAAAAAAANG!" A high-pitched voice pierced through the previously silent environment.
Yang jumped out of her skin and exclaimed, "Ruby? I'm coming, stop knocking!"
Opening the door, Yang came face to face with her 17-year-old sister. "Ruby!" Yang beamed, enveloping her sister in a bear hug.
"Y-Yang… ca-can't breathe…" Ruby gasped.
"Oh sorry!" Yang released her grip and took a good look at Ruby. The redhead was in her signature red hoodie and wore loose-fitting black slacks, while her hair was a mess.
"Have you grown? You look taller since I last saw you a few months ago!" Ruffling Ruby's hair, Yang grabbed Ruby's luggage and ushered her inside, "Still taller than you though, ha!"
"Yaaaaang," Ruby whined, "I'm beat! It was such a long journey to get here, and the train broke down on the way, so I had to squeeze with the crowd at the station to wait for the next train."
Yang patted Ruby's shoulder, "Aww, you should get some rest. You can lie on my bed for now."
"Really? Thanks Yang, you're the best! I'm hungry though… can we go grab a bite?" Ruby asked.
"Sure. I'm so happy to see you, Rubes! Feels like it's been ages since I was home…" The sisters walked out of Yang's room, their footsteps in sync.
"I'm so glad to see you too sis! Dad misses you, he's been asking why you haven't called."
"Oh oops, guess I was too caught up with stuff here… Let's call him together later!" Yang suggested and Ruby nodded, smiling.
The pair decided to go to the dining hall since it was the nearest place with food and Ruby was "so hungry [she] could eat a boar!"
After the sisters had sat down with their piping hot bowls of noodles, Ruby started wolfing down her food, and asked with her mouth full, "Foh, tat ter too toh feetee fit?"
Yang gave her an amused look, "What?"
Ruby finished chewing and swallowed her fishball, "Heh, sorry." Clearing her throat, she asked again, "What were you so busy with?"
"Well, the usual... School work, projects… partying…" Ruby let out a scoff upon hearing partying, "and uh… yeah that's about it."
"So… the usual? You've been partying since your 1st year!" Ruby exclaimed, "All I see on your Instagram is you wearing skimpy clothing and drinking with a bunch of intoxicated people in a dimly-lit club! Isn't there anything else you've been up to?" Ruby chided her big sister. Despite being younger, Ruby had always been the more disciplined one when it came to academics, her sister busy dating boys and the occasional girl.
"Well… Alright there's this girl-"
"WHAT?! YANG, YOU COULD HAVE STARTED WITH THAT!" Ruby interrupted, hardly able to contain her excitement, "This is way more interesting than the hundreds of parties you've been to!"
"Rubes, calm down! We don't want the entire school to hear about this!" Upon seeing Ruby staring at her with her big, wide, curious silver eyes, Yang continued, "Anyway, I met this girl. Her name's Blake. I know it sounds weird, but we first met in the shower." Upon hearing Ruby's snickers, Yang interjected, "No, not like that! I heard her singing in the shower a few times and I was trying to figure out who she was. To cut the story short, we ended up meeting through a mutual friend, at a party-" Ruby scoffed, "but she's not a party girl. In fact, that was the first time I had ever seen her. She likes to keep a low profile. We've only been to dinner once, here," Yang gestured at the run-down dining hall, "and visited the garden nearby, but that's about it. Finals have kept us busy, and I haven't seen her since." Yang sighed, thinking to herself, I don't even know if she's interested in hanging out again.
"Ooooooh, so you like-like her?" Ruby wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Yang rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "I guess… She's so beautiful and her singing is amazing. You should have heard her!" Suddenly remembering that Ruby knows Nightshade, Yang almost blurted out that Blake was Nightshade to Ruby, but decided to protect Blake's privacy for now, until the raven-haired girl was ready to open up to Yang about Nightshade.
"Soooo… when can I meet Blake?" Ruby asked, excited.
"Ruby! Don't scare her away… we're not even dating!" Yang said, exasperated.
"Yang, come on, I've met some of your friends before! It's not like you're introducing her as your girlfriend," Ruby teased, emphasizing the last word and sticking out her tongue.
Yang almost choked on her dumpling upon hearing the word "girlfriend". Turning red, the lavender-eyed girl tried to brush it off with an eye roll, "Okay fine, she stays on the same floor anyway, we might even bump into her later on."
"Yay!" Ruby did a small clap and beamed.
Shaking her head at her sister's antics, Yang panicked momentarily. What did I just get myself into...
Blake's nose was currently buried in a book. She was so busy during the final few weeks of the semester that she had not touched any of her novels. Cradling her favourite novella, The Man with Two Souls, Blake sighed contentedly. It had been too long since she had curled up with a good book, coupled with a steaming cup of tea made from her mother's special blend. It was pouring outside and the amber-eyed beauty was grateful to be in her room.
After finishing her lovely cup of homemade tea, Blake had to go to the bathroom. Stepping out of her room, she almost collided with a redhead who happened to be walking past her door.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I should have checked first before walking out," Blake apologised, slightly intrigued on who this redhead might be. Even though she preferred to take advantage of the solitude her room provided most of the time, Blake was still very much aware of who was living on the same floor as her, and this redhead was not on that list.
"Heh… No worries! I guess I was walking too close to the door too… I'm Ruby!" Ruby stuck out her hand towards Blake, which Blake accepted after a moment's hesitation.
"Hi Ruby… I'm Blake," the raven-haired girl replied tentatively, still unsure why a new face would be showing up at the end of the semester.
The redhead's eyes widened momentarily, "Blake?! Oh my gosh, Yang, you were right, she IS pretty!" Ruby blurted out, unable to contain her excitement.
Blake's heart rate quickened upon hearing Yang's name. Could this Ruby be Yang's sister...? Glancing behind the hyperactive redhead, Blake noticed that Yang was behind her, looking shocked. Is she blushing?
"Ruby! You were not supposed to say that out loud!" Yang hissed, flustered.
Upon closer inspection, Blake realised that Yang's face was red. The faunus smirked on the inside, secretly happy that she was able to get that kind of reaction out of Yang.
"Oh oops, heh. Sorry Yang…" Ruby apologised sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.
Clearing her throat, Yang tried to salvage the situation, "Ahem. Sorry about that Blake. Uhm… this is Ruby! My sister. She's visiting for a week!" Yang trailed off awkwardly, too embarrassed to continue the conversation.
"Oh I see, it's nice to finally meet you Ruby. I've heard so much about you from Yang. Although I must say, I did not expect our first meeting to be me almost crashing into you," Blake chuckled, hoping to diffuse the tension. Despite being secretly glad that she wasn't the only one pining for the other girl, Blake was still kind enough to spare Yang from further embarrassment.
"Heh! No worries!" Ruby waved it off cheerily, "Well, Yang and I just had lunch and we were heading back to her room to hang out… Do you want to join us?" Ruby asked earnestly.
"O-only if you want to, Blake! We wouldn't want to disturb you!" Yang blurted out. Ruby, stop talking! You're gonna scare her away! Yang thought to herself while frantically trying to make eye contact with Ruby, hoping that her sister could take a hint.
Blake was slightly taken aback by how straightforward Ruby was, but she found it refreshing. Besides, she had been reading for quite some time now, so it would be nice to socialize. Wow, are you hearing yourself, Blake Belladonna? Since when did you equate anything positive with socializing? You've definitely got it bad for Yang Xiao Long! Even Blake's subconscious was taunting her, causing her face to flush marginally.
"Thank you for inviting me, Ruby. I was just about to head to the bathroom, but sure, that sounds fun. I'll drop by your room later, Yang!" Momentarily glancing at Yang as a form of acknowledgement, Blake felt a jolt of electricity upon locking eyes with intense lavender. She had no idea what the blonde was thinking at that point in time, but Blake was drawn to the intensity of Yang's gaze. She was sure that Yang felt the connection too.
Saying their goodbyes, Blake observed from her peripheral vision that the taller blonde had elbowed the ribs of the redhead, earning a loud "Ow!" from the younger girl. Chuckling to herself at the sisters' antics, Blake headed to the bathroom, trying to compose herself before meeting Yang and Ruby again.