Jaune stood there, staring at Ruby's rounded stomach.
She was curled up in Oscar's arms, pregnant, and Oscar had been kissing her...over and over again until he had looked, terrified, at him. A million puzzle pieces suddenly flew together in his brain, connected, and then formed a horrifying picture that suddenly made everything make sense.
Through the clear picture in his mind, the swirling cloud of emotions still blocked any words from coming to his mouth, and he remained silent, his breath stolen away from surprise.
The others were nearing behind him, clueless as to what chaos was about to occur. They walked up, their footsteps crunching in the relatively shallow snow, and they came to a stop behind him. Yang looked up from where she was standing, finally having caught her breath, only to loose it again.
A short, surprised gasp escaped her lips when she set eyes on the same thing Jaune was, and she froze to her spot, her mind going completely blank.
Blake, Ren, Nora, and Qrow all stopped abruptly as well.
"What are you guys all looking-" Nora began, confused as to why the three others around her had stopped and were now staring ahead, wide eyed at Oscar and Ruby. Her gaze swiveled to the two cold and wet people that the others' eyes were fixed upon and her own eyes went wide.
She finished her outward expression of shock with an ironic, "Oh."
Ruby stirred and mumbled something, and she began to lightly shiver, snapping Oscar's attention to her. Her shivering steadily increased as the seconds passed, and soon she was practically vibrating. Oscar was relieved by this, glad to see her body responding as it should be, and he hugged her tighter, hoping to somehow give her more warmth.
"O-Oscar?" Ruby murmured, her eyes fluttering open, "How-wha?"
She looked up at Oscar's concerned face, his dark brown hair plastered to his forehead and dripping cold water. Then she turned her head and looked at the others, who were standing woodenly in their spots, staring at them.
"W-what's going on?" she asked weakly, looking back at Oscar, "Is everything okay?"
"Is everything okay?" Yang repeated with a serious, mocking laugh, her head bowed with her blond bangs covering her eyes, "Is everything okay?! My little sister is pregnant, for goodness sake! Of course things aren't okay!"
Her eyes suddenly changed from lavender to red. "And since she obviously didn't get pregnant on purpose," she continued, throwing a bright red glare at Oscar, "Nor would she ever, we all know who's to blame for this."
Her teeth gritted and she stomped forward towards Oscar, loading her gauntlets as she approached. She looked mad, very mad, and even Ruby suddenly felt afraid of her older sister. Wincing as she stopped in front of them, Ruby clung to Oscar, weak as she was.
Oscar held her tightly back, unsure as to what exactly was coming for him right now. Yang would probably beat him to shreds; Jaune would probably spit in his face and then give him a second beating; Ren and Nora would probably forever ignore him; Qrow would probably give him a mega-punch into a tree, and Blake...she'd probably say nothing and stay that way, like Ren and Nora.
"Wait!" Ruby cried, holding out her hand, "Yang, you don't understand! This isn't as bad as it looks like; things aren't as wrong as they seem!"
"Seriously?!" Yang exploded, still glaring fiercely at Oscar, "You convinced her that theses kinds of things aren't as bad as she thought they were? As me, Uncle Qrow, and Dad told her how bad they really were? Unbelievable! I'll give you something to be convinced of, you little-"
"Yang!" Qrow shouted suddenly, sternness thick in his raspy voice, "Stop it."
Yang growled and gave Qrow a quick glance before fixing her glare intently on Oscar, her eyes remaining red. Her anger seemed to simmer and hiss inside of her, as if she was inwardly flaming.
"I knew you liked Oscar, Ruby," Jaune said, finally finding his voice and his breath, "But this? I...it's just so...wrong."
"And with Ozpin in your head the whole time," Blake said, looking at Oscar, "That's messed up."
"Ruby," Ren said, looking her in the eyes, "I doubted you would ever do something so careless and wrong, but it is all right here in front of me. And I though you were one of the few innocent ones."
"Who ever said Ruby was the one who did this?!" Yang retorted, whipping her head in Ren's direction and giving him a mean look, "It was Oscar; I know it. Ruby would never do something like this on purpose. She never would..."
Yang's eyes turned back to light purple with a single blink as she calmed down a little. Could Ruby have done something like this on purpose? She was getting a little older, and she often did things she ought not to...No, this was too far fetched. It was Oscar's fault. It had to be.
"Then what is it, then?" Qrow asked, his voice low, "If it isn't as bad as it looks, then what is it?"
Ruby swallowed and looked up at Oscar, her teeth chattering. He shrugged and then Ruby looked back at the others, swallowing again and relieved the memories of when her and Oscar had been captured and then had-
Oh gosh, no! That sounds really bad...not exactly the best cover-up or excuse! Who else would randomly do that when they're dying? We weren't even exactly in love at the time!
Now shaking from the cold and from nervousness and embarrassment, Ruby cleared her throat.
"Remember when me and Oscar were captured by Emerald and Mercury?" she began, trying to keep things as steady as possible. Qrow nodded, and the others gave little gestures of remembrance.
"Yeah," Qrow said, his voice still low and eerie, "I busted you kids out of there.
"You guys looked like something the cat brought in," Nora added.
"Yeah," Ruby continued with a nod, "And, um, we were really hurt and sick and all that craziness. Well, before Uncle Qrow rescued us, we were doing really bad...and I mean really bad. And we didn't know if we'd make it out alive or how much longer we'd be in there.
"Well, Oscar was still, uh...getting used to his new body and his, erm, new interests, and I'll just be blunt and say that in his hazy, feverish mind, nothing made sense and I wasn't wearing a lot anymore. My clothes were really ripped and cut and stuff."
"Unfortunately, I know exactly what you're talking about," Qrow mumbled.
"So anyway," Ruby continued, relieved at the fact that mostly everyone seemed calm enough and was listening to her story, "While we were in there, Oscar got knocked out by that professor guy...I dunno his name, and after that, he was just kinda in and out.
"I kept trying to keep him warm, and in some ways, he did the same, at least, whenever he was awake and such. Well, eventually things were so bad, we were literally clinging to each other every moment of the day. We were so cold and sick and miserable...it's hard to explain how things went the way they did...
"Oscar somehow seemed to notice my...femininity, and uhm...well, since he was so messed up and not used to liking those kinds of things...well, he was interested."
"So?!" Yang shot back, "That doesn't give him the right to just-"
"Yang!" Qrow's rebuke was even more strict and fierce than before, and it shut Yang's mouth immediately. But a grudge still lingered heavily on her.
Ruby felt her face glowing red, despite how cold she was, and her embarrassment had skyrocketed. Her shaking increased even more and she felt Oscar hold her a little tighter. He looked concerned, more than before, and gave her a look that seemed to say,
Shall I continue?
Ruby sighed and nodded, wondering how Oscar would phrase his fogged view and memory of the event. He had been so tired, so feverish, so dead...How could he truly have remembered it well enough, especially since it had been such an odd thing for his confused mind to do at the time.
"After I found out how beautiful she truly was," Oscar said, picking up where Ruby had left off, "A few of Ozpin's memories of...doing it went through my head. The way we were positioned...the way things looked...the way everything was set up...it all made my fevered and injured mind think momentarily that me and Ruby were either married and in bed, or were about to...um, indulge."
Ruby's face heated even more. She slowly turned her head away so it was nearly buried in Oscar's soaked coat, the cold water saturating it cooling her cheeks somewhat. But the heat from her embarrassment still burned.
Yang had opened her mouth and had been about to shout something out, but had held her tongue, thanks to the fact that she knew Qrow might do a little more than scold her if she made another remark out of turn.
"So, that being said and thought," Oscar said, glancing down at Ruby, "I mumbled something about it to her. And since she was old enough to know how...or at least, know of it, we had no problem putting that knowledge to use."
The way Oscar said it so casually and with so little shame made Ruby feel even more shaky. He had been and was terrified of this moment and this explanation, so why and how could he say it so easily? It was as if his entire demeanor had changed in a brief minute.
"And, as you can all see now, that has led to Ruby conceiving a child, which belongs to me and her. No one is going to take it away from us; no one is going to separate us. Kick us out from your mission or group if you want, we're staying together."
His voice began to get more and more emotional and strong, and Ruby felt even more confused. Why was he just now getting so emotional and then claiming that he was going to stay with her forever or whatever?
"Kick me out, she comes with; kick her out, I come with. Kick both of us out, we go together to raise this baby with love and care, somewhere else, even if you won't support or help us."
"Oh, so now you're trying to convince us to let you stay?" Yang answered angrily, "Great! Come on, step right up! Impregnate my little sister, make her fall in love with you, and then get no punishment or consequence as a reward! In fact, you even get to raise an adorable little baby and get married to the girl you got pregnant!"
"Yang, stop it!" Qrow shouted, louder than she had ever heard him shout, "I know you're angry and you don't want to believe that any of this was caused even a little by Ruby, but you need to realize that it takes two to make something like this happen somewhat intentionally."
Ruby felt her child move again, and if almost felt weird.
"Guys, could you please stop shouting?" Ruby called, just as Yang had begun to yell back at her uncle, "It's hurting my ears and I don't think it's helping anything!"
She closed her eyes and laid a hand on her stomach, sighing. She was feeling exhausted just from yelling. Oscar lightly combed his fingers through the top of her hair and gently let his face rest against it. His warm breath made Ruby want to smile, but her mouth remained a straight line.
"So what do we do now?" Blake asked, talking for the second time. She herself had been shocked at this, and at the same time, not too unfazed. She was used to the unexpected, and she had been suspecting that something was up with her team leader. It was what was up that was surprising.
"I don't know," Nora said loudly, still energetic, "I mean, I don't see what throwing them out's gonna do."
"We could throw Oscar out," Yang suggested with eager hatred, "Then him and Ozpin can get out of our hair!"
Oscar closed his eyes and waited for more people to discuss his doom.
"What about Ruby?" Jaune asked, making Yang grit her teeth and the others stare, "What are we going to do about her? It is partially her fault, and its not like we need her for this mission. We've done alright without her before."
"You little-" Yang began, stomping towards him with red eyes again. This time, Qrow grabbed Yang's arm abruptly with his hand and held it tightly, his fingers threatening to press the small button that would disconnect it from the rest of her body.
"I said to stop," Qrow growled. Yang shook her head and then stood up straight, turning away from Jaune. Her eyes were still red, but she stepped away from him and let her anger fume up inside of her. How ignorant Yang could be when she was mad. As to why Qrow was keeping her so tightly in check, they didn't know either.
"I-I want to stay with Oscar," Ruby chirped, her face no longer hidden in Oscar's coat, "So, if you're g-gonna throw him out, you're throwing m-me out, too." Despite how bold she was trying to sound, she looked and sounded like a frightened, wounded animal. Poor thing. And hearing Jaune's comment had shattered her heart.
"Ruby, stop," Yang sighed, looking her little sister in the eyes, "It's fine. We're not blaming you or anything-"
"No, Yang!" Ruby protested, "If Oscar's leaving, then I'm coming with."
The group all looked at each other, exchanging glances and wondering what on Remnant to do. Things were all so confusing, and none of them knew whether or not to throw Oscar out, let him stay but no longer allow him near Ruby, to to let things resume back to normal...somehow.
"Well, one things for sure," Nora said, her ever-present energy and determination not at all hidden in the confused and glum atmosphere, "Ruby's our friend and team RWBY's leader. She's also kinda all of us' leader."
She cast a glance at Qrow and the speck of Maria walking towards them in the distance, barely visible on the horizon.
"Well, most of us, anyway...We aren't getting rid of her, and since she said that she's gonna stay with Oscar, whether we banish him or not, then I guess that means he's staying too. There really is no reason to get rid of him, anyway. What else crazy would happen if he stayed, anyway?"
"Banish is a bit of a strong word..," Ren began, lightly rolling his eyes at Nora's silly glare, "But Nora is right. Getting rid of Oscar, and I suppose Ozpin, too, wouldn't do any of us any good, in fact, we would be loosing some. Oscar has Ozpin's skill and memories. How are we going to find the Relics if we have no idea where they are?"
The group fell silent.
"You all knew that, right?" Nora asked, putting her hand on her hip.
"Well, yeah," Jaune said, "But we didn't think about it much until you just mentioned it...Sorry."
"Well I think we shouldn't let Oscar anywhere near Ruby for the rest of the mission," Yang said roughly, "He'd still be here, so technically, Ruby, you two wouldn't exactly be separate. Then you guys can have a consequence for doing that by not being able to converse and all that."
"But...why?" Ruby asked, tears springing up in her eyes, "Isn't this consequence enough?"
"Ruby," Yang answered, "You don't understand. Since you two are staying with us, you're getting food and water and all that from us. And eventually, you're going to need to settle down somewhere when your belly turns into a balloon."
She pointed her finger briefly at Ruby's stomach.
"You'd probably go stay with Dad. He's forgiving enough, especially for things involving the life of his daughters."
Qrow looked down momentarily and then quickly looked back up as if nothing had happened. Yang continued to explain to Ruby how if they weren't punished by someone else, they would never learn and such. But then, Qrow heard something.
It was very faint and very distant, but it was a noise that made his huntsman alerts go off. Tensing and looking suspiciously around him, he glanced at the trees surrounding them, Maria's tiny form a while away, the sky, and then the snowy ground. Nobody and nothing could be seen out of place...
Grumbling something under his breath, he approached Yang, feeling his anger at her reasoning return as he neared her.
"Shut your mouth, Yang," he said as he passed her. Yang's mouth didn't shut, but her words stopped and her mouth hung open. Her eyes flickered red for a moment, but remained purple. Qrow stood in front of Oscar and Ruby, his face holding an unreadable expression.
He locked eyes with Ruby; maroon with silver. He bent down, looked down at Ruby's bump, and then back up at her, sighing. He looked more calm now, for some reason, but a touch of anger and shock lingered lightly on him.
"How far through are you," he asked flatly. Ruby swallowed.
"Just about four months," she murmured. Qrow nodded slowly, straightened up, and then cleared his throat.
"You know," he began, "Summer wasn't that big at that time when she was gonna have you. I'd even say she was half the size."
Ruby's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks fire up again. Why had Qrow just changed the subject so abruptly, mention her mother, and then say that she was larger than her mother was at her stage? Her eyes widened.
"Um...what are you suggesting?!" Ruby squeaked, alarmed. Qrow shook his head.
"What does it sound like?" he asked. Ruby closed her eyes and shook her head. Flashbacks of the bus ride here raced through her mind. Yes, she had considered briefly the possibility of twins, but that wasn't going to happen. It couldn't. That would just be crazy.
"No!" Ruby cried, "Just...stop."
Oscar held her a little closer and sighed, a long, shaky sigh.
"Qrow, why are you talking about that right now?" he asked, "Now's not the time."
Wait, what?! Ruby mentally shouted, Were you two discussing my bump size behind my back or something? Did Uncle Qrow know all this time? Is that why he hasn't said anything and has been trying to get Yang to shut up? Oh gosh...
"Have you known all this time?!" Yang suddenly blurted out, her eyes red yet again, "Was this a part of one of your weird plans or something? What in Remnant is going on here?!"
Qrow gave her a cold stare over his shoulder.
"Yang, I would never do something like that," he answered roughly, "I don't know what would lead you to that kind of crazy assumption, but it sure isn't true. I'd also appreciate it if you'd stop spouting off right about now. Don't make me remove your tongue."
Ruby couldn't help but raise a brow at his remark. That was exactly what Winter had told him before she and Qrow had fought in the courtyard at Beacon. It was funny and a little odd that he had brought that up just now. But then again, so were the previous things he had mentioned.
Yang rolled her eyes.
"Ugh. Whatever."
"So...they're staying?" Nora asked, seeming annoyed at everyone's mixed reasoning, "Cuz I don't see a reason for them not to."
"Well, over all, the entire time they've been hiding it," Blake said, one of her cat ears flicking to the side, "They haven't exactly been causing any negative impacts or effects on us. And the same would likely be true even if Ruby hadn't conceived. So, I guess it would be alright."
Ruby smiled lightly, feeling relieved. She head been curious and also afraid of how Blake would react. She hadn't been sure if she would be forgiving or condemning...or if she wouldn't really be anything. Blake was still hard to understand, even after all the time of them knowing each other.
"However," Bake continued, looking down with her cat ears following suit, "This may sound heartless, but just because you were enduring in a horrible circumstance, it doesn't make what you did much better. A deed is a deed, accident or intention, and your deed isn't exactly one of those, 'forget about it' ones."
"Geez, Blake," Yang said, sounding as if she was trying to be less angry, but at the same time retaining it, "You don't have to be so hard-hearted. I know the White Fang was tough, but-"
"We aren't talking about that right now," Blake answered back quickly, cutting her teammate off, "But I guess what I'm trying to say is that what you and Oscar did wasn't okay, even if it was somewhat weird and certainly wasn't intentional. But we aren't going to kick you out or anything because we need you, and you're our friend and leader."
"But what about Oscar?" Jaune asked, giving Oscar a blue glare, "What are we going to do about him? He's more guilty than Ruby, since he was the one who mentioned the idea of doing...it. If he hadn't said anything, we wouldn't be like this right now. Everything would be normal and great."
Oscar swallowed.
"Getting rid of me would not be recommended," he answered, trying to keep himself from easily slipping into an Ozpin-like mindset, "Nora told you everything herself, and that was coming from her, not me."
"Sure," Jaune answered, "But we all know how much she adores you. You're-well, you were, like a little brother to her before. She's probably just being biased because she's both of you guys' friends."
"And you're not?" Ruby asked quietly in a heart-wrenching voice,. Jaune blinked and stared at her, confused.
"What?"
"You're not my friend?" Ruby repeated, a tear forming in her eye, "If me being Nora's friend makes her decision biased, then does that mean that you're not really my friend?"
"What? No!" Jaune quickly answered, holding his hand out a little, "I just-" He sighed. "I meant that Nora was probably thinking about you two more than about the whole group or whatever. I'm just trying to come up with a good solution for all of us-"
"No you're not," Ruby cut in coldly, "You're just trying to get back at Oscar for liking me, just cuz you wish I liked you."
Nora, Ren, and Blake all looked at Jaune, then back at Ruby, then back at Jaune. The two of them stared at each other, Ruby looking sad and Jaune looking mildly afraid, concerned, and exasperated.
"No, Ruby, I-" Jaune argued back, trying to put Ruby's stressed mind at ease. Of course, Ruby didn't exactly want to believe him, and all she wanted now was to run away with Oscar and disappear forever. She was scared, and when she was scared, she wasn't herself.
Things were going all over the place now, and Yang wasn't exactly taking the pressure and confusion too well. Her eyes turned red, her hair began to glow, and then, as soon as Oscar joined in with Ruby and Jaune's argument, making it even more chaotic and noisy, Yang flipped.
"Oh my gosh!" she yelled, her hair exploding into flames, "Could everyone just shut up?! I don't know what's happening anymore! First Qrow mentions twins, then Jaune's talking about kicking Oscar out, then Ruby's talking about Jaune liking her, and then...UGH!"
Yang was moving her arms wildly around as she shouted, her anger clearly portrayed with the volume of her voice and the flames that danced around her as she moved about. The others around her moved themselves a few inches away from her to avoid the heat.
After she finished catching her breath and drinking in the precious, sweet silence that she had earned from her outburst, her eyes switched back to lavender again. She sighed, crossed her arms, set her mouth in a straight line, and then waited.
"Okay, so from what I've been hearing," Qrow said, breaking the silence with his ambient, raspy voice, "Ruby's staying with us, Oscar is staying with us, and we're returning things to normal."
"Yes," Nora answered with a nod. Ren shrugged. Blake sighed and nodded. Yang sighed.
"I dunno, she answered, "I mean, I guess the part about them both being here makes sense, but thing being normal? I don't know if that's gonna happen. Seriously, I'm going to be an aunt, and I'm almost 19!"
Jaune looked down, but said nothing.
"Okay, so that's settled," Qrow said, rolling his eyes, "So what about the mission?"
"Well, seeing that we have our leader to the Relic and all the help we need, I think we should be able to carry on without further difficulty," Ren said. Nora nodded in agreement.
"Yeah!" she said, "What he said!"
"But...what about Ruby?" Yang asked, looking at her younger sister.
"What about Ruby?" Qrow asked, narrowing his eyes at his blond niece. Yang shrugged and gave an exhasperated sigh.
"I don't know," she said, "I just...ugh, this is all just so wrong and weird and so...just, so bad! I feel like we're doing nothing about the fact that my little sister's gonna have a baby, but at the same time, I don't know what we're suppose to do about it. How would be punish them? Why would we punish them?"
"What's all this conversation about?" Maria chided them from a few yards away, "It's freezing out here and Ruby's probably have frozen to death by now!"
Maria was hobbling towards them, waving her cane at them in a scolding manner and trying to hurry to the scene. She was looking down, probably trying to watch her footing, wary of tripping and not being able to get up. Her back wasn't doing much better than her eyes nowadays.
"Sorry," Blake said, moving out of the old woman's way, "We're just experiencing a bit of...complication right now."
"Like what?" Maria asked as she approached Ruby and Oscar, "Did you let her drown or something stupid like that?"
She stopped short when she saw Ruby's stomach. She just stood there a few moments before unintentionally mimicking Nora's, "Oh." All Ruby wanted to do was burst out crying. Now Maria knew, and Maria would be so disappointed...
"Well, I think this deserves some nice discussion around the table with some hot cocoa," she finally said, making Yang's hands ball up again from the change in subject, "Come along now, children. Let's hurry this up now."
"Well, I'm afraid we've already pretty much covered the conversation part," Blake said as they all turned to follow Maria. Maria pivoted her head towards Blake with a scowl and waved her cane accusingly at her.
"No, I meant explaining to me," she rebuked, "I don't have a clue as to what you kids were discussing about...other than likely fighting about childish matters such as who did what and such."
The group exchanged glances and continued walking.
Oscar sighed and looked down at the girl in his arms, shivering hard as her body furiously sought heat. Then he stood up, picking the poor thing up and gathering her in his arms like a knight to his damsel.
"C'mon, Ruby," he said, not wishing to be left too far behind the others, "Let's go. We need to get you warm before you get hypothermia or pneumonia or something bad like that. I don't want you or the baby getting hurt."
Ruby allowed herself to be carried safely in Oscar's arms, confused as to why and how the group simply followed Maria like that and said nothing. Perhaps it was because they had no idea what else to do or say. But Qrow had her even more confused. The whole event had been nothing but a confused haze for her, and right now, she was numb and cold and very, very tried.
"O-Oscar?" Ruby asked through chattering teeth, "Why d-do you th-think Uncle Q-Qrow talking about t-twins like th-that?"
Oscar didn't look down at her when he replied, but kept his gaze forward at the group. "I dunno, but I hope he's wrong."
A sudden movement behind a tree caught his eyes, and soon after, a few stray leaves from a near-bare tree fell from its stripped branches. Then it was silent again. Confused, now even more tense, and now wary, he continued walking forward, following the others.
A lingering atmosphere of fear, nervousness, and overall uneasiness seemed to hover around both of them, as if they were trapped in a bubble of it or something. It made them both feel uncomfortable, and neither of them wanted to hear what was going to happen next. But they were also a little hopeful, too.
From the majority of the group, it seemed like they were likely staying with them, Now all they needed to fear was that Ruby and the baby were okay, and how the others were going to deal with them after things were decided.
Hewf. I really, REALLY hope that this chapter did't disappoint any of you fabulous 61 followers and the guests reading this. Ha, I rewrote this chapter, actually, cuz I made everyone's reactions all, "Oh Ruby, you've betrayed us!" and they were all sad and crying and stuff. Ugh.
Brief apology for skipping another Weiss scene. The chapter was getting long and I'm pretty sure nobody cares about that right now at all. The name of this chapter involves three different languages. :P
Thank you, guest who posted a review either this morning or last night. It make me extremely happy to read reviews like that. I would PM you, but you can't PM guests, so yeah. Again, thank you, and thank you everyone who's reading this and has left reviews! :D
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more chapters!