"How is she?" Oscar asked, kneeling beside Ruby's bed and laying a hand on her's. Maria walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, almost in an assuring way.
"Not too much better; not worse," she answered, looking at Ruby's flushed, sweaty face, "It's a strange and wonderful thing, though, that I could feel her aura protecting your children. I asked her, and she told me that certainly wasn't doing it voluntarily."
Oscar smirked and gently wiped his hand along her burning hot forehead, brushing aside some stray locks of her red and black hair that were plastered to her skin. Her mouth was slightly open as she breathed, somewhat panting, through it. She overall looked so helpless and innocent, it was hard to believe that in a about 5 months, she was going to be a mother.
"Is she going to be okay?" Oscar asked softly, staring intently at her face. Maria shrugged, looking so calm and sure of herself, and patted his shoulder.
"I think she'll pull through in time," she answered, turning and heading towards the door, her cane tapping along with her, "But for now, you should really get some rest. You nearly collapsed once you people entered my home."
Oscar chuckled and stood weakly stood to his feet, using Ruby's bed for support. He turned to the old woman, who was just about to exit the room, and smiled at her, quietly calling her name before she was about to disappear from view.
"Maria?"
She turned slowly around, giving Oscar a questioning, patient look. "Hm?"
He smiled again and walked over to her a tired, but relieved look in his hazel eyes. Ever since he had first met her, the two of them had seemed to bond. She treated him like her grandson, and she was like a grandmother to him.
"Thank you so much for helping with Ruby," he said softly, "It means so much to me. You've been so useful and loving all this time, and I'm very grateful. I don't know what we'd do without you. Thank you, Maria."
A wide smile spread on her wrinkly lips and she took a few steps forward towards the young man, stretching out her short arms
"Oh, you're so sweet," she said, "Come here." She wrapped her arms around him while he bent down, and the two of them hugged for a few moments before they unembraced and stared at each other.
"You're welcome, Oscar," she said warmly, and he nodded gratefully to her, "I do like to consider myself as the grandmother I never got to be. Although, there have been quite a few times where I haven't regretted not being one. Being the Grimm Reaper was enough work as it was, and then of course there was life without any eyes."
She rubbed the blue lenses of her large mechanical eyes.
"I didn't just get them back right after I lost them, you know. It took quite some time to even find my way back to civilization."
Oscar nodded slowly, smiling, and then walked back towards Ruby's bed, slumping down and leaning his head up against the bedstead with exhaustion. He kept his eyes open, though his gaze was low, and looked softly at Maria as she stood there with her cane.
"Thanks again," he mumbled, feeling a large yawn coming up, "See you in a bit."
His eyes were heavy with sleep and he wanted nothing more than to curl up next to Ruby and fall into a nice, deep sleep without a care in Remnant. Despite how damp and hot her bed probably was, he wouldn't mind, so long as Ruby was right next to him. Maybe he could even hug her while he slept...
"Sleep well," Maria said, nodding to him and turning around to exit the room, "I'll probably be making diner when you wake up, so don't hesitate to come in and grab a bite to eat. No snagging anything before it's done, though, understand?"
A slight hint of teasing was in her voice near the end of her sentence, and Oscar chuckled, closing his eyes and relaxing.
"Understood," he answered, his voice trailing off as he began to let go of his consciousness and slowly, very slowly, slide smoothly into sleep. The darkness of his eyes being closed melded with the dreary dreaminess of sleep, and any audible noises either faded away, or got louder, bouncing around his mind in a weird muffled presentation.
In a few moments, he was fast asleep, the draining and hard events of that day having taken their toll on his body. Combined with the stress of Ruby and the babies, along with the mission stress and the whole Ozpin deal, he fell into a very deep sleep easily.
His soft, gentle snores mixed with the sounds of Ruby's uneasy, mildly panting breathing and the two of them slept; Oscar leaning on her bed and sitting on the floor, and Ruby curled up in her sweat-soaked sheets and blankets.
Ruby bolted upright with a gasp, clutching her sheets closely to her as she did so. For a moment, she just sat there, panting and sweating in a fuzzy, blurry confusion while a cold chill seemed to slowly blow against her, increasing as the seconds flew by.
Then she suddenly felt very cold and she began to violently shiver. Quickly wrapping herself back up with the many blankets surrounding and semi-covering her, she tried to catch her breath and take in her surroundings, which had begun to clear now. Her heart drummed in her chest, so hard she could hear it.
She was still in her and Nora's room, but no one was in it.
Oh yeah...Everyone left to grab the Relic or whatever, without me. It's just me and Maria here, I guess.
She sighed and looked down at her wet sheets, not even caring how much moisture was in them. She was too hot and cold at the same time to care, and she was petty much used to the feeling of sweaty sheets now, anyway. Her wandering gaze traveled slowly from her sheets to the edge of her bed, where she suddenly noticed Oscar sleeping deeply with his head leaned up against the stead.
Her face softened and warmed as she saw the peacefulness of his sleeping face, a look of exhaustion lingering on it. His brown hair was a fuzzy mess, and his cheeks were rosy and held the slightest traces of sweat on them. His breath, although sounding steady and peaceful, was slightly faster than it normally was.
"Poor guy..," she murmured to herself, smiling sweetly at him and lightly putting her pale, trembling hand on his head, his hair sticking up through the spaces in between her fingers. She yawned and slowly lowered herself back down onto her back, and with much effort, scooted over to the very edge of the bed.
She then weakly reached her arms out and wrapped them around his head, cuddling it on her neck and gently kissing the top of it. His head felt so warm and comforting hugged up to her neck, slightly touching her chin and her bosom. She smiled wider and held him a little tighter, making her feel a bit weaker.
He stirred slightly, moving his head a little before mumbling something undecipherable under his breath and returning to his gentle, soft snoring. Ruby giggled at how his mouth hung slightly open, giving him an even more peaceful look. She sighed, a happy sigh, and closed her eyes again, nuzzling his hair with her chin.
And she nearly fell asleep, the sound of the fan's gentle operation; Oscar's light, gentle snoring; the faint sound of the evening birds chirping outside in the snow. But the loud sound of Yang's laughing in the kitchen below, just audible in the vent that was on the ceiling, just in the corner.
It hadn't even been that loud, it had just stuck out to her for whatever reason. Her eyes blinking open, she looked curiously over at the corner vent, hearing more laughter from her older sister, accompanied by more laughing from Maria and Nora.
I wonder what they're laughing about...Maybe it's good that I don't know, cuz what if Yang made another weird pun or something. No, why would Maria and Nora be laughing then? No puns could make them laugh...
She yawned again, closing her eyes and snuggling back up in the warmth and sweetness of Oscar's head and neck. She could feel his pulse in his neck, and even that made her feel good inside.
"Sometimes, Oscar," she murmured, "I wish we could just run away together and raise our children in our own little house or something. Like we could somehow abandon the stress and responsibility of things right now and just be free to live together, in love and freedom. We could get married once we get old enough, and then we could live together forever with our children."
She sighed again, feeling a hint of sadness cross lightly over her heart. Dreaming of these kinds of things always seemed to lead to a sad disappointment in reality, and she was tired of disappointment. Tis was a familiar feeling, and yet it always seemed to hit so hard, no matter the level of it. Why, even as a child, her silly dreams of wanting to attend a ball of some kind had always lead to a heart shattering feeling of disappointment.
"You know," she said softly, feeling a little downcast now and her eyes looking sadly at him, "I know the others said that they've accepted it and stuff...or at least some of them, I feel like they don't really think about us the same. Like they look down on us or something. It makes me feel a little more unwelcome, if you know what I mean."
She scooted down a little more, practically half hanging off the bed as she hugged her arms around is chest and dug her face snuggly into his shoulder. She took in a deep breath of his scent, smiling as she did, and closed her eyes.
"I've actually considered running away or something," she whispered, "So that my stray little dream could come true. I'd rather live alone with you and our little family than live with you and everyone else with this kind of...tense feeling, then have to try and learn how to raise children in front of everybody. It is a possibility, but I've just felt too afraid to, like there's this risk somehow."
Her fingers traced his jaw bone and then his cheeks and he stirred a little again, his gentle snoring melding into soft breathing.
"I don't even know what that risk would be, it's just there. And I've always wanted to tell you, but I just can't bring myself to. I know you'd understand, but...well, I don't know. I just wonder if it'd make you look at me a little like some child."
She swallowed and felt her temper rising a little.
"I feel like everyone looks at me that way, even though I'm just as old as they were at the beginning of our first year at Beacon!" she said, her voice slightly raised in some kind of emotional anger, "I bet they feel as mature as they did back then. But I'm older now, and for some reason they treat me like I'm still 15 or something."
Her head began to swim a little, some dull, rippling pain accompanying it due to her rise in temper and emphasis. She sighed again and calmed down, hugging Oscar a little closer to herself and shaking mildly. "I know you don't look at me that way, though. At least I hope not."
"Don't worry, I don't," Oscar mumbled, turning his head a little and looking up at her with bleary hazel eyes. Ruby was nearly scared out of her wits at the suddenness of the moment, and she jumped so so hard she nearly fell off her bed. Fortunately, Oscar caught her just in time, and he snapped fully awake.
"Woah, careful!" he said, catching his breath from that suddenness, "I don't want you to hurt yourself or something."
Ruby blinked, staring up at him. It felt so nice to be held by him, scooped up in his warm, strong arms, staring up into his loving, handsome face. Oscar shook his head with a light chuckle and stood up, gently laying her back on the bed and covering her up. He frowned when he felt the sheets, staring at them.
"These are pretty wet," he said, raising a brow, "Is it uncomfortable?"
Ruby shrugged.
"Eh," she said, "I've gotten used to it. And besides, I'm feeling too weird to really care or notice, so yeah." Oscar nodded his head slowly and continued to cover her up, neatly spreading out the sheets and blankets so that her bed looked made.
"Um," Ruby began, curiosity and mild embarrassment nagging her to ask him, '"So...how much of my dreamy sappy rant did you hear while I thought you were sleeping?" She bit her lip, nervous as to what his answer would be. He laughed lightly and sat down in the chair that stood beside her bed.
"Just woke up during the part about you being too afraid to tell me about your plans," he answered, smiling, "And I kinda heard some of those plans, too."
Ruby felt her cheeks flush even further.
"Oh..," she said quietly, "Uh, did those plans sound stupid?"
"No," Oscar answered, "They sounded interesting."
Ruby nodded, feeling relief and some kind of happyish sunny feeling all at once. At least he was actually considering her thoughts and dreams instead of immediately labeling them as vain and impossible.
"And..?" Ruby prodded, hoping to get a clear answer. Part of her wanted him to agree with her, and another part of her hoped that he wanted them to do things as non-complicated as possible, staying with the group. Oscar just scratched his chin in thought, looking hard at the window behind Ruby's bed.
"And I don't know what to tell you," he said, stretching his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair, "But I can tell you I've considered that very thing. I just don't want to be too rash or anything, you know?"
Ruby nodded.
"Yeah, I know," she answered.
The two of them just stay there for a while, Ruby laying down and staring up at the ceiling while Oscar just sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head and his eyes thoughtfully watching her. Neither said a word in the silence of the room, the peaceful, pleasant silence. Then Oscar spoke up.
"So how're you doing?" he asked suddenly, making startling Ruby again.
"Huh?" she said, her voice sounding so high pitched for her age, "Oh, right. Uh, well, I don't really feel very sick all the time anymore, so that's nice. And I've been feeling the babies moving a lot, so that's good too."
She glanced down at her stomach, which was covered with too many blankets to see her bump through. "And to be honest, I feel like they're going to be okay, even though things have probably been super rough on them."
Oscar smirked and nodded his head.
"Yeah, you've been using your aura to protect them," he said, "Even though you aren't consciously doing it, it's happening. It's a woman's natural response during pregnancy, to engage their aura and utilize it for protective purposes to their unborn. Although, when purposely engaged, it's effects are increased and more effective still."
He paused and cleared his throat, inwardly cringing as he realized how effortlessly he had began slipping into Ozpin mode again. He could see it in Ruby's eyes as well, how unsettling it was for her.
"Do you...understand how much time I have left?" Oscar asked after a long stretch of silence, swallowing after he finished his grave sentence. Almost simultaneously, tears filled the girl's eyes and she quickly brushed them away. Oscar's sober face hinted concern for her, but remained mostly serious.
"Um, well, no," Ruby choked after a moment, trying to compose herself, "I mean, I-I really don't like thinking about it...at all."
Oscar nodded slowly.
"Understandable," he said, "And I don't like to think much of it, either. A lot of times I try to figure out some kind of bizarre way to somehow stop the whole process and free myself of this cycle somehow. The only way I could ever do that is by somehow separating me and Ozpin's souls, but that's impossible."
He sighed sadly and leaned his head on his hand.
"At the rate things have been going so far, I'm going to have to say I have a few more months left until me and Ozpin fully merge and become...well, pretty much Ozma. It's sad that you rose to this fate, but we should be grateful that Ozpin allowed me to be this age and still only be this much merged with him."
Ruby felt her throat ache with emotion as she fought back more tears from coming. She didn't want Oscar to leave and turn into Ozma. She loved Oscar, not Ozpin or Ozma, and she also didn't want her children to look like they were from that old legend. What would people think of her? And besides, it would be so painful to watch her children grow up and look like the man she had once loved...
"Um," she said, her voice only a soft, strained whisper, "How many months, do you think?"
Oscar exasperatedly shrugged, unsure.
"I don't know," he said, thinking for a moment and trying to come up with a somewhat reasonable answer, "Maybe five or so?"
Ruby felt a small, slow stream of hot tears run down her face. Five months. Just the amount of time it would take for her babies to finish forming and be born. Why?! Why did the timing have to line up like this? Why?
"Oh," came Ruby's barely audible answer, followed by more silence, "Okay."
Oscar sighed and covered his face with his hands, not knowing what to do or say at the moment. His whole problem of his love for Ruby, their future, and the fact that he would no longer be himself anymore weighed down on his chest again, making him feel terrible. He was so sick of having to deal with things like this, and not dealing with them only made things worse.
He wanted Ruby to be safe and to be married and raise their children well, but he didn't know how she'd be able to do that if he was gone. There was always Jaune she could marry, but would he even want her pregnant with children that weren't even his and looked like Oscar's? Would Ruby even end up loving Jaune enough to actually marry him?
Oscar felt a tear drop into his hand. He uncovered his face and noticed he was actually crying at the moment. Wiping his eyes, he cleared his throat and looked back at her as she lay staring sadly at the ceiling, looking depressed.
"Hey, Ruby?" he asked quietly, her gaze swiveling from the ceiling to his face, "Can you tell me that you love me, please?"
Ruby looked confused, but didn't question.
"I love you, Oscar," she said softly, setting aside her confusion, "Do you love me?"
Oscar sighed and nodded with a faint smile.
"Yes. I love you Ruby."
The two of them stared at each other, locking eyes and feeling their hearts beat a little faster as a pleasant, warming wave of love washed through both of them at the sight of the other's face. A tear rolled innocently down Ruby's cheek, followed by another as her lip quivered and her eyes sparkled. A forceful, trembling smile was on her face, slowly bending and shifting into a heart-wrenching sad mouth.
Oscar felt his own eyes become misty, and he knew what was coming.
Ruby's silver eyes sparkled brightly with huge tears, and her face couldn't hold the stress and strain of trying to smile at all. She burst out into tears and, despite her weak and frail state, yanked herself from the covers and leaped into his arms, sobbing into his chest and hugging him tightly.
He held her there, holding her lovingly as she shook with the sobs wracking her body. He felt a tear roll down his cheek as she screamed and cried, muffled by his clothes and his body, letting out all of the fear, sorrow, and general devastation she'd been feeling this whole time, not wanting to let go of him for fear of losing him right then and there.
After a few minutes of nonstop sob-hugging, Oscar caressing her messy black and red hair with one of his hands while his other tightly embraced her, and Ruby crying until she had no more energy or tears left to spend, though, she still clung to him somehow.
He slowly and gently tried to pull her away, knowing she needed to rest, but she still clung, refusing to let go.
"No, no, please," she sobbed weakly, "I don't wanna let go of you...I don't wanna lose you yet. I'm not ready to let go."
Oscar felt more emotion stab his heart all the way through, and he let her stay where she was, hugging her again. She stopped crying a few moments later, and was now simply sniffing, curled up against him and occasionally letting out a sad whine. Her hand still clutched his arm with no sign of letting go, and she seemed to be half asleep.
But whatever the case, her eyes were closed, tears lining the rim of her eyes and painting a trail down her hot cheeks, and she was not going let herself be removed from him. Gathering her carefully in his arms, he picked her up and walked slowly to her bed, setting her down. But still, her arm clung to his, and would not let go.
Oscar sighed and after a moment's hesitation, climbed over the bed and lay down on the other side, next to Ruby. Inwardly wincing a little at the wetness of the bed he was laying on, he reached over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. Her hand let go of his arm and relaxed on top of it as he did so, and the two of them lay there together in more silence.
His hand traveled slowly over to her stomach, rubbing lovingly over it when it reached it and admiring its perfect round surface. Inside there were two babies, alive and growing. And he had helped make them! They were his! Another feeling of love and sympathy went through him and he continued rubbing Ruby's stomach, a longing for the future he would never have filling him.
"Ozpin," he whispered darkly, a feeling of exasperation accompanying it, "I hope you're satisfied at what you've left me with."
;-; Heart-wrenching Rosegarden intensifies. Sorry for the late update; Christmas has its crazy way of occupying my every second. Merry Christmas everyone, by the way, and happy New Year! Alas, we are going to enter the vast world of 2020...
Yeah, this chapter is actually shorter than the other ones by nearly halfway. My reason for this is because the content of this chapter seems to belong all in one chapter; I don't think having a scene with the others belongs in this tender chapter. That, and I wanted to update it; people seem a bit impatient. XD
Yes, Sweet Guest, you'll find out the story about Vorst and his fraternity to Weiss and all that soon. And yah, some of my family, my dad and brothers, specifically, use the "that's tight!" line a lot, too. I have as well. :P And Merry Christmas to you, as well! :D
Story Advertisements: The Dragon's Heart and the Broken Rose (Series), by AlucardJenkins (Tai and Summer fans, read this. Or just post-STRQ fans)
A Silent Connection, by ArturSG (Neo and Jaune fans, read this)
P.S. Hey Combined117...let me know if you found the pun. It's hidden pretty well, imo.
Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!