Ruby held her scroll in her trembling hand. Butterflies were swirling around in her stomach and her heart was pounding.
Before, she had thought it would be easy to make a simple call stating a simple truth. But now she was so nervous, she didn't think she'd manage to even press the call button.
Maybe I shouldn't tell him! Maybe I should tell him after they're born.
She slapped her forehead and covered her face with her hands.
Then what?! Just show up on his porch with a bundle of babies?! No!
She flopped down on the hotel bed and stared at the ceiling. Her raging thoughts were making her very sleepy. Then again, just about everything did. Frustrated, she tossed her scroll onto the couch, forgetting that Oscar was napping there.
It landed hard on his face, and even harder on this nose. Cartilage is kind of sensitive, you see, so it woke him up rather rudely.
"Owch!" he yelped, sitting up. He turned and saw Ruby curled up on the bed with a very frustrated look on her face. He frowned and went over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"What's wrong, Ruby?" he asked, rubbing the throbbing bridge of his nose, "Did the call go really bad? What'd he say?"
Ruby glared at him out of the corner of her eyes, then shoved her face into the mattress.
"I didn't call him yet," came her muffled, angry reply.
"Then don't, if you don't want to," Oscar sighed, "He'll find out one way or another, so it's okay if he doesn't know right at this moment."
"But I told you," Ruby whined, jerking her head up from the mattress, "I want him to be here when I have the babies! He's all the way in Signal, which is in Patch, so it'd make more sense to let him know ahead of time so that he can travel!"
"Then call him," Oscar suggested.
"I don't want toooooo," Ruby moaned. She faceplanted in the bed again and began to cry. Oscar sighed again and began lightly rubbing her shoulder.
"No pressure, alright?" he said, "Just do what you think would be best. I don't know your dad, other than what I vaguely remember Ozpin telling me. You make him sound like a great guy, though, so...um...yeah."
Ruby rolled over, her big belly sticking up in the air.
"M'kay," she murmured, "I'll do it."
Oscar smiled and handed her the scroll she'd previously thrown. She took it, redialed Tai's number, and, after a full minute of hovering her finger over the call button, pressed it. Then she slapped the scroll to her ear, staring at Oscar with wide, fear-filled eyes.
"Hello?" Tai answered. His voice startled Ruby. The unassuming tone of his fatherly voice made her want to cry again.
"Uh, h-hi, Dad!" she greeted nervously.
"Oh, hey, Ruby! How's it going? You guys haven't talked to me in a while...Are things going alright?"
"Um, yeah, I guess so. There's just some n-news for me to tell you."
"What is it? Are you guys finally coming to visit me?"
"Erm...something like that." A nervous laugh. "You see...uh...how do I put this?"
"Uh oh. Did you guys get yourself in another weird situation? Did Qrow do something stupid again? I knew I should've gone with you." He chuckled at his half-joke.
"No, uh, it has nothing to do with Qrow- I mean...!" She sighed in exasperation, at a loss for her own words.
Remember the order of events! Remember the manner! ARGH!
"So...do you remember Oscar? The new Ozpin?"
"Yeah, sort of. You guys told me a lot about him after he showed up."
"Well, he isn't the new Ozpin anymore. See, we actually managed to remove Ozpin's soul from Oscar's, and then put it into someone else, so now someone else is the new Ozpin."
"Wait what? How in Remnant does that work?!"
The conversation that ensued was just what Ruby needed to calm her nerves. She explained their mission to get the Atlas relic, what the group had told her about Vorst and almost crushing Mantle, visiting Maria, and then ending up in the city they currently were in. She was careful to leave out the parts about getting sick, falling in a river, and almost dying a few times. It was surprisingly easy to leave out all the pregnancy stuff.
After she had finished, her heart rate and muscles had relaxed some. She really did miss him, and it felt so good to talk with him about her adventures with her team and friends.
"So yeah, now Oscar's just a regular guy," she finished, "Which will make the next news a lot less distur-I mean, uh...shocking?"
"...okay..."
Just start with the relationship, then go on about the future marriage, and THEN tell him about the babies. It shouldn't be too big of a deal- I hope!
She swallowed, long and hard, and gently exhaled. She felt much more ready now to tell him. After all, it was just Tai. Just her dad. Maybe he would get excited about becoming a grandfather. It would seem like him to be.
"Soooo, over the last few months, me and Oscar have become really good friends," she began, "And well, to say the least, I kinda had a crush on him."
Hrmf, right. We only romantic because of what happened after we got captured.
"Right. I think I see where this is going."
"Probably," she giggled, "Um, well, I guess he liked me too, because we're um...we're a-a thing now."
"You are?! How old is that kid? Isn't he only like, 14? You're almost 17."
"No, no, no," Ruby explained quickly, "Ozpin aged him a few months ago for training purposes or something weird like that. He's 17, probably almost 18, now. Believe me...he's pretty handsome." She laughed nervously and hid her flushed face from Oscar.
"Well, I'd like to meet his Oscar, then, because I'm not letting any shallow dimwits near you. Tell me about him, will you?"
Ruby told him all about Oscar- what he looked like, how he talked, his faults, his quirks. She ended up going on a bit of a rant, gushing all her feelings over the phone. She could tell how amused Tai sounded at her silly, rapid talking. She avoided looking at Oscar the whole time.
"He doesn't sound too bad- I guess. Maybe he can pass with a broken wrist instead of a broken back after your first kiss."
"Dad!" Ruby giggled.
We had a lot more than just a first kiss.
"So...uh, he'll be 18 in a little while, and well..." She paused, unsure of how to say it. To be blunt, yes, they were essentially engaged.
Imma just tell him what it is. I need to get it out!
"I'm engaged," she blurted.
An eerie silence loomed between the scrolls.
"You're WHAT?!"
Ruby massaged her brow and closed her eyes, wincing. If this was his reaction to her engagment announcement, how was he going to react to her next big piece of news?
"I'm engaged. I'm getting married to Oscar. I-it isn't for a bit, though, okay? We're waiting until I turn 18." She felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of her face.
"Uuuuh, that's great! I mean, I wish he could've asked my permission, but like...I guess, congratulations!"
A nearly overwhelming wave of relief cascaded through her and she felt herself fall back onto her bed. She ran her fingers through her hair and took in a deep, relieved breath.
"Wow...my baby girl is all grown up! And pretty soon, my baby girl's gonna have babies of her own! You guys certainly have to visit me, now. I gotta meet this guy."
"Yeah, pretty soon," Ruby mumbled, almost hoping he didn't hear her. It had been an intentional, though.
"What, you're thinking of starting right away?"
"Well, Dad, if you're standing up right now, I'd suggest sitting down. Or just moving away from breakable things or stuff you don't want to accidentally damage..."
"Wait, what? Wait..."
"I'm just gonna throw this at you, so get ready, Dad!" She was surprised at her own ferocity. Then again, she really was desperate to get it out. She wanted the awkward climax of the conversation to be over.
"Wait, hold on, Ruby...This better not be what it sounds like-"
"It probably is!" Ruby cried, clamping down on her scroll and bunching up her hair and ear in the process.
"Don't tell me that you're-"
"I'm pregnant, Dad!" Ruby yelled, "I'm going to have twins! But it happened while we were locked in a dungeon together and dying and I dunno how it happened, but we ended up doing it, and since it happened, we decided to become a thing, and now we're gonna get married." She took a huge gulp of air and started panting.
She saw Oscar out of the corner of his eye, cheeks flushed and eyes wide with confusion at her sudden outpour. It was quite an adorable expression.
"..."
"Please say something, Dad," Ruby begged quietly.
"..."
"Dad?"
"..."
"Dad..." Ruby felt both glad that the weight was off her chest, and terrified for what he was going to do. All hope of him understanding was forgotten and only a fear of punishment remained.
"YOU'RE WHAT?!" he suddenly exploded, so loud that his voice over the phone crackled and distorted. It startled Ruby so badly that for a moment she feared she would go into labor or something. Of course, she didn't, but still.
"Y-you heard me right," she stammered, "So, since everyone else is c-carrying on with their mission about S-Salem, it'll only be m-me and Oscar here. I...I really just want you to be with me w-when the babies are b-born."
She felt tears start falling down her cheeks, but she didn't care.
"I-I miss you, Dad."
She heard the sound of a scroll clattering to the floor, followed by several indistinguishable shouts and other loud noises. None of those noises were pleasant, and Ruby had half the mind to hang up on the call.
But in due time, the noises settled and she heard him pick up his scroll again.
"Sorry about that," he apologized, suddenly more composed, "That was just...uh...a lot to take in."
Ruby felt her nervousness returning.
"So...you're pregnant with twins?"
"Uh huh."
"And how far along are you?"
"A little over 7 months."
"And you're in Atlas right now with Oscar, safe from harm?"
"Yep."
"You and the babies are fine? You're eating well, keeping warm, all that stuff?"
"Yes."
"And everyone else is fine, no one's hurt or lost?"
"Nope!"
"Well thank goodness, then! I guess we have nothing to be afraid of now, do we?"
Ruby felt weak with relief once more. She allowed herself to relax and sighed, a long, slow, happy sigh.
"I guess not, Dad."
"So! You want me to come over there, probably since it wouldn't be wise for you to travel, and be with you for the birth and all that?"
"Um, well, yes...If you want to, or like, you're okay with it."
"I'd love to! It means a lot that you're okay with telling me this stuff. I always wondered what would happen in weird situations like this, and the fact that you want to include me warms my heart."
"Hehe...well...thanks?"
"Well, then, I'll leave right after my mission in a few weeks. I should be there in about a month. Is that okay?"
"That's more than okay! Thank you, Dad! You have no idea how glad I am..."
"I'll let you know that I'm still upset about what you told me."
"Oh, erm...right."
"But it's more important to me that you guys are fine. You have no idea how worried I was when I didn't hear from you all for that whole time."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I'll be sure to keep you more posted."
"Thanks, sweetie."
"Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest," Ruby breathed, "You have no idea how scared I was! I know you love me and stuff, but you're my dad, and a lot of dads would freak out or whatever!"
"I did freak out, but I get what you mean."
Tai and Ruby chatted on their scrolls for the remainder of the afternoon. They bid each other farewell after working out some of the details of his coming visit, right before Oscar and Ruby went for some dinner.
It seemed things were going to be better than they thought.
I know it's a bit of a short chapter, but the next section would probably be better as a different chapter. Hope y'all liked it! Also, lemme know if you want to be in my thank you list on the last chapter. :)
For any of you guys who like anime, I'd highly recommend the new anime, To Your Eternity, also known as Fumetsu no Anata e. The first season finished airing a few weeks ago. It's good stuff!
Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!