Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Co-Authored with ToxicExotic

Behind the mask

The day was cold. Even without the wind it would have been painful, but with the wind, every slight breeze felt like knives on their skin; which made the actual knives on their skin all the more painful. The cleaver that ran along Ruby's stomach was agonizing, the burning trail of cold it left behind ripping through her body to cause a small grunt of pain. They'd been training for an hour. An hour of blistering cold and Ruby already wanted to call it quits, but Weiss was refusing to let any of them go back inside until their two hours was up. She knew her partner was right of course, but the pain was dulling that specific rational a little. Nevertheless, she pulled herself together and focused on the fight in front of her. Which was, unfortunately, against her beautiful girlfriend.

As Gambol Shroud came back down for another slash, Ruby gave a quick spin of her scythe and fired off a round. The bullet slammed into Blake's hand and sent the weapon spinning away from her. Unfortunately, Yang was ready and caught it, Blake giving the extendable black ribbon a hard, overheard tug that brought the blonde screaming towards Ruby through the air. However, before her sister could even get halfway, a ghostly white Boarbatusk came spinning from the side and slammed into her with enough force to send her into the shed. Thankfully the structure was study enough to take it.

"Ruby, stop holding back!" Weiss ordered, a maelstrom of water surging towards the Faunus, who turned red and exploded to cause the twister to scatter into a slight drizzle. "I'm sure she will still kiss you if you break her aura."

She blushed a little, but knew Weiss was right. While Grimm were easy to fight, people weren't. They moved differently, learned her attacks, but the most off-putting thing was they could be hurt. One accidental hit after their aura is gone, or even a strong one while they are on low aura, and damage could easily be extensive; hell, her own body was littered with scars from previous hits she had taken. And while she was willing to fight people, those potential accidents always made her nervous, because she didn't want to actually hurt them. Sure that could be a detriment in the future, but it's who she was.

However, it was practise, and they were stopping at red to recover, so pushing those fears to the back of her mind, she activated her semblance and tore through the air towards her girlfriend. Before she reached her though, a black glyph appeared in the air next to her and Ruby pushed herself off it to change direction. Like a pinball going mach speed, her sharp turn sent her zooming at an unprepared Yang, where she planted her feet on her sisters chest and took off towards Blake again, the force of it shoving the brawler into the solid wooden structure a second time. In the corner of her eye, she saw a blur of white pass behind her to continue the assault on recovering blonde.

The sparring match continued for another ten minutes, each pair squaring off and trying their best to put the other into the red. While Weiss won her fight with Yang, by capturing her in a vice grip with her giant knight and slamming her into the ground, Ruby lost to Blake; though she fared much better than usual and landed some solid hits. After a beautiful parry, Gambol Shroud's ribbon had slipped around her wrist and then a tree, escape practically impossible as Crescent Rose lay a few feet away; but her aura was still orange, so she wasn't out just yet. As the Faunus turned to the other remaining combatant, Ruby heaved her body up and slung her legs over Blake's shoulders and hooked them under her armpits to keep her arms in place. Weiss wasted no time and surged forward to jam the tip of Myrtenaster into the girl's chest, the blade emitting yellow sparks as it collided with aura.

A short yelp of pain came from the girl as her body slacked, and they both fell to the ground as Blake's body was no longer kept her upright.

"Blake's in the red." Coco called from the side as Weiss raised her weapon again.

With a breath of relief, Weiss lowered her rapier and held out a hand to the girl. Blake promptly took it and was lifted to her feet, though her legs still shook a little from the electricity that had just caused through her body. However, as the two began to walk away, Ruby wriggled against her bindings.

"H-Hey!" She called after them. "A little help?"

Blake turned to face her and her eyes widened. "Oh! Sorry, Rubes." She returned and began to pull at the tightly wrapped material. "That shock's frazzled me a bit."

"Really? I just thought you had her where you wanted her." Yang laughed as she approached, causing a visible blush on both girls cheeks, but quickly turned to Weiss. "Your summons are totally not fair."

"Yes. Well that's what you get for discharging three shells into the side of my head. They hurt too, you know?"

"You're the one who said don't hold back."

Ruby blocked out the pair's usual bickering session and turned to her girlfriend, who was curiously still blushing. Her fingers worked on the knot that had formed with diligence, but the lustrous, amber eyes kept flicking up to her silver ones. When the girl glanced down again, Ruby stuck out her tongue and gave her a wide grin.

"How'd I do?"

"Much better than when we last fought in class."

"Yessss!"

"Could use a little more work on your blind spots though, but we can practice that." Blake replied with a smile and finally managed to get the ribbon free.

With a flourish, the fabric slipped away and the raven-haired girl sheathed her sword, but before the Faunus could stand up, the reaper wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her into a light kiss. She was happy she had done well, and thought she deserved a reward. Blake returned the pressure quickly, and though it only lasted a few seconds, Ruby was left with a happy smile on her face.

"Will you two stop kissing during training?" Weiss sighed. "That doesn't work on Grimm."

"Well that's a gross image." Yang said with a grimace and accepted a towel from Velvet to wipe her head. "Thanks."

"Ignore her." Blake replied whispered and helped her to her feet.

"Ehh, she's right." Despite her words, Ruby leaned up to press another kiss on her girlfriend and gave a light chuckle at the frustrated sound from Weiss. Once she was satisfied, she pulled away and addressed the team. "Alright team. Five minute break, then we should do some deflection practise."

The hot chocolate felt good on the back of Ruby's throat after the long hours of training in the cold. Her muscles were sore and her head still spun a little after a particularly brutal punch from her sister, but thankfully her aura was quickly fixing all those issues. She let out a sigh of relief once the whole cup was finished, dumped it in the sink, and filled it with water to clean later. A pair of arms slid around her waist from behind, and she felt a small grin pull at her lips.

"I'm sweaty."

"So am I." Blake's voice replied. The breath that passed over her ear caused a shiver. "You were great today."

"Because Weiss is back." Ruby replied, pulling her mind away from the floral smell that was surrounding her. "She always pushes me to be better."

"But you put in the effort."

A kiss was pressed against her cheek and Ruby let out a happy breath at what was clearly a reward. She knew Blake was right, and that even without Weiss she would be putting in the effort, but when Weiss was around, it felt easier. Ruby liked how the heiress pushed her to always strive to be the best she could, to work on her faults and make her abilities as tight as they possibly could. Though it came off to many others as harsh, Ruby knew it was done because the girl cared. More than she would ever let on.

"I do." Ruby grinned and twisted her body to face her gorgeous girlfriend.

As she looked up into the shining amber eyes, she felt her stomach twist into a knot and a memory return. The last time she had looked into them properly had been three days ago when they were relaxing on the bed during the game of blackjack. She still remembered leading Blake back to it after their playful tustle, how it had felt when Blake fell on top of her with they made out. Her stomach had been filled with butterflies at the intimate position, and a large part of her hadn't wanted to change it, but she'd known that she had to. It had taken a lot of effort to raise that arm and gently guide Blake into a more subtable position, and she was glad Blake was so responsive because she hadn't been able to apply much pressure at all; though she was sure it felt like a full force shove to Blake.

However, she felt those same feelings again while looking into Blake's eyes and was struggling to control herself. She liked kissing her, liked the feelings it sent coursing through her body. She liked how Blake's hands would clutch at her sides, or maybe gently lift her chin. Every touch was electric, and felt dangerous to a degree, like with every step further she allowed Blake to guide their relationship was a massive treasure trove of new experiences. But Ruby was also aware that Blake was still the only one guiding their relationship. She wanted to as well, but she was still unsure how to go about it. Though she did know that a kiss was a good way to lead into something new, even if that something new was only something small.

So she closed her eyes and pressed in. Her lips quickly found the warmth of Blake's and she let out a soft hum as the pressure was returned. It was gentle for the most part, nothing like the kiss they had shared upstairs, but pleasant. Just as they tended to do, the Faunus' hands pressed against her back to pull her that little bit closer, and Ruby was more than happy to let her. In fact, as she did, she rested her hand on the counter behind her and pushed herself up until she was seated on it. Finally level with her girlfriend, she raised a hand to Blake's cheek and let it brush along the warm skin until her finger slipped over an ear and into her hair.

"Oh for Oum's sake." The sound startled them both back to reality, and, much to Ruby's disappointment, they quickly broke apart and she looked over her girlfriend's shoulder at the heiress. "Can I walk into one room and not be greeted by people making out?"

"You're in a house of couples," Blake scowled, not bothering to look at the snow-haired girl. "Hang out with Tai if you don't want to see us being…"

"... Annoying?"

"... happy."

"Ugh!"

Despite her words, Weiss didn't really seem particularly bothered. There was always a fine line with her between being actually annoyed, and her attempts to play around; but more often than not, it was the latter. Contrary to popular belief at Beacon, Weiss was not actually that bitchy. High maintenance? Sure. But more often than not she simply expressed herself in a way that came off as angry. Though Ruby also knew Weiss didn't care how anyone but her team perceived her, and thankfully, the whole team knew her well enough to be able to tell the difference.

"Happy people are the worst." Weiss groaned and picked up an apple from the fruit bowl.

"I thought we made you happy?" Ruby asked with a false pout that made Weiss roll her eyes.

"I'm happy when you're not irritating me, or dragging me into whatever thing gets you into trouble that particular day."

"Sooooo, everyday?"

"Once a week. At most."

The girl sat down at the table and began her apple, already done with the conversation as she would never speak with her mouth full. Blake obviously saw it too and wasted no time in pulling Ruby back into another light kiss. While it was just as short lived as the one they'd shared outside, Ruby felt herself yearn for their earlier one to not have been interrupted. Unfortunately though, fate had decided that the day was just going to be full of interruptions.

"Awww. Aren't they adorable?" Coco's smooth voice cooed as she walked into the room. "New love is so precious."

"Shush, You." Velvet giggled and nudged her girlfriend. "Leave them alone. Your teamwork is looking great, guys"

"Thanks." Ruby grinned as pride ran through her.

"Blake's and Weiss' teamwork needs more focus," Coco shrugged and flicked the kettle on. "Your movements are a little out of sync."

"Extra training for Blake and Weiss. Got it."

"Thanks, Coco!" Blake shot the older girl a scowl, but the fashionista didn't seem to care.

"Complain all you want, but if you fight my team, we'll know what to exploit."

"It really is something you should work on." Velvet hummed and sat down.

"Yeah, yeah," The Faunus sighed with a dismissive wave. "Where's Yang?"

"Said she was hanging back to check the shed is okay."

That struck Ruby as a little odd since she knew the shed was reinforced due to plenty of their previous ones being turned to rubble. To match her suspicion, Blake's ears gave a small twitch towards the other leader and her amber eyes narrowed a little. Obviously she had noticed something, and the look on her face as she turned back was more than enough confirmation. After a slight shift of her head towards the door, Ruby got the hint.

"Ahh, stupid shed is always breaking," It wasn't technically a lie. "I should go and help her."

"I'll come too." Blake replied and stepped away. "You too, Weiss."

The heiress swallowed her food and gave the Faunus a scornful look. "Are you insane? My feet are just warm… Hey!"

She was cut off as Blake's hand tightened around her arm and dragged her from the room. Knowing she was about to argue, Ruby gave her a look to say it was important. Though her defiance faded, she still looked annoyed at being manhandled and quickly ripped her arm free of Blake's grip.

"What is going on?" Weiss asked testily as they left the house and made their way over to the shed, even though Yang was nowhere to be seen.

"Yang, Coco, and Velvet are having issues." Ruby replied.

"The Menagerie thing? But they've seemed happy these past few days. Annoyingly so, in fact."

"You should know better than most that appearances mean nothing." Blake countered.

While they walked to the shed, they filled Weiss in on what Blake had felt two days ago. As they told her, the heiress' annoyance finally faded and was replaced with a look of sympathy. "I didn't know it was bothering her that much."

"You know how Yang is." Ruby sighed. She still hated how private her sister was about her personal feelings.

A quiet hum of agreement ran through the three of them, but they continued the rest of the way to the shed in silence. When they reached it, Ruby's glimpsed her girlfriend's ears flick in an attempt to pick up any noise before the girl motioned to the back of the wooden structure. They slowly made their way around, and before they revealed themselves, Ruby observed the rare moment of her sister's unguarded feelings.

She was leant against the back of the shed, and though she wasn't crying, or even close, her face was furrowed in worry. Her lilac eyes seemed dull, almost lifeless and hollow as she stared blankly at the torn oak leaves that littered her pants. In her hand was another dying, brown leaf, half ripped as the strong fingers tugged away small sections. It was a painful sight to see.

Her sister had always been so strong, her rock. When everything else fell and faltered, Yang remained firm and unmovable. Always there. So to see her in such a way, so distinctly in pain, sent a pang of hurt through Ruby too. It was that pain that urged her forward without thought. She didn't want her sister to suffer alone any longer when she could try to help change that.

"Yang." She kept her voice soft.

The reaction was instant. The lifeless eyes regained their light, the furrowed brow raised, and a smile pulled at her lips. For anyone who hadn't just seen her prior state, she could easily pass for someone just killing time by happily ripping up leaves. It was only then, it became clear how practised that face was, as it was virtually indistinguishable from the real deal.

"Hey, Rubbles." The voice was perfect too. The right amount of cheer and pep filling it. "What's up?"

Her courage faltered. Though she'd always hated that Yang hid her emotions, Ruby had never really tried to push. Be it out of fear that she would just end up hurting her sister, or whether a part of her didn't want the lie that was Yang's strength to fade, she didn't know; but even as she stood there, knowing how much Yang was suppressing, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Thankfully, she wasn't alone. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and Blake stepped out to stand beside her, quickly followed by Weiss.

"I think we need to talk." Blake said, her voice just as soft, but with a firmness to it that seemed to spark a return of the bravery that had just left Ruby.

"What about?"

"Velvet and Menagerie." Weiss replied, nowhere near as soft, but the care in which she intended was obvious.

"O-Oh, that?" Yang's voice cracked a little, but quickly returned to its usual cadence. "We're all good the…"

"Please…" Ruby whispered and lowered herself to her knees so that she was eye-to-eye with her sister. It was something Yang had done often as kids, since she was always taller, and Ruby always appreciated it. "... don't do that."

"Do what?" Her reply came fast and sharp, the cheer disappearing again. "Everythi…"

"... Stop…"

"... everything is…"

"... Stop!"

"I'M FINE, RUBY!"

She wasn't. The air no longer felt the same, Yang no longer felt the same as her eyes burned red and her hair glowed like the sun before her shout had even finished echoing around the garden. It had taken a fraction of a second for her to stand, the sudden action peppering Ruby with the remains of Yang's earlier destruction. But she didn't care, since it was finally something. Yang was enraged, and that was a real emotion. One that she knew how to handle. So as she prepared to act, she spoke a single, calm word.

"Okay."

Her scythe was drawn in the blink of an eye, and a shot rang loudly through the clearing. As yellow shimmered around her sister, Ruby heard Weiss gasp behind her, and a shuffle that was likely Blake stepping back.

"YOU SHOT ME!" Yang bellowed angrily.

"WELL YOU'RE BEING STUPID!" Ruby shouted back.

Wasting no time, Ruby rushed in and began her attack. Crescent Rose was a blur, it's wicked blade carving long arcs through the air and leaving trails behind it, though almost all of them were blocked by Yang. She knew she wasn't stronger than Yang, and probably never would be, but all she needed to do was to get her angry enough. Do that, and they would start getting somewhere. She ducked and dodged every punch that was thrown her way. When Yang tried to sweep her leg, Ruby jumped. When the brawler tried for a jab, Ruby caught her with the hook of her scythe and threw her. Until finally, the girl's semblance activated in full and Ruby thrown back by a wall of fire that tore from Yang's body; alongside a roar.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"Then talk." Ruby said calmly, knowing it would only anger her sister more.

"I HAVE NOTHING TO TALK AB…"

She was cut off as a gleaming white Beowolf fell on her, but she didn't miss a beat and tore it in half with ease. However, the cloud of white smoke it turned into was enough to obscure her vision, and a blur of black launched at her. Yang's instincts were honed to perfection though, even at the height of her anger, and she caught Blake with one hand and threw her aside. But Blake was a huntress too, and just as the girl had earlier that day, she slipped the ribbon of her weapon around Yang's wrist and threw the gun at Weiss, who summoned a huge wall of ice that froze it midair.

The battle continued for a couple of seconds; but even with an arm tied, an enraged Yang was no easy opponent. It took the combined effort of all three of them to finally restrain her against the wall of ice, but they finally managed to, and Ruby asked her again.

"Talk to us." She pleaded as rage flashes flashed dangerously behind Yang's eye, but Ruby knew there was no danger. She could tell the others to let her go and Yang would still never lay a finger on her.

"NO!"

"Yan…"

"SHUT UP!"

"Why won't you..."

"BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER!" She roared, her anger finally at its peak. "I DON'T MAT…" The switch happened just as fast as the earlier one had. The anger was still there, but she had clearly realised what she'd said and the red eyes faded. Her entire body slacked against the ice. "I don't m-matter!" Her legs finally gave out as she gave a huge sob and slid to the floor, and Ruby followed.

The tears were streaming in full now, from both Ruby and Yang. Ruby hated what she had just done, how she had to hurt Yang to finally get that admission, but she knew it was how the blonde had worked out her issues with her father. So as recompense, she wrapped her arms around her crying sister and simply held her, as the blonde had done for her more times than Ruby could count.

"I-I don't m-m-matter." The girl repeated, her face buried in Ruby's neck.

It took almost five minutes for Yang to finally stop, or at the very least to calm down enough to be capable of talking. During that time, Ruby had simply held her and let the girl get it all out of her system, while Weiss had removed the ice and Blake had retrieved her weapon. Both now sat on the grass beside them, both quiet and simply waiting. Finally though, when the shaking stopped and she heard a small sniffle in her ear, Ruby let herself talk.

"Of course you matter, Yang."

"I-I d-don't." The girl repeated again with a shake of her head.

"Why?"

"Because..." Yang stopped and sniffled again, her hand's tightening on Ruby's back. "Th-They were t-together before me, and th-they'll still be together w-without me. I don't m-matter, and they can… th-they can l-leave me."

There it was. The source of all Yang's issues. Abandonment. Even Ruby knew that Yang still hurt from finding out about Raven, especially so soon after their mom died. To feel left behind by two mothers, and then for your father to shut down really left its mark. But the specific worry in question was also stupid for the most part.

"You can't really believe that?" Blake asked and reached her arm out to place it on Yang's knee

"Yeah," Weiss replied, her voice gentle this time. "You should have seen Velvet's face when she told us about her plans. She was really worried about leaving you, even for the first year."

"Exactly," Ruby whispered since she was still so close. "Coco even said they can't imagine letting you go now."

"But they c-could."

"And it would hurt them as much as you are hurting now. You don't mean nothing to them Yang." Weiss said quietly.

"They would tell you the same thing." Blake agreed.

"I just…" Her voice trembled and the grip on Ruby's back was so tight she had to activate her aura. "I'm scared. I don't want them to leave me behind."

"I know," Ruby breathed and ran a hand along her sister's back. "And they won't. I can see just how much they love you. We all can." A murmur of agreement came from Weiss and Blake. "But if you need that reassurance, ask them yourself."

"Yes. I'm sure Velvet would set you straight while Coco calls you stupid."

To Ruby's surprise, and wet chuckle escaped the blonde at the heiress' words. The sound filled her with hope, as, while it meant Yang was being more rational now, it also told her that the happy face she'd seen her whole life was not just a mask.

"That sounds like them." Yang remarked quietly.

"It does," Blake chuckled and pulled her arm away. "So talk to th…" Blake's words cut off and her ears stood up straight. With a glance to her side, Ruby saw her eyes narrow into the woods. "Guys..."

"We're being watched." Weiss finished for her.

Now that she was aware of it, Ruby felt it too. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, and the feeling of eyes on her was almost enough to make her stomach churn. She pulled away from Yang and stood up, the blonde rising with her and both extending their weapons as they looked into the trees. Though they couldn't see it, the source felt strong. Overwhelmingly strong. She knew what it was immediately and backed away a little. They were in no condition to fight it, and doing so would likely flatten the house if they fought so close to it.

"We should get inside." Yang said, her voice finding its strength again with the present danger. "Get Dad."

"Good idea." Ruby agreed.

However, even as they turned away and made their way back to the house, something felt wrong. The gaze had never felt so intense before, so purposeful, so… hungry. The Hellk had been more active than usual lately, there had been more sightings and reports, so even as they closed the door, Ruby couldn't help but feel worried.

Raalm's Notes

Hello everyone, so that was a thing. It rare for the story to really take the serious turn, but Yang is a character who I feel really needs that. She's a very real character, with very deep-seated issues, and we really didn't want to remove those aspects; but she is also always trying to be strong for Ruby. This meltdown felt like a natural progression for her, and I really wanted to show just how good she is at wearing that mask, yet that there are still things that can make it slip. Also want to have some fluff for Ruby and Blake too.

Hopefully this all works well, and that you enjoyed. The next chapter will be up on the 8th of March.