Part 3
Ruby was always happy when the bell rang to end the day. She had her two worst classes at the end of the day. Creative Writing and Art. And the reason why they were both the worst had to do with one person: Weiss Schnee. Rich, snobby, condescending, uppity, there weren't enough words. Art was the worst of the two, since the teacher insisted that people were partnered for the year. So Ruby had to work with Weiss and listen to that all class. Usually Ruby did the bare minimum of participation before ignoring her. Lately, she'd taken to going to sit with Blake, who was in the same class.
Blake only looked over, the first time, glanced back to Weiss, then nodded. In fact, Blake was proving to be as cool as Yang always espoused, since Blake could sometimes offer advice that was far more helpful than what Weiss would. Creative Writing was a little bit more bearable, since both Yang and Blake were there as well as Weiss.
But it always made Ruby super happy to leave and see Uncle Qrow and Professor Ozpin out in the parking lot.
As usual, Yang met Ruby at her locker, Blake in tow again, and they waited at the main door for Oscar, since his last class was on the other side of the building.
"Hey," Oscar said shyly.
"Hey squirt," Yang greeted, "nice to see you! You feeling better?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Oscar replied, looking away. "I'm fine."
Blake looked at Oscar and narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything.
"Well, I'm ready to go home," Ruby said. "If Professor Ozpin is coming over again, maybe we can weasel him into baking cookies again."
Oscar gave a small smile. "We usually don't bake so often," he offered. "He doesn't want me eating so much junk food all the time. He says cookies taste better when a rare treat."
As one, Ruby and Yang looked to each other and nodded, devilish grins spreading across their faces.
"You probably shouldn't have said that," Blake offered solemnly, even as her mouth twitched into a smile. "Now they have more ammunition on how to back Professor Ozpin into a corner to bake."
"Ahhh- no…. Uhmmm!"
"We promise to only use this in the most dire of circumstances," Ruby said in all seriousness, saluting to Oscar.
Oscar was still stuttering as they weaved between the buses.
As usual, Ozpin was in the handicapped spot and was leaning against the passenger side to chat with Uncle Qrow, who was sitting on the hood of his car again. Seriously, how early did they get to school? Still Ruby was glad to be out of school.
"Uncle Qrow!" She raced over to tackle-hug him.
"Hey pipsqueak," he greeted. Ozpin, as always, leaned over to hug Oscar awkwardly. Qrow looked around at all the children. "So, Blake's coming over again?"
"Yup!" Yang said eagerly. "We have some history to do, and she's going to help me with science."
Qrow leveled a flat look. "Help. Not do for you."
"We would never!" Ruby stated emphatically. And they wouldn't, but it was all part of the game. She immediately turned to Oscar. "So, can I write that paper for you?"
Oscar stuttered immediately.
Qrow just reached out to rub Ruby's hair every which way. "Nice try, pipsqueak. You'd be more likely to have Oscar write it for you. If he has half the Sahara of wit his dad has, you'd be seen as a prodigy."
Ozpin let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, if we're talking dry wit, I believe your own supercilious tendencies would be enough to influence your adorable offshoots to a greater ascension of literacy."
"Daaad," Oscar growled, "can you not out-vocab someone right now?"
"Why, look, Oz," Qrow smiled broadly, "a teenager is embarrassed."
"Oh that is such a shock," Ozpin said in a dead, flat manner. "However will I survive the massive coronary I must be having?"
Uncle Qrow opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when his phone rang. "Sorry," he said to the group.
That was fine. Ruby and Yang glanced at each other and nodded before turning puppy eyes to Ozpin.
"Sooooo," they said in unison.
"Are you coming over again?" Yang asked.
"What with so many kids running around?" Ruby added, since that was Ozpin's usual reasoning when he saw Blake, Oscar, and any other friends that came over, like Ren and Nora, or Pyrra or Jaune.
It was part of the reason Qrow's pantry was starting to get better stocked with cookie ingredients. And both Yang and Ruby offered identical, innocent smiles.
"It's such a rare treat for you to come over," Ruby smiled winningly.
Blake barely held in a snicker and Oscar just groaned.
Professor Ozpin offered a wide, knowing smile, his eyes soft. "Oh, that's such a dilemma," he said dryly. But then all amusement dropped from his face and his eyes snapped to her uncle.
Blinking at the whiplash, Ruby turned quickly to her uncle and watched as color was draining from his face. She felt ice start to drip down her spine. "Uncle Qrow?" she asked softly.
"Are you sure?" he said to the phone. "Shit. It wasn't supposed to come up for another three years. When?"
Silence settled over the group.
Then Yang surged forward, "This is about my mom , isn't it?"
But Uncle Qrow, pale and wide-eyed, held her back, focused on the phone. "Back off, firecracker," he said firmly.
Yang was already reaching around him for the phone. Ruby stared for a second before grabbing Yang's arm and pulling her back. "Wait," she hissed into her ear. "He'll explain once he's off the phone, right now, you're preventing him from getting information."
That was the only thing that pulled Yang back, but her eyes were glowing in fury.
"Yeah… Yeah…. I know …." Qrow gave a long heavy sigh. "I'll start calling around. I've got time till my shift, and I'll make the rounds. You finish your work, Tai…. Yeah… Yes , I'll be calling Clover. After this little bombshell, I'm going to need you, Clover, anyone I can find to keep me sober."
Ruby staggered back. She remembered when Qrow drank. She remembered how he was, and after The Intervention, he worked hard on not drinking. He had no problem talking about needing a drink, to the point that it was (almost) a joke. But she had never heard him say he needed help staying sober, he was supposed to be past that point.
"Uncle Qrow," she said, reaching out.
But Qrow's jaw was tight, and he was pinching his brow against a headache. A vein in his neck was pulsing, and then he stood straight and turned to them. "The disaster part of my title is currently in full effect…" Then it seemed he noticed everyone. "Ahhhhh…"
Ozpin smiled warmly and put his free hand on Qrow's shoulder. "I was just discussing it with the children," he said lightly. "They'll all be coming over to my place. Chocolate crinkles," he turned and offered a smile to them all, "I believe that's what we decided to bake today?"
Ruby blinked, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
"Yeah," Oscar piped up, smiling just as broadly. "I think everyone's really hungry, right? We're going to do a science experiment. Compare a new cocoa powder my dad got that's supposed to be real high quality with a control group of the usual cocoa powder."
Blake had narrow eyes again and Ruby was just questioning what the heck had happened.
"That… sounds like a good idea," Qrow said, blinking. "Are you sure, Ozpin?"
And Professor Ozpin's smile was gentle and understanding. "I am. Get things sorted. Either your or Mr. Xiao Long can come pick them up." He turned to them. "Ms. Belladonna, you might want to text your family about the change in plans. Do you need me to provide my phone number for them?"
Qrow's shoulders dropped a little from the tension. "Thanks, Oz." And he offered the briefest of smiles and Ruby took a moment to marvel.
"Yang, more info once you're home," Qrow stated. "For now, just let things be. Answers will be coming once we know more. Basics: your mom's healthy, alive, and not in any trouble."
Yang was still scowling, but she nodded. "Sure, okay."
Then Qrow pulled them in close for a bear of a hug, messed up both of their hair, and dropped into his junky car and started the engine.
"Now," Ozpin said lightly. "Shall we bake some cookies?"
It was an almost surreal experience, Ruby thought. In the main living room Yang and Blake were huddled together on the couch, and Ruby was certain that Yang was giving their new friend the run-down of Raven Branwen. Meanwhile, Oscar and Ozpin were indeed doing a science experiment with cookies and Ruby was helping them with the batters.
This was not how she was planning her day to go.
"This is going to make over a hundred cookies," Ruby said, pulling out the first batch of cookie dough from the fridge where it had been chilling to "let the flavors enhance". "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we're going to eat a lot of them, but… what are you going to do with all of them?"
"Bribe the rest of my department," Ozpin replied promptly, opening the fridge to put in their last batch of cookie dough to chill.
"Er, what?"
"Dad has always had a reputation of passing out cookies, at every university he's worked at," Oscar said, measuring out powdered sugar to a bowl. "Baking's kinda always been a thing for the two of us."
"A little good will can also go a long way," Ozpin said, using a cookie scoop on the dough that Ruby had pulled out. "For all that we preach that being liked doesn't matter, people are more willing to help those they like than a random stranger. So when we do large batches like this, my colleagues remember I exist and perhaps offer some good of their own to someone."
"Dad," Oscar took the doughball that Ozpin had dropped into the powdered sugar and rolled it around, coating, "don't do that to yourself. You've always been the most dependable member of the department."
"What of you, Ruby?" Ozpin dodged. "Do you have many friends, or are you more of a hermit?"
Ruby took the cookie Oscar had coated and set it onto parchment paper to await the cookie tray. "I have friends," she replied. "But I was advanced into Yang's grade, so it's always a little… awkward."
"That explains why schoolwork is always so easy for you," Ozpin said lightly, dropping another ball of dough into Oscar's sugar, continuing the assembly line.
"Yeah," Ruby said. "It's fine, but it can be a lot of work to keep up with it. Being nitpicked doesn't help," she grumbled.
"Nitpicked?" Oscar asked, passing her another coated cookie.
"Yeah," Ruby said, filling up a cookie tray and putting it to the oven and setting the timer. "Eight minutes?"
"Nine would be better with that oven," Ozpin replied. "So you have a critic?"
"Ugh," Ruby snorted. "Understatement. Weiss Schnee was born to make my life as difficult as possible."
Both Oscar and Ozpin chuckled. "What?" Ruby asked. "She does!"
Ozpin shook his head. "Nothing, Ms. Rose. Just a difference in experience." He passed another cookie down the line. "'Schnee' you said? I wonder if she has a sister named Winter."
"She does," Ruby grumbled. "Talks like her sister can walk on water or fly or something."
"Hmmmmm. You must invite her over at some point. I would very much like to meet her."
"No way."
Ozpin chuckled.
They continued in silence for a time, just quiet music playing while Yang and Blake continued to talk in hushed tones in the living room. The silence… wasn't awkward, exactly. This wasn't the first time Ozpin had set up a baking line, and once focused on the work, it could get quiet, but….
That phone call was hanging over them. Yang was talking about it to Blake, Ruby had no doubt about that, and Ruby wanted to know what was going on, same as Yang. But she couldn't know now , they had to wait.
The timer went off and Ruby pulled out the cookie sheet and set another timer for two minutes to let the cookies set before moving them to a cooling rack.
She sighed.
"Uncle Qrow… Dad… They don't talk about it," she said.
Oscar and Ozpin glanced at each other, but neither said anything, letting Ruby either stop or continue.
She was glad for that.
"We always knew Yang's mom was arrested, like only a few years after she was born. We know that she left after Yang was born."
The timer went off and she put the cookies onto the cooling rack and set up the next batch and put them into the oven.
The assembly line continued and it was… oddly soothing.
"Dad was really messed up that she left. Like, bad. Uncle Qrow chased after her. I think he maybe got it? Uncle Qrow doesn't talk much about growing up, only that they were headed for bad things and that he chose to leave." Neither Yang nor Ruby ever wanted to ask more on the rare occasions Qrow mentioned it. There was something in his eye. Something regretful, and dark, and pained. They had both understood that if they asked, Qrow would answer. But they both were kind of scared what the answer would be when he got that look in his eye.
"It's not like Dad or Uncle Qrow keep secrets or anything. They've both answered any question we've asked but…"
Oscar didn't hand her a cookie. The assembly line had stopped, and Ruby couldn't help but look at Oscar.
"But… you instinctively know there's a line you don't cross."
"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "I think it would hurt Uncle Qrow too much. And he would hurt all over if we asked, because he would just answer, like he does with everything else."
Oscar was grimacing at the bowl, then he just stepped back to wash his hands and left.
Ruby blinked. "Ummmm, what? I'm sorry? Was it something I said?"
Ozpin let out a heavy sigh. "No, Ms. Rose. Nothing like that. As I said earlier, a difference in experience."
"Ahhhh…"
"Oscar and I are both familiar with someone in constant pain who will make certain that others suffer as well." Ozpin dropped another doughball into the powdered sugar and Ruby had to take over Oscar's job. "That your uncle will let himself suffer so that others don't is unfamiliar to the two of us. Or perhaps," Ozpin said more quietly. "It is far too familiar in another way."
Ruby didn't know how to respond to that.
She just wanted things to go back to normal.
Little did she realize the explosion that would happen when her dad and Qrow dropped Blake off and started to drive them home.
"So your mom is in jail?" Blake asked, gold eyes wide.
"Yeah," Yang said, her body full of energy. "And they won't tell me why."
"But I don't understand," Blake said, "Why would they tell you your mom is in jail but not tell you why."
"Because they weren't even going to tell me that," Yang growled. "She came up for parole when we were kids, and they were talking about it at night when they thought I was asleep. I asked what it was about and Uncle Qrow started swearing at me to get upstairs. All they said was that she was in jail. And this was after telling me my whole life that Summer Rose was my mom."
"Wait, who?"
"Ruby's mom," Yang said. "We have different moms."
"Oh…" Blake said. "I didn't realize."
"Yeah, we didn't either until I was ten," Yang replied, running a hand through her hair. "Ruby had a nightmare and I had to drag her down to get some water, and Dad and Uncle Qrow were talking about my mom and what they were gonna do. Dad even admitted that she was my mom. She was arrested like three months after I was born, that she'd already left us, and they didn't say why. All they said was they would tell me what happened at her next parole. That's now, I guess, and I want to know what happened."
"Then I guess you'll learn when you go home," Blake said, reaching out and touching Yang's hand. Her fingers were warm, and Yang smiled.
An hour later Blake left, saying her boyfriend was waiting for her and she couldn't keep him waiting; so Yang got up and saw her out, Blake waving as she started walking down the street. Not long after that Ruby came in with a plate of cookies, Professor Ozpin and Oscar joining her.
"Any word?" Professor Oz asked.
"No," Yang grumbled.
He seemed to understand, nodded and settled into his designated chair, propping his leg up. "Fear not," he said once he was comfortable. "I'm sure you'll learn everything you need to in due time."
"And just what is 'due time,' huh?" Yang asked, prickled that some guy was talking like he knew anything.
"Ah," he said, "That's the thing about due time, one doesn't know when it's due until it's due. It keeps us guessing, on our toes, until at last the knowledge appears; and often with it - wisdom."
"Well it better come fast," Yang said, crossing her arms.
Not even ten minutes later was a knock at the door. Oscar, silent up to now and staring at his knees the whole time, jumped to his feet to get it. Yang spun around on the couch, Ruby too, and both of them blinked when they saw both Dad and Uncle Qrow had come to pick them up. They'd never come together…
"Okay, girls," Dad said, "Let's get some supper in you. Qrow has take out."
"Take out?" Ruby whined.
"Don't complain, pipsqueak," Uncle Qrow said, dark frown on his face. "Neither of us had time to cook."
"But…"
"No buts," Uncle Qrow growled. "Get in the car."
"Are you gonna tell us about Mom?" Yang asked, standing up.
"No," Uncle Qrow said.
"What?" Yang demanded, irate. "You said you'd tell me all about her at her next parole!"
Dad interceded, hands up. "I did say that, Yang," he said, "But we thought it would be another three years from now, when you were sixteen and old enough-"
"I'm old enough now!"
"No you're not," Uncle Qrow growled. "Get in the car."
"No! Not until you tell me about Mom!"
"Yang…"
"Do you really wanna have this fight in someone else's house?" Uncle Qrow said, jutting his chin.
Yang turned, saw Oscar still staring at his knees, and Professor Ozpin very fascinated with his cane. Ruby was staring at her. Her heart was boiling, she didn't know what to do with herself, but she finally got to her feet. "Fine," she said, and pounded out of the house to her dad's car. Ruby followed quickly, but the adults just talked at the door, they were making her wait, and Yang wasn't sure how much more she could take. She pressed her foot against the driver's seat, arms crossed as the adults talked. They finally got in the car, and neither of them said a word as Dad put the car in gear and they pulled out of the driveway.
Yang waited until they were out of sight of the house. "Okay," she said, "I'm thirteen years old and old enough to know why my mom's in jail."
"No you are not, little dragon," Tai said, eyes on the road. "And neither of us are going to say anything, so you can't sic Qrow on me later."
"But why?" Yang demanded. "You're not being fair!"
"Yes we are," Qrow said, turning in the passenger seat to face her. "Listen pipsqueak. There are some things you just don't tell kids, and what Raven did was one of them."
"I'm not a kid anymore," Yang said. "I'm thirteen!"
"Who still hasn't admitted she has a crush on the Belladonna girl," Uncle Qrow said.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has to do with emotional maturity," Uncle Qrow said. "You know, that thing I had to learn the hard way when you two and Tai decided to spring an intervention on me? I did a lot of learning in the last five years, and one thing I know for sure is the stuff Raven did isn't approved for all audiences - not even teen and up - and you are not learning why she's away until you show us that you can handle what she did."
"But how can I show you that I can handle it if I don't know?" Yang demanded.
"Because as adults we know what we're looking for," Dad said. "Stop fighting us on this, please. The next two months are going to be hard enough as it is."
"Well maybe it should be!" Yang retaliated. "Since apparently all you want to do is make it hard for me! "
"Ya-"
"Not now Ruby," Yang said, only sparing her sister a passing glance. "Do you two have any idea what it's like to grow up knowing your mom is so terrible your family doesn't even talk about her? I grew thinking Summer Rose was my mom! Were you ever gonna tell me if I didn't bring Ruby down that night?"
"No," Uncle Qrow said, right as Dad said,
"We'll never know now, will we?"
Ugh, they weren't listening!
"It's not fair!" Yang was shouting now. "You aren't supposed to keep secrets from family! We're supposed to know everything!"
Dad was still driving, but Uncle Qrow leaned forward, apparently fed up. "You wanna know everything?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "You wanna know why I drank when you were younger? You wanna know how bad it got? You wanna know how your dad had to find me passed out in an alley? You wanna know I was drunk at Summer's memorial? You wanna know why Raven drove me to do that even from behind bars ?"
Yang froze, her ears suddenly burning. What…? What did Uncle Qrow have to do with Mom…? With the drinking…?
Yang shook her head. "That just makes me want to know all the more! "
Uncle Qrow growled. "Then I guess I'm just a living disappointment, aren't I?" he said. "Sorry to rain on your parade, but stuff like this isn't broadcast on national television. You gotta earn the right to find out what that witch did, and if you keep acting like this you're never getting the story!"
"That's not fair! I hate you!"
"Then just get in line, firecracker, 'cause you're not the first."
"Please…"
Everyone looked at Ruby, her hands covering her ears.
"Ruby," Uncle Qrow said,immediately soft, "I'm sorry you had to hear that…"
The last ten minutes of the drive was quiet, but that didn't mean Yang wasn't still seething - she just didn't want her sister to be hurt. Instead, she made sure she was the first one out of the car - before it had even finished parking - and burst into the house, throwing her backpack to the floor and marching right to her room. She slammed the door for emphasis and threw herself onto her bed and pulled out her phone.
They decided not to tell me ANYTHING, she texted.
Blake: Wait, im w my bf.
She stared at her phone, legs pumping behind her.
Ok im in the bathroom.
Dad and Uncle Qrow said they won't tell me anything! They said I'm not grown up enough. It's so unfair!
did you yell at thm?
Yes! They deserved it!
Then thats why. You shoulve kept yr cool.
Yang blinked at the phone. As if! , she typed.
Bf at the door cant talk nymore
Seriously? Is he more important than me?
Dont want him mad gotta go talk latr bye
Yang shoved her phone away and grabbed her pillow to scream into it.
Author's Notes: ... and we yoyo from fluff back to drama again. Weiss starts to be introduced, and Yang's story starts to spin. Though we are uber OzQrow shippers we didn't want to ignore the kids, and we are very fond of team RWBY, and they will get story lines that bounce around and off of each other and the adults.
Side note: We had a lovely chat with TigerMoon and they has given us their blessing to keep posting so long as we give credit. They are listed as inspiration on Ao3 and we added their fic, Promises of an Unknown Coast, in our summary on ff dot net for credit. If you haven't read that fic, read it first - that at least has an outline, unlike this mess :)
Not much to say about this chapter otherwise, it's set up for some events both for Yang but also of the OzQrow relationship that makes us happy. Bigger bits coming up later.
See you next week.
