Chapter 56
"Paging Doctor Jones and Doctor Free to the ER. Doctor Jones and Doctor Free, ER."
The building was cold. She shivered, pulling her coat tighter with one hand. Ruby's hand was tightening around hers as well. The only sound in the hallway was the soft sound of the central air system and the quiet, soft voice of the lady on the intercom. The lobby of the facility was fairly large. The linoleum floor under their feet was exquisitely polished, and every chrome chair in the adjacent waiting room was as well. She frowned. In such a sorrowful day, she had distracted herself by examining the furniture. What a horribly selfish thing to do, she thought. They approached a large circular desk, which sat in the middle of the lobby, canopied by an enormous artsy light. An older-looking woman in pale green scrubs sat behind it, focused on her computer screen. She looked up as they approached, her hazel eyes sunken and tired. Weiss spoke first.
"We're uh, here for visitation?"
Shit. It wasn't supposed to sound like a question. Her eyes shifted sideways, trying to break the gaze of the receptionist, but her eyes were like lasers.
"I'm sorry. Visitation is closed today. Hours are between seven and seven. You'll have to leave."
Weiss twitched. She certainly didn't sound sorry.
"B-but my friend is here, and this is when she asked-"
The woman stood. Weiss became suddenly silent, which was unusual for her.
"Visitation. Is closed."
Weiss scrunched up her face, clamping down on Ruby's hand. Her hand came up to her face, pressing her thumb and index finger against her temple. Maybe she should call Sandy again. She smiled coyly, opening one eye and glaring at the receptionist. She seemed confused by the smile. Good. Maybe she should buy the facility out from whoever owned it and personally fire this woman in front of everyone. She pointed her index finger across the desk at the woman.
"I'll have you know-"
Ruby cut them both off.
"We're here to see Pyrrha."
That was all she said. Weiss stood there, mouth agape, still glaring. Ruby hadn't actually raised her voice above a whisper, but it had been enough to clear the tension in the room. The receptionist's face visibly softened, sitting back down. All of the venom in her voice was gone now.
"Of course. Third floor, room three-twenty-one."
Ruby pulled her away from the desk. All the better, she thought, glaring back over her shoulder at the receptionist. The elevator door opened in front of them, and she was dragged inside, into the cramped steel box. It felt like a cage as the doors closed behind her. Ruby was being unnaturally quiet, she noticed.
"You didn't have to shout..."
The sorrow in her voice was all-consuming. Weiss sighed, wrapping her left arm around the girl's shoulders. She knew how she felt. The same damn way, actually. Ruby's shoulders sagged under her arm. The door bonged and opened up, revealing a long pristine hallway, with the same white linoleum floors and pistachio green bulletin boards as the lobby had. A little gold plaque on the wall listed the room numbers. Rooms three-zero-one to three-three-zero were to the left.
"C'mon. This way, Ru."
She guided them out of the elevator and down the left hallway. Her boots were cacophonous against the flooring, and the noise echoed through her ears like gunshots. She was shaking, and she could feel Ruby's hand get noticeably tighter around hers with every step they took. It was actually beginning to hurt a little. She could see a light coming from inside a room up on the left of the hallway. Was this the room? Was this the cell they were keeping Pyrrha? Her steps faltered as someone inside the room laughed boisterously. A familiar laugh, actually.
"...and then I was like WOOAAHH!"
More laughter from inside the room, and it made her stop walking forward. Someone inside the room coughed loudly and the laughter died down, becoming concerned mumbles. This time, it was Ruby who stepped forward and pulled her towards room three-twenty-one. They approached the door, which was ajar. Ruby placed her hand on it, but could not bring herself to push it open. It was obvious she was scared, and it radiated through her hand and up her arm. Her heart raced as she too placed her hand upon the thick faceless door. She tried to push it open. Yet it refused to yield. She tried again.
It opened.
The light was blinding to her. It burned through her eyes like a laser. She didn't want to open them, lest she see something depressing. Something warm embraced her. The room felt welcoming, somehow, despite the reason for them being there. Okay, now it was no longer welcoming. Now it was much too strong.
"Hey guys! They're here!"
There was shouting in her ear. She tried to take a step away from the embrace. This was about the point where she realized her feet were no longer touching the ground. She opened her eyes. Well, that was certainly the source of the warmth. Her face was pressed into the soft fabric of a cotton jacket that was currently being worn by a very muscular man. She turned her face to the side. A very large muscular blond man. Her eyes went wide. With a tail? He dropped them both to their feet and backed up a step.
"How's my favourite gay couple?"
Her head was reeling. How dare this large man toss her around like so!
"...but we're not..."
"Hey Sun!"
Ruby's soft voice brought her back to reality. Her eyes adjusted. There were her friends. Sun stood in front of them, the aforementioned grey jacket he wore sporting his racing team's red logo on the left breast. His usually messy blond hair was more organized today, and it was clear he hadn't shaved in a few days. It took her a moment to realize that Ruby had now wrapped her arms around Sun's midsection, as she was too short to put her arms around his neck. Sun hoisted her up again and spun her around, and for the first time that day, Ruby giggled wildly. She was placed back down again.
"Come on in, guys! We've been waiting for you guys. You certainly took far too long to get here."
"Sunny, don't be annoying. They had to drive."
The soft and sweet voice of Blake Belladonna rung out through the room. Weiss looked past 'Sunny' to the sharp-dressed faunus who stood at the side of the room. Her long navy overcoat was open at the front, revealing an expensive-looking pair of black chinos and white button-up shirt tucked in tightly. And for once, her ears were not tied up in a bow. Huh. She couldn't recall the last time she had seen the faunus without her signature bow tied up over her feline ears. She looked...good! The aforementioned ears turned towards her as she made an obvious humming noise at them. She pushed off the wall she was leaning on, and stepped forward. Weiss was briefly stunned at how pretty Blake was. Her long, usually flowing black hair was tied up in a neat bun today. Two arms wrapped around her.
"It's good to see you, Weiss."
She hadn't noticed she was being hugged by the much taller woman. Mostly for the reason that never in the known universe would Blake ever even think about going near her, let alone hugging her. It made her feel weird. But she hugged back anyways.
Blake smells nice. Hmm.
Her smile was automatic as she let go. The instant she did, Ruby weaseled her way between them and enveloped the tall faunus in her arms, lifting her from the ground as Sun had. Blake's squirming made her chuckle.
"Ruby! Put me down! Aah! Stop!"
The young woman refused, mushing her face up under Blake's chest, her nose pressed into her sternum. She flailed her legs in vain, as the short huntress had a vice-like grip. Weiss giggled, knowing the woman was now trapped.
"Nope!"
"Ruby Rose, I am a police officer, and I insist you release me this instant! You will be charged with felony snuggling!"
There was a very obvious hint of joy in her voice. Detective Belladonna certainly had claws, but Blake was still a kitten who liked her hugs. Her ears were flat against her head, while normally indicative of anger, was currently so she didn't whack them on the ceiling as Ruby jumped up and down.
"Ruby! You're gonna make me hit my head!"
The young girl relented, dropping the annoyed faunus back onto her feet. Blake's cheeks were quite flushed, and she was clearly smiling under her annoyed guise. Someone called out for them from the other end of the long room.
"Hey, you losers done hugging? Get over here, eh?"
Weiss finally turned her attention down the room to where the large hospital bed sat. There she was. The woman they were here to see.
"Bring me my buds, Sun! You've been hoggin' them enough, eh?"
Her voice was smooth and silky as it always had been. She liked her accent, especially the way it was distinctly Valean, despite her growing up in Mistral. Her long and beautiful red hair was still in place on her head, today hung loosely out of it's usual ponytail and down over her shoulders. A woman with fabulous long black hair she didn't fully recognize stood at the bedside, her back to them. One of Sun's large and muscular hands clapped down on her shoulder and her pushed her very lightly forward towards Pyrrha's bed. She met the piercing green eyes of the woman in the bed. They were very inviting, she thought. Before she realized it, she was standing at the edge of the bed, her hands tightly wrapped around the chrome railing.
"Hey there, Snowflake, Sorry 'bout the weather. How was the drive from the capitol?"
Before she was able to answer, Ruby snuck up behind her and wiggled under her arm, cooing gently and staring up into her eyes. Oh shit, she was pretty.
"The greatest trip of my life, Pyr."
It was said more to her than to Pyrrha. Everyone in the room chuckled warmly. Weiss shivered, half- trying to escape the half-snuggle. Not that she really wanted to, of course, she just didn't know if she was fully comfortable admitting to everyone that her and the excitable girl were together. She gave the crowd a quick glance, and there was no sight of the one person who might react negatively to the news. She smiled. What Yang didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
"Well, actually we're-"
She was cut off by Sun and his enthusiastic cheer.
"Told you, Kitten. I knew they were gay! You owe me twenty lien!"
Weiss was taken aback. Excuse me? She brought a hand up to her chest, mildly offended that she was betting fodder for her friends. More importantly, she was mildly offended that Blake had bet against her. They were teammates! And former roommates! Blake's expression was stern and straightened.
"Sunny, don't be obtuse. You can't just shout that out loud."
Sun's tone became defensive, much to everyone's amusement.
"Blake, we agreed that you wouldn't call me 'Sunny' around our friends. What happened to that promise?"
Blake responded by flippantly waving her hand in his face, and Weiss found herself smiling again. The redheaded patient reached out from where she lay and slapped Sun on the back, hard enough to make him stumble.
"Don't worry Sunny, eh?"
She tilted her head and peered at him over an invisible pair of glasses, pointing a manicured finger at him.
"I'll take your secret to my grave. Right after I tell everyone, of course."
Sun rubbed his back with his tail.
"Geez, Pyr. How are you so strong?"
The warrior laughed boisterously at him, and rolled the sleeves on her hospital gown up over her shoulders. She lifted her right arm up in front of her and flexed. The bicep bulged outward like a balloon inflating. An iron balloon. The muscles in her arms rippled.
"Please, Sunny. Being a champion fighter means I can bench press a stadium."
Weiss had to look away. Oh no. Pyrrha had the distinction of being her first ever girl-crush, since before Beacon. Weiss had watched every one of the woman's championship matches on repeat, hoping to one day get the opportunity to meet the goddess of fighting. Little did younger Weiss know she would one day attend the same school as the warrior woman. And the day that she had met her, well that was certainly up in the top ten of her favourite days. Even if she had botched the introductions. Sun scoffing at her and the sound of his jacket hitting the floor brought her back to reality.
"Only one stadium? C'mon Pyr. You know that any good fighter can press at least two."
Under his jacket Sun was only wearing a tight black t-shirt. Weiss's eyes were drawn back over to the muscular boy. His arms were lifted above his head and he too did his best Mistralian God pose.
Oh my gods, why.
His barrel-sized biceps threatened to rip the short sleeves to tatters, and his chest nearly did the same through the artsy pattern on his shirt. He altered his pose, flexing his braided-cable triceps and tightening up his abs.
I-I mean... we don't have to be a lesbian...
Her nose was reaching the bursting point. Any more of this and she would create a bio-hazard spill on the floor. Ruby slipped away from her, and she decided that perhaps she could distract herself with the young woman, whose beauty certainly surpassed the size of her muscles. That was until the young brunette slid her jacket off and onto the floor, pulling her hoodie off as well, revealing a similarly tight t-shirt underneath.
Oh come on!
"Guys, please. Bench pressing large buildings is one thing..."
Ruby slid her sleeves up over her shoulders.
"Can you punch a Goliath in half?"
And with that, the young woman brought her arms up and flexed as well. There was a distinct tearing sound of cotton, as her rolled-up sleeves could not contain the huge shoulders on the girl. Weiss's mouth dropped slightly open. Sure, she had seen Ruby without her clothes on, but she had no idea she had this much muscle mass. Ruby's arms were like huge tree trunks, rippling with defined veins and tendons. Her shoulders looked like pads of armour, they were so defined. She went pale. Her nose had reached meltdown. There was no longer red in her cheeks, it was now all flowing out her nose.
"Gods damn, Weiss! I would be gay too if that was what I got to date, eh?"
Weiss turned her attention back to Pyrrha's snide comment. She was doing the eyebrow thing again. Weiss tried to speak, but her voice was clenched up in her throat.
"I think I know my type."
The smirkiest of smirks crossed Pyrrha's face.
"Do you need to leave the room? Bathroom's down the hall on the left."
Weiss twitched.
"Maybe."
Everyone, including the mysterious black-haired woman laughed at her.
Fuck.
"Cindy, I'm sorry 'bout that little display. We're kinda deep into fitness, eh."
The woman addressed as 'Cindy' chuckled at this, raising a hand before her. Her plaid button-up was open, revealing a high-necked t-shirt underneath. It looked quite wrinkled, and the graphic on it was a little faded.
"Don't worry about it sweetheart. You forget what my day job is?"
Pyrrha's smile increased, and she gave her friend a playful jab in the boob. Another gay couple? Weiss raised an eyebrow without saying anything. Pyrrha never really showed an interest in women before, and her earlier comment certainly affirmed that.
"Yeah, yeah, combat instructor at Haven, I remember. Not that I could forget, you literally never shut up about it."
"Exactly! So I think I know a thing or two about fitness. Now, I'm certainly not as buff as you, Sun-Bun, or your little huntress friend over there. I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name, hun."
The woman turned her intoxicating amber eyes over to her and Ruby. Ruby's eyes lit up and she bounced slightly on her heels.
"My name's Ruby! And this is Weiss!"
The woman smiled.
"A pleasure to meet the two of you, My name's Cinder Fall."
It suddenly dawned on her.
"I recognize you! You were at the Vytal Festival in fourth year! You're Ren's high-school girlfriend!"
The door crashed open behind her, making Weiss jump. The aroma of tomato sauce suddenly permeated her nose.
"Did someone say 'Ren's girlfriend'? Present and accounted for!"
Weiss whipped her head around to the source of the noise. The door had been kicked open, and it had almost been kicked clear from its frame. A very bouncy and bubbly ginger girl in a vibrant pink hoodie was stood in the doorway, a plastic bag full of soda cans in her left hand. The dark figure of a man appeared behind her and pushed her forward into the room, and the excited girl nearly jumped through them from the other side of the room. The figure in the doorway stepped into the room as well. His flowing black hair was much shorter than she remembered it being.
"Nora, slow down. You're going to make the drinks explode."
"Pish posh, Renny! They've waited long enough!"
The odd couple pushed into the room, and the source of the tomato smell became obvious. Ren had three white cardboard boxes in his arms, and she could see there was a little picture of a space ship and a slice of pizza on the lid.
"Time for pizza!"
Nora bounced her way into the room, swinging the bag of cans wildly in her arms. She started pulling out the bright purple cans of soda and tossing them to everyone. Even Pyrrha got one thrown at her, and she effortlessly caught it. Ren placed one of the boxes directly in front of the woman on the bed. Her shining green eyes lit up.
"Oh, did you get me Mistralian sausage?"
Pyrrha yanked the lid up on the pizza box. The sharp meaty smell of barbecued sausage filled the air.
"Ooohhh fuck yeah, bud!"
Everyone laughed at the excitement she was portraying at the simple gesture of pizza. Weiss's own smile felt genuine for the first time that day. The warrior yanked one of the cheesy triangles up out of the box and stuffed the end into her mouth. She sighed, a look of bliss coming across her face.
"I love you, Nora. Only you would get me banned food in my hospital. You're the best friend I could have ever asked for."
Nora's cheeks flushed a little as she cracked open her own drink.
"Hey, they wouldn't let you have pizza. Girl's gotta have her pizza. I'm happy to oblige for my bestie!"
The Cinder woman piped up from the other side of the hospital bed.
"Wait, I thought this was a restricted food item! How did you get it past the woman at the front gate?"
"She valued her legs not being broken."
Weiss looked over at Nora, who seemed considerably too pleased with herself. It brought a smile to her face. Even without the enormous hammer, the bubbly ginger could still be threatening. Even in her sick state, Pyrrha had the strength to laugh boisterously at Nora's little quip. Her smile was intoxicating. That perfect, magazine-cover smile, the adorable, childlike dimples in her cheeks. She liked the way those huge emerald orbs glowed in the low-light of the hospital room. A realization came to her.
Even in death, Pyrrha was beautiful.
Chapter 57
The sun had long gone down at this point, and most of their friends had already gone back to the hotel down the street. Only herself, Pyrrha and the Cinder woman remained. She sniffed, peeking over at the dozing figure of her friend in the hospital bed, watching her chest rise and fall with every breath. Her bum shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position in the low-slung vinyl chair. Cinder sat next to her in a second chair, her hand on her chin and her eyes fixed on an invisible something or other in the distance. Ruby didn't like the silence in the dark room.
"So how'd you guys meet?"
The woman blinked twice, seemingly torn from whatever daydream she was having. She turned, and her luscious long black hair flowed over her shoulder as she did. Ruby twitched. This woman was astonishingly gorgeous. Pyrrha clearly had good taste.
"How we met? Geez, it was years ago now." the woman said, running a hand through the messy locks, trying to get them away from her eyes. Which were a similarly beautiful amber-gold colour. "My parents died when I was little, and I had to move in with my step-mother."
The woman sighed, turning her gaze back over to the sleeping figure of Pyrrha.
"Pyr lived down the road from me, just past the park. She moved there when we were in third grade. No one wanted to talk to the super pretty super tall girl because she scared them. But not me."
Well that was just adorable. A reminiscent smile fell to the woman's face.
"She was probably my first actual friend. We spent literally everyday hanging out after school in her front yard. She taught me how to throw a punch so it would break teeth. And how to make crepes."
Ruby remembered Pyrrha's famous crepes from Beacon. The expertly thin pastry was always excellent, especially when doused with the thirty tonnes of maple syrup that the tall woman liked to have specially imported. Said woman stirred in her sleep, her head moving slightly. Cinder sighed.
"We did martial arts together at the school gym on Thursday nights. Then I would drag her out to watch the car racing on Fridays. She used to love that. Just sort of hanging out, not really doing much other than leaning on a guardrail and drinking PLG."
She smirked, revealing a few of her pearly whites.
"I remember a time when Pyr got smacked in the face by a car spoiler because she was standing too close to the rail..."
"What?"
Ruby looked down at Pyrrha's sleeping face. It certainly seemed still in one piece.
"Yeah, some kid had put one of those ugly tuner wings on the back of his Zeus. You remember the Hunter Zeus coupe? Little rear-drive thing with the ugly front end?"
Ruby nodded. She was all-too-familiar with the front end of the Zeus coupe. Her first car had almost been written off because she had been rear-ended by some jerk who was texting and driving in one. Luckily his insurance company had deep pockets for the repair job.
"Well this guy, I don't remember his name for the life of me, not that it matters anyway, but he was out practising his drifting skill, and he spun out right near where we were standing. I backed up in time, but Pyr got smacked in the cheek by the wing's vertical stabilizer. Homegirl's aura stopped her head coming off. It was really funny."
They both chuckled at this, if only a little. This certainly explained why Pyrrha gained an aversion to modified cars at Beacon, and why she had advised Ruby against putting that big wing on the back of her first car. And why if you went for the face when sparring against her you would be thrown from the arena. She guessed Pyrrha just really didn't want to get hit in the face anymore. But this much would be obvious to anyone. Did anyone really want to be hit in the face?
Cinder sighed again, placing a hand on the edge of the hospital bed, looking distraught. Is this what love looked like? Unconditional attachment, refusal to leave in even the harshest of times? The darkest? Such dedication must be nice, Ruby figured. To have someone around to just kinda be around is what she thought she needed. Someone who could love her without being drawn away by the problems she had. Like the scar.
"Hey, uh, can you watch my bag? I have to run to the ladies."
"Hmm? Oh, for sure."
Cinder smiled at her and got up out of the chair, departing from the room and closing the door. The silence in the room was deafening. Louder than the loudest cannons on the Beacon cliffside. The only sound was the silent beeping of the heart monitor that hung next to the headboard. Ruby took the opportunity to just sort of look at Pyrrha. She was sick. Her eyes, sunken and forlorn, her skin pale. Her beautiful red hair remained, however. No amount of chemotherapy could take that away from her.
But she was still very pretty. She was still Pyrrha 'Maximum Smirk' Nikos. The memory of her infamous smirk made her giggle. Every single opportunity she had to be coy she took, putting to good use the half-smile she was known for. There was this one time, during the Vytal festival, that Pyrrha had soundly knocked her opponent, a cocky rich kid from Vacuo, directly into the ground, so badly his body had made a crater that remained for the rest of the tournament. The reason? He had made a remark that she was 'all show and no go' just because of her name. That she 'couldn't stack up against a real huntsman.' Well, she showed him. Really hard. Ruby remembered that he couldn't walk for a week. Even Yang's terrible crater-based pun had been worth it!
"Hey baby sis!"
Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.
Ruby nearly leaped from her skin, but was restrained as two very strong hands clamped down on her shoulders.
"Holy crap, Yang! Don't scare me like that!"
The curly blond hair of her older sister brushed annoyingly into her face as she turned to look at the tall woman. There was her sister, dressed in her favourite jeans and a plaid flannel jacket and black work boots, looking like she had just come from a lumberjack beauty contest. Which clearly she would have won. Yang laughed at her outburst, her toothy grin as intoxicating as ever.
"Chill out, Rubes. I'm here to bring you food."
A small plastic container was placed gently into her lap. She picked it up, looking through the transparent plastic lid. Baby carrots, cucumber slices, celery sticks, mini tomatoes and a little dipping sauce packet labelled 'Ranch'. She smiled. It was such like her older sister to bring her healthy food at almost midnight.
"Thank you, Yang. You're so sweet to me."
Yang gave her a smooch on the top of the head, rubbing her hair with her left hand.
"Anything for my baby sis. This is direct from the Xiao-Long family farm, grown with love, just for you!"
"You grew all this?"
Yang smiled, kneeling down next to her on the cold tile floor.
"Everythin' except for the ranch dressing. I bought that at the market in Patch. I remember you like this stuff the best!"
Ruby's cheeks flushed. Only Yang would be nice enough to illegally transport produce across the continent, and across an ocean, just for her. Ruby looked up into her sister's lovely lilac eyes. They were honest. Endearing.
"Oh, I almost forgot! This is also for you!"
Yang reached down into the bag which she had had the veggies in and pulled out a neatly gift-wrapped box white paper, which sported a large bow, which was also white. Ruby cocked her eyebrows and took the box from her sister's outstretched hand.
"Oh? I wonder who this is from..."
"Wild guess, Rubes."
She opened the box, and gasped silently. There was a small bundle of chocolate-chip cookies wrapped in a bright red ribbon. There was a little folded greeting card tucked to one side of the box. She pulled it out and opened it. The writing inside was very opulent.
My dearest Ruby,
Oh hell, that sounds weird. Hey Rose-Petal. It's very sweet of you to stay behind with Pyrrha.
I made you these because I figured your ignorant sister would try and bring you healthy snacks.
Well fuck that, you get cookies.
Because you are MY cookie.
I'll see you in the morning
I love you.
-Weiss
p.s. Check under the cookies ;)
Ruby blushed, smiling. Only Weiss would be sweet enough to override Yang's sweetness like that. And only Weiss would take the time and effort to buy supplies and bake cookies in a hotel room just for her. Ruby lifted the cookies. There was a picture.
Of Weiss.
Taking a selfie.
In a bathroom mirror.
Wearing an apron.
And nothing else.
Her face went violently red. Ruby dropped the cookies back into the box and slammed the lid shut, startling her sister, who thankfully was looking away at the moment.
"What, do you not like them? I watched her bake them with love!"
"No Yang I am acutely aware of how much love is in this box."
Her voice wavered, and an embarrassed smile threatened to break out on her face.
"What, did your girlfriend send nudes, or something? Let me see!"
Yang reached for the box, but Ruby held her back. Her sister was not getting back into that box. Not that holding back Yang was all that difficult. Sure the blond was strong but she was stronger, easily holding back the squirming woman.
"Yang, no!"
"Yang yes!"
She put her hand directly on the woman's face and stuck two fingers up her nose, pushing her head away. Yang made a snorting noise and fell backwards laughing. Ruby wiped her hand on the chair, standing up and laughing as well. She extended a hand to her sister, who took it and allowed herself to be dragged back up to her feet.
"You never fight fairly, Ru."
Ruby snorted as well.
"Says the girl who used to smother me in her boobs when she was losing."
"Are you saying that was cheating?"
"Absolutely!"
Yang huffed, crossing her arms under her breasts, pushing them upwards a little.
"I'd say I was pressing my advantage. It was the breast option!"
"Yeah, but... aaarghh!"
Ruby conceded. She had no comeback. Yang had once again won by losing. Damn her! Damn her and her blond beauty! They both giggled like little girls, sighing together. Yang's right hand met her cheek. The metal hand. Some of the joy left her face as it did.
Yang's right arm was fake. A robotic, metal prosthetic given to her by the Atlesian army. A gift from Winter, actually. Yang had lost the arm during the attack on Beacon, when she had dared face off against the terrorists' leader by herself. She had lost. He had taken her arm. But he hadn't taken her spirit. Yang was the most capable amateur Huntress on the hole continent of Sanus. But, in recent years she had moved away from the life of a Huntress to that of a farmer, like their dad. It made her happy. And that was good.
"Chin up, kiddo."
Yang wrapped her arms- both real and robotic- around her, enveloping her in a very warm hug. A hug she realized might be too warm. Ruby tried to breathe in. No such luck. She could hear the servos in her sister's arm whirring as they drew her in closer. She was now trapped face-first in her sister's chest. Again.
"Mmmf! Ymmmmf! Mmmmmmmf!"
"What's that, Ruby? I can't hear you over the sound of me winning again!"
Ruby banged her fist against Yang's shoulder, trying to get the woman to relent. When she finally did, Ruby gasped for breath, an annoyed look on her face.
"Yang! Why!"
"Because I love my baby sister."
Ruby sighed, defeated, but finally breathing.
"I love you too, Yang."
Yang's honest smile made her smile as well. Her sister was good at that. The whole 'making her feel better for no reason' thing.
"Hey, kiddo, I have to go back to the hotel with the others. I'll see you in the morning alright?"
"Yeah. Can you tell Weiss 'thank you' for me?"
Yang smiled evilly.
"Want me to give her a nice big wet kiss for you, too?"
"Yang, don't be weird."
The blond woman laughed, making her smile anyways.
"Don't you fret, Rubes. See ya later."
Ruby nodded slowly as she watched her sister collect her bag and make for the door. Before she pushed it open, she turned back and smirked.
"Oh, and when Pyrrha wakes up, tell her I'm still the better fighter."
Yang winked, making Ruby laugh softly. The door opened, and her older sister disappeared through it. Not a moment later, the door opened again and Cinder walked back through. She stopped as she saw Ruby standing there in the middle of the room.
"Who was that?"
Ruby smiled down at her boots.
"My sister. She brought me veggies."
Cinder whipped her head back to the door, then back around at Ruby, a confused yet impressed look on her face. She shrugged her eyebrows.
"She's hot."
Ruby chuckled.
"Yeah, but we're only half-sisters. We have the same dad."
"What, is her mother some kind of warrior queen of the wasteland? Because damn."
Ruby gave a nervous laugh. She wasn't strictly that far off, actually. She shook her hand nonchalantly.
"Well, sorta. She abandoned our dad a few hours after Yang was born. Never once called or attempted to make contact with her daughter."
"You mean like right after she gave birth she left? She would have been in significant pain if she tried to move, let alone fight right after giving birth. Like, I was stuck in the hospital for a week because I needed to wait for my...stitches to heal."
Cinder gestured at her hips.
"I mean I was only barely twenty one. Didn't really have mature enough 'equipment' yet, said the doctor. There was some...tearing."
Ruby winced.
"But. I would say it certainly was worth it. I mean, despite the horrible, debilitating pain I was in I never once considered abandoning my daughter. What kind of shitty person abandons their kids?"
"Raven, that's who. Wait, hang on. You have children?"
The gorgeous woman nodded, smiling brightly and pulling out her scroll. Ruby watched as she flicked it on, flipping through the phone's photo gallery. She landed on a picture of a little girl, holding her phone out for her to take. Ruby took the device, staring at the screen. The most beautiful toddler she had ever laid eyes on stared back at her from the little picture. She was wearing a darling red dress, which seemed to sparkle in the bright summer sunlight, and she had an equally red bucket in her hand as she danced around in the sand of the beach. Her eyes were almost identical to her mother's, bright and shining golden-orange, and she had the very same cheeky dimples on her face as she smiled. The only thing distinguishing this little girl from her mother was her hair.
It was blond.
Very blond.
Ruby winced again as she looked at the messy blond mop on the little girl's head. It was angrily familiar. She handed the phone back to it's owner, who silenced the bright screen and stuck it back into her pants pocket.
"That's my daughter, Amber. She looks so much like her father."
There was a sorrow in the woman's voice. Ruby had just pieced it together, and had figured out just who the father was. She remembered a story Ren had told her one night on patrol back on one of their first missions together, right out of Beacon and soon after the terrorist attacks. He spoke of an old friend of his who had recently had a child with sparkling blond hair. Who had slept with one of his close friends, and had then been abandoned herself by the child's father.
A friend of Ren's?
Child born soon after the Attacks?
With blond hair?
Ruby choked on something in her throat, careful to hide it from the other woman. She knew who it was. The same person responsible for the nightmares, the same person responsible for the body image problems. The same person stopping her feelings from being able to bloom.
"I'm sorry."
Cinder shook her head.
"Don't be. I don't need him anyways."
There was a momentary silence.
"Because you're a strong, independent woman who don't need no man, Cindy."
They both jumped a little looking over to when Pyrrha had supposedly be asleep. She was smiling, her eyes still closed.
"Oh? You're awake?"
The dozing girl nodded, shifting her shoulders in her hospital gown. Her eyes opened slowly, the fabulous green orbs glowing in the low light.
"I am. I've been listening to you talk. You guys are very loud."
Ruby scratched her head sheepishly.
"Sorry, Pyrrha."
"Hey now, don't worry. I was only sleeping a little. Besides, I like you two enough to not be upset that you woke me. And Ruby, no. Your sister is not the better fighter."
She snickered a little, trying not to exhale too hard. Her breathing seemed more ragged than it had been a few hours ago. She looked over at Cinder.
"How's my little Amber doing, Cin?"
The tall woman chucked at her.
"Your little Amber? Honey, she's my daughter."
Pyrrha waved her off dismissively.
"Semantics."
Cinder laughed again.
"She's doing just fine. She misses her auntie Pyrrha, though. She was very upset you missed her fourth birthday three weeks ago."
Pyrrha sighed.
"I'm really sorry. I'll be at the next one, I promise."
There was a distinct choking in both of their voices, as if they knew that wasn't a possibility. Cinder sniffed, as if to show her frustration.
"You better be."
Ruby didn't want to witness this. But she knew she had to. The woman she admired was here, depending on her to be strong and be brave for her. Pyrrha coughed loudly, clearly in pain. Ruby and Cinder approached the bed in unison, as Pyrrha doubled over, clutching her chest in agony. Ruby felt powerless as she watched, one hand one the woman's back, the other uselessly wrapped around the bed's chrome side rail. She rubbed Pyrrha's back under the luscious red hair, feeling every throe and shudder of the woman's compromised lungs. It was as fruitless a gesture as any. You couldn't cure lung cancer with back rubs. Pyrrha heaved once more, and then she was silent, panting slightly. They laid her back against the pillows slowly, careful not to agitate her lungs any further. Though there really wasn't any further they could damage them, truth be told. When she had relaxed again, she spoke quietly.
"I'm sorry, guys. I really am."
There was the soft spoken Pyrrha she remembered. Quiet, and apologetic. It made her want to cry. The litres of morphine that was being pumped into her through the two hanging IV bags had made her a little loopy. But now, she was back to her regular self. This was a bad sign. She didn't like it at all.
The Invincible Girl was giving up.
Pyrrha sighed and sank deeper into the bed. She looked dejected, even as the woman she called her best friend, Cinder, placed one hand on her cheek. This little action alone was enough to make her mouth curl into a little smile.
"Hey, honey. You okay?"
Pyrrha nodded.
"I'm...fine. Don't worry."
There was a lot of worry.
"How does it feel?"
Her smile faded, and her eyes closed again. She paused, as if trying to best describe the feeling.
"Like a burning arrow to the chest, Cinder."
The woman laugh-cried quietly, smiling pathetically and looking into Pyrrha's slowly opening eyes. She tried her hardest to make a joke.
"S-surely not one of mine, hun. I wouldn't do that to you..."
Now it was Ruby's turn to sniffle. This made Pyrrha turn her eyes over to her, perking up when she did.
"Hey now, cheer up, friend. I'll be fine. It's only a little bit of cancer."
Cinder snorted loudly, gesturing to the CT scan that sat in the lighted display on the wall.
"A little?!"
Pyrrha cut her off with a raised hand.
"Ah ah ah! No more doom and gloom. I want Ruby to be happy again. I don't like seeing her cry. How's my car?"
Cinder rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, settling down and leaning against the railing.
"It's fine. Under a car cover in my garage."
"No, not the red one. I mean the white one. With the wing!"
"You mean my car? The Terminal?"
"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's mine."
So the white coupe in the parking lot belonged to Cinder? Well, that certainly explained the child's booster seat that was in the back seat. Kind of a serious racing machine to belong to a mother, she figured. Ruby piped up anyways.
"You have your own car, Pyr?"
Pyrrha nodded, closing her eyes in memory.
"I do! One of the perks of having cancer is you get wishes. I asked for a bright red sports car. I don't even have a licence!"
Ruby looked over at Cinder, who had chuckled quietly.
"You own a brand new Sanus Stallion, silly. It's not a sports car."
"Felt pretty sporty to me that one time you let me drive it."
Ruby smiled. It was fairly obvious that Pyrrha didn't care for cars like her friend did, not really interested in makes or models.
"I bet it's faster than your car, Cindy."
"Oh, I highly doubt that. You might have more power, but you aren't out running my GT-S, let alone me. Besides, your car is an automatic. Not really great for street racing."
Pyrrha shrugged.
"Eh. Does good burnouts, though."
They all laughed loudly at this. Yes, the Stallion would do good burnouts. That was about all they were good for, Ruby figured. Her dad owned one, actually. Considerably more vintage than Pyrrha's. She remembered one summer inviting all of her friends over to her dad's farm in Patch, and showing them all the unfinished car that sat in the garage. Pyrrha had been the only one who had known what it was, despite the fact it was missing it's fenders and front clip and being mostly disassembled. Perhaps it was because of her days being dragged to car shows by a teenaged Cinder that had done it. She smiled down at Pyrrha, who had her attention on the other woman's shirt.
"I remember buying you that."
She pointed a finger into Cinder's chest again, much softer, as if her arm was not working to full capacity. The raven-haired woman looked down at her own clothing and grinned, opening up her dress shirt and revealing the graphic t-shirt underneath. A picture of a bespectacled boy with his arms crossed and a humorously large frown was on the front, along with the words 'I'm Missing A Car Show Right Now' printed beneath.
"Yeah, me too. It was my fourteenth birthday."
"We were at the annual Haven City Car Show."
Cinder smiled, leaning forward over Pyrrha a little more.
"I remember the other thing you gave me for that birthday."
Oh?
"You mean when I took your kiss-ginity?"
Oh my.
Cinder laughed out loud.
"You gave me yours, too, hun."
This was certainly an interesting development. Did this mean that Pyrrha was gay? For her friend? Pyrrha turned a sober expression her way.
"I promise I'm not gay, Ruby. We were young and impressionable."
She deadpanned this with one hand extended for emphasis. Ruby smiled. She had figured Pyrrha hadn't been gay. Just a little show-offy. Pyrrha's intoxicating smile returned as her cheeks brightened.
"But if I was gay, Cindy would be my first choice. Followed maybe by you, Red."
Well then.
Ruby's face went bright crimson. That was awfully forward. Not that she minded. She once had a crush on the mighty woman like Weiss had. She was certainly attractive. What would it have been like to kiss such a beautiful woman, she wondered. Cinder's sigh dragged her back to earth.
"And you know I would have been gay for you, honey. But it's late, and I have to go back to Mistral tomorrow. Have to go relieve my babysitter. She's becoming more Amber's mother than I am."
Pyrrha laughed.
"Penny's a better mother than you anyways!"
"You take that back!"
Ruby gave a confused expression as Pyrrha laughed loudly.
"Penny's your babysitter? Penny Polendina?"
Cinder nodded, smiling.
"After her and Pyr's little 'incident' at the tournament, we had her rebuilt on Pyr's dime to be my kid's nanny. She was happy to oblige, because we rebuilt her with more powerful processors. Gave her freedom from the army's servers, too. She likes us mostly because Pyrrha payed for her repairs herself."
"Are you sure she doesn't still hold it against me? I still feel really bad about that."
Pyrrha looked visibly upset. She remembered the incident in question. Penny hadn't told anyone that she was actually an android, and during her spar against Pyrrha, she had accidentally been flayed by the woman's magnetic powers. It had been horrifying to witness.
Right up until the bisected robot had angrily cursed and demand to be put back together. It had been the only time Ruby had ever seen the ginger robot actually swear. She was so innocent! But it had been kinda funny in retrospect.
"She's over it, hun. Although she refuses to let Amber eat Pumpkin Pete's cereal. I think that's more because it's not healthy, though."
Pyrrha sighed deeply and smiled.
"Speaking of, I have to go be a mommy now, hun."
Cinder leaned over the bed and dropped a quick kiss on the top of the readhead's hair, picking up her bag from the floor. Before she could move away, her arm was caught by Pyrrha's hand.
"Hey, that's not how you give a goodbye kiss, you know that."
Cinder chuckled, stepping back to the edge of the bed.
"If you insist, honey."
Pyrrha gave her smug grin.
"It's my destiny!"
She leaned in, pressing her lips against the puckered ones of the woman on the bed. Ruby blushed and looked away. This was not what she had expected to see tonight. The quiet sounds of amorous face-affection continued for what felt like an hour. It was really awkward. Where was Weiss when you needed her, seriously. The noises stopped, and Ruby chanced a glance back over to the not-couple. They had separated, and Cinder was standing up again, a smile on her face. And mildly smudged lipstick. Pyrrha was looking up at her with visible stars in her eyes. Ruby spoke, if only to break the silence.
"And you're sure you aren't gay, Pyrrha?"
"Straight as an arrow!"
Cinder snorted as she shouldered her bag.
"Says the girl who just had her tongue in my mouth."
"Pfft, so did you."
"Semantics, honey. Au revoir, mon cheri."
They shared one last hug, and Pyrrha stole herself another kiss with a confident giggle, making Cinder roll her eyes dramatically. Ruby gave the tall woman a short, awkward hug as well, before she departed.
The room was quiet again, with only herself and Pyrrha. She looked back down to the woman on the bed. She had a victorious smile on her face. Ruby tried to sound dramatic.
"What are you so happy about, Pyr?"
"She was my first and my last."
"Don't say that, Pyrrha. Please..."
Ruby was having a hard time not crying. She was alone. Almost. The CT scan on the wall ensured that she very soon would be. The density of the white clouds on the picture was telling. There was more cancer than lungs in that picture. Pyrrha's lungs were the cancer. Ruby tried her very hardest to not look at the image. The problem was that it was one of the few sources of light in the room. It forced her to look. She considered letting the tears flow.
"I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean to make you cry."
Everyone knew that today would come. Pyrrha had been born with this inflection. It wasn't like she could run away from it. The chemo had been successful in limiting the growths, but it had gotten to be too much. The drugs and radiation required to cease the cancer would have been enough to cease her heart by themselves. Two years prior, Pyrrha had decided to go on a reduced dosage. It meant she would be killed by the cancer, for sure, but at least she wouldn't be killed by the medicine. The first tear fell down her cheek.
"I don't want you to go..."
"I'll be right here, Ruby. I'm not going anywhere."
The phrase was carefully worded to reassure her.
"You always told me to it was about being strong on the inside that counted, right?"
"I did. My insides are just not very strong."
What a terrible joke at a terrible time. The second and third tears fell. Followed by a fourth.
"You need to realize something, Ruby."
She was smiling. Ruby's voice wavered.
"What's th-that?"
"I am still the Invincible Girl, dear."
The tears had broken through. Her weakness had shown it's ugly head. Yet Pyrrha still hadn't stopped smiling with that beautiful smile of hers.
"Because the only thing strong enough to kill me..."
She paused, closing her eyes.
"... is me. I once again reign victorious."
Ruby cried openly, dropping her face into Pyrrha's sheets. A hand found her hair, and began stroking it gently.
"Sweetheart, don't worry."
Ruby ripped her face from the sheets, her eyes raw and flooded.
"But I do worry! I don't want you to go!"
A single lonely tear dripped down the woman's face.
"I know. I don't want to go either. And I wont. I promise."
What a shallow, selfish promise that was. Ruby knew there was no way she could keep that promise. It made her heart want to explode from her chest. Pyrrha's hand met the side of her face, her thumb rubbing gently at the wet streak.
"As long as you remember what I said, I can never die."
No. She didn't want to remember. It made her feel sick. The tears rose harder in her stomach now, tempting her to vomit. How could she be so blase about her own mortality? Who would be there to smirk at people? Who would be there to teach her how to correctly enjoy her waffles? The woman's breathing had slowed. The EKG machine next to the bed had slowed its beeping.
"No, Pyrrha. I don't want you to die!"
"And I won't. I already said I would be here in the morning."
She slid her body further down in the bed, and her hand slipped from her face. Ruby caught it on the way down, wrapping her fingers around it. She could feel Pyrrha's grip. It was weak.
Her hands felt colder than she would have liked.
Pyrrha opened one eye.
"I'm tired, Ruby. Tired of the pain. I don't hate it anymore. I'm just...tired."
No. No. Ruby tried to internally shut her ears from the noise. It was not what she ever wanted to hear.
"I'm glad you came to see me. You and Weiss both. I love you guys. So much."
She wanted to scream for her to stop talking. To ease the feeling. She didn't want to be loved right now. She just wanted to have her friend stay alive.
"It took a lot out of me to be cheery for Cinder, there. She's very delicate. The first time I told her I was terminal she refused to speak to me for a month. She cried every day. It made me feel like I had betrayed her. That is not a feeling any sixteen-year old wants to feel. Alone. Trapped in your own body."
Stop it!
"I became a huntress because... I thought I could win against myself. That being stronger on the outside would save me. It took me years to realize that being strong on the inside made people happy. It made Cindy happy."
Pyrrha sighed. Ruby had to physically restrain her crying with her free hand.
"But I'm tired of running."
She closed her eyes again, smiling almost imperceptibly.
"I think I need to sleep. I've been awake since three in the morning."
"N-..."
Ruby almost told her not to. Pyrrha clearly had heard it, turning her head and opening her eyes. The beautiful green orbs shone brightly in the low light. Ruby tried to take in every millimetre of surface. She feared she might not be able to again.
"Hey now, I said I would be there when you wake up, didn't I? I just need to sleep right now. It's been a long day."
"O-okay..."
Pyrrha smiled again and closed her eyes. Ruby felt her squeeze down on her hand.
"Goodnight, Ruby."
She couldn't say it back. Her throat was tight, and would not yield. Within a minute, the woman had dozed off, the distinct rhythmic rising and falling of her chest evident enough. Ruby scooted her chair a little closer to the bed and laid her head on the sheets, still holding Pyrrha's hand.
It hadn't felt like a 'goodnight'.
It felt like 'goodbye'.
She sighed, confined to her sadness, and closed her eyes as well.
Pyrrha had promised to still be there in the morning.
She had to be.
Everything was going to be fine.
Right?