"Target… acquired."
Ruby's lips curved into a slight smile as she pulled her scythe's trigger, exploding her targeted Beowolf's head with a single, expertly-aimed, bullet. As it fell, dead, the rest of its pack – seventeen of them, as she had carefully counted beforehand – howled as one and converged around it.
She sprang from the tree branch she had been perched on, soaring through the air so quickly she was nothing less than a blurred red shape. A soft thud announced her arrival to the monsters, but it was too late for them already.
Over the next ten seconds, she spun and jumped and cut and shot, like a speed demon of myth become reality. And then she halted, and none of the Grimm stayed alive for much longer, her attacks so quick their effects seemed to come whole seconds after they hit.
Anyone in their right mind would have ran away, fearing for their lives… Especially when her smile widened and she withdrew her weapon carelessly, as if she weren't in the middle of a Grimm-infested forest.
Or at least what had been a Grimm-infested forest.
"Another job well done," she sighed contently. "Weekend, here I come!"
She pulled up her Scroll and tapped quickly on it. A minute passed as she waited, but her call went unanswered.
"Typical. Always refusing to just answer the phone," she mumbled, then hit a button to send a voice message instead. "Hey, sweetie. I've just finished my last job. That's the fourth this week, by the way, so you should be impressed. Not that you should ever doubt my capabilities, of course…"
Ruby snickered.
"Seriously, if you ever say I'm not the greatest Huntress ever, you're gonna get an earful," she said. "Anyway. I'm gonna swing by Weiss's place to invite them in person, then I'll be back home to see ya! Bye!"
She finished the message and sent it on its way, then nodded sadly as she prepared to run her last errand on the frigid place she had specifically picked for the week.
More than two decades had passed since its creation, yet Summer Rose's grave was as beautiful and polished as ever. It brought a smile to Ruby's face. It was like a sign that, no matter how much time went by, some things never changed.
She, for one, had grown much taller in the last fourteen years. Weiss had been severely jealous about that development, something the redhead had lost no opportunity to make jokes about – at least until she grew past Cinder's height too, then it became safer to not make a big deal out of it.
She now let her hair grow out a little longer, falling a bit past her shoulders, and also stopped dying it partially black. She would never admit it to anyone, but, looking back, she found her previous hairstyle pretty silly.
But everything else? Virtually the same. Her silver eyes carried the same perpetual glee and joviality, as did her smiles and laughter. Crescent Rose was still her inseparable companion… And her cloak. Damn, she loved that cloak.
"Hey, mom," she closed her eyes respectfully. "So, this year has been pretty great…"
No matter how many times she visited, Cinder couldn't help but be impressed by how much Beacon had grown over the years. After the destruction the White Fang had wrought upon the school, Ozpin had taken a… peculiar decision: to make it bigger and better. They had double the classrooms, double the dormitories, double the teaching staff, and, most importantly, double the students.
Strangely enough, she felt a great deal of nostalgia as she walked through the front of the school, filled with teenagers goofing off during their free time. She had never been an official student in Beacon, but some of her fondest memories had taken place there.
Thankfully, all traces of her previous life had been erased and forgotten, so no one sounded an alarm at the sight of her. She was sure she could grab a random student and drag them off for torture, and no one would be the wiser… Not that she should actually even consider doing such a thing.
She had a very clear goal for the visit, and she couldn't be long, or else things back at the city could go up in explosions - literally. Cinder shuddered every time she remembered the consequences of the one time she had handed the responsibilities of her tea shop to her employees… Oh, the liquefied terrors that had been produced, the traumatized clientele…
Luck seemed to be favoring her that day, though, as no urgent messages had arrived on her Scroll, and Ozpin opened his door quickly when she knocked. She entered his office, but didn't sit down in front of his desk.
"Cinder," he greeted from his seat, swinging his cane exaggeratedly. The headmaster had started to act very oddly around her as they became closer friends over the years. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"The usual, for this time of year," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Our usual get-together to celebrate Mira's defeat? The one everyone comes to?"
"Oh, right," Ozpin scratched his chin curiously. "I always forget that's a thing. Where is it going to take place this time?"
"My place. It'll be this Saturday afternoon."
"Ah, yes, of course," he nodded. "I'll be there. You do know you could just call me, right? Phones are useful like that."
Cinder shrugged.
"What can I say. I'm a people-person," she smiled. "Besides, I'll be inviting Raven too. Is she busy right now?"
"Perhaps. Class break is usually five minutes from now, so maybe you'll catch her if you're fast."
She nodded and started towards the door.
"Wait!" He called, making her stop in her tracks. "Can I… Well… Glynda can come too, right?"
Cinder blinked, then turned to look at him with a smirk on her face. She had never seen the headmaster so embarrassed before.
"Oh, my," she said. "Have you been hiding some interesting development from me, Ozpin? This is very juicy…"
"Yes, or no?" He asked firmly, in a tone of voice usually reserved for when he tried to impress a student.
"Yes," Cinder answered. "But you're going to tell me everything at the party."
Ozpin groaned and pressed his forehead against his desk.
Cinder left the office, content to leave him in his state of misery and shame. As soon as she stepped outside of the room, though, a crowd of little children swarmed the floor in front of her, making it impossible for her to go anywhere. All she could do was wait and be thankful she hadn't been caught in the middle of the hellish parade of joy and laughter.
When five minutes passed, she came to the conclusion that there might be no end to the flow of children. For her safety, she decided to just send a text message to Raven, and hope her friend hadn't been killed under a thousand childish feet.
"Yeah, get that Dust on storage as quickly as possible," Blake said as she hopped off her motorcycle, one hand tapping her earpiece so she could communicate with her crew. "And make sure you catalogue it properly. We don't want to redistribute product that might have been tampered with by the White Fang."
She was very glad to finally be on her feet again. She much preferred moving on foot – her cat ears got sore quickly when she wore a helmet – but Yang had showed her numerous times how much faster a motorcycle was. In her line of work, swiftness was crucial.
Another advantage was that she got to park right in front of the Schnee building, contrary to everyone else. A motorcycle was much less spacious than a car, and no one would dare steal it from her, even if it was right there on the street for everyone to see.
"Alright, guys. This is it for today," she sighed. "Good job out there."
She removed the earpiece and stored it away, then entered the building. The cool air inside sent pleasurable chills down her skin, and the soft cacophony of a thousand voices drowned out her worries.
Her job was hard, messy, and dangerous, but rewarding. Every time she came back to the SDC and saw how many faunus she had managed to bring into the industry by showing they could and should be trusted… It was an indescribable feeling, but a good one nonetheless.
Blake felt so peaceful and relaxed as she headed to the elevators, that she almost missed a familiar red sight to her right. Almost.
"Ruby?" She called amusedly. "What are you doing standing in line with everyone else?"
Ruby turned to look at her dubiously, as if she didn't understand the point of her question. She was right in the middle of a line of nearly a hundred people, waiting to speak to one of the receptionists.
"I'm waiting, of course." She said.
"For what?" Blake frowned.
"To…" Something seemed to click inside Ruby's head as she looked down at her feet shamefully. "To get an appointment with you and Weiss."
The brunette stared in awe for a few moments, then pulled her friend out of the line and dragged her to a private elevator. She set the course to the highest floor, then turned to examine the redhead.
"Have you been out Hunting all week?" Blake asked worriedly.
"Yes, duh. I'm me," Ruby rolled her eyes. "Do I smell?"
"Not really. You just seem overly energetic," the faunus smiled. "I assume you had a good time."
"The goodest!" Ruby exclaimed happily. "There were Beowolves and Ursai and a King Taijitu and even two giant Nevermores…"
"Sounds like a slow Ruby week to me."
"Yeah, kinda."
Blake chuckled and stepped out the door as it opened. Ruby followed behind her, intrigued by the fancy hallway they found themselves it. The walls were almost fully made of glass, permitting her to see inside various labs and strategy meetings and other important-looking rooms.
"Wait a second," Blake said. "I need to talk to someone real quick."
She opened a door and stuck her head inside, staring at a team of scientists.
"Jayden?" She called, and one of the male scientists raised his head immediately.
"Miss Schnee!" He exclaimed. "How may I help you?"
"I need someone to analyze a bunch of Dust we retrieved from the White Fang during our last raid," she explained. "Can you do it?"
"Right on it, Miss Schnee!"
Blake smiled gratefully and returned to the hallway, where she found a very content-looking Ruby.
"Hi," the redhead said. "Miss Schnee."
"Ah, stop it," Blake blushed. "It's been almost a year, and people won't stop calling me that. It's embarrassing, and actually very inefficient. How am I supposed to tell if they're talking to me or Weiss?"
"Yeah, I kinda have the same problem too," Ruby sighed. "But at least my name sounds fancier."
"Right, Miss Rose-Fall," the faunus rolled her eyes. "As if you were the first to think of hyphenating."
"Hyphe-what?"
Blake shook her head in wonder, then started walking again. After a few moments, they arrived before a set of double doors, which the faunus didn't hesitate to slam open, a devious smile forming on her lips.
Weiss had been sitting behind her desk, dutifully writing away at a bunch of contracts and documents. When the doors hit the walls, making a thundering noise, she actually jumped onto her chair and looked up in fright.
"You-" Weiss held back her words and smoothed her suit as she hopped off the chair, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "You didn't startle me."
"Yes, I did," Blake sang. "I always do."
"Humph. You're lucky you're good in beeeee-" Weiss's voice dragged into a screech as she noticed Ruby's presence. "Battle. You're good in battle."
"Weiss, I'm not fifteen anymore," Ruby frowned. "I know you meant good in-"
"Ssh! No words!"
As if to stop anything else from coming out of Ruby's mouth, Weiss embraced her in a tight hug. Ruby was smart enough to know the gesture had multiple motivations behind it, but she was too happy about the hug to complain.
"Anyway," Weiss cleared her throat as she retreated from the hug. "I always like to see my partner, but why exactly are you here?"
"She gets very clingy when I come back home," Blake whispered. "Don't take it personally."
"Don't worry, I won't be long," Ruby smirked at Weiss's confused expression. "I'm just here to remind you two that the yearly Yeah-Mira's-in-jail! celebration is coming up. We expect you at the Rose-Fall residence this Saturday afternoon."
"Do you not know what a phone call is?"
Blake elbowed Ruby lightly, as if to bring attention to her latest remark.
"Right. Sorry," Ruby forced a smile, then started to back off slowly. "I'll be going now. You'll be there, right?"
"Yes." Weiss crossed her arms grumpily.
"Can you bring the fancy drinks?"
"Yes."
"When are you two planning on adopting-"
"Go!"
Ruby shook her hands in a peaceful gesture, then slipped off into the hallway, closing the doors behind her.
Blake shook her head as she turned to face her wife.
"You don't have to be so rude," she said. "I think it's nice that she came here in person."
"That doesn't matter," Weiss stated. "Today is Blake day, and there are no guests on Blake day."
"But you run one of the world's most important companies," Blake pointed out. "You can't ignore all your responsibilities just because your wife-"
"Today. Is. Blake day."
The faunus sighed and sat down on a chair, resigning herself to her fate. Ninety-five percent of the time, Weiss was a very rational, business-oriented person. But the remaining five percent…
Really, Blake should have grown used to it years ago.
Cinder was very relieved when she came back to her teashop and found it intact and still with a healthy amount of customers. It made her think she might have to start giving her employees more credit.
As she entered the place, she couldn't help but feel like she was in a dream. Usually, she was behind the counter since the first morning hours, so she rarely noticed how many people came inside the shop. Just from a vague look, she could guess a number of at least fifty.
A month after Mira's defeat, Cinder had moved to Vale and decided, after much thinking and planning, to open a tea shop, right where Iroh's had been. To her displeasure at the time, she had had to borrow money from several of her friends – even Taiyang! – but it had taken a surprisingly short time to pay them back.
The shop, which she had named Sustrai's, had built quite the reputation over the years. Tea-making had been one of the last things Cinder had expected to be proficient at, but apparently she was a master at it. It felt good to be famously skilled at something that wasn't illegal.
As she greeted her costumers and complimented her employees, a faint beep came from her Scroll. She moved to stand behind the counter and looked at the screen, finding a message from Raven, in response to invitation to the party.
Is Yang gonna be there?
Cinder frowned, not truly knowing the answer to that. Yang's presence during the years had been hit-or-miss – sometimes she showed, sometimes she didn't. She was always invited, and she always said she would come.
Yes, Cinder typed back hesitantly.
Okay. I'm assuming Tai can come too?
Yes. *shudders*
Cinder hoped the little joke was enough to distract Raven from the lie she had been told. Ruby had invited her sister already, but…
The pyromancer had been there to see Raven in the parties Yang had missed. It wasn't a pretty sight – even Taiyang couldn't comfort her. Most of the group thought it was just because of the age old story of Raven having missed her daughter's childhood, but Cinder was sure there was more behind it.
Well, there was only one thing Cinder could do to make sure everyone was happy. Shaking off her fear of shop fires and acid teas, she told her employees she would be leaving again, then walked out the door with a determined look on her face.
Ruby yawned as she stood up from the roadside bench she had fallen asleep on. Sometimes she regretted not owning an actual vehicle and having to run everywhere. It was tiring, which led to her sometimes having to sleep in the middle of a field, or worse. Luckily, she looked very scary with her scythe and blood-colored cloak, so no one had ever dared to bother her in these occasions.
This time, she seemed to have gone a little overboard, though. The sun was high in the sky, which told her it was already past lunch hour. Cinder must have been dying of worry.
Ruby rubbed her eyes drowsily, then retrieved her Scroll, expecting to find a dozen or more frenzied voice messages asking about her absence. The thought brought a smile to the redhead's face…
Which was quickly gone once she saw the single message on her screen.
So… Anyone gonna pick me up soon…?
"Oh, poop!" Ruby spun around madly. "Okay. One hour from Vale. Not that long. Running… Half an hour. I can do it!"
She broke off into a run, immediately turning into a blur that surpassed the speed of all the cars in the road.
Behind the bench she had fallen asleep on, a hobo raised his head with a very confused expression on his face.
"What the hell was that…?"
"Ah ha! Found you!"
Yang groaned and tried to somehow merge her face with the counter of the bar she was sitting in front of. Cinder poked her in the shoulder, making it impossible for herself to be ignored.
"Congratulations," Yang said with a muffle voice. "You found the hiding drunk Xiao Long."
"You know it's too early to drink, right?" Cinder asked worriedly.
"I'm not drinking. Not right now, anyway," the blonde sighed. "I'm having a hangover."
"Ah."
Cinder shook her head, then dragged her sister-in-law off her seat forcibly, ignoring every mumbled protest and weakly-thrown punch. She had dealt with this occasionally, just often enough to know Yang wasn't really capable of hurting her in such state.
"Now I'm gonna bring you back to my house, since you don't have one," the pyromancer said sternly. "We're gonna pretend I didn't find you like this, so that my wife can stay a happy little trooper for this Saturday's party."
"Ah, yes! The party! The one I was gonna attend!"
"You sure are going to attend now. You're staying over until then."
Cinder threw a stack of money for the barkeeper, then dragged Yang out of the bar. Once they were outside, it was a greater struggle to keep the drunken blonde from falling down or trampling over passersbyes, but eventually they arrived at the pyromancer's car.
"Get in." Cinder ordered.
"I don't wanna!" Yang crossed her arms proudly, then swayed a little. "Okay, maybe I wanna."
Yang got into the back seats and splayed over them, much to Cinder's dismay. The brunette sat behind the wheel and turned the rearview slightly so she could glance at her passenger. There was something else she should be doing every Friday afternoon, but with Yang like that…
"You need to get your shit together," Cinder voiced lowly as she turned the car's keys. "You're not going to do it for me. Of course not. I expected you to do it for Ruby, or your father, but that's not enough either."
She didn't know if Yang saw the glare that was thrown at her, but she hoped she did.
"Do it for your mother."
When Ruby stopped running, she felt like she would drop dead on the floor. All she could do to keep from collapsing was to lean forward and take long, deep breaths. Unfortunately, the sight of a Huntress hunching over breathlessly was not the most glamorous of sight, especially for people who hung around in front of a school.
"Mom?"
The redhead felt herself die inside as she spun around to look at the source of the voice, a twelve-year-old boy with blue eyes and flaming red hair. A smile played on his lips as he stared at her with amusement and disbelief.
"Did you just run all the way over here?" He asked.
"Y-yes." She managed to say.
"Why…?" He continued. "I thought Other Mom was coming over… With her car."
"I don't know what happened with Other Mom," Ruby shook her head slowly. "She's probably busy running the teashop or something."
He shrugged, trying to seen indifferent, even though he had been waiting to be picked up for nearly two hours. Before he could even prepare himself for it, Ruby seemed to have an instant recovery, which she utilized to close the distance between them and hug him.
"Aw, my little Lumi!" She cooed. "I'm so happy to see you!"
"Mom!" He blushed and looked away. "There are people from the school nearby."
"I'm sorry," she apologized, retreating from the embrace. He was about to thank her for the space, but suddenly Ruby hugged him again. "I can't resist it! You're so cute! How was school this week? Did you have fun? Did you learn useful things like… numbers and… how to make bigger numbers?!"
"Yes, mom," Lumi deadpanned. "That's exactly how math works."
Before he could become even more embarrassed in front of his peers, Lumi started to walk away, taking the initiative of going home. Ruby followed him, keeping up with her relentless questions, which he tried his best to answer, while giving away as little information as possible.
"I got you something for your headache," Cinder said tiredly. "Here you go."
Yang reached upward with her hand to grab the pill, then swallowed it as if it were nothing. Cinder could only shake her head sadly. The blonde had wasted no time before collapsing in the living room's sofa, as if the house belonged to her.
"Can I just say I still don't believe how lucky you and my sister are?" Yang said loudly. "Look at this house. You have a top-tech television, computer, nice furniture… Hell, you even keep a garden. Cinder Fall keeps a garden."
"And I'm very proud of it," the pyromancer crossed her arms and sat beside her. "And we're not that well-off."
"Right. I guess I'm just imagining every luxurious thing around me."
Cinder frowned and looked at the room they were in.
"Maybe you're right. It's a nice house," she muttered. "Which is kinda sad, actually. Between Ruby's constant Hunting and Lumi's being at school for five days a week… It gets lonely."
"Aw!" A familiar voice sounded behind them. "You never told me you felt that way!"
Cinder turned to look behind her. Ruby's pout had her feeling remorseful and guilty in an instant.
"Ruby!" The pyromancer forced herself to smile. "I didn't mean that."
"You did. You're a pretty good liar, Cinder, but you don't fool me," Ruby sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll be taking a vacation for the next month."
Cinder rolled her eyes, then stood up to kiss her wife on the lips. She should have expect nothing less from Ruby – one hint of Cinder being even slightly upset, and the redhead would go miles to rectify the problem.
Yang jumped to her feet, making a remarkable effort to not wobble and collapse. Cinder seeing her hungover was one thing, but Ruby… She preferred her little sister to be ignorant of her latest… adventures.
"Now, now, lovebirds," the blonde raised a finger obnoxiously. "You can do your stuff later. I demand a hug."
"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, leaping over the sofa to embrace her sister. "I'm so happy you're here! Are you staying over? Please me you're staying over!"
"Yeah, I'm staying over! Sheesh," Yang shook her head in wonder. "You're still as energetic as ever."
"You don't know the half of it." Cinder smirked.
Lumi had run off to his room to put his backpack away, but now he was back and shooting a fierce glare at his brunette mother. Yang was more than surprised to see Cinder squirm uncomfortably under the stare.
"I'm sorry I didn't pick you up," the pyromancer said, then hugged her son. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting, but I had to pick up your aunt."
"Hmm," for a moment, it seemed like Lumi would straight up reject her apology, but then he smiled widely in a manner almost identical to Ruby's and patted Cinder on the head. "I forgive you. Just don't do it again."
Cinder nodded before being unceremoniously shoved away by Yang, who put her hands on her hips and began to examine Lumi from head to toe. The boy's eyes widened – if he were a cartoon character, he surely would have shrunk to an ant's size.
"Damn, kid. You've grown this past year," Yang said. "I can see you'll become a handsome young lad. I bet you got a lot of ladies' hearts already, eh?"
"A-aunt Yang!" He blushed. "T-that's not true!"
"You're into boys, then?"
"N-not that, either!"
"Don't pay her any mind, Lumi," Cinder shook her head in disapproval. "Your aunt's just messing with you," she smiled comfortingly. A moment later, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you uncomfortable because something she said was true?"
Lumi laughed nervously, then ran to his room and slammed his door shut. Yang laughed and punched Cinder on the shoulder playfully. She had always wanted to play the part of an overbearing aunt, and now she had the support of the mother too!
"You two are unbelievable," Ruby sighed. "I'm gonna go check on him."
"Oh, come on!" Yang rolled her eyes. "We were just kidding around! Let the kid be embarrassed!"
"No, that could traumatize him for life!" The redhead exclaimed sharply.
"That's an overreaction. Cinder, tell your wife she's overreacting," Yang requested. Cinder gave her an emotionless look, then slowly shook her head. "Ah. I see. You're on a leash."
Cinder nodded fervently. Ruby smiled approvingly, then raced to her son's room.
"You know," Yang said. "It's in moments like these that I'm glad I'm still single."
Cinder had to leave for work again the next day, but she intended to close the shop earlier so she could be home to greet her guests. Unfortunately, things rarely ever went so smoothly, and she had to satisfy more than a hundred costumers before being able to leave. When she returned to her house, she found Ozpin and Glynda waiting in the porch after ringing on the doorbell.
"Hello," the headmaster greeted humorously. "Nice house. I wonder who lives here."
"Very funny." Cinder deadpanned.
Ruby opened the door a few moments later, then ushered them in, shooting her wife an accusatory look. Cinder could only shrug and move over to the living room, where she discovered everyone had already arrived.
Yang was on the sofa, sitting beside Weiss and Blake. Raven was standing, drinking from a glass of juice, with Taiyang at her side. Lumi was near in a corner, trying to stay invisible to everyone's attentions, like any lone kid in an adults' gathering.
Weiss had been in the middle of telling a story, but she stopped to look at the new arrivals. Before she could say anything, though, Yang jumped to her feet.
"Holy crap! Am I seeing things?" She pointed to Ozpin and Glynda, then rubbed her eyes furiously. "Is everyone else seeing this?"
"You are being very unamusing, Miss Xiao Long." Glynda noted coldly.
"Yep. It even sounds like her!" Yang smiled. "Damn, Ozpin. I thought you were never gonna go there. Always a surprise with you."
The headmaster looked away, then took a seat while murmuring greetings for everyone else. Cinder chuckled, still intending to learn everything about his relationship with Glynda, but deciding to leave it for later. Instead, she moved closer and laid her hands on Weiss and Blake's shoulders.
"Hey. I haven't seen you two since the wedding," she said. "How have you been?"
"Splendid, thank you for asking." Weiss replied immediately.
"The honeymoon was especially great." Blake added.
"Well, yes. You didn't have to make that known to everyone," the white-haired woman noted. "How have you been, Cinder? Is business treating you well?"
"Yeah, it's great. We're exceeding expectations each month," Cinder told. "I think we'll have to expand, actually. Too little space for too many costumers."
"Oh, I have some tips for you, then…"
Blake groaned and looked at Yang.
"There they go again." She muttered.
"Hey, look at the bright side," Yang shrugged. "At least we don't have to hear about the SDC's stocks anymore."
Blake tilted her head to the side, then nodded. That was a bright side indeed.
Yang looked towards her mother, meeting her eyes for a brief moment, then looked away. Raven wanted to come over to her side and talk, but with so many people around… It didn't seem right. She could only hope things wouldn't get too overwhelming for her daughter.
Ruby began to move towards her father, but stopped briefly as she saw something happening at the corner of her vision. Apparently, Lumi's attempt of staying undetected had been foiled by Ozpin. She recognized the look on the headmaster's face – the one he wore when he saw a potential student.
"So, you're Lumi. We've met before, haven't we?"
"Yes, sir. Three years ago, I think," the boy smiled shyly. "I was in school the other times this party was held."
"I see," Ozpin said seriously. "How much time has passed since you were adopted?"
"Three and a half years, sir."
"And are you happy with your current situation?"
Ruby turned her back to them, knowing Lumi would naturally look over to her. A moment passed before she heard her son's voice again.
"Yes, sir! My mothers are great," he said. "They've been very kind to me. Cinder's always looking after me – sometimes a bit too much. And Ruby's the greatest Huntress ever!"
"That she is," Ozpin chuckled. "Are you planning on being a Huntsman, Mister Lumi?"
"…Yeah," Lumi sounded unsure at first, but then he spoke again, his voice filled with determination. "I want to be a Huntsman, sir. The greatest – even greater than Ruby."
"That's a tough dream to achieve. I've never shied away from telling this to any of my students – being a Huntsman does not mean you're a fairytale hero. It often hurts more than you can imagine."
Ruby frowned. What Ozpin said was true, but it wasn't encouraging at all. She feared it would make Lumi back down.
"I don't care, sir," the boy said firmly. "It's my dream."
"I see," Ruby knew Ozpin was smiling just from the tone of his voice. "Then know that, when the time is right, there'll be a room waiting for you at Beacon."
Ruby bit her lower lip, trying to keep herself from bursting into tears. She shuffled quickly to Taiyang, who looked at her worriedly.
"Something wrong, dear?" He asked.
"No, I'm okay," she laughed lightly. "I just heard Yang tell an amazing joke, but I can't let her know I found it funny. You know how she gets."
"Ah," Taiyang said. He looked around shiftily. "Could we talk in private for a moment?"
"Uh, okay," Ruby frowned. "Let's go to the kitchen. Nobody will hear us there."
They walked off without attracting anyone's attention. Once they were in the kitchen, Taiyang let out a huge breath and gripped her by the shoulders.
"Okay, sweetie, I'm gonna ask you something, and I really, really, really don't wanna upset you." He said.
"Sheesh, dad," Ruby gulped. "Did someone die?"
"No, no. I just…" Taiyang sighed. "I wanna ask your permission to marry Raven," he grimaced. "I know, I know. It's probably nonsense. She's your friend, and all that. You got nothing against her. But… Well, you're Summer's daughter. I think you've got some say in it."
Ruby just stared at him in amazement.
"Wow, dad. Is that it?" She smiled. "I know you two have been seeing each other for a while now. You – and her – seem pretty happy about it. So, of course you can marry Raven. You have my approval."
"Oh, thank Remnant! I have the best daughters ever!" He hugged her. "Yang's okay with it too. Now it's just a matter of buying a ring, and choosing the right time…"
Ruby nodded, eager to help her father with his new plans.
The hours passed by unnoticed, until the sun fell over the horizon, bringing the stars in the night sky. Ozpin and Glynda were the first to leave – the headmaster claimed he had school business to attend to, but Cinder was sure he just wanted to avoid being forced to tell her about his love life's current status. Oh well, she would have to find another time to trap him.
Weiss and Blake decided to leave soon after, despite Ruby's protests.
"Can't you stay overnight?" The redhead begged as they exited the house. "Please?! We have guest rooms! I-I'll sleep on the couch if you want! You can have my room!"
"Your room is my room too." Cinder noted.
"Cinder! Don't be rude!" Ruby admonished.
"I'm really sorry. I wish we could stay, but there's always stuff to take care of in the SDC." Weiss said.
"Yeah. I have another operation to run next week, which I should begin preparations for as soon as possible," Blake added. "The White Fang is stubborn. Every base of their we raid, two more seem to pop up. And the next target is pretty massive. I could use your help, Ruby."
The invitation was very tempting, but Ruby couldn't take it.
"Nah. I gotta stay with Cinder now," she said. "She's lonely. I'm staying home for a month."
"Huh," Blake shot Weiss a furtive glance. "We have Blake day. I guess they've got Ruby month."
"Don't give me any ideas." Weiss smiled.
The couple started to leave, but Ruby jumped to their side again, pulling her ex-partner by the shoulder.
"Wait! I know I asked you before, and you got annoyed, but… But…" She shook slightly, as if she were containing an explosion of glee within herself. "When are you gonna adopt a kid?!"
Weiss held back a dismayed look. Blake just chuckled.
"Don't worry, Ruby," the faunus said. "I'm gonna convince her sooner or later."
"It's not like I don't want kids," Weiss said. "I just want us to take our time."
"I understand that, Weiss, but…" Cinder shrugged. "Having a kid is wonderful. You shouldn't wait too long."
"Humph," the CEO crossed her arms. "…I'll consider it."
"Adopt one Lumi's age!" Ruby requested excitedly. "They could be friends! It would be so cute! We could bring them to each other's houses and they'd play together and eventually-"
Cinder smiled apologetically to Weiss and Blake, then dragged her wife back to her house.
Unfortunately, they seemed to have returned at a most inopportune time, as Yang and Raven were having a quiet, yet fierce discussion, while Taiyang hung back helplessly.
"You can't mean this, Yang," Raven sounded immensely sad – more than she had ever been in recent years. "You can't sleep in some bar. Shit, not even a hotel?"
"Don't push it. It's no big deal," Yang said through gritted teeth. "I've been living like this for a long time, okay? It's never been a problem."
"It is a problem!" Raven insisted. "Yang, please… You can stay in my room at Beacon."
"No," the blonde crossed her arms. "I don't wanna spend time with you, okay? Just leave me alone."
"Yang!" Taiyang snapped.
She turned her head to stare at him, and he expected her eyes to have turned red with rage – but they were still violet, and full of sadness and pain. Ruby reached to touch her in the shoulder, but Yang brushed her off and started towards the door.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "Just leave me alone."
And just like that, she was gone. Raven looked at her feet, her hands trembling. Taiyang snaked an arm around her shoulders, then gave Ruby and Cinder a comforting smile.
"Don't worry, I'll get her back to Beacon," he said. "I'll find Yang afterwards, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Ruby was still upset, but she didn't want to worsen the situation for Raven. "Good luck."
He nodded, then exited the house.
A few minutes passed as Ruby just stood there, trying to understand what had just happened. Something was wrong with her sister – something hidden deep within her, and somehow it was related to Raven…? It was too much to take in at once, and she couldn't help but feel like she should have seen this coming a long time ago.
She only woke from her stupor when Cinder touched her shoulder lightly with a worried look on her face.
"Hey. I'm sorry," the pyromancer whispered. "I know it's… tough. We can talk about it later, okay? I've… got to do that thing."
"Oh. Yeah," Ruby rubbed her arms meekly. "I totally forgot about that. Just don't be too long. More than two hours and I'll come running, okay?"
"Sure," Cinder planted a kiss on her forehead. "Thanks for looking out for me."
"Hey," Ruby smiled half-heartedly. "That's what wives are for."
Snap.
Nothing.
Snap.
Nothing. Maybe next time.
Snap.
Still nothing.
Snap.
Spark!
…No. Just her imagination.
Snap.
"You can stop that now. It's never going to happen."
Mira looked up to the window of her containment cell, finding her daughter standing right outside with a solemn expression on her face. The criminal's eyes straightened, and she tried to delve even deeper into the corner of her room she was sitting against.
She raised her shaky fingers again.
Snap.
"Please. You need to stop it," Cinder sighed. "It's been fourteen years. Your power is never coming back."
"You don't know that," Mira muttered, her once beautiful voice now raspy and weak. "I can do it. You'll see. You'll see…"
Cinder snapped her own fingers, producing a living flame. Mira's eyes widened in admiration.
"I took it away. The only way you could ever have your power back is if I gave it back," Cinder said, her voice trembling with rage and desperation. "And I'll never do that, so you need to stop feeding this fruitless hope. You could be someone better, if you would just try!"
Mira shook her head violently.
Snap snap snap snap.
"Fuck!" Cinder exclaimed, her eyes shining like fire for a brief moment. "You're a pathetic madwoman! I'm never visiting you again!"
Cinder's footsteps echoed heavily as she marched away. A door banged shut, and all lights went off, leaving Mira in utter darkness.
A quiet, victorious laugh filled the cell.
Snap!
Cinder wasn't too surprised to find Ruby sleeping on the living room's sofa when she came back home. The redhead had probably been so worried about her wife and her older sister, that the stress had gotten to her – she had a tendency to deal with these situations with a good night of sleep.
The pyromancer picked her up, then moved her to their room and put her down on their bed. Gently, she drew the covers over her, then observed her for a brief moment.
Before joining her, Cinder decided to check on their son. Lumi had gotten to an age where he stubbornly insisted that there was no reason to sleep early – if at all. Hey, there were twenty-four hours a day, why not used all of them?
When she entered his room, however, she was surprised to find him not on his computer or watching television, but lying on his bed and drawing on a sketchbook. He looked at her like a deer caught in a headlight.
"Mom," he said awkwardly. "I thought you were sleeping."
"Not yet," Cinder hummed in wonder. "What are you doing?"
Lumi tried to keep the sketchbook out of her reach, but she took it with surprising speed – surprising for him, at least. Cinder looked at it, expecting to find some heartfelt confession to a classmate or even some more… inappropriate things, but instead, the paper was filled with drawings of different weapons and armors.
"Oh," she frowned. "I didn't know you were interested in this, Lumi."
"Well, I'm not crazy about weapons. Not like Other Mom, at least," Lumi said. "I just… it's cool, you know. And I wanna design my own weapon someday, like she did."
"That's… great," Cinder smiled, then ruffled his hair, which didn't make him too happy. "I'll support you no matter what you want to be."
Lumi nodded. He looked away wearing an expression she was familiar with – the one he wore when he wanted to ask a question, but didn't know if it was appropriate or not.
"What is it, Lumi?" She asked. "You know the rules. You're transparent with us, we're transparent with you."
"Okay," he sighed. "I was just wondering… What's this celebration all about, anyway? Some dude you defeated fourteen years ago?"
"…She was a woman, actually, and very, very dangerous." Cinder answered.
"Really? What was so dangerous about her?"
Cinder paused, a horrible feeling of guilt overwhelming her. Ruby and her had never told their son about Mira, or her previous life. Lumi barely knew about Cinder's power.
You're transparent with us, we're transparent with you.
"She was just very powerful. She hurt a lot of people – she killed your grand-uncle, even," Cinder hoped she sounded as convincing as she wanted to be. "It took a lot of work and pain, but eventually… Ruby defeated her."
"Wow. She's super cool," Lumi smiled. "You're lucky you got together with her."
"Yeah. More than you can imagine."
Cinder laid the sketchbook beside him on the bed, then walked backwards until she was out of the room.
"Okay, I'm gonna let you be in peace now," she said. "Don't sleep too late, okay?"
"Mom, there are twenty-four hours-"
"I know. I love you."
She closed the room and stumbled backwards, slamming her back against the wall behind her.
Couldn't things ever be perfect, even after so long? She had endured so much, let go of all her wrongdoings, become someone new and better… And then this happened – she couldn't tell her own son who she really was, in fear of being seen as a monster.
Was it destiny for her to never be truly happy? Another effect of her cursed lineage?
She walked back to her bedroom and looked at the sleeping Ruby, her vision hazy with tears.
No.
This was it. This was true happiness. Life wasn't perfect, and she should be happy she was so lucky as to have a loving wife, a wonderful son, so many close friends…
Lucky… Not really. She had flipped her coin, made her own luck.
So she lied down under the covers and hugged Ruby, resting her head against her shoulder, hearing her wife's calm, rhythmic breathing.
"Good night. I love you, Ruby."
And she fell asleep.
...
Aaah. What a wonderful feeling.
When I started this story, I firmly believe it would be a flop. I mean... Who ships Falling Petals? To me, that was such an absurd notion - it still kinda is. I don't ship them myself, because it's so... farfetched.
But people loved it. I was fucking amazed when the story broke 50 followers with ONE chapter. Now it has 450~ followers and 300~ favorites, and 330~ reviews. Just amazing.
So I gotta thank you guys for being amazing readers. A story is not a story if there is no to experience it.
And, sincerely, I feel especially good not only because of the statistic success of FRBB, but also because I just loved the whole of it. There are elements of this story that I put a lot of thought into - the whole Fall plotline, the parallel between Cinder and Raven... Differently from some stuff from CoS and DoS, I think I might never come to regret anything I wrote here.
Anyway. Enough emotional wish-wash.
What's next with the Mr. Zeroan?
First of all, Of Vale Blood. That'll be my main story from now on. If you'd like to, please check it out. I'll also be picking Days of Spring back up and finishing it. I'll explain the reason for its hiatus on the story itself.
And, as for Falling Roses Burn Brighter... Well... Don't let your hopes die, folks. If you thought there were seeds for more planted in this epilogue... They might become beautiful flowers someday.
... Hehe.
A Falling-Roses-Burn-Brighter-sized thank you.
-Zeroan