Ruby's story came out slowly, no pun intended. In half-whispered dialogue in the middle of the night between her and Yang, she bared it all.

Or bared most of it, at least. It's not like Yang had any kind of fundamental right to know, but it was only fair to explain, in Ruby's book. And even if it wasn't fair, well, Ruby still wanted to explain anyways. Didn't she?

"You know." Yang said as broken moonlight filtered through the window and dappled across Ruby's soft face. "I think Dad might have already known, too."

Ruby cringed, understandably.

"Really? How did he figure it out?"

Yang shrugged.

"I mean, he obviously wasn't that surprised when you came out to him. And when I asked him about it, he got really embarrassed, so-"

Ruby blanched, turning the color of pasty oatmeal.

"He must have found something really awkward. Maybe your underwear-?"

"Ew! Yaaaang!"

(Later, when the chaos of coming out had died down, Taiyang admitted that he had, in fact, found unmentionables in Ruby's room. They never speak of it again, just out of common courtesy.)

Several days flitted by in a haze of preparation and bad jokes.

"I still can't believe I'm going to Beacon with you, Ruby!" Yang crowed from her room as the two sisters finished packing their bags.

"I know. You said that five times already, Yang."

"That's not the point!"

Ruby rolled her eyes - only half exasperated - and hoisted her bag over her shoulder while she placed Crescent Rose on the small of her back. She tried to pull her hood up a second later, but Yang intervened, ruffling Ruby's hair.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Rubes." Yang replied, not sounding apologetic at all. "I just couldn't resist."

Ruby growled, pulling away and whipping her hood over her head.

"C'mon, Ruby, you don't need to hide yourself."

Ruby was quiet for a few seconds. Then-

"Haha, I'm not hiding anything!"

Yang raised an eyebrow.

"What? What do you think I'm hiding, Yang?"

"Just your entire head." Yang said dryly. "And your eyes."

"Nah, I'm just cold." Ruby maintained, turning away and heading to the door of their home, where Taiyang would be waiting to take them out to the airship to Beacon.

Taiyang wasn't there.

"Dad? Where are you?"

Yang followed after Ruby, swaggering down the halls as usual.

"He isn't here right now. I'm going to take you, on Bumblebee."

Ruby visibly wilted for a moment, and Yang felt heartsick. Then Ruby's shoulders began shaking.

"Ruby?"

"I just…" Ruby began, her breath hitching. "He says he's fine with me, but then he never talks to me."

"Ruby-"

"He never even looks at me, Yang!"

Yang grabbed Ruby into a hug, ignoring the bulk of Ruby's weapons and bags.

"I'm sure he'll come around, Ruby."

"You don't know that." Ruby protested stubbornly.

"Of course I do!" Yang said firmly. "I know he loves you. He's just… taking some time to adjust."

Ruby snorted, almost venomous in her intensity.

"I'm sure."

The truth was, Yang could understand why Taiyang might be so leery. Reuben Rose had worn his father's face, a wall to take the edge off of Summer Rose's features.

But then hormones had softened Ruby's face to the point where she looked like just Summer had, and then Ruby had taken to wearing Summer's clothes, pilfered from boxes in the attic. Taken to wearing Summer's old cloak, wearing it like a shield against the problems she couldn't solve with her Sniper-Scythe - of which there were far too many.

Ruby was a ghost of Taiyang's past, suddenly come back to haunt him. Hell, Ruby was almost a ghost of Yang's past, too, but Yang knew better than to let the past haunt her at all.

Taiyang's solution to grief was just to bury it as best he could and never look back, and that was something Yang had learned when she was forced to grow up. She kept Ruby from the truth of such things, just as a matter of course, but it was still a truth.

And it was a truth which would hurt.

"I don't know what's wrong with Dad." Yang lied smoothly. "But I believe in him, you know? If you don't believe in him, then believe in the me that believes in him!"

"Oh my God, Yang, you are so cheesy-"

"And we love it!"

"Maybe you love it." Ruby grumbled. Yang shrugged easily.

"Guilty as charged."

Ruby scowled, turning away - her hair falling in front of her face, just like Summer's hair had brushed against her cheeks - and the words fell out of Yang's mouth almost on accident.

"You look like Mom, you know?"

Ruby stopped dead.

"You… you really mean that?"

Yang swallowed, her mouth suddenly too dry.

"Yeah. You do."

Ruby's hands tightened on the hem of her cloak, cradling it closer to her body, and Yang found herself wondering: what was Ruby thinking? In wrapping herself with Summer's cloak, was it like she was actually getting close to Summer again?

Maybe Yang was projecting. After all, didn't she sometimes wish that Summer was back, wish that she had a mother who would fight tooth and nail to come home to them? Instead of a mother that Yang had to fight tooth and nail to find?

"Yang? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Yang lied again, not bothering to dry her eyes. "You're a good kid, you know that? You're the best sister I've ever had."

Just like that, the spell was broken.

"Yang, stop it!" Ruby cried bashfully as Yang strutted out the door and went for Bumblebee.

"No way. I'm never going to stop, Ruby."

"Yaaaang!"

As the two of them drove out on the roads, Ruby sitting behind Yang on the motorbike and clinging to Yang for dear life, only one thought went through Yang's mind:

Ruby even yelps like Mom did.

A small smile stretched across Yang's lips, her flyaway blonde hair dancing in the wind just like the keepsake around Ruby's neck.