Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

"Are we there, yet?"

The question annoyed Blake. It was the third time Amber had asked her that since they started driving and it was starting to get grating. "No, Amber. Five more minutes at the most."

Seemingly satisfied by the answer, Amber started looking out the window. Blake could use all the quiet she could get. Ruby had been acting weird. While she denied it, Blake knew it to be true. However, she didn't pry too hard, as she could feel that, whatever it was, it wasn't something one should discuss over a screen.

So, she went to Yang and Weiss.

"She's always been like that," Yang said. "You know how she is."

Blake did know. Ruby had always been...unique. Adorable, smart, kind, but also incredibly socially awkward. So her being weird was pretty much normal. But Blake always it was different for her. True, there was a time when Ruby had distanced herself from her, but she came back and they became closer than ever. She was practically a sister for Blake and a second mother for Amber. She thought the days of her being kept out of the important happenings in Ruby's life were gone. Which just made it hurt more to find out that wasn't the case. So, she was going to confront Ruby. The two of them would sit down and talk and Ruby would get out of it until she told Blake everything.

Nodding slightly to herself, she parked outside of the airport and got out, taking Amber with her.

As they waited at the terminal, Blake was growing impatient. And with the impatience came the doubts.

Perhaps there's a reason she's keeping this from me. Perhaps...I'm the reason. Maybe she's just pretending to be okay with me and Amber living with her. Maybe we're actually disrupting her life. I know she loves Amber, but taking care of a child is a huge burden. Perhaps...

"Aunt Ruby!" Amber interrupted her thoughts as she stormed towards the other woman. As Ruby knelt down and took the girl in her arms, Blake approached them.

Ruby turned to her. She looked tired. Really tired. "Hey, Ruby. How your flight?"

"Ugh, horrible! The food was horrid, the plane kept shaken and I was stuck sitting in between two guys who snored as if they had jackhammers shoved down there throats."

And, just like that, all the fears and anxieties had been replaced with sympathy. This woman who so graciously gave them a place to stay was exhausted and what she needed now was a good rest, not a difficult discussion. Blake's worries could wait. "How about we get you home so you can get to bed?"

"Yes, please!" Blake smiled as Ruby's face lit up.

(**)

Once they'd gotten home, Ruby immediately fell into bed. Amber took it upon herself to climb in as well and cuddle up to her beloved aunt.

Blake, in the meanwhile, decided that she should get some coffee. She needed something to calm her nerves.

"Hey, Blakey!" Yang wasn't helping. "What'cha doin'?"

"Drinking coffee," Blake deadpanned.

"Weren't you gonna pick up my sister?"

"I already did. She went to bed the second we got home. Amber crawled in with her, so I chose to come here."

"Didn't you want to crawl in as well?" Yang smirked.

"I wasn't tired."

"But if you had been?"

Blake shrugged, slightly annoyed. "I don't know. Maybe. Wouldn't be the first time. Why is it so important?"

"It's not. I just thought it'd be adorable. Did you take pictures?"

Of course. "No."

"Aww, you're no fun."

What do you want, Yang? Don't you have some unwitting victim you can hit on?"

"Excuse, I wouldn't call any woman subjected to this body a victim, would you?"

"No, it's being subjected to your personality that makes them a victim."

"Ouch, kitty got claws."

Blake just shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just...I came here to think."

"About...?"

"What we discussed earlier this week."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

Yang sighed, then looked Blake in the eye. "Listen, Blake. For the sake of my sister, I tried not to say anything. But it's pretty clear that it's tearing her apart. I think it's time you knew."

"Knew what?"

"Just so you know, we never told you about this because we just thought it would make things difficult. We didn't want to take that chance. And then...we just figured it didn't matter. But...watching it eat away at my sister. Day by day. Year by year."

"What are you talking about? She only recently started acting strange."

"No, Blake. It's been like this for years. You were just too focused on your own things to realize it. I mean, are you even aware Ruby hasn't been with a woman since Coco?"

This news came as a real surprise to Blake. She had no idea. "Why not?"

"Her heart is fixated on one thing. One person. As long as that's the case, she won't be able to open it to anybody else."

"Okay, so why doesn't she just confess to her."

"Because she already rejected her."

"What?! And Ruby is still in love with her? Why the hell would she be in love with someone who doesn't love her back?" Blake was furious. The mere thought of Ruby being heartbroken made her sick. "Who is this girl? Tell me, Yang! Who the hell is this woman who broke Ruby's heart? Who is it that she's so fixated with, that she couldn't possibly..."

And just like that, the pieces fell into place. Who? Who was it that Ruby was so fixated on? Who was it that Ruby was always with?

Her jaw dropped and she looked up at Yang in disbelief. Yang's eyes were full of sorrow as she nodded.

"I don't...understand. She never..."

"She never had to. You already rejected her on that roof."

The roof. Now Blake remembered. Her and Sun's first kiss had been interrupted by the door to the roof being suddenly opened and slammed shut. It was Ruby. And Blake had...

"Why? Why didn't she just tell me?"

"I already told you. Ruby telling you would've made things really awkward between. And as you and Sun grew closer, she decided there was no point in telling you."

Blake took a moment to process this. "Coco?"

Yang nodded. "Ruby thought she could get over you with Coco. It didn't work. Even after all those years, she still loved you."

"Why? She was always so supportive of my relationship. My wedding. Amber."

"She couldn't be your girlfriend. And she couldn't get away from you. So, she chose to be your friend instead. And Amber...Amber was my last hope. She seemed to...change something in Ruby. Ruby gave her all her love and Amber happily returned it. I thought that would be enough to make her forget about you. But even so, she would always sneak longing glances at you. And I realized something." Blake noticed that Yang was clenching her fists. "This love has turned into a disease. And it is eating away at her. That is why I'm telling you this. If she doesn't tell you, if you two don't clear the air, her feelings will fester until there is nothing left of my lil' sis but a hollow shell." There tears in her eyes. "Please, Blake. Set her free."

Blake gulped and nodded. She then got up and walked home.

(**)

Blake looked at the clock. 8 a.m. After she had gotten home, she'd waited for Ruby to get up. As it got late, she realized that wasn't going to happen that day, so she slept on the couch. Or tried to, at least. Her thoughts were keeping her awake all through the night, so she barely got any sleep. Now she knew how Ruby felt yesterday.

The click of the bed room door drew her attention as she watched Ruby walk into the living room, stretching and yawning.

As she noticed her, she gave her a big smile. "Morning!"

Blake didn't return it. She couldn't. She couldn't believe that smile was real. She couldn't stop thinking about all the emotions buried deep beneath it.

Ruby was slightly put off by Blake's grim expression. "Something wrong?"

"We need to talk!"

Put off by the seriousness of that statement, Ruby was a little stunned. "O-okay. What about?"

Blake gestured for Ruby to sit in front of her. After hesitating slightly, Ruby complied.

"Uh, so, what's up?"

"I know." Blake didn't want to beat around the bush.

"You know what?"

"I know about your feelings for me."

The reaction was instantaneous. Ruby's eyes widened, her jaw dropped and all colour vanished from her face. "W-what?"

"I know everything, Ruby. And I wanted to talk about it."

"N-no. No! We don't need to talk! There's nothing to talk about! We're friends! Just friends!"

"Yes, we're friends. And friends, real friends, tell each other the truth. So, please, Ruby, stop hiding! I can't bear to see you hurting like this."

Ruby was wavering. Blake could see it. The mask she had been wearing for years was slowly crumbling and tears started to form in her eyes. Then they fell. She threw her face into her hands and bawled.

"I-I tried, Blake," she sobbed. "I tried to be strong. To be a good friend. All...all I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I-I thought that that would be enough. But...but it still...it hurt so bad. Every moment seeing you with Sun made me want to cut my own heart out. It hurt so much." Ruby felt warm arms wrap themselves around her as she was pressed against Blake. After a moment, she wrapped her arms around Blake's neck and cried into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Blake. I'm so so so so so sorry. I should've told you, I know. I just..."

"Shh, it's okay, Ruby. It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I'm the one who caused you so much pain. I'm the one who made you suffer. I'm the one who should be apologizing." And so she let her own tears flow and they just sat there, crying in each others arms for who knows how long.

Eventually, they stopped crying and broke apart, looking at each others as genuine smiles graced their lips.

"Feeling better?" Blake asked.

"You have no idea," Ruby replied. "Thank you. So much." After a few moments of silence, Ruby spoke up again. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, I'm gonna go to bed. And you are gonna go thank your sister for opening my eyes."

"Yang, I should've known," she chuckled.

"Hey, just to settle things. If me living here is too weird for you..."

"Shut it! I don't want to hear about that! I love you, remember? And I love Amber. So the two of you are gonna be living here for as long as you need, got it?"

Blake smiled. It was nice to know she wasn't gonna lose her friend.