Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
"And have I mentioned how fluffy her ears are?"
"You might have," Ruby replied. About a dozen times. Ever since Penny started dating Velvet, she was all the ginger ever talked about. As happy as Ruby was for her friend, it was starting to grate on the nerves. And the fact that she was now sacrificing one of her precious free days to listen to it just made it worse. "Penny, shouldn't you be working right now?"
"Oh, don't worry about that! I've already finished a month's worth of work in advance. I'm all yours."
Great, Ruby thought sarcastically.
"Speaking of which, how's your love life been? Any progress with Blake?"
Ruby sighed. "Penny, listen." A knock on the door interrupted her. Really? "Hang on! Someone's at the door," she said as she got up.
Opening the door, annoyance quickly turned to shock as she recognized the person in front of her.
A head of short black and red hair with horns sticking out, a sneer that seemed to be carved into his face and piercing black eyes that stared down at her in disgust. Adam, a man she had not seen in over ten years. She knew why he was here before he even spoke.
"Where is she?"
(**)
"Come on, Mommy! Aunt Ruby is waiting!" Amber yelled as she ran ahead.
Blake just shook her head and smiled, gripping the plastic container in her hand. As thanks for letting them stay with her, Blake and Amber had gotten Ruby a cake.
I can just imagine her face when she sees the cookies stuck to it, Blake thought. Her face will light up, her cheeks will get all flushed and perhaps she'll even let out that adorable squeal she does whenever she...
"Mommy? Are you cold?" Amber's voice tore Blake from her thoughts.
"What? Why do you ask?"
"You're face is all red."
Blake lifted a hand to her face. Amber was right. Her face was very warm. She checked her pulse and found it to be going extremely fast. At first she thought she had caught something. But she didn't feel sick. She didn't feel woozy. She just felt...happy.
What is wrong with me?
"Woah!" Once again, Blake looked up at the sound of her daughter's voice to see a police car parked in front of their apartment building.
Something's not right! Blake thought as she grabbed her daughter's hand and rushed for their apartment.
Ruby! Something's happened to Ruby! No! Please, god, no!
Once they reached their floor, she immediately noticed the door to their apartment was wide open.
She rushed through the door.
There was Ruby, standing in the middle of the room, talking to a police officer.
It was like the weight of the world had been lifted off her. She's fine. "Ruby!" She called out in relief.
Ruby turned to her and Blake could feel her heart drop into her stomache. The left side of Ruby's face was covered by a massive black eye. Blake could feel herself drop the cake, but she didn't care. She ran over to Ruby.
"Ruby! Oh god, what happened to you? Who did this?"
Ruby paused for a moment, before turning to her left. Blake followed her gaze and her eyes widened as she saw him.
"Adam?" He was there. Sitting in a chair, hands cuffed, with another policeman standing next to him.
"We received a call about an assault in this apartment," the policeman who had been talking to Ruby explained. "When we arrived, Ms. Rose had Mr. Taurus pinned to the ground. It... led to some misunderstandings."
"They attempted to arrest me," Ruby translated.
"Until Ms. Rose made us understand that this was her apartment and that Mr. Taurus was the assailant. Everything's been cleared up."
"I'm not judging. I know you were just doing your job. The important thing is you stopped Adam."
"But..." Blake started. "What's he doing here?"
"He came here for you," Ruby answered. "He asked about you. Wanted to know what you were doing, where he could find you. When I refused to tell him, he attacked."
Blake shook her head, then turned to the policeman. "Can I talk to him?"
"Sure thing, ma'am. Just make sure not to get too close. He's dangerous."
Blake nodded. "I know." She walked over and knelt down in front of Adam, then just stared at him. When it became clear he wasn't going to talk first, she spoke up. "Why are you here?"
He didn't answer at first. Didn't even look at her. Eventually, he sighed. "I came for you."
Blake shook her head. "Why?"
"I heard...about your marriage. About your daughter. Then I heard about the divorce. I figured..."
"You figured I would be easy prey in my heart-broken state."
Adam flinched at the harsh tone of Blake's voice. "I just...wanted to see you again."
"To what end, Adam? Did you really think I would ever go back to you? You tried to take me away from my friends. Then you attacked them with your White Fang friends. How exactly did you think I was gonna react to seeing you again?"
"I don't know. Honestly, I..." he paused. "I wanted to see her."
"Her?"
Adam turned to Amber. "Her. The one who could have been my child, if things had been a bit different." He turned back to Blake, eyes full of sadness. "I did a lot of things I regret. Joining the White Fang, attacking innocent people. But the thing I regret most is driving you away. I...I guess I thought one day I would get you back. You would see the error of your ways and join the White Fang. But instead, you married another man. And I realized I had been the one in the wrong. I left the White Fang. Left it all behind. I wandered through life, trying to find something worth living for. Eventually, I heard of your divorce and thought that was my chance. I thought maybe if we just talked, you could find it in your heart to take me back. But then I knocked on the door and she opened. Her eyes grew cold at the sight of me and I realized nothing had changed. No matter how much I begged or pleaded, you would never take me back. And it...made me angry." He finally looked Blake in the eyes. "I'm sorry about your friend. I lost control. I'm sorry."
Blake shook her head. "So am I." She got up and turned to the officer. "I'm done."
He just nodded curtly. As Blake turned and walked away, the other officer joined his colleague and they brought Adam away.
Ruby was currently sitting on the couch next to Amber, pressing an ice-pack on her eye. As Blake approached, she smiled. "Thanks for the cake. Though I'm afraid the cookies crumbled when you dropped it."
Blake frowned. "I'm sorry. This was all my fault. If I wasn't here..."
"If you weren't here, my life would be a whole lot emptier. Adam's to blame here not you." Ruby stared at Blake for a moment before she nodded in agreement. Then she smiled. "He should be happy Yang wasn't here. She would've kicked his butt."
Blake quirked an eyebrow. "You think so? After what happened last time?"
"Hey, her arm healed."
Blake just shook her head, smiling. "So, wanna go grab a drink?"
"Yes, I could definitely use one. Although. There is something I need to do first. Meet you at the bar?"
"Sure."
(**)
"So, that's basically it," Blake finished.
"Unbelievable," Weiss groaned. "Some men just don't know when to quit."
"Yeah, but damn, hats off to Rubes for kicking his butt!" Yang added. "Not that I'm surprised. My little sis is amazing."
"Yeah," Blake agreed, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "She is."
"What's that?"
Blake looked at Yang confused. "What's what?"
"Are you blushing?"
"What?! What are you talking about?"
Yang quickly turned to Weiss, seemingly screaming something to her with her eyes. After a moment, Weiss appeared to have understood what Yang was trying to tell her, as she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You two are unbelievable."
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.
"You know what we're talking about!" Yang stated as she pointed a finger right in Blake's face. "You like Ruby!"
Blake's eyes widened and her face grew bright red. "What?!"
"You heard me! You! Like! Ruby!"
"I like aunt Ruby, too!" Amber exclaimed, reminding everyone she was sitting right next to her mother.
"No, not that kind of like, sweetie," Yang clarified. "I mean she likes Ruby like she used to like your daddy."
"So do I," Amber maintained. "Ruby's my new daddy!"
"Oh, yeah, exactly."
"No! She's not! She's just..."
"Don't take me for a fool, Blake!" Yang yelled. "I know what a woman in love looks like. Trust me! I've seen plenty of them!" Weiss groaned. "Just admit Blake! You like my sister!"
Blake just looked back at Yang, trying to find the right words. Eventually, she sighed. "Alright, I admit it. I do have...feelings for Ruby."
"I should punch you right in the face!" Blake jumped at the harsh statement. "After all these years, after she's finally gotten over you, now you choose to reciprocate her feelings?!"
"I didn't choose anything, okay? It just happened! It's not my fault Ruby is the most wonderful, intelligent, gorgeous person on the planet!" She looked down. "But I guess it is my fault for taking so long to notice it."
Yang sighed heavily. "I can't believe this." She then looked Blake in the eye. "Blake, I'm gonna be honest. I can't fully support this. After everything that's happened... I just can't. But I won't stop you from acting on your emotions. And if Ruby will have you, then I'll respect her decision."
"As will I," Weiss added.
Blake smiled and nodded. She was still confused by this new revelation, but she knew she had to confront her emotions. If Ruby was willing to give her shot, then they'll see where it goes. If not...so be it.
"Speak of the devil," Yang said as Ruby entered the bar and walked over to them.
"Hey, guys!"
"Hey, Ruby," Blake replied. "Hey, can we talk for a moment?"
"One sec. Guys! There's someone I would like you to meet." She motioned to the door, where someone else was entering the bar. This new woman was wearing a red sweater with matching pants and a black beanie which covered her left eye, strands of purple hair sticking out. As she approached, Ruby wrapped her arm around her.
"Guys, this is May Zhedong. My girlfriend."