Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Amber had heard it first.
At first, Blake was confused when Amber asked "What's that?". Then she heard it, too. A pitiful sobbing that seemed to come from their apartment. Swifter than even she could comprehend, she opened the door and rushed in to find Ruby crying alone in the dark.
"Aunt Ruby!" came Amber's shriek as she rushed to the couch. Ruby barely had time to react as Amber jumped up to her, wrapping her arms around her neck. "What's wrong?"
"Amber?" Was all Ruby managed to squeeze out before wrapping her arms around the little girl and crying into her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Blake just stood there, dumbfounded. What the hell happened? Why was Ruby crying? She wanted to know. She needed to know. But she couldn't ask. Not now.
So she waited.
Eventually, Ruby's sobs turned to quiet sniffles. Amber then started running a hand through Ruby's hair, saying "It's okay, it's okay" over and over again.
Finally, Ruby pulled back from Amber and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "God, how pathetic. A little child has to console me. No offense, Amber." Amber just lowered her head in response.
"But, why were you crying?" Blake asked. Only then did Ruby seem to notice her. Her eyes went wide and her face adopted a new expression. Sadness and pain, accompanied by... anger?
Then she turned away. "I don't wanna talk about it!"
That hurt Blake more than she could have ever imagined. Like a cold blade stuck in her heart. "Ruby, please. It's obvious you're hurting."
Ruby got up. "I don't. Want. To talk about it!" With that she made for the bedroom.
"Ruby, please. I'm your friend."
"I KNOW YOU'RE MY FRIEND!" Ruby snapped, whirling around to face Blake. "That's all you are! All you've ever been! My friend! And I have been nothing but a friend to you, even when I tried to be more! Then I tried to be less! To be nothing! To cut you out of my life! But you just kept pulling me back! And like a weed, you wrapped yourself around my life and smothered any relationship I tried to have!
"I thought I was free of you! I thought I could finally take back my life! But no! My girlfriend leaves and here I am again! Stuck with you!"
Blake was shocked. Had she heard that right? Ruby was still suffering because of her? She didn't want that. She wanted to tell Ruby how she felt. She wanted to pull the woman into her arms and tell her how much she loved her. How she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. How she, too, had suffered. But she couldn't. As she looked at Ruby, staring at nothing in particular, tears streaming from her eyes, she could only say one thing.
"Do you want me to leave?"
Ruby looked her in the eyes and Blake could see the turmoil within. Heart wrestling head. Emotion fighting sense. But, finally, she nodded. "Yes," she brought out in a barely audible whisper.
Blake returned the nodded, her heart torn to pieces. "Amber, come on. Let's..."
"NO!" The little girl shrieked, startling both women. "You stupid, dumb grown ups," she shouted tears streaming from her eyes. "I'm not leaving!"
"Amber, please. Ruby wants..."
"Ruby wants to be with you, mommy! Just like you want to be with her!"
Blake was mortified. This wasn't the time. "Amber, please..."
"NO! I'm not leaving until you tell her!"
Blake couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening.
"Blake?" Blake's eyes shot up to meet confused pools of silver. "What's she talking about?"
No, she thought. Not like this. "I... Amber, she..." Damn it, Amber. What the hell am I supposed to tell her?
"Blake?" Those silver eyes captured her again and, before she could think, she spoke.
"I love you." And there it was. She said it. It was done. And there was no way of taking it back. All she could do was stay the course. "I love you, more than I ever loved Adam or Sun. More than I ever thought I could love anyone other than my daughter. You're the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to bed. I wanted to tell you, Ruby. All this time, I wanted to tell you so badly. But you were with May. You seemed so happy. And after all the misery I'd put you through... It seemed only right to let you go." She looked down, her hands fidgeting. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I never intended..."
"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!" The loud yells caused Blake to look up, just in time to see something flying towards her face. Quickly, she managed to dodge whatever it was, hearing it shatter against the wall behind her. She looked at Ruby, who was already getting ready to throw another glass at her.
"Ruby, wait!" She yelled as she dodged the projectile. "I understand that you're angry, but..."
"Understand this!" Ruby yelled as she tackled Blake to the ground. "14 years! 14 god damned years I have loved you! 14 years of heartache and now, just NOW, you decide you love me, too?"
"I didn't decide anything, okay, it just happened!" Blake yelled as she struggled against the younger woman.
"Just happened? Do you have any idea what you put me through?"
"Yes, I do! I've felt the same these past few weeks!"
"That is not the same! That is nothing compared to four! Teen! God! Damned! Years!"
"STOP IT!" They both turned to Amber. "You're hurting each other!"
Ruby stopped. Blake could feel her anger abating. Then, she climbed off of her. "That's what our relationship is," she said, bitterly. "Pain. No good has come out of this. Only misery." She turned and walked away.
"That's not true," Blake replied. She was staring at the ceiling, but she knew Ruby had stopped. "Not at all. Our relationship...has brought so much joy into our lives. From the moment I met you, you have been the best thing in my life. You were always the first one to cheer me up when I was sad, the first to share my joy when life was good. When I was dating Sun, I often couldn't fully enjoy it, because it seemed like I had lost you in the process. And when we had Amber... I remember how happy you were when you first saw her. I'll always remember the look on you're face the first time you pressed her to your cheek, her little arms wrapped around you."
Then, slowly, she got up and faced Ruby. "Look me in the eye and tell me again that our relationship didn't leave you with a single happy memory."
Ruby was silent. Not for long, but long enough to make Blake worry. "That's the thing," she finally answered. "Whenever I think back, that bad memories outnumber the good ones. Yet the good ones outweigh the bad by far. That moment when I caught you and Sun on the roof was nothing compared to Amber's birth. All the years of pain and suffering could never compare to the past year the two of you have lived with me. But is that enough? After everything we've been through, how much of a chance do we have at a normal relationship?"
"I don't know," Blake answered, slowly walking towards Ruby. "But isn't it worth finding out?"
"After all these years, after all I've been through." She turned to face Blake. "I'm broken, Blake."
Blake gentle Ruby's hand in her own and kissed it. "Let me fix you."
Gold met silver and their faces slowly inched closer until, finally, their lips met.
Blake's heart immediately started pounding faster as she felt Ruby's soft lips. Letting go of Ruby's hand and wrapping her arms around her neck, she deepened the kiss.
Ruby then wrapped her arms around Blake's waist and pushed herself further, simultaneously forcing her tongue into her mouth.
Overcome with passion, Blake completely lost track of time. Before she knew it, she'd run out of air and was forced to break the kiss. They both panted heavily.
"That was... incredible," Blake said.
"Yeah... better than I ever dreamed."
"Ahem."
They both turned to Amber, standing behind them, face completely red, staring abashedly at the ground.
Now very that they had been making out in front of a little girl, both of them took a step away from each other and lowered their heads in shame.
"So," Amber spoke up. "Does this mean aunt Ruby is now my mommy as well?"
Blake and Ruby looked at each other and smiled. "I guess so," Blake answered.
"Yay!" Amber shouted as she jumped into Ruby's arms. "Mommy Ruby!"
As Ruby caught Amber and spun her around happily, Blake could feel her heartbeat quicken again.
They would have a lot to fix. A lot of past hurts to heal. It would be a long and difficult road.
But as she saw the laughing faces of the two girls she loved the most in the world, she knew they could do it. No matter how long it would take to get there.
It would be worth the wait.