We've done all we can. It's up to her now to wake up.
The medical bay of the Atlesian Military base was probably the most unsettling place in all of Remnant. It smelled of dull antiseptic and freshly mopped tile. The fluorescent lights that hung low on the ceiling shone far too brightly against the plain white walls that only ever changed when you reached on of the wooden doors. It was far too quiet and far too depressing, yet Yang found herself trapped here.
As difficult as it had been when Weiss and Blake left her behind to go find Ruby—this was worse. Not only had she been unable to be there for her team when they needed her, but now she was here and couldn't do anything for them.
She should be in the room at Ruby's side. Her father and Qrow were there and Weiss had been in and out all day. The few times she'd asked Weiss for updates it was always the same response.
"Why don't you go see her yourself?" Then Weiss would quickly run off to whatever else she was doing.
Blake was okay, as okay as anyone could be with a hole in their leg; but she would recover smoothly enough. It may be a couple weeks before she could walk properly and then therapy and training to get her speed back, but she'd be okay. Yang had been able to see her and that was reassuring. Blake was a bit loopy but alert enough to let her know that she was glad to see her. For Yang, in those moments, any past anger had vanished at the thought that she might have lost her.
For a long time, Yang just sat with Blake. Even after the Faunus had fallen asleep, Yang stayed. It was comforting to watch the heart monitor beep and see her chest rise and fall. Hospitals were evil, Yang hated them so much. People came here at their worst—she certainly had.
She could remember it as though it were yesterday. Waking up unable to move and unsure of where she was. There had been a giant tube sticking down her throat, her arm missing and the first thing she saw was her father crying—something she hadn't seen since the day Summer didn't come home. It was horrible and the idea of seeing Ruby in any condition like that was terrifying.
Yang stayed with Blake for as long as she could, ignoring the outside world until Weiss came by to check on her.
Now she sat in one of the least comfortable chairs in existence and watched as Weiss put a few books down on the table next to Blake's bed. It was such a strange sight to see Weiss delicately reach out and move a stray piece of Blake's hair from her face.
Weiss was never overly affectionate but she'd seemed more giving of physical contact in the last few days than she was at Beacon when Yang and Ruby would practically tackle her.
"You have books here?" Yang asked, hating the silence between them.
"I've been asking some of the soldiers and staff if they had any extra lying around. This is what I could manage."
The more Yang thought about it, the easier it was to imagine Weiss being so thoughtful. She was very good at doing the little things to make people's lives easier. From dust chambers for Blake's weapon to constantly washing Yang's towels after every workout because she would always forget. Weiss was a caregiver who had never been cared for in her life.
"Jaune has arrived." Weiss said offhandedly and Yang's eyes went wide.
"Really? What about Ren and Nora, are they—"
"It's only Jaune," she was cut off. "Ren and Nora have been back home for years now. They no longer hunt, from what I've heard."
"Oh…"
Yang couldn't help but frown at the thought of Ren and Nora no longer hunting. She understood that it wasn't for everyone, but she'd been so desperate to hunt that the idea of someone being so talented and just giving it up was upsetting.
"How is he?"
"Sleeping now, it's a long journey and he insisted on seeing Ruby when he arrived. I've since made him find a bed and rest."
Yang smiled at Weiss' motherly tone. "You're a good boss, Weiss."
The words hung heavily in the air, all the humor Yang attempted was lost. Weiss leaned back on her heels and put her hands behind her back, clearly frustrated.
"What are you doing?"
"Just asking about Jaune."
"No," Weiss' raised voice made Yang jump. "What are you doing in this room?"
Yang looked away. "I was checking on her."
"You've been here for three hours," Weiss' eyes narrowed. "She's sleeping and she's fine, meanwhile your father was with Ruby all night and I think he could use the reprieve if you'd go and watch over her."
A knot formed in her throat that she thought might stop her from breathing. She tried to swallow but it felt as if he throat was clogged. Yang forced herself to take a deep breath, just to make sure she was still breathing at all. "Will you do it?"
"No," Weiss answered quickly. "I've been in and out of Ruby's room a dozen times already and I would stay if she needed me but your father will not leave just for me. You need to go in there and convince him to take some time. It's been thirty—six hours, Yang. He needs food and he needs rest."
Tears formed in Yang's eyes as she again tried to swallow. "Weiss," she rasped. "I should have been there for her. You were right…I let her down. This is my—"
"If you finish that sentence, Yang Xiao Long, I will slap you." Weiss meant every single word she said and Yang watched her stomp around Blake's bed and walk right up to to her. "I was unaware that every bit of courage you had was lost with your right arm."
Yang snapped up at Weiss and there was no flinch on those blue eyes staring down at her.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want you to care!"
"I do care, dammit!" Yang stood up. "Of course I care! I just can't do anything. I wasn't there for them, I couldn't protect them at Beacon and I couldn't protect them last night! What good am I?"
Weiss rolled her eyes. "You're right Yang—right now, you're worthless." The words were biting and Yang felt miserable hearing them from someone else. "But that has nothing to do with your missing arm and everything to do with the fact that you continue to feel sorry for yourself instead of actually doing something." Weiss relaxed slightly and ran her hands through her unusually messy hair. "Everything you need is here. I've called in the best doctors and the best prosthetics engineers in all of Remnant and they're waiting for you." To Yang's surprise, Weiss initiated contact between them and put a hand on her shoulder. "You want to be able to protect them? I can help you—but not if you don't help yourself."
It was true, and Weiss was not one to sugar coat. Yang was miserable and had been for a long time, but at some point the misery became some kind of a fucked up comfort zone. It was the only constant she had eft, this feeling of emptiness at the life she'd worked for and lost.
Perhaps she would never be the huntress she aspired to be when she went to Beacon—but she could still be something, right?
Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she took advantage of Weiss' closeness and pulled her in for a very tight hug. Proper lady Schnee squeaked at the sudden embrace but started hugging her back a moment later.
When Yang finally let Weiss breathe, she wiped at her wet cheeks. "I'm sorry, Weiss."
Weiss took a step back and ran her hands over her ruffled skirt. "We don't have the privilege of self pity, Yang. Your sister is not okay."
Yang knew as much—she'd seen it in the short time they'd spent together since coming back. The fact that they had spent so little time together was almost as telling as anything else. Ruby was lost in her own head. Somewhere along her journey she'd lost that spark to see the good in everything. All she could see now was a need for an end to this fight. An end that Ruby had seemed to believe didn't involve her survival.
"I don't know what to do for her." She admitted and it hurt. Those were the same words Yang said to herself every time something new happened with Ruby that she had to help her through. Each time, Yang found a way to pull Ruby through it—but she'd been so much stronger back then.
Weiss stared at Yang's right arm. "Dealing with that would be a start."
"I want to do it—as soon as possible." Yang knew she couldn't hide anymore. The world had dealt her a heavy blow and she'd nearly drown in the misery it caused her. But for as much as she'd suffered, her team was suffering even more and it was Yang's job to pull them out.
Weiss flashed a quick smile, but it didn't last very long. Instead, she nodded and took a step back. "We can take care of it. I'll speak with my sister and have the doctors show you some specs for the type of prosthetic you'd like. For now," Weiss sighed and Yang finally took notice of how tired she looked. "Please go help your father and see your sister. They need you, Yang."
The nerves were still there—the fear of seeing Ruby in such a state and how quickly the guilt might consume her. But what good was she to anyone like this? She had to be strong—that was her role with the team at Beacon and nothing had changed.
First things first.
"Weiss, when was the last time you slept?"
Those blue eyes suddenly looked guilty. "I…found a few hours last night."
Yang knew she was lying. "You know, you working yourself into the ground is no better than me pouting and avoiding everything."
"It's slightly better," Weiss countered and Yang couldn't help but chuckle. "That being said…" Weiss' eyes trailed to Blake's resting form. "I could use your help taking care of these two."
Yang looked back at Blake—who looked so peaceful in her sleep, and felt a rush of warmth wash over her. She nodded. "You've got it. I'll go find Qrow and have him take my dad to get some food and make him sleep. Then watch over the two of them."
"Good," Weiss sagged in relief. "Good—I'll go speak with the doctors about you."
"Okay, but then you have to promise me that you'll sleep too. You're the brains of this operation, Schnee. I need you."
"I will," Weiss smiled genuinely. "I missed you, you oaf."
Yang put a hand on Weiss' shoulder and noticed how Weiss leaned into the contact. "You too, Ice Queen."
It took Yang another ten minutes to build the courage to actually open the door where Ruby was. The atmosphere was even worse than she'd expected.
Ruby looked far too peaceful for someone who had been through what Yang was told. That…thing that chased her had ran a blade right through her stomach. She'd spent hours in surgery and with the healers and now she was here. They had been told that she would, most likely, wake up—but that her injuries were severe enough for concern.
Yang took in the sight of the room and couldn't help but smile though. Weiss had certainly been doing work. There were scatterings of all things 'Ruby' in ever corner. A few comics were on the table by her bed and an unopened box of cookies sat waiting for her. Crescent Rose was tucked away nicely in the corner. Her cloak had been neatly folded and placed on the bed beside her and there was even a particularly cute stuffed Grimm resting against bars of the bed.
However, Yang's eyes eventually found her father who was sitting in a chair next to Ruby's bed with his head lolled back and an outreached hand laid across his daughter's. The sight tore at Yang's heart because she knew how much her dad had gone through and the fear of losing another person he loved would finally break him.
Then again, the thought of losing Ruby would probably do the same to Yang.
Walking over carefully, she touched her dad's shoulder and he jumped.
"Easy, it's just me."
He took a few deep breaths, his eyes wild for a moment as they found Ruby on the bed and he seemed to remember where he was. It was painful to watch reality settle in for him again. He nodded.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." He voice was gravely. Yang pulled up a chair to sit next to him.
"I've been a little bit of the coward lately, I suppose. This is just…scary." Taiyang didn't respond but Yang felt him relax next to her and they fell into a comfortable silence. She reached over with her left arm and squeezed his hand, drawing his attention. "She's gonna be okay."
"Define okay?" The door to Ruby's room clicked shut again and Yang looked back as Qrow came in with his open flask in hand. "Because the world is still going to shit and having chased our little Ruby around as much as I have lately, she's not about to lie in bed and watch." When he strode up next to her and extended out the flask, Yang grabbed it from him and took a shot. He seemed a bit surprised and that was when she realized he was most likely trying to offer some to her father. She guiltily gave it back and he chuckled. "Hey you're old enough, just didn't think you'd handle it so well."
Taiyang groaned. "She got more Branwen in her than I'd like to admit." He said and Yang felt an annoying sense of pride. She could never explain it—her mother had abandoned her almost as soon as she came into the world and had told her, through Qrow, to stop trying to find her. By all accounts, she should hate the woman and yet anytime she was even remotely compared to her—all Yang ever felt was some sick sense of accomplishment.
"Yeah? And she's got that annoyingly stubborn Xiao Long in her too, just like her old man, who I have told a dozen times now to go and find a bed to sleep."
She felt her dad stiffen next to her. "I'm not going to leave her."
"Dad," Yang squeezed his hand again and saw his pleading eyes fall to her. He was clearly expecting her to be on his side. "Weiss told me you haven't eaten and Qrow's right, you need to sleep. Ruby would be really upset if you got sick stressing over her."
He glowered. "Weiss Schnee, she keeps coming in here and...fussing over Ruby, I don't understand it. I thought Schnee's were terrible? Her father certainly is."
"Her sister's a pain in the ass too," Qrow muttered before taking another drink.
"Weiss can be, but she's always had a soft spot for Ruby. I mean she complained about her constantly at Beacon but then every day they'd spend the entire day together, again. Weiss is a good person—she's just got a lot of…Schnee that she's trying to overcome." Yang would gladly call Weiss her friend now, even though she completely understood the doubt.
Weiss was never good at first impressions.
"I got yelled at for trying to move her cloak." Qrow said and Yang smiled. "Look Tai, you need to get some food and some rest. Yang will stay here with the kid right?"
Yang nodded quickly. "I'm here. I'll watch over her until you're feeling better and then we can swap out." She felt the need to add a little hope. "But I bet she'll be awake before that."
Reluctantly, he gave Ruby one last look before standing up and dropping a kiss on her forehead. Yang smiled as he turned around and did the same to her. She felt Qrow squeeze her shoulder before turning back to Ruby as they both made their exit.
The quiet of the room was a lot heavier now. She was alone with Ruby, the same girl she hadn't seen in five years. Yang hated that thoughts of Ruby now came with guilt. How she wasn't there for her, how she told her that the world was just bad things happening for no reason and that she shouldn't keep fighting. It was wrong; she was wrong and when Ruby woke up Yang would make sure to tell her.
She scooted her chair a little closer so she could reach up and brush at Ruby's hair with her hand. It was so long now; she'd never seen Ruby let it go this much before. Her baby sister wasn't much of a baby anymore. There was definition in her muscles that hadn't been there before. Ruby was certainly taller and looked so much like Yang remembered Summer.
"Oh," another new voice came from the doorway and Yang turned to see Blake using the frame to keep herself upright as she stood with one leg in the air. "Sorry, I didn't know you were here."
"Blake," Yang quickly jumped to her feet and rushed over to her. "What the hell? You have a hole in your leg!"
The Faunus smiled ruefully. "I just wanted to see how she was doing."
"By hobbling out of bed and hopping down the hallway?" Yang wrapped her arm around Blake's waist and helped support her weight. Together they moved into the room and Yang used her leg to pull the chair back for Blake to sit.
"Hey, I'm a well trained athlete—I can handle a little hallway hopping."
"Uh huh," Yang pulled up the other chair and took a seat alongside Blake so they were almost facing one another. She then grabbed Blake's injured leg and draped it across her own. There was a thick bandage on her thigh where the blade had sliced through, but the rest of her leg was mostly untouched and right now…mostly uncovered.
So when Yang held it in place on her lap, her hand was touching very smooth, toned skin. Yang was also very, very away of how nice it felt under her fingers.
Blake was quite red faced and her eyes were droopy. "Well trained athlete is exhausted and should not be out of bed."
"I know," Blake whispered and Yang noted the vulnerability in her voice. "I'm not a big fan of being alone these days."
Yang frowned and ran her hand up and down Blake's calf. "Well if Weiss or I had our acts together we might actually handle watching over the two of you a little better."
"Speak for yourself." Weiss said as she slipped into the room. "Blake Belladonna I nearly had a stroke when you weren't in your room! What are you doing out of bed?! You are injured and—"
"Weiss," Blake spoke softly and Yang watched in awe as Blake's phony, pitiful expression absolutely worked on their frigid teammate and she crumbled to pieces.
"Ugh, just…be careful with her leg, Yang. Please."
Yang could only smile. "I'm not gonna do any damage, Princess." Weiss huffed but didn't argue before slipping around to the other side of Ruby's bed and taking a seat on the small bench that was stuck to the wall.
They sat together in silence for a moment, each of them studying Ruby as Yang's hand continued to stroke up and down Blake's leg. The Faunus began blinking longer and longer with each passing minute. When Yang checked on Weiss, she saw that Weiss was on the edge of the bench so she could reach out and adjust Ruby's blanket. It didn't really need adjusting but apparently Weiss wanted it to cover her just so. Yang could only assume it was Weiss' anal retentive nature that everything needed to be perfect.
Another slow few minutes passed and just when Yang was fairly certain Blake had fallen asleep, Weiss spoke.
"I need to tell you both something." Weiss finally broke the silence.
"Is this about you and Ruby?" Blake mumbled tiredly and Weiss' eyes went wide in horror.
Yang glanced at Blake for a moment before turning to Weiss and seeing nothing but red in her face.
"No! Blake!" Weiss cried and suddenly Blake was more alert and looking extremely guilty.
"I—uh…I mean…I'm on pain medication and I really should be in bed." Yang felt Blake trying to swing her leg off it's perch and held it in place.
"Hang on," Yang said, refocusing on Weiss who was staring at the floor like it had insulted her. "What about you and my sister?" The way Yang took the comment, it sounded like something romantic. How quickly Weiss seemed to turn red, how abruptly Blake backpedaled.
Still, she couldn't wrap her mind around that ridiculous idea. There was absolutely no way it was as it sounded. Weiss and Ruby were partners, yes—maybe even friends. But they bickered and fought like mad women. Ruby drove Weiss nuts and Weiss could never handle Ruby's affectionate nature.
There was no way, absolutely no way.
"Well I suppose since the cat is out of the bag." Blake groaned at Weiss' pun but Weiss appeared to believe Blake deserved it. "Yang, I'm…in love with your sister."
Yang was almost certain she was going to wake up in her bathtub again with a wicked hangover at any moment. However, the longer she waited for that to come, the more she realized that Weiss had actually said those words.
She looked at her baby sister and then back to Weiss who had taken Ruby's hand into her own at some point.
That set Yang off and in a flurry, she grabbed the tissue box off the nearby table and threw it at Weiss—hitting her right in the head.
"Ow!" Weiss cried. "What was that for?!"
"You're sleeping with my sister!"
"I am not! I've only kissed her!"
"That's worse!"
Blake chuckled. "How in Remnant is that worse?"
"It just…" Yang growled—frustrated that Blake's injured leg was preventing her from giving Weiss a one armed ass kicking. "How are you in love with Ruby? She's been gone for five years!"
Weiss, who had picked up the tissue box and sat it on the bench beside her, took a deep breath and shrugged. "It just kind of hit me when she came back. Not to mention that she willingly offered to give up her own life for me, which was very romantic—if not also completely stupid and immature."
"She…wait, does she feel the same way?!" Yang went from worrying about jostling Blake's leg to wondering if she could use it to throw Blake at Weiss.
"We have shared a mutual expression of our feelings, yes." Weiss remained calm and it only frustrated Yang more. "She is indescribably important to me."
"I just…I don't…" Yang couldn't believe it. She wasn't even that upset about them being…in love with one another it was just not something she ever saw coming. Weiss Schnee was so uptight and high class. Yes, she had changed but she was still a Schnee and Ruby was just…Ruby. How the hell had Ruby managed to charm a Schnee? "Oh my gosh my dad is going to have a heart attack." Yang glared at Weiss. "You're going to give my dad a heart attack!"
Weiss rolled her eyes. "You're being dramatic! There's no way he could handle it worse than you!"
"I doubt that!"
"He's not going to hit me with a tissue box!"
Yang clenched her fist. "You're lucky I couldn't reach the lamp!"
"Guys," Blake raised her voice just enough to get Yang's attention and she turned to see a pair of very irritated amber eyes glaring at her. "Is this really the place you want to have this fight? While she fights for her life?" The reality of the situation hit Yang again. Ruby was severely injured and unconscious right in front of her.
The truth was, Yang was upset more that Ruby had managed to fall in love, and Yang wasn't there to guide her through it.
"You're right," Weiss said before retaking her seat.
"Isn't it good that Ruby has even more people in her life who love her?" Blake reached over and touched Yang's shoulder. The contact relaxed her a little but she couldn't help herself.
"She doesn't love her as much as I do." Yang muttered just loud enough for Weiss to hear.
"It's not a competition." Weiss returned and Yang snapped a glare at her.
"You're damn right it isn't!"
"Yang!" Blake swatted her and she pouted before deciding not to speak again. "Weiss, if that wasn't the thing you wished to tell us, then what was?"
The change of subject was welcome—even though Weiss' expression dropped just a bit.
She seemed to ponder the two of them for a moment before shaking her head. "It can wait—we'll focus on Ruby for now. The subject isn't going anywhere anytime soon so there's no hurry."
Weiss seemed to pale just a bit as she spoke and Yang's protective alarms went off. She wanted to do something to make the ice queen feel better, so she dove in head first.
"Weiss, did you talk to the docs yet? About the arm and everything?"
A bit rattled, Weiss nodded and recomposed herself. "Y—yes. They're just waiting on you to set everything up. They've got a few prosthetics for you to choose from and can make you anything custom if you like, though it will take some time."
Taking a deep breath, Yang hooked her arm under Blake's leg and lifted it slightly before standing. She draped it on the chair she'd been sat in and looked down at her partner.
Blake stared up at her with curious eyes—Yang took a moment to revel in just how beautiful she was and the joy she felt at having Blake so close to her again.
"I've gotta go get this stuff sorted out. Get back in the fight." She spoke softly, just for them.
"I'll come with you."
Yang shook her head and smiled. "Nah, you stay here—make sure Weiss doesn't try anything with my sister."
"I will remove another limb from you if you'd like." Weiss snarled and Yang merely smiled brighter at Blake.
It took every bit of self restraint Yang had not to kiss Blake in this moment. Instead, she ran the pad of her thumb over the back of one of her ears and Blake hummed in delight.
"Yep," she winked. "Just as soft as I always imagined."