A/N: Title is from How the Story Ends by All Time Low.
We're fine.
When the gods depart for the last time, and Salem finally dies, the world breathes a quiet sigh of relief. We're fine, echoes in the minds of people all over the world. In the minds of humans and faunus. Children and the elderly. Warriors and civilians. Villains and heroes. It's over. We're safe. We're fine.
When the war ends, Nora is tired. So, so tired. Sure, the war is over. People all over think they've won. But they've still lost so much. She's lost so much. Pyrrha. Beacon. Still, Ren's hand holds hers tightly. So, even though it's hard some days, and some nights she wakes choking on the smell of fire and blood, when she looks at her family she thinks she's fine. Some day it will be the truth.
When the war ends, Ren is... confused. He didn't expect to make it this far. He wasn't a hero, like Jaune. He wasn't strong, like Nora. He wasn't powerful, like Pyrrha had been. He'd been resigned to the fact he'd have to trade his life helping set the world right. He hadn't liked it. He'd dreaded it, but he'd walked into hell with his friends accepting he wouldn't walk out the other side. But he has, and now he has his whole life ahead of him. The Grimm are gone, and he no longer has to keep running. When people ask, he says he's fine. He doesn't really know what that means, but Nora is with him and the world is healing. So Ren says he's fine.
When the war ends, Jaune is a hero, just like he always wanted to be. People cheer his name and he's celebrated in the streets along with his friends. He smiles and waves for the crowd where he can, but it all feels fake. In private Jaune looks over the scars that mar his body, and takes in the white streak in his otherwise blonde hair. Reminders of times he wasn't enough. Crocea Mors is broken once more, but he doesn't feel right replacing it. It wasn't enough, just like he wasn't. Still, Weiss is there with him through it all. Maybe he won't fail her, unlike Pyrrha. Unlike Louis. Unlike Alyx. He's a young man with his whole life ahead of him, but his heart still feels rusted over. But Weiss believes in him. So when she asks, he smiles and says he's fine. He hopes that it will be true someday. He'll keep trying to be.
When the war ends, Weiss feels like she can finally breathe. Despite everything her families made it through. Even Winter despite everything Cinder tried has made it out the other side. With RWBY and JNPR by her side, the Schnee family at her back, and Jaune's hand in hers, she's finally able to start rebuilding. It's a lot, but she knew that before her journey began. Before the war began. So when people ask, she says she's fine. It's the first time in years that it isn't a lie.
When the war ends, Yang finally feels complete. Loss is nothing new to her, so she accepts the losses that came with their victory. They still hurt, and that may never go away, but she can live with them. The long messy chapter of her life that was their adolescence is behind her, and her past no longer matters. She's focusing on the future now, and no one's past will ruin it for her. So when people ask, she says she's fine. And when Blake smiles at her, she knows it's the truth.
After the war, Blake feels like she's gotten a fairytale ending. She's a hero! She's in love! Her family survived! There are costs in any war, but for Blake herself almost everyone she loves has made it across the other side. It seems like humans and faunus are getting closer and closer in equality. Things aren't perfect, but they're still like a fairytale. The world is healing. Her loved ones are healing. So when she smiles at Yang, Blake knows to the core of her heart that she's fine.
After the war, Ruby feels hazy. She's happy they've won, make no mistake. But with three maiden powers crammed haphazardly into her soul, passed on by someone who despised her, she sometimes trembles in the quieter moments. But Ruby is their leader. Their champion. Their hero. So she smiles for the cameras and says she's fine. When Oscar asks, in private, she admits she doesn't know who she is anymore. But in the dark of their room in their apartment, Ruby feels like herself again. So when she leans to kiss him, she insists that she's fine.
After the war, Oscar finally feels free. Free of Salem. Free from Oz. Free from the gods. Free to do whatever he wants. Whatever Ruby wants. He'll never be able to repay her for telling off the gods and convincing them to depart for good. So when she asks, her voice impossibly soft, if he's okay, Oscar tells her he's fine. He knows she isn't, not yet. But he'll stay by her side until she is. He promises.