"Turn."
"I think she's waking up."
"Of course she's waking up when you two won't shut up."
"Don't we want her to wake up? Yang. Could you turn the page, please?"
"No, seriously, she's waking up!"
Consciousness sneaked back up on Ruby slowly but surely and she tried to use her friend's voices as a reference point to get out of whatever dark abyss she'd found herself stuck in.
Ruby opened her eyes and found the world blurry. Blinking helped, so she did that a few times and she'd almost gotten a clear view of the criss-cross pattern of cracks in the ceiling when there was an excited squeal and a mass of blonde lavender-scented curls blocked her vision of the rest of the room.
"You're awake!"
Yang's hugs usually left people with bruised ribs, but she was very gentle this time around. Ruby's arms felt heavy, but she managed to lift them enough to return the embrace properly. They stayed that way for a while. Ruby wasn't sure how long and she wasn't sure when she started crying. She didn't even really know why as she clung to Yang, sobbing her eyes out.
When she finally wrestled control over her emotions back, the resident doctor at Beacon had arrived. He was an old man, tall and thin, with grey hair remaining in tufts at his ears and at his neck.
"Miss Rose," he said, in a surprisingly deep, gentle voice. "How are you feeling?"
He offered a glass of water and Yang took it from his hands, making sure Ruby sipped carefully instead of downing the entire thing at once like she wanted. She tried to sit up and didn't feel dizzy, just weak.
"Okay, I guess," she offered uncertainly, shrugging. "Nothing a plate of pancakes won't fix."
The doctor nodded and produced a flashlight which he asked Ruby to follow. The light stung at her eyes, but she did as she'd been told, looking right to left until he was satisfied.
"You should be fine," he said. "There was no internal bleeding and your cranium wasn't cracked. All the same, I would like for you to stay here for observation until tomorrow. Just to be sure."
He smiled even as he turned a stern, paternal look to the rest of the team.
"And I'd like for you to leave. Go get some rest."
His request was met with a mixed reaction. Weiss seemed to accept it. Blake masked her emotions too well for Ruby to read them. Yang… Not so much.
Ruby squeezed Yang's hand in hers, hoping to calm her down and avoid any outbursts, and the girl winced. She let go immediately, holding up her sister's fingers for a closer look, finding them covered in ugly bruises and scabs that still looked raw.
For a moment, Ruby wondered who she'd been punching and then she realized that the injuries more likely been a result of hitting something sturdier. Like a wall.
"What happened?" she asked. Her voice wouldn't stay steady and her eyes began to tear up again in worry.
"It's nothing," Yang said, wiggling her fingers for Ruby to see. She couldn't quite keep the pain off her face, though. "You just focus on getting better, kay?"
Whatever she'd been punching, her aura should've protected her, right? Right? Unless she'd depleted it entirely or… Or if she'd just suppressed it. But why would she do that?
"But-"
The doctor stepped in smoothly again.
"It would probably be best if you return to your dorm, Miss Xiao Long. Your sister needs to rest and so do you."
Ruby was pretty sure that Yang was about to protest, but Weiss came up behind her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"She needs to rest, Yang. She isn't going to get better if she has to worry about you."
Yang winced at the blunt statement and tension gathered in the set of her shoulders. Her hands flexed into fists and back again and she let out a breath through her teeth.
"She's right," Ruby said. "You look like you haven't slept for a week."
Yang scowled at Ruby, but it was a half-hearted thing.
"Fine," she grumbled, getting to her feet and stalking out of the room.
Blake rolled her eyes and followed her while Weiss lingered. She hesitated for a little while, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. Her cheeks were getting a little pink and Ruby was far too captivated by that process to help Weiss out.
"Get better soon, you little idiot."
There wasn't any malice to her words and Ruby grinned as the heiress stomped away without looking back.
Ruby didn't have to wait until the next day to leave and she was glad for it. She managed to sleep a bit more, but once she couldn't do that anymore, there weren't a lot of things for her to do to entertain herself. Her scroll had apparently been confiscated and her team hadn't even left any homework.
Okay, so maybe she hadn't been THAT bored, but it was close!
The doctor, who she found out was named Johansen came by every other hour to check on her, bringing some food by lunch. By the time he arrived with her dinner, Ruby was planning a jailbreak, drawing diagrams on a napkin to conclude how much of a rope she could make out of all the sheets in the room.
It must have shown on her face, because Johansen smiled and said:
"Once you have eaten, I'm going to let you go join your team."
Ruby almost fell out of her bed in her excitement, but managed to steady herself. Good thing, too, because the doctor wasn't finished talking.
"Once you have eaten-" he repeated with firm emphasis. "Should you experience any pain, nausea or disorientation I want you to come up here right away. You will need to stay clear of any rigorous physical exertions for the next week or so, just to be safe."
Ruby nodded eagerly, too busy stuffing her face with food to answer. She was free! Free at last!
She only barely managed to restrain herself from skipping as she left and immediately set off to find her team. It didn't turn out to be as easy as she'd thought. Her search of the cafeteria yielded nothing but a couple of strawberries. Her next guess, their dorm, proved to be empty and she still wasn't sure where her scroll was.
Next, she checked the library. It was usually well lit, with the computers and the tall windows letting light in, but night had fallen and few students were still about, none of them familiar. Sighing to herself, Ruby kept walking around along the stacks and the many tables set in nooks and crannies to offer those studying there something like privacy. She'd gotten to the very last of the stacks, at the most deserted part of the library, when she finally spotted a familiar figure.
Blake stood with her back to Ruby, browsing one of the shelves, idly brushing the tips of her fingers along the spines of each individual book.
She'd missed her so much. Grinning, Ruby set off towards her and jumped at her friend, intending to wrap her arms around her and not let go for a considerable while. She realized things weren't going to happen that way the moment her feet left the ground and at that point, it was too late.
Blake's ears flicked at the sound of footsteps coming towards her. With fluid grace, the faunus dropped into a crouch and smoothly slid one step to the side. Then her arm lashed out with vicious power.
Her elbow caught Ruby just between the ribs and the air went out of her lungs and stopped her forward momentum cold. She stumbled and managed to get a hold of one of the bookshelves, clinging to it as she gasped desperately for breath.
It sucked. It really, really sucked. No matter how hard she tried Ruby just couldn't seem get in enough oxygen, but she knew better than to curl up into a ball and whine and kept her spine straight as she waited it out.
Blake, meanwhile, looked… Terrified. It took Ruby a moment to recognize it because, hey, she'd just gotten punched, and because it was an expression she'd never seen on Blake's face. Not once. Not when they were fighting grimm, not when they were taking on terrorist organizations, not even when they were on a covert operation in the middle of nowhere doing both.
But now her face was sheet white. Her eyes darted left and right as if searching for an escape and her kitty ears were plastered against her skull.
"I- Ruby – I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Ruby still didn't have breath enough to speak yet so she went with her only real non-verbal option, staggering the two steps of ground between them and wrapping her arms tightly around Blake's waist before she scampered.
"It's okay," Ruby promised her. She could actually feel her teammate trembling. "Totally fine, see?"
"But-"
"Didn't hurt one bit," Ruby wheezed breathlessly. "Promise."
Blake's eyebrow left rose skeptically.
"You're taking this very well," Blake noted. "If Yang had seen…"
"She woulda been mad, but not that long. She's a big softie. Besides, she kinda beat you up, too. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine. My aura took care of the last of it hours ago."
Blake squeezed back harder and Ruby let out a contented little sigh, feeling reassured now that things would work themselves out. It wasn't until her worries were abolished that she really began to think about the position she was in.
Ruby felt wonderfully, gloriously warm and safe.
She could feel every inch of her teammate's body against hers, feel the soft swell of Blake's breasts and the soft tickle of her breath on her ear. Oh boy... She really hoped Blake couldn't see her face or she'd notice how red it had gotten and that'd lead to all kinds of badness.
"You fought well against Cardin. If you hadn't tried to show off, I don't think he would've touched you."
Yupp. Things were definitely heading towards radish-territory.
"Yeah, well…" She pulled back just enough to look up at Blake. "He was a jerk to you. I wanted to teach him not to mess with my team."
Blake's grin softened into a tender expression. She was really close, still, and looking right down at Ruby. Her golden eyes were almost luminous in the darkness.
"You didn't have to do that for me," Blake all but whispered. She brushed her fingers along Ruby's cheek and it sent tingles all the way to her toes.
"I know," Ruby said. In a way, she felt even more breathless now than when she'd been clobbered. "I wanted to."
Blake was leaning in closer. Ruby could feel her breath tickling her lips. She was going to get her first kiss! It was seriously happening. Her heart was beating about a bajillion times a minute.
It wasn't like in the movies Ruby had seen, not in the cheesy romantic comedies she'd watched with her dad, or the more risqué ones Yang thought she'd hidden away well enough that they wouldn't be found. There was no music cue, no gorgeous sunset disappearing behind them as they finally closed the distance.
Blake's lips were a little bit dry, but she was warm and soft and let out a breathy little sound of excitement at the contact. They stayed like that – Ruby wasn't sure for how long – and then Blake pulled back slowly.
Ruby's heart kept pounding with something not far off panic.
"We… We should probably head back," Blake said.
"Probably," Ruby agreed, feeling a little dazed.
She didn't know what to say about… whatever had just happened between them. Should she ask Blake if they were girlfriends now? Maybe that was a bit too quick? Would it be too desperate to ask Blake if she'd mind making out a bit more sometime soon maybe?
There really should be textbooks and lessons on this… She'd usually ask Yang, but this probably wasn't one of those times.
For the moment, she settled for twining her fingers with Blake's as they snuck back out of the library. Her teammate paused for a moment to smile at Ruby and squeezed, which she took to mean things would be okay.
The halls were deserted and they didn't meet anyone until they walked through the door to their dorm.
"Hey guys," Ruby said, smiling broadly and waving. "All be-"
Yang hit her like a speeding train, which she kinda knew a lot about actually, but which didn't really prepare her for the impact or the crushing hug that left her face squished against a whole lot of cleavage and wild blonde hair.
"Yaaaang," she protested, wriggling to get free. "Can't – breathe."
"Move aside, you big brute," Weiss appeared at Yang's side, nudging the girl aside. She hesitated for a moment and then gave her a brief hug, her cool cheek brushing along Ruby's as she did.
Ruby grinned at the bunch of them and turned back to bed. They'd only moved up a few flights of stairs on their way back to the dorms, but her legs felt leaden. Her head spun a little and she had to hold on to her teammate to stay on her feet.
"Could you take me to bed?"
Blake's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Well, not really, but they got all big and she blushed and it was really, really cute. She might've misunderstood the request.
"Sure. Let's get you ready first."
She led Ruby along to the bathroom. Yang hovered nervously, close enough that she'd probably get there in time if Blake dropped her.
"We should head to town tomorrow," Ruby said through a mouthful of toothpaste. Some of it dribbled down her chin and she was sure that, despite the wall being in the way, Weiss could see it and was rolling her eyes about how messy she was being. "We could catch the game and buy some clothes and – stuff you guys wanna do."
"Are you sure you're okay to do that?" Yang asked quietly.
It weirded Ruby out a little to see her so subdued, which only reinforced her motivations for Best Day Ever take 2. Her sister clearly needed cheering up.
"Yeah," she insisted. "Yeah. I'm totally fine. Just all tired. Tomorrow I'll be right as rain."
She pondered how rain could be right – or wrong for that matter – and by the time that she'd concluded it was probably more likely to right, because rainy days were boring, Yang had relieved Blake and was pulling Ruby over towards the bed.
"You should've heard Ozpin chew out Cardin," Yang said. Her nervous laugh was more nervous than amused. "I've never seen him that pissed. Cardin looked like he might cry."
"Serves the jerk right," Ruby mumbled.
Her pillow felt extra-soft and cool as she laid her head down it, eyes drifting closed. She was vaguely aware of Yang unlacing her boots and dumping them on the floor and then sleep came for her.
Ruby woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon. She looked around and found a plate of food on the little bedside table by Yang's bed, then frowned for two separate reasons.
First of all because she wasn't in her own bed. Yang apparently hadn't bothered moving her. Secondly. Someone, probably, hopefully Yang, had undressed her down to her underwear at some point.
Actually, three things. Thirdly and most importantly, she remembered the last time Yang had brought Ruby breakfast in bed, it had been to explain that she'd taken an early prototype of Crescent Rose out into the woods to try it out and wrecked it.
Ruby leaned out over the edge of her bunk and made sure her sweetie was still tucked in in its blanket under her bed and then looked around the room. She was alone, though she could hear the shower running.
Ruby lingered under the blankets for a while, nibbling on bits of bacon and sipping her coffee, which had both cream and sugar in it, just the like she liked it. It was still early and it was a nice way to wake up slowly. She was chewing the last slice of bacon, a little cold at that point, but still crispy and yummy, when Blake came out of the bathroom, wrapped in towels.
Her teammate slowed her steps a little and came over to settle next to Ruby's bed. Her gaze was direct and her golden eyes drew Ruby in and sent her heartbeat into crazy-town. Be cool.
Be cool.
"Hi."
Way cool.
Blake smiled at her, apparently unbothered by the fact that she was all naked, except for the towels, with droplets of water sliding lovingly down her smooth, toned arms and… Gulp. Ruby might've been staring. Maybe.
"Hi," Blake replied. She reached out and put her hand to Ruby's forehead. "Are you feeling okay? You're a bit hot."
Ruby choked on her own spit, which didn't help her case or coolness factor any.
"Uh." She cleared her throat. "Thanks and yu-huh, totally fine now."
Blake seemed mostly amused, which was a plus. Ruby had to force herself not to push her head against the other girl's hand like an attention-starved kitten.
"Yang and Weiss went to talk to the physician to see if you'd be alright to go swimming," Blake murmured, cupping Ruby's fever hot (for reasons completely unrelated to actual fever) cheek.
"They should be back any moment now."
There was disappointment in her voice and the thought of what might happen if they had more time had Ruby considering the what-ifs of life.
Blake's kitty ears twitched in the direction of the door and she rose smoothly, darting back to her own bed. A couple of seconds later, Ruby heard the footsteps in the hall.
The door banged open a moment later and a broadly grinning Yang stepped through, brandishing a slip of paper as though she'd found the secret recipe for Pumpkin Pete's cereal.
"Check it out!" She exclaimed. "Got you permission, sis. Doc's signature and everything."
Weiss rolled her eyes at Yang's antics and snatched the slip out of the blonde's hands, handing it over to Ruby. She looked at Ruby, frowning.
"Are you certain you feel well?" She wondered. "You're looking flushed."
"Yes!" Ruby insisted, a touch impatiently. "When's the bullhead leaving?"
Weiss didn't even react to her tone of voice and checked her scroll before replying:
"Ten minutes for the next one, but there's another in forty if you want to shower first."
Ruby nodded and got out of bed, heading into the bathroom. It wasn't really until she'd gotten ready and was digging through her drawers all the way to the very bottom where she'd kept the swimwear Yang had made her buy a year earlier, but never used, that realization struck:
She was actually going to have to wear that bikini at some point and be around people and worse yet, she was going to have to be wearing it next to Yang and the rest of her team. Whatever it was that she had going with Blake was going to crash and burn spectacularly in the next few hours.
Ruby got stuck in front of the mirror once she'd showered, watching herself. Her stomach rolled uncomfortably. Maybe people would be too busy watching Yang that they wouldn't notice her skinny legs.
"Ten minutes, Rubes!" the blonde called through the shut door.
Ruby sighed and got dressed. One way or another, sooner or later, she'd have to face the music. Why delay it?
"Coming!"
They walked out into a light drizzle but ended up running the last hundred yards to the port as the rain turned into a proper downpour.
Soaked and grumpy, they arrived at the bullhead, which was one of the larger transports that hunters and huntresses used on missions, among many other things. It consisted of one large compartment at the back, each side of the hull taken up by seats. The second compartment for the pilot and co-pilot was smaller, but Ruby thought the seats looked more comfortable.
Blake looked rather miserably at Yang as the blonde turned the water on her skin into steam with a flare of her aura, shivering a little where she sat.
Yang rolled her eyes and heaved herself up out of her seat again, wobbling for a moment as the bullhead took off, and then slipped out of her jacket, pushing it at Blake.
The faunus made a few token protests, but she knew very well that there was no arguing with Yang and smiled a little despite herself as she accepted it. Ruby frowned. She should've thought of how much Blake hated getting wet and cold, even if her cape was just as soaked and useless.
Ruby only had to sit and shiver and look miserable for about thirty seconds before Yang took pity on her too, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in close. Snuggles ensued while Weiss looked on, back straight, rolling her eyes.
"Come on, Ice Queen," Yang taunted, crooking a finger in a beckoning gesture. "Don't you want me to get you hot?"
When they'd first met, Ruby would've thought Weiss' look was disdainful, but she knew her well enough now to see the amusement in her eyes, even if she was too - well, too Weiss - to actually acknowledge that she thought it was funny.
When the heiress didn't rise to the bait, Yang seemed bore quickly and began to hum along to the catchy upbeat song on the radio, tapping her fingers on her knees in rhythm.
She banged a fist against the hull of the ship with a loud reverberation, grinning, though the expression didn't look quite right.
"Yo, pilot! Turn that up!"
I burn!
Can't hold me now
You got nothing that can stop me.
I burn!
Swing all you want
Like a fever, I will take you down.
Her knuckles had healed up a bit, but they still looked ragged and Ruby cast her sister a look of inquiry. Yang shook her head, mouthing the word 'later', her whisper drowned out by the music.
Ruby did something she'd only done a handful of times in her life.
"No." There was a brief moment of surprised silence followed by annoyance and with that, Yang's calm facade cracked, betraying the tension and worry beneath.
Ruby took both of her sister's hands in hers.
"Tell me what's up."
She wasn't asking.
Yang shook her head, golden tresses rustling and refused to look Ruby in the eye. Both Blake and Weiss were averting their gazes and as much as she didn't want to make them uncomfortable, she needed to get to the bottom of this.
"It's nothing, Ruby."
"It so is!" She insisted, tugging at Yang's arm until the girl finally looked down at her.
"Tell me," Ruby all but whispered, shuffling closer to Yang and putting her arm around the older girl's shoulder.
It hadn't been obvious just looking at her, but she could actually feel Yang shaking. Her sister's lilac eyes were wet with tears and Ruby's stomach sank into some unimaginable abyss at the sight. Some sister she was. Some team leader.
"You didn't get up. At first. When he hit you. I thought you'd…" Yang's voice was hollow, almost lifeless and the last word of the sentence got stuck in her throat.
"I'm still here," Ruby said, reaching out with a hand. "I'll always-"
"Don't!"
The snarl cut through the already uncomfortable silence. In the corner of her eye, Ruby could see both Blake and Weiss flinch, but she stayed perfectly still when Yang shoved her hand away, trying to blink the tears out of her own eyes.
"You can't promise that," Yang whispered. "What would I tell dad if- if something- happened."
"So?" Ruby ventured. "What if it was you getting hurt, huh? I'm scared too, Yang."
"I'm supposed to take care of you. She said-" Yang broke off yet again, throat bobbing as if she tried to swallow down whatever words had been about to spill past her lips. "I promised her I'd take care of you."
It only took Ruby a few seconds to connect the threads.
"Mom," she said quietly, reaching up and cupping Yang's cheek. "Right?"
Yang made a low piteous noise and nodded. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around Ruby, almost as though she'd collapse without her for support.
Yang cried. Ruby held her. Hot, fat tears dropped onto her neck and shoulders and the minutes ticked by with no sound other than the blonde's shuddering breaths and the band reaching the song's crescendo.
The pilot hit a button and news reporter who had replaced the music slowly faded away into silence.
"The beowolf was dealt with by Hunters and Huntresses from Beacon without any casualties. Though it is unusual for elder grimm to venture so close to-"
"You don't have to worry," Ruby said, slowly patting the older girl's hair. "We'll take care of each other, kay? Just like we always have."
"Yeah," Yang agreed, her voice thick.
Slowly, over the course of the following minutes, her vice-like grip on Ruby slackened. Her breathing evened out and the tears stopped falling. She pulled back, wiping at her eyes and nose with her arm and casting an embarrassed look over to Blake and Weiss, who were now discussing their favourite bands.
Ruby mouthed the words "Thank you" and the heiress gave her the slightest of nods in return as the bullhead touched down onto the landing pad with a soft thud.
"Thanks for the ride!" She said, waving goodbye to the pilot.
Downtown Vale was a bustling place, always lit up in a dazzling colours that kept the dark at bay even at the deepest, dreariest hours of night. In the daylight, it was no less colourful, with plants growing in pots along most of the open shops and flags flying in the light breeze.
The drop-off point was located in Old Town, which was the first part of the little city that had eventually grown to be Vale. The narrow cobblestone streets and the preserved remnants of the old city walls gave the place a quaint feeling and Ruby decided that once she was a proper huntress, she'd live in a place like that when she wasn't off saving people and kicking monster butt.
It seemed to improve Yang's mood too, though Ruby noted that she stayed close as they walked down the streets by the riverside. Their elbows kept bumping together. Blake and Weiss were still forcing conversation along, but their smiles were getting strained.
Yang didn't get grumpy often, but when she did, it took her a while to snap out of it. Unless Ruby utilized her secret weapon that thus far hadn't failed to cheer her big sister up. So she waited until the blonde took a moment to look elsewhere and then pounced at her back, locking her arms and legs in place.
Yang actually stumbled before she managed to adjust her footing. Oops.
"Oof. Ruby, no. Get off." There was laughter lurking behind her words though and Ruby could tell she was smiling without even seeing her face and clung on harder.
"Nuh-uh," she said. "Not till you're done sulking."
"You're way too big for this," Yang protested. "Gonna have a frickin' hernia."
Ruby smiled with her chin propped up on the blonde's shoulder. For all of Yang's huffing and complaining, she only put up a token effort of getting rid of her before accepting the inevitability of the piggy-back ride. She was pretty sure she was Weiss trying to hide a smile. Pretty sure.
A few minutes later they spotted the glass cupola of the water park's roof rising above the other buildings, glinting in the sunlight and Ruby jumped down to her feet again. A look up at Yang confirmed that she'd been properly cheered up and the red-head zipped over to Blake and Weiss, appearing between them in a rush of wind and rose petals.
Blake gave her a look that was… trying to say something. Ruby just wasn't sure what as the faunus gave her a light push towards Weiss and headed over to her own partner.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked as they entered the parking lot of the water park and began to weave in between parked cars.
Weiss' look mixed disdain and worry. Somehow. She cast a covert glance over towards Blake and Yang, who seemed perfectly at ease not talking. There was something else in her expression that Ruby couldn't read.
"Yes. Are you?"
"Sure. Operation un-sulk Yang has been completed. How are you doing with Blake?"
Weiss shrugged.
"It… is improving. Slowly."
"That's great! I'm sure you'll be besties anytime - huh - look at that."
A family of rats were making their way out of the sewer pipe leading out into the river, the smaller rats following the mommy and daddy rats. Or so Ruby assumed. Then another group came, and another, and another, little nimble black forms swarming out and swimming across the water.
"What're you looking-" The last word turned into a horrified shriek as Weiss spotted the rats. Before she knew it Ruby had her teammate in a haphazard bridal carry.
"Uhm. Are you okay, Weiss?"
Ruby smiled at her, lengthening her stride to get to the doors leading the to the water park's lobby, holding them out for Weiss gallantly. The smile was there in the heiress' eyes, even as she rolled them at Ruby's antics and they all headed up to the counter manned by a young man.
He was what Yang would call a "tasty specimen". A few years older than they were, of course, and wearing a t-shirt stretched taut by his broad chest and shoulders. He looked a bit like what Ruby thought Jaune might look, given about five more years spent at Beacon's gym and nowhere else.
She wasn't sure if Weiss caught the way Yang's eyes lit up with glee or not, but she stepped forward and handed the guy a sleek white credit card before the blonde could say anything.
"Four please," she said, without barely even acknowledging him. "Shall we?"
"No." Blake stepped forward and put down a couple of lien on the counter. "Three. I'm paying for myself."
"Uh - miss. I've already charged the money, so-"
"Sure," Blake said, holding the bills out to Weiss instead. "Here."
There was something in her voice that Ruby didn't like and she could see Weiss' posture change as she settled into the same stance she'd use if she had Myrtenaster in her hand.
"It's fine," she insisted. "Keep it-"
"I don't want your father's money," Blake, a snarl underlying her subdued voice.
Ruby was familiar enough with violence to sense when it was in the air but it was Yang who was the fastest and moved in between their two team mates. She exchanged a long look with Blake, which fitted a lot of talking in without any actual words, and then carefully turned the girl around and led her towards the changing rooms, speaking quietly all the while.
Weiss was still standing at the same place, her body rigidly tense, her blue eyes furiously locked on their friend's retreating back. Ruby watched her for a while, so still she might have been a statue if not for the harsh breathing, trying to decide what to do.
"Hey Weiss… Do you want some ice cream?"
The heiress' expression softened, if only slightly.
"Yes. Why not?" She hesitated. "Do you mind it if I pay for you?"
Ruby shrugged.
"Nah. I like it when you spoil me."
Weiss almost smiled as they strolled over to the counter again and bought them each the most expensive ice cream available. They were quiet for a while, slowly enjoying their treats. Weiss probably felt guilty about earlier because she kept watching Ruby eat her ice cream, which was most delicious thing ever, her cheeks slightly pink.
"Blake didn't mean it," Ruby said. "Not like she said it."
Weiss sighed and considered her own ice cream for a while. Apparently her appetite had been spoiled because she dropped the half-eaten thing into a bin.
"I am aware of that," she said stiffly, "and I understand but…"
Snow-white hair bobbed to and fro as the heiress shook her head.
"But?" Ruby prompted. She was tempted to go over to her teammate's side of the table and give her a hug, the way she would Yang, but had a feeling that might not be well received.
"They're still my family," she said. Her voice was hushed, her gaze resolutely locked on her hands, folded in her lap. She looked uncomfortable enough that Ruby decided it was time to change the subject.
"Okay," Ruby said, voice soft. "Do you maybe want to go inside now?"
Weiss took a slow, steadying breath and nodded with a practised smile.
"Yes. Let's go."
Ruby had about a minute to congratulate herself on her brilliant diplomatic skills and then they'd made their way into the changing rooms and Weiss was getting undressed and… Oh.
Eyes downcast on the white tile floors, Ruby tried to focus on getting into her own bikini and stowing her clothes into her locker. A task that by all rights shouldn't be difficult, but which turned out to be when she was desperately trying not to look at anything or anyone. She and Weiss had their own little separated alcove in the rows upon rows of lockers and the silence grew stifling.
She couldn't stare at her own feet all day long, though. Time to be proper huntress and face her problems. Ruby looked up to find Weiss pulling her own teal bikini top on. Her problems turned out to be really nice… and perky.
Weiss was every bit as gorgeous as always. Unlike Ruby, she was slender rather than skinny and there was nothing about her that suggested frailty.
"So… Uhm. Wanna try out the slides?"
Glacial blue eyes fell on her.
"You're supposed to be taking it easy."
Ruby pouted.
"But the slides, Weiss. Have you seen 'em? They're so cool and I-"
"No."
Her tone left no room for argument and Ruby's hunched her shoulders as they stepped out into the aisle leading along the rows of lockers for twenty or so yards before opening up to a larger room with showers to one side and saunas to the other.
"So what're we supposed to do?"
They went past the showers and out through the door straight ahead. It had been almost eight years since Ruby had last visited the waterpark, but the memory had always stuck with her. The scent of chlorine, the noise, the warmth, the humidity in the air. None of that had changed. It was all a lot smaller than she remembered, though.
The water park was split into two large, open areas with a hundred foot ceiling ceiling in the form of a glass cupola. The area to the right, past double-doors with round windows, was for exercise swimming.
Straight ahead, broad stairs led up to level after level with their own water slides, each consecutive level and slide more extreme than the previous, all of them leading down into a large pool off to the left.
The floor there tapered down slowly, providing plenty of space for young children to splash about while their parents watched.
A safe distance from the poolside they had a little cafe where parents could enjoy a coffee and a pastry while still keeping an eye on the children.
She smiled a little, remembering how she and Yang had scaled those stairs to the water slides with the determination of adventurers scaling a mountain. They'd tried out every one of the slides that day and it hadn't been until they were being told the place was closing down for the janitors to come and clean that they'd agreed to leave.
"We could go for a swim as long as you don't-" Weiss took one look through the window of one of the door separating the exercise swimmers from the more parky part of the water park and turned around.
"Or perhaps we should try the jacuzzi."
She didn't leave Ruby any room to argue as she stalked over there and with one last longing look towards the water slides, the red-head followed.
"You guys suck," Ruby groused. She only managed to maintain the expression for a few seconds and then dashed up to Weiss in a flurry of her semblance. "Soo… Are you excited for the tournament?"
"Yes. It is going to be very interesting to test ourselves against the teams from the other kingdoms." She glanced sideways to Ruby. "And I expect everyone to be fully committed to victory."
"And to having fun," Ruby said. "Fun's important, too."
"Having fun won't be part of the grading and-" She stopped herself and sighed. "Having fun might be… Nice."
Ruby grinned at her.
"Cos Neptune's going to be there?"
With so much skin bare, Ruby had a great opportunity to note just how much of it went pink when Weiss blushed.
"Whether we happen upon Neptune or not," Weiss said. Her voice was level but she was looking everywhere but at Ruby.
The jacuzzi itself was huge, almost the size of team RWBY's dorm room and several jacuzzis, each leading to the other, separated by small trees to provide a bit of privacy from the raucous noise made by all the playing children. A waterfall made its way from each consecutive tub next to the footpath, trying to give the impression of natural hot springs.
They walked past two old ladies not so subtly bragging to one another about their grandchildren, finally finding someplace where they could sit alone at the back.
"You sure, Weissy?" Ruby asked, unable to keep herself from grinning. "Sure you don't looove him?"
Glacial blue eyes flashed with anger and Weiss covered Ruby's mouth his her hand, muffling the rest of her words. Her skin was cool and very soft but there were clear callouses from her practise at swordplay.
"Don't say stupid things like that," the heiress scolded her, eyes narrowed.
Ruby wasn't about to be silenced, though. She licked Weiss' palm. Weiss shrieked and Ruby repeated herself just because.
"This is a public place, you utter dolt. Stop licking me!"
There was a sound of surprise and outrage to mirror that of her teammate from the other pool and the old ladies.
Weiss froze at the sound, wide eyes flicking sideways nervously, then back to rest on Ruby with a dangerous spark in them.
"You juvenile little-" Weiss snarled in impatient, impotent rage, hands flexing into fists. "If you weren't recovering from an injury I would - I would-"
Ruby couldn't help but to smile more and more broadly the angrier Weiss got. It probably wasn't a good idea, all things considered, but she was just so cute when she was furious. Her face got all red and a vein on her forehead popped up.
"Anyways… Neptune seems nice."
Weiss glanced sideways at her and said nothing.
"I'm sorry if I pissed you off. Again."
The heiress sighed.
"It's alright. No harm d- Oh for goodness sake, what now?"
A grinning Yang and an expressionless Blake had appeared around the brush, quite obviously being escorted by one of the lifeguards. Her sister waved with the one arm that wasn't being restrained.
"We're being thrown out by Patrick here," she declared, looking up at the guy and winking.
"And why is that, exactly?" Weiss asked, eyes narrowing.
Most people would've withered under the weight of that glare but Yang kept on beaming.
"I might've pushed a snotty little shit into the pool."
"You did what?"
"And he might not have been able to swim."
"Why?"
"And we might never be allowed to come back here."
Weiss rubbed at her face, looking from Yang to lifeguard Patrick, clearly debating who should be on the receiving end of her displeasure. She could be a handful when she didn't get her way, even without using the clout that her family name gave her but there had been way too much arguing for one day already.
Ruby put a hand on her, feeling the rigid set of her shoulders, and how the muscles slowly relaxed under her fingers.
"C'mon, Weiss. Let's just go someplace else. There's a really nice movie going."
"Why exactly did you decide it was appropriate to push a child into the pool, Yang?" Weiss asked.
The blonde shrugged.
"Talk shit, get hit, you know."
She glanced sideways towards Blake, smiling sheepishly.
"Fine."
They followed Patrick towards the changing felt pretty certain that it wasn't fine but at least Weiss wasn't going to explode. Maybe she'd get her another ice cream later. After dinner so that she wouldn't ruin her appetite. Yeah, that'd probably work.
They spent an hour rambling around town and by the time they'd decided on a movie to watch it was dinner time. They had pizza, the nutritional value of which Weiss complained about, though that didn't stop her from eating all of it. At least she didn't insist on stinky anchovies on her pizza, like Blake did.
Next, they moved on to the shopping mall a few blocks away from the movie theater, loading up on snacks and drinks. Weiss seemed to have mostly cooled down and Ruby was just about to risk putting her arm around the heiress' shoulder when she realized she wasn't there. Nor was Blake.
She turned around and saw Blake crouched in front of a young faunus man about their age, sitting crouched with a hat by his feet, speaking quietly to him.
Ruby sidled up to Weiss and Blake returned to them. Weiss looked… Off. Her brows were furrowed in thought and she was staring at Blake.
"I didn't even see him," she whispered. "I looked right at him and I didn't notice he was there."
"You've trained yourself not to look," Blake said, returning to the group.
Weiss blinked at her, then straightened her spine and cleared her throat.
"I'd like to apologize for my earlier thoughtlessness, Blake. It was… Impolite and inconsiderate."
Blake's gaze drifted down to her black knee-high boots and her cheeks coloured but she nodded.
"You meant no offense. I… Overreacted. I'm sorry."
Ruby just about to call for a group hug when Yang butted in.
"Aww. Now kiss and make up!"
Their two teammates had been staring at one another with a growing intensity and at Yang's words, they turned glares to the blonde. Ruby herself was a little preoccupied with the mental image of that heat that had been there between them spilling over, for them to grab onto one another, pushing, clawing as their lips met in a…
Yang gave her shoulder a prod.
"You okay, Rubes?"
"Yeah. Just fine, sis!" Ruby said, her voice coming out breathless. She pointedly did not look at her sister, who had evil mind reading powers and would know all the dirty thoughts that had just gone through her head.
"Movie time!"
The cinema in question was one of the largest in Vale, hosting several movie theaters and staying open most of the day to show everything from silly action movies from Vacuo to surrealism from Atlas.
The movie they'd chosen was closer to the former and was about a bunch of ex-hunters and huntresses brought in for one last job to save an old friend from an evil genius on an island covered by tamed grimm with lasers on their heads.
According to Sun it was the best thing since peanut butter and banana sandwiches. He turned out to be more or less correct, as far as Ruby was concerned. The four of them were alone in the room, which meant Yang could heckle the bad action, while Weiss and Blake took potshots at the writing and direction.
The best part, though, was when Blake's warm, gentle hand found hers in the darkness and squeezed lightly.
The rest of the movie and the afternoon spent shopping passed by quickly and Ruby soon found herself back at Beacon. Everything felt like it had worked itself out. Weiss and Blake weren't all weird and stiff with each other any more - well, not as much as before anyways, and Yang seemed to be in a much better mood.
All in all, it had been a really nice day.
Ruby had long since gotten used to their Beacon dorm room. Those first few nights she'd had a difficult time sleeping, each new sound turned sinister by her nerves, and she'd gotten used to listening to the rest of her team fall asleep.
She could hear it when both Weiss and Blake fell asleep in their individual bunks just like she could hear that Yang was still awake, tossing and turning. She was starting to dread that it might be one of THOSE nights and that she might not fall asleep before Yang got started, but her fears turned out to be unfounded when her sister dropped softly off from her second tier bed and onto the floor.
She moved slowly across the room and Ruby lay still, waiting. Maybe she just wanted to use the bathroom? Or sneak out for whatever reason?
It turned out neither as Yang moved up to Ruby's bedside.
"Hey," she said quietly. "You awake?"
Ruby rolled over on her side to face Yang, resting her head on her hand. She clearly wanted to say something but for a while, she didn't. She just sat there on the floor, looking kind of small and helpless, neither of which were things Ruby had really associated with Yang.
Yang had always been her pillar. She'd been the one Ruby had leaned on when she'd felt weak or scared, no matter how silly or insignificant the problem, Yang had always been there. Maybe now it was Ruby's time to be there.
"What's up, sis?"
Yang settled on the side of the bed and remained there for a while, fretting with her hair and facing away. It was nice and warm under the covers and Ruby shivered as she slipped out from under them and settled beside her sister.
"I need you to promise me something, Rubes."
Ruby frowned, watching her sister's profile.
"Okay. Sure. What?"
Yang remained silent for a while, her breathing slowly evening out as she managed to regain some control of herself. When she spoke, her voice still trembled and it was barely a whisper.
"Live."
Ruby frowned, turning over to watch Yang's profile.
"Wha-?"
"We don't know what'll happen in the future, right? But whatever does happen I want you to live, okay? I don't care what you have to do or who you have to leave behind as long as you do that. Even if that means me."
Yang's eyes shone with unshed tears. Whatever self-control she'd managed to claw together was gone and her voice came out thick. "Can you promise me?"
Ruby smiled and wiped the tears off her sister's cheeks and didn't flinch even as she lied Yang right in the face.
"I promise."