Thought this would take days, took months. I wasn't doing nothing, but I could have done this a lot faster.

I kept rewriting it, and kept hating it, and I've finally surrendered. I've been hung up on two short conversations since Thanksgiving, and if I didn't get this out soon I'd go mad. So here it is, I hope you like it more than I do.

Nobody paid attention to the hooded figure walking into the pharmacy. It was a cold, winter morning- of everyone was bundled up in clothing, all trying to cover as much of themselves as possible. Well, except that one guy in the back who was wearing shorts and a t-shirt… he's an absolute madman. Keeping their head down, the bundled-up customer walked back to the medicine aisles.

Ibuprofen, lidocaine, acetaminophen, just about anything that claimed to treat symptoms Ruby was experiencing. Yang was broke, and she couldn't kidnap a doctor; she could, however, steal any medicine that might be of use and make a break for it. She could sort out which ones shouldn't be taken together later, she wasn't an idiot, but it meant nothing if she didn't have the medicine in the first place.

Making sure nobody was watching, the blonde slipped the medicine into her pockets and made her way back toward the entrance. She'd never exactly researched the mechanics of store security systems, but she knew that if she could avoid identification and get out of sight long enough, there was little chance she'd get caught. Walking casually up the aisle furthest from the registers, Yang waited for the shrill cry of the alarm before drawing any attention to herself.

Even knowing she knew it was coming, the woman still flinched at the sudden racket that assaulted her eardrums. Yang broke into a sprint, keeping her head down to hide her face. The shouts of several cashiers chased after her, but as far she could tell nobody was pursuing her. She had a head start, and it was unlikely the cashiers would try to catch her.

Brushing past a man in a long, white coat, Yang ducked into an alley and kept running. She'd scouted the area out first, and formed a plan to avoid being caught. Skidding to a halt behind a trash can, the blonde tossed the boxes of medicine to the ground, and then dropped a discarded sheet over them. Moving deeper into the back alley, she hid in a doorway as she changed costume.

Unzipping her coat, Yang removed the article of clothing to reveal the bright yellow hoodie worn beneath. Removing her beanie and gloves, the thief bunched the clothing up and shoved it into the empty purse she'd left there earlier. As a finishing touch, she removed the orange scarf from her hoodie's pocket and wrapped it around her neck.

Plastering a confident smile on her face, Yang shook her hair and stepped out of the doorway-

"For an amateur, that was pretty clever."

And found herself face-to-face with the man she'd rushed by earlier. Her confident mask crumbled immediately, panic gripping her heart as she knew she'd been caught. Not only had he seen her change outfits and gotten a good view of her face, but in his hands were the stolen items she'd hidden to be retrieved later.

"All different kinds of medicine, you're clearly new to this, immediately panicking… I'm going to make a wild guess and say somebody's sick." Yang's gaze was fixated on the ground, but she didn't need to look up at the man to know he was grinning smugly. "And you feel guilty too! Oh, now this is rich. Poor girl forced to steal medicine out of desperation- I almost can't believe it!"

Fear started turning to anger as the man continued to mock her. Yang clenched her fists and raised her head to glare at him. The man dropped her contraband as he reached to pull the cigar from his lips, one green eye looking her up and down while the other remained hidden behind a curtain of orange hair.

"Tell you what, Goldilocks, I've got a deal for you. If you help me out, you'll walk away with enough money to get a real doctor."

"And if I don't?" She asked suspiciously.

In response, the man shrugged. "If you're wondering whether I'll rat you out, then no. I've got no reason to stop you. But just a heads up, a couple of those will kill anyone who takes them together. Just something to think about." Placing the cigar back in his mouth, the man turned and walked down the alley away from the store. "Make up your mind quick, I've got places to be with or without you."

Yang would have liked to say she needed time to think it over, but deep down she knew that even if she didn't kill Ruby with the medicine, there was no guarantee it would actually help her recover. In reality, she only needed the time it took to scoop up the medicine before she rushed after him.

Everything about this was a terrible idea. Yang broke the law, then followed a stranger back to his home without telling anyone where she was going and with no clue what he wanted. 'Ruby would kill me if she knew I was being this stupid.' She'd thought about backing out, about heading straight back to Ruby with the medicine, but the fear that it wouldn't be enough kept her moving forward.

Now, seated with him and another woman around a table in his home, Yang could only hope that she hadn't made the biggest mistake of her life.

"Well, blondie, I'm surprised you actually stuck with it. I suppose that means some introductions are in order. My name is Roman, and this little ball of joy is Neo. Say 'hi,' Neo." Neo didn't move a muscle. "I think she likes you."

Clapping his hands, Roman leaned forward and continued his speech. "So, here's the deal, Neo and I make our living… redistributing people's money. They have a lot of it, we borrow some of it for our needs, you get the picture. Well lately the police have been making life hard on us, they've got someone upstairs actually making them do their jobs now. Very frustrating."

"It used to be that if we set off an alarm, it'd be nice and loud which warned us it was time to go. Now Neo and I are running into more silent alarms, and we've had a couple close calls now. Our only warning is the sound of sirens, so we don't have much time. On top of that, sometimes the police are just responding to something else and happen to pass by, but we can't risk waiting to see if they're after us or not."

"And that's where you come in." Roman said, leaning back once more. "I know who to rob and where to fence whatever we take. Neo's knows how to get inside their houses and makes sure people don't go back on deals with me. What we need is someone who will go inside and bring the goodies back out."

"So if the cops come, you can ditch me and not get caught." Yang stated flatly.

Neo smiled slightly and nodded. "Right on the money," Roman said, "you're not as dumb as you look. With the people we go after, there's enough money that we can give away a share if need be, and we're more than happy to make that investment if it keeps us out of prison. On top of that, they'll have caught their thief, and won't snoop around as much. It's perfect!"

Yang was taken aback by his straightforwardness. "You expect me to sign up to do the heavy lifting, take all the risk, and let you get most of the money? Why would I do that?"

The criminal smiled as if he'd know that question was coming. "Because you're desperate for money, and you can't do this yourself. You don't know how to get inside, you don't have any way to escape if you're found out, and even if you manage to pull it off you'd have no idea where to sell everything. Neo and I can do this on our own, we just don't want to." Silence reigned over the table as Yang thought everything over. He was right on all counts, really, and this may be her only chance at being able to afford proper treatment for Ruby.

"And how do you know I won't rat you out if they catch me?"

Torchwick laughed. "Go ahead, we're already wanted. It won't save you, and we won't be coming back here. We're not worried about the cops knowing we committed a crime, we're worried about them catching us. That's why Neo and I are outsourcing the risky part of the job- we can't enjoy what we have if we're in prison."

Cradling her head in her hands, Yang exhaled deeply. "Okay…. How much am I getting? If it's not enough to-"

Roman rolled his eyes and cut her off. "How much you make is up to you. You'll get a share of whatever you bring back, so the more you get the more you'll make. If you come out of there with too little, don't expect me to give you more than you earned. That's how this works."

'No turning back now….'

"Alright, I'm in."

The car pulled over to the side of the road, and Roman killed the engine. Stepping out of the vehicle, the thief propped open the car's hood. "Okay, Blondie, this is your stop," he said as he turned to face her, "I'll stick with the car and keep an eye out for any visitors, we're far enough away from the target that we shouldn't be that suspicious. When you've got everything give me a call and I'll pull up right by the house. Neo, she's your problem now."

The diminutive girl nodded and turned into the woods, waving for Yang to follow her. The two headed away from the road for a minute, then turned left and walked parallel to it. Yang repeatedly stumbled over logs and roots in the dark, but Roman had made it clear that there were to be no lights giving them away. The moon helped guide the pair, but the thick foliage and clouds blocked it all too frequently for Yang's taste.

The silence was suffocating. Neo didn't make a sound, moving effortlessly through the woods with an almost unnatural elegance. The blonde realized she had yet to speak a word since getting in the car with Roman. Did she have any doubts? Any private, concerned thoughts? Perhaps, but she didn't say a word.

Not when she left with them, not on the long ride out from the city, and not as she trekked through the darkness. Not a word.

The pair reached the edge of the woods, before them stretched a large lawn that lead to a breathtaking house. It wasn't a mansion by any means, however the two-story home was larger than anything Yang could hope to own one day. While a beautiful place to live, it wasn't what Yang had been expecting.

She'd imagined a sprawling home, a massive garage to hold the owners' many cars, pools, statues, and hedges decorating the lavish estate. Yang had expected their target to look… richer. This just seemed like a big family home. Again, thoughts of calling the police and ending this came to mind, and again Yang was forced to suppress them.

Even if whoever lived here didn't deserve this, they'd get better eventually. She wasn't so sure the same could be said for Ruby.

Yang felt Neo shake her arm roughly, and turned to find the criminal glaring at her, evidently Yang had zoned out for a moment. Waving her hand, Neo gestured for her to follow as she moved up to the house, pressing her back against its side. Going around the back of the house, Neo immediately knelt in front of the house's back door and set about getting it open.

The blonde's stomach churned as she waited to be sent inside, trying to remember what Roman had told her earlier. There should only be one man living here, and there were no pets that might give her presence away. She should look for small but valuable items to take- money, jewelry, and electronics mainly.

A soft click pulled her back into the present as the door swung inward. Neo nodded her head at the open doorway, and stepped back. Yang wanted to throw up, but she took a deep breath, took a moment to calm her nerves, and entered the dark house.

If the silence before had been uncomfortable, every creak and groan of the house was its own nightmare for Yang. The terrifying possibility that they would wake the owner, or worse yet that it was the owner moving about the house, paralyzed Yang each time. She had already collected a phone, tablet, and had taken note of some speakers and fine dinnerware that seemed expensive.

'I never understood why some of that stuff is so expensive. It's a plate, who cares what it looks like? You're eating off it, not hanging it on your wall-' A loud creak sounded as the girl stepped on a loose floorboard, eliciting a gasp of surprise from her. After holding still for what felt like an eternity, and having heard no angry homeowner charging her way, Yang gathered up the courage to continue.

Unfortunately, her next stop was upstairs. The master bedroom would be up there, and in it potentially the most valuable objects in the house. Yang had taken a fair number of expensive items, but in a best-case scenario, where Roman split the earnings equally, she would only see one third of the profit. She wasn't confident that she had enough yet. Yang needed something big.

Going room-to-room was agonizingly slow, any door she opened could lead to the victim of her crime, any room could contain a loud noise just waiting to give her away. For all her care and thorough searching, all she had found of note was a nice laptop and an old, mostly empty wallet that had contained a small amount of cash.

There was only one room left, the one at the very end of the hall, and Yang knew it must be the bedroom. Approaching the door slowly, not out of caution but because she wanted to delay violating the sanctity of this last room. It was the only part of this poor man's house she had not yet stripped of any valuables she could carry away, and the only part of his home still private from her.

Pushing open the door gently, she could hear his breathing now. Quiet, steady breaths came from the far side of the king sized bed. Though mostly covered by covers, Yang could make out his grey hair by the moonlight filtering through the curtains. 'Great, I'm robbing an old man. Why couldn't I at least be robbing someone who looks like an asshole? Is that too much to ask?'

More cautious than ever, the older sister inched her way across the room, inspecting every tabletop and any drawers she could easily pull open. For her efforts, Yang was rewarded with a full wallet, a very nice wristwatch a newer smartphone, and several gold and silver rings. 'Enough, that's got to be enough.' Turning for the door, Yang had almost left when something caught her eye. She hadn't expected anything to be on the bedside table away from the sleeping man, but something green caught the moonlight and drew her toward it.

With her focus trained on the table, Yang's concentration slipped. A bang sounded out as her foot smashed into the foot of the bed, sending the poor girl diving to the floor to keep out of sight. Not daring to move a muscle, Yang held her breath as she strained her ears for any clues as to what the man was doing. Silence, the ruffling of bedsheets, and then… snoring?

Carefully rising, Yang poked her head over the side of the bed to find the man had merely shifted positions, and continued to sleep. Holding back a sigh of relief, she finally closed the distance to the bedside table. Getting a closer look at the item, Yang had to bite her tongue to stop herself from letting out a gasp.

Sitting before the photo of a beautiful woman were two rings, a gorgeous necklace, and a pair of earrings. Each one seemed to be made of gold, but that wasn't what drew Yang over. One of the rings, the necklace, and each earring were adorned with large emeralds. Looking at the picture, Yang could see the woman wearing them. Though quite old, Yang could still see how well the jewelry complemented her platinum blonde hair and green eyes. She was smiling pleasantly at the camera in front of the house.

'Wait a moment.' This house belonged to the man in bed, and he was the only one inside, so who was she? The most obvious answer was that she was his wife, and looking at the rings Yang realized that one was an engagement ring and the other a wedding band. But she wasn't here, and for all of those to be left sitting there….

"I'm robbing an old man who lost his wife." Yang breathed out in a tone halfway between defeat and frustration. "What am I doing?"

The question hung in the air, forcing Yang to take stock of her situation. She was robbing an old widowed man, that's what she was doing, she said it herself. 'But I have to! I have to do this.'

'Raven left, Dad and Summer are gone… Ruby's all I have left, I can't lose her. I can't!' But this was all the old man had of the woman he loved, a picture and some jewelry. He didn't deserve to lose that because Yang wanted to save her own loved one. Ruby came first, but if she already had enough to pay for treatment, she didn't need to take this. If it left this house, though, Roman wouldn't exactly let her return it if she didn't need the extra money- it would be lost forever.

Letting out a groan, Yang tore her gaze from the jewels that were likely worth more than everything she had collected so far and turned back toward the door.

"Why didn't you take them?"

Yang cried out when she heard the voice, involuntarily dropping the bag of stolen items and pressing herself back against the wall. It was him, the man she'd thought was asleep, and he had been standing right behind her. Yang didn't know if he was very quiet, or if she'd truly been that distracted, but it didn't matter much now.

She needed to run, she couldn't afford to be caught- for Ruby's sake if nothing else. At the same time, though, if she escaped, but didn't bring what she had stolen, then she wouldn't be able to help her sister anyways. Yang had to get out with the bag, but could she? Would the old man try to stop her? She could probably get away if he did, but what if she hurt him accidentally? Yang remained silent, her words caught in her throat, as her eyes darted between the dropped bag, the man blocking her path, and the open door.

"Please, you don't need to panic," the stranger said, "I just want to know why you would take so much, but leave the most valuable things behind." He wasn't telling the whole truth, that much was clear. He certainly seemed curious, but Yang knew this was some kind of test. Why else would he be asking her this? Weighing her options, the woman decided that her honest reason was probably as good as any.

"Because it looked like something you'd never be able to replace. I couldn't take something that looks like it means that much to someone who hasn't done anything wrong." Yang almost cringed at how pathetic it sounded. It was so cliché, she didn't have the heart to hurt innocent people- it sounded like something Ruby would say.

Almost expecting the man to laugh at her, Yang was shocked when he simply continued asking questions. "And how would someone so… considerate wind up as a burglar, if I may ask?"

"Why do you care?" She replied angrily. She had lost her job, lost her home, and could very well lose her sister; but this stranger was acting like they were having a completely normal conversation as he tried to pry into her personal life!

"Because you showed that you're not in this for greed, but you obviously feel like this is your only choice." The grey-haired man sighed. "If you won't believe that I could be doing this out of generosity, then how about that if I don't help you, you'll just run off with that bag? I'm losing money either way."

"I- I have to help my sister, okay? I don't even really know what's wrong with her, but I sure as hell can't afford help." Part of Yang just wanted to run, to get as far away from this conversation as she could, but the words just kept coming. "We don't have a home, we don't have anyone helping us, and now I don't even have a job! I didn't want this, but… but what else can I do for her!?" Tears welled up in her lilac eyes, despite her attempts to hold them back. "My sister's all I have left, and for so long all I've wanted is to give her a better life. Now I don't even know if she'll survive!"

"Well, perhaps I could help you." The old man replied calmly. "Now I can't just give you money, that won't help you in the long term, but I think I have a solution that will work much better than that." Yang lifted her gaze up to meet him. "I've made friends with many people over my life, one just so happens to own a rather high-class apartment building in the city. Normally Miss Schnee wouldn't take on a new employee like this, but I helped her get out from under her father's thumb and stand on her own two feet, so I believe she'll make an exception for me."

Easing himself into a chair, the grey-haired man went on. "Of course, I can't say for sure what position she'll need you to fill, maybe a receptionist, or perhaps a custodian, but so long as you do your job well I can assure you you'll have, among other things, a room paid for by a fraction of your salary, medical insurance, and a steady source of income."

Yang was astonished. He was offering her everything she needed and asked for nothing in return. Well, nothing aside from not being robbed, but that wasn't exactly demanding. "Why? Why would you take a chance on me like this after what I tried to do?"

"I'm not taking a chance. You're a good person, and I believe that if I can put you in a situation where you have a choice to do the right thing, you will. I've made… many mistakes in my life. Punishing you for one that has yet to actually hurt anyone would be rather hypocritical of me, wouldn't you agree?"

Yang stepped forward and gave him a hug. Maybe it would have seemed odd to her before, hugging a stranger, but what this man was offering was a solution to all her problems. After everything that had gone wrong, after every time the worst had come to pass and revealed a whole new level of misery to Yang, something had finally gone right. She couldn't be bothered to hold back tears of joy as she held onto the mysterious man as if he might disappear should she let go.

"Now, I doubt you were working alone. Are the others in a similar situation to yourself, or should we call the police?" In response, Yang reached for the bag of stolen goods, and rummaged around until she found what she was looking for. Watching curiously, the man smiled as she produced his phone and held it out for him.

It didn't take long for Yang to get settled in their new home. While her boss seemed… uptight, she couldn't find it within herself to be anything but grateful to the white-haired woman. Weiss had set the two up in a room on the ground floor, and while not as luxuriously furnished as the others, it was leagues better than their old apartment, and incomparable to the warehouse. Working as a front-desk receptionist in the day and picking up some shifts at night cleaning the building, Yang had no need of a car to get to work.

Ruby, on the other hand, had a much more difficult transition. Not that she longed for the glory days of freezing and hunger, but the circumstances that time had left her under took time to go away. Ruby had contracted a strain of bacterial pneumonia and required a trip to the hospital for appropriate treatment. With how long it had taken to receive treatment, Ruby's recovery was a relatively slow and unpleasant one. Eventually she made a full recovery, but that only meant she was now ready to resume classes at her new school.

In addition to having to wake up earlier, now that she needed additional time to walk to her bus stop, Ruby was forced to say goodbye to her old friends. They were across the city, and it wouldn't be easy for them to meet up. Given her sister's shy nature, Yang knew it would take a while before she made any friends at her new school. Hopefully she'd manage to keep up her grades despite the jarring changes in their life recently, if she did Yang knew her sister would get into a school that gave her enough financial aid for them to afford it.

It wasn't perfect, money was still very tight, and Ruby still missed her friends. But considering what the two had been through, Yang knew that the old man's act of Charity was more than she could have ever hoped for.

God I really hate how this turned out, let me know what you guys think in the reviews. Sorry this took so damn long, but I was busy with family, finals, wisdom teeth removal, more family, applying to about 12 summer programs and an internship, and going back to school. It's not a good excuse for over two months of waiting, but it's what I've got.

Hopefully I can get back into writing my other stuff more easily, though I think I'm just scrapping my progress on the next Plot hole chapter because it's not turning out the way I'd originally thought it would.

Minesniper