A/N And we're back! Feel free to call me a loser (remember the note from last chapter?) I'm only 7 weeks late.
So I'll keep it short. Just a big warm thanks for sticking around. This fic has been one big question mark most of the time, so your patience is awesome. I do have some actual notes on upcoming stuff, but I'll hold off on that for now. Instead, have the chapter I promised ages ago
Enjoy the new chapter! Let's get this to 100k words!
Chapter 20. Two Sides to a Story
Weiss slipped her expensive phone back into her pocket. She smirked a little, almost proud of that rather passive-aggressive text to Yang.
She had to find some fun out of this situation.
Weiss wondered if Cinder had put Emerald up to this. Weiss never talked to the viridian-haired girl, unless it was for educational reasons. It weirded her out as to why.
The girl slipped her jacket back on and left her stationary position in the bustling hallway. While sending a text like that may have been a tiny bit fun, the blonde would no doubt assume she had done something to piss off Weiss, and would take cover wherever she deemed it possible. Of course, Weiss had been through this before. Yang Xiao Long's hiding place number one was outside in the lot behind a friend's car.
The silky-haired teen merely shrugged and decided to take her time to get out there. After all, she didn't want anything to do with this mess to begin with.
Not entirely.
There was always a stir Weiss received whenever Cinder had been brought up. Whether it be through conversation or just plain sight; there was something there. The rich girl's dutifulness was the reason she couldn't shake the feeling off.
From the day Cinder had -for lack of a better word- interrogated her in the halls so many months ago, points of Weiss' mind could relate to the ebony-haired girl's situation. First it was the general feeling of dejection Weiss could practically smell on her. She seemed okay, but there was an aura around Cinder that Weiss herself, was all too familiar with. It, in all honesty, was almost shameful. Her own stubbornness impeded the idea of giving a warning to Yang about Cinder, and things might have been a lot lighter than they are now.
"Seems like everyone is stubborn except for Cinder."
But things didn't go that way. Cinders entrance into the life of their group shook its foundations. Weiss had done her best to keep out of Cinder's way, but when you have a bullheaded girlfriend who's sister is daring said person; sometimes there's no way avoiding it. Weiss began to think about they day weeks prior. The 'incident' in the parking lot. Once more, her familiarity with Cinder's state of mind during that time, was what halted her from being too brash. Even though she already was. The girl had gone through a full mental collapse. Amber eyes lighted with fear at the total loss of control, with every emotion pouring out in a single instance.
Weiss could relate.
In the early days of her friendship with Yang, before it snowballed to dating, the richer of the two had felt a connection there that she never had before. It was the first time she could honest-to-God call someone a friend. Someone who wasn't after her money, or her name. Weiss hadn't wanted to fuck that up at all. Every time she met with the Blonde, she'd always take an interest in what she had to say, at first it was just humoring her, but before long she actually enjoyed what the blonde had to say. It made her laugh, smile, and all the rest.
But one summer, Weiss started to feel like things weren't right. Yang had begun to spend more time with some of her sports team, and other guys associated with them. She had still cut out time to hang out with Weiss, but their times together weren't filled with laughs or jokes -things became inexplicably dry. Weiss slowly started to shut down. Shut Yang out like the Blonde was sand between her fingers. Slipping, losing. The white-haired girl lapsed back into her previous state of mind, feeling broken and alone all over again. She couldn't fully however, she wanted her friendship with Yang to remain.
It came down hard one day. Yang was supposed to pick Weiss up for one of their now rare hangouts. The pickup was at the Schnee estate because Weiss was the only one around to look after her younger sister, Winter. The girl had hoped that day was the day she could talk to Yang about what's been going on. She was forced to wait while listening to the annoyance of Winter's 'little sister' attitude.
But the blonde was late.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes. Weiss should've known better than to be upset at the time, this was Yang. Never on time. She couldn't however. And her whitewashed mind immediately deemed that situation the day that Yang didn't care anymore.
When the innocent nagging of her little sister got on the bad side of Weiss' nerves; Winter became the target.
She remembers it so vividly. Got right in Winter's face, pushed her shoulder, yelled 'shut-up' at the top of her lungs. Followed by a tear-down of the little girl's integrity. It scared the daylights out of Winter, the girl yelling and crying for Weiss to leave her alone. The sights and sounds of that day were forever engraved into Weiss' mind. Miraculously, Yang had shown up before her warpath could've gotten any worse, the Blonde must've heard the screaming from outside, and barged right in to see what was wrong. Yang had pulled her away from the mortified Winter, and into her arms. Weiss' emotions immediately did a back-flip, going from broken rage, to loud sobbing of 'I'm so sorry'.
Yang hushed her down, and Weiss saw a part of the blonde she'd never seen before. One she thought didn't care. After moments of silent sobs and hush, 'it's okay' Weiss had mustered the strength to speak to Winter -who still sat on the floor, scared out of her mind. The look on her kid sister's face was one Weiss never wanted to see again. It took time, but her relationship with Winter was restored, and Yang had begun to stick around more. All it took after that was a confession of a deeper relationship and the rest is history.
Weiss knows how prominent a good relationship with siblings is now. Even without the factor of Cinder, Yang treating Ruby this way just isn't who she really is. She understands that Yang wants to always be there for Ruby, but sometimes you have to know when to let go. Ruby has proven that already, but Yang just can't seem to realize it.
All these thoughts ate up the time it took to reach the parking lot of the school. Immediately she rolled her eyes and grinned, seeing two boots from the underside of her car, which was parked in closer spot to the doors. She made strides towards her SUV, lo and behold, there was the blonde in question, crouched down with a sheepish grin on her face.
"H-Hey Weiss." The blonde muttered, eyes going everywhere but the girl in question.
For a second, it almost seemed like Yang was actually hiding something, "Yang." Weiss returned.
The blonde continued to look around nervously. Eventually, she laid eyes on Weiss, "Look if this is about last week, I-"
"Get in the car Yang." Weiss interrupted. She didn't even wait for the latter girl to respond before fishing her keys from her pocket and unlocking the car doors. Yang followed suit by scrambling up and dog trotting to the opposite side.
Weiss watched and waited as Yang climbed in. The blonde looked more puzzled than anything by now, "Weiss what is this about?" Her expression dropped, "Is everything okay?"
"Maybe you shouldn't be asking me, that."
"Pardon?" Yang looked quizzical, 'Is this...'
Weiss paled for a moment, she straightened her posture in the seat and gave Yang a stern look. If it were any motivation on this stupid plan, Weiss just pictured it to benefit Yang rather than Cinder, "Remember two summers ago, when I... broke down at Winter?"
The blonde's expression did a double take, "Y-Yeah. Weiss, is everything okay?"
Weiss felt warm at Yang's worry. Showing that the care was still there, but a double standard between herself, and Ruby still wasn't acceptable, "I thought you didn't care, but you came after all... and helped me with... well... everything?"
Yang nodded, "Weiss I'm following, but... please tell me what this is about. Did someone hurt you?"
Her girlfriend looked like she was about to panic, Weiss decided to finally lay out what was needing to be said, "Cinder went through the same thing when she... attacked me." She paled again upon seeing Yang's expression twitch.
"Weiss... are you really defending her?"
She glanced into Yang's eyes, knowing this was the right thing to do, "I'm not." She spoke, her tone an octave higher than a whisper, "You're not the one to blame, but please, just put yourself in her shoes. I can see it in her eyes Yang, she's been through a lot. B-But this isn't about that. At least, not right now."
Yang sat in silence, allowing Weiss to carry on.
"It's about Ruby."
Now it was Yang's turn to pale, "What about her?" Her tone cracked in the middle.
To make this as calm as possible, Weiss placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Gently stroking the hair next to it, "She's really torn up by this whole silence thing."
Yang's eyebrow twitched again, "Weiss I'm not going to get over this so easily." As soon as her comment ended, she could feel Weiss' hand grip a little tighter.
"I'm not asking you to. I just... Ruby isn't a kid anymore. You're her sister, no matter how much she changes or you change; that's still between you. She looks up to you, she-"
"Then how come she lied to me from the beginning?" Yang spoke through the grit if her teeth.
"She knew how you'd react. She's getting older Yang, she doesn't have to tell you everything." Weiss conceited.
Yang became a little less tense, "She's my sister, I just want her to be happy."
"Well, sometimes letting her be her own person is a good way of saying that. I know it's hard Yang, but she really wants her sister back. And the only way to do that is-"
"To talk..."
"Yeah... but, please Yang. For Ruby's sake; talk to Cinder. Starting somewhere is good right? Things won't get fixed overnight, but it'd mean the world to Ruby." Weiss felt somber as Yang turned away, sometimes the truth hurts too, but she knew it was in everyone's interest, "I'm not saying you need to be best friends with Cinder, you-"
"I know... I... I'm sorry Weiss."
"You don't have to apologize," She tentatively leaned forward and gave Yang an embrace. The blonde slowly reciprocated. Leaning in with an understanding look in her pretty lavender eyes.
As she and Yang shared their moment, Weiss actually felt more connected to this than how she felt originally. Nobody could shift Yang's outlook except her, a high example of how strong their bond is.
"I... hurt her, didn't I?" Yang peeled back, her eyes glossing over.
Weiss smiled a bit, "N-No, of course you didn't. None of this was easy. We all want things to go back to what we're comfort with, but you got to accept change too. Ruby just misses you, that's all."
"I'll sort things out." Yang said in a whisper. 'Not like before.' She wasn't going to repeat her first 'sit-down' with Cinder again. In different places; pieces started to fall where they were needed. Ruby stood up for Cinder -stood up for herself- a clear example of what Weiss had just mentioned. Maybe it was time for a change.
Yang went to speak again, but the white-haired girl knew exactly what was coming, "Ah ah ah, don't apologize. There's only one person who needs to hear that right now."
"Yeah..."
"So," Weiss perked up, giving her girlfriend a neat kiss on this cheek, "Why don't we... go get lunch?"
Yang looked a little less grimaced, "Sure. Anything."
######
Another day of classes came to a close. Keeping to herself, Ruby gently packed her things away before getting ready to leave History class and head home. Remembering that there was a chance of rain today; her pace quickened. For the sake of being honest, if there wasn't the possibility of rain -Ruby would've taken all the time in the world to leave. First being that fact that Cinder had Volleyball practice today, hence why she cut History. Technically the sport didn't kick back up for another small while, but the members of the team were allowed to start practicing as many weeks in advance as they liked. Sure she'd love to go and watch, but there was a mean stack of overdue homework shouting at her from the depths of her backpack. Bleachers weren't exactly the best surface to work on for hours on end. Secondly, was the ever present silence between her sister. Ruby was close to screaming and begging for Yang to talk, grimacing at how torturous this all felt.
With her belongings where they needed to be, Ruby paced out of class and into the halls. A mere two seconds went by before she felt a hand land on her right shoulder. The gentle palm slid up the side of her jaw and forced her to croon her neck. A second later, Ruby felt silky, jasmine scented tresses brush up near the vulnerable area of her neck, immediately a soft set of lips followed.
"Hey."
Ruby waited for Cinder to pull off, before turning to face her. It also have her time to let her flushed face cool off a bit, "H-Hi." She stuttered, glancing up and down at her lovely girlfriend.
"You're not a stuttering mess..." Cinder remarked, "Maybe I'm losing my edge. Why don't we... give that another go, hm?" Her amber eyes twinkled with mischief.
A shaky sigh elicited from Ruby, "N-No, sorry Cin. I need to get home before it rains."
"Really? You don't want to come with me, or anything?" Cinder, garbed in her volleyball outfit, gave the uniform-clad Ruby a puzzled look, "It's just practice. No one will even be there."
Cinder really wanted her to stay, giving her a crestfallen feeling, "I really wish I could, but I'm up to my knees in homework, and y'know." The crimsonette started to feel like she was stretching the size of the work she actually had to do. It almost felt like she was lying, truthfully she just wanted to saunter home and plunk face-down onto her bed for the rest of the day.
The taller girl flashed her a knowing look before shrugging, "I'll walk out with you, at least."
"Thanks," Ruby smiled.
They shared a rather short walk to the doors, considering that they were just around the corner of the redhead's classroom. Once they got there; Ruby felt a pit in her stomach at stepping out and leaving. She didn't want to go home. Heck, she'd do anything to avoid that place at this point. The girl wanted to run off with Cinder, go do something stupid, and then hide out at her place again.
Cinder seemed to pick up on Ruby's daydreaming, "Ruby, you sure about going home?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe if I get this stuff done we can do something later."
"I'd like that." Cinder said with a smooth grin. She leant forward and kissed Ruby on the cheek, "Practice is done at six."
'She always makes it so hard to talk!' "O-Okay. I'll, uh, see you later then?"
"For sure." The amber-eyed girl spoke. She swiveled around, and waved bye to Ruby. The crimsonette watched Cinder's body sway around the corner before leaving her sight. With a discontented sigh, she adjusted the strap on her bag, and pushed the doors open.
Upon getting outside, she titled her head to the slated overcast sky. It definitely looked like it was going to rain, spring was practically here by this point. Off in the distance she could see several dots of vivid blue, parts of the sky the clouds didn't cover yet. Little holdout points that could spread and push the clouds away.
'The sky is just as hopeless as me...'
She shrugged that thought off, and began her walk home.
######
Flicking through channels, antsy and impatient as ever, Yang waited for her sister to arrive home from class. After the blonde shared a short lunch date with Weiss, she decided to cut the rest of the day's classes and just head home. The handful of hours between the time she got here, and the time Ruby would get here, was enough for her to think if what to say when the redhead in question got home.
She had been thinking off all these elaborate plans, but in reality they were just extravagant ways of saying: 'I'm sorry'.
It angered her at the same time. Over how simple it was. Ruby doesn't hold grudges, and she's sure all the girl wants is her big sister back.
And Yang wanted Ruby back too.
She knew that wasn't going to happen. The right sisterly bond can be repaired, but Ruby would never go back to the innocent shy girl she was before. She's matured, independent, and sad as it is; the crimsonette can share that better with Cinder, than anyone else.
Soft footfalls coming from the other side of the door got the blonde to raise in her seat. She heaved a sigh and prepared herself, watching the door unlock, and the knob twist to its open position.
The door gently swung open, and in stepped Ruby. Not once laying her stormy eyes on Yang. The redhead slipped her shoes off, and neatly moved them to the side. Her lack of recognition towards Yang's existence was like knives through the blonde's heart.
'Now's your chance Yang.' She mulled. Watching Ruby already make a break for her room.
Just as the younger girl hit the hallway entrance, Yang sidestepped and blocked her path.
They locked stares. Yang's: oddly comforting. Ruby's: blank.
Yang made another small sigh and took the initiative, "Hey." She spoke.
For a moment, Ruby looked perplexed. She didn't speak.
"Come over here for a sec," the blonde stepped back and ushered Ruby over to the couch. The crimson teen set her bag down by the hall and joined Yang on the opposite side of the furniture.
Yang looked down in her lap before glancing up at Ruby, "Remember when we were kids, and every time you'd get upset at me, I'd do all this crazy stuff to say sorry?"
Ruby's lips flickered between stoic, and a grin, "Yeah. Yang what-"
"I... I'm sorry Ruby."
Ruby watched Yang's face dip to her lap again, "Sis, you-"
The second Yang heard the word 'sis' leave Ruby's lips, she couldn't hold back anymore. The blonde leant forward and wrapper her sister in the biggest embrace possible, "I-I'm so, sorry Ruby..."
Ruby looked on in awe, but reciprocated her sister's touch. Watching the older girl began to cough and sob into her shoulder.
"I-I should've been there for you, b-but I wasn't..." Came Yang's muffled words, "I'm a terrible sister, a-and I'm sorry..."
The crimsonette allowed Yang to let off before she made her turn to speak, "No, you're not."
"I am t-though. I... ignored you, I hurt you."
Ruby felt a small flutter in her chest, she couldn't believe Yang was doing this right now, "But you're not. Who was always there when Dad wasn't home? After Mom passed away?"
"I was..."
"See? A-And who was the girl who would skip out on going to a party because she didn't want me to be alone?"
Yang smiled a bit. Wiping her tears and speaking up, "Heh, yeah. Like that one time when that guy was bullying you; and I kicked his butt."
A small, familiar laugh emanated from Ruby.
"But, this was all my fault, I-"
Ruby gave Yang the palm of her hand, signaling for her to stop, "It's not. Not yours, mine, or Cinder's."
"It was so hard, y'know? I want to always be there for you... I didn't accept that you weren't a kid anymore." Yang explained.
"Yang, sis, all I wanted was for you to accept that I'm not. But I didn't make it easy. I guess hiding it for months wasn't the... best idea. But Cinder and I..." Ruby trailed off, not knowing what to say.
The blonde finished the crimsonette's sentence, "You love her. I guess that was the hardest part. I just couldn't trust her... especially with you."
"I know it was hard, but you have to get where she's coming from. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I don't want that to change."
Ruby's words really sunk into Yang, the blonde could really see how much she's changed, now by accepting it, maybe this change wasn't for the bad after all, "I get that now. She's had it pretty rough, huh?"
Ruby gave a small nod, "She has. I want to be the person who changes that."
"God, you're so much like Mom." Yang reminisced on Ruby's angelic attitude. Perfectly mirroring that of Summer's.
"I try... just... Cinder doesn't even have-"
Yang silenced Ruby, "You don't have to tell me. I... want to hear it from her."
Time seemed to stall as Yang's words hung in the air, Ruby's face immediately lit up with a shaky smile, a tears ready to fall, "R-Really? You'll-"
"Today, actually."
With Yang's response, Ruby jarred forward and gave her sister an embrace. She cried softly into Yang's shoulder, still not believing this day was real, that's all she wanted, "Yang... y-you don't have t-to."
The blonde pulled back, her face giving a smile faltering under her own tears, "C'mon, what kind of sister would I be... if I didn't g-give her the girlfriend approval?" The blonde used her willpower to break her tears and smile widely.
The crimsonette slouched back and palmed her mouth. Not to muffle sobs, but laughter. She didn't know what to say. But her entirety felt good. What Yang had just said, was an example of why she's the best sister ever -the blonde could lighten any mood.
Yang slowly began to laugh too. Lulling back onto the arm of the couch, laughing in tune with that of her sister.
And just like her; she felt good again too.
All that was left was to talk with Cinder.
######
She strode down the sidewalk, clouds still lingered above but hadn't let their rainfall. It was late evening by this point, after spending a few hours with Ruby, Yang made it clear for her not to come along to Cinder's place. Ruby had been weary about it, but if things were going to get solved; no arbitrary parties could be involved.
If Weiss hadn't brought Yang back down to Remnant, the blonde's original idea of confrontation with Cinder had involved a more violent approach. But her cleared mind showed that hurting the ebony-haired girl wasn't the way to go.
But she was ready. Yang wasn't sure how Cinder would react to just showing up and having it out, but hopefully she shared the same outlook.
It wasn't long until Yang made it to the steps of Cinder's house. She felt a little more comfortable when she noticed a lack of a car in the driveway.
'Just her and I.'
The blonde braced herself, and pressed the doorbell three times. There was only a few seconds of latency before someone answered the door.
It was a casually-clad Mercury. As soon as he laid eyes on Yang, dressed in a similar casual fashion; he paled for a moment, "Uh, what're you doing here?"
Yang crossed her arms, "Is Cinder home?"
"Do you really wanna know?"
A second set of footfalls came from behind him. Before Yang could give him a piece of her mind; the girl in question came into view. Still dressed in her Volleyball gear, the girl went wide-eyed for a moment, before her expression sharpened, her body language bestowing nothing but aggressiveness.
"Can I come in?" Yang asked as plain as day.
Cinder turned to Mercury, "Can you leave us alone for a moment?"
"What I-" He ceased to speak at the ice-cold glare he got from Cinder. Getting the message, he stepped out onto the porch and began fiddling with his phone. Yang took the gesture for her to come in. The blonde stepped inside -Cinder closing the door behind her.
Scathing amber eyes glared at her, "What're you doing here?" Cinder asked. She had to hide her astonishment, Emerald's plan must've worked somehow, she wasn't blind, and caught a glimpse of those crossed fingers behind the dark-skinned girls back the previous day, she hadn't expected it to be so quick however. Deep down, she wanted this to happen all along.
Yang put her hands at her sides, "Look, I'm not here to fight, so cut the act."
"Then why?"
"To talk."
Cinder took the notion and gestured for Yang to the living room. The blonde took her place on the sectional, watching Cinder take the long way around and flick the TV off. The ebony-haired girl took her spot on the adjacent chair.
Yang went first, "I wanna know why you attacked Weiss, the truth."
Cinder leant forward, placing her elbows atop her knees, head resting on top of them. She'd already formed a plan of action on what to do if Yang had ever wanted to "talk". It was simple, if the blonde stayed on the level, she would too. But if Yang got violent, she'd do much the same.
"Aren't you brash." Cinder quipped.
Yang tensed a little, "I didn't come here to play games."
"Then try again."
"Fine," Yang thought of a more suitable question, "How long?"
Cinder obliged, "Last October, I'm pretty sure you recall Ruby going to the mall to 'buy something'?"
"Yeah, it was for you, right?"
The small talk was already grinding on Cinder's nerves, "Look if we're going to get anywhere, then let's not do a summary."
"Fine," Yang rolled her eyes, that was basically how she wanted this to be to begin with. She picked a better question this time, "What's with your past?"
For a split second, Cinder looked crestfallen. It almost shamed her. Never really sure when the deep wounds would heal, she wasn't going to go through all of this again, "To keep it short; my brother died when I was young and my 'parents' never wanted me to begin with. I was simply an accessory so my brother wouldn't be alone as he grew up."
"Were you close? Your brother, I mean."
The raven-haired girl sighed, "Close is an understatement. He was the only one who actually cared about me. When he passed, my parents didn't want me anymore. Two years later; I wound up in a boarding school for supposed 'bad kids'."
The blonde could tell by the dullness in Cinder's eyes, that there was more to this story than what she spoke. Things to painful to say, "I'm... sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. I'm not a fan of the word 'sorry'. Things got really... fucked up after that."
Yang felt the need to be a little more gentle, "What happened?"
"I... believed I really was bad. I'm sure you've heard of the 'Delinquent'? But, that doesn't matter. This isn't about that."
"What is it then?"
"Your sister. She-"
Yang cocked a smile, feeling on solid ground, "I know."
"I wish I could've met this Summer woman, she must've been pretty great from what Ruby's told me. Sad to hear your family lost her."
"Thanks, but..." Yang reminisced for a moment, "I should be thanking you. You're the only person who got Ruby to start talking about Summer again."
Cinder glanced at her lap for a moment, "I did... Didn't I?"
"You mean a lot to her, y'know. I guess that's one of the reasons I got so... inhospitable. I just couldn't trust you." The blonde admitted, she saw a warmth in Cinder's eyes at the mentioning of how much she means to Ruby.
Cinder thought it over, she wasn't going to lie, her first 'example' she set at Signal was really the type to infuse trust. Maybe if her incident with Weiss on the first day didn't happen; things might be different, "You had every right not to trust me, Yang. I didn't exactly do the right thing on day one."
"So... why Ruby? Her of all people?"
"Well..." At this point, she could give a thousand reasons as to why, but from a beginning standpoint, Cinder only had one, "She was interesting. I've met girls like her before, but they'd simply act like the others and keep their distance. Or spread rumors. But Ruby... she had just as much interest in me, as I had in her. As sappy as that sounds."
If there was any tension left in the air, it made itself unknown. Yang was actually thralled to be talking like this, "You've changed her. Helped her discover who she is."
"Hm," the ebony-haired girl tutted, "She means a lot to me. The reason I was so aggressive towards you, was because you were trying to end that."
Yang went solemn, "I'm sorry about that, and uh, your nose too."
"Things heal," Cinder's expression twisted to the same glare from the beginning, "Still, if you try that again, you'll get the same response."
"Is that a threat?"
"Maybe. If you're willing to keep things on the level, then no. It's... you, or anyone, don't understand how much she means to me. If she's what I get in the end; then getting punched in the nose by you is more than worth it." Cinder spoke sternly. Not taking an eye off of Yang.
The blonde chuckled, "Again, sorry about that. That's one form of commitment I guess."
"Not trying to be rude Blondie, but this isn't about me earning your 'blessing' if that's what you're after." Cinder spat.
"I didn't say I am. I don't want to BFF's, I just want what's best for Ruby."
"So do I."
Cinder began to feel like she was signing a peace treaty. In truth she didn't want was was best for just Ruby, she wanted it for everyone. To be able to talk, share, and do things normal people do, "I'll be honest, I'm glad things went this way instead of the easy route."
"What do you mean?"
"If you were nice in the beginning and flat-out trusted me, none of this would've even happened. I see it as a good thing, we can connect on basis most people can't. You, me, Ruby, Weiss, everyone. If I wouldn't have attacked Weiss a month ago, Ruby probably wouldn't have confessed, and the story of my past would still be something I kept bottled up inside."
"And I wouldn't have learned how to be a better sister..."
Cinder nodded, "It's been messed up, but hasn't it been somewhat worth it?"
The blonde couldn't believe she actually wanted to agree. Sometimes the hard road is a better way to learn than the easy one. Cinder's pain made Ruby care more, and allowed them to connect on a deeper level. For Yang, she got a lesson she should've learned a while ago. To learn to adapt. You can still be cautious, but be open as well.
"I can't believe I'm agreeing with you twice. But yeah... it's just crazy."
"Just like we are?" For the first time during their conversation, Cinder cracked a legitimate smile.
"Yeah," Yang laughed a little, "Just like we are."
"You know..."
Cinder tilted her head, "What?"
"This was... actually... a good thing too."
"Oh please, don't make this all sappy Yang." Cinder giggled.
"From what Ruby just told me before I came here, I'd say you're the Queen of sappy." Yang went to laugh, but ceased to do so upon seeing the odd look on Cinder's face.
"You... talked to her? The silence between you two was really tearing her up..."
"We did, yeah."
Cinder grinned, "Thank you. It was bothering her. A lot. Yang don't ever think that you're not important in her life. She means the world to you too."
"She told me. I guess all of this made it hard to realize that."
"Like I said, we're all just crazy."
"You bet." Yang spoke her last sentence before deciding it was the right time to excuse herself. Cinder got the message and got up first, meeting the blonde at the door. For her, it seemed like another piece had fallen into place. She respected Yang for coming over here and talking, as she was sure the blonde would be too stubborn to anything related to this place.
"I guess I should thank you too. Ruby's a lot happier because of you."
"I do what I can. I love her."
They shared one last glance before Yang grabbed the door handle and slipped outside -stepping by Mercury on her way.
Cinder didn't even allow him to come back in. She merely closed the door and plunked back down onto the couch, reveling at what just happened.
"Thanks Em."
A/N Well there's 20. The original draft of this chapter was too long and drawn out, so I redid it this way. How was it? I feel like I've lost some of my edge with this fic so I took things a little differently here. Plus, I still have zero confidence in my writing, lol. Thanks for the support everyone, I'll be seeing you all soon I hope.