Hello there! I'm back with another chapter, but this one probably goes the farther off canon of anything I've written so far. But for some reason, this idea wouldn't leave me alone, so...yeah. Apologies for how crazy this chapter really is compared to canon. Also, long note at the bottom of this chapter, mostly some musings but some important information about the future of my writing that some may be interested in. Since its long, thats why its at the end, just in case you don't really care. :D Also, this fic is going to M, because although I haven't gone to smut level, it's getting a bit racy at times.
Disclaimer-I don't own Ruby.
Yang and Blake had finally settled on a date. Three months out, in the late spring. Most of the planning had been accomplished with little to no fuss, unless you count the explosive cake tasting, the argument over tuna, the fight over who got which girls as bridesmaids (the girls were very glad when that was over...Ruby still was sad over her favorite shirt being ripped by that), or that time with the lingerie and Yang and Blake forgetting where they were at...but either way, everyone was happy that time was over. Of course none of the fights were true fights, the black and yellow pair were still too hyped up to be angry with each other, but considering the power that they held in their hands, the estate had not survived entirely intact. (Sandy made enough that he could have, had he so chosen, retired already simply from that time frame alone.)
But with everything settled down, the hunters of the Schnee Estate began to go back to their normal lives. Which for Ruby, meant hunting. Ruby had left on a weeklong hunt, tracking down some Beowulf packs in Vacuo. With Blake and Yang still having far too much wedding jitters to think straight, and her wife busy with an acquisition, Ruby went alone, confident in her abilities. Which was why, when she returned, seemingly perfectly healthy and in high spirits (if a bit nervous), no one thought anything of it.
"Ruby? Sweetie? Are you down here?" Weiss called, knocking on the door to the workshop. The loud metallic clangs as her knuckles rapped on the door. Ruby had only been back a day, but had already holed herself up in her workshop. Weiss, not that she would ever admit it out loud, was feeling a little abandoned after not seeing her wife for a week. Hearing a strange yelp, followed by a loud crash, Weiss frowned for a moment before Ruby's voice called out.
"Weiss? I'll be out in just a moment!" Weiss sighed, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Ruby, I can just come in you know. It's not like I haven't seen the workshop before."
"No no, I'll come to you! Just a sec!" A loud clatter sounded, of metal ringing on metal, making Weiss twitch as the sound rang in her ears. For a split second Weiss could swear she heard a small bark, but she knew Zwei was upstairs somewhere so she had to be hearing things. Ruby whispered something to herself, followed by a quick flurry of noise that Weiss recognized as the telltale sounds of Ruby's semblance. Rolling her eyes, Weiss crossed her arms over her chest.
The door to the workshop clicked open and slid to the side, revealing a slightly flustered Ruby, her face red as she panted slightly. A few beads of sweat rolled down her face as she grinned at Weiss, cocking her head to the side. "Hey Weiss! Whatcha doing down here?"
Weiss raised an eyebrow at Ruby. "I can't come visit my wife when I get home from work?"
Ruby chuckled nervously, running her hand through her hair as she looked away shiftily. "O-Of course you can! I just was wondering if there was a special reason is all!"
"Ruby, what are you hiding from me?" Weiss' blunt tone threw Ruby for a loop, making the younger woman gape for a second before shaking her head.
"I'm not hiding anything!"
Weiss gave Ruby a disbelieving look, one elegant eyebrow arched as she stared at her wife. Ruby froze for a brief moment, before a sly smile crossed her face. Weiss' eyebrow twitched, a bit curious as to what that smile meant. A flurry of rose petals appeared before her face, making her snort indelicately as she brushed the petals away, attempting to glare at Ruby but finding herself unable to. Weiss' jaw dropped at the sight of Ruby, stripped down to her lacy underwear, the only other item of clothing her slowly moving cloak over her shoulder. The red fabric kept slowly moving back and forth, occasionally blocking Weiss' view of Ruby's tanned skin and lean muscles etched into her form. Weiss' brain shut down entirely, expression dumbfounded, as Ruby smirked at her and slowly placed her hand beneath Weiss' jaw.
"Since you're home, and no one else is down here…maybe we should christen the workshop?"
Weiss gulped, shaking her head to try to clear the fog Ruby's long, limber legs had put into it. "W-We can't! Anyone could come down her at any time!"
Ruby slowly slide closer, wrapping her arms carefully around Weiss, still smirking as she breathed into her ear. "Well that's why I have an override code to lock the door, silly."
Weiss shook slightly in Ruby's arms, trying to breathe through her mouth to avoid breathing in the rosy scent of her wife. "R-Ruby! We can't! This isn't proper!"
The purr in Ruby's voice made Weiss weak in her knees, as Ruby gently nipped at her neck. "Screw being proper. Let's have some fun." Ruby solved the problem by yanking Weiss into the workshop, smirking at her wife as she slammed her hand on the close button, making the door slide shut behind the two women.
Sun yawned widely, stretching his arms above his head as he wandered sleepily through the halls. Sun was a very light sleeper, and often woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty. He was walking down to the kitchen of the Schnee estate for his three AM cup of tea to help him get back to sleep, eyes half open as he trudged along. Neptune slept like a log, nearly incapable of being awoken by anything short of an explosion, so Sun didn't feel too bad leaving his boyfriend behind in the bed.
As he slowly went down the stairs, too tired to execute his normal rail slides or flips off the upper floors, his eyes noted the light spilling out from the kitchen doorway. Someone else was awake? Rubbing his fists in his eyes to clear the sleep from them, his sensitive ears caught the murmur of Ruby's distinct voice, along with a small yipping noise. 'Ah, it's just Ruby and Zwei…wait…there's no scent?' Sun blinked, confused as he sniffed the air again. For some reason, although he clearly heard the scrabble of claws, he couldn't pick up any scent. Sun shook his head, determinedly marching towards the doorway, not bothering to be quiet. It was just Ruby anyways.
"Hey Red, whatcha doing up so late?" Sun quipped as he neared the doorway, chuckling to himself as Ruby yelped, not unlike Zwei, as she appeared in the door of the kitchen in a flurry of petals.
"Oh, hey Sun!" Ruby casually waved one hand at him, the other behind her back as she smiled widely at him. "Just was getting a quick snack! And now back to my lovely wife!"
Before Sun could react, a strong gust of wind nearly spun him around as Ruby dashed past him, up the stairs, and disappearing down the halls. Sun shook his head, blinking rapidly. He muffled another yawn beneath his hand as he glanced in the direction Ruby had disappeared, seeing the telltale trail of rose petals leading up the stairs and down the second floor hallway to the North wing. Sun cocked his head, humming to himself as he realized that Ruby and Weiss' room was in the South wing on the fourth floor. Narrowing his eyes, he contemplated following the trail, but the dryness of his throat and the fact he managed to run headfirst into the doorframe while letting his mind wander made him set that notion aside. He'd figure it out eventually. For now, his tea, his bed, and his boyfriend awaited.
Fox slowly ran his finger over the smooth glass rod before him, carefully getting a mental measurement before taking a piece of tape from next to the rod and placing it at the exact halfway point. Reaching to his left, he lifted up the small metal tube and set it perpendicular to his worktable. Running his hand over the top of the tube, he located the six equidistant holes ringing a set of three inner and one center one. Lifting up the rod, he carefully lowered it into the center hole until he felt the edge of the tape meet the edge of the hole. Holding it in place with one hand, he quickly felt around the tube for a small screw, quickly twisting it to lock the rod in place. Smiling to himself, he reached out for the next rod when he heard a rustle from behind him, where he knew Ruby's worktable was. Picking up on the not so subtle scent of roses, Fox let his smooth voice roll out.
"What's up, Ruby?"
Ruby shrugged, before mentally slapping herself as she reminded herself once more that though Fox didn't seem blind in the slightest, he was. "Not much, just wondering what you're working on. It looks neat!"
Fox snorted, not pausing as he began placing another glass rod. "You know Ruby, I'm not a Faunus. But I do have an enhanced sense of hearing and scent. You know that, right?"
"Yeah?" Ruby glanced at Fox, confused.
"So the next time you and your wife wanna fuck on the equipment, could you possibly spray some air freshener afterwards?"
Sage, studying some schematics at his desk, burst into laughter, nearly falling out of his chair as Ruby went as red as her namesake, eyes wide, sputtering uncontrollably. Fox continued in a deadpan tone, addressing his next comment to Sage. "I'm assuming she's blushing?"
"Y-yeah!" Sage managed to choke out, before he was cut off by his own laughter again. Wiping tears from his eyes and taking a deep breath, he giggled. "She looks like a damned tomato!"
"I'll assume that comparison means something," Fox drawled. He long ago got over his blindness, and he supposed it was something of a compliment that he was so skilled his friends completely forgot he was blind. It was a bit refreshing…none of them ever pitied him, they simply treated him as another person. It was the main reason he'd chosen to live with them all. That and the fact they let him play with explosives at will now. Coco had a strict rule in the dorms, ever since that tiny incident with the whipped cream and exploding pies, he wasn't allowed to do anything involving explosives. Realizing he had let his mind wander, he placed the last rod, tightening the screw as he continued in a deadpan tone. "As for what this is…it's a device to attempt to detect large quantities of pheromones and Aura in the ambient atmosphere. In other words, it's a warning device to warn that people either fucked recently or are about ten seconds away from tearing each other's clothes off. I feel like this building is a minefield anymore."
Smirking, he listened as Ruby continued to sputter, chuckling to himself. Spinning about in his chair, he fixed his eyes on the general location he knew Ruby to be at. Leaning back in his chair, he arched an eyebrow. "And what are you up to?"
Sage interrupted before Ruby could reply, panting slightly as he tried to get his breath under control. "She's making some kinda collar for Zwei I guess. It's got all this weird shit on it though. No clue what it's supposed to do."
"It's a tracking collar! You know, he wanders off a lot…" Ruby trailed off, her voice slightly quavering nervously.
Fox narrowed his unseeing eyes in her direction, before shrugging. "Ok Rubes. Whatever you say."
"Hey, Pyrrha?" Yang asked, leaning over the back of the couch Pyrrha was currently sitting on.
Pyrrha lifted her eyes up from her book to look at Yang. "Yes?"
Yang grinned widely, eyes flashing red for a brief moment. "Wanna go workout?" Pyrrha's slow smile spread across her face, nodding in response. Yang did a fist-pump, happy that Pyrrha had been available. The only other person who would even bother trying Yang's punishing workout regimen more than once had been Pyrrha, who also was the only person who could keep up with Yang during it. Yang had at one point managed to get everyone to try it, but only Pyrrha was ever willing to keep doing it. The two bonded more during their workout sessions than at any other time, readily talking about whatever came to mind as they spotted each other. And well, Yang wasn't going to lie, Pyrrha certainly wasn't bad to look at. But Pyrrha gave as good as she got, sending the same casual flirts right back at Yang. Neither Blake nor Jaune ever minded, they knew it was all in good fun, plus it wasn't like they disagreed with any of the comments made.
A commotion from down the hallway grabbed their attention, as they heard a loud bark from Zwei followed by a low growl. Zwei came tearing down the hallway, barking all the way, his short stubby legs moving overtime as he sped into the room. Leaping up, he bounded onto the arm of the couch, bouncing off it again and landing in Pyrrha's startled lap, before leaping again to clear the other arm. Pyrrha's attention was completely on Zwei's strange behavior, so she only turned back to look the other direction when Yang shouted in shock.
A tiny Beowulf was dashing towards them, barely bigger than Zwei, with a mask that strangely was far more red than white. Red eyes glowing, it barked just like Zwei, following his exact path and leaping onto the couch, landing in Pyrrha's lap. Before either she or Yang could react, it leapt off single-mindedly, ignoring the two huntresses entirely. It shorted its leap, tripping over the edge of the couch, landing mask first on the ground and letting out a pitiful yelp.
Frozen in shock, the two huntresses could only stare at the grounded miniature Beowulf, before their eyes lifted to see Zwei dashing back into the room, skidding to a halt next to the tiny Grimm. Panting, Zwei cocked his head at the Beowulf, nudging it with his cold nose. The little Grimm patted Zwei on the nose, getting back to its feet, suddenly dropping to all fours and running back the way it had come. Zwei barked happily and began chasing after it, his claws scrabbling for purchase on the hardwood floor for a moment. As Zwei slid, he ran into an end table, knocking a vase full of brightly colored flowers off, before getting his footing and dashing back after the Beowulf.
As the sounds of the two chasing each other faded, Pyrrha and Yang slowly turned to lock eyes, jaws agape and blinking, unable to process. The sounds of frantically running feet hit their ears, as Weiss came skidding into the room from another door, looking around desperately. Spotting Yang and Pyrrha, she dashed over, panting.
"Have you two seen some weird mini Beowulf?" Her frantic tone and wide, frightened eyes broke the two out of the spell they were under.
"Yes! It just ran off with Zwei! They were…playing?" Yang questioned, glancing at Pyrrha for confirmation, the amazon nodding. Weiss bent over slightly, taking a deep breath as she rested her palms on her side, before straightening up.
"Help me catch that thing! I don't know how it got in here, but we have to stop it! It chewed my favorite heels!" The rage in her voice as she spoke of the heels made Yang and Pyrrha lean back slightly, before nodding agreement frantically when Weiss looked back at them.
Weiss, Pyrrha, and Yang tore down the hallways, listening for telltale sounds of barks or yips. Pyrrha slid into the main foyer, eyes locking onto the target, seeing the little Beowulf…playing with a ball? Pyrrha blinked, before pulling out Milo and taking quick aim. She fired off a shot, the loud crack of the bullet from her rifle echoing through the house. Bullets being fired inside the main area of the estate was unusual, as most of the roughhousing with guns did occur either in the workshop, firing range, or outdoors. The bullet sped towards the unsuspecting Grimm just as Weiss and Yang entered the room, hitting him dead on with Pyrrha's impeccable aim. But the three were stunned into silence when a brief flare of light happened as it hit before the bullet was deflected entirely.
"What?! That was Aura! Grimm don't have Aura!" Weiss shrieked, the shrill sound making Pyrrha, Yang, and the little Grimm cover their ears in pain. The little Beowulf saw the three of them standing there and cocked its head at them, before its eyes flashed slightly. It suddenly leapt up, bounding towards them on all four, its tongue lolling out as it sped across the floor incredibly fast. It locked eyes with Weiss and barked as it ran, making Weiss immediately draw Myrtenaster and begin to take her ready position. Holding her blade before her to defend from the incoming attack, she was stunned when the little Grimm slid to a stop at her feet, plopping its behind on the ground and looking up at her calmly.
Yang bent down, slowly extending her finger towards the little Grimm, keeping her Aura concentrated just in case. The Grimm didn't move at all as her hand approached, just casually sat, panting slightly. Just as Yang touched the cool mask on its head, it suddenly yipped, making Yang leap back as it jumped to its hind feet and…hugged Weiss' leg?!
The three stood stock still, Weiss' eye twitching, as the little Grimm began to nuzzle Weiss' leg, letting out a little bark before it let go and dashed back to its ball. The three huntresses stared as it casually picked up the ball in its two front paws and tottered over to them, before dropping it at their feet and dropping to all fours again, hind end wriggling as it kept its eyes locked on the ball.
Before the trio could react, a blur of red appeared in front of them, scooping up the tiny Grimm. The little Beowulf yipped happily, clambering onto Ruby's shoulders and sitting on them, licking her cheek. Ruby looked at the trio, smiling sheepishly. Weiss' eye twitched once more, but she seemed so in shock she couldn't articulate anything but a choking noise, so Yang did it for her.
"Ruby! What…the…fuck!?" Yang exclaimed, hands in the air. Pyrrha just slammed her palm into her forehead, looking skyward with a 'why me' expression.
Ruby giggled nervously, looking down at the ground as she scuffed her foot. "Well…I cleared out that Beowulf pack on my last mission, and then I heard a weird crying noise, so I went looking, and…well…he was there! And he was so little, and he wasn't being mean, and he just looked up at me and I'd just killed his mommy so I felt bad and-"
"Grimm don't have mommies! Or daddies! They are Grimm!" Weiss exclaimed, finally able to speak through her utter disbelief.
"Well how else do you explain Drei?!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing at the Grimm that was now snoring gently on her shoulder.
"You…named it?" Pyrrha asked, disbelief dripping from her voice.
"Of course I did! Anyways, you're not letting me finish my story! So, I was looking at him, and confused cause I've never seen such a tiny Beowulf, when its eyes went all glowy! Next thing I knew, it latched onto my leg and hugged me, and suddenly its mask went from the normal white to the way it is now, all red! And he has an Aura somehow! He also doesn't seem to need to eat…it's weird. But he and Zwei are best friends now too! Isn't he cute?" Ruby yanked the slumbering Grimm off her shoulder, holding it up before the trio with her hands under its arms, nearly shoving him in Weiss' face.
Weiss stared down at the tiny Beowulf, stone-faced, sweat slightly rolling down her face as she stared at its peacefully slumbering face. Her jaw twitched slightly as it shuffled in its sleep, grumbling a tiny bit. When it opened its mouth and let out a large, sleepy yawn, Weiss broke.
"Argh! Why is this thing so cute?!" Weiss ranted, before reaching out and cooing at it as she pet the smooth mask. It wriggled in Ruby's arms, opening its eyes, before yipping happily, reaching out for Weiss. Weiss' jaw dropped, locking eyes with Ruby, the red-head shrugging happily before handing him over to Weiss. Immediately, Drei latched onto Weiss and hugged her, nuzzling into her coat. Weiss sighed, unable to be angry, but she locked eyes with Ruby. "Ruby, it's a Grimm."
"But he's so cute!"
Weiss' eye twitched again, before letting out a long suffering sigh. "Let's call Doctor Oobleck and talk to him about this. Maybe he knows something we don't."
"Fascinating! Wonderful! Simply incredible! I always wondered if I would get a chance to see an example of bonding in action! This is stupendous!" The green-haired man, still an esteemed professor at Beacon, ranted as he marched around wildly before his scroll, arms flailing in the air as he expressed his excitement. The four women rolled their eyes as one, well used to his antics, but not patient enough to wait.
"Bonding?" Weiss asked, trying to keep him on task.
Oobleck coughed, before returning to the scroll. "Yes, yes, of course. My apologies Mrs. Schnee. Bonding, also sometimes called imprinting, is an unusual set of circumstances where a young Beowulf or Ursa will latch onto a hunter. They will actually connect their existence to the hunter's Aura, which also means they have an Aura. You must not think of it as a drain, however. Strangely, it has been shown to improve a hunter's aura strength! Also, they gain many personality traits of the hunter themselves."
Yang leaned over and nudged Weiss. "That explains why he wants to snuggle you so much, eh?" Weiss glared at Yang, shoving her off as she and Ruby blushed, Drei still nestled in Weiss' arms.
Weiss sighed, turning her attention back to the screen. "So, is it dangerous?"
Oobleck shook his head rapidly, waving his hand dismissively. "No. In the past, the only danger came from the fact that Grimm do not die of natural causes, so they remain young and playful for many years. Since he has latched onto Mrs. Rose, the only thing that will be an issue will be as he grows, he will remain as hyper as she does. The only time they seem to die is when the hunter they have attached themselves to does."
Weiss sighed, worried that was going to be his response. Glancing down at the slumbering Grimm, and then back at Ruby's wide eyed stare, she rolled her eyes heavenward. Yang chuckled behind her hand, already knowing where this was going as she nudged Pyrrha, the amazon sighing heavily. Weiss sighed again, letting her head fall as she muttered to Ruby "Ok, you can keep him."
Ok, so...I'm really starting to get into writing nowadays. But its difficult to find time for it with my job, and also the fact I've been getting into doing videos for my guild in Neverwinter. But at the same time, I want to branch out a bit from RWBY. I was to re-write the awful Teen Titans fanfic I did long ago, I've got ideas for a Korrasami fic from Legend of Korra, and tons other of my favorite ships from all over I'd like to write for. But the problem is, of course, doing that would delay chapters on fics such as this one, which I don't particularly want to do to the readers who really like this work. I also want to novelize my recent DnD campaign that my group just finished in a FANTASTIC fashion, a truly epic tale from the lowest level to the highest, culminating in a battle for the fate of the entire world. I'd love to write it up, but thats another huge undertaking.
So I guess this is more of a warning that its possible things may get delayed slightly, as I start branching out into other works I'm really thinking of writing. I do apologize if this comes to pass, as I don't know for sure if it will, but just in case, sorry if it delays this a bit. But thank you all so much for reading, and I hope I can continue to write for you guys and you enjoy it. Thanks again! :D