AYangThang: Sorry these following chapters took some time to fix. They were written after several drinks had been consumed into the night, and needed a bit of cleanup….okay, a crap ton of clean up, but still.

Ruby clung to his comforts, his ideology steadfast in the wake of everything she had come to question. Both about herself and the profession she had chosen. Perhaps it was the wrong thing to do, it was very questionable indeed. She couldn't defend her actions on the basis of unsound logics and madness. She couldn't call it an emotional divergence, either. If someone were to ask her if she loved this man, the answer would unquestionably be, no, she didn't.

She didn't love him, but she did respect him.

Her mind shoved aside the implication of judgement that would surely be handed to her. There was no excuse, she wouldn't make one, even if riding him into oblivion made for little more than moment of silence for the buzzing in her mind. The self-doubt trying to drown her had to be released somehow. She was a young huntress though, too green to really put into perspective everything that was going on with her feelings on the matter, complicated as they were.

Even just watching him peel away the condom in the aftermath twisted a sickening realization in her gut.

The understanding clutched at her. He was, in fact, a much older man. Truth be told, although Bartholomew didn't look it, he was slightly older than her father. There was a power difference shared between them, and she was, at least in some way, still his subordinate.

He was young by a faculty standard, sure, but as a member of Beacon's staff, he was also a prodigy among his peers. This realization was made worse when Ruby stopped to remember that Beacon was not like other combat schools. It was among one the towering giants of power and authority within the kingdom.

Bartholomew Oobleck was among those standing in authority. Ruby might have been a hunter also employed by Beacon, but she didn't have the experience, credentials, or even the desire to stand on his level. She didn't want the sort of heavy handed obligation that came with being in the limelight. It wasn't only the people of Vale that looked upon Beacon after all. No, all of the kingdom's had their eye on the members there, and though Ruby was an authority among her own peers, she would never stand among the greatness that was Beacon Academy's faculty.

Truth be told, she didn't want to stand among them, either.

So, knowing all of that, and then watching him clean himself up, was upsetting. She didn't want to become a mother this early in her life, and that was a fact. She didn't want to risk her place as a huntress for the idea of romance either, and that was true too. Looking at him though, watching as he slid on his underwear over his softening member, she was conflicted.

She couldn't stop herself from being so.

Why would he allow her such a carnal release, when it was obvious that he had no intention of seeking something more romantic for the cause? The question was an unsettling one, but it all bubbled into one very simple, and yet burdensome word.

"Why?" It leaked out of her mouth before she could stop it, weakness and shame settling over her voice.

Oobleck frowned at this, his back turned to her as he resumed getting dressed. He had always admired her inquisitive nature, fed her questions with zeal, because he knew she genuinely absorbed any and all information he would offer. Yet, this time, her questions were ones he dreaded. He bit his lip as he toyed quickly with his response. Feeling as though he could not afford her anything beyond the bodily comfort of raw sex that exuded from their time spent behind closed doors.

After all, what they shared certainly wasn't lovemaking.

"Why not?" He murmured back. "Don't tell me you've begun to criticize the matter now, in the aftermath." Cruel, perhaps, but not unkind. He had to draw the line in the sand someplace. Glynda had been right about that. "You're an attractive young woman, Ruby. Any man in his right mind would be a fool to turn you away." He continued to get dressed, hating himself for his own words, but it was too late to erase them now. "I would suggest you keep that in mind when you go around offering your body, as you do."

Ruby shook her head. "No, it's not that."

"Then what is it?" Oobleck asked, cursing himself as he did so. He shouldn't have asked. Should have left the room, and given her a cold, hard lesson about the dependability of men in the profession. He owed it to her, to teach the girl why it wasn't a good idea to give into such vices…but something kept him there, glued him to his place.

"You came back…"

This made him turn to face her.

"You didn't have to help me again." Ruby told him, as she looked up into his eyes. "You didn't need to, but, you did." She shrugged as she pulled her legs up and put her arms around herself. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around that."

"And how do you know I'm not just being selfish?"

"You're not that kind of guy…" She said honestly.

Truthfully, he was relieved she believed that. He did try to be a good person, desires and human condition be damned. He always put his job first, looked after those he cared for and trusted, protected the population at large. He wanted to be seen as the sort of person deserving of respect. Even so, he pushed the compliment back. "How do you know I'm not just after your body?"

"Are you really going there?" Ruby asked, obviously confused. "With me of all people? Come on, this is Beacon. If you wanted someone for their body, there are easier people. There are some girls that are way better looking than me. There's no way you could be that hard up." She smirked then, almost darkly. "We're hunters."

He sighed deeply at that line. "So we are."

"And you are not like some of the people I've come across." Ruby continued, looking back down at the sheets. "I won't say that I don't make an easy target…or that we should keep doing this…but, I won't say I want to stop, either. I like what we've done…it might not mean anything huge or life changing, but, isn't that a good thing? Isn't that normal?"

Oobleck sighed. For hunters it was. It was the way of life almost every hunter would come to understand. "Ruby…"

"Maybe I should have saved my body for love…maybe I shouldn't be having sex with you." Ruby said to him softly. "I don't think there's room in my life for the normal kinds of justification, either. If being with you makes me feel just a little more human…a little more normal…then I think that's enough of a reason. I don't know if that's a good rationality or not, but that's what I've been thinking…"

The road could do terrible things to the mind, body, and soul. It could empty a person of empathy, and turn them into a vagabond no less deranged than the Grimm they swore to slay. Even her own father, loving as a man as he was, was not remiss for his actions. Her own life, and Yang's for that matter, were proof enough of the lifestyle that a hunter would be destined to lead. All of her father's old team remained as an echo of that destiny.

There was no solace in ideology alone.

Oobleck knew it, too. "What do you want me to do?" He sighed tiredly.

"I don't know…so, do whatever you want, I guess." Ruby said, her voice wavering. "I just…don't want to be alone."

He was torn in that instant, her despondency being what it was, striking a deep chord in him. He made his way back over to the edge of the bed and sat there, taking her hand in his own. The small gesture was all he could manage as Glynda's words echoed in his head.