It was a terrible habit, but it was her habit, passed down by the Branwen line. Alcoholism was not the vice that it was for her uncle, or her mother. Still, it was her escape, and even though she didn't spend the entirety of her life blasted, there were some das she wanted to. There were some days she did, and this day was going to be one of them. Even Blake could see it as she sat by Yang's side. A support and a willing voice of reason when she knew that soon, her girlfriend would not be.
It didn't make her happy to see Yang so lost, so confused, not to mention hurt. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do, so she resigned herself to sipping on a glass of juice, maintaining a clear head for the both of them.
Yang swigged deeply from the glass in her hand. Desperately, she tried to wrap her head around it all. Questions came to mind she didn't really want answers for. Then again, not having them seemed like a worse evil. Conflicted, and with a buzz to loosen her tongue, she found the strength within to do the right thing. Likely the stupid thing too, but she could clean up the damage later.
"So, Oobleck, huh…" She voiced slowly. "Didn't see that one coming."
Glynda nodded as she leaned back in the plush chair of her own office. "Trust me, I know. I didn't either, but, it's not the strangest thing I've seen in my time."
"But I mean…come on…he's like…" Yang wasn't sure. She had been drinking way too much, but that was the point. "There's no way…"
"Oh, don't be fooled by conjecture. I assure you, I saw more evidence of it than I would like." Glynda murmured, the blush on her face obviously that of her own tolerance to the booze, or the clear lack of it. "Although, I haven't been prying nearly as much as I should be. I know for a fact they shared sexual relations. What that implies, however, remains to be seen."
"Ruby's way younger than him though." Yang bristled. Her gut turned at the thought. "I've been with older guys before, but, holy hell."
"The age difference is quite pronounced, yes." Glynda agreed thoughtfully. "You're right that she's younger, but, she's an adult. It is her choice...and his, I suppose. Well, it's certainly not any of our business."
"I'd beg to differ on that. How could he let this happen?" Blake asked. "He should have told her no. He shouldn't be taking advantage of her."
"I…I said something close to that to him. I think now, I was wrong to say such a thing." Glynda sighed as she set her empty glass down, refilling both hers and Yang's with the open bottle that rested on the table. "Bartholomew is a gentle soul, a kind one. He is not the sort to shove his views onto others. Truth be told, perhaps because of his somewhat reclusive nature when it comes to social situations, he is easier to influence."
"Elaborate." Blake invited, seeing Yang's eyes gloss over at the implications.
"He is older than you, yes, but his youth among the seasoned hunters of Beacon's staff weighs heavily on him." Glynda replied, offering her musings aloud. "Perhaps in that way, Ruby is something of a kindred spirit."
"Yeah, about that, Ruby…she uh, made a pass at you." Yang said foggily. "Would you have…I mean, if she…" Yang shook her head. "Fuck, I can't even say it. I don't even want to think it."
"Would I have slept with her?" Glynda pondered aloud.
"Yeah, that."
"If she needed me, yes, I would have. She was not so far gone as to not realize what she was doing…" Glynda replied, still feeling the ghost of Ruby's lips pressing upon her own. "I wouldn't have minded, so long as it was left entirely at the physical level. Something I doubt Ruby would be capable of under normal circumstances."
"You got that right." Yang groused.
While Ruby was clearly inexperienced, it was not entirely unpleasant to have kissed her. There was something crisp and refreshing about Ruby's touch. Something Ozpin lacked as a lover. Glynda supposed that's what made the difference between a soul who had never truly experienced romantic love, and a soul like Ozpin's that had loved too many, and lost too much.
Glynda frowned at that, a little sad to make the connection. They were both, in their own ways, passionate people. The divide of age, gender, and outlook, fell flat under the thing that was so common about them both. "Ruby put a distance between us the moment she realized what was happening. I believe the thought of trusting me in such a state frightened her. She obviously wanted nothing to do with the idea. It was a relief to me, honestly."
"But, then she goes off and…with Oobleck." Yang crinkled her nose, and gave Glynda a long look. "Have they been a thing for a while?"
"Not to my knowledge."
"God damn, what's Ruby thinking?" Yang sighed.
"Never mind her." Blake protested. "There's a power dynamic here that I find questionable. What she's thinking, or even if she isn't thinking at all, isn't the primary issue. The question at hand that I have is this; if she is being influenced by whatever she fell into, can she even reasonably give consent to even having sex at all? If she was under the influence of anything else the answer would clearly be no."
"A valid point, and I believe in this case, you have to accept the moral grey area for what it is. Ruby Rose does have some agency, some clarity of thought." Glynda told Blake. "You must understand, Grimm Pools can cause some erratic emotions. Grimm do not have souls like we do. She's made it clear, she doesn't want anyone else to touch her in such a way, only him. I think that alone is enough to indicate clear and rational action on her behalf."
"And as for Oobleck?" Blake asked.
Glynda closed her eyes and sighed. "As for Oobleck…I cannot speak for him, but, being a huntress is a very lonely thing. I'm sure you can both understand that. Do you really think it's any different for a man? Do you really believe Bartholomew is only capable of being a huntsman? That he could only ever be teacher of Beacon, and that he cannot also desire something else in his life?"
"A dude can be a dude all he likes. I'd just kinda rather it not be my sister…" Yang grumbled.
"I doubt he wanted it that way either, Ms. Xiao Long." Glynda trailed off then, guilt clawing at her gut. "I doubt he wanted to think of her as a lover, but as this continues, I think he finds it hard not to open his heart up to her. Her personality is the sort that attracts him, she's earnest, gentle when she's able to be that way. Just like her mother, and I'd be lying if I said that I never noticed the feelings he often locked away in regards to that."
"Shit…" Yang grumbled.
Glynda mentally mirrored the sentiment. She should have kept a better eye on these girls, Ruby particularly. Yet even Yang Xiao Long had lacked a strong female influence in her life. Somewhat bitterly, Glynda felt partially to blame. She hadn't at least attempted to guide them better when they were still very young. She should have. "We've known you both since you were infants. You, particularly Yang, have a history in these walls. Raven gave birth to you right here on campus. The first two months of your life, you lived in Beacon before she graduated."
"Dad never told me that…"
"I suspect there is a great deal he doesn't. They were young, still children themselves, really. Oobleck was a teacher's assistant back then, shadowing Professor Port. That team was perhaps more troublesome than your own youthful endeavors...and that's saying something." Glynda lifted her eyes to Blake knowingly, and then over to Yang. "In any case, your family's history twists so deeply with our own, that it's hard to explain all of the ways Oobleck could feel guilty for even befriending Ruby at this point."
"How so?"
"It's hard to explain the details, but it goes back to before you were even born. Youthful idiocy had a great deal to do with it. Summer Rose and your own mother were different people then, too. To make matters worse, the pregnancy was difficult for Raven. It made her ill, her aura and semblance suffered for it. Furthermore, she struggled with the idea of keeping you, even then."
"Not very surprising." Yang groused.
"You might think me cold for saying this, but I urged her not to keep you. Due to her age, and personality, I personally thought she should carry you to term, and then put you up for adoption. She wanted to as well, but Tai refused. He fought all of us. Summer and Qrow insisted they would make things work and Raven trusted them." Glynda bit on her tongue, cutting the formality. "She tried, Yang. Perhaps not well, and perhaps to ultimately fail as I suspected she would…but she did try….furthermore, as much as you praise Summer, you don't recall her misgiving."
"Misgivings?" Yang parroted, confused.
Glynda shrugged, she wasn't about to speak ill of the dead. Still, a hard and true fact was plain and simple. She could elaborate a tiny bit. "Summer Rose wasn't the adult woman and successful huntress you knew her to be as you grew up. You were just a baby, Ruby wasn't even born yet. Summer was a student then, along with the rest of her team. For different reasons, Summer was just as unreliable as Raven at first...there were times, we as a faculty, had to step in and help them take care of you."
"Screw all of that, I don't care about that stuff right now. Tell me this…" Yang said as she awkwardly leaned forward to grab her glass and swig out of it, only to have Blake slipping it front her hands a moment later, cutting her off. "Do you think he'll take care of her?"
"I believe he will try." Glynda said, though it was clear that she wasn't completely sure of that, either. "I think that's truly all he can do…that any of us can do, at this point."
"Fine then, come on Blake. Let's piss off and come back in the morning." Yang said, pushing herself up from her chair only to fall over onto the floor.
"Yang!" Blake chastised as she went to go pick up her drunk lover off of the floor, inspecting her for any damages.
"Some things never change." Glynda murmured. "Take this, it's a key for the room across from Ruby's. I'd feel better about this whole thing if her family stayed nearby."
"Wait, you're not going to leave me here to deal with this, are you?" Blake refuted as she tried to grasp hold of the key, and not lose her grip on Yang. "Where are you going?"
"Today has been a very dark, difficult, day. We all have places we need to be, you have yours, and I have mine." Glynda told her. "I hope you understand."