*White text appeared on the screen.
IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME
The text scattered into the same black and red petals.
As far as team leaders went, Blake figures Yang Xiao Long is one of the better ones.*
"Yang as leader?!" Weiss cried out, before placing a hand over her face, "Someone kill me now."
Nora tried her best to contain her laughter.
"Is it because Yang would put puns as a mandatory lesson?" Jaune jokingly asked.
"No, actually," Weiss groaned, "It's because it seems I never stood a chance at becoming team leader."
Nora didn't bother, as both she and Ruby started laughing.
*There had been drama when Ozpin put her in charge; the Schnee, unsurprisingly, thought Yang wasn't qualified and the honour should go to her. Yang, to her credit, only agreed with the former, and had tried to convince headmaster Ozpin to name Blake or Ilia instead.*
"Well," Weiss commented, "I'll admit, while I wasn't happy, I could certainly say, looking back now, that I would've been…much stricter."
"And," Ren added, "With Ilia on the team, I feel like that would've been a time bomb waiting to go off."
*Nothing came of it, of course, and thus Blake is left to unravel the mystery of her partner and leader of team YIBW. (Pronounced rainbow, somehow.)*
"Rainbow!" Nora cried out with laughter.
"Really?" Yang deadpanned. "Oz, I know you can hear me, was that really the best you could've come up with?"
*She's loud, usually, boisterous and excitable, but it often feels… not faked, exactly, but forced. Like it's the only way she knew how to exist, even when it perhaps wasn't entirely honest.*
The mood instantly went down.
"Right," Ilia commented, "Your leader is, well, dead."
"I think it's worse for Yang than you think," Qrow retorted, "Yang, you said that you and Ruby had an argument that day?"
Ruby and Yang nodded.
"Which means that, from your perspective, the last impression you gave your sister was one of anger."
Yang solemnly nodded when she felt something wrap around her shoulder opposite to Ruby. She saw that Ruby had leaned over and gripped her sister's shoulder. Yang used her free arm to reciprocate the hug. You never want the last words of someone you care about to be that of anger.
*Some days, Yang goes quiet, quieter than even Blake, and all attempts to ascertain why are met with silence and a tired stare. She's always back to normal the very next day.
The first time Blake gleans anything about her partner's past, she has much bigger things to worry about.
Ilia, who only really left the White Fang to follow Blake, hears they're working with Torchwick, with a human, and when she runs Blake hesitates too long to follow.*
"Well," Ren states, "That answers why Ilia is at Beacon."
"I must've joined the Vale branch of the Fang with you and Adam."
"Seems like it," Blake responded, "And when I ran, you went after me, and either I convinced you to truly leave them, or you stayed to try to convince me to come back."
"It would also appear that Ilia is the one to run off to learn about the White Fang's activity in Vale, rather than Blake."
Weiss was about to agree with Penny's statement, when she realized, "Wait, how do you know about that?"
"Ruby told me."
"Of course she did. I simply assumed that you were helping Ruby out of the goodness of your heart, rather than actually knowing about the situation."
"Oh, I did help because it was the right thing to do, though."
Ruby giggled in response.
*She wishes she had, to make sure Ilia was safe and to see for herself what the Fang were doing, but also because you don't have to deal with Weiss Schnee while investigating a civil rights group gone violent.
"Unbelievable!" Weiss screeches, like any of this is about her. She's pacing around the room, and Blake can practically see the steam rising from her ears.
"We're gonna go look for her," Yang says, and normally she's the kind of leader who makes sure to get her team's opinion but this time she's grabbing a coat before she's finished speaking.
"Seriously? You expect us to go start a search party for that, that terrorist?" Weiss's eyes flicker to Blake, or more accurately to her ears. "Look, Blake, I don't know how involved you were with Ilia before Beacon, but surely—"
Whatever it is Weiss was going to say, Yang cuts her off. "We're not abandoning her out there. I don't know the White Fang very well, but I don't trust them to play nice with her. We can't abandon her to fight alone, not like... We can't abandon her."
"You can't really—"
Yang's voice is the roar of a lion, something primal and angry and so goddamn loud. "I said we're not fucking abandoning her!"*
Everyone was caught off guard by on screen Yang's yell. Blake flinched her ears down in an attempt to cover them, such was the intensity of it.
"Holy crap," Qrow muttered, "Ruby, has Yang ever been that angry?"
Ruby was slowly shaking her head.
"Usually," Yang stated coldly, a little unnerved by herself, "If I'm ever that angry, it's in the middle of a fight, and I'm more focused on punching rather than yelling. I…I don't think I've ever been that angry outside of a fight."
*Weiss flinches back like she's been struck and Blake expects a similarly furious response, but instead Weiss says nothing. She grabs a jacket, and when she puts it on she looks twice as small, like she's folded into herself.*
"Okay, leader Yang is kinda a badass if she can make Weiss fold like that." Nora commented. Ilia had a smirk, seeing a Schnee fold like a house of cards. Ironwood and Winter were both impressed at Yang's determination, but also understood why Yang didn't want to 'abandon' anyone. Ruby herself rubbed the back of her head. It took a full blown argument to coax Weiss into coming with them to look for Blake. Yang just simply yelled at her loudly, and it worked.
"Maybe I should try something like that more often." Ruby muttered to herself, barely audible, except for-
"Nah," Yang whispered, "You're too nice to yell like that."
Ruby's cheeks reddened with embarrassment, though she didn't know if it was because she was heard, or because Yang is right.
*(They do find Ilia, just in the nick of time. Afterwards, Weiss apologizes to Blake and Ilia, and Yang apologizes to Weiss, and Ilia apologizes to everyone, and Blake can't help but wonder what exactly set Yang off so badly.)*
*Yang's always had her quiet days, days when she retreats into herself and refuses to come out, but Blake doesn't think she's ever seen her partner this bad before.
"Yang," she pleads, "Class starts in five minutes. You're going to be late, and you know how fast Oobleck goes through class material."
Her only response is a grunt from the lump under Yang's covers, which does little besides confirm she's still alive.*
Qrow slightly winced, "Yeah, I know that mood."
Yang nodded, but Ruby was confused. "What?"
"Your old man would do that on the anniversary of Summer's final mission. Just completely shut down. Seems like today is the day Cinder…well, you know."
"Dad still does that, even today." Yang added.
"But I've never seen him do that?" Ruby replied.
"That's because they got shorter," Yang retorted, "Before, it would last for hours. Last time I saw him, it only lasted for around an hour, and he'd always drop it when he saw either you or me nearby."
*"Yang, please, if you get dressed quickly we can get there on time, just please get out of bed."
"Go without me," Yang says, quieter than Blake's ever heard her say a single word. "Don't worry about me. Just go to class." Blake worries her lip, takes a glance at the clock, and weighs her options. She doesn't want to abandon Yang, obviously, but she's been here for half an hour and her partner hasn't moved an inch, and Oobleck does speed through class material…
"You're sure?" Blake asks, and when Yang nods she promises, "If you're not feeling better by lunch, I'll get you something from the cafeteria."
If Yang hears her, she certainly doesn't say anything.
Weiss and Ilia are concerned, obviously, and only slightly appeased by her promise to bring Yang lunch. Yang isn't feeling any better by then, given that she's still in bed, but she must have had enough energy to get up and close the curtains.
"I brought you a sandwich," Blake says. This, it seems, is what finally convinces Yang to arise from her sheets.
She looks like shit.
She's been crying, obviously, her eyes more red than when she's using her semblance. Her hair, the hair she treasures more than anything else, is a mess of knots and tangles.*
The sisters held each other close, knowing what was about to happen.
"Man," Jaune muttered, "Feels like we're intruding on a private moment, and I just want to look the other way."
*Often, Blake finds their dorm feels cramped, the four beds leaving little in the way of walking space, but now it feels far too empty. They eat in silence, for a while, sat on Yang's bed as Blake tries to figure out how to question her partner about what's got her too depressed to go to class.
Yang, beautiful and smart and better with people than Blake has ever been, answers before Blake can humiliate herself by asking.*
Yang's cheeks briefly turned pink hearing Blake's thoughts that she was beautiful. Unseen by all, Nora was fuming.
'Brothers DAMNIT, even in alternate timelines, those two can't just kiss!'
*"It's an anniversary," Yang says. "It's been a year since my little sister died, now."*
"And that confirms that timeline." Ironwood declares, turning to the sisters and Qrow, "You all have my sympathies."
"Thanks, James," Qrow placed a hand on both his nieces, "Just glad we dodged a bullet."
*"Oh, Yang, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. You didn't do anything."
They sit in silence after that, Blake's awkward energy splashing helplessly against the rocks of Yang's grief. She wants to help, to say something, but doesn't know what she could possibly do to make this better.
"What was her name?" Blake finally asks, with a "If you don't mind me asking, I mean," hastily thrown in.
Yang stays silent, for long enough that Blake's not sure if she's upset with her or just didn't hear. Eventually, Yang whispers, "Ruby. Ruby Rose."*
Both Blake and Weiss looked at each other. None of them could imagine what they'd turn out to be if it wasn't for Ruby. Same as Penny and Jaune.
*"She was just a kid." Yang swallows, shoulders shaking, and Blake doesn't need to be a genius to tell she's fighting back tears. "We had a fight. A stupid fight. I'd been going out to Vale, looking for trouble. She thought it was reckless, said I was gonna get hurt or arrested. I yelled at her. Stormed off. Came back that night ready to apologize, but Dad was the only one there and he was asking where she was. He would have gone out to look for her, but he thought she was with me... She went to visit Mom, we think. Mom's grave. She'd been there dozens, hundreds of times, and we assumed she could take care of herself. It was only Beowolves, out in that forest."
Yang's voice shakes. Stray tears fall from her lilac eyes. "She was tough, real tough. Best freshman Signal had ever seen." There's a hint of pride in Yang's voice, there, but it fades as she continues, "But Patch is a pretty small place, Grimm can sense negative emotion from across the island and I had just— I said I'd protect her, promised I'd always keep her safe, but now she's dead and it's all my—"
Slowly, Blake lays a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder. Yang freezes at the contact, for a second, and before Blake can wonder if she's messed up Yang's got her arms wrapped around her in a vice grip, her shaking head pressed into Blake's chest.
She sobs hard enough to make Blake's whole body shake.*
Frankly, Yang was wondering if there'd be a moment in this movie that she'd be willing to let go of her little sister. Judging by how Ruby's grip on her had tightened, she doubted it.
"Yang," she says, "It's not your fault."
"I know that, Rubes, but other me doesn't. For all we know, all they found was your weapon, or maybe a torn up cloak."
*They stay like that for a while, Blake giving Yang a shoulder to cry on, before reality sets back in. "Classes are going to start soon," Blake says. "Do you think you're good enough to go?"
Yang shakes her head, and so Blake gingerly makes her way out of their dorm.
Weiss and Ilia corner her when she returns to the cafeteria, and she tries to deflect but they won't have it.
"Her little sister passed away a year ago," Blake eventually admits, and regrets the words as they're leaving her tongue. "Today's the anniversary."
They both understand. Ilia, who remembers how the grief of her parents death had consumed her, winces and sucks air in through her teeth, while Weiss, who rarely talked about her family but always said mother or father as cold as ice but sister with warmth and a smile, freezes with her mouth in an 'O' shape.
"Fuck, that's rough," Ilia says. "Is... do you think there's anything we can do to help?"
Blake shakes her head. "Just give her space, I think."
Yang's feeling better when they get back from classes, good enough to do some studying with them in the library. Immediately, Blake abandons any hope that Yang won't realize she told the others; Weiss and Ilia are walking on eggshells, and Yang catches most of the worried glances Blake throws her way.
She expects Yang to be angry with her, furious even, for spilling something so personal. But instead, when she corners Blake it's to give a hint of a smile and wrap her arms around her.
It's confounding at first, but after some thought Blake feels like she understands her partner just a bit more. She gets what it's like, having things you would kill to have people understand but rather die than explain.*
"You were unintentionally wise there, Miss Belladonna," Ironwood declares, "Sometimes people do need help, but their pride, or something else, prevents them from asking for it. You telling Miss Schnee and Ilia was the right move."
"Um, thanks, Sir."
"Ilia didn't say anything, unsure how to respond. While she wasn't part of the White Fang anymore, she still didn't like Atlas.
*As thanks for organizing the Vytal dance in their stead, team CFVY surreptitiously gifts team YIBW a bottle of Vacuan wine. Yang, ever the responsible leader, announces they'll be downing the thing that night as a little private afterparty.*
"Oh, boy." Qrow chuckles, while Yang was getting a blush.
"Ooooo," Nora declares, "We're about to get some drunken mishaps."
"Yaaaang," Ruby warned, "You better not-"
"Hey, you stopped us from doing that, Sis. Not this time. Although," Yang looked up, "Hey, Screen Guy, there's not going to anything…explicit, will there?"
When there was no response, Yang's blush deeped.
"Will there?!"
"He did say," Pietro answered, "That he'd 'see us on the other side'. Perhaps he's unable to respond to us while the 'movie' is playing."
"Shut up," Nora cried out, "I want to see this."
*Weiss, after some uncomfortable shuffling, announces she has to help clean up the dance hall, and flees the dorm before they can question her.
Ilia takes a swig of wine, grimaces, and ambles out after her partner.
"Guess someone didn't want to be a third wheel," Yang says with a wink. "All the more for the rest of us." She takes a sip, straight from the bottle, and gags. "Oooh, yeah, this stuff is strong."
Blake motions for her to pass it over, and has a taste. It's certainly strong, fruity with an aftertaste that's vaguely spicy. Blake's no expert, but she's pretty sure there's a reason only Vacuo makes wine like this.*
Qrow chuckled, "You don't really drink it for the flavor."
"Then what's the point?!" Ruby cried out.
"Mainly to dull the senses."
*They sit on Yang's bed and talk, passing the bottle between them. Often, Blake finds their dorm feels cramped, the four beds leaving little in the way of walking space, but now it feels cozy.
Conversation meanders from the past, ("Did I ever tell you how Ilia and I met?") through the present, ("If we killed Cardin, you think we could get away with it?") and into the future, ("Any chance Jaune ever realizes Pyrrha's into him?") an activity that eventually, in the pleasant buzz of being not quite drunk, turns into swapping secrets.*
At the mention of Cardin, JNR chuckled, though it went dead silent at Pyrrha. Jaune was such an idiot, how it seemed like everyone but him knew that Pyrrha had a crush on him. Nora and Ren wished they could've pushed either of them a little harder, and maybe they could've gotten together. Even if Pyrrha still died, at least she'd have happy memories being Jaune's girlfriend before then.
*"Your turn," Yang says, holding the bottle out to her. Their fingers brush when Blake takes it, and she feels sparks run up her arm and down her spine.*
And, just like that, angry smoke came out of Nora's ears.
"Are you alright, friend Nora?" Penny asked.
"Just fine." Nora growled the words out through clenched teeth. Ilia, who already has a crush on Blake, was near fumming, though she didn't know if it was jealousy at Yang, or anger at Blake for once again not noticing someone in love with her. Only saving grace was that Screen Yang seemed just as clueless.
As for said girls, they just blushed madly.
*"It's way lighter than it used to be," Blake says, hoping to distract Yang.
Yang snorts. "Yeah, that's what happens when you, when you drink it."
Blake giggles, and absentmindedly wonders if they should maybe leave some for their teammates instead of finishing it off by themselves. The wine flicks the thought from her head.
"My turn, then?" She pauses to think for a moment. She has an idea. She reconsiders. She takes a long sip of wine and reconsiders her reconsideration.
"I mish my parents," she says, words slurred, "but I'm afraid to go back to them. Dunno what I could posi— pozi— possimb— what I could say. Guess I'm just scared."*
"And we've reached that point," Winter groaned, hand on face, "I'm glad you left before you reached that point, Weiss."
"I don't know," Qrow snarked, "I kinda want to see what a happy drunk Schnee would look like." He was aware of the Schnee matriarch's drinking habit, but he could also recognize that it was likely sorrow drinking, rather than party drinking.
*Yang puts her hands behind her head and leans back before responding. "Whoof, that sucks. They know you're like... alive, right?" Her lilac eyes are clearer than they've been all night when she asks, and Blake stares just a moment too long.
But she brings herself to nod. "Yeah. They think I'm still with the Fang, I'm pretty sure."
Yang furrows her brow. Blake stares, in an effort to distract herself from her eyes. She's never noticed Yang's eyebrows before, but they're so... eyebrowy. After several seconds, Yang says, "Could you maybe, like, send them a letter or something? So you won't have to see them, but they'll know you're safe and not doing... terroristy stuff."
That's... not a bad idea, actually. A coward's compromise, sure, but if it means not having to look them in the eyes when they ask why she thought running off with Adam was a good idea…*
Both Yang and Blake visibly wilted at the mention of Adam.
"Don't worry," Jaune comforted, "We'll be in Atlas, so it's unlikely that Adam will get through them."
Ironwood agreed, "With our security systems, it's-"
"It," Yang interrupted, "...He'll never be a problem anymore."
Were it coming from anyone else, Qrow and Ruby would've guessed that it was to mean that they put it behind them. But, coming from Yang…
*"I'll think about it," she says, and it's not even a lie. She stifles a yawn, badly, her failure dragging one out of Yang as well.*
"Yang," Ruby said, "What happened?"
"Me and Blake were going to tell you guys once we got to Atlas, but…"
"Adam's…dead." Blake finished. The response was immediate, as everyone was shocked.
"How do you know that?" Ren exclaimed.
*"How about you? Anything else you wanna share before we fall asleep?" She offers Yang the bottle.*
"He was the one who attacked me back at Argus's comm tower."
"That guy was STILL after you?!" Ilia cried out. Blake nodded.
"We faced him at a waterfall and…" Yang hesitated, but soon felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't need to say more, Firecracker." Qrow calmly stated.
"He just wouldn't leave us alone."
"Yang, you don't need to say anymore. I get it."
*Yang grabs it, a pensive expression on her face. She takes a swig, and sways as she pulls the bottle from her lips.*
There was a moment of silence, before Jaune spoke up.
"This movie isn't going to stop, so we might as well keep watching."
*"Sorry if this is too fucked up," she says, pauses, takes another, longer gulp of wine, and continues, "I'm— a part of me's pissed off that Ruby died. Not even sad, really, just angry."
Blake tilts her head. "I don't think it's that weird, to be mad someone you love died. If you were just mad, maybe, but I've seen you, you know... I know you cared about her."
It's a good response to a heavy topic, Blake thinks, but Yang's shaking her head before she's finished.
"No, not like that," Yang says.*
Ruby and Yang leaned forward, very interested in what Screen Yang meant.
*"I mean more like... I spent so much of my life looking out for her, you know? After Mom died, Dad wasn't all there, mentally, and Uncle Qrow only came home when he was too drunk or hurt or both to go on missions, so it was my job to look after Ruby. And I did! I studied hard so I could answer every question she had about homework. I walked her to school every day, even when I started going to Signal. Mom was always the one who packed us lunches and after she died Dad could never remember to, so I'd stay up late every night making sure Ruby had something to eat. I'm not even sure she knew it was me. She always went to bed before me, and I never wanted to tell her that Dad... I wasn't sure how she'd take it.
"And after all of that, every night I stayed up late and every morning I got up early, everything I did to make sure she didn't grow up alone in some fucked up home with no one to look after her, I look away for one evening and that's it. She's gone. And I'm sad, obviously, I'm so fucking sad, but after a while I'm just sitting there and I've got this sick fucking feeling in my gut that I've been cheated. That all that effort was for nothing. That everything I did for her, every night I read her to sleep and every bully I beat up, was all just a waste of time. That I spent my life looking after her and all I have to show for it is a grave. That I shouldn't have bothered."*
Ruby blinked, and didn't even realize she was crying. She didn't even get to turn her head to Yang before both siblings got into a hug. No words were said between them. How could there be? Screen Yang pretty much summarized what Yang would've said, and Ruby didn't know how to feel. She always knew that Yang ended up raising her, but hearing it, even from an alternate timeline version, still was a lot to take in.
No one else wanted to say anything, not willing to break up the moment between the two.
*Blake opens her mouth to express sympathy, reassurance, something like that, but the half-bottle of wine in her stomach speaks for her and it says, "That's dumb."*
Nora let out a laugh, not intending to. "Way to break the mood, Blakey!"
*Yang gawks at her, and Blake takes the seconds before her notoriously temperamental partner comes to her senses to explain herself. "I mean, just because she's gone doesn't mean what you did was meaningless. It doesn't do much now, obviously, but you didn't waste your time. Everything you did made her happier, made her life better. It may be in the past, to you, but to Ruby it was her entire life. Even if she's gone now, she lived every single day knowing she was loved, knowing you cared for her. Every single day, for fourteen years! You made sure she lived a good life, from beginning to end, and, I don't know. I think that's worth it. Sometimes that's all you can do."*
"Ever consider being a therapist, Miss Belladonna?" Pietro kindly offered.
"No thanks, Mr. Polendina. I doubt I'd make a good one. Considering that I'm currently drunk, I don't want to consider the implication."
Ilia snorted while Qrow smirked.
*Yang sniffles. There's tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Her voice shakes as she says, "That's— thanks, Blake."
Blake moves to hug her, but the movement makes the whole room spin nastily. She succeeds in clinging onto Yang, dragging her partner down with her, and she thinks Yang starts crying for real then; thinks being the important word here. If she's being honest, she doesn't remember much after that. She can't have done much, though, because when she wakes up the next morning they're in the same position, her wrapped around Yang and Yang wrapped around her, the two of them laying in Yang's bed.*
Yang's 'big sis' instincts started to kick in and, besides having possibly the biggest blush in her life, matching Blake's, she is still able to cover Ruby's eyes.
"Winter," Penny innocently says, "Why are you covering my eyes?"
*They still have their clothes on, she notes with silent thanks. Not out of a fear of violation, or anything, but because Ilia and Weiss returned while they were sleeping and Blake does have some sense of decency.
(They finished the wine, at some point in the night. Weiss certainly doesn't mind, but poor Ilia does.)*
*Far too soon, their first semester is over and the time has come for their practical exam. Normally, all the first-year teams would be going on supervised missions over the course of the exam week, but due to the shortage of professors in Vale (Blake wasn't entirely clear why, but it apparently had to do with much of Signal's teaching core all retiring last year) Ozpin had elected to extend the exam period to two weeks and rotate the professors they had.
For team YIBW, this means they have a week off before their mission. With no classes and half the student body gone, most students used the opportunity to go back home and visit their families for a relaxing week before their first missions as Huntresses in training.
"I'm staying here," Ilia says, and no one bothers asking why. Weiss winces a little, small enough that Blake only notices because she's already looking at Weiss tap her feet and drum her fingers against her leg.
"I'm staying as well," Blake says. "I doubt I could make the trip home and get back in time for the exam."*
"Really?" Jaune exclaimed, "A flight to Menagerie can't take that long."
"It doesn't," Ironwood replies, "However, since Menagerie isn't considered an official kingdom, commercial flights don't go there. She'd either have to take a private flight, or take a commercial to the nearest port city, then a ship there."
Most flinched at how Menagerie wasn't a kingdom but, considering that the White Fang had a public presence on the island until recently, it only made sense.
*Ilia raises an eyebrow, judgement in her eyes, and Blake can't help but wilt a little. Yeah, like that's the only reason she's avoiding going back to Menagerie.
Weiss lets out a deep breath, and Blake can't help but notice her slender shoulders relax a fraction. "If we're all staying," Weiss says, "I suppose I have no choice but to remain here as well. It wouldn't do for a Schnee to abandon her teammates right before their first mission."*
Yang chuckled, "Right, like that's the biggest reason you don't want to go, Miss My Dad is an Asshole."
Neither Weiss nor Winter commented on that.
*"I'm going back to Patch," Yang says, casually wrecking any hope of team YIBW enjoying a week off together. "I'll miss you guys, but I've gotta take the opportunity to see my dad."
Blake understands; Yang loves her dad, loves him like she takes the love she should have for Raven and Summer and Ruby and gives it to him. She loves him like she loves her family and he's all the family she has left, him and her uncle Qrow.
"I'll miss you too," Blake says, laying her hand on Yang's arm. "Promise me you won't get into trouble without us?"*
"That's like Weiss promising to be laid back and casual."
"Nora!"
"It's the truuuth."
*"Of course," Yang says, a grin making its way to her face. "I, Yang Xiao Long, hereby solemnly swear that I won't get into any fights, adventures, or even hijinks without you."
Blake snorts, and takes the time to bask; in the moment, in Yang's smile, in the audible gagging sounds Ilia is making only a few feet away from them. Okay, so maybe she isn't basking in that last one so much as she is doing her very best to try and ignore it, but the point stands. At least she isn't literally turning green any more.
Weiss, already back to fidgeting, says, "Then it seems I'll have to stay here to make sure these two don't get themselves wrapped up in any more criminal conspiracies."
It's a paper-thin excuse, but no one feels like calling her out on it. Aside from the fact that none of them actually want her to leave for the week, they find themselves in the unfortunate situation of caring about her too much to want her back in Atlas with her father.
"What she means to say," Ilia says, "is we'll miss you too. Make sure you're back in time, alright?"
Yang pauses, tilting her head as if to consider something, before saying, "Actually... what if you guys came to Patch with me?"*
"Shame we didn't get to do that during our time at Beacon," Yang said, turning to Weiss, "You could've met Zwei so much sooner."
Weiss did her damned hardest not to burst into a smile.
*That would be... that would be nice, Blake thinks. Certainly better than the three of them staying in a desolate Beacon for the week. On the other hand…
"I don't want to impose on your father," Blake says. "Wouldn't he mind a bunch of teenagers showing up out of the blue?"
Yang shakes her head without a second thought, much less a first one. "Are you kidding? He'd love to meet my team!" Her smile turns downwards just a fraction, and her voice loses some of its enthusiasm as she says, "And I think he'd appreciate having people in the house again. He's never been the only one living in it before."
Well, that's enough for Blake. "If he isn't bothered, then I'd love to. Ilia, Weiss?"
Ilia shrugs, and says, "It probably beats lazing around Beacon by ourselves, so why not? Should at least be interesting."
Weiss' shoulders drop, tension flowing out of them, and she doesn't even bother hemming or hawing before she says, "I'll be happy to accompany you all."
Then it's settled; before their mission, team YIBW will spend the week at Patch.
Blake can only hope Mr. Xiao Long likes them.*
*The Xiao Long household is covered in dust.*
Anyone related to Taiyang flinched.
"Yikes," Qrow muttered, "Saw that comin'."
"Yeah," Ruby added, "With Cinder…" she gulped, "Killing me, dad probably went into an even deeper depression than when mom died."
"No kidding. All the more reason why I'm glad we dodged that bullet."
"You already said that, Uncle."
"Well it BEARS repeating, Yang."
*Some parts aren't, of course; yesterday's newspaper is laying on the coffee table, a bowl is sitting in the sink, there's a pizza box stuffed into a garbage can that can't fit it. It's not like the house is devoid of life, but whole rooms are dusty, like no one's stepped foot in them for months.
It's not like she meant to explore; but after introductions and conversation had been made, while Yang and Mr. Xiao Long (or Tai, as he insisted they call him,) spoke in hushed tones of things not meant for her ears, she had no choice but to go elsewhere.
Which is how she found herself in the basement, dank and musty and so full of dust that every step makes her choke.
It's full of boxes, mostly cardboard, that Blake won't open, out of some sort of respect for her hosts' privacy, but some things they didn't bother to pack. Mostly pictures— some of four adults, or four adults and a baby, or three adults and two kids, or two teens and two men, and if Blake put them in order she swears she could see the smiles fading— but there's no pictures of just Yang and her dad and her uncle. Blake figures those pictures are upstairs, on drawers and walls, having replaced all the ones down here.
It feels voyeuristic to stare, but a part of Blake appreciates having faces to put to the names Qrow, Summer, Raven, and Ruby.
Maybe, if life had been kinder to their family, she wouldn't have been able to figure out who's who based on when they disappeared from the family photos. (Or, in Qrow's case, when he started holding his flask in family photos.)
Putting down a picture of Yang, Ruby, and their father, Blake can't help but wonder if her parents have removed the pictures with her in them, if keeping them around hurts too much.*
"Oh, HELL no!" Yang yelled, "Dad, drunk, one time asked me if we should remove Summer from the family pictures. Again, he was drunk, and I could get his reasoning. It's what they did with Raven after she ran away."
"But this was different," Qrow added, "Raven only ran away, while Summer died. And, here, same with Ruby."
"If dad even tried to remove Ruby, I'd probably punch him out the front door, and keep him out until he came to his senses."
Ruby couldn't help but giggle at the image, dark as the context was.
*She's not sure which she prefers. Once they're done with their mission, Blake decides, she's going to write that letter Yang had suggested.
Aside from pictures, there's a few knickknacks laying about, chairs pushed into corners, as well as something hanging from the wall. It's sharp, jagged, and gleams like metal, and it takes Blake a few seconds to realize she's looking at a scythe, painted red and covered with dust.*
"That's…that's all you found of me, wasn't it?"
"Probably, kiddo. Either Cinder didn't see any value in it, or she left it there to taunt us."
*Blake reaches out, but catches herself before she can run her hand over it. The craftsmanship is impeccable, sure but if looking at old family pictures was voyeuristic, touching Ruby's weapon— and it had to be Ruby's weapon— would be downright disrespectful.
Shame washing over her, Blake retreats back upstairs, where everyone else is discussing where they'll all be sleeping.
"So who wants to sleep on the floor?" Mr. Xiao Long says. "Yang and I have bedrooms, obviously, but we've only got the one couch..."
Blake can think of a solution, though just imagining it sends a wave of heat up through her face and makes her ears burn. Maybe if it were just the four of them, she'd suggest it, but in front of Yang's dad? Never.
"Dibs is a barbaric concept and I will not engage in it," Weiss says from her seat on the sofa. "But I believe 'first come first served' is a common philosophy?"*
Winter looked at the screen like she just saw the most bizarre thing in her life, while most of the others chuckled at Screen Weiss.
"Can we trade Schnees, because I think I like this one more."
Weiss looked horrified, "Blake Belladonna!"
Said Faunus merely smirked while Ilia was laughing.
Yang smiled, "Maybe Ilia would've unwound our dear ice queen."
Ilia blinked owlishly, unable to process the idea that she would have any impact on a Schnee's personality.
*Ilia rolls her eyes, and opens her mouth to complain but Yang speaks up before she gets the chance. "Actually... What about my old room? It's got room for two."
Mr. Xiao Long purses his lips. "You're sure?"
Yang nods. "It's got... memories, yeah, but I'm a big girl. Besides, what kind of leader would I be if I made my teammates sleep on the floor?"
"Guess Blake and I will be in your old room then," Ilia says. "Y'know, since Weiss already called dibs on the couch."*
"No take backsies." Jaune exclaimed, while Weiss looked at everyone, who was simply smirking.
"I hate all of you."
*Weiss squawks indignantly, and they all laugh as she tries in vain to rescind her claim now that actual beds are available.
A part of Blake is disappointed she'll have no excuse to share a bed with Yang, as she had earlier dared imagine. The rest of her knows it's for the best. As... enticing as the prospect of cuddling up to Yang for the night is, the knowledge that her father and their teammates would be separated from them by only a few inches of wood serves as a bucket of ice-cold water.
Instead, she'll be spending the night in Yang's childhood bed, which is a whole different kind of awkward.*
Said girls cheeks once again reddened, but said nothing. Qrow merely face palmed at the obviousness, even if it's a different timeline.
*By the time they all tuck in for the night, it's at least an hour past when Blake usually falls asleep, and that's accounting for whatever book she finds herself reading that night. Poor Weiss, who has the sleep schedule of an elementary schooler, or perhaps an elderly woman, is dead on her feet by the time they finish eating, talking, and playing what feels like every single board game in the house. She had spent the latter half of their games "on a team" with Ilia, which was really just an excuse to doze off on her teammate's shoulder, much to Tai's amusement.
If Blake ever had any questions about how Yang turned out the way she did, meeting her father would answer every last one of them.
"This is where you two will be sleeping," Yang says to Blake and Ilia, keeping her voice quiet in respect to the pervasive silence of night and also her teammate passed out on the couch. "It's my old room, but I haven't slept there since... I haven't slept there in a while."
She opens the door, and Blake can see why. Even with the lights dim, she can make out the nicks and scratches covering what little furniture there is. The decorations, sparse, only covering a single side of the room.
The two beds, one ever so slightly smaller than the other.
Blake can't help but wonder why Yang insisted on coming back here, when the entire house is one big monument to all she's lost. A game console she's never played by herself. The yard where she and her sister ran around and sparred. All the spots they used for hide and seek— the table, the cupboard, and somehow the chimney. Blake doesn't even have to think about what she would do, were she in Yang's shoes.*
Yang snorted, which drew Ruby's attention.
"Yang?"
"Sorry, Rubes. Just thinking back to those days."
"Did you seriously hide in the chimney?" Ren questioned, to which Ruby happily nodded.
"Yep. My sis is probably the only person on Remnant who would think to do that?"
*"Guess that's it for tonight," Yang says, leaning against the doorway. "See you in the morning?"
Before Blake can decide against it, she leans in and presses her lips against Yang's cheek for just a moment. "See you in the morning," she says, and gently closes the door before Ilia (whose grimace could be conveying exasperation or disgust but who is likely feeling both) can slam it in Yang's face.*
"FINALLY!" Nora cried out, though Yang and Blake were too petrified to respond. Ilia herself was matching her Screen self's expression
"I feel like I should state," Penny exclaims, "That, as this is an alternate timeline, we should not govern ourselves to the relationships of other people. They are not the people we are, and don't have the connections that we have."
In short, don't base your relationships off of alternate timelines, because those relationships are not your relationships.
Nora merely crossed her arms in indignation, while Yang and Blake silently thanked Penny, though…They looked to each other, and the thought did cross their minds. Something to talk about once they get back. Ruby, meanwhile, only had one thought in her head.
'I could have a second sister!'
*"I'd tell you two to get a room," Ilia says, "Except I don't actually want that. Especially not when I'm gonna be stuck in the house with you. My eyes are already traumatized beyond help, no need to do the same to my ears."
Blake wishes she could empathize with her childhood friend, especially given their... complicated history, but, well, "That's as chaste as it gets, Ilia. If this is too much for your poor maiden heart, I regret to inform you it's only going to get worse."
Ilia protests, of course, but it's playful banter between two old friends, much unlike when they had first had that conversation. As painful and awkward as that situation had been, Blake couldn't help but be glad it had happened. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her easy friendship with Ilia until she had it back.
As Blake lays in the bed she's pretty sure Yang grew up in, she can't help but marvel at how well their stay at the Xiao Long house is going. Ilia warmed up to Taiyang quicker than she warmed up to most people, much less humans. Weiss's attempts to impress her leader's father (not to mention a strong and respected Huntsman in his own right) seemed to amuse him rather than annoy, and he had hardly cast more than a raised eyebrow Blake's way.
That had been more due to the grip Yang had on her hand at the time, Blake was pretty sure.
She had expected Yang's childhood home to be imposing, full of grief and history best left uncovered, but (with exception of the basement) she had found it to be warm and welcoming. A part of her had been worried her team would leave the building cramped, with not enough space for anyone to be comfortable, least of all their host. Instead, it's the opposite. Having seen it, Blake isn't surprised. It's a big house, far too big for just Yang and her dad, much less Mr. Xiao Long on his own.
It's the perfect size for five people.*
Yang smirked, "That's the Xiao Long/Rose household for ya!"
Ruby narrowed her eyes, "Rose/Xiao Long, Yang."
Yang merely got her sister's head into an arm lock, "Whatever you say, baby sister."
Everyone returned to the screen as Ruby tried to pry herself out of the arm lock. Thank god they were on couches, otherwise the two would've fallen onto the floor by now.
*The day before their flight back to Beacon and subsequent mission, Yang takes the team to visit her family's personal graveyard.*
"Ah, shit," Qrow mumbled, "Back to a sour mood."
*It doesn't feel right to call the place a graveyard— there's only two graves, and not a single body is buried— but Blake doesn't know what else to call it.
Summer Rose's grave is beautiful, a small little thing on the edge of a cliff. Perilously close to danger, but forever enjoying the view. A line is engraved beneath her emblem and name, and Blake remembers reading it in an old book of poetry; thus kindly I scatter.
Ruby Rose's grave is nearly identical to her mothers, a stump of stone with her name and emblem, but there's no quote. Only the words gone too soon. It makes sense, Blake thinks. Summer would have gone into hundreds of missions knowing each one would be her last, but what kind of kid makes plans for if they die? What kind of parent plans to bury their child?*
Ruby's breathing quickened, only softened by Yang once again wrapping her sister in a hug.
"Yang-" Ruby whispered.
"Don't." She knew what Ruby was likely going to say, and she didn't want to hear it.
"A simple soul. That's what I want."
"And it's not going to happen."
Ruby teared up. It wasn't something Yang could truly promise, not with the odds they're against, but she'd let her sister have this moment.
*Summer's grave is in the middle of the cliff, perfectly symmetrical, but Ruby's is tucked to the side like a child hiding behind their parent's legs. It doesn't fit. Looking at it, it's all Blake can do not to cry, thinking over and over goddammit Belladonna, not now, you can't start crying before Yang does, not at her own family's grave.
"Summer always loved the view," Yang said, voice cracking, like she could either hold back tears or speak and yet had accepted the incredible task of doing both at once. "I remember her taking us here when we were little. But Ruby didn't care for it. Thought it was dumb. She'd come here at sunset, with a sight some people would kill for, and she'd never once look at the forest below. Just spend the whole time looking at— looking at mom, and talking."*
"An interesting perspective, Ruby," Penny exclaims, "Any particular reason?"
"Well, why would I need to see a sunrise when the best thing for me to see was right in front of me."
Qrow and Yang had the biggest smiles on their faces, despite the situation on screen.
*The dams break, finally, and Blake has never been more grateful for anything in her life. Yang's already got an arm around her shoulder,both of them heaving up and down, and she doesn't react as Blake wraps her arms around and presses her face into Yang's side.
"When she, when she died," Yang wheezes out through tears, "I wanted to put the grave somewhere else. Said she only went there to visit Mom, she wouldn't want to, to rest here." She pauses to take in a shaky half-breath and continues, "Dad and Uncle Qrow said she would want to be next to Mom, and they— I think they were right. I hope they were. Gods, I hope they were."
Weiss and Ilia, who had previously been leaning against each other, step forward to join Blake in holding Yang close. Yang responds by wrapping her free arm around them and pulling them in for a crushing embrace.
Yang tries to keep talking, but she's made unintelligible by the sobs racking her body. It doesn't take long for her to give up. They stay there like that for a while, the four of them united by arms and tears, before Yang lifts her head from Weiss's shoulder to say one last thing before they leave.
"I hope you've learned to love the view, Rubes," Yang says. "I'm sorry for everything."*
"I…I think I'd eventually come to enjoy it, Yang. But only because I would be right next to mom."
Yang tightened her hug on Ruby.
*By the time they reach Mountain Glenn, team YIBW has recovered from their emotional stay at the Xiao Long household and are prepared for their exam. It's a simple search-and-destroy mission, Dr. Oobleck explains. Hunt down any Grimm they can find, and explore the area to the best of their abilities. As simple as anything is with the Grimm, of course; he makes it crystal clear they should expect the unexpected.*
Yang cocked her head, "Wait, why would we be going to Mountain Glenn? Ruby wouldn't have caught Cinder at Beacon tower."
"Well, if everything, somehow, turned out the same, then me and Sun, probably with Ilia this time, would've still gone to the White Fang rally, and learned that they had an operation in the southeast. So-"
Yang smacked her head, "Oh, duh! It's been so long that I kinda forgot about that."
"How do you forget something like that!? We fought a Paladin!"
"That was simply more exciting and memorable, Weiss."
*That they would find Roman Torchwick there was not outside the realm of possibility. But none of them could have expected the thing he brought with him.*
Everyone tensed up at the word thing.
"It seems," Ironwood states, "That we'll be seeing the 'weapon' that Salem has."
"And it's about to be dropped right on us," Weiss deadpanned, "Great."
"But why does my death cause this to happen?"
"Maybe it's a Grimm." Maria suggested.
"Well that's obvious," Qrow retorted.
"Quiet, you. What I mean is, Salem likely knew about you when Cinder got to Beacon. She's hunted our kind for hundreds of years, so I doubt she wouldn't know. But, since she didn't know you couldn't use your eyes, she probably didn't use this Grimm, for fear of having it destroyed."
"I see," Pietro replied, "And, if Miss Rose was…killed, then she wouldn't have to fear it being destroyed."
"Well, if it's a Grimm," Yang snarked, "Then it's only another bad guy to bash through. And, best of all, we will get to see what it can do, so it'll be even easier to fight it when Salem drops it in."
With that, the group continued…however, Ruby couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. If it's just a Grimm, then there had to be something extremely unique about it. Otherwise, Screen Guy wouldn't have brought them all here.
She could only hope that Yang and the others could handle it.
Author's Notes: Decided to power write the rest of this story, since the past few days AO3 was down due to a DDOS attack. Don't expect the next chapter to come out so fast, as I'm currently working on other stories as well.
As always, leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all next time.