15: Possibly Maybe

Roman watched the cover of the capsule lower, sealing Ruby inside. She took a deep breath before giving him a confident smile; another tell of hers, he noted, as she packed away her insecurities as if they didn't exist. He wondered how she could separate herself so completely from her negative emotions - maybe that was why she didn't fear dying. Or Grimm.

Ozpin had already maneuvered his chair into the gigantic box, which was also closing around him. He looked at Roman. "I trust you'll remember what to do?"

"Push the button, start the machine. It's not exactly brain surgery," he scoffed.

"That it is not." The metal cage obstructed Roman's view of Ozpin's face; when the thick glass window finally aligned to reveal Ozpin's head, he could see that the other man's lips had curled into a faint smile. "Thank you, Mr. Torchwick. That will be all."

Something about the way Ozpin delivered those words put Roman on edge. This is a trap. He surveyed the corners of the room for hidden bots or weaponry, but could make out nothing beyond the bits and bobbles that composed Ozpin's magic soul-sucking machine. Turning his attention back to Ozpin, he scowled, but the other man had already schooled his expression into neutrality.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath. He caught Ruby staring at him with her eyebrows raised.

"What?" she mouthed at him, concerned.

It wasn't a trap for her, of that much he was fairly sure. Whether it was sheer goodwill or grounded in something more mercenary, Ozpin was invested in Ruby's safety and well-being. Or maybe just the Fall Maiden's safety and well-being. Whatever the case, she wasn't in any more potential danger than could be expected from the contraption she'd stuck herself into. He shrugged at her, careful to keep a disaffected expression on his face. She can't know about this. With a pressurized click, both of the chambers sealed tightly, and a holo-panel with the floating activation button highlighted materialized before him. Ozpin may have it in for me… but Ruby needs this more than I care. Before he could second-guess himself, he tapped the button.

"Initializing aura connection," a computerized voice announced. "Standby."

At first, apart from the increased electrical hum that enveloped the room, nothing seemed to be happening. Gradually, however, Ozpin's body began to emit the soft green glow of aura, filling his chamber with its eerie light. That same light crept along the wires and tubing connecting the two chambers, making its way towards Ruby. As the first tendrils seeped into her capsule, her eyes fluttered closed, brows drawing together. Soon her expression contorted, her teeth clenching. As the light intensified, she let out a small gasp.

Although he'd expected it, it bothered him to see Ruby losing her composure, particularly when the machine didn't seem to be having the same effect on Ozpin. The other man's eyes were also closed, but he looked almost contemplative, as if he was meditating. There was no sign of any of the distress Ruby felt. Of course, he was much older than any other living human being, if anything he'd said about his aging process had been true. It meant his aura was likely both massive and extremely powerful. In a way, Ozpin was just as much of a monster as Salem.

"What's your game?" he muttered under his breath, studying Ozpin's face. He almost didn't notice when the first red tendrils wormed their way into Ozpin's chamber, causing the other man's brow to twitch. He did snap to attention, however, when Ruby cried out in pain.

Even muffled by the thick steel door, he could hear her gasps turn into shrieks as the green aura permeated her skin. She twisted and convulsed, hands beating against the sides of the capsule, unable to control herself. Her eyes were still squeezed tightly shut, but tears were leaking out of them. His uneasiness grew into a feeling of dread. When those tears began to glimmer with more than reflected light, he finally caught on.

I knew it. Roman scanned the room for cover; apart from the cords and wires papering the floor and ceiling, there wasn't anything useful, not even a single chair. Cursing, he raced towards Ruby.

A guttural scream ripped from her throat and her eyes flew open, glowing like two powerful lanterns. Uncontrolled silver light flooded out of the small window of her chamber, briefly hitting Roman as he dove for the only area of shelter from the silvery blast in the entire room: the base of Ruby's capsule. He pressed his back against the sealed door and hissed, wriggling his aching jaw. Thankfully most of his body was covered by his tailored clothing, but it still felt like his face had been cooked on a grill. He could have sworn he saw tendrils of smoke rising before his eyes, and the smell of burnt hair was unmistakable - he didn't even want to know what his bangs looked like right then. Thankfully, his aura was already numbing the pain, but he still shrunk in on himself, trying to reduce his size while watching the uncontrolled bursts of light grow more intense with each of Ruby's tortured wails.

"I bet you found that amusing," he snarled at Ozpin. "Trying to get me to technically commit suicide-" He trailed off as he observed the other man. The red aura that had snuck its way inside Ozpin's chamber was now worming across his exposed skin, a spidery network of inflamed veins. Ozpin himself didn't seem to find the sensation appealing; his face was finally beginning to distort in much the same way Ruby's had. His jaw was tight with tension; when the veins snaked down his neck and towards the mass of tubes and wires that made his chest, he finally broke.

Not even Ruby's tortured screams could match the silent agony Roman witnessed as Ozpin's eyes flew open, wide and haunted. Mechanical arms scrabbled at his chest, but they were clumsy and uncoordinated. He watched with fascinated disgust as Ozpin finally managed to grip his own tubing and yank on them, sending fluid splattering everywhere. Ozpin let out a tortured wheeze as he forcibly disconnected himself from his chair, blood and clear liquid gushing forth from him like a stuck pig. Green aura quickly slowed the flow of Ozpin's bodily fluids to a trickle, but Roman was glad the door to his chamber blocked off his view of the other man's exposed chest because from what he could see, there wasn't much left of it. Red aura wound its way over and around the raw, pulsing organs and flesh that he could glimpse; Ozpin's mouth opened and closed like a fish pulled out of water as he struggled to breathe.

The silver rays of light permeating the room dimmed; Ruby's cries had gradually dulled to rough pants; now, even as she wheezed, he could hear her trying to control her breathing. Strange shadows flickered and danced over the walls, and with a jolt, he realized they were caused by the swirling of rose petals.

"Something's happening," Roman muttered, worry balling in his gut. He couldn't risk standing up and checking on Ruby, though - not when she might lack the control to keep herself from blasting his face off. So, as unappetizing as it was, he looked at Ozpin again. And did a double-take.

Ozpin had somehow managed to rip one of his prosthetic arms off. He was working at the remaining one with a fevered intensity, biting and ripping at the metal with his teeth like some kind of wild animal. That wasn't what caught Roman's eye, though - it was the living anatomy lesson Ozpin's body was displaying as flesh grew and wrapped itself around his exposed arm and ravaged chest, forming layers of muscle and a network of veins almost more rapidly than his eye could follow. Even the stump of Ozpin's exposed arm was getting longer, twisting and growing as the seconds ticked by.

And his hair was changing color; it had already transitioned from white to a deep slate grey.

"Holy shit," Roman breathed, forgetting for a moment to keep his gun trained on Ozpin's chamber. Ozpin continued to writhe and struggle, now trying escape from his chair. He pulled his back free with a pop, assisted by one of his newly-formed hands. Wires and cables went flying, his flayed flesh already scabbing over the raw wounds the movement had created. His hair continued to darken, turning a dusty black. And when he looked up, the skin on his face was tightening, firming up with the glow of youth. He looked only slightly older than Roman himself now, and the process didn't seem to be slowing down at all.

"Screw it," Roman said, narrowing his eyes and twisting around. He wasn't sure if the silver light had faded completely, but he had to see what was happening to Ruby. "I swear, if that pinhead sucked the last little bit of youth out of her like some kind of freaking vampire…" Inhaling deeply, he dropped his gun and stood, slamming both hands against the glass of Ruby's capsule.

Ruby's eyes were half-closed, a look of intense concentration on her face. She was still surrounded by Ozpin's green aura, but it no longer seemed to be hurting her. Puffs of rose petals flew around her body at regular intervals - the same way they had when she was healing her ribs under the pine tree in Exsul. Most importantly, however, whatever was happening to Ozpin was mirrored in her, though at a much slower rate. Her hair was still dusted with strands of white, but most of the lines on her skin had disappeared, and her face was losing the uncomfortable sharpness of age. She noticed Roman's stare and her eyes flickered up to meet his. "It'll be okay," she seemed to be saying. Then she lowered her brows, concentrating, and he suddenly realized she was the one healing Ozpin's body... just as Ozpin was the one winding back her time.

Roman lowered his head against the glass, feeling something inside of him unclench. It's working. Part of him recognized that the relief flooding through him wasn't just for Ruby's sake. It wasn't my fault this time. My choices didn't end up stealing her life. He let out a low laugh, not even bothered by the reflection of his singed face, framed by his charred bangs.

A small palm spread out against the inside of the glass, pushing up against one of his hands, still splayed over the window to the capsule. Roman blinked and looked up. Though still focused on controlling her aura, Ruby was looking at him with a matching grin. She looked younger again, even younger than him now.

"Welcome back. You look good in your own face," he said. She tilted her head in acknowledgement, her smile widening.

A loud clack sounded, and the wires connecting the capsules shook as a computerized voice chimed overhead.

"Warning. Critical parameter limits reached. Terminating aura connection."

Ruby's eyes widened as the green glow surrounding her abruptly pulled back; then she recoiled as her own aura came rushing into her body, briefly surrounding her in a nimbus of red light. Though it pulled a pained groan from her, it didn't seem to be as bad as at the start.

"What happened to Ozpin?" she asked, her voice still muffled by the thick glass.

Roman's smile tightened into its more familiar cynical smirk. "Looks like you gave the Pinhead a hand getting back on his feet."

Ruby's face scrunched up. "Who are you, Yang?" she groaned.

"Perish the thought," he said with a look of true distaste, wondering how in Remnant the two unlikely sisters could've been related. "You do realize that bastard tried to kill m-" He turned around and blinked.

Ozpin's chamber looked empty. The glass window was worse for the wear, smeared with splatters of blood and disturbing-looking handprints. The hiss of the pressurized seals releasing sounded, and Roman stepped away from Ruby's capsule. He kept his eyes trained on Ozpin's chamber, Ruby Tuesday back in his hands and ready. "Where is he…?"

The answer soon appeared in the form of the naked boy sprawled across the floor of his cage, his body still coated with his own blood.

"Ozpin!" Ruby yelled, ducking out of her still-opening capsule and rushing over to the boy. "I mean… I think it's Ozpin?" She unhooked her cape and draped it over the boy in an attempt to preserve his modesty.

Roman stood over them, his gun still raised. He lifted a foot and toed the kid none-too-gently in the side.

"Roman!" Ruby said, blocking his toe with her hand before he could deliver another kick. "Stop it, he might be hurt!"

"He definitely will be when he wakes up," he promised darkly. "Bastard tried to kill me, or did you miss out on that part?"

"Umm... but that was kind of my fault," she muttered, looking guilty. "Sorry, if I just could've controlled myself-"

"Please," Roman interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Of course he knew you wouldn't be able to stop it. But I bet he wasn't expecting you to… well, do whatever the hell you did to him," he added, eying the still-unconscious boy with mild curiosity. "I only hope it hurt him more than he hurt you." He leaned in closer and grabbed Ozpin's hair, lifting his head off the ground and earning another reproving glare from Ruby. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"When I realized I could sort of feel his body… stop looking me like that, it was really weird for me too!" she said when Roman's brow shot up. "I mean, I just thought maybe I could heal some of it. I didn't think I'd turn him into a kid, though!" She pulled his fingers out of Ozpin's hair and carefully rolled the boy onto his back, then whistled softly. "He looks so young. You think that's really him?"

"Huh," Roman said, rubbing his jaw. The state of Ozpin's body was significantly less interesting to him than Ruby's, now that he was looking at her up close. She'd definitely lost the worst of the signs of aging, but something still wasn't right about her. Her hair was back to its natural black, and her face was unlined, but she still looked older than when they'd fought on the tower. "Are you sure you stopped at the right age yourself?"

"Huh?" Ruby said, tearing her eyes away from the boy and then jerking back when she realized how close Roman's face was to hers.

He grabbed her head and pulled her back in, turning her this way and that, inspecting every angle of her face. "I'm right," he concluded, clapping his hands against her cheeks lightly. "I think you're only a little younger than me now."

"Oww!" Ruby yelled, pushing him off of her face and rubbing her reddened cheeks. "That hurt! And how am I supposed to know what I look like? I don't even have a mirror."

"Huh." Right. "Well, you look good to me," he said off-handedly. Then he realized how it must have sounded. "So, this is awkward."

Ruby seemed to agree. "... Are you feeling okay? Did I hit you a little too hard with the ol' silver-eyed blast?" she asked, squinting at him.

"My face says yes," he replied smoothly. "And you owe me a haircut now. I'm warning you, it won't be cheap, either."

A hacking cough interrupted their stare-down. "If you could be so kind as to stop flirting with Mr. Torchwick," Ozpin rasped, struggling to raise himself off the ground.

"Oh! Sorry," Ruby said, helping Ozpin sit upright. "Umm… well… you look a little different, are you-?"

Ozpin blinked at Ruby for a few moments; it was strange to see the face of the young, vulnerable-looking boy, who couldn't have been more than 14 or 15 years old at best, staring her down with the eyes of the ageless man he'd been before. Then he laughed. "Well, this was somewhat unexpected," he admitted. He lifted his hands and turned them slowly before his face, flexing his fingers. "But not unwelcome. Combining our auras had quite the unintended effect, although it seems the process of reverse-aging happened twice as quickly to me as it did to you." Dropping his hands, a wide smile split his face. "Nonetheless, thank you Ruby."

Ruby was staring at Ozpin's dimples with sparkles in her eyes, and Roman frowned. That smitten look she had certainly didn't bode well for anyone.

"Oh my god! Look at that adorable face! Those weren't liver spots, he has freckles!" Ruby squealed, unable to keep herself from reaching out and grabbing Ozpin's cheeks.

Ozpin's smile dropped. "Miss Rose," he gritted out underneath her grasp. "Unhand me."

"Oops!" She let go as if her fingers had been burned. "Sorry, you just looked so cute when you smiled that I couldn't help myself."

"Cute?" Ozpin repeated blankly. He rubbed his cheeks, his expression darkening. "Liver spots?"

Roman stood up and stretched, feeling proud of his latest protégé. "Well, it looks like we're done here. Good job, Ruby, Pinhead. Now let's let the man find a shower and some clothes while we blow this popsicle stand."

Ruby stood up, dusting herself off. "We need to find the rest of team RNJR first."

Coughing, Ozpin struggled to his feet. "While I do find myself desperately in need of both of Mr. Torchwick's suggestions…" He wrapped Ruby's cloak around himself like some sort of toga. "... I'm not certain as to why you think you would be free to leave."

Roman, who had been trying to shuffle Ruby out of the room as quickly as possible, cursed under his breath. The little bot that had escorted them to Ozpin was waiting at the door. We can still get past it. He tugged, but Ruby had stopped and turned around.

"... Why not? You wanted me to stay by your side to help you, but it looks like you can help yourself now, right? What do you need me for?"

Ozpin smiled faintly and walked towards them, his bare feet leaving bloody tracks across the floor. "You should know the answer to that very well by now, Ruby."

Roman watched Ruby's shoulders lift, then lower. "Ruby, no," he said under his breath. "Walk away. You gave him more than a fair deal here, so-"

"I promised. But if you hurt Roman," she continued more loudly, "I'll leave." Ozpin stopped before them, and it was odd to see Ruby, already so short, actually looking down at someone. "Stop trying to kill him."

Ozpin's eyes flickered between them. "There's something you should know," he said mildly, ignoring Ruby's demand. He pushed past them, beckoning them to follow. "Though I was somewhat successful at bringing you closer to your proper appearance, we still are not entirely certain what caused you to age so rapidly in the first place. Your Semblance most certainly played a key role, however, so there's no way of knowing if it will happen again." He turned and looked at Ruby. "I'm afraid my current body has run out of years to give you at this particular moment, but we do suffer from similar Semblance… handicaps, let's call them. Should your Semblance cause you to age rapidly again, wouldn't you agree that a partnership between us would be mutually beneficial?"

Roman could hear what Ozpin really meant - if they worked together, Ruby could be a fountain of eternal youth for him. But he'd be able to keep Ruby alive, too. Roman kept his poker face in place and watched Ruby closely.

To his surprise, she turned and looked up at him. "I know he just wants to use me to keep himself young, but… I've been thinking about what you said about Salem earlier, and you're right. She's too powerful for us to take on alone. Who else are we going to ask for help? The other Silver-Eyed Warriors?" Her depreciating smile was crooked. "Do you really think they'd treat you any better than Ozpin has? I kinda think they'd just be a lot more effective when they try to kill you."

"It's not about me, though." Why does she care? He shrugged at her, trying to hide his confusion. "Don't give away your freedom for my sake, I'm-"

"Worth it," she said firmly. "You're not a bad person, Roman. Stop trying so hard to play that role. It isn't you."

"It is. You just don't know me well enough, Ruby." He sighed, scrubbed a hand through his bangs, and felt an irrational annoyance at how much shorter they'd become. "You don't have to become Ozpin's slave."

"It'd be something more like partners," Ozpin said, stopping before a thick door. "But I can see you two still have much to discuss." He looked at the sealed door and grinned. "My, it's been a while since I've had to manually access my own room." Waving a hand, a hologram popped up on the wall. He quickly keyed in a sequence and the door panel slid up, revealing very comfortable-looking living quarters. "Now if you two will excuse me… this happens to be my stop. My helper will guide you to your own room." He smirked at Ruby's squeak of protest. "Or rooms, as may be the case. I've provided one for your teammates as well, though they're still caught up in Miss Valkyrie's revelries. While you may wish to notify them of your condition, I do advise you to get some rest for the time being. Any announcements or decisions that need to be made can wait until morning."

Without waiting for their response, Ozpin strolled into his room, that smug smile still on his face. Roman was wrestling with shooting him in the back when the door slid closed, leaving them standing outside the room with only the headless dog-bot for company.

"O-one room?" Ruby stuttered, her hands cupping her flaming cheeks.

"He's just trying to upset you. I'd say it's working." Roman kicked the bot with the toe of his shoe. "C'mon you hunk of junk. Take us to our rooms." He turned to Ruby. "You know that thing's recording every word we're saying, so watch yourself."

The walk back to the room was slow and awkward, Roman being unwilling to talk when the spybot was right in front of them, and Ruby still trying to absorb their surroundings, most likely because she'd resigned herself to living in them.

He clenched his teeth. "Ruby," he said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Look at this place. Think about what you'll be giving up."

"You mean like sunlight?" she joked weakly.

"You'll end up like me. Except with the Pinhead for company."

"I don't think I'd really end up like you," she said carefully. "After all, Ozpin and I have the same goal, right? We both want to defeat Salem."

"I'm not so sure about that. Yes, he wants to beat Salem, but why? I still don't know what his plans are. And there must be a reason the Silver-Eyed Warriors dropped him like yesterday's news, too."

"I know..."

Roman sighed, hearing the unspoken but in her statement, and reluctantly gave up trying to sway her. "Just keep your eye on him is all I'm saying."

The small robot whirred to a stop before a nondescript door. A holographic access panel sprung to life on one side of it, and Ruby waved a hand over it. The door shot up, and a comfortable-looking, if a bit generic, room was revealed. It looked a little like a posh hotel - clean, stylish, and sterile.

"So… is this one mine or yours?" she asked. "I feel like I should find the others and tell them about what happened, but Ozpin said Nora's still raiding the kitchens…" She fidgeted before the door, and he could tell that she was looking for excuses to avoid the rest of her team.

It wasn't that big of a surprise; the girl had just learned she wasn't 100% human - that was a mindfuck for anyone to deal with, even someone like Ruby. Most likely she wanted to be left alone to chew things over by herself.

That was just too bad.

Holstering his gun over one shoulder, he stepped into the room.

"Oh, okay. So I guess this is you?" She laughed nervously. "I mean, I get it, you're probably tired from all that crazy piloting and then I kinda blasted you during that whole soul transfer thing just now-"

Her mouth snapped closed when he rolled his eyes and leaned out, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her in behind him. He turned and eyed the bot, still standing outside the door.

"Well? Get lost," he commanded it imperiously, waving his hand before the interior holo-panel and slamming the door shut.

"Wait-wait-wait just a minute!" Ruby screeched, shaking her arm free of his grasp. "What was that? What're you doing? I was totally serious you know! I mean it's great that you think my face is pretty now but that still doesn't mean that we need to share a room-!"

He raised his hands defensively. "Relax, I don't want to sleep with you. Your Fall Maidenhood is safe with me... which is probably more than you can say of Ozpin."

Ruby managed to recover from her shock enough to wrinkle her nose. "That's just- eww!"

Laughing, he removed his bowler hat and tossed it onto a chair, then made a beeline for the bed. He sank down onto the mattress with a huge sigh. "It has been a long day though." After pulling off his gloves, he started unlacing one shoe, then the next.

All the while, Ruby stood in the center of the room and gawked at him. "Make yourself comfortable," he offered, when he'd dressed down enough to sprawl over the bed. "Now this is what I'm talking about," he sighed in contentment, flexing his feet which were, for once, not hanging off of the edge of a too-short bedframe. "At least the Pinhead is tall, too."

Ruby approached the side of the bed cautiously. "I am comfortable."

He cracked an eye open and gave her a once-over. "You're still wearing your ammunition belt and your backpack. Stay that way if you want, but it doesn't change the fact that we need to talk."

She let out a sigh, and then there was the sound of equipment clanking and dropping. When he looked over again, she'd at least lost her accessories, and was settling down on the floor to the side of his bed, wiggling her stocking-clad toes.

For a moment they just sat together in companionable silence, decompressing and allowing the day's hectic events to catch up and wash over them both.

"So, talking?" Ruby said after a few moments.

Roman removed the hand he'd thrown over his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. He wondered if Ozpin had planted bugs in the room; if the old man was watching even now. Well, not like I give a fuck.

"Roman?" Ruby's voice was very quiet. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Figuring it out as we go." He heard her shift, could feel those silver eyes boring into him. "What?"

"Do you still hate yourself that much?"

"It's not something you just get over."

"I know." She was being too quiet, so he glanced at her. Her eyes were loose and unfocused, staring across the room. She was in the same place he was, he knew, but he still couldn't bring forth any words of comfort. Instead, he watched her suffering in silence. She wouldn't hurt so much if she wasn't so good on the inside.

"… You don't want me protecting you anymore, but who else is going to do it?" She met his gaze.

"You're not my keeper." He realized how harsh that sounded and tried to moderate his tone. "Ruby… you know I can't stay with you."

Her face crumpled slightly before she caught ahold of herself. "Why not? We make a great team, don't you think? We're RT for each other!"

"Ugh, enough with the acronyms," he groaned, slapping his forehead. "Besides, you'd make a great team with anybody. It's not me that's special here. But that's not the reason I have to leave and you know it."

"Yeah." She studied her fingernails intently. "Sorry seems like such an empty word right now."

He reached out and dropped a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. His movements slowed as he imagined Neo's distinctive mop of pink and brown under his hand instead.

"I-" No, not yet. "... like you a lot. You…" Saved me. "... got me out of a bad situation back there. You had no reason to do it, and I'll always be grateful that you did." He resumed bestowing soft, comforting pats on her head, as though she were a cat. "But I can't let you become her replacement. Not anyone, but especially not you."

"I know," she said miserably, turning her face away from him. He could tell by the way she hunched her shoulders that she was crying again.

"Just get it all out," he sighed, still patting her head. "At least you can still cry about death. That's something you should never lose."

He was caught off-guard when she grabbed his hand off her head and twisted towards the bed, cradling it between her own and leaning her forehead against it. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wish I could go back and find another way to save you. To have saved you both."

"We don't always have the luxury of choice."

She looked up at him through her tear-streaked eyes. "Are you really leaving?"

"Once I drop you and the kids off wherever you need to go." He frowned. "But are you really going to stay with Ozpin?"

She swiped at her eyes, regaining some of her determination. "Yeah. But not before going back to Beacon and taking care of that dragon. What he did to Glynda - and Vale - was wrong. And it's also my fault, so I need to fix it before anything else."

Roman tried to keep his eyes from rolling back in his head; at the rate he was going, they might turn inwards permanently. "For the last time, it's not your fault. It's Cinder Fall's fault, or Salem's if you wanna split hairs. You're one of the only reasons it didn't turn into a complete clusterfuck three years ago, so give yourself a little credit." He tugged on his hand to no avail. "And, by the way, it's another very good reason to not stick around the Pinhead."

"As long as I don't forget who I really am, I'll be alright," she declared. "But Cinder's dead and that dragon is my responsibility now, so I'm going back to Vale. Whatever Ozpin wants from me can wait until that's settled."

Well, she made up her mind. He nodded. "Sure. But just make sure you never let him see you like this." He reached over with his free hand and wiped some of the tear tracks away from her face, fingers lingering on her cheek. "Be strong, Ruby."

"You too," she replied earnestly. "I know asking you to change is too much. But… let yourself heal a little too. You have the power to be whoever you decide you really are."

He couldn't help the smile that flitted across his face as his fingers flexed against her cheek; the fondness he felt for this annoying, foolish little girl was almost painful.

Her head dropped against the bedspread, his hand still trapped between her own. His fingers were starting to go numb, but somehow, he didn't want to pull away. Besides, the way she was draped over the edge of the bed and the floor looked a lot less comfortable than his cramped hand.

"Don't you think it's funny that we were fated to be mortal enemies from the very first time we met?" she asked without lifting her head from the mattress.

"Hilarious."

She twitched. "I wish I wasn't a Silver-Eyed Warrior."

"And I wish I wasn't a Grimm," he replied.

She turned into his hand, and he felt her smile against his palm. "Well, let's both do our best to stay human after this."

"Right."

There seemed to be nothing left to say, but Roman didn't feel like getting off the bed and kicking Ruby out of his room, and she seemed to be content to lay there on the floor. He soaked in her quiet presence, realizing that it might be the last time he'd be doing it along their strange journey together. Eventually, Ruby's breathing evened out; she was exhausted too, and sleep overcame her quickly. Her head bobbed against his hand, sliding in slow-motion off the mattress.

He caught her, careful not to startle her awake, and eased his legs off the bed. It was an awkward process that required a lot of contorting, but he eventually managed to work his arms under her and lift her up onto the bed. As he pulled away, she turned, trapping his arm under her. Rather than struggle to extract it, he settled down next to her and watched her sleep.

Despite what he'd said earlier, she really wasn't anything special to look at… ordinary features in an ordinary face, silver eyes notwithstanding. She wasn't particularly cute, like Neo, nor strikingly beautiful, like Cinder. She wasn't even all that delicate, like her friend the Ice Queen. No, Ruby was the very definition of boring and ordinary, at least right up until the point that she whipped out that ridiculously-sized scythe.

"Mortal enemies?" he murmured, pushing some hair back from her face. She was still lost to a deep, peaceful sleep. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against her forehead, lingering there for a few moments. When he lifted away, he opened his mouth. "I…"

His throat closed; he still couldn't say it. But he could think it.

I love you.

"... I'm not your enemy." He watched her for a very long time after that.

Uh… sorry. After my super-shitty month and a half, I needed that. In my defense, I'm not sure if it counts as a romance if it's one-sided? Sorry Torchwick, have a little more torture courtesy of your kind-hearted author...