RWBY: Am I Your Teacher or Mother?
Chapter 4: Hard Lessons
"Girls…Your daddies not coming back."
3 years ago today, Ruby and Yang heard the worst news of their lives since Summer died from their Uncle Qrow. Yang stood in the kitchen frozen in sheer disbelief, gasping for air. Apparently Taiyang Xiao Long had been killed by a criminal during a routine Grimm hunt. Her fists were trembling from a mix of pain and dread, just itching to find something to smash to alleviate the torment she was feeling. Qrow sighed in depression as he saw this, sitting down on a stool and taking a swig of his flask. After having to deliver this dreadful news a second time, all he could do besides that was hang his head in shame. Yang bit her lip as she grew angered at this sight.
"What? No hug, no "it'll be alright kiddos like he usually does?!" Yang thought indignantly. She and Ruby needed comfort right now, even if bland promises, something to feel a bit better right now!
Yang suddenly gasped as she thought this. Jerking her head a bit, the corner of her teary eyes caught a glimpse of the stiff body of her little sister, suddenly remembering her being in the same position as her.
"R-Ruby…are you-" Yang stuttered as she asked her sister. Of course she knew Ruby wasn't okay, they just lost their father after all. As much as that pained her to think about, the thought of her little sister in pain frightened Yang far more. Her anxiety skyrocketed as she received no response from her sister. Ruby just stood their, eyes wide open, her pupils rumbling as she absorbed this horrible news. Yang lightly tapped her shoulders, but Ruby didn't respond which only fueled Yang's worries.
"Qrow! Something's wrong with Ruby!" Yang cried out frightfully, catching their uncles attention as his head bolted up and he surprisingly dropped his flasks to put both hands on her face. He winced as he saw she was barely breathing, she was in too much shock to process anything right now.
"Kiddo?! Ruby!? Come on stay with us kid!" Qrow screamed in terror. Ruby's body soon went limp as she collapsed onto his chest. Qrow recoiled slightly, but made sure not to lose his grip on her, as the only response he got from her where tiny whimpers and his shirt grew damped.
"Ruby!" Yang cried as she knelt beside her sister, prodding her for any response. All she caught were soulless, lifeless eyes flooding into her uncles chest.
"Why leave too daddy?" Ruby whispered, her voice low and strained, like she was gargling nails before Qrow paled, having noticed her breathing was starting to slow down.
"Firecracker quick! Get the smelling salts!" Qrow yelled to her. As Yang stood and ran towards the pantry to try and find said item, she suddenly found herself in the forest of death to her confusion.
"W-What the?! How did I-" She cried out in confusion. She was knocked out of her stupor as she heard Weiss cry out.
"Ruby hang in there!" Weiss tearfully cried. Whipping her head around, Yang's eyes widened in horror as she once more came face to face with the same lifeless silver eyes she saw the day she lost dad. Ruby was laying in her partners lap, her naked and beaten body limp as Weiss prodded her, hoping she was still alive.
"No….this can't be…she can't be gone, it was my job to-" Yang fearfully thought. She slowly walked towards her sisters limp body, each step heavier then the next as she felt the weight of her failure to protect her suffocated her, squeezing at her aching heart. As she came close to Ruby's bloody and tearful face, Yang's hand trembled as she tried to reach out and touch it. She instantly withdrew it as Ruby groaned painfully and frowned bitterly as they locked eyes. It sent a toxic shock to the brawlers body, never having seen such a venomous look before. It was if all her guilt, her sins of her failure were blasted at her through Ruby just now.
"WHERE WERE YOU!" Ruby cried out with rage.
Yang's eyes burst wide open in fright as she gasped in shock from the nightmare, her body jolted her awake as she spasm in bed. All she saw as she awoke was the dirty underside of a bunk bed she nearly banged her head into. As she took a moment to catch her breath as she hyperventilated, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness around her, Yang glanced around, seeing her partner Blake sleeping in a bed across the room, her arm hanging limply out from the side of the bed. Yang winced as she saw an orange coat sleeve on it and looked down, seeing and orange suit on herself as well. It was a grim reminder of what she had gotten herself into; she was in prison. Goodwitch had arrested them and sent them to a prison in Vale after killing team CRDL for attacking Ruby.
"I mean…Yes we killed them but, those bastards RAPED my sister! Why shouldn't we have done it?!" Yang bitterly thought, almost tempted to scream her frustrations if not for remembering her friends were sleeping.
Yang groaned as she rubbed her eyes, the exhaustion from stress was starting to get to her as her whole body ached honestly. Nothing hurt for her worse though than her heart as she glanced out the window covered by bars, seeing the shattered moon shining above them. It was as if she was looking at her heart right now, a broken ball of light yearning to illuminate her sisters bad time yet was weak, a fraction of its once great self now marred thanks to this aura dampening cell. She wished she could just burst out of here right now and rush to Ruby and give her a one of her patented bone-crushing hugs after what Weiss told her yesterday.
"Ruby's regressed to the mind of a child and thinks I'm you Yang." Weiss had sadly said. The news was devastating to say the least, and it only worsened Yang's sense of helplessness right now. Forget about being locked up, how was she supposed to protect Ruby if she was locked out of her own mind? She and Qrow had feared this could happen since how badly she reacted to Dads death, almost going catatonic. Now their nightmare had come true, Ruby was a prisoner trapped in her own mind and Yang was stuck being one here, unable to help her beyond giving Weiss advice. She had told her about how she raised Ruby after dad shut down emotionally as well following Summer's death. Weiss was certainly attentive, jotting down quickly all the things she would need to do.
"Ruby was hyper, well, even more so when she was 5. She gets up really early like 6 am so set your alarms for 5:30 to get breakfast ready. Now listen! She'll complain about wanting pancakes and strawberries but don't give in! No matter how many puppy eyes she gives you, no matter how much she cries, make her eat a variety of healthy meals, cereal, eggs and sausage, not just sweets, put your foot down." Yang first had cautioned.
"Got it, what else?" Weiss had asked.
"Make sure to give her lots of hugs when she's upset, even when you had to scold her, Ruby was much more open about being upset than she is now and needs lots of comfort. Give her your most comforting tone, a soothing voice usually calms her down enough to listen to you even when reprimanding her." Yang said. She
"Next, make sure to keep the cookie pantry locked up tight, you can't hide sweets from her, she's got a nose for them like a bloodhound. If she gets them, she'll gorge them all down in one go and throw up all over the place if you don't stop her so chain the damn thing up." Yang cautioned. She then sighed sadly, very hesitant to share this last bit of information, knowing it was like taking a piece of Ruby's identity from her, but she was more worried for her physical health at the moment.
"Weiss." Yang said cautiously, her tone making the Heiress recoil as she heard the venom in her friends tone, not liking where this was going. All she could do was fearfully nod, showing she was paying attention.
"Hide Crescent Rose from Ruby as well." Yang said sternly.
"W-Why? That's her baby! She may need it to get back to normal?!" Weiss had cried out in shock. Yang sighed as she heard this reason.
"Yeah, I still can't believe my drunken idiot of an uncle taught her to shoot that thing at that age." Yang groaned.
"AT 5!? What is he nuts teaching a little dolt like her at that age!?" Weiss cried out. Yang shook her head disappointingly in agreement.
"True, it was stupid, but it was the best way he saw fit to help her recover losing mom. She always wanted to be a huntress like mom after all. I just don't want her to risk cutting herself or getting into fights again while she's recovering." Yang reasoned, but Weiss frowned at such reasoning's.
"All the more reason she should have it back now. We can't keep it at our dorm at Beacon, she needs it to get back to normal or least have the chance-" Weiss tried to say before Yang cut her off.
"NO!" Yang trembled a bit as she heard the rage in her friends tone, her father briefly flashing his image before her, fueling her anxiety as she quivered and stayed quite.
"Sorry it's just…Now's not the time for her to recover. I need you to get me and the girls out of here so I can be the one to comfort her when she does remember. Weiss…It's not your burden to bear, me and Ruby are sisters and I need to be the one to fix her. If she remembers what those bastards did to her and I'm not really there, it might kill her. So please, wait till I get back before you give her Crescent Rose. Me and it are what she'll need if she's to have a chance, got it?" Yang sternly asked and Weiss nodded, despite her reservations. She was too scared to refute right now and just silently bowed before leaving the prison yesterday, that assuring Yang of her teammates compliance.
There was secretly though another reason Yang didn't want Ruby to get back her scythe just yet, a part of her didn't want Ruby's memories coming back at all. Yang couldn't help but think, despite her reservations about it, that Ruby's mind regressing was a miracle in its own way. Now Ruby wouldn't have to live with the torment of being raped by those boys. Though Yang knew this was a selfish wish and that it wasn't healthy for her teenage sister to live like a child again, she just hoped Ruby at least wouldn't have to deal with such misery at least till she got home to her to give one of her patented Yang hugs. But for now, she was stuck here, helpless to save her sister and had to entrust the task of healing her to Weiss instead. It was both a blow to her pride as a sister and a soothing aide to her aching heart having her friend assume her burden. She clasped her hands to her chest, struggling to will herself to hope with all her remaining strength before sleep could consume her as she remembered that.
"Weiss, please save her. She needs a big sister right now. I wish I could do it, but your Ruby's only hope now. I know you can do it." Yang whispered as she weakly laid on her bed, slowly closing her tearful eyes as she repeatedly whispered this, hopeful that one dream could come true as well.
Meanwhile at Patch…
"Mommy, Yang….where's daddy?" Ruby asked with a sad whimper.
Goodwitch and Weiss were trembling a bit, unsure what the right answer was in this situation.
"Ugh….one moment sweetie." Goodwitch said nervously, raising a finger, as she pulled Weiss out of earshot to the sad Ruby's confusion.
"Well, what do you think professor? How do we tell her?" Weiss asked with a whisper to Goodwitch. She squinted her eyes in frustration at the question. It certainly was the question of the year.
On one hand they could tell her the truth about Taiyang's death, rip it off quick like a bandaide and let her cry her eyes out. Then again, as they turned to look at the tearful eyes of the teenager before them, Goodwitch couldn't help but think such a blunt option might make her condition worse. Being assaulted and having her sister arrested already made her mind regress to that of a 5 year old, who knows how much damage her mind could take from the news of losing her father.
Then Goodwitch thought they could always just lie and tell her Taiyang was on a business trip for a while, bide some time till Ruby mind recovered to not deal with that problem.
"Mommy?" Ruby whined, growing impatient waiting. She didn't understand why they weren't telling her anything. She was a big girl now, in fact, bigger than she remembered. Did she have a growth spurt?
As Goodwitch heard this and saw the crying girl look at even herself with confusion, the teacher fought a sudden urge to hurl right now as her stomach knotted. She was honestly disgusted with herself she thought this option the moment she drew her gaze upon the tormented Ruby. Glynda knew then and there what her only course of action could be, but she also knew she had to make this as gentle as possible. Walking over slowly to Ruby, Glynda wrapped her arms around the tearful girl and drew her to her chest, rubbing the back of her head tenderly.
"Sweetie…I need you to be a big girl for m-mommy. Can you do that for me?" Glynda said nervously. Hugging a student was never easy for the teacher, it went against the strict principles her education and ideals taught her, but the huntress and woman she was urged her to fight this discomfort, she had to in order to live up to her goal to be this girls mother.
"Yes mommy." Ruby weakly said as she nodded in confusion after sniffling a bit into her chest, somewhat relieved as she believed she was about to finally get answers. Where was her dad? Why was she and Yang so tall now? And why was Mommy and Yang so strangely distant? Ruby's eyes widened as she soon received her answer, but was now wishing she hadn't got it.
"Ruby…Daddy's…gone. He passed away on a mission." Glynda said as gently as she could.
"Wha-What? P-Pass…what's that mean?" Ruby asked confused and fearfully. Glynda sighed sadly as she heard this, never liking to have to tell parents or children on her job when she or a hunter failed to save their relative, it was a sickening part of the job but one that she felt was the best chance for helping Ruby now.
"You see….Daddy died on a mission. That mean's he can't come home to us ever again." Glynda said. Ruby trembled as she heard this, unsure what was going on but could tell it was bad by Glynda's sad tone.
"B-But why can't he come home? Why can't he play with me anymore mommy?!" Ruby cried out. This news was starting to tug at her heartstrings even if she didn't fully understand what she was being told. She could only understand by her mothers sad tone and face that this was bad, and she hated it.
"Well, when we die, our bodies fail. Their hearts, brains, and arms and legs don't work anymore, their eyes stay closed asleep forever. Daddy can't move, speak, or do anything anymore. That means he can't be here with us anymore." Glynda said sadly, honest tears streaming from her eyes as she pointed to Ruby's heart, ligaments, and brain. Ruby's eyes widen in shock as she heard this, her lip quivered as she gave off a sad whine before descending into a crying fit as she rubbed her eyes, now sorer from crying than the cheek she had punched earlier.
"CRAP! Quick Goodwitch think!" Goodwitch thought frantically, this is normally how she'd start with a student or parent when informing of a loss. She forgot to do this with care rather than logic out of habit, she had to act fast.
"But…" Glynda said quickly, startling Ruby.
"But what? Daddy's gone right?" Ruby asked confused and Glynda nodded.
"True, but that doesn't mean he has to stay gone." Glynda said with a hopeful tone, surprising Weiss and Ruby.
"You see Ruby, people who die leave a mark in this world. The people they loved and who loved them, they can keep them alive with something very powerful." Glynda said, catching Ruby's attention.
"Really! So daddy can come back!?" Ruby said joyfully with a bright smile…that was until Goodwitch shook her head in denial, making her smile descend bitterly.
"Well….they can't come back to life, but they can live through you sweetie. You see, we keep those we lost around through loving memories; look back at the happy times we shared with them. That way, we're never truly apart. That's what my mom told me growing up and it really worked wonders for me when I lost her." Glynda said with an honest smile. Ruby took a moment to ponder this, trying hard to listen to her and think about her daddy and the times they shared. Though it hurt her chest and stomach to do so, crying a bit seeing only closed eyes on him that stabbed at her heart. Glynda tightened her hug around Ruby as she saw the discomfort, not wanting her to keep hurting.
"Shhh…it's okay Ruby. Good times remember?" Glynda shushed lovingly. She knew she didn't know any specific good times and had to be careful not to blow her cover, but still wanted to tend to this ailing girls heart.
Ruby took a deep breath, soon giggling with joy as she remembered the goofy face her dad had when he ate an ice cream cone after a day at the beach they all shred.
"Hahaha! Daddy's got an ice cream mustache!" Ruby laughed. Glynda and Weiss couldn't help but share a small laugh as well imagining the middle aged gruff in such a ridiculous state. It gave them assurance as well that Ruby was starting to understand and would handle the loss well. It was also a good first step to helping her handle her other tragedy from school. Ruby saw Yang, really Weiss, in the corner as she heard her laugh and opened out her free arm to motion her to join them.
"Come here Yang." Ruby said with a smile, her tone though a bit demanding, showing she wanted this more than anything now.
Weiss quivered a bit as she heard this, remembering Ruby's 5 year old self saw her a Yang, her big sister., She honestly was yearning to try and comply, but was frozen in place as she saw professor Goodwitch hugging her partner. She wanted to be the one to help Ruby, yet had taken a backseat and let a grown up do all the work instead of fulfilling the promise she made to Yang. Weiss clenched her fists in anger at this, frustration filling her.
"Another failed one huh? I promised Yang to be a good big sister in her place. What the hell Weiss?! You promised Ruby too and yet you couldn't be the partner or BFF she needed, now you can't even do this right!?" Weiss bitterly thought, fighting with all her will not to cry.
"Yang?" Ruby whimpered, holding out her arm for Weiss, whom she still saw as Yang, to try and get her attention. Why wasn't she just coming over to hug? She always loved squeezing the life out of her?
As soon as she saw Weiss's bitterness, Goodwitch understood her students frustrations. She had heard about her promises to herself and Yang and realized she had just inadvertently robbed her a chance to fulfill said promises. Glynda sighed as she got up, gently pried Ruby out of her arms and slowly walked behind Weiss and pushed her towards Ruby to her shock.
"Hug time, now!" She said firmly. Before Weiss could open her puckered lips to protest, Ruby made her gasp as she stole the initiative and tightly squeezed her, nearly suffocating Weiss to her surprise.
"R-Rubes?" She said confused, remembering Yang's advice to call her that nickname for the covers sake.
"Mommy scary when you don't do what she says Yang." Ruby said firmly as she tightened the hug, trembling a bit. Weiss grinned sheepishly as she saw this, only imagining how frightening Summer Rose must have been. Weiss though felt nothing but joy and a strange warmth as Ruby hugged her, making her blush a bit.
"W-What? Why's my stomach getting ticklish?" Weiss thought confused. She got hugged a few times by Ruby and Yang before and never felt this way before, though usually she was just trying to keep her lung from bursting from the tight hugs. Ruby just ignored the discomfort of her "sister" and rubbed her wet face into her chest, which made Ruby's eyes widened as she noticed something.
"Hmm? Yang did your boobs get a bit bigger?" Ruby asked curiously, making Glynda cough and Weiss fidget and blush red like a tomato.
"Oh! Just….SHUT UP YOU DOLT!" Weiss yelled with embarrassed fury making Ruby wince. Weiss recoiled as she saw how much she scared her, evident by the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
"Waaaah! Mommy! Yang yelled at me!" Ruby cried. Weiss and Goodwitch fidgeted a bit hearing her whining and crying turning to each other, but neither knowing what to do.
"Think, Think, Think! Gotta distract her gotta-" Weiss thought as she darted around, hoping to find something to distract Ruby. Suddenly she caught sight of the girl herself, or more specifically, her dirty clothes covered in dirt and sand from the playground. That's when it all clicked.
"Sorry I yelled Rubes! Hey, how about bath time? Wanna play with some…ugh…bubbles?" Weiss asked quickly. Ruby sniffled as she heard this, trying her best to calm down hearing that apology. But the second she heard the word "bubbles" she instantly exploded like a rocket, darting to the bathroom.
"BATH TIME! BUBBLES! COME ON YANG!" Ruby cheered as she ditched her clothes in an instant, running towards the bathtub butt naked to Weiss and Goodwitch's embarrassment as they averted thier as she jumped into the cold tub. Despite agreeing to the ruse, they had forgotten about this part of raising Ruby, and it just felt wrong to look at her naked body.
"Come on! What's wrong? It's bath time! Bubbles!" she cheered waving at them before shivering from the cold touch of the tub. Goodwitch sighed as she saw this, realizing she would need to be cleaned and warmed up before she got sick. As she picked up the clothes to take them to the washing machine, she glared at Weiss with a stern look.
"Get in there and start her bath Miss Schnee." She said sternly but whispered, careful so Ruby wouldn't hear. Weiss blushed heavily as she heard, what was for her, such an absurd request.
"Are you crazy! I can't bathe her its wrong!" Weiss whispered.
"I have to clean these, besides, its less inappropriate for her partner to bathe with her then a teacher. Don't you shower together at school anyway?" Goodwitch whispered as she raised an eyebrow and smirked. For once today, playing the teacher role was actually going her way and she secretly was amused how flustered Weiss was getting; glad she would be in such a compromising position than her right now.
"N-No way! I don't dare let some commoners unrelated to Schnee blood gaze their eyes on my elegant body!" Weiss whispered as best as she could to sound haughty, trying maintain her composure, but Goodwitch chuckled as she still saw the blush on her face. She wasn't fooled in the slightest.
"Well….mother's orders then. Now get your butt in their or your grounded Yaaaaaang." Glynda said out loud coyly, knowing Ruby would do this next.
"COME ON YANG! YOU HEARD MOMMY!" Ruby yelled from the bathroom. Weiss just hung her shoulders and groaned in defeat, knowing she couldn't defeat Goodwitch right now and resigned herself to the embarrassment as she slowly crept up to the bathroom, taking a few deep breaths to prepare herself mentally.
"It's not about me, it's not about me, it's not about me, FOR HER!" Weiss chanted as she kicked open the door to the bathroom and darted to the faucet, frantically twisting it to summon a stream of hot water to pour into the tub.
"YAY BATH TIME!" Ruby cheered. Weiss was about to seal the faucet hole to let the water stay in the tub. As she put out a hand to the plug, she painfully winced a bit as she felt the water burn her hand, realizing she had turned the temperature gauge to the highest setting in her haste. Quickly she blew on her hand to cool it down before adjusting the knob to a more even temperature and made sure the water cooled down enough to her liking before resuming her task.
"This water warm enough for you Ruby?" Weiss asked with a small cringe as she averted her gaze a bit in embarrassment once she turned to Ruby and once more saw her naked body. The fact Ruby was smaller in her chest area than even Weiss made her seem more childlike than her behavior, so this situation was very weird indeed. Things got even more unsteady for the heiress as Ruby only nodded, completely ignorant to her scare and moved back a bit to the end of the tub, patting the middle expectedly.
"Come on sis. Your dirty too, mommy will get mad if we don't get clean." Ruby said with a child-like tone. Weiss groaned as she looked to her shoulder and indeed saw dirt and sand from earlier. Still, it was an extremely difficult task for Weiss to say the least. Each piece of clothing she shed, her skin grew bright red. She honestly felt like she had been stabbed by a flame dust crystal and was burning to death from the sheer embarrassment.
"I can't believe I, a Schnee, am being shown to this girl I'm not even related by blood or married to." Weiss thought as the last layer of her clothing was plopped on the floor. She covered her breasts nervously as she reluctantly and slowly stepped into the tub, the warm water not alleviating her burning discomfort to her irritation. Ruby was getting annoyed too, but by a different reason altogether.
"Hey! Where are bubbles!?" She asked with demand in her tone. Weiss groaned as she grabbed a shampoo bottle and squeezed it as if trying to choke the poor thing, expelling most of its content onto the stream of running water and letting the bubbles form, using her hand to spread the soap further before turning the water off, careful not to overflow the tub. Ruby didn't seem to care about making a mess though as she excitingly waved her hands through the soap clouds forming on the water, splashing a ton of them at Weiss and all over the walls to the heiress's annoyance.
"Hey Ruby! Remember it's suppose to go on you not everywhere else!" Weiss firmly said making Ruby shudder a bit. Weiss was tempted to apologize but remembered Yang's advice, be firm but fair. She just settled on rubbing Ruby's forehead playfully with a single hand, but didn't yield her stern gaze.
"You're a real handful you know that Rubes?" Weiss said teasingly. Ruby just giggled as she heard this, confidant now that "Yang" wasn't mad anymore.
Meanwhile, Goodwitch groaned as she was busy examining her new houses washing machines and dryers. They were a more modest build, simplistic turn to hot and cold and press and start rather than having the multiple features her old apartment was fitted with.
"Seriously Tai, no dust instant heating? No fabric massage function? Just softening clothes and soap pods?" Glynda said befuddled. Maybe the lavish pay as a huntress and Beacon Professor was getting to her head?
"God I feel like a Schnee now!" Glynda said, shivering at the thought of being uptight like Winter or Weiss.
She couldn't help but smirk a bit though warmly as she thought of the younger sibling though. The way she was fidgeting embarrassed was amusing, but Weiss was definitely good help in caring for Ruby like she promised. Glynda was honestly panicking a few times today in how she was handling miss Rose…no! Ruby! Glynda shook her head at the thought. That in itself was another problem she was having. She had to start getting use to calling them by their first names with no honorifics. She was meant to be the role of their mother here, not a teacher so she had to embrace that title no matter her discomfort. Honestly though, the ruse coupled with the newfound responsibility was getting to be a headache for the seasoned huntress. Those glares at the playground earlier were another one for sure. She could only imagine how many more she'd get later when she took Ruby out into public. Even without school, Ruby couldn't stay home alone or with Weiss forever, the latter had school and Glynda had to let her explore if she was to have any hope of recovery. That though was a new more dangerous step in their journey though. Ruby would no doubt need years of therapy for her attack and losses, not to mention something Glynda feared more than the glares in public or her breakdowns.
"Would she even accept me as her real mother?" Glynda thought sadly. She was no Summer Rose, that she knew, and she was definitely having a newbie at raising children. She wasn't sure if she could earn such an important role from Ruby when all was said in done, not even willing to blame the poor girl if she were to yell at her and kick her out for the ruse. Pretending to be her dead mother? Glynda would be pissed in her shoes no doubt.
No sooner did Glynda think about this terrifying possibility she jolted when hearing a heavy knock on the door followed by a gruff sounding voice she knew all too well.
"HEY SWEET CHEEKS! GET YOUR *HIC* ASS OUT HERE!" A man, obviously intoxicated, yelled from the front porch.
"*SIGH* Great, Qrow's here, and drunk again like always." Glynda groaned annoyed. Now of all times, she didn't need to deal with his bullshit while thinking about Ruby's uncertain future. She knew Ozpin informed Qrow of Ruby's assault, as well as their plan to have Glynda mother her as she recovered. But If Qrow was really drunk, chances were he could slip his tongue and ruin the ruse and make her condition worse. Her eyes soon widened in shock as she grew horrified hearing said girl screech from the bathroom with glee, worried if said fear was about to come true.
"UNCLE QROW'S BACK!" Ruby cried out.
"RUBY GET BACK! YOUR NOT DRY YET!" Weiss yelled as Glynda bolted to the living room, seeing a naked Ruby covered in water and soap bubbles lunged at her Uncles leg and snuggle it.
"DID YOU MISS ME UNCLE?! DID YOU BRING ME ANYTHING!?" She cheered.
Qrow just stood their eyes wide open at the unusual sight before him. He knew Ruby had regressed in mind like Oz said, but not this badly.
"Um…nope… say Kiddo?" Qrow stuttered. Ruby went from a pouting disappointed face to a confused one afterwards.
"Yeah Uncle Qrow" She asked, tilting her head a bit like a puppy.
"Think you could put some pants on first?" He asked.
"I WAS ABOUT TO ASK THE SAME THING!" Weiss hollered as she emerged from the bathroom, covered with a towel as she gripped another with her free hand and flung it over Ruby, who chuckled and stuck out a tongue at her "sister" as she glared at her. Glynda sighed, catching everyone's attention as she did so.
"Okay, okay… We-I mean Yang! Please take Ruby to her bedroom and get changed. I need to talk with Qrow alone now." Glynda said firmly, catching herself before she slipped her tongue and spilled.
"But mooooooom!" Ruby whined. She really wanted to hear stories from her bad-ass uncle about being a huntsman, but a sharp glare from Glynda and Weiss shot her down as she nodded reluctantly, though whined a bit before screaming in frustration as Weiss dragged her by her hair to the bedroom to get changed. Glynda couldn't help but laugh a bit seeing this, something that made her blush when hearing a chuckle from Qrow in response.
"Thought the day you laugh was gonna be the day pigs fly." Qrow said sarcastically. Glynda just huffed as she folded her arms unamused by his sarcasm, nor the strong smell of alcohol on his breath.
"I thought it would be the day you stop drinking, guess we were both wrong." Glynda said with a smirk. Qrow just fixed her a blank stare in response that annoyed her. She wanted to get this, whatever his visit was for, over with. She was having a major headache and needed to go to bed already.
"Now then, why are you here? Didn't Ozpin tell you the….gory details?" Glynda asked a bit sad, it still pained her a bit to remember how bad Ruby's body looked after the incident, she could only imagine how bad Qrow must be feeling hearing his student and niece be in such a state. She honestly pitied him for that.
Qrow, befitting the drunkard she knew him as simply shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and took a swing of his signature flask and hiccupped before answering her with a groan.
"Yeah "mommy" he did. As for why I'm here, it's to put an end to this bullshit." Qrow said bitterly while finger quoting the mother title to Glynda's confusion.
"What are you saying Qrow?" She asked, bit hesitant as she heard his tone, not liking where this was going.
"I mean, you and Winter's little brat can go home. I'm gonna be taking care of Ruby from now on." Qrow said darkly, making Glynda's eyes widen in shock from the demand, not having expected this at all from her old friend in the slightest.
Author Notes
Hard time ahead as Qrow drops a major bombshell with such a demand. Could he turn the whole new family dynamic that was just beginning to form upside down with his desire? Can Glynda protect Ruby and the new role she wants to adopt? Honestly, it wasn't the request, rubys child behavior, or Glynda's doubts I enjoyed writing the most of this chapter, it was explaining death to a child (or teen with a childs mind) as it was hard processing what death and loss truly meant until I sadly lost my first dog Dixie to old age then my second dog Twig (like pokemon turtwig) to stomach cancer same year. It was rough, but my mother's words that keeping them alive with love and memory really made the loss easier to cope with like Ruby can cope with Tai's loss with warm memories. I just hoped that lesson can help viewers who read this going through such losses as well. Leave reviews of what you thought of todays chapter when you can, id really appreciate it.