A/N: *ignores the elephant in the room* Hello everyone, trying something new here, let's see where it goes.
This is a RWBY au I've had in mind for a long time, I've been watching RWBY for 10 years, since the beginning. Ace Combat was a huge part of my childhood, and is still a big part of my life. One of my favorite video game franchises. I am a huge fighter plane nerd, that being said, I'm not going overboard with the realism, but I will be using a lot of military lingo.
To all my fellow RWBY fans I say SALUTATIONS! I hope you enjoy this; a few things to note, in this au there are no grimm, no dust, and the Faunus are human.
To my fellow Ace Combat veterans, well met fellow aces. I will be using cities and locations from Ace Combat's world of 'Strangereal' and incorporating them into RWBY's world of Remnant., and of course there's the fighter jets.
I also will NOT apologize for the insidious amount of Ace Combat quotes and references I will be using.
I dedicate this RWBY fanfic to the following individuals: Monty Oum (Creator of RWBY) & Osiria (Whiterose artist)
Ace Combat: Remnant
"ACES even challenge the true sky." - Ace Combat 20th Anniversary
Chapter 1: Fragments of the Sky
Juane Arc breathed short and steady breaths with the flightstick nearly in his chest as the radar lock warning blared in his ears.
*WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO*
Quickly swiveling his head to look behind him, he caught a glimpse at his pursuer; a Vacuan Mirage 2000. Juane rolled his F-16XL and dove into a half loop in an attempt to disengage, but the enemy remained on his tail determined to gain a missile lock.
Juane continued to roll and bank, the warning alarm still going off - until a feminine voice crackled over the radio.
"JNPR 2, Fox 3!"
Not a few seconds later the radar lock warning cut out and Juane saw a flash on his mirrors. Looking behind him again, he saw that the enemy Mirage had become a fireball as another F-16XL passed by it and pulled up next to him; piloted by his number two, his wingman, and girlfriend, Pyrrha Nikos.
"Thanks for that!" Juane called out over the radio.
"Don't mention it! Unfortunately, that was my last AMRAAM." she replied.
'Dammit.' he thought before asking "Sidewinders?"
"One left, three hundred rounds left for guns." she answered.
'Shit, not good.' He too had one AIM-9 Sidewinder remaining and was low on bullets.
"Ren and Nora?" he asked as his eyes constantly scanned the sky and his cluttered radar
Another feminine voice called out over the radio "JNPR 3 and 4 coming in at your 3 o'clock high!"
Looking to his right and slightly up, Juane spotted two other F-16XLs descending and forming up with him and Pyrrha.
JNPR Team
Vale Air Force
7th Air Division
63rd Air Force Unit
"How about you guys?" Juane asked his squadron mates.
"Nearly out of ammo and nearly out of fuel; we can't stick around much longer." Ren called back.
Juane ground his jaw, his number four was right - but given the current state of the battle though, he knew they couldn't retreat just yet; it would weigh too heavily on his conscience.
"JNPR Team. Engage as a formation, no single-ship attacks. We will provide support where we can; there's too many rookies out here, we can't leave them like lambs to the slaughter. We are not CRDL Team." Juane proclaimed.
Nora immediately snorted "HA! You're damn right we're not!"
Ren replied with a simple "Hn." but Juane could hear the smile on his friend's face.
"We're with you Knight, lead the way!" Pyrrha responded confidently.
Juane couldn't help but smile, she didn't use his callsign 'Knight' often, but when she did, it gave him the feeling they could do anything despite the odds.
Unfortunately, as they merged with the large aerial battle that was taking place, any confidence they had was squashed when a call came in from the Airborne Warning and Control System.
- "This is AWACS Clocktower, we've detected five squadrons of Atlesian fighters entering the combat zone." -
"GOD DAMMIT!" Nora shouted angrily.
Juane immediately felt sick, they weren't that far from Vytal, they all knew the Atlesian Air Force might show up probing again. Vacuan air forces in the area already outnumbered them two to one, the new arrivals only stacked those odds against them - the only factor that could change the battle was if the Atlesians and Vacuans started fighting each other.
He didn't have any more time to dwell on those thoughts, the aerial battlespace was littered with contrails from fighters and missiles. Explosions dotted the skies from destroyed aircraft - and sadly, it wasn't hard to tell who was being shot down, Juane could hear their voices over the radio.
- "Where are the reinforcements?!" -
- "Wings damaged! Losing altitude!" -
- "The eject handle's stuck!" -
Opening up the throttle Juane quickly closed in on their closest contact, a Valean Air Force F-20 trying to shake off two Vacuan Mirages; who were so focused on their target they were too late to react as JNPR Team closed in fast.
"Guns! Guns! Guns!" Juane called out.
As they made their pass, the four F-16XLs strafed the Mirages with bursts of 20mm cannon fire; one Mirage burst into flames while the other trailed black smoke as it slowly descended before crashing into the ground below.
"T-thank you! Thank you so much!" the pilot of the F-20 called out; anyone could tell he was a young rookie, and he was afraid, not that anyone blamed him.
"You're alright kid, but you gotta keep calm and focus. We're not out of this yet." Ren responded.
"Stick close to us alight? How are you doing on ammo?" Phyrra inquired.
"I'm out of AMRAAMs but I still have my two AIM-9s and two hundred rounds for guns." the young pilot answered as he formed up next to her.
Finally getting a good look at his allies, the rookie's eyes widened as he saw the individual emblems on the tails of the F-16XLs.
The flight lead had a double arc emblem, the aircraft he formed up next to had a red circle with a javelin through it. The emblem of the element lead aircraft was a pink circle with a hammer set in the middle and a lightning bolt through said hammer, and the final aircraft sported a beautiful lotus flower emblem.
"Holy shit…I never thought I'd ever get to fly in formation with JNPR Team!" the rookie pilot exclaimed in wonderment.
"And you'll make it back to tell the story I promise you." Juane added before a call came over the radio.
- "This is Clocktower, Atlesian and Vacuan forces are engaging each other, but we're tracking additional bandits approaching from the west. Stay alert." -
The rookie panicked "M-more!? There's too many of them! We can't handle them all!"
"Focus." Juane reiterated in a calm tone "What's your name kid?"
"Airman First Class Oscar Pine! Um…Sir!"
Juane smiled "Alright Oscar, the enemies are going at each other, so we might have a chance. You're going to help us provide support while we try to regroup. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Oscar replied.
With that, Juane opened the throttle to close in on another set of radar contacts. As they positioned themselves behind two Atlesian JAS 39 Gripens harassing two other Valean Air Force F-20s; there was a small hint of doubt in the back of his mind.
He said they had a chance, but it was a very slim chance. They needed reinforcements and they needed a miracle.
High above the battlespace in the E-767 AWACS, Lt. Col. Ozpin rubbed his eyes before readjusting his glasses and studied the radar once more. The situation had been bad before, now it felt as if it was about to get worse; he was tired of watching this happen over and over again.
When they first arrived at the mission area, Vacuan air presence was minimal; just as they had been briefed. However it became clear it was a trap when additional waves of fighters quickly rolled in from the west. The end result was them barely hanging on by a thread before the Atlesians showed up, to which Vacuo swiftly responded; now there was the possibility of the whole battle escalating out of control.
Atlas and Vacuo fighting over territory was nothing new, nor was Vale fighting for its life trying to repel the two nations.
Ozpin glanced at another screen and frowned, this one displayed what forces they had going into this battle. As usual, they suffered massive losses - this only added to the growing realization that Vale might not be able to keep fighting this war much longer.
He was pulled from his dark thoughts by an alert tone and the Air Surveillance Officer calling out to him.
"Lt. Col! We have four bogeys coming in fast from the south southwest!"
Ozpin blinked and looked back at the radar "South southwest?"
"Yes sir, vector 185 at angels two-five." the ASO answered.
Looking at the bottom of the radar he found four radar blips moving closer and closer to the battle; the unidentified contacts made him incredibly anxious. Vacuo captured the capital almost a year ago, were they moving to take the other half of Sanus?
"Sir! We're receiving IFF codes!" the ASO called out.
Ozpin practically leapt out of his seat and made his way over to the console the ASO was manning. He watched carefully as four codes came in and after reading each one, the smile on his face grew; he didn't even need to cross reference, he knew these codes anywhere. Inputting a few commands on the console, the four bogeys now read as allies.
"Should I inform our forces sir?" the ASO asked.
Ozpin waved it off "Nah, just keep an eye out for additional enemy forces and get ready for the show."
"Sir?"
Ozpin simply smiled as he sat back in his seat and watched the radar with rapt attention "You've never seen them in combat; let's just say that they really like to make an entrance."
Streaking across the sky at twenty five thousand feet, four aircraft in a perfect finger-four
formation, burned hard towards the battle.
The flight lead was a white F-15C; upon its tail was a rose emblem with a black scythe through its center.
To the left of the F-15C was the flight wingman; a white Typhoon with an outlined snowflake emblem gracing the aircraft's tail.
To the right of the F-15C was the element leader; a Rafale C sporting a light and dark grey camouflage pattern, yellow wingtips and a yellow underside. Adorned on the tail of the aircraft was a yellow flame shaped like a heart.
Finally, to the right of the Rafale was the element wingman; a F-2A 'Super Kai' wearing the same camouflage pattern as the Rafale, but with purple wingtips and a purple underside. The emblem on the tail was a simple, yet elegant jet black flame.
RWBY Team
Vale Air Force
7th Air Division
65th Air Force Unit
In the cockpit of the F-15, silver eyes scanned the rader, general instruments, weapon loadout, the HUD, and back to the radar again. Tugging back the left sleeve of her flight suit, Ruby Rose smiled beneath her oxygen mask as she checked her watch.
'Perfect, we're right on schedule.'
The look in her eyes, which were normally bright and cheerful; turned cold and calculating as she slid the visor down on her flight helmet before opening up comms and canceling radio silence.
"RWBY 1 to RWBY Team. All aircraft report in." she called out to her squadron mates.
"RWBY 2 on standby."
"RWBY 3 on standby."
"RWBY 4 on standby."
Ruby glanced at her auxiliary fuel gauge and as soon as it hit zero she switched her fuel selector to her main internal fuel tanks "Jettison drop tanks."
Oblong shaped tanks fell from the underside of each aircraft, when they fell away the Rafale and F-2A moved out and back to allow the Typhoon to cross over to Ruby's right wing.
Now in a right echelon formation, Ruby checked her watch one more time before addressing her team "Thirty seconds until we merge. All weapons are cleared hot."
Each of her teammates responded with a 'roger' while her eyes darted between the radar and the battle below, all while counting down in her head.
'Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…NOW!'
She snapped the flight stick left, the instant the aircraft was angled towards the fight she pulled back hard on the stick and firewalled the throttle knowing her team would follow her descent.
"Time to dive into the fireworks!"
Oscar strained with the g-forces on his body while trying to keep up with JNPR Team as they quickly approached another group of F-20s caught in a swarm of enemy aircraft. Tightening the grip on the stick he tried to focus and steel himself; many had died today and as much as he wanted to mourn, that would have to come later.
His gaze was focused straight ahead, already picking out a target - when suddenly four explosions appeared and four enemy contacts disappeared from radar. He blinked in surprise and watched as the Atlesian and Vacuan fighters broke away from each other, only for both groups to be quickly pursued by two aircraft each.
- "Reinforcements are here?! Who'd they send us?" -
Oscar wondered the same, whoever the newcomers were, they were making quick work of the enemies.
- "IFF confirms it's RWBY! The reinforcement team is RWBY!" -
For the second time today, Oscar was starstruck; every aspiring pilot in flight academy looked up to RWBY Team - the stories he heard about them didn't live up to reality.
Ruby's eyes snapped between her radar and the enemy on her nose; an Atlesian JAS 39 Gripen trying frantically to shake her off.
But she was patient and listened to the growling tones of the AIM-9 in her ear.
*grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*
The missile currently saw the target, but the lock threshold was not met; to remedy this she applied more throttle to close the distance.
*GRRRRRROOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLL*
Her thumb poised over the button on her flight stick, the enemy tried to accelerate and break away from her.
Ruby smirked 'Too little, too late.'
*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP*
"I have tone! RWBY 1, Fox 2!"
She heard and felt the sidewinder shoot off the hardpoint rail, watching the trail of smoke the missile left behind. It didn't take long to get to its target, detonating as it flew up the tailpipe of the Gripen.
"Splash 1! Splash 1!"
She moved on from her victory when her radar toned out an enemy aircraft approaching her from behind, and she wasn't worried in the slightest. Firewalling the throttle and using both hands to pull back on the stick she ascended fast, as she expected the enemy followed; catching her, let alone keeping up with her was a whole other issue.
Her F-15 could climb to thirty thousand feet in sixty seconds, compared to the Mirage following her; she piloted a literal rocket with wings.
Another tone had Ruby glancing at her radar, and she smiled. Even if the enemy could catch her, she knew her wingman was already on the threat.
"RWBY 2, Fox 2!"
The Mirage erupted into a fireball, Ruby slowed down and leveled off as the Typhoon formed up next to her.
"How are you holding up Weiss?" Ruby asked as she looked over at her wingman.
"So far, so good." Weiss replied "But we need to end this quickly."
Ruby nodded "I already have a plan. Follow my lead?"
"I always will." Weiss answered with unbridled confidence.
Ruby smiled at that, switching radio channels she called out to the AWACS "Clocktower this is RWBY 1. Can you patch me in with all our forces?"
"Roger that, standby." Ozpin responded, after a few seconds he gave her the go ahead.
"Attention all units, this is RWBY 1 of RWBY Team. I need all friendly units to form a perimeter around the enemy forces and set up a killbox, we are going to close the killbox. Pick off the enemy fighters while they fight each other."
Hearing several confirmations to her orders, Ruby checked her weapons loadout and called out to her wingman "How are you on AMRAAMs?"
From the cockpit of the Typhoon, Weiss couldn't help but chuckle as she armed said weapons "Plenty if we're about to do what I think we're about to do."
Ruby smiled to herself, she always said she had the BEST wingman in all of Remnant.
Banking hard to her left with Weiss following, they lined up on the enemy fighters; all too busy shooting at each other to notice they were quickly being corralled.
Switching to her active radar homing missiles, tones went off as she selected four targets "I have radar lock."
"Radar tracking, I have tone." Weiss confirmed.
"RWBY 1, Fox 3!"
"RWBY 2, Fox 3! Birds away!"
Both aircraft each launched four missiles each that streaked across the sky towards their targets. From Ruby and Weiss' position, they couldn't see the enemy fighters with the naked eye, but they didn't need to visually see them. The missiles they launched were specifically designed to be fired from beyond visual range, small onboard radars helped the missiles track and home in on their respective targets.
Soon enough, Ruby counted eight flashes and cross referenced the radar for confirmation - all eight missiles hit their targets. She then noticed more contrails heading towards the furball from all directions before counting out at least a dozen explosions.
'Good, they figured it out quickly.' Ruby thought proudly. Despite the amount of green pilots in the sky, she was relieved they were able to catch on to her strategy, and it was working exactly as it should - the killbox was shrinking.
"This is JNPR 1, JNPR Team is at Bingo Fuel." Juane called out.
"Lead our forces out of here. Take vector 150, there's a tanker out that way. You should be able to make it." Ruby responded as she watched the enemy fighters disengage from each other.
"Roger, sorry we can't do more." Juane answered with a hint of regret in his voice.
"Don't worry about it, we've got this covered. We'll see you back at base." Ruby said assuringly. She now noticed the enemy fighters were in full retreat; Vacuans pulling back to the west, Atlesians heading back north.
They could let them go, but Ruby knew that wasn't the plan - they were here to send a statement to their enemies.
Accelerating with Weiss following, she switched radio frequencies "Yang you read me? What's your position?"
"Chasing the Vacuans with Blake, they're really movin' to get out of here." Yang replied.
"Understood, you're both still cleared to engage." said Ruby.
There was a pause before Yang answered back with a question "Down 'em all?"
"Affirmative, down 'em all." was Ruby's response.
"Roger that sis, that leaves the Atlesians to you guys."
Frowning beneath her mask, Ruby glanced at her partner's aircraft "Weiss?"
In the Typhoon Weiss sighed heavily, she knew what Ruby was implying "I'm okay, you know I don't like it, but I'm here doing what I must. They made their choice."
Ruby's frown lessened, but her heart still hurt "I know, but I'll still ask you every once in a while to make sure you're okay."
Ruby wouldn't think it, but the response meant more to her wingman then she realized.
"And I l-…erm, appreciate you for doing so." Weiss said; relieved that she stopped and corrected herself.
"I have three AMRAAMs left, we'll hit them from long range, close in and finish the rest." Ruby called out.
Thankful that Ruby was more focused on the battle, Weiss checked her loadout "I have three remaining as well."
Arming the Meteor missiles, tones started ringing in her ear "I have radar lock. Fox 3!"
"As do I. Fox 3!" Ruby called out.
Six missiles were launched and quickly found their targets. Ruby and Weiss weren't far behind as they closed in fast to make passes on the remaining Gripens - it wasn't long until the Atlesian fighters were swiftly, yet systematically, shot down.
Ruby was doing everything she could to keep her eyes from drooping shut, but she was so exhausted. The adrenaline from battle had worn off long ago; fatigue from constant, back to back combat missions was catching up to her and her whole team.
Night had fallen during their trip back to base, a tired pilot and night flying did not mix well; especially when your home base was in the mountains.
- "RWBY Team, this is Valais airbase. We have you on approach, you're clear to land." -
The radio transmission gave Ruby the energy boost she needed and immediately spotted the runway lights.
"RWBY 1 to Valais airbase, roger that. It's good to be home."
She checked her altitude as she carefully descended and lined up with the runway. While easing off the throttle she deployed the flaps and lowered the landing gear, bit by bit her airspeed dropped as the runway grew closer and closer. Finally she felt the slight shudder of the aircraft as she and her team touched down - for the first time in almost a month, they were finally home.
They took their time taxiing to their hangar, ground crews carefully guiding them in before parking and shutting their aircraft down. Engines spooling down and canopy opening, Ruby removed her flight helmet; her short auburn hair was damp and sticky with sweat.
'DEFINITELY need a shower.' she thought as she stiffly removed herself from the cockpit and climbed down the boarding ladder.
"RUUUBBYYY!"
She barely had enough time to get her feet on the ground before being tackled into a hug by one of her bestest friends and aircraft mechanic; Penny Polendina.
"I've missed you!" exclaimed the bubbly girl.
Ruby sighed, but smiled as she patted Penny on the back. "I know, I've missed you too, but I desperately need a shower. Looking and feeling pretty gross right now."
Penny laughed as she broke away "Considering most of my days end with me covered in oil, grease, dirt and grime; perspiration and body odor are the least of my concerns."
Ruby chuckled "Fair enough, I'm just exhausted. We all are, they were running us ragged there for a bit."
Looking over her disheveled friend, Penny gave her a sympathetic smile before gesturing with her head "Go and get some rest, we can catch up tomorrow."
After the two shared one more hug and Ruby left the hangar to retire, Penny made her way around the F-15 to give it a quick visual inspection before visiting the rest of the team - however when she passed near the tail of the aircraft she froze in place.
A smell had entered her nose, a certain smelly kind of smell. A smell that any mechanic, whether they were automotive or avionic, would instantly recognize; burning oil. She slowly turned her head towards the exhaust nozzles of the aircraft, the engines were still relatively hot so nothing could be done until the engines had cooled down.
Penny narrowed her eyes 'I'm going to have to have a serious discussion with her before the next mission.'
Sighing, she filed the thought away for later and made her way over to the Typhoon where Weiss was talking with the other half of their team; Blake Belladonna and Yang Xaio Long.
Penny ran over and enveloped all of them into a hug.
"It's so good to see you again Penny, I hope you weren't too worried." Weiss said.
"Only a little." Penny said as she pulled away, her eyes widened as she got a good look at everyone "Ruby was right, you guys look exhausted."
"Considering the amount of combat sorties they've been assigning to us, we're entitled to some R&R." said Blake
"That's an understatement." said Yang as she glanced around "Where is Rubes anyway?"
"She already left for the barracks, said she was going to have a shower first." said Penny.
Yang groaned "Awwwwww man! I was gonna call first dibs!"
Blake chuckled and patted her chest "You'll be fine, your hair can wait a little longer."
Yang leaned in to whisper in Blake's ear "My hair isn't the only thing I wanna wash.."
Seeing the interaction, Blake's blush and knowing the implication, Weiss immediately stood and walked away "I call dibs on the shower after Ruby."
Yang was about to protest but Weiss held up her hand "If we're going to follow 'the rules of dibs'; which need I remind, you're the one who came up with them and insist on following them so vehemently. You should have called for next, but you didn't, so I did. Ergo, I'll be using the shower after Ruby."
Yang narrowed her eyes, but smirked "Alright, well played Ice Queen."
"Next time don't let your sexual frustrations get the better of you." quipped Weiss.
Blake couldn't help but let out a snort while Penny snickered; Yang went as red as a tomato and was about to let out a retort when three chirping tones rang out.
"This had better be good." Weiss gumbled as she pulled out her phone.
"Oh thank God! It's our pay from the last few missions…OH! OH! and we've got three days off!" Yang replied excitedly, completely forgetting her recent embarrassment.
"Sounds like you might be able to squeeze in a ride after all." said Blake as she put her phone away.
Yang looked at her with hopeful eyes "You wanna go riding with me?!
Blake smiled and gave her girlfriend a chaste kiss "You have to ask? You know I love our cruises."
Yang pumped her fist " I got a hot date! In your face Weiss-"
When she looked over to where Weiss had been, the ex-heiress was already gone.
"Already left for the barracks." said Penny as she gave her friends one last hug "And so should the both of you, you all need your rest and I have work to do."
Yang and Blake took their leave, as they made their way out of the hanger, Blake leaned in and whispered seductively "You know, since we'll be the last ones in the shower, we can really take our time."
Yang flushed a deep red "God I love you."
"I love you too." Blake giggled before Yang pulled her into a kiss.
After drying her hair from her 'shower', Yang opened up the door to the balcony of their barracks and stepped outside. Though their base was up in the mountains, it could get pleasantly mild and this was one of those comfortable nights.
Feeling a presence beside her, she turned as Blake handed her a cup of tea. Taking it, Yang took a long sip and smiled "Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Never thought I'd say this, but I've missed my tea."
"Funny how not long ago you weren't that particular to it." Blake said with a smile as she nuzzled up next to Yang.
"Well you suggested I try different flavors, said I might find one I like." Yang said before she took another sip "Honey and lemon, and I've never looked back."
Soon Ruby and Weiss joined them; the four of them simply sat on the balcony, enjoying their tea, the silence, and each other's company. In a time of war they learned to appreciate the peaceful and quiet moments, to never take them for granted.
After a long while, Ruby broke the silence as she stared at the night sky. "The stars are really beautiful tonight."
"Which view do you think is better? Down here? Or up there?" Yang asked.
Ruby pondered as she looked across the sky until her eyes fell upon the shattered moon "Does it matter? Both have their perspectives, but you know what mom says; to appreciate what we have up there, we have to appreciate what we have on solid ground."
Yang chuckled, "She says the weirdest things sometimes, and yet they somehow make sense."
Hearing Blake stifle a yawn caused her to yawn as well "Well we're gonna turn in, definitely not setting alarms."
"It'll be nice to sleep in a real bed." said Blake before letting out another yawn.
"Night Rubes, night Weiss." said Yang, ruffling Rub's hair before she and Blake headed inside.
As the door closed Ruby realized Weiss had been extremely quiet, they were having a conversation before heading outside; but she was silent after that. Turning her head she froze when she saw that her best friend had already passed out, and her head had slumped onto Ruby's shoulder without her noticing.
Ruby couldn't help but smile. 'She looks so beautiful and peaceful when she's asleep.'
She didn't realize she was staring, distracted by the scent of Weiss' shampoo, the slow rhythmic cadence of her breathing, and the warmth and closeness of her body - it made Ruby want to close the small gap between them.
Suddenly Ruby's eyes widened as realization hit her and her train of thought came to a screeching halt. Immediately she turned away from Weiss to focus on something else and settle her fluttering heart.
'Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope! Can't be thinking any of that. Nooooo sirrrrr.'
The wind started to pick up and she shivered as she felt the temperature drop 'Wooooo boy it's starting to get cold. Well of course it would! We're up in the mountains! It's bound to get cold! Hmmm…should probably head in now, really tired and we don't wanna catch a cold! Yup! Gonna head inside…'
She inhaled slowly, held her breath, and counted down '10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1' she exhaled slowly 'Aaaannnnndddddd repressed.'
Glancing back, she noticed Weiss still had her empty mug in her lap. Ruby gingerly took the mug and set it on the table next to them, didn't want it to break with how she was planning to wake her partner; Weiss was quite ticklish after all.
"Aaaaannnnnnnnnd poke!" said Ruby as she stuck a finger in Weiss' side.
Weiss' body jerked and she startled awake "AAAHH! Wha-?! Ruby! What was that for!?"
"Couldn't let you fall asleep outside, so I woke you up!" Ruby said innocently, desperately trying her hardest to not burst into laughter.
"You couldn't just? You know, nudge me awake or something?" Weiss asked in feigned annoyance.
"Pffftt! And where's the fun in that?" Ruby retorted with a giggle.
Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed half heartedly; but she wore a small smile on her face.
"Ich liebe dich." She said softly.
Not softly enough though, Ruby perked up and looked at her with a raised brow "Hm? What did you say?"
Weiss just smiled back and waved it off "Oh nothing, just some random saying is all."
Ruby's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her "One of these days I WILL learn Atlesian."
Weiss simply nodded "Mmmmhmmm I'm sure you will."
Ruby's look shifted from suspicion to determination "I will! Think of all the super secret conversations we could have!"
Weiss nearly blushed at the idea when a cold gust of wind blew through making them both shiver.
"Let's get inside, bed is calling my name and we don't want to spend our days off sick." Weiss said as she stood and collected their mugs.
"No arguments here." Ruby said as she followed and locked the door behind them. She waited for Weiss to set their mugs in the kitchen sink before heading to their bedrooms; once outside their respective doors she pulled Weiss into a hug.
"Goodnight Weiss, sleep well."
"Goodnight Ruby, you too."
Feeling somewhat resigned, Ruby broke the hug and entered her room; quietly shutting the door and leaning her back against it. She let out a long breath she didn't think she was holding, her mind had been a jumbled mess lately, but at least she finally had a few days to unwind and finally get some much needed sleep.
Eyeing her bed in front of her, she stumbled over and simply flopped onto it and sank into the soft mattress as it contoured her body. Shuffling around, she grabbed one of her pillows to cuddle then wrapped herself up in a cocoon of blankets and sighed contently. Feeling comfy and warm, she slowly let her eyelids close and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
A/N: Oops did I drop some WR crumbs there? It's kind of challenging to write aerial combat, so this chapter was a bit of a test bed. I also drew heavy inspiration from how Mikotyzini wrote Ruby's inner thoughts in 'What Defines Us'.
Next chapter will shed a little light on this massive war going on, we spend time with RWBY Team on their time off before they have to get back to the grind. Also to any new readers here...please don't read my other fic. It's absolute trash and I hate it