February 5, 4097, Vale City
Oscar Pine walked in his apartment with a more than clear concern on his face, his footsteps created a sound echo in his room, his eyes moved from side to side, trying to look for something specific that he lost just a few hours ago: His Scroll.
Oscar had not changed much over the years, his face continued to show a somewhat childish and adorable expression, although this was quickly contrasted by his now impressive 1.78 meters of height, which he had managed to achieve in more recent years.
His black hair was disheveled and certainly sweaty, he had been pacing from side to side for too long, his appearance was not the most presentable at the moment, he was aware of that.
The man stopped when he finally managed to find it, a small figure that barely measured 10 centimeters, both parts were completely complemented by a small circumference at one end opposite to the other, giving the sensation that it was some kind of gear, although It was only the main slogan of this new Scroll model.
The white device emitted a dull beep, while a circle located on the right shone with a somewhat dull blue color, Oscar pulled both ends with little effort, managing to open the Scroll Model 4.21, one of the most recent examples created by Velvet Scarlatina, inventor and renowned scientist of the company Schnee Corporations.
Oscar looked at the dark blue screen with excitement, his eyes were fixed on a small bubble in the shape of a notification, when he opened it, a text of a couple of pages appeared, the man stood up quickly, focusing on reading the content of the file.
Dear Oscar Pine, Councilor Gerald Gerlach greets you from the city of Bellgrave, Phimisal Kingdom.
It is my pleasure to inform you that after an exhaustive discussion among the kingdom council, it has been concluded that you are the most suitable candidate to take the position as headmaster at our academy, Nexorum.
Due to the still recent birth of our academy, we strongly ask that you arrive at the territory of the kingdom within 1 week, more specifically on February 12 of the current year 4097, we will wait for you patiently and you will be given the welcome you deserve.
Oscar was forced to reread the message a few more times, until the truth became undeniable, he had been accepted as the definitive director of Nexorum, the Huntsmen academy of the Phimisal kingdom.
The man sat on the bed in his room, still processing the confirmation and what it would mean for his life, Phimisal was a newly formed kingdom that already had a Huntsmen academy with quite a few students on the waiting lists with the few years that it had, even so, there is no real experience in the position of director, Councilor Gerald was the same one who was in charge of managing the students and the like, therefore it was more than necessary for someone else to take charge of that position.
Oscar decided to put himself up as a candidate a couple of months ago, his phase with Ozpin in his head as a voice of reason had long ended, so the constant advice and insights based on Ozpin's experience were no longer available, even so, Oscar managed to learn everything necessary and understand his mentor's way of thinking, including his role as Headmaster.
Knowing that he was accepted makes him feel incredibly happy and motivated, he can finally make a change in his life, he can be someone much more important to the world without the need to be the next reincarnation of Ozma.
Oscar got up from his bed and left his house quite quickly, the apartment complex he lived in was located in the center of the city of Vale, he decided to move here since the war ended, his aunt had been something reluctant to let go of her nephew, whom she had not seen in practically 2 whole years, even so, she could not ignore the clear joy that Oscar felt with his new friends, so sooner or later she decided to simply kick him out of the farm.
Quite maternal, from Oscar's point of view.
The city of Vale had changed slightly in recent years, since the kingdom had suffered an invasion on a huge scale by Grimm, the damage was quite noticeable and serious for anyone in the kingdom, Beacon had been very close to total destruction due to being the home of the relic of decision, the crown, the conflict had consequences, one of them being the city's territory being reduced due to irreparable damage to the borders of the city and the kingdom itself.
Even so, the city still had the appearance of a metropolis and its inhabitants lived peacefully, businesses were staying afloat, there were still repairs in some sectors but it was nothing that could not be managed in the near future.
The only thing that was different was the huge Schnee Corporations corporate building in the middle of the city.
Complaints towards Winter Schnee's decision to move to Vale indefinitely did not wait, the conflict between Atlas and Vacuo was not a secret to any citizen of Vale, nor was it that Winter Schnee was the maiden who defended Shade during the time period where Vacuo was the only kingdom with a Huntsmen academy, yet no one liked Schnee Corporations.
SDC was one thing, a Dust mining company that also had a subdivision dedicated to shoemaking, the controversies about the abuse of workers and the racism present in the mines were not a mystery to Remnant either, but it was also not a mystery that people used to turn a blind eye to these events, after all, they were not directly affected.
But Schnee Corp came out directly as a consequence of the war.
Schnee Corporations, unlike its sister company, is based on the construction of technology of all types, military, prosthetic, experimental, home, in addition to supporting very directly other types of businesses, whether it be the purchase of larger companies, small buildings and land for the construction of new headquarters and research centers.
The company had been born as a consequence of the fall of Atlas, the floating kingdom was known in part for having renowned scientists and inventors such as Pietro Polendina, people with disabilities used to use prostheses from Atlas, as did the headquarters, SDC's main location was in Atlas, so there were worrying amounts of Dust that were buried and flooded with the fall of the kingdom.
Schnee Corporations ended up being a project devised by Winter Schnee with the help of Pietro Polendina as a quick response to the lack of resources that all of Remnant was suffering, Atlas would not return for a week and everyone knew it, so, with the help of the money provided by Willow Schnee, Schnee Corp managed to become the most valued company in Remnant.
People disliked it, Schnee Corp had destroyed homes and smaller businesses in its growth process, although, in reality, this was more than necessary to ensure that Remnant did not stagnate in a permanent technological vacuum, some marches and protests appeared with the years, but they came to nothing.
Oscar stopped seeing the enormous building with the family logo at the top, deciding to enter another apartment complex and go up to the upper floor, once there, he looked for the number 142, found it quickly and turned to it, he approached the door, knocking on it a few times.
Some clumsy footsteps were heard from inside until the door was opened, revealing the figure of Lie Ren, age had been generous with him and had only emphasized more his Mistrali attractiveness, although right now what was most striking was the front with the words Renora written, in addition to holding a small baby.
"Oscar" Ren greeted him "Do you need anything?"
"I wanted to talk to Nora" Oscar stated, looking at the little baby and giving him a quick caress on the belly, resulting in a soft laugh from the infant "What do you say Eijiro, can I see your mommy?"
"Nora is in the room" Ren stood to the side, quickly moving Eijiro away from Oscar "You can't always come like this, you know he goes crazy when he sees you"
"I guess it must be because I'm his uncle," Oscar joked, laughing at the defeated expression of his friend and former teammate "It'll be quick, in fact, I need to talk to you too"
Ren nodded, although somewhat hesitant, it didn't take him long to guide Oscar to the living room, where Nora Valkyrie was, wearing a simple and simple blouse along with a sweatshirt that was somewhat loose on her, the woman seemed to be busy reading some papers related to Beacon, since the papers had Glynda Goodwitch's name stamped on the header.
Nora looked up when she heard the footsteps approaching, meeting Oscar and Ren, the latter holding her own son "Oscar! Do you need me to lend you money? I have a little of what Glynda paid me this month…" The orange-haired woman stuck her hand inside one of the cushions, apparently looking for some cash for her friend.
"No, no" Oscar quickly shook his arms, sitting in the chair opposite Nora "I have news about Councilor Gerald about my proposal to be his Headmaster"
"Did they reject you?" Nora and Ren asked at the same time, Oscar looked at his friends somewhat disappointed, shook his head to remove the little trust that the couple had in him and continued.
"Quite the opposite" Oscar leaned forward, wearing a small smile on his face "They want me to be there in a week so they can start, can you believe it?"
Nora and Ren looked at each other for a couple of seconds without saying anything, planting an awkward silence in the room, after a few infinite minutes, Nora decided to speak.
"Does Ruby know about this?" Nora asked, picking up her son and beginning to pet his head.
"…I just got the message this morning" Oscar shrugged his shoulders, feeling the strange look of his friends "I'll tell her as soon as she get back, there's still a week left"
"Look, Oscar, Ren, I, and the rest of all Remnant know that you are madly in love with Ruby Rose" Nora stated without even a hint of hesitation, settling herself better on the couch "Don't you think this is the perfect opportunity to break that farm boy façade and become a real hunk?"
Oscar did not respond immediately, but simply remained silent for a few seconds while he thought about his friend's words, he already accepted his feelings for Ruby for some years, her apparent death on the Ambrosius bridge meant that he already was aware of his feelings towards her, and when she returned, he couldn't stop those feelings from growing.
He loved her, he loved her like he had never loved anyone, there was no aspect of her that he didn't appreciate, but he wasn't an idiot in love either, he knows very well that Ruby is not the type of girl who has a boyfriend to go out with on weekends, she is always busy outside the kingdom, doing risky missions and destroying Grimm's wells.
The last thing Ruby needs now is a boyfriend, Oscar accepted that too long ago.
"I don't want to ruin our friendship" Oscar finally spoke, his voice smaller than he had thought "But I wanted to spend this last week with her, anyway, she's my best friend"
"You break my heart, I thought I was your best friend" Nora placed both hands on her chest dramatically, receiving a disappointed look from her husband "Seriously, congratulations, I wish Jaune was here to celebrate the 4, like JNOR"
"He's been very busy lately" Ren added to the conversation, wearing a slightly worried look for his friend "Maybe too much…"
"I'll let you know later…now, do you want to do something fun?" Oscar asked with a soft smile, spending the rest of the day with his closest friends.
Ruby sighed with annoyance clear on her body, her usually adorable face was ruined by a frown and multiple cuts on her skin, although these disappeared as time went by due to her aura, the silent but annoying pain continued to wreak havoc on her mind
The woman mentally laughed as she finally understood part of the reason why her uncle had become an alcoholic so easily, going from place to place in Remnant is one of the worst possible experiences, Ruby already confirmed it.
"The new Grimm are appearing in various places throughout Remnant, Ronin, Lucralon, Qesha...I am concerned about their very advanced way of thinking" Glynda Goodwitch's voice continued to be as formal and calculating as ever, although the passing of time and stress constant had already left a permanent trace in the woman's tone.
Ruby kept her head down, covering her face with her hands and rubbing her eyes with some force, managing to recover some energy to continue listening to Glynda, when she looked up, she found the woman's emotionless face, who seemed to have noticed her inability to stay focused.
"You look bad" Glynda stated without the intention of offending the black-haired woman "If you want to take a few days, I won't have any problem"
"Qrow didn't take any days off" Ruby responded normally "I just didn't sleep well, but I'll be able to check the borders of Ishaiba to find any particularly large Grimm pits-"
"I'm not Ozpin to allow my most capable Huntress to end up in a hospital for lack of sleep" Glynda quickly interrupted Ruby, her calm tone becoming harsh and almost biting "Qrow was accompanied only by his loneliness, you are not, Ruby, Mercury is much better accustomed to the deplorable conditions than you, and he has been off for a few weeks, I will contact him soon to schedule the next mission, in the meantime, rest, now is an order"
Ruby groaned in defeat and pushed her own head back, a shaky breath leaving her lips as her brain quickly assessed the situation she had been put in again, a habit she formed from taking secret missions for Glynda, just as Qrow had done with Ozpin many years ago.
Ruby and Mercury were members of the new secret group formed by Glynda Goodwitch, although the war against Salem ended with a miraculous victory on the part of humanity, and there was no longer a trial around the corner that would condemn them, Grimm continued to be a common enemy, and since Salem's death, they had only appeared more frequently.
Glynda constantly sent Ruby and Mercury to carry out different tasks of all kinds, the main objective was to keep Remnant safe from the shadows, not only suppressing the evil forces of the Grimm, but also future potential enemies of the kingdoms, the espionage and information theft had become natural skills for Ruby.
Even so, her body did not have infinite energy, so she inevitably ended up tired and without the courage to continue with her duty, this was not the first time that Glynda put her in the waiting room as if she were a little girl, and it would not be the last time either.
"I guess I can't just knock you out and leave on my own" Ruby muttered jokingly, though Glynda's lips stayed in a perfectly straight thin line, making the younger woman more nervous "Okay, I'll stay, but if anything that is very urgent comes up, you should call me, Glynda"
"I'll keep that in mind" Glynda concluded the conversation when her fingers opened a drawer in her desk and took a white folder, opening it and beginning to read its contents in complete silence, practically ignoring Ruby's presence.
Ruby stood up quickly and her body vanished into hundreds of petals, disappearing from Glynda's office and leaving Beacon in a matter of seconds, the petals rejoined when she reached the top of the Schnee Corporations building. Ruby took a moment to appreciate the view from the height she was at.
The city of Vale was full of life, multiple vehicles traveling the streets, the buildings were illuminated by the electricity that ran in their infrastructure, Ruby felt relieved from one moment to the next by the relaxing view, which was practically a reminder of her victory.
Ruby managed to fulfill her dream, she was a Huntress, the most popular and important in the entire history of Remnant, she managed to save the world from the judgment of the brothers of creation, and she was in constant movement to continue her protection around the entire world.
Any other person would claim that she should be happier than ever for all her achievements, after all, not everyone is capable of achieving world feats and filling people's hearts with hope, being revered and loved by everyone must feel very incredible.
Ruby didn't feel as happy as she should have.
She had everything she could ask for, her team still continued to communicate regularly, even if they were no longer together most of the time, her closest friends had managed to establish their lives and could spend the rest of their days in peace, her sister finally married to the woman she loved, who was also a very close friend of her.
But she felt like something was missing, maybe the fact that she feels a little lonely, even with all those friends around her, she can't help but feel a hole in her chest, one that only seemed to get bigger with each passing day.
Ironically, if she think about it, very few of her friends dedicated themselves fully to the profession of Huntsman or Huntress, Blake and Yang take missions from time to time, Ren and Nora barely had missions really, Weiss is part of the Atlas council and he doesn't have time for that, Jaune is the only one dedicated entirely to being a Huntsman.
Ruby understood them perfectly, part of the road getting here was forming incredibly deep and unbreakable bonds, it wasn't really surprising that they would rather start their families than continue risking them, Ruby had apparently gotten stuck.
A muffled moan left the woman's lips, she couldn't help but agree with Qrow at times, her uncle had a very dark time since Summer Rose died, he constantly moved from kingdom to kingdom and didn't have the opportunity to make real friends, at least for several years, isolation took its toll on the man's sanity.
Ruby definitely didn't want to end up like that, but she couldn't leave her duty aside , that was her most important priority, keeping the world safe from the Grimm, just like her uncle and thousands of Huntsmen before him had done.
Ruby returned to the real world when her Scroll vibrated with some force, forcing her to take the device out of the strategic pocket on her lower back. Upon opening it, she found a rather short message from Oscar, asking her to meet him at his apartment as soon as possible.
Ruby allowed herself to appreciate the beautiful city that was in front of her, and once again, she dissolved into a cloud of roses and traveled through the skies.
"…You are going to Nexorum?" Ruby whispered in an impressed murmur, finding herself more moved by the news than she would have thought "That's…incredible"
"I thought they wouldn't accept me, but they want to give me the opportunity, and I'm willing to give it my all as a Headmaster" Oscar responded enthusiastically, looking at Ruby for an excited or happy reaction, only to be met with a downcast grimace "…Everything's fine?"
Ruby looked up, realizing that Oscar had noticed her apparent discontent, she quickly shook her head from side to side, trying to regain her smile, ending in a somewhat ugly crooked line.
"Yeah, I'm happy for you, I'm impressed, that's all" Ruby explained, playing with her fingers "You're leaving in a week, right? What will you do in all this time?"
Oscar bit his lip for a second, managing to find the words in his mind "I wanted to spend it with you, I see Nora and Ren very often, and you're always away on some mission or another, I thought it would be okay to have a little fun, but if you are busy I-"
"Alright! Alright! I swear" Ruby quickly responded, now with a somewhat fearful expression "I would like to spend it with you, I just, I can't believe it…"
"Ozpin was very young when he was appointed director, I don't have the help of Ozma like he had, but-" Oscar tried to defend himself in some way, only to be interrupted once again by his companion.
"I mean, I never thought you'd be so far away" The woman's silver eyes weren't looking at anything specific, they simply focused on a non-existent void "You know, you've always been there when I've needed you and... you'll be busy in Nexorum, very busy"
Oscar's enthusiastic smile faded in seconds, his frown revealed his confusion at his friend's reaction, he did not expect this type of response, there is no shout of happiness or any shock of emotion.
"You can come whenever you want" Oscar tried to ease the new tension in the room, although his attempt seemed to be rejected by the still shocked Ruby "I'll be part of the secret group of Headmasters of Remnant, Glynda will send you to talk to me from time to time, It's not that bad"
"...I guess you're right" Ruby murmured back, covering her mouth with one hand, delving a little deeper into her jumbled and somewhat clouded thoughts "Do you want to...play War of Remnant?"
Oscar smiled, feeling a little less tense than before "Sure, let me make a couple of drinks"
Ruby couldn't stop thinking about Oscar.
The legendary heroine was very aware of how strange this statement might sound in her head, but, in reality, it was the pure truth, raw and hard, she couldn't stop thinking about her friend, and even more so considering his imminent partial departure from her life.
Ruby wanted to mentally punish herself for thinking so negatively, her friend was going to be someone very important to Remnant as Headmaster of an academy, it would be logical that she would be more than happy to help and encourage him, the only thing she found was a somewhat macabre perspective of how their time together seemed to be threatened by an invisible timer.
Ruby's mind invaded her with simple and mundane memories of herself with Oscar, the first thing he said when he saw her was you have silver eyes, her first training ended with her returning a punch, their reunion in Vacuo was moving and reassuring for both, the silver-eyed woman couldn't help but form a grimace when remembering all those pleasant situations from her past.
Never having anticipated how important Oscar would be in her life, her journey with Nora, Ren and Jaune had escalated to unimaginable measures, making them part of a secret war between an immortal woman and an ancient wizard with the ability to embody and subdue the mind of his guest.
She did not regret having met him, she did not see herself capable of doing so, he has been an important piece for her, he has been a confidant, a friend, someone to whom she can tell her problems without hesitation, their friendship was too precious for her.
She still bitterly remembers what it was like to murder the fake Oscar from Ever After, even if she was aware that it wasn't real, she couldn't help but imagine how incredibly devastated she would have been if Oscar really died, her mind currently seems to want to remind her of that feeling, she doesn't want to do it, she want to feel good about him, but it's too hard not to think that she is going to lose him.
"Here" Oscar's voice brought her back to reality, the man's hand was in front of her, fully extended to offer her cotton candy "You seem a little distracted, did you sleep well?"
"Yes, the dark circles won't go away overnight" Ruby responded, knowing she was lying "I got used to not sleeping"
Sleepless nights were not new to her, they were practically her eternal companion now, but she had never had a romantic dinner with the feeling of loss as strong as she had it last night, her mind constantly reminding her that Oscar would leave prevented her from sleeping more than 2 hours.
"That's...great" Oscar murmured, somewhat uncomfortable with the apparent absence of Ruby's usual enthusiasm "Do you want to go to the movies? There is a new adaptation of some Huntsmen who are faunus and…Ruby?"
Oscar looked in the same direction in which his friend was looking, finding in the distance a small park with a fountain in the middle, the sunlight perfectly decorated the wooden benches and the people enjoying the cozy atmosphere, to the surprise of Oscar, Qrow Branwen and Winter Schnee were staring at the ceramic fountain, fully appreciating the water lines formed by the mechanism inside.
"Qrow and Winter are here" Oscar murmured somewhat impressed, it was not normal to see Winter hanging around outside the Schnee Corporations offices "Are they on a date?"
"Maybe" Ruby murmured in response, feeling more drawn to her uncle's hand, which was held firmly by Winter.
Winter murmured something in Qrow's direction, separating herself from him and beginning to walk towards a hot dog stand, Ruby looked at Oscar quickly, speaking as soon as she met his gaze.
"I'll go talk to Qrow for a moment" Ruby didn't wait for a response from Oscar and ran quickly towards her uncle, shortening the distance with ease and placing herself in front of him, slightly surprising the man.
Qrow Branwen still maintained the same appearance for the last 20 years, some gray hair peeking through his dark gray locks, his usual Huntsman outfit had been replaced by a simple black t-shirt accompanied by casual pants, giving a citizen's facade to one of the most influential heroes in all of Remnant.
"Ruby" Qrow greeted his niece, receiving a quick hug from her, which he accepted without much problem "It's strange seeing you around the city, did Glynda force you to calm your heroin urges?"
"Something like that" Ruby shrugged, stroking the red tips of her hair shyly "Are you on a date with Winter?"
"You guessed it, she has a few days off after putting multiple projects in motion, so we decided to spend that free time together" Qrow turned slightly, looking at his wife with a slight smile "Do you need to talk to her?"
"No, more like with you, although both of you would be fine" Ruby muttered to herself, although she quickly remembered why she was here, she needed to ask about something that her uncle knew almost perfectly, after all, his experience in that area It was almost as big as a Wyvern.
"…What happens when you are thinking too much about someone, and, when that someone is about to take a big step in their life, you feel like you are losing them even though nothing bad is going to happen to them?" Ruby tried to put her words in the most understandable way possible, Qrow's serene expression changed to a more analytical one in a matter of seconds, the man seemed to have some memories in his mind, and then smiled knowingly.
"Oscar is leaving?" He asked.
"Huh? Well, something like that, he will become the new Headmaster of Nexorum and he decided to spend these days with me... and I feel like I can't stop thinking about him and that, I've wasted my time on something, but, we've done everything as friends! Game nights, playing Blazblue to death, we've even had some casual pillow fights" Ruby explained calmly, unaware of how admittedly childish those things were for someone her age "…are you laughing?"
Qrow placed a hand over his mouth to cover his smile, the man waved his free hand in denial, taking a few seconds to compose himself properly "Okay, look, kiddo, you're in love with Oscar"
Ruby blinked a few times, processing her uncle's words a few times in her head, in love? What was that? An incredibly strange Vacuo meal?
"I don't know what you mean" Ruby shrugged, simply waiting for a deeper explanation.
"I mean that you want him to be part of your life in a deeper way, something different than a simple friendship, you want him to know you completely, your good and bad parts, give yourself body and soul and become one when you are together…" Qrow said calmly, the experience practically conveying through his words "Believe me, I know how it feels"
Ruby didn't respond immediately, instead, her uncle's statements were completely new and unknown to her, love? That word was strange and unpleasant when she was younger, thinking about two people kissing and swearing eternal affection sounded ridiculous and disgusting, and now.
It still sounded ridiculous and disgusting.
But instead, seeing herself doing all those loving activities with Oscar, it felt strange, there was no real repulsion inside her body, rather, it was a strange sensation that pressed her heart gently, her cheeks became hot for a moment and her mind continued escalating said imaginary situations to a more carnal point.
Ruby stopped in time, before her cheeks turned a tomato red.
"I'll put it at the bottom of the list of possible explanations" Ruby stated with a smug tone, smiling at her uncle and hugging him tightly until she made a grunt of pain from the man "Say hi to Winter for me, okay? In fact, tell her I called her aunt , it bothers her that I call her by her name"
"I don't promise anything" Qrow gasped, still out of breath, saying goodbye to his niece, the man was surprised not to see his wife nearby, so he quickly looked for her, finding her yelling at a poor old man tending the stall of hot dogs.
Qrow sighed in defeat, setting off to prevent his wife from adding another restraining order to her already long list of them.
The little outing to the cinema ended up being calmer and more harmless than Ruby would have thought, Oscar had not spoken much during the movie and rather limited himself to enjoying it, giving Ruby a look or two, a look that she returned whenever she could.
Qrow's words continued to resonate firmly in her brain, the definition of falling in love was still partially unknown to Ruby, so, as a small stop in Oscar's last days in the kingdom, she decided to pay to the two person more more in love than Ruby had ever known.
Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna.
Yang and Blake's small house on Patch Island was quite similar to the one Tai had built many years ago, the environment full of trees and the lack of urbanization conveyed a tranquility that Blake appreciated quite a bit, although Yang had already solved that small problem with a proposal a couple of months ago.
Have a child, and move to the city.
The news was quite accepted and supported among Yang and Blake's most personal circle of friends, Weiss saw the decision as a step beyond the couple's relationship and even as something more necessary, after all, she and Jaune had been the first in the respective teams JNOR and RWBY to have children, more specifically, little Waverly Schnee in the year 4093.
Ruby, who had found out a little later, supported her sister and her friend in every way she could, proposing multiple names for the family's future little one, ending in a somewhat comical argument over which last name he should have, Xiao Long or Belladonna.
Ruby now felt the need to seek advice from her sister, Yang had spent much of her adolescence hanging out with boys and girls casually, usually ending in nothing serious, Blake had been a special case to the point that she was her wife, how the change happened? How did Yang know she was really in love?
"Ruby, Oscar, I'm sorry about the mess, the move to the city is being more complicated than we thought" Blake greeted her friends and moved away from the door, allowing them to enter and see all the boxes and clothes lying on the floor.
"Do you need help?" Oscar asked, looking specifically at a box with the letters Yang's Combs written boldly in black marker.
"No, Yang knows the house much better than I do and insisted that I let her work at her own pace, that's why there are a lot of combs in different boxes, a lot of soap in others…" Blake's tone of voice became deep for a few seconds, and then shook his head, composing himself, giving Oscar a quick smile "But, I need help in the kitchen, so if you can give me a hand with the vegetables"
"Sure" Oscar watched Blake head toward the kitchen, before following her, he turned around and faced Ruby "See you later?"
"Uh, yeah!" Ruby took Oscar's hands and squeezed them in a loving gesture, his confused expression ended up making Ruby even more nervous, so she pushed her friend away and simply ran towards the stairs, going up to her sister's room, finding her staring at a closet.
Yang's hair still had the same yellow coloring, her right arm was an improved version of the prosthesis she had worn since she began her journey to find her sister, besides that, she was dressed quite simply, a tank top and baggy pants that made her look like some kind of tramp.
"Hey Rubes" Yang greeted the other woman, returning her attention to the closet still full of clothes "You caught me in a rather busy moment, Blake has so many different clothes…"
"Do you want help?" Ruby quickly approached Yang's side, only to be pushed away by her accompanied by a warning hiss.
"You have a very bad history of losing clothes or tearing them, I prefer to do this alone" Yang continued taking piles of clothes, throwing them into some rather large boxes, every few piles she ended up closing the boxes, framing them with BC and a number.
Ruby sighed, not knowing what to do, so she took a quick look at the room before starting her questions, the room looked quite messy and not very pleasant to look at, multiple electronic devices such as chargers or hair dryers were scattered, and even some combs had a worrying amount of golden hair, which made Ruby giggle softly.
Ruby quickly remembered the reason she was here, it wasn't to see how her sister had more hair than a bear, no, it was to talk about girl topics.
"So, sister" Ruby began to speak, whistling surreptitiously as she reduced the volume of her voice, fearing that Oscar might hear her "You…how do you know when you're in love?"
"Me what?" Yang said absently, the blonde took a couple of seconds to process her sister's question, so, somewhat grimly, her body did a complete spin without even really moving, her lilac eyes now infused with suspicion and mischief "Hmmm, me what?"
"Uncle Qrow said that I'm starting to have feelings for Oscar now that he's going to be the Headmaster of Nexorum, and, I think I need to understand what love is to know if I really see it that way or, I'm just sad because he's my friend" Ruby said slowly, her voice a little small and low as she played with her fingers "...Will you say something?"
"So you finally know what you have for Oscar, okay" Yang murmured, finally standing up and approaching her sister, forcing her to sit on the bed she shared with Blake "Huh...let me think...remember when you told me about Ever After"
Ruby quickly remembered the horrible torture that Neopolitan had forced her to go through in the Ever After, it had taken a few months for Yang and Ruby to really talk about what happened there, especially about her little suicidal episode, for which Yang couldn't stop blaming myself for quite some time.
A very traumatic part in particular had been when she killed Oscar's illusion, Ruby felt a strange fear, one similar to the one she had felt when Penny died in the Vytal festival tournament, or when Pyrrha died at the hands of Cinder, the mere idea losing Oscar seemed to be something special, the symbolism that Neo had made her understand was that her attempts to save the people she loved simply ended up killing them, which, unfortunately for Ruby, she believed only for a moment.
If Oscar died because of her, how horrible could he feel?
"I was always afraid of abandonment, Raven left me aside when I was little, and mom went with her to never return... when Blake left I was furious, I had opened my heart to her and she abandoned me when things got bad... but she came back, and when she did, things changed" Yang began to explain, having happy and sad memories about Blake.
"There came a point where the mere idea of losing each other was so terrifying that I understood that there was something more between us, then the storm of the Ever After swallowed us, and we were finally able to tell each other what we felt" Yang continued, looking at her sister with affection "I wanted to share my life with her, wake up hugging each morning and at some point start a family... I wanted her to know me completely, because she accepted me, even with my stupid and aggressive side, she accepted me"
"Brotherly love is different from romantic love, when you love someone like I love Blake, you feel the need to live the rest of your life with that someone in a new and beautiful way" Yang looked at her sister with determination, extending her hand to her "I think Oscar is that person for you, he's a good guy"
"…That sounds good" Ruby blushed softly, understanding the concept of love better thanks to her sister "I don't know, Yang, he's chasing his dreams, I can't just anchor him to me, that's not…love"
"If you keep your feelings to yourself, they will become so heavy that they will create a hole in your heart that you will never be able to fill" Yang said with a more serious tone, taking her sister's hands and squeezing them tightly "You must tell him, Ruby, you must give him the decision to share his love with you"
Oscar cut the cucumbers with quite admirable precision, his natural movement silently admired by Blake, who simply kept half her attention on the boiling pot on the stove.
Blake caught Oscar's eyes quickly, noting how relatively lost and unfocused they were, even with a knife in hand, quickly, the woman grabbed the man's arm and pulled him away from the cutting board, making sure to avoid an accident.
"You're going to lose a finger if you keep cutting with your mind in the clouds" Blake said, turning off the stove and checking out the smell of Menagerie's rather pleasant crab soup "Let me guess, problems with walking away from the love of your life to be the Headmaster of an academy?"
"It's not supposed to be that obvious," Oscar laughed humorlessly, covering his face with his hands "I can't stop thinking about her and Nexorum, it's like I'm leaving a part of myself behind"
"It's because you do" Blake responded normally "You probably feel like you have to stay with her and agree to be her friend in order to be close to her, but you also feel like you have to move on and just walk away, or you'll end up hurting yourself"
"It seems like you have experience with that, Yang must have been difficult at Beacon" Oscar was surprised when Blake simply shook her head, indicating that she wasn't talking about her wife.
"Adam Taurus was my boyfriend for some time, when I was with him I felt like two parts of me were constantly fighting, the one that wanted to stay because I loved him, and the one that wanted to leave because I loved myself more and didn't want to become a monster" Blake's face wrinkled into an expression of bitterness, revealing how unpleasant her relationship with the bull faunus had been "Fortunately, yours is calmer"
"I don't know how peaceful it is to fall in love with someone who has never felt love in the first place" Oscar sighed defeated, a sad expression now adorning his face "I feel like I can't go much longer without telling her how I feel, but I know it will ruin our friendship"
"You don't need a storm from a fantasy world to confess" Blake joked, giving Oscar a little tap on the nose "You'll be leaving soon, how about you resolve one of the biggest doubts of your entire life? Does Ruby Rose love you, or does she still see you as her friendly friend from a Mistrali farm? It's up to you"
"I guess that's a good point" Oscar sighed, retrieving the knife that Blake had taken from him and this time placing a group of carrots in a row, ready to be sliced "If you take the knife from me again, I'll spray you with water"
Blake hissed like a cat and reluctantly agreed, sipping some of her crab soup, sure enough, it tasted very good.
February 12, 4097, Beacon Academy.
The days had passed faster than Ruby and Oscar would have thought.
The activities of both friends were normal and simple, watching a movie at the man's house, sparring as they had done a few years ago, and especially, remembering things from the past.
Ruby listened in silence as Oscar told her what the months had been like after the fall of Atlas, they were sad, gloomy and heartbreaking, the hopes of humanity fell on them and hope was lost at times, according to Oscar, Ruby was like a kind of lighthouse, a pillar on which anyone could lean and feel safe, and without it, he didn't feel safe.
Investigations related to what could have happened to the RWBYs were Oscar's primary concern during that time, he could spend entire nights without sleeping or miss meetings with friends just to continue investigating, the Shade bookstore became a temporary home for the boy, which was struggling with an identity crisis.
Oscar was scared, he felt sad and depressed by Ruby's apparent death, but apart from that, fear ran through his body when he saw himself talking like someone else, having thoughts that were not usual for him, his body became weak and heavy, while he felt an enormous pressure on his mind which forced him to give control to Ozpin.
The terror of becoming someone else and getting lost in nothingness itself hit the poor boy who had not even thought about what to do with his life, Oscar was just a child with the bad luck to be Ozpin's next guest, he had no real dreams, and why should he have them? At the end of the day, he would stop being the same at some point.
The only thing that kept him sane in those moments was thinking about Ruby, what would happen if she magically returned, how he must be there to help her, his source of hope must return, she must be somewhere in Remnant, and apparently, the Gods had mercy on him.
Team RWBY returned from a fantasy world and Oscar was finally able to see her again, and his source of hope resurfaced stronger than ever, the rest is history.
Oscar felt nervous and nostalgic when the Bullhead descended from the skies, the air vehicle settled firmly in the Beacon airship port, in a few seconds, the metal hatch slowly opened, revealing the figure of the Phimisal councilor, Gerald Gerlach.
"Councilor Gerald" Oscar greeted him, shaking the hand of the taller man, somewhat corpulent and with tanned skin, his black hair with gray hair was perfectly smoothed back, giving him an appearance worthy of someone so important.
"Oscar, I'm a little sorry for the delay, I had a rather long conversation with Fox Alistair from Shade" The man explained, his eyes fixed on Oscar's companion, the legendary Ruby Rose "Ruby Rose, it's quite an honor to meet you"
"The feeling is mutual" Ruby bowed her head in respect, although inside she was just begging for more time to think "Do you want to stay for a few hours? Beacon has a lot to offer"
"I would love to, but the Phimisal council has Oscar's paperwork ready at Nexorum Academy, so the sooner we get there, the sooner he will have his title" Gerald explained calmly, pointing a finger at the Bullhead behind him "We'll talk more in depth of the process inside, we will have to pay a visit to the council meeting room"
"Of course" Oscar nodded, watching as Gerald began to walk in the direction of the Bullhead, the man turned around for a moment, observing Ruby's defeated expression.
"This is not goodbye" Oscar said, approaching her and taking her hands, gently caressing her palms "You can visit me whenever you want, remember?"
"It's not the same, you will be the Headmaster of an academy and I will travel the world all the time, Vale is my home" Ruby did her best to keep her tone neutral, although she felt like she could explode at any moment "Everything is so confusing now…"
Oscar bit his lip, feeling an urge within him to talk about how he felt, about how he felt towards her, however, the reminder of the possibility of rejection terrified him, so, defeated, he simply let go of her hands and turned as fast as he could, determined not to break down in front of her.
Ruby felt like the world seemed to stop at that moment, was he just going to leave like that? Leaving her confused and alone? It was as if she were going to lose him forever, Oscar was going to continue his life without her, he was going to meet an incredible woman and start a family, and she would have to be there from time to time to support him, sounds good, right? So why does it hurt so much?
Ruby simply couldn't accept it, she wasn't going to let the person she loved leave without first confessing what she felt.
"Oscar, wait a second" Ruby's voice was clearly broken, she approached her lover and took him firmly by the arm, almost digging her nails into his coat "Don't leave yet…"
"The councilor is waiting" Oscar said, resisting the desire to turn around "I promise I'll call you often, okay? Not everything has to be so different…"
"But everything is different now!" Ruby squealed, tears leaking easily into her eyes "Why? Why didn't you ever tell me how you felt about me?"
"Because I knew that your life did not need another burden" Oscar explained, bowing his head sadly "I have loved you for so many years… but I always knew, since I met you, that your destiny was much bigger than mine…"
"I decide my own destiny" Ruby finally grabbed Oscar by both arms, forcing him to turn around "And I want to share it with you…I'm scared, Oscar, scared that you'll go away and leave me, it sounds stupid, right? Stopping you from continuing with your life just because I'm confused...but, I think I understand now..."
"Understand what?" Oscar asked, his voice breaking with each letter he spoke.
"Understand that I love you, Oscar Pine, I love you" Ruby sighed heavily, trying to calm the emotions that were leaking into her voice "I don't want you to leave, I want you to give us a chance... to us"
Oscar felt his heart stop suddenly, his brain took a couple of seconds to process the woman's words, did she love him? Did she want him to give up this opportunity to help her discover her feelings? He should feel angry.
But he only felt a happiness too big for his chest.
Oscar firmly grabbed Ruby's cheeks, bringing their faces closer until their lips connected in a needy and affectionate kiss, Ruby moaned softly at the sensation, beginning to move her lips in an awkward way.
The kiss lasted a few minutes, they both separated due to lack of air, staring at each other while they panted, there was so much that needed to be said, so many feelings to confess, and now, it seemed as if it didn't matter to tell them, because they already knew how they felt about each other.
Oscar turned around, looking at Gerald's surprised expression, with determination, he gave a verdict to the conflict "Councilor, I'm sorry, but I can't accept the offer, my life is here, in Vale... with the woman I love"
Ruby made a screech similar to a lament, firmly hugging Oscar's torso and burying her face in the man's shoulder, beginning to mutter nonsensical things, accompanied by a nervous giggle that revealed how happy she was.
"Uh, I guess I'll report this to the council" Gerald shrugged, entering the Bullhead, the vehicle took a few seconds to get going, flying through the air and disappearing over the horizon.
Ruby sobbed a little hard, Oscar took care of her tears quickly, gently wiping them away with his thumb, the woman smiled stupidly, unable to contain her emotions any longer.
"Damn farmer" Ruby sighed, hugging Oscar and kissing him hard "I'm tired of all this sentimentality, do you know how much I've suffered these last few days?"
"I'm sorry" He replied, stroking the reddish tips of Ruby's hair "We're together now…right?"
"Yes, we're together" Ruby laughed strangely, wrapping her arms around Oscar's neck and deepening the hug even more, in which they both found a comfortable silence for several minutes.
They did not know what the future held for them, how they were going to fight against life's problems or if the difficulties would overwhelm them, the only thing they really knew perfectly well was that they loved each other, and were more than willing to start a new journey together.
So many years of repressing emotions and avoiding them were over, now it was time to start something new and beautiful.
"I want you to marry me" Ruby Rose murmured into Oscar Pine's ear, planting her lips on his lobe.
"That?!" Oscar groaned nervously, feeling his heart escape from his chest.
"I don't want any complaints" Ruby pouted, hitting Oscar a little hard on the head "You decided to be with me, now you're going to have to put up with me, I want us to get married…in June!"
Oscar Pine sighed heavily, the beautiful new trip was going to be very strange too, and that wasn't so bad.