"Damn it! Come on!"
Emerald opened her eyes and stared at the wall, annoyed. Though she had been nowhere near succumbing to much-needed sleep, her partner wasn't helping matters at all. Ilia had been moving around all night as though trying to get comfortable, and her sudden vocalizations only made things worse.
"So, we're not even pretending to get some sleep, now?" Emerald asked.
"I just got a text from Weiss. Apparently, she and Marrow are getting hot and heavy. I need details, and she just ghosted me because something came up. This sucks!"
Emerald rolled onto her back with a sigh and looked over at the faunus. Ilia was glaring at her scroll, as though trying to intimidate it into revealing Weiss' secrets.
"…you really do care about these people, huh?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Ilia asked as she looked over at her friend and let her scroll drop onto the blankets covering her chest. "They're my friends."
"It's just amazing to me how quickly you pivoted," Emerald said as she turned her gaze up to the ceiling. "Just… throwing yourself into this whole new life and having it work out so cleanly. I tried that with Cinder and Salem, and what I got back was… I didn't even really see what was really going on until doing it again with you. What if this doesn't work out? What if someone calls me on all the shit I participated in? Are you really going to defend me when I clearly deserve whatever I've got coming?"
"First of all- it wasn't clean," Ilia grumbled as she transferred her scroll over to the nightstand. "It took a long time for me to come around on Sun and start accepting his group as found family. Second- we've been over this before. I've got your back, and if it comes down to it… I'll find a way to defend you without breaking away from all of them."
"Have we been over this?" Emerald asked. "I mean, you say you'll find a way, but what if you can't? You've got a whole new life now, and you don't even know the full extent of what I did."
"A whole new life that I feel like I don't deserve," Ilia reminded as she rolled atop Emerald under the covers and rested her weight atop the other girl. "Let's take it one day at a time, alright? So far, none of the others have asked about what I'm doing with you. I say we don't poke that bear until someone else does, and we deal with it then. With any luck, seeing you help take down Salem will be enough to get everyone else to just drop it and let you start over."
"That's a pretty big gamble," Emerald considered as she rested her hands on Ilia's hips. "I just… I feel so guilty doing this to you. Coming into your life and complicating it when everything already sucks."
"Yeah, well, I'm choosing to take you in, so suck it," Ilia said triumphantly before planting a kiss on Emerald's lips. "Nothing you can do about that."
"Guess not…" Emerald agreed with another sigh. "But what if Sun or Weiss ask you to choose between your found family and protecting me? They have every right to. I… was partially responsible for the death of one of their friends, and countless others…"
Ilia just stared down at Emerald for an uncomfortable amount of time… though she didn't need the period to think. The answer was obvious, but saying it aloud would hurt them both. Emerald knew, too, but remained silent as the tension in the room built to uncomfortable levels.
"Well… then you're kinda fucked," Ilia said solemnly. "And… I'm sorry. I can't just throw away everything they've given me, especially in a situation like this. I didn't want to have to say it, but I guess it's better to just confront reality ahead of time…"
"Yeah. I know," Emerald agreed. "And honestly… good. I'm a shit judge of character, but you're a good person, Ilia. Better than me, at least. I don't want you ruining your life to try to save mine, and I'd rather you give me the realistic answer than pretend this is all just going to work out nicely. It probably won't, and I'm fine with just enjoying your company until the good times end. It's more than I could've hoped for. I'll consider myself lucky if I end up in a jail cell instead of outright executed."
Ilia fixed Emerald with a glare and pushed down into the mattress on either side of her shoulders.
"…don't you give up on me already. We've got enough doom and gloom hanging over us without you assuming my friends are going to tear you apart. Until things get bad, chin up, alright? I've come out of more desperate scrapes than this. Focus on the good times in between all the challenges, like you said. Otherwise, I'll beat the shit out of you myself."
"Watch out, I might be into that," Emerald teased, though Ilia didn't seem amused.
"I mean it. No more of this," Ilia warned.
"What, are you gonna pull a 'good vibes only' on me?" Emerald mocked.
"…fuck you. You know what? Yes. Good vibes only. You did this to yourself."
"Seems to be a running theme," Emerald pointed out. "Well, I'm wide awake despite feeling like I've been run over by a dust freighter. What time is it?"
"Almost dawn," Ilia answered as she leaned back down and met Emerald's lips once again. "Make-up sex?"
"Make-up?" Emerald questioned. "We didn't even fight…"
"Who cares? Hey, speaking of make-ups, did you ever end up calling Mercury?" Ilia asked suddenly.
The two women stared at each other for a moment, and Ilia found her answer before Emerald even said anything.
"…fuck."
"That's… probably bad," Ilia said as she pulled a face. "I guess my encounter with Robyn and the aftermath took all of your attention away from the whole situation…"
"It's still mostly my fault, not yours," Emerald replied. "I chose to focus on you over him… and I'd do it again if I had the chance to rewind."
"That's oddly sweet," Ilia admitted as she rolled back to her starting position lying next to Emerald. "But you shouldn't delay any more. Wake his ass up."
"…it's tempting," Emerald admitted. "But… I honestly don't know if I'm ready. And before you ask again, I'm not in the mood to mess around, either."
"…figures," Ilia said with a sigh. "And how about just cuddling until the sun comes up?"
"That, I think I could do," Emerald agreed. "Might be just what I need…"
Taiyang couldn't help but continue to pace back and forth, despite the restrictive size of the hospital room. Every so often he would look over to the bed, its previously immaculate linens hastily rumpled and stained with blood from where Raven had torn out her I.V. before disappearing without a word. Part of him was furious with her for not telling him what was going on. Part of him wanted to wait for an explanation before deciding how to feel. Part of him was oddly proud of her- she could only have rushed to their daughter or Qrow, and the idea that she cared enough to take off at a moment's notice in the middle of the night told him that she had, in fact, changed.
Maybe even changed back to the woman he had fallen for, or something close to it.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the room was awash with ruby light. Raven stepped through the portal back into the room, and from the other side, Yang waved through the ephemeral doorway into what appeared to be a different hospital room.
"I'm okay, Dad," Yang reassured. "We got everything sorted out… ish. Well, everything for tonight, anyway."
"There's more to it than that," Raven said, sounding tense. "But she's okay."
"Good," Taiyang returned, offering his daughter a wave. "I wish I could step through and give you a hug, but if it closes…"
"We'd be fucked because of the portal situation. I know," Yang said with a sigh. "Love you. See you soon."
"You too, kiddo," Taiyang replied as the portal sealed off. Upon turning to look at Raven, he was surprised to see her meet his eyes immediately. "So…"
"I'm sorry," the woman said immediately. "I assumed that Yang calling me in the middle of the night was an emergency, and with… the situation regarding your recent loss, I guess my maternal instincts kicked back in after I tried to squash them years ago. You, Yang, and Qrow are all I have left, and the coming war has been on the horizon for years. Leaving you all to deal with it on your own and hiding away was the biggest mistake I've ever made, a coward's move, and something I deeply regret. No more running."
Taiyang didn't say anything at first and offered only a nod instead. A few awkward seconds passed before he pulled Raven into an embrace, which she returned with her singular arm.
"…I've been waiting for you to say something like that for years," Taiyang admitted. "I wish it was under better circumstances, but… I'll take what I can get. I know things won't be the same as they used to be, but can w-"
"Yes," Raven said without hesitation. "Yes, we can, but… Tai, there may be complications. I don't know how all of this is going to end."
"None of us do," Taiyang agreed.
"No, I mean this," Raven clarified as she pulled away. "Summer is supposedly alive, according to Salem herself and her interaction with the false Relic of Knowledge. If that's true…"
"…then she left me in much the same way you did," Taiyang pointed out. "She wouldn't be a saint either, and I wouldn't immediately just go back to her and kick you to the curb. You've made a choice to make amends and help us in this fight. Summer, if she's really out there… hasn't."
"I know I'll have no right to be angry if we manage to find her," Raven began, "but I will be. All the same, we'll need her help."
"Yeah. Me too," Taiyang admitted as he moved to sit atop the edge of the hospital bed.
"Yang called about Sun, and wanted my help figuring some things out," Raven let on as she leaned against the nearby wall. "Apparently, Ozpin was creeping into his mind, and the boy actually managed to fight him. Before he left, the old man said something about the Relics, and Sun potentially being able to fight Salem one-on-one… but no details, of course."
"Of course not, that's not his style," Taiyang agreed. "You think Summer knew something."
"I know Summer knew something," Raven insisted. "We… talked, right before she left on her final assignment."
Taiyang stared, wondering whether or not he was losing his grip on reality.
"You… what?" Taiyang asked. "How… but that doesn't make sense. You left years before that. Your whole 'tribe' out in the forest in Mistral… you're telling me you found her? Or she came to you? Or…"
"She found us," Raven clarified. "It was… tense. Awkward. She told me some things that I didn't fully understand and can barely remember about the Relics. She said to stay away from Oz, which I was already doing, but hearing it from her after she was his lapdog for so long… I received word of her death a day later. It was like she knew."
A chill ran down Taiyang's spine as he sat up straighter.
"No, you didn't," Taiyang denied. "Her disappearance was kept under wraps for two months during the search period. That's impossible…"
"What are you talking about?" Raven asked. "I remember it clearly, and not knowing how to feel. It was the end of May. The camp got word of her death June 1st."
"Raven…" Taiyang said, his face going pale. "…Summer disappeared from the Emerald Forest in March…"
Author's Note:
…I keep forgetting to mention Rooster Teeth's death in these notes, because I barely even think about the company anymore. Good riddance!
-RD