The City of Mistral: The Group's Home

Throughout the previous day, it was an afternoon of mostly failure as Qrow Branwen and Link failed to recruit any professional Huntsmen or Huntresses but more suspiciously, not a single name on the older huntsman's shortlist was even available to find. All hope seemed lost, Link at one point resorted to drinking alcohol once more for the first time in months after their last attempt revealed a depressed father and sad daughter hoping for news about their wife and mother. Meanwhile there was Qrow, who was not distraught but had completely given up and chose to focus on settling the debt of his missing friend, Shiro Wan. All things considered, hope was not completely lost, despite not recruiting professionals, Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee returned to the group after a heated confrontation with Yang's mother, Raven. After a dinner full of laughs and reminiscing, it was time for serious conversations and yet, even the talks of magic being real, Salem, and Professor Ozpin, the conversation that grabbed everyone's attention was Jaune and Link's long awaited shouting match that turned physical. Despite the aftermath and Link willingly ostracizing himself from the group, Weiss was the first person to check on him, provide support, and spend the night with him as they soon agreed to be roommates. Now it is the next day, Weiss is happily and peacefully asleep in her bed across from Link and the blonde young man is unfortunately wide awake, his optimistic wish that Weiss' presence would help him fall and stay asleep sadly does not come true and his night was spent with drowsy eyes, silent yawning, and the only saving grace being his body getting some much needed rest

(I am utterly pathetic. Weiss was happily sitting next to me. Her head was on my shoulder, arm around me, we were subtly holding each other and enjoying each other's company. But in spite of that, I suggested we go to sleep instead of talking through the night. I hce not smiled that much since Ruby got me to talk in Kuroyuri and that feels like a long time ago… Although, technically it has been some time since she broke through to me.) Link sighs internally to prevent waking up Weiss, remembering from their night together at Beacon that she is a light sleeper. (I cannot mess up like that ever again. Thankfully, it did not bother her but… It sure bothers me. Although I must thank Weiss dearly, my mind has been on her all night and never once drifted to the dark visions of witnessing Pyrrha or Ray's deaths. I cannot help but think about her, it's like we never even left Beacon. There is no awkwardness or meaningless small talk to move our conversations along, Weiss and I are perfectly fine. Our friendly nature and slowly building chemistry is still there and I love it.)

BEEP! BEEP BEEP!

"D-Damn it!" Link scrambles to reach over and grab his scroll that loudly vibrates and rings while it rests on the nightstand. (Why did my scroll just-! Oh no. My morning training session with Ruby… Wow, I am an idiot. This was not a problem when I had this room to myself, but now I have a special guest and of course I forget to get rid of my alarm.)

The scroll is picked up and the alarm rapidly turned off, with a prompt disabling of said alarm taking place swiftly after. For a short period of time, it appears that Link is in the clear when Weiss does not make a sound. Nor does she even move from her current position of having her back turned towards the young man and sleeping on her left side. Sadly, it only lasts for a few seconds as the damage is done

"W-Wha-! Huh?" Weiss groans and wakes up in a daze, she attempts blinking to clear her eyesight but her eyes are bloodshot and the young woman sees is a blurry wooden wall. "L-Link?"

"Yes Weiss. I am so sorry." Link admits defeat, quickly jumps out of bed, rushes over to her and kneels in front of the bed she lies in. "I've been training with Ruby early in the morning and we get up at a stupidly early time as you heard."

"T-Training?" Weiss yawns loudly, she struggles to both comprehend his words and turn over to face her friend. "B-But… Y-you… A-Are incredib-ble… Alre-eady."

"Weiss, that's really nice, thank you." Link smiles widely. "Even when you're barely awake, you find a way to be sweet. I know that nice Weiss was slowly emerging at Beacon, but now it seems like she is permanently here."

"S-Shut!" Weiss yawns again. "Up!"

"There's the old mean Weiss." Link smirks

"Shhh. T-Too early." Weiss shakes her head. "N-need. M-More. Sleep."

"Absolutely, I should get going now but-!"

"N-No, don't go yet." She softly mumbles, her speech is better and more clear, but now her voice is lower. "I should thank you, actually."

"Really?" Link raises an eyebrow whilst leaning closer to listen carefully. "All I did was unintentionally wake you up. What did I do that could have possibly helped?"

"I was… Having a nightmare." Weiss' light blue eyes fully open and she is immediately met with Link's dark blue eyes, the immediate sight of his eyes and face inches away from hers make the young woman blush. "Can you stay with me until I fall asleep again?"

"Absolutely." Link beams at the idea and makes himself comfortable by resting on both knees. "Sorry if I'm intruding, but what was your nightmare about?"

"Normally you would be intruding but…" Weiss' blush increases its intensity as she wants to express herself. "Promise me you won't laugh?"

"Yes, I promise. Why would I laugh?" Link tosses his head to the side and gives her an empathetic look

"Okay fine." Weiss rolls her eyes but with a smile on her face. "I trust you, Link. My nightmare was awful and something I have experienced in real life too, I r-really hate it!" She chokes. "But, despite me never wanting to tell anyone, I feel like I can tell you. Sorry for not really having an exact reason but, you make me feel safe."

(Aw, that's so sweet.) Link's smile widens as he nods and implores her to continue, no matter how dark this nightmare may be

"I was back in Atlas." Weiss sighs. "It's sad really, that is a place I used to call home and now I never want to return there, and I mean ever again. Nothing really happened in the nightmare, but I was back to how I was living before I came to Mistral. Stuck in my room, taunted by my own brother, neglected and then verbally abused by my father… Sometimes even physically too, and a mother who is too busy day drinking and lounging around to even acknowledge me."

"Your father… Hits you?" Link gasps but immediately frowns and balls up his hands as they rest on the bed. (How dare he? I am going to have plenty of words for that piece of s-!)

"Hey." Weiss lifts her arms from under the covers and places both of her hands over his, "Don't think about that. It's not reality anymore and now I'm where I want to be." She giggles. "Waking up to you as the first person I see in the morning is something I could get used to every day. Would you want to make that happen?"

"Weiss…" Link's rising anger fades away as soon as the girl's hands touch his. "I would be honored."

"Good." She nods and closes her eyes. "Sorry if this sounds weird. Can you do me a favor and close your eyes?"

"S-Sure?" Link nods and willingly follows her request. "Why do you want me to close my eyes? Are we doing something spiritual? Maybe a breathing exercise or-!"

Weiss opens her eyes, leans forward, and plants her lips on Link's left cheek. She leans into her friend as much as she can and puts all her energy and affection into the big kiss on his cheek

Mwaaaaaah!

(O-Oh my!) Link opens his eyes and stares directly into hers as she is still kissing his cheek, "Weiss! That was so…" His eyes close in embarrassment, with him now having a bright crimson blush going across his cheeks. "Direct."

"Your questions were dumb and you talk too much." Weiss smiles and leans away, she relishes in the young man's current expression, as he is completely lost for words. "I should go back to sleep, but can you stay-!"

It is the former heiress' turn to be surprised but not with a kiss of any kind. Instead, Link, with his left hand that is already holding Weiss' hands, gently grips and squeezes it. Meanwhile, his arm finds its way under the covers and trailing upwards until it rests on her Weiss' back

"I will stay." Link nods, "I will even help you relax too." He starts to move his right arm up and down in long slow strokes, rubbing Weiss' back whilst holding one of her hands with his left

"Link!" Weiss narrows her eyes. "I did not ask for a back massage!"

"Do you want me to stop?" He raises an eyebrow while the most sincere smile appears on his face

"N-No, don't." Weiss wags her head quickly, "What you can do is answer this question. Why do you want to get even stronger? You're only below Ruby's uncle and I guess Professor Ozpin but he's kind of limited in a new body right now. Apart from them, you're stronger than all of us… As much as that hurts to admit." She scoffs

"Classic Weiss, never change." Link chuckles. "I will gladly tell you. It's not about acquiring more strength by any means, but speed. I want to become faster. My former mercenary group loved to preach that you cannot teach speed but I never bought it and I am living proof of that. I used to be really bad at everything except narrowly escaping death. I'm not insecure about my abilities either, I just want to improve as an unofficial huntsman to protect all of you."

"Talk about classic Link." Weiss closes her eyes, breathes softly and finds herself enjoying the back rubs. "You've always been a protector and that will never change, will it?"

"Nope." Link happily nods. "Unless I have nothing or nobody to fight for." He squeezes on her hand. "I was completely lost after everything that happened at Beacon. Everyone parted ways, so did I, and from there it never got easier."

"I'm sorry." Weiss mumbles. "Unfortunately I did not have the spine that I do now. When my father personally came to take me home I had just heard about Pyrrha from Ruby's uncle, then you and Ruby were unconscious too…"

"You were in a state of shock, it's okay." Link sighs, "There was no way to react properly to anything that happened at Beacon at night." He increases the speed of the back rub to comfort Weiss as much as he can. "Those couple of months were the worst experience of my life, and yet that's when I got stronger. But now, I can turn all that negativity into something beneficial for all of you."

"How so?" Weiss smiles, despite already having an idea of the answer about to be provided

"Seeing Ruby and the other three in the endless Anima forests was only the beginning. Gaining Qrow's respect, Professor Ozpin returning, then of course you and Yang, all while learning about the evil we are bound to face soon." Link's eyebrows crease as he smiles with determination. "I am going to make sure nothing happens to you, Weiss. Or anybody else for that matter. If anybody even touches one of your majestic white hairs, they are so done for."

"I know I can fight and defend myself, but hearing Link talk so passionately about his desire to protect me is so… Satisfying." Weiss internally giggles

"However, it might not always be positive because as I've heard from people many times now, I've changed for the worse. But I'm trying my best and doing what I think is right." Link chuckles as he remembers a crucial detail. "I heard you too Weiss. You still think I'm a good person and I really appreciate that."

"Are you a dunce?" Weiss opens her eyes and furrows her brows. "I don't think that you're still a good person, I know that you are. They're wrong and I am not talking about just Jaune, Ren, and Nora. Anyone who has ever said anything negative about you is wrong, whether that includes Qrow or Professor Ozpin is a question I don't have the answers to. When I say 'anyone', I am referring to my father and brother."

"You told them about me?" Link looks puzzled. (Have I been on her mind often? To think about me of all people when she is all the way in Atlas and surrounded by family is kind of unreal. Maybe I mean a lot more to her than I thought. That or her family is so terrible, she sees me as someone comforting and more trustworthy than them.)

"Not willingly. I talked about you to my loyal friend and family butler Klein and he was very happy to hear that I made a lot of friends at Beacon but especially my late connection with you. My brother eavesdropped and that's how he got to know about you." Weiss shrugs. "He's really disingenuous, if you ever meet him, do not fall for his innocent little brother act."

"Thanks for the heads up." Link nods

"Of course." Weiss grins. "Then, another day, while in a heated argument with my father, I mentioned you out of sheer passion and anger while discussing my desire to be a huntress and fight for what I believe in. Not become a pampered Schnee who lives in Atlas safely, never moving a finger and getting everything I wanted. I mentioned you as one of the only few people who saw the name 'Schnee' and brushed it aside to get to know… Me."

"You bet I did, it wasn't a perfect start by any means but we became friends when it mattered most." Link sheepishly nods

"Right, I feel the same way." Weiss' annoyed expression eases up. "The notion of you liking me for me and not my family name is very sweet and heartfelt. But my father tried everything he could to spit and stomp on that notion… After going through all that effort to leave Atlas, I don't want to return home any time soon."

"Hopefully you will not have to. I'm not exactly fond of Atlas either." Link slyly giggles as he recalls his falsified criminal status. "If for whatever reason we do find ourselves there, I will make sure nothing happens to you."

"I know you won't." Weiss closes her eyes again and lets out a big exhale as she relaxes and tries to return to sleep. "I shouldn't demand so much, you can leave whenever you want, Link."

"Absolutely not, I would not have left even if you asked me to go or demanded I stay. I'm the reason you woke up after all. Now, let 'us' go back to sleep."

Link gently rubs Weiss' back with his right hand and instead of her holding one of her hands with his left, he eases his grip, and softly rubs her knuckles with his thumb. This continues for approximately a minute or so, mainly due to Weiss' own doing as she opens one eye to get another glance at her caring friend, doing his best to make sure she goes to sleep before he does anything else. Soon enough, Weiss stops opening her eyes to peek or fidgeting with Link's hand using both of hers and settles into a comfortable slumber. Only light and faint breathing leave the girl's nose and mouth, giving Link the chance to slip away before she wakes up again. Regardless, he stays for another thirty seconds and watches Weiss peacefully sleep with a joyous smile. First, his right hand stops rubbing her back and his arm carefully slips out from under the covers, then he grabs one of her hands with his left and gently squeezes on it one more time. Lastly, he rises up to his feet, grabs his belt, weapons, and slowly exits the room to apply his gear outside. Therefore, it allows Weiss to continue sleeping with absolute silence while Link runs 'late' to his training session with Ruby

…

Five Minutes Later: The Back Patio

Link sprints downstairs after putting on his belt, triple checking that his pouch with essentials such as projectiles for offense and diversion, his deconstructed bow, lien, and other items are inside. The young man also makes sure that his hookshot, Ray's canteen and Pyrrha's circlet are all safely attached as well. Link's caring nature and consideration for Weiss does not carry over for the rest of the house as he loudly stomps on the stairs, the first floor, and the stairs going down to the training room and back patio. The loud stomping jolts Qrow awake, who was sleeping on the three seater couch. The older man frowns, grabs his flask, takes a big swig before leaning back to lie on the couch more. Concluding his short journey, Link makes it downstairs to the indoor training room and swings open the patio door, where he is immediately greeted by Ruby with crossed arms

"There you are!" Ruby narrows her eyes. "I was thinking you bailed on me today."

"What makes you think I would do that?" Link playfully scoffs

"Don't play dumb!" She marches forward and points a finger at him. "You're always here earlier than me because you want to train as much as we can before we're interrupted. What gives?"

"There's no escaping you, is there?" Link sighs and nervously glances around, hesitant to give the real reason

"Nope! Keep it up and I'll get Yang to come out here and help me pry the answer out of you!" Ruby giggles. "C'monnnn, tell me!"

"Okay okay." Link eventually relents and walks towards Ruby whilst lowering his voice. "I woke up at the right time but I still had my alarm on."

"Riiight?" She leans forward and closes the distance between the two of them. "So what caused you to be late? You don't sleep and you have an alarm? Is your laziness returning?"

"Good one." Link chuckles. "No, it was not laziness. Weiss came over to my room to check on me, we talked about what happened downstairs and I asked her to be my roommate for however long we are here in Mistral… So she stayed over last night."

"HUUUUUH?!" Ruby loud gasp is followed up by a cheery jump for joy. "Awww! That's so cute!"

"S-Stop…" Link turns away and blushes

"Ooooh, now I think I know why you took longer than usual." She raises her eyebrows suggestively

"No no no! Nothing like that!" Link rolls his eyes

"Well then? What was it?" Ruby bends her back and leans forward with both hands pressed against her cheeks. "Did you guys have a nice morning chat? Maybe some sweet words were exchanged? Did she notice your lack of sleep and try to help you by getting in bed with you for comfort-!"

"Okay!" Link aggressively shakes his head. "Technically the first option, yes. My alarm woke Weiss up, then she told me she had a nightmare and I stayed with her until she went back to sleep."

"Awww! That is still really cute!" Ruby gives Link and a quick hug. "When you told me about you and Weiss getting close, the feeling was surreal. But seeing your guys' reunion last night was so adorable. I'm glad the group is almost back together. We just need Blake, Sun, Neptune, and team CFVY to make their way to us!"

"When you put it like that, we're still missing a lot of people." Link scratches his head. "And we aren't exactly united or on good terms."

"Excuse me? Who is responsible for that?" Ruby breaks the hug and stands on her tiptoes to look him closer in the eyes

"Okay, mine… Partially." Link rolls his eyes. "I told him to leave it alone at least for Weiss and Yang's first night back with us."

"Yes, it's your fault and only partially." Ruby sighs. "I'm not going to pretend like Jaune is innocent because you're right, he shouldn't have said a word. I could have caught Yang and Weiss up to speed without the verbal showdown."

"Right." Link nods

"Have you talked to Jaune, Ren or Nora by any chance?" She asks

"Good one." Link smirks. "No I haven't. Quite frankly, I do not and haven't thought of them… Jaune accused me of getting Pyrrha killed, what kind of twisted person does that? Actually, don't even answer because I don't want to talk about Jaune, Nora, or Ren."

"But I think we should for the sake of the group-!"

"Please Ruby." He looks at her with pleading eyes. "I feel happiness around you, Weiss, I even felt it with Yang last night too. I'd like to continue that for as long as possible."

"O-Okay." Ruby sighs before hugging her friend once more, this time fully wrapping her arms around him. "If you say so."

"Thank you." Link nods

"Do you wanna start training then?" Ruby giggles

"Yes. What do you want to do first?" My speed training or your hand to hand?"

"I was thinking about my hand to hand skills… Or lack thereof." Ruby breaks the hug again and backs away far enough to give each other plenty of space, "Plus, Yang gave me some good advice." She grumbles. "Even if we train constantly hand to hand, whether it's me with you, Professor Ozpin, Ren, Yang, I will forever find myself behind all of you."

"Do you want to abandon it then?" Link tilts his head in confusion

"No!" Ruby shakes her head, "What I had in mind was to focus on my agility in regards to dodging physical attacks. I will never have elite striking and I do want to keep working on it but rather than only focus on hand to hand, I want to work on other areas too? Does that make sense? Basically…" She takes a deep breath. "I CAN LEARN A LOT FROM YOU AND I CANNOT FOCUS EVERYTHING ON HAND TO HAND!"

"I understand, Ruby." Link nods. "Now with Yang here, she can help you solely with hand to hand or if Ozpin wants to continue that himself, they are more than welcome. Consider this my retirement as your striking teacher."

"Noooo! You have a legacy to uphold!" Ruby dramatically cries out

"We are funny today, aren't we?" Link grins

Ruby nods, grabs her sniper rifle-scythe 'Crescent Rose' and activates it with a big smile on her face, she poses with the ginormous weapon behind her back. Her sparring partner Link slowly draws his sword, spins it in his hand playfully, then grabs his shield and narrows his eyes at Ruby. They simultaneously nod at each other and take off: Ruby disappears like a flash! Link takes five steps before he disappears as well. Seconds later, they meet in the middle of the patio and it is the swordsman who attacks as the sweet scythe wielding girl now holds her weapon in front of her to defend. Link plants his feet, twists his body and puts his entire body weight into a diagonal swing, but his attack is deflected with a rapid scythe spin. A slight nod comes from Link, who turns his hand over, angling his sword horizontally and then bringing his arm back with full power. Ruby gasps and ducks to avoid the strike that luckily does not harm her but does clip some strands of hair

(Oops.) Link grimaces at the fallen hair and fears a negative reaction from the girl

"Link…" Ruby frowns. "What kind of attack was that? If you're going to aim for my head, then make contact with my head! Not the air!"

"Heh, yes ma'am." Link nods respectfully. (What did I really expect? Ruby is not Yang, she won't throw a temper tantrum over some hair.)

Still in close proximity to one another, Link repeats the same attack. First, a powerful diagonal swing aimed perfectly at Ruby, intending to cut her for the right shoulder all the way down to her midsection's left side. The young huntress spins her scythe in place to successfully block the attack again. However, this time Link retracts his arm and does not swing backwards, instead he loads up on a strike, with his arm raised and elbow at the same level as his ear. What comes next is a low horizontal slash and a looping one that Ruby does not see coming at all, the girl attempts her absolute best by taking a few steps and driving her scythe into the ground to catch Link's blade. To the shock of the fastest warrior in the group, her actions are not fast enough, as by the time she buries her scythe into the ground, Link's sword is already making contact with her boots. The full execution of the low, powerful slash completely sweeps Ruby off her feet and makes her slam into the ground side first. The silver eyed girl responds by sitting up, rising to one knee, aiming crescent rose downwards and firing a shot into the ground that puts plenty of distance between herself and Link as she flies across the patio and lands on her feet

"No fair you always throw either a vertical or diagonal swing, bring your sword back and then jab forward!" Ruby frowns. "What inspired you to swing low instead of jabbing today?"

"You." Link smiles, "Every time you dodge attacks on your own or block them with crescent rose, you go low as in you completely duck or your knees always bend which makes you harder to hit as you lower yourself to the ground." He follows it up with a nod. "And thanks for telling me my opening strikes are getting predictable, I need to work on that immediately. But for now!"

Ruby lets out a soft cry as Link rushes at her again, jumps in the air with his sword raised and swings it with tremendous power, bringing it crashing down, and aiming for the young huntress' head. Ruby watches and waits for him to get closer and closer before rolling over to her right and avoiding the strike at the last second. While she is low to the ground, the girl snickers and spins, attempting to hit Link with a low spinning scythe slash, but Link remains a step ahead as he turns to his left, falls to one knee and slams his shield into the ground! The heavy incoming scythe smashes into the shield but despite the momentum behind the attack and weight of the weapon, it is Link's physical strength and his shield's defensive strength that reigns supreme. The blonde huntsman blocks the attack and does not move an inch as the scythe is ultimately nowhere close to touching him

"Y-You! L-Like! The low slashes?!" Link grunts and struggles but remains completely still as he fully extends his left arm with the sword raised high. His eyes shut and the young man concentrates deeply

"Oh no! Not again!" Ruby yelps

SLASH! SLASH!

Link swings forward and attempts to either sweep or actually strike Ruby's feet with two low powerful slashes, but his attacks are too predictable and the huntress leaps to avoid both of the incoming double slashes. However, this does not dissuade him as he pushes off the ground and with a swift backflip, gets away from Ruby who finally gets to finish her spinning scythe attack. Despite the delay with the collision of their scythe and shield, the girl completes her scythe slash with the same speed and power

"Wow…" Link nods his head, impressed by Ruby's composure and power. (She is definitely more powerful than she thinks.)

"Afraid I nearly got you?" Ruby grins

No response… Instead Link smirks as his blade glimmers and shines brightly, he lifts it high in the air and with a powerful swing, thrusts forward a wave of powerful and thick energy shaped like a crescent moon directly at Ruby, who is unsure of where to block or dodge, and opts to use her semblance 'Petal Burst' to swiftly avoid the strike… That collides directly into the wall behind her and rattles the house

Smash!

Part of the wall cracks and caves in a perfect vertical line but luckily the wall does not break completely to the point of creating a hole

"Ruby!" Link gasps. (So much for Weiss' sleep… I owe her another apology.)

"Oops!" Ruby giggles, "We totally just woke everyone up didn't we-! WAIT!" Her head snaps at Link. "You threw that attack! I told you I wanted to focus on dodging!"

"Technically that was dodging but… I suppose you're right." Link scratches his head in embarrassment. "Ruby, let's really put your dodging skills to the test. If so, I need you to drop Crescent Rose."

"Sure!" Ruby excitedly drops her beloved weapon. "What did you have in mind?"

"Let's pretend you're fighting someone and they have kicked or thrown crescent rose far from your reach." Link nods. "Your options are to fight hand to hand or dodge and block until you find an opening to recover your weapon. We are going with dodge and find an opening to pick up crescent rose. Now get ready to work on your head movement."

"Oh no, I'm awful at that!" Ruby groans. "Even Oscar was landing punches on me! And he wasn't even being controlled by Professor Ozpin yet!"

"Well… You're going to have to get better now." Link closes his eyes and breathes in. "Ready?"

"Ummm." Ruby, widens her stance and bends her knees. "O-Okay!"

"Good."

Link breathes out and sprints at Ruby for a third time, he leaps at her and aims his sword downward, Ruby appears puzzled seeing as this has nothing to do with head movement, but dodges nonetheless as her friend buries his sword into the ground with a sickening crunch! But it was all a part of Link's plan to truly separate Ruby from Crescent Rose as he gets up, pulls his sword out of the ground, turns around and with a massive kick, punts the sniper-scythe farther away from the two of them. Ruby gasps but has no time to speak when Link is already in her face with full intention to strike after her request to try and make contact. The blonde huntsman begins with a jab to the head, followed by two diagonal slashes to the body, Link's swings are fast enough to create an afterimage of an X as he swings his sword in the opposite directions. Ruby, as speedy as ever, ducks to avoid the jab and swiftly side steps in opposite directions to counter both of the swings. Next comes the head movement test at last. Another incoming jab to the head, Ruby whimpers as the blade gets too close for her liking but dodges by moving her head to the right. Unfortunately for her, in the short time she moves her head, Link's sword is gone, having quickly retracted his arm to strike again and then a second sword jab is next!

"Ahhh! S-Slow-!" Ruby cuts her sentence short as she desperately dodges. (Gah! He might not be as fast as he wants to be, but his hand speed is incredible! Plus I can't tell him to stop, I asked for this!)

The second sword plunge is followed by a third rapid and powerful jab! Then a fourth! Fifth! Sixth! Seventh! Eighth! Ninth! Tenth! Eleventh! Twelveth! Thirteenth! Fourteenth! And lastly a fifteenth jab! Each straightforward attack picks up more momentum, air, and dust from the ground as Ruby uses her superior speed to narrowly dodge every single strike intending to hit her head. Although, her hair is not as lucky when the blade makes contact with it a handful of times. Regardless, Ruby makes an astute observation when Link goes for a seventeenth jab, his speed slows down significantly, exposing that he does have a limit before he exhausts himself. With this new discovery, Ruby ducks and dodges the seventeenth sword jab, dives forward, rams her left shoulder into Link's face to stun him and sprints to Crescent Rose

"Ow!" Link shakes his head instinctively and grabs his nose. (Damn it… Luckily, it's not broken but she did not even hit me with full power, considering she was trying to escape. Being able to generate as much power as she did, while on the move is impressive.)

"Hah!" Ruby giggles and twirls crescent rose around with both hands. "I winnnn."

"You sure did." Link nods and sheaths his sword, followed by putting away his shield behind him. "I don't see why this wouldn't translate over to your hand to hand. If you dodge a sword at my fastest speed, surely a punch is nothing."

"Hehe, thanks." Ruby smiles and deactivates crescent rose down to its sniper rifle state, before slotting it behind her back and next to the metallic mask gifted to her by the dear friend in front of her. "You turn now?"

"I couldn't have asked for a better question." Link nods and buries his heels into the ground

"Let's do this then!"

Exchanging nods, Ruby shuts her eyes to inhale, exhale, quickly focus and re-enter her semblance! The silver eyed young huntress zips through the air, only visible by the rose petals she leaves behind. Link showcases his improvement by letting Ruby get close enough, to the point of allowing her to make slightest contact against his chest. When said contact is made, Link makes a move himself in the form of a lightning fast sidestep even faster than Ruby's. To the girl's surprise, when she loops back around to strike him in the back, the young man is already one step ahead and leaps over her bulldozing charge. Ruby exits her semblance so that Link can get a perfect look at her flushed embarrassed cheeks and frown, the latter repays his friend with a genuine grin of satisfaction, which only makes the former get redder in the face. After a few seconds it is back to business with Ruby hopping back into her semblance and attempting to speed circles around Link, while he does his best to keep up, dodge, or outsmart his best friend as the sun rises on a beautiful morning in Mistral

…

Twenty Minutes Later

"HELLOOOOOO!" Yang swings the patio door open and instantly gasps when she enters a scene where her sister is sprawled out on the ground while Link is on one knee and struggling to catch his breath. "Sis, I thought you said sparring? What on earth do you call this?"

"We might have gone a l-little o-overboard!" Link stands up on wobbly legs and greets Yang with a smile. "Hey Yang."

"O-Oh Link… Hi." Yang awkwardly nods at him. "Sorry, I just thought after last night, you wouldn't want to talk to any of us. I was hoping your morning training session with Ruby would help break down those walls you were going to put up."

"It's fine." Link chuckles. "There were no new walls put up. After screaming my head off and humiliating Jaune, I needed time to myself, that's all."

"Well that's good. Besides the humiliating Jaune part but I ummm… Will keep my mouth shut on that front. If I speak and give my opinion on what happened, I'm in trouble." Yang directs her eyes at Ruby

"I know you're talking about me!" Ruby groans as she pushes her head upwards to get the slightest glimpse of sister and friend. "I just want to keep the peace."

"We know, sis! It's why you're a natural born leader." Yang grins and turns back to Link. "Soooo! How was your niiiight? Do anything fun?"

"Not you too." Link rolls his eyes while he happily displays a smile and a slight blush appears on his cheeks. "Hm, my night let's see. The house went completely silent, I assume everyone went to do their own thing. It was quiet at first after everything that happened. Then Weiss came to my room and we talked for a while. She spent the night in my room and agreed to be my roommate for the time being. Overall, a good night, I aired out bottled up emotions and spent a peaceful night with Weiss."

"She stayed over?!" Yang gasps. "Awww! That is so cool! I hope you know, Weiss really cares about you, Link. She may not have told me that word for word but I have a good feeling that she does."

"R-Really?" Link's smile widens. (I cannot let them know that she expressed that to me already. But maybe Yang will give me some new information I do not know about.)

"Heck yeah! Even though she was kidnapped by my horrible mother." Yang rolls her eyes. "Along with being kept in a cage at their dingy little camp for who knows how long. After she was safe and free with my help, one of the first things she did after hugging me was ask about you, my friend."

"Oh…" Link's eyes widened with shock. "Thank you for telling me that. I knew she cared and was very happy to see me again b-but…"

"He's too stunned to speak!" Ruby throws her arms in the air and pumps them in celebration

"Anyway." Link turns away. "It was honestly a nice conversation, it's been too long since talking to her… Or you even. Ruby has really missed you-!"

"SHHH!" Ruby loudly shushes her friend. "She knows! I repeat! She knows!"

"I know she knows." Link laughs. "I'm just teasing you."

"My baby sister is the best, what can I say?" Yang winks

"JERK!" Ruby crosses her arms

"Wellll um…" Yang grins wildly. "Since you miss talking to Weiss so much, she's awake and up right now, if you want to go talk to her."

"She is?!" Link beams

"Awww!" Ruby giggles

(Dang it!) Link groans internally as he clears his throat. "She is? That's nice."

"Just stop!" Yang covers her mouth to not laugh in his face. "Go talk to her, I bet she wants to talk as well."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay out here with you guys?" Link asks, showing concern with potentially abandoning the two sisters

"GO!" Ruby happily shouts. "Weiss finally has a deep connection with someone that isn't team RWBY or her sister, don't spoil that for her!"

Both of the chipper sisters begin to chant "Go!" at Link, who smiles and nods at them both before entering the house, where he runs by Oscar, practicing swings with Professor Ozpin's cane 'The Long Memory' while his eyes are closed

"Hey Oscar!" Link waves. "Bye Oscar!"

"..." The farmhand says nothing, he opens his eyes and they glow brightly, revealing Professor Ozpin is in control. "Mister Link is in a very good mood all of a sudden. A vast difference from the unfortunate situation Qrow explained to me last night."

Inside the Group's Home: The Kitchen

Link sprints upstairs and dashes into the kitchen, the eager young man nearly falls and has to skid his feet on the ground when he sees Weiss, who is indeed in the kitchen with her back turned and washing the soaking dishes from last night's dinner. Seeing her up and about draws a sigh of relief from the young man. He promptly walks up to Weiss and slides next to her, ready to offer a helping hand

"The Weiss Schnee is doing dishes?" Link grabs a towel and nudges her shoulder

"Link!" Weiss jolts as she finishes cleaning a pot, "H-Hi, how did your training with Ru-!" She frowns upon seeing his bleeding nose, dirty clothes, and fatigue. "This is what you call sparring?!"

"First Yang, now you?" Link sighs. "My nose is fine. Our sparring went well too. Ruby decided she wanted to focus more on the defense part of fighting today. And yes she is already fast but I think she knows she can't always rely on her speed. For her, today we focused on how she fights without Crescent Rose, dodging sword attacks and I focused most of my swings to the head."

"You did what?!" Weiss' eyes widened in an instant. "Is she okay?"

"Yes?" Why wouldn't she be?" Link shrugs

"Because you're strong." Weiss' smacks her lips. "How did she do?"

"Pretty good. I clipped her hair a few times but luckily I was training with Ruby and not Yang." Link snickers. "My training is less attack based, Ruby can freely attack me but my goal is to dodge her rapid charges and match her speed."

"And?" Weiss leans closer to him. "How did you do?"

"I think I did good. Ruby never gives me feedback, what is usually said is that she wants to see the look of surprise on my face the next time I fight seriously, whatever that means." Link chuckles. "Were you able to go back to sleep?"

"Of course." Weiss blushes and leans away from her friend now. "Thank you for staying with me as long as you did, that was very thoughtful of you. I slept well but then eventually woke up on my own. I almost fell down the stairs because I heard a collision nearby but then Ruby's screaming told me who the culprit was."

"The culprit would be me." Link shamefully raises his hand. "S-Sorry."

"Hmmm." Weiss narrows her eyes. "I was ready to yell at Ruby, but now that I know it's you, I can make an exception… This time."

"An exception? Consider me beyond grateful." Link smiles. "Need a hand?"

"No no!" Weiss shakes her head. "You just endured a long training session, you do not need to be doing any hard labor."

(This is hard labor for her? Oh no… I better crush her spirit.) Link nods and walks over to the refrigerator, he smiles at Weiss and then at the towel in his hands

"If I brushed you away, please tell me." Weiss mutters. "My intention was not to be rude or anything of the so-!"

Within seconds, Link is next to her again and the towel in his hand is now wrapped and containing ice cubes he grabbed from the freezer. The blonde teenager smiles sweetly as he applies the makeshift ice pack on Weiss' forehead, every now and then transitioning down to her nose as well

"W-What are you doing?!" Weiss jerks back due to the freezing cold towel but stops herself from stepping back any further when realizing the caring action.

"Sorry." Link whispers. "You have some bruising and I just thought I would help as much as I can. It sucks that this can't be healed now that your aura is replenished."

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Weiss raises her left hand and touches the scar across her eyes

"Right. I'm sorry." Link shakes his head

"It's okay but I must say… Ever since you noticed it, your focus has been on that bruise." She gasps "Does it make me look hideous?"

"What? No, of course not!" Link's eyes shoot wide open. "To me it is just a reminder of what was done to you when you weren't even in the condition to fight back by a bunch of-!" He stops himself. "Sorry, I'm not going to think about negativity like you said."

"Good." Weiss smiles and embraces the gentle dabs on her forehead and nose by the ice pack

"Besides." Link's voice drops to a whisper as he leans closer, that only she can hear them. "Bruise or no bruise, I think you are pretty."

"You did not just say that!" Weiss blushes at the sweet words. "T-Thank you but you really do not have to lie to-!."

"I would never lie to you, Weiss." Link leans closer to look into her glimmering light blue eyes whilst he gently tends to her bruise forehead and nose. "You are very beautiful."

"Stop it!" Weiss frantically looks around in fear but luckily nobody is in sight. "You don't have to be overly nice if you do not-!"

"Weiss." Link reaches down with his right hand and picks up her left hand, holding it gently. "I'm not being overly nice or saying things you want to hear. The words coming from my mouth are all from the heart."

"Aw." Weiss rolls her eyes but a giggle escapes her lips. "That really means a lot, thank you Link. Now it is my turn to help you."

The former heiress loosens up and allows her friend to ice her forehead and nose, but she has another plan in mind. In the form of her reaching for a dry hand towel, she wets it with warm water, and lifts it up to Link's upper lip. Weiss wipes the semi dry blood slowly trickling down his nose whilst applying heat onto his injured nose

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Link chuckles. "It's just a nose bl-!"

"Quiet." Weiss shakes her head, then breaks out a big smile. "Okay I must admit, this is me getting the upper hand on you. I already did something else for you before this."

"You did?" Link raises an eyebrow. "What's it?"

"Hmm, I was going to make you wait but if Yang and Ruby are still out there and coffee is going to be ready soon, then I'd like for you to join us. Link, please stop icing my head." Weiss nods as she finishes wiping the blood off his nose and upper lip

"Okay." Link hesitantly removes the ice from her forehead and instinctively touches it

"It's very numb and doesn't hurt, thank you." Weiss leans back and nods her head towards the fridge. "Here."

Both of them walk only a few steps with the fridge not far from the sink. Next to the fridge is a coffee machine and a steel cloche, meant for covering and keeping food warm

"I'm not a cook like Ren but I also wanted to do this myself." Weiss lifts the cloche and reveals a plate with thin pieces of sliced pork belly, scrambled egg, and thick apple slices

"Look at this." Link smiles happily. "I know you said Klein is a loyal friend and your family butler, but was he your cooking instructor too?"

"It is actually called a culinary instructor." Weiss sarcastically grins. "But no, I kind of just watched him sometimes and this was more… Me attempting to cook on my own." She nervously touches her ponytail

"And who is it all for? Are we sharing it with Ruby and Yang? Maybe Qrow is hungover again and needs it more."

"No!" Weiss shakes her head. "I made it only for you."

"Really?" Link eyes partially widen. "Why?"

"Because you didn't eat at all last night!" She stomps her food on the floor. "That isn't your fault, I told Ruby to wake you up or I would but everyone insisted on letting you sleep. Considering what I know now, only Ruby and Yang cared that you were getting sleep."

"That's very sweet, but I will be okay. I've gone without eating for days, maybe even weeks." Link shuts his eyes and confidently smiles

Rumbleeee! Grrrrr!

…Until his own stomach calls out his bluff

"You were saying?" Weiss giggles

"Okay, you win. I will shut up and eat." Link opens his eyes and blushes in embarrassment

"I will admit, the pork was leftover from last night's feast, I only cooked it for an additional minute or two to warm it up. I tried to-!"

"Shhh." Link sheds a tear as he hugs Weiss and lifts her off the ground, with both arms around her waist. "You don't need to explain anything, I appreciate the effort."

Weiss does not say a word, instead she smiles and enjoys the short trip in the air whilst hugging back and wrapping both of her arms around his neck

"I could get used to these kinds of hugs." Weiss giggles on the inside. "Now I'm wondering if this is what was in store at Beacon, had we continued getting to know each other?"

"Thank you, Weiss." Link slowly puts her down and eagerly eats multiple apple slices in one bite, "H-Ho-w-w d-did y-you-!" He stops speaking to finish eating. "Sorry. How did you know apples were my favorite fruit?"

"As much as I want to say lucky guess, your story stays in my mind." Weiss lowers her head. "That girl who gave you an apple and you telling us how you enjoyed it. Any time I saw apples inside my home, I thought of you."

"I see." Link eats with his right hand while sliding his left under her chin and lifts the girl's head up. "Hey, don't be sad. It actually means a lot more that you remembered my past. Considering how much you've been though, forgetting my story would have been normal."

"Oh please." Weiss sighs. "What I have been through does not even compare to what you have been through. I lost my friends for a short while and had to put up with having nobody around me except Klein while my brother and father-!"

"Shhh." Link shushes her again, this time by putting his index finger on her lips. "It's not a competition, silly. We have both been through horrible things, but what matters now is that we're together and will never be separated again. Thank you for remembering my past. Your association with apples to me is adorable... And factual, I love apples."

"Thank goodness." Weiss smiles and sighs in relief… Then her mean side emerges once more. "Hurry up and eat. I need to finish washing these dishes and I'm going to prepare everyone's coffee."

"You got it."

Link nods, picks up the fork left on the plate for him and promptly chows down on all of his food, savoring the egg the most despite it being a bit brown and slightly overcooked, it is the thought and effort that counts. The smiling young man looks and happily watches Weiss clean the entire time he eats. Observing her do simple tasks such as washing and rinsing plates and utensils, then pouring coffee and adding everyone's preferred extra sweeteners such as milk, cream, or sugar warms his heart more than it should, but for a reason unknown to him, it does. Minutes pass and before he knows it, Weiss is done with all her cleaning

Screech!

Weiss turns her head to identify where the noise comes from and slowly frowns at what she sees. And that happens to be Link, trying stabbing his fork for another bite of food, but he has finished everything and does not even realize that he is driving the metal fork into the glass plate and creating a horrible sound

"I knew you were hungry." She narrows her eyes

"Guilty." Link nods. "Sorry for the ear piercing sound, I was distracted."

"Distracted?" Weiss dries her hands. "By what?"

"You." Link smiles. "I was watching you while you were cleaning and making coffee."

"I see." Weiss turns away, blushing in embarrassment. "Why did I even ask what was distracting him"

"Weiss?" Link raises raises an eyebrow

"Yes, sorry." Weiss lifts up a tray with four coffees. "You can put your plate in the sink and we can go outside now. Somebody else can wash it, I've done my time cleaning."

"I agree, you didn't have to wash the dishes but you did anyway, that's very generous of you." He chuckles

"Link?" Weiss' lip quivers. "I have an important question. The food, was it good?"

"If you're concerned, don't be. I enjoyed all of it." Link walks up to her and extends his arms, offering to take the tray off her hands. "May I?"

"That's okay, I can take it. If you want to help, pass out the coffees when we're out there. Ruby's is-!"

"I already know which one is hers, you made it exactly how I would." Link chuckles

"Don't laugh at her, you also drink sugar water." Weiss frowns and looks at the coffee she made for Link, which is light brown like a caramel but not nearly as bright as Ruby's

"Hey! The amount of cream and sugar I put in mine doesn't come anywhere close." He rolls his eyes and leads the way downstairs

The two friends walk downstairs at a brisk pace, Link turns his head after every step to make sure Weiss is okay carrying the tray by herself, but every time his head turns, he is met with a smile as the young woman nods confidently. Moments later they are in the downstairs training room, where Oscar is sitting and resting but unbeknownst to Weiss or Link, it is still Professor Ozpin in control

"Hey again Oscar!" Link waves

"Good morning, Oscar." Weiss nods

"..." Ozpin smiles and nods, then opens his eyes when both teenagers are out of the training room and on the back patio. "That would explain Mister Link's sudden happiness. I've seen it before when he is around Miss Rose but… This is different, in a very positive way. I wonder what it is about Miss Schnee that has brought out that smile and restored the life in Link's eyes that he used to display so often at Beacon."

The Group Home's: Back Patio

"There you have it sis. That's why I'm up so early and have been since we got to this beautiful house." Ruby sits up at last. "Link and I are helping each other get better in areas where we need help. He wants to get faster and I want to be a well rounded huntress who doesn't just rely on crescent rose."

"Fun and that's noble too." Yang sits down on her sister's left, "You couldn't have found a better sparring partner either. It's not like Uncle Qrow and Professor Ozpin can personally train with you at whatever time you want. Link as a 'next best option' is pretty good." Yang smirks. "I wish you were there, sis. Qrow could not stop talking about how much improvement Link showed against Tyrian? Whoever that is."

"Hehehe, yeah Link did look awesome against that weirdo." Ruby giggles. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't go back to sleep." Yang shrugs

"Well!" Weiss announces her and Link's presence to the sisters. "Fortunately, coffee exists."

"Ooooh!" Yang winks at both of them. "Welcome back you two!"

"Yes, it's good to see you again." Link nods

Weiss carries the tray with four cups of coffee and walks over to join her team, Link follows closely behind. The former nods her head and signals at him to hand out coffees. Link hands Yang a regular black coffee. Next he grabs his own sweetened coffee with his left hand while handing Ruby her extremely sweetened coffee

"Here you go, Weiss made sure to add the exact amount of cream and sugar you like." Link smirks

"Did she really?!" Ruby cheers. "Sweetness! Nice Weiss strikes again!

"Excuse me?!" Weiss narrows her eyes. "I will grab that cup and pour it on you… And it will burn!"

"There's the ice queen." Yang snickers

"Indeed." Link nods and grabs the tray from Weiss as she sits down on Ruby's right, and to everyone's surprise, begins walking away

"L-Link?" Weiss mumbles

"Where are you going?!" Ruby scoots back whilst shouting

"Back inside. I figured you guys want to have your team RWBY moment. Without me invading your privacy." Link turns and smiles

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ruby groans. "Come back."

"Yeah this is not strictly team RWBY business, we're just gonna chat." Yang nods. "You can sit next to Weiiiiss."

"Seriously?!" Weiss frowns

"What? I'm being serious, unless you want to sit next to me?" Yang pats the dirt next to her with her hand

"Tempting." Link rolls his eyes and returns, choosing to sit next to Weiss to nobody's surprise, he even grabs the end of her ponytail when noticing it touches the ground

"Oh!" Weiss slightly smiles. "Thank you."

"Cute!" Ruby giggles

"Nice Link is back." Yang winks

"Hey." Link glares at her

"I'm kidding. But hey, you stayed so that's more like it. Friends united… Sort of." Yang smirks. "I can't believe we're actually in Mistral, together."

"Sis…" Ruby snorts. "That's what you can't believe? Out of everything we just learned?"

"Well…" Yang shakes her head. "Yeah I get your point, all the other magic and stuff. But... You know what I mean!"

"I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever see any of you again." Weiss smiles warmly

"Well, here we are." The blonde huntress smiles. "To defying expectations."

Yang raises her cup, Weiss raises hers and the two girls clink cups together. Ruby does not wait for her coffee to cool down and slurps it down like a maniac. Link watches the three of them and happily nods

"Hey…" Yang smirks as she glances at Link, then Ruby. "Weiss, do you wanna tell them, now that it is just us three out here?"

"Oh no, do I have to?" Weiss looks down in embarrassment

"No more secrets." She winks again

"Fine!" Weiss frowns. "Link, Ruby… When I was captured by Yang's mom and her tribe, I foolishly thought the three people approaching me were you two and Yang. As if you somehow found me in the middle of Anima."

"Aw, I thought this was going to be something positive!" Ruby pouts

(That is really heartbreaking. She saw me as a vision and unfortunately it wasn't real in the slightest.) Link sighs and turns his attention to Weiss. "I'm sorry it wasn't us."

"You do not have to be sorry, it wasn't your fault or anybody's fault really." Weiss puts her coffee down and buries her face. "Well I guess the blame can go to the Grimm that made the ship crash."

"Yeahhh but at least you're here now! Win-win's all around." Ruby nods and finishes her coffee. "Mmmmm!"

"Raven is going to pay for hurting you at all, let alone kidnapping you." Link coldly mumbles

"Oh boy, we cannot keep casually bringing up Yang's mom around her." Ruby sighs and lightly slaps Weiss' arm, signaling her to say something

"Stop." Weiss leans towards the young man and whispers. "That's a sore subject for Y-!"

"I don't know what you're telling him Weiss." Yang narrows her eyes. "But you can stop. Link and I can talk face to face."

"Yes, let's talk." Link nods and looks at the blonde huntress who does not appear mad, but is definitely not happy either. "What's on your mind?"

"Look." Yang turns her head to face the other blonde across from her. "I was and still am on your side with everything regarding you against Jaune. But the only thing I will agree with him on is the second thing he said. The way you talk about killing my mom… It's not right."

(Damn, that really did bother-!) Link shakes his head. (Of course it bothered her, Raven is still her mother after all.)

"Is she evil?" Yang nods. "Sure. But you just cannot say you're going to kill her as if she were an easy opponent or a nobody, she's still my mom."

"I hear you and I'm sorry if my comments came across as disrespect… To you." Link narrows his eyes as well, "Rav-! Sorry, I'll acknowledge her properly. Your mom hasn't been there for you and she hurt Weiss. Then you told me that she specifically wants me dead for nothing other than what? Feeling threatened?" He sighs and looks towards Yang with complete sincerity. "Sorry Yang, but if your mom comes near us and hurts Weiss, Ruby, you Qrow, Oscar, even Nora, Ren, and Jaune. I will do anything to protect you all."

"My mother said the next time we meet, she won't be nice but…" Yang shakes her head. "Let Qrow deal with her. He is her brother and Ruby and I's uncle after all."

"No offense… Assuming we are talking about the absolute worst. One family member killing another is not any better." Link turns away and smacks his lips. "Let's just hope we don't run into her anytime soon, how does that sound?"

"Sure, let's go with that." Yang looks away and angrily nods as she attempts to move on from the conversation. "Aside from the fact that Qrow and Ozpin said we need the spring maiden, and mom has her… We definitely will see her again and very soon."

"Isn't it crazy guys?" Weiss speaks up and slices through the tension. "This is it. We are so close to… Saving the world again. Who would've thought? Just two weeks ago we were all in different places and completely separated."

"I knowww." Ruby smiles and watches the sun rise, but it does not shine bright as clouds cover it. "I just wish Blake could be here with us."

"Agreed." Weiss nods. "We are due for a team RWBY reunion."

"That would be nice." Link drinks his coffee at a steady but brisk pace, the warm liquid infused with cream and sugar hits the right spot despite it already being hot outside

"I'm glad you all feel that way." Yang takes a big gulp of coffee before putting her cup down. "But she made her choice and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Ouch." Link's eyes widened in shock. (But I definitely understand how she feels, both as someone who has been abandoned and done the abandoning.)

"Seriously, big ouch." Weiss nods at Link's comment, exchanges looks with Ruby, then leans forward to look at Yang herself. "What's that supposed to mean?

"I mean she could've been here if she just stuck around." Yang mutters bitterly. "It's no big deal though. We'll be fine without her, there's plenty of us here to fight and keep each other safe."

"Yang?" Ruby's eyes well up. "Don't you want her here?

"Why would I want her here?" Yang coldly speaks, showing no regard for how deep her words are cutting through her teammates

"Come on, you're being unfair." Weiss mumbles

"Am I?" Yang scoffs. "I disagree."

"Are you still mad at her for leaving?" Ruby whispers

"Wow sis, whatever gave you that idea?" She rolls her eyes. "No, I'm totally fine. I'm great!"

"Okay." Weiss narrows her eyes. "We hear you, just calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

Yang whips her head to stare directly into Weiss' eyes, unfortunately without realizing she has activated her semblance 'Burn'. Her red eyes strike fear in Weiss and Ruby, who now have worried expressions

"HEY!" Link shouts

However, before Yang or her teammates can even react to the red eyes or the scream, Link is on his feet. He valiantly stands in front of Weiss and Ruby whilst looking down at Yang with his arms to his sides in balled up fists, eyebrows furrowed and a neutral expression

"Out of respect for you, I won't draw any weapons because you're my friend." Link mumbles. "But don't EVER look at Weiss that way."

"I…" Yang realizes what she did and shamefully turns away, her red eyes fade immediately. "Why are you butting in? This is team RWBY business."

"Oh really?" Link's closed fists shake with anger. "What happened to 'this is not strictly team RWBY business, we're just gonna chat', remember that? Because you just ate your own words in minutes."

"Sure." Her left hand shakes frailly as she holds her coffee cup. "Whatever Link. I'm gonna go."

The blonde huntress quickly gets up and walks away with her coffee in hand. Ruby, Weiss, and Link watch her leave before the two girls exchange concerned looks and the young man protecting them shakes his head

"She's gone, Link. You can sit down now." Ruby slaps his boot. "You know Yang wouldn't hurt us anyway."

"I know she wouldn't but when has she ever activated her semblance on you before? And in a serious setting like how she did today?" Link shakes his head and walks back to where he was seated before, next to Weiss.

"N-No." Ruby sighs. "I guess you're right."

"Being right doesn't matter, in this situation at least." Link nods. "Yang is going to need some time, unless one of you can break through to her now with a deep heart to heart."

"Ruby, you're up." Weiss looks to her leader with confidence

"M-Me? I was thinking you would be better suited for this." Ruby somberly looks at the ground

"It seems like we have a draw on our hands. Link, you should decide which one us will try to talk to Yang right now." Weiss looks to her right and nods at him

"M-Me? I just threatened her." Link shrugs. "I think my opinion on Yang is invalid until I apologize to her. Which should not be right now, I'm probably the last person she wants to talk to."

"That's okay, we're not asking you to go talk to her." Weiss grabs his arm and looks at him with a serious expression. "Please, just pick someone."

"Fine." Link leans back to first look at Ruby. (Ruby is the obvious choice for uplifting someone, but this isn't that type of conversation. Yang feels abandoned by Blake and as far as I know, the only person that ever abandoned Ruby was her mom. She had all the love and support from Taiyang, Qrow, and Yang.) He turns to look at Weiss next. (Then there's Weiss, she probably is not the best at picking someone up when they are down in comparison to Ruby. However, based on what she told me with her brother, father, and mother, plus her distant sister, all she has ever had is a butler so-!)

"I don't want to hurry you but…" Weiss carefully whispers and interrupts Link's deep thinking

"Understood." Link closes his eyes and takes their current moods into consideration before deciding, "Weiss, I think you should go talk to Yang. I think you can relate more to her with this abandonment topic." He leans towards her and softly whispers. "Ruby also looks like she is about to cry and Yang is not sparing anyone's feelings at the moment."

"Okay. And hey…" Weiss gently places a hand on Link's knee and nods at him. "I know Yang wouldn't hurt me, but you stepping in to defend us was brave, honorable, and sweet… Thank you. Wish me luck."

"Good luck Weiss." Link smiles at her

Weiss smiles back, stands up and walks away with her coffee. She does not have any parting words for Ruby but does storm into the house, determinant to get through to Yang

"The super happy fun times are over already, huh?" Ruby nervously laugh

"Hey." Link finishes his coffee, puts the cup down and scoots over to Ruby, nudging her shoulder. "I trust that Weiss is going to break through to her or at least soften her up."

"Y-Yeah… I hope so." Ruby continues looking at the ground and slowly leans over to rest her head on his shoulder, "I should give you more credit, Link." She wipes away the built up tears. "Yang wouldn't hurt me, but right now… I feel a little scared of her."

"Ruby." Link's expression drops and he wraps arm around her for a gentle side hug. "It's going to be okay, Yang didn't mean any of that. She did not travel all the way from Patch to scare or beat you."

"I know…" Ruby sighs. "You're right, she is my sister and we love each other so much. What do you think about what she said, regarding Blake? We all had our thoughts but you kind of only threw in words here and there."

"At least someone wants to talk about it." Link smirks and fully extends his legs for maximum comfort. "Just to be absolutely sure, do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes, I really want to. If Weiss can't break through to Yang then we can talk about it. I do want to know your opinion on Blake leaving too." Ruby smiles and shuts her eyes, but suddenly feels uneasy when realizing she is relaxing her head on the young man's shoulder. "Is this right? We are best friends and this is friendly but… What about Weiss? She obviously likes him. Am I overstepping?"

"Ruby?" Link raises both eyebrows. "Are you tired? Maybe we went too hard during training today."

"No no, idiot." Ruby cackles and brushes off her inner thoughts. "I'm okay. I was just thinking about stuff. There's a lot to think about nowadays, considering everything that's happening."

"But right now it's about Blake I assume?" Link gently squeezes on her arm

"Y-Yeah, about Blake." Ruby nods

"In that case." Link sighs. "Let's talk about her."

…

…

…

To Be Continued…

(Author's Note: Hello everybody! Sorry for the long delay, work and real life stuff has stalled me considerably. That and me attempting to edit/re-write four chapters while making a new one... Yeah, not the correct move at all. Especially because chapter's 21, 22, 23, and 24 were the longest original chapters. Regardless, Chapters 21, 22, and 23 have been revised, feel free to check them out if you'd like to re-read. Chapter 24 is halfway done but I stopped working on it to get this new chapter out. I hope you all enjoy and my next update should be faster. Not promises or guarantees, but I love you all and have a great day!)