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There was nothing that Ruby hated more than this. That time of day when the light of the sun began to shift hues and slowly wither away, leaving behind a gnawing chill that sent everyone back to the warm comfort of their homes. But Ruby didn’t want to go home. The loneliness of that was colder than anything the night could throw at her. As a matter of fact, she felt plenty warm. Walking hand in hand with Penny, she felt invincible, like she could take on the entire world and win. But there was no need to fight, because she had everything she wanted. But as the last of the day’s light melted away and the dreaded corner where they had parted ways so many times before creeped closer, Ruby knew it couldn’t last.
“Well, I’d best be off.” Penny chirped. The fatal words that Ruby waited for in agony. She sounded far more chipper than Ruby felt. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”
“Of course!” Ruby said, trying to feign enthusiasm in an effort to smother the gloominess behind her words. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Lovely! Do be careful going home. It’s so cold tonight.”
“I will. Take care!”
Ruby watched and waved until Penny was out of sight, ignorant of the stinging cold despite her warnings. She gave a long sigh, turning her eyes to Beacon. She never would have thought that she would look at that place with dismay, but her old dreams just couldn’t seem to stack up with her new one. She began the long trudge back to Beacon, and already her mind wandered off towards tomorrow evening, and the girl who waited for her there.
By the time Ruby returned, the rest of her team was already beginning to retire. Yang sat cross legged on the floor, her back to Blake, who sat on her bunk as she struggled to run a brush through Yang’s hair. Weiss sat at one of the desks across the room, looking into a hand mirror that she propped against the wall as she struggled with removing her ornate ponytail, which had somehow become violently intertwined with her hairpiece.
“Well there she is!” Yang exclaimed. “The ever elusive Ruby Rose! What, does Ozpin having you running secret ops?”
“Something like that.”
“But if you told me, you’d have to kill me.” Yang said, closing one eye and raising her hand in a makeshift gun, punctuating her words with the recoil of her imagined weapon.
“Well if you’re not too busy with political assassinations,” Weiss said, struggling to communicate as she worked. “We need to practice for Professor Hara’s test on Friday. I was able to reserve the field for practice tomorrow evening.”
“Tomorrow?” Ruby said. “Umm… Tomorrow’s no good. Could we do the next day?”
“What!? Why on earth can’t you do tomorrow!”
“I’m not ready! I’m still working on a move.”
“Ruby, it’s a game of strategy, not a talent show. Your ‘moves’ aren’t what you should be worried about.”
“C’mon, Weiss. Please?”
Ruby mustered her best puppy dog eyes, making sure to be in view of her mirror. Weiss was unstirred, meeting Ruby’s reflection with a stern glare.
“You may think you’re adorable, Ruby Rose, but you are not.”
The staring contest carried on a few moments longer before Weiss surrendered with an annoyed sigh and shrug of the shoulders.
“ Fine! I’ll see what I can do, but you better be ready.”
“You got it boss!” Ruby said with a cheery salute. Weiss only muttered grumpily.
“Ech, well I’m a mess.” Ruby said, assessing her well worn clothes. “I’m gonna go wash up and hit the hay.”
Blake furrowed her brow in thought.
“Ruby?” She asked. “What kind of move exactly are you working on?”
Ruby paused halfway to the bathroom.
“Oh! You know.” She said. “Just, a really cool one. It’s hard to explain. You’ll see though! You’ll see. It’ll be great.”
She continued to jabber, growing steadily less coherent, as she slipped through the door and escaped. Blake, from just outside of Yang’s view, shot Weiss a knowing look, which Weiss in turn adopted as she realized Blake’s meaning. The moves Ruby was making were entirely different than she was suggesting.
The next day…
Every single class was beyond dull. Ruby was never one for lectures, and these days it was as if the teachers droned on for an eternity. Every time she tried to bring her focus back to the task at hand, it would overshoot onto some entirely new topic. Or really, variations of one specific topic.
“Penny’s smile is always so nice. I wonder if robots brush their teeth? Probably not. Unless it’s with some special robot polish I guess. I wonder what she’s doing right now. What if she was brushing her teeth right now! How weird would that be? I guess it would be extra weird since it’s the middle of the day. I guess some people do that. Like, after every meal. Only huge nerds though. Maybe Weiss. Her teeth are really clean. I wonder what she’s doing. Looks like she’s listening to the lecture. Oh shoot! I should be doing that! It’s so hard though. How do they manage to make being a huntress sound boring? I’ve gotta focus though…”
Ruby mustered all her academic abilities, honing in on professor Port’s voice. She held for nearly twenty seconds.
“I wonder if Penny would like this school…”
And with that it was gone again. Ruby put her anxious hands to doodling, distracting her from her thoughts and letting her take in at least a bit of what the professor had to say. Before she knew it, the bell was rung and the students were making their way hastily out of the classroom. Back to reality, Ruby started to gather up her things. She was filled with a sudden horror as she saw the result of her absent minded scrawlings. The paper was covered with hearts and crude representations of girl with a bow who was adorable even in the form of a terrible sketch.
Ruby swiped up the paper as quickly as she could, glancing in Yang’s direction. The last thing she wanted was for her nosy, obnoxious sister to find out about this. She would never hear the end of it. Yang was okay, but she didn’t know when to mind her own business, and she definitely didn’t know when to stop. Fortunately, Yang seemed to be engrossed by something Blake was whispering to her. Safe for now, but Ruby would have to be more cautious in the future.
With classes out of the way, there was nothing left to keep Ruby from Penny any longer. She rushed out of the classroom ahead of her teammates.
“See ya later guys! I gotta go something, bye!”
“Hey!” Yang called, sounding a little indignant. Ruby was already gone, and the lack of response elicited a pouting scowl from Yang.
“Hey, have you guys noticed how Ruby is always disappearing?”
Weiss and Blake exchanged a quick glance.
“You know Ruby.” Weiss said. “She’s always up to something.”
“Nah. She never does anything without trying to drag the whole team into it. Something’s definitely up.”
“It’s probably fine.” Blake said. “Maybe she’s actually making friends.”
“Be serious, Blake.” Yang said. “This is Ruby we’re talking about.”
“I wouldn’t underestimate her.” Blake warned. “She’s changed a lot since we got here.”
“You’re telling me.” Yang mused. She stared at the doorway after Ruby a moment longer. She then shook it off, gathering up the last of her supplies. Blake and Weiss exchanged another look. Did she really not know by now? Well then, who was going to tell her?
Many hours passed back at the team’s dorm, and Ruby was still nowhere to be seen. In the meantime, Yang was uncharacteristically grumpy. Despite Blake’s efforts to distract her, she couldn’t seem to hold Yang’s attention for more than a few minutes before she was back to a vacant, pensive stare combined with uncertain frown. Blake gave a sigh and looked up to Weiss, who sat in her loft, in hopes of help. Weiss could only offer a shrug in return.
“Yang,” Blake asked, “ what’s on your mind?”
Yang turned to Blake, a moment passing before she processed the line of questioning.
“Ah, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about me.” She said, offering an insincere smile.
Blake turned her face down in a very stern glare, and Yang found herself reconsidering dishonesty.
“Right, right.” Yang said with a sigh. “I’m just worried about Ruby.”
“Obviously.” Weiss called down from the loft across the room. “The question is why? What on earth are you worried about?”
“It’s just that I don’t know where she is. That’s never really happened before.”
“Really?” Blake questioned. “You’ve always known exactly where your sister is at all times.”
“Well, no. Of course not. But closer than you might think. It’s not so much all that. It’s just… I’ve always taken care of her. For the longest time. And since all this started…” Yang gestured about the room as she said it. “She’s just changed so much. I feel like I don’t know her like I used to.”
“She’s growing up, Yang.” Blake said. “She’s learning to take care of herself.”
“I know.” Yang said with a groan, flopping back onto the bed and pressing a pillow to her face. “It fucking sucks!”
Blake couldn’t help but grin. She lay down next to Yang, gently pushing the pillow away from her face. Yang obliged, looking sheepishly out at Blake.
“Yang, is there anything in this world you want more than for Ruby to be the very best she can be?”
Yang knew where this was going, answering only after a long, reluctant pause. “No. There isn’t.”
“Don’t you think that means she’s going to have to spread her wings a little and find out who she is?”
“I know who she is and she’s perfect just like that!”
“Yang…”
“Yeah, you’re right. I know you’re right.”
“She’ll be fine. She’s a good, strong kid. And she learned from the very best.”
“Yeah, I am pretty great.”
“A regular hero.”
“Think you maybe want to give me a kiss?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Ugh.” Weiss groaned. “Would you two get a room.”
“This is my room, Weiss!” Yang shouted. “If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
“Speaking of kitchen,” Blake said, standing up. “I am starving. I’m going to go get us something from the canteen. Would you like anything?”
“I would like that kiss…” Yang pouted.
Blake leaned down, one hand braced against the higher loft, the other locking fingers with Yang’s, and gave Yang a kiss, sweet and long.
“Anything else?” Blake asked.
“Nawp.” Yang said with an oversized grin. “I’m good.”
Blake left, leaving behind a much cheerier Yang.
“I would have taken a bagel, but no one asks Weiss what she wants.” Weiss muttered to herself.
“Oh Weiss, don’t worry.” Yang chided. “Love will find you one day.”
“I’m hardly in a rush.” Weiss assured her. “It seems to be turning everyone around me into idiots.”
Yang chuckled to herself, shifting into a comfortable position to get some shut eye. She lay there for only a few moments before something struck her.
“Wait a minute, what did you mean by that?”
“Hmm? That I think you’re an idiot? Keep up, Yang. This is hardly a new idea.”
“No no no. You weren’t talking about just me. What did you mean?”
“I meant you and Blake and…” Realization struck Weiss. “And that’s it.”
“No, that’s not what you meant at all. Weiss, do you know something I don’t.”
“I should hope so, you dunce! Stop making a big deal out of this.”
“Oh no, princess. You done fucked up. Yang’s on the case now, and Yang always gets her man. What the hell is going on?”
“You know, some of us are trying to study?”
“Is my little sister dating someone?”
“How should I know!”
The sound of boots tromping down the hall interrupted them. Very familiar boots.
“Well if don’t know, I’ll just have to talk to someone who does.” Yang said with a grin.
Weiss groaned and pulled the covers over her head. Things were about to get messy.
Ruby came through the door nearly prancing, her mood improved significantly from early today. She didn’t even notice Yang’s stare as she stood in the center of the room, arms crossed in a cocky confrontational pose. Ruby’s mind seemed to be elsewhere. It was all so obvious that Yang felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner.
“Oh! Hi Yang!” Ruby chirped as she noticed her sister amidst her daydreaming.
"So who is it?" Yang asked.
"Wha?" Ruby said, mind still only half present.
"You can't hide anything from me sis. I got eyes like an eagle, and you've got eyes like a lovesick puppy."
"What are you talking abooo..." Yang's meaning dawned on her. "...oooowhat are you talking about?"
"Mmhmm. Smooth. Who is it? I'm gonna find out one way or another."
"It's nobody!"
"So there is somebody!"
"No! Yang! Just leave me alone!"
“C’mon, spill the beans!”
“What? No! There are no beans here to be spilled. Why are you so nosy?”
“Okay, okay.” Yang conceded. “You win, Ruby. It’s not really my business.”
“Yeah! It’s not.”
“I’ll just leave you alone now. You’re clearly in the right.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You don’t have to tell me about your crush if you don’t want to.”
“No I don’t. I… Wait, no!”
“Aha! Got you!”
“No you didn’t! You tricked me! That doesn’t count!”
“Omigosh! Little Ruby has her first school crush at Beacon Academy. Now you gotta tell me who it is!”
“No! I won’t! And by that I mean there isn’t anyone so I won’t for that reason!”
“Nu-uh. That part of the game is over. I know there’s someone, now I just gotta find out who.”
“This isn’t a game, Yang!”
“Aww. Why not?”
Ruby gave a frustrated groan and leapt to sit on the edge of her loft, feet dangling.
"Alright.” Yang continued, rubbing her hands together. “first order of business is the team members. I know it's not Blake... Oh my god, are you gay for the ice queen?"
"Weiss! As if!"
"Hey!" Weiss's indignant cry rang from just behind Ruby, who was startled so badly she nearly hit her head on the ceiling before she fell to the floor.
"Ahh! Weiss! When did you get here? And why are you in my bed?
"For your information, I was glancing over your study notes. I am not letting our position at Beacon be jeopardized because our leader would rather spend her nights on romantic getaways and playing twenty questions with her sister than studying."
“Hey, I don’t want to be having this conversation!” Ruby said. “Also, I didn’t do that first thing either.”
“Mmhm.” Weiss said, not sounding quite convinced. "And not to suggest interest, but I would be an absolute catch. Also, you're doing quite well,” She said, tossing a stack of books down to Ruby. “but I would advise you to go over chapter four once more."
"Aww.” Ruby moaned. “I hate chapter four."
"What's it about?" Yang asked.
"I dunno."
"Well, back to business.” Yang said. “If it's not Weiss, then it's someone outside the team."
"What makes you so certain it's not Blake?"
"Ha-ha! No, really though..."
"Well what's wrong with Blake!?"
"Nothing! She's just a little... out of your ballpark, that's all."
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"There's nothing wrong with you! It's just that she's an older, more refined woman."
"Yang, her and Weiss are the exact same age. And who's more refined than Weiss!"
Weiss’s smugness was nearly audible from atop Ruby’s bunk.
"Ehh." Yang answered unhelpfully. "Let's get back to the serious business. JNPR is right across the hall. Maybe it's one of them?"
"Or maybe it's none of your business." Ruby said, increasingly exasperated.
"Hah! It totally is one of them! Let's see... Jaune and Ren are out for obvious reasons. Then…”
“Oh my god. I hate you, Yang.”
“there's Pyrrha. Master of battle, duelist extraordinaire. And she's cute too. I could see you falling for the battle queen."
"Sounds to me like you’re the one who likes her."
"Nah, you're right."
"Really?"
"There's no way the young upstart is getting with the star performer. Just not happening."
"Why is everybody suddenly out of my league!"
"You could just tell me."
"I'm gonna fight you, Yang."
"Then comes Nora. Oh my god, you guys would be adorable together. I think you might be the only person here who can actually keep up with her."
"Yang, don't you have better things to do?"
"I don't hear you denying it."
"I don't have to deny it Yang! I don't have to confirm it! I don't have to tell you anything! All I have to do is live my own life and not worry about you butting into every little detail of it. I can eat my own food, I can choose my own clothes, I can have my own friends, and I can date people without you harassing me until you've ingrained yourself in every little thing!"
The tangent left Ruby gasping for breath, her heart pounding in her chest.
"So... is that a yes on Nora?"
"OH MY FLIPPING FLIP! IT'S PENNY!"
Ruby bolted out of the room in a swirl of rose petals and ill will. Yang stood dumbstruck, eyes wide.
"Oh. My. God." She said, a crooked grin slowly forming. "My sister's gay for the robot."
Blake returned to find papers scattered across the room, Weiss with her head buried in her hands, and Yang standing in the middle of it all with a crooked grin on her face. She looked to Weiss for explanation.
“I fucked up, Blake.” Weiss said. “I fucked up.
“Yang, what exactly did you do?” Blake demanded.
“Nothing! I just asked Ruby some questions about who she’s hanging out with.”
“And does the fact that this room is in the aftermath of a shockwave mean that the conversation went well?”
“I’d say it went pretty well.”
“Yang. didn’t we just talk about this?”
“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me Ruby was dating somebody. And you totally knew, didn’t you?”
“I… suspected. I didn’t know for sure. It wasn’t my place to say anyways.”
“Oh sure. You know more about what my sister is up to than I do! Don’t you see how that’s a problem?”
“Maybe the problem here is that Ruby didn’t want to tell you.”
“I…” this made Yang pause. “Well yeah, that is a problem.” She seemed to mull this over for a long moment, realization slowly dawning on her. “Oh god! She’s my sister! I used to always know what she was thinking. Now not only do I have no idea what’s going on, but she won’t tell me anything! She could be sneaking around with jerks and creeps!”
“I don’t think Penny is either of those things, Yang.” Blake scolded.
“No, but she could’ve been! And if she was, I wouldn't have known about it until it was too late and Ruby’s poor little heart was broken. Then I would have track down the loser and kill them. Then I would have to find a place to hide the body, probably as far outside of Vale as possible. I would have to thoroughly scrub the crime scene for evidence which would be a nightmare because I would make an unbelievable mess. I should probably burn my clothes too, just to be sure. Oh no, and I really love this outfit. Blake! Help me choose murder clothes!”
“Yang!” Blake interjected. “Calm down! Honestly. You’re not murdering anyone.”
“But she really seems prepared to…” Weiss said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
“Let’s look at the reality of the situation.” Blake said, squatting down to Yang’s level. “You’re sister is dating Penny Polendina, a very nice girl who wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
After a moment of reluctance, Yang nodded in agreement.
“Secondly, you probably just drove your sister off campus in a relentless effort to get the information out of her.”
Yang opened her mouth to protest and found she could not. She nodded again.
“So what are we going to do about this actual situation?” Blake asked.
“She’s probably madder than hell at me.” Yang said with a sigh.
“Might be so.” Weiss agreed.
“If you’re not going to say anything helpful you don’t have to pipe in, ice queen.” Yang said.
“I’m saying you’re correct. What’s not nice about that?”
“Whatever. Anyway, I should make it up to her somehow. But why didn’t she just tell me in the first place?”
“Maybe you should ask her.” Blake said.
“Yeah. You’re right.” Yang agreed. “And I need a way to let her know that I like Penny and everything’s cool.”
“Alright. And how do you think you should do that?”
Yang looked out the window to the dark streets below.
“I don’t know. But it looks awful cold out there.
It was dark and it was freezing. Even bundled beneath her cape Ruby felt chilly. She squirmed and shivered as she waited in the dark, but cold as she was, she was still burning up inside. Part of it was embarrassment that her sister was still able to mess with her this bad, and the rest of it was anger that her sister didn’t know better. On the whole, this was all Yang’s fault. Now she was standing outside Penny’s house in the middle of the night, asking to see her because she didn’t know what else to do. She felt like an idiot.
Ruby’s self loathing was interrupted by subtle movement in the corner of her eye. Ever so slowly, Penny was inching her way out the front door of her house, careful not to make a sound. Once the door was secure behind her, Penny made her way over to Ruby, still moving at a cautious pace.
“Ruby!” Penny said, taking Ruby’s hands into her own. “I got your message. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m really sorry about this.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s just… Ah, it’s so dumb that I’m doing this. Yang was just messing with me and she got under my skin, so I had to leave. I didn’t really know where else to go. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, Ruby. I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, Penny.”
“Would you like to tell me about it?”
Ruby thought for a little. She didn’t want to at all. The whole thing made her seem so stupid and childish, but she was still so mad. She had to talk to someone.
“Penny, how do you feel about your dad?”
“What do you mean?”
“Does it ever bother you that he’s so controlling? That you have to sneak around to able to do what you want?”
Penny’s brow furrowed in thought. Ruby found it to be incredibly cute, and had nearly forgotten what they were talking about when Penny responded.
“I never thought about it before I met you and your friends. I always did what my father said, and truthfully, I was happy. But then I met you, and I realized that there are things I want for myself that have nothing to do with my father, or who I am to him. They were things that only had to do with me, so I’m the only one who realized I needed it. But I was never upset with him. I think he’s doing his best for me as far as he understands me.”
“But now you have to keep secrets, because you don’t know if he’ll let you be yourself. The way you know you.”
“Yes, that is true. It does make me feel bad. I wish I could just be honest with him.”
“Me too.” Ruby said, looking up at the silver fragments of the moon. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. A moment passed before she found the courage to continue.
“Do you ever wish you never met me? Do you wish you stayed the way you were when you were happy?”
Penny stopped to think once more. Ruby admired her honest heart. Most people wouldn’t even consider such a thing, but she knew Penny would be truthful about her feelings, even when it hurt.
“Never.” Penny said.
“Why not?”
“Because, I know more about the world and myself then I ever did. I would never give up on the things I’ve discovered and the feelings I’ve felt. Everything before just seems so empty. Even the good things. Like I was only dreaming. I don’t know that much about myself, but even my worst day moving forward is better than my worst day standing still.”
A lull fell over them as they mulled over these thoughts. Slowly, a smile crept over Penny’s face.
And there’s something more important than that.” Penny said.
“What?”
“I would never go back because I love you!”
She leaned in, planting a kiss neatly on the tip of Ruby’s nose, which wrinkled involuntarily on contact.
“I love you too.” Ruby said, wrapping her arm’s around her.
Penny’s warmth sapped the strength of whatever was burning in Ruby. Yang did mean well, even if she was an idiot. She wasn’t trying to hold her back or keep her down. Even if she did stick her nose in everything, Yang just wanted to be there for her.
“Oh! Salutations, Yang!” Penny called.
Ruby broke the embrace to turn around, and sure enough Yang was approaching, a big yellow scarf around her neck and a steamy drink in each hand. Ruby quickly turned back around, crossing her arms and positioning Penny between Yang and herself. Penny looked around in confusion at Ruby’s odd behavior.
“I brought you kid’s something to keep warm.” Yang said, raising the cups and shaking them slightly. “It’s too cold of a night to be out making mischief.”
“Oh, there has been no mischief on our part. Honest!” Penny insisted.
Yang chuckled. “I know, of course not. You’re a good kid. You both are.”
Yang’s eyes were fixed on Ruby, who refused to turn and meet them. Yang seemed to struggle for a few moments. Almost starting to speak several times, but second guessing herself. At last she turned to Penny and spoke.
“Penny, can I tell you a story? I know that’s kind of weird, but it’s just a quick one. Okay?”
“Alright.” Penny said, a little confused, but also a little bit eager to hear what Yang had to say.
“Thanks, kid.” Yang said, holding the drinks out to Penny, who gladly accepted them.
Yang took in a deep breath, eyes moving between Penny and the non participatory Ruby.
“Back when me and Ruby were kids,” Yang began, “we lived on this island called Patch. You might of heard of it. But we weren’t even on the main island. We lived in this itty bitty town on an even smaller island off the coast. Not a lot going on. We even had to take a boat to the next town over just to get to school.”
Yang used a series of hand gestures to suggest the islands, their relation to each other, and boat journey between them. As she continued, her gaze seemed to become foggy with memory.
“But all the same, we loved the place. We thought it was the best place in the world. Whenever we weren’t in school, me and Ruby were together. Hanging out, getting into trouble. Most of that was probably my fault.” Yang said with a chuckle.
“We would go on all sorts of adventures and stuff, pretending we were huntresses. We’d find Beowolves in the high grass and Ursas prowling by the shore. We even had this little kingdom that we found in the forest that these little pixie things lived in, and we had to protect it from Grimm invaders all the time. We loved that place. So one day, me and Ruby are playing and I’m up in this tree trying to kill a Nevermore, when suddenly, the branch I’m standing on just snaps, and I fall straight to the ground.”
Yang punctuated this point by dropping her fist suddenly onto her open hand, startling Penny.
“Landed on my arm funny. Ruby ran and got dad and sure enough it was broken. They made me stay home for two weeks, even though I was fine after a couple days. I was bored as hell in the house, so I went out to play by myself. But the weird thing was, I couldn’t find any Grimm, no matter where I looked. The grass and the shore were all clear. So I went to find our kingdom. But I only found trees. When I was out there by myself, the world wasn’t anything special. I wasn’t a huntress anymore. I didn’t really know what I was. So I just waited. And when Ruby came back, everything made sense again. Thing is, it feels awful, not having someone who makes things make sense. But, it’s probably just as bad to be stuck to someone when you’re trying to make sense of things yourself.”
Silence dominated the air for a very long moment, seemingly immovable in the night air. Penny at last dispelled it’s grip.
“That was an amazing story, Yang.” Penny said. “Thank you for sharing!”
“Yeah, don’t mention it kid.” Yang said with a dismissibe wave. “But, can you do something for me?”
“What’s that?”
Yang took the scarf off her neck, bundling it up and placing it in Penny’s arms.
“Take good care of my sister for me.”
Penny looked back at Ruby, who still refused to turn.
“Affirmative.” She said, giving Yang a stern faced nod.
“Thanks.” Yang said with a grin. “I’ll see you two around.”
She turned and walked away. Ruby at last allowed a glance over her shoulder. She held it, watching Yang until she disappeared. Yang didn’t look back once.
“That was… Interesting.” Penny said, handing a drink to Ruby.
“Yeah.” Ruby agreed absently.
“Well I think it’s clear that your sister loves you very much.” Penny said, wrapping the bright scarf tightly around Ruby’s icy face.
“She’s not so bad.” Ruby said, her grin concealed by the warm reminder.
By the time Ruby got back home the rest of her team was long asleep. Blake and Weiss looked peaceful enough, but Yang was haphazardly draped across her bunk, her blankets all piled beneath her. It looked as though she had barely got her coat off before passing out in bed. Ruby gave a sigh, climbing up next to Yang.
“She can be so hard to care for.” Ruby thought as she covered Yang as best she could with her borrowed scarf.
She looked at her sleeping sister. Yang looked like quite a mess for someone so dead set on taking care of her. But that was just the thing. Yang never had the chance to be anything other than big sister. Maybe Ruby didn’t need her to be that like she used to, but Yang still did. After everything Yang had done for her, could Ruby return the favor? Could she be the little sister until Yang could find her way without her? A trail of drool slid it’s way down from the corner of Yang’s mouth. Ruby grinned, wiping it away with the edge of the scarf.
“I think I can manage. I’ll take care of you as long as you need me.”
With that, Ruby gave her a gentle goodnight kiss on the forehead. She slid down from Yang’s bunk and into her own as quietly as she could. She was very tired, and tomorrow was a long day. All the same, Ruby wasn’t too worried. Whatever happened out there, she would have her big sister to take care of her.