Chapter Text
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March:
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Stepping out of the all too familiar Sydney airport together, suitcases wheeling behind them and sunglasses on their eyes to cover the bright morning light, Ruby and Pyrrha looked over at each other with the same tired smile. But, stepping out of the airport for the last time, there was also a bittersweet sadness in their eyes that they both allowed the other to see. Pyrrha drummed her grip on the handle of her deep red suitcase as she bit her lip in thought, before making her way over to the side and out of the way of the people squeezing out of the massive doors and trying to get to either one of the buses that drove in constant circuits of the terminals and car parks, or trying to get to the cabs constantly lined up and at the ready.
Frowning in curiosity, Ruby followed her, dragging her own red suitcase behind her and spinning it to a playful stop once she reached her friend, taking her sunglasses and sliding them up to perch on the top of her head when Pyrrha did the same.
Tilting her head at the sad look in Pyrrha’s eyes, Ruby’s frown deepened slightly. “What’s up?”
“I just…I knew it would feel sad, but it hurts more than I expected. In strange ways.” Chuckling, Pyrrha tapped her hand on her suitcase and glanced around at their surroundings, at the constant bustling crowds, and the sound of planes overhead. “...in a strange way, I know I’m going to miss this.”
“...yeah…” Smiling sadly, Ruby stepped over so she could pull Pyrrha into a tight hug, sighing into it when Pyrrha grabbed her up willingly. “I’m going to miss having you around for it.”
“It’s been a lot of fun, Ruby. Gods, it’s been more fun than I know how to word.” Breathing it out quietly as she pressed her lips to the shorter girl’s head, Pyrrha allowed her eyes to close into the embrace. “I can’t properly express my gratitude that you let me be a part of this…”
“Hey, you said so yourself, you’re not exactly vanishing.” Squeezing Pyrrha for a moment, Ruby leaned back so she could prod her in the chest playfully with a bittersweet smile. “Who knows, maybe you and Jaune can come out with me again someday. Take a vacation and I can show you both a new place or two.”
Pyrrha smiled softly at the reassuring glow in Ruby’s eyes, a look that was telling her that it was all going to be okay. “...that’d be nice. Maybe for Christmas or his birthday sometime?”
“Your travelling days aren’t quite done yet, Pyrrha Nikos. It’s in your blood now, and it ain’t fading entirely.” Prodding her friend again in conviction, Ruby chuckled before stepping back and taking her suitcase again, beginning to walk towards the taxi bank. “Now come on, let’s get home. I’ve got lunch with Weiss, and I’m sure you want to see your boy. For good, this time.”
Smiling fondly at Ruby’s back as she grabbed her own case to follow, Pyrrha’s heart was warm from the affection and reassurance in Ruby’s voice and eyes. She knew her friend was sad, Ruby couldn’t hide it entirely, but her reassurance was genuine and went right to her core. It was going to be a few hard weeks ahead for Ruby, losing Pyrrha as a travelling companion and losing Weiss in a fortnight, but…she seemed to be holding strong. When Pyrrha had last spoken to Yang on the phone, the blonde had given a chuckle and said that she’d sorted her sister out, but she hadn’t gone into any further detail than that.
It appeared she’d been telling the truth. There was a determination in Ruby’s eyes and step again, a decision that had been made and a breath sucked in, and it had her putting one foot in front of the other with the enthusiasm she’d always had before.
Even if those footsteps were taking her further and further away from the parts of her life she might just love the most.
And Pyrrha couldn’t lie to herself either, she felt an ache in her chest as she knew she was going to miss traveling. Making her way out of the airport, she gazed behind herself at the ornate and massive structure, listening to the noise and practically seeing the potential excitement of the entire world through those doors, but she had her own whole new adventure waiting ahead of her.
While Ruby had taken a detour to Wellington to be with Weiss, Blake, and her sister, Pyrrha had been back in New South Wales looking for a home for herself and Jaune.
She hoped Ruby had a dream of her own too. Dreams kept travellers going. Dreams kept them with their eyes on the infinite horizons.
It was a new experience, trailing behind Ruby and being the one to wait while Ruby hailed the cab and spoke to the driver, but she supposed that Ruby would be doing all the talking for herself from now on anyway. She hoped Ruby trusted herself to have the charm needed to take over Pyrrha’s role, now. Or she would grow to trust herself. Because she was more than capable, more than qualified, more than skilled enough.
Ruby Rose was brilliant. And Pyrrha knew, she knew, that Ruby was going to be perfectly okay.
Smiling at the driver as she heaved her suitcase into the trunk when the man opened it for herself and Ruby, she slid into the back seat next to her friend and took her sunglasses from on top of her head to click them closed and hook them onto her shirt, sharing a tired and relaxed look with the other girl.
“So…how do you feel about seeing Weiss on your home turf for the first time?”
“I…am terrified out of my wits.” Not even realising she was doing it, Ruby wrung her hands together on her lap. “She’s only been here two or three times, apparently. She does most of her Aussie stuff in Brisbane.”
“It’s going to be fine, Ruby.” Giving a reassuring smile, Pyrrha reached over to pat Ruby on the leg for a moment, and got a small smile in response.
But Ruby knew that today was…far more than just their first time seeing each other in the city she’d grown up in…
This lunch signalled their next few nights together in Sydney as, potentially, the last time they’d be seeing each other in the way they had been seeing each other for the past year. Once Weiss left Sydney, it began a rapidly short countdown for her inheritance to become official, the paperwork already in motion according to her older sister. She was already waiting on the phone call from Winter to say the official words and it became her responsibility to fly home.
Today was the start of their ‘break up’.
And Ruby still hadn’t told her the truth about how she felt. She hadn’t had the opportunity, they’d only seen each other twice since Wellington and both times she’d lost her nerve. Both times the reality that they were almost out of time had hung over their heads, adding a miserable and heavy strain to their moments together. Almost a desperation to how they clung to each other in the moments they could, barely taking a break from being all over each other in order to say much of anything to each other at all.
It was almost poetic that the last chance she had to tell her, was going to be in her own home city. At least, Blake had told her that it was rather poetic, meanwhile Yang had practically yelled at her in frustration on the other end of the phone call.
If Ruby chickened out in her last chance, Yang would strangle her tomorrow once they were back in their corporate office again, and she’d make their parents watch.
And frankly, Ruby would probably let her.
Lost in her thoughts as she looked out the window, Ruby only half noticed out of the edge of her focus as Pyrrha ended up on the phone with her boyfriend, a smile on her face as she reported she’d landed safely and that they were on their way, swinging by Ruby’s apartment first as they always did. Jaune still had work, the clinic busy, so Pyrrha had freedom for her first day back home for good. And once she was back home she’d be unpacking her suitcase completely empty for the first time in almost half a decade.
The more Ruby processed that reality now that it was upon them, the more real it became, and the more it hurt inside of her chest even though the wound was wrapped in the soft silk of her happiness for the life her best friend had chosen to have in front of her. Pyrrha would build a nest, a safe haven, for herself and the man she loved. She’d go into the office every day instead of catching flights, and work alongside Raven when it came to dealing with all of their investors and customers, using the fact she knew most of them personally to their advantage.
It was work that suited her.
Meanwhile Ruby was in town until she got a new schedule, then she was shooting off across the world once more. But this time alone.
No Pyrrha, and no future visits with Weiss.
Wincing as her chest stung, Ruby slumped back against the car seat, the movement large enough to catch Pyrrha’s attention and get a concerned look for her even as she continued to talk on the phone, close to wrapping up the call, and even when Ruby gave her a reassuring smile and shake of her head it was clear Pyrrha didn’t buy it. Finishing the call quickly and slipping her phone back into her pocket, Pyrrha reached over and put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder gently.
“You okay?”
“...yeah. Just thinking”
“About?...”
“Do you even have to ask?”
“No…” Sighing, Pyrrha shook her head with a sigh, her eyes sad. “No, I suppose not. Want to talk about it once we’re back at your place?”
“There’s nothing more to really say, yeah?” Putting her hand on top of Pyrrha’s and giving it a squeeze, Ruby shrugged gently with a soft smile. “It’s okay. It really is. It’s just sad. It’s… all sad.”
Nodding, Pyrrha slid her hand from Ruby’s shoulder carefully enough she didn’t dislodge Ruby’s, and instead took it in her own to intertwine their fingers and give it a squeeze. Resting their joined hands on the seat between them, Pyrrha looked down at them sadly and gave another squeeze, feeling Ruby squeeze her hand back in response.
“I’m going to miss it, I know I will. But…it’s time. I’ve got an adventure to go on, sweetheart.”
“Yup. And it’s going to be one hell of an adventure.” Smiling over at her, Ruby ran her thumb over the back of Pyrrha’s hand affectionately. “But I’m still going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too. But we’ll call?”
“Of course. You can join the video calls with Yang and Blake whenever we’re all up at the same time. You can have breakfast when we have dinner.”
“That sounds lovely.” Knowing the invitation was yet another olive branch, yet another reassurance from Ruby that it really was all okay, Pyrrha couldn’t prevent her eyes from getting slightly wet. “Whenever I can.”
“They’d love it.” Her own eyes getting slightly wet in response to seeing the shine appearing in Pyrrha’s, Ruby squeezed her hand again before looking back out the window and sinking into her thoughts.
Once she got back to her place, she would have just enough time to unpack, shower, change, and then head out to get to the café where she was meeting Weiss for lunch. Normally she’d take the first day upon getting home to rest and sleep and chill out, but not now, not with Weiss in the city and every hour between the two of them as precious as any gold or silver. These were most likely their final hours, and while the thought made Ruby’s heart threaten to crack in her chest they also filled her with a fierce determination not to waste them.
Biting her lip, she watched as their surroundings became more and more familiar as the taxi entered her suburb, and she grabbed her keys from her pocket in preparation as they pulled up to the curb outside of her apartment building. Paying the driver with a friendly smile, and giving Pyrrha a nod, she swung out and grabbed her suitcase from the trunk as quickly as she could before making her way to the front door of her complex and swiping her fob on the scanner, Pyrrha right behind her.
Entering the empty white-tiled lobby and passing by the massive full-wall mirrors that lined the hall leading to the elevators, she bounced on her feet impatiently as she watched the number tick down as the lift seemed to crawl its way down to the ground floor, and she only stopped in her bouncing when Pyrrha placed her hand on her shoulder from behind.
“Breathe, Ruby. It’s okay. You’ve got hours.”
“I know, but…” Letting out a breath she hadn’t realised had been half-kept in her chest for far too long, Ruby looked over her shoulder at her friend and gave a miserable smile. “But it feels like I need to rush.”
“...yeah…” Sighing, Pyrrha rubbed her shoulder for a moment before stepping into the lift side by side. “I can understand that. It always felt like that when I had such seemingly limited time to see Jaune again each time we returned here.”
“At least you always knew you’d be seeing him in only a few months again.”
Ruby didn’t mean for her voice to sound bitter, but it did anyway, coming out as dead and slightly edged with barbs that had Pyrrha guiltily wince and look down. But she didn’t drop her hand from Ruby’s shoulder, knowing that it wasn’t truly directed at her, instead the hurt in the cutting blades of those edges was directed at the universe. Pyrrha wished she knew what to say in order to make it better, but the right words didn’t come to her lips.
The future was filled with as many potential disappointments as there were potential solutions.
Bad endings so often lined the roads of good intentions.
Ruby didn’t say another word as she led the way to her apartment door, spinning her keys around her fingers before unlocking her door and stepping in, holding it open so Pyrrha could walk past. When Pyrrha indulged in her usual routine of flopping down onto Ruby’s barely used couch the moment the door clicked closed, Ruby chuckled at the sight she would never see again as she walked past to toss her suitcase onto her bed just as she always did, flipping the zipper open with a flourish as playful as she could muster.
As she put her clean clothes away and tossed her travel clothes from their first flight into her empty hamper to be taken to be cleaned, she looked up at the sound of footsteps coming down her hallway from where she was folding her clean trousers to place into her drawers. Pyrrha tiredly leant against her doorframe, hands folded in front of herself and her hair freshly fixed into her normal high ponytail instead of the bun she kept it in during travel to keep it out of the way.
Giving Ruby a soft smile, Pyrrha’s eyes moved over the room, taking in Ruby’s open closet and the two of her drawers that were open.
“You’ve been buying a lot of clothes in the past year. Your closet’s going to be full soon enough.”
Ruby chuckled as she finished folding the pair of pants in her hands, sliding them into their place and pushing the drawer closed with her foot. It was true, in the past fifteen months she’d bought more clothes than she had during the years she’d been at university and the previous years of travelling combined. The reason was obvious, both girls knew it and it went unspoken, but this particular detail of it had them both grinning in amusement as Ruby looked around at her room.
“Plenty of options. Especially since you won’t be able to lend me anything anymore.”
“Oh my word, you might have to actually buy your own shoes.” Placing her hand over her heart, Pyrrha’s mouth dropped open in horror, getting a laugh from Ruby as they both left her room to walk back out to the living room.
“Buying shoes is so tedious though. Shoes are shoes.”
“It’s more than that and you know it. If people notice the tie you’re wearing, you can be sure they notice your shoes.” Chuckling, Pyrrha almost cringed when she realised she sounded almost as if she was giving instructions.
Because she knew Ruby didn’t need any lessons on how to impress people and come across as professional. She could handle it.
But Ruby didn’t seem bothered, instead giving a playful scoff and roll of her eyes.
“I’ll just buy nicer ties.”
Giving a laugh, Pyrrha hopped up onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter, resting an elbow on the surface to rest her chin on the palm of her hand and watch as Ruby pottered around and fixed up the wrong places Yang had been placing stuff whenever she’d swung by to drop things off that Ruby had bought.
Ruby buying things had been a new thing for them all to notice, the girl giving into a new sort of curiosity. And whenever she sent any of them back home either through the mail or with Yang’s help, it was giving her apartment small signs of life that it had been sorely missing. Once empty shelves now held random pieces and objects that Ruby had found around the world, whether they be small ornaments found in dusty corners of antique stores, or gizmos and gadgets found at market stalls.
The apartment that had been cold and lifeless a year ago, now showed flickering candle flames of Ruby’s personality.
Looking around at it all, Pyrrha couldn’t help but smile. It was another small sign of Weiss’s influence on her, the heiress being someone who had a deep love of art and the more material signs of beauty or curiosity in the world. While Ruby had always enjoyed galleries and museums, Weiss knew a thousand places where curiosities and relics could be held in her hands and scrutinised up close.
And Ruby’s personality and existence was simply too large and too colourful to be able to stay contained once she found ways to physically spread her curiosity to the world. Her knack for finding adventure had quickly adapted to finding antiquities that not even Weiss knew about, shuffling through dusty corners of ancient looking shops and storehouses.
Hopping off the stool, Pyrrha wandered over to one of the shelves and plucked up the puzzle box that Ruby had solved back in January on the flight out of Wellington after only buying it a few hours earlier. There hadn’t been anything hidden inside of it, but according to Ruby that wasn’t the point of it. It wasn’t about the reward, it was about exploring the mystery.
And that was Ruby to the core.
A one-hundred tiled Rubik's cube sat nearby, not quite yet solved but well on the way to being, next to a small random sculpture of a dog chasing a butterfly that Ruby had somehow found at a market stall in Göteborg, which was next to…
It went on and on.
Pyrrha eventually noticed that Ruby had flopped down on her couch and was staring up at the roof, so she put the puzzle box back where it belonged and raised her eyebrows at the tired and resigned look on Ruby’s face as she stared mindlessly up at the white ceiling.
“Are you alright?”
“Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine.” Snapping out of her thoughts, Ruby sighed and gave a shrug, before checking her watch and wincing. “Okay, time to start getting ready.”
“Then I suppose I’ll leave you to it…” Nodding, Pyrrha took a step towards the door, her suitcase resting and waiting by it, but she hesitated.
This was it. The last moment of what had been their routine for five years. And from the way Ruby was silent as she swung up from the couch, it was sticking out in her mind as well as she stood and made her way to Pyrrha.
Looking at each other quietly for a moment, Ruby eventually gave a massive grin before spreading her arms for a hug, the brightness in her eyes shattering Pyrrha’s melancholy and causing her to beam and laugh before wrapping Ruby up in a hug so tight they both gave a quiet ‘oof’ as air was crushed from their lungs. But that didn’t matter, as they held each other close and smiled.
Grinning fondly, Ruby hummed. “What an adventure, huh?”
“Gods yes, and I couldn’t have imagined anyone I would have preferred to go on it with.” Smiling back as she pressed an affectionate kiss to Ruby’s temple, Pyrrha sighed as she held the girl who had been her best friend since their first year at university. “Thank you Ruby, for letting me.”
“There was no better choice, nor one I would have even considered making.”
“Not even Yang?” Pyrrha grinned teasingly.
Smirking, Ruby winked. “Nope, screw Yang.”
Pyrrha barked out a laugh as she released her friend and stepped back.
“I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
“You get to be at the office all day for the first time.” Winking with a smirk as she followed Pyrrha to the front door, Ruby opened it for her. “How does that feel?”
“...honestly? Terrifying. But I’m also excited. Is that weird?” Putting her hand on her suitcase, Pyrrha stepped out into the hallway and spun on her heel to give Ruby one last smile.
Pausing for a moment to dramatically tilt her head and ponder it, Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Excited to start an office job? Yes, yes that’s weird. But it helps that it’s at a company you partially own and get to be your own boss.”
Pyrrha laughed, the thought definitely a strange one, before she began to walk down the hallway, giving Ruby one last affectionate wave as she went.
Watching with a smile and a wave until her best friend vanished around a corner, Ruby closed her front door and clicked the lock before resting her forehead against the surface of it and closing her eyes.
She didn’t have any more tears to shed about it. She’d shed them all in private already. Instead she just had excitement on her friend’s behalf left, for both Pyrrha and Jaune, two of the most special people in her life who were taking the next step on an adventure that Ruby accepted that she herself might never know.
But, in the meantime, she had her own small adventure to come to a close, so she pushed off from her door and made her way to her bathroom to shower before lunch with Weiss.
= =
Ruby’s door slammed open violently enough it smacked into the wall with a bang as Ruby and Weiss stumbled their way through it, hands roaming and lips locked together hungrily as they pushed and pulled each other through and into the living room, Ruby kicking her door closed with her foot and immediately pressing Weiss against the now exposed wall, getting a gasp as Weiss pulled her closer and lightly nipped her bottom lip.
With the apartment light low with the late-afternoon shadows, their eyes slowly adjusted as they pulled back from each other to stare into each other’s eyes, clothes bunched in each other’s hands tightly and their faces so close they could feel each other’s breath. Ruby’s eyes flicked over Weiss’s face, from her ice blue irises to where the silver tiara sat in her hair, while Weiss was mesmerised by the pure silver of Ruby’s own eyes, and the perfect pink lips that were swollen by Weiss’s assault on them.
They stared at each other in the low light, neither of them speaking but both of them wanting to, both of them desperately wanting to just…to just…to just say it.
But it didn’t come out, the words caught on their tongues, so instead they acted, slamming into each other again with Ruby sighing into Weiss’s mouth as they continued to stumble their way further into the living room, Weiss pushing Ruby down onto her couch so she could straddle her lap, her expensive and beautiful white skirt riding up her thighs for Ruby’s hands to explore the pale white skin, her touch so delicate on the sensitive skin that Weiss shivered under her touch.
Cupping Ruby’s cheeks in both of her hands, Weiss lightened the kiss but didn’t dare break it off, and she melted against her when Ruby happily reciprocated, softening her touch but not breaking it off as she wrapped an arm around Weiss’s waist to keep her close.
They had to say it, they were running out of time, they had to say it, and each of them begged god to give them the strength, not knowing that the other girl was giving heaven the same plea.
It came out as a whine from Ruby’s throat, escaping from her lips that were busy pressing light kisses up and down Weiss’s neck, the soft touches sending shocks of lightning that had Weiss staring up at the roof and exposing as much of her skin as possible, blue eyes practically shining as her lips parted and she moaned. Ruby knew every spot, Ruby knew her on levels that Weiss had never thought one person could know another, and she melted into her touch and attention.
From the way Ruby kept an arm around her waist and gently ran the back of her fingers along the skin of her thigh while her lips pressed kisses to her pulse point, teeth lightly nipping, it felt as if Ruby was worshiping her, something extra in the touch that had been there in increasing amounts as the past two months had passed. Something there under the surface of the warmth, a vibration, a heartbeat, and it echoed into Weiss’s chest and had her mouth open as she sucked in a breath, the words ready to slide along her tongue.
But instead she simply moaned, they failed.
Meanwhile Ruby pressed the words against Weiss’s skin with her kisses, traced the letters into her skin with her fingers, pulsed them like morse code with the hammering of her heart which she knew Weiss must be able to feel from how close she was holding her. It was the most she could do, the best that was available in the moment she couldn’t bear the thought of breaking as Weiss ran her fingers through her hair as if she was admiring each individual strand.
Ruby used her hands and arms to shuffle Weiss back enough that she could stand, lifting Weiss as she did and moaning in explosive joy when Weiss eagerly wrapped her legs around her waist for her to carry her down her hallway.
“My bed isn’t quite as nice as yours.” Smirking into her kisses, Ruby giggled when Weiss scoffed against her lips.
“Thread count is the last thing on my mind, Ruby Rose.”
“And what is?” Kicking her bedroom door open as she carried Weiss easily, pressing kisses along her jaw as she lowered her onto her bed.
“You. You. You you you you you! ” It came out as a chant, a mantra, a song, a love story, as Weiss arced up into her touch and stared into her eyes, lips parted and eyes wide as Ruby stared down at her. “Ruby, I…I…”
“Weiss…I…you have to know, before things…that I…” Ruby darted down and caught Weiss’s lips, cutting both of them off, and Weiss wrapped her arms around her neck to pull her down closer, humming against her lips in a silent dare, a silent plea.
‘Please say it.’
Ruby’s hands went to her waist and pulled up her shirt just enough she could place her hands on her bare waist.
‘You have to first’
Shivering at the touch, Weiss’s eyes opened once more, and she pulled back to gently break off the kiss and stare up at her, their faces close enough that their lips were brushing with light tingles with each exhale.
“Ruby…I…”
“Weiss…”
“...I love you…” Weiss’s voice was barely a whisper as she stared up into Ruby’s eyes, and her heart both hammered and threatened to shatter as she watched Ruby’s eyes fill with tears.
Gently resting her forehead down on Weiss’s, resisting the instinct to close her eyes, Ruby’s lips curved into a smile so soft and vulnerable that the whole blessed world they both loved vanished from existence until that bedroom was the only thing in the whole universe. The shine in Ruby’s eyes were the last stars, the smooth white of Weiss’s hair was the last moonlight, the curves of their lips as they each let out breaths were the only smiles that mattered.
“I love you too. I love you so much…” Sighing softly, Ruby nuzzled her nose against Weiss’s as she stared down into her eyes. “You had to know.”
“I had to tell you.” Nuzzling back, Weiss pressed a kiss to Ruby’s lips, the kiss that gave love its very definition. “You had to know too.”
Quiet for a long and gentle moment, Ruby gave a low chuckle. “...I think I already knew.”
“Do you think you were subtle?” Scoffing with a fond roll of her eyes, Weiss didn’t let Ruby give a cheeky reply, instead pulling her down into the kiss that might just put the planets back into orbit.
And when Ruby kissed her back, pressing down on her, lightly taking the tiara from her hair so she could run her hands through her hair, she relit the sun so that Weiss’s planets had somewhere perfect to be.
Love wasn’t meant to hurt.
Sometimes it did, though.
Sometimes, not all the time, it hurt because the right moments with it were so worth it that all the moments without it felt like betrayals.
It was worth it. It was worth it. Their lips whispered against each other, their hearts spoke it in their chests, their hands wrote it with their fingertips.
‘I love you, the world by your side showed me how to fall in love with you, and every footstep was worth it. I love you. It was worth it all. I love you.’
= =
At eight o’clock the next morning, with almost no sleep, Ruby was once again on the steps of the office that was the home of the company she owned. It was always surreal to look up and see the logo above the door in metal, a logo she had doodled in a notebook back in university that she and Yang had both slightly altered and then gotten way too excited about. Funnily enough the name had been harder to come up with.
Taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh, Ruby began to hop up the steps towards the glass revolving door, giving waves and smiles to the employees she knew that were making their way around the lobby, and she made sure to make respectful eye contact with the representatives of clients that wore visitor badges and who might recognise her.
A mess of wild blonde hair was leaning against the receptionist desk, Blake next to her checking her phone casually, while Yang bantered with a completely distracted Velvet who was helping Pyrrha fill out some forms. And Ruby was granted the impossibly rare sight of seeing Pyrrha nervous, the normally poised girl shaking slightly and biting her bottom lip as she signed the forms of her new position, getting an entire new employee ID to replace her pre-existing one that had her previous occupation on it.
Grinning in amusement as she saw, Ruby hopped over to join them, leaning on the desk next to Yang and causing her sister to jump in surprise, her head whipping around to stare at Ruby, a smile of greeting already on her lips, only for her to freeze as she looked into Ruby’s eyes.
Yang stared for a long moment, her lips thinning in her smile, before she simply pulled Ruby into a tight hug to hold her.
“...I’m proud of you.” Whispering softly into Ruby’s ear, Yang closed her eyes as she held her, reassured of her sister’s mental state when Ruby hugged her back. “...how’d she take it?”
“She…said…it.” Stammering out the words as her eyes squeezed closed, Ruby felt Yang grin in satisfaction, squeezing her tighter for a moment in response.
“Knew it.” Releasing Ruby and ruffling her hair as always, Yang leaned against the desk again and gave Blake a confirming wink.
Blake immediately smiled her trademark small smile, her chest warming with satisfaction that Weiss really was the woman she came across as and claimed to be, and she gave Ruby a proud nod as well.
“And how do you feel?”
“I…don’t really know.” Ruby was pulled into a hug by Pyrrha, who had been blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation. “...it hurts. Because…obvious reasons. But at the same time…”
“Gives everything a nice warmth when you think back?” Raising an eyebrow as what she said came around once more, Yang crossed her arms and waited for Ruby’s nod, grinning widely in satisfaction when she got it. “It’s pretty lovely, isn’t it?”
Blake stepped forward and curled into Yang’s side, her smile turning loving and warm as she looked up at her girlfriend, before her gaze went to Ruby. “Cherish it, okay?”
Looking around at the way three of the four most important people in her life were looking at her, with Velvet also staring in utter confusion at having no context, Ruby sucked in a deep breath before letting it out with a nod.
“I will. But…that comes later. We have work to do.”
There was an amused laugh from next to her, and she looked over at where Pyrrha was plucking her new ID badge off the desk while giving her a grin at the same time.
“You got it, boss.”
“...no.” Narrowing her eyes into a glare, Ruby shook her head at her best friend while Yang covered her mouth to bark out a laugh. “Just…no.”
Spinning on her heel after making sure to give Velvet a smile and a wave, Ruby led the way over to the lifts and jabbed her finger into the button, stepping inside when the doors opening immediately and shoving her hands into the pockets of her trousers as she waited for the lift to carry the four of them up to the top floor.
Blake glanced over at her with raised eyebrows. “So where’s Weiss today?”
“She had a really early meeting. She…got the phone call. From Winter.”
Sighing and closing her eyes, Ruby let her head drop just as much as her heart plummeted in her chest. Weiss’s phone had gone off at five in the morning, and with a final long kiss and a whisper of those special words, she had slipped out.
“Oh.” Unsure what to say for one of the first times in her life, Blake gave a slow nod. “I’m…sorry.”
Ruby shrugged, leaning into it when Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Meanwhile Pyrrha was conspicuously silent, her hands folded behind her back as she spun her new ID card between them and she stared out of the glass wall of the lift and over the rooftops that were vanishing below.
Ruby glanced over at her with a frown. “You okay?”
“Hmm?” Jumping in surprise at being called out, Pyrrha fixed a smile onto her face and gave a casual dismissive shrug. “Oh, yeah. Just tired. I’ve been at the office for a couple of hours already. Had a meeting with Raven early. I’m fine.”
The door opened on the top floor of the large office building before Ruby had a chance to pry any further, and the four girls stepped out to make their way through the glass-walled hallways towards the main conference room. While they usually reunited with everyone on the floor that held all of their private offices, sometimes they were forced to be 'official and professional' and meet in the actual boardroom. The large table with comfortable leather chairs around it and a wall that was simply a series of monitors showing every graph imaginable, with one screen dedicated entirely to whichever client might need to video call in at any time from across the world.
It was one of Ruby’s least favourite rooms in the building, it was too official, too stuffy, but her mothers had insisted on making use of it when they’d purchased the building once the business was large enough that it required the multiple office floors of space.
Her hands in her pockets as she made her way through the hallways, she paused when they reached the ornate and modernistic glossy black double doors leading into the formal space, and Ruby and Yang both straightened up their work clothes, Yang quickly using her hands to brush her hair back into some semblance of control, before Blake immediately scoffed and did it for her.
“Right.” Nodding in resignation and determination, Ruby looked between the others. “Shall we get started?”
“Actually, Ruby…” Pyrrha spoke up, getting the attention of the other three girls, before pointing down one of the hallways. “My office is down that way, now. So I’ll be on my way.”
Ruby frowned in confusion, her eyes flicking between the hall where Pyrrha was pointing and the boardroom door. It was enough for her to hesitate with her hand on the handle, drumming her grip on it.
“...Pyrrha?...you’re still a shareholder, you kinda have to come to these things. Just because you’re not travelling anymore doesn’t mean you’re not-”
“I’m actually not a holder anymore.” Her shoulders bunching anxiously as she interrupted, Pyrrha put her hands into her trouser pockets shyly, shrinking as the other three girls all stared at her in surprise and confusion, Yang’s mouth dropping open while Blake’s eyes quickly narrowed in suspicion. “I sold my stock. Well, most of it. I don’t actually have enough ownership to be on the board anymore.”
The three other girls stared at her in sundered silence, Ruby’s mouth dropping open entirely as her eyes widened as far as they could go, while Yang blinked rapidly a few times before her expression morphed into one where she was clearly questioning Pyrrha’s sanity.
“Why on earth would you do that??”
“I’m buying a house, guys.” Laughing as she shrugged again, Pyrrha’s lips curled into an excited smile as she looked between the three of them. “With what I got, what it was worth, we don’t even have a mortgage now, and there’s more than enough left over for renovations.”
“PYRRHA NIKOS!” Yang now looked as if she wanted to strangle her, while Ruby was still staring at her in shock. “That shit was worth…worth… millions!”
“Wait!” Ruby was brought out of her shock as she shot a look over at her sister in confusion. “We’re worth millions????”
“OH MY GOD YOU TWO!” Throwing her hands up in the air for a moment, Yang banged her forehead against the nearest wall to rest it, her hands on the wall as well. “Ruby, do you not pay attention to our own company?? We're in the top thirty in the country. Jesus. So Pyrrha, you damn well know that your dividends from this financial year alone could have covered building a house, let alone buying one!”
The two girls were now staring at Yang in shock, meanwhile Blake’s lips curved into an amused smirk at not just their apparent surprise at the fact they were wealthy, but also the rare display of Yang’s acumen and the slipped revelation that Yang paid more attention than she portrayed. Meanwhile Ruby was processing two shocking bits of information at once, dismissing the one about the value of her company to instead focus on the fact Pyrrha had apparently stepped away from her place.
A place that she more than deserved. She was a founding member, she’d been part of it all since the very beginning, when they’d been operating out of the family garage and neither herself or Ruby had owned proper suits, too broke from university to do more than borrow nice clothes from Pyrrha’s parents or from Summer and Raven’s wardrobe.
Without Pyrrha Nikos, there never would have been an Ember & Crescent Concepts, it would never have gotten further than a whispered idea between two sisters over a shared notebook of blueprints.
Under the scrutiny of her friends’ shock and confusion, Pyrrha could only shrug with a smile that held no regrets. “That...certainly explains how absurdly generous the offer was that I received. Well, I signed the paperwork this morning. The sale is done.”
“Right. I’m having words with my mums.” Straightening up with determination as she gave Pyrrha one last look, unsure how to feel or what to think, Ruby turned the door handle to step into the boardroom.
Only to go completely rigid.
Both of her mums were already inside, dressed for work, with Summer bent over one end of the table and shuffling through a large pile of paperwork while Raven leant against one of the walls nearby. Upon the door opening, Raven’s eyes flicked from her wife over to the new people entering, and the moment she looked at Ruby her lips curled into a smile of mischievous satisfaction.
Meanwhile Summer was too distracted as she went through the pile of papers, talking in quiet tones with a pen-flourishing Weiss Schnee.
Yang was not so silent in her surprise when she stepped into the room and noticed.
“What the fuck?!”
The shocked exclamation from the blonde was enough to have both Summer and Weiss snap their heads up upon hearing it, jolted out of their deep conversation, and Raven looked away to bite back her laugh. Meanwhile Summer didn’t bother to hide her pleased smile as she looked at Ruby, her daughter still busy staring at Weiss, who was staring back with a shy but hopeful smile on her lips.
Raven kicked off the wall and made her way over to her usual chair, placing her hand on the back of it, unable to keep her attitude to herself as she smirked. “Girls, you’re just in time.”
While Ruby took a numb step in, eyes still locked on Weiss, Yang was still staring at her mother in confusion.
“...what the fuck??”
“Language, Yang” Sighing, Summer straightened up and folded her hands behind her back, raising an exasperated eyebrow. “You’re at work.”
As Ruby took another step towards Weiss, the other girl mirrored it, the two of them slowly crossing the boardroom until they were in front of each other close enough they could hear each other’s heavy breathing, Ruby in surprise while Weiss was anxious.
“...Weiss?...what are you…”
“I told you I had an early meeting.” Clearing her throat shyly, Weiss gave a small smile. “My first meeting as one of the primary shareholders of the SDC, in fact.”
“I mean, I knew about that, but…h-here?” Swallowing, Ruby looked around at the room in confusion, before her eyes locked onto where Pyrrha was leaning against the doorframe, a small smile on her lips. And with a click, Ruby understood, and her eyes widened at her best friend. “You…”
Pyrrha nodded.
“I was called into Raven’s office rather early this morning. Was told that someone had made quite the offer for my holdings through Raven directly.” Giving a shrug as if it was the most casual thing in the world, Pyrrha risked a playful smile as Ruby’s eyes widened even further. “Someone who somehow knew of my intentions to step away before I’d even signed the papers and made it official. That’s a very short and personal list.”
Ruby’s head whipped to her mum, and Raven simply gave a nod of confirmation before her composure slipped once more and she winked, her eyes going to Pyrrha and sparking in amusement, before her eyes then went to Weiss.
But as Ruby’s mother stared into her soul, Weiss didn’t flinch or shrink, simply meeting her eyes and giving her a nod and small smile that contained as much gratitude as she could pack into the expression, and Raven gave a nod of approval in return.
Rigid in her posture as she kept trying to process, Ruby looked back to Weiss and blinked, her mouth falling open again.
“...why didn’t you tell me?”
“The…the timing had to be perfect. ” Biting her bottom lip, Weiss folded her hands in front of herself as she thought over it, letting out a stressed breath, only to relax when Ruby reached across and took her hands softly. “My inheriting the company, Pyrrha’s stepping down, and the rights to your company’s new facility in Europe being granted. Specifically a German license. The timing had to be immaculate. Until I got the call this morning, I was sure it was all going to fall apart, and…I was okay with only breaking my heart instead of both of ours if it failed.”
Surprisingly, it was then Raven that cut in, the older woman spinning her chair playfully as she hummed, drumming her fingers on it and looking over to give the two girls a stare that held just as much approval as it was clear she was impressed with Weiss.
“But, Weiss here and her siblings are almost as good at their jobs as I am at mine. I was perfectly happy to work with Winter after Weiss called me a few weeks ago.”
Only Yang noticed when Blake’s lips twitched into a smug smile of victory, and when she nudged her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow Blake simply smiled.
Weiss continued, taking over from Raven, and squeezing Ruby’s hands as she took a step closer, a small smile touching her lips as she gave a stressed chuckle, eyes widening at the memory of her panic and lack of patience that morning.
“The moment Winter told me this morning, I knew I had to move fast, so I rushed over here as soon as I could to meet with Pyrrha and Raven. And…well…here I am. Here we are.”
Staring at Weiss as she processed, Ruby’s lips slowly curled into a smile of understanding, before she surprised Weiss by dropping her hands and stepping away.
Turning slowly, she made her way over to Raven and wrapped her arms around her, closing her eyes and burrowing into her mother’s embrace with a sigh.
“Thank you…”
“No need to thank me, little thorn.” Chuckling and pressing a kiss to the top of her younger daughter's head, Raven smiled down at her. “The SDC has contacts in Europe we could truly benefit from, and we’re the largest manufacturer of our specialty they’ve spoken to. It only makes sense for them to want a piece.”
Summer scoffed from near her wife, crossing her arms fondly and rolling her eyes. “Oh save it, my love. You did it for our daughter and you know it.”
Chuckling as she released her mother, Ruby pressed a kiss to her cheek before turning to face the door, locking eyes with her best friend as Pyrrha simply gave her a wide and loving smile, before straightening up in preparation as Ruby strode her way over, immediately bundling each other up in a tight hug.
Ruby squeezed her eyes closed as she teared up, her breath coming out shaky as she squeezed. “Thank you, Pyrrha…thank you.”
“I was caught by surprise this morning just as much as you’re caught by surprise now. And it only made all the sense in the world.” Pulling Ruby close lovingly, Pyrrha rocked her from side to side playfully with a grin, getting a giggle in response.
Releasing Pyrrha after half a minute, Ruby stepped back so she could slowly spin and lock eyes with everyone in the room, stopping slowly so she could keep her stare on Weiss, her eyebrows rising as a smile grew wider and wider on her lips, curiosity sparkling inside of her.
“So…what happens now?”
“ Well…” Weiss stepped closer, biting her lip again as her face turned from anxious to playful, her hands folded behind her back, her mouth curving into a smile. “As Raven said, the SDC has an incalculably large roster of industry relationships in Europe. And the leadership of the SDC believe it would be the most constructive course of action if I, as a high ranking representative of the company, were to assist you, the founder and primary representative of Ember & Crescent-”
“Hey!” Yang pouted, only for Weiss to scoff at her and immediately continue.
“-in increasing your presence in Europe. And part of the deal is that you assist us in increasing our industry contracts further in the United States, where you have more of a presence than we do…” Raising her eyebrows higher, Weiss’s lips finished curving into their smirk as what she was saying became blatantly obvious, and Ruby’s eyes widened as it became obvious to her as well.
No longer caring about being surrounded by people, no matter who they were, Ruby scooped Weiss up in her arms and kissed her, pouring all of her love and gratitude and relief and euphoric joy into it that she could, Weiss eagerly kissing her back and wrapping her arms around her in return.
Because Blake was right when she’d spoken to Weiss; Sometimes, sometimes, the world is kind.
And Summer was right when she’d spoken to Ruby; The world can love you just as much as you love it in return.
It meant that sometimes, when the stars feel like it, when the orbit is in the right place…when you pick your moment, when you walk the right path under the right cloudy sky, or finish the right drink at the right bar…
Sometimes the world is kind. Sometimes the world is warm.
But it wasn’t as kind as Ruby. And it wasn’t as warm as Weiss.
= =
Standing in the central food court of Sydney airport, Ruby looked over as Weiss checked their schedule on her phone, dressed for travel just as Ruby herself was. A white suitcase sat next to a red one as Ruby held Weiss’s half-eaten burrito for her, having thoroughly corrupted the girl’s appetite just as Weiss had slightly improved hers.
“Okay, so we’re in London for three days, no surprise there, but then we’re off across the Atlantic.” Clicking her tongue as she swiped through it all, Weiss hummed as the path ahead fell together in her mind, and she looked over at her girlfriend. “DC, and then New York.”
Ruby finished chewing and swallowing a bite of her own burrito, raising her eyebrows playfully as a small smile appeared on her lips. “New York, huh?”
An identical smile appeared on Weiss’s own lips as her mind synchronised. “Indeed. Three nights.”
“I happen to know the most wonderful restaurant and bar.”
“Oh? How convenient…” Smirking as she slid her phone away and put her hand on her suitcase, Weiss’s eyes flicked up when a ring on the speakers signalled that their terminal had opened. “Because so do I.”
Giggling, Ruby handed Weiss her lunch back before putting her now spare hand on the handle of her own suitcase, and walking side by side with the other girl as they made their way through the winding halls towards the start of a whole new kind of adventure.
…Ruby liked adventures. She’d had a thousand of them.
But this one was going to be her favourite.
“I love you.”
Weiss looked over when the words slipped from Ruby’s lips, and a bright smile touched her lips at the same time as a light blush touched her cheeks. “I love you too.”
An hour later they were up in the sky, back where they belonged, tracing their path and footsteps across a wonderful world far more beautiful than either of them could have ever expected.
…and sure, the planet was pretty nice too.
= =