What Defines Us - Ch. 46 (Patreon)

After impatiently waving one hand, Ruby sprinted out the front door with a small box perched precariously in her other arm.  

“Jeez...I know I pretend not to care about anything, but you don’t have to run away from me,” Yang mumbled while casually carrying a much larger box out to the car.  “I have some feelings, ya know.”

Tossing her box into the backseat, Ruby ran over to hug her big sister - a sideways hug since the box was kind of in the way.

“I’m going to miss you too, Yang,” she said before hopping away and watching Yang slowly drop the box into the trunk, move it a half inch to the side, and then straighten the edge ever so slightly.  

“But I don’t wanna be late!”

When the heck did Yang get so picky?  On any other day, she’d throw boxes into the car just like Ruby, but today she decides to be careful?  Not just careful, but extra, extra careful.  It’s not like Ruby packed boxes full of puppies or kittens or something!  Just clothes and trinkets and some potentially unstable Dust enhanced weapons - but nothing they had to be that careful with!

“She’s right,” Blake agreed while pulling out the box Ruby had just tossed in the car and placing it neatly on the floor in the back seat.  “If we’re late, Weiss will probably freak out and think Ruby changed her mind.”

Eyes widening in horror at the words, Ruby flashed into the house at full speed to find her scroll.  Which she’d brilliantly left in the super easily accessible...wait. Where the heck was it? 

Spinning around in a semblance-assisted circle, she yelped in shock while diving forward to catch the abandoned glass of water she almost blew off the table.  Righting the glass without a single drop spilled, she turned around at a more normal speed to find her scroll. Did she pack it? She wouldn’t have packed it - well, she shouldn’t have packed it, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t packed it…

Pulling a cushion off the sofa, she let out a happy “aha!” while grabbing her scroll from between the cushion and back of the sofa.  How it got there...she had no idea. But she grabbed it and typed as fast as her fumbling fingers would let her.

‘We’re almost on the way just loading up more boxes.  I’m still coming I promise!’

Satisfied that the message would reassure Weiss for now, Ruby put the scroll in her back pocket and blasted outside to badger her sister.

“We can’t be late!”

“Yeah, yeah...wouldn’t want the princess to get her knickers in a knot…” Yang grumbled while moving another box around in the trunk.  Finally getting that box situated in the perfect spot, she straightened up, wiped an arm across her brow, and sighed.  “If you’re in such a rush, why don’t you use that semblance of yours and get the rest of your stuff out here?”

Right!  Her semblance!  Duh.

That meant Ruby would have to carry all of the boxes outside...and some of them she definitely packed with Yang in mind.  But she was pretty strong! She could totally do it!

She nearly crashed into the living room wall when she barreled inside at full speed, but the next box was delivered to the curb in no time.  The second one was stacked not-so-neatly on top. The third was really heavy and she nearly tripped and fell while running it outside, but somehow kept her footing and pressed it directly into Yang’s hands.

Why did she have so much stuff??  She didn’t want to pack it all - she just wanted to get going!  Weiss and her hadn’t spent last night together because her room was still in one piece and she didn’t want Weiss to freak out.  There was no reason to freak out though - Ruby was the world’s fastest packer! As in she was fast, but not necessarily at packing.

Using her exceptional deductive reasoning skills, she’d become a master packer in no time!  She’d actually uncovered a really great method too - it was called ‘shove everything into boxes as fast as possible.’  Worked every time! There was no reason to pay any attention to what went together or even what fit in the box.  Smash the top down, throw on some tape, done!

Oh...Weiss was going to see the outcome of Ruby’s really great packing method when they unpacked.  Unless Ruby unpacked so fast that Weiss never got a chance to see inside the boxes! But that was a problem for the future.  The more immediate concern was that she might never make it there at the rate Yang was moving.

The sooner they got everything loaded up, the sooner they could leave and the sooner Ruby could see Weiss again.  Last night sucked being apart, but Blake had convinced them it was like how people weren’t supposed to see each other the night before their wedding.  Put a romantic spin on things. And made them both blush like tomatoes, but ya know...romance.

“Last one!” Ruby exclaimed while dropping a packed duffle bag by the car door.

“Are you sure?”

Well, she was until Yang asked it like that!

“I’ll double check!” she said before racing back inside.  

She was impatient to see Weiss again but didn’t want to forget anything important.  Not like she’d be far away. Actually, she wasn’t going to be far away at all. Why was she going through all this trouble when she could probably run back for anything she’d forgotten?

She supposed...she was here now, so she should just cross her T's and dot her I’s before heading out.

Living room - check.  Garage - check. Bedroom...

Standing in the doorway, she surveyed the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything important.  The furniture was still there, but all of her stuff was gone - packed up and moved out to the car. No more boxes, and nothing left that she was taking with her.  

Her pyramid of empty pill bottles had been thrown away.  Well, first she knocked them down with a tennis ball, then she picked them up and threw them in the garbage.  

For a long time, she liked having them around because they reminded of what she went through.  When she looked at them, she felt all accomplished and strong...but at this point, they didn’t seem important enough to keep any longer.  That chapter of her life had ended, and now she was starting a new one - with Weiss!

So the pill bottles were gone, and the desk was cleared except for two small things.  One was Mr. Red - who was sitting happily in the same place he’d been ever since she created Thorn.  He’d officially retired to the good life of sitting around doing nothing, and he was staying here as a reminder that this was still her room even if she wasn’t living here!

Picking him up, Ruby squeezed the small stress ball in her left hand while looking around her empty bedroom.  

It was a little sad that she was leaving this place behind. It held a lot of memories for her - from the pain, frustration, and impatience of her recovery to the joy, excitement, and more impatience of healing and rejoining her team.

Things were changing, but they were all good changes.

“Hey.”

This time Ruby didn’t even jump when Blake appeared out of thin air behind her in the hallway.  

Ok, that was a lie.  She jumped a little, but nowhere near as much as she’d jumped while learning how stealthy Blake could be.

“Hey,” Ruby replied, turning to face Blake in the hall.  She noticed Blake’s eyes drift over her shoulder to the mostly-empty room before sliding back to her.

“Are you ready?”

The question seemed to imply more than just ready to walk out the front door, so Ruby paused and glanced back at her room, checking her mental state of mind.  

It was funny how much life could change in such a short amount of time.  For every bit of frustration she suffered in this room, she’d found strength, courage, and so much more.  It was hard to leave this place behind because this was where it all started...the second time. But if she’d learned anything over the past year, it was that sometimes memories had to be let go.  And that was ok.

“Excited for whatever’s next!” she answered with a big grin.  

Accepting that response with a hint of a smile, Blake bit her lip and looked briefly unsure if she wanted to say whatever she wanted to say next.  After opening and closing her mouth a couple of times, she finally spoke.

“If you ever need anything…” she began slowly, her eyes holding Ruby’s.  “You know where to find me.”

Just like that, Ruby felt her heart grow three times as big in her chest.  Reaching out, she pulled Blake in for a hug that Blake willingly returned. Just like Weiss, Blake had gotten way better at giving hugs over time - this one being every bit as warm and caring as Yang’s were, albeit much less crushing...which was kind of nice.  

“Do I though?” Ruby asked, pulling away and giving Blake a playful grin.  “I mean, you’re pretty hard to find on a good day. And if it’s dark out, forget about it.”

The joke made Blake laugh lightly, her ears twitching happily as she did so.  

“I see your point,” she responded with a genuine smile.  “Guess that just means I’ll have to keep an eye on you instead.”

“That actually sounds a lot better - and easier for me!”

“Deal,” Blake agreed before turning to head outside. But she didn’t leave without adding, “You might want to talk to your sister before we leave.”

“Oh yeah!  I have something for her!” Ruby remembered, but reached out to touch Blake’s shoulder before she could walk away.  “But Blake?”

When Blake turned back, it was with a curious expression.

“Before we go, I just wanted to say thank you...for all your help.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Ruby,” Blake replied with a shake of her head.  “I know that if our situations were reversed, you would’ve done the same for me.”

Pausing for a second, Ruby thought about what it might be like if Blake was the one who lost a good chunk of her memories.  Talk about a challenge! It’d probably be impossible to keep track of her, so if she ever got loose they wouldn’t be able to find her.  Unless they had some way to trace her...like a bracelet or a necklace or something…and it could say ‘If found, please return to Ruby Rose’ with her number...

“I still appreciate it,” Ruby said.  “I wouldn’t be here without your help.”

“Neither would I,” Blake responded with a smile, nodding once before heading back to the living room.

As usual, Blake was way too modest about how awesome she was.  How much great advice had she given Ruby over the past year? From little things like ‘you probably shouldn’t eat an entire jar of olives at once’ to life-changing advice like ‘don’t worry about too fast or too slow,’ Blake was a dispensary of guidance.  If Ruby had paid for the help, Blake would be a quadrafrillionaire by now.

But she always helped Ruby for free.  Talk about a great deal. And a great friend.

Poking her head down the hallway, Ruby yelled, “Yang!” before stepping back into her room and waiting for her sister to arrive.  Setting Mr. Red down, she picked up the only other item remaining on the desk and held it in both hands. 

Yang appeared a few seconds later, not walking into the room but instead leaning casually against the doorframe.  After looking around the empty room, she sighed. 

Even though Yang looked normal, it didn’t take a detective to figure out that she was a little sad.

“I can’t believe you’re moving out…” she whispered.  And, when her eyes finally dropped to Ruby, they were misty with emotion.  

“Aww...Yang, we’ll see each other all the time!” Ruby reassured her.

“But I’m going to miss seeing you every day!”

“We can still see each other every day!” 

“Every day?”

“Well, I mean, we’ll see each other a lot!” Ruby backtracked.  “Plus, I’ll only be like five minutes away! It’s not like I’m moving to Mistral or something.”

“I know…”  Pausing, Yang looked around the room one more time before sighing again.  “I just love living with you, ya know?”

“I love living with you too!  But this is a good change - a part of growing up, right?”  

With a slow smile, Yang nodded.  “Right. You are growing up, huh?  But...you know that if you ever want to come back, you can, right?”

“I know!  And if you ever wanna move,” Ruby began before pausing.  “Uh, well I’ll ask Weiss first, but I’m sure she’d be ok with it!  At least temporarily...”

Chuckling at the response, Yang reached out and pulled Ruby into a big bear hug.

“I’m sure she’d be thrilled to know you offered that,” Yang muttered into Ruby’s ear before pulling away with what looked like a true Yang smile.  “But I’m going to try not to bother you guys too much.” 

“I won’t mind if you do!  But before that, I made something for you!”

Holding the small-wrapped box out in her hands, Ruby grinned when Yang picked it up and carefully unwrapped it.  Letting the paper fall to the floor and opening the box, Yang looked at the contents inside and smiled. Reaching into the box, she gently pulled out a small metal bee that was made out of spare pieces of metal, just like the butterflies were.  

Finding black metal was easy, but the yellow had been hard to find.  Apparently, yellow wasn’t a very common color for weapons! Which was weird...because that’s literally all Yang looked for in a weapon.  But Ruby eventually stumbled across the perfect parts - pieces of an old bow that shimmered gold in the light.

That wasn’t even the best part about the bee though.  The best part was when Yang set it in the palm of her hand and the wings began moving quickly, quick enough to make a faint ‘bzzzzz’ing noise in the quiet room.

“See?  I caught one!” Ruby joked, lightly poking the bee before lifting her hand away to show she hadn’t been stung this time.  

“It’s just a little thank you,” she added in a soft voice while Yang stared at the gift.  “For...being my sister.”

When Weiss and her decided to move in together, Ruby knew she needed to get Yang something as thanks for taking such good care of her.  ‘It’ll be easy!’ she thought before spending days trying to figure out a gift that could come close to expressing how much she loved her sister.  

The best ideas she came up with were: anything homemade, or a guest role on one of those crappy TV shows Yang liked so much.  Since Ruby couldn’t even remember the names of the shows, a homemade gift was what she decided to go with! Plus, there was the added benefit that she already knew how to make the wings move - she only needed to make them move a lot faster to make it buzz like a real bee.

Attention still glued to the bumblebee, Yang watched its wings spin almost invisibly in the palm of her hand.  It was a pretty transfixing, if Ruby said so herself. Which she did. Because it was! And the buzzing noise was relaxing in this weird way…

When Yang finally looked up, her eyes were welling with tears, and she quickly pulled Ruby into another tight hug.

“I’m so happy for you, Ruby,” Yang choked out through emotion before letting go.  “Sad for myself, happy for you.”

“Aww Yang…”  Reaching out, Ruby touched Yang’s shoulder while her sister lifted the bee and wiped her eyes with her arm.

“But this is awesome!  I love it. I can’t wait to show Blake - I know she’ll love it too.”

“Yeah?” Ruby asked, thrilled that her gift was a success.  “Do you think she’ll want one? I can make more!”

With a light chuckle, Yang said: “I’ll ask and see what she says.”

In the brief silence that followed, Yang’s eyes swept the room one more time - but this time ended up on Ruby while a smile appeared.  It was a smile Ruby returned wholeheartedly. And, while she’d never perfected the art of reading her sister’s mind, she knew what Yang was going to say next.

“Guess it’s time to get outta here, huh?”

When Ruby nodded, Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rustled her hair.

“Yanggg,” she whined while being led away from her old bedroom.

“Come on, I’m not gonna be able to do that all the time now - gotta get ‘em in while I can!”

“I guess…” Ruby replied, although her protest was half-hearted, at best.  Fixing her ruffled hair was pretty easy, so it wasn’t like it was a huge deal.  Plus, having Yang mess up her hair was a right of passage! It meant that she was loved...and that was something she’d never complain about.

It was only when Yang set the bee down on the table by the sofa that Ruby noticed something small, red, and plentiful littering the ground.  

Rose petals.  Lots of them - leftovers from her dashes through the house taking the boxes outside.

“Ah shoot!”  Ducking out from under Yang’s arm, Ruby said “I’ll clean those up!” before racing to find the dustpan.  Of course, her haste caused another wave of petals to fall to the floor and scatter across the room. Groaning out loud, Ruby grabbed the pan and slowly walked back to the living room so she didn’t add to her mess.

What was the point of being fast if it meant she couldn’t clean quickly without making an even bigger mess?  Why couldn’t she be fast and clean?  

Maybe her semblance wasn’t actually speed.  Maybe it was irony. 

Oh!  That was a good one.  She’d tell Yang later, when the timing was just right.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yang told Ruby, waving off her efforts to sweep up the petals.  “Something to remember you by.” 

“Are you sure?”  

“Yeah.  Now come on - can’t keep Weiss waiting, can we?”

When Yang took the dustpan from Ruby’s hands and tossed it onto the sofa, Ruby grinned and jogged out to the car.  At the sound of the front door closing behind her, she turned and took a good look at the house she was leaving behind.  

She really loved living here!  It was a home filled with love, that’s for sure.  And not just the kind Yang and Blake liked making in large quantities.  

It had been the perfect place for a new beginning.

“No chance you forget something?” Yang asked after making it to the car and taking a look at the boxes stacked inside.

“Nope!  I’m super organized!”  The reply made Yang laugh while Blake smiled from beside her.  “What?” Ruby asked in disbelief. “I am!”

The claim only made Yang laugh harder, which was a welcome sound to hear.  Ruby hated the idea of Yang being sad, so it would be a bummer if moving out made her happy but Yang sad.  Thankfully, it looked like that wouldn’t be the case - which was good because they really would see each other all the time.  They had a team to rebuild, after all!  Team practices, team dinners, team everything - all right on the horizon.  Maybe they’d be living separately, but they probably would see each other every day.

“Glad you’re feeling better!” Ruby remarked with a big smile.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.  Blake promised we’d have tons of fun without you here,” Yang replied, sending Blake a wink.  While Ruby looked between the two of them, Blake slapped Yang’s shoulder.

“You’re going to have tons of fun without me??” she whined.

“Make sure to ask Blake all about it later,” Yang told Ruby with another wink before getting into the car.  

Making a mental note to do just that, Ruby opened the door to the back seat and found herself looking at...a ton of boxes.

“Are you going to fit?” Blake asked while looking at the space that was left open.  It wasn’t really space...more of a sliver of air than anything else.  

“I’ll fit!” Ruby proclaimed before squishing herself into the seat.  

Yup, she totally fit - if she tucked her knees close to her chest and turned her shoulders so they weren’t straight against the back of the seat.  Fortunately, it was a short drive. Unless Yang decided to get ‘lost’ on the way there - which hopefully she wouldn’t because this wasn’t the most comfortable position in the world.

The good thing about short drives was that they were short.  The bad thing about short drives was that they weren’t long enough for many thoughtful...thoughts.  In movies, the main characters always got exactly how much time they needed to figure out a problem or come up with a new theory of relativity - even when traveling only a block or two.  Maybe their brains just worked faster than Ruby’s...which seemed pretty impossible given her general penchant for speed.

The drive was just long enough for her to realize that she wasn’t nervous about moving in with Weiss.  Back in with Weiss, technically.  

Maybe that’s why she wasn’t super nervous...because they’d already lived together and everything seemed to have been working just fine.  If it worked before, it could work again. That probably did away with a whole bunch of her nerves. That, and Ruby was still wearing the ring on a necklace around her neck.  She understood what it meant now. It was a promise...and not a promise that could be easily broken. 

If that’s how close they once were, then moving in together was just the tip of the iceberg.

Sometimes, she thought that maybe she should wear the ring again - it fit her perfectly, after all - but she didn’t want to be too hasty.  Wasn’t that a surprise? For once, she was the one trying not to be hasty!  Not that she wouldn’t wear it...she’d already put it on a few times to check the sizing, but she kind of wanted Weiss to ask her again.  Since she didn’t exactly remember how Weiss asked the first time.

“Perfect timing.”

See?  Short drive.  Very little time for thoughtful thoughts.

But Blake was right.  They’d made it just in time!  Weiss was standing outside speaking to a large, muscular man who was in the process of opening the back of a moving truck parked in the front drive.  Once Yang pulled to a stop behind the truck, Ruby practically fell out of the car when she opened the door. But she didn’t. She almost did, but righted herself and raced over to Weiss for a hug. 

“Gooood morning!” she called out, lifting Weiss’ feet off the ground and spinning her in a circle with happiness.  “I missed you!”

“I missed you too,” Weiss replied softly, using her fingers to lightly tuck several loose strands of hair behind Ruby’s ear.

“Where’d you say you wanted this, Miss?”

When the moving-man interrupted their moment, Weiss gave him a look that implied she no longer wanted his presence before sending Ruby an apologetic smile.

“Don’t worry,” Ruby said before Weiss could say anything.  “I’ll just start taking stuff in!”

After kissing Weiss on the cheek, Ruby hopped back to the car and picked up a box from the backseat.  Once she had it securely in her hands, she ran to the front door and tried the handle, but it was locked.  Balancing the box in one arm, she turned to the keypad by the door.

“One, six, five, eight,” she hummed to herself while punching in the numbers.  “Now I know I won’t be late!”

Giggling at her rhyme, she pushed open the door and walked into the entryway.  After dropping the box near one of the walls, she stood in the center of the room and looked up at the chandelier.  Taking a deep breath of now-familiar air, she smiled to herself.

This was her new home.  How cool was that?

Hearing footsteps, she turned around and found Weiss walking into the house behind her.

“Was it open?” Weiss asked, pausing at the door and looking at the handle in concern.

“No, I unlocked it - don’t worry!”

“Oh.”  For a second, Weiss visibly relaxed - but then she looked at Ruby in confusion.  “Wait -”

“Holy Grimm!” Yang suddenly called from outside.  “Ruby, what’s in this box??” 

Hurrying to the doorway, Ruby found Yang puffing under the weight of a big box - the same one Ruby nearly fell trying to carry with earlier.

“The extra metal from my closet.  Do you need help?” she offered. 

Shooting a look at the burly man carrying a box out of the moving truck, Yang scoffed.

“Of course not.  Just tell me where to put this thing.”

“The workshop!  Do you need me to show you?”

“Naw, I got it.”  When Yang walked through the door, she paused and winked at Ruby.  “Pretty sure I’ve been here before.”

Right - Yang and Blake used to come over all the time.  They practiced in the combat room and in the backyard. They had dinners together, watched movies...basically, everything they did at Yang and Blake’s place, they also did here. 

With Yang on her way downstairs, Weiss hurried in the other direction to show the mover where to put his box.  While both of them were occupied, Ruby hurried out to the car and picked up another box before walking back to the house with Blake.

“Let’s leave all the heavy boxes for Yang,” Blake suggested with a smirk.

“That’s a great idea!  Make her prove her strength!”  When Blake laughed, Ruby suddenly had another idea.  “Wouldn’t it be funnier if we left all the really small things for her?”

Laughing a little harder, Blake shook her head and set the box she’d been carrying near the wall outside the living room. 

“Next time we’ll do that.  See how she responds.”

Most likely Yang would respond by doing something gratuitously powerful to prove she wasn’t a weakling, but they’d have to wait and see.  Although Ruby didn’t plan on moving again anytime soon...

Freed of another box, Ruby jogged outside for more stuff.  She was already heading back into the house with a box in her hands and Crescent Rose balanced over one shoulder when a smaller truck pulled up in the drive.  Out of the corner of her eye, she just barely caught one of the words on the side - food something. 

Oh, food!  When would they get to eat?  Hopefully, that truck was delivering lunch!

Once in the foyer, she could hear Weiss’ voice coming from somewhere upstairs while Yang and Blake slipped outside.  Ruby continued to the door leading to the combat simulation room, which had been propped open so she could walk downstairs. 

And by walk downstairs, she meant balance the box carefully on the banister with Crescent Rose on top, then hop onto the railing and slide to the bottom in record time.

It was every bit as awesome as she’d imagined it to be!

Seeing the bottom quickly approaching, she wrapped both hands around the box and hopped off just as the railing disappeared.  Sticking the landing with a slight slide forward from the momentum, she grinned while walking away like a pro - box and weapon still in hand. 

Turning left, she headed to the locker bays - where Crescent Rose was going into her very own locker.  Now, no matter where Ruby went, she’d only be a few seconds away from her weapon. Even Crescent Rose was growing up!  

Ruby never had a weapon locker before...well, obviously she had, but that was the previous version of her.  The previous version of her...who’d already decorated the locker for her.  

Sometimes, it was really weird to see these little pieces of the past littered around the house, but other times it was really cool.  It gave her something to aspire to - like, one day she wanted to be able to draw such great roses. And one day she wanted to be able to do whatever she’d done to that flying, sparkling dagger in the workshop.

Seriously, it flew and sparkled like a firefly.  And she had absolutely no idea how she did it.  Even after tearing the thing apart multiple times, she was stumped!  One day it would tell her its secrets though...they always did... 

With Crescent Rose stored away, Ruby left the box of random parts near the door to the workshop and raced upstairs - taking the steps two at a time.  Bursting through the open door, only slightly breathless from the rapid ascent, she heard one of the trucks rumble off right before she shot back into the sunlight.  The moving truck with Weiss’ stuff was still there and so was the tiny-by-comparison car, so it must’ve been the ‘food’ truck that just left.

Hurrying over to the car, Ruby peered through the windows before racing around and looking into the trunk.  Using her impeccable vision, she could clearly see that there weren’t any boxes left. Zero. Zilch. No boxes to be found - outside, at least, because now they were inside the house.  

This morning it felt like so much stuff, but apparently it wasn’t that much at all!

When Ruby heard voices, she turned towards the house and saw Yang and Blake walk outside while talking amongst themselves.  The moving man appeared right after them, with Weiss on his heels. The man hurried over to the truck and hauled himself up into the back to check if there was anything hidden behind stacks of boxes that were staying with him.  Satisfied by what he found (or didn’t find), he jumped down and pulled the truck’s bay door closed with a loud, rattling slam.

This morning it felt like they were so far away, but...this was it.  

“Thank you for your assistance,” Weiss said politely while paying the man for his help.

“Thank you, Miss,” he replied, quickly swiping her card and handing it back with a receipt.  “Have a wonderful day.”

While he headed to the driver’s side of the truck, Yang leaned against the car and wiped her arm across her brow.  When the moving truck roared to life, she spared it one glance and grinned.

“Whew.  Made short work of that, didn’t we?”

“Having you around certainly helped,” Blake replied while squeezing Yang’s upper arm.

“You really know how to make someone want to move,” Yang teased with a big smile.

“Thank you both for your help,” Weiss added, drawing Ruby’s full attention.  “I’m not entirely sure Ruby could’ve done it without you.”

“Totally couldn’t have!  Thanks you guys!”

“No problem.”  Reaching out, Yang bumped her fist with Ruby’s before leaning away.  “Apparently, I need to help some strangers move today too. Gotta beautiful girl to impress.”

Briefly flexing her muscles, Yang winked at Ruby and didn’t catch the playful nod Blake gave from beside her.

“Are you leaving now?” Ruby asked when she noticed Yang reach for the keys in her back pocket.

“Because if you’d like to stay…” Weiss offered.

“We can help you unpack?” Yang asked with a laugh.  “Thanks, but I think we’ll pass. We just spent the last few hours helping Ruby finish packing.  I think you two can handle the unpacking on your own.”

Busted.  

When Ruby gave Weiss a sheepish grin, Weiss smiled and shook her head.

“I already figured that was the case,” she teased, reaching out and tickling Ruby’s side.

“They only helped a little!” Ruby said before giggling and squirming away.  “Ok, a lot! They helped a lot.”

“That’s what I thought,” Weiss replied with a smug smile before turning back to Blake and Yang.  When Ruby turned back as well, Yang patted both hands on her thighs and stepped forward.

“Ok kiddo, we’ll leave you two lovebirds to your nest.  Now give me a hug.” Yang gestured with both hands, and Ruby didn’t need any more incentive than that to fly into her sister’s arms for a long hug.  

It’d be a lie to say she wasn’t a little sad right now.  She was going to miss Yang a lot! But they’d still see each other all the time, and no bit of measly distance could take away what they had together.  They were sisters - no matter what.

“Mom would be proud of you,” Yang whispered before pulling away with a smile.

Even though there was no moon in sight, Ruby shot a glance skyward.

“You think so?”

“I know so,” Yang replied before wrapping Ruby in another hug, squeezing her tightly and lifting her off the ground before letting go and walking backward around the car.  “But I better hear from you soon. Don’t forget I know exactly where to find you!”

When Yang pointed at her, Ruby nodded obediently.  Satisfied with the answer, Yang opened the driver’s side door but rested her arms on the hood while waiting for Blake.

“Don’t be a stranger,” Blake said softly, her ears slightly flattened.  Without hesitation, Ruby threw her arms around Blake’s neck for a hug, briefly surprising Blake before she hugged back in full.  

“You’re my best friend, Blake - how could I stay away for long?”

Sighing in content, Blake squeezed Ruby tightly before letting go, only briefly meeting Ruby’s eyes before turning away.  After Blake slipped into the passenger seat, Yang finally put one foot into the car.

“You take care of her,” Yang ordered, nodding behind Ruby’s back.  Turning around, Ruby saw Weiss nod in response before Yang grinned and got into the car.  

“See you later!” Yang called out as the car started and drove away from the house - leaving Weiss and Ruby standing there alone.

She’d moved.  She didn’t live with Yang anymore.  This was the first time in her life (that she remembered) that she wouldn’t live with her sister close at hand.  It was going to be really different, but it would also be ok. She could take care of herself...and she had a pretty dang good partner around for support.

But she’d moved!  First order of business - waste no time flying to Weiss and smothering her in a hug. 

“I missed youuu!!” Ruby wailed while nuzzling into Weiss’ neck.  “Last night was so longggg!”

“It was…” Weiss murmured, wrapping her arms around Ruby’s neck.  “But you’re here now.”

“Are you ok though?  You look really tired.”  Standing straight, Ruby rubbed one thumb lightly across Weiss’ cheek, right underneath eyes that looked more exhausted than usual.

“I’m great.  I…” Pausing, Weiss looked moderately embarrassed before finally admitting, “I was actually too excited to sleep.”

“You’re so cute!” 

After squeezing Weiss tightly, Ruby pulled away and kissed her right on the lips.  Weiss always seemed so shocked when Ruby did that, which only made her want to do it more!  When would the surprise wear off? Guess she’d find out. But whenever it did, she’d find something new to do.  Gotta keep things interesting. Gotta keep Weiss on her toes.

Hearing a soft sigh of content, Ruby pulled away and watched Weiss’ eyes slowly flutter open - bright blue irises sparkling in the sunlight.

“Are you ready?” Weiss asked, gesturing towards the front door.  Even though it was just a door, Ruby looked at it and beamed.

Was she ready?  Heck yes she was!  This was one of the moments she’d been waiting for.  A year ago, she hadn’t even known that this could be possible, yet it was happening.  Right. Now.

“You know, people have been asking me that a lot recently.  The answer is almost always yes!”

“Good.”  Reaching out, Weiss took Ruby’s hand and smiled.  “Me too.”

Hand-in-hand, Weiss led them back to the house and through the open doorway together.

“Welcome home,” she murmured while squeezing Ruby’s hand, the two of them sharing a smile that seemed to be only theirs.

“I could say the same thing to you,” Ruby replied with a big smile.  “Are you happy to be back?”

Weiss surveyed the entryway - currently filled with haphazard stacks of boxes and other moving material - before smiling at Ruby.

“You have no idea.”

It was hard to imagine what this day felt like for Weiss - who, from what she’d told Ruby, had never expected to live here again.  Was it a relief? Overwhelming? Scary? Surreal? Ruby had to think it was a little of everything…but as long as Weiss was smiling, everything was going to be just fine.

“So...where should we start?” Ruby asked while looking at the stacks of unpacked boxes.  “Living room? Or -”

“How about we start in the kitchen?” Weiss asked while pulling Ruby in that direction. As soon as they stepped through the doorway, Ruby’s jaw dropped in surprise.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed, releasing Weiss’ hand in favor of racing in a circle around the island.  The island that was covered in food!  “Where’d all this come from?”  

There were fruits and cookies and crackers and all of the snacks she loved.  Did she mention cookies? Because there was a mountain of them! There were even a couple of pies.  And grapefruit! There were a few grapefruits too!

“I ordered food,” Weiss answered with a pleased smile.  “Can’t have you go hungry, after all. Not with how hard you’ve been training.”

Briefly picking up a box of pasta noodles, Ruby set it down with a grin.  They could make spaghetti!

“You’re the best!”  Sensing that Weiss was about to argue with that claim, Ruby quickly added, “Let’s go see our room now!”

With Weiss’ nod of approval, Ruby led the way up the stairs before rushing away to open the doors of the two guest bedrooms.  It was weird for doors to be closed when no one was inside - it made everything feel closed off, but she liked for things to feel open!  Fortunately, Weiss didn’t seem to mind. Or, if she did, she didn’t say anything. 

After that was done, the two of them walked into their room.  Their room.  That was so strange to think about!  It was theirs. Not Ruby’s. Not Weiss’.  Theirs. They had their own room.  

And they had lots of boxes in it.  It was obvious whose were whose though - Weiss’ were stacked neatly along one wall, while Yang had left Ruby’s haphazardly strewn around them.

“We can unpack later,” Weiss muttered, walking over to the closet and peering inside at a few more boxes.  “Fortunately, I don’t think we have a pressing need for anything at this moment.”

“Nope!  Especially not when we already have clothes here!”  Ruby gestured at the closet, which was already basically full.  They probably needed to get rid of stuff before they could fully unpack…

But look at Weiss right now.  She was adorably focused on something - her eyes flitting from the boxes to the closet and back again.  

Watching Weiss’ concentrated expression was always fascinating because it was almost possible to watch the super intelligent gears turning in her mind.  If only Ruby could read Weiss’ thoughts...that would be even better...but for now, she enjoyed watching her solve problems.

Finally shaking her head, Weiss mumbled, “We’ll figure that out later…” before reaching over to click off the closet light.  But, even though the switch audibly clicked, the light remained on.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Weiss murmured to herself while flipping the switch on and off several more times.  

Sensing that Weiss needed a little help, Ruby swooped to the rescue!  Or, she walked over and calmly tried the switch herself. When the light obediently turned off, Weiss gave Ruby a look that implied she’d just worked some kind of miracle.

Which she kind of had, right?  The light wasn’t turning off; now it was off!  It wasn’t like it was something simple like the switch was kind of broken and needed to be clicked in a very particular way or anything.  Nope! Miracle Ruby!

“So now I need you to turn off the lights for me?” Weiss asked in amusement.

“Hey, as long as you need me for something, I’m happy!”

“Then you must be ecstatic all the time.”

Blushing at the reply, Ruby opened her mouth but couldn’t find anything to say in response.  She loved it when Weiss was witty though! And Weiss always delivered with such a straight face - even Yang would be jealous.

Clearing her throat did nothing to get rid of her blush, but Ruby did manage a quick, “I am,” before grinning when Weiss chuckled.

“Come on, we can do this later,” she said, pulling Ruby away from the boxes and back downstairs to the entryway.  Their entryway. 

Was she ever going to get tired of putting ‘their’ in front of everything?

“What would you like to do now?” Weiss asked.  “Eat lunch?”

What were they going to do now?  Now that they were blessed with a nearly infinite amount of time together, there were so many options.  Ruby didn’t have to go home! She was home.  And she never had to leave.  

“Orrrr...more Beowolves?” she suggested, wiggling her brow.  The mere mention made Weiss blush and briefly turn away.

“If that’s what you want...”

“We can do better this time - I know it!”

They probably would’ve beaten the simulation the last time, but they’d kind of...knocked into each other at the worst possible moment.  Just a minor miscommunication! Ruby thought Weiss was going to move forward, and Weiss thought Ruby was going to go first. But this time that wasn’t going to happen.

It probably would, but that was part of working the kinks out!  She actually didn’t care whether or not they beat it as long as they were learning something new - and they were!  At least, Ruby was. Every time they fought together, it felt like their movements were...flowing better, if that made any sense.

“Once we have a few new strategies perfected, we should rechallenge Blake and Yang,” Weiss suggested.

“Yeah!” Ruby exclaimed, hopping in excitement.  “That’s a great idea - let’s do that! Practice, learn, challenge - got it!”

“But before we do that,” Weiss suddenly said, managing to perfectly grab ahold of Ruby’s elbow before she turned away.  “Don’t you this place is...missing something?”

“Uh...”  Spinning slowly in place, Ruby tried to spot anything obvious.  There were no...trees? Treasure chests? Balloons! No, that couldn’t be it…

“Like what?” she finally asked in confusion, glad to see that her bewilderment made Weiss try to hide a smile.

“Don’t you think it...smells a little weird?”  

Sniffing the air, Ruby was about to say ‘no’ when she noticed the half smirk on Weiss’ lips.  Grinning when she realized what Weiss was getting at, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on those grinning lips before blasting through the halls, laying streams of petals everywhere.  Every time she raced past Weiss, she unfocused her semblance into the slowest of time, leaving Weiss with a kiss on the cheek before bursting away at full speed again.

The sound of Weiss’ happy laughter filled Ruby’s ears while she coated the rooms in red.  The living room - roses. The kitchen - roses. The upstairs hallway, the bedrooms, everything - covered in roses.  

Only when there were more petals than Ruby had ever seen before did she stop at Weiss’ side and wrap both arms around Weiss’ waist.  Reaching out, Weiss caught a couple of petals as they drifted towards the floor, clutching them gently in one hand while leaning towards Ruby for one last kiss on the cheek.

“That’s better…” Weiss whispered - so quietly Ruby almost missed it under the sound of her heart racing.

“I’m so lucky…” Ruby replied, nuzzling into Weiss’ hair before moving to whisper in her ear.  “I got to fall in love with you twice.”

“Ruby…”  Spinning around in Ruby’s arms, Weiss looked into her eyes and smiled.  “I’m the lucky one.”

And this time it was Weiss who stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Ruby.  

Ruby immediately kissed back.  Of course she kissed back - with a surge of love that continued to amaze her.  Had she mentioned how much she loved kissing Weiss? Because she did. Like a ton.  Weiss smelled amazing, her lips were so soft, and Ruby could practically feel the love and affection passing between them.

When Weiss finally broke away - their lips finally moving apart - Ruby was given another opportunity to marvel at how beautiful her partner was, with those blue eyes, perfect lashes, and adorably-flushed cheeks.  But Weiss’ beauty was only the beginning of what made her the most incredible person Ruby had ever met. Dive a little deeper, and it was easy to find her kindness, compassion, incredible strength and intelligence. 

In a world that was sometimes unforgiving and always moved too fast, Weiss was...perfect.  Not ‘perfect’ like she never made mistakes, but ‘perfect’ like she had all the qualities needed to survive a mistake and come back even better than before.

How lucky was Ruby that Weiss was her partner?  Sure, there was still a lot they didn’t know about each other, but they were learning more and more every day.  They grew closer every day. And Ruby kept discovering new ways to improve - not only as a huntress, but as a person and a partner. 

Coughing lightly into her hand, Weiss quickly licked her lips before straightening her posture from pretty-perfect to ultra-perfect.

“So...Beowolves?”  

“Beowolves!” Ruby hastily agreed, taking Weiss’ hand and pulling her towards the stairs to the combat room, her adrenaline already beginning to grow.

There was still a lot they needed to do.  First, a thousand Beowolves. Next, who knew?  But they finally found each other and found a way to be happy.  It might’ve taken them some time, but they finally made it. Now they could work on becoming the best partners Remnant had ever seen - again.

Look out world - Ruby Rose was back in action!

...but look out in a good way.  No need to be afraid or anything.  

Unless you’re a Grimm.  Then look out in a bad way because Ruby and Weiss were coming for you!  Only don’t actually look because it’d really be better if you were unprepared...

...

Ok, forget that.

Ruby out!