Chapter Text
The Sixth Time-
“Weiss, for the last time, I’ve got everything I could possibly need!”
“Did you pack the—“
“Yes, sweetheart, I packed the extra socks.”
“And the—“
“Weiss!”
Weiss sighed, knowing there was no way she could delay the hunting trip any longer without making Ruby and team JNR late for their airship. Yes, she knew that Ruby would be perfectly safe with team JNR by her side, and yes, she knew that Ruby was able to take care of herself. However, Weiss’s nerves were not put at rest despite her perfectly sound reasoning. This was Ruby’s first hunt since the Battle of Salem, and Weiss knew how much she wanted to get back out there and kill some Grimm.
But of course, Ruby’s first mission was against an ancient Grimm, one that had been terrorizing several villages in Mistral, one that no other huntsman team had been able to stop.
No, that certainly didn’t help Weiss’s nerves at all.
“I know, I know, but you know that I can’t help but fuss over you.”
Weiss laughed, trying to play it off as a joke, but her eyes betrayed her nerves. Ruby, having been around Weiss for so many years, wasn’t fooled by the ruse at all.
“Weiss.”
She looked Ruby in the eyes, a silent plea in her own.
Please don’t leave, I just want you to be here safe with me.
“I’m gonna be fine. Team JNR and I are the most accomplished huntsmen around, and if I can defeat Salem, I can certainly kill one lousy Grimm.”
“But it’s been years.”
Ruby looked at Weiss with a softness that was only reserved for her, the literal embodiment of puppy dog eyes. As expected, Weiss softened and let out a small sigh, wrapping Ruby in a hug.
Ruby pulled back and kissed Weiss lightly on the nose, causing her to smile.
“I promise I’ll come back alive, as always.”
“Of course. I trust you. When have you ever broken one of your promises?”
Ruby grinned and rushed out the door with a flurry of rose petals. She turned back one last time and waved goodbye at Weiss, who gave her a half-hearted wave in return. Weiss watched the old, beat up truck make its way down the road, and told herself not to worry.
She couldn’t help the weight that slowly settled into the pit of her stomach.
~~~
Weiss felt the anticipation build as the clock ticked closer to Ruby’s return. She was currently at Blake and Yang’s house, helping the pair hang up balloons and various other decorations to celebrate Ruby’s first hunt since Salem. Normally Weiss would’ve scoffed at such tacky things, but she knew how much Ruby enjoyed parties, so she pitched in and helped Blake and Yang set up.
She finished hanging up balloons, and stared at the clock, wondering how the hands could move so slowly.
A loud pop resonated from the kitchen, followed by a cry of surprise from Blake and raucous laughter from Yang. Weiss poked her head around the corner to find the blonde holding a popped balloon and an angry Blake with her ears pressed against her head.
“Yang, quit torturing your wife and help me set up the food.”
Blake punched Yang on the shoulder, having recovered from her shock. Yang grinned at her, which caused Blake to relax slightly, but the Faunus still wore a perturbed expression.
“That sounds like a good idea. Go help Weiss, you terror.”
Yang made her way over to Weiss, still grinning over her successful prank. Even at 27, the woman was still a child.
Weiss popped the cap on the first bottle of soda when she heard a knock on the door. Heart speeding up, Weiss felt a smile overtake her face as she all but ran to the door.
However, her steps faltered when she neared the door, wondering why the knock was so weak, and then completely stopping when she realized that there shouldn’t have been a knock at all. Ruby would’ve burst through the door the moment she got home, and Nora would’ve all but broke down the door with her knocks. Shaking her head, Weiss reasoned that they were probably exhausted from the long journey back to Patch.
Weiss knew the second she opened the door.
Well, she didn’t know, but the thought hit her head when she took stock of the situation before her.
First, there was no Ruby in her arms the moment she opened the door. There was no Ruby outside at all.
Second, the expressions on team JNR’s faces told her that something was very wrong. Ren, for the most part, looked normal, but the pain in his eyes betrayed his calm expression. Jaune was red faced and his eyes were bloodshot, and a haunted look graced his face. Most unsettling of all was Nora, who had tears in her eyes, and her movements were slow and lethargic, so unlike the boundless energy that she and Ruby normally shared. Weiss had, never, not once seen Nora this downcast.
Despite Weiss knowing, she still asked the inevitable question with a wary voice, as if the answer might physically hurt her.
“Where’s Ruby?”
Nora let out a small, choked sob as Ren wrapped an arm around her, and Jaune looked at his feet in dismay.
Weiss asked again, this time with much more force.
“Where’s Ruby?”
Jaune looked up, fresh tears in his eyes as he cleared his throat, uttering the words that Weiss knew, but dreaded hearing all the same.
“She’s—“
Jaune took a deep breath, steeling himself for the next part.
“She……. she died fighting the Grimm.”
Weiss heard him, but didn’t really understand the words coming out of his mouth. They were illogical. Ruby was probably just around the corner, or in town buying cookies from that bakery she loved for the party. She would be back any minute, and they would kiss, and they would laugh and catch up, and Ruby would tell Weiss about how she defeated the Grimm with a whoosh and a bam, and Weiss would try to follow along but would end up getting distracted by how alive Ruby looked. So yes, Weiss heard Jaune, and she knew, but it didn’t make any sense to her. It wasn’t right.
Weiss sunk to her knees, unable to accept the news. She buried her head in her hands, letting out a sob, drawing the attention of Yang. She didn’t see how Yang’s smile slowly faded from her face as she noticed Ruby’s absence, or how Yang stood frozen as Blake buried her face into her shoulder and cried, holding on to Yang for dear life. All Weiss heard was the voice in her head, repeating the same string of words over and over.
That’s not right, Ruby will be here in a second. It’s not right, she’s just around the corner. That’s not right, she’ll be here soon. It’s not right. He’s wrong. That’s not right. It’s not right. That’s not right. It’s not right.
Weiss didn’t see Yang slam her fist into the wall next to them, eyes shining red with tears and anger.
All she saw was Ruby’s face.
~~~
They buried her next to Summer.
The funeral was nice, much to Weiss’s aggravation. The weather was beautiful, sun shining brightly on the black and red casket that held her wife’s body. The trees blew softly in the warm breeze, and the birds chirped a happy melody, contrasting to the somber atmosphere around them. If it was up to Weiss, rain would be pouring down around them, trees bowing in the fierce wind, sun hidden behind layers of dark clouds. But no, it had to be beautiful.
Weiss had prepared a eulogy, but the tear stained paper was crumpled in her fist, and she found herself unable to stand, unable to give a simple speech to honor her partner. Weiss had chided herself on her weakness.
What good are you if you can’t even say her name?
She now stood overlooking the cliff where the two graves were, mocking her in their silence, in their permanence. One was older, worn by the years, moss crawling along the bottom. One was brand new, dirt freshly placed, and bundles of flowers cluttered the base. Weiss couldn’t read the words from this distance, but she knew what they said.
Ruby Rose
Leader of Team RWBY
Beloved friend, partner, sister, and wife
Oct. 31, 127 AGW — June 21, 153 AGW
You will always be our sun
Weiss sighed, exhaling a breath that she didn’t know how long she’d been holding.
~~~
Later that evening, Weiss took a walk, unable to rest. She walked a path that Ruby and her used to take, remembering how she would run ahead of Weiss, then back to her side as a way to expel extra energy.
Weiss looked up at the broken moon, imagining that her heart resembled it almost exactly.
She thought back to how Ruby once said that Summer was watching over her from the moon, always keeping her safe.
Guess you broke your promise too, huh?
The moon didn’t answer.
Weiss didn’t believe in ghosts, but she believed that Ruby was watching her now with Summer up on that moon. The only thing Weiss wished was for Ruby to be at peace, because that would give Weiss something to hold on to. She wished for nothing more than to join Ruby, wherever she was, but Weiss knew that her wife wouldn’t want her to give up just yet.
So she held on, not for herself, but for Ruby.