Chapter Text
Everyone says that the Battle of Haven was a victory. The White Fang was driven back, stopped in their plans to destroy the CCT tower and take over the city. The forces of Salem, while unknown to the public, also failed their goals, though the damage was enough to strike fear into those who knew about her. So, to many, Haven was saved by the students of Beacon’s heroism.
But for Ruby, it only reminded her of her greatest loss.
The brunette was silently sitting alone behind their rented house in Mistral, her legs idly dangling over the cliff. She had mindlessly watched the sun rise over an hour ago, but she didn’t care for its beauty or warmth. She didn’t care that it meant a new day was here. She didn’t care that it meant they had survived a nightmare.
Because she was still living in it.
Ruby hardly paid the coming footsteps any attention until she felt a gentle hand on her head. She didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
“How long have you been up?” Yang softly asked.
“I didn’t sleep,” she answered quietly. “I couldn’t.”
The blonde didn’t push on that matter. Instead, she just sat as close as she could next to Ruby. Yang hoped that she could provide her sister with a grounding presence, but Ruby’s lack of reaction already dashed that wish. Ruby had hardly spoken over the past few days and her listlessness only became more apparent the more time everyone spent together to plan their next move.
But not everyone was there.
The sound of the back door sliding open caught Yang’s attention, but not Ruby’s. Turning her head, the blonde spotted Blake standing at the frame, her arms clutching nervously at her coat. Blake wasn’t sure if she should intrude on the sisters, but a nod from Yang was all the invitation she needed. She quickly made her way to them, sitting on Ruby’s right side to mirror her partner.
For a while, the three sat in silence, soaking in the warm sunlight and listening to the birds starting to sing. It was peaceful and calm; a stark contrast to the battle that nearly blew up a part of the city just a few nights ago, but they knew that the peace wouldn’t last. Not with their mission.
After a few more tense minutes, Blake finally spoke up with a hopeful lit. “The others have been preparing breakfast and I saw Ren bring out the pancake mix. If we go in now, we can beat Nora before she piles everything onto her plate.”
Ruby didn’t smile. “I don’t feel like going inside.”
Yang only grew more concerned. She briefly met Blake’s eyes before trying her own bargain. “Then how about we get our own stack and eat them out here? We can all share.”
Neither of the older girls missed the way Ruby’s fingers clenched around the silver object in her lap. A dejected sigh left her lips. “All of us…”
“Please, Ruby,” Yang quietly begged, her hand resting on her sister’s shoulder. In all her years, she had never seen Ruby so...broken. It made her feel more useless being unable to bring her spirit back up. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t hurting, too, but she’ll always try to put her own feelings aside to help her little sister. “Blake and I… We’re all here for each other, remember? You gotta talk to us. You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”
Ruby only bit her lip and shook her head.
As a last-ditch effort, Yang had to address the elephant in the room, as painful as it already was. Gently, she continued, “Do you think she’d be happy if she saw you like this?”
Those words seemed to bring a spark of recognition in the young leader’s eyes and her breath caught in her throat. The memories of the battle flew by in an instant, leaving a fresh trail of tears down her cheeks. She heaved a breath, and then two, before she began to shakily speak. “How can I even start to try,” Ruby sobbed, her head hanging over her lap as her tears fell softly onto the brooch in her hands, “without Weiss?”
Yang surged forward, quickly enveloping Ruby in a tight hug. She could feel tears welling in her own eyes and she squeezed them shut in an attempt to stop the flow. Ruby cried into her shoulder, not bothering to keep silent and never letting go of the brooch. Blake scooted closer to the pair and wrapped one arm around Ruby’s back while her hand rested loosely on top of her leader’s clenched fists.
Blake wasn’t there when it happened. She was only able to get the story out of Yang once they had settled back into their rented house to recover. It was still tense talking to the blonde after all this time, but she was in a better state to tell the event than Ruby. The young leader had just seemed to shut down after the whole battle. It was nearly impossible to get a single word out of her and, really, who could blame her?
Watching any person die was traumatic enough, although in their line of work it would be inevitable. You can’t save everyone, no matter how hard you try. But it’s a different feeling when you watched your partner, your friend , disappear right in front of you. According to Yang, everyone witnessed the spear that Cinder threw as a distraction to get away from the battle, how it hit its mark in Weiss’ side, and how she lied so still in her own blood.
Ruby didn’t talk much about that moment.
Yang was staying strong for her sister, but Blake could tell that she was struggling to keep herself in check. She’d catch her on the verge of tears, but Yang would quickly play it off in favor of helping Ruby. She and Blake were, of course, hurting just the same at losing their friend, but the shock had struck harder with the brunette.
Team JNR, especially, was keen on seeing them through this, but the most they could do while they waited for Ozpin’s plan was just to be here . Knowing that they understood what it was like to lose a teammate already spoke volumes, but the recovery would come in due time.
Later that night, Ruby forced herself to lie in bed. She hadn’t slept much over the past few days, but she didn’t really want to. Every time she closed her eyes she could only see that scene. Something she wished was just a nightmare that she’d wake up from only to open her eyes and realize she was reliving a memory.
Yang had at least convinced her to sleep in her room. It reminded Ruby of when they were younger and when she would get too scared to sleep by herself. She had to admit that she felt relief at not being alone, that Yang would be here for her, but that feeling could only go so far. She turned her head towards the other bed and could see Yang’s calm form under the covers, her golden hair clear in the window’s moonlight.
Another sigh.
Another attempt at sleep.
Ruby closed her eyes and was immediately transported to the Grand Hall of Haven. She gripped Crescent Rose as she stared down Cinder, wanting nothing more than to slice that grin through her face. As she took a step forward, the rest of the battle commenced. Her friends scattered to their own opponents, but their sounds were muffled, as if Ruby was underwater. Suddenly, one sound rang so clearly that she couldn’t help but turn to look for the millionth time in her dreams...
The whistle of Cinder’s spear flying through the air.
The sight of red blooming on a dress of blue before a cry ripped through Ruby’s throat.
A swirl of rose petals caught the body, but she knew that she was too late. Weiss’ warmth was already gone and Ruby could only watch as the pale blue snowflakes drifted away, leaving her to hold nothing but air.
A small, metallic object dropped onto the floor, clinking lightly.
And then Ruby woke up in bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily and mind racing. She slowly pushed herself up, vaguely remembering that she wasn’t the only one in the room. Yang had become a very light sleeper over the past few months, but luckily she hadn’t woken up this time. Taking all the care she could muster, Ruby tiptoed out of the room and found herself outside, sitting at the edge of the cliff again.
Heaving another sigh, she looked down at the sapphire brooch she held so gently in her hands. The moonlight cast a very soft glow on it causing Ruby to silently cry alone once more.