#verse. → ❝ i'll learn to breathe deep and make peace with the stars. ❞ ( mistral. )

[metalpetals-a]

@thcrned​ / where to next? ( acc. )

“ Sorry,  Emerald,  the,  um...  The train cars are in groups of four.  Are you alright with bunking with Uncle Qrow for the ride over there? ”  It’s a question she hadn’t thought she’d ever be casually asking Emerald again,  not after Beacon,  but...  The last few weeks had come with plenty of surprises attached,  that’s for sure.  Not all of them were good,  but not all of them were bad either.  She wants to think Emerald is a good surprise---  no,  she does think that,  it’s just that...  Forgiveness is supposed to include actually forgiving,  right?  Why is that so hard for her to do when Emerald stands before her deserving of it?  

[crescentreap]

@icethroned​ said:    quietly holds her hand.

one, two, three beats — that’s what it takes for ruby to register the warmth against her palm, the reassuring grasp of someone’s hand slipping into hers. silver eyes widen, and though the presence of her partner is unmistakable, she still can’t stop herself from glancing down as if to confirm with sight as well as touch that weiss is really there. 

‘oh,’ she wants to say, a soft statement of fact, at the same time she wants to ask even softer, ‘are you alright?’ or maybe it’s the right time for a wry quip, a smile with smooth edges, just enough to lighten the mood and curb the heaviness in the air. or maybe it’s not. perhaps it’s the right time to say nothing at all. 

it’s a little bit funny in an odd, distant place in the back of her mind to think about how many people look at weiss and assume that she’s cold. yet even with the snow drifting gently around them, ruby hadn’t even noticed the chill until she’d had weiss’s hand to compare it to. 

her breath mists faintly in front of her as she takes one last look at the bronze statue glimmering dimly under the light of the rising sun, the sparkle of settled flakes upon its carved tiara glinting that much brighter. they have a long journey ahead of them today whether the plan succeeds or fails, and yet she finds herself wanting to linger in this fleeting sense of ease for as long as she can. but even as she tries, she can almost hear a lilting voice telling her, ‘you guys go on ahead. i’ll be just fine here.’

the edges of her mouth lift upwards in a small, quirking smile, and she gives the statue an even smaller nod as she threads her fingers together with weiss’s and squeezes. “c’mon,” ruby says, her voice gentle and warm, nearly as warm as the thumb that runs across her partner’s knuckles in a soft swipe almost light enough to miss. “we should go catch up with the others. whenever you’re ready, weiss.”

[taskhand]

tag drop.

[metalpetals-a]

@toflame​ / could that have been real? ( acc. )

“ I’ve never seen a Grimm like that before, ”  she says,  swinging her legs quietly on the tiny cot put in the corner of Terra’s home office.  She and Weiss had already elected to share the living room together,  so the bag set next to her doesn’t belong to her,  but...  With the rest of the team scattered,  she hadn’t missed out on a chance to selfishly flutter to the shelter of her sister’s side,  no matter how else she tries to disguise it.  A debriefing?  A chat?  It doesn’t matter  ---  except possibly to her.  “ I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one with special powers...  Did...  Did Dad ever mention something like that to you? ”

[metalpetals-a]

come get some kisses | 2 out of 3 !!

@wintersrapier​ said :  spare kiss??

“ Weiss? ”

Despite the fact that she’d no less than a minute ago furiously shushshushshush’ed!!  everyone out in the hallway celebrating their victory a little too loudly,  Ruby flounders in the silence of the darkened guest room.  Her hands rise to her chest as she tilts her head,  trying to peek through the dim moonlight as her eyes adjust to try and make out any glimmer of white,  any flash of movement.  

Nothing.  A silent breath escapes her as her hands drop,  and she’s not sure whether she’s disappointed or relieved to receive no answer.

With more care than she’s possibly ever shown in all the time they’d lived together at Beacon,  Ruby shuts the door behind her slowly and quietly,  wincing at even the slightest click it makes.  Her footsteps are equally cautious against the floorboards.  But...instead of climbing into her own bed,  its siren call nearly overwhelming after the battle and the chaos of the night,  she finds herself lingering near the one beside it instead. 

She’s never really taken the time to study Weiss’s profile as she sleeps.  It’s not as if she’s ever had a reason to,  after all,  and she almost wants to say that if her partner were to open her eyes and catch her staring now,  she’d never hear the end of it.  But that’s not necessarily true,  is it?  Weiss is...different than she remembers her.  They all are,  but her best friend especially is soft sweetness where there once had been hard edges.  

Or had there been?  Ruby’s head cocks slightly in the moonlight,  her expression marred with conflict and so faraway as she watches the rise and fall of her partner’s chest,  each movement a small balm to her frayed nerves,  a small promise in itself.  It’s hard to think of Weiss,  even the prickly version of her that she’d once met,  as anything but misunderstood now.  It’s even harder to think that mere hours ago,  she’d nearly...she’d nearly lo... 

A sniffle breaks through the silence of the room,  and it’s only then that Ruby realizes she’s even been crying. 

She reaches up to wipe harshly at her face,  lacking the same gentleness she’d held earlier when rushing to Weiss’s side.  As soft as her partner is now...she probably won’t be too happy if she opens her eyes and finds her standing there crying like a total weirdo,  huh?  The thought puts a small,  miserable smile on Ruby’s mouth as she takes one last glance at her,  trying to replace the memory of her bleeding,  dying,  in pain---  with...with this instead. 

Exhaustion slows her movements as she leans down,  letting instinct guide her as she lightly and clumsily tugs at Weiss’s blanket to readjust it over her.  Like Yang always does when she’s sick  ---  the attention always more comforting to her than the actual motion.  But...  Ruby pauses there,  hovering,  her tiny breaths uneven as she still struggles to ignore the burning in her eyes. 

The seconds seem to stretch on.  And then carefully,  with a tenderness few have ever even thought her capable of,  she leans down and presses a gentle kiss to Weiss’s forehead.  “ Thanks for being okay, ”  she mumbles so quietly she almost doesn’t even hear herself.  The words are tinged with a fear she’ll never admit to Weiss when awake,  but...they’re tinged with unspeakable gratitude as well.  

She doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring,  but as long as Team RWBY can face it together...  The rising sun doesn’t seem so scary anymore. 

[metalpetals-a]

my tags kept breaking.  im sorry.  i swear THIS is the last time.

[crescentreap]

@kintsgi​ 

“can i sleep here tonight?” pillow and blanket clutched to her chest, ruby stands in the doorway with an uncertain glint in her eyes, chin lowered without her even noticing so that just for a moment she looks smaller than intended. 

and she’s doing it again. she stares at the space just slightly to the side of blake, unable to meet her eye as if she hadn’t spent months at beacon working to overcome this habit. slipping back into it is a subtle tell, but perhaps the strongest one. she hasn’t looked anyone directly in the eye since leaving the farmhouse. 

“weiss kept kicking me in her sleep all last night when we were sharing the couch, so... yang said we could switch because she’ll just kick her back.” she tries for a faint smile, if only because she knows her sister too well to think she was anything but teasing. the truth that lies unspoken as the lump in her throat is only... she doesn’t know what to say to weiss. she didn’t at the farm, and she especially doesn’t now that she’d torn open the still-healing rift between them like a new wound. she didn’t know what to say. but yang might. “but if you’re not okay with that, i can just go bunk with jaune or oscar.” 

[metalpetals-a]

@stormflowerhonor​ / accepting. 

Despite what she thinks they might expect sometimes with their sideways glances when they assume she’s not paying attention,  Ruby doesn’t wake up screaming. 

She never does.  

It’s always with a quiet,  almost inaudible rush of air escaping from lungs that have held it in for too long.  When she jerks upright in her sleeping bag,  her eyes wide and unfocused,  no noise escapes her.  Just uneven,  silent,  shallow breaths as she looks around the small forest clearing they’d camped in for the night. 

Most nights  --  every night,  almost  --  this would be the end of it.  She’d lay back down and close her eyes until morning and there wouldn’t even be so much of a trace except in the forest’s memory of any wayward movement.  But tonight,  silver eyes meet pink from across the smoldering embers of their campfire,  and Ruby freezes.

[metalpetals-a]

@stormflowerhonor​ / i’m sorry too. ( acc. )

The door opens up and Ruby straightens up,  standing from where she’d been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed as if to pretend she hadn’t been waiting.  It’s a useless gesture,  really.  Ren no doubt knows her too well to expect she’d be anywhere else.  “ How...  How are they? ”  she asks,  brow knitting together as she resists the urge to peer past him at his teammates.  The news about Salem...  She can’t blame them for not taking it well,  even as her stomach rolls with discomfort and unease for the way they’d reacted. 

[metalpetals-a]

@wintersrapier​ / please don’t watch me right now. ( acc. )

Her dreamscape is different this time,  deranged and oppressive with new shades of darkness and new sharp edges,  yet Ruby still wakes with the taste of ash in her mouth.  It’s as silent as it always is,  the way she jerks from her sleep with barely more than a strangled gasp,  fingers tangled tightly in the mess of blankets around her.  A few moments.  A few breaths.  And she slowly settles,  one hand pressed to her sweat-damp forehead and another arm crossed against her chest  ---  as if her soothing touch will work on her own trembling shoulders the same way it does for her friends’.  

She closes her eyes as she listens for the sound of footsteps,  for the halting of easy breaths,  but she can’t detect anything different about the home they’re staying in.  Good,  that’s good.  They’re all supposed to be getting some rest if tomorrow they’re going through with...  with...  Her plan or not,  her stomach churns to think of it,  of all that could go wrong,  and she rolls to her side to settle back into the blanket nest she’d made beside the couch.  She’s truly comfortable here,  exactly as she’d willfully insisted when forcing Weiss to the sofa herself,  but...  For just a single moment,  face turned towards the smoldering fireplace,  she allows herself to still wish that they were all home. 

[metalpetals-a]

@itsfarmboi​ / are you still in there? ( acc. )

“ Um,  Oscar? ”  Her voice is uncharacteristically tentative as she pokes her head around the corner into the kitchen,  one hand resting on the wooden frame.  She tries one moment for a smile,  but it falters before it can even take off.  Instead,  she just drums her fingers,  shifting uncomfortably as if the very air she takes up feels strange in the moment.  Has she felt like this since Beacon?  ( yes,  she answers herself unwillingly in the back of her mind,  every day since. )  “ I was just checking to see if you needed any help cleaning up.  The casserole was,  um...  I really liked it a lot! ”