61

Chapter 61: Reunions

Disbelief! Confusion! Bafflement!

Weiss and Blake jolted in their seats as Ruby and Yang's emotions suddenly erupted, their eyes flying open. The sudden movement awoke Zwei from his nap in Weiss's lap, the corgi looking between the two girls in confusion. They both winced, Weiss putting a hand to her head.

"Aw!" Weiss groaned, rubbing her temple. "What was that? The Link's never hurt before!"

Blake's cat ears pinned back as she grimaced. "I'm not sure. I read that people can feel strained when one partner suddenly feels something strongly, but I didn't think that meant a headache."

Weiss's brow furrowed as she thought. "Maybe… it's because they're both feeling the same thing?" Her face then pinched in worry as she considered what she was saying. "Should we be worried?"

Blake frowned. "I'm… not sure. They were almost happy there for a minute. Now they're really confused, but they don't seem angry-"

ANGRY!

"...Nevermind." Blake's shoulders slumped as Yang's sudden rage washed over her.

Weiss sighed, glancing around the room. Taiyang and Qrow were still gone, the two having offered to go get lunch for everybody from the cafeteria while they waited for Raven and her daughters to return.

Weiss hung her head, taking in a slow breath as another headache started forming.

Daughters. Plural. As in, both Yang and Ruby. Because their two birth mothers were in a relationship with each other.

For what felt like the hundredth time in the last two weeks, Weiss wondered what the hell she'd gotten herself into. She didn't regret anything- she'd felt far too much happiness and care to even consider that she'd made a mistake-, but there was no denying that her life had become bizarre in a very short amount of time.

She had three girlfriends, who she could feel the emotions of from miles away. She now had four Semblances, all of which were incredibly powerful. She was not the perfect team leader she thought she'd be, instead being the faithful second to a girl two years her junior, who happened to be one of said girlfriends.

And her apparent extended family now consisted of the rulers of the Faunus homeland, a prestigious, drunken Hunter, a Signal teacher who could demolish buildings with a single punch, and a former bandit (possibly current, given that she said she'd gone back to Mistral) who was the blood mother of two of her girlfriends but had only given birth to one. Not to mention her plethora of oddball friends, who ran the gamut from calm warriors to hyperactive Faunus, to a freaking android.

She briefly thought back to when life was simple, when she was just the heiress to a company and the only people that mattered were her sister, her brother, her mother, and... her father…

Weiss shuddered slightly. I'll take the weirdness, she thought firmly to herself. I'll take it gladly for the rest of my life rather than go back to... that.

"Weiss? What's wrong?"

Weiss jumped, startled by Blake's sudden question. She met her girlfriend's worried stare. She tried to give her a small smile. "It's nothing, Blake."

Blake frowned. "Weiss, you don't have to lie to me. You Felt scared there for a second."

Weiss felt her eye twitch slightly. Right… the Link… She held in an annoyed sigh. As used to the Link as she was becoming, there were still moments where she forgot about the new lack of boundaries. It didn't usually bother her that much, much less than she had thought it would, but there were still moments where she felt that privacy was forever lost to her. And seeing how she'd spent most of her life bottling everything up, suddenly having her every feeling advertised to three people at every single moment…

It was an adjustment, to say the least.

Still, seeing the worry and care on Blake's face, along with being able to Feel herself that the cat Faunus had nothing but a genuine desire to help, did wonders for balancing her conflicting feelings.

Weiss contemplated keeping quiet for a few moments, before deciding to just come clean. "It's just… dealing with Ruby and Yang's family… and now that you're talking to yours again… it just got me thinking about… mine…"

In an instant, Blake's face pinched in understanding. "Are you okay?"

Again, Weiss had to fight her first instinct of hiding her thoughts, quietly admitting, "I'm… scared."

"About your father?" Blake guessed.

Weiss nodded slightly, taking a deep breath. "...I can't stop thinking about what he's going to do when he finds out about… us."

Blake grimaced at the thought. "You said before that you thought he'd disown you. Do you really think that will happen?"

Weiss let out a bitter scoff. "There's no question. I'm not going to let him control me anymore, and anything he can't control, he... removes."

Blake tried to ignore the implication that Weiss likely did not intend (at least, Blake prayed to whatever deity would listen that she didn't). Swallowing down both her fear and her nerves, Blake offered her a smile. "Well… if that does happen, I suppose… you could move in with me."

Weiss's head jerked back in shock, her eyes going wide as she faintly asked, "What?"

Blake's cheeks pinked slightly, her cat ears flicking nervously. "I-I mean, if you need somewhere to stay that's not, you know… Atlas… it's just, after talking with my parents, I was thinking about going back to Menagerie when I'm not here at Beacon. And, if worse comes to worst… we have the room…" She trailed off uncertainly, her ears slowly pinning back.

Weiss could only stare dumbly at her, her heartbeat quickening curiously. "I… I'll keep that in mind, Blake." Her lips curled into an awkward, gentle smile.

Blake nodded slightly, trying to force the heat out of her face. She winced as she felt an odd tug in her chest, but she shook it off. "Sorry," she apologized sheepishly with an equally awkward grin. "I know how much this is bothering you, and I just wish I had a way to help."

Weiss blinked in surprise. She averted her eyes, her face reddening as her smile widened. "You… all three of you… you're already helping me."

Blake smiled, but she couldn't stop her shoulders from tensing. "I sense a 'but' coming."

Weiss grimaced then let out a sigh. "Honestly, Blake, I'd like nothing more than to follow you to Menagerie and leave this whole mess with my family behind me. But… I can't do that." She met Blake's eyes, pleading for her to understand. "With us being Mated, I'm already going to be on thin ice with my father, assuming he doesn't just disown me on the spot. I have to be able to stick with it until I can take over the company. If I can't, then my little brother will take over." Weiss huffed, sounding both sad and annoyed. "Remember how I was when I first came to Beacon? Well, Whitley's actually worse. He takes our father's word as gospel. Every twisted value our father taught us, Whitley's taken to heart. If he becomes CEO…"

"Nothing will change," Blake couldn't help but grimace, having to wet her dry throat first. Her ears were pinned back in worry, her amber pupils shrinking.

Weiss nodded, letting out a humorless laugh. "Quite the conundrum, isn't it?"

Blake frowned at her dejected tone. She almost sounded like she'd already given up, and that put a sharp twinge in Blake's heart. Her chest trembled slightly, a low purr threatening to form as her instincts told her to comfort her Mate.

Smiling softly, she put her arm around Weiss's shoulders. "Hey," she said gently, both the words and the motion startling the heiress. "We'll figure it out together"

Weiss blinked at her in surprise, then slowly lifted her hand to her shoulder, covering Blake's. Her lips curved into a tender smile.

Blake's smile grew even more, her cat ears slowly tilting back. She started leaning forward, fully intending to give Weiss a long slow kiss. Her cheeks tinting, Weiss went to meet her halfway-

Bang!

Blake and Weiss jumped apart in fright as a red blur blasted past them, petal-filled wind arriving seconds later. There was a slow creaking sound coming from the doorway, quickly followed by another loud bang as the door, its hinges completely broken, fell to the floor.

Blinking rapidly, Weiss turned in the direction that the rose petals were floating. "Ruby!" She shouted, more in surprise than reprimand.

Ruby didn't seem to hear her as she nearly ripped open the cardboard box that had been left on the coffee table. She was mumbling to herself as she did.

"There is no way, no freaking way!"

She reached into the box and grabbed the first thing sitting at the top, an old photo album. Her brow pinched stubbornly together, she opened it to the middle of the book. Her face went slack almost instantly, her eyes widening.

Feeling her sudden Shock, Blake and Weiss shared a look. They got up off the loveseat and moved to Ruby's side, Weiss holding Zwei against her chest. "Ruby?" Blake asked softly.

Ruby didn't respond. Before either girl could see what she was looking at, both froze as the air in the room seemed to change. The scent of ozone filled the room, and Weiss let out a small yelp as red storm clouds covered the far wall. Blake was halfway into a fighting stance when Yang stumbled out of the clouds, much to their shock.

"Uh…" Yang groaned, putting a hand to her head as she bent over. "That felt... different."

A light chuckle came from the clouds as Raven stepped after her. "It's a little disconcerting the first few times," she said with a smirk, waving her arms behind her as the clouds disappeared with a snap. "At least you didn't throw up like Tai did the first time."

Yang grunted. "Don't give me any ideas," she muttered back.

Raven laughed lightly, before turning her attention to the rest of the room. She gave a glance to Blake and Weiss, the two only able to blink back, wide-eyed and stunned as they tried to process what just happened. She looked past them, her features softening when she saw Ruby staring down at the album. With a sigh, she walked up right next to her youngest. "Ruby."

Ruby jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, looking up from the pages. She stared up at Raven, looking at a loss for words. She offered no resistance as Raven gently took the album from her, turning it so she could see herself. Craning her neck slightly, Weiss was just able to see the pages within. She felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of one photo taking up an entire page itself.

In the photo, a small blond baby sat in the lap of a young woman, her smiling face messily splattered with cake, a tiny party hat perched crookedly atop her head. The woman herself had brown hair with red highlights, her silver eyes full of light and laughter. From the angle she was sitting, a noticeable bump could be seen around her midsection, barely hidden by her baggy white T-shirt.

Raven smiled softly at the photo. She heard a sharp intake of breath as Yang came up beside her, wide lavender eyes locked onto the picture. Raven tilted the album, allowing her to get a clear look at it. After a moment of silent staring, Yang lifted her head to meet Raven's eyes, her own slightly misty.

Raven let out of small breath through her nose, carefully closing the album as she met each of her daughters' eyes. "You both already have a lot to process today," she stated, not unkindly. "Maybe you two should give yourselves a little time for this all to sink in before digging through more of the past?"

Ruby swallowed slightly at the faint chiding tone in Raven's voice. She grimaced. "Sorry," She muttered quietly. "I just wanted to see if…"

Raven's smile became more of a smirk as Ruby trailed off. "Oh, believe me, I get it. It's probably one heck of an adjustment."

At that, Ruby's face set in the closest thing to a scowl she had. "But… that just can't be true! There's no way we're related to that… that… meanie!"

Raven couldn't stop a small snort as she took in the defiant pout on Ruby's face. "I'm afraid so," she said, her voice not holding the slightest bit of remorse.

Ruby's pitiful scowl deepened as she crossed her arms defiantly.

Weiss, still thoroughly confused by both the apparent family discussion and just what the heck Yang and Raven had come out of, looked between the three, before focusing on the only one of them who had remained silent. "Yang, what's going on?"

Blake took her place at Weiss's side, wanting an answer just as much as the heiress. Her chest twinged again as she watched Yang carefully, concerned by the odd mix of Joy, Uncertainty, Longing coming off of the blonde.

Yang blinked a few times, finally taking her eyes off the closed album. She turned to Weiss, grimacing as Raven's words registered with her. "Well, assuming my… our mother is telling the truth-"

"And I am," Raven said, still smirking.

Yang shot her a quick glare. "Then apparently-"

"Don't say it!" Ruby burst out, pointing an accusing finger at Yang.

Yang groaned in response, keeping her focus on Weiss and Blake. "Raven told us that… geez, I cannot believe I'm saying this." She bowed her head, letting out a large breath. With great reluctance, she looked back up at her girlfriends, forcing the words out. "Apparently, somehow… Roman Torchwick is our uncle."

…

"What."

The word passed both Weiss and Blake's lips at the exact same moment, without either of them meaning to. They stared bug-eyed at Yang, as if the blonde had just stated she was going to shave her head.

Yang groaned again, hanging her head. "Yeah, that's what we said too. Just, y'know… louder."

"But… he just can't be!" Ruby whined, stomping her foot like a child. "If he was really our… family… why would he try to hurt us?"

Raven let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a growl. "You want the full details, you're going to have to ask him yourself. Most I got out of him was that he thought someone was tricking him, and he wanted to make sure you both were really you."

Yang's mouth fell open, scoffing in disbelief. "He tried to kill us!"

Raven crossed her arms, letting out a snort. "No, knowing the idiot's twisted logic, he was probably just aiming to maim or seriously injure."

"Just!?" All four girls screeched. "How is that better!?" Ruby demanded.

"... I did say he was an idiot," Raven replied with a shrug. When all she received were baffled glares, she rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm not going to make any excuses for him. If you want answers, I'll set things up so you can meet him properly. Hopefully without more broken bones and blood loss this time."

Blake, finally pushing past her haze of confusion, gave Raven a wary look. "No disrespect intended, ma'am, but… assuming this is the truth, how are you going to do that? Torchwick is one of the most wanted criminals in Vale, especially after last week. I doubt he'll just... come quietly."

Raven snorted. "He will if I tell him to. And even if he won't…". She held up a hand, puffs of red storm cloud forming above her palm. She smirked viciously. "I'm not going to give him a choice."

Ruby's pseudo-scowl deepened as she crossed her arms. "I'm not believing this until I talk to 'Uncle' Roman myself."

Raven nodded with a slight smirk. "Fair. I'll see about getting him here as soon as possible."

Ruby turned her nose up at Raven's words, perfectly imitating Weiss as she clearly did not believe a word of what Raven was saying. Her Mates and sister would have found it cute, had they not still been dumbfounded by this possible revelation.

It was at that moment that Qrow and Taiyang decided to return, their arms loaded down with carry-out boxes. "Sorry for the wait, girls," Taiyang said as he shuffled through the doorway. "Blake, you said you wanted tuna fish, ri-?-"

In an instant, Ruby flashed in front of Taiyang, making him fumble with the boxes as she pointed her finger in front of his face. "Did you two know Roman Torchwick was our uncle!?" she demanded with a commanding pout.

Taiyang froze at her sudden shout. Qrow blinked at her in stunned silence, before letting out a groan as he slapped a hand over his face. He fixed Raven with an annoyed glare. "Rae… why?"

"I said I was going to tell them everything," Raven said with a shrug, not looking apologetic in the slightest.

Qrow grumbled under his breath, before turning back to try and help Tai explain what they could to the incensed teenager, all while Yang listened to them with a dubious expression.

Weiss sat down heavily on the nearest couch, shaking her head as she buried her face in her hands. "Insanity," she muttered to herself mournfully, though she sounded more exasperated than anything. "I've dedicated my life to complete insanity."

Blake couldn't blame her, frowning deeply at the possibility of Roman Torchwick being related to Yang and Ruby. She deeply hoped it wasn't true, given all the recent history between her and him, not the least of which being his involvement with Adam's Fang and him trying to murder her with a multi-ton Warmech (like Ruby, she wasn't going to take the Paladin fight at anything less than face value until soundly proven otherwise). Because if he really was family with Yang and Ruby, then that would make him her family too. Even beyond her own personal feelings on that, just what it meant for the future. How is she going to explain it to-?

Thump.

Blake jolted, her hand flying up to her chest as she felt… something. She blinked in confusion, looking down at her hand. What was-?

Th-Thump.

Blake audibly gasped as her chest seemed to shudder. For a moment, she thought her heart had given an unnaturally hard beat, but that quickly proved false. She could still feel her heart beating normally (well, slightly faster now), but she now felt something... else.

"Blake?" Weiss asked, concerned. Blake looked up to find all eyes had turned to her. Even Ruby had broken out of her frustrated annoyance to look at her worryingly. "Something wrong, Blake?" the little leader asked.

Blake worked her mouth a few times, trying to think of what to say, how to explain the odd feeling in her chest. "I...I don't-"

Th-Thump.

A chill ran down Blake's spine, her cat ears shooting straight up. The feeling… it was like her entire chest was pulsing, independent of her heartbeat. And… she had to be mistaken, because… it almost felt like the feeling was coming from somewhere else. Almost… pulling her.

Slowly, Blake turned her head in the direction of the feeling, barely registering Weiss, Ruby, and Yang as they carefully approached her, asking her what was wrong. All she saw was the blank wall of the lounge, but… she thought… no, she Felt, that there was something just beyond it. And it Felt… familiar.

Like a bolt of lightning, she realized.

It feels… I feel the same way I did last week. When I talked to-

Th-Thump.

For a moment, Blake's heart stopped, her amber eyes going wide.

"Blake, what- hey, wait a second!"

Her feet were moving without her realizing it as she walked through the doorway, deaf to the startled questions of her Mates behind her. She passed through the halls, her baffled teammates following behind, still calling out questions. She could just barely hear them talking to each other, Yang and Ruby even asking the STRQ members if they knew what was going on. She paid them no mind, her pace quickening as the feeling grew stronger with every step.

Th-Thump.

She passed through doorways, quickly reaching the exit to the building. Other students gave her odd looks as she pushed past them without a word.

Th-Thump.

Without her even noticing, her walk became a run as she shot through the courtyard, dodging and weaving through the mass of bodies. She saw flashes in the corner of her eyes, spots of color that called her name as she pushed past them. She vaguely recognized the startled voices of Coco, Velvet, Sun, even Jaune and Pyrrha, but she didn't acknowledge any of them. Her only focus was on the Feeling, growing stronger as she went.

Th-Thump.

She raced up the main path out of Beacon, towards the airfield. She started to feel the now-familiar tingling in her neck, slowly trailing down into her chest, ready at any moment to blast her forward. She rushed through the airfield gates, her heart beating painfully in her chest as she-

Th-THUMP.

Blake came to a screeching halt. Her eyes widened, her pupils shrinking, as in that moment, she forgot to breathe.

Just a little ways away, a Bullhead idled in the grass as its crew checked over the engines. Next to it, surprisingly, stood professors Goodwitch and Ozpin, the former tapping away at her scroll as the latter smiled politely as he spoke, leaning on his cane.

Blake took no notice of them, nor the hurried footsteps sounding behind her as her Mates approached. The rest of the world seemed to fall away as her eyes were solely on the other two people speaking with the professors.

Th-THUMP.

A towering black-haired man in purple furs, gesturing with one hand as he spoke to the professor.

Th-THUMP.

A dark-haired woman dressed in black satin, clutching a hand to her chest as her gold-studded cat ears twitched in the noon air.

Th-THUMP.

"M...Mo…" Blake's breath grew choppy as she desperately tried to make her mouth form words. Tears fell as she took a shuddering breath, shouting as loud as she could. "Mom! DAD!"

Blake launched forward, feeling her chest explode in more ways than one.

Ghira and Kali's heads snapped up in an instant. They had a single second to turn their shocked looks towards the sudden shout, before something slammed into their chests, knocking them on their rears.

The Faunus rulers blinked in confusion, both at suddenly finding themselves on the ground and at the black rose petals drifting in the air around them. Then they registered the thin arms wrapped around Ghira's neck and Kali's middle, clinging to them for dear life. They looked down to find a head of long black hair and pinned-back cat ears burying itself into Ghira's chest.

"Blake?" Kali asked in surprise and desperation, her golden eyes blowing wide.

Blake's head snapped up, her tear-filled gaze locking with her mother's. "M-Mom…" she choked out, trying to pull her mother closer.

Ghira's stunned look broke into a blinding smile. "Blake!" he bellowed, wrapping his massive arms around his daughter and wife in a back-breaking bearhug. Kali let out a disbelieving laugh as she and Blake were squeezed together, putting a gentle hand around the back of Blake's head.

Blake lost herself in her parent's arms, giving breathless laughs as she held them close. She pulled away just enough to see both of their faces, confusion warring with her absolute joy. "B-But… I, how… how are you both…?"

"Relax, sweetheart," Kali soothed, even as her own tears started to form. She smiled gently. "I told you you weren't alone in this."

Blake sucked in a ragged breath, something clicking in her mind. "You… you mean…?"

Ghira let out a soft chuckle, briefly rubbing Blake's forehead with his own. "We're here, kitten," he assured, a sharp look in his eye as he smiled warmly. "We're going to help you set things right."

Blake breathed hard, her whole body shuddering. She had so much she wanted to say, but speech seemed to have completely abandoned her. She settled for just burying her head in the crook of her mother's neck, crying and laughing at the same time.

Off to the side, forgotten by the three Faunus, Professor Ozpin watched the long-separated family reunite with a wide smile, his old eyes sparkling. Even Goodwitch couldn't help a small smile of her own at the sight.

Ozpin's eyes slowly turned away from the family, towards the other group of onlookers who had gathered. The other three members of Team RWBY stared at the Belladonna family, clearly stunned, but each had a gentle smile on their lips as they watch their other fourth happier than they'd ever seen her. Well, Weiss and Yang had gentle smiles. Ruby's was so beaming that she threatened to blind anyone looking her way as she bounced from foot to foot excitedly, Zwei panting happily at her feet.

Ozpin's focus, however, was on Raven Branwen, who stood slightly behind and in-between Yang and Ruby, her smile as she watched the three Faunus more bemused than anything, with Qrow and Taiyang chuckling just behind her.

"Well," he said quietly to Glynda. "It would appear today is a day for reunions."

Almost as if she heard him, Raven's eyes suddenly drifted towards Ozpin. Red eyes narrowed dangerously, and it was quickly clear the only thing keeping her from marching over were the two girls between her and him.

Glynda raised a brow at that. "Of all kinds, it would seem," she replied, her tone dangerously close to amused.

Ozpin gave a subtle sigh, his shoulders lowering. "Indeed."

Betaed by Covert Weapon

Old A/n: And the RWBY Clan grows a little bit bigger. Get ready to meet your new family, Weiss!

Next chapter will be a quick one as we check back in with Roman and the Taurus situation. Expect it relatively soon.