Ch 54: Red Like Roses (1)

"Hey, Ruby. Did you finish your homework?" Ray asked as he poked his head into Team RWBY's room early one evening after class.

"Uh, yeah. Why? Did you need something, Ray?" Ruby turned to ask, with a hint of hopeful expectations in her eyes, from where she was sitting on the floor playing a video game with Yang. Weiss, who was studying at her desk, and Blake, who was reading a book on her bed, also looked over. In the month since they had been at Beacon, this was the first time Ray had come over to ask any of them out individually, and they were curious over why he was now. Except Yang.

"KO. Soaring Ninja Wins. Total Annihilation." Yang had taken the opportunity when Ruby had been distracted by Ray to win their game.

"Ah, Yang!" Ruby complained.

"Sorry, Sis, but that's what happens when you don't pay attention." Yang teased as Ruby scowled at her.

"So, you ready to go, Ruby?" Ray asked, leaning against the doorframe and smiling at his sisters.

"Ummm, is that ok? Don't you have, like, a ton of stuff to do as a teaching assistant?" Ruby asked to confirm, fidgeting in hopeful expectations.

Ray smiled lovingly at his adorkable twin sister, "Of course. I always have time for you, Ruby."

"Yay!!" Ruby vanished from where she was sitting on the floor next to Yang in a shower of rose petals, "Thank you, Ray!!" and reappeared, hanging on to Ray, giving her brother a full-body hug, before vanishing in another shower of rose petals to zip down the hallway.

"We will be back late. Don't wait up for us." Ray said to the girls before racing after his sister in a streak of lightning.

"What was that all about?" Weiss asked as she and Blake turned to look at the one person left in the room who might know the answer.

"It's the end of the month." Yang answered simply and then decided to elaborate when she saw they still didn't understand. "Ruby's favorite weapon magazine comes out on the first of every month, but the 'From Dust to Dawn' Dust shop gets an advanced copy the night before at 8 pm. Ruby has been taking Ray to go read it with her ever since Dad started letting them go into the city alone."

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"Hehehe." Ruby was giggling to herself as she walked down the streets of Vale holding Ray's hand.

Ray smiled over at her as she enthusiastically swung their connected hands as they walked and decided to tease her a bit about her having the nerve to doubt him, "I'm glad to see you are so happy. I had started to worry if you were going to break our traditional night out together when you didn't come barging into my room to ask if I was ready to go like usual."

"Well, I mean, I wasn't sure you would want to come with me. I mean, I know you have been really busy ever since we came to Beacon with your own training, missions from Ozpin, and your teacher and student duties. And I know I can be rather obsessive when I'm doing anything that has to do with weapons, and it must be really boring to always accompany me like this. I'm sure it's a bother-"

"Ruby!" Ray stopped her rambling with a finger on her soft pink lips as he stopped them to face her in the middle of the sidewalk.

"I will always have time for you, Ruby. And it is never boring or a bother to spend time with you. It is spending time with and sharing in your happiness that I enjoy the most. Never forget that I love you. That means being with you will always be time well spent to me, simply because we are together." Ray told her with a soft smile on his lips but a hard, serious light in his eyes as he gazed into her silver eyes that reflected the graceful, soft light of the moon in the night sky. Ruby stared back into his eyes that seemed to contain the majesty of the moon behind him for a moment before moving forward to bury her head in his chest and hug him tight.

"I love you too." She whispered back as his arms came around to envelop her in a hug in return. The twins stood like that for a moment, enjoying each other's warmth in the slight chill of the spring evening air. Then, with a kiss on top of Ruby's hair from Ray, they continued their walk even closer than before with Ruby's head resting on Ray's shoulder, her eyes closed as she let Ray lead her by his arm around her waist, holding her close to him as she similarly held him as well.

They walked like that for a while in silence, basking in each other's presence and warmth when Ray's steps suddenly slowed. Ruby, thinking they had arrived at the Dust shop, opened her eyes, but didn't see their destination. Curious, she peeked up at her twin brother's face to see him looking at a bookstore with a mysterious knowing smile on his face.

"There's that smile again." Ruby murmured to herself, but Ray heard her.

"Hmm?" Ray turned his head to look down at her.

"That smile. That mysterious knowing smile like you know a secret no one else knows and can't wait to tell someone but are holding it in because that would ruin the surprise." Ruby explained, hoping that this time he would tell her. Ray glanced over his shoulder at the 'Tukson's Book Trade' sign with a contemplative look before turning to face forward again, still silently thinking. Seeing that he was thinking about it instead of just laughing her off again, Ruby decided to press the matter.

"You had it when Blake mentioned life not being a fairy tale. You had it when we got our first look at Beacon before we arrived. You had it when you convinced Dad to take us to that Schnee charity concert during the last Vytal Festival and after it. You had it the first time we visited the city of Mantel for the 39th Vytal Festival. You had it just before our teacher announced the new three-month-long exchange program we would have with three other combat schools in the other Kingdoms for the next semester two years ago. You had it when reports of that masked Huntsman, Wraith, started circulating around Vale. You had it while looking out the window of our airship when we were passing over the forest outside Mistral when we went for the 38th Vytal Festival. It seemed more dangerous than mysterious then to be honest though. You had it when you came back from that first night Dad let you go to Vale on your own five years ago. You seemed especially excited that time. You had it when we left Vacuo after the 37th Vytal Festival, though that smile was a lot softer and had a touch of relief to it. You had it after Dad scolded you for sneaking into the forest to train before the 35th Vytal Festival. You said you were thinking about the Faunus you had saved and were sad that you wouldn't be able to meet up with them again, but I could tell there was more to it. And you had it when Yang first started asking about her mother. You also seemed really angry about it then."

"You remember that far back!? We couldn't have even been three years old back then!" Her last comment snapped Ray out of his contemplation, and he looked down at her in awe and shock at what his twin chose to remember. Ray turned to look up at the shattered moon above them and think for a moment longer before he started to speak slowly.

"About the Faunus, I saved eight years ago. I felt a connection of sorts to one of the kids who was traveling with them. I believed from the moment I laid eyes on her that we would meet again one day and be great friends, and I was right."

"Really, have I met her? Is it Velvet?"

"No, it isn't Velvet. She is hiding the fact that she is a Faunus currently and I'm not going to reveal her secret. It isn't mine to tell."

"Blake?"

Ray glanced down at Ruby's question and pinched her tight waist to say he wasn't going to answer.

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked in his arms and jumped, but not before she caught a glance at his face. She knew her twin well enough that she could tell even from the brief glimpse she had gotten of his wry expression that gave nothing away that she had gotten it right. [Well, if Blake doesn't want to tell us then I won't force her. Not like it makes any difference after all. But I wonder why she wants to hide it.] Ruby thought to herself as she pinched Ray back while settling back into his embrace.

"As for the Schnee concert. You should be able to figure that out for yourself."

"Huh?" Ruby looked at him blankly

"Who was it that sang at the event?"

Ruby thought about it for a moment, "AHHHH!" then it suddenly hit her, "Weiss!".

"Yep*" Ray nodded his head and smiled down at her.

"Did you already have a crush on her back then?" Ruby asked Ray accusingly, glaring cutely up at him.

"Ha ha ha. Not exactly. I guess you could say I've got something like a sixth sense for sniffing out people and places that are going to be important for our future."

"So that's what those smiles mean?"

"Yep*. I get one every time my spidey-senses tingles."

Ray's smile turned teasing, "Though I will admit I am always looking to find the best sisters for you."

"Weiss as my sister-in-law?" Ruby thought about it and couldn't help frowning and shaking her head. She jabbed his side with her elbow and tried to pull away, not sure why she was so against the idea, but certain that she didn't like it. However, Ray just held her tighter and didn't let her go.

"You think I'll let you get away that easily?" Ray stopped them again and, without separating from Ruby, turned to face her. Ruby struggled in his arms for a moment before Ray grabbed her chin and lifted it so that they were gazing into each other's eyes once again beneath the moon that reflected its beautiful silver light in both their eyes. Ruby stopped her struggle to escape as she drowned in his eyes and he in her's.

"I said 'sister', not 'sister-in-law'." Ray whispered to her softly.

The two stood there for a while, communicating silently as only twins could. Ruby reached up and moved one of Ray's dangling side bangs to tuck it behind his ear so that she could more easily see his face. Before she could retract it, Ray released her chin, reached up, and caught the fleeing hand. He held her hand in a tight grip, refusing to let her go.

They just looked at each other, their gazes interlocked, for a moment longer till Ruby broke it with a blush on her cheeks and turned to start them walking again. Their arms returned to resting around each other's waists, Ruby's head on Ray's shoulder, and the fingers of their right hands intertwined as they rested on Ruby's right hip.