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After weeks spent on the island, and a few more weeks spent helping the thousands of atlas and mantle refugees settle into vacuo, Team RWBY was finally getting back into the swing of things....
Sort of.
Going on missions right after everything wasn't something they were very excited to do, but with the heightened tensions and emotions, grimm were inevitable.
So, after only a few days' rest from the nonstop chaos that was--still is--the aftermath of the fall of atlas, they were sent off.
So, here they were, they’d just finished taking down a small pack of ravagers and were now setting up a small camp in the middle of the desert. Yay.
Luckily theyd all managed to get out of it with minimal injuries, although yang could feel the familiar ache of a cracked rib.
Nothing her Aura wouldn’t fix.
Weiss and Blake had gone to find more fire wood while yang and ruby stayed behind to start a fire with what they’d had around them.
Ruby was currently sitting on a rock in front of the fire, staring at it deep in thought. Yang made her way over to her sister, quietly wincing when her side twinged.
“Are you ok?” Yang asked softly, and ruby seemed to tense and that thoughtful look turned into a glare.
“Am I ok?” Ruby was looking at yang now, a million emotions dancing in her silver eyes. “What about you?”
“What about me? Ruby i-“
“Don’t.”
Ruby looked away again, her dark bangs covered her eyes. “Don’t say you’re fine when you’re not fine. I know you’re not fine,” Ruby pauses and sighs.
“Why do you keep doing this?”
Yang looks down at her boots confused, then looks back at ruby.
“Ruby i don’t know what you’re-“
“Yes you do!” Ruby shoots up to stand in front yang, the fire flickers behind her and yang fears her cape might catch it. “You keep putting yourself in harms’ way for everyone else and getting hurt and brushing it off like you’re fine but you’re not!” Theres tears streaming down her face but Yang can’t get herself to move.
“Ruby-,”
“What if you die yang?” She says it so softly it’s heartbreaking and yang can feel the tears in her eyes.
“What if someday you try to brush off soemthing that’s too big or- or you take a hit and you can’t just dish it back out and you die? What then?!”
Yang breathes in a shaky sigh. “If it keeps you all safe it’s worth it, you are all so strong, you’d bounce right back even if im not-“
“No we wouldn’t!” She sounds tired “We need you Yang! You’re not just the muscles-,” Ruby sniffs, “You’re my sister! And Blake’s partner! and Weiss’s best friend! Yang you’re the fucking heart of this team!!”
Yang finally brings herself to stand just in time for ruby to collapse into her arms, holding her tight while sobs wrack ruby’s smaller body and tears well over in her own.
Blake and Weiss come rushing towards them, they’ve both got tears in there eyes.
Yang can’t tell if it’s her shaking or Ruby.
Blake wraps herself around yang with an arm around ruby, Weiss holds ruby from behind.
“Yang,” Blake whispers in her ear, “she’s right, yknow. You’re our heart.” Yang buries her face farther into ruby’s hair and Blake keeps going. “We’re not asking you to stop caring about us, we just,” Yang’s barely holding back sobs at this point, Ruby holds her closer and Blake runs a hand up and down her back. “Just, please, take care of yourself too.”
And Yang finally lets herself break, held in the arms of her team, her friends, her family.