Warning! Warning! Mushy, gushy, OOC fluff ahead! Read at own risk! I am not responsible for any heart attacks!

That being said, please enjoy the final chapter of A Rose Among Ashes and drop a review, if you please. :)

Chapter 10 – Cinder

"So, I see we have some new faces today."

Cinder none-too-subtly flinched as the blonde haired woman diverted the attention of ten other strangers in her direction. Beside her, she felt Ruby shuffle her chair closer, anchoring herself in Cinder's familiarity. The blonde woman smirked.

"Come on, you two; no need to be shy. I've told everyone else dozens of times, I want you to feel like you're among friends here," she explained, pushing her glasses further up her nose. "Now, what are your names?"

Meeting Ruby's hesitant look, Cinder willed herself to go first.

"Do we have to explain why we're here?" she asked beforehand.

The instructor, who had introduced herself previously as Glynda Goodwitch, shook her head.

"Anything you admit here I want you to do because you wish it. There are no obligations in this group. That said, many of us seemed to have come to the conclusion that putting your situation out there is very beneficial. Not only will you perhaps find someone in a situation similar to yours, but it also helps me help you. In the end, what you reveal, and therefore what lessons you take from this room, is entirely up to you."

Nodding at the intake of information, Cinder looked down at her lap. Only when she saw the small hand reach to clasp her own did she find the strength to look back up, confidence overtaking fear.

"My name is Cinder," she began. "I was diagnosed with depression almost nine years ago after my sister died in a car wreck. Life's been…pretty bad since then. I always felt like I was in a hole I couldn't climb out of, and then more often than not, I felt as if I didn't even deserve to make it from that hole. My sister wouldn't, so why should I have that pleasure?"

She fell silent for a moment to take in everyone's expressions and was surprised to see each and every one of them paying attention. Many held faces of sympathy; no doubt feeling relieved their analogies were spot on with hers. Ms Goodwitch donned another small smile, encouraging Cinder further with a subtle nod of her head.

"It was only recently that I found the will to live again. For years the only solace I could find was through cutting, but that sanctum soon faded and just became routine; automatic. Another thing I did mechanically to get through another day. Then," she squeezed Ruby's hand, shooting her a fleeting smile, "my friend prompted me to try calling a hotline. I was hell-bent against it at first, thinking it a waste of time; pointless. Nobody cared what my situation was, and even if they said they did, they didn't mean it; were only saying so to keep me in this life one more day to keep their own conscience clear.

"But, I called and…the clouds just…parted. I didn't realize this at that moment in time, but now, thinking back, that was when my life started looking up. I…met someone who did the impossible—was the impossible. They breathed life back into me, and…I learned to lean on them, learned that needing support wasn't a bad thing; it didn't make me weak. It made me strong; because now I had something worth fighting for."

A gleam in Goodwitch's eyes, she asked, "And just who is this person?"

Ruby immediately went red as Cinder looked her way, eleven other pairs of eyes following in rapid succession.

"My girlfriend, Ruby Rose."

Smiles split the faces of nearly everyone in the room in that moment, paired with a round of applause. Applause for Ruby; for being the knight in shining armor Cinder had so desperately needed. Applause for Cinder; for transcending the bounds of her depression after so long. Applause for them both; for being well on their way to the happy ending they both so rightfully deserved.

When the noise finally calmed, Goodwitch turned her attention to Ruby.

"And you, Miss Rose?" she asked. "What led you to Cinder?"

"I… I don't think I'll be able to upstage that story, just a fair warning," Ruby mumbled, a quiet rumble of laughter filling the auditorium then.

"We won't hold it against you," Goodwitch quipped teasingly.

Glancing to Cinder, the elder girl kept her grip tight, nodding for Ruby to continue.

Ruby told the tale of a young girl so attached to her mother that her death felt like it brought the end of her own life as well. The tale of a girl so blinded by the demons of her depression that not even cutting and self-harm was enough; that death had to be the only way out. She told the tale of a girl given a second chance; of a girl with a new outlook on life, now set to help steer others away from the same horrors that had nearly gripped her and pulled her down. The story of one call standing out among all others; of another girl in a situation so eerily similar to hers, she knew this was the reason death had failed to take her.

"I don't really believe in fate," Ruby spoke, "but if it is indeed what led me to Cinder, then so be it. There has to be a reason why I didn't die that night, even though I had wished for it so dearly at the time, and now I know that reason was because Cinder needed me. We needed each other."

"You're so corny, Red," Cinder couldn't help but quip, much to the group's amusement as Ruby all but huddled deeper into her sweatshirt, pulling her hand from Cinder's in favor of covering her bright pink cheeks.

Still, as the rest of the hour progressed and others spoke about their own torment, Ruby's hand slowly found its way back to Cinder's. When Goodwitch called the meeting over, Cinder was truly surprised by how much lighter her chest felt. Never would she have thought that telling her story to complete strangers would help her in any way; never would she have believed just hearing other's grief and trouble could lighten her outlook on everything. She knew Ruby had been telling her all along that she wasn't alone in this, but only now was Cinder realizing she really wasn't.

It wasn't something Ruby was saying just to make Cinder feel better about herself. It wasn't done just so Ruby could learn all of Cinder's darkest secrets.

It was done because it worked. It may have been gradual, but the relief was obvious now. For the first time since Ruby was dragged into her life, Cinder felt the darkness ebb away. Glancing back down at the girl walking blissfully beside her, the demons retreated even more, letting the light and love into her heart that had vacated the instant Neo was ripped from her.

As they came to a stop back in front of the café they had met at earlier, Cinder took both of Ruby's hands in hers. The younger girl looked up at her curiously, her eyes widening when all she was met with was Cinder's gentle smile.

"Can we make a small detour before I walk you home?" she asked.

"O-kay," Ruby answered nearly like a question. "Where did you want to go?"

"You pick," Cinder told her. "Surely you must have somewhere you retreated to after your mother like I did?"

"I-I mean… I usually just went to the pier…"

"Then that's where we're going."

Starting to pull Ruby off, the smaller girl piped up once more.

"C-Cinder?" she asked. "What is this about?"

Smirking over her shoulder, she winked.

"You'll see."

At Ruby's blush, Cinder merely chuckled and rolled her eyes, picking up the pace to their destination.

In no time, they had made it to the pier. The day was serene once again, the sunlight reflecting off the water beautifully, boats docking and passing by like something out of a movie.

"Was there any special spot in particular, or just the pier in general was enough?" Cinder asked next.

Looking somewhat shy, Ruby then took over the lead, pulling Cinder out to the very end of the longest dock. Together, hands clasped, they stood.

"Here," Ruby murmured. "I'd just stand here and look out into the sea. It seemed infinite, and sometimes I could just picture Heaven, or wherever my mother was, right over the horizon. I felt closer to her out here."

They stood in silence for a while, Cinder smiling at the scene of serenity in front of, beside, and around her. She took a minute to bask in it before turning to face Ruby. Ruby turned as well, looking up at Cinder quizzically.

"Will you tell me now why you wanted to come here?" she asked.

Her smile splitting her face, Cinder leaned down to kiss Ruby hard.

Feverishly.

Passionately.

Ruby inhaled sharply at the sudden action, but, as with their first kiss in Cinder's own safe haven days ago, quickly succumbed to the bliss. They parted only briefly for air before coming together once more, again and again; tongues intertwining and hands tangled in hair.

When the need to breathe became too much for the small reprieves thus far, Cinder rested her forehead against Ruby's, both of them panting, their stomach fluttering pleasantly and hearts beating erratically. Ruby gathered her bearings first.

"Wh-Wha… What was that f-?"

"I love you, Ruby."

Cinder swore she felt Ruby's heart stop in their close proximity, and only a gentle chuckle and kiss to stunned, open lips set it back in motion.

"Wh-W-What?"

"I. Love. You," Cinder repeated, slowly, clearly, seriously.

Ruby blinked, and the floodgates opened.

"You do?"

Cinder laughed, pulling the girl to her in a crushing hug. "How many times do you want to hear it, Red?"

Giggling, Ruby cuddled up until her head was nestled under Cinder's chin.

"I love you, too, Cinder."

Squeezing her eyes shut to keep her own tears at bay, Cinder pressed yet another kiss into silky locks of hair.

"Thank you so much for saving me," she whispered brokenly. "I don't think I'll ever be able to adequately express how grateful I am to have you in my life."

"You saved me too, Cinder," Ruby replied equally as quiet. "I meant it when I said I believe I didn't die that night because there was something else planned for me. Maybe… Maybe my mom and Neo knew we needed each other."

"I'd believe anything as long as it keeps you in my life, Ruby."

Laughing wetly, Ruby pulled away only long enough to kiss Cinder before burrowing back into her spot under her chin.

"You really did save my life, you know," Cinder muttered. "I… Up until the day I took you to the archery range…I kept a gun in my bedside table. Mercury had no idea; I had bought it off some guy in the street years ago. It taunted me for years, begging me to pull the trigger and just end it all. But…now it's rusting at the bottom the sea; chucked into this very same pier."

Ruby's grip around her tightened, a quiet cry breaking from a strangled throat.

No more words were said. No more kisses were exchanged. Nothing else needed to transpire in that instance. They knew the miracle that was the two of them alive in this minute, interlocked in a loving embrace, foreshadowing many more to come down the line. They knew the trials they had surpassed to get to this moment; of the monsters conquered, scars obtained, and victories won.

They knew the darkness still hadn't been vanquished completely; it still loomed overhead. Yet, in each other's arms, it didn't seem nearly as threatening; the trials not nearly as daunting.

And in that moment, in the ashes of their past, despite the adverse conditions, a rose sprouted and bloomed.

The End