Worth the Wait

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

"I'm so glad my little sister is going to high school with me. This is best day ever!" Yang's crushing bear hug squeezed the air out of Ruby's lungs.

"Please stop," was all she could mutter.

"But I'm so proud of you," Yang replied as she let go. "Do you have any idea how you have to be to get bumped ahead two years? My little sister is a genius!"

"Please, don't call me that. I don't want people around here thinking I'm special or anything." Ruby never thought of herself as anything special. Just an average girl. It reflected in the way she looked. From her short black hair and bangs that pretty much covered her silver eyes to the fact that she always wore the same red hoodie and black jeans, she looked quite unnoticeable. Unlike her sister, whose long mane of curly blonde hair, large lilac eyes, tight yellow shirt and brown shorts that showed off her curves just seemed to scream "look as much as you want!".

The elder girl lay a comforting arm around her sister's shoulder. "You are special, Ruby. One day you'll realize that."

"I don't know."

"C'mon, Ruby," Yang said as she pulled down Ruby's hood over her head. "How are you ever going to make friends with an attitude like that?"

"But, why would I need friends if I have you?" Ruby asked as she pulled up her hood.

"Well, actually I got some friends of my own I gotta meet so I'm gonna leave you now. Bye!" With that, she ran off, leaving a very distraught Ruby behind.

"Of course," Ruby sighed and started walking. Only to immediately bump into something and fall to the ground with a grunt.

"Excuse me!" Ruby looked up to see a girl with long white hair tied into a sideways ponytail, wearing a white dress shirt and a blue skirt. Her blue eyes seemed to be shooting lightning bolts at Ruby. "Do you even watch where you're going?"

In her shock, Ruby could only bring out a jumbled mess of noises. Unfortunately, because this only served to further agitate the other girl.

"What?! You can't speak?! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending high school? And judging from your lack of articulation, I can hardly see you being the proper intellectual level either. Do you even how to read?"

Now, Ruby was not a girl to enjoy conflict. She preferred to stay out of the way of hostile people and, failing that, would rather not provoke them further by arguing with them. However, something Ruby did enjoy was literature. Her favourite were fairytales. She had a large collection of them, ranging from the dark originals to the child-friendly newer versions. She also enjoyed a large variety of novels and took pride in her sizeable literature collection. So when someone accuses her of illiteracy, they're crossing a line most people wouldn't suspect Ruby had.

"Oh, of course," Ruby as she got up. "Because I wasn't paying attention for a few seconds, I, of course, have to be some bumbling moron. Well guess what, I do know how to read and I enjoy it quite a bit! As for my age, I happen to have been elevated by two years! So I am not gonna just stand there and listen to the tirades of some stuck up princess!"

"It's heiress, actually." This new voice immediately cooled Ruby's temper, the soothing tone causing a rising feeling in her chest. She turned to see another girl approaching. She had long, flowing black hair that seemed to shine in the sun, a black atop her head. She wore a black dress shirt and matching pants and her eyes were a beautiful amber. Ruby could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she stared into those golden orbs.

"Weiss Schnee," Ruby's attention was immediately drawn away from the mesmerizing eyes. "Heiress to Schnee Industries, one of the largest corporations in the world. Once known to have utilized harsh faunus labor, it has since improved things for its faunus employees. Isn't that correct, Weiss?"

Weiss, who was still shocked from Ruby's outburst, quickly regained herself and cleared her throat. "Yes, that's correct."

"So, it would be safe to assume that the heiress to such an open-minded organization would be able to overlook such an understandable mistake, like walking into someone because one wasn't paying attention."

"I...Yes, you're right." She then turned to Ruby. "I apologize for my...rant. That was unworthy of me. I've just...been really stressed lately."

"I'm sorry, too," Ruby replied. "For walking into you. And then for...blowing up in your face. I just...get really touchy when people doubt my ability to read."

"I noticed."

"Good. Now that that's settled, how about you two get a fresh start?"

"Great idea. Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby." Ruby extended her hand.

The slightest of smiles tugged at Weiss' lips as she took it. "A pleasure."

In her joy at having made a new friend, Ruby almost forgot about someone. "Oh, what's your name?" She asked, turning to the black-haired girl.

"It's Blake," she replied with a smile that made Ruby's heart soar.

"Oh goodness!" The two turned to Weiss, who was at her watch. "It's almost time. We need to get to the assembly hall." With that, she rushed ahead, Ruby and Blake following behind.

"Thanks for stepping in," Ruby spoke up. "I think I was just about ready to smack her."

"Yeah, I was getting that feeling, too," Blake chuckled. "Honestly, when I walked in saw you sitting on the floor, getting yelled at by the girl whose family was infamous for abusing faunus, I was gonna give her a piece of my mind. But when you stood up for yourself, it was a sight to behold. You really did explode."

Ruby laughed nervously. "Yeah, about that. Could we...not talk about that? Ever again? It's kinda embarrassing."

"Whatever you say," Blake said as she picked up the pace, then shouted back at Ruby. "Craterface."

This made Ruby stop. Anyone else and that would have given her embarrassment to no end. But from Blake's lips, with Blake's voice, she found herself liking her new nickname.

Noticing that the others had advanced quite a bit, she ran to catch up.

As the three of them entered the assembly hall, a loud voice greeted them. "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" There was Yang, happily waving at the group approaching her.

"Weiss. Blake. This is my sister, Yang."

Yang, meanwhile, was in shock. "You made friends already?!" She then pulled Ruby into another big bear hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Yang! Stop!"

Yang just laughed as she put her sister down, but was silenced by Weiss.

"There's the principal. It's starting."

Since that day, the four of them had grown inseparable, being so close that their friends even started to jokingly call them team RWBY. They also made other friends like the awkward Jaune Arc, the athletic Pyrrha Nikos, the bubbly Nora Valkyrie, the stoic Lie Ren, the rebellious Sun Wukong and the flirtatious Neptune Vasilias.

Ruby greatly cherished these friendships, but she always harbored special feelings for Blake.

(**)

(3 Years Later)

(**)

This was it. Today was gonna be the day. Ruby was finally going to confess her feelings to Blake.

Ruby was currently headed to the roof of the high school, as she had just seen Blake walk up there a few minutes ago.

As Ruby reached the door leading to the roof, she found herself hesitating. Her heart was pounding at an insane rate and she could feel her palms getting sweaty. She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, then out. She then opened her eyes.

Let's do this. With that, she opened the door.

And froze in place. Feeling as though her heart had just been ripped out and torn to pieces in front of her eyes.

There was Blake, with Sun. They were kissing.

Ruby just stood there for what felt like an eternity, but was actually barely a second, before slamming the door shut and rushing down the stairs. Her vision became blurry as tears filled her eyes, the aching pain in her chest drowning everything else out as she ran home.

Rushing through the door without saying a word to her sister and dad, she ran up the stairs to her room.

After locking the door, she threw herself onto her bed and cried into her pillow.

(**)

(6 years later)

(**)

Blake was feeling excited for two reasons. One, she had just gotten engaged. A year after they graduated and got an apartment together, Sun finally proposed to her, and she couldn't be happier. They decided to celebrate the day after with some friends, which was the other reason for Blake's excitement. This was gonna be the first time since they graduated from college that "Team RWBY" would all be together again. That thought also saddened Blake. All throughout high school, the four of them had basically been inseparable, spending any moment they could with each other and having countless sleepovers. Then, during their final year, things changed. For some reason, Ruby started to distance herself from her and became really awkward. Then, after graduating from college, she immediately took a job at Schnee Industries which required her to travel a lot and she was rarely available on the phone. Blake hadn't seen or spoken to her in a year, which greatly saddened her. She always knew that, sometimes, school friends grew apart after graduating, but she never thought that would happen with "RWBY".

Which is why she was incredibly happy when Yang told her Ruby would definitely come to celebrate her engagement. And that she would be bringing a "special someone".

"So, who do you think Ruby's "special someone" is gonna be?" Sun asked her. They were currently sitting at a table at their favourite bar, along with Weiss, her boyfriend Neptune, and Yang. "I mean, what kind of guy does Ruby Rose go for?"

"Hard to say," Blake replied. "She never really showed much interest in boys, so I don't know. He's probably very intelligent, though. I can't see her going for the dumb jock type."

"Ha, yeah, you're probably right. Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

As if on cue, the door opened and in walked Ruby, though it took Blake a few moments to recognize her.

The Ruby that walked in that night still had short hair, but the bangs were gone, replaced by a single fringe going down the right side of her face. On top of that, her black hair now wore red highlights. She had always talked about dying her hair, but Blake never thought that the shy girl would go through with it. She'd also ditched her hoodie and jeans in favor of a black dress shirt and a matching pants, along with black boots that looked both sturdy and elegant at the same time. As Blake refocused on her face, she noticed the pair of sunglasses Ruby was wearing. After having spotted them, Ruby started walking towards their table and took off the sunglasses, revealing shining pools of silver, and flashed them a smile that seemed to light up the room.

Blake was taken aback. She always knew the girl to be cute, but she never thought she could be so breathtakingly beautiful.

As Ruby got closer to the table, Yang jumped up and gave her a large bear hug. "Ruby, you look so beautiful! I see France was good for you!"

"Hehe, that it was indeed," Ruby replied as she broke the hug and turned to Weiss, who had also gotten up. "Good to see you, boss."

"None of that! Out here, I'm just your friend, Weiss."

"Best friend, Weiss."

The two shared a giggle as they hugged. "It's good to see you again, Ruby."

"You as well." Ruby then focused her attention on Blake, who had also gotten up. "There she is. Come here." Ruby then gave Blake a deep hug, full of emotions she couldn't quite pinpoint. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm really glad you're here. I missed you."

She wouldn't have noticed someone else entering the bar if that someone hadn't spoken up. "I'm not even gone for five minutes and you're already making a move on another girl?"

Blake immediately broke the hug and focused on the newcomer.

It was a woman with short brown and one orange strand running down the right side of her face, with a beret sitting atop her head. She wore a brown shirt with a black corset, black

pants and matching high-heels, along with various jewelry. She was also wearing sunglasses, but didn't bother taking them off as she approached the group.

"Don't worry, honey," Ruby said as she walked over and kissed the woman. "You know me better than that."

The woman smiled. "That I do."

Ruby then turned to the group. "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Coco."

Blake was stunned. Nine years now she and Ruby had been friends and not once did she even suspect that Ruby was homosexual. This came as quite a shock. She looked back at Sun and Neptune, who were also stunned. However, one look at the faces of Yang and Weiss told Blake that had already been well aware of Ruby's sexuality. She just shook her head and turned back to Ruby. "Ruby, you never mentioned that you liked women."

Ruby gave her a confused look. "I didn't. Hmm, me, Yang and Weiss used to talk about it all the time. But, now that you mention it, I guess you were never there. Weird. Oh well, who cares. This night isn't about me. It's about you two. C'mon, let's celebrate. I'm buying the next round."

And so the focus quickly returned to Sun and Blake's engagement and they all drank and talked and laughed.

And while Blake was slightly miffed on the fact that she had been the only one not to know something so important, it felt great to have good old Craterface back.

(**)

(1 Year Later)

(**)

Ruby knew it. She knew this day would be hard. She knew she would be watching Blake walk down the aisle with someone else, swear to spend the rest of her life with someone else and then kiss that someone else. Ruby knew all this, but she only truly realized it when she saw Blake in her wedding dress. Her black contrasting against the dress' pure white, her cat ears free from the bow, her eyes highlighted by the right make-up. She looked absolutely stunning. And all Ruby could think of was how it was all for someone else. This was gonna be the happiest day of Blake's life and all Ruby could do was think of herself. Some friend she turned out to be.

As she straightened out her own red dress, she noticed Blake approaching. "I'm sorry about you and Coco."

Ruby looked up at her, a sad smile on her face. "Yang told you about that, huh?"

"Yes, but why? Why did she have to be the one to tell me? Why couldn't you tell me yourself?"

"You were busy with wedding preparations. I didn't want to bring you down by mentioning something so insignificant..."

"Breaking up with someone isn't insignificant," Blake interrupted. "You two were together for almost a year. I'd say that's pretty significant." They then spent a moment staring at each other. "Seriously, Ruby. Why am I always the last one to hear of these things?"

Because I'm in love with you. Even after seven years and starting a relationship with someone else, all I could ever think about was you. Because all I ever wanted to do was get over you, yet with every moment we spend together I find myself loving you more and more. All I want is to be the one awaiting you at the end of the aisle, but I know that won't happen, so instead, I push you away. But no matter how much I push, you'll always find a way of pulling me back in.

"Because you have Sun now," Ruby answered instead. "He's gonna be the most important thing in your life from now on. Face it, Blake. The days of "Team RWBY" are at an end."

"I..." Blake's voice was shaking. "I always hoped things would stay the same between us."

"I'll always be your friend, Blake," Ruby said as she placed a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder. "But it's time that each of us went their own way." Tears started pooling in Blake's eyes, a single one escaping across her cheek. Ruby gently wiped it away with her thumb. "No tears, Blakey. You'll ruin your make-up."

This got a quick laugh out of Blake. "Promise you'll always be my friend?"

"I promise. I couldn't get you out of my life, no matter how hard I try."

This caused Blake to laugh even more, but was interrupted by Weiss and Yang entering.

"You should get ready! It's about to begin!"

"Right!" Blake then turned back to Ruby, who gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. After returning it, Blake sat back down and let Weiss check over her again.

Meanwhile, Ruby left the room with Yang.

"You gonna be alright, lil sis?"

Ruby breathed deeply. "This is gonna be hell, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so." She then took Ruby's hand in her own. "Hey, whatever happens, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

Ruby smiled at her and nodded.

(**)

Ruby knew it would be difficult, but she still wasn't ready. Watching Blake walk down the aisle, watching her hold hands with Sun as they both swore themselves to each other. It really was hell. Every second felt like her heart was being broken into tiny pieces. Then came the famous line.

"Should anyone know a reason why these two shouldn't be joined, may he speak now or be forever silent."

Part of her wanted to speak up. To confess her love and beg Blake to take her instead. But she didn't. She chose to remain forever silent. Because she knew Blake would reject her. She knew she would do nothing but ruin this wonderful day. She remained silent. For Blake's happiness.

She knew she didn't have a chance. She knew it was over. She knew...

"I do."

She had lost her forever.

(**)

Author's Note: So, there you have. This is the prologue to a longer story that I'll hopefully finish. And please, tell me if there was something you didn't like. I would happily look over this again and make improvements if necessary. Until then, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day.