What Remains ~ RWBY

Part 4

Oscar's P.O.V.

I wake up to the sound of screaming. My heart stops, my breath caught in my throat. No, no, no, we're supposed to be safe. I reach for my cane only to remember that I lost it when I lost Ozpin, so instead I rip the metal curtain hanger from the window and race into Ruby's room to confront the screaming. But I'm not met with an enemy, or a threat. Instead, I see Ruby, alone and safe in bed, sobbing.

"Ruby?"

Her eyes meet mine, bloodshot and glassy.

"Oh my god Oscar I am so sorry. I should've said something." She dries her eyes quickly and attempts to pull herself together.

"I must've scared the hell out of you. I'm fine I promise, just nightmares, nothing to worry about."

The fake smile plastered on her face sends a chill down my spine, more terrifying to me than the screaming.

"It's okay," I say gently, "You don't have to pretend you're fine. You've been through hell Ruby."

There it is, the vulnerability in her eyes, the real Ruby, a window into the mind I want so desperately to understand. But its gone as quickly as it came.

"We all have, but it's over now," she assures me, "You should go get some sleep."

There's a voice telling me to stay, telling me that if I just kept trying a little longer she'd stop trying so hard to convince me she's okay. But her eyes are tired, and her voice sounds more so like its pleading with me to leave. So I reluctantly nod and close the door behind me. Thoughts scream in my brain as I climb back into bed. The sky outside is dark and empty, and I watch it in silence until the sky transforms it into a brilliant shade of orange.

Ruby's P.O.V.

I don't fall back to sleep that night. Instead I just stare at the sky until the sun rises, telling me another day has started. I cant believe I let Oscar see me like that, broken and defeated. How could I be so selfish, after everything he's gone through? I feel my anger at him slip away, replaced with guilt and shame. I don't deserve to be so helpless, its pathetic. So I slap on a smile along with my boots and coat and get ready for the day. My mirror tells me my eyes are still bloodshot and tired,  so I decide to go make myself a coffee as I often do in the early mornings when everyone else is still asleep. Not even Yang will be awake this early today, so I'll have maybe an hour or so to clean myself up after last nights nightmare.

I slowly creak open my door as to not make too much noise, and almost scream when I see Oscar across the hall doing the exact same thing. We lock eyes and both freeze, unsure of what to do.

"You're awake early," I try to say casually.

"Uh...yeah, you too. Did you get much sleep?"

The concern in his voice makes me want to break down and cry, and it's honestly infuriating.

"No, not really, just eager to start the day," I say unconvincingly, "It's your first day at work with us, you excited?"

I can see it in Oscars eyes that he isn't fooled, but to my relief he plays along anyway.

"Yes! I cant believe I finally get to see your old school. Five years since I joined you guys and I've never seen where the group first started."

"Well its not like we were there long," I laugh half heartedly, "Come to think of it, we had barley made it through our first year there when things went to shit."

I say it causally, but it hurts. None of us really knew what we were signing up for when we started at Beacon. We expected training, adventure, way too many exams, normal teenage stuff. Instead we got dangerous criminal investigations, espionage, and an invincible villain who wanted to end the world. I often wonder, if we had've known the future before it happened, would we have chosen differently?