Chapter Text

Ruby didn't know why she wanted to kiss Yang so much lately, but she did. Ever since her father had tried to ban them from doing it, Ruby had been hard pressed to think about anything else. The threat of losing them made her feel as though she had been taking each kiss for granted before, and now, she must collect as many as she could before time ran out on them again. She hoped it didn't run out, but just in case, she fully intended to get her time in. She had missed out on so much time with her mother. She couldn't let her time with the rest of her family members be wasted, least of all with Yang.



They only kissed in front of their father a couple of times after That Day. Each time, he showed a thinly veiled reluctance to allow it, but remained silent. In order to both appease him and satisfy herself, Ruby resolved to just kiss Yang when he wasn't looking. She reasoned that, if he didn't see them kissing, he wouldn't be bothered by it, and he couldn't be tempted to tell them to stop.



As the months passed, Ruby figured out ways of sneaking kisses with her sister that made it about a thousand times more fun for her. She loved puzzles and strategy and stealth exercises - they were good for her Huntress training. She even started sneaking kisses at school just for the challenge. Eventually the quick stolen kisses of stealth were not enough for her and she started spiriting Yang away to more private places where she knew they'd be alone. In these times, she could get a bit more than a single chicken-peck of a kiss from the girl she loved most in the world.



After the second time Ruby pulled her into privacy, Yang spoke up. "We shouldn't be doing this, Ruby. You remember how upset dad got last summer about us kissing. I'm terrified of what he'll say if he finds us going out of our way to do it like this."



"Don't worry, Yang," Ruby soothed. "It'll be OK. I promise."



Yang gasped at her, hurt. "Hey! That's supposed to be my line!"



"But it's my turn to say it!" Ruby countered.



"But I'm the big sister," Yang insisted. "You're not supposed to have to say it!"



"Ppft!" Ruby dismissed. "I can keep up with you just fine now. You don't need to protect me anymore. Now we can protect each other. Like equals. Just how it's meant to be." Ruby knew she was just as smart as Yang was, and even though her big sister was much stronger, Ruby had her speed and her intellect to help her keep her stride. She knew she was close enough to being Yang's equal that the difference wasn't worth mentioning, no matter how much Yang insisted it was.



The blonde seemed unconvinced, so Ruby tried to sway her by tackling, wrestling, and pinning her to the floor. The diversion seemed to work for the time being, but she found herself having to re-convince Yang on almost every occasion Ruby wanted to sneak away. Sometimes it took more persuading than others, and she didn't often need to use force - sometimes she could simply put on her sweetest face - but Yang always gave in eventually. She loved these times just as much as Ruby did, and she didn't deny it. The younger girl only had to convince her big sis that there were no consequences bad enough for them to be afraid, then Ruby could have whatever she wanted.



As time passed, Ruby's need to find these private times calmed slightly, but her love for Yang only grew in its intensity. She longed to be by her big sister's side at all times. The only occasions they were separated was when Yang wanted to go out and socialize with her friends, and Ruby wanted to stay home and read.



Soon, the girls were so inseparable that their father once again spoke up in protest of their behavior. One night, when they were all home together, he sat them down in the living room and told them very seriously that he needed to talk to them.



Ruby's insides turned to ice at his tone. She was certain that he was about to tell them that someone had died. She threaded her fingers through Yang's as they sat fearfully down on the couch. Was it Qrow? Another family member? She tried not to let her imagination run too wild before he spoke.



"I know you girls aren't going to like me much for having to do this," he began, "And I'm sorry. But it needs to be done." His speech seemed overly rehearsed, and it made the situation even more ominous.



Ruby thought she might throw up. She looked at Yang. Her sister seemed equally troubled.



"I know you girls love each other very much," Taiyang continued soberly - exponentially increasing Ruby's fear with each word. "But I feel like maybe you're a little . . . too close."



From his words, Ruby now knew no one was dying, but she feared that somehow their father had found out about their secret kissing, and he was here to expose them. Ruby was certain she was falling off the edge of the world. Yang gripped her hand so tightly it hurt, but she gripped back and used the pain as an anchor to keep herself from spiraling into oblivion. This was it - the hammer coming down on them. She prayed to the universe that their punishment would not be too much for them to handle and that he wouldn't try to separate them. She prayed doubly for Yang, who had always insisted that she would get into twice as much trouble, if this ever happened. They braced themselves for the blow.



Taiyang took a deep breath, and spoke gently. "I just think it would be a lot . . . healthier, if you guys. . . spent more time apart. You know, hang out with your other friends, make new friends, that kind of thing." It was obvious to Ruby that he was trying to avoid another blow-out like last time.



She looked at Yang in surprise. She felt like she'd just been the victim of a cruel cartoon prank where someone had painted a hallway on a solid wall, and she'd just run headfirst into it. She blinked and frowned in confusion. She looked over to see her big sister doing the same.



Assuming their silence was in protest of his suggestion, Taiyang continued, "Please don't think I'm doing this because I don't love you. I'm doing it because I do love you." He did not raise his voice, and Ruby found it much easier to stay calm. "Part of growing up is getting out of your comfort zone and meeting new people."



Relieved as she was that he wasn't exposing their secret, she still despised her father's suggestion. "But I don't like meeting people!" she whined loudly.



"I know, sweetie," Taiyang soothed, stroking her cheek. "But it's going to be good for you, I promise."



Yang was so relieved at not being in trouble that she burst into tears, and Ruby embraced her as she buried her face in her hands, sobbing loudly.



Taiyang, of course, thought this was in reaction to his suggestion. "You can still spend time together!" he assured. "Just not quite so much. It's not healthy to spend all your time with just one person. We have to have lots of different people in our lives to fill all our different needs, right? We all work together in life, right?"



Ruby flopped back on the couch with an aggravated whimper.



"Yang loves meeting new people, don't you, baby?" he left his seat and knelt down next to her, wrapping his arms around her weeping form.



After a long pause, Yang nodded through her tears, though she still hid her face from him.



"I promise, it's gonna be okay." He cooed and stroked the back of his eldest daughter's head, while she composed herself. "A little personal space never hurt anyone. Nobody is gonna break our family apart, and nobody is going to be able to come between you two. Meeting new people isn't going to change that."



Ruby did not concede so easily. "Dad!" she objected, sitting upright. "I know plenty of people! I don't need to meet new ones!"



"Ruby," Taiyang chastised softly. "No matter how old we get, we always have to meet new people. It's not an option in life that we can decline. It's part of the way of things."



Ruby felt confused by her feelings. She didn't want to meet new people, but she didn't want to protest too much, either. She didn't want him asking her why she was happy when she should be upset - not that she was happy exactly, but relief was a kind of happy, right? And she wasn't exactly thrilled about his new suggestion. In fact, she felt just as upset about her conflicting emotions at the moment as she was anything else, so she whimpered and threw herself into his arms.



"I know, honey," he said, hugging her tightly. "I don't want to leave you guys when I go places, either. I know how you feel. I love you girls so much. But we do what we have to do to keep our lives healthy, right? That means doing our jobs, and meeting new people, and keeping healthy boundaries with others, right?"



Ruby and Yang looked skeptically back at him.



"Riiight?" he insisted.



They pouted, but conceded with a nod. Taiyang sighed in heavy relief and kissed them both on the head. He was obviously expecting much more of a fight, but neither Ruby nor Yang had any intention of protesting further, and they simply clung to him in silence.



"So," he said a bit awkwardly, "How about we watch a movie or something? None of us have to spend any time with anyone else today." He wedged himself between his daughters on the couch and cuddled them for a while without bothering to turn on the TV.



As they sat contentedly on the couch, Ruby discovered a new kind of elation in her heart - not because she'd gotten away with something, but because she'd gotten to keep something - her most treasured something. She shared an intense look with her sister as they melted into each of their father's sides. Yang was her whole world, and thankfully, today was not the day the world ended. They threaded their fingers together across their father's belly and basked in the relief of it all. Later, they watched a movie and spent a wonderful evening with their father.



After that, the girls did as they were told. They didn't kiss in front of Taiyang, and they spent time with other friends whenever he suggested they ought to. As long as they could keep him off the scent of the things they weren't supposed to be doing, they knew everything would be just fine. It was relatively easy. It wasn't as if they were running around doing lots of other things that warranted punishment. They were still the good girls their father said they were. They had just added an extra dimension to their love. The fact that it was a secret seemed only to make it more enjoyable.



As Ruby entered more fully into her teen years, she started to feel a new depth in the longing to kiss her older sister. Yang was getting more and more beautiful by the day, and the separations their father had instituted between them only made Ruby further appreciate the time they spent together. Her hunger grew more and more and more, until one day, she spotted a couple of older students at school making out in an empty classroom. After that, she understood what she was feeling, and she knew the next step she had to take.