“H-hello again.”

Ruby’s jaw dropped, perfectly in sync with the sound of breaking glass as the groceries spilled from her hands and shattered on the floor. There, in the middle of the kitchen she shared with Yang, seated at the table, was someone she’d never expected to see.

“You,” she started, before her voice gave out. “You … you can’t …” She fumbled for something to say, something that would somehow force this all into some kind of sense. “You ate all the cereal.”

Pyrrha glanced back at the table. Ruby’s last box of choco flakes sat empty on the countertop, alongside a bowl half-filled with milk that was already turning brown from the chocolate. Swallowing, Pyrrha stood and laid her spoon alongside the cereal. “Sorry, I’ve been on the road a lot lately. I was starving and your pantry was empty.”

She glanced up, eyes searching as she looked into Ruby’s face. “Are you angry?”

“Who wouldn’t be angry!” Ruby shouted, her throat raw, tears already spilling from the corners of her eyes. “You … ate all of my cereal and faked your death for three years!”

“I didn’t fake it, Ruby,” Pyrrha said, her voice soft. “I was her prisoner. Trapped. For a long time. The moment I saw a chance to escape, I took it.”

Ruby opened her mouth, then closed it. She couldn’t breathe. This can’t … it can’t …

“I thought she’d killed you. I thought you were-” she tried again, her throat closing on the last word as tears trickled down her cheeks.

“So did I, for a little while.” Pyrrha sighed and made her way over towards the younger girl. “I guess she had different plans for me. For her list.”

Ruby reached out one trembling hand towards the specter, towards the ghost of a girl she hadn’t been strong enough, fast enough, to save. She expected to wake up, or for it to pass through like any number of ghost stories. It had to be an illusion, or a trick, or …

Her hand touched Pyrrha’s shoulder and stopped.

“… it’s really you.”

“Really me.”

Ruby threw herself into the arms, hugging her as tight as she could, desperate to know, to physically know, that she was real. Pyrrha hugged her back twice as hard.

When they finally pulled away, Pyrrha’s cheeks were as tear-stained as hers.

Premium Well AU prompts: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8



Currently using the Dialogue Prompts (Please feel free to suggest more!) You can find my whole collection of short drabbles here.

