#ruby x twins

Canon to 'Both of Them, and Only Them'

Melanie and Miltiades are on edge as the team arrives in Mistral. A past they would rather forget becomes unavoidable, and Ruby learns more about her girls than any of them expect.

AN - When I ended 'Both of Them, and Only Them' I stated that I may make one-shots in this continuity if I can think of scenes worth exploring. This is one of those one-shots.

---

Jaune, Ren, Nora, Ruby, and the Malachite twins followed Ruby’s uncle Qrow out of a tunneled walkway and into a crowded marketplace filled with as many cheery, colorful people as it was filled with dark corners for slightly shadier transactions. “The City of Mistral.” Qrow introduced the city the group with an exaggerated flourish with him arms.

“About time!” The ever boisterous Nora proclaimed. “Seriously, whose idea was it to walk again?” she continued, staring pointedly at Ruby.

Ruby nervously rubbed the back of her head. “Well, it’s not like there were any airships out of Vale at the time… and I seriously though it would only take a few weeks.”

“At the same time,” Melanie picked up, “you really thought it would only take a few weeks?”

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Ruby frowned.

“Maybe once my feet stop hurting,” Melanie teased.

“Oh, well…” Ruby stuttered. “I could, um… give you a foot massage? Isn’t that a thing couples do? Or would that be weird?”

Qrow interrupted, “what’s weird is you discussin’ that right next to the rest us. Save it for the hotel.”

“Right,” Ruby nodded, turning bright red.

“Sooo…” Jaune cut in, desperate to change the subject, “how much further to Haven Academy?”

“Almost there,” Qrow informed them, “but I figured I’d take you kids on the scenic route.”

“But I’ve already got my tour guides!” Ruby boasted proudly.

“You do!?” Nora replied loudly.

“Mel and Miltia were born here,” Ruby confirmed.

“Really?” Jaune asked, his brow cocking. This was the first any of them heard of it their entire hike here.

“Well, yes,” Miltiades answered tentatively.

“But it’s been a few years since we left,” Melanie continued for her sister.

“Years? Musta left pretty young,” Qrow deduced. “Are you orphans or something?”

The twins’ gazes deterred, clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

“That was a little blunt, Qrow,” Ren lightly scolded in his calm tones, less to reprimand Qrow and more to support the twins’ silence.

“Sorry,” Qrow played along.

The group continued forward, talking about the city. Seeing the chance of a quiet moment, Ruby fell behind a bit for a small semblance of privacy with her girlfriends. “Hey, are you two okay?”

“We’re fine, Ruby,” Melanie smiled.

But Ruby could tell it was a little forced. “You know you can talk to me, right? Even if you don’t… it’s okay to not be okay.”

“I promise, Ruby, we-” Melanie was suddenly stopped by Miltiades. The twins had one of their infamous silent conversations that ended with Melanie sighing. “It’s… a lot to take in. Being back here. Maybe we’ll elaborate later, but not in the street.”

“Whatever makes you feel comfortable,” Ruby assured. The young redhead then decided on a joke to break the tension, “Maybe we can talk while I practice my foot massage?”

It succeeded in bringing a small smile to Melanie’s and Miltiades’s faces. “We’ll see, Gem.”

A few streets later another shadow fell over Miltiades face. “What is it now?” Ruby asked, following her girlfriend’s line of sight to some nearby graffiti in the shape of a spider. “What’s that?”

The twins shared another concerned look. “It’s a gang sign,” Miltiades finally answered.

“And not a good one,” Melanie added. “We should probably catch up with the rest of the group.”

The twins cast a sly look backwards, looking for anyone following them. To their relief, they spotted no one. Unfortunately, that was only because their tail had already broken off, eager to deliver the information they had gained.

---

Things at Haven Academy did not go nearly as well as Qrow had hoped. A fact that sent the aged Huntsmen to the bars while everyone else went back to their hotel. It was a spacious booking, with rooms aplenty and a common area for the group. The twins and Ruby picked a room to settle in, and after months camping as a group on the road, they cherished the opportunity to cuddle alone behind closed doors.

Ruby was the first to break the silence. “So… you two don’t have to say anything… but we are alone now?”

Melanie sighed.

Ruby winced. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s not you,” Melanie assured. “It’s just not happy memories.”

Ruby shifted until she was sitting up with her back against the headboard. “Do you not like being back…?”

Melanie was unsure how to respond. Miltiades ended up being the one to answer, “we like being with you, wherever you are.”

“I’m sorry if I seem pushy,” Ruby continued. “It’s just that when Qrow said… what he said… it made me realize I don’t know anything about before you moved to Vale.”

“You’re right,” Melanie snapped, “you are being pushy.” The brasher twin suddenly stood up and marched out onto the room’s private balcony.

“Mel!” Miltiades called after her sister. Ruby shrank and emotionally folded in on herself, making the milder twin frown. “She’s not mad at you, okay?”

“She seems mad at me,” Ruby countered.

“Let me go talk to her,” Miltiades offered, standing up herself. “We’ll be right back.” Miltiades didn’t like leaving Ruby alone in her poor mood, but this conversation was one the twins had to have, sooner rather than later. She stepped out onto the windy balcony, noting how much ambient noise the door managed to block. She saw her sister leaning on the railing by the far edge. “Are you okay?”

“I just… wasn’t expecting this to come up,” Melanie explained.

“You thought we could get into and out of Mistral without it ever coming up?” Miltiades pointed out.

“Well, I didn’t know how long we’d be here!” Melanie defended. “I was hoping for an afternoon, maybe. In and out and on to the next place…”

“Even if it was years down the road, she would have asked us about our history eventually,” Miltiades argued. “And… I think she deserves to know.”

“I know that,” Melanie sighed. “But what do we say? ‘Our mom is a dead crime boss and the Spider gang are the ones who killed her’?”

“Maybe not be so blunt…” Miltiades added nervously. “But we have to say something. With everything else going on… the last thing she needs to worry about is us.”

Melanie sighed again, her face dropping into her hands. “Alright… just… give me a minute to mentally prepare.”

Miltiades nodded and reentered. Ruby hadn’t moved, and her mood hadn’t improved either. She looked up, quickly noting that Miltiades was alone. “So she is mad at me…”

“No, it’s just a difficult subject,” Miltiades assured. “She just wants a minute to compose herself.”

Ruby nodded. Miltiades sat back on the edge of the bed, the anticipation for the coming conversation raised her nerves as well.

All the pair could do was stay silent while they waited. And waited. And waited… Eventually, Ruby broke the silence, “did she say how long she would take?”

“No,” Miltiades shook her head, “but it shouldn’t have been this long…” The timid twin slowly stepped back out onto the balcony. The empty balcony. Instead of Melanie, there was only a piece of paper pinned to railing where she had been a moment before.

“Oh no…” Miltiades bolted over to the paper. Reading it made her heart drop. She gazed hard into the darkening surroundings as dusk turned to night. “MELANIE!”

The shout had Ruby dashing out onto balcony. “What’s wrong?” Ruby’s trained eyes were distracted a glint on the balcony floor. She knelt down to pick up a tranquilizer dart. She stood back up and turned to Miltiades. “Where’s Melanie?”

Miltiades didn’t speak, she only held out the paper. A note signed with the image of a spider.

Miltiades Malachite,

The Spider’s Web

One hour

Bring the redhead

---

Ruby and Miltiades gathered the others in the common room to update the lot. Nora and Ren looked concerned. Jaune looked angry. Qrow was conspicuously absent.

“Why on earth would they do this?” Nora asked after the explanation.

“I don’t know,” Miltiades answered.

“Are you certain?” Ren followed up. “The two of you have been nervous since we got to the city.”

“Does this have anything to do with what you two wanted to talk to me about?” Ruby tacked on.

Miltiades bit her lip. “We do have a… past, with the Spiders. But that’s all it is! The past!” she quickly assured. “I really don’t know why they would attack us now! They have no reason too,” Militades turned to her girlfriend before adding, “I promise.”

“And what about the part where they want Ruby to come?” Jaune pointed out. “That Tyrian guy wanted to kidnap Ruby. What if this is about our enemies?”

“We need Qrow,” Nora added.

“But where is Qrow?” Miltiades questioned.

It was Ruby’s turn to sigh heavily. “If he’s not back already, he’ll be no help by now.”

“We have to do something!” Miltiades urged. “What will they do to her if we don’t show up!?”

“So what, the five of us just go our own? To face Mistral’s most powerful street gang?” Jaune shook his head.

“And why not!?” Nora jumped up. “Just a week ago we killed a massive, terrifying Grimm no one else had ever even seen before! We can handle a few thugs!”

“I… wasn’t serious, Nora,” Jaune clarified.

“Well I was!” Nora stood her ground.

“We needn’t fight,” Ren pointed out. “We merely need to secure Melanie and escape.”

“But not fighting is boring,” Nora whined.

“Nora,” Ren lightly scolded.

Ruby crossed her arms. “Miltia is right, though. We have to do something. And Qrow’s not gunna be able to help, so it has to be us.”

Jaune groaned. “This is a bad idea. But I don’t think we’re gunna find a better one, so… let’s go.”

---

It didn’t take long to find The Spider’s Web. It was a bar in one of the city’s lower tiers, mainly populated by people who had no where else to go and staffed by the Spider Gang itself. It was more a base of operations hidden in plain sight rather than an actual drinking establishment. A fact made all the more clear by the small army of people guarding the entrance as the group approached.

A girl near the front took a step forward to greet them. “You can stow the grimaces, we just wanna talk.”

“Talk!?” Miltiades shouted, “and what, kidnapping my sister was a polite invitation!?”

“Would a cordial letter have convinced you to come?” The girl pointed out. “Look, we don’t want a fight. You’ll all be free to go after my boss has said her piece. Scout’s honor.”

“Like you’ve ever been a scout,” Jaune shot off.

The girl gave him an amused look. “I bet that sounded a lot more macho in your head, huh? But I get it.” She turned to Ruby, “as a show of good faith, we’ll even let you keep your weapons. But only you two are coming in, and after my boss says her piece this will all be over. No bloodshed.”

“You’ll think we’ll let you just separate us!?” Nora shouted.

The girl rolled her eyes. “I think you don’t have much room to negotiate. We’ve been generous enough letting you keep your weapons. You want the girl back, these are rules.”

Ruby thought for a moment before speaking up. “Two questions.”

“Can’t promise I’ll answer, but go ahead,” the girl conceded.

“Do the names Cinder or Tyrian mean anything to you?” Ruby asked first.

The girl flashed a confused look. “No?”

“And Salem?” Ruby questioned next.

“Isn’t that a movie character?” The girl responded, scratching her head.

Ruby searched the girl’s eyes for any hint of a lie, and found none. “Alright, we’ll follow your rules.”

“Are you sure, Ruby?” Ren asked.

“Just be ready,” the young leader told them. “If you so much as hear a plate drop, all bets are off.”

“We’ll be sure to give the clumsy waitress the night off,” the girl joked. “Come on, you two.”

---

Miltiades and Ruby were led into bar. It was full of Spider gang members, barring one familiar figure seated at a table near the back wall. “Melanie!”

The captured twin spun around at the sound of her name. “Miltia? Ruby? What are you two doing here?”

“Getting you, of course!” Miltiades hugged her sister as though she would vanish again if she let go.

The formally trained Ruby was the one to ask, “are you okay?”

“A little lightheaded from whatever they shot me up with,” Melanie answered. “Other than that, they’ve been treating me surprisingly well. But how did you two find me?”

“We were invited,” Melanie told her. “Apparently, the boss wants a word.”

“With us and Ruby?” Melanie found it hard to believe. “Why?”

“‘Why’ is a good question,” Ruby crossed her arms. “For example, ‘why’ do you two have a ‘history’ with a gang?”

Melanie’s fists clenched. The softer hearted Miltiades once again had to pick up the slack. “Our mother was a big player in Mistral’s underworld. The Spider’s were her lifelong enemies.”

“You told Yang you didn’t get involved in stuff like that,” Ruby reminded them.

“And we don’t!” Miltiades assured.

“When we were children, we didn’t know any better,” Melanie explained. “As we grew older, we realized we didn’t like watching over our shoulders all the time. People around us were constantly being hurt.”

“Or doing the hurting,” Miltiades added.

Ruby’s stance softened as she took in the story. “So… you two moved to Vale alone… and a moment ago you said ‘was’ when talking about your mom…”

“She disappeared,” Melanie elaborated. “Around the same time, the Spider’s started combing the streets. They were even spotted in the upper tiers, all the way up to the academy. We didn’t so much move to Vale as we escaped there.”

“We didn’t want to believe the rumors at first,” Miltiades picked up. “But the longer without so much a letter… it’s pretty obvious what happened.”

“I’m disappointed, girls. I thought I taught you better…”

The voice made the twins freeze. Ruby turned a curious eye to the source. A broadly built woman stepped out of the back room wearing a simple yet clearly expensive ball gown with open shoulders showing a spider tattoo on one of them. She approached the table with a wide smirk on her face. “Always confirm the body.”

The spell broke, and Melanie leapt up from her seat with an angry “You!?”

The woman let out a single chuckle. “Me.”

Ruby was utterly lost. “Who?”

Miltiades finally unfroze herself, though still couldn’t tear her eyes away from the Spider’s boss. “That’s…” she couldn’t finish the sentence.

The woman turned to Ruby to introduce herself. “My friends call me Lil’ Miss. These two, however, call me ‘mother’.”

---

The awkward silence after that little reveal persisted long enough for everyone to be seated and served surprisingly well made food. Only the mother touched their dish. The girls were either feeling to awkward (Miltiades), too angry (Melanie), or just too confused (Ruby) to think about eating. “Well, it’s not going to bite you,” the mother Malachite chuckled. “Eat up!”

“Why?” Melanie asked.

“What else do you do with food?” Lil’ Miss joked.

“I mean, why are you here?” Melanie’s hand slammed the table. “Why gather us? Why… just why!?”

“I heard you were in town,” Lil’ Miss told her, “and I missed my girls! I am sorry about the methodology, but I knew you two wouldn’t trust a Spider’s courier.”

“Did you really think that we would just treat this like a happy family reunion?” Melanie scoffed.

The mother slowly lowered her fork. “Perhaps that is a little optimistic of me. Very well, I’m sure you have questions.”

“Why did you never tell us you were alive?” Miltiades jumped in right away.

“Did you think it was a secret you two wanted out?” Lil’ Miss asked in turn. “My disappearance was part of an elaborate plan to take control of the Spiders. I launched an attack, then vanished. The spread themselves thin trying to follow every rumor I planted.” She smirked, “too thin. Next thing they knew their leadership was gone and it was either join me or join them.”

Ruby shuddered at the implication.

“Anyways,” Lil’ Miss continued, “one of those false rumors reached your own ears. By the time the plan was finished, you two had already left. Like I said, I knew you wanted out, so I let you be. I figured contactin’ you would only complicate your lives in ways you were tryin’ to escape.”

Melanie scoffed again. “Are you seriously trying to say you let us think you were dead because you cared?”

“I resent that accusation,” Lil’ Miss frowned. “I may not have been the best mother to you girls, but you are my flesh and blood. How do you think you got that job with Junior, hm? After everyone else turned you down, somehow the less-reputable man was the one eager to hire you?”

“I thought it was because of his nature he took a chance on us,” Miltiades admitted.

“Well, I couldn’t order him to take you in,” Lil’ Miss clarified, “but he did hear one hell of a recommendation.”

“And you’ve been keeping an eye on us ever since?” Melanie questioned.

“Of course,” Lil’ Miss nodded. “It broke my heart when Beacon fell. With the communications down, I couldn’t check up on you. I was worried sick. When a Spider spotted the three of you in the markets, I knew I had to see you.”

“The three of us?” Ruby caught.

Lil’ Miss’s smile returned. “What mother isn’t interested the person that captures their children’s hearts? Circumstances aside, it is nice to finally meet you, Ruby Rose.”

“Um, it’s nice to meet you too?” Ruby returned unsurely.

“I’m sure it isn’t, but I appreciate your kindness,” Lil’ Miss responded honestly. “I just hope you’re treating my girls alright.”

“Better than you ever did,” Melanie jabbed.

Lil’ Miss frowned once more. “I suppose I do deserve that one. I told myself I was doing it so you two wouldn’t struggle in life. I didn’t see how it was affecting you in the then and there.”

The topic ran dry, and the awkward silence returned. “Are you going to eat?” Lil’ Miss eventually asked.

“Do we have a choice?” Melanie asked.

Lil’ Miss sighed. “You can leave anytime you want.”

“Good,” Melanie stood.

“But please,” Lil’ Miss insisted. “Just humor me. One meal with my daughters…”

Melanie only stopped to spare her mother a dirty look before continuing to the door.

“Wait!” Ruby called out.

Melanie stopped. “You’re going to defend her? She’s a crook, Ruby, you basically just heard her admit to killing people!”

“Well, I know if my mom came back to life I wouldn’t care what she’s been doing the last ten years,” Ruby pointed out. “Well… I mean I would, but… you know what I’m saying.”

Miltiades shook her head. “Your mother was a saving people by day, baking cookies by night super-mom. Ours isn’t exactly in the same league.”

“But…”

“Ms. Rose,” Lil’ Miss interrupted. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but the girls are right. I only have myself to blame for their opinion of me.” She stood to face Melanie eye-to-eye, “but if you ever change your minds, I’ll be right here.”

Ruby frowned. She couldn’t say she understood, but she knew it wasn’t her choice.

“C’mon,” Miltiades took their girlfriend’s arm to guide her out. “We have people waiting for us anyways. I’m surprised Nora hasn’t already started breaking legs.”

The scene in front of the bar hadn’t changed much, an eerily still standoff with all people in the same places as a half an hour ago. “See?” The girl guard from before spoke to Jaune, “your friends are safe.”

“What happened?” Jaune asked the three of them.

The twins stayed silent. Ruby only responded with a, “just… don’t ask.”

Jaune was perplexed, but more than that he was happy that his friends were safe, so he took the advice and didn’t question it.

---

When the group got back to the hotel, they were greeted by the sight of a drunk Qrow and a farmhand with familiar eyes. “Where the hell have you all been!?” Qrow slurred.

“Where were we? Where were you!” Jaune countered. “We coulda used your help two hours ago!”

“I…” Qrow started firmly before a grin spread across his drunk face, “…found him.”

“Found who, the kid?” Nora asked.

“I found him…” Qrow chuckled and then practically cheered, “I found him!”

“He’s talking about me,” the kid confirmed.

“And you are?” Jaune questioned.

“Well, you might this hard to believe, but in a way… I am-”

“Nope,” Ruby interrupted, b-lining toward the farmhand. “No, no, no, no, no, no.” She repeated the word until she reached the boy and planted her hand over his mouth. “We have had a very long night. Some,” she gestured to the twins, “longer than others. I don’t think we’re ready for yet another head-spinning revelation, so please, is there any way this can wait for tomorrow?”

The boy looked from side to side, as though listening for something, before slowly nodding.

“Thank you!” Ruby sighed in relief. “Girls, let’s go cuddle.” Melanie opened her mouth, only to be cut of as well, “and before you say you’re not in the mood, I remind you that I am an expert in cuddles, and after that, you two definitely need some.”

Melanie chucked and smiled. “I was going to say cuddles sound nice,” she assured. The twins followed Ruby upstairs, finally, to some proper peace and quiet.

---

A few days later, Lil’ Miss was starting her day with the newspaper. She read about how a group of faunus straight from Menagerie stopped the White Fang from carrying out a terrorist attack on Haven Academy. She also knew Ruby, and by extension her daughters, had business in Haven that night. She wondered if the two events were connected.

As she mused over the printed word, a customer entered her bar. A giant monster of a man, tanned, and with rather magnificent mutton chops. “Looking for information?”

“People,” the man corrected in deep tones. He tossed forward a few pictures. Lil’ Miss was an expert in hiding her emotions, which came in handy as she recognized the people in an instant. Ruby Rose and the people she was travelling with.

“Come back in a day or two,” Lil’ Miss told him.

“A day or two?” The man questioned.

Lil’ Miss shook her head. “There are a lot of people in Mistral. I only keep eyes on the important ones. These people are not important. It will take me time to gather the info, but trust me, I will find them.”

“Very well. Two days.” The man left without another word.

The same girl that traded barbs with Jaune a few days before turned to Lil’ Miss. “I assume we won’t be telling him they’re headed for Atlas?”

“Of course not,” Lil’ Miss answered. “But we have two days to make a believable lie. I hear Vacuo is nice this time of year.”

“People don’t like being sold false info,” the girl pointed out.

“Then we won’t sell it,” Lil’ Miss nodded. “We don’t need his money anyways. We just need to steer him clear of my girls. Make sure there’s room for error in the info packet, just in case.”

“Clever, ma’am. I’ll get right to it.” The girl left to perform her duties.

Lil’ Miss looked back down to the pictures, eyes passing over her daughters in turn before settling on Ruby. “What kind of enemies do you have, Ms. Rose? It’s up to you to keep my daughters safe. I hope you’re up to the task.”

---

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven

---

The Malachite twins couldn’t believe their eyes. First Yang breaks some kid’s leg, swearing up and down that he attacked her. And now Penny… one of Ruby’s closest friends lay in literal pieces on the arena floor. They could only stare along with everyone else as the horror filled the arena. The screens turned bright red with the image of a black queen chess piece.

“This was not an accident…”

As the speech droned on, the twins didn’t know what to think. The words made sense, but… they knew Yang. And Penny. And Pyrrha too, to some extent. Something was just off about all of this.

“Ruby.”

Neither twin knew who spoke first, but the one word grounded them both. Ruby had left before the match about wanting to ‘check something out’. Now Penny was gone, and the voice on the screen was inciting people’s fear and anger. As the Grimm began to attack, Melanie and Miltiades bolted from their seats to begin a frantic search for their girlfriend.

---

A lot had happened in what felt like a very short amount of time. Since Penny’s…. Since… Penny’s…

Ruby chocked back another sob at the thoughts she didn’t want or need right now.

Since Penny, Grimm had invaded the school, a giant nevermore had been destroyed, and Ruby had launched herself onto Ironwood’s flagship, sent Neopolitan flying, and watched Roman Torchwick get eaten alive by a Griffon. She dispatched the Griffon quickly, accidently sending it through the airship’s drive core. The warship began to fall from the sky, and Ruby had to escape the wreck quickly. Using Crescent Rose’s intense recoil, it was easy to safely fall to the ground.

Ruby may have escaped the crashing warship, but it seemed she didn’t escape her own bad luck. She finally landed on the fairground right in the middle of a pack of Beowolves. The dark beasts all turned to look at the human that had appeared between them. Ruby readied herself for combat. The three weakest – and most impatient – lashed out immediately. Ruby was ready, swinging her scythe in wide, powerful arcs, slicing clean through each beast and destroying them in single strikes.

The next few Beowolves were older and subsequently stronger. One charged forward, and Ruby dealt two heavy cleaves across its chest. It swung it’s claw in retaliation. Ruby anticipated this and fired Crescent Rose to empower her counter, severing the attacking claw. The red reaper spun her scythe around her to bring the blade quickly around the Beowolf’s neck, aimed at another Beowolf behind them. With a single pull of the trigger, she decapitated the first while blowing a hole in the second’s head.

One Beowolf was left, the oldest of the bunch. Not quite an Alpha, but certainly no slouch. Ruby prepared for its charge. She began swinging her scythe as it neared, pulling the trigger halfway through the swing. The tip of her scythe embedded itself in the monster’s side… and stuck there. Ruby panicked, realizing quickly why Crescent Rose didn’t slice right through. Her scythe didn’t get its extra propulsion because her magazine had already been spent. She had forgotten about the bullets she spent slowing her descent from Ironwood’s warship.

She was out of ammo.

She tried to wrench her weapon free, but the beast was faster. The back of its hand came down and knocked Crescent Rose away. The same claw used that motion to rear back and attack Ruby, sending the girl across the field. Ruby found she could only watch as the Beowolf charged her one last time…

Shlick

Shinnk

Thud

Two blurs of color and a flash of silver, and suddenly the beast was bisected at Ruby’s feet. The Beowolf dissolved away, and Ruby turned her eyes to her saviors. “Girls?”

“Ruby!” Miltiades rushed forward, throwing herself down and wrapping her arms tightly around the redhead. “We’ve been looking all over for you! Ever since Penny… Ever since Pyrrha…”

“Ever since the match ended,” Melanie took over tactfully. She kneeled down next to her sister, drawing them both into her own arms. “Are you okay?”

At those simple words, Ruby wanted nothing more than to break down and weep into her girlfriends’ arms. Instead she steeled herself, pushing them away so she could stand. “I’m not okay. But I can’t be not okay here, or it will just draw more Grimm,” she explained. “We need to get to the airship pads.”

“We’re with you, Gem.”

“Always.”

“Thank you, girls…” Ruby wiped the small hint of tears from her eyes before she could break. “Let’s go.”

It didn’t take long for the trio to reach the airship pads. Zwei saw them first, his barking inciting Weiss to turn. “Ruby! Melanie, Miltia!” the heiress ran forward to meet them. “Are you all okay?”

“We’re fine,” Ruby told her. She didn’t miss the look of sorrow in her partner’s eyes. “What is it? What’s going on?”

Rather than answer with words, Weiss simply stepped to the sided. Behind her Ruby saw Blake sprawled out with heavy bandages around her gut. She also saw Yang, unconscious and missing an arm. “Yang…” Ruby reached out feebly, not knowing what to do.

Sun stepped forward to assure them, “hey, she's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale.”

“But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!” Nora argued.

Ruby’s attention snapped away from her sister’s injury. “What!?”

“Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school!” Sun shouted. “Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!”

“We're not leaving!” Ren tried to stand valiantly but succumbed to his own injury and collapsed.

Ruby’s scan told her one thing above all. No one was in a position to go running off after the missing pair. No one… except her. “I'll find them. I'll find them, and I'll bring them back.”

“No,” Weiss stood at her partner’s side, “we will find them.” She turned to the larger group, “look after each other. We’ll be back.”

Ruby and Weiss started to run back toward Beacon. They were interrupted when a hand gripped Ruby’s wrist. The redhead looked back, right into worries emerald eyes. “Take us with you,” Miltiades insisted.

Ruby frowned, “I can’t.”

“We’re not just letting you go!” Melanie argued.

Ruby took a deep breath, placing her free hand over the hand grabbing her. “I love you girls. And I appreciate you coming to help earlier. But right now, you’re civilians and I’m a huntress in training. You don’t have the training I do for this, and I will have my partner. I won’t be going alone. You two need to evacuate into Vale. Please.”

As hard as it was to accept, the pair knew Ruby was right. Melanie looked to Weiss. “You better keep her safe.”

“If you think I’ll be keeping her safe, you really don’t know how strong she is,” Weiss smirked. Her teasing smile fell as the moment passed, “regardless, I’ll do my best.”

Letting go of Ruby’s wrist was the hardest thing Miltiades had ever done. The huntresses-in-training ran into the fray and were quickly swallowed by the chaos. The twins filed into line for the airships, taking several minutes to reach the front. As they were about to step on, they took one last look toward Beacon tower. Just in time to see a massive silver light explode across the sky…

---

Two weeks later

Ruby stood shaking across the street from Junior’s Club. Her fingers gripped the straps of her backpack tightly. She was nervous about what was next.

Jaune stepped up beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”

Ruby took a deep breath a relaxed her grip. She was nervous about what was next. But she knew it had to be done. “Yeah.”

“Alright,” Jaune accepted, retreated back to Ren and Nora’s side behind her.

Ruby took those tentative steps across the street, approaching the man guarding the door. “Lil’ Red! You’re awake!”

“Hey, Javier,” Ruby smiled. “Are the girls in?”

“Yeah, I’ll go get them,” the bouncer offered. “They’ll be happy to see you. They’ve been worried sick.”

“Yeah…” Ruby muttered to herself, her hands fidgeting. “I’ll bet they have…”

She was nervous about what was next. She knew it had to be done. But that didn’t make it any easier to do.

“Ruby!” The twins called in unison. Before the redhead could respond, she was cocooned by four arms wrapping themselves tightly around her. “We were so worried! We kept every ear out for news of you!” Miltiades explained.

“We even visited Patch after you were recovered,” Melanie informed her. “You were still asleep, though, and we could only stay so long…” The white-dressed twin finally spotted Ruby’s friends across the street, along with the bags they all wore. “What’s going on?”

Ruby lightly pushed the girl’s off, avoiding their eyes while she explained. “Atlas didn’t attack Beacon. We all know that, but the rest of the world doesn’t and they’re not looking for other assailants. I do know who attacked Beacon, though… and their trail leads to Haven. I think they want to do to Haven what they did to Beacon. And no one else is trying to stop them. No one else even knows…”

“You’re going to Mistral, then?” Melanie crossed her arms. “And this… is a goodbye?”

“I’m sorry,” Ruby pleaded. “But I have to do this. Not just as a huntress, but as Ruby Rose. What happened on top of Beacon Tower… my eyes did something. I’m not sure what it is, but I know I can help. So, I have to go help. Whatever is going on… it’s bigger than all of us.”

“So… there’s no way we can talk you out of this?” Miltiades asked.

Ruby’s only response was to repeat, “I’m sorry.”

Melanie and Miltiades looked to each other, having another of their legendary silent conversations. Ruby had seen enough that sometimes she could follow along. This, however, was not one of those times. Miltiades turned around without a word and nearly ran back into the Club.

“Miltia!” Ruby cried out, not wanting to see the girl in pain.

“Don’t worry about her,” Melanie told Ruby.

Ruby frowned at the implication.

“She’ll be right back down with our bags.”

Ruby blinked. “Uhh… What?”

Melanie turned up her smirk, aiming it right at the young leader. “You didn’t really think we were just going to let you go, do you?”

“But… it’ll be dangerous,” Ruby reminded them.

“Exactly,” Melanie shrugged. “And with Cross-Continental Communication down, you can’t call us. How are we supposed to know you’re okay if we don’t come with?”

“You guys don’t have the training we do to last in the wilds,” Ruby argued.

“So teach us,” Melanie countered easily.

“T-teach you?” Ruby’s confusion climbed ever higher. “I-I don’t…”

“Ruby,” Melanie captured her girlfriend’s attention with a genuine smile. “We love you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to us. And because of that, we refuse to let you leave without us. We’re not just going to sit back and worry about you while you go to war half a world away.”

Ruby didn’t know what to think. “If you come with us, there might not be any turning back.”

“We’ll follow you to the end of the world,” Melanie assured. “We love you, and we’re not letting you go.”

Miltiades emerged from the club with two backpacks and a large envelope in her hand. She approached her sister and her girlfriend with a serious look on her face. “What’s the verdict?”

“I think she’s coming to terms with it,” Melanie answered her sister.

“Good,” Miltiades turned to Ruby with a smirk, “because you don’t get a choice this time, Gem.”

As her mind came around to the twins thinking, Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle. “I love you two so much.”

“We love you, too, Gem,” the twins replied in unison. The trio walked across the street to the others waiting for them. Nora’s smile was getting bigger and bigger.

“I TOLD YOU!” She suddenly cried once they were all grouped up. “I knew they would come with! Pay up, Ren!”

“Nora, no one took that bet,” Ren reminded her.

Nora huffed. “Well, I should get something for calling it!”

“How about new gear?” Miltiades offered. She held up the envelope, “Junior gave us our final pay along with what he called a ‘good-fucking-luck bonus’. We’ll all need traveling clothes at the very least.”

Nora’s eyes went wide. “I knew I liked you two for a reason! Let’s go!”

“Nora!” Ren tried calling after the hyper girl, but she was already halfway down the street. He turned to the twins, “I apologize pre-emptively for whatever Nora may do. Welcome aboard.”

“Yeah,” Jaune smiled, “we’re all glad to have you. Maybe not as much as Ruby, but glad nonetheless.”

“Jaune!” Ruby blushed. The twins laughed.

The group made their way to Vale’s market for their new gear, with Ruby, Melanie, and Miltiades trailing slightly behind. “As worried as I am, I’m glad you two are coming,” Ruby spoke up. “Thank you.”

The twins smiled.

“Thank you, Ruby,”

“For everything you’ve done for us.”

None of them knew what the future held. But all of them were all the more confident now that they would be facing that future together.

---

The main reason this is ending now is because anything beyond this would just be a re-telling of canon with the twins shoehorned in at every opportunity. There may still be unique scenes worth exploring in this world, but if I do so they will be self-contained one-shots. This is the official end of Both of Them, and Only Them as a story.

I would like to take this moment to shout out @malachite-isms. While I never had a conscious thought to drop this story, I almost never finished chapter three because I thought no one was reading it. Malachite-isms started a swell of support, and their love for my story has been one of my main motivations to keep writing it. Just wanted to let them know I appreciate their support.

I hope you all have enjoyed this work, and I hope you consider checking out my other stories on Fanficiton and Archive of Our Own!

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten

Once again, another age-long wait for the next chapter. But lately I’ve been on a tear with my writing, so even thought I’m not ‘between projects’, I found time to finish this! And speaking of finish... as I contemplate how far into RWBY I want to take this story, I realize... we’re probably nearing the end. One, maybe two more chapters after this one to reach the end of Vol. 3, and I’ll probably call the story closed...

Well until then, we still have story left, so please enjoy!

---

The second time the twins beheld Beacon up close was very different from the first. First of all, the sun was still up, reflecting off the high towers like divine halos. Additionally, they were dressed in their usual daywear as opposed to the fancy dresses from the ball. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, their destination was not the school itself, but the massive floating arena and the fairgrounds surrounding it.

The Vytal Festival. That celebration of worldwide unity and peace accompanied by a friendly competition between the up and coming fighters of the four great academies. A competition that team RWBY would be partaking in. A competition that Ruby’s girlfriends are eager to watch.

A competition that the Malachite twins were running late for.

Melanie and Miltiades were doing their best to look like they weren’t rushing as they rushed to Amity Arena. “We’ll never hear the end of this...” Miltiades lamented.

“We’ll be fine,” Melanie assured, “Look, there’s still a transport!”

In the coliseum locker room, Ruby peeked out the door at the stands nervously. “Where are they?”

“Stop fussing, they’ll be here,” Weiss assured, “They know how much this means to you.”

“They should be here already...” Ruby pointed out.

“They probably got held up at the club,” Yang theorized, “Or stuck in the traffic, there are a ton of tourists here for the festival.”

“They’ll be here,” Weiss repeated, taking Ruby’s shoulder. “C’mon, we have to get ready. You want to give them a show, right?”

Ruby shook her head and stepped back inside to ready her gear. “Head in the game, Rose...” she told herself, “you know they won’t miss this on purpose.”

Weiss walked over to where Yang and Blake were getting ready. “I hope the twins get here soon,” Weiss told them, “I’m afraid Ruby won’t be in the right headspace for the fight otherwise...”

“They’ll be here,” Blake was confident, “but will they be here for the start of the match…?”

“If Rubes doesn’t see them in the stands...” Yang shared her teammates concern.

A red light by the door lit up, indicated it was time to step onto the arena.

“They’ve given us more than enough time to prepare,” Weiss pointed out, “we can’t stall down here.”

“We’ll just have to go out there, and hope the twins made it,” Blake solemnly agreed.

Team RWBY stepped out together onto the arena, scanning the crowded stands as they walked. Ruby’s spirits began to fall, until Weiss nudged her shoulder and pointed. The redhead shot her gaze the direction her partner indicated to see a pair of out of breath twins dashing down the steps to the front row of seats. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“I told you so,” Weiss reminded her smugly.

“Now we have to win,” Yang smiled at her sister, “wouldn’t want to disappoint them, would you?”

“Of course not!” Ruby grinned. “Team RWBY, Banzai on three! One! Two! Three!”

“Banzai!”

---

“Ruby!”

“Mel! Miltia!”

The young leader and her twin girlfriends quickly found each other after the match. Ruby jumped and threw an arm each around each twin. The twins, plenty practiced with Ruby’s tackle-hugs, caught her effortlessly.

“You did great!” Miltiades complimented.

“Of course she did,” Melanie affirmed, “looks like we picked a winner, Miltia.”

“Now, please tell me you two are hungry...” Ruby pleaded, “because I am staaaaaarving...”

“Let’s all eat!” Yang offered.

“All of us?” Miltiades asked.

“You three will have plenty of time together the rest of the festival,” Weiss assured, “and I feel, as the team just achieved a victory, the team should celebrate together.”

“You’re just excited we voted you for doubles,” Blake teased at the heiress.

“It can be both!” Weiss immediately defended.

“Who’s moving on?” Melanie asked, “Weiss and…?”

“Aaaand me!” Yang announced, flexing her arms.

“Aw...” Melanie voiced, “I was looking forward to seeing our Gem fight more.”

Ruby blushed at the pet name. “W-well, we decided Weiss had the best forward planning and Yang was our best backup plan to Weiss.”

“I’m pretty good at the ‘beat the thing up until the thing isn’t there anymore’ strategy,” Yang elaborated.

“We’re aware,” Miltiades reminded her.

“Oh yeah...” Ruby remembered as well, “I forgot about that.”

“And we will not be talking about it. Ever,” Melanie laid down the law.

“Anyways,” Blake cut in, “I think we should get to eating-”

GROOWWWL

“… soon.”

“Was that…?” Miltiades asked Blake.

“Your stomach?” Melanie finished.

“C’mon,” Yang motioned everyone to follow her, “I know a place.”

---

Yang had led them to a noodle stand. They were shortly joined by team JNPR and the group shared a joyous meal.

“So good...” Ruby rubbed her stomach with a smile.

“I’m stuffed...” Yang agreed.

“I’m gunna puke...” Jaune disagreed.

“Was it really wise to eat before your match?” Weiss asked.

“It will give us energy!” Pyrrha announced confidently.

“And you could aim it at the enemy!” Nora suggested.

“Ew,” the twins reacted in unison.

“Nora, that’s disgusting,” Ren agreed with the twins. Then he looked Jaune, “though, if you must...”

“Ew,” Ruby’s voiced joined her girlfriends’ this time.

“Speaking of,” Yang asked, “when do you-?”

“Would Team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immediately!”

“Yes! Like they were scheduled to, several minutes ago!”

“...Never mind!”

“I suppose that is our cue,” Pyrrha stood. “Shall we walk together? You are watching the fight, correct?”

“Sure,” Blake shrugged.

“Of course!” Weiss agreed.

“Why not?” Yang rationalized.

“Actually...”

Everyone looked to Ruby in surprise.

“What?” Ruby responded, “between training for the tournament and going home for break, I feel like I haven’t seen the twins in forever. Would it offend you if I spent time with them around the fairgrounds instead?” She suddenly looked to the twins, slightly panicked, “U-unless you two want to watch the fight, of course!”

“We wouldn’t mind spending time on the fairgrounds,” Miltiades spoke first.

“Besides the obvious, we really don’t want to sit on a meal like that,” Melanie revealed. “Not that it wasn’t delicious, but, well… we don’t get nearly the same level of exercise that you all do.”

“You both only ate half-a-bowl each,” Weiss pointed out. Her hand then found its way to her own gut, “though I guess you may still have a point.”

“Go ahead,” Pyrrha smiled, “Spending time with who you love is a true treasure.”

“You would know, Pyrrha...” Ruby muttered under her breath at the others walked toward the arena.

“What does that mean?” Melanie asked.

“Well, you see, her and Jaune-” Ruby began.

“Are together, right?” Melanie interrupted.

“Nope!” Ruby shook her head.

“Seriously?” the twins were stunned.

“They’re the only ones who don’t see how into each other they are,” Ruby told them. “Oh well!” she carried on, jumping down from her seat and bowing to the twins, “are you ready for our adventure, my ladies?”

The twins giggled. “You’re so adorable,” Miltiades remarked.

“It makes me want to eat. You. Up,” Melanie teased.

Ruby had had enough practice by now to tease right back without missing a beat, “well, maybe if we were all alone, I’d let you.”

Melanie, however, saw right through Ruby’s poor attempt at a sultry voice. “Liar,” she called out, “I bet you’d get all embarrassed if we so much as had a sleeve slip.”

“A sleeve? Psshh” Ruby tried to sound offended, “I can handle a sleeve.”

“Oh really?” Miltiades reached for hers.

“Anyway!” Ruby spun around, putting her back to the twins. Her face burned as bright as her hood. “We should get going! We want to see the whole fairground, right!?”

The twins smirked in triumph. “Lead on, Gem,” they offered in unison.

---

Melanie eyed down the milk-jugs stacked on a table inside a booth, a ball in hand. Her arm wound tight, she felt the balance of the ball in her hand, and she let loose.

Plink!

She hit the corner of the stack and sent all of the bottles tumbling to the ground. “Yes!”

“You did it!” Ruby congratulated, “I always thought these games were rigged!”

“You have good aim,” Miltiades assured the sniper, “but, maybe not the best arm.”

Melanie picked out a large stuffed Ursa and handed it to the redhead. “For you, Gem.”

Ruby smiled and accepted the doll. “Thank you.”

They continued walking the fairgrounds, talking, eating snacks, and generally enjoying each other’s company. For the most part. The twins did feel slightly jealous at how tight Ruby cuddled the stuffed Ursa as they walked, but they supposed she would just have to make up for that later. After being so long since seeing the young leader, the twins were having the best day.

Until…

“Ruby!?”

“Hm?” Ruby spun around to see the voice. “Pen- OOF!”

… a mysterious orange-haired girl hug-tackled the redhead to the ground.

“Whyyy…” Ruby groaned from the ground.

“Hello, Ruby my friend! How are you!?” the girl asked, still holding Ruby on the ground.

“I’m good…” Ruby’s voice sounded dazed. “But… maybe you could let me breath…?”

“Oh! I am very sorry!” Penny cried, finally loosening her grip and sitting up.

The twins were quick to help the pair to their feet. “So, who is this?” Melanie asked. Ruby didn’t catch the suspicion behind her eyes.

“Oh!” Ruby straightened herself out. “This is Penny! Penny, this is Melanie and Miltiades Malachite! They’re my girlfriends!”

Penny seemed to take a moment to process this. “Both of them? Is that possible?”

The twins’ guard immediately rose as they were offended. Ruby, conversely, laughed as though Penny’s words were only humorous. “Of course it is! I love them, and they love me!”

“Interesting!” Penny smiled wide. “I was never… told… such a thing could happen. You know, back in Atlas.”

“Well, now you do!” Ruby brushed over that comment. The twins wondered if their Gem knew something they didn’t that allowed this conversation to sound so casual.

“Indeed!” Penny nodded.

“So how are you?” Ruby asked her friend.

“I am doing wonderful, thank you for asking!” Penny gestured around them, “there is so much to do here, the fairgrounds are quite a sight!”

“Hey, if they’re letting you roam around, we should hang out!” Ruby planned excitedly.

“Yes… about them ‘letting me’…” Penny leaned to the side.

A dark-skinned girl in a beret appeared behind her. She pointed rather viciously to her watch. “If we don’t move along, we’re going to be late!”

“This is my teammate Ceil Soleil!” Penny introduced her. “Time-keeping is very important to her.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Ruby chuckled nervously. “It’s, um… nice to meet you!”

“Likewise,” Ciel deadpanned. She didn’t sound happy to meet Ruby at all. “Ma’am, we really should be going.”

“I’ll be right behind you!” Penny assured. Ciel rolled her eyes, but began to walk away. Once the time-keeper’s back was turned, Penny leaned closer to Ruby. “I’ll find a moment to slip away so we can hang out. Promise!” With that, the strange girl waved goodbye.

“She’s…” Miltiades started.

“Unique,” Melanie finished.

“Yeah,” Ruby nodded, “she’s a cute little clueless dork. Gasp, cotton candy!”

“Speaking of cute, clueless dorks…” Miltaides shook her head. She was surprised to notice her sister didn’t share her smile. “Mel?”

Melanie didn’t answer vocally, using her head to gesture the direction Penny had left. Miltiades frowned and nodded, the two coming to a silent agreement.

---

It turned out Penny wasn’t that hard to track down. There weren’t a lot of people with hair that… orange. Other than perhaps Nora Valkyrie, but the twins knew enough to not mix the two up. They were lucky enough to find the strange new girl only a few minutes after breaking off from Ruby. They had plenty of time for what they had to do, or so they hoped.

Penny greeted them the moment she noticed them. “Oh! Hello! Melanie and Miltiades, correct? I don’t believe Ruby pointed out who is who, however…”

The twins said nothing as they dragged the poor girl to an out-of-the-way corner. Penny knew she wasn’t good with social cues, but just what was going on? She was sure this was one of the few times even a ‘normal’ girl would share her confusion. “What is going on?”

“That’s what we want to know,” Melanie accused.

“I don’t understand,” Penny told them.

“What do you want from Ruby?” Miltiades interrogated.

“I don’t-”

“We saw you holding her,” Melanie reminded the girl.

“How excited you were to see her,” Miltiades continued.

“And you want to ditch your team to see her some more,” Melanie added.

“But know nothing will happen,” Miltiades warned.

“We won’t stand back and let you get between the three of us,” Melanie pressed.

Penny looked hopelessly lost. “Whaa… I don’t… What?”

During this exchange, Ruby had been scouring the fairgrounds for her girlfriends. She finally spotted them behind the corner of one of the larger stalls by the fairground’s edge. “There you are!” she called out, getting their attention. She began walking hurriedly toward them, “I have been looking all over for…”

Her steps slowed as an extremely panicked Penny came into view from around the stall’s corner. Ruby stopped short just in front of the group, her brow rising. “What is going on here?”

“Ruby!” Melanie was finally snapped out of her stupor.

“I… we…” Miltiades tried to say something, but couldn’t find words.

“Ruby?” Penny finally found her voice, “did I do something wrong?”

“Why would you think that?” Ruby asked her friend.

“Well, your girlfriends dragged me over here and began to shout at me,” Penny explained. “Apparently, I’m not allowed to position myself in between the three of you?”

Ruby crossed her arms and glared at the twins with a look that they had never seen before but were inherently terrified of. Despite being a few inches taller, Ruby’s newfound power made them feel several feet shorter. And very, very guilty.

“I mean I could just take a step sideways in that situation, right?” Penny quickly tried to mend things.

That thing that the Malachite twins would only ever describe the ‘The Glare™’ vanished from Ruby’s face as she turned to the other redhead. “You did nothing wrong at all, Penny. Don’t worry about this, okay?” she assured Penny with a smile. “However,” Ruby fixed The Glare™ right back onto the twins, “I do need a private word with these two.”

Both Malachite’s found they were only able to look at their shoes.

“O-okay… you’re sure I did nothing wrong?” Penny asked, “I still feel responsible somehow.”

“You’ve nothing to worry about,” Ruby’s voice was sweet once again, but neither twin dared to raise their head. “I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

“Alright,” Penny still seemed unsure as she left.

The air was still while both twins refused to look up.

“Well?” Ruby called, The Glare™ present even in her voice. “Do you care to explain yourselves?”

“We’re sorry,” Miltiades’s offered meekly.

“We saw how you two interacted,” Melanie began to explain.

“And we,” Miltiades looked up carefully to gauge Ruby’s reaction, “may have overreacted?”

Ruby’s furious frown deepened.

“Definitely,” Miltiades corrected. “We… definitely overreacted…”

The silence returned. The twins guilt only grew heavier as Ruby continued to say nothing. After what felt like hours but was probably only thirty seconds, Ruby finally sighed. “Look, Penny is a little… socially unlearned. But she is not trying to steal me from you, and she is not trying to become part of what we already are. Even if she was… If anyone were to try either of those things, I wouldn’t let them.”

“We’re sorry…” Miltiades repeated.

“We’ve just… been through this kind of thing before. I guess we were scared it would happen again…” Melanie admitted.

“I get that, I do. But… it takes two to do that kind of thing, y’know?” Ruby reminded them, “So, when I realized you had cornered Penny for those reasons… it makes me feel like you don’t trust me.”

Horror and realization filled the twins simultaneously. Their head snapped back up, eyes wide with panic and fear.

“Ruby!” Melanie shouted.

“We do trust you!” Miltiades assured.

“We know you would never hurt us like that!” Melanie added.

“Yeah, well,” Ruby’s glare had long since been replaced with sorrow, “you weren’t acting like it.”

The twins’ gaze dropped guiltily again.

“I love Penny,” Ruby told them. “And Weiss. And Blake and Yang. I love a lot of people. But the only two people I am in love with are you. No more. No less. And that’s not changing.”

The twins’ eyes met, and they nodded. Carefully, they approached Ruby and drew her into a big, three-way hug.

“We are so sorry we made you feel like we don’t trust you,” Miltiades spoke sincerely.

“And while we can’t promise we won’t ever get jealous again,” Melanie confessed.

“We can promise that next time, we’ll come to you first,” Miltiades solidified.

“We love you, too.”

“So much.”

Ruby took a deep, shuddering breath as she buried herself into the hug. The trio embraced each other for nearly a full minute before Ruby finally broke away. “Okay… wow… that was some… heavy stuff.”

“We meant everything we said,” Melanie assured their girlfriend.

“Thank you,” Ruby smiled.

“And we are still so sorry,” Miltiades told her.

“Well…” Ruby smirked. “You can make it up to me by winning me another giant stuffed Ursa?”

The twins found smiles of their own. “As you wish, Gem.”

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine

I apologize to everyone who looks forward to this story for the extended gaps between updates. This is kind of a side project for me. It's getting a chapter now because I haven't settled on my next project yet and wanted to get some writing done. It might get another chapter or two in the next few weeks, or it might not. It all depends on how things go.

Please enjoy!

   ---

The morning came, and neither Weiss nor Ruby knew how to breach the subject. They prepared for their mission around each other in uncomfortable silence. The tension between them only grew along side the silence, and Yang and Blake feared it would boil over badly. As much as they wanted to avoid it, neither of them knew how to get the former ‘BFFs’ to an agreeable conclusion either.

Even the arrival of Zwei, Ruby and Yang’s corgi from Patch, did little to lessen the anxious air. The subject was all that was on their minds, but none of them had to courage to breach it. Not until they were almost on the airship, anyways.

“Hey, Yang?” Ruby asked for her sister to get some words in the air, “What are the details of the mission you guys picked, anyway?”

“Oh yeah, about that…” Yang began cautiously, “We tried to pick a mission that turned out to be restricted to first-years…”

“Then Ozpin came out of nowhere, basically told us he knew exactly what we were up to, and approved us for the restricted mission,” Weiss finished matter-of-factly.

“So… our mission is to actually look for the White Fang?” Ruby asked, confused.

“Not officially,” Blake answered, “But I’m pretty sure that’s what was implied.”

“And… our thing?” Ruby finally directed to Weiss. Getting a conversation out had exactly the effect she hoped. “It won’t get in the way, right?”

“Of course not,” Weiss stated sharply, her classic cold demeanor reemerging.

Yang wouldn’t exactly call it progress, but at least the team knew they would still work efficiently together. It was enough for the team, at least for now.

   ---

Their mission brought them to the ruins of the township of Mountain Glenn. A failed expansion of Vale, Mountain Glenn was a concrete jungle of crumbling buildings and wandering grimm. The concentration of grimm had spiked in recent weeks, which was not unusual on it’s own, but it still lined up with the information Blake had obtained. After a long afternoon with little progress, RWBY and their chaperon set up camp for the night in one of the many collapsed buildings.

Ruby was keeping watch when Doctor Oobleck, their history teacher and huntsmen chaperon clad in safari clothing, approached her. “Good evening, Ms. Rose.”

“Hey, professor,” Ruby greeted in turn in her usual cheerful demeanor.

“Doctor,” Oobleck warned.

“Right, sorry,” Ruby giggled.

“You team is very impressive, for first year students,” Oobleck complemented.

“Thank you!” Ruby smiled. After a pause, she added, “Doctor.”

“But there is a tension here, isn’t there?” the teacher pointed out.

Ruby’s smile failed. “You see it?”

“I do,” Oobleck nodded.

“It won’t get in the way,” Ruby promised, “we’ve talked it over.”

“But not resolved it?” Oobleck pressed further.

Ruby sighed. “Doctor, how do you feel about… polygamy?”

“Hm...” Oobleck thought. That seemed a lot more complicated than what he initially assumed teenagers would argue over. “I believe there is too much negativity in the world deny someone something that makes them happy.”

“One of my team mates doesn’t believe it can be real,” Ruby explained.

“And another is partaking in a polygamous relationship?” Oobleck deduced.

“I am,” Ruby confirmed.

Oobleck couldn’t help but think back on the various observations he had made that day. “Not to be inconsiderate, but Ms. Schnee...?”

Ruby did a double take, panicking for a brief moment. She felt like confirming such was akin to bad mouthing her behind her back. “I… shouldn’t gossip.”

“Of course,” Oobleck nodded, understanding. “I admit I don’t have any advice for you. Much as he may seem it, Professor Ozpin is not omnipotent. Teams are not always a perfect storm of friends and confidants. Being able to work together regardless is part of being an adult.”

“We’re trying,” Ruby nodded. “I just wish I could make her see she’s wrong.”

“She may be wrong in this specific instance, but her fears are not entirely unfounded,” Oobleck defended. “There are those in this world who would prey upon the young, hopeful and niave. If she is concerned for you, it proves that she indeed cares about you.”

Ruby cast her gaze behind her, landing on the heiress’s figure bundled in her sleeping bag. She smiled. “I guess it does. She’ll come around. I can feel it.”

“You are her leader and friend, and would know her better than I,” Oobleck explained, “if you feel as such, I’m sure it will be so.”

“Thank you, professor,” Ruby nodded. Oobleck opened his mouth, but Ruby quickly cut him off, “Doctor! Heh, sorry.”

Oobleck closed his mouth and smiled. With a nod, he left the young leader to resume her watch.

   ---

Weiss gazed over the city with blank eyes. It was her turn to watch camp, but her mind was engulfed by other thoughts. Truth is, she was wide awake when Oobleck prodded Ruby about the tension in the team. She heard the entire conversation, and it gave her plenty to think about. She knew her upbringing was oppressive, to say the least, but there had to be a line somewhere?

“Hey, Weiss?”

Her concerns weren’t baseless, that much Oobleck agreed with

“Um, Weiss?”

But was it really true that Ruby’s relationship could be fine? Healthy, even?

“Weeeiiiiissss?”

Weiss was ready to wait in the wings with an ‘I told you so’, but maybe-

“Weiss!”

“Huh?” Weiss spun around, finally broken from her train of thought.

“Finally,” Ruby sighed in relief, having finally gotten Weiss’s attention. “Are you still tired? We can swap watches if you need more rest.”

“No, I’m fine,” Weiss insisted.

“Alright,” Ruby shrugged, “anyway, I wanted to say I think I noticed something. It’s probably nothing, but I’m gunna go check it out.”

Weiss nodded, “don’t rush into something, okay? Call us if you need us.”

“I will,” Ruby promised.

Weiss nodded and cast her gaze back over the city once more. Ruby may not be a genius, but she was far from stupid. Crescent Rose alone could attest to that. And she is training to be a huntress, so it wasn’t likely the twins had physically overpowered her at any point.

I was ready to standby with an ‘I told you so’, but maybe that’s not how I should be thinking. And it won’t help Ruby should that come to pass. Perhaps I should support her now, and be there for her later if the worst indeed happens. And if it doesn’t happen, if Ruby’s relationship is valid…

“I don’t want to lose her as a friend,” Weiss finished her thought aloud.

The sunrise wasn’t far away, and soon the light and warmth of morning was rousing the sleeping hunters.

“Well!” Oobleck stretched and took a swing from his portable mug, “Who’s ready for a brand new day!?”

“Wait a minute,” Blake looked around, “something’s not right...”

“Yeah, where’s my sister!?” Yang noticed.

“What do you mean?” Weiss asked, “Isn’t she back?”

“Back?” Blake questioned in turn.

“She told me she was going to check something out,” Weiss explained, “and she promised to call in if it turned out to be, well, something. I never got a call.”

“And you didn’t notice she never returned!?” Yang shouted, “How long has she been gone!?”

“Girls!” Oobleck quickly took control of the situation, “now is not the time for anger. Whatever lessons this mistake can teach must be pondered later. First, we resolve the mistake itself. You leader may be in danger, and we must stay calm as we search for her.”

Camp was packed hastily and the group set out with no delay. Blake was the first to spot Crescent Rose, folded on the ground in front of a large sinkhole. Oobleck began a rant about sealed subway lines underneath the township, but Weiss could barely hear it.

She was looking forward to telling Ruby about her change of mind and hopefully mending their friendship, and subsequently the connection with the rest of the team, in the process. Now the girl was in danger and Weiss would regret it the rest of her life if she never got the chance to repair that particular bridge.

“Well, Weiss?” Blake broke through the heiress’s haze of thoughts, “You with us?”

Weiss quickly deduced what they were asking, not that it was very hard. They needed to go down into the dark. Weiss picked up Crescent Rose, steeling her resolve. She looked to the others and nodded, “Let’s go save our fearless leader.”

   ---

Melanie yawned as she leaned across the bar. “Why on earth are we awake again?”

“Because Junior agreed to host a wedding reception and he needed hands,” Miltiades reminded her sister.

“Who the hell has a reception at a nightclub?” Melanie stifled a laugh, “They’re probably under 20. I give them two months.”

“Don’t be rude,” Junior scolded, “They’re paying customers. Well paying customers.”

Melanie sighed. “Can you at least turn that off?” she pointed to the television currently displaying the morning news. “It’s putting me to sleep.”

Junior nodded and picked up the remote.

“Wait!” Miltiades stopped him, staring at the screen.

“What?” Melanie looked up and read the screen.

BREAKING NEWS: Explosion! Huntsmen and Grimm brawl in downtown Vale!

“Holy shit...” Junior read, “Don’t think that’s near us, though.”

“Mel...” Miltiades pointed again as the ‘huntsmen’ came into frame.

Black hair. Combat boots. Red cape. “Ruby!”

Now wide awake, Melanie dashed out of the club. Miltiades made to follow, but stopped short. The less brash twin didn’t want to leave without her boss’s blessing.

“Go,” Junior told her. Miltiades nodded and ran after her sister.

By the time the twins reached the battlefield, the chaos had already passed. Someone in handcuffs was being loaded onto an airship and a tall blonde the twins recognized as a Beacon teacher from the dance was talking to a man in safari gear. Ruby and her team stood close by. Blake spotted the twins first, nudging Ruby’s shoulder.

“Girls!” Ruby’s eyes lit up as she jogged over to them, “what are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Melanie turned it around, “I thought your mission was outside the kingdom, not blowing up downtown Vale!?”

Ruby, perhaps still high on battle adrenaline and victory, giggled.

“What?” Melanie asked, confused.

“I’m sorry,” Ruby continued to grin widely, “but you acting all super concerned like is adorable.”

In another rare display, Melanie stuttered and struggled to respond, simply crossing her arms as her face lit up.

“She does has a point,” Miltiades defended, “What happened?”

“Well...” Ruby searched for where to begin.

Before she could, the three were interrupted by an approaching Weiss. “So,” the heiress cut in, “Which of you is ‘Miltia’?”

The twins shared a silent conversation, quickly deducing this was Weiss. They crossed their arms defensively before Miltiades answered, “I am Miltiades.”

“And I don’t believe I have heard your name?” Weiss looked to the other twin.

“Melanie,” the white twin answered.

“I am Weiss Schnee,” the heiress introduced herself elegantly.

“We figured,” the twins answered in unison.

“Right...” Weiss nodded, slightly unnerved. She pushed through regardless, saying what she wanted to say. “I have made some comments recently that I have come to regret. And I apologize.”

Melanie raised an eyebrow at this while Miltiades cautiously lowered her crossed arms. Ruby placed her hand on her partner’s shoulder. “Weiss?”

Weiss lowered Ruby’s hand before continuing. “The team is trusting Ruby would let us know if anything untoward is happening, and I can’t deny you are making her happy. I won’t attempt to disguise that I still have my doubts… However, I look forward to the three of you proving me wrong.”

“Was that… acceptance?” Melanie looked to her twin.

“It sounded like it to me,” Miltiades answered.

“I knew it!” Ruby drew her partner into a crushing hug, “I knew you’d come around!”

“Off! Ruby, get off!” Weiss panicked, trying to pry herself away. “Get off me! Down! Down!”

Ruby let herself be peeled off, retaining her grin. “You like it.”

The heiress huffed, but made no real rebuttal. Instead, she turned back to the twins. “As much as I’m sure Ruby would love to run away with you right now, we’re still ‘on the clock’, so to speak, until we debrief at Beacon. I’m glad to have finally met the two of you.”

“Wait, we still haven’t heard what happened?” Melanie recalled.

“I’ll call you the second I’m free!” Ruby promised as she and Weiss walked back to their team. “I should be going before Professor Goodwitch gets angry. Well, angry-er. I love you both!”

Melanie frowned at missing the story. Miltiades supplied, “We love you too.”

As Ruby and Weiss fell back in line with the team, Ruby offered a, “Thank you, Weiss.”

Weiss smiled. “I know I don’t show it well, but I do appreciate our friendship. Same with Yang and Blake as well. You constantly show me how to better myself, really better myself and not just… well, you know.”

“Don’t worry, Weiss,” Ruby smirked, “We’ll have you wearin’ PJ pants all weekend with some wicked bedhead like the rest of us lazy commoners before you know it!”

“As if!” Weiss defended. “I will hold on to some decorum, thank you very much! There is a difference between elitism and harmless class.”

“You’re definitely a class act,” Yang jabbed.

Weiss turned to the blonde. “Yang, I-”

“Stop worrying,” Yang cut her off. She flashed a smile for good measure. “Just messin’ with ya, shortstack.”

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

   ---

Melanie’s mind was slowly roused from sleep by an incessant scroll’s ringtone. She felt a presence shifting in her arms, telling her whoever was in them was awake. “Miltia, who’s calling you at this hour…?”

“That’s not my scroll, Mel…” an equally tired Miltiades responded.

“It’s mine,” a third, equally tired, and very familiar voice claimed.

Melanie’s eyes shot open. She had forgotten Ruby had spent the night, but there the girl was in her and her sister’s arms. Or rather, was, as the redhead sat up to grab her scroll. Melanie looked over at Miltiades, the twins sharing a smile as they recalled the night before.

Ruby hit answer and put the scroll up to her ear, “Helloo…”

“Wow, Rubes, did I wake you up?” Yang’s voice was clear and conscious on the other side.

“No, no, I’m fii-” yyaawwwwwnnn “-iine…” Ruby tried to stretch herself awake.

“Sure you are,” Yang chuckled, “How late were you up last night?”

“I stayed up in the club while the twins were on shift…” Ruby answered slowly, “Why? What time is it?”

“It’s almost ten.”

“Almost- what!” Ruby was much more awake now, “Oh shoot, mission selection! Oohhh I am so late!”

“Calm down, Rubes, I got an idea,” Yang spoke calmly. After a short moment, Ruby heard her voice again, slightly distorted. “Alright, we got you on speaker. I’m here with Blake and the other one.”

“Good morning, Ruby,” Blake’s voice came through.

“…Hi.” Weiss’s voice sounded as well.

“Way I see it, we make sure we’re on the same page and we should be able to pick a mission we’re all happy with without you here,” Yang explained. “Then you get to sleep in and spend the day with your girls!”

“That’s… actually a good idea,” Ruby nodded.

“You don’t have to sound so surprised…” Yang grumbled.

“So what are we thinking?” Ruby asked.

“Well… there is that info I got at the rally,” Blake spoke up, “About the southeast? I told Ozpin, but I still want to investigate myself…”

“Wait, when did you tell Ozpin?” Weiss asked.

“Last night, during the dance, I spotted someone breaking into the CCT tower,” Blake explained, “I missed the last half of the dance because I was being debriefed by Ozpin and General Ironwood. I told them what I saw, and managed to work in the ‘southeast’ angle.”

“So, we shadow a hunter in one of the southeast quadrants?” Ruby tried to steer the conversation back on track, “Maybe check Search and Destroy?”

“I like the sound of that!” Yang sounded excited, “We'll follow them around by day, and give them the slip by night!”

“Sounds like we got a plan,” Ruby agreed. As her mind calmed, another yawn signaled her returning fatigue “Now I’ve got someplace to be…”

“Do you want to stay on as we pick the mission?” Blake suggested.

“Nah, I think we covered everything pretty well,” Ruby told her, “I trust you guys.”

“Even me…?”

Even across the scroll all four girls could feel the silence fall after Weiss’s comment. Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought out her response. “I trust that you won’t let private problems affect how RWBY works as a team,” Ruby decided on her answer, “everything else, is… a longer discussion for a later date. Preferably not on speaker over my sister’s phone.”

“… I understand,” Weiss responded.

“Enjoy your day, Ruby,” Blake bid farewell.

“Just not too much!” Yang teased.

“Shut up, Yang…” Ruby retorted with no energy and hung up.

“So, are we losing you now…?” Miltiades asked with sleep in her voice.

“Absolutely…” Ruby tossed her scroll aside and leaned back, “not!” She settled back into place between Melanie and Miltiades, “Team’s got mission pickin’ covered. I’m all yours today.”

“Good,” Melanie smiled.

“It’s too early to stay awake any longer…” Miltiades agreed.

The three girls returned to a comfortable sleep for another few hours.

   ---

Miltiades roused from sleep once again, more naturally this time. She opened her eyes to see Ruby and Melanie still snoring lightly, noses less than an inch apart. The red twin smiled as she did every time she was reminded of her and her sister’s suddenly successful romance. Sometimes it seemed too good to be true, but then Ruby would text them or show up to take them to lunch. Or invite them to Beacon’s equivalent of a prom. Despite the little white road bump, last night was absolutely perfect.

“What are you smiling about, Miltia?” Melanie asked, surprising her sister who didn’t know she was awake yet.

“Probably the same thing you’re smiling about,” Miltiades pointed out her teasing sister’s own smile.

“Girls, girls…” Ruby interrupted, her eyes still closed, “I know I’m cute, but you’re going to give me a complex.”

The twins both turned red at being caught red-handed. Thankfully, Ruby’s eyes were still closed and they were able to play it off. “We can’t help it!” Melanie recovered first.

“You’re just too cute,” Miltiades kissed Ruby’s cheek.

Ruby smiled and finally opened her eyes, turning her head to look up at Miltiades. “I may be cute, but you two,” Ruby kissed Miltiades then Melanie in turn with an exaggerated mwah, “Are beautiful.”

“Keep up the sweet talk,” Melanie smirked, “and you may not be leaving this bed…”

Ruby was finally getting used to Melanie’s suggestive teasing and was able to respond, even if her cheeks were still bright red at the thought. “As tempting as that may or may not be,” Ruby answered, “My tummy is yelling at me…”

“Party pooper,” Melanie directed to comment at the redhead’s stomach.

“What’s on the menu for breakfast?” Ruby asked, finally sitting up and checking her scroll. It was already almost one in the afternoon. “Or whatever you girls call this meal.”

“Breakfast,” Melanie confirmed, “We have cereal…”

“Some oatmeal…” Miltiades helped her sister list off.

“We might have a few eggs we can cook up...”

“Or pancakes…”

“We could always have breakfast in town, too!”

“We’re off tonight, there’s no reason to stay in the club.”

“So what do you want, Ruby?”

The redhead had slumped back onto the bed while the twins conversed. “I wanna stay in bed…” she answered.

Melanie rolled her eyes, “But it was your stomach that made us get up. Come on, sweetheart,” she took Ruby’s hands and guided her off the bed, “You can have first shower. The water will wake you up.”

“You can use whatever products you see, we don’t have anything too fancy,” Miltiades offered.

“Alright, alright, fine…” Ruby fake-pouted, “but only cuz you asked nicely…”

   ---

Ruby stepped out of the bathroom dressed in all but her boots and hood, feeling refreshed and awake. Her ankle was feeling leagues better as well, and would likely be all healed up before the next morning. Just in time for the mission, she thought to herself as she entered the living room. “I’m done in the shower, girls!”

“Sounds good!” the twins chimed as they stepped past Ruby.

“We’ll be quick as we can,” Miltiades promised.

“Then we’ll go get breakfast!” Melanie finished.

Ruby watched them both shut the door, realization creeping slowly. Of course they’re sharing a shower… Ruby was starting to believe her blush would become permanent if she was not careful with where her thoughts proceeded next. To distract herself, she decided to take a look around the apartment and try to parse how the twins lived when she wasn’t around.

Looking around, it almost seemed like Melanie and Miltiades could be the result of if Ruby herself were somehow split in two. Or if her and Weiss were born as twins. Nothing felt like it would be out of place in a future home for the redhead, even though she knew Miltiades didn’t play the video games stashed under the TV, and Melanie wasn’t an avid reader of the books that littered bookshelves.

Ruby could imagine an average night for the twins. A gamepad in Melanie’s hand, taking on challenge after challenge with the press of a few buttons. Miltiades with a book or two, letting the words on the page take her to worlds outside her own. Both on the couch, spending their time together even if they were doing separate things. And of course, Ruby could imagine herself snuggled between them, alternating between the two activities and sharing many, many close moments.

Her imagined future with the twins made her smile. Sitting down on the couch and thinking about how the future in very nearly reality already, made her smile even wider.

“And what is making you so happy?”

Either the twins were really fast in a shower, or Ruby lost track of time worse than she thought. Either way, the surprise didn’t kill her mood in the slightest. “I just love you two so much,” Ruby confessed.

The twins smiled and descended onto the couch next to her, faces within kissing distance. “We love you too,” They chimed with equal smiles.

After kisses were shared, Ruby spoke up. “Hey, how about after breakfast we come back here? Have a lazy day. No pressure, no ‘date’. Just us, some games, some books, and a whole lotta snacks?”

The twins shared a look of surprise that made Ruby question, “What did I say?”

“Nothing!” Melanie quickly assured.

“We were discussing how we were going to make this day with you worth it while we showered,” Miltiades elaborated, “And neither of us thought of a ‘lazy day’.”

“Oh,” Ruby nodded, “So what do you want to do?”

The twins found their smile again, “A lazy day sounds perfect.”

“Now!” Ruby stood and pointed nowhere specific, putting on her best mock-serious voice, “To breakfast! Before my belly gets any angrier!”

Miltiades giggled at their girlfriend’s antics while Melanie answered, “Aye aye, captain!”

   ---

“NO no no nO NO!” Ruby cursed as her video game avatar died yet again. “How do people enjoy these games!?”

“It’s all about the challenge, Gem,” Melanie rubbed Ruby’s back lightly to try and calm her.

“And if I die again anywhere between the safe zone and that boss, I’ll lose the 20,000 blackblood I took in with me!” Ruby continued to complain, “So now I can’t ditch this boss cuz I have to beat him to walk away with those!”

“I told you, you should have leveled up,” Melanie reminded her.

“Grrrr…” Ruby growled.

“Just think of it this way,” Miltiades offered from over the top of her book, “Think of how it’ll feel when you finally do beat ‘em. Mel got stuck on this same boss, and I’m pretty sure the clubgoers could hear her scream of joy over the music downstairs after she won.”

“And you actually have better stats then I did back then,” Melanie revealed, “You’ve got this Ruby!”

“If you say so…” Ruby sighed and tried to psych herself up. “Kiss for good luck?”

Melanie smiled and granted Ruby her wish. “Go get ‘em, Gem.”

Ruby carefully and quickly moved her character around and between dozens of enemies, thankfully without taking a hit this time, in a b-line straight for the boss. Ruby entered the boss arena with a quiet mind and a plan. The more human-sized enemies seemed to have a special weakness to counters with a weapon’s gun form. Maybe this boss has the same effect?

As the fight began, Ruby’s scroll buzzed. Miltiades decided to answer for the redhead, since she was currently occupied. She grabbed the scroll and stood behind the couch to speak without affecting Ruby’s game. Big Sis, eh? Miltiades read off the contact before answering. “Hello, Yang.”

“Miltia?” The blonde on the other end asked, “Or wait, are you Melanie?”

“It’s Miltia,” The red-dressed twin responded.

“Where’s Ruby? I did call her scroll, right?” Yang asked.

“She’s in the middle of a crazy boss fight right now,” Miltia answered.

Yang sighed, “What, can she not pause?”

“Not in ‘Blood of the Grimm’.”

“You got her to play Blood of the Grimm!?” Yang seemed a bit more excited now, “I’ve been trying to get her into that for weeks! How’d you do it?”

“Mel did, I don’t really play video games,” Miltia informed her.

“Where is she? In the game?” Yang asked, whatever topic she initially called for seemingly forgotten.

“Well, she’s fighting an old man…”

“WHAT THE HECKIE!?” Ruby suddenly screamed at the game.

“…Who apparently turns into a large Beowolf.”

“Ah, I think I got it…”

“Before we completely forget, what did you call for?” Miltiades tried to get the conversation back on track.

“Oh yeah, I just wanted to know if Rubes is gunna be here tonight. Tell her to let me know when she’s done?” Yang asked.

“I’ll pass the message,” Miltiades promised.

“Cool beans. Talk to you later!”

“Bye, Yang.”

“I died again…” Ruby groaned, slumping on the couch.

“Maybe, but you did learn something about the fight and made more progress into it than you have yet,” Melanie pointed out.

“I guess so…” Ruby thought about it for a moment before smiling, “yeah, I did, huh? I think I’m starting to understand how this game is supposed to be enjoyed. Still need all that blackblood back though.”

“So get after him already,” Miltiades pressed.

“Oh, hey, what did Yang want?” Ruby asked.

“It can wait until you’ve won,” Miltiades draped herself across the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around Ruby, “So you better win soon.”

“Yeesh, no pressure…” Ruby leaned back into Miltiades’s arms and made for the boss again.

It took two more attempts before Ruby was victorious, and she jumped right out of Miltiades’s arms and off the couch with joy. “WOO! Finally! Haha! And I didn’t even lose my blackblood!”

“And a warp point is right there,” Melanie guided her, “So go level up already!”

“On it!” Ruby sat back down and made sure to spend her currency properly this time.

“Congratulations, Ruby!” Miltiades kissed her girlfriend’s cheek.

“That was the second boss!” Ruby realized, turning to Melanie, “And you say you’ve beaten this game?”

“I have,” Melanie confirmed, “and technically, that was the first required boss. The other one wasn’t necessary to beat the game.”

“Really?” Ruby questioned, “Then why did I fight them!?”

“To get some cool stuff?” Melanie shrugged.

“Oye…” Ruby groaned and turned back to Miltiades, “Well, in the world of sane people, how was your book?”

“Getting good,” Miltades nodded, picking it back up, “I’m in the final third, and things are getting heated between the main character and… himself, I guess?”

Ruby arched an eyebrow and read the spine of the book. The Man with Two Souls. “I think you and Blake would get along really well,” the redhead noted.

“Speaking of your team,” Miltiades interrupted, “Yang wanted to know where you’re spending tonight?”

“Oh shoot, what time is it?” Ruby checked her scroll. Nine-thirty!? That’s a little later than I intended… Ruby looked back up to see Miltiades hopeful face. As much as it made Ruby want to give in, she had to be a responsible huntress-in-training as well. “I’d love to stay again, but our mission starts early. I lucked out this morning, but I can’t afford to be late tomorrow. I’d better head back to Beacon…”

The twins looked sad to part with Ruby, but they understood. “What we said before still matters,” Melanie opened.

“Be careful, and text us the second you’re back safe!” Miltiades continued.

“We’ll miss you,” Melanie told Ruby.

“We love you,” Miltiades spoke for both twins.

“And I love you,” Ruby kissed Miltiades. “Both of you,” she followed up, kissing Melanie as well.

Ruby stood and gathered her pajamas and the dress, which were now stashed in the backpack Yang brought. She looked back to the twins on the way out the door and saw them watching her. She wanted to say something to lift the mood again. “Say, after I come back safe and sound, maybe we can talk about doing this again?” Ruby offered, “Maybe the weekend after my mission, I can stay Friday night and Saturday night, then go back to Beacon Sunday night so I’m ready for Monday classes?”

It had the desired effect as the twins smiled brightly. Having something to look forward to like that certainly improved their mood. “It sounds like a plan already,” they replied in harmony.

Ruby found her smile again as well. “Good,” she nodded.

This story is going to be renamed ‘Both of them, and Only Them’ from here on out as I begin cross posting to AO3 and possibly Fanfiction dot net.

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

   ---

After the dance wrapped, Ruby walked the twins back to the airship yard. “So when’s the next time we get to see you?” Melanie asked.

“I have a mission in a few days,” Ruby told them, “Team RWBY’s first first-year mission! So probably, like, right after that.”

“A mission?” Miltiades questioned, “Where?”

“We decide tomorrow, then head out the next day,” Ruby explained.

Miltiades looked suddenly nervous, something Ruby was quick to pick up on. “Hey, I’m training to be huntress, remember? This is what I do,” Ruby tried to console her, “First-years aren’t allowed to take too dangerous of missions, and we’ll have a teacher shadowing us! I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Miltiades looked a little better after Ruby’s explanation. “Sorry,” Melanie offered, “We know your training to do exactly this.”

“We just thought it would be a while before we had to worry about you leaving the kingdom to fight,” Miltiades confessed.

Ruby pulled the twins into an embrace. “I’ll be okay. I have you two to come back to, after all.”

The twins blushed at the affectionate remark, hugging Ruby back and smiling. Ruby shared a kiss with each twin in turn before letting them go. Melanie stepped on the airship and turned back to Ruby, “Text us the moment you’re back safe, okay!?”

“Will do!” Ruby waved them off, “I love you, girls!”

“We love you too!” The twins replied together before shutting the door.

Ruby smiled watching the airship take off, basking in her own happiness for a few moments before turning to make for her dorm. She carried her heels in her hand and walked slowly, trying to be easy on her sprained ankle. As such, Yang and Blake were already dressed down and settled in their beds when Ruby arrived.

“Hey Rubes,” Yang called out, “You have a good night?”

“The best,” Ruby smiled.

“It’s too bad I missed out on meeting the twins…” Blake apologized.

“It’s okay! They’ll be here for festival, if nothing else,” Ruby assured Blake.

“Where were you all night, anyway?” Yang asked Blake.

“In Ozpin’s office after catching someone sneaking into the CCT tower,” Blake told them. “I was planning on sharing the details when the whole team was here.”

Ruby looked around the dorm, “Now that you mention it, where is Weiss?”

“She said something about having to find you, and took off,” Yang told her, “I’m sure she’ll be back here soon enough, just wait for her.”

Ruby nodded, setting the heels down and trying to nurse her ankle. “Are you going to be okay for the mission?” Blake asked.

“I should be. I’ll go to the nurse tomorrow if you-”

“There you are!”

Weiss cut off Ruby as she entered the room, rushing to her partner’s side. “Are you okay!?”

“Yeah, it’s just a sprain?” Ruby almost giggled at her partner’s over-concern.

“They didn’t make you do anything, did they?” Weiss asked.

“Do anything?” Ruby raised an eyebrow.

“Those two miscreants!” Weiss elaborated.

“Who are you talking about, Weiss?” Yang asked.

“Yang, ‘Miltia’ has really been two people this entire time!” Weiss explained.

“I know that, Weiss,” Yang told her.

“What!? Then why haven’t you done anything?” Weiss pressed incredulously.

“Like what? Ruin my sister’s happy relationship?” Yang narrowed her eyes at Weiss.

Blake decided to intervene, “Weiss, you may want to be quiet now…”

“No,” Ruby denied Blake’s intervention, “Weiss, what exactly are you trying to say?”

“That those two deviants are taking advantage of you!” Weiss exclaimed, “Someone tell her!” The heiress looked around the room and only saw eyes turned on her in disbelief and anger.

“Weiss,” Ruby spoke calmly, “I don’t know what you think you saw, but Melanie and Miltia are not ‘taking advantage of me’!”

“But they have to be,” Weiss insisted.

“And what exactly makes you think that!?” Ruby shouted.

“Because how could you be in a relationship with both of them!?” Weiss stated with certainty, like it was all the proof she needed.

“And there it is…” Yang muttered, scowling.

“A healthy relationship is between two people,” Weiss defended herself, “You just can’t have that with more participants.”

“Two months ago, you believed a healthy relationship could only be between a man and woman,” Blake pointed out.

“And I understand that was wrong,” Weiss replied, “but this is too far! I mean, if it’s so healthy, why hasn’t she told us!?”

“I already said I knew,” Yang reminded her, “I’ve even met them. They’re great.”

“And technically, I knew before Yang did, though I’ve yet to meet them,” Blake explained.

“So everyone knows besides me?” Weiss frowned, “Why?”

“Why do you think…?” Ruby held her head in her hands.

“So no one said anything?” Weiss continued unimpeded. “No one stopped them!?”

“I love them, Weiss!” Ruby finally had enough, “and they love me! And If you just can’t accept that, then… well, I don’t care! But I’m not going to stay here to get lectured over my life choices!”

“Where are you going?” Yang asked as Ruby bee-lined for the door.

“Anywhere but here!” Ruby told her, wrenching open the door and vanishing into rose petals.

Weiss was speechless. She felt Yang’s and Blake’s eyes drilling holes into her head and turned to face them. “I cannot be the only one who thinks this is a bad idea.”

“For your own sake, Weiss, be quiet,” Yang scolded. The blonde jumped down from the bed and started putting clothing from Ruby’s closet into a backpack.

“What are you doing?” Blake asked.

“Making myself useful. I have an idea where Ruby might end up, and she left without changing or even putting on her boots,” Yang explained, grabbing said boots. “Besides, if I stay here, I might end up punching the ignorance right out of Weiss’s thick skull.”

Yang left the dorm, closing the door behind her. Weiss turned to her last teammate, “Blake…?”

Blake sat up to speak sternly. “Weiss, whether or not you believe that kind of relationship is possible, it’s clear Ruby trusts the twins. And we trust Ruby. If the twins do hurt her, we trust that Ruby will come to us. And if Ruby’s actions prove anything, it’s that she hasn’t been taking this lightly.”

“I’m not going to try and tell you what to believe,” Blake stood up and walked up to Weiss to press her point, “but this would hardly be the first time your upbringing has proven narrow-minded. If you still want to be Ruby’s friend, and have our forgiveness, you need to seriously consider what your beliefs are and what you’re willing to compromise.”

“And if I can’t ‘compromise’?” Weiss asked.

“Then I hope we can all stay professional for the sake of the team,” Blake stated factually, “but I wouldn’t expect you to be invited to any days on the town or anything.”

Blake left as well, deciding to spend an hour or so in the library while the dorm settled. Weiss was left all alone, mentally struggling between her long-held beliefs and her desires to maintain her team’s important friendships.

   ---

Ruby wasn’t entirely sure where she was going until she was halfway through Vale, limping and wearing holes into the bottom of her stockings. “Stupid Weiss, stupid Schnee rich-people thoughts…” Ruby fumed. She stepped wrong on the cracked sidewalk, aggravating her ankle.

“Stupid lady-stilts!” she cursed, taking the moment to slow down and think. She realized quickly she was near Junior’s club. Because where else would I end up? Ruby smiled, happy at the prospect of seeing the twins despite her current issues with Weiss. She fished out her scroll and messaged Yang, ‘I think I’m going to stay with the twins tonight, rather than go back to… the dorm.’

With that, Ruby approached the door. Luckily, the doorman was one that recognized Ruby. “Woah, you okay Little Red? You look… rough.”

“Are the twins in?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah, they’re working late shift,” The doorman explained, “Changed schedule a few days ago, something about a dance, but they’re in now. You want to come in?”

Ruby wasted no time nodding. She was given a wristband that would tell everyone she wasn’t to be served alcohol before being led inside. Once she was seated at the bar, one of the employees went to find Melanie and Miltiades. While waiting, Ruby received Yang’s reply, ‘I figured. I got your boots and a change of clothes. I’ll be there soon.’

“Ruby!” Melanie called out as the twins spotted her. The trio rushed together and shared an embrace.

“What are you doing here?” Miltiades asked, “Javier said you looked rough, are you okay?”

“Weiss saw us at the dance,” Ruby explained, “When I got back to the dorm, she didn’t react well at all. She accu… she said…” Ruby took a deep breath, “It doesn’t matter what she said. What matters is she was wrong and I don’t want to be in the dorm right now. Can I stay here tonight?”

“Of course,” Melanie nodded, “I’ll let Junior know. I’ll be right back.” Melanie vanished into the crowd.

“Are you okay?” Miltiades asked, looking over Ruby’s disheveled outfit.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ruby smiled, “I just left before I could think. Yang will be by in a bit with some stuff for me.”

“When she gets here, we’ll show you to our ‘apartment’ so you can change,” Miltiades promised.

“Thank you,” Ruby smiled, leaning against Miltiades as Melanie reappeared nearby. “I’m so sorry to impose…”

“Not at all, Ruby,” Miltiades assured. “What kind of girlfriends would we be if we ignored you when things were rough?”

“If things were flipped, you would have offered us a place for the night before we had a chance to ask,” Melanie smiled, joining the hug. “We’re here for you, Ruby.”

Another employee appeared behind the girls. “Hey!” he called their attention, “Blondie is at the bar asking after the three of you!”

Ruby, Melanie and Miltiades made their way back to the bar to see Yang with Ruby’s boots in one hand and a Beacon backpack in the other. “Hey girls! Busy night?”

“Busier now, I’m sure,” Melanie teased.

“Nah, you don’t have to worry about me,” Yang smirked, “With Weiss’s head on the chopping block, I probably shouldn’t impair my better judgement.” The blonde handed over the care package for her sister, “You gunna be okay, Rubes?”

“I’ll be fine, really,” Ruby gestured to the twins on either side of her, “I’m feeling better already.”

“What exactly did Weiss say?” Miltiades’s curiosity burned as to what could cause this reaction.

“Nothing nice,” was all Yang gave them, trusting Ruby to say more if she wanted them to know. “I should probably take off before one of my club friends rope me into shots. Girls, take good care of my sister. Sis, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Yang winked and shot Ruby finger-guns.

“Yang!” Ruby blushed furiously.

The blonde laughed and waved goodbye as she left. Melanie and Miltiades guided Ruby to a staircase labeled ‘sleep-it-offs’. The sounds of the club were muffled by soundproof walls as they ascended. A series of identical doors stretched before them, only broken by a door labeled ‘M&M’. Inside was the modified apartment Ruby had been told about. “This place actually looks a little roomier than I expected,” Ruby told them.

“The bedroom is through that door,” Miltiades pointed, “if you’re going to change out of the dress.”

“Let’s see…” Ruby sat down and opened the bag. “Yang brought me my day gear aaand my PJ’s!”

“Y’know…” Melanie opened, “Miltia and I still have to work our shifts tonight. I know it’s not exactly how any of us planned your first visit…”

“And we understand if you’re still tired from your day!” Miltiades cut in.

“But if you’re up to it, we’d love to see you downstairs in the club,” Melanie carried through, “Just cuz we’re on the clock doesn’t mean we can’t find a moment or two to visit you at the bar.”

“Are you sure?” Ruby asked.

“Of course!” The twins chimed.

“In that case, I’m gunna change into my day clothes before heading down,” Ruby made for the bedroom door. “Thank you again, girls.”

“Stop sweating it,” Miltiades insisted.

“And warn us before you raid our underwear drawer!” Melanie teased.

“MEL!” Both Miltiades and Ruby shouted and burned bright red.

“Between you and Yang, I swear…” Ruby grumbled and shut the door to change.

   ---

The twins had already returned to work by the time Ruby finished changing, and she headed back down to the bar on her own. She wasn’t sitting there for very long before Melanie appeared next to her, “Fancy seeing you here, stranger.”

Ruby giggled and smiled, “Heya, Mel. So, uhh… what is there for a girl like me to do here?”

“Well, you don’t have to be drunk to enjoy dancing,” Melanie pointed out.

“I kinda have issues with that at the moment,” Ruby reminded her, wiggling her right foot.

“Well, if you want anything to eat or drink, we’ve got you covered!” Melanie promised.

“I can’t do that! I should at least pay for own drinks!” Ruby argued.

Melanie grabbed a menu and handed it to Ruby. “You got enough in your allowance to cover these prices?”

“Holy moly…” Ruby muttered, her eyes locked on the inflated numbers.

“Jacob!” Melanie waved down the bartender, “This is Ruby, Miltia and my’s girlfriend. Whatever she wants is on us!”

“Nice to finally meet you, Ruby!” Jacob grinned.

“Melanie, I can’t,” Ruby tried to argue still.

“You can and you will, you stubborn gem,” Melanie smirked.

Ruby huffed and looked over the menu. “Weeelll… those sliders do sound really good…”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jacob nodded.

“Aw, but there’s no hot chocolate on the menu!” Ruby complained.

“It may not be on the menu, but I’m pretty sure we have all the ingredients. Y’know, to use in other drinks?” Jacob told her. “I can make you some.”

“Would you!?” Ruby smiled widely.

“Of course! Made with milk or water?”

“Milk, please!”

“Can you believe that’s the first please I got all night?” Jacob playfully complained to Melanie. “Already my favorite customer!”

“Thank you so much, for all of this!” Ruby hugged and kissed Melanie.

“It’s no problem, Ruby. You don’t need to thank us all night,” Melanie replied, smiling. “I gotta get back out there, but Miltia and I will drop in on you whenever we have a moment as the night goes on!”

True to their word, the twins frequently found excuses to visit the bar, and subsequently Ruby. Ruby got to see the twins kick somebody out of the club, held plenty of conversations with Jacob as he made other people's drinks, and watched Miltiades as she tried to discreetly steal a slider. It was a better time than Ruby expected, just hanging out at the bar. She even found herself regretting she still couldn’t dance during one or two songs she recognized from Yang’s workout playlist. And every stolen minute with Melanie or Miltiades made the entire night more than worth it.

“Well we’re finally off,” Miltiades informed Ruby as a few stragglers made to finally leave the club.

“And I’m fighting to stay awake…” Ruby yawned, “How late is it anyway?”

“More like how early,” Melanie corrected Ruby. “Way past your bedtime I bet. Let’s get you to bed.”

The twins guided Ruby up to the apartment where she lethargically changed into her PJ’s in the bathroom. Once she was ready to sleep, she walked toward the couch.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Melanie called her out.

“The couch?” Ruby questioned, “I absolutely draw the line at kicking you out of your bed.”

“Who said anything about kicking us out?” Miltiades asked her.

“I-I-umm… I mean, uhh…” Ruby stuttered.

Melanie rolled her eyes and grabbed Ruby’s hands. “I know I tease you a lot, but you know I’m not actually going to do anything you’re not ready for, right?”

“I mean, yeah, of course…” Ruby blushed.

“Besides, even if that was on the table, Mel and I are tired too,” Miltiades spoke up from her spot on the bed.

“We just want to cuddle our girlfriend, if that’s okay?” Melanie explained.

“Of course!” Ruby spoke quickly. She cleared her throat after realizing how desperate she sounded, “I mean, I’d love to…”

Author Note - Holy crap, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been having trouble with my main project, which means I haven’t really worked on this at all since the Ch. 5 upload. Thankfully I found a break in my main project and decided to use it to finish off Ch. 6 so I could upload it. Trying something new here, too, by trying to transcribe a canon scene. Don’t worry if you don’t like it, I probably won’t do it often.

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Read chapter 1 here

Read chapter 2 here

Read chapter 3 here

Read chapter 4 here

Read chapter 5 here

   ---

“Another long day…” Miltiades groaned. The club had just closed, kicking out the last of the stragglers. “Somehow I thought working in a club would be more exciting.”

“I thought Ruby would be here one of these nights,” Melanie mentioned off-hand, “We haven’t seen here in a few days.”

“Her classes picked back up, she’s needed at school,” Miltiades reminded her twin.

“I know, but…” Melanie cut herself off.

Miltiades smirked. “The customers are gone Mil. You don’t have to keep up the tough face.”

“I miss her,” Melanie admitted to her twin.

“I know,” Miltiades hugged her sister, “I do too. Maybe we can surprise her at Beacon?”

“I would have done that ages ago,” Melanie confessed, “But she’s still afraid it will cause issues with the Schnee girl, her partner.”

“Oh… yeah…” Miltiades sighed. She looked to the door the moment Yang walked in with a blue-haired boy neither of them recognized. “What is she doing here?”

“Hm?” Melanie turned around to see what her sister had seen. “Yang?”

The twins approached the bar at the same time Junior called off his gunmen and invited Yang in to talk.

“I don’t know!” Junior argued with the blonde.

“How can you not know!?” Yang argued back.

“I haven't talked to him! I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here,” Junior pointed his finger in Yang’s face. “He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. Back.”

“So where did they go?” The blue-haired boy interrupted.

Junior stared at him for a moment. “What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back. Who is this guy?”

“Don’t worry about him!” Yang pushed the boy aside, “Worry about me if I don’t find out what I want!”

Junior sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I already told you everything. Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them. Which is something I can relate to!”

The twins reached the bar, settling themselves on the other side of Yang from the blue-haired boy.

“Hello, Yang,” The twins spoke in unison.

Yang jumped slightly at the vocal harmony. “Oh, hey girls.”

“What are you doing here?” Miltiades asked.

“And does your leader know where you are?” Melanie half-teased, half-genuinely-asked about Ruby.

“Well, Yang, you didn’t tell me you know twins,” The blue-haired boy smirked.

“Neptune, don’t,” Yang spoke to him with the same voice one would use to talk down a dog.

“Don’t be like that, Yang,” The boy, Neptune it seemed, playfully scolded. “What are you two doing later?”

“We’re already committed to someone,” The twins answered together.

“Who’s that?” Neptune never lost his cocky grin.

“Someone else,” The twins were getting increasingly annoyed.

“Come on! I’m sure you two, me, and your other can have fun together,” Neptune carried on unfazed, with finger-guns no less.

The image of Ruby and the twins compromised by Neptune was the last straw for Yang. She grabbed Neptune’s arm tightly, guiding him away from the bar. “Why don’t you go guard Bumblebee? We wouldn’t want anyone to steal her!” She strongly suggested.

“Ow! Ow! I get it, I’m sorry okay!?” Neptune took back him arm, rubbing where Yang’s vice-grip was. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I just get the better of myself…”

“We’re sure,” The twins deadpanned together.

Neptune looked between Yang and he twins. “I’ll, um… I’ll be outside.”

“Please tell me he is not your friend,” Melanie begged Yang.

“He’s not so bad, when he’s not hitting on you and your friends…” Yang defended. “Hey, you two wouldn’t happen to know anything about Roman Torchwick or the White Fang, would you?”

The names were definitely familiar to the twins. “No, sorry…” Miltiades answered.

“We know Junior sometimes gets up to shady stuff,” Melanie started to clarify.

“But we try to stay out of it,” Miltiades finished.

Yang rested her hands on her hips. “Well, as your girlfriend’s sister, I’m glad to hear that at least.”

“So… does Ruby know you’re here?” Melanie asked, trying to be subtle.

“Oh, yeah,” Yang nodded, “Team RWBY is kind of doing an… extracurricular investigation.”

“Into the White Fang?” Melanie was doubtful.

“Yeah, that’s not weird, right?” Yang waved it off. “We are huntresses!”

“In training.” Melanie deadpanned.

“Ruby told us about the docks,” Miltiades informed Yang.

“We know team RWBY sometimes takes things into their own hands,” Melanie picked up.

“That’s not fair, we were only looking for Blake!” Yang defended, “She was the one looking for the White Fang!”

The twins stared at Yang until the blonde realized what she said.

“Crap.”

“So where’s Ruby?” Melanie asked.

“We all split up to cover more ground. I came here because of my history with Junior,” Yang explained. “Ruby went with Weiss, mostly because with Neptune and his much nicer friend Sun, that made two people to a team.” Yang shifted in place like there was more to tell. “And kinda… because she was geeking out over the CCT tower.”

Miltiades sighed, Melanie agreeing with the sigh with a small smile and a short, “Of course.”

“Look, if you’re worried about Ruby hanging out with you, don’t be,” Yang assured, “She’s totally working on getting you into-” Yang suddenly cut herself off with a shocked look on her face.

“Into what?” The twins asked together.

“IS THAT THE TIME!?” Yang shouted, “Igottagoseeyoulatergirls!” The blonde turned to dash out of the club.

“Yang, wait!” The twins chased the brawler outside.

“I shouldn’t have said that…” Yang cursed herself for almost spoiling the surprise Ruby was planning, “I should not have said that…”

The twins followed Yang out into the street, “Yang!”

“Oh, hey girls!” Yang tried to play it off, “F-fancy seeing you here?”

“What is Ruby trying to get us into?” Melanie cut straight to the point.

“W-well… I mean y’see… That is to say…” Yang stalled, and luckily her scroll rang at just that moment. “Oh I have to get this!” She whipped out the scroll and pressed ‘accept’ before the twins could speak. “What’s up!?”

A female voice came over the line. “Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-”

“HEEEELLLLP!” The female voice was cut off by a male voice. “Big robot! And it's big! Really big!”

Yang’s expression hardened to concern. “Sun, Blake?”

“That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him. He's, like, controlling it or something!” The male voice continued.

“Where are you guys!?” Yang cried.

“HURRYYYY!” The voice came from both the scroll and down the street. The group in front of the club caught the sight of two people running away from a giant mech.

“I think that was them…” Neptune spoke up.

“Yeah, I got it,” Yang deadpanned, hopping onto her bike.

The twins shared a look to confirm that they both had the same thought, and the same worry. “Um, does this thing happen to your team often?” Melanie voiced the concern to Yang.

Yang was deaf to them, already hitting the throttle and taking off. Neptune barely made it onto the bike, and the pair were already three streets over by the time he found balance enough to speak. “So, they mentioned something about Ruby? As in your sister Ruby?”

“Not the time, horn-dog!” Yang yelled at him.

“Fair enough!” Neptune resolved to stay far away form anything that might piss off Yang. Including interfering in a relationship that may or may not include Yang’s sister.

Back at the club, Miltiades continuing concern prompted her to speak up. “So, we should follow them, right?”

“Yeah,” Melanie agreed. “Not that we don’t think Ruby can handle herself!” She quickly clarified.

“Of course!” The red twin nodded.

“And not because we don’t think the team can handle themselves!”

“Right!”

“We just… want to see them in action!”

“Yeah! That’s not weird…”

“Right?”

A moment of silence passed.

“It’s not like us being worried invalidates her as a fighter,” Melanie pointed out.

“If anything, her being a fighter validates our worries!” Miltiades agreed.

“Right, she’s putting herself at risk, of course we’re worried!”

“And it’s not like we’re going to jump into the fight.”

“Not unless she needs us.”

“She doesn’t even have to know we’re there!”

Another beat of silence.

“We should hurry while we can still follow them,” Miltiades resolved her confidence.

“It looked like they went toward the freeway,” Melanie nodded, trotting back into the club.

“They’re chasing a giant robot, we just follow the chaos, we’ll find them,” Miltiades theorized, “We need to get a car from Junior.”

“Already on it!” Melanie shouted from the door to the club.

   ---

The twins were afraid they were already too late by the time they got on the road. That concern was quickly assuaged by upside down cars and frightened motorists on the freeway. Which also served to elevate their other concern. Melanie, behind the steering wheel, swerved between the wreckage quickly hoping to catch up. “Oh, shit!” She had to hit the brakes hard to stop before a massive ice patch the blocked the road. “That doesn’t look like a natural ice patch…”

The twins stepped out of the vehicle to examine the immediate area, and none too soon. Just a few seconds later, they heard the voice of their dear Ruby.

“Freezerburn!”

A patch of fog erupted from the ground far beneath the freeway, the direction of Ruby’s voice. The twins were sure they could make out people below if it weren’t for the sudden mist. There were some flashing lights, but it was hard to tell what was going on. The fog cleared in time for the twins to finally see Ruby, dashing between the robot’s legs and slicing at it with Crescent Rose.

“Cheackmate!” She shouted before dashing backwards. The two team mates the twins had yet to meet in person jumped forward and attacked together, coordinated in a way that impressed even twins. Even when the white one was hit by a well-placed shot, her last action was to power up the other one with some sort of spell.

“Must be her semblance?” Melanie suggested.

“Ladybug!”

Ruby dashed back forward, while her and the other team mate from ‘checkmate’ attacked the machine repeatedly. Just as the mech lost track of them, they came from above and severed one of its arms.

“Wow…” Miltiades couldn’t hide her amazement for the scene below, and Ruby’s total command of the situation.

“Yeah…” even Melanie admitted she was impressed.

Then they both flinched when Yang was sent through a wall. Miltiades was about to jump down before she heard Ruby yell, “Don’t worry!”

Melanie thought for a moment they were caught, until she heard Ruby describe her sister’s semblance to her team mate. “With each hit she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back!” The twins settled and continued to watch in awe as Yang tore off the other arm by herself.

“No wonder we couldn’t beat her,” Melanie remarked, feeling a little better about the past.

“Bumblebee!”

Yang grabbed a long ribbon, the other end held by the black and white dressed team mate. The girl gripped the ribbon tight and literally spun the blonde in circles around her. But the mech was too fast for their pendulum and jumped out of the way.

“How will she-”

“Iceflower!”

“Nevermind.”

The white one cast a spell for Ruby to shoot through, and the result was a collection of icicles jamming the mech’s gears. On the next pass, Yang completely shattered the steel construct. The man controlling it form the inside stood quickly and turned to run.

The twins were temporarily distracted by an airship flying in behind them, carrying a short multi-colored stranger.

On the ground, Yang rushed forward and fired a shot at the man that ran the mech. Not a moment too late, the colorful stranger leapt down from the airship and blocked the shot with her umbrella. An umbrella that Melanie assumed was made form some kind of unknown mythical element, considering what Yang did to the machine a moment before.

Miltiades could have sworn she saw the two strangers in the airship for a short second, just as the colorful one cockily bowed in front of team RWBY on the ground. Yang attacked, and the image of their adversaries shattered. The airship flew away, now clearly having both enemies on board.

The fight was over, even though the pair of enemies got away. And watching the fight somehow made the twins even more attracted to Ruby, if that was even possible. They knew she was strong, and the leader of her team. But hearing stories was very different than seeing the action live in front of them.

Ruby’s team shared a short conversation the twins couldn’t make out from up high before leaving. The twins stayed there for a moment, thinking over what they witnessed. They were also more than a little glad to not have been caught following Yang to the battle.

“Is…” Miltiades finally broke the silence, “Is it weird that I found that kind of… hot?”

Author Note - Something I noticed in the last chapter is that on mobile those lines you can place between paragraphs don’t appear. I use line breaks to separate scenes within a chapter, so if you’re on mobile and you noticed a hard dissonance between paragraphs, now you know why. I’m going to try some alternatives to line breaks for Tumblr from now on.

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Read chapter 1 here

Read chapter 2 here

Read chapter 3 here

Read chapter 4 here

     ---

Two weird and wonderful weeks passed, and Ruby couldn’t be happier with her situation. Dating twins certainly wasn’t something she ever thought she would take part in, but Melanie and Miltiades were wonderful and caring. They went back to the arcade every now and then, and had dinner dates often, though more and more they simply hung out. Mostly in one of Vale’s many coffee shops, Melanie drinking a coffee, Ruby drinking a hot cocoa, and Miltiades alternating between the two beverages.

“Seriously, Ruby?” Melanie grumbled.

Well, I guess there’s one thing that could be going a little better… Ruby frowned. Any relationship had its bumps, and the girls had encountered their first. “It’s not like I’m trying to keep you a secret, I promise!”

“Then why haven’t you told your team about the both of us yet?” Melanie pressed.

“Because I’m afraid how they’ll react!” Ruby told her, “and I need to keep a good relationship with my team.”

“What exactly do you think they’ll think about us?” Miltiades asked, “I mean, sure you’re dating two people, but the fact that we’re twins had to make it at least a little more okay.”

“Well…” Ruby thought about it, “I mean, Blake would probably be okay with it, if what she reads is anything to go by. Yang might be a little weird about it at first, but if it’s what makes me happy, I’m sure she’ll try and get used to the idea.” Ruby sighed, “The real issue is Weiss.”

“Your ‘BFF’?” Miltiades asked.

“I used to think she could be…” Ruby lamented, “but she never wanted to hang out. And after the way she reacted when she found out I like girls, I don’t think she’ll react well to this. Of all my team mates to have an issue with my lifestyle choices, it would have to be my partner.”

“You have to at least tell your sister,” Melanie decided, “Even if your afraid friction with your team will cause issues with school, Yang is your family.”

“I know! I just… don’t know how to bring it up,” Ruby poked her fingers together.

Melanie shook her head, “Then figure it out. Listen, I don’t want this to be our entire time together. We can play a game for our last half-hour?”

“You brought your laptop?” Ruby asked, more than happy to drop the previous conversation.

Melanie brought out her laptop and two controllers. Ruby took one, and Miltiades settled on Ruby’s shoulder to watch the pair play. “What’s on for today?” The timid twin asked.

“I think a level or two of Left 2 Die?” Melanie offered.

A half hour later they parted ways, each twin trading a kiss with Ruby before heading for the club. Ruby walked the direction of Beacon, her worries about telling her team slowly working their way back to the front of her mind.

     ---

Yang was uneasy. For the past week, Ruby had been careful around her, like she was afraid to say something. It confused the blonde, because what could Ruby possibly be afraid to tell her sister? Yang’s fear of the situation was only worsened because she knew Ruby and Miltia had officially become an item. After their big arcade date two weeks ago, Ruby had come home giddy and smiling more than usual. And that girl loved to smile already. And a just week later Ruby was being anxious all of a sudden?

“Are you okay?” Blake broke Yang out of her absent stare in Port’s class.

“Yeah!” Yang assured, “It’s Port? How is me not paying attention weird?”

“Because you’re usually asleep, not staring a hole into the back of your sister’s head.” Blake deadpanned, pointing to Ruby a few rows up.

Yang sighed. “It’s just… Okay, Ruby’s now in a relationship, right?”

“Yeah,” Blake nodded.

“Well, why hasn’t she been gushing about Miltia?” Yang asked, “Why hasn’t she told us all the little details of their dates? I know she’s always excited to go out and meet up with her, but she comes back and is just… quiet.”

“You think she wants to tell you, so you don’t know why she isn’t,” Blake explained, noticing the same strange behaviors in their leader.

“Exactly!” Yang agreed.

“Maybe she doesn’t want you to constantly tease her about it?” Blake theorized.

“What?” Yang hadn’t considered that at all. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

“Yang, you teased her about Miltia before they were together, about them getting together,” Blake deadpanned, “In fact, you teased so hard I think it was an actual factor in them getting together so quickly.”

“I mean… I guess you’re right…” Yang conceded. “Maybe she’ll talk to you?”

“What?” Blake raised an eyebrow.

“Well, if she doesn’t want to talk to me,” Yang explained, “Maybe you can ask her, and she’ll tell you what’s on her mind?”

“I mean, I guess I could try…” Blake thought aloud.

“Please!?” Yang put her hands together to plead, “I’d hate to think anything would go wrong because of me.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Blake promised.

     ---

Blake caught up to Ruby shortly after class ended. She quickly scanned for Yang, making sure the older sister wasn’t hanging too close. If Ruby really was worried about something Yang might say or do, the redhead wouldn’t open up if she caught her older sister nearby. Luckily, Blake peeked Yang pulling Weiss away, possibly so the heiress wouldn’t accidentally interfere herself. Once Blake was confident she could proceed safely, she called out, “Hey Ruby!”

Ruby turned to face her faunus friend. “Oh! Hey Blake!”

“So,” Blake decided to dive right in, “New relationship?”

Ruby’s blush and giddy smile returned, “Yeah…”

“You haven’t spoken much about her though,” Blake told her, “Everything is good, right?”

“Yeah!” Ruby defended emphatically, “Better than good. Better than great!”

“Then what’s wrong?” Blake asked.

Ruby’s smile faltered just a little. “Nothing’s wrong, not really…”

“Yang’s worried,” Blake told her, “She’s afraid that you not talking about Miltia means something bad. Now, if you don’t want me to repeat anything to her, I promise I won’t pass it on. But she wanted me to talk to you.”

Ruby was quietly thinking for a fair few minutes. “Blake, you’re very, um, open minded? Right?”

The question caught the faunus off-guard. Why does that matter here? “I’d like to think so?”

“I just don’t know how to bring it up! I don’t know what Yang will say! I don’t think it’ll be bad, but I’m not sure she’ll be… immediately… warm, to the idea.” The redhead took time to pick her words carefully. “And I know I really should have told all of you, especially Yang, a long time ago, but even if Yang takes it well, I’m sure Weiss won’t…”

“What ‘idea’?” Blake questioned, “Ruby, what is going on?”

“Okay…” Ruby took a deep breath, “I haven’t told you guys everything. I’m not just dating Miltia…”

Blake gave Ruby a blank stare. “…What?”

“I’m also dating Melanie, her… twin… sister…” Ruby confessed slowly.

Blake’s blank stare morphed into one of surprise and disbelief. “…What!?”

“Yeah…”

“And you think Yang won’t take that well?” Blake asked incredulously. “Ruby, there are so many people in this world who would kill to be in the position you are. Specifically, between two twin siblings. Yang would kill to take twins home.”

“Except she hasn’t,” Ruby told Blake. “She likes to party a little, but she’s only ever ‘been’ with one ‘partner’ at a time. I’ve never seen anything that tells me she would like to be with two people at once.”

“That you know of,” Blake pointed out, “And maybe that’s just because she hasn’t had the chance. Even so, even if what you’re worried about is more a socially acceptable thing? Twins usually get a pass in the polygamy argument.”

“Polygamy?” Ruby raised an eyebrow.

“It means multiple partners,” Blake explained, “And beyond that, on the very off-chance that she isn’t immediately accepting of the idea, your happiness is more important to her.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Ruby nodded, feeling a little better about the idea of telling Yang. “I still don’t know how to bring it up to her.”

“You told me in pretty plain words,” Blake suggested.

“Yeah, but you’re ‘Blake my best friend’, not ‘Yang my sister’.” Ruby argued. “But I will tell her. I’ll figure something out. Thank you, Blake.”

“Anytime,” Blake smiled. “So… twins? What’s that like?”

“Easier than you might think,” Ruby nodded, “They understand that I’m new to all that, and I do my best to include them both in everything. There are activities they don’t share an interest in, and that can feel a little tricky. But they’re pretty understanding of me trying to get involved in their separate interests, y’know, separately.”

“And you love them both?” Blake asked.

Ruby’s entire face brightened. “N-no one’s used that word yet… but I do feel the same about both of them, yes.” She smiled wide, finally being able to talk about the twins to someone. “Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming, receiving, what’s the word… affection, from both of them. And I am worried that I’m going to slip up and not show them both the same affection. But so far no one has complained, especially not me.”

“You’re lucky…” Blake lamented, “Not everyone gets that with a single partner.”

“Speaking of partner,” Ruby turned to face Blake eye-to-eye, “I’ll tell Yang myself, so don’t tell her. But really don’t tell Weiss.”

Blake nodded, “I can see how Weiss could be an issue, given how straight-laced she was raised. But she has been doing a little better.”

“I just don’t want team RWBY to suffer for it, not when we’ve been doing as well as we have in our year,” Ruby explained.

“You shouldn’t keep things from her forever, but I won’t tell before you do,” Blake promised. “But you really need to tell Yang.”

“Yeah,” Ruby nodded, “I think I have a plan.”

     ---

Melanie and Miltiades waited patiently in their regular coffee shop later that weekend. At least, Melanie waited patiently. Miltiades couldn’t stop pacing.

“Calm down,” Melanie urged her sister, “It’s not like we don’t already know Yang.”

“We know ‘Yang, the girl at the club’, not ‘Yang, our girlfriend’s sister’,” Miltiades pointed out.

Melanie opened her mouth to argue, but stopped short. “Okay,” She yielded, nerves beginning to enter her voice, “you may have a point there.”

“What if she doesn’t like that Ruby is dating both of us?” Miltiades anxiously spouted, “Or what if that doesn’t matter, and she just doesn’t like us?”

“Miltia…” Melanie stood up and took her sister’s hands, “Even if Yang doesn’t like us, I trust that Ruby won’t leave us just to appease her sister.”

“Are you sure?” Miltiades worried, “She’s been good to us, for us. Way too good… something going to go wrong…”

“Not this time. Have faith in her, Mil…” Melanie calmed her sister.

Miltiades took a deep breath. “You’re right… It won’t work if I don’t believe it can. I trust Ruby, I do.”

Down the street, Ruby’s nerves were also rising quickly. Behind her strode Yang, who Ruby invited today specifically to meet Miltia. What Yang didn’t know yet, was that she was also meeting Melanie. It was Ruby’s hope that telling Yang about the twins by making her meet both of them would be the fastest way to get Yang’s approval. And even if she didn’t get it…

Well, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She knew she didn’t want to leave the twins, and the fallout would hurt both her and Yang.

“Hey Rubes?” Yang called out to her little sister.

Ruby turned back to face her. “Yeah, Yang?”

“Don’t be so nervous,” Yang told her, “I admit I was worried when you weren’t talking about your dates to me, but I know you really feel for Miltia. I’m sure I’ll love her, and I can’t wait to meet her.”

“I know that,” Ruby assured.

“Then stop worrying,” Yang repeated, “Seriously, you’re making me think there’s something you’re still not telling. Miltia’s not secretly a guy who got you pregnant or anything, right?”

“What! No!” Ruby defended loudly, “Nothing like that!”

“Okayyy,” Yang nodded.

They arrived at the coffee shop, where Ruby saw the twins already inside. With a deep breath, Ruby found her smile and threw open door. “Hiya, girls!”

“Good morning, Ruby,” both twins replied in practiced unison.

“Girls, this is my sister Yang,” Ruby gestured to the blonde still in the doorway, “Yang, this is Melanie and Miltia, which is short for something I still have trouble pronouncing.”

“Miltiades,” The girl in question clarified.

“So you’re Miltia,” Yang finally recognized the bouncer from the club. “I saw Rubes talking to you, but I could never remember your face the next morning. I think this is only the second time I’ve seen you while I’m sober.” The blonde turned to the other twin next. “And Melanie, right? Wow Rubes, good job!”

Oh thank god, Ruby breathed a sigh of relief at what sounded like an incredibly relaxed approval.

“I mean, how do you remember which one to kiss, am I right?”

And there is goes… Ruby cringed. “Well, Yang, that’s kind of why I brought you out to meet them. I thought it would be easier to tell you that… I kiss them both.”

Yang took a minute to look between Ruby and the twins repeatedly, wrapping her mind around what she just learned. “And uh… everyone is happy with this arrangement?” she finally asked.

“More than happy,” Miltiades smiled.

“Everyone?” Yang asked again, her eyes focused on Ruby.

“Yes, Yang,” Ruby rolled her eyes, “I didn’t jump into this blindly. There was thought.”

“And it works?” Yang asked.

“Yes, it does,” Melanie answered, knowing it would also assure Ruby as well as Yang.

“Well… Okay then!” Yang smile brightly, “As long as my sister is happy, who am I to complain! Long as it stays that way, no problems from me. It is wonderful to meet you both,” Yang shook the twins hands, “and can I say again, good job Rubes!”

“Um, thanks, I guess?” Ruby responded.

The group got some coffees and shared an afternoon where the twins got the ‘big sister speech’ as well as Yang’s official approval. All in all, it was a very successful day. After the coffee, Yang left Ruby to her twins to spend the rest of the day together.