Heres a prompt for you: Hanahaki Disease for Ruby Post V9. I'll let you decide on which of these two ships you'd rather do:
NND: Ruby never got the chance to tell Penny how she felt, now Penny is gone she literally can't and there's no cure.
Ladybug: Ruby didn't realise how deep her feelings for Blake were, but now Blake is with Yang, she refuses to ruin their happiness, even if it kills her.
Have fun~
(Ask and you shall receive. Enjoy the pain.)
Ruby could feel a pain in her chest as she watched Blake and Yang from a few tables away. She clutched at her chest as the words she wanted to say threatened to burst out of her heart, and yet, she couldnt seem to say those words. Maybe it was the fear of rejection or the worries of trying to ask out someone who was a little older than she was, but the feelings she bottled up made her feel like a cork ready to blow at any minute.
“You’re staring again,” Weiss said between sips of her bubble tea. “If its bothering you that Yang’s dating someone-”
“N-no, its not… I know Yang’s spent a long time giving up her life to take care of me, so its nice to see her go after something she wants.”
“Then what is the problem? You’ve been watching them ever since we got her.”
“Its… nothing,” Ruby lied as she turned around and tried to focus on her strawberry scone. Not that she had much of an appetite. “Lets talk about something else.”
Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed. “Ruby, you cant keep avoiding your feelings like this. We’re not in the Ever After anymore and I dont… I cant lose you like that again.”
Ruby winced at the words. “I-its not like that anymore.”
“Then what is it?”
“I-I-” Ruby paused as she felt a tingle in the back of her throat. She picked up a napkin and coughed into it. Once she pulled it away, she paused when she saw a single, black rose petal sitting in it. “Maybe I’m worried we’re getting a bit complacent.”
“A bit… complacent?” Weiss asked.
“Y-yeah! Sure, we stopped Salem and saved Remnant, but if you think about it, we could be doing more. Grimm attacks didnt stop just because she’s gone.”
“No, but I think we earned more than just a little down time.” Weiss finished her drink and pushed the empty cup aside. “We spent a year facing down Salem and her followers, watched a kingdom fall, lost many good friends… maybe its time to, I dont know, settle down?”
Ruby nodded, but once again found herself looking over at Blake. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
“This is about Blake, isnt it?” Weiss finally asked.
“N-no!”
“Then why are you staring at her?”
“B-because I… I’m not…” Ruby looked away and started to get up. “I think its time for me to go. Thanks for inviting me.”
Weiss reached out to Ruby, her voice a quiet whisper. “You shouldnt hold back your feelings for her. Tell her how you feel. Even if it wont change anything, it’ll help.”
“I’m not going to ruin what she and Yang have,” Ruby said quietly as she pulled away from Weiss. “Besides, I’ve moved on. Its for the best.”
“If you say so.”
Ruby flashed a soft smile to Weiss and started to walk out, her eyes avoiding Blake. Soon, she was out of the cafe and started to make her way through the streets of Vacuo with the sun beating down on her skin. All she needed was a distraction, or at least a mission. So she pulled out her scroll and started to look at the mission board postings. Though, she was quick to be disappointed when she saw all the missions had been taken already as she scrolled through them all.
There was another tingle at the back of her throat and she started to cough. She quickly covered her mouth with a cloth to hide that a few more black rose petals left her lips, though as a warm breeze started to pick up, it wasnt long before the petals were fluttering in the wind again. Each breath seemed to make her chest twinge in pain as it felt like something was constricting around her heart.
Ruby took a deep breath to calm herself and started to make her way back to the hotel. While the rose petals werent an unfamiliar sight, every time she saw them her heart raced and her chest felt like it was constricted. But the pain always seemed to fade, though never disappearing. Just lingering out of sight.
She stopped at the hotel door, another coughing fit taking over as she coughed out a few more petals, these ones red. Her heart started to race as if it was ready to burst out of her chest and her vision started to blur. Once she was finished coughing, she opened the door and started to stumble to her room.
Each step felt heavier than the last as she moved through the hallway, her arm bumped up against the wall as she tried to keep standing upright. Finally, Ruby made it to her room and tried to unlock the door, struggling to find her key card for the door. Her breathing started to become ragged as it felt like her lungs were being pressed against. Finally she found her key card and slid it into the reader, her vision going dark as she opened the door and collapsed.
Ruby’s eyes slowly started to open again as the pain subsided. She groaned and slowly sat up, only to be pushed down again.
“Dont you *dare* scare me like that again, you dolt!” Weiss half yelled at her. “I thought something happened to you!”
Ruby blinked a bit and looked around, finding herself in her hotel room and laying in bed. “I-I’m not sure… I follow.”
“You were found outside your door barely breathing with a few rose petals around you. Once you were safe to move, I moved you to your bed. Ruby, what’s going on?”
“Its nothing-”
“If it was nothing, you wouldnt have given me such a scare.” Weiss sighed and sat down next to Ruby. “Please, no more lies or trying to avoid this.”
Ruby looked away, her lip quivered and her throat felt dry as she tried to speak. “I-I’ve been… coughing up rose petals ever since Beacon fell.”
“I see…”
“But I’m fine!” Ruby sat up and put up a smile for Weiss. “In fact, I feel much better now. I guess a little rest has done the trick.”
Weiss picked herself up off Ruby’s bed. “If you’re going to keep lying, then I should go.”
“But I’m not-”
“You’re not fine, Ruby. Those feelings you’ve been bottling up, they’re killing you. You have to tell her.”
“I-I… I cant.” Ruby looked away from Weiss and to her lap. “I… dont know when I started to fall for her, but I know it was at some point while we were at Beacon. After Beacon fell, I felt like I lost my chance when she ran off, so I… pushed those feelings away. Going to Haven to find answers was supposed to be a distraction and let me move on. But then, she came back to us when Haven was attacked. I wanted to tell her then, but I… I saw the way she looked at Yang. I couldnt get the words out.
“Then we started to go to Atlas, the train derailed… by the time I had another chance, she and Yang were inseparable. Then they finally got together in the Ever After and I… If I tell her now, it’ll sound like I’m trying to tear her away from Yang.”
“Keeping your feelings bottled up hasnt seemed to help either.”
“I… I know…”
“You need to tell her. Trust me, you dont want this to get any worse.”
“Trust me.” The words ran through Ruby’s mind as she watched Weiss walk off. She wasnt sure if Weiss had been speaking from experience or if she knew someone else this had happened to, but either way, she knew Weiss was right. She had to tell Blake how she felt.
And yet, she couldnt. She’d find another way to cure herself, but right now wasnt the time to tell Blake. Not while Yang was finally happy.
