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The weird thing about time travel, especially when you have no idea how it happened, was that…well it was weird.
Ruby had realized that she’d just missed her mother when she came back, but people had always said she’d looked like her. So she’d decided that she, and Yang needed a mom.
Sure she wasn’t going to be able to fool her dad, or Uncle Qrow, nor was she gonna really try, but she was like ninety percent sure she could at least get them to talk.
Finding a white cape wasn’t that hard, granted she’d needed to get it tailored, and she’d gotten a few weird looks from people who clearly had known her mother wondering why she was there, which meant…well she didn’t have her mom’s scroll so that was going to be weird.
Still she had money, and yes she probably should have remembered to put her hood up, but heeeeeeey, live, and learn.
She grabbed some groceries, made her way to her home. She used her key, and entered the house already knowing this was going to be a super weird evening.
It occurred to her while she was dicing vegetables, and thank you Ren for all the cooking practice she’d gotten at Beacon, that out of all the plans she’d ever made this one was…not great.
Well the feeling behind it was, she thought, or maybe it was selfish? It probably was. At least a little.
Would it hurt her dad, Uncle Qrow? Maybe, but what other option did she have? She was going to tell them, and she wanted Yang at least to have the super mom she remembered.
Sure, she didn’t have the same weapon, but the Blacksmith had said they were going back to when they were needed most.
This made sense to her, although why she didn’t let her stop her mom from leaving she didn’t know. And it was better than like being deposited somewhere boring. Imagine the place you’re needed most was like putting change in a parking meter for someone?
Her own memories of this period of her life were hazy, indistinct at best, but if there was one thing she knew it was that even if her dad would have problems he still loved them, and her uncle was one of the best people she knew no matter what anyone said.
She knew her hair wasn’t exactly the same, but more than once she’d seen her dad, later on at least, stare at her, clearly seeing her mother in her place.
She assembled the cut veggies to the side, thoughts, and knowledge she’d forgotten, or not used in quite some time coming to the fore as she assembled a small snack for Yang, and herself. Nothing fancy, just a veggie tray with strawberries with some dip to munch on while dinner cooked, and she had a ‘talk’ with the others.
She’d never really wanted to be a mother herself, a cool aunt, or godmother maybe, but actual mom? Eh, pass.
There was something horrifically funny about her being the older sibling, or rather mom to Yang though. It also kind of hurt her head to think about so she stopped.
The vegetables went into the fridge in a little tray to wait on them to come home as she started a pot of water. Spaghetti wasn’t exactly fancy, but it was easy, filling, and you could make a looooot of it in one go.
And it was tasty. Plus garlic bread!
She hummed as she tried to keep her hands still. Despite her best efforts there was a bit of a tremor. Not enough, but she was sure it would be noticed. She cast her eyes about, and frowned. Why were their cabinets like a dozen feet in the air anyway? She’d never thought about that before.
This was going to be so so bad! Maybe she should have just sent a postcard?
No, the Blacksmith had to have sent her here for a reason. Unless…was she supposed to deal with Adam instead, and help Blake? Or Weiss, and her buttface dad? Oh, she was so bad at this!
She put her face into her hands, and screamed trying to muffle the noise.
“Never thought spaghetti was that hard on you,” came a familiar voice that had Ruby freeze for just a moment before she turned.
“You wanna explain where you were, and why you let everyone think you were dead?” Qrow asked, growled really.
Ruby turned, and opened her mouth before a pair of shorter kids latched onto her.
“Mom’s home!” Yang cheered with a massive grin, her eyes flooded with tears. Her own, Ruby’s…her mini me? Well the important thing is she was babbling, but she was clearly pleased.
“There’s a veggie tray in the fridge for you two after you wash up. Can you help your sister, Yang?” Ruby asked.
Yang nodded excitedly before she grabbed the younger girl’s hands, and excitedly pulled her from the room.
“Talk,” Qrow demanded, eyes wide as they showed how confused he was.
Ruby understood. On first glance she really did appear to be Summer. Silver eyes were rare enough, but she was the same build as well, and the white cape? Well even with the hair different, and people did get haircuts, it would give most people pause.
“Uh, ok, hey,” Ruby said with a grin.
“Don’t be a smartass, Summer,” Qrow said, and before she could say anything the flat of Harbinger had thwapped into her arm.
“I don’t know if I deserved that,” Ruby admitted. On second thought? She probably did.
“Not an illusion type semblance. Those shatter when hit,” Qrow muttered. “But you’re not…not exactly right.”
“Hair right?” Ruby said with a knowing nod as she flicked her own hair knowing her mother’s was longer. She had thought about growing it out before, but it just sort of naturally kept itself short. Plus the thought of it getting tangled up in her scythe was horrendous.
He snorted at that. “Not the worst style. Your other one was,” he stopped himself. “Her other style was fine.”
“Lost a bet,” Ruby guessed.
“Can’t gamble to save her life,” Qrow said. “Who…are you?” he asked again. “You can’t be Summer.”
Ruby cut her eyes toward the kids. “After dinner?”
“Weapon,” he demanded as Ruby nodded, and grabbed Crescent Rose, compact form off her back, and handed it to him.
He looked it over, and even compacted she could see his mind turning, putting the pieces together. The sort of look he had in the future when he’d stopped quitting. He must not have entirely lost himself to the bottle yet. Or flask?
He opened his mouth to speak when tiny footsteps hurried announced the presence of the other two.
He tensed for a single moment before Ruby handed the pair of kids the veggie tray.
After that it was weathering the kids questions about where she’d been, punching the grimm goddess in the face, which was kinda sort of true, well mostly.
Yang had punched her in the boobs a bunch to make her explode apparently. In fairness Ruby would probably brag about that too if she’d done it. She made a note to do it too when she could.
The entire time they listened with delighted eyes, making noises of excitement at the right points, and laughing at her jokes, sorry Jaune the shield prank was still funny, and voices as she cooked dinner.
“Where’s d…Tai?” Ruby said with a wince as she could almost feel Qrow lock onto her at her near slip up.
“Dad is, uh…I dunno,” Yang admitted as she looked toward her uncle.
Ruby followed her gaze as Qrow’s eyes very deliberately flicked toward the younger her for a moment before back to her. She gave him the smallest dip of her head, something the kids wouldn’t catch, but he did as she let out a breath of explosive air.
“Investigating some interesting rumors he heard in town. He should be back in a few hours. I know he tried to make a few calls, but…”
Ruby nodded as she dumped the boiling pot of noodles into the colander to let them drain, putting the sauce into a bowl as Qrow grabbed the garlic bread from the oven to help.
“What do we think about spaghetti?” Ruby asked with excitement.
“It’s not chili,” Yang complained.
Ruby nodded in solemn agreement. “Nothing is, but garlic bread is great.”
“That’s true!” Yang agreed as she made grabbing motions for a bowl Qrow handed over, hovering as she all by herself put some noodles into a bowl.
“Want some help, big girl?” Ruby asked…herself…but small. This was so weird.
“Yef.”
What followed was a super adorable, but fun meal that only mostly gave her a headache if she thought about the implications. She wished Weiss was here. She could probably math this all out to make sense.
Or Blake, but she probably had read about something like this.
The kids had been sent to get ready for bed, after brushing their teeth of course when Qrow spoke next as they did dishes.
His voice was scratchy, and low, but controlled.
“Ruby?”
“Yeah,” she said, deciding that lying served no purpose. She’d just put her trust in him like she always did. Out of all the adults in her life she trusted him the most. If she had to pick one person that wasn’t on her team that she could honestly say she’d trust with her life no matter what to back her, it was her uncle.
“Just…how?” he asked, and so she answered as best she could.
“We were at war with Salem,” she said as his hands briefly tightened on the dish before he nodded. “It wasn’t going well. We fought some of her, I don’t know what you’d call them, inner circle? Whatever one of them had stolen the maiden’s powers. We were fighting in a void, and fell into…”
Through it all he listened as he dried, and Ruby poured out her story, the death, the destruction, the losses, the near losses, and everything she could think of.
“Kiddo…I’m…”
“And so now I’m here, and I had no idea what else to do because Yang, and I needed a mom, and everyone said we always looked alike, and-” Ruby was cut off as he pulled her into a hug.
She sniffled, and grabbed hold, crying as she finally let everything out.
Threw it all he rubbed her back, a little awkwardly, after all it wasn’t every day your two year old niece, or was it three? Anyway it wasn’t every day that a near twenty year old version of said niece apparently time traveled, and started telling you secrets that they could only have learned by their story being true, and just…it was the strangest monday by far.
“I came as soon as I…Summer!” Tai’s voice echoed through the cabin as Ruby winced in Qrow’s hold.
Ruby wilted already knowing she was breaking her father’s heart again.
Tai had gone…not cold, but he was clearly struggling with how to feel. Honestly? Ruby couldn’t blame him.
She’d put the kids to bed, and Tai had put on a brave face before they’d returned back downstairs.
“I understand why you did what you did. Why you came here, and I am proud of you, but…”
“You’re still grieving,” Ruby said knowingly.
“I am,” he admitted. “And you really have no idea what happened to her?”
“No,” Ruby said. “But I did see a vision. The Blacksmith showed me mom leaving on her final mission.”
“He did?”
“They,” Ruby corrected, not sure why she did, but she just knew it was the case.
“Alright, they did,” he agreed. “What did you see?”
“She left, but she wasn’t alone,” Ruby said as she looked over at Qrow.
“Raven,” he growled as his chair legs hit the floor.
“Yeah. They went through one of her portals. Mom was…really mad at her, but I guess she needed her for some reason.”
Tai looked consideringly at her. “We could…use this,” he said at last.
Ruby blinked before her eyes turned canny. “You’re saying set a trap.”
“Exactly,” Tai agreed. “She suspects, or likely knows what happened. What happens when we spread news that Summer is back?”
“She’ll come right back to find out how,” Qrow said slamming a fist into his palm.
“What about her semblance?” Ruby asked.
“That’s kind of what we’re counting on,” Tai said as Ruby shook her head.
“No, I mean she won’t have a bond with me, she never did,” Ruby said seriously. “Yang yes, you two, yes, but not me.”
“Is it based on her feelings, or a mutual bond?” Tai asked his friend who shrugged.
“She never committed to an answer,” he said. “Not even to me. It can still work though.”
“I mean we can pretend like I was done with her, or found a way to block the link I guess,” Ruby suggested.
“Sure, but we need to be ready, not just to capture her, and keep her from fleeing, but to trick her,” Qrow said.
Tai nodded. “If you’re going to fool Raven you’re going to need to know exactly how to pass as your mother, and not as yourself.”
“Can I keep my hair?” Ruby asked with a whine which brought an amused smile to her father’s face.
“Probably. With your hood up you certainly look the part. Hell you even sound like her.”
“The problem being what you said earlier. Different weapons, inflections, and how you hold yourself.”
“Right,” Ruby agreed. It would be hard, but the potential to find out what had happened to her mother was strong, incredibly so. Was this why she’d been sent here? Could she find her actual mother? Was this what the Blacksmith had meant?
Could she do this?
“I mean I just need to talk to her right?”
“And at least fool her enough that she lets her guard down, or tells us what she knows,” Tai said before he flushed. “You uh…might have to learn some things about your mother, and aunt that are…embarrassing.”
“What do…oh. Oh,” Ruby said with a cross between a wince, and gagging. “That’s…something.”
“No one special for you in the future I can tease you with?” Qrow asked instead.
“It’s…complicated,” Ruby said. “Even if there was…I’m like gonna be fifteen years older than them now, wait, thirteen.”
“Might be best to focus on something else,” Tai said agreeably.
“I’m…really sorry about this dad,” she said, making sure to whisper the last word.
“You’re my daughter, and I’m proud of you. With your help, I think we’ll find your mother, or at least get a good head start.”
“We’ll start tomorrow morning, get a good sleep because the sooner you do this, the sooner we can spring the trap.”
“What if she comes early?” Ruby asked.
“We’ll know,” Qrow assured her. “Her semblance gives you this itch when she’s using it near you, or to come to you. You can’t miss it. It’s a pain in the ass just like she is.”
That made Ruby snort, which turned into a belly laugh at the way he’d said it.
Tai winced at that. It wasn’t her fault, but she looked so much like his wife…it didn’t matter. They’d find out what happened. Even if they didn’t he wouldn’t let what Ruby had said happened to him last time happen again.
“I’ll take the couch,” Tai offered before Ruby waved him off.
“No, you keep to your room. I’ll take the couch. It’s super comfy anyway. If they ask I’ll just tell them I got up early to make cookies, and fell asleep.”
Tai sighed, but relented for now, and settled for squeezing his daughter on the shoulder as he went upstairs to check on the children before turning in.
Qrow gave her a look that conveyed how strange everything was all rolled into one.
“Mondays,” was all he said with a self-deprecating chuckle.
“Mondays,” she agreed.
"You sound more like her already," he teased as she rolled her eyes, and punched him in the shoulder.