A/N: This is just a short little one-shot I wrote when I was bored one day. It's my first posted fanfiction here, so please R/R! c: Also, I usually write on my iPad or iPod, so please excuse any mistakes. I have a weird tense change in here that I usually don't have, so that will explain that.
Ruby is lost in thought as she lies on her top bunk, her headphones covering her ears as usual. She is alone in the dorm again. The other members of teams RWBY and JNPR are all out on the town that night, seeing yet another premiere at the local theater. It seems to her like that's all they ever do nowadays, watch movies. Even Weiss is dragged along with them, and while she always denies it, everyone knows she secretly enjoys each new film they see.
Ruby, on the other hand, can't take it. They're all her friends, and she loves each and every one of them to death in varying ways, but she can't bear it when she catches sight of them.
The blond and the redhead, snuggled together by the end of every movie, stealing passionate kisses in between and holding hands tightly and being so close to each other it's like they're the only two people in their own little world. Through every struggle, they were together. They were there for each other.
However, Ruby was also there for him. When Jaune felt as though he couldn't even go to Pyrrha for help and he was so desperate for a shoulder to lean on, he would seek Ruby out. And after a while, you'd think she would quit just acting as a backup plan, because every fresh problem would only result in her heart breaking, aching.
But she couldn't. She'd hated to see him so weak and vulnerable, like a lost puppy waiting for its owner to come claim it, and she'd be filled with guilt if she left that dog all alone out in the cold. So, she would always help him, and she would always pray that his usual friendly hug and smile and thanks would be enough.
And it never was, of course. Whenever he would pull her in, her heart would hammer against her chest faster than any pace she could ever hope to run with her semblance, and her body heat would rise to a temperature that rivaled her golden sister when she burned. She'd wish she didn't feel so fragile and exposed in those moments, but she'd be glass that could be shattered at any moment.
As if she hadn't already been chipped hundreds of times before.
And Jaune would linger for a second or two before breaking the (unfortunately) purely platonic embrace, too oblivious to notice Ruby's flustered manner and apparently too deaf to hear her thunder after his lightning, booming in time with her heartbeat.
And then there would be that stupid, lopsided grin of his—the one that peeked through even the dark clouds blocking Ruby's heart, filled with the tragedy of her past. And the light would always break in and touch her and make her want to cry. Whether from joy or sadness, she didn't know. But hope would be revealed in those eyes, so deep and blue that Ruby would be convinced they were the ocean itself.
Once the clouds would disappear, the rainbow after the storm would come into view with his final words. "Thank you so much, Ruby. It means a lot to me," he'd tell her every time, with his dumb voice that Ruby had never known could be so low and serious only minutes before. But by her resolution, it would be as chipper as always. She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue, floating in her mind and teasing her for longer than any other phrase before fading away into oblivion. Oh, and those eyes...
...Filled to the brim with love that was not meant for her, because blue was a part of green and, let's face it, where did silver fall into that equation?
He'd walk away, leaving the china doll with new cracks. Because, once again, she'd gotten her hopes up, and her selfish desires would not be fulfilled by fate or anything that tended to bite her in the neck when an opportunity presented itself.
The way she sees it, he is the sun, shining eternally and never dying out once its flame is ignited. Pyrrha is the billions of individual stars in the Milky Way, swirling and creating a beautifully tragic symphony with its own light to sustain it and a shimmering path for it to follow.
And she is the moon, sometimes glowing so much it can be brighter than the sun, but always slowly dying, slowly scattering into nothing, slowly, slowly...
Until all that is left is darkness, a memory in the black sky destined to be forgotten.
Because, the way she sees it, she eventually gets lost with no way back. And while the sun and the stars seem as different as night and day, they are forever burning. The sun is a star, after all, and it deserves to be with its own kind.
The moon slowly loses its time to be free and is trapped within a few hours between dawn and dusk, truly alone. And it foolishly tries to escape its prison every time it meets the sun.
Ruby puts her legs against the wall as the song becomes so quiet and delicate, the only thing left is a soft piano playing a high, beautiful melody. Maybe it is an awkward, ridiculous first crush. But when you're thrown into life or death situations on a regular basis, love likes to sprout wherever and whenever it can. She has simply chosen the wrong flower, one with no match to go with it in the whole, vast field that is the world.
She does not know for sure if she will get a second chance. Maybe another hopeful blossom will grow for her. Maybe it will not. But, at this moment in time, she lets herself drown in the emotion of the song, which mirrors her exact thoughts.
She doesn't know for how long it's been like this, but nonetheless, she is dim. Because, the way she sees it, the moon cannot shine without the sun's light there beside it.
I hate to post something so angsty as my first fic here, especially when it features such an innocent character as Ruby, but... Oh, well. Thanks for reading!