"The number you have reached is not available. Please, try again–"

Coco crushed the scroll with her hand.

It wheezed, the thin frame giving way under the pressure. The mangled mess was then tossed aside, the object disappearing into the bushes. Coco felt her unease growing and stared out into the darkness. The resplendent view of Beacon academy did nothing but irritate her.

Each call had been sent straight to voicemail, and hearing the same, chirpy recording over and over again made her want to tear her hair out in frustration. She began to pace around the small rooftop garden, circling the cosy dinner setup she had been working on for the entirety of the afternoon. The candles on the table danced brightly against the backdrop of an inky blue sky, the sun having set some time ago.

Coco ruffled her hair in annoyance. She should have realized that something wrong after that single phone call. Cursing herself for missing it, she felt the familiar spark of guilt bubble up from the pit of her stomach. She had been upset when Ruby didn't turn up at the time they had agreed upon, but when the minutes stretched and the veil of black fell from the heavens above, the rational side of her knew that something was terribly wrong.

And when the sun had set, the still gnawing absence of her lover was enough to set off the warning bells in her head.

She rushed down the rooftop, going as fast as her heels could possibly take her. She made it to team RWBY's room in record time, pounding on the door while simultaneously yelling for Yang to 'get her butt' out here. After a few seconds of tense waiting, the door flew open, revealing a rather confused Velvet and an irate blonde boxer. The irritation melted into surprise when she had realised who it was.

"Coco?" Velvet blurted. "What are you doing here? And where's Ruby? Weren't you guys supposed to be on a date right now?"

Yang nodded, placing her hands on her hips, waiting for an explanation. It didn't make sense to the brawler that the second year would ditch her little sister. She hadn't done so before, and there was certainly no reason to do it now. There must have been a good reason for it, in any case. Meanwhile, Coco regarded both girls with a pinched expression. Her fears had been confirmed and they weren't all too pleasant. Coco was not the type to jump to conclusions, but nothing seemed to make sense at the moment. If Ruby wasn't in her room then…where was she?

"Ruby hasn't turned up yet." She said. "She didn't answer her scroll and we were supposed to meet on the rooftops about an hour ago."

Yang felt her blood freeze in her veins. Semblance flaring, she grabbed the fashionista by her shoulders, staring at her fiercely.

"What? Whaddya mean she's not with you?" She hissed. "I swear to god, if this is a joke…" The grip on her shoulders tightened considerably, but Coco didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Do you think that I would bother to joke about something like this?" She replied tersely.

Velvet put her hand on Yang's shoulder, making the other girl flinch. Breaths beginning to grow heavy, she released her grip on Coco and barrelled back into the dorm room. The second years followed closely behind her, their faces wearing identical looks of with worry. They silently watched as the boxer ripped through her sizable gym bag, sweaty towels and socks flying everywhere. Velvet side stepped a stray sock and winced when she took in the mess on floor. Weiss was definitely going to have an aneurism when she got back.

"What the hell are you doing?" Coco snapped. Frankly, she didn't like not knowing things, and Yang's actions was grating on her already, thin nerves.

"I can track down Ruby's scroll. Our scrolls have homing chips in them –don't ask why– and I just need to find mine, the damn thing should be somewhere around here–"

"You mean this?" Velvet interrupted, holding up the device. "It was on your bed, Yang. We were prank calling team JNPR, remember?"

Yang shot the Faunus a sheepish grin. Coco rolled her eyes and grabbed the scroll before tossing it at her. Catching it with one hand, she quickly went to work, fingers flying across the keyboard. The room fell silent, the only sounds that could be heard being as a series of soft beeps and muttered expletives. Feet tapping impatiently, Coco tried not to think about what could have happened to Ruby. Horrible scenes flashed across her mind's eye, each vision making her body tense, like a hunting trap ready to snap.

"Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck…" Yang suddenly launched into a tirade of curses. The air around her rippled as her golden mane began to shimmer brightly, the temperature of the room rising rapidly. Velvet felt the hair on the nape of her neck stand erect when Coco snarled, the blood curdling expression on her leader's face enough to make her legs turn into jelly.

"Where?" She demanded, pulling off her designer sunglasses to meet Yang's gaze. "Where is she?"

"Somewhere near the Vale harbour. I got the coordinates right here, but the only thing I remember being there is a couple of warehouses."

"D-Do you want me to get the rest of our teams? But I'm not too sure where Yatsuhashi and Fox are…" Velvet stammered, slowly inching away from the two daunting figures that looked ready to unleash hell on earth. "Or maybe I can just get Blake and Weiss?" She offered meekly.

"Forget it. I don't want to risk wasting anymore time." Yang answered, slipping on Ember celica. "I'm going to get her now, with or without their help."

"What do you mean I?" Coco said through gritted teeth. "All three of us are going, so let's stop arguing like a bunch of dumbasses and get to it, alright?"

Ruby stirred, slowly blinking awake. She groaned, the sound morphing into a gasp when a blinding flash of pain pierced her skull, temporarily paralysing her. Silver eyes stared up at nothing in particular, trying to focus on the chipped ceiling, rather than the way her body ached with each tiny movement.

She tried to stretch, and grunted in surprise when she realised that her hands and legs were bound. Struggling for a few seconds, Ruby all but gave up when the rope bit into her wrists and ankles like they were coated with pieces of jagged glass; adding to the numerous cuts and scrapes on her body.

"Look who's decided to finally join the party!" Roman exclaimed. He smirked when the young huntress-in-training glared at him, starting to struggle against her binds. Chuckling, he waggled his finger condescendingly. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Red! It was a better place without you, but only for a moment." He sighed dramatically. "What would I ever do without you? It would be a pretty boring place if no one tries to ruin my plans."

She growled, lifting her head to peer at man leaning against the wall in adjacent from her. The smirk of enjoyment on his face made her struggle at her binds with renewed vigour. Tugging at them to no avail, the gentleman thief looked amused at her attempts of escape.

"Ah ah ah. Wiggle too much and you just might fall off the crate." He shrugged, taking a cigar out of his pocket and lighting it with a flourish of his hand. "You wouldn't want you to damage that head of yours, would we?"

Ruby ignored his question and instead chose to yell "Where are we?!" Immediately regretting it when her body retaliated at the action; the sudden burning sensation of liquid fire being poured down her neck making her whimper. The crimson haired girl let herself put her head back down on the crate, gritting her teeth as she suppressed a pained groan. Letting Torchwick see how much she was suffering was definitely not on her top ten list.

He rolled his eyes. "I guess being hit by a chunk of wood didn't knock the fight out of you... such an annoying brat." He said, shaking his head. After saying that, Roman fell silent, puffing on his cigar. But then, out of the corner of his eye the thief saw one of his henchmen stumble, nearly dropping the large crate he was holding.

"Hey hey!" He snapped. "Watch the goods, alright? The dust inside that thing you're holding costs more than all of you, combined."

The Faunus snarled at his insult, reptilian eyes narrowing into further slits. Making sure to keep a firm grip on the crate, he stomped away into the dimmer parts of the warehouse. Roman nodded smugly. Despite his love for working solo, he had to admit that having someone do the heavy lifting for you was fantastic. He chuckled. No wonder Cinder got off of it all the time. Oh man, he could get used to this.

"Dust damn it…"

Ruby's groan brought Roman out of his musings. His eyes homing in to the source of the sound, the gentleman thief nearly howled with laughter when he took in the sight before him. Red was essentially, eating dirt. Her attempts at escape had obviously gone poorly, as proved by the way was currently kissing the ground. The terrifying Faunus had seriously done a number on her. Gone was the upbeat, joyful brat that he'd first met her during a dust heist. She had been replaced by this shaking, soon to be cadaver who couldn't move without wincing in pain.

He didn't exactly revel in her current state of pain, but, he could appreciate that she wasn't being a thorn in his side like she usually was. Roman smiled, releasing the smoke from his lungs.

"Put your fucking hands up, bowl head." A voice growled from behind him. "And step away from my girlfriend. Or else."

His smile morphed into a grimace. It looks like he spoke too soon. But no matter…it wasn't like he was alone or outnumbered. He could hear the sounds of battle echoing around the warehouse, and the familiar sounds of shotgun chambers being fired at a furious pace.

"Temper, temper." He smiled, lifting his hands up. He stepped to the side in slow, deliberate movements. "There. Happy?" He mocked. Coco glowered in response, purposely adjusting her suitcase to face him. She strode forward, her gaze burning a hole into that ugly mug he called a face. The man could almost feel the fury radiating off of her, and when he heard the subtle jingle of…something in her case, he decided that pushing anymore of her buttons would be a bad idea.

"I swear, if you so much as move your pinkie, I'll crush your balls with these." She lifted her heels for emphasis. Roman paled slightly at that but to his credit, he still managed to keep a straight face. He nodded, and discreetly took several steps back.

Seeing that he was suitably cowed, Coco abandoned all pretence of exacting her revenge on the bowler hat moron and rushed to Ruby's side, face contorting in worry. She pulled off one of her gloves, tucking it into her pocket, and gently pushing Ruby's fringe up. Seeing the ugly purple bruise blooming at the corner of her forehead, she held back a gasp when silver eyes lit up at the sight of her, her girlfriend's letting out a soft sigh at her touch. Ruby smiled weakly, her bleeding lips forming curving up to form a small smile. The older girl gently cupped her cheek with gloved hands, taking care not to touch the bruises littering her face.

"I'm sorry I'm late, babe." Coco murmured, knowing how much Ruby loved it when she used that word. Ruby gave her a cute little grin, and tried to lift her hand to grab hers. The arm fell limply to her side when she winced. The older girl felt her worry multiply tenfold, eyebrows creasing as she frowned. "Do you think you can stand?"

The crimson haired girl shook her head, looking slightly embarrassed. Without any further need for an explanation, Coco was about to hoist her up into a sitting position when she heard a low rumbling noise from behind her. The hair on the back on her neck erect, she leaped back with a startled curse; beret falling off her head as she narrowly avoided the chainsaw that plummeted to the ground where she had been crouching. The screech of metal blades were too much for Ruby to bear; and she fell of the crate in pain and shock.

"Took you long enough!" Roman called from the side-lines.

The white fang member ignored him, concentrating on the new meat in front of him instead. "If I'd known we would have so much visitors today…" The large Faunus growled, the sound badly distorted by his mask. "I would have cleaned this place up a little." He sneered. Lifting the growling chainsaw off the ground, he held it deftly in one hand; the veins in his arm clearly visible.

"I'll say." Coco snorted, more than a little pissed off. "But I doubt that a makeover could fix this dump. It's pretty shitty. Perfect for an asshole like you."

He chuckled deeply, hoisting the embodiment of death above his head.

And sprang forward.

He closed the distance between him and the suitcase wielding girl, striking down. To his surprise, the girl merely reacted by raising her suitcase. He grinned, already beginning to imagine how her skull would be split into half, the melodious tune of wet flesh synchronising with the crack of broken bones. It was too bad she was wearing those shades. Seeing her eyes widen in fear would have been utterly orgasmic.

There was a loud clang of metal, and then he felt himself falling backwards.

"What the–"

"Hm?" Coco purred, "Is that it?" she smirked when the Faunus was sent stumbling back by the strength of her parry. Just because she looked the way she did, didn't mean that she was weak. The force behind her attacks could make even Yatsuhashi wince; and the boy was built like a mountain.

She chuckled and patted her trusty suitcase. Her beloved weapon cost every lien she'd forked out to make it. Her attacker managed to steady himself, looking at his weapon in bewilderment. How could a fucking suitcase, of all things, have possibly blocked that attack?! Even the girl with the hood had some trouble when they were fighting. The cocky female before him barely even looked threatened.

He didn't like it. Not. One. Bit.

"Why you little…" He growled, his hackles rising when she merely placed a hand on her hip; acting like she wasn't knee deep within enemy territory but instead, at a goddamn photoshoot.

"For such a big guy, you sure don't have strength in that body of yours." Coco inspected her nails in boredom. "Hell, even my girlfriend would be able to take you on."

To her surprise, he laughed. The sound was menacing, reminding her of nails on a chalkboard. Cocking her head to the side, she glared at him questioningly.

"Did I say something funny?" She spat.

"By 'girlfriend', you mean that quivering little girl in red? She, beat me?" His laugh descended into cackles, the man pointing in Ruby's direction with his chainsaw. "That's the best joke I've heard yet. Just look at her! She barely even survived our first fight."

"So. That was you?" Coco replied, her voice eerily calm. Not noticing the sudden tenseness in her posture, the Faunus let out a roar of laughter as he threw his head back.

"You should have se–"

She delivered a roundhouse kick straight to his temple. Jarred by the sudden attack, he gasped as the force of the kick twisted his neck sideways. She smirked when he let out a howl of pain and easily avoided his wild haymaker, the punch sailing past her. Moving behind him with a speed that he hadn't thought she was capable of, the Faunus felt his body plummet to the ground when she brought her suitcase down on his exposed shoulders.

The crackle of bones seemed distant as a pleasant numbness spread through his back, the world going still for a moment. The man choked when the pain settled in, shakes wracking his entire frame, his mind in disarray from the kick, and his back shattered by the brute force of her bludgeon. Coco looked down at him, eyes glinting vengefully. The top left corner of his Grimm mask had been broken off, leaving jagged sharp edges there. She used her free hand to lift her shades, staring down at his large, shaking body.

At that moment, Coco knew what fury was. Unbridled anger bubbled up from that seemingly endless well of hate inside her. The image of Ruby, wounded and paralysed, made her mind roar noiselessly, the sound of her rapidly beating heart cancelling the sounds of battle in her surroundings. The faint yelps of white fang goons being beaten into the ground, and the clatter of shotgun shells faded away. She looked down at her weapon, her fingers aching to switch it into its gun form. It would be so easy to give in to her fury and riddle his body with holes…

"C-Coco…" Ruby coughed. "Could you h-help me up?"

Startled out of her daze, the second year quickly strode over to her, arms wrapping themselves around Ruby's slender waist. Gently, she hoisted the girl up, placing her in a sitting position when the girl groaned that her head still hurt like hell.

Ruby sighed. The pain in her temple had mostly subsided, but the lack of strength to push herself up from the ground was still a sign that she was in pretty bad shape. Leaning into Coco's warm embrace, Ruby nuzzled her head into the crook of her girlfriend's neck. She took in deep breaths, trying to orientate herself. The scent of familiar perfume and the soft material of the older girl's shirt lulled her into a state of relaxation. Ruby promised herself not to fall asleep, but the heaviness of her limbs seemed to feel otherwise. Fortunately, the soft patter of footsteps made both girls look up, though the younger girl did so albeit slowly.

Coco felt her ire diminish when she realised it was just Velvet. She gave her friend a small wave, the snarl melting into a welcoming grin. The rabbit Faunus smiled apologetically and taking care not to make any loud noises, crept forward to hand her leader the small, decorative box. She had found it among Torchwick's rubbish while Yang was calling for the authorities. It was obvious that the man had long since fled when all three of them were eviscerating the members white fang.

Coco cocked her head in bewilderment, looking at the object with increasing confusion. What was this thing…? She opened her mouth to pose the question to Velvet, when Ruby shifted in her arms, reaching out for the box.

"Hey you found it!" She said, her voice regaining some cheer. "I thought it was gone for sure."

"Oh." Velvet giggled. "It was in pretty bad shape when I'd first found it. But Yang did say that it was too classy to belong to someone like Torchwick. I guess she was right."

Ruby laughed softly, her fingers searching for the lock which held the box's lid in place. Brushing off the small patches of dirt on its sides, she grinned when the box opened with a soft rustling sound. The contents inside, or the lack thereof, made the grin evaporate instantly. Her expression melted into one of disappointment and she sighed, putting the object down and sinking back into Coco's arms.

"…They ate all the chocolates." She pouted.

Chuckling at Ruby's muttered curse, Coco pressed a small kiss to her forehead. "They were supposed to be for you." She mumbled, hiding her face in the crook of the older girl's neck. Upset, she let out a few disappointed sighs which made Velvet grimace. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn't found the box. Patting the girl on the back, she left the couple to themselves and headed toward an annoyed Yang, who was carelessly tying up the unconscious bodies of the fauni aggressors littered around the warehouse.

Coco chuckled, hugging her girlfriend a little tighter. She didn't really care that the chocolates were gone, because frankly, seeing Ruby safe and put of danger was a good enough gift for her. Shooting a glance at her wrist watch, the fashionista felt her brows knit together when she saw that it was already a little after eight. The food she'd made was most likely cold by now, and it would have been a lie if she said that she wasn't at least albeit upset.

"Happy Anniversary, Rubes." She said sweetly. When Ruby tilted her head up to look at her, she swooped in to claim her lips in a gentle kiss. After today's events, her girlfriend was more than happy to oblige, both girls just basking in each other's presence. Just when Ruby pulled back for some oxygen, something sharp dug into the flesh of her thigh; making the girl wince. Noticing this, Coco pulled back, sharp eyes searching for the source. Slipping her hand into her pocket, Ruby's eyes widened when her palm closed in on the familiar object. Perhaps it was just a stroke of luck, but nevertheless, she was just glad she had something left to give.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Urk–" Ruby jumped when at the soft touch. She shot Coco an embarrassed smile, feeling her nerves rising when her girlfriend returned the gesture, mocha brown eyes glittering in amusement. With a small eep, the crimson haired girl pressed the necklace into the other girl's open palm. Immediately turning away, she pulled her knees against her chest, hiding her worried expression in her knees.

The look on Coco's face was priceless. She looked down at the necklace, slightly stunned at its sudden appearance. As she continued examining it, the pleasant tingle in her chest grew stronger when she took in their combined emblems. Gaze darting between Ruby and her gift, she let out a breathless laugh and cupped the other girl's cheek, tipping her head up to meet her worried gaze. Coco captured her lips in a mind shattering kiss, their bodies thrumming with desire and utter happiness. When the older girl pulled back, she couldn't help but smirk at the dazed look in Ruby's eyes.

"Help me put it on?" She asked, holding out the necklace.

Ruby nodded wordlessly, though her body was practically vibrating with delight. Grasping the edges of the chain with shaky hands, she was treated to the glorious sight of Coco's bare neck, the girl turning to face the other way and taking off her designer scarf; beckoning her to move forward. Biting her lip, Ruby gently looped the necklace around her girlfriend's neck, mentally pumping her fist into the air. The relief was almost palpable as she fastened the chain, trying not to squeal at how perfect the necklace looked on Coco.

The relief transformed into something…else however, when Coco spun around with a speed that was almost dizzying, and threw the scarf around her neck like a lasso. She let out a surprised gasp when the scarf was pulled forward, taking her with it. Their foreheads bumped gently, Coco staring at Ruby with a predatory gleam in her eyes. She felt her heart stop when the other girl leaned in, lips brushing against the shell of her ear. Ruby shivered, eliciting a playful purr from her girlfriend.

"I love it." Cocowhispered, excited brown eyes boring into silver ones.

"R-Really?" Ruby squeaked.

"Of course. Why would I lie?" She purred. Gloved hands ghosted over her bare neck, making her shudder. "Just wait till we get back to Beacon. And then, I'll show you how much I really love it."

The world shuddered to a halt. As did Ruby's heart.

Needless to say, that night was one of the many precious memories that the couple treasured, even in their years to come. And every time Ruby passed by that particular clothing shop in Vale, she would tilt her head up to look at the woman beside her, the brightness of her smile only beaten by the blinding shine of the necklace.

Fin

A/N: And so, the story comes to a close. I hope you guys enjoyed it :3 Big hugs to everyone who favourited, followed, and took the time to review this story! And also, special thanks to The Grinning Psychopathand Drednaught for letting me bounce my ideas off'em and giving me some great ideas for this chapter as well! And if anyone has any requests for me, do drop it in the review or a pm! I appreciate them greatly :) And remember, RWBY is love, RWBY is life!