Ruby stood in front of the school, watching and waiting as the airships docked, unloading returning students for the new semester. She fiddled with her hairpin, feeling it come a little loose. Before her, another airship landed and opened its doors. Searching through the crowd, it wasn't long until she spotted the golden head of her sister.

She smiled, and waved, the rest of her team coming into view...and Uncle Qrow? Her hand faltered, her smile slipping in confusion. What was he doing here? And why were they all looking at her with such stern expressions, their postures stiff, except for maybe Uncle Qrow? As they came closer, she opened her mouth to ask them, when Qrow ducked down and scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder to carry. "H-hey!" she complained. She wriggled and squirmed against his grip, the group moving off the main path. "Sheesh, I don't see you guys for weeks and this is the greeting I get? No 'hello,' no 'how are you,' you just pick me up and carry me someplace. Where are we going?"

The sounds of the crowd were becoming but a faint echo as they moved into the long shadows Beacon cast, taking cover behind its thick gray walls. He finally set her down, but as soon as he did, Yang gripped her wrist and yanked her sleeve up, twisting her arm. Ruby gasped and shoved Yang away, pulling her sleeve back up. "Ouch!" Her heart hammered in her throat, and suddenly the looks on their faces made a little more sense, but she prayed it wasn't the case. "I told you not to do that!"

"Clark Ozpin?" Yang ground out through her teeth. "Are you kidding me?!"

"I, I-" She hadn't foreseen this. She hadn't prepared for this. What would Clark do?

"He's your soulmate, and you're actually dating him?!"

"Yang, not so loud!"

"All this time, and that, that, that disgusting man-"

"He's not disgusting." She squared her shoulders and stuck out her chin. "You don't know anything about him; this isn't any of your business."

"Not my business? My sister's getting molested by the headmaster!"

"Ew, Yang, don't be so gross." She recoiled. "He hasn't done anything like that. You're the only one who thinks that way."

"I guarantee you he thinks that way too." She loomed over her, Ruby suddenly becoming aware of what it must be like to face Yang in combat.

"You don't know that."

"He's a man. All men think about it."

"It's true," Qrow pitched in.

"I've already told you over and over, he's a gentleman."

"Obviously not if he's willing to date a 15-year-old."

"It was my idea." Yang drew back a little, finally. "He didn't want to date me, but I convinced him. If you want to get angry at anyone, you should get angry at me."

"That's no excuse," Weiss piped up. "He's the adult, he should've turned you down no matter what."

"He tried, but I wouldn't let him."

Yang set her jaw. "Then he didn't try at all." She turned on heel and started to march away, and Qrow followed her.

"Hey-" Ruby moved to follow, but Blake and Weiss now blocked her path.

"Ruby, we really need to have a serious talk," Blake told her.

"But where are they going?" She stepped to go around them, but then they grabbed her by the arms, and pulled her even further from where the people were.

"Ruby, you're just not seeing the big picture in all this," Weiss told her.

"Let me go!" Ruby cried out, struggling and pulling against them.

"No. Not until we make you understand," Blake said firmly.

Ozpin stood within the school, greeting the returning students in the atrium. He briefly wondered to himself when he'd see team RWBY, since it'd been a while now since Ruby left to greet them at the landing. Then he felt a certain shift in the atmosphere, something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He looked up, and saw Yang and Qrow approaching. They cut a path through the sea of students, the others all moving out of the way as if they could sense the change in mood as well.

He gripped the head of his cane, and met their gazes evenly. He knew those looks. He knew it could only mean one thing. At length, they stopped in front of him. "Good day, Miss Xiao Long-"

"Don't you 'miss' me, mister," she shot back.

He frowned, and turned his attention to Qrow. "I see that you are well."

"Yeah, I am," he answered. He reached up and crossed his arms behind his head, appearing casual. But Ozpin could see the restless tapping of his fingers. "Had a good Natiuiteo with my family. Well, most of them."

He really hoped that neither of them would say anything out here, in front of the students who slowed as they passed, necks craned to watch. He really hoped it wouldn't escalate to irredeemable levels. A fight, the truth exposed. He sipped at his cocoa.

"What about you?" Qrow continued. "You have a good Natiuiteo?"

"Well enough."

"What'd you get? A tie? A new mug?... How about a new toy?"

Brown stared down wine-red. "A new tie, yes."

"What a shame," Yang said, and cracked her knuckles. "Seems to me like you could use a new mug, Professor."

"Miss Xiao Long," a new voice spoke, and they looked to see Glynda approaching them. "Mr Branwen, Professor Ozpin. Perhaps you'd all like to join me in the teacher's lounge for drinks?" She had her hands on her hips, her wand pinned on one side. They exchanged looks for a moment, then all followed where she lead them. Away from the curious eyes of others, away from the whispering voices as they found fresh gossip.

Glynda held the door open for them as they entered one by one in the empty lounge, and then she stepped in herself, locking the door behind her. Ozpin faced away from them all, his eyes downcast. He could practically feel the girl's stare burning a hole through his back. "How?" he simply asked.

She tossed her hair back. "Figured it out myself. Even if you were making her keep quiet, she's not very discreet, you know? So now you've got five minutes until I start pounding your face into the ground."

"I did warn you, that others would start to figure it out as well," Glynda said.

She rounded on her. "You knew?"

"Don't you dare look at me like that," she snapped. "I only just found out over winter break."

"You know Ozpin, we've known each other for a pretty long time," Qrow said. "I never really took you for the kind of guy to go after such young tail-"

"Don't insult me," Ozpin interrupted, finally facing them. "You know me."

"Not as well as I thought. Now I know why you asked for that hairpin from Summer. It looked very pretty on her, for sure." He pinched at his own cheeks. "Why, with that hair out of her face, you can really see the baby fat."

"Do you think this is a game?"

"No, it's a mistake," Yang said. "3 minutes now. How dare you take advantage of her like that? Just because you're soulmates? Ruby still looks up to the heroes in her fairytales, and you let her believe in this 'relationship', acting like some Prince Charming?" She narrowed her eyes. "You make me sick." A moment of silence passed between them. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I have nothing to say to you," he said. His eyes cast down. "I have no excuse. I gave it a chance, and ended up charmed. I thought she would end it after the first week-"

"You son of a-"

"Miss Xiao Long," Glynda spoke up again. "When I found out about the affair, I convinced Professor Ozpin to break up with her."

"...Oh."

"And did you?" Qrow asked.

He sipped at his hot chocolate. A clock ticked in the room.

"Ozpin," Glynda said, her voice a bit strained. "You did break up with her like I asked, correct?"

He couldn't look any of them in the eye. "Not yet."

"Professor!"

"You gotta be kidding me, Oz," Qrow said, shaking his head.

"Break up with her, right now," Yang said. "Go out and break up with her today."

He looked up. "Today?"

"If you don't, then I'll, I'll, I'll tell the press!" She held her head high. "I'll go right down to the headquarters of Beacon's Daily, and I'll tell them all about it."

He felt his stomach drop. "You, you can't, Ruby-"

"Don't think for a second I won't do whatever it takes to protect my sister." Her lilac eyes looked on the verge of turning. "Either you break up with her today, or you make next week's headlines."

Silence once again. Glynda moved out of the way, and unlocked the door. "I think it's time you returned to your dorm, Miss Xiao Long. I think we'd better leave Professor Ozpin alone for now. You should leave too, Qrow."

"Sure. After all, I've still got all those little seasonal errands to run, right?" He headed out first, and Yang followed suit, though she shot Ozpin a glare over her shoulder as she left.

Glynda gave him a pitying look at she lingered in the doorway. "I did warn you." Her heels clicked against the tiles, and he was alone.

He felt frozen. Frozen in time, frozen in thought, frozen in speech, his bones chilled. Eventually, incrementally, he was able to move again, his joints stiff as he left the lounge. Down corridors and halls that he knew would be empty, he walked. Their words rang in his head, overlapping and emphasizing the same fears and doubts and worries he'd had for weeks. What would Ruby do?

He stepped outside, a light snow floating, tarrying and acting as if they'd quite forgotten how to fall. A dusting covered the sidewalks in the courtyards, a faint trail marking where he tread. He was quite unconscious of where exactly he was going, knowing only the sting of the cold against his exposed skin as he swam and drowned in his thoughts.

Until, he heard a sniffling. A soft hiccuping and moaning. He looked up, and felt a stab in his chest. Somehow, his feet had taken him to the fountain. That fountain. The one from so long ago, on a misty morning, when fate beckoned. There now, leaning against that frozen fountain with the now still water, that figure of fate knelt on the ground, her shoulders shaking, her hood pulled up. He went to her, his footsteps muffled. He sat down on the fountain railing beside her.

"Ruby?" his voice was soft. She looked up, and it was another blow to his chest. The usual rosiness of her cheeks had turned ruddy, streaked with salty tears, her eyes puffy and shining.

"Clark," her voice was hoarse. She moved to him, now crying in his lap. "Clark, I'm so sorry, they found out." She spoke between hiccups and sobs. "I don't know how, but they did. I'm so sorry, I tried so hard, but I, I-"

"Shh," he hushed her, petting her hair. Snowflakes melted in it, making it a bit damp. "It's not your fault."

"Blake and Weiss... I've tried so many times to explain things to them, to all of them. But they never listen. They just think I'm delusional, that it's all a mistake. But it's not a mistake, I know it. It's true love. I love you so much, Clark."

Oh, how he had longed to hear her say that. But instead of feeling elated, all he could feel was a pain in his throat, making it difficult to swallow. An ache in his chest that battled with the voices in his head. Mercifully, his face remained composed. As he sat there, comforting her, he knew. He knew what a truly weak man he was. How miserable, how pathetic, how foolish. He knew.

He took a deep breath, and spoke, "Ruby." Her sobs seemed to quieten, as if to listen. "I think we should take a break."

Her head snapped up, her eyes wide. "You're breaking up with me?"

"No," he said quickly, perhaps too quickly. "Taking a break is different from breaking up. We'll just stop dating. Just for a little while. We'll take a breather, to spend more time with our friends and family."

She shook her head. "No, no, you can't do this to me."

He leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not breaking up with you. We'll just take a rest in our relationship. Just for a little while. Just until you're 18. Until then, I will always be loyal to you. I'll wait for you, as I always have, even when I didn't know it." He wiped away some of her tears with his thumbs, and gave her a kind smile. "It's only three years. They'll pass in the blink of an eye, you'll see. Just three years, and then we won't even have to keep all this a secret anymore. You could shout it from the tops of skyscrapers, if you like. Just three years, and no more secrets to keep. Won't that be nice?"

She closed her eyes, hiccuping and swallowing. He got down to the ground with her, and hugged her tight. "Just three years. Just a little break. We'll still even be friends. Can you be brave, and do that for me? Please?" he requested. His fingers traced circular patterns on her back, and he felt her breathing start to even out.

"...Just three years?" she asked.

"Just three years."

"And you'll wait for me."

"Of course."

She pulled back, wiping at her nose. "Okay. Since I know your job's on the line, I'll wait."

"This is about so much more than just me, Ruby."

She nodded, and looked back up. They were so close, their breaths ghosting against each other's lips. But it would've been too cruel. Instead he stood, and helped her to her own feet. "Goodbye, Miss Rose."

She adjusted the hood of her cloak. "See you later... Professor Ozpin." There shared one last firm handshake, and let go.

She turned from him, and walked away. A breeze tugged at her cape, biting through her winter clothes, stinging where the warmth of his embrace lingered. She tottered to the dormitories, taking the stairs one step at a time. Somehow, the hallway seemed darker than usual. She pushed the door to her own room open, it swinging slowly on its hinges. She stepped inside.

"Hello, Ruby," Weiss greeted, her smile uncertain and worry in her eyes.

She didn't respond, her feet dragging as she moved towards her bunkbed. Blake sat in her own bed, reading, or pretending to. She wriggled out of her boots, climbing up to her bed. Yang watched her, studying her. "So, did he break up with you?" Yang asked.

There was a split moment where Ruby could hear her sister's words, but not understand them. And then she felt a fire burn through her limbs. She leapt back down the ground and faced her. "You ruined everything!" she shouted, surprising them and making Blake jump. "You never listen to me or care about what I think or feel! You treat me like some stupid little kid, even though I'm the team leader! You never gave me support when I needed it, and you never trusted me!"

"Ruby-"

"No! Why should I have to listen to you when you never listen to me?! You're such an awful sister, you don't even act like my sister half the time! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Before she could respond, she leapt back into her bed and buried herself under the sheets. She wept anew into her pillows, her hairpin poking her.

In the evening, Clark lay on his bed in his apartment. On the pillow next to him, the little red music box sat. It was open, it's haunting little melody playing and filling the room as the little ballerinas spun with their reflections. He watched them without seeing. "Just three years," he murmured to himself. "They'll pass in the blink of an eye, you'll see. Just for three years, I'll wait." He reached over, and shut the lid of the music box.

In this world, there is a certain music box.

Unique and hand-crafted, like a rose.

It sits untouched. Unheard. Unseen.

Ghosts dwell within. Silenced. Bound. Forgotten.

For years, it has no purpose.

Until one day, someone reaches down, and twists its turnkey.

The lid is lifted,

the ghosts spring back to their eternal dance,

and music plays forth from the little box,

Once again.