Ahhhh... are you guys sad? Because I'm happy... you guys will be sadder by the end of this...

Epilogue:

Cinder could feel the tears wanting to break free, but she had to hold strong. She was in her late girlfriend's room. She needed to be strong because that is what Ruby would want. She walked over to the shelf that contained Ruby's stuffed toys, each stepped seemed to be harder than the last. "Sorry you couldn't see this in the end Ruby..." Cinder spoke softly as she rested the small golden and brown stuffed toy on the shelf, between the bear and dolphin she had seen with Ruby a lot in the past.

"I just wish I didn't have to give it to you during your wake..." Cinder continued as she could feel the tears starting to slip past their prison. She could feel nothing but sadness in the room. A room just a couple of days prior she was sitting on Ruby's bed with her, both just watching some Christmas movies.

"I doubt I'll ever be here again... but that is for the best... I can't even stop crying now." Cinder got out as she tried to rub her eyes. "Sorry... I need to go back down stairs Ruby..." Cinder spoke as she stood up and took one final look around Ruby's room.

She could hardly believe it, just a couple of weeks prior she was essentially held hostage in the room. A couple weeks prior to that and she was in here watching her favourite show with Ruby. And a couple weeks before that and she was trying to avoid this annoying redhead at this new school she started.

But now... now it felt too big. It felt so incredibly daunting to just stay in there. Cinder quickly wiped the fresh tears from her face as she swung out of the room to see someone she didn't recognise standing there.

She had to admit the person looked a lot like Weiss, but she figured seeing as there was only one group of Ruby's family there, this person probably was one of the many people Ruby had became friends with and they merely wanted to do what Cinder did and pay some respects in private. Cinder quickly pressed herself against the wall as the older woman brushed past her.

As Cinder reached the base of the stairs she could see Blake and Pyrrha arrived finally. The black outfits just seemed to be murder on Cinder's tired eyes. The newly formed trio quickly made it into the living room where they were keeping Ruby's body for the sake of some custom that Cinder had never heard of.

There were a lot of people Cinder recognised from the collection of pictures Ruby had. If she knew how rude it would appear she would have chuckled at the ever arrogant Kirito standing above the casket with a brunette holding a little child in her arms. She could barely make out a 'I'm sorry for everything I did Asuna' from Kirito.

Cinder shrugged it off as she got into the queue that was forming to pay the final respects to Ruby. She could see out of the corner of her eye someone tugging on the black dress that Summer wore asking some question in what Cinder assumed was Chinese, but she could assume it was asking where Ruby was judging by the way Summer seemed so tense and near tears every time.

She just looked further in the queue to see Weiss standing, clutching onto Yang. The ornate dress she was wearing just looked wrong on Weiss. And she could assume by the way she was moving she was uncomfortable in it. Cinder wouldn't lie... she was uncomfortable in her's. It just seemed to sting.

As the line moved again she could see her dad trying his best to console Tai... and it seemed to work as well as a watering can in an inferno... and she couldn't blame either. Cinder soon felt a tap on her shoulder causing her to turn around to see a face she hadn't seen in a long time. The person quickly held up a note to Cinder.

'How did you know Ruby Cinder?' the heterochromatic eyed girl stared into Cinder. Both clearly wanting to cry once again but stayed strong for whatever reason. "I was dating her..." Cinder spoke softly as the queue shortened again.

Cinder looked around again noticing she was the next who could speak with Ruby when she picked up a little seeing the flashes of blues and greens and reds, hoping it was a prank. Another tasteless prank of Ruby's.

That singular hope was crushed once she realised it was some of the hospital staff clearly spending their breaks to merely pay their respect and condolences.

Cinder quickly made her way to the casket and stared into the blank expressionless face of Ruby. It was haunting. It looked as if she was just asleep. Not the pained sleep she had been having from what Cinder heard from Yang.

"Hey Ruby... I hope you are no longer in any sort of pain... and I hope you can see my mom again... and that you are happy wherever you are now." Cinder spoke softly as she leaned down and planted a kiss on Ruby's forehead.

Cinder made her way over to where Ruby's friends were sitting and just wanted to not be alone right now. She had no idea how anyone who was alone could handle it. She could see some heads turn towards her. Jaune stood up offering his seat to Cinder as Weiss spared a glance towards Cinder.

"I'm glad you made her as happy as you did for her final few months. Any time we would talk... she would always bring you up and mention how you made her feel as happy as she could physically feel." Weiss spoke as she squeezed Yang's hand. The entire group could feel nothing but the gripping sense of reality.

Ruby would never grow old with anyone. She would never be there to help anyone through their problems. She would never be there for anyone feeling left out. Instead in twenty four hours, she would be in a simple hole in the ground.

It had hurt them all. To some people in the small group that formed like Weiss and Jaune, they lost a dear friend. To Ren and Nora they lost a cohort in their crazy antics. To Blake and Pyrrha they lost someone who was like a sister they never knew the wanted. To Yang... she lost her baby sister. She lost the person who no matter what would put up with her rants. She lost the person that would help her with her problems involving Weiss' family. And to Cinder...

Well she lost a friend, a cohort, someone she never knew she wanted to be in her life, she lost the person who would put up with her rants and help her with problems involving Weiss and Yang. She lost someone who was arguably the most important person in her life at that point. She lost the only person who was able to pull her out of the slump and depression she was in after her mother's passing. She lost the person that made her want to try everything new that she could. She lost the person that made life really worth living. And now she felt like she was back to square one.

She knew the people she was talking to now would probably hate her, she did just spend literally the entire time she has known them, intentionally or not pushing them away. And only the dead seventeen year old in a casket was daring enough to push back. She was the only person willing enough to ignore the rumours, willing enough to ignore what her gut told her upon seeing who Cinder was... and the only person willing enough to actually get to know Cinder for who she really was.

Author's Note:

Welp here is the epilogue. I do hope you guys enjoyed it. It was a fun ride, and like always a special thanks goes to all the people who followed, favourited and reviewed. I'll see you guys in the dark story that won the poll.