Where the Flowers Lay

Main Ships: Bumbleby, Whiterose, Arkos

Sub Ships: Renora, Crosshares, Seamonkeys,

Ships for Plot: Nuts & Dolts, Freezerburn (assumed), Tauradonna

Summary: Summer Roses was somewhat a memorable place for the two sisters. It was a place of grief yet also gave endearing emotions for Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. Although flowers may not have been particularly their speciality as younglings, the symbol of the place was left behind for them by their mother and who were they to defy such an amazing person? The only trouble was branching out the shop to Beacon, a city that was by far more terrifying than the farm animals back at Patch.

Chapter One: On the Move

Patch wasn't a very…notorious island in Vale. It was one of those random countryside places that people thought only farmers had interests in, which wasn't wrong either. Many families moved out to Patch for its peace and gorgeous landscape, with the addition of Signal Academy, which is mostly famous for its speciality in the agricultural and (surprisingly) martial arts departments.

Aside from all the farm animals and fields, Yang and Ruby had made the place their home. Patch was more open to people; a collectivist culture where everyone knew each other and aided in everyday life. The two were used to it, especially since their parents both worked their individual jobs. Taiyang, their father, was a karate instructor at Signal Academy but also ran Judo lessons in the front yard of their home. Yang and Ruby would always tag along to these judo classes out of pure interest, to their mother's dismay who insisted that violence was in their blood due to Taiyang.

Summer was both sisters' mother, however, biologically she was only Ruby's mother. Both siblings understood as much but neither let it bother them since it hardly affected the way Summer treated them. The mother, who Ruby almost looked identical to, ran a flower shop called Summer Roses, that was within the centre of the streets. Sometimes on weekends, Yang would carry Ruby on her back, a fear of losing her sister in the streets, all the way to the flower shop to help their mother run it since she was the only staff member.

Honestly, life in Patch was worth it to the Xiao Long-Rose family. Sometimes the family of four, with the addition of their doggy companion, Zwei, would go on day trips to the coast to bathe in the sun and swim in the ocean. As noted before, Patch wasn't really notorious for anything, which was perfect for the family. There were no interruptions during their trips to the coast nor were there any vandalism or antisocial behaviour on the island. It was as expected from a countryside.

Yang and Ruby had been taught about the phrase "Survival of the Fittest" at a young age. Taiyang insisted on giving them knowledge of living and so, when it came to the inevitable, the two faced their worst fear of this phrase. It was hardly six in the afternoon when Yang had to be taken to the back of the flower shop to be spoken to by Taiyang. She could remember the shakiness in his voice, the trembling of his fingers, and the emptiness in his eyes as he voiced the words: "Your mother passed away".

It was heart shattering. Summer had always been a role model to Yang and if she, the daughter of Taiyang's previous wife, was devastated, Ruby would have had it worse. Ruby wasn't given the news until after she came back from her errand of buying fertilisers from a farmer. Yang didn't have to read Ruby's mind to know how miserable she was. In fact, neither sisters had to speak as Yang cradled her little sister in her arms, both trying to overcome the grief that Summer laid upon them.

Summer's death was natural and unavoidable, and it left a big whole in their family. A gap that was difficult to fill, no matter what the sisters tried to shove in. Eventually, they left it alone, deciding that it was better to leave it be and accept the space. Yang and Ruby grew up with their single father, who tried his best to teach them about flowers, something that they both wanted to pursue for Summer. Not having enough knowledge, it led to them meeting their Uncle Qrow, whom the girls adored. Since he was old friends with the parents, he was able to help the girls and even go out and buy some books on flowers for them.

That all led up to this point. This barrier that could either be the beginning or end of the Xiao Long-Rose sisters.

"Honey, do you have your passports?" Taiyang spoke as he peeked out from the side of a box that he was holding in both hands.

Yang, in her leather jacket and shades, smiled at her father, taking out two passports from her pocket. "Got it."

Taiyang sighed in relief as he dropped the box on a cart before walking over to Yang, giving her a big hug. Now that Yang was officially an adult, her father was less obliged to worry about her – not that it stopped him. Still, Yang found it endearing that her father worried so much about them, especially since they were moving far away.

"…Are you sure you want us to do this?" Yang asked, her smile wavering a bit.

Taiyang, a few months back, had the idea of branching out their flower shop to Beacon, where Qrow lived. He had convinced his daughters to move there to make the name bigger, screaming that it would make Summer proud. Ruby, who was an easily convinced young adult, jumped at the gun on it whilst Yang was more hesitant. She didn't like leaving behind her home, where their mother raised them and now lay. However, a conversation with Qrow led to her agreeing.

"Of course, dear." Taiyang replied. "I want the best for you. Both of you. The city is more capable of giving you a better life than Patch."

Yang bit her lip and nodded before going back to the car to find her 2 years younger sister sleeping soundlessly in the back. A flick on the forehead and it got the dark-haired girl up.

"Wah?" Ruby uttered out.

"We're here, dork." Yang said, pulling Ruby out of the backseat.

Ruby hummed in reply before jumping into their father's arms for one last hug. They waved their goodbyes to Taiyang and Patch. Yang could tell that Ruby had a small regret for leaving, she did too, but Taiyang was right. Beacon would better their future and, well, free them from the chains they'd subconsciously put on themselves.

"Come on, Rubes. We've got a flight to catch."

Θ

Upon arriving at Beacon, the girls were picked up by their Uncle Qrow. He wasn't hard to spot, especially since he was tall in the crowd of much shorter people. For the first week living in Beacon, the two stayed on Qrow's couch until they rented an apartment near the shopping centre that they planned on opening their shop at. Yang had already bought the store before they moved to Beacon, so the siblings immediately jumped on designing and decorating the flower shop. Occasionally, when Qrow wasn't busy handling politics, he would aid in the heavy lifting. It took about 2 weeks for Summer Roses to be finished and Yang and Ruby couldn't be happier.

Before opening, Ruby had put up fliers everywhere to alert the citizens of vacant jobs at Summer Roses and after a whole day of interviewing the candidates, they were left with Ren and Jaune. It wasn't hard to choose those two since they were the only candidates of the four that didn't have criminal records.

"Ruby?" Someone squeaked from the front of the store. The black-haired girl with red tips was just finished sorting through the pots and seeds in the storage room.

"What's up, Jaune?" Ruby raised her voice, clapping off the dry dirt on her hands as she headed towards the counter.

The smooth brown counter top had a blonde boy slouching over it, mumbling something to himself. Ruby sighed sympathetically. Compared to Ren, who had background experience and knowledge of being a florist, Jaune was a newbie who knew nothing about the sort.

"I messed it up…" Jaune replied sombrely, his blue eyes reflecting on the wax of the counter.

Ruby raised a brow at this confession. She eliminated all the possibilities that the statement could lead to and let out a quiet laugh. He had probably meant the organisation of a flower section and Ruby couldn't blame him. Yang's instructions were never really detailed. It took even her a few months to understand the words of Yang Xiao Long and they were sisters!

"It's okay, Jaune. I'll handle it. Can you fill the cash register with change, please?" Ruby said, giving the poor boy a smile to reassure him.

Jaune jumped up and nodded, his tail wagging right behind him as he quickly turned towards the cash register—wait, tail? Ruby shook her head, laughing at the delusion that was created by herself. She gazed at the floral clock on the wall that read 3:47. It was almost 4 in the afternoon so if she sorted out the flowers, they could close the shop and then she could go get a cup of coffee from across the street.

Not to neither Ruby or Jaune's surprise, the flowers were perfectly positioned the way that Yang had wanted – hopefully. After closing, Ruby bid Jaune goodbye, reminding him not to be late the next time he came to work.

As promised of herself, Ruby set off to the coffee shop called Coco Latte, which, for a Friday was not busy. Upon entering, Ruby was faced with a…strange sight. There were two baristas at the counter, one was taking an order from a customer, and the other was…dancing with a broom? She'll admit, the song that went with the choreography matched but this scene was a little humorous.

"Come on, Velv! Dance with me~" The dancing barista said, winking and dipping the broom.

The person she was directing it at was a girl with long brown hair sitting at a table near the counter. This Velvet person did not look like she was from Beacon, or even Vale. It was only after she had spoken that Ruby was able to confirm it.

"Coco, please get back to work. Blake looks like she's about to blow." Velvet said, her accent foreign in Vale.

Ruby would have heard more but her stomach began to rumble of hunger, so she decided on getting a cookie along with her tea.

"Hi, welcome to Coco Latte. What will you be having today?" The barista spoke monotonously.

Ruby smiled at the barista – her name tag said Blake – and gave the girl her order. She paid for her drink and received a receipt for her order. Whilst waiting for the drink to be made, Ruby decided to create small talk with the barista. It was something that she normally did in Patch since the village was less populated. Obviously, she was still culturally dislocated as this wasn't really a normal thing in Vale.

"Hey…Blake? Your friend is very funny." Ruby said, hoping it came off friendly.

The black-haired girl looked up from the coffee machine, taking a second to comprehend her words before smiling and shaking her head.

"Coco? We're not friends." Blake said, glaring at her co-worker, who was now tipping her beret to Velvet.

Apparently, this Coco person heard Blake and gave her the puppy eyes and huffed in their direction.

"That's so rude, Blake! I'm not paying you to lie about our relationship~" Coco replied, winking at the girl.

Blake shook her head as Ruby tried to supress a laugh. The girl with yellow eyes then looked at Ruby, the two finally making eye contact.

"Are you new here?" The barista asked, like it was a calculated guess.

Ruby nodded enthusiastically in response. "Yeah. Just moved here last week. Set up a shop just across the road."

Blake raised a brow and hummed, getting back to work. "Oh, so you're the owner of Summer Roses? The shop looks really nice."

Ruby grinned at the compliment and the amount of attention Blake had paid to the store. "Oh, I'm a co-owner with my sister, Yang. Thank you very much! We're opening in 4 days and I'm nervous as to how it'll all turn out."

"Don't worry about it. Here in Vale, if you know what you're doing and talking about, your shop will be a success. That's how this place is surprisingly still open." Blake said.

"Hey! I heard that you b—"

"Coco, no foul language!" Ruby heard the voices of Coco and Velvet.

She smiled and when she received her drink, Ruby gave Blake a tip, who reflected the expression before showing it off to Coco. The red head assumed that Coco was the owner of the establishment from the name, so she gave the barista with the broom a wave.

Θ

If there was one thing that Yang had to mention was annoying about living in the city, teenage hooligans would be at the top of her list. Now, Yang was only 21 and hell, she looked good, so she was an easy target for these overconfident delinquents to perv on. It frustrated her that threats did no harm to them and only fuelled their intentions.

"I swear…I'm going to burn them alive!" Yang vehemently scowled under her breath.

The girls were two days away from officially opening their shop. They only had to wait for the stock of fertilisers and gardening equipment, which was going to be delivered tomorrow. Since everything else was set, Yang had been able to set a rota for the four of them. The shop was only going to be set up for 4 days a week at the beginning so that they could get a feel for the atmosphere. She'd already called Jaune and Ren about what days and times they had to come in for in advance.

Now, Yang was on her way to the park for a morning jog. Ruby was still passed out back at the apartment and since she spent all night reading, the older sister didn't want to wake her up. Usually on jogs through the park, Yang would plop in her ear buds and listen to the calming sound of metal but today, she decided to take in nature.

The birds were chirping; a different sound to the usual rooster noises that Yang was more familiar of. Still, she carried on, embracing the smell of freshly trimmed grass. It was around 6AM so there were hardly any people around except for someone jogging in front of her. The girl had ear buds in and seemed to be taking the same route. Yang wasn't going to disturb her until she caught sight of a note slipping out of the girl's pocket. If Yang was someone like her Uncle Qrow, she would have taken the money and acted like she never saw it, however her father and step-mother taught her better.

"Excuse me." Yang said, tapping the girl with white hair on her shoulder.

The girl stopped and turned her head, taking out one ear bud with a raised brow, obviously not pleased with being interrupted. "May I help you?"

Yang laughed and shook her head to reveal a 100-dollar bill, which she doubled-back on, not even realising it was that much that she picked up.

"…Uh, you dropped your money." She said, blinking with shock as to why a girl would bring so much money on a jog this early in the morning.

Apparently, the girl was shocked as well, but probably for a different reason as she took back her money. She hesitated for a moment, deciding on what to say and do before settling on her answer and smiling.

"Thank you. Do forgive my manners. I'll be blunt and say that I'm surprised you'd give back my money." The girl, who Yang had just noticed had light blue eyes, replied.

"I didn't even know the bill had that much value to it but…I guess it just goes against my morals to do something as bad as stealing money." Yang laughed.

The girl nodded and took out her ear phones completely, putting it away. "Would you like to have breakfast with me? It's my treat, of course. I don't want to be in-debt with you."

Yang had never bailed out on free food, especially from someone who seemed to be rich. The two ended up jogging all the way to Coco's Latte and was served by the owner herself. Yang had gotten herself a lot of bacon with French toast, and the girl – who had then introduced herself as Weiss – had gotten a much smaller meal.

"Who'da thought that Ice Queen would have a friend." Coco had said, snickering as she dragged a chair from an empty table over to theirs.

"Ice Queen?" Yang questioned, raising a brow at Weiss before setting her eyes on Coco.

"Yup. Ice Queen. It's the nickname we gave her back at Beacon Academy. She was such a loser—she still is now but I guess it's lessened. Hey, you're Yang, right? You own the store across from ours?" Coco asked.

Yang lit up and nodded, noticing the raised interest from Weiss. "Uh huh. How'd you figure it out?"

"The co-owner came in the other day. She mentioned your name and the shop you're opening. It was just a wild guess but hey, glad to know my neighbour." Coco shrugged.

"Summer Roses? Are you a florist?" Weiss asked.

"Well, yeah. We're hella good at our job too. If you need a flower to tell someone they need to dig their own hole, we're your shop!" Yang said with a wink.

Coco and Weiss looked at each other, giving odd looks before return their eyes to Yang.

"So, you know the meaning of flowers?" Weiss said.

"Yup. Been taught about them since I was a kid." Yang replied, her ego growing by the minute.

"Damn! Nice! It's been a while since we've had a florist who knew what they were doing. The last guy who opened a flower shop, he just gave everyone random flowers, saying "it looks nice". Honestly, a rip off." Coco said with a newly found respect for Yang.

Weiss nodded in agreement. "I'll second that. I've lived in Beacon for quite a while now and the florists here all care more about the presentation rather than the meaning behind flowers."

"Aw, geez. I hope I don't let you guys down." Yang said.

The three then laughed, a feeling similar to being close friends, even though they'd only just met Yang. It was a nice feeling, especially since Coco and Yang took turns to embarrass and joke about with Weiss, who was the easiest to target about anything.

In the end, neither Yang or Weiss could stay for long and since they all got along so well, the blonde couldn't pass up the opportunity of making friends in this city. She was able to attain their phone numbers, changing Coco's name to "Cocolicious", and Weiss' to "Ice Queen".

Θ

For the next two days before opening, Ruby stayed in the shop, regulating and speculating the activity of the flowers. She made sure that all the flowers had enough sun and water. Summer Roses wasn't just a shop to buy flowers. Ruby and her sister grew the flowers, though many of them were mainly shipped from their father's flower garden in Patch.

Most people may get bored looking after basically a garden shop, but Ruby loved it. All this reminded her of her mum and the distant memories of them being a family. Also, she really didn't have anything else to do. Blake, who became a newly formed friend, wasn't working for the next two days (Ruby asked Coco, the manager of the place).

Yang was probably out at the gym, and Ruby did try the regular visits to the gym with her sister, but she wasn't committed to it. Sweating too much in such thin clothing was very uncomfortable so she passed on Yang's offers to join. She didn't even realise how long she'd been in the shop for until she saw Jaune tapping on the glass door.

Opening the door, Ruby furrowed her brows. "Jaune? What's up?"

"W-well, I didn't know where to go so I wondered if you needed help with the shop?" Jaune murmured, a little nervously.

Ruby blinked then laughed. "Lemme guess, too much free time?"

Jaune nodded, almost as if he was ashamed.

"Don't worry. Let's hang out, then! I'm going to close up the shop anyway, since I'm finished." Ruby replied, going back in to grab her things and tidying everything away.

"So, Jaune. You've lived here for a while, right?"

Another nod confirmed it.

"Perfect! Let's go do something fun! Any bowling or arcade place?" Ruby asked, a little excited since she's never been to these places before.

The earnest excitement gained a chuckle from Jaune who led her down the streets, informing her that the arcade and bowling alley were joined. It at first baffled Ruby but soon it grew into amazement. The walk to the arcade had the two talking, each telling about where they came from and their interests.

Ruby found that Jaune had dreamed of being a big-time journalist, and that his primary job is being a journalist for a small business. Then, Ruby told Jaune that she was always intrigued by literature and that maybe she'd want to be an author, though it was only a dream for her.

"Ruby, a dream is a goal…why don't you go to Beacon? They've got a really good literature course there and honestly, you seem like you'd ace the test to get in." Jaune said, being as supportive as a stranger – well, now they're friends – could be.

"I would…but it's the money that I'm worried about." Ruby replied, frowning a little before it quickly switched to a smile. "And, I'm perfectly fine with where I am right now. Summer Roses is my home and my mum's dream."

"Ruby…" Jaune murmured before shaking off the sadness with a smile. "Well, if you do consider it, I can help. I just graduated from Beacon."

That was the end of their most serious talk that day. All time was invested in beating each other in bowling and many arcade games. Although Ruby thrashed Jaune at very arcade game, the blonde boy held onto the victory over bowling, making sure to show her that he wasn't a loser. It was fun, much more than the red-head had thought, which was a delight for the both of them.

"Well, see ya, Ruby!" Jaune said when they'd left the arcade.

"Yeah. I'll see you on Tuesday!" Ruby grinned, already knowing the rota for the opening week.

Once Jaune was out of sight, Ruby turned on her heels and walked to Coco Latte, craving for a cup of coffee. Expecting it, she only saw Coco and a male barista at the counter. The manager with the beret was already preoccupied so Ruby took her orders from a man named Fox.

When she had gotten her drink, Ruby observed the café for a good spot to sit, until she found a woman with long black hair and—yeah, that definitely looked like Blake. Suddenly filled with so much energy, Ruby strolled over to Blake's table, who was reading a book.

"Mind if I sit with you?" Ruby spoke out.

The girl in front of her seemed a little shocked before she looked up, her gaze immediately dissipating the surprise.

"Oh, sure…"

Then it occurred to the red-head that she didn't introduce herself properly to Blake. She laughed and sat down, placing her cup of coffee down on the table.

"Sorry! My name's Ruby Rose." She said with a grin.

"Rose? So, you went for the same store name as Coco?" Blake said as she took a sip of her tea.

"…Sorry?" Ruby was utterly confused as to what the dark-haired girl had meant.

Blake sighed and pointed towards Coco, the manager and owner of the establishment. "Coco Latte is named after that idiot over there. I was just asking if Summer Roses has something to do with your last name."

"Oh! Well…Kinda? See, my mum ran the business before my sister and I did. Her name was Summer, so, we wanted to build a chain here in Beacon." If Blake noticed that Ruby referred her mother in the past tense, the girl didn't let on.

"Hmm…It's a nice name for a flower shop. Well, I can't wait for your opening." Blake said with a genuine smile.

Hearing those words re-energised Ruby, making her take a quick sip of her coffee, forgetting that it was still hot. "Ack! Hot! Hot!" She shouted, trying to blow the heat coming from her tongue.

"Thanks. You'll be thisiting (visiting) us at the sthor (store)?" She said, showing the stars in her eyes

Blake laughed and nodded at the poor tongue-burnt girl.

"We're kind of friends now, so yeah."

"So, what days do you work at Coco's?" Ruby asked, intrigued and wanting to know when to pop by to have a chat with her new friend.

The yellow-eyed girl shook her head. "I don't work at Coco Latte." The puzzled look on Ruby's face made her smile a little more. "It was kind of a volunteer thing the other day. She was short-staffed and since we're friends, I helped her out. I have a different career."

"Awwww, that's so nice!" Ruby said, nodding in approval, ticking off her "good friend" list. "But what do you do, then?"

"Me? Well, I'm an investor. I share-hold many small businesses and sometimes give them advice." Blake replied.

Ruby whistled, admitting that it sounded cool. "I guess we lucked out on getting investment from you, huh?"

Blake laughed a little, picking up her cup to sip again. "Well, you seem fine right now, but I'll lend you a hand in the future, if you need it, friend."

"Well, that's a deal I'd be looking forward to making."

And the two shook on it, playfully of course, though with Blake's monotonous voice, Ruby couldn't really tell if she actually meant it. Oh well! Future Ruby could deal with that nonsense. Present Ruby only wanted to talk more with Blake. None of those happened. Not when the red head received a sceptical text from her beloved sister.

Ruby raised a brow at the nickname displaced on her phone, which had the fingerprints of Yang all over it.

Yangarang: RUBY! I MADE FRIENDS WITH A FRICKIN BILLIONAIRE!

Well! That was a fun ride, right?

I hope you guys liked the beginning? I'm planning on writing a ton of chapters for this story.

There's just one thing I ask of you,

Please give me some favs and maybe a comment here and there.

I want some loving for this piece! Thanks! :D