RWBY||Defender of Remnant

Chapter 30: Argus Limited

Sincline tilted his head. "Patch?"

"A small island west of Vale," Blake explained, and Sincline pulled up a map on the corner of his HUD, checking it out.

"Yeah, it's where Yang and I grew up," Ruby said excitedly. "We went to Signal Academy, and I—"

Yang covered her mouth. "He's staying with us over break when he gets back, remember?" she chided. "You can talk his ear off later."

Sincline blinked. "Is that possible?"

Yang just smiled, lips curving into a wicked grin. "I'll never tell~"

"Okaaay...." Not really sure if he should believe Yang or not, Sincline decided to just take her word for it. "So, what about you, Weiss?" Sincline asked, turning to his white-haired teammate. He knew for sure that, if she could help it, Weiss would avoid going back home at all costs, and, honestly, he couldn't blame her. I'd offer her to stay on one of my ships, but I don't... wait a minute....

Following Sincline's gaze, Accalia uncurled herself from Weiss and looked up at the Heiress as well, curiosity evident.

Weiss sighed. "Since we can't stay at Beacon over the semester, I have to go back home for the time being," she admitted, a dark gleam flashing across her eyes. It was brief, but it was as noticeable to Sincline as a Zaiforge Cannon.

"I see..." Sincline hesitated, glancing at Ruby, then back at Weiss. They ARE teammates... but still... "Hey, Rubes, can we talk for a second before we head out?" he asked.

Ruby blinked. "Uh, yeah. Sure." She stepped back, and Sincline followed.

"No funny business, you two!" Yang called after them, causing Ruby to sputter, her cheeks turning as red as her cape while Sincline simply tilted his head.

"Really?" Weiss deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. "You know you can trust him with her, right?"

"She knows," Blake sighed, idly wondering just when Weiss had become so supportive of the mech-turned-human. "She just wants to mess with her sister."

"...no comment."

With Ruby and Sincline

"Any idea what she meant by 'funny business?'" Sincline asked, tilting his head curiously. She's blushing, I know that much. But why would she—?

"Nope! Nope! Definitely not! Why would you think I know what she meant?" Ruby asked, laughing nervously, a bead of sweat slowly trekking down her neck.

Sincline blinked... and that's when Yang's words clicked into place. "W-wait, did she mean that we'd...?" He trailed off, his cheeks heating up to the point where they felt like they were on fire. Why did I ever read that book? he wondered, recalling the book that Yang had said Blake had wanted him to read.

Ruby nodded, her cheeks somehow turning even redder, and the two continued walking in silence for several seconds. Finally, they stopped beneath an archway (they were outside Blake's hearing range; Sincline had checked), and Ruby turned to face him, her silver eyes seeming to glow in the shadows. "So... what did you want to talk about?" she asked curiously.

Sincline hesitated and glanced toward Weiss, who was staring straight at him, a hint of worry and unease in her eyes. Her gaze flicked to Ruby, the question evident: Are you going to tell her?

Sincline shook his head. No.

Weiss blinked. Then what are you doing?