[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[AndrewJTalon]

Blake waited outside the daycare with her arms crossed, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. When the doors opened and Mia came running out, the little cat Faunus girl's ears were perked and her smile was bright.



"Auntie Blake!" Mia squealed, throwing herself into Blake's arms.



Blake caught her easily and lifted her up. "Hey, Mia. Want to go somewhere special with me?"



Mia's eyes sparkled. "Special?"



Blake smiled. "My favorite tree on campus. It's really tall. We can watch the birds."


- - -



A few minutes later they were high up in the branches of an old oak that overlooked the courtyard. The wind rustled the leaves around them. Mia sat securely in Blake's lap, staring out at the sky with pure wonder.



"Birds!" she whispered, pointing as a flock of little sparrows wheeled past. "They're so pretty!"



Blake watched her, heart aching in that familiar, complicated way. She tried to wait. She really did. But patience had never been her strongest virtue.



"…Mia," she said quietly. "Can I ask you something?"



Mia turned to look at her, ears twitching. "Uh-huh?"



Blake swallowed. "I heard you asked all the other girls to be your new mama. Ruby… Yang… Weiss… Pyrrha… even Glynda and Velvet. But you never asked me."



Mia blinked, genuinely confused. "But I do want you to be my mama! When we met Granny Kali and Grandpa Ghira! I like them lots. I want them to be my granny and grandpa forever!"



Recalling her parents... She felt guilt rise up like vomit. She closed her eyes.



"I..." Blake sighed. "Well... Maybe you shouldn't."



"Why?" Mia asked.



Blake's ears flattened under her bow. She looked down, voice soft and rough.



"I'm sorry. I just… I hurt my family for a long time. I was angry. I ran away from my parents. I joined a bad man… a man I cared about a lot. He lied to me. Used me. And I did a lot of bad things with him. Then I met you and your papa, and I really like both of you. I want to be a family again. But I'm scared. Scared I might hurt you. Or him. Or anyone who gets close to me. I don't know if I can—"



Smack.



Mia's tiny hand landed firmly on Blake's cheek.



"Stop being dumb!" Mia declared, frowning fiercely. "You're super dumb! You can be my mama too if you want! Cause you don't wanna be bad anymore! You wanna be good!"



Then she threw her arms around Blake's neck and hugged her tightly.



Blake froze for half a second… then the tears came. She buried her face in Mia's hair and hugged her back, shoulders shaking just a little.



"…Thanks," she whispered.



Mia patted her back like she was comforting a big sad cat. "You're welcome."



After a quiet moment, Mia pulled back, still holding Blake's face with both hands.



"But I don't want Uncle Sun to be sad!" she said seriously. "But I want another mama… Can I have two dads?"



Blake stared at her.



"…Um… well…"



Mia waited patiently, ears perked, as if this was a perfectly reasonable request.



Blake opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.



"…We'll… talk about that later," she finally managed.



Mia nodded, satisfied. "Okay! Can we watch more birds now?"



Blake let out a soft, watery laugh and pulled the little girl closer, resting her chin on Mia's head as they looked out over Beacon together.



"…Yeah," she murmured. "We can watch more birds."