RWBY: Lex Talionis - Male Reader x Harem (Complete)

Part 18

"And upstairs to the left is the bathroom, in case your want to-" Taiyang gestured to Y/N and the dust layering his body.

"Thanks." Y/N said in a deadpanned tone with his gaze equal to it.

"I'm just sayin'!" Taiyang raised his hands with a laugh. "Now come on! I'm starving."

Setting down their packs, Y/N sat to a dinner table with Saphron beside him and Taiyang, Ruby and Yang on the other end.

"So were you guys on the same team??" Saphron asked, holding a bowl with both hands as Taiyang poured in a cup of steaming stew.

"Nah." Taiyang said, blowing on a spoonful of hot food. "But Y/N's was down the hall--hey how are the guys anyway??"

Y/N hummed with a mouthful of food. He ultimately swallowed and spoke with an even tone. "They broke off after graduation." Taiyang nodded in remembrance. "Rhodes definitely went back to Atlas, he never liked the aspect of teams, haven't seen him since Gretchen's funeral. And Marcus..." Y/N huffed and shook his head. "Not sure whatever happened to him."

"That's a shame..." Taiyang nodded. "Would've loved to catch up."

"It happens." Y/N said offhandedly with a small shrug.

"What do you mean?" Saphron asked near a whisper, she didn't see the subtle warnings from Taiyang.

Y/N took a deep breath, he removed his gloves and linked his fingers together with his elbows on the table. "Teams aren't obligated to stay together. They most often break apart into a pair or alone all together. My partner... Gretchen, she and I stuck together. Rhodes and Marcus left the moment they could." He waved a dismissive hand. "We were never close. They're out there somewhere."

Saphron hummed, she didn't say much else. Y/N remained silent throughout the rest of dinner, only giving short responses to Taiyang's or Saphron's eventual questions and sharing momentary laughter from old memories.

_______________________________________

Y/N enjoyed the meal offered by Taiyang and adored the stories they reminisced over.

But it was only a small distraction from what really ailed him. Fria hadn't left his mind since he discovered her fate.

What are you doing...?

Everything about her just screamed out to him, a poor widow possibly wondering Remnant, or huddled down in some corner of the world, waiting.

He had to find her, not just for the dozen or so questions he needed answers to, but also to possibly salvage what there was left to his family.

A snap of a twig and a crunch of dirt behind Y/N pulled him from his thoughts, he saw Taiyang lift a piece of log and set it down as a makeshift chair.

"You know... they usually light these." He smirked and gestured to the ash heap surrounded by stacked rocks.

Y/N held a hand out to Taiyang to stop him, he then held a finger to his own lips. "I'd rather not." Y/N uttered softly and near a whisper.

The two friends now sat under the night sky, the only nearby light source was the soft orange hue in Taiyang's home, the shattered moon hidden behind a thicket of tree's and the hundreds of stars dotting the sky.

"What's the matter, Y/N?" Taiyang asked near a whisper. "...I know we haven't been the closest but even I know something is wrong."

He was right, they weren't close, not as much as Y/N and Qrow. But he was still worried, and he used this moment of solitude to finally show it.