RWBY Through Worlds

10: In-Between

"Where are we going, Shine?" Wally asked while they were leaving.

"I don't know, but I need some space from this team," Shine sounded mad.

"Yeah...okay that was awkward...and kind of mean," Wally said. "But are you sure we should be walking out? It feels like that's just going to make it more awkward."

"You could have backed me up," Shine turned her annoyance on him.

"With what?" Wally said.

"Excuse me? Yang was being a jerk!" Shine said. "What happened to that girl? I've never seen her treat someone that way who wasn't her mom."

"If she treats her mom that way that's kind of not great either," Wally winced. "My mom would kill me if I talked like that to her...but maybe she's just...upset? I mean, she's a kid, right?"

"She's 18."

"Well...but still." Wally said.

"There are League members that young, Wally, or there have been. You weren't much older than that when you started. Would you treat people that way?"

"On purpose no, but I guess we do show our worst sides to people we don't have to be nice to," Wally said.

"You wouldn't do that," Shine said.

"I wouldn't...try to," Wally said. "I mean, I have lost my cool a bit with my team before."

"The worst you did was make a few sarcastic remarks or get annoyed at them for underestimating you," Shine said. "That's hardly the same thing...She's wrong. She does not get to treat us however she wants just because we don't have a license and a family pedigree to present them with."

"Still, it is a little sus that we aren't telling them who we are," Wally said. "I feel like we're being like Ozpin."

"Ozpin kept his own secrets, in many ways, our origins aren't just ours to explain," Shine said.

She slowed and looked around. "Wally, you do realize part of the reason I'm keeping it under wraps, right?"

"Uh...you don't trust them?" Wally said.

"You think that's it?" Shine looked hurt.

"I'm sure...you have a thought out reason," Wally tried to unbury himself. "I just haven't...well you know I can't read your mind," with a bit more warmth. "You could have told me."

"I...didn't think I needed to, I thought you'd see why, you have a secret identity," Shine said.

"But this isn't being a superhero, I didn't think we'd need one," Wally argued. "If we did, you could have said so."

"I thought it was clear before when we talked about not going by code names that there were things not to tell them."

"I think we could have talked about this more," Wally said. "I mean, there is such a thing as a debriefing."

He so rarely took that tone with Shine that it stunned her.

Of course she was sarcastic all the time, but not usually with him.

Wally felt bad about 2 seconds after he said it.

"I should have said that differently..." he said quickly. "Sorry. I guess I could have asked sooner."

"You could have," Shine said.

"Sorry, uh, it's just you're so on this all the time," Wally rubbed his head. "I mean it's been 2 days and you're already like 'let's raise someone from the dead' 'let's help Oscar not lose his soul' and I'm like: Cool fighting and freaky monsters!"