Pink, Like Posies

Chapter 1

"So let me get this straight Weiss. You want us to go, armed, to your big company do, and pretend to be your security pretending to be guests?" Yang asked across the table. The four members of team RWBY were talking over dinner, amidst the bustle of the rest of Beacon getting their evening meal.

"Essentially, yes." Weiss was gradually getting more frustrated, as she had been explaining things, in great detail, to the group for the last twenty minutes. It was not that complicated, at least in her mind.

"So... why are we doing this again?"

"So that her father can feel she's safe, in light of recent White Fang remnant activities, as well as other problems, without drawing excessive attention to the extra security, because it looks bad to the other guests." Blake spoke without even bothering to look up from her book. Blake had listened the first time, then zoned out of the conversation when Ruby and Yang had started asking for it to be explained again. She turned a page then continued, "Given that we are Weiss' friends and team-mates, nobody would be terribly surprised that we were invited by Weiss. Also, it would be relatively easy to conceal our weapons, with the exception of Crescent Rose, which we can probably deal with."

Blake's eyes trailed to the end of the chapter, then she looked up and closed the book. "That sum it up properly?"

Weiss nodded. Ruby raised a hand, "Question!"

Weiss sighed, "What?"

"Will we have to dress up for this?"

"Yes. If you look scruffy, you won't be allowed through the door." Weiss's words had an edge to them. She knew that she would have to make Ruby and Yang show her their costumes in advance, if she wanted even a slight chance of something sensible coming out of their wardrobes. At least Ruby's questions were vaguely sensible, unlike her sisters'.

"So what's the whole event about anyway?" Blake asked. "I don't think you mentioned."

"It's the reopening of one of our handling plants. It was... er... taken out in an attack."

'By the White Fang,' everyone added mentally. Weiss was not the most sensitive person, but she did not want to say anything to cause another major upset with Blake.

"But yes, it will just be a dinner for the special guests, ourselves included, at the Schnee Company's Vale HQ, followed by a ceremony at the plant itself. Nothing 'important' per se will be done, I'm only going to be there because my father is busy back home."

"And the reason for there to be extra security?" Blake asked.

Weiss sighed. She knew Blake would catch on. "Well, this is not to be mentioned to anyone else, but the plant's been upgraded to new tech. I don't know the details, but it's a new extractor method. We're actually less worried about terrorists, and more about our competitors. We'll be debuting the tech on the day of the opening."

"Nothing important then?" Blake asked, her voice cutting the air.

"Officially, no."

Weiss smiled, while Blake glared at her. Yang glanced between the two, expecting sparks to start flying.

"Will there be cookies?" Ruby asked, sounding like the question was of the utmost importance, stroking her chin as she spoke.

"Er..." Weiss was so utterly thrown off by the question that she forgot to keep up the staring contest with Blake. "Probably not."

"O~w..."

Weiss sighed, "I'll get you a bag afterwards, okay?"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Excellent!" Ruby stood up, a manic smile on her face. "Ladies! Team RWBY will soon begin our next great mission: going to Weiss's party!"

"We didn't agree to this..." Yang put in.

"You're going to try to argue with Ruby when she's been promised cookies?" Blake asked.

"No, I just wanted it on the record that I never agreed to this, so I can say 'I told you so' should anything go wrong, which, given we're involved, is the most likely outcome."

"Hush team-mates! The mission will commence at the crack of dawn!" Ruby continued without any loss of excitement.

"Uh... it isn't until Monday," Weiss put in.

"I know. You see Weiss, I have this teensy tiny problem."

Weiss gave her a quizzical look. "Hit me."

Ruby was surprised, but lightly punched Weiss on the shoulder. "No you dolt. I mean what's the problem?"

"Oh, I thought it was odd that you wanted me to punch you..."

"Maybe she's into that!" Yang offered with a grin.

If looks could kill, Yang would be six foot under and having a dance-off with the Devil from Weiss' glare.

"But anyway, so what is this little problem?" Weiss asked, smiling at Ruby. Weiss was genuinely in a good mood with Ruby suddenly, largely because the young leader was not her big sister. Weiss should have been aware that this mood would, nay, could not last.

"Well I don't have anything to wear..."


"Really?" Weiss was digging through Ruby's section of their wardrobe, desperately searching. "Ruby Rose, do you really have nothing more presentable than your school uniform to wear?"

"Well I don't go to many formal events, and the last time I went to one was, like, two years ago, so my dress wouldn't fit me any more, and when I came to Beacon I didn't think I'd be needing one, so I didn't bother to go and get a new one, and I haven't needed one so far, so, ya know, I think I can be excused and Weiss please stop glaring at me, it's scary and it will give you wrinkles."

Weiss just stared at her, until the redhead stopped talking for air. "You done?"

"If I am, will you call me an idiot and tell me just how much work this is going to be, and that I should have thought about it previously for five different reasons?"

"I was going to, but now that you've just gone through it all I think I can miss out most of it."

"Okay, in that case, I'm done."

"Ruby Rose you IDIOT!"

Weiss began talking Ruby's ear off, while Yang and Blake sat back watching the two.

"So when are you going to tell her you don't have anything suitable?" Blake asked Yang.

"Hey, at least for me the excuse is that I don't have anything with sleeves that can hide my gauntlets."

"You think she'll accept that?"

"No, but I can hope."

The two watched as Ruby and Weiss argued, or more accurately Weiss argued at Ruby. Yang frowned, remembering a certain conversation from a few days before. Blake noticed the expression, and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong Yang?"

"Nah, not really, just thinking about something," Yang had considered trying to completely hide her thoughts from the faunus, but she knew full well that Blake was too smart for that.

"Well if it's anything that I can help with..."

"Sorry... it's just..." Yang glanced at her sister, who was now laughing as Weiss scowled at her, though the older girl's glare was clearly an attempt to hide Weiss's own amusement, which still showed through. Yang sighed, "It's just a family issue."


The scene: a small clothes shop in Vale. The occasion: finding Ruby a dress. The actors in our little play: Ruby herself, an irritated Weiss and a distressed shop assistant.

Weiss was just wondering whether this story was more a comedy or tragedy.

"Ruby, would you at least try them on before deciding you can't stand the thought of being seen in them?"

"But... the frills are scary, and those things are gonna be hard to move in." Ruby pouted as she spoke.

Weiss was glad her hair was white, otherwise Ruby would have caused her to go grey by now.

"Look, much as you being able to move would be nice, first and foremost you have to look presentable.

"But..."

Weiss sighed, "If you try on the ones I give you, I'll give you a cookie for each."

Ruby looked as though a great struggle were going on inside her mind. On the one hand, her desire to dine on doughy delicacies was strong, but on the other hand, her phobia of frills made her uncertain.

"Please just do it," Weiss sounded pleading, a rare thing for her, and Ruby gave in.

"All right, but not the really frilly ones."

"Okay, well lets start with these ones..."

Weiss handed the dresses to Ruby, who then vanished into a dressing room. Weiss wondered vaguely what her next bank statement would look like, littered as it would be with large orders of cookies. While some would call it bribery, Weiss preferred to think of it as peaceful persuasion.

A little time later, Weiss was almost as fed up of frills as Ruby. She finally got why Ruby disliked them, they did not fit the redhead at all. It was something about her which just clashed horribly. Weiss now owed the girl about eight cookies, and was getting desperate.

"Okay, do you have anything else in red?" Weiss desperately asked the assistant, who looked terrified by this point.

"Uh... well there's this one... it's a little odd though, so I didn't mention it."

"Hit me," Weiss said, stepping aside as Ruby lunged at her.

"O...okay."

It was a black dress, going down to just below the knees. No frills, just nice and straight material. There was an embroidered pattern of red diamonds going down the skirt. The oddity that the assistant had been referring to was the attachment that came with it: a bright red hooded shawl that was far too bright and far too long for any normal person to consider, dragging along the floor as the shop assistant failed to keep it off the ground.

Ruby and Weiss stared at it, then looked at each other. Ruby took the dress and vanished, reappearing much faster than the previous times, wearing the dress. Weiss sighed. Why had it taken so long to find this?

"We'll take it," Weiss said.

The assistant seemed surprised, but by now was glad the pair were buying anything, so swiftly sold them the dress and said a polite goodbye.

Stepping out, Weiss sighed, "So... next stop is a shoe shop..."

"Uh-uh!" Ruby shook her head, "It's lunch time, and somebody promised me cookies."

Weiss had barely drawn in breath again, but sighed once more. "Fine, just... fine."


Yang stared out the window in team RWBY's dorm room. Ruby and Weiss were out shopping, and Blake had gone to the library, leaving Yang to do something she rarely spent much time on: thinking.

The same conversation had been floating through her mind for the last few days, it had been between her and her sister. Ruby had come up to Yang, and simply said she wanted to talk in private. The two had sat down on a bench in the courtyard of Beacon, away from anyone else, and Ruby had been fidgeting.

"What did you want to talk about then, that you couldn't say in front of the others?"

Ruby had fidgeted some more, before eventually speaking, "Yang... I think... I think I'm... into girls."

Yang had blinked a few times, wondering if she had misheard. "Sorry, run that by me again."

"Yang, I'm gay." Ruby looked up at her sister with a terrified look.

"That's what I thought you said..." Yang sighed, then chuckled. "So?"

"So... um... yeah," Ruby was clearly lost for words.

"You didn't think I would hate you for it, right?"

Ruby shook her head, "Well... I was a little scared."

"Well if I'm being completely honest, I get where you're coming from."

"You mean..."

Yang laughed, "I go both ways."

"Oh..."

Silence.

It was more out of awkwardness than anything else. Both sisters knew that the other had nothing against each others' preferences, but it was the awkwardness of not being sure how, if at all, they should now act differently.

"So..." Yang began, "...what made you realise?"

That was the question Yang wished afterwards that she had never asked. But what was done was done.

"I... I..."

"You what?"

"I like another girl."

Yang raised an eyebrow. It was not an unexpected answer, but now Yang was going through every girl Ruby knew at Beacon, ticking off a list. There was no way it was Nora: hyper as Ruby was, Yang just could not see that. Pyrrha was unlikely, but not impossible. Then there was Blake, but again, Yang could not see her sister with the faunus, though she had to admit is was possible. Other than that there was...

'Oh no...' Yang realised the true horror of what Ruby was about to say, just before the girl said it. 'Anyone but...'

"I like Weiss."

In the present, Yang was still thinking about those three words.

"Why Weiss?" she muttered to herself, and yet she knew why. She saw how they interacted, and while Weiss always acted cold, she let Ruby get closer to her than anyone else, and while she was mean to Ruby, Weiss always did it because she cared. Even her latest outburst yesterday, all about the clothes, was likely just because she wanted Ruby to fit in with the high-class persons who would be showing up.

Yang could not hate Weiss, but sometimes really wanted to.

She had asked what Ruby liked about Weiss, and Ruby had just fidgeted more, before mumbling "Well she's really beautiful... and she's kind, even if she doesn't like people to notice, and I think she just wants to get closer to all of us, because she's lonely, and I don't want her to be lonely any longer."

Yang knew all of that was true, lonely little Weiss just wanted somebody to be with, and Ruby was the person who seemed to fit the bill best. Yang was worried though. She did not see Weiss taking Ruby's crush well. But even worse was that if Weiss did, if Ruby and Weiss became a couple, then...

"Then I'll become the lonely one," Yang murmured to herself.


As Ruby and Weiss ate their lunch, chatting together about this and that, mainly the upcoming event, a pair of eyes stared down at them, watching through binoculars from a nearby rooftop. He was dressed in black, close-fitting clothes, with a belt strapped across his chest, carrying three pouches on the front and his weapon on the back.

The man reached to a transceiver clipped at his waist, and put it to his ear. "This is Swooping Hawk, calling. Rune Knight, do you read me? Over."

A man's voice replied, full of irritation, "For the hundredth time, we are not using those code names."

"You could at least remember to say 'over.' Over."

A stream of static accompanied a sigh from the other end of the radio. "Anyway, I'm here, what's going on?"

"Just reporting in, the White Rose are having lunch. The Bumblebee haven't flown nearby. Over."

The other voice paused, trying to work out what his partner was trying to say, then replied, "So what have those two been doing?"

"Trying on dresses for Target Red. They spent about an hour and a half in one shop, then came out with a purchase. After that, they went straight for lunch. Over."

"Fine, maintain surveillance, inform me of any combat-related purchases they make."

"Yes sir! Over."

"And Xin..."

"Yes sir? Over."

"You really don't need to use the radio jargon."

"Roger that sir. Over and Out."

Xin replaced his transceiver and returned his full attention to his targets. They had finished their meals, and Weiss was paying the bill. Xin lifted himself up, preparing to move, when he froze. Ruby was staring right at him. He hoped she had not seen him, but then Ruby stepped over to Weiss, and said something in her ear. Weiss stared at the girl briefly, then slammed some money on the table, saying something to the waiter, as the two hurtled out of the cafe, and straight towards him.

"Ah shit..." He got up and started running, putting his transmitter to his ear. "Sir! Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, what is it?"

"I've been spotted, requesting extraction."

"Make your way to Point Eta, I'll meet you there."

"Yes sir!"

Xin pulled a balaclava from one of the pouches, and put it on as he ran. He knew enough about his pursuers to be certain that he did not have long to get out of there.


"Are you sure you saw a person?" Weiss asked as she hurried to keep up with Ruby.

"Well unless the binoculars were floating there by themselves."

Weiss was slightly taken aback. Was Ruby... being sarcastic to her? Weiss could not help but smile. She had taught the redhead well it seemed.

A shadow leaped between two rooftops, and both pairs of eyes fixed on it. "There!" Ruby called out.

"I see!" Weiss summoned a sigil, which the two leaped up to, then up to the roof, seeing the fleeing figure in the distance.

"Ready to go?" Ruby asked.

"Always."


'Till Eternity Ends

E.D.