It was a surprise to everyone when it happened.
Ruby woke up before everyone else that morning, and that surprised her. Usually she would wake up just in time for breakfast, by which time her entire team would be up and about. Weiss would probably nag her for oversleeping. Yang would probably treat her like a child. But today was different. Today Ruby woke up before Weiss, before Yang, and even before the notoriously slippery Blake, who was often nowhere to be seen in the early hours of the day, disappearing to the library or wherever she went without anyone noticing.
In a way, it made her happy. It was a feeling of victory, triumphing over the rather low expectations of the highly opinionated girls who shared her dorm. But Ruby wasn't a kid. She was a rational adult, or so she liked to think, and she understood that when she woke up before her roommates something fishy was going on, much the same way one might be suspicious if a wiener dog took first place at a monster truck rally.
Leaning over the side of her bunk, making sure not to cause too much noise and ruin this rare occasion, she cocked an eyebrow. The unusual event unfolding before her was most likely linked to the strange scene on Weiss' mattress. The heiress seemed to have fallen asleep (or perhaps blacked out from exhaustion) in the middle of a wrestling match with Yang. Ruby's sister lay on top of the pajama-clad Schnee in, though she didn't really understand it at the time, a pose that could send fanfiction writers into a lemon frenzy. Blake was in a similarly odd position, swaddled in a blanket at the far corner of her mattress and slumped over an open notebook, pencil in hand.
A hunter didn't get into Beacon without a keen ability to make sense of the situation in a split second, so it very quickly dawned on Ruby that she had woken up before the others because her teammates had been up very very late, engaging in strenuous activity. Recalling the events of last night, Ruby mulled over the motivations of her teammates. Blake was always writing in her notebook, but something big must have happened yesterday to inspire her to stay up all night writing. As for why Weiss and Yang were fighting, that was as much a mystery to her now as it was to her the previous night.
Just what had happened between Weiss and Jaune? What was causing all of this commotion, and why wasn't she allowed to know?
Ruby hopped off of her bed, landing lightly on the carpeted floor without making a sound. No matter how many cookies she gobbled down, the little Huntress was blessed with a minuscule frame that she rarely appreciated. No use to being light in a battle, as it only made her easier to throw around and parry, but that same lightness came very much in handy during a stealth mission. Slowly, channeling her inner Blake, she leaned over her sister's sleeping form and fished a Scroll from her butt pocket.
"Score!" she whispered to herself. Blake said something about a recording, so maybe if she went over the conversation again she would understand what they were talking about. She tapped lightly on the front button to expand and turn on the Scroll.
Crap. Password. 4 digits, huh? Ruby racked her brain for a possible code her sister would choose. How about... her birthday? Nope. What about her name? 9264? Nope. 7829? Negative. 1234? Well, she had to give her sister some credit for not taking the easy way out.
What was important to Yang? Hmmmmmmm...
Got it.
4247. The number pad faded into Yang's background image, a pair of aviator sunglasses riding another pair of aviator sunglasses over an explosion. Classic Yang.
Ruby shrugged. "I guess Yang's hair is more important to her than I thought." Now where was that recording...
It took a little bit of searching, but she finally found the information she needed. It turned out Yang had actually taken a video from behind the corner, rather than just an audio clip. The holographic preview she was presented with showed a tilted image of Jaune standing outside the dorm room, a sliver of light from the crack in the door painting one golden stripe down his chest. "Gosh darn it, Yang, portrait mode? Really? Who are you, Dad?"
Plugging her headphones into the Scroll, Ruby's finger hovered over the play button. She steeled herself mentally for what might come next. It was only natural to want to know why her partner was troubled. She wasn't a child. Her teammates couldn't keep this mystery from her if they tried. Besides, seeing Weiss flushed like that... disturbed her.
She pressed play.
On screen, Jaune hit the ground with a pretty satisfying "whump". Ruby flung a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud, a little snort of amusement escaping through her nose. Darn it, she couldn't make noise right now! In her peripheral vision Yang stirred, grabbing for something to hold, then settled with Weiss' body. A happy sigh emanated from the two.
"Well, don't they look comfortable," Ruby said under her breath, then resumed watching the video.
'What the heck is wrong with you?' Oh, Weiss was angry. Ruby remembered this from last night. Why exactly Weiss was angry, she didn't know; that was one of the things she just chalked up to being Weiss. It always seemed like the heiress was frustrated about something. But understanding her anger was the first step to understanding the situation, so Ruby put that thought aside for later.
'It's way too late for me to d-deal with this!' Ruby perked up a bit. She stuttered. Weiss didn't stutter all the time, and Ruby smiled at the thought. Stuttering Weiss was cute. It was kind of nice to have this moment on video. A shame that the camera didn't show her face though...
Ruby watched closely as Jaune got to his feet and pulled out the chocolate he had given the RWBY teammates earlier. That was delicious, FYI. Ten out of ten, would devour again. Maybe Weiss just didn't like chocolate? No, there had to be something else, something Ruby missed last night. Back then she was low on sugar and ready for bed, but this time...
Ruby paused the video quickly and made a swift yet soundless scramble for Weiss' bed. She reached far underneath and pulled out one chocolate bar, stored away for the winter in a sudden burst of inspiration, then scurried back to the Scroll.
...this time she had the power of sweets and early-riser-ness. Yes, her early-riser-ness would prove essential in cracking this mystery, and of course cracking this wrapper open.
The video continued. 'Don't worry. I'm not here to confess to you again.'
'AGAIN?' Her sister's voice hissed in her ear, and she nearly shrieked in surprise. Because it was hard to hear what they were saying, she had the volume up to max. RIP headphone users, or something.
But the loudmouthed blonde was right. What would Jaune have confessed in the first place? Surely this was integral to the plot of the story, and Ruby racked her brain for possibilities. Maybe... maybe Jaune had some sort of disgusting toe infection? He secretly confessed to Weiss about it, and she got so sick she didn't even want to go near him?
That might work.
No, not possible. Ruby knew what was coming after this scene, and it wasn't possible that Weiss could forgive something that totally, absolutely, horribly gross so quickly.
Now he was giving her the present. A pause, with some more typical Weiss anger. An apology. More angry Weiss. What was the point to it all? Why did Weiss get so upset over presents and "sorry"s? Whenever Ruby made a present for her dad, it cheered him right up. When she said sorry, she was forgiven. So what was the problem with the situation?
'If I had to say... I guess I'd say I'm sorry for confessing to you.'
Yep, he definitely said something gross. What else could he be talking about? But it just didn't make sense as a long term answer. No, there was something Ruby was missing, something going far over her head. Eventually, she'd have that traditional stroke of genius, look up and realize just how obvious the answer was.
Moreover, Yang was a terrible cameraman. First the portrait mode, now this weird shaking. No future in photography for this girl, not with the odd squealing sounds she was making over their voices. It was getting pretty annoying.
'...a guy like me, asking you out...'
What? He asked her out... where? To the movies? To see the town? To hang out?
There it was. She heard the cartoon light bulb go off. Stroke of genius acquired. The events of the past week were all interconnected! Jaune asked Weiss out to the dance, and she was too busy to go with a boy, so he felt bad about it. Well, it sounded reasonable enough.
'...you don't have to worry about any ulterior motives or anything...'
If he asked her to the dance, and she declined, but she felt bad about it, then why wouldn't she be a little frustrated? Weiss probably felt bad about not being able to hang out with her friend Jaune. Okay, maybe not friend, as the heiress liked to point out, but he was still a companion in their little happy adventure group of (Ruby quickly counted) 8. Wait, 10, if you count Sun and Neptune. No, Cardin too, right? And what about Velvet? Oh no, her friends list was growing too fast! They'd never be able to host a big enough sleepover!
'Good night.'
Suddenly, Weiss' pale hand came into view. And wrapped around Jaune's. And held it.
This was where things got difficult.
Weiss' voice lowered considerably, and it was difficult to hear what she was talking about over Yang's commentary: a "heh!" here, an "oooh!" there. It was enough to make Ruby genuinely ticked at her sister. Honestly, she was getting in the way of scientific research! And eavesdropping. But enough about that.
Why wouldn't Jaune turn around? Didn't his mother teach him to look his conversation partner in the eye? It was kind of weird seeing him like that, with his head hung and his back hiding his face from view. Not knowing what Jaune Arc was thinking made it weird. Usually his emotions were written all over his face, just like Ruby. It was one way that she thought they were the same. But here, he was hiding.
She couldn't see Weiss' face. She couldn't see Jaune's face. What was she supposed to get from this?
Then he turned. The Yang on video drew a sharp breath and held it. The camera held still.
Ruby had never seen that expression before.
'Just please... don't stop loving me.'
Weiss words came, barely a whisper. And yet that minuscule sound made Ruby's chest tighten up as if her torso was caught up in fishing line. This new voice that she'd never heard was pulling at all of her strings, and pulling them tight.
She tried to rationalize it. There was no doubt in her mind that team RWBY was held together by the bonds of love and youthful fighting spirit. Team JNPR joined to them in a similar manner (and SSSN, and CFVY, and CRDL of course, but small numbers made it easier for her to organize her thoughts) so it only made sense that Jaune and Weiss felt that same love for each other, by association at the least. If they were closer friends now, that was fantastic. Love, love, love, love. Ruby knew exactly what love was. So what was this love that was causing the aching in her body?
The video had long come to an end, but Ruby was still sitting cross legged, overwhelmed by the sudden flood of questions that followed the first. Why were her friends so different from their usual selves? What were all these new faces, sounds, emotions? These were the same Jaune and Weiss, right? Why did they feel so distant from her, as if existing on a separate plane of existence above Ruby and the others?
How could she follow them there?
That was the thought that sparked her fascination.
Wiener dogs and monster trucks are now canon in the RWBYverse. I hope.
Yeah, I wanted to start this fic with Ruby's POV. Weird, right? But I'm just gonna roll with it and hope it works out.
Tell me where I went right, where I went wrong. Review me, beat me, praise me, make me who I am. I hope that sounded romantic. Either way, have a wonderful day you guys, and love yourselves long time :)
