Initiation
Weiss only had to say a sentence and she was faced with two incredulous stares and one amused smirk.
It had been a quiet evening of studying until Ruby said that she had wanted a cookie. Her sister, Yang, then had to say she would like a hamburger. Blake said she wouldn't mind a snack either, but had failed to specify. The night before was still fresh in Weiss' mind, where she had woken Ruby up to apologize for her abhorrent behavior. When Weiss had told the younger girl that she would strive to be the best team mate ever, and had even gone so far as to voice her approval of the haphazard bunk beds, Weiss vowed that she would try to open up more. After all, she would be with team RWBY for four more years, and Beacon was still a combat school. The last thing she needed was to make enemies, though she doubted Ruby would ever betray her. The team leader was too loyal. So when it felt like her turn to pine for some unhealthy food, Weiss had said, "I've never had a grilled cheese sandwich before."
The room had already been quiet. After the words had sunk in on her team mates, Weiss heard both Ruby and Yang give a sharp gasp before turning to face her, where they had remained for what felt like minutes. The heiress was used to being scrutinized before, but not like this. She was used to large concert halls where the lights made it impossible to pick a single face out of the crowd. Now, in the cramped dormitory, and with only three other people present, Weiss felt a cold shiver of discomfort running up her spine.
Determined to get back to work, Weiss loudly cleared her throat and looked back at her book. The words were suddenly incomprehensible and she squinted hard at them. Just because she didn't understand what they meant didn't make them any less fascinating. She wondered about writing a report about the advancement of language between centuries. Perhaps it would get her some extra credit. Not that she needed any, of course. She scratched her pencil in her notebook. More of the meaninglessly meaningful words appeared. That was when she heard a slight shuffle next to her. She felt a knot forming in her chest and the blood rushing to her cheeks. Although Weiss had apologized to Ruby, she could still stand to be annoyed at her leader's silly antics. The heiress gritted her teeth and faced the direction of the noise.
"Are you two even breathing?" Weiss asked before almost falling out of her chair. In the long, insufferable silence that followed her admission, the two sisters had taken the opportunity to slowly advance on her. When Weiss turned around, she had been confronted with two very close, very shocked faces.
"What are you two doing?" Weiss shouted. Her left hand had instinctively gone to her heart as if she could massage it back to a normal pulse.
"I think you broke them," Blake offered from her spot on the other side of the room. Weiss could hear the other girl's smirk growing.
"Hey, sis," Yang said.
"Yeah?" Ruby replied.
"Amazing, isn't she?"
"Yeah."
Weiss blushed. "Will you two cut it out?" she shouted again. "I'm about to—"
"She's so life-like, but she couldn't actually be a real person, right?" Yang looked like she was about to poke Weiss.
"Hey, I'm still right here!" Weiss was still leaning dangerously far over the side of her chair.
"No way. There's no such thing as a person that's lived this long without trying a grilled cheese sandwich." Ruby leaned closer, silver eyes examining every aspect of Weiss' face. "She sure is life-like, though."
The initial shock at being set upon by her two teammates receded. Now Weiss could concentrate on the expanding knot of irritation. "Will you two give it a rest already?" she snapped. "So I've never had a grilled cheese before. Big deal. Now leave me alone so I can study!" Weiss huffed and pointedly sat up in her chair, causing the two sisters to take a step back.
"Of course it's a big deal, Weiss! You are missing out on one of the many important aspects of growing up!" Ruby exclaimed.
"You didn't need to know about a stupid sandwich to know that," Weiss muttered.
"A grilled cheese sounds really good right now," Yang said. "Maybe get some soup to go with it." Yang stood still and stared into space, eyes glazed over at the prospect of a cheesy dreamscape. When she moved, she put her hands under Weiss' arms and hoisted the heiress out of her seat. "Come on, we're going to the cafeteria."
"Put me down!" Weiss yelled. She tried to get out of the ironclad grip and failed miserably.
"No way," Ruby said. She had already opened the door and was keeping it open for her sister. "As leader of team RWBY, I order all members to go to the cafeteria!"
"This is an abuse of power!" Weiss said.
The words had as much effect as the heiress expected.
The cafeteria was one of the few hubs of Beacon for students. After a long day of studying or training, many weary students had gone there at all hours of the day to fill their bellies. Because of that, the cafeteria never truly closed. That was a fact that Weiss was not too happy about as her teammates carried her through the doors.
"I could have walked," Weiss huffed before Yang deposited her on one of the empty chairs.
"Yeah, and then you would've tried to run," Yang responded, flashing a large smile.
"Oh please, as if I could have gotten far from you lunatics," Weiss said and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Glad to see you're finally learning," Yang said.
"Has anyone seen Ruby?" Blake asked. Her smirk hadn't left her face since the whole debacle began.
"Oh, little sis flew up to the counter as soon as we got in," Yang said. She bent down so her mouth was close to Weiss' ear. Lowering her voice to a husky whisper, Yang said, "She wants to make your first time special."
The heiress blushed despite herself, much to her teammates' amusement. She was about to open her mouth to deliver a scathing remark but was interrupted when Ruby appeared with an armful of dishes.
"I couldn't decide which one you'd like, so I just grabbed one of each!" Ruby proudly proclaimed before depositing the sandwiches in front of Weiss. It almost reached the other side of the table.
"Good to know Beacon is stocked with cheese," Blake said.
"There is no way I am eating all of this," Weiss said. She swept a hand over the plates of toasted bread and cheese. "Ruby, what were you thinking?"
The team leader looked at her boots and pressed her two index fingers together. "I kind of got carried away," she admitted.
Yang, being the protective sister that she was, saw the mini-tantrum brewing in Weiss and knew it was time to spare Ruby of the pointless lecture. Rolling her eyes, the blonde fighter put a hand on Blake's shoulder and directed the two of them into the seats across from the heiress. "I was hankering for some food anyway," Yang said.
Blake shrugged and took her partner's lead. Ruby caught on and smiled as she sat next to Weiss.
The heiress looked around the table at her teammates, all of whom were looking right back with their own smiles. She shook her head and felt her indifference melting. "You are all going to drive me insane," she said around a faint smile.
"And it all begins tonight," Ruby said, simultaneously draping one arm over Weiss' shoulder and putting a grilled cheese sandwich in front of the heiress.
"I actually think it happened as soon as I got off the airship," Weiss muttered. She looked over the sandwich and then at the table. "Where are the utensils?"
"Oh Weiss, you didn't get out much as a kid, did you? You don't need a fork for a grilled cheese. You just pick it up and eat it!" Ruby's explanation was followed by a hasty demonstration. "See what I mean?" she asked through a mouth full of food.
Weiss felt her eye twitch at the breach in table manners. A quick glance around the table showed that the rest of the team had followed suit. Out of options and knowing that she wouldn't leave the cafeteria without at least trying the food, Weiss took a deep breath and reached for the grilled cheese before her.
Now remember, Weiss, the salad and dinner forks are on your left. The cocktail fork is to your right. Make sure you don't use it improperly again. The voice in her head was loud enough to make the heiress jump. Her posture was instantly erect and she folded her hands on her lap. She felt like she could turn around and find her mentor standing behind her with a disapproving look. Look at you, Weiss could hear, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation is about to eat finger food. What would your father think?
"Father?" Weiss whispered. She could feel the old chill crawl up her spine again, the same heart wrenching stress that had defined her childhood. Instead of going out to play, Weiss had been restricted to the library and, once she made a mention of her thoughts of becoming a huntress, training. There had been the times where she saw her father and caught the hint of his smile. It was enough to keep her going. The thought of disappointing him now, even though the rational side of her brain told her that it was impossible because he wasn't at Beacon, almost sent her to tears.
The heiress' behavior hadn't escaped her teammates' notice. Yang and Blake were giving her concerned looks, eyes wide and mouths spilling undecipherable gibberish. The partners were standing up and moving around the table.
Weiss managed to raise a hand to stop them and convey that everything was alright. She opened her mouth to speak, although she couldn't hear her own voice and didn't trust herself to not say something embarrassing. But whatever she said was enough to put the two partners' minds at ease, as they reluctantly returned to their seats. That crisis averted, she looked back at the plate in front of her. Her vision was covered with red hair instead.
Ruby Rose was holding onto Weiss as if she was dying. The pressure was enough to bring Weiss back out of her thoughts, wicked as they were. She grasped onto Ruby without realizing what her body was doing, as if driven by the instinctual urge to avoid falling into the sinking abyss that she felt forming underneath her. She held on to the only source of warmth and closed her eyes. A scream pushed against her chest, begged to be released, but Weiss gritted her teeth and forced it back. A cold knot formed above her heart and spread outwards until Weiss had to keep her teeth clenched unless they started clattering. The heiress didn't know how long she had stayed there, holding Ruby like a piece of driftwood, but once the panic subsided, she could hear Ruby whispering to her.
"Weiss, don't worry. It'll be alright. We're here. I'm here," Ruby repeated over and over. As if the words could keep the crushing memories of Weiss' childhood out of the heiress' active mind. Nevertheless, Weiss found her grip tightening on the younger girl, not one birthed of blind terror, but one of mutual warmth. She was glad for the reassurance and felt the icy core of loneliness in the middle of her chest shake just a bit.
Ruby looked into Weiss' eyes after a moment and offered a smile. "Feeling better?"
Weiss nodded. "Thanks," she said, pulling her arms back to her sides. Ruby made sure to get in one last squeeze before letting the heiress go.
"Are you feeling alright?" Yang asked. The blonde looked ready to explode into action.
"Yes. I'm feeling much better," Weiss said. She took a deep breath and reached for the closest plate, which also had the last grilled cheese sandwich on it. The rest of the plates surrounded Blake, who was eyeing the remaining sandwich. The heiress recoiled and asked, "Do you want it?"
Blake's hand was a blur. Before the last sandwich was pulled across the table, Yang managed to grab her partner's arm. "Oh no you don't. This is the whole reason why we came down here in the first place!"
"Hey, she asked if I wanted it," Blake said, but she put the sandwich back.
Weiss wasted no time in taking the sandwich, which earned a chuckle from Blake and Yang. She was aware of the warm, golden bread under her fingertips that radiated warmth. The melted cheese had been singed on the edge, but for some reason the imperfection didn't bother her. She cautiously brought the food up to her mouth. The slightly buttered scent almost made her salivate. But something didn't quite feel right.
"Where did Ruby go?" Weiss asked.
"She's up at the counter again. Probably getting some sort of desert," Yang replied, absently waving a hand in the direction Ruby went.
Weiss followed the movement and was glad to see Ruby walking back to the table. She had several packs of cookies in her possession. The team leader caught Weiss' eyes and flashed a large smile. Ignoring the heat that she felt in her cheeks, the heiress took a large bite of the sandwich and couldn't resist smiling. It was perfect.
Author's note: This is the first RWBY story that I ever wrote, and I have no idea why I didn't upload this first. Oh well. This story was a whole lot of fun to write, and I hope you all had a good time reading it.