Sequel to The Human Heart, this takes place directly after the events of that story and the events of episode 15. As promised, this one will focus more on Ruby and Weiss. [Again, not RWBY Tuesday but it just can't wait that long].
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Trials And Truths
Ruby and Yang stood in stunned silence in their team's dorm room.
Weiss had just dashed off after Blake after she had revealed her connections to the White Fang.
Ruby had been forced to watch two of her teammates run out on her, distressed and confused, and she had done nothing to stop them. She felt useless as she continued to stand in silence, her hand still outstretched toward the door where it had failed to take hold of Weiss' sleeve.
Yang still sat in her chair near the door, her slightly-agape mouth demonstrating her own disbelief.
Ruby was still too dismayed about the whole situation to speak, so Yang was the first to break the silence. "Blake's... a member of the White Fang?" she mumbled. "I mean... to be honest, I kind of had the feeling she might be a Faunus, she could always see so well at night. But she's with White Fang?"
"Yang..." Ruby's voice was helpless. "I... I don't know what to do... Should I go after them?"
Yang contemplated a moment before giving her response. "I don't think you need to," she decided. "I think they can work things out. Weiss was wrong in what she said, but she realized that and went to apologize. I'm pretty sure Blake can forgive her."
"I really hope so." Ruby brought her hands to her face in frustration. "I just hope they both come back..."
"Let's give them an hour," Yang suggested. "If neither of them have come back by then, we'll go looking for them."
"...Okay." Ruby nodded.
She sat down next to Yang, but could not keep from fidgeting, unable to keep her thoughts off her teammates' present predicament. She ended up standing, pacing the room for a few minutes, and then sitting on the edge of Weiss' bed to mull things over.
Yang continued to sit beside the open door, her gaze unfocused as her own mind filled with thoughts and scenarios about her partner. She kept her eyes and ears open for any signs of their return, but the hallway remained silent.
Ruby ended up pacing again, shaking her head from side to side in an effort to disperse the negative thoughts and worse-case scenarios that kept popping into her mind.
"What if Blake leaves?" she mumbled aloud. "Or what if she won't forgive Weiss?" Here, her feet came to a sudden halt. "Yang, what if they're fighting right now?" Her voice rose in panic. "Oh god, what are we going to do? What if we... lose both of them-"
"Ruby, stop it!" Yang barked, raising her voice in a rare show of temporary frustration. Ruby jumped at her sister's tone, but Yang then softened her voice. "You're not doing yourself any good thinking that way. They can both be snappy and crabby when they want to be, but right now I think they both realize what's at stake."
Yang stood and walked over to her sister. "Just the fact that Weiss went to apologize is reason enough to know they'll be okay. So stop worrying about them. They'll come back - both of them." She offered a small smile.
Ruby could tell that Yang was still uncertain about what she was saying, but she wanted to believe it was the truth.
Ruby took in a deep breath. "You're right. A good leader would believe in them and be confident they can get through this. Thanks, Yang."
Yang gave her sister a rough pat on the back. "Why don't you sit down?" she suggested. "For more than 10 seconds, this time." She pushed Ruby over to Weiss' bed again as Yang took a seat on the edge of Blake's.
Despite how Yang was attempting to appear more composed, Ruby could tell her sister was in just as much turmoil as she herself was.
The ticking of the clock was loud, hauntingly so. Ruby wanted nothing more than to run off in search of the rest of her team, but she looked up to note that only twenty minutes had passed. I'm going to go insane! she screamed internally as she glanced out the window, trying to distract herself.
However, about ten minutes later, both sisters snapped their heads up immediately as they looked toward the door. There was a clear echo of footsteps coming from down the hallway. And there were two sets of them.
Yang could easily discern that the longer of the two strides was none other than Blake's. Likewise, although the usual confidence was lacking in Weiss' strut, Ruby knew it was hers.
Both sisters stood instantly when their teammates appeared in the doorway, side by side.
"Weiss! Blake!" Ruby and Yang both shouted loudly enough to cause their partners to jump in surprise. The sisters rushed over to them, their expressions nervous, but relieved.
Yang wanted to speak, but she was certain she would end up saying something foolish or awkward, so she merely continued to look back and forth between the two of them, taking note of the redness beneath their eyes.
Ruby looked them both over as well, making sure they were alright, at least physically. She had so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to ask them. But once she managed to find her voice, she merely asked, "Are you guys... okay?" Her eyebrows furrowed with concern, her silver eyes seeking out her teammates'.
Weiss, who was mostly hidden behind the doorway, opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it again. Ruby could tell she was still conflicted about everything and did not feel she should be answering. Blake must have noticed this too, for she cast her gaze sideways toward the heiress, smiled slightly, and replied instead.
"Yes," she said softly. "We're okay. Aren't we Weiss?"
Ruby could tell she was encouraging Weiss to agree, as though it was something the heiress had known all along, but she had been too scared to say it. But as Blake invited her to speak, Weiss let slip a small smile.
"...Yes," she finally agreed. "We're okay."
"Oh, thank god."
Out of sheer relief, Ruby could not stop herself from gently embracing Weiss. Likewise, Yang glanced at Blake with eyes that asked permission, which her partner did not refuse. Therefore, Yang too, pulled her partner into a brief hug.
By the time the pairs had pulled apart, Blake was ready to speak again, turning to her leader as she did so.
"Ruby..." Her voice was solemn, and Ruby squared her shoulders. "I understand what this means for everyone. I don't want to tarnish team RWBY's name, so I'll put in a formal request to Professor Ozpin to withdraw from Beacon."
Her words were met with horrified gasps.
"No!"
"You can't!
"Don't even think about it!"
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stared at Blake with deadly serious eyes.
Yang explained herself first. "We'll never let you leave," she declared. "And even if you try to sneak out somehow, we'll track you down and bring you back. By force if we have to!" She clenched her fists until her nails drew blood from her palms.
Weiss was next. "There's no way we're letting you go," she huffed. "After... After everything you just told me, there's certainly no way you could ever hope to think we'd allow you to leave. You're staying right here with us." To prove her words, the heiress reached down and held onto Blake's hand, as if to prevent her from making a hasty escape.
Finally, Ruby spoke. "You're not going anywhere," she stated, her eyes steady. "You're a member of team RWBY, and you always will be from here on out. No matter where you go, or what you do, you're our teammate first and foremost, Blake. Got it?"
Blake tried to take a step back, but Weiss held onto her.
"...I... You can't..." Blake's ears flattened in despair. "You can't continue to associate yourselves with me."
"Why ever not?" Weiss growled. "Simply because you're a Faunus? That hardly matters."
"That's not it!" Blake cried. "Because I'm a mem-"
"Blake." Ruby cleared her throat as she cut her teammate off meaningfully. "We're not going to let you leave just because you've been keeping the fact that you're a Faunus a secret all this time."
"That's not what I'm saying!" Blake wailed. "I'm not just any Faunus, I'm-"
"It wasn't even a secret to begin with," Yang said loudly. "To be honest, I kind of thought you might have been a Faunus. You could always hear other people's conversations from across the cafeteria." She winked.
At last, Blake realized what her teammates were doing, and her eyes finally ceased their nervous flickering about the room.
Her ears lifted, and she breathed in deeply. "You guys..." she whispered.
"Well, now that that's settled," Yang announced. "How's about we go grab something to eat?" She took Blake's other hand just as Weiss let go.
The heiress then uncurled Blake's fingers and slipped the black ribbon she had picked up into her palm.
"I'll pass." Weiss addressed Yang as she stepped away from Blake at last, though her warmth still lingered. "But thanks." She nodded toward them.
"I'll hang back, too," Ruby said, and Weiss tensed slightly. "You guys go ahead." She waved at Blake and Yang with a smile.
For a minute, none of them moved, and four sets of eyes flicked around to meet with one another. Lavender, silver, mist-blue, and gold all made contact with each other, all with silent emotions, but the same intended message: "We're teammates, first and foremost."
At last, Blake cracked a smile.
Then, she folded her hands before her, in much the same manner Weiss had not too long ago, and she bowed her head to them. "Thank you," she whispered.
"There's no need to thank us," Ruby murmured.
"Well, then," Yang spoke up as Blake lifted her head. "Are you... gonna wear that out?" she asked, pointing to the ribbon in Blake's hand.
The onyx-haired girl was thoughtful for a moment.
"No. There's no reason to hide it anymore," she decided. "I used to be scared about people knowing I was a Faunus. But none of that matters anymore." She met each of their gazes one more time. "Because I have the best teammates anyone could ever hope for. And they accept me for who I am."
"That's right." Weiss crossed her arms over her chest. "And don't you forget it."
"I won't." Blake reflected the heiress' smirk.
Ruby and Yang nodded before the elder sister led her partner out of the room. "We'll be back in a bit," the blonde said before closing the door behind them.
Instantly, the atmosphere between the remaining two girls became slightly heavier.
For a few minutes, neither spoke, and Weiss quietly sat down on her bed. Ruby kept her distance, clutching her left arm with her right hand, uncertain of how to begin saying what she desired to say.
But Weiss spared her from initiating the conversation. "So why did you stay behind?" the heiress asked in a calm voice. "Just... please don't ask me to talk about what Blake said, because I don't know if I could bring myself to-"
"No, no..." Ruby stopped her as she halted, standing before her partner. "What happened tonight was between you two. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about..." She shuffled her feet, wondering how to start. "I just... I want to know more about you, Weiss. But I don't want to make you talk about things you don't want to remember..." She trailed off, leaving it up to Weiss to reject her or not.
Weiss remained silent for a few more seconds before she let out a long breath, but rather than annoyed or nervous, it was resolved.
She turned her head so that she may look out the window into the night. Then, she commenced her story.
"My father used to be a very quiet man..." she began.
Ruby remained very still as she listened to the older girl speak, unaware of how many minutes ticked by.
Weiss told her everything.
At some points, the heiress' voice began to break, and Ruby had to bring her hands up to her face to cover her mouth or wipe her eyes.
But even as Weiss told her of the darkest parts of her bloodstained past, the heiress shed not a single tear. She showed hardly any emotion at all. It frightened Ruby to an extent, for she knew the lack of emotion Weiss was displaying now meant she had told this story to herself enough times to no longer be affected by the horrors she was speaking of.
Ruby began to tremble somewhere along the way, almost at her breaking point and unable to bear the thought of the things she was being told. But she stifled her whimpers as best she could and made sure to listen to every single word her partner said.
Weiss had never spoken a word to anyone about her past prior to this night, but never had Ruby imagined that the introverted heiress would speak so much about herself now. Ruby understood all too well that this meant Weiss was putting her utmost faith and trust in her leader; for Weiss, exposing her past was equivalent to entrusting her very life to Ruby.
Therefore, Ruby was determined to honor the position Weiss had trusted her with, and she would willingly bear her partner's burden with her, lessen the weight a bit.
There was only one point, near the end of her discourse, when Weiss could no longer maintain her composure. She paused for a long moment, and Ruby knew she herself needed that pause just as much as Weiss did. She took the chance to repeatedly wipe her face on her sleeves, but she knew Weiss was not yet finished, so she quickly directed her attention back to her partner.
"I... I have a sister..." Weiss' voice hitched as she spoke on a quivering breath. The rest of what she said was told on a thin voice that shook like a leaf amidst a hurricane: "And I... I once had... a little brother..." she whispered.
Ruby felt her heart stop, her blood running cold.
But Weiss continued to speak, doing her best to keep the tremble out of her tone, but to no avail. "He was... the sweetest child. He loved apples, and always made up stories, telling about how he wanted to fight monsters and help make the world a better place." She spoke with the purest fondness, her voice soft. "And he was always so well-behaved. When our father would come home shouting and I would start to cry, my brother would hold my hand and cry with me. He was so smart, so adorable... so brave..."
Ruby gazed at Weiss with tormented eyes as the heiress continued in a voice that was barely audible. "He was... very good with animals. It was almost as if he could talk to them and interpret their thoughts. They were always drawn to him, as if by some magic that humans couldn't appreciate.
"One day, he was outside playing in the forest, playing with the rabbits. It wasn't far from the house. I could see him from where I was inside. I had just finished my training lessons and was about to go out to him when the security alarm went off. Someone grabbed me and took me to the underground hideout with my sister, but... but no matter how long the alarms kept blaring for, they never brought in my brother..."
At this point, Ruby was already crying, and she simply could not stop herself.
Weiss' voice hitched again as she went on. "They... They found him an hour later. They said the White Fang had killed him. They knew... knew he was a member of the Schnee family... and they killed him..."
At last she could speak no more.
Weiss brought her hands to her face to wipe away the merciless tears.
Ruby had long since given up on trying to stop her own tears, but it was now when she finally managed to bring herself to move. She stepped forward ever so slowly, and sat down next to her partner. She pulled Weiss to her shoulder, and the heiress allowed herself to weep freely there.
Ruby traced her hand over Weiss' small back in soothing, circular motions. She wondered how much time passed before the unbearably strangled sobs finally died down.
The night was still and silent now when Weiss finally managed to find her voice again. "Thank you, Ruby..." she rasped. "For listening to my story."
Ruby said nothing, for she could find no words.
Instead, she simply pulled Weiss into a gentle embrace. The heiress rested her chin on her partner's shoulder, closing her eyes as she invited the calmness of the night to quell her troubled heart.
Ruby simply continued to hold her tightly, and Weiss savored the protective warmth that encompassed her.
It was a few minutes yet until Ruby could compose herself enough to speak.
"Thank you... for telling me everything, Weiss," she murmured. "Thank you for trusting me. And I swear on my life that I'll never betray you."
Weiss' lips curled into a small smile. "I know you won't," she breathed.
It was several more minutes before the two finally pulled apart.
"Are..." Ruby cleared her throat. "Are you okay?" she asked her partner.
"I am." Weiss' eyes were clear and honest. "And I know I always will be, now that I have someone I can put my trust in... someone I can trust with my secrets, and my life." This time, Weiss wrapped her arms around Ruby, silently conveying her gratitude.
"Thanks for trusting in me." Ruby gradually brought herself to smile. "And I promise, one day I'll tell you everything about myself, too."
"It's okay." Weiss pulled back to look her leader in the eye. "Just take your time. You can tell me whenever you're ready."
Ruby met her gaze proudly. "Okay." She nodded.
The two broke apart and stood together.
Yang and Blake were bound to return soon, and Ruby wanted to let Weiss rest a little until then. The heiress had gone to retrieve her sleepwear, heading for the bathroom to change.
"Would you like me to make you some coffee?" Ruby offered.
Weiss halted for a moment. "I'd love that," she smiled.
And after that night of trials and truths, all four members of team RWBY were so much more than just teammates and comrades; they were like the seasons, and could no longer exist without one another.
A/N: I'm sorry that I'm a terrible person. But I couldn't shake the idea of Weiss having a little brother, and I just rolled with it.
Please review!