WR - Hand in Hand
A little bit of a word from me before you start reading. this has taking almost a month to finish from the last one and it really shouldn't have, but I just did what I do best most of the time, which is pretty much nothing. I just hope at least someone finds this at least somewhat enjoyable. oh and I'm gonna try to write the next one a bit faster.
The night was dark, only street lights still illuminated the sidewalks. Ruby and Weiss were walking back to a train station from the Carnival. Much earlier they had pretty much ditched the other half of their team because sticking around after what happened would've been a little too awkward. The carnival in question had just yesterday opened in Vale, Even though the Vytal Festival had been there two weeks ago. In Fact, it was because of the Vytal Festival, or more specifically what had happened there, that this carnival had come.
The Carnival was part of an organization, that unlike evil ones, their main goal was to spread happiness throughout the land. This was one of the larger, if not the largest, Carnival that would visit the major cities and towns, via their own airship. The reason for this was not just because of the size of the Carnival itself, but the fact that they travelled with a Circus. Clowns, animals, magic tricks, it had everything that anyone would wish for in a Circus, and so did the Carnival.
Weiss was waiting for Ruby by a bunch of toilet stalls, unpleasant noises sounded from within. Weiss stared at the distant Carnival. She had decided to go tonight with Ruby, even knowing that she would be coming here tomorrow, on a mission with her team and team JNPR. The mission being, to act as security for the Carnival. Now you'd think that such a large Carnival would have their own security, well they do, but these semblance users also doubled as performers or staff. If they had to also be security during the events themselves, their stress would probably cancel out the joy they brought.
When they left their dorm room, Weiss was pretty much dragging Ruby behind her, she really wanted that photo destroyed. Eventually, Weiss somehow reassured her that Yang wouldn't actually show it to the whole school. Afterwards, Ruby easily followed behind.
"So what do we do now?" the cute cape wearing from the photo that Weiss wanted, asked. It was here that Weiss came up with the idea of visiting the Carnival early.
The Carnival was bustling with people, louder and larger than the Vytal Festival, just two weeks prior. Ruby awed at the attractions, Ferris wheel, roller coaster, other odd looking ride things, and countless game and food stalls. The different coloured lights everywhere made everything look more amazing than it already was. It had taken just over 5 days to set all this up, but the effort was well worth it.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Haven't you been to a carnival before?"
"Yeah, but it was never like this." the Carnival lights shined off Ruby's eyes as she stared, amazed by everything. Weiss wanted to enjoy the sight for as long as she could, but it was only shortly after that Ruby realised she was hungry.
After moving through the large crowd, the two eventually reached a food stall. It was just an average food stand, selling average food. Even so, Ruby drooled as she watched it being cooked right in front of her. In this very moment, it was what she wanted the most. Ruby went to order a burger and lemonade. unfortunately, she ended up being short by a single Lien. she sighed in disappointment. Ruby could've just dropped the order for the lemonade, but she secretly hoped that Weiss would pick up her slack.
"Alright, I'll pay for you" Weiss stated. She assumed that this would happen anyway, so it wasn't unexpected.
"Yay!" Ruby shouted, overjoyed. Usually, her smile would have been enough for Weiss but considering this is how things would go for most of the night, she wanted more.
"But there's one condition"
"Uh, sure Weiss" Ruby agreed before knowing what it was.
"You have to buy me a present" Weiss stated in a somewhat pretentious tone. Unsure what Weiss was expecting her to buy, Ruby replied.
"I don't think i have enough Lien to buy a present that you'd like"
"It doesn't have to be expensive, anything is fine"
"Hmm, Well alright then" Ruby smiled.
Weiss ordered Ruby's burger and even decided to get one herself. They sat facing each other at a small table by the stall. Eagerly awaiting their meal, Weiss decided to bring up what had happened back in their room.
"You know, i always thought it'd happen the other way around" Weiss stated, alluding to something, somehow not obvious enough for Ruby.
"What?" Ruby queried.
"Yang kissing Blake"
"Oh that," Ruby chuckled a little " i just thought Yang was trying really hard to win"
"Of course you did"
"But then… Yang cried"
"Yeah"
"I still don't understand why we had to leave the room though"
"We just had to Ruby, it would have been awkward otherwise" Weiss complained at her friends obliviousness.
"I think you just wanted to go to the Carnival with me" Ruby unknowingly teased. Weiss began to panic and blush, just like back when she had to explain the pocky game.
"Uh, you see i, just…." Weiss's sentence trailed into nothingness. She sat silent at the table, blushing, her heart rate rising.
Is she actually not completely oblivious after all. As her anxiety rose, she wondered if this was how Yang felt.
"Ruby I." before Weiss could finish her sentence, it was interrupted by Ruby.
"I wanted to go with you too," she stated in her usual cheerful tone, "hanging out with you at the Vytal Festival was the most fun I've had at any kind of event." a bittersweet wave of relief covered Weiss.
"I feel the same" she smiled back at Ruby, definitely sure of her friend's obliviousness.
Their food had finally arrived, thus ending that topic of conversation. Ruby's mouth watered as she looked at the not so picturesque burger on her plate. Weiss looked at her own burger oddly, it was the same as Ruby's and yet it didn't have the same effect on Weiss. There were several reason for this, but the only one that really mattered was, Weiss hadn't actually eaten a burger before. Ruby took her first bite, Weiss just continued to study her burger. It had a grilled piece of white meat atop the bottom bun, above that was two slices of fresh tomato, and a layer of lettuce. Weiss lifted the top bun and revealed a creamy orange sauce stuck to the bread and lettuce. She went to taste the sauce with her finger, but was interrupted by Ruby.
"What are you doing?" Ruby questioned. She had watched her friend inspect the burger while chewing her first bite. Realising this Weiss became slightly flustered before replying.
"I-i was just trying to see what was in it" she put the bun back on the burger.
"Just eat it. It won't kill you" Ruby stated confidently. Weiss stared down the burger for a short second, before finally picking it up with both hands. She closed her eyes and took a single bite. After chewing and actually tasting the burger she realised it was actually really good. Ruby noticed the pleasant look on Weiss's face.
"See?" She rebutted. After swallowing her food, Weiss spoke,
"Yeah, it's-" a burning feeling in Weiss's mouth stopped her from talking. she began to cough and squirm. It seemed that the sauce in her food was actually quite a hot one, or at least it was for Weiss. Ruby laughed as she watched her partner practically dance around in her seat. Eventually, it got worse, for some reason the heat wasn't going away. Tears started to form in the corner of Weiss's eyes, and her face began to redden. She tried shouting for water, but couldn't. Finally Ruby saw that the situation had gotten serious. Ruby in Weiss's stead shouted for water, but her shouts were drowned out by the constant bombardment of orders that the food stand was getting. If Ruby wasn't panicking she might have remembered the lemonade in front of her before she started shouting for water. She quickly grabbed the lemonade, and in an instant, popped the straw into Weiss's mouth. Without hesitation, Weiss quickly began to drink, she continued to do so until she could no longer feel the burning feeling in her mouth. By the time Weiss had stopped, Ruby's lemonade was pretty much empty. She noticed that Ruby still held the straw and lemonade, Weiss slightly blushed before going to thank her.
"..." nothing came out. Weiss did everything that usually involved talking but nothing. she tried again, harder than before, but all that came of it this time was a sharp pain in her throat.
A blonde haired woman was working at her desk, in a dark room, only illuminated by the glowing moon behind her and a small lamp. Her scroll rang atop the desk, the contact details showing the caller was Ruby Rose. She wondered why the student was calling her, knowing Ruby, it probably wasn't anything good. She picked up her scroll and answered it.
"Rub-"
"Gynda, Weiss can't talk!" the girl panicked over the phone.
"What?"
"Weiss can't talk!" Ruby repeated.
"Calm down and explain properly" Glynda scolded over the phone. Ruby explained to Glynda what had happened. Luckily for Ruby, Glynda had been in a similar situation herself once, and had previously researched what it was.
"It's somewhat like an allergic reaction" Glynda went on to explain, in detail, what was wrong with Weiss.
Weiss tapped on Ruby's shoulder, She wanted to know what Glynda had said. luckily, it seemed Ruby could tell this much and began speak.
"She said that your voice should return eventually." Weiss just gave her a puzzled looked due to the poor and short explanation, but she knew Ruby, if it was something serious, she'd still be panicked even if she was trying to lie. For now, just knowing that her voice would return was enough.
"I guess we better head back home then," Ruby stated, sounding a little disappointed. "Come on Weiss, let's go" she turned away from her partner and was almost about to walk off, when Weiss pulled on the back of her cape. Ruby turned around to face her, wondering why she was pulling on the cape.
"What is it Weiss?" she questioned. Weiss wasn't sure how to say it, she didn't want to leave the Carnival just yet and also saw that her partner didn't want to either. She tried mouthing something but it just made Ruby look even more confused. Then all of a sudden,
"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, she had realized what Weiss was trying to say. "You don't want to leave?." to affirm Ruby's thoughts, Weiss smiled and shook her head up and down. Ruby returned the smile and laughed for a moment, before replying.
"I don't want to leave yet either".even in light of Weiss's condition, the two had decided to stay at the carnival.
Ruby was about to walk off when she realised something.
"Wait, what are we supposed to do if we get separated?" she asked Weiss. In that moment it hit Weiss. If they were to get separated they didn't really have a way to find each other again. Weiss couldn't talk, so shouting out for Ruby, or calling her, was off the table.
"We could could just meet up back here, or somewhere else, but what if we're on opposite sides of the Carnival?"
That'd be really inconvenient, weiss thought to herself, there has to be a better way to- Weiss stopped her trail of thought, once she realised the obvious solution to their problem.
This really is the best solution, and there's no telling if Ruby will actually think of it, so, i just have to do it. Weiss blushed while she speedily extended her hand to Ruby. Ruby looked at Weiss's hand, confused.
"Do you want me to shake it?" Ruby stupidly asked. Then following her question, she grabbed Weiss's hand and shook it. Usually this would of caused Weiss to call her partner a idiot, or at least some other form of the word, but for obvious reasons, she couldn't.
I gotta be even more forward than i thought. staring at the smiling dunce in front of her, Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand that was shaking her other one. The warmth feeling somewhat different than just before. Weiss's blushing face reddened even more upon fully realising what she had done. She was about to let go when Ruby finally understood what Weiss was suggesting. "Oh!" she looked down at her hand that Weiss was holding "good idea Weiss, now we can't get separated" she complimented cheerfully. The two stood by each other, holding hands, they vanished into the crowd.
After walking around for a while, and visiting a few stands, Ruby eventually spotted one that practically caused Ruby to drag Weiss behind her. It was a Carnival shooting range, the type where you fire corks out of the guns. Upon arriving at the game stall, she soon realised that she actually had enough to pay herself.
There were three tiers of prizes. Ten cans were stacked on top of each other in a pyramid pattern. The other person playing at the time fired at their target. Knock 3 cans down and you'd get the lowest tier prize, a small plushy, hardly worth the price of playing. The middle tier was for knocking down half of the cans, the prize, a normal sized plushy. The highest tier prize was an oversized plushy, which you'd obviously win by knocking down all the cans. the random carnival goer next to the two girls had just won said highest tier prize. Ruby didn't entirely care about the prizes though, she just wanted to show off her skills and knock down all the cans. But Ruby also planned on giving the prize she won to Weiss. It was a 2 birds with one stone scenario, and Five shots were more than enough for her to knock all the cans down.
With both hands, Ruby aimed the gun that was provided by stand master. Her first shot had completely missed. Weiss silently giggled behind her. She fired again, and again, but each shot just continued to miss. Two corks remained. She adjusted her aim again, sure of her target, she fired. Somehow she managed to miss so bad that the cork bounced off the wall and into the stall manager. He didn't get mad, instead just laughing it off. It was at this point that Weiss noticed that something wasn't quite right. Ruby loaded the final cork, but just before she could aim the gun, she felt a tap on her back. Ruby turned around to see Weiss staring at her, a determined look covered Weiss's face. Weiss then extended her hand as if to receive something. She wanted to fire the last cork, this much was obvious even to Ruby. though Ruby wasn't sure why she wanted to, she still handed the gun over to her silent friend.
Weiss stepped forward, and lined up the shot. it looked off to Ruby, but she wasn't gonna stop her. This time the stall manager had a worried look on his face, rightfully so too, Weiss knew the gimmick to the game. She squeezed the trigger, firing the cork. it flew right into the cans, hitting one on the bottom. A look of amazement covered Ruby's face, and a smug one Weiss's. All but two cans had fallen. The stall manager, somewhat reluctantly, gave up the prize and just before Ruby could ask for another go, Weiss dragged her away.
Somehow the Carnival was becoming even more cramped.
"Ugh," Ruby complained, as people bumped into her.
More people are probably here now because the last circus show of the night is about to start. One of the most popular things about the Carnival was the circus show, and that wasn't just because the show they put on was fantastic. while you had to pay money for rigged games, alright food, and cool rides at the carnival, the Circus shows were completely looked above the shuffling crowd, trying to figure out where to go. She couldn't see much, except for the large slowly moving ferris wheel. It was perfect for them, it'd get them out of the crowd, and... and…. Weiss's face reddened as she continued to pull Ruby along.
They got to the large turning wheel. The line was actually decent. though this wasn't entirely surprising, considering why most people were here. Either Weiss forgot she was holding Ruby's hand, while they were in line, or she just didn't want to let go, either way, Ruby didn't mind. It only took around 5 minutes in the line to actually get onto the ferris wheel.
Weiss stared at her hand as Ruby gazed at the Carnival below. Eventually, Weiss looked up at Ruby, Ruby's eyes shined with the lights of the Carnival once again. They were almost at the highest point of the ferris wheel, when suddenly, fireworks exploded in the sky above. It was to celebrate the first night of the carnival. Ruby's eyes shined brighter, more amazing than before. If Weiss wasn't already speechless, she definitely would of been now.
"Weiss look!" Ruby turned to see the face of her friend, gazing right at her. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized that Weiss was still staring at her, even though spectacular fireworks sounded above them. Fireworks continued to go off, the ferris wheel stopped with their cart at the highest point. Neither of the girls looked away from each other.
"Fireworks" Ruby said quietly, it wasn't intentional, the word just escaped her mouth. Weiss quickly broke her long gaze and finally took a look at the fireworks.
"Hey...Weiss?" Ruby spoke softly, but still managed to get Weiss's attention. She looked at Ruby across from her. Ruby's face was almost looking at the floor, but instead her hand was in view. She extended her hand to Weiss and again spoke in a quiet voice.
"Hold my hand…" Ruby's words were unexpected. She had never asked Weiss to hold her hand before. The only other time the two had done so was when Ruby was dragging Weiss around the Vytal Festival. Without much other thought, she took Ruby's hand. Weiss was blushing, but so was Ruby this time. All sound, besides their own, seemed to completely disappear from their ears.
"Squeeze softly for yes and hard for no" Weiss squeezed softly on Ruby's hand, to show that she understood. A small moment of silence passed before Ruby asked her question.
"Do you think things will change in the team, because of Yang and Blake?" another short moment passed, before Weiss squeezed Ruby's hand softly again.
"Oh….." Ruby's voice seemed saddened. Weiss once again, didn't know how to explain things properly without her voice. Even so, a thought came to her head. She yanked on Ruby hand to get her attention. Ruby, in turn, looked up at Weiss. Her face looked sad, tears welled in the corner of her eyes. Weiss squeezed Ruby's hand with more pressure than before. It confused Ruby, she hadn't asked another question and Weiss had already answered the previous one, or so Ruby thought. Ruby just continued to give Weiss a confused look and asked,
"What are you trying to say?" it seemed Weiss had no other option, she didn't know any other way to explain it. Weiss opened her mouth and tried to speak.
"Ah" a small croaky voice sounded, and a sharp pain in her throat followed. Ruby knew about the pain previously, and noticed that it happen again, she tried stopping Weiss.
"Weiss you don't have to explain, it's fine." but it wasn't fine, it didn't feel fine to Weiss, she didn't want Ruby to feel this way. Weiss looked at her partner, her face showing determination.
"Cha-" the sharp pain interrupted her again.
"Weiss!" Ruby shouted out. Following that, Ruby felt pressure in her hand, it was even harder than before. Ruby knew that she couldn't stop Weiss.
"Change" the pain struck again, "isn't…. always…. bad." each time Weiss spoke, she felt the sharp pain, and each time, Ruby noticed. There wasn't a single moment of pain that was accompanied by pressure on her hand.
Ruby already knew what Weiss had said, even so, the thought of change scared her. But just hearing Weiss say it herself had calmed Ruby. she smiled at Weiss, then in an instant, she jumped across the cart and hugged her.
"Thank you," Ruby spoke softly into Weiss's ear, as she held her tightly. Weiss returned the gesture and hugged her partner.
When their cart reached the bottom of the ferris wheel, they got off. though it was more like they were kicked off. Weiss had actually paid to go around more than once, but because of Ruby jumping across the cart, the ride manager got angry and made them leave. Luckily for the two, enough time had already passed. The Carnival now had less people roaming around than when they first arrived. Now they could easily visit whatever stall they wanted, and probably wouldn't get separated. But that didn't stop them from walking around the carnival together, hand in hand.