For RWBY Secret Santa on Tumblr! Gift for char7es96. I hope you like it Charles!
"Schnee? As in heiress to the Schnee Dust Company?
"Weiss Schnee! Of course! I've heard all about you. Looks like there're big things ahead for the Schnee Dust Company. How's your family?"
"Ah Miss Schnee, I recognized you instantly. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
That's usually how these encounters started even if the civilians didn't actually know Weiss personally. Each of these random people were eager to strike up conversation right away. Weiss, excluding her slightly strained smile, had a flawless business-like mask that she could don at will. She was able to pick up the conversation topics perfectly, until they finally asked a certain question usually along the lines of, "And who is this, one of your maids? You should consider using uniforms so the help looks a little more…appropriate."
This current older looking man was no different. He was obviously made of money or wanted people to believe it from how he dressed so Ruby stayed quiet – afraid she might embarrass Weiss if she spoke up.
Ruby personally never saw anything wrong with how she dressed. Her outfits were comfortable and she thought they were practical for her fighting style. Of course they were a little unique, but who wanted to dress like everyone else? Apparently rude strangers like this one, that's who.
"She's…a close friend and look at the time! We better be on our way. We have a busy day ahead." Weiss was always set on ending the conversation as soon as anyone was rude to Ruby and was quick to drag the younger girl away from the scene.
"I'm still just a close friend?" Ruby questioned when they were far enough away, wondering if Weiss was indeed embarrassed to be with her. From all the scenes she's witnessed it was clear the Schnee name was known by just about everyone. Why would a Schnee want someone like her?
Weiss turned, feeling incredibly guilty at the sight of her usually hyper teammate with her head down, looking very insecure. She never wanted to be the one to make Ruby feel this way, especially since the heiress herself was already very familiar with feeling inadequate. "Ruby," Weiss started in rarely heard gentle tone, "it's not like that at all. Maybe I haven't shown you how much I care about you properly and I know I need to improve…"
Weiss hesitantly reached her hand forward to cup Ruby's but pulled back when the younger girl flinched at the contact. "I-Is it too cold? It is, isn't it?" Weiss's face scrunched up into a more familiar expression as retracted her hands and clasped them tightly around each other, slightly blushing both the cold air and embarrassment.
Ruby giggled at the sight, this was the Weiss she grew to love. This was her partner who wore her expressions on her sleeve when it was just the two of them. "That's not it! You just surprised me. Your hands are perfect, just like to rest of you" She reached forward faster than Weiss's eyes could follow and wove their hands together comfortably. Ruby grinned at the now bashful looking heiress, proud of the reaction she received from such a classic compliment. Weiss faced away in attempt to hide her bright blush. Such a dolt.
That solved one problem, but Ruby couldn't be completely at ease yet. "Why didn't you tell him, or any of them, that we're together?" Ruby felt more secure voicing her concern this time and the trust in her eyes made Weiss confident she could answer her seriously.
Weiss looked at Ruby directly in the eyes, grasping her hand just a little bit tighter to show her sincerity, "I don't want you to deal with it." Ruby looked puzzled, so Weiss decided would explain in detail. "Those people that come up to me and acknowledge my name are exhausting. I'm not sure if you've noticed but they're as fake to me as I am to them – only speaking to me because they're hoping for some kind of gain. The Schnee name is powerful after all and being acquainted with it does provide some benefits."
Weiss paused for a breath and noticed her partner was still listening intently. It was time for her to make her point. "You're too good for all of that Ruby and I wouldn't wish being constantly used by strangers on you or anyone else. I don't know how long we'd be able to hide it, but I want to spare you that kind of trouble as long as I can. There's no doubt the public would want to know more if we were discovered and they would bother you too."
Ruby was taken aback by how much she truly meant to the heiress. It seemed silly to ever doubt how much the older girl cared for her now. Ruby looked at Weiss for a long moment before finally stepping forward and embracing the heiress. "Weiss, I don't care about any of that. I'm just so happy to be with you and if I have to put up with annoyances like that old man earlier then it's no problem! You're totally worth it. But thank you for protecting me for this long. When the press finds out about us just know I'll be ready and I'll still be there to support you too." Ruby ended their hug with a peak on the cheek then smiled brightly, making it clear she meant every word she said.
Weiss was speechless. She really didn't give her leader as much credit as she deserved. While Ruby was usually goofy and excitable, there were times where she would show how mature she really was. There were many parts of Ruby that Weiss fell in love with, and this part was no different. Ruby was truly unpredictable and Weiss couldn't imagine moving forward without her.
"Thank you Ruby." Weiss lifted their joined hands and placed a soft kiss on the back of Ruby's. "Really, for everything."
"My pleasure, Miss Schnee," Ruby replied while doing an exaggerated bow as if she was actually a maid. It worked to lighten the mood.
The two girls giggled at the terrible impersonation and continued walking to resume their date. They kept their hands together the rest of the day, no longer worried about who saw.