Set in some normalworld!AU or something, idk.
Ruby Rose skipped cheerfully (okay, strolled at a moderate pace) down the streets of Vale. It was a beautiful evening, she noted to herself - the warm, orange glow of the sun illuminating the buildings, the cool spring breeze sweeping through the streets…
"Get off me right this instant, you absolute…!"
...and the worrying sound of someone distinctly in need of assistance.
Ruby took off, her legs carrying her as fast they could in the approximate direction she'd heard the sounds from. Passing a particularly shady-looking alleyway, she barely heard the sounds of a small scuffle coming from within before her legs halted, her left extending forward to catch herself. In a flash, she pulled back, peering into the alleyway, and that was where she saw it.
A white-haired girl who couldn't have been more than twenty was slowly backing away with her arms in front of her, her one and only exit blocked off by three rather muscular men advancing on her, who intentions seemed to be… less than friendly. Fortunately (for Ruby, at least), none of the three men were watching their backs, probably figuring no ordinary citizen would try and intervene here.
Well, Ruby certainly was no ordinary citizen. After all, how many 19 year olds had been trained in martial arts since they were 5? Not many, I'm sure. - Ruby answered her own question as she approached the men in a deliberately slow pace, hoping to get much, much closer before she got their attention. Not that they would've really noticed her - they were too busy making suggestive comments and taunts that really made Ruby want to beat the snot out of them.
Four more steps…
What, exactly, was her plan once she'd reached them? Sure, she might be able to take them all on (Uncle Qrow had certainly taught her how to handle multiple people at once… the hard way), but what about the girl?
Three more steps…
Maybe she would just make a run for it. Yeah, that sounded about right. She'd buy her some time, let the girl slip behind her back into the safety of the streets, and then… she'd figure something out from there.
Hopefully.
Two more steps…
Ruby was acutely aware of how idiotic she was being right now, thinking of taking on three men - each of which had a foot on her - dead on, with no prior knowledge on how skilled they were, or what, if any, weapons they had. Oh well, too late now.
One more step…
This close, she was able to see the girl much clearer - and what she saw made her blood freeze and boil at the same time.
The girl's icy blue eyes were defiant, but Ruby knew fear when she saw it.
Ruby was within striking range right now.
With a sudden leap, she drove her first cross into one of the men, aiming for the man's shoulder. Her fist connected with a satisfying thud, and the man tumbled over rapidly.
Just as she anticipated.
The two other men quickly turned around, and realising who was the bigger threat here, leapt after her. Ruby look a quick step back - getting right out of range of a long jab - before she darted forward, trying to get within range once more. Her height was definitely working against her here, but Uncle Qrow had drilled into her time and time again - 'if you can't outpunch 'em, outspeed 'em' - and unfortunately for the men, Ruby Rose was one of the fastest around, if those Signal Academy sprinting records were anything to go by.
Her right fist connected directly with the man's solar plexus, and she twisted her body to the left just in time to avoid the man's kick. Carrying her momentum forward, she threw a quick jab at the his head, this time successfully knocking him off balance. He sprawled towards the ground - but Ruby had no time to observe such things, as she leapt to her right to avoid the second man's kick.
He must've realised her inherent weakness, because he used his height to his advantage, keeping Ruby at bay. The girl gritted her teeth, unable to break through his guard. What if…
Her left hand reached down to her jean pocket, fiddling around - aha - before retrieving her wallet. Without a second thought, she flung the item at her opponent, who moved to dodge it, breaking his guard for a split second.
A split second was all she needed. Hey, fastest girl 'round this side of town, remember?
Her first uppercut was delivered to the man's jaw, a swift knee to the stomach accompanying it. He stumbled, and Ruby's right hook smashed his head against the concrete wall behind him.
"Freeze!"
Ruby turned, only to have the blood in her veins, well, freeze.
The first man she'd hit had evidently gotten back up, and he now held a pistol to the other girl's temple, his other hand gripped exceedingly tightly around her collarbone. Not that she was in much of a position to struggle.
"Get back! Get back, right now, or I'll shoot her!"
"Whoa, easy buddy…" Ruby tried to placate the man - a bundle of nerves that she wasn't too sure wouldn't pull the trigger - as she stalled for time. Think, damnit…
She looked at the girl, and tried to hide her shock as the girl - who was much calmer than she had any right to be (and if anything, seemed to be slightly… annoyed?) - used her right hand to discreetly point at the man's stomach, before pointing at herself.
Wait, she isn't actually… she can't actually be considering…
Ruby knew not to judge a book by its cover - a lesson her opponents learned, more often than not - but she really doubted this girl, whose white hair was tied in a neat knot that fell to her right side and donned in a light blue, immaculate sundress, was really well versed in any sort of fighting. This could backfire horrendously.
Ruby held the girl's gaze, but those ice blue eyes were confident. I trust you, so trust me, they seemed to say.
Well, Ruby thought to herself, giving a discreet nod, it'll be a hell of a story if we make it out alive.
She took one step forward. And another one.
"What're you doing!?" The man exclaimed, his eyes wide in fear of getting beat down once again. In his haste, he elected to point the pistol at Ruby instead - just the opening they were both waiting for.
Ruby ducked, her ears picking up the extremely satisfying sound resulting from the other girl driving her elbow into the man's stomach. The girl sidestepped, and Ruby filed in, driving the pistol away from the man's hand with a swift boot. She bent down to pick it up, the heavy weight unfamiliar in her hands.
"You alright?" She whispered to the girl.
"I got assaulted on the way back home," she replied, her voice colored with irritation (So I was right after all) - and a healthy dose of fear, "so I'm doing just fine."
"Name's Ruby. Ruby Rose." She didn't really know why she was making introductions now of all times, but to hell with it.
"Weiss." The girl replied bluntly, "Pleasure to meet you."
"So, Weiss," Ruby smirked, "what's a nice girl like you doin' in a dump like this?"
Ruby had (thankfully) never had the experience of going to the police station - until today that was. And jeez, there was a lot of form filling for just one teensy incident. Did she really have to fill those forms in showing that she assaulted (Ruby scoffed at the use of the word) those men out of self defense? And then there was the talking...
She sat next to the girl - Weiss Schnee, Ruby reminded herself - who, in retrospect, seemed to really just be annoyed about the entire ordeal. The duo gave their report, and the officer in charge assured the two (okay, mainly Weiss) that the trio of men would 'face the law'. Either way, Ruby managed to drag Weiss out, ultimately convincing her that 'absolute delinquents' like them weren't worth her time.
At present, they'd managed to escape, heading back towards Weiss' house. The alabaster-haired girl ranted animatedly beside her, Ruby tuning in occasionally. For the most part.
"...and I swear that if it was up to me, I'd make sure they'd stay behind bars for life!"
A question - one that had been bugging Ruby this whole time - popped into her head, and she figured it was a good time as any to cut into the other girl's tirade.
"Hey, Weiss," the name sounded unfamiliar on her lips, "Why, exactly, were you in a dark alleyway, all alone?"
Weiss stilled for a second, and Ruby saw the faintest hint of pink in her cheeks, "No reason in particular."
"Aww, come on," Ruby whined playfully, "I saved your butt back there. 'Least you could do is tell me why I had to save you in the first place."
Weiss mumbled something under her breath.
"What?"
The other girl's right eye twitched, "It was a kitten, okay!? I was on my way home when I just saw the most adorable kitten down the alleyway and I knew I shouldn't've went down an alleyway, much less one with a dead end but it was just so fluffy, and before I know it I'm surrounded by those hooligans and-"
"Alright, alright," Ruby raised her hands up, "I get the picture. Still, all that because you wanted to pet a damn kitty?"
"...Shut up, you dunce." Weiss replied, "And what of you - come in the habit of rescuing people?"
"Are you saying you could've escaped yourself?" Ruby raised her eyebrow at the other girl.
"Please," Weiss said, "I had them wrapped around my pinky finger. Play scared, then hit them when they expected it least. I was going to target the guy to the right, since he had the gun - or did you not realise that before you happen to go after the two people who didn't have a way of immediately killing us?"
"...Oops?" Ruby offered in apology, "Well, we're both alive, so…"
Weiss sighed, and Ruby saw the smallest of smiles appearing on the other girl's face, "I suppose we are. And relatively uninjured, at that."
"Relatively?" Ruby arched an eyebrow at Weiss, "You told the officer you were 'spotless', if I remember."
"I had more important matters to attend to," Weiss dismissed, "like negotiating a bribe to move those three to the most notorious prison on Remnant."
"Where is it?" Ruby asked the other girl, her face uncharacteristically serious.
"Atlas, if my memory serves…"
Ruby shook her head, "No, no, not the prison. Where'd you get hurt?"
"...I got hit in the stomach when I initially tried to resist. Look, I'm fine now, don't worry."
"..." Ruby paused, but chose to trust the other girl. After all, Weiss was walking perfectly, her posture the image of a refined lady - not at all like anyone who'd suffered any serious injuries to their abdomen.
Ruby hoped her trust wasn't misplaced.
"Well, at the very least," Ruby settled for a compromise, "let me walk you home."
It was already dark by the time the duo reached (what Ruby soon recognized as) the 'upper class' section of Vale, where luxury condos towered above streets upon streets of renowned eateries and trendy fashion boutiques. Unsurprisingly, Weiss happened to live in one of these luxury condos - a graduation gift from her father, she informed Ruby during their idle conversation.
"Well," Weiss turned to her, "we're here."
"Oh." Ruby's voice suddenly felt small, and it was almost as if she didn't want to leave, or something ridiculous like that.
But it was kinda true… she didn't really want to leave. at all. Somehow, this high-class girl she'd only met - and saved, kinda - had become her friend in the short span of an hour or two. It was just… Weiss was so easy to talk to.
Weiss must've sensed her hesitation, because she proposed: "Would… would you like to come up to my place?"
"Y-Yeah!" She said, probably with a bit too much enthusiasm. Whoops. "Uh, I mean, if it's not too much of a bother, of course."
"Not at all." Weiss replied, walking up to the security post and handing over her keycard. After several moments, she pointed at Ruby.
"She's with me." Weiss curtly informed the security guard in charge, who waved the duo in. Weiss reached the elevator, retrieving her keycard from her dress pocket to activate it - she lived on the tenth floor, Ruby noted. She stepped aside to let the other girl in first, and soon the two of them were standing right outside Weiss' suite.
Of course, Ruby was engrossed in a different matter entirely - gaping as she stared out a nearby window.
"Wow!" She practically pressed her face to the glass, her eyes taking in the view below her, "You can practically see all of Vale from here!"
"I can assure you the view is much better from my balcony." She turned around to see a smirking Weiss holding the door open with one hand, the other gesturing her to go in. With a sheepish grin, she walked in, Weiss closing the door behind her.
Weiss' suite was… really, just about what she expected. Nothing was out of place - the room's neat shelves practically screamed order; other than a single mug left on the coffee table, Weiss' apartment might as well have been a showroom.
But she had no time to think on these things, for Weiss slid open the glass doors to her balcony, and Ruby rushed forwards almost immediately.
Weiss certainly wasn't lying - where before her view was limited to one window, Weiss' balcony, complete with glass panels for railing, offered her a full view of Vale's finest. Her eyes drank in the lights of the city, the steady flow of cars passing to and fro…
She heard something to her right, and she turned to see Weiss, a mug in each hand and a small smile on her face. "Thirsty?"
"You bet." Ruby said, accepting the cup of water. She sat down on the floor, her knees raised to her chest - and was secretly surprised when Weiss did the same.
The other girl sighed almost… wistfully. "It sure is beautiful, isn't it?"
"It's just gorgeous." Ruby replied enthusiastically, "I don't think I'd ever get tired of it, even if I lived here."
"Hm."
The pair sat in silence for a while.
"Ruby?"
"Yeah, Weiss?" She managed to tear her eyes off of the skyline, looking at the white-haired girl.
"Thank you. For-for bothering to rescue me."
"Don't mention it. I'm sure anyone else would've done the same."
"If you think 'anyone else would've done the same'," Weiss giggled slightly, "then I'd really like to live wherever it is you live."
"Patch Island." Ruby supplied helpfully, "Grew up there my whole life. Of course, I now live down south, but that's just a temporary arrangement."
Weiss hummed in acknowledgement. "You know, I've never actually been to Patch…"
The two spent the next few hours of their lives chit-chatting away aimlessly - talking about topics that spanned the range from personal to completely whimsical. Some of the stuff that came out of her own mouth was (even by her own standards) completely meaningless and silly, yet Weiss simply laughed through it all, being just as silly in return. They talked through the night, their strange conversations showing no signs of stopping - even as the nightlife dwindled beneath them.
But all good things had to come to a close, and Ruby's loud yawn caused Weiss to check her phone for the time, prompting Ruby to look at her own - 12:10.
"It's getting late; you might want to start heading back." Weiss said in an almost forlorn tone.
"I guess…" Ruby stood up, brushing the dust off her jeans, "Thanks for having me, Weiss." She beamed at the other girl, "I… I had a lot of fun today."
Weiss' cheeks reddened, and she held out her left hand, "Give me your phone."
Ruby raised an eyebrow, but did as the girl asked. Weiss swiped on the device, before realising it was password locked. Ruby was just about to say something when Weiss tapped her phone screen four times - and unlocked the phone.
"How-" was all she would get out before Weiss cut her off with a small smirk.
"7829? Really? It was literally the first thing anyone would've guessed."
"...I needed something I'd remember, alright?"
"Then use your birthday or something, not your own name, you dolt." Weiss retorted, opening up Ruby's contact list. "Huh, small world..." the other girl paused, brows furrowed.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, tilting her head to get a better look at what the other girl was looking at.
"You know Blake?" Weiss asked, before elaborating: "She's a colleague of mine."
"Yeah, she's dating my sister…"
"Wait." Weiss suddenly said, her face dead serious, "You're Yang's sister?"
"Uh…" Ruby wasn't really sure how to respond.
"You mean to say," Weiss elaborated, her voice slow, "that all the awkward third wheel dinners I've gone on could've been avoided if I had just told Yang to invite her sister?"
"Eheheh… I guess?" Ruby raised her arms, "If it helps, I've had my fair share of awkward third wheel lunches."
"They ever get you kicked out of a cafe?" Weiss asked, her brow arched.
"Four coffee houses, two bars and a sushi restaurant." Ruby recited proudly. Okay, maybe not proudly.
"Ah." Weiss' lips twitched in amusement, before she handed the phone back to Ruby, "Here's my number." She paused for a second as Ruby reached over to retrieve her phone back, "Feel free to call me at any time."
"I will." Ruby replied. Weiss opened the door, and Ruby stepped out.
"Well, goodnight, Ruby. Stay safe."
"I will." Ruby promised, "G'night to you too, Weiss."
The smile she received in return was the last Ruby saw of Weiss before the door closed on her. Letting out a small sigh, she walked over to the elevator, tapping the button to call it.
But before that…
She stole one last glance at the window - at the city, whose lights now seemed more subdued, and whose roads, previously filled with cars, were now empty for the most part. The view from up here was still as spectacular as it had been from Weiss' balcony, if not a bit more limited. She heard the telltale ding of the elevator, and Ruby stole one last glance at the skyline.
Maybe she should get in the habit of rescuing strangers from alleyways.
It certainly made for a hell of a story.
Ayy, RWBY stuff. Gotta love it. Working on a much, much bigger RWBY project, that should've been out… yesterday. Whoops. I really do prefer writing short stories.