Chapter 3
After realizing that Ruby was going to be searching for her, Weiss doubled around and got in a position outside so as not to make her leader suspicious about her eavesdropping. Ruby had skipped out, humming a cheery tune and glancing around the snow-covered courtyard. Finding the heiress, she explained the situation with Blake and Yang, and the two decided that it would be best to let them have some time.
After a few hours of the library, the two decided that Blake and Yang had had enough… 'intimate' time. Making their way back to the dorms, Weiss carefully watched the crimsonette out of the corner of her eye. The girl had absolutely no obvious problems whatsoever; She had that familiar bounce to her step, and a cheery aura about her. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Why're you looking at me like that?" Ruby asked curiously. Weiss blushed as she realized that in her thought, she had forgotten to be inconspicuous about her observation.
"Gah, I was, well, you see-"
"It's okay! I understand!" The younger girl reach over and grasped Weiss' hand, much to the latter's surprise and to her… joy?
The heiress tried to say something, but was unable to utter a word as she was led on, her finger interlocked with her leaders. After the surprise wore off, she decided to go with it. It was rather nice, after all.
When they entered the dorm, they found Yang and Blake sitting calmly - though their hair was a mess - with cups of coffee in hand. Sitting across from them were none other than Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, also with coffee.
"Ren! Nora!" Ruby squealed, pulling her friends into a hug. Nora hugged back with just as much enthusiasm, and even Ren politely patted the girl on the back.
"What are you two doing here?" Weiss asked after she and Ruby had sat down, swirling her tea around.
"Well, we were almost home, when Nora realized that she had forgotten her syrup supply." Ren explained. The members of Team RWBY looked at each other in confusion, but it was Yang who voiced their question.
"Can't you just use normal syrup instead?"
Ren put his head in his hand as Nora stood up sternly.
"Listen here. My syrup is Grade-A, Yang. GRADE. A. You got that? Harvested from the sap of trees outside the limits of civilization, and kept in storage for the last three years. This is the finest maple syrup in the world. GOT IT?" She growled. Yang's head nodded quickly, and Nora sat back down with a smile.
"Of course, she couldn't come to a gathering with my family without such prestigious craft." The raven-haired boy continued.
"Might I ask why not?" Weiss asked quietly. Everyone stared at her, causing her to blush intensely.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Weiss, do you have any idea how Ren's family paid for him to come to Beacon?" Ruby asked, dumbfounded. The girl shook her head, and Blake banged her head on the table, startling the heiress.
"Weiss, the Ren family is known for their pancakes. They are the Pancake Masters." Yang quietly explained. Ren calmly nodded in agreement and acceptance of the title that his family bore.
Weiss sat back, utterly confused. As she tried to make sense of what they were talking about, the members of JNPR stood up.
"Well, we have to catch the airship back home!" Nora said while stretching up, grabbing a briefcase that had been resting next to her - no doubt filled with the syrup in question. After brief goodbyes, the pair shut the door behind them, and their footsteps faded to silence.
"That was a, uh, a thing…" Weiss mused quietly. Yang nodded in agreement, before smirking.
"Certainly helped in the fight, though."
"I still think it was unfair." Ruby pouted. The blonde pulled her sister into a headlock, rubbing her knuckles against the crimsonette's hair.
"Ack! Yang! No!" The leader cried out. "As team leader, I order you to stop!" After a few seconds more, the busty girl complied. Ruby panted for breath, shooting her sister a death glare that even scared Weiss. Yang just smiled.
"Alright, you to, break it up…" Blake said from the side, rubbing the bump on her head from hitting the table. The sisters shared a grin before settling down at the table again.
As the four girls talked, laughed, and groaned at Yang's puns, Weiss felt conflicted. It felt so normal, so casual, so easy-going, but she couldn't shake out the image of blood-flecked snow.
Maybe Ruby just has a really raw throat… I've had sore throats like that before. She mused. Taking another hard look, she made a decision. As long as Ruby's condition didn't get any worse, she'd let it be. All she knew was that she was going to be keeping an eye on the young leader. Nothing was going to slip her by.
-oo00oo-
"Weiss!" A voice hissed out of the darkness, jolting the heiress awake. The deja vu that hit her instantly told her who it was.
"Ruby! It is five in the morning. What is it?" Weiss hissed back. She was interrupted from chewing out the 15-year-old as her casual clothes were thrown at her.
"Get dressed and meet me outside the dorm." RWBY's leader said quietly before scurrying to the door, opening it and shutting it quickly. Sighing, and knowing that Ruby would persist until Weiss was up, the heiress crawled out of bed and began changing into her clothes.
As soon as she was dressed, Weiss stepped outside. Ruby was waiting, a giant grin on her face.
"Come with me." She said, extending a hand. Hesitantly, Weiss took it, and the two flew through the hallways due to the younger girl's semblance. Before she knew it, they were in the student parking garage, standing in front of…
"Ruby, what do you intend to do with the Bumblebee?" The heiress deadpanned. Ruby didn't answer, handing her a helmet, which she took after a large mental debate. A couple wires sparked in Ruby's hands, and the engine roared to life.
"Yang just fitted this thing with snow tires." Ruby grinned, revving the engine. "Hold on to your helmet, Weiss, we're going Christmas shopping!"
-oo00oo-
Weiss sighed impatiently as she waited for her leader. The two had split up to buy presents for everyone. That included each other, hence their splitting up. While she did enjoy the chance to dress casually for the day's outing (a nice, white blouse and a pair of jeans donned her body, instead of the usual combat skirt, or her school uniform), it was proving to be as poorly planned as any of Ruby's other ideas.
"Ruby, you told me to meet you at the fountain in the mall in an hour. Why is that so hard for you to carry out?" She muttered angrily, about to call the leader-in-question on her Scroll.
"Look out!" A voice cried to the white-haired girl's left. Looking up, Weiss was bowled over by a blur of red. When the world stopped spinning, she realized that she and Ruby were nothing but a tangled mess of limbs and bodies.
"Ruby Rose, if you don't get off me in five seconds, you won't live to see Christmas." She growled in an irritated tone. The girl on top of her quickly scurried off the heiress, collecting her bags and dusting herself off. Weiss rolled her eyes and hauled herself up.
"Ruby, you've definitely come a long way, but you are still a total dolt."
"Yup! And you love it!" Ruby shot back with a grin. Weiss rolled her eyes and smiled, lightly flicking Ruby on the forehead.
As the two walked back to the Bumblebee, Weiss decided to ask Ruby something.
"Would you tell me if something was wrong?" She questioned innocently. Ruby's step faltered before she regained herself. After a moment, she answered.
"Of course, Weiss! You my teammate, partner, and best friend!"
"Really?" The heiress pressed.
"Really." The younger of the two pulled her senior into a tight hug before getting on to the motorcycle.
At first, Weiss was unsatisfied with the answer. However, as she looked at the smiling girl on the black-and-yellow motorcycle, she couldn't help but feel happy. Sitting down behind her leader, she wrapped her arms around the girl and smiled. Maybe she was just worrying over nothing. Maybe it was just a sore throat that would pass in the following weeks. Maybe the heiress would finally have that happy Christmas that she had always yearned for as a child.
Maybe.
Alright, the Nora and Ren and the secret syrup stash and the Pancake Masters? All inspired by one crazy dream I had a few days ago. Don't fly for two hours, eat Italian food, and drive for four hours before going to sleep, folks! So yeah, just wanted to add a bit of flat-out random for y'all! Also, it's December 6th now. I'll post what day of the month it is at the end of every chapter so you don't get confused.
Also, I decided to take a short break, considering the final chapter is going to be my Christmas gift to you all! So check out my other stuff, I got a new fic coming out today or tomorrow to help tie you over. You won't regret it!
Don't forget to review!
-KoR
