Author's Note: Oops! Back at Chapter Two, I said that Ruby and Yang only had Qrow. I completely forgot they have a dad! Oh well, I did bring up the possibility of this being slightly AU (Then again, isn't every fanfic technically AU? Why do you all have crossbows aimed at me?), but he'll probably find his way in, somehow. Not now.
Again, thank yous to everyone who favorited and followed since last week! Don't forget to review! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: RWBY is the property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. I do not claim ownership of anything pertaining to RWBY or any related properties. Any other references to non-related things are also not owned by me. This is a nonprofit fan work.
Rated T for: language, some weird bits, and that's it. Yeah.
Original Post Date: 1/14/14 (A day early, I intend to post this on Wednesdays.)
Weiss Schnee wasn't having a good day.
A good day for her would consist of having perfect marks on her test. It would have a well-rested sleep. A fruitful study session. Coffee, well brewed. Maybe an extravagant purchase, as long as it was practical.
If this Christmas morning was any indication, none of that was going to happen today.
A rude awakening in the form of her childish leader, Ruby, all dressed up for a holiday Weiss couldn't care less about. Never mind the fact that the reindeer costume looked cute on her, no matter how much Weiss wanted to convince herself otherwise.
This would lead into a self-induced pity session in which Weiss would wallow in the memories of her tailored life. A life which many would gladly do anything for, and one which the white-haired heiress would gladly give away, if not for her overbearing father as well as her own pride. Even though she wanted to both escape and do her legacy proud, Weiss would have resigned herself into burying these thoughts when her time came. Her life would have gone as planned.
Never would she have thought that her plans would have been utterly roadblocked by one young girl.
Ruby Rose. The name brought frustrating memories to the front of Weiss' mind. Day by day, something would always bring her to admonish her young leader, to correct her, to guide her. For all the bluster that she puts up in front of everybody, Weiss only does it because in her own way, she cares. Ruby just takes up a lot more time helping than everybody else. Although they got off to a rocky start, the pair would eventually become great friends.
'Why am I in love with that hopeless dork, again?'
As she walked along the corridors of the dorm, Weiss mentally repeated a question she found herself asking for days on end.
She may have been drawn in by Ruby's personality: innocent, hopeful, and free, oh so free. Didn't help that every time Weiss questioned her being friends with the red-cloaked girl, Ruby would always say, with an infectiously wide smile, that she was glad to be friends with the heiress. Such an honest answer. Every time, Weiss would begrudgingly voice her acceptance, and every time, her heart would swell a little more with joy.
No, every time, Weiss needed to quash these feelings, in order to secure her drab future as the head of the Schnee Dust Company. Her going off on what would be perceived as "an aberration and an experimental rendezvous" would elicit countless issues and dangers to barge into their lives, the most damning coming from her father, who didn't allow negotiations when it came to Weiss.
Her burgeoning feelings for Ruby only served to complicate matters.
All of these situations put tons of pressure on the heiress. No matter which path she chooses, the result wouldn't be pretty.
She would keep her feelings locked up to keep Team RWBY safe, to keep her dolt safe. No one would be able to figure it out. Except...
'That sister of hers, for all of her idiocy, probably found out about me through the interactions I had with Ruby.' She mentally winced, and her face mirrored it soon after. 'I was careless. No doubt she will cause some sort of problem about it. And yet...' Her thoughts went back to her encounter with Yang this morning, away from the awkwardness of the blonde bruiser serving up two-and-a-half star food, to her parting words.
"You know Ruby sent me up here to cheer you up. You can't tell me you're going to brush off my little sister's want to see you happy, huh?"
"Please think about it. Don't go and break her heart unless you're absolutely sure you can live with it."
Weiss broke into a grimace as she tried to forget the look on Yang's face when she said those words. Her eyes were full of concern and warmth, not unlike the many times Ruby would look at her. And what did Yang mean by "breaking Ruby's heart"? As far as she knew, the girl never once caught on to Weiss' hidden feelings, and considering that her sister caught on first, she did a poor job of hiding them to start with. Ruby was always happy and caring around other people, so what made Weiss any different?
As if to answer her, memories of Ruby began playing in her head.
"Hey Weiss, wanna visit the weapons shop with me? They're having a sale on whetstones today!"
"Weiss! Come look at this butterfly on my head! It's so pretty~!"
"Well... you can have some of my cookies if you want, I don't mind for the best teammate and partner in the world."
Weiss began to lose herself in her daydreams, a pink blush apparent and a soft smile slowly spreading wide as she swayed steadily back and forth in place. Daydreams of Ruby playing the role of a gallant knight come to sweep her off her feet. Daydreams of the two slowly dancing atop of a pristine lake, frozen over for winter.
Winter. Weiss had no problem with the cold, with the snow. If anything, it was her favorite season since it reminded her of peaceful times. Unfortunately for her, a supposedly joyous holiday always came not long after winter's start.
Christmas.
She had no ill thoughts about Christmas, nor any painful memories around it. She never actually knew what the big deal was for the first few years of her life. When hardships came, however, the symbolism came crashing down on her as she realized how she would never be able to enjoy it. A joyous time of year for everyone, except her. No, the Schnees must always be held in high regard, foregoing such meaningless celebrations when they already stand at the top of all Remnant.
Again, she never expected Ruby to stop those thoughts cold.
"Do you like it? I'm Rubolph, the magical Christmas reindeer! I'm here to grant your wishes, since you were such a good girl!"
"Phah!" Weiss scoffed out loud, still happy and lost, "I'm no good girl, what are you talking about, Ruby?"
Weiss quickly snapped out of her giddy stupor and took in her surroundings. She was standing in the dorm's front lobby, empty, save for furniture.
"I've really got to stop doing that..." groaned the heiress, "No doubt if anyone caught me like that, I'd be laughed out of Beacon."
Turning her head to her side, she saw a long mirror on the wall and inspected herself. "At least I didn't end up crying again. I swear, I'm not usually this hopeless..." she trailed off, talking to herself in the mirror again. "This is Ruby's fault, that dunce." she pouted, "If it weren't for her dumb positive behavior, and her stupid courageousness, my heart wouldn't be in this much turmoil." As the words came out of her mouth, Weiss believed in them less and less, she knew she didn't really blame Ruby, and she never would... in private. She had an image to keep up, after all.
As she walked away from her reflection, another question popped up in Weiss' mind. 'Just when was it that I started feeling this way toward Ruby?' Weiss tried to come up with an answer. 'It may have been gradual, but it almost always takes just one moment for it all to change...' Weiss kept at it, but found nothing. 'I'd like to think it's better this way, but if I don't come up with the answer soon, there is a chance that I'll remember it down the line. If it comes up when I'm already there, I...'
She shook her head once more in trying not think about what she might do. "I can't think about that right now. The sooner I can piece together this accursed attraction, the sooner I can move on. Until then..." She placed her hand on the front door, "I think I'll go to the library and study."
No sooner did she turn the knob, the door blew open and knocked Weiss to the floor. "Damn it, why does this keep happening?!" She expected someone on the other side so she could vent her frustration, instead, there was nobody. The only thing coming in was the wind and some light snow.
Looking outside, the weather wasn't terrible, not a lot of snow was falling, but the wind was surprisingly strong. Enough had accumulated to reach the third step to the dorm, which is about eighteen inches of snow.
There was no way she was walking out there in just her combat skirt.
After a heated battle between Weiss and the door, she was now trudging back to the room with snow in her hair.
"It's almost like Christmas itself is punishing me for not believing. Joke's on it, I was already cold."
She was only one turn away, when Weiss caught the sounds of someone just outside her door.
"Whew! I knew I could count on Yang to distract her, but wow, where did that food come from?"
As soon as she heard that familiar voice, Weiss ended up ducking away behind the corner. She couldn't hear her very well, however, and decided to peek out just a bit from her hiding place.
There was Ruby, dressed in her usual, but with a few winter flourishes. On top of wearing her red cloak, Ruby had a long red scarf draped around her slender neck that hung off to the side. A Santa hat was somehow affixed to the top of her hood. The only other change to her outfit was a pair of noticeably thicker trousers in place of stockings. Not that Weiss paid any attention to that area. Of course, she was still carrying that sack from earlier, whatever was held inside was a mystery.
Weiss perked up her ears to try to listen in. Ruby seemed content with talking to herself.
"Okay, so I sent Yang and Nora off to the secret meeting place, along with everyone else!" said Ruby, doing a little spin on her heel as she continued, "As soon as I get one more thing, we can kick off 'Operation Weiss Christmas', mm-hmm!"
Weiss groaned inaudibly at the weak pun, and it seemed Ruby thought the same shortly after.
"Ugh, I've been hanging around Yang too much. The operation name was her idea, too..." Ruby said as she hoisted the bag over her shoulder. "She seemed way too into doing this thing! I can't believe she offered to put up for a hotel room for an... after-party? I dunno, seems a little much for... just the two of us?" Ruby said with a quizzical expression. "What would we even do there?"
While Ruby was pondering over what it is two people can do in a hotel room, Weiss immediately caught on to the implications. Her pale face became even paler, while simultaneously becoming rosy in the cheeks.
'Th-that lewd jackass! What was she THINKING when she went and said that!?' Weiss was very embarrassed over Yang's "generous offering". 'This only confirms that Yang knew about my feelings for Ruby! What's her angle, anyway?'
"I know!"
'Erk! What...?' Weiss fumbled slightly as Ruby interrupted her thoughts, which thankfully didn't wander into forbidden territory.
"We could have a fancy sleepover! Oh, it would be so cool to order s'mores over room service!" gushed Ruby, "Maybe even order a cool movie over pay-per-view! Oh, I'm so excited!"
If Weiss' hopes and dreams could be compared to anything at this particular moment, they would be like a boulder trying to float in the ocean. No chance. 'Ugh... She's so innocent... Does she even know of... what people do in that situation? I don't know whether to be relieved or really concerned!'
The heiress let her posture slack for just a bit, when she hit something.
Clack-ck-ck-ck!
A broom had fallen down from where Weiss was hiding.
"Eeep!" Ruby jumped up in shock, caught completely unaware by the sudden noise. Weiss didn't have time to register this until Ruby was already looking in her direction.
"W-Weiss! Ah, hi there...!", Ruby waved a hand sheepishly.
The heiress stumbled out from behind the corner, she was slightly dumbstruck with how she was found so easily. "R-Ruby, what are you doing here? I thought I put you out to teach you a lesson!" She tried to play it off and put on a haughty expression, but couldn't put down her nervousness.
"I sh-should be asking that!" Ruby began fidgeting in place, unsure of how to proceed. Weiss did her best to look annoyed. Eventually, Ruby found her voice. "Wait, you kicked me out for no reason!" complained Ruby, "I was only trying to get you to smile for Christmas! What possible reason was there to kick me out?!"
Weiss' expression visibly faltered, she really didn't have an answer for that. Except one, but there's no way she would admit to it.
"Y-You were trying to touch me with some two-bit rag! I don't believe for one second it was silk!" proclaimed Weiss.
"It was old silk! I've had that costume for years!" countered Ruby.
Weiss blinked at the revelation. "Years?"
"Yeah, at least three! And now, it's ruined!" The silver-eyed girl crossed her arms and frowned slightly.
The proud heiress found herself speechless. Did she really just destroy something belonging to her fantasy crush? "Ruby, I... I'm sorry. I didn't know..." Any anger that Weiss may have had had dissipated.
Ruby put a finger below her lip in thought, for all of two seconds. "It's all right." she said , still feeling a little dejected, "You're not at fault, Weiss. It was an old costume, and I couldn't fit into it very well to begin with."
"...Huh?"
"Well... yeah." Ruby nervously looked down at the ground and twiddled her foot. "It was old, I barely fit in the thing anyway."
"It didn't look that way to me." On the outside, Weiss looked neutral. On the inside, Weiss was trying very hard to keep her imagination from running wild.
Ruby shook her head. "The stitching was stretching, especially around the... rear." Ruby blushed in embarrassment.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Mmm, ImeanIhadabuttflap..." Ruby quickly said as she sheepishly scratched her cheek.
...
Weiss stared at Ruby, stone-faced. "A butt flap?" Ruby meekly nodded. Silence reigned for what felt like a long while.
"Weiss, I—"
She was cut off by Weiss raising a finger in front of her. Ruby was confused until she saw a smile trying to peek out from the heiress' mouth.
So she decided to press the attack. "When you pushed me out of there, and I felt that draft, I thought everyone was going to see an actual full moon over Remnant!"
That did it. Weiss broke out into a snicker, and then into a laugh. Ruby had that dopey smile on her face.
"Hahaha, oh my gosh, Ruby! Those are footy pajamas, not a costume!" laughed out Weiss.
Once again, Ruby blushed. "Duh, I know that!" She pouted and looked away from her partner. "It's better calling it a costume..." she grumbled.
"Suit yourself." Weiss calmed down, with a smile still very clear on her face.
Ruby smiled back, glad to see things were alright. "I did that for you, Weiss." she said sincerely, before breaking into a ramble, "When I heard you didn't want to go home, and that your home life sucked, and the reindeer PJs were all I could find and—"
"Ruby!" The smile on the heiress' face flattened a bit, but she remained grateful. "I see. Thank you, Ruby."
This younger girl still felt like something was off with her partner. "Weiss, I may not know exactly why you feel down, but..." She walked up to her partner and placed a hand on her shoulder. Weiss tensed up at her touch. "Just know, you can talk to me. Whatever it is, I'll listen."
'Oh no.'
"Because we're not just partners..."
Weiss froze up at her touch and couldn't speak out. 'No, I was afraid of this! If Ruby gets too close...!'
"We're best friends, Weiss!"
Ruby gave Weiss' shoulder a soft squeeze. It was intended to give comfort to Weiss troubled mind. Instead, it threatened to send it into disarray.
Weiss was frozen at not only how sincere Ruby was, but with how this one gesture made her feel wanted.
It needed to go away.
Staring at the younger girl face-to-face, Weiss saw that same comforting look which told her everything would be okay. Ruby's silver eyes held in them a hidden maturity, along with her innocence, that never failed to entrance Weiss. For once, Weiss was afraid to look into her eyes. She was scared. Everything would be ruined if she were to succumb to Ruby's gaze.
'Would it be so bad, to just let it all go and tell her?'
Sensing her discomfort, Ruby decided to up the warm-and-fuzzy quotient, and enveloped the heiress in a hug.
"Wh-What is this?!"
Ruby giggled at her reaction. "You're probably not going to tell me, but that's okay." She quickly disengaged the hug and gave Weiss a playful wink. "I'm going to show you a Christmas you can write home about! ...Or not, I'm sorry, I forgot you don't like to talk about it."
Weiss was able to shake off her infatuation jitters long enough to snark and smile. "It's all right, Ruby. I'm a big girl, bigger than you by about four inches, actually." Weiss teasingly snarked with a hint of playing around.
The younger girl stuck out her tongue in mock insult while Weiss chuckled. "Well, you'll see what I've got planned for you this Christmas!" proclaimed Ruby. "I'll knock your socks off!"
"Heh, I'd like to see you try!" Weiss was back in her comfort zone, antagonizing Ruby for the sake of bettering her, and not carrying a crush, thankfully for the heiress.
Ruby had a confident smirk, enjoying her time with her partner. "All right! Why don't you clean up a bit there..." She gestured towards Weiss' literally snowy hair, "...while I go get ready for some Christmas cheer!'
"Ugh, don't remind me." Weiss wanted to flick the snowcap off from her head, but that wouldn't be the proper thing to do. She walked up to Team RWBY's dorm room and turned back toward her partner. "Ruby... Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Weiss."
With that, Weiss entered her room and closed the door shut. She had some brushing to do.
Ruby waited until the coast was clear, or rather, when she was sure Weiss couldn't listen in. She walked up to the same point where Team RWBY's door was and made a hard left, where Team JNPR's room lay. As Ruby gingerly knocked a little ditty on their door, she couldn't help but sing along.
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...!"
The door opened up a bit to reveal a certain redheaded athlete, who looked like she was enjoying these sneaky games. "Hello, Ruby. Are you ready to report in?"
"S-sorry, I forgot just one thing before the... target was almost compromised?" Ruby was unsure of how to play espionage.
Pyrrha Nikos naturally apologized, "It's all right, you did your best. Now hurry up along, before the target does get compromised." It seems she also didn't want to break character.
Ruby nodded, and just when she was about to leave, a panicked voice rang out from inside."I-if you don't mind, R-Ruby, could you please bring back a jar of jam for N-Nora's pan—"
Jaune Arc was then cut off with the whizzing by of a fork that had just whiffed him. He was scared stiff.
"What is this sacrilege that I hear?! The goddess of the feast demands no less than fresh fruit for her jam!" Nora Valkyrie valiantly proclaimed. "What say you, my liege?"
"I say you're off your goddamn rocker! Ruby, just get the girl some frickin' jam, already? I don't want to make pancakes anymooore!" Yang Xiao Long made her suffering very clear. "Where the hell is Blaaaake?"
Having been the one to gather them, Ruby couldn't answer as to where Blake was, so she moved on. "O-Okay. Um, what kind?"
A hand then grabbed Ruby by her ankle. She squeaked and almost stomped it into oblivion, when a voice called out in anguish. "Please, just get anything... The jam... The jam... The jam..." The prone form of Lie Ren hissed out, his body pockmarked with bits of dough and globs of syrup.
"You have your mission, now go, Agent Rose! Your city needs you!" Pyrrha obliviously closes the door on Ruby, leaving her very confused.
"What just happened?"
Ruby walks off, continuing her search for the last thing on her checklist, and some jam. Oh, the jam...
Weiss closed the door on her partner and headed into the bathroom. The only company she had was her reflection, and that was fine with her. She undoes her side ponytail and gets to work.
"You know, this morning was nice, barring almost everything that happened to me." Weiss shortly had a sour expression, before smiling. "In my lovestruck haplessness, I had almost forgotten how friendly my relationship with Ruby is. It was nice. Really nice." She took to combing her long, alabaster hair. "Really, if only I could remain like this for the next four years, then everything will be all right. I won't have to worry about Ruby or my team's safety anytime soon."
Weiss found a moment of respite as she found a less agonizing way to move on with her life. "Of course, that doesn't mean much if an actual incident occurred. What with the Grimm, the White Fang, that Roman Torchwick..." Weiss trailed off as she realized how her problems stacked up against more pressing concerns. "Well, that was less satisfying than I imagined. Whatever, so long as there's no other 'episodes' like earlier, my future is secure, and Ruby wouldn't have to... put up with me. Everything's going to be all right!" She carefully uttered the last part, so she couldn't, on the off-chance, jinx herself.
Unfortunately for her, in her rush to brush, she had failed to notice her scroll on her bed, blinking with the notice that she had missed a call, and that it was going to voicemail. The message carried a voice Weiss had known all her life, and his dispassionate tone froze her blood ice cold...
"Weiss, I shall be arriving in Vale sometime after midday, before day's end. I will be visiting Beacon and I shall meet with the Headmaster, as well as catch up on your progress in person. I hope to find you have grown after such a short time. Especially with what I've heard had occurred. Your father, Glassen Schnee."
A/N: Here we go, I've done it now, I've started up a completely untouched character in the terms of RWBY canon, making Weiss' father effectively an OC. I'll get one thing out of the way, his first name is a corruption of what I assume is German for "glass", with a bit extra on the end there. I'm sorry everyone, but I'm not sorry. See you next week!