Hey everyone! As always, thank you for all the support! 3
A book was propped open on her lap, but Weiss wasn't reading it. Even though it looked like she was reading it, she wasn't...because it was hard to read when she could feel multiple sets of eyes watching her. There were at least ten other kids in the playroom right now, but the eyes watched her - because apparently she was the most interesting, even though the other kids played games while she tried to read.
Shifting in her seat, she stared at the same word she'd looked at for the past five minutes - 'unknown.' She tried to read the sentence around the word but immediately gave up. She hated feeling like she was under a microscope but knew better than to look at the people staring her way. If she made eye contact, it would make things worse - it would make her seem...friendly.
She couldn't look, but she needed to figure out how to get them to lose interest. What could she do? Throw her book on the ground? Tear out one of the pages?
"Weiss!"
Her heart dropped at the sound of her name, and she turned to find Ruby racing across the playroom towards her.
Ruby ran like she hadn't grown into her legs yet, which meant she nearly tripped herself every other step. Most of the time she caught her balance before taking an unfortunate tumble, but sometimes she didn't. That's what the bandage on her left elbow was from - skidding on the ground after falling.
Weiss remembered that scrape perfectly. Ruby fell outside on the sidewalk, so the scratches had to be cleaned out before they could be bandaged up. Ruby cried, but she got chocolate chip cookies afterward, which helped ease the tears away.
"Weiss! Look what I made!"
Holding something in the air, Ruby slowed down - just enough to avoid crashing into Weiss at full speed - and extended her precious new creation out for Weiss to see. Feeling the eyes still watching her and understanding what this looked like, Weiss knew she had no choice - she snatched the contraption out of Ruby's hand, careful not to break whatever it was.
"That's mine!" she snapped, raising her voice while waving the piece of wood in Ruby's face. Silver eyes widened in surprise, but she continued undeterred. "l told you not to touch my stuff!"
Huffing in annoyance, Weiss stomped away with Ruby's toy in hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she risked a glance towards the window and watched the people outside turn away while talking amongst themselves. Thinking they could still be watching, she marched to the other side of the room, leaving Ruby frozen in the middle of the playroom while her lower lip quivered.
"Um...wait," Ruby interrupted, holding up one hand and giving Weiss a look of disbelief. "Aren't we're supposed to be soulmates?"
Merely hearing the word come from Ruby's lips made Weiss smile.
"We are," she replied with a nod, watching Ruby's adorable dismay grow.
"But that was like...pretty mean! You just stole my toy, and now I'm going to cry!"
As Ruby heard the story, that's exactly what happened. However...
"There's a reason for it," Weiss explained. "You'll understand shortly."
With a smile that likely wasn't disappearing anytime soon, Weiss watched Ruby purse her lips and think about the answer. Her concern over the beginning of this memory went beyond adorable - it showed how involved she was, and how connected she felt to the past versions of herself.
The response was everything Weiss had wished for.
"Okkkk…" Ruby finally said, sinking back in her chair. Her moderate pout was so familiar that Weiss very nearly pointed it out. However, she decided to get back to their story so Ruby would understand that there was nothing to be upset about.
Please don't cry, Weiss begged, sending Ruby a pointed glance before nodding towards the window. Of course, the window was now empty so Ruby was only more confused after glancing that way. She clearly didn't understand what was happening, but of course she didn't - she was still too young to comprehend what these visits meant.
Motioning for Ruby to wait, Weiss walked over to the row of small baskets stored in a long cabinet along one wall and pulled out her personal cubby to put the toy inside. But, before she did so, she looked over what it was Ruby was so excited to show her.
It turned out to be a tiny wooden sword, made by gluing two small pieces of wood together and then grating down the tip. It wasn't sharp, and the 'hilt' was crooked, but it was definitely a sword.
Weiss didn't get why Ruby thought weapons were so cool, but this was a growing theme recently. Ruby was constantly sticking things together to make some new type of sword or saber that was more likely to break than do any harm.
After laying the sword on top of her stack of books, Weiss pushed the cubby back into its hole and knew she needed to explain herself to Ruby.
"Weiss."
Hearing her name, Weiss' heart fell. Instead of turning towards Ruby, she turned towards the door and found Miss Goodwitch motioning her over.
"Come here, please. Someone wants to meet you."
If possible, Weiss' heart fell even further. But she obediently did as Miss Goodwitch asked, even though her feet dragged against the floor while she crossed the playroom. She walked right past Ruby, who was still upset about her toy being taken away, and caught the worried glances Blake and Yang sent her way - the two of them pausing their reading to watch Weiss leave the room behind.
Reaching Miss Goodwitch, Weiss was given a quick smile before a soft, guiding hand led her out of playroom and across the hall - to the dreaded meeting room.
"They're a very nice couple," Miss Goodwitch explained while they neared the faded purple door Weiss had grown to fear. "He's a teacher, and she works in that big office building downtown - you remember the one, don't you?"
If Weiss hadn't been so nervous, she would roll her eyes at the way Miss Goodwitch was speaking to her - like she was still a child. She might be young, but she was smart enough to understand that the comments were only meant to put her at ease for this meeting she didn't want to happen.
"They were hoping for a little girl just like you," Miss Goodwitch finally said, resting one hand on the door knob and giving Weiss a smile. "I think you'll like them," she added, opening the door and gesturing inside.
Taking a deep breath, Weiss walked into the room and immediately felt...really small. The man and woman from the other side of the window stood when they saw her, towering above her while stepping forward to greet her in front of the square table taking up most of the room.
The woman had short blonde hair and a nice smile - one that made her look friendly and welcoming. The man had black hair with streaks of gray, but his square jaw made him look stern and demanding.
"Weiss, this is Mr. and Mrs. Everson," Miss Goodwitch said, prodding Weiss to take another step into the room. The man and woman moved closer upon their introduction, and the woman knelt in front of Weiss to look up into her eyes.
"It's very nice to meet you, Weiss," she said with a warm smile.
"You too," Weiss mumbled, biting her lip and looking away. She hated feeling powerless, but that's exactly what these meetings felt like to her. The adults controlled what happened to her...and all she could do was hope she could convince them to listen to her wishes.
"I'll leave you three to get acquainted," Miss Goodwitch said, backing out of the room and closing the door as she went. Left with two complete strangers, Weiss ducked her head and shuffled to one of the seats at the table while the Eversons took the seats across from her.
"We saw you reading earlier," Mrs. Everson said, taking lead of the conversation. "Do you like to read?"
"I do."
By now, Weiss had learned to answer in as few words as possible, forcing the adults to come up with ways to extend the conversation. It felt awkward and uncomfortable, but she hoped they'd hate it as much as she did.
"What do you like to read?"
"Anything, really."
She noticed the glance the couple shared after her short response, but Mr. Everson decided to make the next attempt.
"Miss Goodwitch was telling us a little bit about you," he said in a smooth, low voice. "She said you're ahead of all the other students in your class. Do you have a favorite subject?"
This question Weiss actually thought about for a couple seconds before answering with a quick and succinct, "History."
When Mr. Everson shifted in his seat, Weiss knew that the short conversation was making this really uncomfortable. Hopefully, that meant she could go back to the playroom soon...
"Who was that girl you were speaking to before?" Mrs. Everson asked. "The one with the brown hair - is she your friend?"
"Ruby?" Weiss asked before scoffing, hiding her shaking hands in her lap. "She's really annoying and young. All she does is trip over things and cry."
The Eversons shared another look - this conversation clearly not going as expected.
"Do you have any friends here?" Mrs. Everson asked.
"Why would I want to be friends with them? They're dumb."
"Surely you're friends with one of the other children here," Mr. Everson replied, glancing at his wife to read her reaction to the current predicament. Sensing that her escape might be close, Weiss shrugged.
"Not really, but I don't care. They all want to be adopted anyway."
She said the word like it was bad, which caught their full attention.
"What's wrong with being adopted?"
Weiss responded to Mrs. Everson's question with another shrug, trying to look like she didn't care while her heart beat loudly in her chest.
"Nothing, I guess," she said, crossing her arms and looking away from them. "But I don't want to be adopted."
From the stunned silence in the room, she knew her strategy had worked again. The parents who came to the orphanage wanted to be wanted, and the kids that went home with them were the ones excited to be taken away.
Weiss didn't want to leave - not without her family. She couldn't let herself be adopted without them.
Hearing Mr. Everson clear his throat, Weiss finally turned back to them. They were shocked, and the questions had stopped - that was a good sign, usually.
"Do you think I can go back to the playroom now?" she asked, scooting her chair back to signal that she was ready to leave.
"Of course," Mrs. Everson replied with that same warm smile. "Thank you for speaking with us, dear."
"You're welcome."
Without another word, Weiss hurried out of the room and didn't look back.
"Done already?" Miss Goodwitch asked as soon as Weiss left the room.
"Yup! Can I go back now?" she asked, receiving a nod and taking off while Miss Goodwitch went into the room to speak with the Eversons.
Darting into the playroom, the first thing Weiss did was find Ruby - who was sitting in the corner by herself, sad and moping. The sight made Weiss sad too, and she wished Ruby was old enough to understand why she'd been so mean. It had nothing to do with Ruby.
Rushing over to her cubby, Weiss pulled out the toy sword and headed across the room. Ruby was moving a few toy blocks around - building a small tower - but lacked her usual energy. But Weiss was going to fix that right now.
"You might just become a weaponsmith yet," she said, inspecting the sword as Ruby looked up in surprise. From that simple comment, silver eyes sparked back to life, and Ruby was smiling once more.
"You think so?" Scrambling to her feet, Ruby didn't notice the blocks she scattered across the floor.
"Look at this." Having captured Ruby's full attention, Weiss pointed to the spot where the two pieces of wood connected in a cross. They were slightly crooked, but that didn't matter. "This is the best work you've done yet."
With a smile, Weiss handed the sword back to Ruby, who looked at it fondly.
"I can make one even better," Ruby mused, spinning it around in her small hands. "Just need some more tools..."
As Ruby concocted her next master plan, Weiss giggled and reached out to put one hand on Ruby's shoulder.
She loved it when Ruby was happy and smiling.
"Weiss."
Again, her name - only this time in a tone that made her cringe.
"I'll be right back, Ruby," she whispered before slinking towards Miss Goodwitch. The woman's arms were crossed, and her brow was furrowed in that stern gaze she often had. Weiss immediately knew that the Emersons had told Miss Goodwitch about their meeting, and this conversation was probably not going to be a nice one.
Stepping into the hall, Miss Goodwitch closed the door and looked down at Weiss, who hung her head and waited for a scolding.
"You don't want to be adopted?" Miss Goodwitch asked, repeating Weiss' words from the meeting. "Why would you ever say such a thing? Don't you want to leave this place? Don't you want a family?"
The rapid questions made Weiss feel like crying...because she knew the answers, but she knew her answers were 'wrong.'
She already had a family, but Miss Goodwitch wouldn't agree with that. If she had a family, why was she here at the orphanage? If she had people who cared for her, why was she living in a big building filled with other kids like her?
"Weiss -"
"I didn't like his jaw!" Weiss interrupted, saying the first thing that came to mind. "And she smelled like too much perfume. And they didn't really care about me - they only thought I was smart because I like to read."
Her lip stuck out in a pout and her eyes stung with tears while she waited for her punishment. She knew she'd done something wrong, but she was scared of being taken away from the people she loved in order to live with people she didn't know. She didn't want to leave the only home she'd ever known to go 'home' with strangers.
Instead of being angry, Miss Goodwitch sighed and knelt down on the ground so she could look up into Weiss' eyes.
"One day, you'll realize that no family is perfect," she said, reaching out and giving Weiss' hands a gentle squeeze. "l wish I could find the perfect homes for all of you, but sometimes we have to accept that someone might wear too much perfume, or their jaw might be too square. That doesn't mean they can't be good parents. That doesn't mean they can't love you."
Relieved that she hadn't been yelled at, Weiss sniffed and wiped one of her eyes.
Miss Goodwitch was stern but kind at heart. She wanted what was best for all of the kids at the orphanage. Unfortunately, she thought that finding them homes was in their best interest. She didn't understand that Weiss already had a family, and that being adopted would only split them apart.
"I'll try to be better next time," Weiss said, sniffing again as her tears and fear faded away. She always said that, but she didn't mean it. She actually tried to be worse, making herself less and less adoptable the older she became.
"That's the most I can ask for."
Standing up, Miss Goodwitch dusted off her knees before opening the door to the playroom and motioning Weiss inside.
"Ok, everyone," Miss Goodwitch said, clapping her hands once to get everyone's attention. "Let's clean up and get ready for dinner."
At the chorus of 'yay's - everyone excited to eat - Weiss helped clean up the room. At the end of every playtime, they were supposed to put the toys back and store any personal toys in their cubbies. The room needed to be neat and tidy before they could run over to the kitchen for dinner.
Picking up her half-read book from earlier, Weiss stuck it on one of the bookshelves before picking up the blocks Ruby had knocked all over the floor. The blocks went into a basket by the window, and then Weiss searched for the toy sword - knowing that was the most important toy to put away.
Fortunately, the sword was already being taken care of.
"Let me keep that for you!" Yang said, reaching out for the sword in Ruby's hands. Ruby happily gave it to her sister, who stored it in her own cubby before grinning and ruffling Ruby's hair.
Knowing that Yang was holding onto Ruby's most recent creation, Weiss sighed in relief. There were a few boys in the orphanage who loved to steal Ruby's toys because they thought it was funny when she cried. Those boys were too scared to try the same with Yang.
With the sword safely stowed and the playroom clean, Ruby skipped to Weiss' side with a big grin.
"What's for dinner today?" she asked.
"Probably chicken and vegetables."
Ruby wrinkled her nose at the word. "Grosssss."
"Vegetables are good for you," Weiss replied, holding Ruby's hand while they walked out of the playroom together. "So you're going to eat them, ok?"
Ruby wanted to complain more, but she didn't. Instead she said, "Ooookkkk..." and shuffled along beside Weiss.
Further into the building, there was a kitchen and dining area large enough to fit all of them at once. Only the older kids were allowed into the kitchen to help Miss Goodwitch prepare meals, while the rest of them waited at the long table in the dining room. It was pretty hectic, but they all managed to eat somehow. One of the older girls was actually really good at cooking now - good enough that Miss Goodwitch let her prepare most of the meal by herself.
"Watch your feet," Weiss said, motioning for Ruby to step back before pulling out one of the chairs. Last time, Ruby had pulled the chair right into her foot and given herself a small bruise on one of her toes. Weiss wanted to avoid that again, if possible.
"Thanks, Weiss!"
Moving her feet away - maybe too far away - Ruby awkwardly leaned over to pull out 'her' seat at the table.
They didn't have assigned seats, but everyone had 'their' seat - the chair they gravitated to for every meal. In their case though, they had a group of four seats that never changed, but their order within those four chairs changed daily - it all depended on which seat Ruby chose first.
With Ruby sitting at the end of their 'reserved' chairs, Weiss sat beside her. Yang sat on Weiss' left, and the quietest member of their group sat on Yang's other side.
"Cut it out!" someone yelped from several spots down.
"Cardin…" Miss Goodwitch warned, looking over her glasses from the kitchen. "Leave her alone."
The rambunctious boy huffed like he hadn't done anything wrong, but behaved himself anyway. He knew better than to try anything when he'd already been caught. Miss Goodwitch could spot mischief from a mile away.
With Cardin behaving, everyone settled into happy chatter while some of the older kids - the ones assigned to help today - walked around delivering plates of food.
"Carrots!" Ruby exclaimed when a plate was set in front of her. "Blegh!"
"They're good for you," Velvet replied with a kind smile before setting another plate in front of Weiss. "They help your eyes - don't you want to help your eyes?"
Without waiting for an answer, Velvet walked away to collect more plates. Ruby, meanwhile, stared at her plate in disgust.
"Not really..." she mumbled, using her fork to push the small mound of carrots to the very edge of the plate. "Being blind isn't bad, is it?"
Ruby looked at Weiss, and Weiss shook her head while pointing her fork towards Ruby's plate. "You still need to eat some," she answered before taking a bite of her own food.
As more meals were served, the constant chatter quieted to more peaceful conversations and the sound of silverware clinking against plates. When everyone had their food, Miss Goodwitch sat at the head of the table to eat her own dinner while making sure the rest of them ate and behaved themselves.
"How'd it go?" Yang asked, taking a bite out of a carrot. Blake leaned forward at the question, both of them waiting for Weiss' answer.
"They don't want a kid that doesn't want them," Weiss replied, watching Miss Goodwitch to make sure she wasn't paying attention.
"Sweet. That always works." Quickly reaching over, Yang stole a carrot from Ruby's plate - leaving her sister one less dreaded vegetable she would be forced to eat.
"Miss Goodwitch wasn't happy though," Weiss replied, but Yang shrugged.
"Won't matter, we probably won't get a lot of visits anymore." Taking another bite, Yang was quiet while the three of them thought about that statement.
As they aged, they were less likely to get adopted. Most parents wanted younger kids with fewer 'issues.' With each passing birthday, there would be fewer moments like today - and Weiss was ok with that.
"RWBY meeting tonight?" Yang asked, and Weiss nodded while sneaking one of Ruby's carrots for herself when Miss Goodwitch turned away from them. Ruby cooed in delight at her smaller pile of vegetables, and Weiss smiled at the sound.
"Yang!" Ruby said, leaning into Weiss so she could talk to her sister. "Will you tell us another story tonight?"
"That depends...are you going to eat the rest of those carrots?"
When Ruby sat back and begrudgingly stuck a carrot in her mouth, Yang chuckled. "Then yes, I'll tell you another story."
Happy with the answer, Ruby continued eating her dinner - by finishing her chicken. If anything, it made the vegetables worse because she left the entire pile for the very end...but she'd eat them if she wanted a story. And Ruby always wanted a bedtime story.
Stealing a look at Miss Goodwitch, Weiss speared another carrot off Ruby's plate and stuck it in her mouth before anyone noticed. When Ruby opened her mouth to say something, Weiss pressed one finger to her lips to silence her.
And this time she listened, closing her mouth and giggling before eating the rest of her food.
The rest of dinner passed without a hiccup - minus the major pouting Ruby did at having to eat two carrots in a row. But she managed to do it, and then the rest of them helped clean up the dishes and put everything away.
Their evening was spent in their room, which they shared with several other girls around their age. Ruby had earned her bedtime story, which Yang told with gusto - making Ruby squeal and giggle and gasp in all the right parts.
Officially, Weiss was too old for bedtime stories. Unofficially...Yang and Ruby's bunk beds were right across from her and Blake's...so it was hard not to overhear everything. Even Blake, who spent more time reading than the rest of them combined, set down her book in favor of listening to Yang's stories.
It wasn't much longer until Ruby was yawning every few seconds, cuddled into her sister's shoulder while trying to listen to the rest of the story.
"Ok, it's time for bed," Yang finally said.
"Nuh uh!" Ruby whined even though she could hardly keep her eyes open.
"Yes huh," Yang replied, standing up and giggling when Ruby fell right over on her bed. "Come on, kiddo. They're gonna turn the lights off soon anyway."
If Ruby had more energy, she might complain. Instead, she let Yang pull the covers over her and press a kiss to the top of her head.
"Here's Mr. Bearly," Yang said, holding out the stuffed bear for Ruby to clutch to her chest as her eyes drifted shut once more.
"Goodnight, Yang…" she mumbled before opening her eyes and looking across the aisle at Weiss and smiling. "Goodnight Weiss. Goodnight Blake."
"Goodnight, Ruby," Weiss replied softly, Blake echoing her words before they prepared for sleep. Sending the two of them a questioning thumbs up, Yang grinned when they nodded in return.
After Yang and Blake climbed up to their beds, Weiss slipped into her own bed and stared at the bunk above her head. The lights went off a few minutes later, but she didn't bother trying to sleep. Instead, she thought about the day - about meeting the Eversons, Miss Goodwitch's words, and the little toy sword Ruby was so proud of making.
It wasn't long before sounds of sleep filled the room, but still she waited.
The slightest rustle of noise drew her out of thoughts as her attention perked up. The bed above her hardly made a sound, but Blake lowered herself to the floor seconds later. Reaching over, Blake tapped Weiss on the shoulder before reaching up to tap Yang and then disappearing towards the far side of the room.
Yang rolled out of bed right after, trying to be as stealthy as Blake, but her footsteps were far louder when they hit the floor. Thankfully, they weren't loud enough to wake anyone up.
Carefully pushing the covers off and quietly standing up, Weiss looked over at Ruby and found the girl still fast asleep with Mr. Bearly clutched to her chest. Weiss smiled at the sight but didn't wake her - Ruby was young and needed her rest.
Leaving her bed behind, Weiss crept towards the corner of the room, moving as far from the other beds as possible. The floor was old and creaked in some places, but she'd long ago memorized where those spots were and easily avoided them.
Making it to their 'secret' meeting spot, Weiss sat down on the ground with Blake and Yang - the three of them huddling together in a small group underneath one of the few windows in the room.
"Another RWBY meeting called to order," Yang whispered, grinning at the kind of dumb name she'd come up with for them. Using everyone's initials seemed elementary, but Weiss liked that it sounded like 'Ruby.'
"Supreme Commander is here," Yang continued, pointing to herself. "As is High Chancellor Blake."
Shaking her head at the title, Blake smiled regardless.
"And Holy Empress Weiss."
Rolling her eyes, Weiss asked, "Which of these titles is best?"
"None of them - that's the point. We're all equals here."
They didn't need titles, but Weiss and Blake shared looks at the response - each of them probably feeling the same thing.
They were orphans. Sometimes, it felt like they had no control over their lives, but here - with each other - they all had a say. An equal say.
"What did you want to meet about?" Blake asked Yang.
"I just wanted to make sure we're still all with this plan - none of us gets adopted."
Weiss wasted no time nodding, and Blake wasn't far behind.
"Good," Yang replied with a smile. "Cuz there's no way I'm leaving here without all of you."
"No one will adopt the four of us together..." Blake pointed out.
"Then we're waiting it out," Yang said, lightly bumping Blake's shoulder and getting her to smile. "That won't be so bad, will it?"
"l guess not..."
"We leave when we're eighteen, anyway," Weiss added. "Then Yang can be Ruby's guardian, and we can all stay together."
Catching Weiss' eyes in the small bit of moonlight coming through the window, Yang nodded.
That had been their plan for years now, formulated as soon as they realized being adopted meant they might not see each other again. Once they turned eighteen, they would leave the orphanage and bring Ruby with them. After that...well, there wasn't really a plan for after that. All they knew was that they would be together, and that's what mattered most.
"That's a long time with Miss Goodwitch though," Yang remarked with a sigh, leaning back against the wall at the thought.
"She's not so bad…" Weiss replied, although she knew Yang got into more trouble than she did.
"We could always run away."
Blake made the suggestion calmly - like it wasn't a big deal to run away from the only home they'd ever known - but Weiss quickly shook her head.
"Ruby's not old enough yet," she said, earning Yang's nod of agreement.
"Yeah, still too early for that. But if someone wants to adopt one of us..." Letting the sentence trail off, Yang gave Weiss and Blake a serious look. "Then we're taking off anyway. Deal?"
When Yang stuck out her hand for a pinky promise, Weiss and Blake reached forward to agree.
"Deal."
With their newest pact made, Yang smiled - but that smile quickly turned into a big yawn.
"We should get to bed," Blake said before covering her mouth when she yawned next. "It's getting late."
"I second the High Chancellor's suggestion," Yang said, grinning as she turned to Weiss. "What do you say, Holy Empress Weiss?"
"I agree," Weiss replied with a nod that Yang returned with a nod of her own.
"All three in agreement - this RWBY meeting is adjourned for the night!"
Blake and Weiss shook their heads at Yang's enthusiastic sign off for their quick meeting, which was unnecessary but still fun. Getting quietly to their feet, the three of them snuck back to their beds with well-practiced footsteps. After Yang and Blake quietly climbed up onto their beds, Weiss snuck a glance at Ruby and noticed that Mr. Bearly had slipped away.
Knowing how important the stuffed bear was for Ruby's sleep, Weiss walked over and picked up Mr. Bearly from the edge of the bed. After straightening the red ribbon around his neck - a ribbon frayed at the ends where Ruby had chewed as a baby - Weiss moved him closer to Ruby's hands until Ruby instinctively grasped onto him.
Smiling at the sweet girl and her treasured teddy bear, Weiss backed away and got into her own bed. Rolling onto her side so she was facing Ruby, Weiss finally allowed her eyes to drift shut.
It had been a long and stressful day, but she still felt hopeful and happy. Instead of dreaming about being adopted, she would dream about the day the four of them left the orphanage behind. It sounded scary to be out in the world by themselves, but not as scary as being out in the world alone.
After the promise they'd made tonight, she knew that would never happen. No matter what, they would always be together. She would always have her family.
"Did we run away?" Ruby immediately asked. She'd listened to the story so intently, and perched so close to the edge of the chair, that Weiss worried she might fall out of her seat in suspense.
"We did." Nodding, Weiss watched the surprise grow in Ruby's eyes.
"We - really? We ran away?"
"Yes," Weiss answered with another nod before giving Ruby a loving smile. "Because someone wanted to adopt you."
Weiss still remembered how difficult that decision had been to make. It was one thing to make a promise in the middle of night at one of their little meetings, but when the situation was real...Yang had struggled with it mightily. On the one hand, she wanted her little sister to have the best possible life. On the other hand...she didn't want Ruby to be taken away from her. In the end, it was Weiss who convinced Yang that the three of them could provide just as much for Ruby - and more, because they were family.
"Even after we told you the plan and you agreed, you were just...really horrible at pretending to be horrible." Thinking about that sentence, Weiss chuckled and shook her head. "We taught you so many ways to be un-adoptable - Blake used silence, Yang pretended to be dumb and vain, and I invented reasons why the rest of the world was beneath me. You tried to use what we taught you, but it always came out...cute."
"Oh, uh, sorry?"
Smiling at the apology, Weiss shook her head again.
"Don't be sorry. It's just not in your nature to pretend to be someone you're not. We ended up doing quite well for ourselves anyway," Weiss added, in case Ruby wondered what their lives had been like as runaway orphans.
"Really?"
"Yes. We ended up meeting this...eccentric...man who lived in a big house all by himself, and you made such a lasting impression on him that he ended up taking us in." Pausing, Weiss laughed at the way Ruby had made an 'impression' - by nearly destroying the entire house with a weapon made out of old newspapers. "He was rough around the edges, but had a good heart...and we eventually called him our 'uncle.' He taught you how to build real weapons - the type you'd always dreamed about - and you became really good at it. So good you were popular around the world for what you would create."
"Wow." For a second, it looked like Ruby didn't know what else to say. Then she smiled - a big, bright smile that made Weiss' heart flutter. "So I've been a weapons master, a queen, a genius..."
"And everything in between," Weiss added, pleased that Ruby was so fully embracing the idea that there were other versions of herself.
"That's pretty cool."
"It is cool," Weiss agreed, smiling at the typical Ruby term.
Making a soft noise of content, Ruby ate the last fry from her plate - which was surely cold by now - and chewed while deep in thought. When more questions didn't immediately appear, Weiss felt that they were close - that maybe an acceptance was close at hand.
She loved telling Ruby stories about their past lives. It was something she did often - never running out of tales about what once had been.
Waiting longer, Weiss gave Ruby the opportunity to ask any questions she might have. But when Ruby finished her food and said nothing, Weiss decided it was time to speak up.
"I know it's a lot to take in at once," she said when silver eyes landed on her again. "And I know it might've been best to follow more conventional means of getting to know you first, but…"
Pausing while she thought about what she wanted to say next, Weiss smiled and continued.
"I'm not asking you to believe everything at once. I'm only asking that you give me the opportunity to prove what I'm saying is true."
Ultimately, she would do whatever it took to convince Ruby, even if that meant waiting. Because Weiss waited often, and sometimes - like this time - she waited years to find the person holding the key to her heart.
Weiss hoped that what she'd said was enough. She wanted to skip to the part where they could hold hands, cuddle, kiss, and say how much they loved one another. She wanted to skip to the happily ever after, and start living it right this instant. She was willing to wait - she was willing to be patient - but she didn't want to be.
When Ruby finally cleared her throat, Weiss' heart sped up in anticipation of the words to come.
