The Frozen Rose
Vacation, a time to celebrate, a time to be with family and friends, a time for relaxing after classes had gotten out, however, for one Ruby Rose, there was one thing that was paramount above all else. Can you guess?
Cookies! Far as the eye can see! At least, that was what the young girl was day-dreaming about while Weiss was yet again attempting to hammer some tutoring into her brain. She had tried time and time again to make a better connection with her partner, but the heiress just didn't have the people skills she needed to get through to her younger teammate. Growing up the way she had, Weiss never had the chance to do all of the childish things that Ruby held so dear, like for example, baking cookies just for the fun of eating them afterward.
As Ruby's face hit the wooden table in the library, after her chin had slipped out of her palm, Weiss rolled her eyes and closed her book. "Owww..." Ruby sighed as she rubbed her nose, which had taken most of the impact.
"You...really don't like me do you..." Weiss mutters, breaking the silence.
"What? Of course, I do...you're just kinda...boring..." She says, voice trailing off, not wanting Weiss to be mad with her. "It's vacation, I don't wanna have my nose shoved in a book, I wanna go play outside, anything but studying..." She says as she rests her head back into her hands, propping herself back up. "Besides...this isn't exactly my idea of a date..."
"Well, I didn't hear you giving any ideas when I asked you if you wanted to go out!" She halfheartedly yells back at her partner.
"That's because I didn't think you would want to do any of the things I like to do! Every time I ask you if you want to hang out you tell me I'm too childish and that we need to study!" Ruby fake yells back with a grin on her face, she has long since learned that arguing with Weiss is a one-sided battle that can't be won by force.
"Well maybe if you picked something a little more romantic and grown up I wouldn't call you childish..." she huffs, trying to keep her emotions under control. "We could've gone to dinner or seen a movie like your sister and Blake.
"I didn't want to go with them...I just wanted to spend time with you."
"We could have seen a different movie you know, it's not as if we would need to follow them around."
"Whatever..." Ruby says as she puffs up her cheeks, folds her arms and looks away and out the window, watching the campus lights turn on as the sun sets before she spots a couple out in the courtyard. She immediately recognizes who the two are and that the boy has lifted the girl off of her feet, an impressive feat really, and he twirls her around once before setting her back down and bringing their mouths together, the boy's long wolf ears perking up when their lips touch. Weiss looks to Ruby's face, seeing her expression change from her small fit to a look of happiness, her muscles relaxing as she lets out a small smile and her cheeks flush. She follows Ruby's line of sight and spots the source of her girlfriend's blush.
"See?" she says softly, "even the strongest seniors in the whole school act like children sometimes."
"That doesn't mean that everyone does," Weiss says as she looks back to her book, embarrassed by watching the couple kiss each other.
"Hurrhhh," Ruby sighs out heavily as she stands up from the table, grabbing her scroll from the table and stuffing it into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder, "you could ruin anything, you know that?" The young girl then walks away and Weiss slumps back into her chair, sulking at her own failure.
"What is wrong with me...after everything we have been through I still treat her like a little kid...Why can't I just swallow my pride and do something nice with her!?" She almost yells as she slams her fist into the table, before swiftly being shushed at by the students at the tables around her. She looks out to the couple again, trying to calm down. "Those two have been through Hell and back...and look at them...not a care in the world. How do they do it...how can they be so happy," she mutters as she watches the girl take her boyfriend into her arms and hold him tightly, even lifting him off the ground for a moment effortlessly, causing Weiss to smile. "Gosh, Ruby sure was right about Ambur, she is exactly like an older version of Yang," she laughs out to herself quietly. "Mydnight does seem pretty tame...for a Faunus of course," she says meekly, still not comfortable to have Faunus so close to her.
The thing was, Weiss knew them better than anyone else in the group and had elected to not tell Ruby what she knew, not wanting her enthusiasm to be crushed, not to mention that it wasn't anyone's business. "...Well, if I'm not against her training with him...I guess I should encourage her," she says to herself as she stands up and packs up her things, heading back to their dorm room.
When she arrives she finds that the lights are off and peers up to Ruby's bed, seeing her partner angrily curled up and facing the wall. She leaves the lights off and shuts the door behind her, walking to her bed and setting her bag down at the edge of it. She heads to their shared dresser and opens her drawer, pulling out her nightie to get changed. She looks back to Ruby one more time, making sure she isn't watching and she begins to remove her day clothes.
"...Dream of anything...I'll make it all come true," she begins to sing out to one of her favorite songs, as she often does when they are alone, one of the few things that she knows for sure Ruby loves about her. She doesn't hear Ruby turn over and watch her though, as she strips down to her underwear and bra before beginning again." Everything you need is all I have for you. I'm forever, always by your side, whenever you neeeed a friend, never far behind." The heiress then slips on her nightgown and turns back to her bed, finding Ruby starring down at her with a blush spreading across her cheeks.
After a few moments however Ruby begins to roll back over and curl up again, Weiss reaching out and taking hold of her shoulder. "...wait," Ruby hears her say weakly before turning back over to face her. "Come down here...please..." she says as she sits down on her bed before Ruby climbs down, out from under her blankets, revealing she too has changed for bed. Weiss pats the bed beside her and Ruby sits down, arms crossed, looking down into her lap. "I'm sorry I yelled at you again...I'm sorry for everything I said okay," she says a bit too quickly, still trying to get used to the concept of heartfelt apologies. "I'm not mean to you on purpose..."
"I know that...you don't have to explain...it's okay..." she hears Ruby says quietly before letting out a small sniffle.
"No it isn't okay Ruby...I'm your girlfriend...I shouldn't be making you cry like this all the time. I may be inexperienced with relationships and the entire concept of love but...it isn't fair for me to treat you the way I do..." She says putting her arm around the younger girl, feeling her shy away from her touch for a moment. "...Hey...how about tomorrow you and I bake some cookies together?" She says with a smile.
"Re...really?" Ruby says as she looks up to Weiss, clearly surprised and excited by the idea.
"Yeah...and...maybe we could make some for you to give to Mydnight huh? I bet he and Ambur would love a present from you."
"...But I thought you didn't want me around them?"
"...I...I was...jealous..." she mutters out, inaudibly.
"...What? I didn't catch th-" Ruby says before being cut off.
"I was jealous of him okay!. I hated that you always seemed to want to hang out with him instead of me...but I think those two can be a good influence on you. Besides, it's a great opportunity for you to learn some new moves...right?" she says smiling softly down to her partner.
"Really?!" the young girl yells out, ecstatic. "Thank you!" she says as she throws her arms round Weiss and hugs her tightly, resting her face in the crook of her girlfriend's neck.
"Hah...No problem..." she says taking her into her arms, lifting her slightly and sitting her back down on her lap. "I'm still learning about this whole...love thing, I know we both don't have any experience in it but...I'm really trying you know?"
"I know," she says before she quickly pecks under her chin.
"I'll get it down eventually...I won't stop until I get it right...I'll change everything for you," she says lifting Ruby's chin before pressing her lips to Ruby's. Ruby is surprised at first but after a moment she relaxes back into her girlfriends hold on her, and her eyes drift shut as she kisses her back.
Hours later Yang creeps into the room, her kitten in her arms with her arms wrapped around Yang's neck. Yang nudged the door shut with her backside before crossing the room and setting Blake down on her bed before taking one look over to Weiss' bed, finding Ruby and the heiress sleeping peacefully under Weiss's blankets and Ruby's cloak. To Yang's relief she could tell they were both still clothed, but after a moment Yang began to wonder why she was so relieved about that fact.
After all, she was about to undress Blake like she did most nights, whether Weiss and Ruby were in the room or not for that matter. She shook away her thoughts of being a bad role model and pulled off her coat and kicked her boots off as she heard Blake doing the same, before the blonde amazon leaned over and climbed into her girlfriends bed on all fours, coming to rest over her Kitten's body and sending them into the first kiss of what would be many by the time the night was over.
The next morning Ruby wakes to find that she had fallen asleep in her girlfriend's bed, and after wiping out her eyes and adjusting to the light coming in through the window, finds that Yang and Blake are in a similar situation, missing their clothes. She looks away from her sister and back to Weiss, whom she finds is already awake, looking down at her. Ruby yawns before resting back into her partner's grasp, as Weiss had played the role of big spoon the night before, and she feels her wrap her arms around her waist. "You've never slept in my bed before ya know," the heiress says softly, running her fingers through the younger girl's hair.
"Well...I wasn't comfortable with it until last night...I was caught up in the moment," she says as she closes her eyes and snuggles back into a more comfortable position before feeling Weiss shakes her shoulders slightly.
"Hey, no going back to sleep, we're making cookies remember? Just because we aren't studying doesn't mean that you can sleep in all day. Common, get up," she says playfully shoving Ruby toward the edge of the bed. "Get up, common, out of bed, get dressed." Weiss too stands up, tossing her blankets aside and the pair quietly begins to get dressed, but soon hear Yang shifting around underneath Blake.
She gently moves her partner, who readjusts herself to get comfortable again before Yang sits up, sheets clinging to her bust for dear life before she grabs a nearby shirt and slips it on. "Uhhh," she sighs before rubbing her face several times. "What time is it?"
"Uhhh," Ruby says picking up her scroll and peeking at the clock, "almost ten."
"WHAT?!" Yang yells in surprise, springing from her bed and tearing through her clothes to find her combat outfit before pulling it on, almost on her way out the door. "I'm gonna be late!"
"For what?" Ruby asks genuinely surprised to see Yang so worried about something.
"I've got a match in the gym!" Yang yells as she pulls the door open and nearly runs straight into Jaune, who was right outside the door, fist raised, about to knock. "Sorry Jaune!" They all hear from a long way down the hall, not having stopped even for a moment. He lowers his hand before stepping inside.
"Someone's in a hurry, what'd she mean by a match?" He asks, having forgotten why he was going to knock on their door in the first place.
"Yang has gotten into the nasty habit of challenging Ambur to hand to hand combat in the gym lately...twenty losses in a row but she won't give up," the group hears Blake say, muffled by the blankets she is using to hide from the sunlight.
"Thankfully Ambur is actually really nice and she doesn't beat her up too badly," Ruby giggles out.
"Yang won't stop until she beats her," Weiss says rolling her eyes, "it may be immature but at least she is setting her goals high."
"Jaune, what did you want anyway?" Ruby says as she nudges him back outside the room and closes the door most of the way so that she and Weiss can change into some more appropriate clothes.
"Oh, uh, I was kinda...wondering about something..." they hear him say softly as he shifted closer to their door and away from his own. "What would be a good thank you gift for Pyrrha?"
The girls all look to the hallway with a small smile before Ruby pops open the door, her and Weiss fully dressed now. "Common Romeo, your coming with us," she says as she grabs his hand, pulling him down the hallways, closely followed by Weiss.
"Wuh-Woah!" he blurts out as he fights to keep his balance, surprised by the force Ruby is using on him. "What, where are we going?"
"Dorm kitchen, making cookies together!" Ruby says as she begins to skip along down the hallway, Jaune struggling to keep pace with her.
As they come into the shared kitchen of the entire dorm building, the girls set to work taking everything out and preparing their own tray, as the show Jaune what he needs to do to make his own. Surprisingly enough the teaching sticks and before long he has got it down, their trays filling up quickly before Weiss sets them both into one of the many ovens in the room.
They all sit around and talk, cleaning up their mess as they watch the timer go down, having set it for twenty minutes under Ruby's instruction. Once Weiss had cleaned up the counter she walked up behind Ruby, who was washing the utensils they had dirtied and planted a short kiss on her cheek. "You know...that was pretty fun, maybe we could get everyone involved next time?" The heiress thought out loud before Ruby's blush grew again and she nodded happily.
"Yang loves making cookies with me and I'm sure Blake wouldn't mind."
"I don't know about Ren, but if we had Nora in here the cookie dough would have been gone before we had a chance to make anything out of it," he laughs out and the girls laugh along with him.
Soon enough the timer goes off and, using some oven mitts, Weiss returns the trays to the counter to let the cookies cool, Ruby bouncing in place waiting to eat them. Weiss and Ruby's cookies were chocolate chip, Ruby's favorite, and Jaune had decided to make some sugar cookies, not sure what kind Pyrrha liked. The girls found a see-through bag and gave it to Jaune with a twist tie so he could give them to Pyrrha. "Thanks for the help guys, not sure what I would have ended up getting for her without you."
"She would have loved anything you gave her silly, but remember, she will always enjoy something you made for her over something you bought for her," Ruby smiles out before popping the first of several cookies into her mouth. "Oohhh," she groans out before her mouth opens up, tilting her head upward and waving her hand in front of her face. "Haawwwttt," she let out as the other two laughed before Jaune left the room and headed back to his dorm.
"How are they?" Weiss asks after Ruby finally swallows the smoldering mess of chocolate.
"Sooooo good," Ruby says swooning over them before Weiss pulls her back by her hood.
"Common now, save some for me, and for Mydnight of course," she says before hunting down another bag to use.
"Are you going to come with me to see him? You know I'm sure that he wouldn't mind, he is a great guy and he doesn't have a lot of friends."
"Well... I guess I could tag along, it's not like you two plan to train today right?"
"No, I haven't even asked him yet, but he knows that I want to, he keeps offering because he can tell I want him to teach me."
"Well, I'll come then, I'd rather not be around when two crazy Scythe wielders go at each other," she says giving Ruby a short but soft noogie before the girls put his cookies in the bag. They then split up the remaining ones and eat them.
They then head for the Senior section of the dorm building to find that his door is already open, hearing music all the way down the hall.
"Every nightmare just discloses, it's your blood that's red like roses and no matter what I do nothing ever takes the place of you!" They hear from his radio as they walk up and Weiss knocks on the door as Ruby begins to bob her head with her eyes closed. "My jammmmmm," she sighs out happily and Weiss rolls her eyes with a smile.
"Come in," they hear as the music is turned down and Weiss opens the door the rest of the way. As they enter Ruby finally takes in her surroundings, never having been in Team AMBR's dorm room before. Chief among the strange things about it was that the only two beds in the room were pressed up against each other and against the right wall of the room. Next, there was a stand in the far right corner of the room, holding both occupants weapons, as each of them did not have the ability to collapse and be carried around like most of the other weapons one would see around the school. On a desk next to the bed, one would find Mydnight's radio, a much older style, an antique one would say. They found him at the desk with a book in his hand, turned around to face his guests. "Oh, Ruby, Weiss, what brings you two here?" He asks as his wolf ears perk up, surprised by the unexpected visit.
"We made you something! For the holidays," Ruby blurts out as she shows him the small bag of cookies and he stands up from his desk, immediately dwarfing the two younger girls.
"Awh, you guys didn't have to do that, thanks a bunch," he says looking at them before smiling and patting Ruby on the head, rustling her hair a bit before setting the bag on his table, "I'll share those with Ambur I bet she will love them."
"I also have something to say," Weiss says, gulping hard, trying to swallow her pride.
"I was wondering why you had come along," Mydnight says smiling and folding his arms over his chest, "this should be good."
"I'm...sorry that I have been treating you unfairly, I am trying to change my ways and Ruby has been helping me with it a lot...I realized...when we learned that Blake was a Faunus, I had been too judgmental and discriminatory to...your people. I'm sorry."
"Hmm...apology accepted," he says scratching his own ears in confusion, he sure hadn't expected that to come out of the snow princess' mouth.
"So uh," Ruby says shifting around in place, "Weiss said she was okay with you training me so, does the offer still stand?" she asks awkwardly.
"Hah, of course, it does, I'd love to teach you what I know, I've never seen someone who fights quite like you do, giving up on training you was never an option I wanted to consider," he says as he holds his hand out to Weiss. "Thank you for accepting me."
"Thank you for being so patient," Weiss says with a smile.
/
Yang's butt hit the mat as her opponent stepped up to her, towering over her now sitting figure. Yang felt her adrenaline going down and her crimson eyes returned to their natural violet state as the older girl extended her arm down to the defeated blonde, offering her help to stand up. She gladly took the offer and was pulled up to her feet with no effort at all from her opponent. "You're getting closer blondie," her voice rang out as she stepped away from Yang and went to her corner of the ring, taking a sip from the water bottle on her metal folding chair and taking a seat. Yang retreated to her corner of the ring as well and followed the older girls action, relaxing back into the chair, arms rested on the ropes.
"Am I? I can't tell...just feels like you beat me without ever trying every single time..." Yang sighs out.
"Don't be so hard on yourself Yang, your a very talented young lady, one of the best I have ever seen, I'm just more experienced than you. Not to mention I'm three years older than you and spend more time in the gym than you do. I can tell, you are improving, so chin up kiddo."
"Ambur..." Yang says before looking around them to make sure the crowd the two Amazons had drawn had dispersed so no one would hear them. "How do you do it..."
"Do what?"
"How did you and Mydnight move on..."
"Oh...that...I never said that I had moved on...I don't think I'll ever fully recover from it." She says looking down and resting her elbows on her knees. "People blame Ozpin, even Mydnight blames him but it was my fault."
"Don't say that it wasn't your fau-"
"Yes it was," she says speaking up and cutting Yang off, looking into the younger girl's eyes. "I should have told Ozpin that my team was not ready for that mission. He even asked me if I was sure we could handle it and I told him yes. Of course, Mydnight knows that but he won't let me take the blame from it. Not only can I not get over that fact but physical therapy and surgery can only do so much. I can feel it, I'm not as quick as I used to be, I can't lift as much if my legs are involved...knowing Rosaria is out there somewhere makes me feel even worse...She always wanted the leader role and called me a failure, and I proved her right...I watched on as my team fought to protect me, lying helpless on the ground...Bronzine died right in front of me...I watched the light leave his eyes...Then she ran, she never looked back even for a second...Mydnight stood tall, he wouldn't let anything happen to me, even if it meant taking down that Uru single-handedly. I don't want anyone to ever go through something like that again..."
"...Is that why you agreed to help me train?"
"Part of the reason, yes."
"What's the other part?"
"Because I see it in you," she smiles out, "I see me in those violet eyes... I was just like you Yang but when my team started crumbling at my feet I changed...and I guess somewhere deep down that I think by training you, I am improving your chances out there in the wild, not for your sake, but for your team's. I wasn't strong enough to protect the ones I loved...but maybe you will be."
"...Thank you, that means everything to me," Yang says as she stands back up an takes a ready position with a grin creeping over her lips. "Come on then, I can do this all day!"
"Haha, I bet you can," Ambur says happily as she meets her in the center of the ring and bumps fists with her as she too gets into a lower stance, preparing herself for yang's worst.
_End of Chapter_