Here's chapter 11! Now, this is something I'm gonna try to be doing more often. I forgot to do it on Ao3, so I'll respond to the reviews here. (SKIP if you want)
Mortisvenom - No spoilers, but yeah, the last few episodes of V7 was a wild ride. . .
Read and stayed - These two have been idolizing each other the whole time and they didn't even know!
chinaluv - I hope that's a good Oooh XD
LostNeko120 - Thank you!
Unnamed Stranger - I hope this one is a little bit better, then! I'm glad you enjoyed the reveal, too!
Lord Bedhead - You want more? Here you go!
(this one will be long)
WhiteRosePlanter - They did actually~!
Chapter One, Ruby doesn't hear her, but Yang says 'if only she knew' after informing her about the concert.
Chapter Three, Ruby was nervous about meeting Weiss, but was instantly comfortable when she met her.
Chapter Four it's said that Ruby can look at Weiss and tell there's more to her than just being a spoiled, celebrity singer.
Chapter Six, Weiss mentions that Ruby's eyes are 'familiar', indicating that she somehow knows her, but she can't put the pieces together.
Chapter Seven, Weiss starts seeing similarities between Ruby and someone implied to be a childhood friend.
Chapter Eight, Weiss feels comfortable enough to tell Ruby her history, but she uses the 'you work with us now' to hide that. Otherwise she would've went Winter-style, the 'classified' route.
Chapter Ten, it's implied that Weiss has already had her suspicions, but Klein referring to Ruby as her 'friend' managed to surface some memories that confirms it.
-what confirms it for Ruby is Weiss mentioning a childhood friend, Zwei, her old friend being an artist, and the matching pendants. It's not written, but it implies that this also dug up some of Ruby's own memories about Weiss.
I'm sorry I didn't make it as obvious as I meant to!
[Ruby]
A full twenty-four hours had passed since the Coalford concert and they were on their way to Vacuo, where they would drop Yang off and continue the tour. At least there would be some more space in the bus. . . In addition, it would also give her some more time to focus on her commission since Yang wouldn't be bothering her every five minutes with her loud snoring.
Not to mention, they wouldn't be trying to set her and Weiss up anymore. . . Unless Blake continued where Yang left off.
A tiny, shy smile came to Ruby's lips as she gazed down at her artbook, admiring her most recent work. She'd set her commission aside to work on something personal, and not to boast, but it was probably her best work. She glanced up to the band gathered in the lounge and she looked back down to her paper, pride rolling through her.
It was a detailed, full black-and-white drawing of the band. Nora and Ren were on the right, Nora leaning against the window and stiffening her body whenever the RV swerved. Ren sat comfortably in the armchair, seeming like he was in his own little world.
Weiss and Pyrrha were off to the left on the couch; Pyrrha had her hair up in a comfortable, messy bun and was wearing a too-big sweatshirt and gym pants. Weiss, on the other hand, wore sleeveless tank-top and knee-knockers. If Ruby had to be honest, she'd found herself staring at the singer one too many times while drawing the picture. Weiss didn't seem to mind, though.
In the picture, Ruby had drawn her to be wearing a happy, almost enchanting smile, and her hair cascaded down behind her like a waterfall. Ruby paid extra close attention to perfecting her appearance, wanting to capture her full beauty in the picture. She couldn't tell how many times she'd erased and redrawn her eyes because something was off.
Was she too obsessed?
The brunette tapped her pencil against the counter, glancing up to look at the singer just across from her. Her breath caught in her throat, silver eyes lingering on the woman's exposed skin. 'God, she's gorgeous.' It was like looking at an angel who'd fallen from Heaven to Earth. . .
Ruby's attention trailed towards Weiss' top, her breathing became labored and an indescribable emotion welling up inside of her. Weiss was wearing a black tank top that hugged her body just right, giving just a slight curve across her chest area and exposing her collarbone. Her upper back was bare as well, and if Ruby looked close enough, she could see her bra strap peeking out from behind Weiss' long, white hair.
'She'd look better if she wasn't wearing a-' Ruby froze, 'WHOA. Wrong turn of thought! Nope! Don't think like that! Bad Ruby!' She shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind.
"Gooood morning!" Irritation pricked at Ruby as her sister walked into the lounge, completely breaking her focus on Weiss.
'How dare you.' Ruby grunted softly, she turned away when Yang glanced over at her.
"Ruby?" Yang frowned, approaching her with a puzzled look on her face, "Hey what's th-" Ruby slammed her book closed and pushed it away from Yang's reach, "What? Why can't I see?"
The brunette glared at her, "Maybe because I don't want you to see."
Yang frowned at her and propped herself up against the counter, "Alright, what's up, Ruby? Talk to Yang."
'Why would I talk to you? You planned out my entire career.' Ruby rolled her eyes, "I don't need to tell you absolutely everything, do I?" Without giving Yang a chance to answer, Ruby stalked around the corner of the counter and made her way to the band. She could feel her sister watching her with a bewildered expression.
"Ruby." Weiss greeted warmly as Ruby flopped down on the couch next to her. Weiss moved over just a hair to wrap one arm around the brunette's shoulders, pulling her close against her. Heat rushed to her face and her heart beat erratically in her chest. "Good morning~" The singer cooed to her quietly, sending Ruby's heart soaring to the heavens.
"The next one is in Vacuo," Ren announced calmly, sparing the two of them no mind, "we'll drop Yang off and then head to prepare for the concert." Weiss nudged Ruby's shoulder and gestured down to the sketchbook, "We'll come across the Jagged Thorns there, Nora says she received an email asking if they could perform with us." As he spoke, Ruby flipped through her book for her most recent work.
Weiss looked up, keeping one arm around the blushing girl. "Would we have time to rehearse with them?" She asked, glancing down when Ruby reached up and poked her. Ruby tapped the drawing with a shy smile and watched as blue eyes lit up in adoration.
"Ooooh, whatcha got there?" Nora asks from over Weiss' shoulder, peering down at the picture, her eyes flickering between Weiss and Ruby with a smirk on her face. "I'm not talking about the drawing."
Weiss tilted her back back to look at the redhead, "Nora, go sit down."
Weiss' arm slid around Ruby's midsection and a burst of butterflies flew through her, part of her wanted to melt into her, but the other side of her screamed that it wasn't right. They weren't dating, they shouldn't be this close. It was unfair for her, knowing she had feelings for the older woman and being unable to express for a multitude of reasons.
The singer was famous, she could have anybody she wanted.
Ruby was only a seventeen year old child who just happened to be her childhood friend, and at this point in time, their past friendship was probably only a distant memory for the two of them.
Weiss' crush on Pyrrha was still evident, and Ruby could see her sneaking glances towards the redhead.
They were just pretending to get back at Blake and Yang, Ruby knew she wasn't in love with her. So why did it hurt so much. . .?
Ruby's chest tightened and she sat up, her heart raced in her chest and she placed her sketchbook on the back of the couch. "I-I have to get some air," she whispered hoarsely, "give me a few." Weiss dropped her arm from around her waist to let her up, whispering a quiet 'you okay?' to her as Ruby stood to her feet.
"I'm fine, it's just stuffy in here." Ruby smiled, stiffening her body as the vehicle made a sharp turn that could've very easily sent her tumbling. Just as she started for the back of the bus, they suddenly came to stop and the engine shut off. "What's going on?" She asked as Nora scrambled to look out the window, all eyes turning to her as perplexity and bewilderment crossed her face.
Nora turned back to them, turquoise eyes flickering around the room to make sure everybody was present. Blake and Yang were in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and watching her, Pyrrha and Weiss remained seated on the couch, Ren and Ruby were the only two standing up. "Nora," Ruby muttered, "where are we? What did you see?"
"I don't know, all I saw were mountains." Nora responded honestly as everybody approached the door to see for themselves. Ruby slid the RV door open and stepped out, the rest of the band following in suit behind her. "We're in the middle of nowhere," Nora said, coming to Ruby's side, "I don't even have data."
"At least it's a scenic view!" Yang grinned, Ruby glanced over her shoulder to see Yang elbowing her girlfriend and 'discreetly' gesturing to Weiss and Ruby.
Anger swelled up inside of the artist and she bit her lip to keep it down, starting for the front of the bus as the driver came around the corner. Ruby paused in her tracks, "What happened?" She asked the short man as he came to stand in front of her, "I don't recall this being on our stop list."
"It isn't." Klein replied calmly as the rest of the crew gathered around, impatiently waiting to find out why they'd stopped, "The engine began sputtering so I had to pull over, but the battery went completely dead when I tried to turn the engine back on."
"Oh," Yang said from beside Ruby, "did anything else happen with it? It sounds like the battery's just trying to go dead."
Klein looked at them, "I noticed during our last few stops that it would take a few tries to get it up and running. The lights would flicker on, but the engine wouldn't start. Which is strange because we just received this vehicle-"
"Do you have jumper cables?" Ruby cut him off as she turned to Blake, having noticed the woman had placed herself in charge of making sure their bus had everything.
"What?" Weiss frowned in confusion as Blake walked away to open one of the bus' side compartments, "What are jumping cables? This isn't exactly the time for a game, Ruby."
Ruby smiled at the singer, "The battery's dead, we need to jump it off and probably replace it once we reach the next city." She informed her, "I'll take care of it. . . We'll be in the next city by nightfall or sunrise, I promise."
"Yep!" Blake called to them as she pulled the wires out, "Looks like we have a battery, too!"
"Really?" Ruby said as she came to the woman's side to glance inside the compartment, "Great! That means she can just replace the battery now! Won't have to worry about making it to the next city, we'd have a fresh battery already!" She grinned, reaching inside to grab the large object.
Weiss was suddenly beside her, momentarily startling the roadie and causing her to release an 'eep' of surprise. "Do any of us even know how to change a car battery? I say we should call someone-"
Yang cut her off and Ruby fought the urge to groan, instead focusing on dragging the battery out and carrying it to the front of the RV. "Don't worry, Ice Queen," Yang grinned as Ruby walked past her, Ruby could feel the smirking glance she shot her and irritation pricked at her, "Ruby and I have been working on vehicles since we were little! We'll take care of this."
'And by we, you mean me.' Ruby thought as she set the battery down, "Can you pop the hood?" She asked the driver. The hood popped open and Ruby hoisted it upwards, grunting as she pushed it to sit all the way open. "I need a step stool!" She called, perking up when she heard Weiss laughed loudly from somewhere near her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The singer giggled as she approached. Ruby's heart went soaring at the sound of her laughter and a tiny smile came to her lips as the white-haired girl lifted herself up to stand on the tire, leaning over and gazing down at the motor. "So, that's what you've been doing this whole time? Changing car batteries?"
Ruby smirked at her as Yang pushed the stool to them, not catching the glare Ruby sent in the blonde's direction. Ruby stepped up and leaned forward. "Nope," she whispered, "I mean, as far as I can remember, I've always been working on something. Tools!" She hollered to everybody else, "I can't change a car battery without tools!"
"Stop yelling!" Blake snapped from beside her, sliding a tray of tools up onto the hood next to Ruby. "Here. The rest of us will head off to explore."
'No, you're just leaving us alone because you know Weiss is staying with me.'
"Hmm. . ." Weiss rested her head in her palms, "How can I help?" She asked and Ruby glanced up, a small smirk crossed her lips and she gestured for the singer to approach. Weiss hopped down off the tire and came to stand next to her. Ruby stepped aside and instructed her to stand up in front of her, she slid her arms around her and grasped her hands. "Wh- h-how is this supposed to help?"
Weiss' face was red, and it was the most adorable thing Ruby had ever seen. Weiss was blushing. "Don't worry," Ruby whispered, placing her chin on Weiss' shoulder in the crook of her neck, "my father used to help me learn how to do this when I was little." She reached down and pulled Weiss' midsection closer to her, "Lean close to me, I don't want you getting shocked."
Technically, she'd still get shocked either way since she was in front of her, but she wouldn't let her get hurt.
"O-okay." Weiss whispered, having completely surrendered to Ruby and allowing her to take control. Ruby felt a pang of guilt strike her and she closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly before gently beginning to show Weiss through the process.
Her hands were soft, unblemished and new to the world of machinery. Her body fit right in against Ruby's just perfectly, like a puzzle piece with no other edges to it. Weiss was so close, comfortably pressed up against her as if it were always meant to be this way, Ruby felt like she was soaring to heaven.
She didn't want to come back down. . .
"Should we pull the battery out now?" Weiss' voice caught her attention and Ruby snapped herself back to reality, glancing down to see that they'd already unhooked the battery. Ruby just gave her a soft smile and removed her arms from the singer's waist, taking the battery from the vehicle and starting for the back of the RV.
"Can you hold it?" Ruby asked, handing the object over the Weiss and carefully slipping it into the singer's hands. Weiss released an 'oomph' of surprise at the weight, but otherwise held it firm and steady as Ruby flipped the compartment open again. "Push it inside." The singer obeyed and pushed the battery into the compartment, quickly retracting her hands as Ruby let the door flip closed.
With a 'click' of the key, Ruby turned back to the woman. "I'll put the battery in real quick, you check on the others." She gestured beyond the cliff's railing, "They went down there, let me know if you see dead bodies."
"What?! Dead bodies?! Have people really died here?! " Weiss shrieked, rushing to the railing and catching herself, leaning over to search for their friends."Fuck, we have to get them back up here before-"
Ruby laughed and followed her friend, sliding her arms around Weiss' midsection and hauling her away from the railing. Weiss kicked at her, flailing around as an attempt to escape and find the others. "Weiss, Weiss, Weiss," Weiss glanced back at her, eyes wide with fear and horror, "relax, I'm sorry. They didn't head down there, they went the other way. They're safe."
The singer stared at her for a long moment before narrowing her brows in realization, "You little shit!" She snapped and Ruby giggled, pulling her arms away from the white-haired woman's waist. "What are you doing?" Weiss grabbed her hands real quick and Ruby frowned in confusion as she pulled them back around her. "I liked it. . ." She whispered timidly.
'No, no you don't.' Weiss was just toying with her, pretending to be interested in her just for a little prank. She had to remember this wasn't real. . . Weiss wasn't helping at all.
"Your eyes, they seem. . . Very familiar."
"Well, I'm not as cold as you think I am."
"Sweetheart! I'm hurt!"
"Thank you, thank you so much. . ."
"Ruby? I wouldn't mind some company."
"I see. . . Why don't we play the part?"
Ruby bit her lip and buried her face into the singer's hair to hide herself, biting back a choked whine before she responded, "Please stop doing this to me."
"What?" Weiss asked in confusion as she stepped out of her arms to look at the roadie. "What am I doing?"
"You know what you're doing!" Ruby almost hollered, she clenched her fists as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "We're just trying to make Yang and Blake believe something that isn't true! It's supposed to be a prank! But I can't do this. . . It's cruel."
She'd had the biggest fan crush on the older girl since their demos were released, having fallen in love with her voice and the pure joy in her eyes when performing or singing. It was a simple fan crush, nothing more. . . Then she actually met Weiss and learned who she truly was.
Her crush had become something even more deep. . .
"Ruby," Weiss whispered worriedly, "tell me, please. What am I doing?"
"Making me fall in love with you."
[Weiss]
Ten minutes later, Weiss found herself sitting outside the RV, waiting for her friends' return and keeping watch over the tour bus. Klein was a few feet away on the phone, making sure that they would be a little late coming into town due to mechanical problems.
The sleeper bus had already reached their destination, but were unable to do anything considering the band was still behind. According to the driver of the other bus security was already preparing for the concert in the next few days.
Their allies Jagged Thorns, the Blaze crew, and Six Black Collections had arrived as well, leaving Ice Flower just a day behind. Which was fine, they had a few days to rehearse and set up for everything.
"Weiss?"
The singer tilted her head up to see Klein approaching and she readjusted herself for him to take a seat beside her, "You've been down since the others left to explore, what's the matter?" He asked, placing a hand on Weiss' shoulder comfortingly.
Weiss glanced to the RV, her heart tightened in her chest and she bowed her head in regret.
"Making me fall in love with you."
Had she really toyed with the roadie's heart, is that what she'd been doing this whole time? How long had she been hurting her? Thinking back, she would've noticed the girl's feelings had she just paid attention. There was always a hidden, yet affectionate emotion in those silver eyes whenever Ruby was around her. She was aware of the lingering stares Ruby had given her while drawing, or whenever Weiss was rehearsing.
"Ruby said I was making her fall in love with me." Weiss explained shortly, "She seemed so hurt and broken about it, and it was only to get back at Yang and Blake. Judging by how she acted, she had those feelings before we agreed on that."
Klein laughed and patted the singer's shoulder, "Child, she's always harbored feelings of some sort for you." Weiss gave him a confused look at the man chuckled, "When you two were kids, she would always put this little tiara in your hair and say you were as pretty as a princess, and when her mother asked how she liked you, I remember that girl's response loud and clear. 'She's really pretty.'"
"Looks like I need to talk to her, then." Weiss whispered, guilt twisting and tearing at her gut. "It was supposed to be a joke, I didn't think she'd actually have feelings for me, but now that I've stopped and looked back. . ."
"You can see it?" Klein asked.
Weiss nodded, "It shows in her drawings; the way she pays extra close attention to perfecting every little thing. Her eyes light up whenever she speaks to me as well, and she seemed so comfortable with me. Finding out I was her best friend when she was little didn't jar her at all, she kind of just accepted it." She stared at the ground, "She said she'll help out in whatever way she can to protect my career, she even got the staff to work like they should."
Klein gave her a warm smile, "I see. . . Well, she did always say she'd take care of you when something happened."
"Huh?" Weiss lifted her head to look at him. "Take care of me?"
"There was a night where your mothers asked me to babysit the two of you, you got sick and Ruby stayed right beside you. I couldn't get her to leave you for nothing, she was so scared something would happen to you if she left."
She remembered that. . . Weiss giggled softly. "Right. She told me if I needed anything to tell her and she'll do it, even if it meant running all the way to Mistral to get something. I always associated that with Winter, I couldn't remember who told me that."
"Well, it was your little friend." The short man smiled as he stood up, gesturing to the approaching group. "The new battery is all hooked up, and once you're all aboard, we can get going!" He said enthusiastically, "Don't wanna be late to your own concert, do we?"
"It's not just our concert." Nora corrected, "It's a. . . Uh, collab concert! Yeah, that!"
Weiss rolled her eyes and stood up, "Come on," she said to the rest of the band as she opened the door, "we need to get there and start setting up and rehearsing as soon as possible." She smiled when Nora released a loud groan of protest, Weiss turned away and entered the RV with the others flooding in behind her.
"You know what we saw?" Yang smirked as she came to Weiss' side, the singer swung the door shut, "A waterfall! You shoulda seen it, it was Weiss cold!"
"Ha ha." The vocalist raised a brow, her attention immediately moving to a sketchbook laying on the counter. "What's this?" She asked, locking the door and quickly making her way over to the table, ignoring yet another awful pun being shot at her from Yang. Weiss paused, staring down at a detailed, shaded picture splashed across the page. Ruby's name was written in the lower left corner.
Her commission. . .
Well, is Ruby actually falling in love with her? Or is it just a crush?
What about Weiss? Does she have any feelings for the roadie?
Now that the confession is out, what'll happen?
Oh! Let's not forget a certain bull on the loose! Looks like everybody's guard is down now. . . I wonder what'll happen?
Also, I need some names to use for the other two bands. I have something in mind for Jagged Thorns already.
No appearances, please. I can guess that for the name! Remember, this is a Modern Day Remnant AU, and we'll still following the RWBY color code!