What We're All Looking For

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Chapter 8

Weiss' room in Patch's nicest - and coincidentally only, since it's competitor was destroyed by Grimm - inn was packed with bodies. She had broken out the 'good' bottle of wine, and poured generous splashes into disposable cups to celebrate the start of a new, and soon-to-be successful, job.

"I can't believe you're all here!" she explained happily, touching her cup to everyone else's in turn. Winter and Whitley were there, naturally. As was Ciel and Neon.

"Like we would turn down the chance to see you in action, dear sister," Whitley chided, his back straight and proud as he could while taking sips of while out of a plastic cup. "When was the last time I actually followed you out into the field for one of your little 'projects'?"

"Never," Neon commented, her smile sly as she sidled up to the man's side. She caught Weiss' knowing glance and stuck out her tongue. "And it's about damn time."

"Yes, yes. Well, I'm here now," Whitley shrugged. "And I finally get to see what all the fuss is about."

"The fuss, as it were," Winter chimed in from her perch on the edge of Weiss' bed. "Is that our sister is going to be in full form over the next month. You'll hardly recognize her and, but the time we're finished here, Patch as well."

Whitley made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat, and took another sip. "Well, if anyone can do it, it would be you, Weiss. You're a Schnee through and through."

"Of course," Weiss sniffed. She took a swig of wine and - ooh, that's nice - reclined in the wooden chair set up against a desk along one of the bare walls. "Just you wait, Whitley. I will prove to you just how amazing I can be."

Whitley rolled his eyes. "You've never needed to prove anything to me, big sister."

Ciel chose that moment to cut in, "I never quite understood how you can juggle all this at once." She gestured by waving vaguely in Weiss' direction. "When you were in the military you were always so focused on the next thing, you kinda got a tunnel vision and tuned everything else out."

Neon said, "It's because she gets so focused on something that she's so on point." At Ciel's confused look, she continued, "Think of it like this; the entire job encompases many different smaller tasks and jobs that take place over a time frame. If you look at it like that - lots of different things to focus on - then yeah, you're going to get bogged down. But Weiss here takes everything as one single task, Patch's restoration, and just focuses on that."

"I… don't get it," Ciel said, shaking her head.

"What she means is that I can focus on the entire project as a whole, and it's smaller moving parts that would otherwise get lost in the mix get included with my planning process," Weiss explained.

At Ciel's continued expression, Whitley summed up: "Basically, she's very well organized."

"Ah. Well, why didn't you just say so," Ciel scoffed, taking a generous gulp of alcohol.

"I also like being busy," Weiss added.

After a moment, Ciel piped up. "Speaking of being busy," she said slowly. "I couldn't help but notice you and the town's resident Huntress getting all up in each other's faces."

Weiss snorted. "That woman is just horrible. And she's made it clear that she hates me."

Neon sniggered from besides Whitley. "Oh, I dunno… I think it's less hatred and more sparks flying."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Please. You're going to make me vomit."

"Tell me more about this woman who hates my sister," Winter said casually. Almost too casually. Weiss narrowed her eyes, but Winter's expression gave nothing away.

"Well, I happened to walk right into one of their verbal spars," Neon explained, her eyes alight with mischief. "And let me tell you, you could have set the forest surrounding town on fire with the amount of sparks that were in that room."

"Ugh, you're exaggerating. And blind," Weiss said, taking another, somewhat smaller, sip of her drink. She glanced sidelong at her friend. "Clearly, you're projecting."

Winter and Whitley shared a look, one that Weiss didn't much care for.

"Ruby Rose quite obviously dislikes me, and is just watching my every move to make sure I don't mess up her precious town."

"She does seem to have strong feelings about you," Neon nodded sagely. "And she has no idea who you are. Not really, anyway. She's got this whole mental image of you being like, a carbon copy of your dad or something." Again, Winter and Whitley exchanged a look. "Did you even tell her that you yourself ousted that asswipe years ago?"

Weiss shrugged. "Why would I wish to disprove her working theory that I'm a heinous, money-hungry bastard that thrives on slave labor?"

Whitley leaned forward slightly. "Does she know that you were here, on the ground, during the Grimm invasion?"

Ciel clutched her - thankfully empty - cup in shock. "You were what?!"

Weiss waved what was left of her drink in front of her. "Oh, please, like I can't handle some Grimm."

"How was it?" Winter asked seriously.

Weiss paused, and decided it wasn't worth sugar-coating. "It was bad," she said honestly. "One of the largest invasions I remember hitting such a low-populated area. Still have no idea why, but maybe that's something you can look into." Winter nodded, and they left it at that. "Anyway, I don't mind Ruby keeping her poor impression of me."

"Makes it easier for her to underestimate you, eh?" Neon wiggled her eyebrows, grinning lavisciously.

Weiss returned her grin. "Mark my words; the only thing that will give me greater pleasure than fixing this town is rubbing Ruby Rose's fat nose in it when I'm done. I'm going to show that bitch what I can really do."

"You forgot sexy bitch," Neon added helpfully.

Weiss sighed, palming her face. "Fine. I will admit that she is attractive. It's just too bad that she's a fucking cunt."

Neon fell back on the bed and cackled. Winter and Ciel both rubbed at their faces in exasperation.

Whitley simply said, "Where did we go wrong with her, Winter? Where did we go so very, very wrong?"

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Weiss had just finished her walk-through with Mary and Jeff on the plans for their new home. All in all her ideas had gone over exceedingly well. They had loved her little touches to the designs, and even had input of their own. Their daughter, whom Weiss recalled as Jess, even asked with all the cuteness a little girl could muster, if she could get a playground in the backyard, which Weiss had absolutely agreed to.

Who could say no to that face?

She walked with the family to the main road through town, and Weiss' smile fell away from her face as her gaze slid over to find Ruby waiting for her just outside the inn.

"Sorry, I'm a little early," the huntress said. She was wearing dark cropped pants and a black sweater. And she had two steaming, sturdy-looking cups in her hands.

Weiss glanced at her watch out of habit, and shook her head. "It's fine, I was just finishing up plans for Mary and Jeff's home."

"Thanks again, Weiss!" Jeff grinned, slapping her on the back with his meaty hand. Weiss didn't even flinch.

She nodded to the departing trio. "Of course. I'll touch base once I clear the ideas with the building teams. Stay safe!"

"Bye Weiss!" Jess called, waving enthusiastically.

"Be good to her, Ruby," Mary said as they passed the woman. "She's going to fix us all up good as new."

Ruby very obviously forced a smile. "Wonderful."

And just like that, all the happy thoughts from the morning flew away, leaving despair and negativity in their wake.

"You're really giving these people a lot of hope," Ruby said cagedly.

Weiss stared back. "I never promise what I can't deliver."

Ruby shrugged. "I guess we'll see," she said. "Look, about the briefing yesterday. You're… running a tighter ship than I expected."

Weiss struck a pose and fluttered her eyelashes. "What's that you say? I'm more than just a pretty face?"

"Yep," Ruby said with absolutely no shame. "A pretty face that makes a living taking advantage of other people."

Weiss frowned. "I'm more than just a face and a name, Ruby. And I get shit done when I say I will."

Ruby eyed her for a moment, then held out one of her cups. "I brought coffee."

Weiss' eyes widened and she made desperate grabbing motions with her hands. "I accept your gift even though you are a horrible person because I need coffee to survive."

"Good," Ruby said, handing off the drink. "Because apparently I need you to deliver on your promises. I can't have you dying until then."

"Nice to know you have my best interests at heart," Weiss quipped, and by some unspoken agreement she stepped into a space standing besides Ruby so they could watch the comings and goings of the main road through town. "So. Your concerns. Long term sustainability, you mentioned?"

"Yes. Namely, how the city of Patch will be able to accommodate the new additions you are proposing with as little change in infrastructure as possible or affecting our trade with neighboring regions."

Weiss eyed her as she sipped her drink. Damn, that was some good coffee. "You realize it will be impossible to completely avoid changes to Patch's infrastructure with the changes I have in mind? Or that trade to and from the town will not change as a result of the Grimm invasion, with or without any additions after we restore the town to the way it once was?"

Ruby sighed. "I know it's unreasonable to expect any different, but…" she took a moment to drink her own coffee. "It's just… we have a certain way of life here. And people expect that way of life to not change much. Or if it must, to not to do so too quickly or too drastically. It's… things just move slowly here."

"I understand," Weiss said, commiserating. "But you have to understand that change is inevitable, and expected at some point."

Ruby grunted, but didn't reply.

When it was clear Ruby wasn't going to add anything, Weiss dug in her bag for the documents she had prepared, and handed them off to Ruby. "Here, take a look through these and let me know what you think. It's a draft of the overall plan and might take you a while to process everything, but I hope it helps alleviate your concerns."

Ruby took the pages and slid them into her own bag. "And if I do have more issues - with your plan? What will you do?"

"Listen politely to your thoughts and then take great pleasure in explaining to you while everything I do will work in ways even a four year old can understand."

Ruby barked a laugh. "You're such a fucking bitch."

"Oh, are we resorting to dirty talk already? Well, I can roll with that." Taking a sip of her coffee, Weiss leaned in close and said, "choke me, daddy."

Ruby blanched, hopping back a step. "Gah! Don't make me take away your coffee!"

Weiss clutched the drink to her chest. "My coffee." She glared at Ruby for a moment, and when it was clear her caffeine was safe, she relaxed. "Anyway, you are free to peruse the draft I gave you and find me or Neon if you have any questions. But trust me, even if you are worried about Patch's ability to sustain the changes, you are going to have a large influx of people coming and going here after we're done. Some of them will even stay here."

Ruby blinked, Weiss' words rolling around in her head. "Wait, you're saying that people will actually want to move here? Even after the Grimm tore through and left a bunch of destruction in their wake?"

"Of course," Weiss shrugged. "Think about it; a town destroyed but almost no deaths. Same town rebuilt in a matter of weeks, even better than before. Safer, with even more amenities. People will come in droves to just see the town and get a glimpse for themselves. There will even be those willing to settle in the same town. I've seen it happen before, many times."

Ruby chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm… not sure how I feel about that."

Weiss nodded. "I thought as much. Luckily, I foresaw this and have a plan to counteract it if you and the rest of the town council believe it is not in Patch's best interest. It's all laid out in the plans I gave you."

"Right… okay, thanks." Ruby hesitated. "You know, I hate to admit it, but-"

"Yes, yes. I am amazing. I am aware of this." Weiss checked her watch and sighed. "Look, I hate to cut this short but I have places to be and teams to meet with. You have my plans. Go over them with whomever you wish, and if you have any thoughts that won't irritate me, feel free to contact me. Or Neon. Because you know, she's also available."

The corner of Ruby's lips quirked up. "Because if I bother her, there's less of a change to piss each other off?"

"Your words, not mine," Weiss remarked playfully.

"You know, I think we did okay today."

"Mmm…" Weiss hummed as she took another drink. "Just warning you, Ruby, the further along in the process we get, the more sleep deprived I become. And when that happens, I am far more likely to be less accommodating and much more horrible."

"I'll be sure to bring you extra coffee," Ruby found herself saying.

Weiss blinked, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, did Ruby 'I hate you and everything you stand for' Rose just make a joke?"

"A coffee joke," Ruby added, chuckling. Then she sobered. "Also… maybe you're not as evil and manipulative as I originally thought. I mean, I still think you have an ulterior motive behind all this. There's no way you can be doing all this, losing all this money and not have a reason behind it… but maybe I also don't have to give you such a hard time. You are helping my town, after all."

Weiss eyed her speculatively. "I see you've been giving it a lot of thought."

Ruby shrugged and hefted her bag. "Anyway, I'll let you go. I'm sure you have loads of people to harass."

Weiss nodded. "Thank you for the coffee."

"Thank you for your time." And when Weiss turned to walk away, she added, "You know I hope you actually do fix my town, right? Like, I'm not hoping you fail just to look bad."

Weiss turned her head and looked back at Ruby. "I am aware. You are just cautious. And trying to protect your town, and your daughter from… something. The Grimm, surely… but something else, too."

Ruby nodded. "Yes. And I will do whatever it takes to protect them."

Weiss met her gaze evenly. "And so will I, Ruby Rose."

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