Summary: "Ah—!" Her soulmate pointed at Weiss in surprise. "My mommy said you're my soulmate! You left me the other day without telling me your name! That's rude!"
*Soulmate AU with a large helping of Schneeblings and a small side of snowpine.
"Who are you?"
Weiss shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted into the distance. A little girl, not much taller than herself, had been standing idly by the shore. Seafoam gathered by the girl's feet as the waves would crash and recede from her ankles. The gentle breeze tousled her clothes like a drapery, giving Weiss the picturesque flair she had seen only in movies.
She felt at peace with the world from just marveling at her, but then again, dreams were meant to be peaceful.
"Who are you…?" Weiss asked again, but a wave struck the shore and her question went unheard. She teetered across the sand in a hurry. "Hey," she called out louder to the mysterious girl, "who are you?"
"Huh?" The girl spun on her toes. Despite the unclear tone on this girl's face, Weiss felt a sudden gravitational tug. She didn't know who this girl was, but at the same time, she did — or at least, she felt like she did. "Oh, hi there! Do you like the beach too?"
"What?"
The girl's enthusiasm caught Weiss off guard, and Weiss looked over the ocean. She did like going to the beach, but she could only recall visiting once. Her father loathed the beach because the sun always deep fried his skin until it turned into the color of burnt batter.
"The beach," the girl repeated. Judging by the tilt of her head, Weiss imagined a puzzled look on her face that was blurred beyond recognition. "You don't know what the beach is?"
"I know what the beach is!" Weiss stomped, the itty-bitty grains of sand wedging in between her toes. "It's the place where you build sand castles and — and swim!"
"Yeah, that's one! It's my favorite place in the whole wide world. Like, you could do so many super fun things. Like, swimming. Or like, trying to catch little fishies. Oh! And uh, one time, I built a sand castle up to thiiiiis high —" the girl raised a hand above her head in exaggeration "—it was super duper tall. It was so amaaazing! What do you like to do?"
Weiss almost missed the question tagged at the end of the girl's rambles. "I like to collect shells with my big sister and little brother," she answered with a shy shrug.
"Wow!" The girl gasped in awe. "That's so cool! Do you have a huge collection at home?"
"No, my daddy doesn't like them."
"Why not?"
"He says it's a waste of space."
"Oh."
The boundless energy emanating from this girl vanished. Somewhere in Weiss' heart, she wanted to know why this girl was feeling sorry for her. Her father had taught her not to hoard garbage in the house. If it didn't have any use, then it belonged in the trash, so that made sense, right? But, why did the girl seem so sad for her? Weiss wanted to ask her, but there were more important questions that needed to be answered.
"Why are you in my dream?"
"Huh?" The girl was very transparent with her emotions — she gave Weiss another head tilt. "But you're in my dream?"
"No, you're in my dream."
"No, this is my dream."
"What?" Weiss started scratching her head now. She swore this dream was her own. The last thing she remembered was Winter tucking her into bed. "But… This is my dream."
"No," the girl shook her head firmly again, "this is mine."
Regardless of what the girl had claimed, Weiss strongly believed this dream belonged to her. Their disagreement kept circling back with no light at the end of the tunnel, so Weiss posed a different question.
"Who are you?"
The girl pointed at herself. "Me?"
"Well, duh!" Weiss rolled her eyes. If that didn't get the message across, then the hands on her hips did. "Who else would I be asking? The ocean? The sand? The sky?"
"Oh," the girl giggled at rhetorical questions being launched at her. Clearing her throat, she strutted her chest as if she had a grand introduction already prepared. Weiss didn't understand why, but she was dying to know her name. If this girl's name was like water, then Weiss was desperate for it. "I'm —"
Weiss jerked awake without a warning. The air she had been frantically gasping for started to burn inside her chest. She clawed and kicked the blankets out of her way. The light filtering through the curtains told Weiss it was already morning, but she laid in bed until her breathing came to a steady.
She had dreamt.
Of a girl.
Although the images of her dream bled into her mind, she couldn't recognize her. Then again, a pixelated blur came to mind every time she thought back to the girl's face. She didn't get a name, and just thinking about it made her chest twist like vines with thorns. Why though? The moment Weiss sat upright in her bed, a couple of stray tears found their way down her cheeks.
Weiss brushed them away with her sleeve, but more just came down. Lips wobbling, she drew one long sniffle and cried out for her sister. Winter rushed inside with Whitley attached to her hip. Whitley always had a strong penchant for latching onto Winter.
"What's wrong, Weiss?" Winter cooed. "Why are you crying?"
"I don't know." Weiss covered her eyes and sobbed louder. The motherly fingers combing through her hair provided comfort, but they didn't stop the tears. She clung onto Winter as soon as her older sister sat down on her bed. "I don't know why I'm crying."
"You're such a big, fat baby," Whitley teased. Winter bopped him with a hand, and he rubbed his forehead with an offended look. "Ow! What was that for?"
"We don't say mean things to each other," Winter scolded him. "Tell Weiss you're sorry."
Whitley held onto his pride, but the reprimanding frown on his older sister's face crushed his stubbornness. "I'm sorry," his straightened shoulders deflated almost immediately. His eyes moved despondently to the floor, but a hand softly ruffling through his hair lifted his spirits right away.
"That's okay," Winter answered for Weiss. She pushed the hair strands that were damped with tears away from Weiss' forehead and did what their parents would never do. She rocked her little sister in her arms. She would softly hush her from time to time until those sobs slowly became stifled whimpers. "Did you have a bad dream, Weiss?"
"It wasn't a bad dream…" Weiss mumbled. "There was a girl — she was in my dreams. We were talking and… and then I woke up feeling really sad."
"You have a soulmate," Whitley drawled like a know-it-all. He belly flopped onto Weiss' bed and sprawled out like a starfish.
Weiss pulled away from the comfort of Winter's arms and gave him a funny look. "Soulmate?"
Winter brushed the last remaining tears from Weiss' eyes and smiled at her.
"It means you're not alone," the eldest explained. "A soulmate is someone you are fated to be with one day… like a compatible partner who completes you. When you sleep, you are connected through each other's dreams. When you wake, you will remember. You will continue to share dreams with them until you two finally meet."
"How come I can't see her face?" Weiss questioned.
"That's just the way it is," she simply answered.
"Does that mean Whitley has a soulmate too? But he's so… um..." Weiss didn't know how to describe him. A whiny brat? An annoying little monster?
"She's making fun of me!" Whitley butted in. Weiss tensed after she recalled Winter's scolding from earlier and wilted. She muttered a halfhearted apology for being mean.
"Yes, Whitley has a soulmate too."
The fact that their little brother has a soulmate boggled Weiss' mind. How come he had one before she did? How long had he been sharing dreams with his soulmate? What was his soulmate like? There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she would have to interrogate him later.
"I hate my soulmate," Whitley grumbled childishly. "He makes me pick parsnips on his stupid farm. Every time I tell him how dumb it is, he tells me that it's not. Because of him, I hate sleeping."
Winter chuckled and combed through his hair with her fingers too.
"The longer you get to know your soulmate, the more you'll like them," she assured the both of them. "You'll appreciate, maybe even love, their eccentricities. They're your soulmates for a reason."
"His eccentricities are inconvenient," Whitley retorted, "talking to him feels like I'm speaking to a crowd with dementia."
Weiss didn't understand what he was talking about, but it did get her to ponder about her own soulmate's eccentricities. What was she like? Would her soulmate like her back?
"Time will help change your mind," Winter said with a smile. Whitley grumbled underneath his breath and decided there was no point in trying to argue against her. He would lose. "Let's keep this soulmate business to ourselves, okay? Father will flip out if he catches wind of our conversation."
"Okay, Winter."
"Okay, Winter."
The next time Weiss dreamt, she was in a flower field. Irises, poppies, roses, sunflowers… the expanse of wildflower went on for miles like an infinite landscape. A scenery like this only came by in dreams, but Weiss trampled through the flowers as if they were overgrown weeds.
She couldn't shake the feeling that her soulmate was already here waiting. She had been wanting to see her soulmate again, and just thinking that it wouldn't be long made her antsy. She wanted to meet the person who would complete her, as Winter had put it.
Her intuition told her to follow her heart, and Weiss blindly did. She found her soulmate crouching over and picking flowers by their stem.
"It's you again," Weiss whispered, her lungs out of breath from running.
Her soulmate turned, and the half-made flower crown that she had been carefully weaving together fell out of her hands.
"Ah—!" Her soulmate pointed at Weiss in surprise. "My mommy said you're my soulmate! You left me the other day without telling me your name! That's rude!"
"But you never told me your name..." Weiss added a belated head tilt because she knew her soulmate couldn't see the bewildered look on her face. She remembered what Winter had said.
Her soulmate placed her hands on her hips. "Yes, I did."
Weiss copied her too. "No, you didn't."
"Yah-huh."
"Nuh-uh."
"Yah-huh."
"Nuh-uh."
"Yah-huh."
"Nuh-uh."
"Really?" Her soulmate was the first to break their childish argument.
"Yes," Weiss replied.
"Huh…" The girl craned her neck as if she needed to think, then conceded. "I thought I did… but that's okay. Let's just reintroduce ourselves!"
Her soulmate's cheerful nature brought a smile to Weiss' face. If this was supposed to be her fated person, then Weiss wouldn't mind at all. She found her soulmate's bubbly character more refreshing than a fresh squeezed lemonade on a hot summer day, and she wondered if her soulmate was sweeter than the drink.
Weiss offered a hand to shake. "I'm —"
Weiss woke up abruptly. The flowers and her companion she had vividly dreamt of were now replaced by the grueling reality of her dark room. The crickets playing outside her window told her the sun was still hours away from rising, so Weiss closed her eyes with a drawn out sigh.
Sleep did not come easily that night, and neither did her dreams.
The functionality of soulmates was complicated. 'That's just the way it is' was starting to become a common explanation for every phenomenon that occurred. She couldn't see her soulmate's face because 'that's just the way it is'. She wasn't allowed to know her soulmate's name because… 'that's just the way it is'. She wasn't allowed to know the location of her soulmate because — well, you already know. Anything that gave too much away would wake her up abruptly, and Weiss learned to accept it.
The more dreams she shared with her soulmate, the more she realized how precious the days were. It was better to cherish her nights with her soulmate than to spend it alone in a dreamless sleep.
When Weiss dreamt, she found herself swimming in the color of grief. She didn't know how to exactly describe it. Cold, dark, suffocating, sad… that was just lamely putting it in simplest terms. It was, without a doubt, different than any other dreams she had.
Something pressing tugged her heartstrings, and Weiss chased the urgency with haste through the endless chasm. Her heart navigated her through the labyrinth of darkness until she stood in front of a tall, single door shrouded with cobwebs of shadows. The soft, incoherent cries coming beyond it urged Weiss to turn the knob, but she discovered the door was locked. Worried, she knocked on the door.
"Hello?"
"Go away." The sobs from the other side choked out. "Just leave me alone."
Weiss sat against the door and drew knees to her chest. She listened to the congested sniffles and hiccups during the stretch of silence. Her soulmate had said she wanted to be left alone, but Weiss couldn't bring herself to respect those wishes. Her heart was squeezing at the sound of her soulmate's pain.
"Are you okay?" Weiss asked tentatively.
"No," was the trembling response Weiss received. She wasn't sure what more she could say. Comforting people wasn't something she was used to; it was always the other way around. She had trouble finding the right words until her soulmate continued to talk. "Life isn't fair. They took her away."
"Who took who away?"
"They took away my mommy. She said she wouldn't leave me. She promised she would stay with me forever. But — but she's gone! Daddy said the doctors couldn't do anything anymore. They said it was her time to go."
"Oh." Weiss understood what she had meant. Her soulmate's mother was... "I'm sorry to hear that. It hurts doesn't it?"
"So much," came another trembling sob that broke Weiss' heart. Shaky, thin, fragile… the whimpers swelled back into wrenching sobs, and she wondered how she could comfort her soulmate. What would her parents — no, that was the wrong question to ask herself. What would Winter do in this situation?
Winter would always sit down with Whitley and stay by his side. She would always hold Weiss until she stopped crying, but Weiss couldn't hug her soulmate at a time like this. Especially when there was a door shutting her out.
"Your mommy is still with you," Weiss said quietly.
Her soulmate sniffled. "She is...?"
"She is," she promised her.
"You're not lying?"
"Have I ever lied to you?" Weiss asked back.
Her soulmate thought about it, but it didn't take her long to come to a decisive answer. "No."
"What's the favorite thing you love about her?"
"When she used to bake cookies for me, she would put a bunch of chocolate chips even though daddy said not to. She would build blanket and pillow forts with me and my big sister. She read to me even though she was sick and felt tired. She gave me goodnight kisses before we left the hospital. She…"
The list went on endlessly, and Weiss happily stayed and listened to her soulmate. The door that obstinately barred her out no longer felt like a wall. The stifled cries had finally stopped as her soulmate continued to reminisce about her mother.
Weiss had everything memorized — the little things, in particular — that she never knew about her soulmate. Things like the cliff side, the secret spot that her soulmate's mother hadn't shown to anyone else but her soulmate. The dog they adopted behind her father's back. The one time her soulmate went through her mother's wardrobe to play grown ups with her big sister.
Weiss wasn't jealous that she never had what her soulmate had. In fact, to be able to hear her soulmate's cherished memories was a blessing itself. It made her feel special deep down, as if her soulmate entrusted these precious memories to her.
"The emotions you feel right now means your mommy is still here," Weiss said after her soulmate reached the bottom of her never ending list. "You might not be able to see or feel her, but you're not alone."
"I'm… I-I'm not?"
"Her spirit lives on with you forever through your memories, inside your heart, and even in your dreams. She is everywhere watching over you, as long as you believe it."
"And… And if that's never enough, I'm always here too," Weiss added. "I can't give you hugs like how your mommy did, but I promise I'll give it my best."
Weiss fidgeted when their conversation tapered off into silence. She wasn't expecting the door to swing open, so it surprised her when she found that it did. A pair of arms flung around her neck, and Weiss gave her soulmate the biggest embrace her little arms could muster. No doubt about it, it was better than any other hugs she had given to Winter.
"Thank you," her soulmate murmured.
"Weiss, don't do that."
"Whitley, stop trying to put that inside your sister's ear."
"Weiss, stop instigating your little brother."
"You guys—" Winter sighed as she was entering the third hour of babysitting her younger siblings "—can you behave for at least an hour without experimenting how far these legos can travel?"
"Whitley started it!" Weiss stuck her tongue at him. She threw the small, plastic, toy brick at Whitley in hopes that he would choke on it like the box had warned.
Unfortunately, he dodged it by a hair. "And I will finish what I have started!"
Winter yanked him away before he could lunge at Weiss and impale her with a lego. "That's enough you two," she snapped. "I knew I shouldn't have asked Klein to buy this behind father's back."
The two youngest looked at Winter with the biggest eyes and they whined at the same time. "But Winter —"
"Don't but me. What if one of you got it stuck somewhere and it needs to be surgically removed? Father would be furious! If you two aren't going to play responsibly, then I'll have Klein return it back."
"That's not fair." Weiss folded her arms with a pout. "We never get to play what the other kids played."
"That's because it's beneath you," Whitley mocked, trying to mimic their father's plummy voice. Weiss giggled because it wasn't deep as it was supposed to be.
"You're doing it all wrong. Father doesn't sound like that. He sounds like this." With a straight-face, Weiss deepened her high-pitch voice. "Look at me, I'm Father. I know facts! I'm rich!"
"I like to throw laundered money at people to be my friends!" Whitley joined in on it too.
Winter laughed at their theatrics. "Okay you two, let's settle down now."
"I'm a councilman!" Weiss exclaimed. "Everyone must kneel before me!"
"I raised my family to become the perfect Schnees!" Whitley added too. "We do not invest our time into meaningless shenanigans!"
"We invest in where we profit," Weiss bounced off with glee, "like evading taxes and… and other adult stuff!"
"Is this what you've been teaching your siblings, Winter?"
They froze at the real voice of their father as he stood by the doorway. Weiss and Whitley flinched underneath their father's intimidating presence, while Winter returned his scrutiny with uneasiness.
"N-No, Father." Winter panicked. "This isn't what… I wasn't —"
"How disappointing," their father clicked his tongue. His eyes swept across the floor. A bunch of toys he never recalled purchasing laid there like landmines waiting to be stepped on. "I expected so much more from you, Winter. You are supposed to be a role model to your siblings, and yet, you let them behave childishly."
"But they're just kids!" Winter said defensively. "They're supposed to act like children."
"They're different," he argued. "We're different. We are better and more mature. We do not flock with the rest of the world. We do not group ourselves with them — we lead them and it stays that way."
"It's not Winter's fault," Weiss blurted, jumping into her defense.
"Silence." Their father shot Weiss a forbidding glare, and Weiss snapped her mouth shut. "I'm speaking to your older sister. You do not talk until I'm finished speaking with her. Do you understand, Weiss? I said, do you understand?"
Shakily, Weiss croaked. "Y-Yes, Father."
"And these toys?" He looked at them with disgust. "Explain yourself, Winter."
"I-I bought them with my own money," Winter lied. She knew better than to drag Klein into their dysfunctional family matter. The kind, older gentleman did not deserve Father's wrath, and neither did her siblings.
"What a waste of precious resources," he said disdainfully. "You are better off spending where it does count, and yet you wasted on these…" He wasn't sure what to call them so he settled with, "garbage. What do you have to say?"
"I'm sorry…"
"Are you, Winter? You have been disappointing me over the past few months. Is this how I raised you to be?"
"No, Father. You didn't."
"Of course I didn't, child. I raised you to be better, so I expect better."
"I'll try to be better."
"You will be better," he corrected. "As for Weiss and Whitley, I want this cleaned up and disposed of. I do not want this inside my house any minute longer, or else there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Father." Whitley replied robotically, while Weiss nodded.
"Look me in the eyes and answer, Weiss."
Weiss did as she was told. "Yes, Father."
"Good. Meet me in my office in ten minutes, Winter. There is much to discuss."
Once he walked off, Winter knelt besides her siblings. Weiss was on the verge of tears, while Whitley had trouble holding it all in. She gave them a proud smile for putting a brave front against their father. Dealing with his wrath was never easy.
"I-I'm sorry, Winter." Weiss hiccuped as she started to rub the tears out of her eyes. Once she started crying, Whitley did too.
"We didn't mean to get you in trouble," he cried.
"Don't worry about it." Winter pulled her siblings into her arms and squeezed them with a tight embrace. "In times like this, we only have each other. Mother won't protect us, and Klein can only do so much to help. One day, far in the future, I might not be here to shield you two. When that happens, you will have to rely on each other. I want you two to remember that."
"Alrighty then!" Her soulmate put her hands together and rubbed them with excitement. Weiss had memorized enough of her soulmate's body language to pair an appropriate expression. Right now, her soulmate was moving vibrantly, which Weiss interpreted as a large grin. "Are you ready?"
"I'm ready," Weiss paid close attention to her soulmate with amusement.
"Okay, what movie am I from?"
The landscape slowly changed, and they were on a snow capped mountain. Weiss sat down on top of the snow with one knee pulled to her chest. The sudden distortion didn't sound any bells in their heads. As they grew older, manipulating their dreams was something they learned and mastered easily.
Her soulmate was wandering along the mountain top with irresolution. Acting out a particular scene, she pretended to toss a glove into the air, experimented with the snow, then let go of her imaginary cape.
Weiss pulled a big smile as she watched her soulmate work their dream like magic. Everything fell into place perfectly. A staircase made of ice, a crystalized palace erected from nothing, glistening chandeliers… her soulmate hadn't missed a single detail from the movie.
"Be very honest with me," Weiss slowly applauded after her soulmate finished her charade with a theatrical bow. "How many times have you watched that movie?"
Her soulmate laughed, and Weiss immediately wondered what kind of pretty face her soulmate was making. Did her lips part when she smiled? Or, were her cheeks stretching to their fullest and showed a line of pearls, like the ones Weiss had been fantasizing of everyday? She wanted to know.
"Take a wild guess." Her soulmate plopped down onto the snow next to Weiss and nudged her shoulder.
"Six?" Weiss took a stab at it, but her soulmate seemed to be shaking her head. "Nine," she guessed again with a higher number.
"Thirteen times, and still counting."
"That is…" Weiss paused at the response and frowned. Thirteen times was awfully a lot. Was her soulmate that bored at home that she was willing to subject herself to an hour and forty nine minute animated movie? She would've descended into madness if she had to watch that particular movie that many times. "...Quite a number."
"You're judging me, aren't you?"
"No, of course not!" Weiss sputtered out. She could feel a deadpan coming from her soulmate, so she confessed out of guilt. "Okay… Maybe a smidge."
"I knew it!"
Her soulmate let out another laugh that left Weiss lost inside her pleasant fantasies again. It was so ironic that she could dream with her soulmate, but she couldn't dream about her smiles. She could only mesh together a few smiles from strangers, friends, and family, and hoped it blended into something remotely similar to her soulmate's.
Weiss had wandered so deep into her own dream-like thoughts that she didn't realize the terrain had changed. No more mountains of ice blocks or a frozen palace. Underneath the winter snow blossomed spring.
"I wish I could see you soon," her soulmate said, as she picked up Weiss' hand. Their fingers loosely interlace, and the million nerves on Weiss' skin ignited into flames. "I want to take you to the movies, to nice dinners — like on a real date — and… and maybe study together even though we probably go to different schools. I want to be with you, not just in our dreams."
Her soulmate pressed her lips against Weiss' wrist, sending Weiss those warm and fuzzy, gushy feelings she had heard so much about.
"I feel the same way," Weiss said, knowing her soulmate couldn't see the smile on her face. She guided her soulmate's fingers to her lips, hoping she could feel the smile instead. "I miss you when we're not dreaming. My days feel emptier without you here, but the prospect of meeting you in the future keeps me moving. I wish I could see your smile. I spend most of my waking hours thinking about it a lot."
"I think about you a lot." The silly, giddy smile bleeding through her soulmate's confession left Weiss' head floating in the clouds. She knew what it meant to be on cloud nine, but she could never get used to the euphoric feelings. Slow and gentle, her soulmate traced across Weiss' lips and rested her hand against Weiss' cheek. Drawn in like a magnet, Weiss leaned into her soulmate's touch. "I can't wait until I get to be with you."
"Me too," Weiss barely managed to get out her own reply. Her soulmate always had that effect on her. Weak knees. Loss of words. Dizzy… Weiss had all the symptoms.
"Can I...?"
Weiss didn't understand the question being asked, but she quietly nodded anyway. Her soulmate leaned forward, giving Weiss ample of time to pull away if she wanted to, and brushed their lips together. Mind stunned, Weiss shot past cloud nine to cloud ten.
Their kiss lingered long enough for Weiss to remember the shape of her soulmate's supple lips and the air of her warm breath. She burned the electrifying sensation into her memories, so she could replay this intimate moment during her waking hours.
"W-Was that okay?" Her soulmate broke the mutual silence once their lips parted.
"Yes," the answer slipped from Weiss' tongue too easily. She never knew how dried her throat was until she finally swallowed. Heart heavy and ready to burst out of her chest, Weiss wrapped both arms around her soulmate's neck and pulled her closer. For a dream, it felt too real, and she wanted more. "Let's do that again."
"I believe I can narrow down my soulmate's location."
The fork slipped out of Weiss' hand and dropped on the floor. The sound of the fork clattering against the ground echoed throughout the barren dining room. Her father had excused himself early for his office. Her mother had returned to her own chambers with a bottle of champagne. Her older sister hadn't been home in… awhile.
Weiss, who was sitting adjacent to Whitley, gave him a puzzled look. "...Pardon?"
"Soulmate." Whitley didn't look up from his dinner plate when he spoke. "I think I have a good idea of where he lives."
Weiss cleaned her lips with a napkin before retrieving the fork that had fallen. She placed the dirty silverware onto the table and pushed her dinner plate aside. She was done eating. Her appetite for food was now replaced by a hungry curiosity.
"How?"
"My soulmate is… peculiar," Whitley hesitated in his response. "He comes off as an awkward moron. He rarely exudes confidence and often stammers in his speech."
"I'm having a great impression so far," she joked.
"But he has his moments," Whitley added later. "It may seem out of character for him, but he would sometimes speak sagely and offer sound advice."
Weiss wasn't sure where Whitley was going with this. "So…"
"My soulmate dissociates," he put it bluntly. "Which explains his unusual swing in behavior. I met his alter a few times when we dreamt."
"Oh." Weiss paused on that interesting note. "So, how does your soulmate's dissociative identity disorder pertain to you figuring out where to find him?"
"Patience, I'm getting there."
"Patience isn't on my list," she retorted. "I'm planning on sleeping early tonight, so I'd be eternally grateful if you cut to the chase."
"Like every night," he dryly remarked. "Anyway, some of his alters like to speak in riddles. For years, I thought they spoke gibberish. But in actuality, their nonsense was their own way of dropping hints."
The raised eyebrow Whitley received from his sister told him he needed to explain further, so he did.
"Do you remember how I told you he made me harvest vegetables in our dream when we were younger?"
Weiss fluttered a hand. "Vaguely."
"I didn't know at that time, but I was with one of his alters. I asked him what's the purpose of all of this. Do you know what his response was? He said it was a sacrificial offering to Whisps."
"Huh?"
"Exactly my response too," he chuckled. "He was joking, I think, but let's say we humor it for a bit. What are Whisps?"
"I don't know." Weiss shrugged and made a half-hearted guess. "Cheese?"
"You're way off," he shook his head. "If you look it up online, they're mythological creatures that live in swamps."
Mythological creates made more sense now that Weiss seriously gave it a little more thought. It would be strange to give sacrificial offerings to a piece of cheese.
"And…?" Weiss waited for her little brother to fill in the rest. She still didn't know where he was going with this.
"What comes to mind when you think of swamps?"
"Mistral — Oh."
"Yeah, oh," Whitley mocked as he reclined into his chair. The smug smile he was wearing showed how proud he was for figuring it out all by himself.
"Are you sure you're not reading it in too much?" Weiss asked skeptically.
His eyes moved down at the table and his smile fell with it too. "He mentioned his parents were dust addicts."
"What?" Weiss sat upright with shock. "Dust is banned all around the world. Usage and possession are illegal. Trying to get your hands on them is like digging a mine full of diamonds."
"Depends on where you live," Whitley pointed out. "We're not going to see any dust in Atlas due to our government's heavy regulation. So, let's say hypothetically I have a dust addiction and I need to get my fix. Where do you think I should go for illegal substances?"
"The black market of course," she answered easily.
"You and I both know for certain that Atlas does not have any black markets. On the top of your head, which city has the biggest black market where their contraband will never exhaust? Or, in other words, which city should I take our private jet in order to satisfy my hypothetical dust addiction forever?"
There was only one city that came to Weiss' mind, the city that was notorious for their black markets.
"Mistral…"
"Do you still believe I'm over analyzing it now?"
Weiss sighed and shook her head. "Fine, I believe you."
"Told you."
"Now that you've came this far, what will you do with this information?"
Whitley got up and pushed his chair in. Weiss caught the solemn smile on his face.
"Nothing."
"Your brother is going to do nothing...?"
"Yes, that's what he decided." Weiss noticed the arms that had been snuggling around her waist tightened a fraction more. "Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing," her soulmate assured her. "I'm just having a difficult time trying to understand your brother. Like, how come? If I was in his shoes, I would've gone to you in a heartbeat!"
Weiss blushed at the quick admission, but it was also mutual. If she knew where her soulmate was, she would've taken the family jet to go see her. She wouldn't remain idle like Whitley, but to be fair, she did have more freedom than him.
"He's the center of my father's attention," Weiss did her best to explain. "My father hates the idea of being soulbound. Rejecting his opinion counts as defiance which would result in consequences. So to save his soulmate and himself from an ill-fated relationship, my brother refuses to take action."
"That's so… sad. What would you do if you were in his shoes?"
The chin resting on Weiss' shoulder felt heavy, so Weiss repositioned and hugged her soulmate to put her mind at ease.
"I would come see you of course."
"Even if your dad doesn't like it?"
"Even if my father doesn't like it." Weiss pushed her soulmate's bangs to the side and kissed her on the forehead. "I decide who I want to be with. No one can take that choice away from me."
"So rebellious," her soulmate giggled.
"You matter more than anything else," Weiss said, her voice just as soft as the kiss. "You're worth rebelling for, you're worth the wait. If it takes me years to see you, then so be it."
"And I'd wait an eternity for you." Her soulmate lifted Weiss' hand and kissed each and every one of Weiss' knuckles to seal the promise. "You make me so happy — god, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much right now. If being with you in our dreams could make me this happy, I can't imagine what it would feel like to meet you in person."
Like every dream, Weiss savored the tender moments. They weren't rare, but so weren't the dreamless sleeps either. Nights like these weren't hard to come by, but they were always treasured.
Weiss hummed to herself as she let one hand delicately run across her soulmate's face. Being able to trace over her soulmate's skin and features became one of Weiss' favorite things to do. She might not be able to guess what her soulmate may look like, but she could at least feel the honest smile underneath the tips of her fingers.
"Feel this next," her soulmate said, taking Weiss' hand and placing it on her chest. "Can you feel my heartbeat?"
"I do."
The way her soulmate's heart drummed the same beat as her own left Weiss in a dizzy state of euphoria. It felt as if their hearts were beating together as one, and just from feeling how in sync they were only made Weiss' smile grow even wider.
"Now, close your eyes," her soulmate said next, and Weiss played along. "Are your eyes closed?"
"Yes," Weiss answered. "They're closed."
"You're not lying?"
Weiss didn't know how much more she could smile, but today, she was willing to test her limits. "Have I ever lied to you?"
"No," her soulmate laughed, as if she recalled the touching moment they had shared when they were kids. "Okay, umm, tell me if you can feel this."
Weiss didn't know what she was expecting to feel until she found a pair of lips pressed against hers. It was bold, unlike the many gentle ones they had exchanged in the past. There was no uncertainty or shyness like their first kiss, but Weiss still felt the same love and sincerity behind it. Like those hands clutching the side of her hips, it felt as if her soulmate wanted to wrap her in an unadulterated love that only Weiss knew of.
The kiss was so sudden and unexpected, it had ignited an unknown, and yet, a vaguely familiar fire inside Weiss. Eyes still closed, Weiss seamlessly tilted in the middle of their kiss and wrapped her arms around her soulmate's neck.
Weiss felt the plump shape of her soulmate's lips kissing back with a slow, but unrepressed urge — and god it felt so good. There was something raw about the way her soulmate deepened their kiss. If kissing her soulmate felt this wonderful in their dreams, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to kiss her soulmate when they were walking in the real world.
Firm, hard, and fast, every kiss Weiss had claimed, she gave back with equal amounts of passion and intensity. She didn't notice the hands getting tangled inside her long hair. She barely registered the lips that kissed down to her neck. She was too distracted by the fluttering sensation inside the pit of her stomach and the heat that was dancing below.
Inside their dream, she was floating in a sea of bliss even after her back touched a bed.
Weiss slowly woke up from what seemed to be an endless dream. She didn't budge from her bed as she stared at the ceiling with her head lost in the clouds.
She definitely felt that one.
A lot of things had happened, and she felt… amazing. Her steaming body felt too hot underneath the covers, and the tingling sensation she felt below her waist made her thighs squirm. Weiss rolled onto her side and shrugged the blankets halfway down to let the heat escape.
That was the first time she had a wet dream.
"I'm getting married."
The spoon that Weiss was holding slipped from her hand and cannon balled into her bowl of soup. Her soup splashed onto the table like rain drops, and the spoonful of soup that had made it into her mouth spilled out like a waterfall.
"No congratulations?" Whitley raised an eyebrow at how flabbergasted his sister looked. "Was it really that shocking?"
Weiss reached for a napkin and wiped the soup trickling to her chin. "I didn't expect you to get married out of the blue…"
"It's about time I start a family," he said stiffly.
Weiss couldn't make it make sense. "But you're younger than me…"
"So? You're at the age of marriage as well."
"Even Winter hasn't gotten married yet," she furrowed her eyebrows.
"That's irrelevant. Just because she's the oldest doesn't necessarily mean she has to get married first."
"I know, but that's—"
"Father arranged it," Whitley cut her off.
"What? Why didn't you decline it?" Weiss watched him pick up his spoon, only to set it down with a sigh as if he had lost his appetite. "Whitley, this life is yours. You can't let him trample over you. You're an adult, you can make your own decisions too."
"I don't have that much freedom compared to you," he shot out.
"Then fight for it," she argued.
"You don't understand my situation."
"Winter and I can help you. We can —"
"You can't cut the strings on my back," he slammed his fist onto the table, snarling. Once he realized his angry outburst had startled Weiss, he let out a sigh and tried to recollect his emotions. "If you do, then you're the only one next to inherit the company. And I know for a fact that you don't want it just as much as I don't."
Weiss pressed her lips together into a thin frown and sighed too. Whitley was right. No one wanted to inherit the Schnee Company. After Winter revoked her inheritance, their father declared Whitley as the next in line. As the second oldest, Weiss didn't care about getting skipped, but she couldn't say the same for Whitley.
"When's the wedding?" Weiss changed the subject while swirling her soup.
"Next fall."
"What about your soulmate?" Weiss asked next.
"What about him?"
Weiss stopped and stared at Whitley with disbelief. Her brother had been absentmindedly prodding his own food, but the expression on his face didn't give away his thoughts. Was he actually serious?
"What do you mean, what about him? He's your soulmate. Are you just going to leave him hanging, or worse, disappear from his life forever? Is he even important to you?"
That was the wrong question to ask. Of course he was, but Whitley wouldn't admit it out loud to her. Whitley got up from his chair, and Weiss knew that was the end of the discussion. Her brother had always been stubborn like that.
"Sometimes dreams are only meant to be dreams."
The next fall arrived as quick as the leaves fell. The reception was held at an upscale restaurant located in the most charming part of downtown Atlas. It was what Weiss envisioned her brother's wedding to be: simple, but glamorous with an unparalleled view of the city.
Despite harboring a strong disapproval for the bride, Weiss had toasted the newly married couple and welcomed the bride to the Schnee family. Winter had done the same in her speech, followed by a short message from their mother and a very grand speech from their father. With the speeches and toasts said and done, Weiss made her way to the bar station to quench her parched throat before the food arrived.
"Uh, hi! What can I, uh, get for you?" The bartender manning the station put on a friendly grin for her.
Weiss scanned through the various selections of alcohol, but there were too many to choose from. "What do you recommend?"
"That will depend on your preference," he replied. "Would you like something on the sweeter side?"
"That sounds lovely," Weiss smiled. "Something sweet and preferably... hm, with a hint of fruit, please."
The man smiled at the request, but his smile shortly fell into a frown as he muttered, "shut up" underneath his breath.
Taken aback by the bartender's uncalled for rudeness, Weiss straightened up. "I beg your pardon?"
She glanced down at his nametag and noted his name. Oscar Pine. She would have to make a phone call and file a complaint later.
"S-Sorry, not you," Oscar waved his arms frantically around. Weiss raised an eyebrow and checked over her shoulder. There weren't any guests lined behind her, and he had noticed too. "I was uh… haha... talking to myself."
"Right…"
"Is everything okay over here?" His co-worker came by to check up on them.
"No, out of nowhere this man over here had just told me to shut up," Weiss scoffed. Ruby Rose. Weiss had also noted this woman's name just in case she needed it for the future.
"Oscar?" Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Can you guys please stop talking." Although Oscar begged underneath his breath, it was loud enough for them to hear. "I don't need your commentaries."
"Oh." As if Ruby had understood the situation, she smiled at Weiss apologetically. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. My friend here is having a… uh, crisis. Please don't take everything he says to heart. Hey, Oscar?"
"Ozwyn, don't—" Oscar started nodding off before he even finished his sentence.
"Is he okay?" Weiss pointed at Oscar. She noticed how unfocused and unsteady he seemed to be.
"Y-Yeah, he'll be fine." Ruby checked on Oscar again before turning back to Weiss. "Ma'am, I'm so sorry about this. Can you excuse us? He has a lot of stuff going on in his head right now. It'll be best if —"
"Heya missie," Oscar shoved Ruby aside as he grinned widely at Weiss. "I 'eard you wanna drink."
"Ozwyn, please don't." The way Ruby sighed in exasperation told Weiss this wasn't the first time this had happened. "Ozpin, can't you do something?"
"Listen 'ere, missie—"
"I think it's best if I go…" Weiss wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she assumed she had enough to drink for today.
"I think so too," Ruby hastily agreed.
"—these drinks right here are sacrificial offerings for Whisps."
"I'm sorry?" Weiss stared at him in stunned surprise. Had she heard him correctly? "Whisps?"
"Please don't listen to him," Ruby quickly butted in. "He's a country bumpkin from Mistral. They have an unusual culture over there. Ozpin," she hissed at Oscar. "Bring back Oscar. Or maybe bring Ozma. I'll even take Oswald."
"Yeeep," Oscar tugged his suit as if he was wearing overalls. "Gots to keep 'em happy y'know? Or else —" Oscar suddenly started to nod off.
"Thank you, Ozpin!" Ruby cheered.
Whisps?
Multiple names?
Different identities?
Hometown in Mistral?
Was it a coincidence?
Weiss chewed on her lip and tossed a glance between Whitley and Oscar. Whitley was going table by table and greeting every guest with his bride, so Weiss decided to shoot her shot.
"Give me your number," she blurted out.
"Wha—?" Oscar squeaked. He had no idea what was going on, so he looked at Ruby for answers. But his coworker was just as dumbfounded.
"I'm speaking to Oscar, correct?" Weiss asked impatiently.
"Yes…?"
"Then give me your phone number," she demanded again.
"Um…" He started twiddling his fingers. "Sorry, I can't go on a date with you. I, uh, have a soulmate."
"No, that's not—" Weiss paused then pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sorry, let me clarify. I'm asking for your number because I might know who your soulmate is, not because I want to go on a date with you."
"Y-You do?" The clarification helped tremendously considering the hopeful expression on his face. "Wait... How would you know?"
Weiss looked off into the distance and caught Whitley in the corner of her eyes. She solemnly smiled as her younger brother was heading into a future he had never wanted.
"He talks about you a lot."
Ruby nudged Oscar's shoulder, and that little push was all he needed to grab a piece of paper and pen.
"He never liked Atlas, but I think meeting you has changed his opinion," Ruby chuckled as she watched Oscar head into the break room. He decided to take his break early to reorganize his thoughts. "Thank you for doing that."
"I'm glad that I was able to brighten his day," Weiss smiled. But deep down, she didn't know how to bring this up to Whitley, or if she should bring this up to him at all. What would her brother say considering he just got wedded? In front of his potential soulmate, no less.
"Ugh, what I would do to see my soulmate…" Ruby's wistful sigh pulled Weiss out from her energy-draining thoughts. "He sure has it lucky. I mean, that's if they're, y'know, actually soulmates and all. But gosh, I would give anything to meet my soulmate. Oscar, that damn lucky bast— oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to rant."
"No, that's okay," Weiss laughed as she didn't mind at all. She appreciated the distraction. Although it was only for a short moment, it helped alleviate some of her growing headaches. "I know exactly how you feel."
The barmaid joined in on the laugh as she added another person who could sympathize with her. "You too, huh? I bet you've been waiting for your soulmate since…" She didn't want to guess wrongly of Weiss' age, so she settled with, "...forever."
"Yeah," Weiss said with a lighthearted chuckle. No offense to Whitley, but she couldn't wait for this wedding to be over. She wanted to dream with her soulmate as soon as possible. "But, I'll continue to wait forever if I need to," she said with a warm smile.
"Your soulmate is lucky," Ruby smiled at that. "I'm Ruby by the way."
"Weiss," she introduced herself as if she hadn't read the name tag pinned to Ruby's black vest.
"By any chance, are you related to the groom?" Ruby steered to a different topic. "I'm seeing some similarities."
"I'm his sister, unfortunately," Weiss nodded at her observation. "We may look alike, but he's clearly a bigger headache."
"Congratulations to your brother," Ruby said brightly, giving Weiss a beaming smile that made the paper note in Weiss' hand incredibly heavier. Weiss mumbled a weak thank you, and thankfully, it went unnoticed as Ruby pulled out an assortment of liquors. "You came over here for a drink, right? Let me make you something special really quick."
Ruby measured a shot of each liquor into the shaker and worked her magic. Once she finished crafting the concoction, she poured the drink into a tall, narrow glass and added a miniature rose on top for the finishing touch.
"Here," Ruby slid the drink across the bar table, "give this try and tell me what you think."
Weiss picked up the cocktail and rotated the drink with fascination. If you could catch the sunset inside a jar, this drink would be it. It reminded her of the few times she and her soulmate went firefly catching after the sun had set, and it warmed her heart just thinking about those fond memories.
"I call it Summer," Ruby answered the curious look on Weiss' face.
Weiss tried a sip and hummed in delight. With so many ingredients added into one mix like a crockpot, it surprised her when she found the flavors did not clash, but instead, complemented each other.
"Sweet and fragrant..." Weiss eagerly took another sip from her glass. "I can taste the season."
"I'm glad you liked it! I found the recipe in my mom's old cookbook, so I named it after her. I guess you can say it's something I make to remember her by."
"Thank you for this drink, it tastes absolutely amazing," Weiss smiled from the bottom of her heart.
"You're welcome," Ruby chuckled. "I think it's, uh, about time you head back to your table. It seems like your food is just about to be served."
Weiss also agreed that it was her cue to leave when she found waiters and waitresses filing out of the kitchen with trays of appetizers and entrees.
"If you ever want to get the drink again, you know where to find me."
Weiss raised her glass to Ruby in appreciation. "Will do, Ruby."
"Whitley, if you don't mind me, I'm going to go take a shower first."
"Hm, go right ahead."
Weiss shut the door quietly behind them. From the corner of her eyes, she watched her sister-in-law try to navigate through the Schnee Manor by herself. As much as Weiss wanted to describe Whitley's wife as brave, naive seemed more appropriate. She was underestimating how complex the manor was.
"She's going to get lost," Weiss voiced out her thoughts.
"Can you please attend to her?" Whitley beckoned for one of the maids to follow his wife since Weiss had brought up a valid point. Walking through the manor wasn't a walk in the park. It was a walk in a labyrinth. The hallways would stretch without an end, and often, they would branch to other paths that sometimes led in a confusing circle.
"May I take your coat, Ms. Schnee?"
"Yes, please." Weiss passed her peacoat to one of the maids while Whitley laid out a list of instructions for the rest. He made sure his wife would adjust comfortably to her new lifestyle.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Schnee?
"That'll be all," Weiss thanked the maid with a smile.
While the maids busied themselves with their new assignments, Weiss found herself alone with Whitley. She kicked her heels off in front of him and stretched her toes. Her heels may be the most comfortable footwear in her closet, but nothing beats going barefoot at home.
"How disgusting." Arms crossed, Whitley turned the other way at the repulsive sight.
"Your opinion would change if you were wearing heels all day," Weiss scoffed. "Would you like to try mine on? They'd fit quite nicely on you."
"No thank you, bigfoot."
Weiss dismissed his insult and followed him up the stairs with her heels tucked underneath her arm. "I was hoping Winter would spend the night here rather than in the city."
"Either you're out of your mind, or you've had too many to drink. Winter would much rather spend the night with her date in the city than to spend it here."
"Do you think that was her soulmate?" Weiss wanted to hear his thoughts on it. When Winter had arrived at the ceremony with a woman hooked around her arms, it created an uproar.
"Seeing how Father was passive aggressive most of the time, then maybe. Regardless, I'm happy for her."
"Mm, me too."
"What did you think about the party?" Whitley questioned, after they had turned at a corner of the hallway.
"Great," Weiss said simply. Her lackluster answer didn't seem to be appreciated considering it earned her a scowl. "What?"
"My wedding should've been stupendous or phenomenal, not great."
She shrugged. "It's a wedding."
"It's not just any wedding, it's my wedding."
"Then it was a stupendous wedding," Weiss said, giving what her brother wanted to hear. Whitley deepened his scowl even more; he couldn't tell if she was being serious or sarcastic.
"Whatever." Whitley didn't want to think about it anymore as he started to loosen his cufflinks and his tie.
"What did you think about your own wedding?" Weiss tossed the question back to him.
"Phenomenal."
"Be honest with me, Whitley."
Whitley stopped right outside of his room. Seeing how his hand approached the door knob, Weiss knew their discussion was coming to an end. Whitley avoided conversations that would put him in a vulnerable spot, or at least that was what Weiss initially thought.
"It was… underwhelming." Whitley's honest but quiet admission shocked Weiss, and he saw it too. He pushed the door open and shuffled into his room to escape back into his shell.
"Whitley, wait." Weiss stopped the door just in time. If she hadn't, then she wouldn't have known when the next chance will present itself. She couldn't trust herself to give the note to her brother on the next day; she wouldn't have enough courage to do it. "Here. This is for you."
Whitley looked skeptical, but he took the folded note. Unraveling the paper, he found a string of numbers, but it wasn't a number he recognized. He flipped to the backside to see if there were any messages left for him, but it turned up blank.
"What's this?" Whitley finally asked, arching a brow at her.
"It's a phone number."
"Obviously."
"It's your soulmate's phone number…"
Whitley's world had just stopped turning, Weiss could easily see it in his eyes. The walls he carefully constructed while growing up started to collapse. His lips stuttered open, but the words didn't escape until he wet his lips.
"Weiss—" Whitley started crumbling the piece of paper "—This…" It had been too long since Weiss heard her brother sound so hoarse and weak. Ever since their father forced the inheritance into him, she had never seen her brother wear his emotions so openly. "This… I-I can't."
"Whitley," Weiss said softly. She touched his hand to stop him from crushing the note. "You can."
"N-No," he stammered. "I can't. Father will be furious if this marriage ends up in shambles."
"Father's happiness isn't important," she said back. "Yours is."
"You don't understand!" Whitley growled. He flashed the band that was wrapped around his finger, and his voice broke. "What more do I need to say, Weiss?"
"Whitley," Weiss set her foot down and finally became the mirror that Whitley needed in his life. He wasn't seeing what she was seeing, and it was about time he reflected. "This isn't the life you want, I know it. You're content with what you have now, but content isn't the same as happiness. Put yourself ten years into the future and tell me what you see. Because what I'm seeing is someone who has nothing but regrets. Ask yourself, is this the path you really want?"
Whitley looked at the piece of paper with longing. If it was any other person, it wouldn't have been a difficult decision. But Whitley wasn't just any other person. He is Whitley Schnee.
If Winter was here, she would share a drink and commiserate with him. However, Winter wasn't anywhere near the manor, so Weiss did what any second oldest sibling would do. She pulled him into a hug.
"I want you to be happy, Whitley. Prioritize yourself first before others. If Father is a concern, Winter and I can do something about him."
As if Whitley had forgotten how to, he didn't reciprocate the hug. Instead, he shook his head doubtfully. "And what good will that do? The last time Winter tried, it backfired on her."
"Winter's date is a high-ranking official in the government who specializes in uncovering lies," Weiss explained. She left slow but comforting pats on his back. She pulled away to gently squeeze his shoulders. "Father might not be as invincible as you think he is. Please, Whitley, think about it. I'm not going to force this onto you, but I want you to start thinking about yourself."
Whitley took those words with him as he closed the door behind him. Weiss returned to her own quarters and prepared for sleep. After slipping into bed, she stared at the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh. Today was eventful, but her conversation with her brother turned out better than she expected. He heard her out, and that was a step forward.
Weiss closed her eyes. She looked forward to seeing her soulmate tonight because she couldn't wait to tell her the things that had transpired. But also, a hug sounded good right now.
That night, Weiss did not dream with her soulmate. Nor did she ever.
When the dreams had stopped, Weiss was at a loss. It tore her because she will never be able to dream with her soulmate again. But at the same time, she had never felt more elated. It meant her soulmate was walking on the face of Atlas; it meant she could meet her soon.
"Whitley," Weiss hurried into the foyer. "I need to see your guest list from the wedding."
"Why?" Whitley didn't look away from the fireplace from where he was sitting. The flames casted a soft glow on him, revealing the dark circles underneath his eyes that had lost their sheen. They were getting worse by the day from the inadequate amount of sleep.
If Weiss were to check her self-reflection, she wondered if she would look any different from Whitley. She had spent countless hours trying to figure out where she might have crossed paths with her soulmate. The only possible conclusion she could think of was Whitley's wedding.
"I've stopped dreaming with my soulmate…" Weiss smiled somberly.
Whitley picked up his glass of whiskey from the table and tossed down the drink in one gulp. "Looks like we have another thing in common."
Weiss took the bottle of liquor before Whitley could pour himself another helping. He looked like a speedrun version of their mother. A failing marriage with a drinking habit — the accomplishment wasn't something to be proud of.
"You should take better care of yourself." Weiss poured him a glass of water instead.
Whitley slid further down the couch. "I am," he grumbled.
"Hm, right." Weiss made a mental note to ask Klein to look after her brother.
"The guest list is pointless." Whitley waved a hand in the air. "The people whom I invited were families that we have already met. Don't waste your time on them."
"Is that so?" If what her brother had said was true, then that narrowed the possibilities. Next, she will need a list of staff members and third parties who have attended the wedding. "Then I'm going to head back to the venue to gather more information. Do you need anything while I'm here?"
Weiss waited, but Whitley did not respond. She gave an inward sigh and went to grab her coat.
"Give me a call if you need anything, okay?" She made sure to steer clear of the conversation they had last week because she knew he was still brooding over it. He needed more time and space.
She hoped Whitley would make the best decision for himself.
"It's you again!" Oscar lit up once he spotted Weiss making her way over to the bar station.
The restaurant hadn't changed the slightest bit since the wedding from what Weiss could recall. Chandeliers dripped with crystals. Gold threads laced into the table linen. Glasswares made of only high-end luxury. Other than the lack of decorative balloons and flowers, the only discerning difference was the lax atmosphere as the restaurant wasn't bustling at this current hour.
"Oscar, right?" Weiss pulled up a stool and smiled when she received a zestful nod from him. "I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Weiss."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Weiss." Oscar added a cheerful smile to his greeting. "What can I get for you?"
Weiss didn't come here for a drink, but it would be rude on her part if she didn't order anything. "The last time I was here, I remember getting a drink called Summer."
"Ah, that's Ruby's speciality," he nodded. "She's working today, so once she's free I'll bring her over. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Actually, yes, I have a question to ask. Did the establishment keep a record of everyone who worked and attended the wedding, including third party services and vendors?"
Oscar cupped his chin at the unusual question. "I'll have to ask my manager about that — hey Ruby!" He beckoned his co-worker to come over once she finished tending to a customer. "She's not the manager, but uh, maybe she might know."
"What's up, Oscar?" Ruby brightened up after she saw a new, but familiar face and waved. "Hey Weiss! Back here for another one of my super awesome drinks? I bet you couldn't get enough of it, huh?"
"Yes, I came by for one of your super awesome drinks," Weiss chuckled at Ruby's spirited nature. "One order of Summer, please."
"You got it! One order of Summer coming right up!"
"Also, Weiss wanted to ask you a question, Ruby," Oscar brought up helpfully.
"Yeah?" Ruby said, trying to fetch all her needed supplies to craft what she called a super awesome drink. Weiss didn't hide her amusement when she watched how quick Ruby was on her feet and how she was able to hold so many bottles all at once. "Ask away."
"I've already asked Oscar, but would you happen—"
A phone abruptly rang and interrupted Weiss mid sentence. "S-Sorry!" Oscar fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket.
"Oscar, we've had this discussion before," Ruby groaned. "Remember about our stringent rules? Our manager would be on your case right now if she saw."
"I know, I know! I'm sorry. I usually keep my phone on silent mode, but today Ozma took over, so it slipped from my mind."
"Who's even calling you?" Ruby asked.
Oscar checked the number. "Uhh, I don't know who's calling me. Should I answer it?"
Ruby shrugged. "It could be a spam caller."
Oscar stared at his phone that was chiming in his hand. "I'll answer it anyway. Might as well, I guess. So, um, if you will excuse me, I'll be right back. Hello, Oscar speaking," his voice tapered off as he walked through the doors that marked Employees Only.
"Sorry about that," Ruby chuckled apologetically. "That usually doesn't happen. What was it you wanted to ask?"
"I was wondering if you guys keep a list of people who came by my brother's wedding. Such as staff members, third party service workers, guests, etcetera..."
"We have a list of our own staff members saved inside our database," Ruby said, as she picked up a glass and got started on Weiss' drink. "But we don't keep attendance of other parties. I might be able to provide you a list of companies who dropped off a shipment of supplies during the banquet. However, you will have to contact them directly if you're looking for someone who was rostered on that day specifically.
"If it's within your power, can you provide me with that list of information?"
"Sure thing." Ruby nodded, happy to give Weiss what she needed. "I'll ask my manager, but she might need to know why."
"It's a bit embarrassing…" Weiss blushed, but the nod and kind smile from Ruby encouraged her to tell. "I stopped dreaming with my soulmate."
"No way! That's amazing news!" Ruby gushed out in a vibrating excitement that made Weiss miss her soulmate even more. "We actually have a handful of people who stopped dreaming in the restaurant."
Soon, that was what Weiss had been telling herself, was coming a lot quicker than what she was prepared for. Just like Ruby, she couldn't hold in her excitement either. "Y-You do?"
"Yup." Ruby nodded, the ever-growing smile on her face never fell away. "It's not only just Oscar who stopped dreaming. We got two of the head chefs, a busboy, that waitress over there, one waitress who has the day off, and — oh, I'll tell you what. Tell me what you know about your soulmate and I might be able to help you narrow it down. It'll be fun, it's sorta like playing detective — well, that's if your soulmate works here."
Weiss loved the idea. If her soulmate did happen to work here, who would know better than the establishment's staff members?
"Well, she is very nice," Weiss started out.
"Just saying, there are a lot of nice girls who work here," Ruby laughed. "Come on, give me something that would make her stand out."
"She has a dog."
"Uh huh, what else?" Ruby was all ears while she gave the drink one last shake before carefully pouring it into a glass.
"Hmm..." Weiss tried to think of something more meaningful. What could she say that would set her soulmate apart from the rest of everyone else? "Oh! She has this spot that she goes to whenever she wants to be alone. Truthfully, I don't know where the exact location is, but she described it as 'a patch of flowers on a cliffside'. She used to go there with her mother before she passed away and—"
Nothing else grabbed Weiss' attention faster than the sound of shattering glass. Ruby had dropped the drink on the floor. The glass had scattered into hundreds of little shards, and the content splashed all over the floor and lower cabinets
"Are you okay?" Weiss rushed to ask. Eyes widening and jaw hanging, Ruby stared at Weiss speechlessly. "Ruby?"
Ruby jolted at the call of her own name. "H-Huh? Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry that I scared you just now. My fingers must've gotten all, um, buttery… Sorry about your drink."
"As long as you're fine." Weiss gave her a smile of concern. "Don't worry about the drink. It's not important at all."
"R-Right, I should... um, I-I should probably clean up this mess." Ruby hastily turned away, trying to hide the blush slowly creeping onto her face. She took one nervous step over the wet floor to get to the Employees Only room, but her foot slipped, causing her to glide sideways. Ruby grappled onto the bar counter and desperately held on for dear life. Thank goodness for reflexes because she almost did the splits by accident, and she had never done the splits before.
"Oh my god — do you need help?" Weiss leaped out of her seat. Where was Oscar when she needed him?
"Nope!" Ruby squeaked, her face furiously flushing with embarrassment. She tried to pull herself up as gracefully as possible, but she was struggling. "I think I got it. Yep, I totally got it. See?"
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked skeptically. Ruby nodded several times once she was standing back onto two feet. "Ruby, you're going to give me a heart attack over here."
"Ehehe… Sorry." Ruby apologized sheepishly. Taking smaller and cautious strides across the wet floor, she went to go fetch a mop. She stiffly walked into the counter, and Weiss winced; that crash must've hurt since she could hear the counter almost giving away, but Ruby nervously laughed it off. With a mop now in her hands, she started to clean up the spill. "So… uh, you mentioned your soulmate's mother had passed away. If you don't mind me asking, how?"
"A medical condition," Weiss answered somberly. "I don't know the exact details, but I believe her mother had a chronic health condition. Sadly, she lost the battle, and my soulmate lost her mother at a young age."
"Cancer," Ruby replied softly. Her lips parted into a small smile once she looked up at Weiss. If she were to guess, Weiss was probably wondering how she knew. "Heh, I guess I left out an important detail. I also stopped dreaming with my soulmate too. And… well, um, my soulmate told me she got a scar on her left eye, which now that I think about it, it kind of looks like the one you have."
Weiss' heart jumped straight up to her throat. "Did she…"
"She got it from being clumsy. When she was little, she tripped over an unleveled carpet and fell onto a vase. The vase shattered and… yeah."
"Yeah…" Weiss nodded her head absently. The story matched; that was exactly how she got the scar on her left eye.
It took Weiss more than just a moment to process the surreality that was happening. Her soulmate was standing in front of her. Her soulmate was actually standing right in front of her.
"Hi," Ruby said with another shy blush. The smile on her face was flatline, heart-stopping — the kind Weiss had always been daydreaming about for all these years. Wide like the sky, just as bewitching as her silver eyes, hot like the fire igniting inside Weiss' chest, and the dimples — oh god, especially the dimples. They were an added bonus that her heart was not ready for, but Weiss drank in the captivating sight. Her eyes greedily raked over Ruby without any shame. "I'm Ruby Rose."
"H-Hi," Weiss squeaked pathetically. All the confidence she had just went up and vanished like smoke, and suddenly, she didn't know how to maintain a casual conversation anymore. While her brain was trying to reboot, her lips broke into a broad smile. She tried to scrape together whatever voice she could find, even if she sounded ridiculous. "I'm Weiss Schnee."
"I love your smile."
The compliment rendered Weiss breathless, but there was nothing that could be as breathtaking as Ruby's smile. She imprinted it into her heart, soul, and mind, now that she knew what her soulmate's smile looked like.
"I love your smile too."
Ruby's smile doubled in an instant, flashing a row of teeth, as the muscles on her cheeks flexed. How much could she make Ruby smile? Weiss challenged herself because she wanted to know.
"Soo… I get off work in a couple of hours."
"Then I'll wait for you right here," Weiss briskly said, her brain finally rebooting back to its normal state.
"Yeah?" With every smile, Ruby's dimples became more pronounced.
"Yeah." Weiss did not lag behind with her growing smile either.
"Cool. I'll just, uh, head back to work then." Ruby started walking backwards as she couldn't take her eyes off Weiss. She didn't notice her coworker had to swerve around her to avoid a collision. "Talk to you in a couple of hours?"
"I think you're forgetting something." Weiss beckoned Ruby to come back. Instead of asking for another drink, Weiss pulled up and kissed Ruby on the cheek once she was perfectly within reachable distance. It was a small, short kiss to tide Ruby over during work, but it brought a joy to her smile that Weiss loved to look at. "I'll talk to you in a couple of hours."
Snowpine has a happy ending if you really squint.