From Before

At first, Ruby wasn't sure what drew her to the portrait. She was attempting to remain lowkey among all these hoighty-toighty folks in order to give Weiss time to snoop and Ironwood time to negotiate, but it's clear that she and the others don't belong here.

The best part of this night so far was when Nora set off the events that got Whitley out of the way.

Still, as Ruby nervously went back and forth along the perimeter of the foyer and ballroom without trying to look like she was pacing, one picture caught her eye.

And it wasn't like she had anything better to do at the moment.

When Ruby finally stopped and studied the portrait, it still took her a moment to realize who she was looking at.

Weiss.

It couldn't have been done too long before she went to Beacon, as she looked about the same age as when they met, but it struck Ruby just how different she was in the picture.

The first thing that stuck out to Ruby was that this Weiss had no scar.

Sometimes Ruby forgot that there was a time when Weiss didn't have a scar, since as long as she'd known her, her partner had one.

Weiss had told her how she had gotten it: a final test of sorts from her father in a bid to keep her here in Atlas. He'd allowed an experimental Arma Gigas loose in the mansion that had possessed one of her grandfather's suits of armor. If she beat it, she'd be allowed to leave and go to Beacon. If not…

Ruby didn't want to think about what would've happened if Weiss hadn't been able to defeat it.

Still, that may have been the first difference, but it wasn't the last.

This Weiss was practically symmetrical, between the lack of a scar and her ponytail actually being centered for once. Weiss always wore higher end clothes, but this one actually reminded Ruby of a uniform, despite its undoubtedly good quality, with its dark navy skirt, white blouse, and light blue bow. The neutral appearance on her face completed the look.

If anything, that was what unnerved Ruby the most.

Several people had called Weiss "Ice Queen" before, and she could certainly be cold and calculating enough to earn that title, but Ruby would never say that Weiss was unemotional. If anything, Weiss seemed to feel too much.

Weiss was, in general, a fairly upfront and honest person. Even when she was plotting something, it was usually written all over her face. When Weiss didn't like something, she made sure everyone knew it. When she disapproved, when she was angry, when she was happy, she could barely hold herself back.

Though it was true, especially in the beginning, that Weiss would hide her vulnerabilities. It wasn't that she had a heart of ice, she had just surrounded her heart with walls of ice to keep others away and ensure she wouldn't get hurt. She still did it sometimes.

Weiss's customer service smile when she was forced to maintain pleasantries was scary.

And even after all this time, Ruby had never seen Weiss cry. The closest she'd come was when they'd reunited in Haven.

Though, as Ruby looked around at the current crowd, she found she couldn't fault Weiss for hiding her true emotions away. Not when she'd grown up among a nest of vipers like this.

Her point was that Weiss was ultimately a very emotional person.

The girl in the picture showed no emotions at all.

She also looked perfect.

Ruby remembered, vaguely, right around when they first became partners, that Weiss said that she wasn't perfect. Or rather, that she wasn't perfect "yet."

This Weiss was probably as close to "perfect" as Weiss would probably ever get in the eyes of her father. She certainly looked the part at least.

And this Weiss was merely a shade of the real Weiss.

Weiss may not always be the nicest person, but she was certainly kind. She could be bossy and easily annoyed, but she also genuinely cared and wanted to do her best to help people. She may be one of the strictest rule follower Ruby knew, but the moment it was clear that the rules were unfair and impeding their ability to help, she was willing and able to break them.

For being so straight-laced, Weiss was surprisingly rebellious.

Ruby smiled slightly and turned away from the portrait.

Ruby would take the real Weiss, flaws and all, over any facsimile of perfection any day.

After all, those tended to be the things she loved most about her.

AN: Just thinking about how far Weiss has come and how the very things that she berated herself for, especially in the beginning when she was determined to be "perfect," are the things that the others like about her. I just think it's interesting to think about what things could've been like if Weiss had never managed to get away from Atlas. And Ruby, who from the very start wanted to get to know her, is a prime candidate to think about the contrast considering Weiss is closest to her.