Playing by the Rules
Anyone could tell you that Weiss Schnee was a straight-laced, rule-abiding teacher's pet.
One would think that this would mean that she was a pushover, a submissive waif who bowed to the rules set before her and obeyed.
As Ruby watched Weiss lecture Yang once again for accidentally breaking school property, she knew that couldn't be farther from the truth.
She studied her partner as her voice's volume raised even higher. Weiss stood solidly with her hands on her hips, somehow looking as poised as her rich heritage would imply and ready to fight if need be. Despite Yang's clear height advantage, at moments like these, Weiss seemed to be the taller of the two.
Ruby didn't get it.
How could Weiss feel so...defiant even as she was upholding the rules?
Yang relented under Weiss's assault, sheepishly rubbing her neck as she finally agreed to clean up the mess she had made.
After Yang left, Weiss gave a huff of satisfaction and turned back towards her desk to begin studying for the evening.
"Are rules really that important to you?" Ruby asked, giving up on pretending to read her books.
Weiss paused and looked up at her, before returning to her task. "It's important to know the rules and follow them, Ruby. Besides, they can be useful."
"Really? They mostly just seem to limit you." Ruby pouted a bit. After all, if it weren't for the rules about fighting outside of class, then Yang wouldn't be in trouble.
"They can also protect you," Weiss argued. "I can guarantee that if it weren't for the laws already in place, everyone in my father's employ would be working in even worse conditions."
Ruby winced. That was a fair point, but also an extreme example. "But with Yang—"
"Ruby, I'll admit that Cardin always has it coming, but we are an academy of deadly Hunters-in-training. We can't be fighting when it's not appropriate." Weiss shut down her argument. "And on top of that, she broke a statue and knocked over a tree."
"Professor Goodwitch can fix it," Ruby muttered.
"Professor Goodwitch isn't always going to be there to clean up for us. Taking responsibility is the very least we should do."
"Like you took responsibility for burning down—"
"I put it out later! Besides, the teachers were watching and already knew about it!" Weiss blushed hard enough to turn her ears red, and she stubbornly opened a notebook to end the conversation.
Ruby thought that was the end of it, picking up her own book. She stilled when Weiss sighed.
"Look, Ruby, rules are ultimately just another tool. I'll admit that not every rule is right, but it's better to know them in the long run." Weiss fidgeted with her notebook. "A good huntress knows when and where to use each tool, and I'd rather know what's at my disposal so I can use them when I need them."
Ruby tilted her head, her eyebrows scrunching together. She still didn't get it, but at least she could understand that this was apparently important to Weiss.
"Nevermind," Weiss sighed again, and Ruby could see her mind switch gears as she straightened in her seat and turned towards her. "By the way, did you finish reading the notes I made you about airborne Grimm? You would've learned more about them in your last year at Signal and according to Professor Port's itinerary, we should be building upon that in our next class."
"If he doesn't get off track talking about one of his famous hunts with them." Ruby groaned, shuffling through her things to find Weiss's notes. "And, uh, I wasn't quite finished with that yet… Could you…"
Weiss rolled her eyes, but there was a slight smile on her face. "Fine, let's go over it. But come down here, I'm not getting on that death trap that is your bed."
Ruby grinned, and in seconds, they were studying together.
Ruby didn't want to open her eyes because of the pounding in her head.
For a few seconds, as consciousness continued to trickle in, she just laid there in bed trying to figure out what exactly happened.
Oh, right. She and Pyrrha had been competing on the obstacle course, and when she'd used her semblance, there'd been a wall coming in too fast for her to dodge and—
She cautiously raised her hand, and prodded at the tender spot on her head. Ruby hissed slightly and dropped hand down once more.
She still didn't want to open her eyes, but as she became aware of a voice speaking, she knew she might have to.
"—But it is simply not allowed."
"Is it?" A much more familiar voice replied.
Ruby cracked her eyes open, blinking them from the incoming light, and squinted in the direction of the voice.
Still slightly blurry, Ruby would recognize Weiss anywhere. She stood, prim and proper as always, before one of the senior nurses. A quick glance around showed that she was currently in the infirmary, laying in one of the beds, and outside the window the sky was darkening, meaning it was a lot later than she expected.
Weiss began to speak again, drawing Ruby's attention back to her.
"While it is true that the school rules are fairly firm in regards to visits after the appointed time—" Ruby was well aware of that rule as the last time Yang had to stay overnight she hadn't been allowed to stay with her "—and students do have a curfew to keep, the primary objectives of Beacon supersede these rules as they pertain to the core values we are meant to be learning."
It might have been the concussion, but Ruby was lost.
"And what may those objectives be, Miss Schnee?" The nurse wearily asked.
Weiss looked the nurse right in the eye and stated, "In addition to hunting Grimm, we are meant to rely on and support our team, specifically our partners. Ruby has a concussion, and when she wakes up, she'll most likely prefer a team member's presence. As her partner, I am the ideal person to stay the night with her and ensure that her injury has caused no long term damage." She said the last sentence with a smile that Ruby normally only saw in retail workers.
The nurse just looked at Weiss and then sighed. "Fine. Though your team can be fairly...rambunctious, I know you at least try to reign them in. Your record speaks for itself when it comes to following the rules." She straightened and turned to leave. "I'll allow it. Wake her every couple of hours to check her cognitive abilities, okay? Try to get her to drink some water, and if anything seems off, call the attending nurse."
"Thank you, ma'am." Weiss gave a small curtsy in reply, and then waited for the nurse to finally leave before making her way to Ruby's bedside.
And all Ruby could do was stare at her partner with wide eyes.
Had she really seen that? Was this a hallucination brought on by her concussion? That couldn't have been real.
"Oh, Ruby, you're awake." Weiss leaned over and carefully touched her head. "You were already given some pain medication and your aura's been restored enough to help with the healing." She turned to the bedside table. "Let me get you some water."
Ruby knew she should be basking in the rare all-out appearance of Nice Weiss, but she still couldn't get over what she'd seen. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Weiss asked as she helped Ruby sit up enough to drink the water.
As the water entered her mouth, Ruby realized how thirsty she was and gratefully drank up, but she would not be deterred. "With the nurse," she said as she finished. "You just like...ninja'd your way into spending the night here."
Weiss rolled her eyes, but she had a slight smirk on her face. "I didn't ninja anything. I just reminded her of the rules and guidelines that govern the academy."
"But you weren't even following them!" Ruby yelled, and then immediately lowered her voice as the volume made her headache worse. "You were saying, like, why you should be exempt from them or something." At least, that's what Ruby thought she'd been saying.
"Nothing that I said wasn't true," Weiss flippantly said as she settled in the chair next to Ruby's bed. "I've looked it up. There's a precedent at Beacon that if it's for your partner, they come before the normal rules and regulations. And I did promise to be the best partner you'll ever have, did I not?"
Ruby tried to wrap her head around it. Weiss was, technically, going against the school rules. Sure, she could dress it up with fancy talk and "precedents" but when it came right down to it, that's what was going on.
"I don't…" She still didn't get it.
Weiss sighed and pulled out a book, decidedly not looking at Ruby, but Ruby could see the color rising in her cheeks. "You once mentioned you don't like waking up alone when you're hurt. And they wouldn't let Yang stay."
Ruby blinked. "Oh." The implications of Weiss's words hit her. "Ohhhhhhh."
Weiss huffed, but she also gently smiled at her. "Get some rest, dolt. I'll wake you soon enough to make sure you haven't lost any more brain cells."
Without another word, Ruby snuggled down with a slight smile. To think that little old her could bring out Weiss's more rebellious side?
She felt better already.
AN: Ever notice how the people who actually know the rules are the ones who can get away with breaking them. Like Spock in Star Trek basically logics his and Kirk's way out of ever getting in major trouble over breaking the rules. I think Weiss is kind of the same in that she knows and follows the rules, so that if she needs to bend them, she'll probably be allowed to. Plus, I think in the Beacon era if she'd gotten into major trouble or broken too many rules, her father would've tried to bring her back home. Have to try to keep up the family image and all.