At the age of five, Jacques Schnee had told Weiss this: "This world is cold. And to survive, to flourish, you will be too. Don't forget it."
She hadn't. And for most of her life, she had believed it.
Until Beacon. Until Team RWBY, until Ruby. Until she met the girl cloaked in red who showed her that even if the world was cold, not everyone in it was. And she didn't have to conform.
Ruby was warmth, freedom, light.
And in an instant, she was taken away.
Weiss wasn't taken to Atlas without a fight. She had been waiting for Ruby while she went to help Pyrrha at the base of the tower, readying herself to prepare more glyphs to bring her friends down at any given moment while fighting remaining Grimm off at the same time.
And then had come the scream. That gods-awful, blood-curling, haunting scream that had no right to come from someone as pure and good as Ruby Rose. That scream would surely haunt Weiss for the rest of her life. And she vowed to make whoever it was that had made her best friend scream like that pay with their life.
Next came the blinding light. With a thundering heart, Weiss summoned glyphs to the top of the tower, ready to protect Ruby and Pyrrha from whatever was happening and get them all out of that hell. But before she could step foot on the first glyph, a rough hand gripped her arm. She turned, ready to stab the culprit and be on her way.
Something inside her died when she saw it was her father. And he wasn't alone.
Before she could react, she was surrounded by his men. She had been fighting all day, her aura was almost depleted and she was utterly exhausted. Nevertheless, she fought. She kicked and screamed and cried.
"NO! Please, no, Ruby's up there, my partner's up there, I don't know if she's alive please I heard her scream, PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME-"
She barely saw the blunt end of a gun before her vision went black.
She woke up halfway to Atlas. Her father was seated next to her, the look on his face way too smug for his own good. She didn't want this. She wanted Winter. She wanted her team, she wanted Ruby.
Oh no.
Her heart skipped a beat in her chest, eyes widened and breath stuttered. Ruby. Ruby, was she alright? Did she find Pyrrha, was Ruby-?
Her eyes teared up at the mere thought. Against her unspoken vow to not ask her father for anything, she decided just once this was justified.
"Father. Father is Ruby alive, please. Is she alive?"
Jacques' eyes were as cold as ever. His expression didn't change as he answered her absentmindedly, distracted with something on his scroll.
"I don't know. Quite frankly, I don't care."
Weiss tried again, this time more desperate.
"Father, please-"
He finally broke his gaze on his scroll and whipped his head to look her in the eye. The utter lack of any human emotion sent a chill down her spine.
"I. Don't. Know. Now be quiet. We'll be home soon."
Weiss clamped her mouth shut. She knew if she pushed him any further she'd have a fresh bruise or two tomorrow. So as much as she hated it, she could wait. She'd be able to contact Winter, right? Surely she would. Winter would come for her. Her sister would always come for her when she was in need.
Winter didn't come.
Her father made it clear she wouldn't be coming for some time. Apparently Ironwood had her on some assignment in Mistral and with everything going on in the world, she wasn't just about to leave her post. Not that she would anyway. Her dedication and loyalty to Ironwood was unmatched.
(Perhaps it was stronger than her love for her sister-)
So Weiss was alone. She was alone in that impossibly large prison. She had Klein, of course, but he could only do so much. Whitley had become even more of a minion of their father's in her absence, and despite her efforts to engage with him, he remained the same. Her mother was barely coherent enough to recognize that Weiss was home.
Every second of the day, Weiss thought about her team and the state she had last seen them in. The last time she had seen Yang, she was missing an arm. She wanted more than anything to be there for her, to help her adjust to whatever she needed. To show her that she had her unconditional love and support.
Her last glimpse of Blake had not been a great one. She was a sobbing mess, repeating apologies to Yang over and over again while clutching her remaining hand like a lifeline. Not to mention the obvious stab wound in her abdomen. Weiss didn't know what had happened to them, but she knew it had to do something with Blake's past catching up with her. She could only hope that she and Yang were recovering together.
And Ruby. Gods, Ruby. Her partner, her best friend, the most important person in her life. Ruby was an absolute gift, one she doubted she deserved. She was her light, her pride and joy, her motivation. Ruby Rose was absolutely everything to Weiss Schnee. And she had no clue if she was even still alive.
The very thought of Ruby dying on the top of that tower sickened Weiss to no end. She couldn't have. She couldn't be gone, not when she was so full of life. But she had no way to find out the truth. She had no way to know if her partner died seconds away from her when she could've helped her, could've gone up to fight beside her, done anything to prevent that scream.
That fucking scream.
That sound haunted Weiss day and night. Sleep wasn't an escape from it. It was still there. It always was.
She prayed to whatever Gods could exist in this forsaken world that her teammates were alive and together. That Pyrrha and Ruby had both made it off of the tower. That they didn't think that she abandoned them.
It was the only way she could keep herself sane.
Her bedroom was too cold, too big, too empty. Too quiet. In their time at Beacon, Weiss had grown used to the sounds of her team going about their lives. Ruby's singing and mumbling, Blake's soft hums as she read, Yang's loud rambling and antics. Even at night it wasn't quiet. Ruby talked and fidgeted in her sleep and Yang could make someone go deaf with the strength of her snores.
She had decided that her bed in this prison was too big. She missed the looming threat of Ruby's bed collapsing on her and the worsening creaking with each night. She missed how whenever they would need a book that was being used as a support beam for Yang's bed, they would make it a competition as to who could oh so carefully switch them out without any disaster. She missed the nights when Ruby would offer the top bunk to her because she remembered how she'd wanted bunk beds as a kid. She mentioned when they'd all pile on Blake's bed to study and end up falling asleep there.
She missed spontaneous sleepovers with Team JNPR, fighting over the bathroom in the morning and night, her team educating her and Blake on pop culture that they had both missed throughout their lives. She missed Yang's pranks and everyone's laughter and impromptu last minute study sessions and food fights. She missed every second of it.
So, in an effort to escape these memories, she wandered around a lot, careful to avoid anyone except for Klein.
She quickly found that the kitchen was always empty. That is, the kitchen on the third floor. They had way too many kitchens. This one was relatively small and tucked into a corner with little foot traffic. In fact, it was quite reminiscent of the dorm's kitchen at Beacon.
In an effort to feel more at home, Weiss found herself making coffee. It had become a staple at school with the amount of cram sessions she found herself in. Perhaps it would rejuvenate her as well.
It wasn't until she took her first sip that she realized what she had done. She hadn't made her usual black coffee. She had made it just the way Ruby liked it. Cream and five sugars.
It wasn't as bad as she had expected it to be. Quite the opposite, really. It tasted familiar. Comforting. And if she closed her eyes and inhaled the scent, she could easily pretend she was back in her dorm at Beacon. Just for a little bit.
Pyrrha was dead. She found out from the news. Her father hadn't bothered to tell her.
And if Pyrrha was dead...was Ruby too? She was on the tower with her. Had she made it out? The reporter hadn't mentioned any other casualties but that didn't necessarily mean Ruby was safe. With Pyrrha's status, of course her fate would make the news.
After detaching herself from Klein's arms, she vaguely registered him asking if she needed anything. After a moment of thought, she nodded.
"Coffee please. Cream and five sugars."
It tasted like home.
As soon as she got the chance, she ran. She bribed a pilot to get her to Winter, who would hopefully have more information on the status of her team. She had a plan.
Until she didn't. Until the transport was attacked by Grimm, until the pilot was killed, until she was captured by bandits. Until everything went to hell even more. But she could work with this, right? She just had to wait until the right moment to escape. She wasn't just about to go back to that prison. Not now, not ever, and especially not like this.
Now she was captured by bandits and about to be sold for ransom back to her father. Weiss honestly wondered if he would even bother to pay it, but decided she'd rather be safe than sorry and it was best to escape at the first opportunity she was given.
The current commotion, whatever it was, was causing quite the perfect distraction for her escape. This was it. ...Then the bandit came flying out of the sky, effectively exposing her mid-escape.
Heh. That reminded her of the way Yang would punch people into next week - oh shit.
Yang. There she was - right in front of her eyes. And she was alone. No Blake or Ruby in sight.
Oh shit, indeed.
Time seemed to stop when Weiss saw Ruby for the first time in months.
Ruby hadn't seen her yet, she realized with a small laugh. She was always incredibly observant on the battlefield, but the moment she stepped off of it she was anything but. At least she hadn't completely changed.
She had, however, changed in many ways. Her hair had grown past her chin, she changed her outfit but still kept her combat skirt. She carried herself differently, her voice rang more clear, her eyes looked more troubled. She looked older. She looked tired.
She was so focused on committing these new changes to her memory that she didn't realize Ruby was talking to her until she was right in front of her.
"Weiss?"
Weiss was jolted from her thoughts and met the most welcoming sight she had ever seen. Ruby, beautiful, strong -
"You've gotten taller."
Every day that passed without reunited with Ruby, Weiss had thought of what her first words upon seeing her again would be. She had planned to keep it short but sweet, such as "I missed you so much," or perhaps a hug emphasized with a loving "Dolt." But, as Weiss had the misfortune to learn this last week or so, her plans tended to go awry.
Ruby blinked before bursting into giggles. (After months of hearing that scream, Weiss decided it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.) Her already teary silver eyes overflowed. Weiss didn't even realize she was crying before she felt Ruby's hands on her cheeks wiping away her tears.
With a sob, she threw herself into Ruby's arms. They held each other with a strength that not even the darkest evils could break, yet with a tenderness as if they were the most precious things in the world. Because to them, they were.
Standing there with Ruby in her arms and she in hers, swaying back and forth in an unbreakable embrace, and with tears of relief flowing from her eyes, Weiss had never felt happier. She smelled Ruby's strawberry shampoo and knew she was home. After what felt like both a century and a second, they pulled apart from their hug.
Weiss cupped Ruby's face with her hands, content to just drink in this moment for as long as possible. To show herself that Ruby was here, alive, safe, and with her.
Ruby gave her a smile that melted her heart. "Hey Princess."
She laughed. For the first time in months, Weiss laughed. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against her partner's, eyes not once leaving hers.
"Hey, Dolt."
There, surrounded by Ruby's warmth and smiles and love, Weiss felt her heart melt for good. And she wondered how the world could be considered cold when she felt this warm.