"Good morning, best sister in the entire world!"
"What do you want?" Weiss asked, not looking up as Whitley walked behind her.
"Just saying good morning."
Weiss scoffed at the answer but refocused on her task while Whitley rummaged around in the kitchen. Several minutes later, he sat across from her with a bowl of cereal and the entire carton of milk.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing a spoon at the stack of forms in front of her while she gave the milk a dubious look.
"Our petition to the court."
"Did Dad step down?"
"Of course not," Weiss scoffed again, this time shaking her head at that recent failure. "Hopefully, they'll grant the request without him."
"Then you and Winter take over, clean everything up, and I come in to turn it all around."
When Whitley grinned at the grandiose plan and shoved a huge spoonful of cereal into his mouth, Weiss rolled her eyes. "Why are you eating cereal?" she finally asked. "It's already noon."
"Don't have class." Weiss arched a brow at the response, but Whitley shrugged. "Seems like he should be automatically removed for bribing people." Both of Weiss' brows rose this time, but Whitley shrugged again. "Did it all the time. Handed 'em envelopes of cash."
"Whitley, that's incredibly illegal."
"It was Dad."
Whitley stuck another big spoonful in his mouth, nonplussed by the admission, so Weiss muttered, "Of course…" and flipped through the papers for the third time that morning. After reaching the end of the lengthy document, she straightened the pages, slid them into a large envelope, and put the envelope in her bag.
"Wish me luck," she said while gathering her keys and heading to the door.
"Good luck!" he called out as she waved and left the apartment behind.
Submitting the documents to the court was the final step in a long, seemingly never-ending list of difficult, complicated tasks. After spending hours upon hours poring over every page, fixing typos and ensuring every entry complied with a convoluted set of legal codes, Weiss was as eager to be rid of it as she was anxious for the result. Completing this task took her to the Atlas courthouse - a sprawling historical building located in the heart of downtown.
As her heels tapped against the courthouse's smooth tile floors, she glanced into every room on her way to the clerk's office. A long line had formed in the records room, where people waited, forms in hand, for their turn to speak with one of the sparse employees. Courtrooms with open doors were either empty or adjourning for the day, releasing spectators, attorneys, and defendants into the wide hallway. Her gaze lingered on the attorneys in their sharp suits, carrying their black briefcases or armfuls of case files, before she ducked into the far less glamorous clerk's office.
Thankfully, the line was short. After waiting only a few minutes, she stepped up to the counter and set her documents on the counter.
"Hi, I'm here to submit this formal appeal -"
"Filing fee's eighty dollars," the clerk interrupted, sliding a single-page form in front of her. "Fill this out and sign the bottom."
Briefly caught off guard by the brusqueness, Weiss grabbed a pen from a mug full of them and filled out the form with her contact information. She'd hardly signed the bottom before the clerk swept it away, attached it to the front of Weiss and Winter's hard work, and dropped the entire stack in a bin overflowing with similar requests.
"Eighty bucks," the clerk repeated, holding out a hand for Weiss' credit card.
Several minutes later, Weiss left the courthouse with a receipt in one hand and a massive weight off of her shoulders. Pausing at the top of the courthouse steps, she took a deep breath of Atlas' moderately clean air before releasing it in a long overdue sigh. Her future rested in the judge's hands now. If they agreed with the arguments she and Winter painstakingly built over the past few years, this nightmare would finally end.
It felt like a monumental occasion - one that could turn her life around - but there was no celebration. No congratulations. Not even a pat on the back for making it this far. She knew not to get her hopes up - these glimmers of hope had been dashed plenty of times before - but another part of her wanted to do something, even something small, to commemorate the occasion.
Her gaze unwittingly flitted towards the convention center, barely visible several blocks away. The hotel across from the convention center, however, was easy to find. Eyes trained to the top of the building, she pulled out her phone and tapped the edge against the palm of her hand.
Ruby was an internationally recognized celebrity. Countless people coveted her time and attention, and she was only in Atlas for work. Weiss didn't want to bother her for something so insignificant.
At the same time, it was Ruby. The same girl who'd stayed up all night whenever Weiss crammed for a big test, brought Weiss flowers when she'd been accepted into her first-choice college, and dropped everything to take her to the hospital the day before.
"You can at least leave her a message..." she mumbled, finally dialing Ruby's number. She took a deep breath on the first ring only to hastily let it out when the call connected.
"Weiss! What're you up to? How're you doing?"
Ruby's bright, cheerful voice floated through the phone as if she'd been waiting for this moment all morning, simultaneously catching Weiss' heart off guard and scrambling her thoughts.
"I'm - uh, well. I'm doing well. How are you?"
Weiss closed her eyes and shook her head at the failed conversation starter, but her lips twitched upward when Ruby giggled.
"Much better now. What're you up to though? Anything cool?"
"Nothing much." Weiss glanced at the courthouse before moving further away. "I just finished an appointment downtown and was wondering, if you're not busy, maybe we can grab lunch or...go for a walk or something?"
"I'd love to! But, uh, I'm kinda stuck at this work thing right now..."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt -"
"You're not interrupting!" Ruby quickly said. "But...oh, I have an idea! Why don't you meet me here? Then we can get lunch as soon as I'm done?"
Weiss bit her lip while considering that option but, after glancing at the courthouse one last time, said, "Sure. I'd love to."
"Great! I'll text you the address and see you in a few!"
A message arrived shortly after the call disconnected, and Weiss smiled at her phone before setting off in the right direction. Lively sidewalks and busy streets would usually bother her, but her steps took on a life of their own, sweeping her to her destination as if the cold wind carried her along with it. Before long, she double-checked the address on one of the newer office buildings, where reflective glass windows, shimmering steel beams, and a well-maintained courtyard put many of Atlas' older buildings to shame.
The aura of new, clean money extended into the cavernous lobby. White marble floors gleamed like they'd been polished that morning. Extravagant crystal chandeliers glittered overhead. Vibrant red furniture placed around silver tables offered sleek meeting spaces currently unused by the people rushing to and from silver elevators on the far side of the room.
Before Weiss wondered where to go, her eyes landed on a large sign directing cast and crew down a hallway leading off of the atrium. The easily recognizable crescent logo earned a longer glance as she walked by and silently thanked the universe that she'd dressed nicely for the trip to the courthouse.
Another sign stood beside wide-open double doors at the end of the hall. Beyond those doors, people milled about, moving quickly amongst a maze of large cameras and bright lights. Several workers rushed around the room's periphery, resituating the equipment into different positions, but everyone else seemed focused on whatever was happening in the center of the room.
When one cautious step through the doorway didn't earn an immediate rebuke, Weiss moved around a large camera and stood on her tiptoes to see over the employees in front of her. There, she found a realistic kitchen complete with appliances and an island covered in food holding the cameras' gazes; the beautiful brunette standing at the island, however, captured Weiss'.
Concentrated and serious, Ruby nodded at whatever the man speaking to her just said. Her eyes never left him as he pointed at several items on the counter and then made a sweeping hand motion towards one of the cameras. After looking that way, she offered a short response that garnered his thumbs up.
"Let's start from the top, everyone!" he shouted while walking away.
Suddenly, everyone in the room had somewhere else to be. The people in front of Weiss scattered as if blown away by an invisible wind, leaving her with a clear view of the set and the solitary person standing in it. As Weiss dropped down to her heels, Ruby tapped her fingers on the island and glanced around. Her gaze slid past Weiss but quickly snapped back, her fingers abruptly stopping. A warm smile followed, and she gestured for someone to wait before hurrying over.
"You made it!"
Ruby's elated expression suggested that was the best news in the world, but her appearance distracted Weiss from a typical response. Instead, Weiss looked Ruby over - from the sneakers and tight shorts to the form-fitted exercise shirt, subtle makeup and perfectly ruffled hair - and let a small scoff slip through her lips.
"Sorry, I'd hug you but he'll probably get angry."
Ruby motioned towards the man she'd been speaking with moments prior before leaning in and kissing Weiss' cheek. Weiss' cheek warmed where Ruby's lips touched, but she cleared her throat when Ruby pulled away.
"A commercial?" she got out, unable to mask her surprise.
"Oh, yeah." After glancing over her shoulder, Ruby chuckled. "I'm supposed to pick up a few things, say a couple lines, then smile 'endearingly' into the camera. But apparently my smile isn't endearing enough?"
"Your smile's perfect though."
"Tell that to the director." Someone loudly cleared their throat then, and Ruby grimaced before regaining that perfect smile. "I'll show you," she said, surprising Weiss by squeezing both of her hands before hurrying back to the fake kitchen.
Avoiding the curious looks, Weiss glanced at her hands before watching Ruby at work. On some invisible, unspoken cue, all motion on the set ceased. The men and women standing behind the cameras gave a thumbs up, someone holding a large screen became still as a statue, and the director nodded.
"And…action!"
Ruby fluidly picked up the first box on the counter, read the label, and opened it. When dry pasta spilled everywhere, much to Ruby's apparent disbelief, Weiss bit her lip to hold back a laugh. Ruby had similar luck with a carton of milk and several eggs, making an incredible mess on the island, before reaching the last product.
"Ah," she sighed after opening it without incident. "Finally, something I can eat."
"Cut!" the director shouted right after Ruby smiled at one of the cameras. Crew members rushed onto the set to clean up the mess while the director watched something on a tablet held by one of the assistants. Ruby, meanwhile, grinned at Weiss before helping sweep pasta back into the box.
"Run it again!"
Several people near Weiss grumbled at the instruction but wasted no time getting back into place. The crew's well-practiced movements made short work of the set-up process: the counters cleaned, boxes returned to their original positions, and Ruby left standing alone in the kitchen. Again, the director called, "Action!" and Ruby went through the same series of mishaps, ending with a smile.
While the director watched the new result on the tablet, the room seemed to hold its collective breath. That breath released in sighs when he shook his head and pulled off his headset.
"Take a break," he announced before heading into the kitchen, motioning Ruby over while several assistants offered them bottles of water. Ruby smiled at Weiss - an apologetic smile this time - before focusing on the man as he picked up a container and pointed at various cameras. Ruby followed the gestures, her gaze intent and her nods light, and Weiss watched until a familiar face caught her attention.
"Look who it is." Yang's greeting was all charm, as usual, but her hug was warm and her smile friendly. "Don't you have better things to do at that fancy company of yours?"
"Just wrapped something up and wanted to see what Ruby was up to."
Weiss nodded at Ruby, who caught the small gesture and responded with a big smile. Noticing the reaction, Yang stood beside Weiss so they could both watch the conversation taking place.
"I've never seen her so happy about shooting a commercial. Then again, I've never seen her as happy as she is around you."
Feeling Yang's gaze, which would be teasing at best, Weiss kept hers on Ruby. "We've always had a great time together," she agreed, a smile tugging at her lips when Ruby accidentally threw the box of pasta across the set. Some of the crew members laughed, and even the stony-faced director cracked a small smile.
"How're things with Blake?" she asked only when the director returned to his explanation.
"Amazing. She's amazing. I can't believe I missed my chance to date her in high school."
"Probably for the best. You weren't the type for a serious relationship then."
"What makes you think I am now?" Yang asked, adding a wink that made Weiss scoff.
"If you break her heart, I'll break your legs."
"'Break my legs?' What happened to suing me for every dollar I have and putting me in poor-person jail for the rest of my life?"
"Breaking your legs is faster," Weiss said, casually shrugging as Yang chuckled. Before long though, Yang fell silent, and her thoughtful gaze returned to Ruby.
"I could say the same to you, you know. About Ruby."
"Ruby and I aren't dating," Weiss pointed out, but Yang shrugged.
"Doesn't mean you can't hurt her."
"You know that's the last thing I'd ever want to do."
Yang's lilac eyes held Weiss' gaze for several long seconds before she hummed softly and waved at Ruby. Ruby enthusiastically returned the wave before saying something that made everyone around her laugh. Weiss' heart fluttered at the effortless good nature, but also at how other people finally saw it and appreciated it, too.
"It hasn't all been great." Weiss looked over at that statement, but Yang's gaze remained straightforward. "In the movies, fame is all fun and glamorous. In reality...it's hard to trust people. I think that's part of why she's so happy to see you."
Chest tightening at that admission, which Yang had pointedly omitted details of, Weiss turned away and mustered a smile when Ruby glanced over. Ruby was comfortingly familiar in so many ways, but Weiss only needed to look around the room to see how much things had changed. The bright lights, the expensive cameras, the attentive assistants...this was a different world from high school cafeterias and weekend movie nights.
"What's the other part?" When Yang turned towards her, brow furrowed, Weiss gestured with one hand. "You said that's 'part of' the reason she's happy to see me. What's the other part?"
"Shouldn't that be obvious?" Yang asked as a slow smile found its way onto her lips. Weiss frowned at the unhelpful response but had just opened her mouth when someone snapped their fingers.
"Hey, you. New girl."
Glancing around, Weiss discovered that the room's attention had shifted to her.
"Yes, you," the director added with another impatient gesture.
"That's my best friend from high school!" Ruby piped up.
"Best friend from high school," the man said before snapping his fingers and pointing at the floor beside him. "Since our resident jokester can't stop staring at you, why don't you stand here?"
Ruby's eyes widened at his comment while a blush rushed onto Weiss' cheeks. When no one immediately moved, the director sighed and waved Weiss over again. This time, Weiss hurried to his side but only briefly met Ruby's gaze before both of them looked away.
"Thank you," he huffed before returning to his chair. "Now, let's try this again."
As crew members returned to their starting positions, Weiss glanced at Yang, who smirked and waggled her brow, before looking at the large camera positioned beside her, nearly blocking her view of the kitchen. Ruby fiddled with one of the boxes on the island until the room stilled. Only then did she return to her starting point, where Weiss now saw an 'x' taped to the floor, and took a deep breath.
"And...action!"
Ruby sprang into motion immediately, dropping the pasta, spilling the milk, and breaking the eggs before finally finding the advertised product. After opening it without issue, she looked directly at Weiss, and Weiss' heart fluttered as an incredibly genuine, incredibly amused smile found its way onto her lips.
"Finally," she said while holding back a laugh. "Something I can eat."
"Cut!" the director yelled at the same time Weiss smiled and shook her head. Ruby started laughing almost immediately, her silver eyes sparkling while the director watched the take on the tablet in his hands.
"Perfect," he concluded, and the cameraman standing beside Weiss pumped his fist before removing his headset. Everyone else followed suit, cleaning up or breaking down equipment now that their work was done. In the midst of that commotion, Ruby hurried over.
"Sorry that took so long." Ruby reached for Weiss' hands, and Weiss offered them for a gentle squeeze and bright smile. "Let me get changed, then we can get outta here."
"Woah, woah, woah." Before Ruby rushed away, Yang caught her elbow. "Slow down, turbo. We have that meeting, remember?"
"What? Oh." Ruby's crestfallen expression answered the question better than words could. As did her eventual sigh. "Crud. I totally forgot. Can we reschedule?" When Yang's brow rose, Ruby scrunched up her nose. "Or can you go?" she asked, but Yang shook her head.
"You know I would, but you kind of need to make a decision."
"Don't worry about me," Weiss interrupted, shaking her head when Ruby looked at her. "You don't need to reschedule anything. I'm happy I got to see you and watch all this." Weiss waved at the elaborate set and added, "It was really interesting."
Ruby looked at Yang, who shrugged and scooted a little further away, before sighing. "Ok," she said as her shoulders slouched. "But we still have a little bit before it starts, so...want to hang out until then?"
"Of course. I have time."
Weiss' heart soared when the affirmative response restored Ruby's happiness, and she willingly fell into step by Ruby's side as they walked away from the set.
"We're meeting some producer about a movie," Ruby explained, leading them down a hallway branching off of the larger filming room.
"A zom-com?"
"Look at you!" Beaming now, Ruby leaned over and nudged Weiss' shoulder. "You'll know the lingo in no time."
Weiss smiled but, when Ruby's smile became a little too captivating, averted her gaze and cleared her throat.
"A new movie though - that's great."
"I guess...but now I can't get lunch with you!" Weiss chuckled at the insubstantial tradeoff, and Ruby eventually smiled. "I'd be more interested if it was a zom-com, but it's just another comedy."
"You're great at making people laugh."
"Including you?"
Glancing at Ruby out of the corner of her eye, Weiss scoffed. "Of course, Ruby. Without question."
Grinning now, Ruby opened one of the doors and playfully bowed Weiss through. "After you," she added before following Weiss inside.
Weiss expected a small changing room, but Ruby's dedicated area was more comparable to a mini apartment. A sofa and chairs formed a comfortable seating area around a coffee table. A closet stuffed with clothing was across from them, a restroom visible through another open door. A small, round dining table rounded out the space - the platters of food sitting on that table instantly captured Ruby's attention.
"Well, look at that." The spread of food pulled Ruby over like a moth to a flame. "We can have lunch! As long as you don't mind chips and sandwiches."
"And an impressive array of cookies," Weiss pointed out.
"The crew knows me well." Ruby grinned when Weiss laughed, then grabbed a stack of clothes and motioned towards the restroom. "I'll change real quick. Feel free to start though!"
While Ruby zipped into the bathroom, Weiss pored over their catered lunch options. Whoever was in charge of ordering covered their bases with one of every popular type of sandwich, as well as multiple flavors of chips and cookies.
"Is your mom doing alright?"
Weiss glanced over but hurriedly turned away when she caught Ruby's reflection, sans shirt, in the bathroom mirror. Blushing now, she cleared her throat before saying, "She's fine, thank you. She was just a little sore and drowsy when I left."
"That's good. Concussions can be scary. Your dad's taking care of her, right?"
Weiss hummed her response and inspected the magazines arranged on the coffee table. Like the sandwiches, they covered so many different topics that someone was bound to find one they liked.
"What does Yang do, exactly?" she asked when she came across a magazine catering to fashion lovers. "Besides standing around looking pretty, of course."
"That's what she does best, obviously," Ruby joked. "But she actually handles a bunch of stuff. Like right now she's probably going over the shoot with the director's assistant. And she'll answer my emails a lot. Basically, she talks to people so I don't have to."
"Yang is good at talking..." Weiss mused while picking up a miniature globe from one of the end tables.
"She is! But she's been working on some fashion stuff on the side. It's really taking off too, so she'll probably leave me soon."
"That's too bad. It must be nice having her around."
"Yeah…it'll suck not seeing each other all the time anymore, but it'll be good for her. She's always put me first so, I dunno...I want her to do something for herself for once."
Weiss was returning the globe to the table when Ruby reappeared, and her arm briefly froze when she saw Ruby's gorgeous-yet-understated jeans and snug tee-shirt. Her cheeks warmed as she quickly set the globe down, but Ruby looked between her and the food several times before saying, "You didn't start?"
"It's rude to eat before everyone's ready," Weiss replied while taking the seat beside Ruby at the table.
"Never stopped me!"
"I'm well aware."
Weiss rolled her eyes but laughed when Ruby nudged her shoulder and handed her a plate. They grabbed their sandwiches at the same time, and Ruby passed Weiss the bag of chips she wanted before giving her a thoughtful look.
"You seem happier today. Lighter."
"I am, I guess," she admitted. "I finally finished something I've been working on for a while. I don't know the results yet, but I'm hopeful it'll be a success."
"Whatever it is, it must be big. Weiss Schnee only works on the biggest and most important problems!"
Faced with Ruby's proud grin, Weiss took a bite of her sandwich rather than respond. Now, more than ever, she hoped that she and Winter won their case. If they wrested control from her father, she might deserve that pride and respect. Until then, she swallowed around the lump in her throat and glanced Ruby's way every few seconds.
Ruby took such big bites that, had Weiss not known her well, might imply she was in a rush; the small smile refusing to leave her lips confirmed otherwise. Weiss embraced the relative quiet broken only by rustling chip bags and crunching sandwiches, especially as her thoughts returned to Yang's earlier comment.
She trusted Ruby implicitly - the result of the years they'd spent glued to each other's sides. Ruby also seemed to trust her...but what portion of that trust came from believing she was too rich to be interested in Ruby's new wealth? By the time Ruby brushed breadcrumbs off of her hands, Weiss decided that she didn't want to know the answer.
"That was actually really good," Ruby said before grabbing a chocolate chip cookie. "These always remind me of when I convinced you to make a triple batch of cookies."
"God. We were baking for hours."
"But I ate them all! Just like I promised."
Ruby beamed at the accomplishment, but Weiss' chest tightened at the word. After searching Ruby's eyes for an explanation, wondering if Ruby meant to bring up the other promises they'd made at that time, she glanced at her hands and said, "I'm sorry I never reached out..."
"Hey, it's alright. I mean, silence can't happen unless everyone stops talking, right?" When Weiss looked up, Ruby offered a flicker of a smile before drawing small circles on the table. "I guess I just felt a little...dejected or something. Then it got awkward, then I got busy and figured you didn't want to talk anymore."
"That couldn't be further from the truth."
"I know that now, but it was easy to think you'd moved on. Bigger and better - that's the Schnee way, right?"
Weiss frowned at the phrase, and Ruby's forced smile hurt her heart. Before she could reply, however, two knocks interrupted them.
"Ruby!" Yang called out. "You ready yet?"
After looking at Weiss for a moment longer, Ruby said, "Yeah, just give me a second!"
Yang muttered something imperceptible from the other side of the door while Ruby sighed and stood up. "Guess I should get going," she mumbled while Weiss followed suit. "What're the chances I can steal you again tonight?"
Ruby's hopeful smile returned, and Weiss nearly said 'yes' before remembering her work schedule. "Oh," she said, her expression falling instead. "I have a...thing tonight."
"How about after?"
"It won't end until late…"
"That's fine. You're worth waiting for." Weiss' cheeks warmed at the sincerity, but Ruby looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. "So, uh, I can meet you at your place, maybe?" she asked while opening the door and leading Weiss into the hall.
"Why don't I meet you at the hotel instead?"
"How come we never hang out at your place anymore?"
"Because you're staying at a fancy hotel with a minibar and room service."
Weiss nudged Ruby's shoulder, successfully drawing a chuckle before Ruby glanced at Yang. Yang flashed a cheeky smile from her spot leaning against the wall nearby, and Ruby shuffled her feet before glancing down at her hands.
"Ok, the hotel it is. Come over when you're free?"
"The minute it's over," Weiss assured Ruby. After glancing at Yang, who studied her fingernails rather than pay obvious attention, Weiss kissed Ruby's cheek before backing away. "See you soon," she told Ruby before pointing at Yang. "And don't make me break your legs."
Yang's laughter followed Weiss down the hall, but Ruby's eyes were the only thing Weiss saw when she glanced over her shoulder.
Ruby was an international celebrity with more movies, fans, and money on the way, but there had always been and still was so much more to her than the easy smile, infectious laughter, and enduring kindness. She had owned Weiss' heart and thoughts once, but that was back when 'bigger and better' had been the Schnee way. Things were different now. They were different.
Yet when Weiss thought of seeing Ruby later that night…her heart warmed, her footsteps lightened, and she carried an inescapable smile all the way out the door.