First Time at a Second Chance

by The Great Weiss Shark

Working at a café had many perks like free food and coffee, and Ruby honestly loved her job, but it felt lacking. There were days she wanted to give up and stay in bed but something in her gut told her to get up and go. And so she did and now she knows why: a chance meeting with a beautiful stranger and her little patch of spring. GP!Ruby

45. Forced to Face the Truth Part III

Chapter Thirty-nine: And Finally I'm Forced to Face the Truth part III

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"Yang, I'm sorry, I—"

"What else are you keeping from me?!" Yang yelled, her voice strained by the betrayal. "Are we even actually friends, or was I just some sick way for you to get closer to Weiss?!"

"Of course we're friends, Yang!" Blake shouted back. She tried to reach for her, but Yang ripped her arm away.

"You made me feel like shit because of Winter, but between the two of you, Winter's been more upfront about who she is!" Yang screamed at the top of her lungs.

Blake cowered in fear, her head sinking to her shoulders with her ears pressed flat. Yang's fury died down for a second with guilt taking its place. She reached out to Blake with an apology on her tongue, but Chrys had gotten there first and it all came rushing back like a slap to the face.

"Man, you know what—Uncle Qrow was right," Yang muttered to herself, stuffing her hands into her pocket. "You're not worth the heartache!" Turning on her heel, Yang left the apartment and slammed the door behind her. Then after a couple of awkward seconds where she shuffled loudly behind it, she shouted, "Sorry for slamming the door, Weiss! Not angry at you, best buddy!"

Weiss breathed out a sigh of relief and quickly urged Ruby to go after her sister.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, glancing between her and Blake.

"Go," Weiss insisted, pushing her forward. "She needs you more than anyone else right now… and Blake and I—I think we need to talk."

"Okay." Ruby hesitantly pulled herself away from Weiss and approached Chrys. "Hey, are we…?"

"I still think you're cool," Chrys said, holding out a fist towards Ruby. "The plants too; Mama can't decorate to save her life."

"Hey!" Weiss huffed in offence.

Smiling, Ruby bumped her fist against Chrys' and asked, "Anything you need to say to Yang?"

"Tell her I'm sorry I lost my temper," Chrys said with a blush. "That wasn't my best moment."

"It's okay, we understand… and you, Blake?"

"No," Blake said. "I deserve her anger… but I know her well enough to trust that she won't shut me out completely. I'll go to her once we've both had some time to cool off."

Ruby pursed her lips together and shifted her weight between her feet. Blake looked at her curiously, ears twitching anxiously.

"She's in love with you," Ruby said after taking a moment to think and gather the courage she needed to speak her mind. "If you're just stringing her along, I won't forgive you."

"I-I know she is," Blake admitted with a blush. "B-But…"

"I don't need to hear anymore," Ruby interrupted. "Whatever's going on between you two has nothing to do with me. Just… just get your shit together okay? Yang deserves to be with someone who's completely honest with her—whether that's as a friend or something more."

"Ruby…"

"That's all I have to say to you," Ruby said, ruffling Chrys' hair before running off to catch up to Yang. And just like her sister, she accidentally slammed the door and apologized for it.

"My door…" Weiss pouted. "Why do people keep slamming my door?"

"It's a nice door," Blake said.

"It's mahogany," Weiss muttered as she went to check on it.

Chrys helped Blake get back on her feet and lead her over to the table where she pulled a seat out for her. She also poured Blake some water, and after thinking it over, she instead grabbed a bottle of Weiss' sparkling grape juice from the fridge and three wine glasses.

"You let your daughter drink?" Blake asked Weiss in a hushed whisper.

"It's just grape juice," Weiss said as she joined them at the table and popped the cork for Chrys. "Nicole and I let her try a sip of alcohol whenever she got curious."

"Why? Isn't that kind of…"

"Reckless? I know," Weiss chuckled. "But I lived under Jacques' roof. I started drinking full glasses of whisky and wine when I was twelve just to cope with him. No one was sober at that dinner table, not even the maids."

"And Coco was fine with this?"

"It was her idea—thank you, mon coeur," Weiss said, graciously accepting the glass Chrys poured for her. "She figured that it was better to let Chrys try in a controlled environment than let her get peer pressured when she was older. Nicole let her try her favourite whisky once… it didn't go well."

"Haven't had a sip since!" Chrys proudly proclaimed. "And I doubt I'll have another anytime soon."

Weiss stroked Chrys' hair and pulled her down to kiss her forehead. "Good girl."

"Yay, praise," Chrys giggled.

Blake stared into her glass with a look of awe. "I never thought I'd ever be here with you, sharing a drink…"

"It's not poisoned," Weiss playfully said as she took a sip. "After Nicole passed away, I had to physically restrain myself from drinking any alcohol… I thought I was pregnant."

"What?!" Chrys shrieked.

Weiss blushed and let out a quiet chuckle. "I told you, your maman and I were trying for another you." She took a larger sip and sighed. "My period was just late though—and god that one was a trip! You've got a lot to look forward to in a couple of years, Chryssie."

Chrys downed her glass in one go like a seasoned alcoholic and poured herself another. "Can this day get any worse?"

"Wait," Blake said with her brows furrowed together, "that sounds like a—"

Weiss shot her a look that stopped her before she could say another word.

"Why couldn't I be born like Aunt Winter? Aren't our families, like, super at risk for that sort of thing?" Chrys huffed in annoyance.

"You're just like me, darling, yet another brown sheep in a herd of white," Weiss laughed.

"Can I have another?" Blake nervously asked, pointing to the bottle.

"It's good right?" Weiss smiled as she poured Blake's drink.

"It is…"

"So…" Chrys said, anxiously tapping her hands on the table, "I, uh, should probably start by saying I'm sorry for yelling at you." Blake blinked, her right ear twitching. "I've been… um, I think I've been bottling things up for a while."

"You think?" Weiss snorted. "Mon coeur, you are more tightly wound up than me."

"I couldn't help it!" Chrys pouted. "Maman made me promise to be a good girl—I had to be perfect!"

"You were already perfect, Chryssie," Weiss insisted. "No one told you to keep these feelings to yourself. You weren't raised like that."

"I know," Chrys sighed, "but it's hard. I didn't want to be a burden."

"You could never be a burden," Blake murmured hesitantly. She glanced over at Weiss to make sure she wasn't overstepping, and once she was certain it was okay, Blake pulled out her scroll and sifted through it. "Coco talked about you nonstop… she'd also send me pictures whenever you did something cute—which was a lot, by the way—here, take a look." Blake put her scroll down in the middle of the table and pointed to the screen. "It's okay to scroll through it… Coco and I never spoke in detail over text and we only ever made plans in person."

"There really is nothing but pictures of me here…" Chrys said in awe. "There aren't any pictures of Mama though."

"Funny story about that," Blake chuckled. "Whenever Coco and I met up during my break, she'd always take me to this one particular bench down the street facing a certain billboard."

"Oh no," Weiss groaned. "Please don't tell me…"

"Mhm, it was one of yours," Blake confirmed with a shy smile. "She'd point at it and shout 'that's my wife!' loud enough for everyone to hear. I don't think anyone believed her, but I don't think she cared much either."

"What did you two talk about?" Chrys asked, idly swishing the screen up and down, blurring all the texts and pictures.

"My legal rights and how I shouldn't be so willing to accept the abuse," Blake answered. "When we met, I was so beaten down, I didn't think life was worth living… my job didn't make it any easier."

"Pediatrics, right?" Weiss asked.

"Palliative care, to be specific…"

"Wait…" Weiss blinked and steadied herself. "Oh, Blake…"

"I'm really good at magic tricks," Blake smiled, her ears twitching. "The cat ears are also a pretty big hit with the kids."

"What kind of magic?" Chrys asked.

"Do you want to see?" Blake asked. When Chrys furiously nodded, Blake got out of her chair and pulled a deck of cards from her jacket's inner pocket. She rolled her sleeves up and began shuffling, swift and clean, like a professional dealer while maintaining eye contact with Chrys. "Have you ever seen a magic trick up close?"

"No!" Chrys answered, grinning ear to ear.

Blake swiped the cards across the table in a row before swiftly sliding them back into a pile with a flourish. She held the cards up to Chrys' eye level and swiftly split the pack in half and tossed a card high into the air before catching it and tossing two more up. She caught them both just as easily and split the stack into four, holding them in ways that broke Weiss' mind. Blake began flipping the cards in and out in the blink of an eye, spinning them in place with a breath, and making them appear out of nowhere seamlessly—Weiss poured herself a tall glass of juice by the time Blake made a card disappear and reappear in one swift motion.

"This is so cool!" Chrys screamed with glee. "How did you that?!"

Blake flashed her a smile as she sprung one card out of nowhere and made it change with a shake of her hand. "Like I said, 'magic.' "

"Could you teach me?" Chrys asked. "I promise I won't leak any sensitive information to the masses!"

"Wha—?" Blake blinked and side-eyed Weiss. "Right. Sure—I keep forgetting you're her daughter."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"She looks so much like Coco, it's scary," Blake confessed.

"People used to think I was her babysitter whenever I took her to the park," Weiss said with a sad smile she hid behind her glass. "I'd have other mothers come up to me and what my rates were and how much they'd love to have such a 'responsible young lady' watch their precious, little babies."

Blake stifled a laugh behind a hand and asked, "How did that go?"

"About as well as you can expect when this one," Weiss poked Chrys' cheek, "called me 'Mama' while stuffing my pockets full of sand."

"Pocket sand!" Chrys cheekily grinned.

Weiss shook her head. "I am so glad you grew out of that habit."

They shared a laugh and played pushed each other, though Weiss won in the end by pulling both of Chrys' cheeks.

"Mama, you shuuuuck!" Chrys whined.

"You two are adorable," Blake said as she piled her cards back together neatly and handed them over to Chrys. She took a seat and a sip of her juice, crinkling her nose when the bubbles bit back. "You're not what I expected at all, Weiss."

"How so?"

"I always had this prejudice against you that I couldn't shake even when Coco refuted them all," Blake confessed, taking a card from Chrys. She held it up and made it disappear in an instant, blowing Chrys' little ten-year-old mind. "She used to say how kind you are—"

Weiss snorted out a laugh and shook her head. "An egregious lie, but go on."

"Okay, fine. You're an awful tyrant that compensates her employees properly, donates to the poor, and steals candy from babies," Blake said with a smirk.

"That's more like it!" Weiss smirked back. "I also torment the weak, seduced an innocent co-ed barely out of high school, and my worst crime to date is baby trapping the second most eligible bachelorette in Atlas."

"Who's the first?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Me of course," Weiss laughed.

"Gross, Mama," Chrys muttered as she inspected the card Blake gave her. "Why can't you be cool like Blake?"

"And what, do magic?" Weiss shot back.

"Yeah."

"Well, there is one trick I can do really well," Weiss said with a steadily growing smirk, her eyes gleaming with a devilish glint. "I can make Ruby's dick disappear in seconds."

"Fucking gross! Mama, why?!" Chrys shrieked with a horrified expression. "This is payback from earlier, isn't it?!"

"You bet your ass it is, young lady!" Weiss grinned triumphantly. "Never ever talk back to me like again, do you understand?"

Chrys groaned in disgust. "You suck."

"I also swallow."

"Oh god, Mama, stop. Blake is right there!"

Weiss glanced at Blake and smirked. "Oh, mon coeur, if Blake spent any real time with your maman, she's probably heard worse."

"It's true," Blake chuckled awkwardly. "I know so many things that I wish I didn't."

"Ew, ew, ew, ew!" Chrys blanched, her soul leaving the mortal plane. "I am a literal child—why are you talking about these things?!"

"The fact that you understood what I said tells me that you're ready for 'the talk,' " Weiss said, swirling her juice like a sophisticated lady.

"No! God, please no!" Chrys screamed as she writhed in her seat. "You are so embarrassing!"

"I can ask Ruby to sit down and talk to you about it instead," Weiss offered with a gleeful grin. "She looks innocent, but she works at the high school—she's probably had to give the talk a million times to kids older than you."

"That's even worse!"

"Look, I just don't want you repeating my mistakes," Weiss said.

"Hi, 'mistakes' has a name," Chrys muttered. "Blake, I bet your parents don't embarrass you like this."

"Oh, no, they absolutely did," Blake chuckled. "But considering what I've done, they probably should've done worse and embarrassed me out of existence."

"See! Blake understands," Weiss smirked. "I am going to scar you for life and do whatever I can to avoid becoming a grandmother at thirty-two."

"Ughhh, Mama, grooooossssssss! Why are you doing this to me!?" Chrys cried. "I thought you loved me?"

"It's because I love you that I'm saying all this," Weiss said with an innocent smile. "I was fourteen the first time I slept with your mother—that's four more years, mon coeur, and maybe your opinion will change."

"Nope!"

"Mm, I remember saying that too," Blake sighed. "Oh to be young again."

"I'd still do everything the same if I got to go back in time," Weiss said, caressing Chrys' cheek even though she tried to maul and bite her like a pissed off cat. "And to be perfectly clear, the mistakes I mentioned weren't about you and your mother. It was me. I did a lot of things that I'm not proud of because I was so angry at my parents. I don't think they particularly cared, but if you started acting out like I did… I think my heart would break."

"Mama, you know I would never do anything to hurt you… you don't have to worry about that," Chrys said, releasing Weiss' hand from the grips of her teeth. "I know that the things you say and do are all because you love me. I also understand why Blake had so much trouble coming to us."

"I really am sorry about that," Blake said. "I tried… but how do you apologize for something like this?"

"We never blamed you," Weiss said. "I purposefully refused to learn more about the situation than what I needed to avoid spiralling into the details."

"Ruby was right," Chrys added. "I think we all needed the truth."

"It has been weighing me down," Blake confessed. "I used to lie awake at night wondering how you'd react…"

"Was it close?"

Blake shook her head. "No."

"Do you feel better now?" Chrys asked.

"A bit…" Blake answered. "But I wish there was more… I don't think I've truly earned your forgiveness."

"That's just your guilt talking," Weiss said as she poured Blake another glass. "You want us to punish you, but that's just not how we do things here."

"I've never been grounded, or sent to my room with no dinner," Chrys grinned. "Mama's a softie."

"Shush you," Weiss huffed.

"Then I wish you would've yelled at me even more at least," Blake sighed as she nervously kneaded her hands.

"Again, that's not how we do things." Weiss put a hand over Blake's. "You've punished yourself enough. You never needed our forgiveness."

"Weiss…" Blake murmured, her bottom lip trembling. "I don't know how to thank you."

"I'm not the one you need to thank," Weiss said. "If it was up to me, you would've been out the door the second you walked in. I am nowhere near as forgiving as Nicole or Chrys. I am a Schnee through and through no matter how far I distance myself from them. Mistakes are mistakes, accidents don't exist—we need to be perfect. These are the core values Jacques instilled in me even though he merely usurped the name. I've tried to shake it and think more like the Adels, but I just can't…"

"You've changed a lot though, Mama," Chrys said, patting Weiss on the head. "You were so stiff when I was younger."

"I wouldn't be so quick to forgive me, Chrys," Weiss said. "I wronged you the most."

"Coco used to tell me about how you acted back then," Blake said. "It kind of painted my opinion of you, but she kept arguing that it was just your way of processing."

"It was, but that's a story for another day," Weiss said before turning to Chrys. "Go check on our idiots and bring them back."

"Okay," Chrys said, hugging Weiss and Blake before leaving the apartment.

"How do you know they're still here?" Blake asked after the most awkward minute of her life passed.

"Ruby would have called," Weiss answered.

"Oh…" Blake murmured with a shiver.

Weiss eyed Blake cautiously as she drummed her fingers on the side of her glass.

"We don't have much time before they get here," she said, taking a sip to soothe her parched throat. "Are you in contact with Amélia?"

"I am."

"What has she told you?"

"Nothing," Blake answered. "Moving here had nothing to do with you and Chrys; Coco never actually told me you guys were coming here. It's pure coincidence—maybe even destiny—but Sun needed a new roommate and I… I needed to get away."

"Your boyfriend?"

"Mm… sort of, I guess?" Blake finished the last of her glass and poured herself and Weiss another. "You don't happen to have anything stronger do you?"

"I do," Weiss said, leaving Blake to pull a bottle of her favourite vodka out of the freezer. She poured a generous amount into their glasses and took the first swig. "Now that's more like it!"

"Agreed," Blake chuckled.

"So, Blake," Weiss said, pulling her legs onto her seat, "tell me about this boy you keep around."

"Not much to say," Blake said, tapping her glass. "I bumped into him at the grocery store and we talked a bit. He was only here for a quick vacation, so we got some drinks and I told him the story. He offered me a place and, well, here we are now."

"You don't particularly sound interested in him," Weiss pointed out.

"It's hard to explain," Blake blushed, shying away from Weiss' perceptive gaze. "He's a sweet guy, nothing at all like Adam… I feel safe with him."

"Buuuut?"

Smiling, Blake took a sip and said, "I don't know how to put this delicately. I've never felt anything towards another woman, but being with Yang makes me thinks it's a possibility. I feel things I've never felt before whenever she's around..."

"Mm, they'll be here any second now," Weiss said, getting up to put the vodka away. "Can you answer one last question?"

"Anything."

"Will you really teach Chrys those magic tricks?"

"Wha…?" Blake blinked.

"She seemed interested," Weiss continued with an easygoing smile. "Could you teach her?"

"I…"

"You wanted a way to atone for the part you played in my wife's death, well, this is your chance," Weiss said, walking over to Blake. "I'm going to pick up where Nicole left off." She held her right hand out and said, "If you take my hand, you become part of this family. Every major event, birthdays, holidays—you are invited."

"What's the catch?" Blake asked, rising from her seat.

"No catch," Weiss smiled. "All we want is what you already have to offer."

"And if I have nothing?" Blake murmured, showing Weiss her empty hands.

"Well, you're alive, aren't you?" Weiss said with an uncharacteristic levity. "I'm sure you'll find something."

"Okay," Blake said, shaking Weiss' hand. "You are far too kind, Weiss."

"I already told you, Blake. I'm not like Chrys or Nicole. I can't let things go the same way they do. So don't take this as an act of kindness or forgiveness—this is mercy," Weiss replied just before she pulled Blake in for a hug. "There isn't a punishment I can give you that can compare to what you've done to yourself. It's okay to move forward."

Blake hesitantly held Weiss back, but once she did, she held on to her like the world had just ended and Weiss was all that was left.

"I'm so sorry," Blake sobbed, her tears seeping into Weiss' dress.

"It's okay," Weiss said as she patted Blake's back. "But if it'll make you feel better, cry as much as you want—but I'm sending you my dry cleaning bill." A short chuckle bubbled through Blake's throat. "It's not a joke. I really will send you the bill."

"That's fine by me," Blake laughed.

The sound of Chrys' laughter and Yang's boisterous yells echoed through the halls followed by Ruby's incessant shouts about being careful.

"Yang's carrying Chrys again," Weiss sighed. "I don't know why those two keep insisting on treating her like she's half the size she is."

"She's taller than you," Blake said, following Weiss to the door.

"Thank you, Ms. Obvious," Weiss muttered as she opened the door before Yang and her gorilla hands could get to it. "I'm not letting you slam my door again, you brute!"

"I said I was sorry," Yang said, snorting out a laugh.

"You can't afford to replace it."

"Lies! My boss pays me extremely well. I can probably buy you one or two doors with change!" Yang bellowed as she made her way into the apartment with Chrys hanging onto her like a koala.

Ruby stumbled in out of breath and sweaty. "I'm sorry, I tried to tell her it wasn't a good idea.."

"It's fine," Weiss said, wiping Ruby's brow. "As long as Yang doesn't hurt herself or Chrys, there's no need to bother."

Sighing, Ruby leaned into Weiss' touch. "Is everything good between you two?"

"They're fine," Weiss said, kissing the crinkle between Ruby's brows. "The food's getting cold though. Could you call Ciel and Neptune and check if they'd be willing to join us for dinner?"

"Okay," Ruby said, kissing Weiss back.

After Ruby staggered off and fell into the couch with Chrys and Yang, Weiss led Blake back to the table.

"She's ignoring me," Blake whimpered.

"Give it time," Weiss said, patting Blake's hand. "She's probably just hangry."

"Probably," Blake said with a hopeful smile. "We skipped lunch because she said you'd probably have a panic attack and cook too much."

"Well, she was right," Weiss laughed, hiding her red cheeks behind her glass. "Did Nicole ever make you her fried chicken?"

"She gave me a bit when you guys had a barbecue… I was invited actually," Blake said, taking a sip herself. "I was going to go, I made a casserole, but I got called in last minute."

"What did you think of it?"

Blake smiled. "It was the best damn chicken I've ever had."

"I know right?" Weiss said, clinking her glass against Blake. "To new friendships."

"And the start of a new life."