Weiss opens her eyes at precisely six-thirty on the morning of her eighteenth birthday, ready to take on the day. Blake's bunk is already empty – she's probably off running away from things again – and Ruby and Yang are still snoring.
Weiss Schnee is not the sort of person who cares if she wakes people up by her daily routine. Obviously. But Yang is a holy terror if she's woken up too early, and Weiss doesn't feel like dealing with that. She quietly sits down at her desk, then slowly begins pulling up her right shirtsleeve.
She can't wait to get her soulmate. If it's Neptune – Weiss has to clap her hand over her mouth to prevent a squeal of joy. She gives up on waiting and yanks her sleeve up to her elbow revealing a name.
Oh no.
No.
This is some kind of mistake.
This has to be.
There is no way in hell that Ruby Rose is her soulmate.
Weiss tries to slow her breathing slightly and glances at Ruby. She's still asleep, sprawled across her bed in her maroon tank top.
Not that dolt. Never. Not the irritating little girl who likes to hang on Weiss's every word and organize team bonding activities and eat Weiss's food out of bags clearly labeled "Not for Ruby". No.
Ruby stirs, and Weiss knocks over her chair in her rush to get out of the room.
She spends the next two hours hiding in the library.
This is not happening. The great Weiss Schnee is not fated to be with some silver-eyed brat.
Eventually, she manages to stop hyperventilating and call Winter. Her sister picks up.
"Weiss, what is it? I'm very busy at the moment."
"Hello Winter! It's so good to talk to you!" Weiss gushes.
"If this is not an important call, I have tasks to perform."
"This is kind of an important call," Weiss says. "Um, as I'm sure you know, today is my birthday."
Winter sighs quietly.
"Yes, Weiss, I am aware. If your father remembered, I would give you his congratulations. The gift I sent you should arrive in two days."
"I turned eighteen, so I have a soulmate now."
"One does not acquire a soulmate at eighteen. The identifying marker merely appears at that age, but soulmates are determined before birth," Winter says disdainfully.
"Yes, Winter. Of course. My apologies. However, the important issue here is who my soulmate is."
"As long as the soulmate is a gentleman of good character from an upstanding family with a noble background, I see no issue," Winter says.
"Well, every word in that description was wrong, to be blunt."
There's a long silence at the other end of the line.
"Winter? Are you still there?"
"Yes, I'm here. Who is your soulmate?"
"It's my team leader, Ruby Rose. I think I mentioned her to you."
"You did, in fact, mention her," Winter says. "I have been forced to listen to hours upon hours of you alternately complaining about her immaturity and extolling her combat prowess. I am well aware of the existence of Miss Rose."
"What should I do?" Weiss asks.
"Weiss, you are a Huntress. I am not here to make decisions for you."
Winter hangs up.
"Well, wasn't that helpful!" Weiss shouts at her scroll, momentarily forgetting that she is in fact in a library. A quiet chorus of shushes arises.
"Oh, there you are!" Yang says brightly, weaving her way through the bookshelves. Another chorus of shushes. Yang lowers her voice slightly.
"Ruby and Jaune have a day of board games planned, and Ruby wanted me to find you. She said you wouldn't want to miss out on being destroyed by me again."
"While Miss Rose's invitation is appreciated, I have to study," Weiss says coldly, drawing herself up.
"Miss Rose? Really? Ruby's kind of worried about you, since you disappeared and all," Yang says.
Weiss has no way to get out of this, short of some kind of miracle.
"I, um, haven't been feeling well," she says, as a last resort.
Yang frowns and puts a hand to Weiss's forehead.
"You're burning up. Come on, let's get you back to the dorms so Ruby can play nurse with you. We'll get you some whole milk and move the board game tournament. It'll be great."
Ruby doting over her, and undoubtedly trying exotic and dangerous cures, is quite possibly the worst thing that Weiss can imagine. She battles for a moment before admitting the truth.
"Ruby's my soulmate," she says, looking at the ground.
"She's your WHAT?!"
…
Weiss tries to sit up, because being treated like an invalid just because she has a black eye is demeaning, but Ruby shoves her back down into a mass of pillows.
"You're sure that Jaune tripped over a stray cat and his elbow hit you?" Ruby asks, pouring a glass of milk from a jug resting on her desk.
"Yes, obviously," Weiss says imperiously, trying to summon her inner Winter.
"And with a stomach flu too! Poor bestie!" Ruby hands Weiss the glass of milk and she sets it down on the bedside table. Ruby frowns at her.
"Drink up, Weiss, it's good for you! It's what my dad used whenever I got sick."
Ruby looks personally wounded when Weiss refuses, so she takes a sip.
"We should play cards!" Ruby says. Weiss resigns herself to hours of loss and misery as Ruby grows steadily more animated with each perfect set she slaps down. But Ruby looks so sad when Weiss refuses that she does her best to smile.
…
Somehow, the rest of Team RWBY, as well as Team JNPR and half of team SSSN, have ended up here. Somehow, this turned into a game of spin the bottle. And Yang's irritating winking from across from her is really not helping.
"Your turn, Weiss!" Ruby says brightly, and Weiss shrinks back for a moment to pray.
Brothers, anyone but Ruby. I'll even kiss that idiot Jaune. Just not Ruby.
She reaches into the center of the circle and gives the glass bottle a half-hearted spin.
Of course it lands on Ruby. Of course. Weiss just has to be utterly unlucky today.
She frowns and tightens her lips into a thin line.
"This is such a childish game. I should –"
Kissing Ruby is not at all like she expected.
Not that Weiss had ever imagined kissing Ruby. No. Obviously not. Why would she do that? That would be weird.
Ruby lets go of Weiss's face after several seconds and grins at her. Weiss tries to put together a coherent sentence while still staring into Ruby's eyes.
"Ice Queen's defrosting," Yang comments from the other side of the circle.
"Your metaphors are as clumsy and blunt as your fighting," Weiss responds, shuffling away from Ruby. "I most certainly am not 'defrosting'. This is a game, and I followed the rules of the game."
She has an argument with Yang, and Sun laughs at them both, and Nora is talking about sloths, and it seems like things are back to normal.
Except for Ruby snuggling into her shoulder and staying there for three hours.
And Weiss certainly does mind that she's being assaulted like that. She most certainly did not smile fondly at her team leader and wrap an arm around her shoulder, only to hastily remove it when Yang grinned at them.
Certainly not.