The conference table was more disorganized than Blake had ever seen it. A massive map of Vale covered most of it, with stacks of other documents, including spreadsheets, lists, and city correspondence, clustered around and on top of it. Even during the height of gala planning, it had never reached this level of haphazard clutter. Weiss, sitting diagonally from Blake with her back perfectly straight, seemed to be consciously stopping herself from commenting on the disarray in front of her.
Blake awkwardly fiddled with her pen under the table. It was strange enough seeing Weiss back in this room after the legendary shouting match that had occurred the last time she had made a visit. But the discomfort was amplified by the fact that Weiss had shown up a full 13 minutes early, while Yang, in typical Yang fashion, would most likely arrive one or two minutes before the scheduled meeting time. This left Blake with nearly—she discreetly checked her watched—eight minutes of sitting in awkward silence without any distractions.
Weiss had busied herself with completing a visual inspection of every inch of her surroundings, peering out of the windows and shooting quick glances at Blake every so often, who avoided eye contact and spun her pen through her fingers anxiously. Finally, Weiss clasped her hands on the table in front of her, then cleared her throat suggestively.
Blake looked up at her briefly. "The Councilwoman will be here shortly," she stated in a monotone.
Weiss nodded. "I understand," she replied. "But I actually wanted to speak with you. Your name is Blake, correct?"
"Yes." Blake twirled her pen between her first two fingers. While she appreciated that Weiss had elected to give the Beacon Park negotiations a fair chance, she still had no desire to chat with her.
"No need to be so taciturn," Weiss said with a huff. "I was only going to ask you what she's like."
Blake's eyebrows knitted. "You want to know about Yang?"
"If she and I are going to be working together, then it seems prudent to know how she operates," Weiss explained. Blake halted the pen, holding it firmly in her hand.
"You're actually serious about this." Despite her residual anger at Weiss' previous behavior, Blake found herself impressed by the woman's resolve.
"Of course I am!" she responded. "I would not make a decision like this lightly."
Blake nodded her approval. "That's good. And to answer your question, Yang is far more intelligent than she seems. Her ideas may seem...far-fetched. But she can make things happen that nobody else can."
"Hm." Weiss unclasped her hands and pressed her lips together. "You certainly know how to hype her up."
"You asked," Blake said with a shrug. "So here's a question for you." Weiss raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Last time you were here, you were ready to bite Yang's head off. Why the change of heart?"
Weiss grimaced slightly at the question. "I realize that I was quite rude to you both last time. And I apologize for that." Her face looked like she was in the middle of getting a particularly nasty cavity filled, though Blake imagined that Weiss was the type to have flawless dental hygiene.
"But nevertheless, I did reconsider my somewhat hasty decision about the factory following that conversation. Which is why I'm back here now," Weiss finished.
Blake smirked a little. "So nobody else helped you with that reconsidering process?"
Weiss' eyes opened in surprise, then narrowed suspiciously. Blake even thought she could see the hint of a blush on her pale cheeks. "What exactly are you getting at?"
"Nothing at all," Blake replied, raising her hands innocently. Just then, the person they were both thinking of barged into the room in a typically fast-paced fashion.
"Hi Weiss! Hi Blake!" she greeted eagerly. "Yang asked me to be here for this meeting in case you guys need some, um, 'mediation,' I think was the word she used."
"Good morning Ruby," Blake answered. Weiss didn't even acknowledge her, looking intently at the wall directly ahead of her instead. Ruby, not dissuaded in the slightest, approached her fearlessly and took a seat right beside her, across from Blake.
"How's it going, Weiss?" she asked. "Thanks again for coming in!"
"Yes, of course. I'm not unreasonable." Weiss' voice sounded just as rigid as her spine was at the moment. Blake's mouth curled slightly at the word "unreasonable," but she regained her neutral expression before Weiss could notice and presumably have a fit.
"I-I know that!" Ruby responded. She was clearly taking great care not to offend or provoke the Schnee CEO in any way, and both Weiss and Blake picked up on it.
Weiss finally looked over at Ruby's wide-eyed, innocent gaze. "Calm down, you don't have to walk on eggshells. I'm not going to attack anyone," she said sharply. Blake couldn't restrain herself at that.
"Well, it might help if you smile instead of scowling," she commented wryly.
"Great advice from the serial brooder," Weiss shot back. Blake's expression darkened slightly.
"Uhh, okay let's all take a breath," Ruby suggested. Weiss looked ready to make another remark but luckily the door swung wide again before she could even open her mouth.
The three of them turned to see Yang, dressed impeccably in one of her suits, enter the room gracefully. Blake knew that she had likely come straight from her debate preparation with Qrow, though the man himself was nowhere to be seen. With the debate coming up, the two of them had been spending even more time together, which was, unfortunately, only escalating the tensions that had been mounting since the gala and Qrow's harsh reaction to what was now known around campaign headquarters as the Great Purple Hair Crisis of 2016. The hair itself, which Yang was now running a hand through to disguise a nervousness that Blake immediately noticed, had been re-dyed to a slightly more noticeable shade of purple. Qrow had eventually come around to the idea, but he hadn't been too pleased.
"Vale has been pretty behind the times on this. And while I wish it weren't the case, this town isn't ready for an openly gay politician," he had explained to Yang one morning as Blake sorted through some files on the other side of the office.
"Well then, it's a good thing there aren't any openly gay politicians running," Yang replied. Blake was turned away from her, but regardless, she could almost see the fire burning in her eyes.
Qrow sighed deeply. "You know what I mean," he said quietly. He had left the room shortly after that, and neither Yang nor Blake commented further on the conversation. They hadn't spoken about the incident at the fairgrounds either. When Yang had tried to kiss her. Or, at least, that's what Blake thought she had been doing. Now that several days had passed, she was beginning to think that she had read into things, that there must be some other explanation. Why else would Yang be carrying on as if nothing had happened? Well, almost happened.
"Hello everyone," Yang stated in her practiced professional voice. "Ms. Schnee, I'm very glad to see you again." Some of the professionalism was lost when she sent Weiss one of her classic grins.
Weiss, for her part, nodded politely, and even went so far as to stand up to shake Yang's hand. She accepted the handshake, clearly slightly taken aback by the unexpected display of civility.
"Shall we get started, then?" Weiss suggested. Yang nodded enthusiastically.
"Right, yeah. So what we've got spread around here - sorry about the mess by the way - is a few of the ideas we have for the factory construction that avoid demolishing Beacon Park." Yang began pointing out a few top contenders for Weiss' benefit.
Blake smiled a little. Both of the women appeared to be comfortable with the encounter as they were focusing on the business side of things. She glanced up at Ruby, who was smiling as well, pleased that no arguments had erupted from the get-go. The peace was tragically short-lived.
"Are you crazy?" Weiss asked sharply. "Absolutely not. The factory simply cannot be outside of city limits."
Yang's easy smile disappeared just as easily. "And why exactly not? It's not too far outside of the city. The commute would be under an hour even from the other side of Vale!"
Weiss tsked. "It's not about that, you— Um, in any case, our vision for this factory is not only to revitalize Vale, but also to be a centralized hub for Schnee operations as well as to function as a tourist attraction."
"Isn't a park better for tourism than a factory?" Blake asked.
"Of course. But the park doesn't make money for Schnee shareholders," Weiss said bluntly. "When my father first pitched this factory, he emphasized the tourism aspect as well. People want to know where the Schnee products that they know and love come from."
"You don't have to pitch it to us," Yang muttered. Weiss gave her a mocking glare.
"I'm only explaining why we simply cannot move the factory beyond city limits. Perhaps if you paid attention you would know that."
Yang looked about ready to punch her in the throat, but she instead closed her eyes a took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of her nose in agitation.
"Maybe we should go through some other suggestions?" Ruby offered.
"Great idea," Blake chimed in. "Another possible alternative to building over the park would be to shift to one of these two nearby sites. Here—" she stood and pointed to a spot on the map "—although as a trade off, the factory would have to be almost 30% smaller. Or if that's too big of a sacrifice, you could go here—" she pointed again "—and would have to level this street. Luckily, it's already quite dilapidated, and there are only a few residents who would need to relocate. If you provide financial—"
"Out of the question," Weiss interrupted.
Blake's hand unconsciously clenched into a fist around her pen. "I wasn't finished explaining."
"Well, it's out of the question!" Weiss repeated impatiently. "The factory absolutely cannot be smaller than it is, and paying to move people and demolish their houses is an additional cost that the Schnee company refuses to pay."
"Weiss—" Blake started aggressively.
"Uhh, what she means to say," Yang cut in. "Is that you'll have to make some sort of compromise on this factory, Ms. Schnee. There's no way we can do this unless you meet us halfway. Or, like, at least a quarter of the way?" Blake sighed through her nose and sat back down. For some reason everything about Weiss Schnee managed to push her buttons.
Weiss looked unimpressed. "You're asking me to agree to things that my shareholders would never tolerate."
"Alright, so maybe we can't reduce the size of the factory or move it out of the city," Yang conceded. "But how about you demolish that street Blake was talking about and then put it there? You could spin it as public service to help revitalize that part of town."
To Yang's credit, Weiss actually considered that idea. For about 2 seconds.
"Absolutely not," she said again. "Aiding the public is well and good, but it only hurts our bottom line. Plus being located in that area of town isn't ideal, you know. It's...less than reputable."
"I grew up in that part of town," Blake stated, drawing several surprised looks. "The people there feel stuck. They don't think that other people, or the government, or certainly not big corporations, care about them in the slightest. Think about how much it would mean to them if a Schnee factory was built there and hired people from nearby."
"It's not realistic. My shareholders—"
"Is all you care about money?"
Weiss fell silent, glaring fiercely back at Blake, who immediately regretted opening her mouth. Ruby and Yang stared between the two of them, matching expressions of shock and mild horror on their faces.
"Of course not. Why do you think I'm here?"
"Right, I'm sorry," Blake muttered quietly. Weiss said nothing in response, instead turning her attention to Yang.
"Is that all?" she asked.
"Uh, what?"
"Those were all of your bright ideas?" Weiss asked again.
"Well, yeah those are the main ones," Yang started, clearly uncomfortable. "But I'm sure if we revisit the options and think it over, we can work out something that would be mutually beneficial."
"Doubtful," Weiss said coldly. Ruby opened her mouth to speak but Weiss silenced her with a shake of her head. "Yang. I'm sticking my neck out for you and for Beacon Park right now, and if my father or my shareholders even thought I was meeting with you over this, I would be crucified." She paused for emphasis. "So I will need you to stop fooling around and offer an idea that I can work with. Within the next two weeks. Understand?"
Yang's mouth dropped open. "Wha—how do you expect me to do that when you shot down literally everything we offered?"
"I suppose you'll have to think of something else," Weiss fired back.
Rubbing her temples with her fingertips, Yang collapsed into the chair next to Blake, who was now openly glowering at Weiss.
"Weiss—Ms. Schnee, I can't..." she lowered her hands. "Weiss, please, we're on the same side here," she pleaded. "Maybe if you could try to think of something yourself that would fit your requirements?"
"Are you daft? I have a company to run in case you've forgotten. I have no time to draw up business plans for a factory that has already been approved." Weiss looked to be fuming herself. Ruby, who had cautiously moved next to her, gently laid a hand on her arm.
"Weiss, um, you are kinda asking for a lot?"
The woman in question looked between the three of them, then sighed. "I know that. But I meant what I said. My career will be destroyed if I fail, and any plan that results in the Schnee company taking a financial loss will be a failure." Her voice was slightly gentler now, and Blake noted the calming effect that Ruby's mere presence seemed to have on the Ice Queen.
"I understand," Yang replied simply. "Can you meet us again next week? I'll see what I can think of in the meantime."
Weiss hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Very well. I'll need to go for now, I have to speak with my father." The tooth-pulling expression was back and stronger than before.
"Thanks again for coming," Yang said, jumping to her feet to shake her hand again.
"Always a pleasure," Blake said. Her voice and expression made it impossible to tell if she was being sarcastic or not.
"Of course," Weiss responded, giving Blake a final distrustful look. She collected her bag and swept out of the room. Ruby stood still for a moment, shifting uncomfortably, until some impulse won her over and she quickly moved to follow her.
"I'm just gonna..." She left the sentence unfinished and exited the room, leaving Blake and Yang to exchange a glance. Ruby skittered after Weiss, catching up to her at the door of the main office. Weiss' severely irritated expression would have put off nearly anyone else, but Ruby approached her regardless, and was pleasantly surprised when Weiss made no move to storm off through the doorway.
"What?" she asked shortly. Ruby halted directly in front of her and wisely considered her next words.
"Why are you so nice to me and so awful to Yang?" she asked finally. The question was posed with such innocent curiosity that Weiss knew she had to answer. She exhaled heavily.
"Fine. You really want to know?" Ruby nodded vigorously. "I'm terrible to her because she's everything I wish I could be." Weiss took another deep breath.
"I'm not like the rest of you. I was always separated from people my age by Father, and I never had any friends that weren't using me for my family and our money."
"I—I'm sorry," Ruby said softly. Weiss shook her head.
"I'm not trying to make you feel bad for me. But you need to realize that I never learned how to properly interact with anyone outside of my family's business associates. And attempting to do so has been very frustrating for me." She fiddled with the bottom of her blouse a little. "Your sister…It's always be easy for her. She's so stupidly charismatic. And she's so confident and strong. She doesn't—" She stopped abruptly and cleared her throat.
"In any case, does that answer your question?"
"I…" Ruby couldn't think of an intelligent response.
"As for why I'm nice to you, well, I would've thought you could figure that one out for yourself." Weiss said sharply. Ruby stared at her in adorable confusion, as though she was perfecting her lost-puppy stare.
Back in the conference room, Blake halfheartedly cleaned up some of the papers strewn about the table, a dark expression permanently affixed to her face. Yang sat silently in her chair, deep in thought and not quite registering anything in front of her.
"Sorry." Yang jolted out of her stupor at the noise and immediately looked up at Blake expectantly. But no other words followed, and Yang's brow slowly creased in confusion and concern.
"For what?" she said finally. Blake straightened up a stack of financial statements.
"Arguing with Schnee. I really didn't help our case."
Yang shook her head. "It's not your fault. She's being difficult, but I guess it's for a good reason." She shrugged, hauling herself up from the seat to help Blake tidy. "There's nothing to do but try to figure out another proposal. There's gotta be something we can do..."
Blake nodded at that.
"Anyway. What d'you think they're talking about out there?" Yang asked, jerking her head towards the wall that Ruby and Weiss were presumably behind. "I'm so glad Ruby somehow managed to make friends with her."
"Possibly more than friends," Blake added. Yang jolted again.
"Is that a joke? Ruby an-and Ice Queen?" Her eyebrows shot nearly off of her face.
"Take a look for yourself," Blake replied, a half smile sliding onto her face. She motioned towards the window in the conference room door, through which the duo could be seen.
Yang whirled and stared intently through the window at them, her eyes narrowing. They were indeed standing suspiciously close together and seemed to be conversing quietly.
"What are they -" she cut off abruptly, her mouth dropping open as Weiss shifted uncomfortably, then swiftly darted forward to plant a kiss on Ruby's cheek.
"WHAT?!" Yang nearly screamed. Luckily, neither of them heard her outburst since Weiss was retreating from the office, nearly running in her haste. Ruby, for her part, was locked in place, slowly turning redder and redder as the blood rushed to her head. Yang spun back around to face Blake, who was still smiling smugly.
"Called it."
AN: Happy Thanksgiving for any Americans and Happy 23th of November for everyone else! I'm back from the dead again wooo! Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon-ish - thanks for sticking with me 3