Weiss stopped typing on her laptop. She hit the save icon, and continued staring at the blinking cursor for several moments before she mustered up enough courage to turn and face Ruby.
"Ruby," she said, and this time it didn't feel as weird saying it. Ruby looked up at her. Weiss opened and closed her mouth several times, the question burning her up from inside out for a while now. "How old are you?"
Ruby lowered her laptop, peering over to Weiss, a curious smile on her face.
"I'm 15, 16 in a couple months," she answered easily. Weiss pursed her lips and didn't respond for a while.
"And how old are you, Weiss?" Ruby asked in turn.
Weiss looked at Ruby, perplexed. "17. I'll be 18 in February."
Ruby typed it out on her laptop, then turned back to Weiss, who still had an intense contemplative look on her face. She giggled slightly, never having seen the older girl with such an intensely concentrated expression on her face. It melted the 'ice queen' persona right off. Ruby just wanted to poke her and make fun of her, and she would have if she wasn't still trying to carefully get her to come around, gently coaxing her like a stray cat.
"How are you in junior year?" Weiss turned her chair fully around now, the laptop completely abandoned, Ruby noted with a small hint of satisfaction.
"I uh- got bumped up a couple of grades in middle school. Didn't go to 7th and 8th grade," she paused, then put a hand on her chin. "You guys have those in Atlas right?"
Weiss narrowed her eyes, almost rolling them. Ruby took that as an answer.
"Right," she said with a sheepish laugh that she awkwardly turned into a cough. "Well ever since 9th, I've been rolling with my fellow upperclassmen, which now I guess includes you."
"It certainly does," Weiss rested her chin in her hand. Now it was Ruby's turn to muster up some courage.
"If you don't mind me asking- and you totally don't have to answer," Ruby held her hands out in a placating manner. Weiss only quirked her brow in response. Ruby blew out a breath, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Why did you move to Vale?"
Weiss looked away from Ruby as soon as she asked, her face a little more sullen than before. Ruby was about to change the subject immediately, when Weiss spoke.
"You know who I am?" she asked, her tone genuine and quiet. She met Ruby's eyes with a bit of sadness, and Ruby was struck. She just nodded mutely, waiting for Weiss to continue on. Weiss folded her hands neatly in her lap, and sat up straight.
"I'm the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," Weiss answered nevertheless, her gaze wandered into her lap as her mind moved a million miles away. Ruby was spellbound. "We've always had a target painted on our backs, ever since my grandfather founded the company. The White Fang has always tried to find ways to harm my family," she clenched her fists, though her voice didn't waver.
"They blew up my house. The bomb was in my room. My singing practice was running late that day, I remember being furious about it, because it made me late for lunch with my sister- a rare occasion since she's rarely home for long. I was stomping through the hallways after chewing out my instructor, which I-"
Weiss touched the scar running down her left eye. She looked at Ruby intently. Ruby only met her gaze with attention and compassion. She wanted to reach out to Weiss, but she opted to hold back for now. Weiss shook her head.
"I remember hearing the loudest sound I'd ever heard in my life, and like I was being pushed a long, long way. I don't remember much afterwards, just waking up in the hospital a few days later. It's where I got this scar. They said I was lucky to have such superficial injuries, which I suppose is ironic considering what people say about me," she gave a wry, tight-lipped smile. "Flash forward two months later, and my father tells me I'm being moved to Vale for my own safety. And here I am, I guess."
"Weiss..." Ruby said softly, hand halfway outstretched. Never in a million years would Ruby have guessed that that was why she was here. She felt like a dunce, like a superficial jackass for assuming a much more tame, scandalous story than that. Weiss wasn't a stuck up, pretentious ice queen. Weiss wasn't a diva who resented the fact that she had to be with people below her standing. Weiss was-
Young. And scared, and anxious and hurt. Ruby stood up off her bed, shifting her laptop away. She stood in front of Weiss, who just watched her.
"I'm sorry that happened to you Weiss. That's horrible."
Weiss looked away, and nodded. She still looked like she was a million miles away. Like she was still back in Atlas. Ruby set her mouth in a tight line.
"Hey," she called out to Weiss. "You're safe now, in Vale. The most dangerous thing that ever happens around here are some kids that climb the water tower to write secret messages in sharpie," she smiled at her, then slowly extended her hand, putting it on her shoulder. She gave Weiss plenty of time to protest, to shove her away again if she wanted to, but Weiss only looked at her and let it happen. Ruby smiled at her. "Nobody's going to hurt you again."
Weiss looked a little more present, her eyes more focused on Ruby. She swallowed thickly before speaking.
"You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the kids climbing the water tower, would you?"
Ruby snickered. "When I said 'some kids', I really only meant Blake, Yang and I."
Weiss smiled then, and Ruby thought it was a pretty smile. She kind of wanted Weiss to always be smiling like that, if she could at all help it.
"So," Ruby withdrew herself, going back to sitting on the bed, cross legged and with her chin in both hands. "Now's your turn to ask me a question."
"I guess if we wanted to continue this little back and forth," Weiss looked back at her laptop, then shrugged. "Okay."
She got up out of her chair, then walked over to the bookshelf in the corner, the one Ruby had let her dad build, that she had secretly rebuilt once he had left. Weiss looked at it, up and down, at the rows of books and little figures and photos Ruby kept on it. She wondered what Weiss would ask about. The ivory-haired girl picked out the photo of herself, Yang and Blake when they had gone on that road trip last year to the Belladonna's summer home. Ruby loved that photo, but maybe it was mostly just the memories she had associated with it.
"You and your sister seem very close with Blake," she commented, looking up to Ruby from the photo. Less a question, more a statement, but for Weiss, Ruby would dutifully indulge.
"Yeah, she's awesome. We've been friends for a couple years now, ever since she and her family moved here," Ruby then lowered her voice in a mock whisper. "I'm pretty sure- well we're all pretty sure that Yang and Blake are like, going to be a thing. It's pretty obvious that they keep making googly eyes at each other all day. It's only a matter of time. I approve, of course- they're really cute together," Ruby swooned, only half joking.
"They would look good together," Weiss conceded as she put the photo back. Then she pulled out a photo of her, Yang, Taiyang and Summer. Ruby's breath almost caught in her throat, but she composed herself.
"Are these your parents?" Weiss asked, looking from the picture to her and back again. Ruby knew she could see the remarkable resemblance between her and her mother. It kind of hurt her heart to think about Weiss saying that.
"Hey, isn't it supposed to be my turn to ask you a question?" Ruby deflected breezily, smiling at Weiss in challenge. She liked that she felt okay doing that. Weiss, in response, only quirked a brow.
"We didn't establish any rules, so it's all fair play," she smiled again. Ruby laughed.
"Fine, but-" she looked at the clock on the wall. It was a gift from Blake, a tacky looking clock in the shape of a black cat. It had big cartoon eyes and a chesire grin, and it was gross and dumb and Ruby loved it. She and Blake had named it Cat Clocksworth. Yang had conceded that it was a cute name for a tacky clock, and that it could stay. It was her chrono cat, and it saved her life more times than either she or Cat Clocksworth could count. Now, for example.
"It's about dinner, are you hungry? I'm starving," Ruby patted her stomach. Weiss seemed to let the issue go, checking her phone for the time.
"I may have worked up an appetite," she admitted to the younger girl. Her hands strayed towards her stomach, but she stopped herself short, instead choosing to adjust the hem of her skirt.
"Well, how do you feel about getting takeout?" Ruby asked.
"Take... out?" Weiss looked at Ruby as if she had asked her to describe the inside of a black hole, or the manner in which commoners lived.
"Yeah. Takeout. Like getting food from a place delivered to this place," Ruby scratched her head. Weiss frowned.
"Like fast food?" she asked, getting more and more confused by the second.
"Uh, yeah, I guess we could grab some McDonald's if you want," she began searching up the food delivery apps on her phone, then paused, looking up at Weiss, who had a sheepish expression on her face. "Wait," Ruby gasped. "Have you never had McDonald's?"
Weiss rubbed her arm. "No. I guess not- I was on a strict diet back home."
Ruby gasped louder and longer, her mouth set in an exaggerated 'O' shape. Weiss rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean you were on a strict diet? You already look great!" Ruby threw her arms up in frustration. Weiss, to her mild credit, only blushed a little bit before she shrugged. "So you've never had McDonald's takeout?"
Weiss pursed her lips. "No."
"That settles it!" Ruby marched over to her door, yanking it open. She hollered down the hall, "Yaaaaaaanng!"
"What?!" Yang shouted back. Ruby got down in a half crouch, before yelling at the top of her lungs.
"McDonald's!"
Yang ran upstairs, the stairs thudding loudly and dramatically before she came into view, combat rolling into the hall for flourish. Briefly, Weiss could hear Blake's exasperated sigh from downstairs.
"McDonald's!" she shouted back at her baby sister.
They started chanting 'McDonald's' as Yang picked Ruby up and bounded back down the steps. Weiss was thoroughly confused. Blake appeared at the doorway of Ruby's room, looking thoroughly apologetic.
"Sorry," Blake said, leaning against the doorjamb and hooking a thumb behind her at the two sisters' general direction. "These two get...really excited about McDonald's."
Ruby whooped as Yang pulled up the menu on her phone. "Yes we McFuckin' do!" the blonde yelled at Blake and whooped. Ruby joined in on the cheering. Weiss and Blake went downstairs to join them in the living room.
"So just fuck the history project huh?" Blake crossed her arms and looked at Yang, who pouted at her.
"It's dinner time Blake! C'mon," she gesticulated around wildly with her phone. "McDonald's!"
Blake blew a strand of hair out of her face, and rolled her eyes, but conceded nonetheless. Weiss stood back with her arms clasped in front of her, just watching the whole scene. She felt like she had just unlocked a hurricane by speaking some magic words- except far less impressive because it wasn't an actual spell, just the lame admission that she had never had some fast food. As she watched the whole scene she felt a strange feeling overcoming her. It was all very... endearing. The bond the three shared. The way Yang, Ruby and Blake were so close. It reminded her of Winter. She missed her sister dearly.
"We gotta order for Weiss, because she's never had it before," Ruby told her sister, who gave an almost identical gasp to Ruby before.
"You've never had McDonald's?!" Yang exploded out of her seat. Even Blake looked shocked, though it was in a less exaggerated fashion than the other two. But, once again, Weiss thought that that was true for every case. All three of them looked at her expectantly, and it made Weiss want to fidget and slowly back out of the room. She crossed her arms instead.
"I've just... never had the need to order McDonald's," Weiss shrugged.
"Well you have the need now, Weiss!" Yang pumped her fist.
"McDonald's hype!" Ruby joined in.
"It's really bad, but like, really good too," Blake nodded.
Weiss sighed. "Fine. Alright. Let's have McDonald's."
Sure am updating quick, huh? It's swell.