Seek A Way Out
The gates close on them, shutting down their only plan to get to Atlas.
Even though it would be so easy to have them open again but only for Weiss and Weiss alone.
"I don't..."
I don't want to go back to Atlas if it means I have to go back alone.
"Weiss, I told you that we wouldn't leave your side for a second."
Ruby reminds her of her promise not so long ago and how she plans on keeping it.
That she isn't in this alone. Never again.
"We'll find a way to Atlas—"
She places her hand on Weiss' shoulder and squeezes gently.
"Together," She reassures her with a tender smile.
Weiss looks at her partner's hand. A comforting weight. That's what it's always has been— a weight but never a burden. Her partner has never been a burden pulling her down, if anything, she was the weight that grounded her to reality.
There are times where she'd feel lost, as if floating. It happens more often than not since the fall of Beacon, since her escape from Atlas, since her isolation. Sometimes she feels as if she'll float too far away. But she never does. Ruby makes it a point that she doesn't.
She doesn't pull her down but instead she pulls her back.
She pulls her back until Weiss finally finds the ground again. It's uneven and maybe even shaky but for her to move forward, it's enough. It's a start.
This is her choice. She chose to follow Ruby and the rest of the team to Atlas. And her partner would be there with her every step of the way. Just like she promised.
It's her reassuring presence that makes her feel just a bit braver despite the terrifying uncertainty of it all.
She lets that comforting weight ground her. She lets it settle in until she feels her shoulders give in and relax. Ruby has always had that effect on her when she needs her to be. Words can't describe just how truly grateful she was for this.
So Weiss doesn't say anything at all. Instead she just nods and gives her one of her softest smiles, the kind of smile that only Ruby could pull from her with natural ease.
In that moment, she thinks that it's going to be okay.
Everyone was not okay.
"Sooo," Ruby starts.
They were on their way back from their failed attempt on negotiations at the Argus outpost. The tram ride was filled with silent discontent and that didn't sit well with Ruby. They were warned that it wasn't going to work out but they didn't think it was this bad.
No one was happy about that, Weiss especially, who stood sullenly with just a shared pole in between them.
She was so close yet she felt so far away— closed off.
That unsettled Ruby. She didn't want to see Weiss like this or any of her friends just as restless. She had to keep team morale up or at least dispel the uncomfortable mood going around.
"Who else thought that it was going to be Winter?"
Yang's the first to bite, eager and still bitter. "If Winter's anything like Weiss then we could have at least gotten some respect."
Weiss answers with a scoff. "You clearly don't know my sister. Winter's unlike me." She pauses to carefully consider a more accurate description of her sister.
She thinks of her sister and how different things would have been if she was there to intercept them. She pictures what she would have said about their compromised situation and what she would have done to correct it. She summarizes that it would not have been just different but better.
Winter has always strived to make things better. It's her that inspires Weiss to be better herself.
She envisions her sister, strict yet considerate in her own way. She imagines how much safer she would have felt to have her by her side, to have someone to confide in and truly understand the stakes she has in returning to Atlas, to their father. She remembers her as perhaps her only family who has treated her rightly.
She thinks of Winter and just how sorely she wishes she were here with her.
"She's unlike anyone I know on Remnant."
Weiss finishes with a dignified tone and in good form, something her sister would have been proud of had she witnessed it.
"In a good way?" Blake asks even though it was obvious in Weiss' eyes what the answer would be.
"Good? She'll be better. Perhaps just shy of perfection." Weiss answers anyways. "If only it was Winter who was stationed at this post then we would all have been treated with the respect we deserve."
That still struck a nerve with all of them.
"Too bad we got stuck with the racist gremlin instead," Maria quips with surprising speed. She must never run out of insults against the elitist midget.
The quip works its way around the group in chuckles. It's the kind of laughter that one makes when restraining oneself from retaliating against a bigot. They're better people than them definitely but that doesn't mean they aren't above knocking some sense should the need arise.
"Why can't we ask help from her instead?" Oscar chimes in.
Weiss merely shakes her head. "Because the last I've heard of her is that she's still with General Ironwood back at Atlas. And you know how it is..."
"With the CCT Towers still down, communication is impossible," Ren helpfully supplies.
"Precisely. So we can cross out that plan for the time being." She shrugs.
"This sucks!" Nora whines with no small amount of drama, her back leaning against Ren who's holding her by the shoulder.
"That's one way to describe our situation." She agrees with her with an exasperated sigh.
The ride falls silent again after that. There's really not much to say after a dead end.
"Do you miss her?" Jaune asks, the question feels apt coming from someone who has probably had the same concerns regarding physical separation between siblings.
"Every single day." Weiss answers perhaps a bit too honestly. So she reels back just a bit and adds with an indifferent wave, "But this is nothing new. She's always hard to get in touch with ever since she signed up for the military. I'm used to it."
And she is. She's lived most of her life with Winter at Atlas military's beck and call rather than with her at home in the mansion. Not that she would blame her. Their mansion was more house than it was home. That's why Weiss went off to Beacon the moment that the opportunity arose. It was inevitable for the two sisters to be apart.
Still, if she were to be honest, she misses her sister dearly.
She feels a hand, firm yet gentle on her shoulder. Supportive. When she lifts her dejected gaze, she meets reassuring bright silver eyes.
"Chin up, Weiss!" Ruby encourages her with her own chin up, maybe just a few more degrees upward than necessary but in true Ruby fashion of going the extra mile.
It's enough to get Weiss to smile that soft smile.
"Look on the bright side! At least that's someone to look forward to in Atlas!"
Oh, Ruby. Always looking forward. Never change.
"Actually if you don't mind the detour, I'd really like to stop by and see my butler Klein too." That might come with complications so she quickly adds as an afterthought, "Outside of the mansion preferably."
Ruby's face lights up at the prospect of meeting a new friendly face.
"Even better! Two someone's!"
That's how Weiss' smile breaks into laughter. After earlier's disappointment, laughter was the furthest thing in her mind. But this was certainly a pleasant change of pace.
Ruby has always had that way of changing her mind, usually for the better.
"You have a butler?!" She hears Nora squeal from the other side of the tram and when she sneaks a glance, she sees Ren shushing her.
She feels the hand on her shoulder lift and she has to restrain herself from pouting at the missed contact. Ruby on the other hand, is still smiling. There's an almost mischievous glint in her eyes, almost scheming.
That's when Weiss feels a different kind of contact.
Ruby's other hand moves on top of hers, resting there. It's a stark contrast with the smooth and cold pole she's grasping on. Rough with calluses and warm with affection, Ruby's hand rests on hers in a way that makes her feel less restless.
It feels like coming home after a long day.
And it is with that feeling that Weiss decides to pull back her hand—
Only to intertwine their fingers.
Their interlaced hands were discreetly angled on the side of the pole hidden from the rest of their friends. But also public for the rest of the world to see. She feels that they should be a bit more discreet but she finds that she couldn't care less once she sees Ruby's infectious grin.
Ruby's smile is always worth it.
However, when she looks over Ruby's beaming face, she sees their friends smiling just as brightly, if not teasingly.
There's Nora with her loud heart-shaped gestures. Beside her is Ren who sends her a more quiet smile with an acknowledging tilt to his head. Even Jaune gives her an encouraging thumbs up.
She rolls her eyes to the side where Blake is at least hiding her knowing grin even though her eyes give her away anyways. Then there's Yang who is never subtle, wearing a smug smile and throwing finger guns at her.
She turns her ire to the rest of the group. Oscar gives her a shy but supportive wave. Maria looks amused, probably holding back a sassy quip. And if Qrow was here, he would have flashed her a smirk that she knows all too well what it means.
So much for discretion, it looks like they saw anyways.
"Whatcha looking at, Weiss?"
She watches the speed at which the scene changes in almost comical fashion. The moment that Ruby looks back, everyone goes about acting casual, pretending they weren't teasing them just before they were almost caught. Typical.
Well, everyone except Yang who is still shooting at them with finger guns, much to Ruby's confusion.
"It's nothing, Ruby. I just thought I saw something but it was probably nothing."
"Hmmmm..." She looks at her skeptically far longer than necessary. After a few awkward seconds of intense staring, she eventually gives up with a shrug. "Well, if you say so!"
The moment that Ruby returns her focus on Weiss, their friends return to their previous teasing positions. How astute of them.
Well she won't let only them to have the satisfaction.
She allows her fingertips to draw comforting patterns on Ruby's knuckles, relishing in the privacy that at least this small innocuous action will be hidden from the prying eyes of their friends.
But certainly not past Ruby's ever growing warmer face.
A part of her wonders if she reached out and touch the furious blush, would it feel just as warm as her hand did?
She feels Ruby's fingertips draw shy circles on her own knuckles, the tenderness of the action almost feels ticklish on her skin, while the electrifying sensation runs wildly from her hand up to the rest of her arm. Reciprocated.
Ruby might not say the words but Weiss hears them again all the same.
She's not at all excited about going back to Atlas but she does appreciate that come whatever trouble thrown at them, she'll at least face it with her partner.
"Well I'm glad you're all excited. But I don't think you appreciate the trouble I went through to leave Atlas."
"I know you're worried, Weiss, but trust us. Team RWBY won't leave your side for a second!"
Ruby reassures her, stepping closer, stepping up as the reliable leader and partner.
And most importantly, her best friend who has never left her alone since their reunion and has no plans of splitting up again.
"I promise."
She's still unsure about this whole trip to Atlas but with her partner backing her up along with the rest of their team, she feels just a bit more certain. Her hesitation melts into a smile in the presence of Ruby's promising words.
And with her softest smile, Weiss reaffirms her own promise.
Once upon a time, Weiss had promised to be the best partner to Ruby and she intends to keep every word of it.
A/N: Who else was Winter-baited? Now I have to pick up the shattered pieces of my disappointment. But at least we get some more Ruby taking charge moments! *adds fodder for the major breakdown chapter*
This is my attempt to satisfy a reader's challenge on including other characters, indulging in fluff, and still maintaining the current tension in canon.
Spyro my bro (and the other Guest), please log in because I want to reply to your reviews but I can't D: but I thank you for still leaving kind reviews!
Ruby reaffirming her promise with Weiss and then Weiss smiling that soft smile is so precious! GOD I AM SO WEAK! Hit me with that supportive partners shit!
ANNOUNCEMENT: This will be the last chapter for this year. While the next new episode will be on the 29th for First members on RT, I plan on sticking to updating along with the Free members schedule to give me more leeway to write so the next chapter will be on the 5th.
I may or may not write a separate oneshot for the ship just not for this fic, just to fill in the void of next week. So hypothetically look forward to that? A strong maybe. Depends on my IRL responsibilities and how much I'm willing to ditch them for my whiterose thirst.
Full disclosure. I know I said I'd write a chapter for every episode and that is still what I plan to do it's just... I was kind of expecting to give up on it halfway through due to lack of feedback (it's sad when it's quiet) but then YOU people showed up and honestly I can't thank you enough. Especially the regular reviewers. You the real MVPs. You don't know how much power you give me, honestly. PS I love you.
You keep me writing. I look forward to you people every week and in between updates I sometimes look back on your comments to cheer me up on bad days. Thank you for reading this current passion fic of mine and for all the wonderful words (even just the commentary about the new episodes) you leave on every chapter. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
I hope you've been enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing this (which is A LOT) and so, see you next year for more! Take care, everyone!