A/N: Update time! So before I get started, I just wanna give props to ocomfv for making a really cool analogy that I myself hadn't even made. They said "Ruby still fights monsters except their names are poverty, homelessness, and neglect." Gotta say, thank you for making my version of Ruby seem even more badass. Anyways I got another pretty long one for you guys, and I thought I'd start it off with a little bit of fluff to balance out the heavy note we ended on last chapter.

It occurs to me that I might have needed to put some trigger warnings in there last time, so in case you still didn't know:

TRIGGER WARNING: Parental Abuse.

There, now with that out of the way, please enjoy chapter eight of Scattered Petals.

The last week and half had flown by and before Ruby knew it, she and Weiss were busy preparing for the big party. She had spent the last week and a half teaching Weiss as much about the art of grifting as she could, knowing the girl had to find some way to get herself invited to their headquarters in Miami as well, or else the entire job was botched. She had also grown closer to the heiress in the time they spent together. Sure Weiss still got mad at her, and thought it was her responsibility to lecture Ruby on everything under the sun. But now, it was more good natured and the brunette knew that the heiress never really meant any harm by it. Their time together was coming to an end, and as Ruby finished her makeup and walked out of her change room, she couldn't help but wish it had lasted longer. Well on the bright side, if all went according to plan, they'd be seeing each other in just one short month.

And in the sunshine state to boot!

Why was she so excited? This wouldn't be the first time she found someone she worked with someone attractive, but, somehow, it was different with the heiress. She didn't know what it was about the silver haired woman that made her lose control. Whenever she was around her, Ruby couldn't help but let all the masks just start to slip away.

She made her way downstairs and was greeted by a goddess in a blue dress. Weiss looked even more beautiful than the first time she had tried on the dress. Her hair was done up in a simple ponytail that hung off centre and her long, white bangs framed her face beautifully.

"Well, what do you think?" Weiss asked as she crossed her arms over her midsection nervously.

"You're beautiful."

It wasn't gushing, or bubbling, or light. It was one of the most grounded, honest things Ruby had ever said.

The heiress's cheeks were dusted with a light pink as she blushed and looked at the ground.

"Alright, enough of that," Ruby said, reaching out and grabbing the soft interiors of Weiss's elbows, and whatever strange feelings Ruby had been having were tossed to the wayside in favor of comforting the woman before her. Comforting, coaching, teaching. It was all that mattered. Because Weiss was beautiful, and she needed to be reminded of that.

She needed Weiss to see that more than anything.

"First rule of grifting," Ruby said, prying Weiss's arms apart. They fell to the shorter woman's sides but Ruby didn't let them go.

"You are the draw. You are temptation. You gotta make people wanna listen to you. No one wants to listen to someone who hunches over and keeps her head down." Ruby put a hand at the base of Weiss's spine, tilting her chin up with the other simultaneously.

"I know that! You act like I've never done public speaking before."

"Then prove it," Ruby's voice lowered as she continued. "Remember what I said when we first got this: the dress doesn't matter. It's supplement, it's an aid, but it isn't the force. A lot of first timers make that mistake. They think the clothes and the references will do the job for them. Wrong. You gotta do your homework. Know the mark. And reel them in with the confidence of preparedness. 'Cause you own them. You control them. The story flows from your reconnaissance, and the plan from your preparedness. Got it?"

Weiss didn't look back up at Ruby. She stood still as a marble statue and nodded her head once.

"You know what con is short for, right? To con someone?" Ruby asked, voice almost a whisper. "It's a confidence trick. You don't take their money. You don't take their paintings, or their stocks, or their blueprints, or their chimpanzees-"

"Chimpanzees?"

"Another time," Ruby continued. "You take their trust. 'Cause once you've got that, you've got them. You integrate yourself and take their confidence. The alternate meaning, though, the poise, the self-confidence, that's what you've gotta show in order to take their trust in the first place. If you've got no confidence in yourself, how can you expect them to have confidence in you?" Ruby asked, squeezing Weiss's arms. "Now," she whispered, they were close enough to touch noses, and Ruby felt herself getting lost in the icy blue depths of Weiss's eyes. "Shoulders back," she instructed as she stepped back before she had a chance to do something she knew she would regret.

"I really wish I could hire you and fire all my other etiquette teachers," Weiss said as she smiled at Ruby with the confidence that the con woman was used to seeing in the heiress.

"Nah, I'd rather just stay your friend," Ruby said as she grabbed her bag off the table and made her way towards the warehouse doors. She turned and noticed Weiss wasn't walking next to her. "You coming?" she asked.

Weiss simply stared at her, dumbstruck.

"Weiss? You okay?" Ruby asked.

"You're my…friend?" Weiss asked, with a look of shock and disbelief.
"Well, of course, silly! Now come on!"

Red wasn't making this easy. It was supposed to be simple, indulge herself in the brunette's company for their remaining time together, get over this silly crush, then go home. But every day Weiss spent around the young con woman, the thought of separation became more and more depressing. And now, she had to go and say something like that, and throw the heiress for yet another loop.

But wait-

Red had said they were friends. It had been so long since Weiss had anybody that she could call her friend, she had forgotten what it felt like. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was what the heiress was feeling. Maybe it was just friendship and not something else. Maybe if she kept telling herself that, she'd start to believe it.

There was only one issue with that plan. Those damn hips.

Red was wearing a beautiful scarlet dress that clung to her every curve like a newborn to its mother and fell from her hips in a seamless cascade of crimson that parted at her thigh, revealing legs that never seemed to end. It left little to the imagination and Weiss was finding it increasingly difficult to banish the images that leapt to the forefront of her mind. As she tried, unsuccessfully, to rid herself of these thoughts, memories of her father resurfaced.

Getting caught staring at one of the female guests at one of his corporate events.

Him taking her to his study and, in a deadly quiet voice, informing her that she was not to look at other girls in such a fashion.

Her asking why. She had simply thought the other girl looked pretty in her dress.

Him telling her that it was wrong.

Her asking why. She didn't think there was anything wrong about admiring beauty.

Him yelling that it's unnatural.

Her asking why. All she had done was think a girl was pretty.

The shock of her head being snapped to the side as he slapped her.

Her asking what she had done wrong.

The pain of being slapped a second time accompanied by her father whispering that she was sick and he would cure her.

She was thirteen years old.

"You okay Weiss?" Red's voice brought the heiress back to the present, chasing away the unpleasant memories of the past.

Weiss shook her head and looked at Red feeling her mood lighten. "No, but I will be."

"Good, 'cause we're here."

Weiss looked forward and realised that while she was being consumed by the ghosts of her past she hadn't even registered getting into a taxi or the ride over to the event. She took a deep breath, the past wasn't important, it was the present that required her full undivided attention.

It was time for her first con.

The house was ugly. Unattractive. Unappealing. Unprepossessing. There weren't enough descriptors in Ruby's extensive vocabulary to describe how aesthetically unpleasant this building was. A sore thumb on the otherwise picturesque landscape of upstate New York, the gothic gargantua was an exercise in pretension. It even had gargoyles. It clearly belonged to someone who desperately wished they lived in West Egg, and were trying a little too hard to prove that they had even a quanta of class.

You're not fooling anyone buddy.

The house belonged to a Cardin Winchester, head of the New York branch of Ironwood Engineering and all around bad guy. Arrogant as he was stupid, he climbed the career ladder through intimidation and the hard work of others and now he was the girls' ticket into Ironwood's headquarters in Miami and whatever they were actually being hired for.

Ruby smiled at Weiss one last time before heading in through the front door. They flashed their invitations at the man working the door and made it inside without issue. On the bright side the interior of the mansion made up a little for the exterior. The moldings were clean-cut, the columns and arches sedate, and the yellow walls and creamy white tiles reflected the light beautifully. The chandelier and ice sculptures were ostentatious eyesores, but on the whole, the interior of the house held just the right amount of pretension, functionality, and charm.

The host, however, did not. He was sitting at what appeared to be a blackjack table and was talking loudly to the crowd that surrounded him, clearly enjoying being the center of attention. Weiss began making her way toward the crowd of party goers with her head held high and her shoulders back. It was almost too obvious to the brunette that she was nervous with the way her fists were clenched a little too tightly and her back was a little too straight. Ruby waited for Cardin's eyes to wander over to them before grabbing Weiss's arm and pulling her to another, less occupied, table.

"What are you doing? We're supposed to be talking to Cardin, not playing poker." Weiss asked as Ruby sat down at an empty seat.

"It's blackjack actually," replied Ruby as she pulled the silver-haired into the seat next to her. The dealer started to hand out cards and Ruby made sure to keep careful count while listening to Weiss rant.

"I don't care if it's spider solitaire. We're here to do a job, not gamble."

Ruby sighed, "If we just walked up to him he wouldn't listen to a thing we have to say, so instead we're gonna get him to come to us, so at least look like you're having a good time."

"Winner winner chicken dinner." The dealer said as he slid Ruby her earnings. She turned and smiled at Weiss.

"And I don't gamble." The heiress scoffed and looked at the table, but Ruby could see the small hint of a smile slipping through the woman's icy mask. One of the catering staff soon passed by and she grabbed her elbow. "Excuse me, could I get a drink for me and my lovely friend?"

The woman handed her two flutes of champagne and she handed one to Weiss as she once again beat the dealer. Pretty soon, more and more people started to crowd around their table as she kept winning more and more money.

Good, take the attention off him.

Half an hour of winning at blackjack and pleasant conversation with Weiss later and Ruby's plan seemed to work out perfectly as she spotted Cardin making his way over from the corner of her eye. He sat down next to Weiss and flashed her what he probably thought was his most charming smile.

"Weiss Schnee, this is a pleasant surprise."

Alright Weiss, you're up.

"Hello Mr. Winchester-"

"Please, call me Cardin."

"Alright, Cardin." Weiss said with a smile.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I do love myself a good party." Ruby nearly snorted as she listened while maintaining her count. Weiss was a natural, smiling at all the right times, and saying all the right things to make Cardin think he actually stood a chance with the silver-haired beauty.

"How about you and I continue this somewhere a little more private." Ruby noticed Weiss stiffen and was sure that Cardin had as well.

"O-Oh… well-"

"Can we stop flirting and get to the real reason we're here?" Ruby interrupted, taking her cue and slipping into character. Cardin shifted his attention away from the nervous heiress and looked at Ruby for the first time that evening.

"And who, exactly, are you?"

"Sophia Zawistow." Ruby said as she handed him a business card.

"A lawyer?" He said as he read the name of the fake law firm on the card.

"Miss Schnee, maybe we should do as he says and take this somewhere more private," Ruby said before giving Cardin with a look of contempt and lowering her voice. "That is unless you're comfortable discussing the less than legal deals Ironwood has been running in front of a crowd of people who all have stakes in the company and would probably not be too happy hearing some of the things I have to say."

"Why don't we move this to my office?" Cardin said, standing up and moving toward the staircase at the back of the hall. Ruby and Weiss proceeded to follow.

"You okay?" Ruby muttered to Weiss as they followed Cardin through the crowd.

"Fine." Weiss said, keeping her eyes forward and her chin up.

"Alright, well now it's crunch time, so just follow my lead, okay?"

Weiss didn't look at Ruby, but nodded her head almost imperceptibly.

They followed Cardin up a flight of stairs and down a long twisting hallway before stopping before an elaborate set wooden doors. "In here," he said, ushering them into an office that looked like it had only been used a handful of times since its construction. He walked over to the desk and poured himself a glass of whiskey from the bottle sitting there. Ruby took the opportunity to finally give him a good once over.

His short rusty orange hair, clean shaven face, and tailored suit spoke of his wealth. The way he carried himself showed confidence, yet a second look could tell it wasn't the confidence of a successful man, but that of a school yard bully who uses his power to cover his weaknesses and put himself above others. He finished pouring his drink and turned to look at the women.

"Alright, what do you want?" Ruby smiled before answering his question.

"I've been hired by Schnee Energy to root all of Ironwood Engineering's dirty little secrets and make sure no one else does."

"And why is that?"

"Because," Weiss answered. "The Schnee Energy Corporation is interested in a merger with Ironwood Engineering. But before anything can happen, I've been put in charge of making sure that nothing that happens or has happened illegitimately within Ironwood Engineering can ever be traced back to us. Therefore, I hired Miss Zawistow, one of the best fixers in the business, to make sure that happens."

"Oh, really?" Asked Cardin, turning to Ruby, "and what 'dirty little secrets' might theses be?" Ruby smirked before replying.

"How does cutting corners by buying counterfeit parts from China for more than twenty different public projects sound?" The man visibly paled upon hearing this. "And that's just what I've found so far on the New York branch."

"W-well, unfortunately, Ironwood Engineering is a rather large company and I'm only the head of one of many U.S. based branches so I don't know of how much help I can to be to you ladies."

Checkmate.

"We're more than aware of that," replied Weiss. "Which is why you're going to make sure that we have a meeting with Mr. Ironwood in a month, otherwise Miss Zawistow and I can just bring our information to media instead, understood?"

Cardin nodded with eyes wide before sitting at his desk and pulling out his phone. "I-I'll get right to it."

"Good. With that, I believe we're done here." Weiss said, turning to leave. "Sophia?"

"Enjoy the party," Ruby said before following the heiress out of the building.

They were a block and a half away before either said a word.

"You did good in there," Red said, looking at Weiss. "You, my friend, are a natural con woman."

"Thanks," Weiss mumbled to the ground as a blush started to form. "So what happens next?"

"Now that we have a way into Ironwood we go home and wait, then meet up in Miami in a month." Weiss felt her shoulders sag at the thought of returning to her father's house.

"So then, I guess this is where we part ways." Red looked down glumly.

"Yeah, I guess it is." The brunette looked back up and took a step closer so she was looking down into the heiress's eyes.

"Thank you, Red." Weiss said quietly, unable to look away from the twin pools of mercury.

They stood there for a moment before Red, much to Weiss's surprise, wrapped the heiress in a big hug. Normally Weiss shied away from most forms of physical contact, but before she knew what she was doing, she had wrapped her arms around the taller girl, pulling her in close. It was too soon before Red pulled away gently and smiled at her softly.

"I'll see you in a month." And with that she was gone. All Weiss was left with was the faint scent of roses and a lingering warmth in her chest.

She turned and headed towards her father's house. Red had said that they were going home and waiting, but she wasn't.

She would never be at home where she was going.