A/N: Alright so here's part two! Funnily enough I actually put the first scene from a third chapter on at the end of this as I was worried about pacing issues and I didn't want three chapters spanning as many days of traveling slowing down the plot, especially since we're heading into the final arc of SP. That being said things do happen here, so I hope you all enjoy it!
As always thanks to those of you following and a bigger thanks to those of you who tell me what you think. (Especially for this chapter) I put a lot of thought into everything from narrative and what characters say to describing things in a certain way and specific word choice. As a result, by the time I post a chapter, I have completely convinced myself that it's garbage, so hearing what you guys think of my story, how you liked certain lines, and so on really helps with my writing and definitely motivates me to keep doing something I love.
When Weiss woke it was still dark, though the sky to the east had taken on a more greyish-teal tone and the moon was nowhere to be seen. Red was still holding her in her arms and tightened her grip in greeting as she spoke with Bernard, the ship's captain. The laptop running her prediction program was still open, and Weiss watched Red click around as she listened to their idle chatter.
"Thanks again for lending us your ship, Bernard." Red said softly as Weiss zeroed in on an article about some economist in China disappearing and was connected to another about protests taking place in India. There were various files, many of which looked like pieces of legislature from all over the world, branching off the articles to form part of what looked like a massive web of information that stretched off screen.
"Oh, it's no problem." Bernard replied good-naturedly. "I can't say Lee was too thrilled about me crossing –and I quote –'pirate-infested waters', but he came around when I told him it was for you."
Weiss froze in her examination of a missing person's report about a Dr. Upmanu Lall vanishing while working at the Columbia Water Center and looked up between the other two. "Wait, you weren't joking about there being pirates?" She asked hoarsely.
"Unfortunately, no." Red replied calmly. "I did say things were going to be getting decidedly more dangerous."
"I didn't think you meant right now!" Weiss shrieked. She thought she would at least have some time to prepare herself before things started getting really bad.
"Weiss," Red laughed, "you don't need to be worried, just relax."
"Relax?" Weiss parroted indignantly. She could feel her panic rising, filling her veins with adrenaline and depriving her lungs of oxygen. "How am I supposed to relax when I'll be spending the next day and a half expecting to be taken prisoner by a roving hoard of pirates who probably think a dunk in the ocean constitutes bathing?! Do they even take prisoners?"
Bernard snorted with laughter. "Not male ones, at least."
Weiss's eyes widened at the implication, her heart rate skyrocketing, while Red shot the captain a withering glare. "Thank you, Bernard." The brunette bit out sarcastically. "You've been very helpful."
Bernard raised his hands in surrender and Red turned back to the panicking woman in her arms. "Weiss, look at me." She ordered quietly, her voice soothing and gentle. Weiss turned her gaze to her partner and found herself entranced by a pair of calm pools of liquid gallium. They sat there silently for a minute and Weiss could feel herself relaxing simply from looking into the familiar silver eyes of the woman who had so quickly and easily become her best friend and more. "Nothing's going to happen to us, okay?" Red reassured her. She waited for Weiss to nod her head mutely before continuing. "You've got Blake and Yang to keep you safe, Bernard is the best guy this side of the equator to get you somewhere unnoticed, and, most importantly, I'm here and I swear to you that I have taken every precaution to keep us safe."
"O-Okay." Weiss murmured. She let herself be pulled into Red's embrace and melted against the other woman, her need for comfort outweighing her embarrassment at such a public display of affection in front of Bernard.
"I've got you." Red whispered in her ear. "You're fine."
They remained like that, unmoving, for several minutes while Weiss regained her composure before she leaned back to speak. "My apologies, Bernard. I hope my behaviour has not tarnished your impression of me."
"Not at all, sweetie." Bernard replied with a fond smile. "If so much as half the things Octavia here has told me about your adventures together are true, I would have lost my cool a long time ago. Honestly, I'm surprised more people don't react that way to some of the things she says."
"You mean like you did that time in the Panama Canal?" Red offered cheekily.
Bernard gasped dramatically as he held his hand to his chest in an affronted manner. "I did no such thing!"
"Really?" Red countered with a wink to Weiss who giggled at her partner's antics. "Because I distinctly remember us meeting Lee and having to ask him to ignore the crazy man steering the boat and shouting about how the Panamanian authorities were going to throw us all in a hole with only a bucket between the three of us while they fed us week-old chum and salt-water."
"Clearly Lee found my shall we say cautiousness to be at least a little charming since our first date was not long after that." The man replied proudly.
Red rolled her eyes before remarking sarcastically, "Yeah, it was your charm that attracted him to you."
Bernard leaned closer to Weiss conspiratorially before stage whispering to her, "Well, that, and my glistening abs." Weiss laughed loudly and the man grinned. "He couldn't take his eyes off me, and, after asking me non-stop he wore me down and I let him take me out to dinner."
"Lee would say it was the other way around." Red teased.
"Of course he will," Bernard replied, "my husband likes to pretend he isn't completely smitten with me."
"And I'm sure you're the picture of stoic aloofness." Red fired back.
The older man shrugged noncommittally before standing and offering Weiss his hand. "It was an honour meeting you Weiss, but I should probably be getting back to my duties. I just stopped by to let Octavia know we were making good time and should be at our destination by noon tomorrow."
Weiss grinned and shook his hand. "The pleasure was all mine."
After that, Red went back to scanning her laptop while Weiss relaxed against her chest and alternated between reading an article about several executives from a Russian oil company disappearing before reappearing a day later with no recollection of what happened and watching the pink light of the sun crawl up lazily from behind the horizon before shifting to yellow as it steadily clambered above their heads.
Eventually, not wanting anyone (Yang) to catch her outside in her negligée, she returned inside the boat to get dressed. After donning a comfortable pair of denim cut-offs that never failed to make Red look at her in a way that made her skin tingle and fill her chest with heat, and a loose shirt that both covered her enough to avoid any questions and was comfortable in the heat of the blazing sun, she made her way outside only to pause at the door.
Sitting on the desk across from their bunks was the gun Red had given her the day before. Sunlight filtered through the porthole and reflected off the chrome surface as Weiss deliberated whether or not she should take it with her.
After a couple minutes of remuneration, she came to a decision, grabbed the weapon and slipped it in the back of her shorts beneath her shirt. She was hyperaware of the cold metal against her skin, the weight of the tool and everything it signified felt like an anchor tied to the base of her spine. When Red had first given it to her, Weiss couldn't help but be brought back to that moment from months ago when she had found herself looking down the barrel of Roman Torchwick's gun just before she was pushed out of the way. He was looking to kill her that night, and were it not for Red, he would have. Red had told her the gun as for protection, and while Weiss didn't think she had the stomach to shoot someone, she couldn't deny the logic of it.
With that thought in mind, she made her way outside. The weight on her waistband more grimly comforting than condemning now. She felt reassured of her decision when she stepped on to the deck of the ship and saw that Blake and Yang had joined Red outside and were both inspecting their respective firearms.
"Yo, Weiss," Yang greeted as the heiress-turned-get-away-driver-slash-pilot took a seat next to Red, "you ever use one of these babies before?"
"No," Weiss replied as she pulled out her own and looked down the barrel, "but I imagine it can't be that complicated."
"Well today's your lucky day." Yang said with an enthusiasm that slightly concerned Weiss. "'Cause Blakey and me are gonna turn you into the straightest shooter out there."
"And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?" Weiss asked skeptically.
"Practice." Blake answered simply.
"Bernard's crew were kind enough to lend us their skeet shooting trap along with this crate of priceless china to use for target practice." Yang added with a gentle kick to the crate sitting next to her.
"Alright then." Weiss agreed, not bothering to ask why Bernard's crew had these things in the first place.
*(OoO)*
They spent the morning going through the motions of loading, arming, and disarming the gun. Then, after a lunch of freshly caught fish and minute-rice, practiced shooting by launching assorted gorgeous dinner plates in the air and trying to shoot them before they plunged into the ocean. So far, Blake had hit nearly all of her targets, with Yang not far behind, while Weiss was lucky if she caught the edge of one as it soared through the air. Her frustration was mounting as time wore on and by the time Yang turned to her sister (who, after napping for a few hours, was still working on both laptops) to make fun of her poor aim, she was nearing a boiling point.
"She'll get it." Red droned distractedly, her eyes never leaving the screens before her. "She just needs to keep working at it."
Eventually the sun started lowering behind them and Blake and Yang both chose to retire inside for the night while she kept practicing. Red was no help as after another nap, she simply provided the same mumbled reminders to keep practicing. At that point, Weiss was simply firing blindly in anger, stopping only when a pair of strong arms were gently lowering her own.
"You need to calm down." Red whispered softly.
Weiss's nostrils flared in anger as the other woman loaded another plate into the trap. "No, I need to hit that fucking plate." She growled lowly, though her body betrayed her as leaned into the warm embrace and felt her tension vanish.
"Here, let me help." Red's voice was calm and soothing as guided Weiss's hands in switching the magazine. She then pushed her front to the flustered woman's back, her hand covering Weiss's own as she helped her aim. "It's all about breathing," Red whispered, her warm breath washed over Weiss's ear and made her shiver, nearly missing the plate being launched into the air, "in and out." She took a deep breath and Weiss could feel the brunette's chest expand against her back. Her own breathing was ragged at best and she could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage as Red guided her arms. "You want to shoot where your target is going to be, not where it is. Then once you've lined up your shot…"
The crack of the gunfire was somehow both louder than usual and muted as she watched the delicate china shatter in midair with a sort of cosmic beauty. Once the last shard of crystal had fallen into the waves, she turned around and found herself closer to Red than she had ever been. Their every curve was pressed together gloriously, and as she looked up into her partner's face, she found herself unable to look away from soft lips smiling so invitingly.
"Nice shot…" Red whispered, her breath warm against Weiss's lips.
She had read enough bad romance novels to know what an author meant when they talked about the world narrowing between two people. It was a cliché. How could one person become so much of a focal point to another that the world around them just vanished? Except, now that it was happening to Weiss, she finally understood what that saying meant. The world didn't just vanished instantaneously, it faded gradually, one sense at a time, until only on faint blip in the background of one conscious mind.
It started with the smell of salt and fish being replaced by strawberries and roses. Touch was the next to go as the feelings of the cold metal against her back, the rocking of their vessel in the ocean waves, and the wind against her face were overshadowed by the familiar comfort of arms around her waist and the electric heat of a body against her own. Sight and hearing soon followed, the sound of the waves against the ship's hull below her, and the cries of birds above both drowned out by the rhythmic pounding from within. Meanwhile, the setting sun reflecting off the water, filling both sea and sky with brilliant flames was forgotten for gentle eyes more precious than any metal and a soft smile that spoke of home. Taste was the last to go. The constant saltiness that resulted from the fresh sea air was cleansed form her pallet by the tender sweetness of Red's lips as they pressed against her own.
Weiss's chest swelled with blissful rapture as she and Red continued to exchange chaste, unhurried kisses overflowing with emotion and unspoken declarations. She felt more than heard a whimper tear itself from her throat when Red nibbled on her lower lip. She felt the con woman smirked against her lips before switching out gentle, affectionate kisses with more heated passionate ones that sent bolts of lightning through the driver's every nerve with each stroke of the brunette's tongue against her own. She moaned when Red moved away from her lips to kiss along her cheek and jawline before nibbling and sucking on a spot just below her ear that robbed her lungs of air and her mind of thoughts.
They lost track of time and she ended up spending the night again laying comfortably in Red's arms on one of the lounge chairs. Her eyes were closed and the soothing beat of her partner's heart was quickly lulling her to sleep. She sighed contentedly to herself and thought about how much her life had changed and how it was all thanks to the woman sleeping beneath her.
No matter what happens with Torchwick, the White Fang, my father… she thought just as sleep was claiming her, it'll be worth it so long as I can keep this one happy memory.
*( OoO )*
They met Pyrrha just as the sun was approaching its peak before moving westward. She was accompanied by a tall, Asian man with long, dark hair streaked with pink on an even smaller boat then the one they were on now that made Ruby think they were going shark hunting off the coast of Amity Island.
She smiled and thanked Bernard for his help before disembarking and joining her friends on the other vessel.
"Hey Ren," she said as she hugged the man, "where's Nora?"
"She's back on the mainland, negotiating with the owner of our plane." Ren's deep voice rumbled as he smiled down at her.
"You mean reminding him she can bench five of herself?" Yang offered as she gave Ren a quick hug.
"Pretty much. Though she and I are curious as to why we aren't just chartering a flight to Rio instead of buying an entire jet."
"Safer that way." Ruby replied as she reached back to grab Weiss's hand and pull her friend over. "This is Weiss, our pilot."
Ren bowed to her in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Weiss. I'm Lie Ren."
"Nice to meet you too, Ren." Weiss said as she bowed back.
Ren raised an eyebrow at her in question. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked you were dead."
"For a few months now, she has." Ruby supplied.
"And, astoundingly, I've accomplished more in these few months of being dead than in over twenty years of life." Weiss added jokingly.
Ren chuckled and Ruby couldn't fight her grin seeing how at ease her partner seemed. She had come so far from being the tortured girl hiding behind the mask of a cold, entitled heiress. Once pleasantries had been exchanged the six of them entered the small cabin where Ren got behind the throttle while the rest of them sat around a small table.
"So, what brings you all the way down here, Red?" Ren asked with a push on the gas.
"We're following a lead that involves the White Fang." Ruby said. She liked Ren, if for nothing else than he never pushed her for more information than she was willing to give.
"Sounds dangerous. Especially now."
"Why especially now?" Weiss asked. All eyes turned on Ruby and she suddenly decided she didn't like Ren. She sighed in defeat as the others waited for her to speak, she had hoped to keep this to herself for a little while longer.
"The Brazilian government's gonna fall over the next few months."
There was a beat of silence as the others processed what she said. Then…
"What!?"
"You can't be serious!"
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because it wasn't relevant at the moment." Ruby replied before turning to Weiss who had remained silent, simply looking at her in understanding and apology.
"Red, if Brazil is as bad as you think it's going to be, we don't want to be anywhere near the White Fang." Pyrrha said seriously.
"Why not?" Weiss inquired.
"Organizations like the White Fang always experience an increase in business in times of political strife." Blake explained.
"No quicker way to grab control than being seen as a hero after some kind of terror attack." Yang muttered angrily. "I don't like this. We should look for some other leads elsewhere."
Ruby bit back a retort and forced herself to remain calm. She could feel herself slipping behind one of her masks, but she needed to handle this professionally first. "Yang, there aren't any other leads. Look," she made sure to look them each in the eye so as to convey her sincerity, "this isn't the first time I've withheld information from any of you, and you all know that it won't be the last either. But you also know that I make sure you know every detail you need to. I knew about what's happening in Brazil for months before it even started and I made sure to take every necessary precaution as soon as South America even became a possibility."
The tension between them all hung heavy in the air and for several minutes the only sounds were those of the engine. Finally, the silence was broken when Pyrrha sighed and took her hand.
"I'm sorry, Ru-Red… You're my best friend, and I trust you with my life. Odds are you didn't tell us to avoid this conversation in the first place. I guess it's never really been anything this big before, and I just forgot myself for a second."
"Yeah, I'm sorry too." Yang added while Blake nodded remorsefully alongside her. "I'm just worried about you and Blake and being reminded of how dangerous it's gonna be just set me off."
"I get it, I really do," Ruby muttered as she studied the worn table in front of her, "and I feel horrible every time I have to lie to any of you, even if it's a lie of omission, while still expecting you to trust me. But as much as I hate it, there are a lot of things I know will put you in more danger if you know about them."
The silence that followed was the definition of awkward and emotional as Ruby reminded herself of how hard she made it for those closest to her to trust her and how much pain her manipulations caused them. She was so trapped in her own self-degrading thoughts that she barely registered Weiss taking her hand and gently pulling her up and out of the cabin towards the stern of the boat. Once they were near the railing and out of sight of the cabin, Weiss grabbed her other hand and wrapped them both around her waist as she stepped forward to rest her head in the crook of Ruby's neck.
They stood there quietly holding each other for a while and Ruby felt herself gradually become more relaxed.
"How do you know the Brazilian government will fall?" She mumbled against Ruby's neck.
The taller woman chuckled lightly at the seemingly random question but launched into an explanation nonetheless. "There was a big scandal that's gonna bring down the government."
"Even I knew that country was rife with corruption, but something that big?"
"Yup."
"And you've known about it for how long?" Ruby chuckled at the mixture of amazement and skepticism in the other woman's voice.
"I became aware of the graft scheme a few years ago when I helped blackmail some fraudulent politicians after they started refusing bribes. I did some research afterwards, and it turns out several years ago some government-owned oil mogul had colluded with a cartel of companies in a kickback scheme over the construction and service work for a massive oil rig, they then used that money to bribe several political figures. One of their money launderers was arrested last year, he made a plea bargain and brought it all to light. The Brazilian government's currently voting on whether or not an impeachment is necessary."
"How does all this relate to Torchwick?" Weiss asked. Ruby lifted her head and looked down at her partner curiously.
"What makes you think it does?"
"I'm more than just a pretty face." Weiss riposted cheekily with an impish grin.
Ruby laughed out loud and tightened her grip on her wonderful partner's waist. "That you are, Princess." Her smile faded though as she focused on more serious things. "You remember the other night when I said there were some really powerful individuals behind everything?"
"Yeah, you think they orchestrated this scandal?"
"If they didn't, they're gonna use it to their advantage."
"To what end? What could they possibly gain from toppling the government of Brazil?"
"I can't answer that." Ruby winced at the answer she was forced to give.
Weiss nodded and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I understand. So do they." She pointed her head toward the cabin. "It was just a knee-jerk reaction."
"It was a reminder that I can't be trusted." Ruby muttered dejectedly.
"It was a mistake, and they all feel terrible about it. I would have reacted that way too if I hadn't been raised by someone like my father." Weiss explained. "Most people think trusting someone just means knowing and expecting that they never lie to you, but they're wrong." She paused for a moment and tightened her grip around the brunette's neck. "We are all aware that you keep information from us, but we know you tell us what we need to make sure we stay safe. We know how tough your job is, and how good you are at it. We trust you to know what needs to be known and what needs to be kept a secret. We trust you, not to tell us the full, uncensored truth, but with our lives."
There you have it! It only took nearly 90k words but they finally kissed! Of course I would've ended it there, but pacing issues and the fact that so many things close on the kiss made me add the last part. Sorry to the Brazilians out there about the whole "government falling" thing, especially because I based it off events that are happening right now, but I did need a reason and Petrobras just sorta fell into my lap. Also you guys should check out what's happening down there as it's some messed up stuff and deserves the attention.