Disclaimer: Nope. Nada. Nu-uh. Kinda wish I had been smart enough to think it up first, though.

Road to the End

By: athrunzala

07: Laying Low

"Good morning, sir. And thank you for last night."

Ruby was doing her best to follow the mannerisms Weiss had spent hours drilling into her the night before, but it would seem that her face was giving away how nervous she was.

"Please. Sit down. Let me introduce myself," Weiss' father said, one eyebrow higher than the other. "My name is Valkoinen Schnee. And you are?"

"Ruby Rose, sir."

"Ah. Yes. Ms. Rose. My daughter's partner from Beacon. Tell me: What brings you to Atlas?"

"Well... We were trying to get everybody in one place again to take back Beacon and the part of Vale that was lost."

"Noble. Foolish, but noble. And how did you plan to accomplish this?"

"Well... we have people already in Vale, so we were going to find the rest of our classmates and then head there to use it as a base of operations."

Valkoinen adjusted in his seat slightly, a finger running across his moustache.

"And you plan to lead this... revolution with... 8 people?"

"I know it isn't a very good plan. Weiss always managed to improve on my plans at Beacon, and make them so that they would work, so I was hoping she would help."

"I see. You require aid. I shall consider it. For now, however, you all need to rest. Your friend is still unconscious, for medical reasons. Take some time to recover and train. We have a state of the art facility here for just that purpose. If you and my daughter can prove that you can work well enough together, I shall allow it. Otherwise, you should move on to your next location. That is all."

Ruby rose slowly and bowed her head.

"Thank you, sir."

She then turned and left the room, her lack of cloak feeling odd, but Weiss had insisted that she let them clean it. She felt naked, but she would put up with it if it made her former partner happy. Which struck her as odd. She should have been over those feelings by now, shouldn't she? The only person she had ever told was he uncle, and he hadn't told anybody. If anyone else knew, it was through a glorious coincidence of guess work. After all, there was no way that the heiress could be thinking of her the same way.

Down on the main floor, Weiss was pacing. She had tried to drill the etiquette rules into the younger girl's head, but one night was probably not enough. She couldn't bear the thought of being told that she could never communicate with the younger girl again, but she wouldn't admit it. After all, Ruby wasn't interested in dating anybody. Not when she suddenly had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

And then there was the matter of the younger girl's older sister, Yang. If there was anything that could be said about the blonde woman, it was that she was fiercely protective of her sister, which made the heiress feel that she was unapproachable for that purpose.

She shook away the thoughts as Ruby came down the stairs.

"And?"

"He wants us to stay here and train for a while. He said something about if we could work well together, that he would help us, but there wasn't much after that."

Weiss was slightly shocked at hearing this. Somehow, Ruby had managed to sell her father on something.

"How did you?"

"I mentioned how you were actually behind our mission plans succeeding. Which, wasn't a lie," Ruby shifted nervously. "Weiss, you are way better than I am at planning missions. All I had planned was really just to launch an assault on Beacon, to take it back, and start teaching again. Maybe making Uncle Qrow the headmaster. I hadn't thought past getting everybody together again. I'm sorry about that and..."

She was cut off as the heiress, in, what anybody else would describe as a lapse in judgement, rushed up to her and hugged her.

"Weiss...?"

Ruby broke the contact, despite admitting to herself that she had longed for it.

"Ruby, you sold my father on something. Not many rookie Huntsmen or Huntresses could do that. I'm just... I'm so proud of you."

She took the younger girl by the hand, mentally reveling in being able to have this kind of contact, even if it never went beyond that.

"Where are we going?"

"Ruby, I'm going to show you the training room. You'll like it. I swear."

~Two days later~

Even after two days of almost never leaving the arena floor, Ruby was still in awe at the capabilities of the massive facility. She was enjoying having to dodge bullets and various other obstacles, as it got her back into the habit of using Crescent Rose as more than just a gun. And she was learning to appreciate Weiss' weapon and skills as well, when the heiress would run an obstacle course in a time rivaling her own.

Up in the control center, Qrow was watching the two train.

"Now if only they'd realize how they feel about each other."

He would continue to watch them day in and day out, all to see them improve, as he was delivering the sessions to them at night, and doing his former job from Signal, instructing them on their weaknesses, helping them to see where they had made a mistake.

Today was no different, except for the fact that Valkoinen was there, observing the two young women. When the booth phone rang, Qrow paused the simulation, much to the girls' displeasure.

"'Just give us a moment up here. Phone call.'"

He then nodded and answered the video call.

"Hello, father."

"Winter. It has been a while. Coming home any time soon?"

"I should be there in a bit. But first, what is he doing there?"

"Mr. Branwen is here with his niece and several survivors of the Battle of Beacon. I am considering funding an assault against the Grimm that have taken up residence there. They are proving that my intent to assist them is not misplaced."

"If Weiss' partner is there, then there is one more thing we will have to do. When I get back, I'll be needing Ms. Rose to help me design something."

"Something for the girl who lost her arm?"

Winter sat in silence. She wasn't aware of how much her father had been told, or if he had actually read Ironwood's reports. All the same, she was impressed.

"You know about that?"

"Of course. Mr. Branwen's niece is not unknown to me. She is your sister's friend as well. Speaking of things not unknown to me..."

He looked back at Qrow and then back to the screen.

"I know about you two. You thought you were being sneaky?"

Winter was flabbergasted at this.

"How did... When did... did he..."

"I ju... wha... when did... how did... Did you..."

"I'll take your reactions to mean that you have no knowledge of how I know this. The CCT was Atlas' gift to the world, but it was developed as a partial way to track huntsmen and huntresses in the field. All scrolls are attached to it. It was not hard to tell where you two were going."

Both parties paled.

"Just keep it safe. I can't stop you, as neither of you live under my roof. All I ask is that neither of you be stupid."