Disclaimer: I started season 2 and did not like the wild Neptune x Weiss pairing that suddenly appeared. But I'm not really worried, since rooster teeth did say that they didn't want to destroy any ships. Anyway, if you put yourself in Weiss's shoes, you would understand why she's responding to the attention. I mean, a girl who has never had any romantic relationships is suddenly flirted with by an attractive guy? Come on. Let's be honest, most people would respond to that. But I still don't like it. WHITEROSE forever! Oh, and I don't own RWBY.
AnonymousReading: I won't give anything away yet. :3
Ziirroh: Thank you! I'm actually still thinking about who to put in the future chapters.
xWasabi24: Haha thanks! My exams aren't over yet but the call of whiterose was too tempting.
Crimson Folia: Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope this chapter fulfills some your white rose cravings.
Freezing Infinity: Here's a white rose moment! I'm sorry if it's a little too angsty haha. Hopefully it isn't too OOC or anything.
Omega Collaborative: Thank you! Hope this chappie is good enough.
XAnonymous: Haha thanks for your encouragement! I'll try to keep the chaps over 1k words.
Xero: Thanks for reading! I hope that you'll stick with this story!
Animelvr975: Here's some plot development for ya! Thanks for waiting. :3
DarkRai: Don't worry, Ruby won't be meeting Cardin just yet. I'll try to put in Yang soon!
Guest: Thank you for spotting it! I went back to fix it.
The days crawled by.
If someone could die from boredom, Ruby would have died, risen from the dead, and then died again.
Sighing loudly to no one in particular, she buried her face into the abnormally soft pillow; her blood red hair splayed everywhere. It was probably afternoon already. Ruby heard someone knocking on her door about an hour ago, but she couldn't muster the energy to get up and get about her day. Dealing with Weiss Schnee was extremely draining. Both physically, and mentally.
She could count with one hand how many times they civil conversations. The rest of the time however, witty and sarcastic remarks were traded between them. This would end up with one of them storming away (usually Weiss) or the other just giving up and retreating to the kitchen (always Ruby). Being a bodyguard wasn't very interesting. Ruby would describe it as tailing the person to the point of irritation, until they either threw a book or you, or yelled at you to leave them alone.
Granted, she had been snacking on cookies while following Weiss but there weren't that many crumbs. The main point was that the heiress rarely even left her castle, buried beneath mountains of paper work for the Schnee dust company. This left the huntress with a lot of free time on her hands, which she spent wandering the castle or gathering information on the strange Grimm behavior.
Ruby had never dealt with such a person before. A person who was spoilt and selfish, yet somehow still seemed so regal and attractive at the same time. 'Woah, where did that come from?' Ruby threw her head back, startled at her train of thoughts. She steered her mind away from whatever that was and instead focused on her current dilemma. If she had to spend another day wandering or roaming the forests, she would probably shoot herself with Crescent Rose. It was damn cold outside too.
Thankfully, the gods were obviously smiling upon her because a knock on the door distracted her from her thoughts.
"Excuse me, Miss Ruby. The mistress has asked to see you. She will be awaiting your presence in her study."
Ruby grinned. Finally, some excitement around here!
Weiss sat professionally at her fancy lacquered desk, her hands moving in a flurry of movements, signing documents with a flourish and writing reports about the theft of the latest dust shipment. Even after all this years, the white fang was still a thorn in the side of the Schnee dust company. Pausing to rest for a moment, the girl put down her pen with a small sigh, moving her stiff limbs. She made a mental note to get her assistant to schedule a short holiday. Her nerves were shot and she felt as if she was going to drown underneath all the paperwork. If she had ever wondered why her father never came back home, she knew the reason for it now.
A sudden knock on the door made her jump.
"Come in!" She called, and fought the urge to roll her eyes when Ruby came bouncing in like an energizer bunny on a sugar high.
"You called, Weiss?" Ruby said happily, excitement getting the better of her. Crescent Rose was snug against her back, and her red cloak fluttered about as she skipped into the room. The heiress felt a pang of envy at how carefree the girl was acting. Weiss had never had the luxury of acting like a normal girl, always being told to act all 'prim and proper' like a lady worthy of the Schnee name.
"Of course I did, you dunce. Now, can you please act your age?" Weiss scoffed, and bent down to tidy up the messy pile of papers on the table.
Ruby glared at the heiress before cocking her hips in mock arrogant manner.
"I will when you pull that stick out of your ass." She smirked.
Weiss bristled and turned into a shade of purple not seen on nature's palette. "How uncouth." She snapped dryly.
"Excuse moi?" Ruby gasped theatrically, pointing to herself. "Me, uncouth? Oh darling, how you wound me."
The heiress rolled her eyes and placed a small paperweight on the pile. "Shut up you dolt."
Ruby laughed and pranced towards the desk. Leaning on it causally, she asked the question which had been on her mind since she had entered the room.
"So?" She asked, raising her hands to rest at the back of her head. "What did you need me for, princess?" Ruby asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.
Weiss ignored the jibe and turned to face the huntress, folding her arms in a display of intimidation. Ruby just thought she looked like a chiwawa. A fancy chiwawa. A very beautiful chiw–
'Stop it, Ruby Rose!' Her mind yelled. She had really been out of whack lately. Ruby sighed. She needed a vacation.
"The Schnee Company is having its annual fund raiser next month." Weiss started, eyeing the other woman to make sure she was listening. From the stare Ruby was giving her, she concluded that she was indeed paying attention.
"Since my father saddled me with a body guard, you will have to accompany to the ball. Honestly, what is he thinking? Making me bring you along, like I am incapable of protecting myself."
Ruby felt her hopes burn into a million pieces. A ball?! What was she, some sort of escort? 'Wait a minute. Technically, I am sort of an escort.'
"Seriously? A ball?" Ruby whined, and Weiss felt her head beginning to throb with irritation. "I thought we were going somewhere dangerous. Like going into the forest and fight Grimms or something…"
She sulked and began to toe the soft carpet. "I can't believe I have to be your date." She said despondently.
Weiss felt a little hurt at that. Was she really so undesirable that even her own body guard didn't want to accompany her? As the thought crossed her mind, a slim hand reached up to trace the scar.
"Well then, that's too bad!" Weiss barked. "I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for you!" Not even bothering to glance at Ruby, the heiress spun on her heel and hastily exited the room. She even gave in to her instincts and slammed the door for a good measure. To hell with acting like a lady, she told herself. The inconsiderate dunce deserved it.
Meanwhile, the huntress stood stunned. Seconds stretched into minutes and Ruby finally broke out of her perplexed demeanor and face palmed.
'Oh god, I'm such an idiot.'
Weiss panted tiredly as she thrusted Myrtenaster forward, and pierced the imaginary enemy. Pirouetting, she spun away from the spot she had been standing in, and brought down her rapier with a powerful slice; causing the air to whip around wildly for a moment.
The heiress slid her rapier back into its sheath and wiped the sweat which had accumulated on her brow during her impromptu workout. A glance outside the window made her blanch. She could see nothing but inky blackness, a testament to how long she had been practicing in the castle's training room. After slamming the door in Ruby's face, Weiss had decided that she was too high strung to get any work done, and decided to spend some time alone to relax. Somewhere along the line, she had entirely forgotten the time and wasted her day away in this moderately sized room.
With a sigh, Weiss let head fall back. The ceiling was partly made of hard glass, and she could see the brilliant and hypnotic moon staring at her. The moon…it had been her only company in her pathetic childhood.
Day after day was spent training, pushing her body to the very limits to please her parents.
But…A hand went up to her eye to trace the scar. She grimaced in mild anger and disgust. It still wasn't enough. Weiss thought wryly.
As she continued to stare at the moon, an urge hit her. Her body tensed in surprise at the sudden thought which flitted through her mind. Sing. Her mind chanted. Sing your heart out.
Normally, the heiress would brush this absurd thought away, but today had been jarring to her psyche. First were the large amounts of paper work, and then her stupid bodyguard had to go and say something like that…
Clenching her eyes shut, Weiss Schnee began to sing.
"Mirror, tell me something.
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?"
Her voice came out raspy at first, but as the first notes of the song began to fade away, Weiss felt her confidence grow. Putting all her emotions into her voice, she sang her heart out.
"Mirror, tell me something.
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?"
Twirling gently, she spun in a small circle. Her steps were smooth and flowed fluidly. It told the story of it being practiced over and over, done to perfection.
"Fear of what's inside of me,"
Tell me, can my heart be turned to stone?"
Weiss felt tears prickle in her eyes, and threw her head back once more, her voice trailing off at the last note. The emotions in her chest swelled like a volcano, and felt as if it was about to burst. She pushed all of it down, slamming her mouth shut to prevent a sob from escaping.
So immersed in the moment, however, Weiss failed to hear the soft footsteps approaching her from behind. By the time she had noticed, it was already too late.
Ruby pulled her into a tight hug, hands wound around her waist as if she was afraid Weiss would disappear. The sweatiness of her body didn't deter the huntress at all. In fact, she pressed their bodies even closer together.
The heiress struggled weakly against the hold but gave up after a few pathetic minutes of half-hearted insults being directed to the huntress. She buried her face into the younger girl's shoulder and inhaled deeply, the scent of roses filling her senses. I will not cry. I will not cry. The heiress chanted over and over like a broken record.
"I'm sorry."
The sudden apology made Weiss freeze, going still in the warm arms. Ruby noticed this and tightened her hold. "I'm sorry." She repeated, regret and sincerity filling her voice. "I didn't mean it. I'll love to go to the ball with you, Weiss."
"Y-you're just saying that…"
"No." Came the harsh, but warm reply. "I mean it. I'm not saying it just to comfort you. You're bigger than this. You're Weiss Schnee, the powerful, independent woman who rules one of the most powerful dust companies in Vale with an iron grip. But…you're also Weiss, the woman who can scare the crap out of anyone with just one look and the woman who is capable of fighting against a horde of beowolves in a freaking dress."
Ruby pressed a light kiss to her forehead and pulled back to gaze at her tenderly, the moonlight bouncing off her; giving her skin a pale shimmer. She smiled and said,
"You're only human too, Weiss. And…that is what makes you so fucking beautiful."
The dam broke at those last words. Slumping into ruby's hold, the lonely woman grabbed the red cloak tightly and cried.
Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?
Save me from the things I see!
I can keep it from the world,
Why won't you let me hide from me?
Mirror, mirror, tell me something,
Who's the loneliest of all?
I'm the loneliest of all.