AN: Quick thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed and left feedback on this story so far. It really means a lot to me and any sort of review is greatly appreciated.
"I already told you, I don't care what he says, we're going to continue to support the Nikos tournament and it will take place in Vale." Weiss sighed tiredly at the continued weakness of her secretary—who had essentially become the mediator between she and her father. Even though Weiss was barely listening to the woman on the other line, she knew where the conversation was going. "I understand that it's a non profit event, but it's not about the profit, it's about the tournament and what it represents. I'll take the money out of my own trust fund if I have to but the tournament will continue. Tell him that and tell him that it is my concern, not his."
With that, Weiss closed her scroll and threw it into the seat next to her.
She hated this work, hated everything about it. The constant stream of calls to her scroll, the meetings and the manipulation. It was as if no matter how hard she tried to do good things with the Schnee Dust Company name, her father was always there to run it into the ground again.
Weiss would never understand why he wanted her to be a part of his business so badly, yet constantly made it a point to fight against everything she did.
So she escaped work early and took a car into the city. She had no real destination, but it was simple enough to tell her driver to take her to the nicest restaurant in the city for lunch. It was out of the way, secluded and because it was stuff with tight wadded gas bags, it would at least be quiet.
As she peered out the window in the back of the car, she saw a flash of red that drew her eye. It was hard to see as it moved through the heavily crowded streets, but Weiss continued to follow it as the car came to a stop at the intersection.
"It can't be," Weiss whispered to herself, rolling the window down to get a better look.
The figure pushed through a few people and finally Weiss could see that it was, in fact, a red cape on their back with a hood that bounced with each step.
Even though it looked like her and moved as frantically as her, Weiss still couldn't confirm that that was, in fact, her old partner.
However, any doubts she might have had ceased when the figure in the red hood suddenly ducked into a corner bakery.
"Ruby," Weiss whispered before opening her door just as the car started to move again. "Stop!" she cried out. "Stop the car!" and it did, right in the middle of the intersection.
The blare of car horns sounded as Weiss stepped out into the street without a car. She heard someone call her an unflattering name but couldn't care less. "Miss Schnee?" Her driver called from the vehicle.
"Just park around the corner, I'll find you when I'm finished!" She instructed before stepping through the crowd and into the bakery.
Weiss considered her plan of attack as she stepped into the bakery. She stopped just at the doorway and moved to a table in the corner. She didn't sit, just stood and watched as Ruby had an exchange with the young girl behind the counter. From this angle, Weiss could only really see the familiar red cloak. That and the fact that Ruby was at least a six inches taller, which would make her about three inches taller than Weiss was, which was infuriating.
Still, the height seemed to fit her well. Her hair was much longer than Weiss had ever seen it, hanging along her shoulders and spilling over her cloak. It was the same dark color with familiar red tips, it suited her.
Weiss crossed her arms and continued to watch as the girl behind the counter smiled at Ruby and handed her a plate filled with junk food.
Apparently she only grew up physically, Weiss thought with a strange sense of frustration and relief. She didn't want to see that the world had taken away Ruby's childish nature. Even if it had been exceedingly annoying years ago.
She watched as the girl behind the counter smiled, again and made a point to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and practically glow at Ruby as she took the plate of food.
Weiss rolled her eyes and waited for Ruby to finally turn around. When she did, Weiss felt her knees weaken a little.
Ruby had, in fact, grown up. She was taller and thicker, in all the right places. She had broad shoulders and even through her sleeves Weiss could see the muscles flexing in her arms.
Her features were more elegant, yet still managed to maintain the youthful glow Ruby always had. As she turned, longer locks of hair swept in front of her face and Weiss felt her mouth go dry.
A moment later she shook off the strange feeling and set a glare on her former partner.
Five years. Weiss glowered as she stomped over to the table Ruby had chosen.
Just as Ruby was about to put a cookie in her mouth, Weiss sat down across from her.
"She was flirting with you; you know?"
The cookie fell from Ruby's lips and into her lap because…of course it did.
"W—Weiss?" Ruby muttered as she continued to stare with her mouth open. "What…are you—is this a dream?" Leaning forward, Weiss thumped Ruby in the forehead. "Ow!"
"Not a dream."
"Yeah you're not usually mean to me in my dreams." Ruby muttered and Weiss refused to dwell on that statement. "What are you doing here?"
"No, no," She shook her head vehemently. "I live here, I have been in Atlas for the last five years since Beacon, you're the one who fell completely off the map and then randomly show up. I will be asking the questions."
They stared at each other for a moment, Ruby picking up the cookie from her lap and setting it on the table. "Do you…have any quest—"
"Of course I have questions!" Weiss slammed her hands on the table and made her partner jump. "Where have you been, Ruby Rose?! You think you can go this long without even trying to contact me?! I thought were dead or injured or captured or…ugh!" She sat back in her seat with a pout and refused to look at Ruby.
"I'm sorry, Weiss. I've been really busy since Beacon fell. Of course I wanted to come see you but—" Ruby's voice trailed off as her eyes fell to the plate of cookies.
Weiss made the mistake of glancing over at her, seeing the sadness in those silver eyes irritated her to no end—if only because she hated seeing it. "But what?" She pried and Ruby winced.
"I can't tell you, not…not everything."
"Excuse me?" The tendrils of sympathy vanished quickly. "You can't tell me?"
Ruby sighed and refused to look at her. "It's for your own good." Weiss heard the words fall out of Ruby's mouth and a moment later reached across the table again and thumped Ruby in the forehead. "Ow! Will you stop that?!"
"Not until you stop keeping secrets!"
"I'm not keeping secrets! I'm protecting you." Ruby flinched as her sentence finished, no doubt expecting Weiss to reach across the table again. She didn't, despite her frustration she was thrilled to see her former partner again. Life since Beacon had been so suffocating and lonely. Ruby was the dose of hope Weiss had missed so much. "It's nothing personal, Weiss. If I felt I could tell you, I would. You, probably…over anyone else."
Weiss knew when to pick her battles, something she'd learned more and more as her father engrained her into the family business. Ruby was not going to budge and Weiss didn't feel like fighting after being apart for so long.
"Fine, then can you at least tell me how long you're planning on being in the city? Where you've come from? What have you heard from everyone else? Your sister? How is she? Blake?" Weiss wasn't sure where the slew of questions came from but they just started pouring from her mouth like word vomit. She had been locked away for so long without anything, to see Ruby now was like a life preserver. She missed her old life so much.
However, another wave of discomfort flashed over Ruby's features and Weiss regretted her questioning. Though it shouldn't have come as a surprise to her that things only got worse after Beacon fell.
"I have no idea where Blake is, I haven't seen her since she ran away. Yang is…" Ruby swallowed thickly, clearly struggling, and Weiss resisted the urge to reach across the table and grab her hand. "Existing, I guess? She's…I don't know what she's doing. I talk to her sometimes but she's barely there when we do. She's still in Patch."
"She never left?" Weiss asked quickly. She knew the severity of what happened to Yang but she never imagined it would fully defeat her—not a girl as filled with fire as Yang Xiao Long.
Ruby shook her head. "Nope, last she told me she had moved into the guest house down the road. She tells me she's fine when we talk but I don't believe her. But yeah, she's never left Patch."
Imagining Yang sitting and home and wasting away by herself made the world feel a little darker. Weiss didn't like it one bit.
"Did she ever…look into robotics for her arm? Did she ever do—" As poised as she was raised to be, Weiss found herself struggling to find the right words.
"I know she has a standing offer from General Ironwood and I know for certain that Professor Goodwitch has reached out to her about getting out and doing things but Yang won't budge. She's stubborn like that."
Weiss remembered, though usually that stubbornness was about making the fiery blonde slow down, not get back up.
"What about you?" Weiss asked again.
"Weiss, I told you—"
"Ruby," she cut her off. "You don't have to tell me about what you're doing. I was asking if you're okay."
When she saw the flash of vulnerability cross Ruby's face, she knew she'd found the right question.
"I'm pretty tired." Ruby said with a smile to match her words. "I haven't slept much in the last few...days and this is my first meal in a while."
Weiss scoffed. "I'd hardly call this a meal." Ruby grinned a little wider. "In fact, it's not." Weiss stood up and grabbed the plate of cookies from the table.
"Hey!" Ruby cried, standing up and stepping in front of her former partner. "Weiss, I have been fighting for the last five years, you have been sitting behind one of your fancy desks made of gold talking on a diamond scroll to all your Schnee robots. In a fight, I could kick your butt and if you don't put my plate of yums down, I'm going to do it." They stood in the middle of the bakery staring at one another for about ten seconds before Weiss took three steps to the right and threw away the offending sweets. "Weiss no!" Ruby cried as she dramatically fell to her knees.
"I see your penchant for the theatrics hasn't changed." Weiss groaned. "You say you haven't eaten in a long time and you think I am going to let you fill up on that garbage?"
"Hey!" The girl behind the counter called out and Weiss glanced up to see the offending teen glaring at her. "She can eat whatever she wants!"
"Yes well it's not going to be you." Weiss spat before pulling Ruby to her feet. "Come on, I'm feeding you a proper meal."
As she dragged Ruby out of the bakery Weiss could hear her whisper. "Why would I eat her?"
"Wow," Ruby said, for the twentieth time since stepping into the Schnee manor or "castle" as Ruby had called it. "Weiss it's so big. Who put that wallpaper on the ceiling? How did they get it up there? That's at least 200 feet in the air."
Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's barely twenty feet, Ruby—and that's not wallpaper, they're paintings. Hand painted by some of the best artists in Atlas."
"Whoa!" Ruby cried again, her head thrown back as she stared up once more.
For all the physical growth that her former partner had gone through, the emotional age of Ruby Rose seemed to have remained stuck at fifteen. Though Weiss found it a bit tiresome trying to wrangle the girl in, it was nice that the world had yet to take that from her.
It had certainly taken its toll on her.
"Come then, I'll have my chef make you anything you like."
"Wait!" Ruby stopped. "That one there, with the lady on the horse, is she naked?!"
Weiss rolled her eyes but stopped next to Ruby and glanced upward. "There are hundreds of pieces up there, Ruby. I don't see anyone naked."
"There!" Ruby pointed upward and in her excitement she suddenly reeled back and clutched at her side. "Ah!" she cried and doubled over.
"Ruby!" Weiss moved towards her and stopped herself before reaching out. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Ruby answered with a clearly forced laugh. "I just have a small cut that's taking it's sweet time to heal."
"What?" Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Use your aura to heal it."
Ruby smirked up at her. "Weiss I'm not an idiot."
"Oh?" Weiss found herself returning the teasing tone.
To her credit, Ruby smiled properly as she righted her posture, still clutching at her side. "I plan to but my aura was…" she stopped again, that look crossing her face that she was ready to shut Weiss out again.
"Was what?" Weiss pressed, not leaving any room for Ruby to hide.
"It was depleated in my last fight and…I haven't had the time to rest enough to build it back up."
That was incredibly concerning. Aura was not meant to be drained for a long period of time. It left a hunter vulnerable and was incredibly dangerous. "Ruby, how long?" Weiss demanded. The guilty look in those silver eyes only upset her more. "How long?"
Ruby slumped in defeat. "Three days."
"That's it," Weiss grabbed Ruby by the arm. "You're coming with me."
"I thought we were going to eat?" Ruby complained as she was pulled down the long hallway filled with random standing armor and enormous paintings.
Weiss said nothing as they continued through the entranceway of the manor. Three days was a horrifically long time for a huntresses' aura to be depleted. It made Ruby vulnerable and showed that despite her admitting a lack of food and sleep, Ruby's body was pushed to the absolute limit.
Once they were through the first set of doors they reached the main living area. At least that's what it was by name, growing up Weiss spent very little time in this portion of the house. Living area was a place meant for family to gather and be together—there was none of that in the Schnee family. No, that was time wasted according to her father and there was nothing worse than time wasted.
The furniture was all top quality and it looked like a showroom floor because nobody had used any of it since it was taken from the showroom floor. Like so many other useless rooms in this place, they just existed to show off the Schnee money pit.
Weiss would always stay upstairs in her room when she wasn't training or studying or being forced to practice her many pre-chosen activities. It was safer there, she could quietly be herself there. Nobody to tell her that the things she enjoyed were stupid or force her into doing anything she didn't want to.
"How many giant rooms does this place have?" Ruby asked in awe as Weiss moved to the stairs and led them to the second floor where her bedroom was. It was a long walk and as they neared the top, she felt the weight she was dragging along start to grow. Turning back, she caught sight of Ruby with a pleading smile. "Please tell me you're on the second floor." She said with a meek smile that disarmed Weiss' earlier frustration.
"I am," Weiss shook her head. "Look at you, you can barely walk. Ruby how long have you been living like this?" Instead of a clear answer, Ruby only shrugged and looked away with guilt. She continued to level a glare at Ruby for a few moments before finally realizing she wasn't actually doing any good. She sighed and stepped closer Ruby carefully reaching around her waist and supporting her weight a bit more. "You're a disaster, you dolt."
Ruby laughed softly. "There it is," she said quietly as they finished the final steps and made their way to another long hallway.
"There what is?"
"Nothing," Ruby said before she stood more upright and started to walk better. Weiss remained close but let her hand fall away from Ruby's waist. "I'm really not that bad, just slept on the bench of an airship and haven't eaten and…"
"Well you'll be sleeping in luxury tonight and I'll send a message to the chef to make you something nutritious and we'll heal your wound." It took Weiss a moment to realize that Ruby had stopped following her. "What are you doing?" She asked when she saw the worried look on Ruby's face.
"I—I'm grateful for the offer, Weiss, really—but I can't stay here."
Weiss crossed her arms haughtily. "And why not?"
"I'm too dangerous." Ruby said simply and Weiss once again found herself coming undone. She was so angry that Ruby wouldn't tell her anything important. Had the last five years really been so hard on Ruby that they stripped away all of her trust.
"Ruby, at some point you're going to have to tell me what's happened. You—" she needed her point to be made, she needed her words to matter. Closing the distance between them, Weiss put her hands on Ruby's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You're going to die if you keep this up, Ruby."
The look Ruby gave her in that moment drew out an emotion Weiss thought had been lost years ago. One she'd found in the forest the first day Ruby became her partner, a strong need to protect this strangely wonderful light in a very dark world.
Because the way those silver eyes stared back at her, Weiss knew that Ruby was prepared to die at the end of her mission.