Thorns on a Rose
By Fatal Melody
A/N: Hey all! I decided to re-write what I had previously posted as the second 'present' chapter, and included it in this one. I think it flows in a bit better, and makes more sense.
Anyway, the major story/plot thing of this chapter is based off of my own personal experience. Long story short, I disappointed someone important to me by ignoring my biggest problem.
Also, I'm not going to write any more 'past' chapters, and am actually removing the ones from this story. My plan is that, once I'm done with Thorns, I'll write that out as its own story, like a prequel.
Well, with all of that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, otherwise WhiteRose would've been made canon the moment Weiss and Ruby met up in Mistral.
"A few simple words can change someone's life. They can heal better than the best medicines, yet they can also cut deeper than the sharpest knife."
-Fatal Melody
Chapter 2: Guilt
It had been a few days since the bathroom incident, and Ruby had just come back to the dorm from the shower, now dressed in her school uniform.
Weiss was sitting on her bed, now rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. As she stretched her arms up, she noticed the presence of her team leader. "Good morning, Ruby," the heiress greeted with a relaxed sigh, arms flopping down unceremoniously.
"Morning, Weiss!" the younger girl replied, putting on a smile.
"Ruby, stop." Weiss called out the smile, knowing the truth.
"S-stop what?" Ruby said, smile faltering a bit.
"The smile. You can't just ignore this anymore, Ruby. I think you should get some help with this," the white-haired girl replied, a look of concern on her face.
"I-I-I don't know what you mean," Ruby murmured, looking slightly away and a slight panic forming in her eyes.
"You don't have to hide it from me. Yang told me everything that night I found you in the bathroom." Weiss clarified.
Ruby looked back at her partner, a small amount of fear in her eyes.
"And even if you don't get help, I don't want you to act like this is nothing. You have all three of us here to help you through this, so you can talk to any of us if you need to." Weiss said, with an added 'especially me' in her head.
Yang suddenly sat up from her own bed, having been awake for the conversation.
"Weiss is kinda right, Rubes. You can talk to us." Yang spoke softly, sisterly care radiating from her tone.
Blake, who had already gotten out of bed a while ago and was reading a book in the corner, gave an affirmative "yep" and set her book down.
A single tear rolled off of Ruby's chin, hitting the carpet with a barely audible 'pat'. Ruby was looking at the floor, and a wave of both sadness and relief washed over her. Weiss was quick to act, standing up and moving to hug the girl. Ruby quickly returned the hug, a few more tears soaking into Weiss' shoulder.
Weiss started rubbing small circles onto her partner's back, and suddenly Ruby was shaking, tears now coming from her eyes freely.
After a while, the two released each other and Ruby had stopped crying. The leader of RWBY started to wipe at her eyes with a tissue, and Yang had gotten out of bed to start her own round of hugs for her sister.
The morning continued as Weiss and Yang cycled through the shower and headed down to breakfast.
The team all sat down with their own personal preference for breakfast; an omelet for Blake, some French Toast for Yang, a breakfast sandwich for Weiss, and the ever-classic bacon, eggs, and toast for Ruby.
Weiss heard a snicker coming from behind them, followed by a voice she knew unpleasantly well.
"Well, looks like the lesbians have all come out of their little holes!" laughed Cardin Winchester. Weiss's forehead was marked by a tick, eyes closed in annoyance.
Ruby squeaked in surprise when Cardin leaned down and grabbed her shoulder. "C'mon, Rose! Let me show you how a man feels, instead of this frigid bitch!" he grinned creepily.
Weiss stood up, tossing Cardin's hand off of her partner's shoulder. "She is SO not interested!" the heiress yelled, catching the attention of quite a few people.
"Back off, cold-cunt! If little Rose here is gonna be a slut, she might as well be one for a man like me, not some prissy little twat!" Cardin yelled harshly, pushing the white-haired girl back an inch.
Weiss's eyes went a few shades colder in that moment as a mental barricade snapped in anger.
In an instant, Cardin was sent flying across the entire cafeteria hall, making a large crater in the wall he collided with.
Still dazed, Cardin slumped on the floor, holding his head, as Weiss walked over quickly with fire in her eyes.
Lifting her hand, Cardin was thrown back up against the wall, encased in a wall of ice. With a snap of her fingers, a spike formed at the man's throat. With another wave of her hand, a set of steps were made, leading up to the face of the trapped hunter-in-training.
Weiss walked up the steps with an eerie calmness, which was broken when she slammed her foot down on the last step, cracking the ice a little.
"You listen and you listen well, asshat," Weiss began in quiet fury, "If you ever, and I mean ever talk shit about Ruby again, I will personally see to it that you are thrown into a pit of despair and suffering."
Cardin's eyes were wide with terror, and Weiss noticed a small pool of slightly yellow liquid pooling up within the ice.
"Am I clear?" Weiss asked, a sinister calmness in her voice.
After a moment of silence, save the whimpering of the student, Weiss's eyes hardened once more.
"Am. I. CLEAR!?" she shouted in his face, his head moving up and down rapidly.
"Good." The heiress said as she walked down the steps and snapped her fingers, the entre construct of ice disappearing without a trace.
Weiss came back to the table her team was occupying, sitting down with a huff of anger. Her three teammates looked at her with shock and amazement.
"What? He deserved it." Weiss said, going back to eating her sandwich.
As the noise of chatter began to rise back to normal levels, the tension in the atmosphere dissipated. Team RWBY soon finished their breakfast and made their way to their classes.
From there, the rest of the day went on as normal, except for when nobody wanted to spar against Weiss in Combat Training.
A few days later
Ruby walked into the dorm as she usually does after classes, seeing Weiss already sitting down to study. Except something felt… off. Weiss wasn't actually studying, and no books were opened on the desk.
"Ruby, I think we should talk." Weiss said in a careful tone, not wanting to make it seem like Ruby was in trouble.
"T-talk about what, exactly?" Ruby asked, slightly afraid to know the answer.
"You haven't been yourself lately. And by that, I mean you're way too cheerful and happy. I know what's happening beneath all of that, and I really do think you should get some help." Wiess answered as Ruby shrank down a little.
"I'm fine, Weiss. I can handle this as long as I have you guys." Ruby said a bit nervously.
"Then show me your arms." Weiss responded, knowing something was off.
Ruby froze. Weiss closed her eyes and shook her head, reaching for Ruby's left arm. The younger girl instinctively pulled back, but Weiss managed to get a hold of it. Noticing her partner wince, she knew all she needed to.
"Ruby, this isn't healthy. I know it might take away some of the pain, but in the end, it's just forming bad habits. You can't keep doing this to yourself." Weiss gently told her partner, releasing the arm.
Ruby stared down at the ground in silent shame, not wanting to face her partner.
"You need help, Ruby. I know someone who can help you with this, and I'll be with you every step of the way. You just need to take the first step." Weiss continued.
"It's not that easy." Ruby said quietly.
"I know it isn't, Ruby. Nothing is ever easy when it's personal like this." Weiss attempted to comfort her partner, but her hand was pushed away rather suddenly.
Ruby looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. "No, Weiss, you don't know! You don't know what it's like to live with the guilt of getting your own mother killed!" Ruby shouted, a sudden change in character.
Weiss' eyes went wide with surprise and fear at the sudden change. "I-I was just trying to hel-" she began, but was cut off by Ruby.
"Yeah, just trying to help! I know! But maybe I don't want help with this!" Ruby yelled, tears spilling over.
Weiss felt a wave of anger at how stubborn her partner was being. "Ruby, what is wrong with you?" Weiss asked, raising her voice a bit.
"You! You're what's wrong! You think you know how to help me, when your whole life everything has been given to you on a silver platter!" Ruby shouted and her partner.
"If you honestly think that, then maybe you ARE the immature little child I thought you were!" Weiss yelled, immediately regretting her words. Slapping her hands over her mouth, her eyes widened into those of shock.
Ruby's eyes went wide, and the yelling stopped.
"R-Ruby, I-" Weiss began, but was interrupted when Ruby sprinted out of the dorm in tears, bumping past Yang and Blake, who had heard the fight from around the corner.
Yang and Blake both walked into the room at that point, both also shocked at the outcome of the fight.
"I just fucked up, didn't I" Weiss said, tears falling from her eyes.
"Yeah, you fucked up really bad, princess" Yang replied, still in shock.
A/N: Well, there's that! Hopefully that all meshed together better than what I had before.
See you all next chapter!