Chapter 35: Hotel Daze
Guess who's back!? I mean, I'm not referring to me, I'm referring to a character in the story. You know, the web document you're reading right now? If you got to this web address by accident, make sure to check your URL and try again. In that vein, get ready for this chapter, which I think moves along the plot quite nicely, if I'm allowed to stroke my own ego a little! If I'm not, I'm terribly sorry for that. I'll make up for it with this chapter, in that case. Oh, and before I start, I don't own anything I reference here. Now let's get going!
xxx
That Saturday morning was much quieter compared to Team RWBY's usual ones. Now that everyone had some rest to restart their systems, the team now could accurately reflect upon what had gone down yesterday.
But, with that rest, came some marginal improvement. Ruby was actually able to be around Weiss without breaking down. Sure, she was more silent than normal today, but it was best to take whatever small victories that were granted.
Weiss, on the other hand, was acting like a woman possessed. Ever since she realized that her father was the cause of all of her problems and suffering, she was more determined than ever to pay back her father in the only currency he knew: social manipulation. Weiss was a Schnee after all, she could manipulate situations just like her father could. How ironic was it that Weiss was planning on using her own bloodline's technique against her family?
Of course, in the hotel's dining area, Weiss' furrowed brows and steely gaze were getting her odd looks from Blake and Yang. From the looks of it, Weiss was trying to flash-toast the blueberry muffin she picked for breakfast by thought alone.
"Uh, Weiss? I don't think you need to stare that innocent muffin down," Yang pointed out from across the table.
Weiss was snapped out of her contemplations. "Huh? Oh, uh, I'm just thinking," she said dismissively.
"About your plan?" Blake couldn't help but ask.
To be honest, when Blake heard Weiss' plot last night, she was less than convinced of it. Getting help from the woman whose script caused an angry mob to form sounded absolutely absurd. But, as Weiss pointed out, they didn't have than many allies right now. They couldn't trust Mr. Brass anymore, and their friends from Beacon didn't have the right connections to get the ball rolling. So, it was either Ms. Han, or nothing.
"Yeah. I was just wondering how well Ms. Han would take our offer," Weiss explained to Blake.
The cat girl asked with heavy skepticism, "… Are you still sure we want her?".
Weiss sighed as she replied, "Look, it's pretty much our only chance. Do you know anybody else that works for a major organization?" Blake opened her mouth to say something. "Who's neither a part of Beacon Academy or the Schnee Dust Company?". That stopped Blake in her tracks.
"I guess you have a point…" conceded Blake.
"Exactly," Weiss said firmly.
"Well, shouldn't we get, like, another opinion on this? What do you think, Ruby?" asked Yang, who shared Blake's doubts.
Ruby shifted her gaze between Weiss and Team Bumblebee. She didn't want to disappoint anyone anymore, she had done enough of that already. Sure, she had her doubts with Weiss' plans, who wouldn't? Recruiting a generally oblivious person to your cause was a big risk. But, Ruby also had confidence in Weiss. Between her drive and her smarts, Weiss' mind shone as brilliantly as the star that Remnant orbited.
So, Ruby decided to split the difference, and not agree with either side. "I think I need a glass of orange juice," Ruby said as she stood up from the table. Before anyone could protest, Ruby quickly walked over to the beverage counter.
Pressing down the button on the drink dispenser, Ruby began to fill her empty glass with the citrus drink.
"Who should I side with? I know as leader, I should try to take the middle path, but I just can't sit on the sidelines on this one!" Ruby thought to herself. By now, her cup was nearly full.
She continued to muse, "I should probably go with Weiss. I mean, that would make her happy, right? I don't want to disappoint her again. But, then again, Yang and Blake have a good point too. Ms. Han is like a dumb clone of Nora,".
Ruby didn't even notice the orange juice that was overflowing from her cup. The only thing she noticed even less was the fact that her entire hand was also covered in the drink. The others noticed, though.
"Hey, Ruby?" Yang called from the table, "Think you might wanna save that juice for someone else?". At her sister's calling, Ruby noticed her arm becoming soaked by the sticky drink.
"Oh, geez!" Ruby cried as she tried to dry off her arm. But, in the process of trying to grab some napkins, Ruby accidentally splashed her cup's contents on her chest. Noticing the large stain, Ruby simply elected to give up. She could just change later. So, accepting what had happened, she slowly sat back at the table.
"…Anyway, what do you think, Ruby?" Yang asked again. Given the look on Ruby's face, she wisely chose to ignore the comedy of errors that just had occurred.
Ruby propped her elbows on the table and rested her hands under her chin. "I don't know…" she replied in a tired tone.
Yang lifted her bowl to eat some cereal, before she decided to press further. "Well, you've gotta have an opinion! I mean do you think that—" Yang gestured wildly while she asked. Unfortunately, the contents of her bowl splashed into the face of a passing employee.
"GAH!" the man cried in shock as he tumbled to the ground.
"Woah!" Yang called in surprise.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Weiss.
"Oh man!" chimed in Blake.
Yang leaned over to look at the dazed man. His nametag read 'Marvin'.
"Aw man, I got Marvin in the face…" Yang groaned.
"Why'd you do that?!" Ruby asked in surprise.
Yang replied, "I didn't mean to do it, it was an accident!".
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked as she got out of her seat and helped the man up.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." Marvin said as he looked down at his stained shirt. "Oh man, Mr. Wolf isn't going to like this…" he grumbled as he walked away.
Team RWBY looked around the dining area to see that many other guests were staring at them.
"I think we should go now," Ruby whispered to her friends.
"Agreed," Weiss whispered back as she stood out of her chair and walked out of the room. The rest of Team RWBY followed suit shortly. Everything felt so awkward, that the best all of them could do was leave before their dignity got damaged even more.
xxx
Back in the hotel room, part of Team RWBY was at a loss at what to do. Well, Weiss and Ruby, anyway. Right now, Yang and Blake were looking at the departure times at the airport. They wanted to leave Vale City on the first ship heading towards Beacon Academy. Given how many times students visited the nearby city, there were shuttles heading to and from the academy regularly.
But, focusing on Team White Rose, the pair was leaning against the railing of the balcony, looking over the vista of Vale City. The one thing Weiss and Ruby unanimously agreed upon was that the view was better at night. At night, you had the moon shining silver light on the sea, which made a nice contrast to the artificial lights of the city. It made for a romantic view, to be honest.
During the day, the improved sense of visibility didn't lend itself to beauty. Now that the pair of them could see clearly, neither of them saw many things considered relaxing. Like the amount of traffic on the nearby roadways, or the fact that in the alley across the street, a bunch of dogs were humping each other's brains out. That was more up Blake's alley, not theirs. Although it was literally in an alley, so maybe it had some credence.
Regardless of the ugly sights and unintentional thoughts of bestiality, Ruby and Weiss outwardly looked serene. But internally, the both of their minds were spinning. So much had happened, and so much WOULD happen, that Weiss and Ruby needed time to sort everything out.
Eventually, Weiss needed to get one burning question off of her chest. "Ruby?' the heiress asked.
"Hmm?" Ruby hummed back.
"Do you… want to do something?" Weiss asked almost hesitantly.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, confused by Weiss' vagueness.
"I mean… I care about you… a LOT. And, if I go through with my plan, I might take you down a road you might not want to go down. I just want to know… if you want to be by my side anymore," Weiss said, sounding distant.
Ruby looked a little stunned. Was Weiss honestly suggesting that she would be better off not dating the girl she loved, the Ice Princess? Her Ice Princess? Was she honestly willing to let Ruby go if she wanted to? No, that couldn't be right!
"N-No! I'll always be by your side, Weiss! Why would you ever say that?!" Ruby answered, her passion briefly ignited.
"I… I just think that I might drag you down… You have so much a-ahead of you, and I don't know if I can really have a future at all," Weiss admitted. Her voice broke halfway through her statement, revealing her turmoil at that thought.
"Drag me down? I should be the one saying that, not you!" Ruby cried as she grabbed Weiss' hand and clutched at it desperately. She wanted to hold that hand for comfort, like a small child in an unfamiliar place.
"You're not like that, Ruby! You're better than you think!" Weiss plead back to her girlfriend.
"No, I'm not! I sold you out to your dad and let you down! I'm nothing by a mess-up! Everything I touch turns to CRAP!" Ruby declared, before letting go of Weiss and slumping onto the railing.
"I can't be a good huntress, I can't be a good leader, I can't be a good girlfriend…" moaned Ruby, looking at the street below.
Then, Ruby was pulled off of the railing by Weiss. Holding Ruby by the shoulders, Weiss planted a large kiss on Ruby's lips. Ruby was shocked, but then quickly accepted the soft embrace against her mouth.
Weiss broke the kiss, and then looked directly into Ruby's eyes. "Don't you EVER say that, okay? I know I'd be worse off if I never met you… all I want I the best for you, even if it costs me," she admitted.
"I… I want to be with you then! I don't want to leave you!" Ruby cried as she flung herself into Weiss' arms. Weiss swiftly wrapped Ruby into a hug, and she slowly rubbed her hands against Ruby's back.
"Then we'll stand together then, no matter what?" Weiss asked. Even though she had a feeling that she knew Ruby's answer, Weiss still needed to be sure. The thought of Ruby leaving scared her, but she ultimately wanted Ruby to make that choice for herself. It was all for her, after all.
"R-right…" Ruby choked out. She began to cry a little, although she didn't know why. Maybe it was the idea that Weiss didn't respect herself enough, or perhaps it was that Weiss was completely willing to forgive her for her gaffe. Either way, she began to smile. In the words of a famous author, 'Smile when you're happy. Cry when you're sad. And do both when you're happier than you've ever been,'. Ruby was unconsciously playing that phrase to the letter.
Weiss and Ruby lost track on how long they stood there, holding each other. But, time didn't matter there. It was only an illusion, after all. It was created to give finality to concepts. Time didn't work on love, though. Love was timeless, love was endless. Love simply is, was, and will always be.
xxx
Inside, unknown to Team White Rose, Blake and Yang were watching them. They had gotten tickets for tomorrow (because Sunday tickets were always the cheapest), so now they had the time to watch the drama play out in front of them.
"It's so… touching…" Yang admitted, wiping the corner of her eye.
Even though Blake was also moved, she just couldn't let this opportunity to tease Yang just slip by. "Aww, is my big, tough, girlfriend crying at something romantic?" she trolled.
Yang's response floundered as she tried to look normal. "N-no! I-it's the… the allergies! Yeah! All of this pollen is killing me! Achoo!" was her rather weak deflection. The incredibly fake sneezing didn't help her already questionable excuse.
"Allergy season ended a month ago," Blake pointed out.
Yang tried to grasp for something to support her excuse. "It's, uh, a human thing?".
Blake rolled her eyes. "Faunus share most of the same internal physiology as Humans. Try a better lie," she dryly noted.
"Fine, fine, I was crying," Yang admitted. "How couldn't I? I have a heart too, you know,".
"I know, I was just teasing you," Blake said as she patted Yang's head.
"I think I rubbed off on you too much…" grumbled the blonde. She didn't want to admit it, but Blake was starting to get as good as her at teasing.
"I more ways than one, if you know what I mean," Blake purred with a mischievous wink.
"And you loved every minute of it," Yang said with a smirk.
"Never said I didn't," admitted Blake.
Yang took this opportunity to slip behind Blake and nibble at her neck. Blake's breath hitched in her throat, before being released in a low moan. Yang's mouth traveled up her neck, until Yang began to tug at her earlobe with her teeth.
"Keep going…" Blake said breezily, a little bit of drool pooling at the corner of her mouth. But, to her annoyance, Yang stopped and stepped back, with a grin reminiscent of an excrement eater.
"Oh, come on!" complained Blake. It wasn't often that she pouted, but she felt it was justified here.
"Gotcha back!" Yang cried in a sing-song voice while poking Blake in the cheek repeatedly. Blake's cat ears twitched in annoyance, and more infuriatingly, sexual frustration. Blake had to admit that some of her rubbed off onto Yang. More specifically, her penchant for groping, then followed by stopping for her own amusement. Damn, that annoying, busty, sexy blonde!
All of that just went to show: you don't put out what you can't take yourself.
xxx
Okay, I'm feeling pretty good about this chapter. And try to spot the move reference above! Hint: it's incredibly obvious. Oh, and I just had to put in that quote from 'The Second Try' by Jimmy Wolk in there. That fan fiction is like an inspiration to me. Now that I think about it, that was a Neon Genesis Evangelion story… maybe I'll do my own story for that later. Food for thought! Anyway, this is The Draigg, signing off and launching!