A Bit(e) of Magic

Hi, that's me again! I brought you another White Rose story today =) At first I planned it as a one shot, but since I adore Weiss and obviously can't leave her without a happy ending, I decided to write a continuation eventually. That will probably take some time, but I hope you'll like the first chapter for now!

PLEASE NOTE: There's no war, no vol.3 events, just regular days in Beacon.

Enjoy & criticize!

"Of course, Father, but.. Isn't there still any possibility to-.. Ah. Yes.. Yes. Of course, I fully understand that. Please, pardon my question. I will be there, then. Goodbye."

A perfectly manicured thin finger pushed the End Call button on the scroll, and the room became quiet.

Weiss Schnee put her device back on the desk and let out a deep sigh dropping her head on her hands wearily. The sudden call left the girl sad and at the same time furious. Who could blame her, though? Before her father contacted her, she was planning to really enjoy Christmas first time in many years, even though she would hardly admit it to anyone. But now that possibility was ruined. Wishing to spend Christmas holidays with your teammates is absolutely meaningless if you are the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. An unexpected event that you are obliged to visit can always pop up, right? Such as an abruptly established Charity Ball where the said heiress was supposed to appear. That's why she had to forget about enjoying the following days with her team, while she was (secretly, of course) really, really looking forward to that. She even dared to ask her father - twice! - if it was possible for her to arrive later or leave right after the ball. Unfortunately, according to his strict order, she had to spend two whole holiday weeks at the Schnee Manor - away from sincere smiles, annoying puns and enjoyable leisure; back to the business world full of haughty aristocrats and pure manipulations.

Weiss was currently all alone in the dorm room of team RWBY; Blake went to the library, most likely to get herself the newest volume of Ninjas of Love, and Yang and Ruby were shopping.

After staying motionless for some more minutes the white-haired girl started packing her luggage which actually consisted just of a single middle-sized bag. When that was finished, she sat back on her bed in frustration letting her true emotions reveal. She never noticed the passing of time until the door opened suddenly, and two sisters appeared at the step with full-loaded bags. Seeing them Weiss returned to her usual self-collected state immediately.

Ruby was the first one to greet her with a happy smile:

"Hey, Weiss! Look at all this fancy staff we bought!" She plumped her bags at Weiss's bed and started unpacking the goodies, blabbering. "Here are the decorations! This fluffy red one is awesome! And these Christmas-tree balls are the best – look, I got a pack of frosted ones, just as you wanted! Oh, and heeeere's an Italian bread that you asked us to get – by the way, Yang has lots of other delicious food in her bags, and we even got some booze for dad and uncle Qrow since they are visiting Beacon this time! And here goes.. oops.. Sorry, that's mine!" Ruby tried to hide some large package behind her back with a meek smile. That made her blonde sister gape at the girl in astonishment:

"No way, Rubes! You bought a box of those super-expensive Christmas cookies from Tossler without me noticing once again? When did you even manage to do that, you little devil? I thought I was with you all the time!"

Yang's loud voice was interrupted by Ruby's guilty answer: "Ha-ha.. Well, I kinda used my semblance when you were looking through the scarves at that shop near the Tossler confectionary. And sorry, I'm well aware they cost awfully much, but these are special cookies, and you know that better than anyone!"

"Thank God they sell them only for Christmas, or else you'd make us poor in a week. Five hundred Lien per package, damn it!" the blonde grumbled good-naturedly.

That phrase made Weiss forget about her troubles for a moment. Even though she obviously had never lacked of money, she understood its value when it came to far less wealthy people. "Five hundred Lien?! Ruby Rose, you're nuts! Spending such amount of money for mere cookies is completely unreasonable unless you secretly have a flourishing source of income!" she said with a stern face. "What's so special about them, anyway?"

"Well, there are some specific ingredients which they add there only for Christmas. But that's not the point! It's just- they are magical. They drive bad mood away, you know." her partner mumbled sheepishly.

Weiss lifted her eyebrow: "Excuse me? And how's that different from all the usual cookies you happily devour?"

Ruby sighed and faced her partner. "Um, well.. The year mom was gone, I was really, really sad all the time, even though I was too small to fully comprehend things.. Even when winter holidays came, there still was nothing to make me feel better. And one day Yang gathered all the pocket money she got for Christmas and bought a package of these cookies to cheer me up. And when I saw how.. how much she cared, I finally started to move on step by step. So since that time I buy these cookies every year - as a reminder, you know. And they really are magical! They always make everything better, even when it's tough!" the young girl finished joyfully.

Weiss had to admit it was a touching story. Hearing how Ruby grieved over her mother always made her feel sad and compassionate towards her partner, but the heiress still preferred to seem tough instead of revealing her true emotions. "I see. So even Yang is capable of doing sweet things, who could have thought!"

"Hey, hold on, Princess! Of course I do! I have a cutest lil' sis ever, after all!" Yang said and patted Ruby's hair with a soft smile: "Well, whatever, just try not to gobble all these cookies at once, ok? Something you cherish so much should last longer than just a couple of minutes. Still, knowing you, I bet you're gonna eat the whole package right away!"

"Nope. I mean - I'd like to, but they are special for me. So I won't even open them until Christmas!" Ruby said confidently. Then she turned to the heiress: "By the way, Weiss! Do you want to dress up for Christmas Eve? I'd like to put on something funny!"

"Um.. About that.." Weiss paused. She managed to distract herself a bit listening to the sisters' talk but now her mood fell drastically. "I-it seems I won't be able to be present."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Yang put the bags away and approached Weiss, confused. "You said you'd finally be free during these holidays!"

"Apparently, plans have changed. Father called today to inform that he needs me there for the SDC Charity Ball.. and for some procedures after that." Weiss answered unemotionally, turning away.

"Man, that sucks.. Dammit!" Yang slammed her fist on the desk, her eyes turning red. "Let me kick his ass! Old man won't ever dare to make you change your plans several days before Christmas!"

Weiss frowned: "Yang, I appreciate your concern, but stop being a barbarian! And he's not an 'old man', by the way. Please, try to be polite."

"Uh.. Ok. I got it. No fight then." The blonde patted her on the shoulder. "Hang in there, girl."

"Thank you. I will." She nodded solemnly. What other choice did she have anyway?

"Wait.. wait, what?!" Weiss heard a familiar high-pitched voice and looked into Ruby's frustrated eyes. "No.. No, no, no! How could he do this to you!"

Weiss sighed. "Ruby, you do realize that I have duties as an heiress, right? I'm a Schnee. There are certain rules I have to obey!"

"These rules are shitty and- and just ridiculous! Weiss.. You don't want to leave, right? You can't want it.. Please, just stay here!" the silver-eyed girl exclaimed clenching her fists and staring at her pleadingly.

Even though she was grateful that they cared, Weiss also felt slightly irritated. Really, those sisters would be the end of hers.. "Stop it this instant, you dolt!" she replied strictly. "Don't you understand? Of course, I would stay if it was possible! But I have obligations and can't loaf around like you do!"

Suddenly the door opened once again letting an elegant cat faunus inside.

Blake entered, observing Ruby's upset face and Weiss's scowl. "What did I miss?" she asked calmly.

"Short content: Papa Schnee is an ass that's why Princess can't spend holidays with us, so Ruby sort of acts like a toddler now and gets on her nerves." Yang grumbled with a frown.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Blake gave the fencer an understanding look. Her silent compassion managed to calm Weiss down a bit, and she replied: "Well, technically that was a rude but.. tolerable description of all the things you missed. By the way, Yang, if you call me by this weird nickname one more time, I'll cut your tongue off with Myrtenaster."

"Ha! As if, Princess. You like me too much."

Clearly, Yang's attempt to brighten the mood failed. Everyone got sullen thinking of the impossibility to spend holidays as a full team. Weiss glanced at her crestfallen partner and felt a pang of guilt since she never wished to ruin the festive mood for the girl. But a duty was a duty. She braced herself and cleared her throat:

"Well.. I had my luggage packed earlier, so that makes me ready to leave."

"When.. When are you leaving?" Ruby asked quietly.

She looked at her scroll: "Nearly in an hour. It turns out that the airship was sent for me long before Father called. I'll be able to be in Atlas by evening."

"No way! How is it even possible?!" Ruby exclaimed clutching the girl's hand. "How the hell could he not inform you beforehand? Don't you need time for- I don't know, to prepare yourself for all this stuff? It's not normal!"

"I'm afraid this is perfectly normal for our family." Weiss uttered, removing her hand and trying not to look into questioning silver eyes.

Weiss stood in front of a large old mirror situated in the uninhabited dorm room. The light was off, but a small ray coming from behind the almost closed door made it possible to see her reflection. The girl was staring at it with disapproval. She visited that room sometimes when she needed to be left alone, spending minutes or even hours looking in the mirror and trying to comprehend various things about herself. Today she came there for that reason, too.

Her hand that was touching cold glass started to freeze. The numbness of the mirror suited her mood. She felt too sad to stay in their room at the moment – being there felt like an ironic twist of fate. She knew that all the girls cared for her, still the necessity of leaving hurt her far more deeply than she could've predicted. But it was absurd for a proper Schnee to reveal weakness and vulnerability, so all she could do to hide them from everyone else and not to burst was having silent dialogues with her own self like that.

Why, just why do I happen to be the heiress? Why am I obliged to live my life according to my father's wishes? Or maybe the problem is that I got too attached to my teammates? But they are really important to me.. I have a feeling like I already miss all of these weirdoes, especially Ruby Rose, that incorrigible dolt-

Suddenly the door creaked open, showing the bashful face of the said team leader.

-but Ruby DEFINITELY doesn't have to know anything about it. Ahem.

"I knew I'd find you here!" The smaller girl said cheerfully, letting herself in and approaching her partner. "Hey, Weiss.." she started uneasily. "Um.. I'm really sorry I made you angry. Please don't be mad. I just.. want you to stay here so much, you know."

Despite of not wanting to show Ruby her vulnerability Weiss replied honestly. "I understand that, Ruby," she said. "I would like that, too. But not everyone has freedom to act as they wish. And I-I'm not mad at you anymore."

"That's good," her partner smiled. Suddenly the heiress felt a delicate hand touching her head. "Hey.. Try not to feel lonely there, ok?" Ruby said to her gently, her palm caressing Weiss's hair and lingering on the girl's cheek.

Weiss was aware that Ruby was a tactile creature judging by how she behaved with Yang. The fencer, on the contrary, was raised in a very strict and closeted family. She had almost never let anybody in, and having someone except her sister touch her like that was rare and hard for her. She both wanted and didn't want to avoid Ruby's touch, but the girl was dear to her, so the fencer remained at her place. But such intimate gesture made Weiss blush heavily, and she found herself panicking: "O..of course I won't! I'll be busy with affairs, there will never be an opportunity to be lonely! And, by the way, who told you that I won't manage to have a nice vacation without you around, you dunce?!"

She cringed inwardly when Ruby flinched removing her hand. Awesome. She got furious at the girl again and made her sadder instead of cheering her up. As usual. Nothing new. "Please, go away, Ruby," she said tiredly. Until you corner me even further. Until I hurt you even more.

But her insufferable leader did no such thing. Maybe she comprehended the fencer's silent musings somehow, because the crestfallen look on Ruby's face suddenly changed into determined one. "I'm sorry, Weiss, but you won't be able to scare me away this time!" she said gently. "You may say harsh words, but I know that in reality you don't feel that way."

And, to Weiss horror, she hugged the girl tightly all of a sudden, putting her face into Weiss's hair.

"I know that you're frustrated," the flustered heiress felt her partner's hot breath on her ear. "And so am I. But I still hope you'll manage to spend these days well. Please, just come back as soon as possible!"

The unexpected act of proximity caught the white-haired girl off balance completely. She couldn't even bring herself to move away. So she just froze rigid in her embrace almost missing Ruby's next words:

"And.. I'm sure, we'll have many opportunities to spend time together in the future - as we wish, and not according to someone else's will."

That phrase struck her with its impossibility. And as if it wasn't enough, she felt that with each passing second it made her hurt more and more. She struggled with herself but ended up being shattered with it and feeling helpless again. With that Weiss finally surrendered and let some of her multiple walls fall down, slowly getting limp in Ruby's arms. The girl exhaled brokenly into Ruby's soft hair. "I highly doubt this.. It will get only worse. You know I can't escape the fate of being a head of SDC."

Soft soothing strokes on her back made her relax a tiny bit.

"I know. I mean- even if I didn't always act like that, right now I totally understand how tough all of it has to be for you." The smaller girl suddenly pulled back and looked Weiss straight in the eye. "But nobody said you have to do this all alone!"

Despite being utterly upset, Weiss scoffed: "Oh, please. Believe me, nobody would wish to be a part of my mess willingly."

"And what if there is someone?" Ruby suddenly asked bashfully, looking away.

"..Then they are crazy, what can I say."

And then she heard a quiet laughter coming from Ruby: "I guess I can live with such diagnosis."

Weiss unsuccessfully attempted to hide her blush. She was desperately trying not to think of what Ruby implied with it - because it was all too much for now. But she failed completely.

"Ruby.. What do you.. What's that supposed to mean?" The heiress managed to whisper at last.

"That.. that means I wanna get closer to you!" With this exclamation their gazes met once again. "That means.. I want to be the person you trust the most. To support you and be near. As in.. a-always." Completely astonished, Weiss took in the reddened face of her partner and saw myriads of emotions flickering in those deep silver eyes.

And suddenly Ruby kissed her on her cheek.

That was just a peck, short and a bit clumsy, but for Weiss it had a bombshell effect. The perception of warm lips on her skin made her cheek burn. Her heart started beating as fast as if she was fighting a pack of Beowolves. And, of course, the shock that she felt was undeniably visible on her face, because the already flustered and disheveled leader of team RWBY gave her a desperate glance, became even twice redder and hurriedly disappeared in a vapor of rose petals with a squeaked "take care!".

That left Weiss staring into space dumbly for several minutes. She raised her hand slowly and touched the place where Ruby's lips met her skin.

She had never expected such act from her team leader.

And now she was frightened of how much she liked it.

Last time when she remembered being kissed to the cheek was in her early childhood, and maybe it was a longstanding avoidance of such contacts that made it feel.. significant now. Moreover, since it came from Ruby.

"Dolt." she whispered quietly. "Who says that they want to be closer and run away right after that?"

An embarrassed little girl intimidated for life by Weiss's facial expression, that's who. She's probably sure she pushed her luck to the limits, the heiress thought. Well, it's not like she didn't, but I really want to learn to act softer towards her.. In spite of being so troublesome, Ruby still deserves so much kinder attitude.

Wait a minute.

Was she really alright with letting someone in like that? Let alone, Ruby Rose, whose behavior irked her constantly? Who was a girl two years younger than her?

The fencer's emotions had always been bottled up. She had problems with revealing them and being all touchy-feely. She couldn't - not with a family like hers. But such actions from a certain girl suddenly provoked her to act more freely. She wished to depend on someone. To trust. To show her weakness once in a while. And not just to anybody, but to this very Ruby Rose, who already managed to become her closest person in whole Beacon.. and, to her own astonishment, the second one after Winter in general.

Ruby was a person with a bunch of annoying qualities, but she was warm and fun and kind and cute in her own way. She was the one who just offered the heiress her support so desperately. And also the one who would never be approved by her Father as someone significant. The one who had no chance of survival in the cold ruthless environment where Weiss had to exist until she got to Beacon.

Would it be possible for her to finally open up and trust the said girl as fully as she secretly wanted it? Or would she chose to drive her away harshly, as usual?

That question weighed so heavily that she felt her head spin.

Suddenly the fencer heard a beeping of her scroll; that was a message informing that the airship was ready to take her on board. So Weiss postponed all her doubts for a bit later – and not without some relief.

She visited her room cautiously to take her luggage; predictably, Ruby was nowhere to be found, even though she usually adored inspecting technical wonders of the Schnee Dust Company. Blake and Yang offered to accompany Weiss, so the three of them left the dorms and proceeded to the area that Beacon Academy provided for personal airships. If her teammates thought it was strange for Ruby not to be present, they said nothing. She bid her goodbye to the cat faunus and her blonde partner, and the pair stood there watching how their friend's delicate figure disappeared inside the airship surrounded by SDC security guards.

Several hours passed, some more were left. The work of the personnel and the airship condition were impeccable, as usual, but the heiress felt sick and tired. She was watching the blizzard outside the porthole. The weather seemed to get worse and worse with each mile closer to Atlas, and the gloominess all around gave Weiss a sharp impression of being cut off from all the world full of colors, people and emotions.

Weiss touched the glass. It felt chilly and numb and reminded her of that old mirror in Beacon.

So depressing. Even though everyone was sure that Weiss liked cold, she actually preferred warmth. Even though the internal temperature on board was set according to her wishes, she couldn't feel cozy there. I can't relax anywhere but Beacon, it seems.

That thought astonished the heiress. She suddenly realized that the Schnee Mansion with its marble floors and immaculate cleanness was nothing more than enormous cold building to her, and her school - it felt like home. Home with some certain people waiting for her there.. one of whom, it turned out, liked her enough to make her feel supported and needed through just a small peck on the cheek.

And the last thing she wanted to do was leaving those people so ill-fatedly. Arrgh.

It seemed like the weight of the entire world dropped on her shoulders again. Stupid, so stupid. No reason to feel all this nonsense - it's just a usual mishap, one of many. One casual flight back to Atlas. I'm the heiress of SDC, for God's sake, I can't let myself being pathetic and weak like that!.. I.. I just..

The girl sighed heavily and opened her bag where, as she knew, a bottle of water was that she put there previously. Suddenly her hand dropped upon something else instead - something that rustled suspiciously when her fingers touched it. She took the unknown thing out cautiously.

The sight made her blink in astonishment.

Cookies. The large package of Tossler cookies, which, of course, only one particular person could put there.

Attached to the box she saw a note with familiar scribbles which said:

"Hey, Weiss, I calculated everything! There are 35 cookies in whole. They'll definitely make everything better, just trust me! If you eat two per day, that means you'll have seven additional cookies which you can use when you're in an especially sore mood! (of course, I hope you won't be in a one, but it's better to be prepared, right?)

P.S. Sorry if I made you mad again with um.. everything. But I was serious. Dead serious. AWFULLY serious. Well, I hope you get it.

P.P.S. Come back soon!

P.P.P.S. :-* "

..Weiss never liked sweets. And, moreover, she really, REALLY hated cookies – those round pieces full of sugar and fat which Ruby absolutely adored to wolf down every now and then. What was that dunce thinking, giving her most important and ridiculously expensive stash to her just like that?!

She shook her head. Who was she kidding? It was Ruby. Her partner, her leader, her.. her BFF, God damn it. Her important person. Her dolt. Of course she'd do something so incredibly stupid and sweet and absolutely precious like that.

..The head of security who currently accompanied Weiss had been working for SDC for many years and knew the rules perfectly well. He was aware that the Schnees were strict and even arrogant, they required absolute privacy and punished those who dared to disturb it. That's why he had never been curious about his bosses' lives and feelings and was just doing his job. But this time, when he saw that the screen of the VIP-salon was not closed to the end, as usual, and glanced inside in order to check if everything was alright, his eyes widened at what he saw. His gaze lingered for a few seconds, but, being a perfect servant, he hurried to close the screen fully and forget about that sight immediately.

The girl sitting in the passenger seat was looking through the porthole clutching some random package for dear life. In her other hand she had a cookie. The white-haired girl looked fragile and tired. As she bit the cookie, a lonely tear appeared at her face. It seemed she was crying without even realizing that.

The cookie was awfully, sickeningly sweet. Its taste lingered in her mouth, begging her to drink water to eliminate it and make her throw away the rest of the package. But she continued chewing. Swallowed. And smiled through her tears.

Ruby, you dolt. You insufferable, loveable, kind dolt.

Even though nothing visibly changed – neither her life situation, nor a gloomy snowstorm outside, and not even the temperature in the airship, – but Weiss Schnee suddenly felt much, much better.

And she confidently took another cookie from the package.

~/~/~

tbc