Author's Notes:
Um, quick reminder; I don't know if the place Ruby and Weiss were in while they were looking for food was actually the basement. To my knowledge, wine-cellars are usually in basements, but if I'm wrong... I still won't apologise because I don't think I'm wrong.
Okay, so, moving on...
Sometimes when there's a scene from Canon that involves the characters from my ship, I sort of want their conversation to go in a much different way from where it actually went.
Like, I have this idea where a supposedly-normal scene turns into this cool, romance scene with a kiss in the end.
And then I thought; "Hey, why not actually write the scene like I imagined?"
And then this story came to be.
~Going to Atlas~
Ruby closed the door using one of the broken tables, making sure it was shut tightly to not let any frosty wind invade the house.
She slowly turned when she heard the familiar clanking sound of heeled-feet, her heart falling when she saw Weiss standing there, hugging herself, her upper body covered in blanket, refusing to look at her.
She… She looked so small. So fragile. So… So sad.
Ruby bit her lip. It was obvious that the ex-heiress was still horrified by what she'd seen upstairs… She needed the familiar company. And that role fell to Ruby.
Her silver eyes drifted down, thinking on what could calm her partner at a time like this other than having someone be there with her and being near a fireplace.
"Food always makes me feel better." She tried to give the petrified girl a bright smile. "Just sayin'."
Those troubled blue eyes drifted away, breaking eye-contact. "Right."
What little smile she had faltered. She wished she could just… just erase her partner's sadness away, chase them away by the biggest, tightest hug.
But that was wishful thinking.
Sadness couldn't just… disappear like that, no matter how much you tried to make it. You just have to… learn to deal with it and pray that it'd go away soon.
Ruby could only hope Weiss' sadness would disappear sooner rather than later.
…
"C'mon," she said as she started to walk, scroll dangling in one hand, the relic tightly locked to her belt. "We'll never get to Atlas on an empty stomach."
She moved her scroll around as its light served to chase some of the room's darkness away, the door creaking in that ominous way as she lightly pushed it open.
"Ruby…"
Her reddish brown hair swayed as she turned around, frowning slightly in both worry and curiosity.
Weiss' eyes slowly traveled to meet her own, and Ruby noticed that the grip on both her scroll and rapier were just a little tighter than necessary.
"Are we really still going to Atlas?"
Ruby looked away for a moment. "Why… wouldn't we be?"
The older girl's features hardened. "I mean… you heard what Jinn said." Her shoulder slumped. "If there's no way to kill Salem, then… what's the point in all of this?" She subconsciously grabbed her own tense arm, looking down again, biting her lip.
Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Weiss. You can't be serious."
To her concern, Weiss' eyes were almost half-lidded when she looked up at the younger girl, lips still curling down. She heaved a sigh, her shoulders tightening and lowering as she did so. "Sorry, I- I don't know what I'm saying, I'm just really tired and I really, really hate this place."
Ruby stalked toward her. Food would have to wait. She had a partner she needed to talk to.
Weiss still refused to look at her, those blue eyes glued to the wooden-tiled floor.
The brunette placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her heart sinking when the action that was meant for comfort only served to startle her as she flinched and gasped.
Weiss' features softened when she realized it was just her.
"Weiss… What really happened back in Atlas?" Ruby spoke softly, carefully. Weiss' home had always been a sensitive topic to talk about, even before they got separated. "You said you were no longer the heiress, but…" She made sure to look at Weiss' eyes when she said, "I have a feeling there's something you're not telling me."
Weiss' eyes widened, and Ruby's lips curled down when the heiress took a step back, hugging herself again. It was as if she didn't trust her.
Ruby didn't relent.
She took a step forward again, this time grabbing both of her shoulders a little more tightly, a lot more desperately. "You can tell me, Weiss." She almost begged, distress flashing in her silver eyes.
Something horrible had happened to her partner. Something really horrible that made Weiss the way she was now.
Her partner tried to hide it from everyone, but not everyone was bluffed by her act.
Ruby knew since the moment she laid eyes on her partner once more…
Weiss flinched at every loud sound, even when she tried to hide it. She hesitated before speaking, as if she was afraid she was doing something wrong just by voicing her own opinion. Sometimes she'd space out and look out, and there was always that sadness lingering around her.
They were all little things. Things that you could only find whenever you were looking.
And Ruby happened to find it.
"I'm your partner, Weiss. I'd never hurt you."
Weiss' lips parted as she looked at her again, those blue eyes full of surprise and questions. Ruby gave her a gentle smile, one that said she knew.
The ex-heiress bit her lip, her eyes shaking. For a moment, Ruby thought she was about to cry, but Weiss quickly regained her composure through a deep breath.
Weiss rested one hand on top of her own, squeezing lightly, needing the warm comfort.
"My father didn't just remove my heritage…" she began, her voice low. Ruby had to focus in order to listen. "He…" She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, as if remembering a particularly sour memory. "There was a charity party… People were talking… People were talking horribly about Beacon…"
Traumatic blue met anxious silver.
Ruby almost flinched when Weiss' grip tightened to the point of it hurting. But she chose to stay quiet, afraid that if she cut her off, Weiss would never want to speak about this again.
Weiss' breathing was a little choppy, her shoulders tense.
"They… Ruby, they said that it was only a matter of time before Beacon fell… that they weren't surprised… that they'd been expecting it from the start..."
Ruby's heart fell and her jaw fell open.
Why… Why would anyone say that? Lots of people died and even more people got hurt. How could anyone say such horrible, horrible things?
"I got mad, obviously." Ruby imagined Weiss throwing a tantrum using big words, belittling everyone in the room. The sight bought a small smile to her lips. "And I… I accidentally Summoned…"
"Summoned…?" The cogs in her head turned, and her eyes brightened when she figured it out. "Oh, like that white boarbatusk thing you used to scare off Nora!" That had been pretty cool. Ruby had always known her partner was awesome, but she didn't know Weiss could be that awesome.
It wasn't every day that you see Nora Valkyrie screeching like a chipmunk.
Weiss chuckled, smirking. "Yes. Exactly that." That little, beautiful smirk vanished when she tried to speak. The grip on Ruby's hand disappeared as Weiss lowered her hand only to clench them both into fists. "My father wasn't pleased… He yelled at me… And when I tried to yell back, he-" She gasped mutedly and, to Ruby's horror, her hand went up to caress her cheek as she tilted her head to the side, closing her eyes as a stray tear fell. "He… he…"
Ruby didn't think.
She acted on instinct.
She brought a finger to her lips, gently shushing her. The action surprised her partner as she directed her questioning blue eyes towards her. Ruby looked at her. She didn't smile. Why should she smile? There was nothing to smile about.
"... I won't let him hurt you again. Ever." She didn't speak as if it was a promise. She spoke as if it was a fact. An undeniable, cold hard fact.
Weiss sighed and tried to gently pry off her hand away. "Ruby, you don't know that. My father, he controls Atlas and he-"
"I don't care. I'll punch him in the face if he tries to hurt you. I'll carry you away before he can even touch you." Ruby spoke softly, but the intensity of her words brought fresh tears to Weiss' eyes. And they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of gratefulness, of gratitude. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I- I mean we!" she amended, her cheeks heating up at her slip-up. "We'll do it… The whole team..."
There was a glint of… something… flashing in Weiss' eyes. They looked to be a mix of adoration, happiness and… something she couldn't understand.
Suddenly, Weiss slid her hand to her cheek, caressing it lightly. Ruby subconsciously leaned towards the cool touch.
"Thank you, Ruby." Something soft and a bit wet was pressed against her other cheek. Ruby didn't have time to process what it was as Weiss leaned away. Though she was still very, very close. Their noses were practically touching. Butterflies swarmed her stomach and her heart was doing backflips and her mind was melting into a useless puddle of goo.
"Umm… I, err… You, did you- I- umm…"
Weiss chuckled lowly, her voice vibrating in a way that made her blush.
Suddenly, Weiss was already behind her, striding, exploring the new-found room, and Ruby was still struggling to think and speak coherently and remember what they were originally supposed to be doing.
"C'mon," said her partner. "We'll never get to Atlas on an empty stomach."
~End~
Author's Notes:
Honestly, Volume 6 has had a lot of White Rose moments, and it's only the beginning!
Maybe I should turn this into a sort of series where, I take a RWBY scene from Canon and tweak some romance into it. This will be a great way for me to practise my writing and a way for me to upload stories more often.
Hmm... Maybe I should write the Bumblebee scene next time...
Wouldn't that be fun?
This is how I personally imagined the conversation going when Weiss admits she doesn't want to go to Atlas. I mean, Ruby, you're supposed to be her partner. Do you even know what happened to Weiss back in Atlas? Does anybody know?
See you all next time~