Chapter Text
Soft rain can be heard tapping at the window, the cool morning air making a drowsy atmosphere. Only a mop of black and red hair can be seen poking out from beneath layers of blankets. The girl, content with staying buried in warmth all day, nuzzles into her pillow, glad the weekend had finally come.
She halts, brows furrowing.
It was the weekend, right?
Eyes snap open as her bedroom door slams open, a voice calling out.
“Ruby when are you- ARE YOU SERIOUSLY STILL IN BED?”
The silver-eyed girl, still tangled in blankets, blinks blearily up at her sister, processing her words.
Yang shakes her head, already fully dressed. “It's already past 7, get your butt up!”
Ruby shoves herself up from the comfort of her bed, pushing herself to her feet and nearly tripping over her bedsheets.
“Sorry Yang! I could’ve sworn it was Friday yesterday..” She frantically searches through her dresser, grabbing clothes and rushing into the bathroom.
“Chop, chop, Rubes we’re leaving in 20 minutes!” Her sister calls back at her as she drifts out of her room and downstairs. Ruby mumbles to herself while doing a half effort job brushing her hair, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes.
Throwing her clothes on and brushing her teeth as well as she could, Ruby rushes over to where her coat is draped over a chair. She slips her arms through her, very roughed up, black and red jacket, the ends frayed and burnt slightly.
The coat looks comically large on Ruby, the length spanning her entire body height. It was her mom’s long ago, matching roses on either side of the shoulders. If you were to put an image of her mom next to her, you would barely be able to tell the difference. Both drowning in a much too tall jacket, red highlights in their black hair, and even managing a perfect mix of feminine and masculine style.
Grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder, Ruby heads downstairs, leaping two stairs at a time. “Morning Dad,” she chirps out, hastily putting together a bowl of cereal and plopping down on a chair, munching down.
Taiyang watches her with an amused look on his face, used to his daughter’s forgetfulness. He ruffles her hair and grabs a thermos full of coffee, taking a long drink. “Late morning today?”
Ruby tries to mumble a response through her full mouth, making incoherent sounds. Her father chuckles in response.
Yang snickers from her seat next to her, “probably stayed up late bugging Ice Queen again.” As Ruby begins to protest, Taiyang chips back in.
“Alright settle down girls,” a fond smile on his face as he grabs his keys to begin his day. “I’ve gotta head out now, see you after school.”
The girls shout their goodbyes as he leaves the house to work.
Yang smirks at Ruby with a knowing look in her eyes.
“What?”
The blonde shrugs, “nothin’, just finish your food, so we can go”
Ruby narrows her eyes at her sister, noting the mischievous expression on her face.
She can tell the girl either knows something she doesn’t, or is planning something. Either way, she has a feeling it won’t be very fun for Ruby herself.
~~~~~
Hopping out of Yang’s beat up truck, Ruby shrugs her backpack on and trudges her way to the front of the school building. She hears the click of the vehicle locking as Yang hurries behind her.
Aside from Blake, Ruby’s never seen Yang so protective over something before. Her truck, a faded yellow with some barely hanging on parts, is her prized possession. Yang immediately got her license as soon as she could and saved up for her very own vehicle. It may not be in the best condition, but she sure does take care of it.
The early morning mist fades around the building in front of them, the light rain now having stopped. Ruby shivers, silently cursing herself for forgetting to dress warm in her haste to get ready. She couldn't stop mourning the loss of her cozy bed, the cold only making her sleepy.
The sisters make their way into the school, sharing the same first class and heading straight for it. Neither of them are excited to be trapped in the school building for any longer than they have to, but the first period is shared with the entire group.
Yang grins wide as she settles in her seat next to her girlfriend, Blake, who greets the two with a small smile.
The ravenette glances up over her book, eyes flicking over Ruby's disheveled appearance and raising a brow.
Yang reaches over and ruffles Ruby's hair, her teasing attitude never fading
“This one decided to sleep in until right before we had to leave, little shit.”
The shorter girl pouts in defiance, swatting her sister's hand away. “I didn't mean to!” she groans, “I just wanna go back to my dream..”
Ruby lays her head in her arms, sighing.
Blake and Yang share confused glances between each other and their dark haired friend.
The faunus pats her arm gently as she continues whining.
The trio's quiet chatter fills the room, Ruby slowly gaining her energy for the day, perks up immediately at the new conversation.
“Wait, Dad’s going to be out for the night?”
“Yeah, he told us to just order some takeout for dinner,” Yang answers, leaning back against her chair and stretching.
A smile spreads across Ruby’s face, not unlike her sister, as a lightbulb goes off in her head.
“We should have a movie night!” the now very hyper girl suggests, bouncing in her seat.
Through her barely contained excitement, Ruby doesn’t notice the fourth person joining them at their table. “What are you going on about?”
Ruby turns to the voice, her excitement doubling at the mere sight of the pale girl beside her. “Weiss! You agree, right? A movie night would be soooo fun!”
Weiss raises an eyebrow at her hyperactive partner as the bell rings, signalling the start of the school day,
“Sure Rubes, I’m down for a movie night,” Yang confirms, Blake yawning and nodding in agreement.
With Weiss being the deciding factor, all eyes turn to her, Ruby still waiting for a response like a puppy begging for attention.
As the heiress lightly places her notebook on the table and begins flipping through it, she makes a noise of affirmation.
“Sweet!” Yang cheers as she also begins to pull out her school work, Ruby now quietly chanting “movie night” to herself.
The bow on top of Blake’s head twitches slightly in acknowledgement as Yang “subtly” grabs her hand under the desk while the teacher begins to lecture.
Ruby sticks her tongue out and groans quietly at the display of affection in front of her, now disgusted by the constant flirting and touching between the two lovers.
You’d think they’d get over the overly affectionate phase in their relationship after a year, but much to everyone’s dismay nothing has changed.
Weiss giggles lightly at Ruby’s reaction, instead finding Yang and Blake’s relationship quite sweet, a reward for the long years before of pining between the two.
Ruby’s attention is immediately stolen by the sound, turning to her and smiling wide, always enticed by her laugh, especially when Ruby’s the cause.
Weiss rolls her eyes and neatly writes in the corner of her notes, pushing the notebook over to Ruby to see.
Dork.
~~~~~
Leaves gently drift along the pavement, a light breeze gusting through the quiet. Despite the downpour from earlier, the sun shines brightly above, a gift to combat the chilliness of the air.
Team RWBY (as Ruby refers to them, using all 4 of their initials despite it just sounding like her name) gathers around a picnic table far away from the cafeteria, preferring the quiet outdoors from the loud crowded building. Blake refuses to step in there to this day, scurrying off to the library every time lunch came around before Yang started having them all eat lunch together.
Said faunus was now watching fondly as Yang muffled her laughter behind her hand, already predicting the disaster to come.
Ruby was leaning against the chain link fence blocking the students from leaving, unbeknownst to her that the long coat she was wearing was caught on the fence.
Despite the many occurrences of Ruby tripping over, getting caught on, and even lighting on fire that was caused by her jacket, she never gained an awareness of it. She wore it like a second skin, if only a second skin was three sizes too large and looked like it was jumped by a gang of feral cats.
It was one of the few things she had left of her mother, cherishing it just as much as every memory she had with her. The passing of Summer Rose had changed Ruby and her family in an irreversible way.
Taiyang had lost his two loves, Summer being the one to pull him back together after Raven had left, but then she left as well. Though he tries his best, he never has been able to become the father and man he once was.
Yang had lost her two mothers. She had to learn the feeling of abandonment as a little girl, never understanding why her own mother had left her. After Summer’s passing as well, a rift re-opened in her heart that she believed could never be repaired.
And for Ruby, she tried to be the light in the darkness just as her mother was. Always trying to lift others up and be a supplementary Summer Rose. Ruby will always mourn the loss of her mom, having to be reminded of the pain she felt every waking day as she looks into the mirror, being a spitting image of her.
She sometimes gazes into the mirror, a frown and tired eyes looking foreign on her, wishing she could be someone else. Be a better Ruby Rose. Be kinder. Have the power to make a difference in life. To not feel like a ghost floating around hopelessly in a girl’s body, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, pretending like she was everything she hoped she could be.
After all, you fake it till you make it, right?
Leaves crunching beneath shoes disturbs the silence, a bag being dropped on the table as the person goes to sit down.
Now returned from her stupor, Ruby smiles widely and sprints off to greet her, pale blue eyes watching her unamused.
“Weiss! You- OH” she is interrupted as she crashes to the ground almost immediately, the chain link fence keeping her trapped against it like a leash.
A pause in surprise.
Then howling laughter erupts between all three of the girls still standing. An unresponsive Ruby has them questioning through their laughter, the only movement being her clothing detaching from its prison as gravity pulls it down.
“Rubes-” Yang gasps out, doubling over and balancing with her arms on her knees. “ You alright?”
A loud huff escapes the runner, lifting her hand in a thumbs up before dragging it back down to push herself to her knees. Her face scrunched up slightly in pain.
Long legs approach her line of vision, Weiss kneeling in front of her with a look as if she were scolding a toddler, but still concerned for any injuries. The heiress grabs her wrist and pulls it towards her for inspection, kissing her teeth as she does so.
Tanned skin now bright pink with scrapes all over her palm from her attempt to catch herself. Long slender fingers trace over her hand despite the winces of pain from the shorter girl.
Ruby finds herself relaxing at her touch instantly, embarrassment and frustration from the fall already evaporated. Instead she gawks at the girl’s gentle hands and overall carefulness.
Weiss’ normal cold demeanor now thawed partially, letting Ruby peek in and see the warmth she emanates only in rare vulnerable moments. Cold hands over warm ones and yet it’s the warmest she’s ever felt. An odd and unfamiliar feeling blooming in her chest.
It’s times like these where Ruby is the most thankful for. She of course enjoys Weiss’ presence even when she’s her normal stuck up and harsh self, knowing she already lets her guard down around the three girls and would never say anything purposefully harmful. But Ruby is a sucker for affection, especially physical affection.
The younger girl clings to her friends as if they’ll float away if she doesn’t keep them tied to the ground, showering them with all the care and affection she can muster. Though Weiss has always been a different story, pushing her away earlier on in their friendship, but slowly warming up to her after a while.
She would never admit it of course, but the heiress had grown to adore it.
“You should be fine, unless you got something wrong in there,” Weiss speaks up and pokes a finger to Ruby’s temple.
A large and heavy hand lands on top of the girl’s head, ruffling it. “Oh yeah, she definitely does.”
Ruby’s neck snaps up at her sister, groaning in protest, “what’s that supposed to mean!”
Yang just smirks down at her, ignoring her question and crouches next to her, hand still on her head. “What’s the verdict, doc?”
Weiss straightens herself out, standing up gracefully (everything Weiss does looks graceful Ruby would argue) and a small smile lands on her face.
“She’s got a terminal case of being a dolt, she only has a few months left”
“NOOOO,” Yang dramatically drawls out, throwing her arms around her sister and squeezing. “My dear sister! What will I ever do without you!”
Ruby weakly grabs at her arms, trying to escape from her death trap, a giggle bubbling in her chest. “Yaaang you’re gonna suffocate me!”
The blonde lets out a laugh, but relents and releases her, dragging both of them to their feet. “Okay, fine, you win this time.”
As her sister plops down on top of the picnic table, leaning over her girlfriend and beginning to chat about something Ruby absolutely does NOT want to know about, she huffs out breaths trying to regain the air squeezed out of her lungs.
The runner trails over to the table as well to join the two, being stopped by Weiss’ hand on her shoulder which turns her to face the girl.
She reaches up and picks something off her hair, revealing a fallen leaf. Ruby gives her a clumsy grin in embarrassment as the pale girl brushes some dirt off her jacket. “What would you do without me?” she rolls her eyes as she continues cleaning her up.
A hand comes up to scratch at the back of her neck in shame, “probably look like a trainwreck?”
With one final glance back to her face, Weiss softly shakes her head with a grin, eyes hiding something more behind them. She leans in close, an indecipherable expression on her face, but her smile turns playful.
Ruby’s mind goes blank at the proximity, short circuiting and producing no coherent thoughts, heart thumping loudly in her ears. Since when did she react like this to Weiss? And why was she looking at her like that? Friends casually touch each other, friends tease each other, she sees no reason for this to be any different from her other friends.
It must be the fact she’s her best friend, right? Yeah, best friends surely think this way about each other. I mean...who wouldn’t think about kissing Weiss-their best friend? Holding her soft, cold hands and tracing the patterns in her skin. She wonders how the girl would react, if she just leaned in slightly, tilting her head up and-
“You truly are an enigma, Ruby Rose.” warm breath ghosting softly over the shorter girl’s face as her best friend turns and walks away.