What Defines Us - Ch. 13 (Patreon)

Redemption was what she was after.  Or was it forgiveness she was seeking?  Absolution from the weight of guilt that had broken her spirit...freedom from the cowardice that had controlled her actions for far too long...  

There might not be one word that accurately described what Weiss sought here in Vale.  She wanted to fix her mistakes and make right her wrongs.  She wanted to earn back the trust and relationships she’d once so thoughtlessly thrown away.

Every difficult step was a step in the right direction.  No matter how challenging it was to move forward, she must press on.  Whenever her heart raced with anxiety, she thought about the scowl on Yang’s face - the one that said Weiss didn’t deserve to be here.  Whenever her mind tried to convince her that life would be much easier if she was far from this place, she thought about the understanding in Blake’s eyes - how she was rooting for Weiss to stay.  And whenever her feet froze to the sidewalk, one second from turning and running the other way, she thought about Ruby’s smile - how it was still the same, how it still made Weiss feel like she’d accomplished something extraordinary even when that was far from the case.

Earning forgiveness wasn’t easy, she reminded herself multiple times a day.  But simply being here, making the effort to correct her mistakes...these small actions counted for something, right?

The fact that Ruby was messaging her now was incredible, but Weiss wanted so much more.  She wanted to be closer - in both proximity and relationship.  She wanted to reach that place where they could easily finish each other’s sentences or communicate without using words.  She wanted to reclaim the certainty that no matter what happened, Ruby would stand beside her without fail.  She wanted to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that no matter how mentally beaten she might be, Ruby would never think poorly of her.

There was still such a long way to go...years and years of closeness and familiarity which she couldn’t possibly hope to replace in a few days.  Yet, she found herself wishing that some form of recollection might click in Ruby’s mind.  That even if Ruby didn’t remember outright, she might remember the feelings they’d once shared...like a distant echo reverberating through a deep canyon.

Casting such a wish was foolhardy, especially when Weiss worried each night that when she woke up she might not find the willpower to stay any longer.  There was a deeply rooted seed of doubt in her chest incessantly whispering that one morning she would wake up and realize the full gravity of what had been lost - and that realization would send her flying out the door once more.

Every fiber in her being wished that those fears were irrational, but when she’d run once before...there could be no certainty anymore.  If she could look in the mirror and tell herself that she wouldn’t abandon her team again, the relief would be life altering.  But she couldn’t.  Instead, the only person she saw in the mirror was a terrified ghost of herself, walking on eggshells all day long while trying to avoid slipping up again.

One thing that never changed, not even while she’d been in Atlas, was that she woke every morning with thoughts of Ruby on her mind.  Only now, along with the dully aching regret and remorse, there was a growing desire to see Ruby again.  Instead of focusing on work, Weiss focused on creating excuses and ways for the two of them to spend more time together. 

There was still so much to be made up for.  There was still so much that needed mending, even before considering her own mental state, but…every time she was the reason Ruby smiled, it felt like a piece of her heart was restored - a shattered fragment softly clicked back into place.

What if this was all they would ever be?  Could Weiss really be content as Ruby’s friend and nothing more?

It was too early to think about that.

“I wanted to invite all of you,” Weiss murmured to herself while walking up the sidewalk to Ruby’s door, wringing her hands all the while.  “I wanted to personally invite all of you to come to Schnee Dust for a tour.  I remember Ruby mentioned wanting to go and I thought it would be...fun.”

Nodding at her excuse of the day, she paused a few steps from the front door and took a deep breath in preparation.  

When she hadn’t heard from Ruby after their good morning text, she decided that she needed to come up with a reason to go over and see what was going on.  Ruby had mentioned how she normally forgot to check her scroll due to lack of use, so Weiss figured that Ruby had just left it in her room or something.

Usually Weiss wasn’t so impatient, but being around Ruby had always been something of an addiction.  There was an infectious cheerfulness to her that Weiss had grown to love above anything else.  That quality was still there in force, and she could already feel it grabbing ahold of her.  No matter how...raw...her emotions could be in Ruby’s presence, there was still that desire, that urge for more.

What was it that Blake had said?  Ruby…‘lights up’...when she sees Weiss?  It was fortunate that Blake couldn’t see what happened inside Weiss’ mind and heart whenever she saw Ruby...

Taking another deep breath, Weiss crossed the remaining steps, raised one hand, and knocked twice before she convinced herself out of it.  Expecting to hear Yang’s heavy footsteps, she was surprised when the door flew open a couple of seconds later and Ruby was standing there, a cloud of petals still swirling to the ground.

And Ruby immediately broke into a smile that melted Weiss’ heart. 

“Weiss!  What’re you doing here?”

“I thought I would…” Weiss began to say, becoming temporarily lost in Ruby’s eyes before blinking away.  “I just thought I’d drop by,” she finally answered, feeling a flush of embarrassment creep onto her cheeks.  

It was a far cry from whatever excuse she’d thought of, but she couldn’t remember what that excuse was when her heart was hammering so loudly in her chest.  And when it came to Ruby, if Weiss didn’t have a lie carefully in place her brain automatically supplied the truth.  Thankfully, Ruby thought nothing of it - her eyes lit up with joy instead.

“That’s great!  Come on in!”

When Ruby waved her inside, Weiss walked through the door and into the small home that was growing more comfortable with each visit.  It took one glance around the living room and kitchen to know that Ruby was currently the only one home - which made sense because Weiss had actually been able to knock, unlike whenever Blake was around.  

“Where are your roommates?” Weiss asked, watching Ruby close the door and hop merrily into the living room.

“They’re running some errands.  I was supposed to go, but told them I was too tired.”  Ruby stood in front of Weiss and leaned casually against the arm of the sofa - the nonchalant gesture taken straight from Yang’s repertoire.

“I’m sorry, did I keep you up too late last night?”

“Oh, no!” Ruby replied, shaking her head side-to-side so vigorously that her short hair shook with her.  “I just didn’t wanna go.  We got ice cream and then they brought me home - I’ve been working on stuff in the garage instead!”

There was a part of Weiss that was readily prepared to accept blame for keeping Ruby up too late, but Ruby’s grin immediately washed that guilt away.  It might be difficult, but it was important to remember that Ruby was in charge of her own decisions - if she stayed up late, it was because she wanted to.  The hardest part about accepting that reality was when Weiss thought about the plausible reasons why Ruby wanted to do so...

“What are you working on, if you don’t mind me asking?” Weiss asked, changing the subject rather than dwelling on that train of thought any longer.

“I’m trying to make a dagger fly.  No luck so far.”  With a not-at-all discouraged grin, Ruby shook her head at the lack of success.  As she did so, her necklace slipped from the collar of her tee and fell into the light.  The mere sight of the silver ring made Weiss’ heart give a powerful twinge of agony.  

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” she mumbled while shifting her eyes away from the mocking sparkle of diamonds.  There was something so intensely hurtful about seeing the ring off of Ruby’s finger...not that Weiss expected Ruby to continue wearing it, but...well, there really was no ideal solution in this instance.

“You wanna see?”

There wasn’t time to give an answer because Ruby had already stood and was walking towards the garage door, assuming that Weiss would follow.  Which she immediately did - her answer was ‘yes’ anyway.  Heading through the metal door into the converted workshop that had probably never held a vehicle since Ruby moved in, Weiss instantly sensed familiarity creeping out of the woodwork.

The space was far smaller.  There were towers of cardboard moving boxes in one corner and miscellaneous pieces of old boxing equipment in another, but the atmosphere of Ruby’s workshop was identical to the others Weiss had known.  Taking a deep breath at the entrance to the garage, as if she needed to hold her breath for the entirety of this experience, Weiss carefully followed Ruby to a large workbench that was covered in various tools and scraps of material.

“Sorry, it’s kinda a mess in here,” Ruby mumbled, shoving a pile of metal off of the only chair and onto the ground so that Weiss could sit down.  The ruckus it made while hitting the ground made her cringe, but thankfully lasted only a second.

“Don’t worry.  It’s actually...it’s comfortable,” she replied, her eyes searching the garage while she perched upon the chair like there might be needles hidden in the cushion.  Her response made Ruby laugh - the sound like music to her ears.

“Can you tell Yang that?  She doesn’t understand how my room is so clean and the garage is so messy.”

It had never made sense to Weiss either.  How could Ruby work in such a mess?  How could she find anything?  But...this was the way her workshops had always been.  There was something about the chaos and disorder that made sense to Ruby and no one else.  It helped her mind ‘work better,’ she always said.  

Once, as a semi-joke, Weiss spent an entire afternoon tidying up Ruby’s workshop - and it had been marvelous to view in its sparkling glory, if only for a few minutes.  Ruby had been...perturbed...and then almost immediately set a cabinet on fire.  It was supposedly a complete accident, which Weiss tentatively believed, but she hadn’t dared clean the room again.  The workshop became the only room in the house that Ruby was allowed to organize in any way she wanted.  

“I feel like the mess helps me think better,” Ruby commented while pulling a few odds and ends out of several different drawers, the timely muse making Weiss smile.

As usual, Ruby never stopped moving when surrounded by weapons.  First, she found something in one drawer, then picked another scrap up off of the floor.  Something else was hidden under a pile of washers in the middle of the workbench.  None of the items seemed to have any correlation to each other, but Ruby was putting something together in her mind that was going to utilize all of the pieces.

Watching Ruby move so confidently throughout the space put Weiss almost completely at ease - like there was comfort to be found in how Ruby could navigate the disorder without ever seeming disoriented.  But that’s what had made her such a great team captain - her ability to stand in the middle of a battle that had fallen into chaos and never appear lost or overwhelmed…

“Having all these random items around might serve as a sort of inspiration - helping you come up with ideas,” Weiss suggested as a plausible explanation before reaching out and picking up a small dagger that looked like the one Ruby was currently working on.  It was all the same shade of black with a red tint along the edge of the blade that gave the impression that it was glowing with blood.  It was a sinister looking weapon, that was for sure.

“Yang brought that home for me,” Ruby commented.  For the briefest of moments, she actually stopped moving and leaned both elbows on the workbench to watch Weiss look over the dagger.

“Ah - that makes more sense,” she muttered quietly to herself, turning the blade carefully in her hand.  Yang had always had a special way of separating people from their weapons - mostly by physically tearing them out of their owners’ hands.  A great majority came from goons and idiots who tried to pick a fight with her, before being inevitably inherited by Ruby.  Ruby loved to take them apart and put them back together again - with new mysteries attached, of course.  

“How are you trying to make it fly?” Weiss asked, holding the dagger out to Ruby.

“I guess ‘fly’ isn’t the right word, but I put a recall in the hilt,” Ruby explained while twirling the blade between her fingers in a way that made Weiss nervous for her safety.  “I want to be able to throw it and then call it back to me, but right now I can just throw it - the recall isn’t working.  Here, wanna see?”

When Weiss nodded, Ruby handed her the blade and pointed at a small box sitting on top of a whole stack of boxes in one corner of the garage.

“Try to hit that box.”

Looking at the box, a good ten feet away from them, Weiss turned back to Ruby in surprise.

“You’re serious?”

“Yeah!  Go ahead and try - can’t hurt anything,” Ruby replied with a nod and encouraging smile.

Now, there was one member of their team who could easily pick up a dagger and toss it across the room with pinpoint accuracy.  That person wasn’t her.   And the fact that the box had the name ‘Yang’ written on the side in black marker didn’t make her feel much better about attempting to skewer a knife through it...

“Alright…” she reluctantly agreed despite her misgivings.  

Standing up, she squared her feet and faced the target head on.  She was going to make a fool of herself, she was certain of it, but only Ruby was here to see.  

“Try to snap your wrist,” Ruby suggested, making the motion in mid-air.  Nodding, Weiss focused on the box and took a deep breath.  Holding the dagger between two fingers, she brought it up to about her ear, stared down the destination, and flicked it forward with a snap of her wrist.

The dagger flipped through the air and hit the side of the box, but on the flat edge instead of the tip.  Bouncing off, it fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

“Hey!  You hit it!” Ruby exclaimed with a happy smile.  “That’s way better than my first try!  Now see, this button should work -”

There was a small button sitting on top of the workbench that Ruby quickly pressed, but nothing happened.  

“But it doesn’t!” she finally proclaimed before scrambling across the garage and returning with the dagger a few seconds later.  Tossing the weapon onto the bench, Ruby turned to Weiss and said “Up!” while popping both fists up in a fighting stance.  Without a second thought, Weiss immediately mimicked in the way Ruby had ‘taught’ her the other night.  The quick response made Ruby grin and gently tap each of her fists to Weiss’ knuckles.

“I knew it!  You’re such a fast learner!” Ruby gushed, lighting a fire behind Weiss’ cheeks in no time.

The old version of Weiss would have been indignant at the perceived snub.  Of course she was a fast learner.  She’d been top of her class in every subject since starting school.  Being a quick study was expected of her.  

But when Ruby said these things...Weiss only felt more accomplished.

Once, she had ‘accidentally’ tripped Jaune into a lake when he made the assertion that she was a ‘surprisingly’ good fighter.  When he’d bobbed to the surface, sputtering, he whined about how Ruby made comments like that all the time and was never tripped into a lake for it.  That was the moment Weiss realized...Boy Wonder was actually right about something.  Ruby did make comments like that all the time and, instead of being upset, Weiss would blush or be embarrassed.

That was the first of many realizations that pointed directly to one very obvious answer - she was in love with her partner.

“So...what else are you working on?” Weiss asked while retaking her seat and wishing her blush away.  The question prompted Ruby to move items this way and that on the workbench while searching for something to show Weiss.

“Oh I gotta whole bunch of different things around here…”

“What’s this?” Weiss asked, reaching towards a small, roundish black lump that caught her eye.  Before Weiss could touch it, Ruby burst over and snatched the item off of the table, a fresh layer of rose petals landing amongst the tools.

“That’s, uh...garbage,” Ruby explained.  “Really should’ve thrown it away already...”

When Ruby threw the lump into a nearby garbage can, Weiss smiled and knowingly shook her head.  At least Ruby had prevented her from touching whatever it was.  Once, she’d stuck her hand into a container holding what had turned out to be liquified horse spleen.  She’d never found out why exactly that was in their home, but from Ruby’s profuse apologies it had had something to do with ‘Nora’ and some type of ‘dare.’  That had been more than enough information for Weiss.

While Ruby walked back to her, Weiss’ eyes caught another piece of work that she was surprised she hadn’t noticed earlier.

“Is that…” she began, nodding towards the contraption partially buried underneath several loops of different gauge wires.  “What you’ve been working on?”

“Yup!” Ruby exclaimed with a grin, grabbing the red glove, pulling it on, and walking over so that Weiss could inspect it closely.  “It’s finished actually!  Just have a bit more painting to do.”

Honestly, when Ruby had talked about the glove Weiss hadn’t known what to expect.  But seeing it in person...she could now say that it was incredible.  Like always, Ruby’s attention to even the smallest detail was beyond anything Weiss had ever seen.  From the cleverly hidden seams to the perfectly painted plating - aesthetically it was a masterpiece.  But how did it work?

“Does it help?”

“Does it ever!” Ruby replied, curling her gloved hand into a tight fist.  “I’m way over 100% on my left hand now!  I’ve been considering making another one for my right, just for the heck of it.”

“Really?”  The disbelief was evident in Weiss’ tone, which Ruby immediately picked up on.

“I’ll give you a demonstration!”  Moving various supplies around the workbench, Ruby finally found a solid rod of wood the length of a ruler.  “This’ll do!” she said before heading back to Weiss.

“A standard piece of wood, right?” Ruby asked before handing it over.  “Why don’t you give it a good squeeze and see how much damage you can do?”

It was a ridiculous question, but Weiss was loathe to turn down such a simple request when Ruby was in her saleswoman role.  Taking the piece of wood, Weiss squeezed it in one hand before handing it back to Ruby.

“It’s solid,” she replied, much to Ruby’s apparent amusement.

“Look, you totally put a little dent in it, see?  You must be super-duper strong!”  Ruby held it out and pointed to a line in the grain that had definitely not come from Weiss’ own strength, but she appreciated the compliment anyway.  

“Ok, now for the main event!” Ruby called out while holding the piece of wood in her gloved hand.  Curling her fingers, Ruby gripped the rod tightly.  It looked like very minimal effort on her part, yet Weiss heard the wood crack and groan in protest.

“Tada!” Ruby was announcing several seconds later, holding it out for Weiss to see.

There was now a very definitive indentation where Ruby’s hand had been, with cracked wood that had very nearly broken in half.  In this damaged state, Weiss could snap the rod into two pieces without exerting much effort at all.

“That’s...impressive.”  More than impressive, the opportunities it opened up in regards to combat were potentially endless.  What Ruby had crafted for herself was essentially a vice grip akin to Yang’s arm.  She could latch herself to anything she could fit her hand around and refuse to be torn free.  Crescent Rose.  A ledge.  An enemy.

It was incredible.  

“Have you named it yet?” Weiss asked.  It was something of a tradition amongst huntsmen to give names to the weapons and tools that aided them in battle.  For some, it was a gesture of respect.  Others, a symbol of importance.  For Ruby, it was a combination of both, plus just plain fun.  

“Not yet,” Ruby replied, looking at the glove like a name might already be written on it somewhere.  “I’ve been throwing some names around, but nothing feels right.”

“Well don’t think about it too much.  The best names appear when you least expect them.”

When Ruby grinned at the advice, Weiss smiled back - their eyes locking for a few brief seconds that sent her pulse inching higher.  It immediately leveled off when Ruby turned back to her gloved hand, flexing her fingers and watching the perfectly constructed metal plates slide smoothly back and forth as she did so.

It was clear that Ruby was proud of her accomplishment, as she should be.  There were very few people who could build something like that from scratch...and even fewer who possessed the determination to do so in order to overcome a physical roadblock.

“Ruby!  Can you help put away groceries?”

Weiss jumped in surprise at the voice shouted through the open garage door, having been too busy staring into Ruby’s eyes to hear anyone enter the house.

“Coming!” Ruby yelled back, pulling off the glove and setting it on the bench.

Glancing towards the house, Weiss bit her lip in thought.  It sounded like Yang and Blake had just returned from their errands, but...what reception would Weiss receive today?  Every instant she and Yang spent together felt like it pushed them one step closer to Yang finally erupting like a volcano.  Could today be that day?

“I should probably get going,” Weiss said while hurriedly standing from the chair.  

Unfortunately, she would have to go through the house in order to leave, but if she said goodbye to Ruby now she wouldn’t need to linger inside for very long.  Sure, maybe she was a coward, but a full blown confrontation with Yang was not what she wanted to get into right now - especially with Ruby around.

“But you just got here!”  

Ruby’s audible disappointment was enough to make Weiss pause and furrow her brow.  Sensing the weakened resolve, Ruby glanced towards the door and then back at Weiss.

“I’d like you to stay!” Ruby said with a hopeful expression.  “As my guest.”

With an imploring smile and a set of unbelievable puppy dog eyes aimed her way, Weiss quickly came to the conclusion that being Ruby’s guest would be worth any verbal snipes Yang might choose to make.

After Weiss nodded in acceptance of the offer, her heart did an immediate somersault when Ruby beamed with joy.  Waving Weiss after her in what could only be considered a gesture of encouragement, Ruby bounded into the house with Weiss hesitantly in tow.  Stepping through the doorway, Weiss found that Blake and Yang were currently walking through the front door with several bags of groceries in their hands.

If Blake was surprised by Weiss’ presence, she did an excellent job of concealing it.  Yang, on the other hand...

“Hey Weiss,” Blake said with a smile while Yang gave a nod of acknowledgement and dropped two bags on top of the dining table.

Seeing the pair suddenly reminded Weiss of the excuse she’d invented to stop by in the first place.  It was an invitation she could’ve easily extended over the phone, but in person was far better - mostly because then she could gauge Ruby’s reaction.

“That reminds me,” Weiss directed to Ruby, who’d already used her semblance to race outside and back in with a bag in each arm.  “I wanted to...personally invite all of you to Schnee Dust in the next couple weeks.  I remember you wanted to go and thought it would be fun.”

“No way!  Really??”

Ruby’s excitement filled Weiss with relief.  As did the fact that she’d gotten through the entire invitation with hardly a stutter.

“Of course,” she replied with a pleased smile.  “I’d be willing to give you a personal tour too, if you want.”

The offer made Ruby’s grin widen and Weiss’ burgeoning satisfaction grow.  

“That sounds like so much fun!  Doesn’t it?”  Turning to Yang, Ruby received a small smile and nod in response.  “Oh, but what day?  I’m free every day except the day I’m going on a hunt with Blake and Yang!  Which is...I don’t even know when that is yet...”

Ruby turned questioningly to Yang, but Weiss’ mind immediately focused on one word and drowned out anything else.  She must have heard Ruby incorrectly...

“I’m sorry - you’re what?”

“Going on a hunt!” Ruby repeated with every ounce of zeal as the first time.  “Yang said I’m ready!”

“Really?” Weiss asked, directing her sheer disbelief towards Yang rather than Ruby.

“Yeah!” Ruby replied, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in excitement.  “I’ll get to try out my new hand against real Grimm!”

“Yeah you do!”  Yang gave her sister a high five while walking past before shoving a few boxes into an open cupboard.  “Blake and I actually spoke to Ozpin while we were out and picked up a small contract.  We’ll go over the details later tonight, k?”  

The news made Ruby squeal with delight and run over to hug Yang, who smiled at the enthusiasm and tenderly patted Ruby’s head.

“You got it!” Ruby exclaimed before turning to Weiss with stars in her eyes.  “I hope there’s Ursa.  Tons of them!  Or Nevermores - oooh do you think we’ll see Nevermores?  What about Beowolves?  There’s gotta be Beowolves, right?”

Each subsequent Grimm made Weiss feel sicker and sicker to her stomach while her heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears.  The idea of any of those creatures being in the remote vicinity as Ruby filled Weiss with a sense of dread unlike anything she’d experienced before.

Yang wasn’t crazy enough to take Ruby back out there, was she?

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Weiss asked Yang’s back, finally getting Yang to make eye contact with her.  Panic was building in her chest at the image of Ruby out there in the forest, Grimm surrounding her, the yellow glow of stingers flashing through the late afternoon twilight...

Naturally, Yang shrugged in the face of Weiss’ anxiety while pulling a box from a grocery bag and tossing it across the kitchen to Ruby.  “Sure, why not?”

The laissez-faire attitude didn’t work on Weiss today.  It didn’t work most days, but especially not today.  Her eyes flicked over to Ruby, who was happily climbing on top of the counter in order to reach the top of the cupboards.  Turning back to Yang, Weiss lowered her voice.

“Because the last time -”

Before she could finish the sentence, Yang raised one hand to cut her off and leveled her with a firm gaze.

“She’s ready, Weiss.”

The words filled her with incredulity.  She couldn’t believe that.  In her eyes, Ruby would never be ready.  And, if it were up to her, Ruby would never set foot outside the city walls again.

“I am!” Ruby chirped from beside them.  “I got the calibration ironed out in my glove - now it’s strong enough to crush a small rock into...smaller rocks.  But it reacts within a fraction of a second of when I want it too.  Basically fast enough that you can’t even tell a difference!”

Sparing a thin smile, Weiss’ mind raced at the unexpected news which had just fallen like a missile onto her already shaky life.  Sure, the glove was incredible.  It was technologically sound and appeared to solve the one lingering handicap from Ruby’s injuries.  But in the forest a fraction of a second could be the difference between life and death.  

It was far too much risk for Weiss to accept, but...Ruby looked so excited about going...was there any way to convince her out of it?  No, Weiss wouldn’t be able to convince Ruby to stay, but maybe - 

“I’m coming with you,” she stated resolutely when the solution came to her.  It was the only way Weiss could make sure Ruby was safe, but the assertion made Yang let out a derisive scoff while opening a cupboard to put away a box of cereal.

“Like hell you are.”

“If you think I’m letting you leave without me,” Weiss whispered forcefully across the kitchen table, “Then you’re a bigger fool than I’ve ever given you credit for.”

“Weiss, you’re a huntress??”

The unconcealed surprise in Ruby’s tone caught everyone’s attention in full.  Sharing a quick look, Blake and Yang turned away from the conversation - plainly saying that Weiss was going to have to handle this on her own.

She’d never told Ruby she was a huntress.  It had never come up in conversation and she’d always just assumed that Ruby knew.  Of course, why would Ruby know that?  In her eyes, they’d only met several days ago.

Numbly nodding her head, Weiss was relieved when Ruby broke out a huge smile.  And she was even more relieved when she heard Yang let out a huge sigh and go back to putting the groceries away.  Their short-lived argument had been settled without the two of them coming to an agreement on their own - now that Ruby was excited about Weiss being a huntress, Yang knew there was no way Weiss wasn’t coming with them.

“What’s your weapon?”  The question was hardly out of Ruby’s mouth before she added, “Can I see it??”

It was that second request which caused Blake to shoot a worried glance Weiss’ way - both of them likely thinking the same thing.  While they’d been a functioning team, Ruby made extensive upgrades to Myrtenaster.  Her fingerprints were very literally all over the weapon - would she recognize her own handiwork?

But there was no logical excuse Weiss could come up with to explain why Ruby couldn’t see Myrtenaster.  And, since Weiss had just strong-armed her way onto their hunt, Ruby would be seeing the weapon eventually.  There was really no other option but to nod and fake a smile.

“I use a rapier -”

“Do you use a locker?  Can you call it over here?”

Right now?  Ruby wanted to do this right now?  

The events of the last few minutes made it feel like Weiss’ life had suddenly spiraled back out of control - her meticulously guarded restraint scattered to the wind by unexpected knowledge that had appeared out of nowhere.

Myrtenaster was in a locker though...most huntsmen refused to leave home without having their weapons a few button clicks away from arriving by their side.

“I...yes, I do.  I can -” she stammered.  The answer made Ruby clap her hands together in excitement before her silver eyes suddenly widened.  

“Shoot!  I forgot to turn off the welder!”

With her heart rate steadily climbing, Weiss watched Ruby disappear into the garage, leaving a cloud of petals in her wake.  Reaching out, Weiss deftly caught one of the small breaths of roses in her hand before it could reach the ground.

For the longest time she’d refused to allow Ruby to touch Myrtenaster.  She hired trained professionals to take care of her weapon, after all.  The best in Remnant.  They were masters of weaponry with decades of experience serving other prominent huntsmen - not some young child who thought tinkering was the same as completing actual upgrades which would save lives in combat.

At that point in her life, Weiss thought her discretion was extremely well-founded.  That was, until she watched Yang, who didn’t like it if people looked at Ember Celica wrong, casually toss her prized gauntlets to Ruby after every mission.  That had been easy enough for Weiss to dismiss - it was just sisters being sisters, having complete trust in one another.  No more thought was wasted on the subject until the day Pyrrha knocked on their door.  Apparently, Yang had been talking about the modifications Ruby made to Ember Celica and Pyrrha wanted to know if Ruby would look at Milo too.

Pyrrha Nikos.

Forget sisters trusting each other - this was the most renowned fighter in the entire school asking Ruby for help.  Ruby.  The girl who still had trouble making it to class on time.  

Of course, Ruby agreed to help and spent the next few days on Cloud 9 while she tirelessly and meticulously worked on the javelin.  Personally, Weiss made several rueful comments suggesting that if Ruby applied this much attention to her studies, Weiss would no longer receive the highest marks in class.  Those were the first days Weiss actually stopped what she was doing and watched her partner work - growing more and more impressed with every painstaking alteration that was made.

When Ruby finished, it was impossible to tell that any changes had been made just by looking at the weapon.  It wasn’t until the very next day, when Pyrrha destroyed the entirety of Team CRDL in record time, that the impact of the modifications came to light.  Suddenly, people were lining up at their door asking Ruby to upgrade their weapons too.

Being the bossy person that she’d been, that was the moment when Weiss stepped in and demanded that Ruby look at Myrtenaster before anyone else’s weapon.  She was Ruby’s partner, after all.  Didn’t that grant her front of line privileges?  

That’s when she watched Ruby work on her weapon for the very first time, and that’s when she saw the utmost care Ruby used merely touching it.  

Her entire life, Weiss thought of Myrtenaster as a tool more than anything else.  Sure, she was fond of it, but thought that that fondness grew out of familiarity rather than emotional attachment.  But to Ruby...well, Ruby treated the rapier as a living, breathing being.  Weiss had actually caught Ruby whispering to it while she worked for hours on end to ensure it was absolutely, breathtakingly perfect.  

And it was.  It was lighter, the mixer stopped jamming, and that odd click when she used red Dust had finally been found and silenced.

Those were the first of many improvements Ruby made for Weiss.  Then Ruby blazed through the rest of their class - fixing quirks, solving problems, and adding functionality beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.  Weiss had whined that if Ruby kept upgrading the other team's weapons, they would be in danger of losing their place at the top of the class - to which Ruby cheerfully replied that then they’d all be that much better at fighting Grimm.

It was one of the many instances where Ruby effortlessly reminded Weiss that the greater good came before her own prestige and success.  Being around Ruby, Weiss had slowly grown to realize how focused she was on herself - on being the best, the brightest, the fastest.  Beacon wasn’t about helping others - it was about helping herself, providing her a platform on which to prove she was worthy of her family name.  

But then she spent every waking second with someone who would become the best and was, very literally, the fastest.  The prodigy.  The youngest trainee in Beacon’s fabled history.  And Ruby only ever thought about everyone else - how they could all improve, together.  How they could make the world a better place, together.

Ruby never thought of Weiss as petty, even though she was.

“You can’t let her go back out there,” Weiss pleaded with Yang, feeling a wave of desperation wash over her.  Ruby couldn’t fight again.  She couldn’t be hurt again.  There was no way Weiss could survive another heartbreak.  “You can’t risk her life again.”

“She’ll be just fine,” Blake assured her.

“You can’t know that!” she argued.  “You know there’s no way to guarantee anyone’s safety out there!”

Shaking her head, Yang’s expression was set with a frown.

“You gave up the right to have a say in her life when you left.”

An old, familiar feeling was clawing inside of Weiss - that refusal to give up, that desperate need to survive by any means necessary.  She couldn’t allow this to happen.  Ruby’s life could very well depend on it.  Ruby’s spark was too good and too pure and too magical to be wasted because of some childhood dream.  Someone needed to protect her, even if that meant from herself.

“I won’t let you go,” Weiss said flatly as resolve built in her chest.  The reply only made Yang scoff in amusement.

“And how are you going to stop us?  Sorry to point it out, Weiss, but you kinda have no say in this.”

“Yes I do have a say,” she whispered forcibly in return, leaning forward so that Yang could hear her.  “She’s my -”

The word on the tip of her tongue remained there as she froze mid-sentence.  It was too late though - Yang’s eyes were already narrowed and filling with clouds.

“She’s your what, Weiss?” Yang repeated, daring Weiss to finish that sentence.

Cracks were appearing in the resolve she’d managed to build up, threatening to undermine her determination.  Besides Ruby’s name, there was one word she hadn’t allowed herself to use since that fateful night...and she couldn’t believe she’d been about to say it out loud.

Keeping her mouth firmly shut, she shook her head.  The action only seemed to prove something that Yang had expected.

“Until I see that ring back on her finger, she’s nothing more than a friend to you,” Yang hissed back, jabbing a finger in the direction of the garage, as if Weiss needed to know who she was referring to.

Setting her jaw stubbornly and tilting her chin up, Weiss refused to nod her head at that statement.  Ruby was not just her friend.  Ruby was her everything.  Even if Ruby didn’t remember, Weiss did.  She remembered everything - and those were memories that couldn’t be taken away from her.

“Weiss, she’s ready,” Blake added softly, setting one hand on Yang’s shoulder in an effort to diffuse her anger.  “She can sense me.  She can’t explain it, but she never could, could she?  Somehow she knows where I am when she shouldn’t and reacts to it.”

The knowledge made Weiss pause, but she was still frowning.  If Ruby could sense Blake, that implied that her incredible instincts remained intact.  But instinct would only take someone so far.  

How could Weiss make them see that Ruby wasn’t ready?  How could she make them understand that being able to fight in the confines of a yard was nowhere near the same as in the middle of a forest, with help always a few minutes too far away?  

“I want to spar her,” she said, trying to sound resolute even though she knew she had very little in terms of bargaining power.  “I want to see for myself.”

The request immediately perked Yang’s interest - cheered her up, even.

“That sounds fun.”  

“And -” Weiss added emphatically.  “If I can beat her - you’ll delay this ill-advised adventure of yours.”

“Sure,” Yang said with a shake of her head that clearly said she wasn’t expecting to have to hold up her end of the bargain.  “If you beat her, then maybe she has some more learning to do.  But if she wins, you back off.”

As the two of them locked eyes, Weiss could feel the tension rising again.  But when Weiss nodded in agreement, Yang broke into a disconcerting grin that diffused the moment. 

At least Weiss had gotten what she wanted.  Well, not exactly.  What she wanted was for no one to ever consider taking Ruby near a Grimm for the rest of their natural lives.  Since that seemed to be off the table at the moment, at least she had a chance to delay this hunt.  If she could beat Ruby, it would force Yang to reconsider.

A breeze blew into the kitchen and, as soon as Ruby slowed to a manageable speed, Yang caught her by one arm and wrapped her up in a giant hug.  While Yang rustled her little sister’s brunette hair all over the place, Ruby wiggled around and whined, “Yanggg!”

“We were talking about you!” Yang said when finally releasing Ruby.  “How you can throw down with the best of us,” Yang elaborated, throwing what looked like a very real jab towards Ruby’s cheek.  A blink and Ruby ducked the blow and threw two of her own into Yang’s side.  Yang hardly flinched at the contact, instead laughing in that pleased way she had.

“Hey, what do you think about sparring Weiss?”

“Are you serious?” Ruby practically squealed, turning towards Weiss with big silver eyes.

“Yeah, I think you can teach her a thing or two,” Yang added, sending a smirk Weiss’ way.

“I’d love to!” 

“Maybe not tonight, but you can still look at Myrtenaster,” Weiss quickly added.  Having only come over here expecting to invite her teammates to the Dust facility, she didn’t think she was mentally or physically prepared to fight Ruby at this moment.  Maybe not ever, but certainly not right now.

“Myrtenaster…” Ruby repeated, causing Weiss’ breath catch in her throat in alarm.  “Oh, I’ll go make some room on the bench!  And then you can call your locker, yeah?”

Quietly breathing a sigh of relief, Weiss nodded her agreement before watching Ruby buzz happily out of the room.

“What kind of hunt is it?” she whispered before Ruby had even disappeared.

“We found a private contract that only needs two,” Blake explained just as quietly.  “Not too deep in the forest, so there shouldn’t be anything too crazy around.”

“Basic retrieval,” Yang added nonchalantly.  “In through the roof, out through the roof - the whole thing is done in ten minutes.  Blake and I could do it in our sleep - having Ruby around will only make it easier.”

“We probably won’t even see a Grimm, but at least Ruby will feel like she’s doing something,” Blake concluded, giving Weiss a sympathetic smile.

“Weiss, I’m ready!  Let’s call in Myrtenaster!” Ruby called out before racing through the room towards the backyard, oblivious to anything they were talking about.  Sighing, Weiss moved to follow Ruby outside, pulling out her scroll so that she could summon her locker to their location.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she whispered while leaving the two girls behind.

They’d already gotten Ruby’s hopes up - if they said she couldn’t go now, she would be crushed.  She’d spent so much time rehabilitating from her injuries...which Weiss couldn’t even begin to fathom the difficulty of undertaking.  She’d created a masterpiece to bridge the gap from where her recovery left off to being full strength once again.  It didn’t take much for Weiss to understand that Ruby had poured her heart and soul into reaching this goal of hers.

But if Yang let Ruby go back into the forest…

That just couldn’t happen.  As much as Weiss loved Ruby and loved to see her happy, she loved Ruby too much to put her in that type of danger again.  Weiss knew that Ruby had dreamed of becoming a huntress ever since she was a little girl.  She wanted to follow in her mom’s footsteps.  She wanted to help people.  She wanted to save the world.  

But Ruby had already achieved that dream.  Ruby had already been a huntress.  She’d saved countless lives.  She’d saved the world and then saved it again.  She’d achieved everything she’d dreamed of...and she’d nearly died as a result.  

There was no way Weiss could stand by and watch her partner chase that same dream over again.  Not when she’d seen how it ended the first time.  So Ruby was either not going to go...or Weiss was going to be glued to her side the entire time.

But first - Myrtenaster.