Boundless - Ch. 3 (Patreon)
Content
Letting out a quick huff of air, Ruby motioned with one hand before dropping it to the table.
“Ok, so like, if what you’re saying is true, then…” Ruby’s words trailed off as her eyes unfocused into the distance. After several seconds of silence, she shook her head and met Weiss’ gaze. “Then we’ve been together like...millions of times.”
“Yes.”
Weiss smiled at the summary, which was only the beginning of the story. They’d been together millions of times, across millions of universes, but it wasn’t as trivial as that. They’d been in love millions of times, for millions more years.
Through it all, Weiss never grew tired of the relationships they shared. If anything, she craved Ruby more and more with each passing life. She needed Ruby, and she liked to think that Ruby needed her - that they needed each other to live a full and complete life.
“Ok, uh...I just...I’ll be right back.”
The chair scraped against the ground as Ruby abruptly stood and hurried into the restaurant, leaving Weiss sitting at the table by herself. A slight bubble of worry grew in her chest at the sudden departure, as she finally considered that it might have been a mistake to tell Ruby right away. Maybe she should’ve done what she normally did - play the waiting game, lay a foundation through small conversations and interactions, become friends, and then - after days, weeks, or months of waiting - finally ask Ruby on a date. There was nothing wrong with that plan, besides the extensive waiting time involved.
...she was willing to wait lifetimes for Ruby, but her impatience showed through today - along with her never-ending greed for Ruby’s affection.
But the signs were all there. She was positive that Ruby could handle the news right away. It was always a bit of a struggle, at least initially, but Ruby was probably more accepting than even she realized. Knowing this, there was no way Weiss could’ve left the restaurant without making a meaningful effort to move their relationship forward. If this ultimately set them back...it was worth the risk.
If Ruby wouldn’t accept the idea today, how long would it set them back? A day? A week? Several months?
Leaning back in her chair, Weiss sighed and tapped the side of her water glass while lost in thought. Her eyes never left the restaurant, but she couldn’t see Ruby through windows anymore, not with the afternoon sun now reflecting back at her.
For the briefest moment, she thought that Ruby ran - using the back exit of the restaurant and making a hasty escape from the conversation. However, the idea barely entered Weiss’ thoughts before she dismissed it.
Maybe it was overwhelming, but Ruby had participated in the stories. She was involved and curious about what happened and how things worked. If she hadn’t been, Weiss might worry. But she wasn’t worried. Instead, her only concern was that her haste might have delayed their happy ending.
Why was she so hasty this time around? The answer must lurk somewhere in her upbringing - the culmination of a multitude of factors too difficult and abstract to quantify. She grew up with cold and distant parents, which wasn’t unusual, and she became jaded with the concept of love quite early.
But what was it about this life that led her to rule out romance so early? The only theory she had was that it had something to do with Winter’s absence - her older sister spending Weiss’ entire childhood away from home. As a result, they weren’t as close as they normally were, and Weiss lost the one source of love she would have known growing up.
Until her 18th birthday, when she discovered a love she never believed to exist.
So yes - she was patient, but impatient. She would wait for Ruby until the end of time, but she was willing to take a risk with the potential reward of skipping forward a few steps. She wanted to move them closer to where they’d just left off...
Spotting a dash of movement exiting the restaurant, Weiss sat straighter when Ruby re-appeared on the patio. In one hand, she was carrying a plate with an empty glass balanced on its edge, while her other hand held a pitcher of water.
Any worry Weiss had felt disappeared when Ruby showed little hesitation navigating through the tables, being careful to avoid the chairs before finally rejoining Weiss. After setting the plate down - which carried the remainder of Weiss’ sandwich and a fresh pile of French fries - Ruby filled her empty glass with water and quickly drank half of it.
“Sorry, I just kinda freaked out,” Ruby admitted while filling her glass again. “And then I got really thirsty.”
The honesty was refreshing, and a confirmation that Weiss made the correct decision. If Ruby freaked out, yet her only response was to slip away for a few minutes and immediately return, that was a very good sign.
“That’s ok,” Weiss replied, smiling when Ruby reached over and refilled Weiss’ water, too. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Ruby took another long drink from her glass before setting it down with a content sigh. “I’m also starving,” she said before taking a bite of the sandwich.
Weiss smiled, but internally kicked herself for not suggesting that Ruby get something to eat before they started their conversation. She knew how often Ruby needed to eat, especially in a stressful or uncertain situation - the mere process of eating calmed her, in a way.
“I know this is a lot to comprehend -” Weiss said, but Ruby waved her hand and quickly swallowed the bite in her mouth.
“I mean, it’s not really hard to understand,” she replied. “You’ve seen like a gazillion universes, and we’re supposed to be together in each one. Like soulmates or something like that. So you get a rose, you get the memories, and then you come find me.”
“Essentially.”
The summation was a little basic but covered the most important points.
“Are you maybe a little, I dunno...” Lowering the sandwich, Ruby used one finger and whirled it around in the air near her ear.
“Crazy?” Weiss asked before shaking her head. “No. I’ve had myself checked several times.”
In some lives, the memories were impossible to believe, but also impossible to ignore. There were times she would see someone to ensure she wasn’t losing her sanity, but she always left those appointments feeling more certain than before.
If there were only a few extra memories, it might be harder to believe. But she didn’t have only a few extra memories. She had lifetimes upon lifetimes of memories, all of them revolving around the same person - who was good enough and wonderful enough to turn around even the worst of lives.
If going insane meant witnessing innumerable lives filled with love and laughter, Weiss would gladly accept the label.
“I mean, you don’t seem crazy, so that’s good,” Ruby replied before sticking several French fries in her mouth. She immediately made a noise like she wanted to keep talking, but chewed and swallowed first. “Have you ever thought that maybe you’ve got the wrong person?”
“The wrong person?” Weiss asked, tilting her head to one side at the unexpected question.
“Yeah! Like, maybe I’m not the person you’re looking for. Maybe all your memories and stuff are trying to lead you to a different person somewhere.”
The idea very nearly made Weiss laugh, but she held her amusement at bay.
She was confident that Ruby was the one. She felt it in every fiber of her being, especially now that they were together again. It was as if her heart sang in Ruby’s presence, waking from its slumber and rejoicing now that its beating was needed once more.
There was no one else in the world who could make Weiss feel this way - that’s how she knew that Ruby was the one. And there was no way Ruby would ever convince her otherwise.
“Your name is Ruby Rose, right?” she asked.
“Yeah...but what if I had a twin?”
The response actually made Weiss sit back in her seat, shocked by the thought of two versions of Ruby existing at the same time. Ruby never had a twin - which probably meant she was too unique to have any form of duplicate - but what if she did? What if there were two? Would they act similarly? Would they both be incredible, lovable bundles of energy?
Before her mind went crazy over the idea, Weiss shook her head and smiled. Two versions of Ruby would not be a bad thing...but she was more than happy with just the one.
“Do you have a twin?” she asked, but Ruby shook her head.
“No, I’m just saying - what if I did? Then how would you know?”
“Would you both be named Ruby?”
Ruby snorted with laughter at the question - the sound bringing an instant smile to Weiss’ lips. She loved it when Ruby laughed…
“Ruby-one and Ruby-two?” Ruby said before giggling at the thought. The moment was a vision of the real Ruby slipping through - the relaxed, comfortable version that wasn’t shocked by some stranger insisting upon being her soulmate.
That was the version Weiss wanted to see, only all of the time.
“I’m positive you’re the right person,” she said, feeling the conviction behind the words.
“But, l mean...there’s nothing special about me.”
Whenever someone dared make a similar comment about Ruby, Weiss had them arrested, fired, displaced, removed from the building, and several times she’d personally punched them in the face, stomped on their foot, or elbowed them in the stomach.
Nothing angered her more than someone suggesting that Ruby was anything less than extraordinary. But when Ruby voiced doubt in herself...a much different course of action was required.
“You are special,” Weiss replied, hearing a firmness in her tone that would hopefully convince Ruby to believe the words. “You’re incredibly special. You have such a kind heart and soul, and you’re constantly going out of your way to help others.”
“Eh…” Shrugging one shoulder, Ruby seemed entirely unconvinced by that argument. “Not any more than someone else though.”
“l just watched you help that other waitress with all of her tables,” Weiss said, her eyes flitting in the direction of the orange-haired server. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“l know, but Penny’s new! And she’s a little awkward around people. I like to help her greet her tables, and then she takes it from there.”
“There aren’t many people who would do that, Ruby. Especially not when they have their own jobs to do. You go out of your way to help her, and I think she appreciates it more than you realize.”
Ruby glanced away from the table, but sighed. It was evident in her expression that she wasn’t entirely persuaded by Weiss’ argument, but that was fine. Weiss had the rest of their lives to convince Ruby that she was special in ways others were not.
After staring off into space for a few seconds, Ruby shook her head and turned back to the conversation at hand.
“If what you’re saying is true, and we’re soulmates...then we’re like, supposed to be together?”
“That’s right.”
Letting out another soft scoff, Ruby slumped in her seat. “That’s just...really hard to believe. I mean, I haven’t even had a relationship yet, and now I have a soulmate??”
When Ruby shook her head yet again, Weiss thought it might be a good idea to back away from the conversation. Clearly, Ruby was struggling to accept the knowledge at the moment, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad sign - it could mean she needed a little more time to soak it in.
“Would it help if we talked about something else?” Weiss suggested, smiling when her question was met with a sigh of relief.
“Yes - please. Like, I dunno...tell me about yourself?” Ruby asked. “Like, not this stuff, but...where you’re from? That type of stuff?”
To Weiss, that topic of conversation was rather boring - who cared where she grew up when the two of them were destined by the cosmos to be together? However, she understood that comfort was found in small talk, and she wanted Ruby to be comfortable.
“I live in Atlas,” she explained. “I grew up there, went to school there, and started working at my family’s company as soon as I graduated from college.”
“What’s your family’s company?”
“We own a few manufacturing centers in and out of Atlas,” Weiss answered, leaving out the full scope of the company so as not to give Ruby any reason to feel intimidated by wealth. “We deal mostly in defense and metals, so nothing you’d be likely to use,” she added before Ruby asked what the company manufactured.
“Oh. That sounds...fun?”
“Not really, but it provided me with the means to search for you. And for that, I’m grateful.”
Weiss realized, too late, that she’d somehow found a way to bring the conversation back to Ruby. She hadn’t known that was a skill of hers until just now - however, Ruby ducked the comment and picked at the food on her plate.
“What do you like to do though?” she asked, rather skillfully directing the conversation away from herself. “Like, hobbies?”
The question was more difficult to answer than it should have been. What were Weiss’ hobbies? Did she have any? It was hard to remember what she’d been like before her eighteenth birthday now that this life was muddled with all the others. What types of activities had she enjoyed? What pastimes did she partake in?
All she knew was that ever since that day, her entire existence revolved around finding Ruby. When she was at school, she searched for Ruby in her free time. After graduation, she searched for Ruby when she was free from work.
“l like to sing,” she finally answered, pulling together some interests that had spanned multiple universes. “I play piano when I can. I read often, but mostly the news or current events.” The last hobby was directly related to Ruby - a tireless quest that never ended. “But my favorite thing to do is…”
Feeling a pinprick of embarrassment, Weiss paused when she realized she was doing it again - she was directing the conversation back to Ruby. Maybe that was the real answer here - maybe Weiss’ favorite hobby was discussing Ruby.
“My favorite thing to do is spend time with you,” she said anyway, wanting Ruby to hear this from her now. “Walking around and talking about anything. You always make such great observations on other people and the world.”
This time, Ruby didn’t avoid the conversation. Instead, she smiled.
“Yang calls it ‘spazzy insight,’” she replied, the term making Weiss chuckle and shake her head.
“I haven’t heard it called that before, but that sounds about right.”
‘Spazzy insight’ was going in her Dictionary of Ruby for future use. It was the perfect term to describe Ruby’s view of the world - equal parts innocent and surprisingly insightful. Sometimes it felt like Ruby understood life on a level no one else could reach - sometimes it felt like Ruby didn’t understand life at all.
“What about you?” Weiss asked. “What hobbies do you have?”
It seemed like a normal question for their normal conversation, but Ruby’s response was to stare in surprise before finally asking, “Uh, but shouldn’t you know everything about me already?”
The misconception was a common one - common enough that Weiss smiled as they fell into one of the multitude of grooves in their relationship.
“l know everything about the previous versions of you, but you have different likes and interests in every case. There are threads of similarity, but...I’d like to know what you like.”
There were many similarities, but every version of Ruby was unique. How could she not be, when her personality was composed of too many facets to count? There was no ‘one size fits all’ when it came to Ruby, and Weiss loved it this way. She loved learning each and every difference - some so small it took years to realize they were even there, some so glaring she noticed them right away.
Every version of Ruby deserved to be treated as special, and Weiss made sure it was that way.
“Oh, uh…” Trailing off, Ruby seemed to have as much difficulty thinking of an answer as Weiss had. “Well, I like to watch movies…”
“What kind of movies?”
When Ruby let out a nervous chuckle at the question, Weiss had a good idea what was coming next.
“I like these really crappy horror movies,” Ruby explained, her eyes sparkling in delight just thinking about the subject. “Yang hates them, but I love ‘em - maybe because they’re so crappy.”
Chuckling as well, Weiss filed that information away for future use. The admission, however, was a common one. She had no idea why Ruby was so prone to enjoying hellaciously awful movies, but Weiss had also developed a certain affinity for them by this point. Although, that affinity could have sprung out of Ruby’s insistence upon watching them.
Cheesy horror films reminded Weiss of Ruby, which meant that she loved watching them, too - which meant she’d spent the last few years watching the worst films to never grace the theater. It was less fun to watch alone, but she found some sense of comfort in knowing that Ruby might be watching the same movie at the same time.
“Does that mean you’ve seen Super Zombie Slayers 6?” Weiss asked, picking one of the most popular movies amongst the awful and smiling when Ruby gasped in surprise.
“Yes! It’s only one of the most awesome movies ever! I just watched it again last weekend, actually. The best part was when that guy emptied that box of grenades into that pit of zombies.”
Weiss’ nose crinkled at the memory of that particular scene - which was tremendously flawed from a logistics perspective - but she still chuckled at Ruby’s enthusiasm.
“Yes, that was...particularly gruesome.” Her diplomatic answer made Ruby laugh, which only made Weiss’ smile grow.
“I can’t believe you’ve seen that movie!” Ruby added. “You totally don’t strike me as a Super Zombie fan.”
“I don’t know if I’d call myself a fan…”
“Have you seen the first five?”
“Well, yes -”
“Then you’re a fan! No one watches those movies unless they’re a huge fan - or they’re forced to, like Yang.”
When Ruby burst into giggles, Weiss couldn’t help but to join in with laughter - both amused by the conversation and relieved that Ruby’s struggle with their prior topic was easing away. A break from the weighty subject was probably exactly what Ruby needed.
And, remarkably, the Super Zombie franchise provided just a means of relaxing their conversation. Who would’ve thought those films would be useful for something? That was ten hours of corny dialogue and over-the-top gore well spent.
“The seventh one will be out soon!” Ruby said, coming to life over this strange topic.
“How do they make them so quickly?” Weiss asked, smiling when Ruby giggled and shook her head.
“I dunno...they probably skip editing or something to save time.”
“Well that makes a lot of sense…” Weiss mumbled, and she had every intention of asking Ruby to go see this seventh installment of a lousy film series, but thought better of it. There would be a time for that later - right now, she wanted to see where the conversation went from here.
“What else do you like to do?” Weiss asked, her heart soaring at Ruby’s abundantly cheerful demeanor. “When you’re not watching horror movies, I mean.”
“Well, I work a lot...oh, and I like to draw!” Picking up one of her French fries, Ruby moved it across her plate like a pen before biting the end off.
“What do you draw?”
“Uh, mostly designs and stuff…nothing too fancy.”
Sensing that there was more to that answer, Weiss waited patiently for Ruby to continue. Because she was capable of being patient sometimes.
“l make these little metal trinket things,” Ruby explained, motioning with her hands as if she could make one appear at the table before giving up and shaking her head. “l tinker with stuff, basically,” she concluded.
Ruby’s tone implied that her hobby was nothing special, but Weiss was willing to wager a large sum of money that it was actually exceptional. When Ruby put her mind to something, it always turned out remarkable - these were likely no different.
“I’d love to see them sometime,” Weiss said, noticing Ruby’s surprise at her interest.
“Really? I mean, they’re just...toys.”
Shrugging off the insinuation, Weiss smiled. “I’d still love to see them.”
At first, it looked like Ruby didn’t know how to take the response, but then she smiled too.
“Ok, then maybe I’ll show you sometime!”
The words were music to Weiss’ ears. It might not be a full commitment to spend more time together, but it was a step in the right direction.
For a moment, the two of them just smiled at one another, and Weiss could feel that the tension had lifted - a fact that grew all the more evident when Ruby blushed and looked down at her plate.
“Oh, sorry, did you want some??” she suddenly asked, pushing the plate across the table while Weiss waved one hand to decline the offer.
“I’m alright,” she said, laughing softly at Ruby’s flustered behavior. “I just ate.”
“Oh, right. Duh.”
As Ruby pulled the food back towards her, Weiss watched with what must be a permanent smile set in place. She’d already known that Ruby was adorable, but remembering that Ruby was adorable versus experiencing it firsthand were two completely different things.
If Ruby was willing, Weiss wanted the two of them to leave here together and never be apart again. Of course, she needed to do a little more explaining first, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t allowed to wish.
“So…” Ruby said, tapping her index fingers together before meeting Weiss’ eyes. “You get all these memories, then try to find me so you can tell me?”
“That right,” Weiss answered, encouraged by Ruby directing them back to this subject on her own.
“I wonder who sends you the rose though...” Ruby mused, her brow adorably furrowed while she tried to puzzle through the mystery.
Weiss smiled - because of the expression and because she’d also spent many hours across multiple lives puzzling out the answer.
“Honestly, I think it’s still you,” she remarked, drawing a surprised gaze.
“Me?”
“Yes. I think that, somehow, there’s a version of yourself that transcends all of this -” Weiss waved a hand at the patio of the restaurant, the other diners, and the pedestrians passing by. “l think you’re watching over everything and making sure I get the rose when I’m supposed to.”
“So there’s two versions of me? One all-powerful and then...me?”
Weiss shook her head. “That’s only a theory. I’ve never fully understood how this works. The only thing I know is that it does work.”
Nodding, Ruby thought about the situation for a few more seconds before her eyes widened with a thought.
“Then the other me is all alone?” she asked, gesturing towards the sky as she spoke. “Isn’t that kind of sad?”
“Maybe you’re not alone,” Weiss was quick to add. “Maybe I’m there too, and we’re both watching the other versions of ourselves bumble around down here.”
The thought made Ruby giggle - and the more the sound appeared, the more Weiss’ heart beat with happiness. As far as she was concerned, nothing in the world was better than Ruby’s laugh or smile.
“I wonder if we can mess with ourselves then,” Ruby said, shifting in her seat with a playful smile on her lips. “Like, can I make myself spill this glass of water?”
Pausing, Ruby stared at her glass of water - waiting for it to fall over. When it did nothing but sit on the table, she relaxed back into a smile and shrugged. “Or maybe we just watch.”
A normal person might miss what was happening, but Weiss’ heart was soaring with love and affection. Now that the initial shock had worn off, Ruby was participating in the theories. She was imagining herself in a different form than she had now - as some ethereal being watching over her earthly life. She was willing to imagine herself as the person Weiss knew she was, which meant they might be close to that all important acceptance of this new reality.
“So we’ve had this conversation like a thousand times?” Ruby asked. “Where I freak out and think you’ve got the wrong person - all that stuff?”
“Sometimes,” Weiss replied, unable to contain her smile now that the Ruby was participating so willingly in this conversation. “But there are times you don’t freak out at all.”
“You mean, I’m just like - ‘We’re soulmates? Cool.’”
“It’s not quite like that,” Weiss began, calling one of those memories to mind. “It’s more like...you’re already willing to believe what I have to say because you trust me that much.”
“Huh…” Thinking over the explanation, Ruby eventually asked the question Weiss was hoping for. “How does that happen?”
“Sometimes we already know each other when I find out,” Weiss explained, her smile growing as she thought about this one life in particular. “And sometimes we’re already in a relationship.”
“Really??”
“Really,” Weiss replied, adding a nod of assurance.
“But...what do you do then? Tell me as soon as you turn eighteen?”
“It depends,” she said with a subtle shake of her head. “Remember - when I turn eighteen, you’re only sixteen. Most of the time, I wait until we’re both older, so that we’re ready for that type of...commitment.”
Ruby’s cheeks reddened at the word, but Weiss had no regrets in using it. It was a commitment, plain and simple. A lifelong commitment to one another - and then each and every life after that. To some, it was far too great an obligation to make to any one person, but Weiss made that promise without hesitation time and time again.
“How do I take it then?” Ruby asked, waving one hand in subtle encouragement for Weiss to explain further. And Weiss was more than willing to continue her stories, knowing that each subsequent one Ruby heard was another step in the right direction.
“Sometimes, you hardly bat an eye,” Weiss said, taking a sip of her water before smiling across the table, ready to start her next story - ready to share another story of another wonderful life they’d shared.