What Defines Us - Ch. 27 (Patreon)

What a difference one day and one difficult conversation could make.  Yesterday, when Weiss had shown up at this small home in this cozy little neighborhood, she’d fully expected to be berated - as she deserved.  Instead...she might have gotten one of her closest friends back.

There was still a long road ahead to truly atone for what she’d done, but knowing that Yang was willing to forgive and put the past behind them was more reassuring than Weiss could’ve ever imagined.  It lifted an incredible amount of stress from her shoulders. It made her feel like she could walk up the pathway to the front door without worrying about who might be inside. 

She no longer wondered when Yang would erupt and throw her out of the house, but that didn’t mean she felt any fewer nerves than usual.  Knowing that Ruby was within shouting distance seemed to have this effect on Weiss - elevating her heart rate and blood pressure while making her palms undeniably clammy.  Not exactly the most flattering of qualities, but hopefully Ruby would continue to be none the wiser to her ability to turn Weiss’ normally steadfast composure on its head.  Especially on a day like today, which felt a bit more monumental than reality might suggest.

They were going out to dinner tonight - just the two of them.  Weiss still couldn’t believe that Ruby had agreed so easily to the invitation.  Of course, what reason would Ruby have to decline? It wasn’t as if Weiss had called it a date or implied that it would be anything more intimate.  It was simply a dinner. Between friends.

Exhaling slowly, wishing the exiting air would take some of her nerves with it, Weiss reached the front stoop and waited patiently.  By now, she’d learned that there was no reason even to attempt knocking within the first few seconds of arriving. If Blake was home, the door would open within a few seconds -

The door unlatched at that very moment, and Blake stood behind it, casually motioning Weiss inside.

And into a flower-filled wonderland.  

Her feet gingerly stepped forward while her eyes drank in every corner of the small rooms beyond, wondering how the vision before her could possibly be real.  There were rose petals everywhere.  Spots of red covered every surface - the sofa, the tables, the cabinets, the floors - no horizontal space had been spared a drop of red.  And, in the case of the floor, there was a thin layer piled up that swished with her feet as she walked. 

Visually, it was beyond magnificent...and the smell lingering in the air was more than heavenly.  It tried to pull Weiss away from this reality and into another - one where Ruby was most likely hiding somewhere, waiting to surprise Weiss with a gift.

However, the atmosphere in this current reality was far more subdued than it should be from all the obvious cheer spread about.  Standing by the kitchen table and looking rather pensive, Yang gripped the back of a chair like it was the only thing keeping her upright.  

“Ruby’s getting ready,” Blake explained before moving to Yang’s side, standing close enough that their hips were just barely touching.  It was a gesture familiar in more ways than one, but the two girls always did this when one or both of them needed support.

“Alright…” Weiss replied slowly, taking hesitant steps further into the house.  She didn’t know what the cause for such a strained mood was, and wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, but…

“What’s going on?”

The question spurred Yang into motion.

“I’m guessing you got an invitation too,” Yang replied, reaching over the chair and picking up a familiar envelope before flipping it carelessly back onto the table.  Weiss’ eyes flitted from Yang to the envelope then back again.

“Like a month ago.  Why?”

Yang glanced at Blake, who nodded almost imperceptibly.  They always did this too - some kind of nonverbal communication where gestures meant as much as words.  It used to drive Weiss crazy...until she and Ruby had developed the same talent. Now it only made an ache of longing appear in her chest.

Having received whatever advice or encouragement she was searching for, Yang sighed and turned back to Weiss.

“JNPR had to drop out.”  Picking up the envelope once more, Yang ran one finger along its edge while her brow furrowed.  “So Goodwitch sent Ruby another invitation.”

“And?” Weiss asked, not sure what Yang was trying to get at.

“And you should come.”

“...excuse me?”

Of all the things she thought Yang might say, that hadn’t even breached her mind.  The Beacon Invitational? Bringing back the graduated teams to compete against waves of simulated Atlesians and Grimm to prove who was ‘best.’  A team reunion.  As in, the team Ruby had no idea Weiss had been a part of.

That was a completely ludicrous idea.  At least that was Weiss’ thought, but Yang was nodding her head.

“You should be there.  As a member of Team RWBY.”

Turning from Yang to Blake and back again, Weiss waited for one of them to say that they were kidding - that this was some joke they were trying to pull in order to freak her out.  Because it was working. 

But when neither of them cracked so much as a miniscule smile, she decided to press them.

“You’re kidding, right?  How is that even remotely a good idea?”

“Ruby wants to go.  She’s hoping our 4th teammate will be there,” Yang explained carefully.  “She wants to meet her - you.”

“And when she finds out I’ve been lying to her this whole time?”

“You haven’t been lying to her.  You just haven’t told her the whole story.”  For once, Yang spoke slowly, calmly, as if she didn’t want to set Weiss off into another argument.  

Maybe Yang didn’t want to argue about this, but Weiss absolutely did.

“I finally feel like we’re close again,” she replied in a forceful whisper, not wanting Ruby to overhear them.  “I don’t want to lose that for some stupid reunion. I don't want to hurt her.”

“I don’t want her to be disappointed,” Yang immediately countered.  “But this wasn’t our decision, Weiss - it’s Ruby’s. She’s got it in her head that she wants to go, and you know there’s no way we’re talking her out of it.  Plus, there’s no reason she can’t go - she’s healthy and willing. So Blake and I are going with her, and you should be there too.”

Mouth agape at what she was hearing, Weiss stared at the two girls standing in front of her.  Back to Beacon? Back to the place where this all began? She hadn’t been there in such a long time - there was always too much to do and then, when there had been time, there were too many memories in those halls for her to set foot near them.

“She’ll understand, Weiss,” Blake added quietly.  “She understands what happened to her mind. She understands why, as strangers, we couldn’t just tell her what her life was like.  She won’t hold it against you.”

“And she trusts you,” Yang said.  “For some reason, she puts all her faith in you.  Look how easy it was for you to waltz back in here and win her over.  Even at Beacon, she adored you when you were insulting her. You weren’t even nice to her for like the first month we were there!”

“I hope there’s a point to this,” Weiss mumbled with narrowed eyes, making Yang sigh like Weiss was missing some obvious explanation.

“She’s always seen something in you when no one else did.  If you think that’ll change just because you didn’t tell her that you’re her partner and...everything else...then maybe you don’t know her as well as you think you do.”

Pursing her lips, Weiss crossed her arms over her chest and tapped one foot on the floor.  How badly she wished she could refute Yang’s claim, but it was absolutely correct. It always felt like Ruby saw Weiss - not the ‘princess’ exterior, not the accomplishments, not the money - but who she really was, and who she was capable of being.  Somehow Ruby only saw the good parts in Weiss, something only Winter had been capable of up to that point in her life. 

Winter was family though. Ruby could’ve easily written Weiss off like everyone else seemed to do, but she hadn’t.  In every look, every smile, and every word of encouragement, Ruby showed that she believed in something deeper than appearances and first, second, or third impressions.

Weiss loved being the person Ruby looked at in that way, and she’d done everything in her power to become someone worthy of those glances.  But she was scared. What if she didn’t know Ruby as well as she thought she did? Or worse, what if Ruby no longer saw those good traits in Weiss?  What if those had disappeared - fading over time as her strength had?

“The Invite is this weekend,” she finally said.  “How will you ever be prepared in time?”

“We won’t be.  But that’s always part of the fun, isn’t it?” Yang replied with a slight grin.  “And Ruby’s good enough to fight those simulations - no problem.”

Yang was crazy.  Certifiably crazy.  Taking Ruby back to Beacon?  Letting her fight? After everything that had happened -

A breeze preemptively announced Ruby’s presence before she shot into the kitchen and slid to a stop in front of Weiss.  A wave of petals gently brushed into her - causing her to temporarily close her eyes and relish the smell of fresh roses.  When she opened her eyes again, Ruby was beaming happily.

And Weiss’ heart sped up - all thoughts of Beacon temporarily pushed from her mind.  

Ruby was dressed up.  Nicely dressed up.

“Weiss!  Sorry I’m late - I needed a shower big time!”  As if to prove this point, Ruby shook her head, throwing the slightly damp strands into disarray...which somehow looked even better with her outfit.  

It was rare to catch Ruby in anything other than combat gear or pajamas - like finding an albino Grimm in the forest.  But why had she dressed up? Did she do it because she thought this was...a date? Was it? Weiss wanted it to be, but because she’d never actually said the word she thought it was vague enough for Ruby not to make that conclusion.

“Don’t worry.  I don’t mind waiting,” Weiss managed to reply with a smile that tugged larger when Ruby beamed back.  It was an unshakable impulse to smile whenever Ruby looked even remotely happy - and if it was Weiss who somehow made Ruby smile...even better.  

“You look...fantastic,” Weiss added with a blush that only grew when Ruby looked moderately embarrassed in return.

“Yeah, wow, Ruby,” Yang finally spoke up, suddenly looking much more normal with a smirk on her lips.  “What’re you expect-”

Yang’s inevitable tease cut short when Blake abruptly caught her chin and turned her to the side for a kiss.  Weiss used the few seconds of silence to steal another glance at Ruby - her cheeks flushing even more when she did so.  Red was such a great color on Ruby...and that certainly hadn’t changed with time.

Only after Blake released her did Yang cough lightly into her hand and turn back to them.

“Have a good dinner!” she chirped, sliding one arm around Blake’s waist and pulling her close.  “Ruby, you totally don’t need to rush home or anything.  Like seriously, take your time.”

Only after rolling her eyes at Yang did Weiss turn back to Ruby and gesture towards the door.

“Are you ready?”

Nodding enthusiastically, Ruby suddenly disappeared in a cloud of petals that flew out the front door and down the sidewalk.  Confused by the rush, Weiss turned back to Blake and Yang - who both chuckled at her expression.

“Today’s the first day she’s been allowed to use her semblance since the hospital,” Blake explained.

“Hope you didn’t plan anything involving a lot of walking,” Yang added with another laugh.  Smiling and shaking her head, Weiss turned and walked out the front door to track Ruby down.  

It was impossible to keep Ruby still for more than a few minutes at a time - that was one of the reasons why Weiss was so impressed by Ruby’s ability to sit through the entire movie last night without getting up once.  But a couple of days without the use of her semblance...of course she’d be running everywhere. She’d probably been bouncing off the walls all day, too.

“How are you feeling?” Weiss asked when she caught up to Ruby by the car.

“Better than new!”

“And hungry, I hope?” Weiss asked while motioning for Ruby to get into the passenger seat.

“Starving!  Blake and I raced through the woods, so I worked up a good appetite!”

Taking heed of the words and sliding into the car herself, Weiss quickly set them off towards their destination.  While leaving the neighborhoods behind, her mind tried to drag her back to the conversation at the house - of returning to Beacon as a member of Team RWBY - but, fortunately, she was able to push those thoughts aside and focus on Ruby.  

The unexpected dilemma likely would have filled Weiss with paralyzing uncertainty only a short while ago, but with Ruby by her side she could choose to move on.  Plus, from the way Ruby was drumming her fingers against her thigh, she was either extremely hyper or needed someone to listen to her thoughts. Potentially both, but Weiss was always more than willing to listen to Ruby’s rambles.

“How has your day been?”  The question was meant to get Ruby talking - an easy way to cause the dam to break.

“Great!  I finally got taken off speed restrictions.  You probably noticed the petals -”

“Hard to miss those,” Weiss replied, sending a grin to the seat beside her and receiving one in return.

“I’ll clean them up later!  But it’s been awesome running again.  Oh! Where’re we going? I never even asked!”

“A little restaurant I read about,” Weiss began, leaving out the part where she’d spoken to the executive chef earlier that morning and grilled him on his credentials.  “Supposedly, they have the very best spaghetti in town.”

“Is this place called ‘Weiss’ Kitchen’?  Cuz your spaghetti is the best I’ve ever had!”

Flushing at the flattery, Weiss made sure to keep her eyes on the road and hoped Ruby couldn’t tell how thrilled that compliment made her.

“Unfortunately not, but maybe next time we can go there…I’m pretty sure there’s always a reservation available for you.”

When Weiss snuck a glance to the side, Ruby’s excited expression filled her with butterflies.  

Was that another invitation Ruby would accept?  There was nothing Weiss would like to do more than cook for Ruby again.  That was a bit of a lie, of course. There were many things she’d love the chance to do with Ruby again - making dinner was simply one of them.  

To think that Weiss arrived at Beacon without the ability to make something as simple as toast.  After discovering how much Ruby loved to eat, Weiss had spent much of her free time trying to perfect the art called ‘cooking.’  With only moderate success, she might add. Ruby never complained - not that she would have even if the food were inedible…

The next several minutes they drove in comfortable silence.  The window seemed to have captured Ruby’s full attention, and Weiss kept sneaking peeks at the girl - wondering what was going through Ruby’s head.  There was a suspicion pulling at the corner of her mind that Ruby was most likely preoccupied by a certain upcoming tournament at a prestigious fighting school, but each time the name flitted into existence, Weiss cast it aside.  

When they sat down at dinner, they could talk about the upcoming tournament and Weiss could get a good feel for what Ruby thought about it.  Until then, she would focus on what was rapidly beginning to feel like their first ‘official’ date. 

Thank Grimm Ruby couldn’t feel Weiss’ palms right now.  They were perspiring in the most unflattering way.

“Here we are…” Weiss muttered, pulling into the parking lot of a tiny restaurant with a line of people waiting outside the door.  She’d heard that it was popular, but now the rather large sum she’d paid for the last minute reservation made more sense. Definitely worth the money to skip the wait for a table, especially if Ruby was hungry.

“Jeez!  This place looks super popular!” Ruby remarked - her first words in quite some time.  She then jumped out of the car almost before it came to a complete stop and sprinted around to open Weiss’ door for her.  “After you, mi’lady,” Ruby said with a superfluous bow before extending her hand.

Ruby had always known how to make Weiss blush.  It was the small gestures like this one...so simple and sweet and done without any pretense of mocking her social status.  Ruby wanted to open Weiss’ door because she thought it was a nice thing to do - plain and simple. If it happened to light Weiss’ cheeks aglow in the process...that was only an unintended bonus.

Subtly wiping her palm against the seat before taking Ruby’s hand, Weiss allowed Ruby to help her out of the vehicle she surely could have exited on her own.  The action drew curious eyes their way - as it normally did - but the only eyes Weiss saw were Ruby’s - bright and silver and filled with humor at what had just transpired between them.  

Once outside, Ruby was still holding Weiss’ hand and seemed content in not letting it go - which was perfectly fine with her.  Gripping a little tighter, she led both of them into the restaurant on cloud nine. 

Holding Ruby’s hand was incredible in a way that was difficult to describe.  It hinted at a past that was greater than this present, all while being acceptable in their current landscape.  As an added benefit, it prevented Ruby from sprinting everywhere.

This could so easily be one of the many dates they’d had in the past, Weiss kept reminding herself that it wasn’t.  This wasn’t the past - this version of Ruby didn’t remember that time a waiter accidentally dropped her birthday cake onto her lap.  Or that time she’d made Weiss laugh so uncontrollably at a joke the restaurant host rushed over thinking medical attention was necessary.

Maybe Ruby didn’t remember those times, but tonight new memories could be made.  Their first time out together as...friends...or whatever they currently were.

“Schnee, for two,” Weiss told the man standing inside the front door.  He immediately nodded - likely having heard of how she’d bumped another couple off the reservation list in order to add herself.  

It wasn’t a big issue, really.  She’d very nicely asked the restaurant to call another couple who did have a reservation and then offered them a large sum of money if they would switch to the next day.  They’d been more than happy to oblige, and everyone ended up satisfied with the situation. 

“Right this way, Miss.”

Following the man through a maze of intimately-lit booths and tables, a small amount of regret filled her when he set their menus down on opposite sides of a table and she realized that she would have to drop Ruby’s hand.  The moment she did so, her palm grew cold as she slid into one side of the booth and Ruby took the seat across from her.

“Your waiter will be right with you,” the host murmured before disappearing back to the front of the restaurant.  He’d barely left the table before Ruby’s eyes scanned through the menu and flipped it shut on the table.

“Spaghetti - definitely spaghetti,” she said with a determined nod.  “I gotta see if it can hold a candle to yours!”

For as much planning as Weiss had done for this...for tonight...she hadn’t even thought that this could become a competition between herself and the ‘best’ chef in Vale.  All she’d thought was that Ruby really loved spaghetti, so they should get spaghetti. Clearly, she hadn’t put enough thought into this...

“Well, I’m no professional chef -”

“You’re better!”

With a small smile frozen on her lips, Weiss stared across the table.  It was so easy to believe that Ruby truly meant that…

Meeting Weiss’ eyes only briefly before dropping her gaze to the table, Ruby focused rather intently on smoothing the wrinkles out of the linen tablecloth.  There was obviously something on Ruby’s mind, but instead of immediately prying into the matter Weiss watched and waited - trying to gather a better idea of how this new version of Ruby wanted to share her thoughts.

Running one finger in the pattern of a figure eight on the cloth, Ruby briefly glanced up, caught Weiss’ eyes, then turned away again.

“You...uh, you look great tonight, too.”

What felt like a thousand arrows hit Weiss directly in the heart, appearing out of nowhere and striking with deadly accuracy.  It had never been a secret that Weiss loved clothes and made it a point to be well-dressed, but when Ruby thought that she looked great...if she was currently wearing a trash bag, she would willingly wear it over and over again.  Although why she’d ever wear a trash bag to begin with, she had no idea.

Opening her mouth in an attempt to respond with something resembling words and not stammers of love-stricken gratitude, their waiter mercifully appeared to save her the embarrassment of a fumbled response.

“You lovely ladies have the look of someone ready to order food!” he quipped while rubbing his hands together.  “Or maybe you’d like to start off with a few drinks? Appetizers? Corny jokes? I have those too!”

Moving her eyes from Ruby to their decently handsome and abundantly affable waiter, Weiss gave him a polite smile.

“I believe we’d both like to try your famous spaghetti,” she answered, looking at Ruby for confirmation and receiving it with an excited nod.

“Excellent choice - anything else?  I’ll bring you some water, but we also have just about everything else under the sun - and moon, if ya know what I mean.”  He then winked at Ruby, who looked more startled by the action than anything else.

“That’ll be all for now,” Weiss interjected only after Ruby had slowly shaken her head ‘no.’  

“Shouldn’t be too long then!  He cranks out that spaghetti like it’s his business!”

Stifling the urge to roll her eyes at the lame joke, Weiss caught Ruby staring at her while their waiter buzzed away from the table.  As soon as their eyes met though, Ruby turned her gaze back to the tablecloth.

It had always been easy to tell when Ruby’s mind was elsewhere.  For one, she talked much, much less.  Her eyes shifted and slid from one point of interest to the next, never latching onto anything other than the ground for long.  And her brow would permanently furrow with the most adorable expression of deep thought. 

But one of the fascinating aspects of Ruby’s personality was that she displayed her distraction for anyone to see.  When she was still a child, Weiss learned how to pretend to pay attention, but Ruby had either never learned or never bothered to hide her emotions.

Something was clearly on her mind.  Could it be a certain invitation to a certain school beginning with the letter ‘B’?  It had to be. What else could be occupying her mind so ardently?

“What’s going on?” Weiss asked as if she was oblivious, unfolding her napkin and laying it across her lap while Ruby focused on her.  “You're awfully quiet.”

“Oh, sorry.”  Biting her lip, Ruby looked down at the table before back at Weiss - locking eyes with her and nearly taking her breath away.

Weiss was always taken aback by Ruby’s eyes - pools of liquid metal that were the prettiest things Weiss had ever seen.  The color was nearly the same shade as the ring hanging around Ruby’s neck - almost, but not quite. Several jewelers had tried and tried again to match the color, but they’d never been able to replicate it perfectly.

‘One of a kind,’ Weiss had surmised, to which Ruby gleefully pointed at both of her eyes and said, ‘Actually, two!’

“I, uh...I was just wondering…if you...like...”  Ruby’s voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat.  Her current expression was confusing - why was she suddenly so nervous?  Could this really be for the Invite?

“Do you...do you know what the Beacon Invitational is?”

Nodding, Weiss was still trying to figure out what was creating Ruby’s nerves, but they were rapidly disappearing.

“I got a letter today,” Ruby explained further.  “They need another team to compete and...they asked me.”

“Well you did go there, didn’t you?” Weiss asked slowly.  The sudden nerves had completely disappeared by now, replaced by a more thoughtful expression.  

“Yeah, of course, but...we’re gonna go.”

“You’re going to go?  Isn’t it this weekend?”  

Even though Yang had already delivered this news, Weiss could still feel the shockwaves of that statement reverberating through her bones.  

Ruby at Beacon.  Weiss at Beacon. The likelihood of keeping this massive secret between them shrunk exponentially at that place.  Old classmates, teachers...there would be an abundance of people who knew both of them on a personal level. Anyone could easily make a comment alluding to subjects Ruby knew nothing about.  It would be one thing for Weiss to tell Ruby personally...but having a third party accidentally give Ruby that information might hurt her far more than necessary.

“Last minute, but yeah, we’re gonna go,” Ruby repeated, numbly nodding her head as if the knowledge hadn’t quite sunk in yet.  

The reaction was different from what Weiss had expected.  Ordinarily, the Beacon Invite made Ruby overzealously happy.  It was the opportunity to show off in front of a huge audience, after all.  But this wasn’t the same Ruby. This Ruby was more...subdued and thoughtful.  Her eyes unfocused as she continued to mindlessly trace figures on the tablecloth in front of her.

“I never even thought of going back, ya know?” she said, her silver eyes snapping back to Weiss.  “There were so many other things to focus on. Beacon was just this...far off place - like some castle from a dream you can’t quite remember.  When I read that invitation though…” Briefly pausing, Ruby looked down at her hands like she could still see the invitation there. “I knew I could do it.”

Of course Ruby could do it.  She was capable of anything she set her mind to, but her uncertainty could be read across her furrowed brow.  

If she wasn’t sure, maybe there was hope that her mind could be changed.  

“Being capable and being ready aren’t always the same thing,” Weiss pointed out. 

“Yeah...I know.  And this is gonna be...like, huge! There’ll be so many people I don’t remember.  And fighting in front of an entire stadium filled with people?  I could make a big fool of myself.”

“Then why go?” Weiss asked, her tone on the verge of a plea.  “Why put yourself through that? You could always go back some other time.  And you could participate next year.” 

Weiss needed Ruby to see that this was too soon to bring the past out into the open.  Maybe Ruby was ready, but Weiss wasn’t. Not now. Maybe not ever. 

“But it feels like the right time.  And I think I’m ready.”  As Ruby’s brow unfurrowed, she gave Weiss a cheerful grin.  “It’s the band-aid approach! Just rip it off, yell some bad words, then you’re done!”

The uncertainty disappeared, taking Weiss’ false hopes right along with it.  Again, Yang had been right. There was no talking Ruby out of this. For better or worse, she’d decided that this was the next mountain she would climb.  And if the last year had proven anything, it was that nothing would prevent Ruby from reaching any goal she set.

“Plus, I really wanna fight in this tournament!” Ruby added.

Holding back a sigh, Weiss managed a thin smile instead.  Of course Ruby wanted to fight in the tournament - everyone wanted to fight in the tournament.  It was rare that official huntsmen had the opportunity to show the rest of the world what they were capable of.  The Invite presented them with an opportunity to impress and dazzle on a scale they weren’t provided out in the forests.

But who else would be there?  Unfortunately, Weiss’ self-imposed exile meant she’d lost touch with the other huntsmen from Beacon.  According to Yang, JNPR was already out, but what about CFVY? CRDL would absolutely be there - those boys hardly did anything else.  

So many familiar names, so many opportunities for the past to reappear.

“Won’t it be hard...going back there?” she asked delicately.  Personally, it would be the opposite of easy for Weiss to set foot near Beacon again, but Ruby shrugged in response.  

“It might be weird if there’s a lot of people I don’t recognize, but if I had friends before, maybe I can make them again!  Hopefully they won’t be offended about me forgetting them...”

“Of course they won’t be offended,” Weiss replied on impulse.

“I hope not!  Especially because…”  Ruby hesitated for a second before lowering her voice to continue.  “Yang said she’d ask my partner to come. I really don’t want to offend her right off the bat.”

“You could never do that…” Weiss whispered, feeling a grip tighten around her heart as Ruby looked up with bright eyes.  

“I was all worried that something bad happened to her, but now I might actually get to meet her, Weiss!  If she comes - which, ya know, she might not. It’s last minute and she could be busy, but if she’s there...I could say ‘hello’ and, uh, maybe ask her a question or two!”

Staring across the table, Weiss wasn’t sure if Ruby was more excited or nervous about the prospect of meeting her partner.  

What if Weiss could save Ruby the anticipation and tell her right now?  What if Weiss could say that Ruby already knew who her partner was. It was the girl sitting across from her - the coward who’d been too scared to mention that rather significant piece of their shared history.  

But when Weiss opened her mouth, no words came out.  Instead, she wrote off the idea as another fruitless endeavor and focused on Ruby’s nervous expression.

“Do you think that...maybe…” Ruby began to ask, only to stop and shake her head before starting over.  “Would you come with me?” she asked, her eyes silently pleading Weiss to say ‘yes.’ “I mean, I know you’re busy with work and all, but it’d mean a lot to me if you were there.  I kinda made it seem like nothing to Yang, but...it’s kind of a big deal, ya know?”

Her heart melting on the spot, Weiss knew there was absolutely no way she could say ‘no.’  Who could possibly say ‘no’ to those eyes? 

Reaching across the table, she gently took Ruby’s hand to prevent it from worrying a hole into the tablecloth.

“Of course I’ll be there.”

The promise hardly made it past her lips before two steaming plates of spaghetti appeared at their side.  Letting go of Ruby’s hand, Weiss sat back in her seat.

“I’m so ready for this!” Ruby said as the food was set in front of her.  The nervousness of a couple seconds ago had disappeared and been replaced with starry eyes intent on consuming a great deal of food in a short amount of time.

Pushing any thought of Beacon to the back of her mind, Weiss picked up her fork and took a good look at the food resting in front of her.

“Oh, there are olives in the sauce.”

“Mmm, I love olives!”  As Ruby stuck the first giant forkful in her mouth, Weiss stared in surprise. 

Right - Ruby refused to eat olives after the extremely ill-advised olive-eating contest she’d had with Nora.  But this version of Ruby didn’t remember that...which was probably a good thing.

Before tasting the food for herself, Weiss watched while Ruby chewed thoughtfully and then swallowed.

“So what do you think?  How does mine stack up?”

“This is good,” Ruby answered succinctly.  “But not as good as yours!”

“You flatter me.”  Not that Weiss minded one bit.

“I’m totally not!  I’d never lie about food.  That’d be like...the worst kinda lie.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Weiss joked while trying a much smaller bite from her own plate.  Laughing joyfully, Ruby pointed her fork playfully across the table.

“You can’t lie to me anyway, Weiss!  You have a tell, remember?”

“What is it??”  

Weiss tried to look exasperated but failed miserably when Ruby giggled and shook her head.

“Not telling!”

Momentarily pouting, Weiss eventually smiled regardless.  It was nearly impossible not to smile when Ruby was so cheerful.

“This is fantastic, by the way,” Weiss commented, pointing down to her plate. “I’m afraid we might need to have your taste buds checked.”

“It is great!  But it’s...missing something.”

“Garlic bread?” Weiss teased, succeeding again in making Ruby giggle.

“That too!  But like...you know how they say homemade food is ‘made with love?’”

“Yes…”

“Well, this chef obviously doesn’t love me!” Ruby concluded with a grin.  The implication behind the words made Weiss blush, but Ruby didn’t appear to be taking the meaning that far.

“He only needs to meet you...then I’m sure he will.”

“If only it was that easy!” Ruby remarked with a laugh, her eyes sparkling merrily.

It was that easy.  If only Ruby knew how she made Weiss’ heart do little flips and jumps in her chest, then she might have some idea of how lovable she was.  But Ruby had already moved on to the next forkful of food and the next topic.

“So do you think Blake ever gets confused about what ears she hears a sound through?”

A startled burst of laughter escaped Weiss at the unexpected question. 

“What?  What do you mean?”

“Like, say she hears something - does she wonder if her cat ears heard it or her human ears?  Or does she always just assume it was her cat ears?”

It was a mystery how Ruby came up with some of these questions, but Weiss had learned that it was quite fun to play along.  Sometimes suspending rational beliefs was cathartic, in a way.

“Well…” she began, unraveling a foolish answer on the fly.  “You’d think that because her cat ears have better hearing, they’d hear everything first, but I bet they actually take turns.  One ear listens for an entire day while the other three turn off. That way none of them get too tired. Audio exhaustion - it’s a real thing, you know.”

It was easy to know if her answer was correct because, if it was, Ruby would burst into infectious giggles - just like now.

“That’s why sometimes she has to turn one ear towards you all weird!” Ruby gasped before devouring another huge bite of noodles.  “You’re so smart!”

Smiling, Weiss watched in amazement as spaghetti disappeared in large chunks from Ruby’s plate.  There was a reason why Ruby had been known as The Vacuum at Beacon - and it had nothing to do with the torrents of wind she created with her semblance.

“Are you going to have enough?” Weiss asked, nodding at Ruby’s rapidly depleting plate of food.  “Because it’s highly unlikely I’ll be able to finish all of this, so maybe you could help me?”

“You sure?”  Ruby’s eyes were already filled with stars at the prospect when Weiss nodded.  “Awesome! Lemme know when you’re done.”

Chuckling while Ruby quickly emptied her plate of food, Weiss took a few more bites of her own.  Ruby was blessed with a metabolism that seemed to work as fast as she could run - which meant that she was tasked with finishing whatever Weiss wasn’t able to eat.  It was a mutually beneficial relationship in more ways than one.

When Weiss reached her limit, she gladly slid the plate across the table to her partner - who accepted it with a soft ‘oooh’ of delight.  While Ruby was temporarily distracted by the influx of food, Weiss waved a hand and subtly caught their waiter’s attention. He appeared in a dash, leaning down to hear what she’d like next.

“We’d like to order the dessert menu,” she said, sending a glance Ruby’s way and earning an oblivious grin for the effort.

“You mean you’d like to see a dessert menu?”

“No, I mean we’d like to order one of everything you have on it.”

Surprised but willing to go along with the unorthodox request, he laughed and nodded before hurrying away to put in the order.

“Are you going to have room?” Weiss asked as Ruby finished off the second plate.  

“Room for what?”

“Dessert, silly - you didn’t think I’d take you somewhere that didn’t have fantastic desserts, did you?”

Squealing in joy, Ruby slid out of her seat and rushed over to give Weiss a sideways hug before returning to the other side of the table.

“Best date ever!” Ruby proclaimed, gasping when their waiter appeared with the first of several dessert plates that he lined up in front of them.  “Which one do you want?”

“They’re...all for you,” Weiss managed to reply, her shock slowly dissipating from the word Ruby had used without even realizing it.

“What?  No way! You have to at least try a bite of each.” 

All that was needed to convince Weiss were two silver eyes and a hopeful expression.

“A small bite,” she agreed, reaching towards the first plate as Ruby set in on another with gusto.  Glancing over, Weiss smiled at Ruby’s elation while her own heart thumped loudly in her ears.

A date.  Ruby just called it a date.  That was why she’d dressed up, and why she’d seemed uncharacteristically nervous when they got to the restaurant.

Ruby thought this was a date.

It felt like someone had just flown Weiss to the moon and left her there.  Even if she hadn’t explicitly asked Ruby on a date, the fact that Ruby thought it was meant that she would have agreed to go on a date.  If Weiss had managed to ask, ‘Ruby, would you go on a date with me?’ Ruby would have said yes.  Which meant…

“Mmm-mgod!  This one’s so good!” Ruby pointed to the plate before pushing it across the table.  “You’ve gotta try it!”

Smiling, Weiss reached out to try a piece of chocolate cake that looked sweet enough to give her an instant cavity.  

If Ruby would agree to a date...it meant that Ruby liked her.  Liked her.

That’s what it meant, right?  How could it possibly mean anything else?  It wasn’t as if they threw that word around for no good reason.  Weiss couldn’t even remember the last time she’d used it when not discussing a calendar or event.

Ruby liked her - as impossible, unbelievable, and incredible as that seemed.

Weiss couldn’t believe it.  But she wanted to believe it.

“Try this one too!” Ruby said as she pushed another plate forward and moved on to the next.

With her heart beating wildly in her chest at what she’d just learned, Weiss took a forkful of cheesecake before moving the plate closer to Ruby.  Smooth, creamy, sweet, but relatively good. One bite was enough - at least, for someone with such a minor sweet tooth like her. Thankfully, especially considering how much she’d ordered, she wasn’t here alone.  

If Ruby could eat a regular meal fast, the rate at which she consumed dessert was nearly ungodly.  It didn’t matter that there were six different plates to plow through - she did so giddily and with hardly a pause between each.

All the while, Weiss stared - her heart jumping and cartwheeling with every adorable noise Ruby made.  

If Ruby liked her...what did that mean?  What should Weiss do next? Try to arrange an official date?  Another dinner somewhere, or maybe a movie? If Ruby was free this weekend…

Weiss’ thoughts screeched to a halt as she remembered a pretty important fact.  The Beacon Invite was this weekend - and she’d just agreed to accompany Ruby. If Ruby’s partner showed up at the Invite, what would happen to this...this feeling growing between them?  Would it disappear? Would it be destroyed?

Shaking the worry from her mind, Weiss smiled when Ruby cleaned the last plate and shoved it away from her with a satisfied groan.

“Was it good?” Weiss ventured to guess.

“I’m begging Yang to bring me here all the time,” Ruby answered, leaning back in her seat and wiping her brow as if she’d just finished running a marathon.  Not that running a marathon would be particularly taxing for her...

“Well, I’m willing to come back too - if Yang doesn’t want to take you,” Weiss hesitantly offered.  When Ruby grinned and bobbed her head in agreement, Weiss’ heart thumped happily.

“How ‘bout only you and I come here?” Ruby proposed in return.  “It can be like - our secret place!”

At Ruby’s grin, Weiss couldn’t help but nod in acceptance.  

Ruby liked her.  

Ruby actually liked her.

“I like the sound of that,” she said, her smile growing at the delighted sound Ruby let out.

“Wow, you finished it all!” their waiter exclaimed as he returned to the table and collected the empty plates.  “Can I get you another round or…?”

“I think we’re done,” Weiss replied, looking to Ruby and receiving confirmation.  “Thank you.”

With a nod, he slyly grabbed the card Weiss presented him before heading off with the stack of plates in his hand.  As he retreated, remorse built in her chest that their night had passed so fast. Well...it hadn’t been that fast, but time had certainly flown by.    

It was so easy to spend time with Ruby and not think about everything else that was happening - Beacon, lost memories, their past - none of that seemed to matter when Ruby was making jokes about how spaghetti should be named the national dinner and always be free on Sundays.

“Do you think you can walk?” Weiss teased as their waiter walked back with her card and a receipt.

“I refuse to walk anymore!” Ruby proclaimed before setting one hand on her stomach and blowing a puff of air through her lips.  “But tonight might be an exception…”

Chuckling while gathering her belongings, Weiss slid out of the booth and waited for Ruby to pop up beside her.  

“Shall we?” she asked, gesturing towards the exit.  After nodding, Ruby calmly reached over and intertwined her fingers with Weiss’ - oblivious to the instant increase in heartbeat the action caused.  

Since when was Ruby so casual about holding hands?  When had this become a thing? Was it because they’d held hands walking into the restaurant?

Did Weiss care what brought it about?  It felt incredible to be holding hands again - so much so that she wished they’d parked much further away.

“I could totally still run, you know,” Ruby commented as they made their way through the restaurant.  “I just...prefer only seeing food once...”

“I don’t doubt you one bit,” Weiss answered, making Ruby smile in content.

“Thank you for coming,” the host said on their way out the door.  “We hope to see you again soon.”

“Youuu betcha!!” Ruby replied with a giggle, swinging Weiss’ arm while they walked into the cool night air.  Much of the line had disappeared as dinner passed by, but there were still several people waiting to be seated.  

“Ok…” Ruby said while walking over to the car, her feet slightly jittery with sugar-infused energy.  “So that was pretty dang good, but I still give the edge to yours!”

“That’s just those three cakes you had talking,” Weiss joked, smiling when Ruby opened the car door for her once again.  After waiting patiently for Weiss to slip inside, Ruby carefully shut the door and raced around to the passenger side.

“I might have had a little too much sugar, but that means you should trust my taste buds even more!” Closing her door and finding her seatbelt, Ruby grinned at Weiss the entire time.  “Clearly I have experience with lots of food!”

Laughing at Ruby’s influx of hyperactivity, Weiss set them on course for what was likely going to be an entertaining drive home.  Based on the speed at which Ruby’s knee was currently bouncing up and down, she might need to run twenty more miles to settle back down.  Hopefully she wouldn’t be flying around the house too much. Otherwise, Weiss might get an earful for letting her eat so much sugar so close to bedtime. 

“If I ask a question, will you answer?” Ruby suddenly asked.  “And like, honestly?” 

Curious at the unexpected question, Weiss glanced in Ruby’s direction before turning her attention back to the road.

“I have to, right?  You can tell when I’m lying.”

“Right!  So you can’t even lie if you want to!”

“Not that I have reason to,” Weiss added, growing worried about what the question might be.  “So yes. If you ask me a question, I’ll answer honestly.”

Was that even an honest reply?  What if Ruby came right out and asked who her partner was?  Could Weiss be honest then? If she did have a tell, then she likely didn’t have a choice...but she never wanted to lie to Ruby anyway.  Not in response to a direct question, at least…

“Ok, cool,” Ruby replied.  “Because I’ve been wondering if you...uh…”

Turning towards the passenger seat when the question trailed off to nothing, Weiss found that Ruby was scrunching up her face in concentrated effort.

“If I what?” Weiss prodded gently.

“If you...like...if you’ve ever considered being a full-time huntress?”

Surprised, Weiss turned to Ruby again to see if she was joking, but she was nodding her head.

“I mean, you’re totally good enough to do it!” Ruby continued, her words flowing easily now.  “If you wanted to, ya know? And I don’t know if you have your own team or not, but like...I’m sure Blake and Yang wouldn’t mind if you joined up with us!”

Shock.  Dismay. Paralyzing surprise.  Those were all good terms for what Weiss was feeling right now.

“Are you asking me...to join your team?” she clarified.

“Yeah!  It’d be cool, wouldn’t it?  Then we could go on hunts together all the time!  I mean, I guess we could do that anyway, but it’ll be more official-like!”

“But what about your partner?” she managed to ask, making sure to keep her eyes glued to the road while her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.

“She hasn’t been around!” Ruby replied, not at all perturbed by the conversation.  “If she doesn’t want to be on the team, I don’t see why you couldn’t join instead! But you don’t have to if you don’t want to...”

“No, Ruby, I - I...” 

Weiss didn’t know what to say.  Obviously, Ruby had no idea how big of a deal it was to join a different team.  It didn’t happen. It just didn’t. Either you remained with your original team, or you went solo.  Even if you went on hunts with another group - even if you lived with another group of huntsmen - you were always a member of your original team.  That spot was never taken away from you.  

And that was Weiss’ spot Ruby was handing away.  Granted, she was offering it back to Weiss, but that didn’t lessen the shocking amount of hurt.  When Weiss had lost everything - her best friends, her partner, her way of life - she’d remained a member of Team RWBY whether or not she was there.  That was a part of her no matter what. 

On the flip side...for Ruby to like Weiss enough to propose such a thing was encouraging.  It meant that Ruby wanted Weiss’ company for team practices, team hunts, all of the above. Ruby wanted to spend time together - so much so that she’d just made quite a drastic suggestion.

“That’s...a much bigger decision - because of my position at my family’s company,” Weiss finally strung together in response, sparing Ruby a slightly-strained smile.  “Preparations would need to be made for my replacement.”

“Oh, right.  Sorry, I kinda forgot about that.”

“It’s alright,” Weiss said, feeling a strong tug on her heart when she saw Ruby’s downtrodden expression.  “But I’ll start looking into it,” she quickly added. “Whether or not I could do it full time, I’d still love to join you whenever possible.”

The sparkle in Ruby’s eyes was immediately restored, allowing Weiss to breathe easier.  Only slightly though, as the boa constrictor hadn’t yet released its grip on her throat.  

It wasn’t reasonable to be so upset because Ruby didn’t know what she was suggesting.  But what if Ruby had found someone else she liked as much as Weiss? Would she have made the same offer?  Weiss would have lost the love of her life, her friends, her family, and her team. The mere thought was crushing.

“And I’d love to have you there!” Ruby replied, tapping the top of her bouncing knee before adding, “Cuz you’re great, you know?”

How was it so easy for Ruby to heal Weiss’ wounds with a few simple words?  It was as if she somehow knew, without really knowing, that what she’d just offered had caused some amount of pain.  So she went out of the way to ensure Weiss felt special and valued.

Smiling in relief, Weiss felt the temporary grief already fading away - and it was completely gone by the time they reached Ruby’s home.  After the vehicle stopped by the side of the darkened street, Ruby again jumped out and raced around to open Weiss’ door before her hand could even reach the handle.

“Thank you,” she murmured, blushing again while accepting Ruby’s chivalrous gesture.  

As they made their way up the front path, the walkway which normally seemed so long now seemed incredibly short.

Weiss didn’t want the night to end.  She didn’t want to feel the weight of Ruby’s absence for another cold night alone in that mansion she currently called home.  She didn’t want to wait to see Ruby again - not when they used to spend the entirety of their days and nights together. 

From the way Ruby dragged her feet towards the door - no longer speeding everywhere with her semblance - it was easy to pretend that she felt the same.  

But they reached the stoop sooner rather than later.  The porch light had been left on, but the room beyond the front windows was dark and empty.  Briefly touching the door handle, Ruby paused and turned back to Weiss. 

“Thanks for the great dinner,” Ruby said before looking down at her hands and fidgeting with the house key.  “It’s nice to get out every once in a while! I had a ton of fun.”

“I did too,” Weiss replied, clasping her hands together by her waist so that she wouldn’t fidget as well.  “I know you’ll be busy preparing for the Invite, but hopefully we can see each other soon?”

“Yeah!  Actually, do you wanna come over and help me get ready?  Like...spar or hang out or something?”

‘Or something’ might as well be ‘or anything.’  As long as they could spend time together, Weiss would agree to anything.  And the sooner, the better.

“Absolutely.  Whenever and whatever you need.”

Ruby’s eyes lit up at the response.

“Yeah??  How ‘bout tomorrow night then?”

“At night?” Weiss asked in surprise.

“Like after dinner?  Sometimes they make teams fight in the dark!  I need to practice my night vision.”

“Ah.”  Nodding in understanding, Weiss smiled at Ruby’s attempt to prepare for the random wrinkles the tournament hosts loved to throw at their contestants.  When it was all for show, turning off the lights and giving the spectators night vision was but one arrow they had in their quiver. That particular one hadn’t been much of a problem with Blake around - it was the water one that had done them in when the same team member refused to stop clinging to Yang’s shoulder.  Regardless…

“Then I’ll message you before I come over,” Weiss replied with another smile that Ruby met for a second before bashfully glancing away.

Before Weiss could question the cause of the bashfulness, Ruby stepped forward and wrapped her in a tender hug - one that she returned easily, no longer thrown off guard or frozen by the sudden displays of friendship.  Being held in Ruby’s arms was something she’d missed so incredibly over the past year...so much so that it might take millions of hugs before she felt whole again.

“I can’t wait,” Ruby whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine before moving away - but not moving very far away at all. 

When Ruby’s arms dropped, one fell to gently hold Weiss’ elbow while silver eyes never strayed from her face, causing her breath to hitch in her throat.  It was moments like these where she found it incredibly difficult to prevent her past emotions from taking control. Every cell in her body screamed at her to lean forward a few inches - to stand up on her tiptoes to reach Ruby’s lips.  It would be so easy...so gratifying...

“Thank you so much.  For everything,” Ruby suddenly said as she backed towards the door, leaving Weiss frozen in place.  “I’ll see you tomorrow!” 

With one last grin and a wave, Ruby disappeared into the house.  And when the door closed, a giant whoosh of air pressed out of Weiss’ lungs.  

Was it even possible for this to happen a second time?  The pounding heartbeat, the sweating palms. The desire, but uncertainty - does she, doesn’t she - was it too soon to take that step?  Was Ruby aware of the signals she was sending, or was Weiss misreading the signs completely?

Shaking her head and walking away from the house, certain realities forced their way back to the forefront of her mind now that Ruby wasn’t around to keep them at bay.  Overall, tonight had been an excellent night for the Weiss of today, but not such a great night for the Weiss of times past. 

Yet...that’s exactly who Yang and Blake wanted her to be now.  

How long had it been since she’d been Weiss Schnee - a proud member of Team RWBY?  It felt like that memory was a completely separate person from who she was now. Now there were two Weiss Schnees - both of them hopelessly in love with Ruby - but only one of them, this one, might have a chance to regain even a fraction of what they’d once had.  

Ruby liked her.  But how would Ruby feel when she found out that Weiss and this infamous partner - who’d been missing for a year and was ‘too busy’ to make the trip to Vale - were one and the same?

Weiss understood that Yang didn’t want Ruby to be disappointed.  She understood that Ruby wanted to meet her partner. She understood that one day she would have to stop hiding from the past.  She understood all of those things, but Ruby liked her.  A few months ago that was something she couldn’t have even begun to fathom.  Now it was here, and it was true - she could feel it. 

How could she possibly put that in jeopardy?