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I'm so sorry this was so delayed! It took a lot longer than expected, but here's our 75 patron reward - Weiss' birthday party from RCR, but from Ruby's POV! I hope you enjoy it, because I really enjoyed it.
I low-key want to continue this story...but I have so much else going on at the moment...
***
Walking down the currently-empty sidewalk with nothing but the street lamps as a guide, Ruby listened to the sound of their footsteps hitting pavement while her eyes swept this ‘new’ landscape. The sun had set long ago, paving way for the lively darkness that was nighttime in Vale.
Even though she’d been away for months, everything felt the same. The buildings, the streets, the slightly-damp feeling in the air - it was all familiar in a comforting and reassuring way.
“Ahh…” she sighed, swinging her arms while she walked. “It’s good to be back.”
Her traveling companion laughed from beside her, his spiky blonde hair glowing almost unnaturally in the dimming light.
“It’s good to be around people who speak the same language we do!” he replied, drawing a laugh from Ruby at the true statement.
They’d spent the past few weeks surrounded by foreign languages - which was awesome, but made it a little difficult to communicate. As much as she loved a good game of charades, playing charades in order to find a restroom could quickly turn into a rather desperate ordeal.
Sure, that was part of the charm of traveling off the beaten path - discovering places and experiencing cultures far removed from where she grew up. But...there was also charm to be found in the towering skyscrapers, public restrooms covered in graffiti, and 24-hour diners with neon green signs (which also had easily-accessible restrooms).
No matter how far Ruby traveled, returning to Vale always reminded her that this place - stuffed to the brim with people and excess - was home.
At least, to her it was. To Sun, this was just another foreign locale to check off of his ever-growing list of world conquests. Well, ‘conquests’ was too strong of a word to use for Sun. It was more like...another destination he could tell grand stories about when he went back to Mistral, whenever that might be.
“So...what’s there to do in this joint?” Sun asked, bouncing with every step. Apparently, he wasn’t at all bothered by the miles of walking they’d done after being dropped off at the bus station earlier this evening.
Ruby’s suggestion of taking a cab back to her apartment had been turned down in favor of exploring the city on foot, like they usually did. Of course, those ‘cities’ were no bigger than a couple of blocks, not sprawling metropolises with miles and miles of buildings between the bus stop and her home.
Searching for an activity that might provide a brief respite for her tired feet, Ruby’s eyes lit upon one of the neon signs she’d sorely missed while staying in part of the world where ‘fast’ food was relative to how quickly one could catch and cook it.
“We could get dinner -” she suggested, waving towards the cute diner.
“Or we could talk our way into a fancy party!”
Following the direction of Sun’s hand, Ruby found an upper-class apartment building taking up nearly an entire block on its own. The front of the building swam with black town cars, limousines, and valets rushing back and forth - giving away some elaborate event being held there tonight.
“I don’t think they’ll let us in…” Ruby began to say, but Sun was already walking towards the front doors like he owned the place. Rolling her eyes, she followed suit. The worst that could happen was they’d be turned away or thrown out.
Seeing as how the lobby doors were wide open and no one stood out front, entering the building turned out to be no problem. Getting into the elevator, however, would be much more difficult - what with the imposing guard standing in front of the doors.
“Follow my lead,” Sun whispered to her, approaching the bouncer with an air of confidence Ruby struggled to match.
“Name, please?” the man asked politely, looking at the clipboard held in his massive hands while waiting for their response.
“Sun Wukong,” Sun replied proudly, making Ruby grimace. No way was his real name going to be on the list. Guessing a random name that sounded very business-like would’ve been better. Such an amateur move…
After searching the list once, the man started at the top and searched again before finally looking up.
“I don’t see your name on the list, sir. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
The bouncer’s polite restraint was quite impressive - at least, Ruby thought so. Even though he was totally suspicious of them and looking very much like he wanted to tell them to leave, he maintained a respectful aura. Based on the number of limousines outside, the last thing he wanted to do was accidentally insult someone wealthy or important.
Fortunately (for him), they were neither.
“Pretty sure I should be on the list,” Sun replied with his signature grin. “Can you check again? It should be me plus one guest.”
Even though the guard didn’t look like he wanted to check again, he obediently scanned the list of names one more time - this time running his finger down the page and reading the names one-by-one.
“Nope…no Sun Wukong here,” he replied before gesturing towards two of his massive coworkers in the lobby. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m going to have to ask you and your friend to leave the premises.”
Sighing, Ruby grabbed ahold of Sun’s arm and backed away.
“Sorry to have bothered you,” she said before spinning the boy around and shoving him outside. As soon as they reached the sidewalk, she sighed and looked up at the towering building beside them.
“Well, that really didn’t work.”
Unperturbed by recent events, Sun grinned at her.
“I wasn’t trying to get in the front door - that’d be boring. I wanted to make sure this party was legit enough to sneak in! Considering the official guest list and three huge dudes guarding the door, this is a super legit party.” After glancing at the building, Sun sent Ruby a wink.
“And we can still get in.”
“Oh really?” Ruby asked, arching an eyebrow in disbelief. “How? Because that bouncer isn’t letting us anywhere near the elevators or the staircase.”
“We don’t need to go back inside,” Sun answered before motioning for Ruby to follow him. After walking to the corner of the building, he turned into a narrow alleyway separating the apartment building from the structure next door.
“Fire escape,” he said, pointing towards the ladder suspended several feet above them. As soon as Ruby saw it, she groaned - because one, that would work. But two, she was the one who had to crawl up there to release the ladder.
“You know I hate these dirty ol’ things…” she muttered while walking over to it.
Chuckling at the complaint, Sun bent down on one knee and held his palms out in from of him. After taking a deep breath, Ruby placed her right foot in his grasp and prepared to be propelled upward.
“One…two…three!”
On ‘three,’ he pushed her upward at the same time she jumped. Flying into the air, she reached out and grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder just before she started her descent back to the ground. Grasping the cold metal bar in her hands, she dangled for several moments before pulling herself up to the first platform.
Once she made it, she dusted dirt and rust from her palms before wiping them on the legs of her pants. Finding the release, she pulled it and slowly lowered the ladder to Sun, trying to make the least amount of noise possible - which would’ve been a lot easier if years of Vale winters and thunderstorms hadn’t rusted the heck out of the metal.
But a few seconds later, Sun scrambled up the ladder and gave her a high five.
“Hard part down, easy part to go!”
Rolling her eyes, Ruby made her way up the first staircase.
“Yeah, only like a million stairs before we reach the penthouse.”
“How do you know the party’s in the penthouse?” he asked, making her feel slightly pleased at how he hadn’t yet put two-and-two together.
“Limos, bouncers, official guest list...the person throwing the party has to live in the penthouse; otherwise, why bother having the party here?”
Sun nodded slowly while pondering her rationale, but eventually gave her a big grin.
“I guess we have a million stairs to go then!”
For some reason, Ruby kept expecting him to change his mind - but why would he change his mind? He’d already set his sights on crashing this party, so that’s what they would do. Even if that meant taking a billion flights of stairs to accomplish that goal.
He was lucky she was also kind of curious about the party now...
Her curiosity dimmed after climbing flight after flight of stairs - her feet dragging on the metal steps while Sun rambled on and on about how he hoped there would be hot girls inside. Ruby didn’t care about hot girls so much, but some food would be great. There’d better be some good food, otherwise this effort wasn’t worth it.
With several flights to go, the sound of music finally drifted past their ears - telling them that they were close to their final destination. The proximity rejuvenated Ruby’s protesting legs, pushing them up the last few flights until they reached the top of the fire escape.
The platform they stood on looked into a window at the end of a long hallway separating the elevator from the penthouse’s front door. Ducking to the side so they weren’t spotted, Ruby and Sun peeked their heads around the edge to see what was happening inside.
The hallway was mostly empty, but guests headed back and forth between the elevator every few minutes. From the flow of foot traffic, most people were entering the penthouse instead of leaving, so the party must’ve started fairly recently.
“If we time it right, we can get in the window when no one is watching, then walk in with a group from the elevator…” she mused while observing a group of guests cross the hall. “Hopefully this window is unlocked…”
Gently pulling at the windowsill, Ruby shook her head when it didn’t budge.
“Don’t worry about that!” Moving over to the lock, Sun pulled something small out of his pocket and slid it between the small gap between the glass and window frame.
One picked lock and a thumbs up later, they were ready to put the first part of the plan into motion. After waiting for the next guests to pass into the penthouse, Ruby nodded to Sun, who quickly opened the window so both of them could jump inside. He then closed the window behind them as they casually strolled towards the elevator doors, attempting to look as if they’d just walked down the hall to look out the window.
Holding out her arm to slow their pace to a crawl, Ruby waited for the ding of the next arriving elevator.
“So what do you want to do once inside?” she asked lightly, trying to make casual conversation.
“Oh, you know…see the best that Vale has to offer…” he replied, throwing in a good-natured wink.
“Just try not to get into trouble,” she responded as a soft ding rang out beside them.
There were two guests in the elevator - two well-dressed young men - who thankfully only gave Sun and Ruby a passing glance before shuffling across the hall and knocking on the penthouse door. Sensing their opportunity, they nonchalantly followed the pair towards the door and waited patiently behind them.
It was at this moment that Ruby realized there could be a second name-check to get past. If there was, they were absolutely getting escorted out by security. Thankfully, the door opened to reveal an equally well-dressed girl who smiled upon seeing the two boys in front of her.
“It’s so good to see you!” she said before pulling one of the boys into a hug.
With the doorway temporarily unguarded, Ruby and Sun slipped past and walked into the room beyond.
“Woah…” was the only word that came out of Sun’s mouth upon seeing the scene in front of them.
The front door opened into an extraordinarily large and open living space filled with beautiful people. Silver and blue streamers and balloons were placed about, giving the room a nice touch of festivity without being overbearing. Waiters passed amongst the guests carrying silver platters of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. The classical music was louder now that they were inside, but still at a comfortable enough level that conversations could be held with ease.
‘Well-dressed’ seemed to be the theme of the party, as most of the guests wore the type of expensive clothing Ruby only pulled out for special occasions. Some of the party goers wore simple jeans and tops, but she could tell that even those few garments cost more than her entire closet put together.
Rubbing her hands over the remnants of dirt she’d wiped on her jeans earlier, she could practically see the sign above her head broadcasting that she didn’t belong here.
“This…is…awesome!” Sun exclaimed, a huge smile spreading across his lips. “Ok, see ya around, Ruby!”
“Hey, wait!” she called out, but Sun was already gone, picking his way through the guests while searching for a beautiful girl to talk to. Not that he’d have any difficulty finding a pretty girl at this party…but he might have a hard time finding an available one.
“Well…guess I’m on my own…” Ruby muttered to herself, looking around and trying to figure out what to do next.
“Can I help you find something?”
Spinning around at the question, Ruby suddenly found herself face-to-face with one of the aforementioned beautiful girls. With long, wavy black hair and piercing amber eyes, this particular girl exuded intelligence and poise - and curiosity regarding Ruby’s presence.
“Uh…nope!” Ruby answered hastily, her nerves appearing now that she had to interact with the people whose party she was crashing. “I’m just…enjoying the ambiance.”
The girl smiled at the response.
“It’s a great party, isn’t it?” she responded lightly, glancing at the decorations and fellow guests.
“Yeah…” Ruby agreed, wondering who lived in such a luxurious place. Since Vale had a never-ending stream of celebrities, there were a lot of possible answers. Actor or actress? Singer? Songwriter? Producer? Some other movie or TV bigwig?
“So…how do you know Weiss?”
As soon as the girl asked the question, Ruby’s heart did a big jump in her chest. She’d completely forgotten to come up with a cover story! No fake name, fake relationship - nothing. All those flights of stairs had been wasted...
“O-oh! Uh…Weiss and I…well…we’ve been friends forever! Y-yeah, we go way…way back.”
The girl raised an eyebrow at her - the expression suggesting she hadn’t fallen for Ruby’s horrible attempt at a lie.
“Is that so?” she asked, her amber eyes zeroing in on Ruby like a homing beacon. “That’s funny…I thought Weiss didn’t have many friends from her childhood. But I’m glad to be proven wrong.”
If Ruby could smack herself without drawing attention, she would have. This was why she should’ve come up with a backstory on the way up here - so she didn’t blow their cover after ten seconds of conversation. Hopefully Sun already had enough fun, because this party was wrapping up pretty quick.
“Yeah…I don’t think she talks about me much…” Ruby replied while casually backing away, trying to disengage from the conversation as fast as possible.
“It’s great you were able to make it for her birthday then,” the girl replied, watching Ruby with more and more interest while she tried to slip away.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Ruby responded with fake exuberance. “I should go wish her a happy birthday though - nice meeting you!”
Not sticking around to hear a response, she turned and fled in the opposite direction. She had no idea where she was going but wanted to put as much distance between her and the girl as quickly as possible. Hopefully, the girl would forget all about the conversation they just had - and then Ruby and Sun wouldn’t get kicked out of the party so early…
Brushing past person after person, Ruby tried to find someplace quiet - or at least vaguely secluded - so she could regroup and come up with a backstory to use when talking to people. ‘You always need a cover story’ - that’s what her sister told her. There was no use being here if she couldn’t blend in and enjoy the party - a good background would give her the confidence to interact without giving herself away like she almost just did.
“Ok, ok…” she muttered to herself, jogging up a flight of steps and walking down a hallway that was currently unoccupied. The noise of the party dimmed while she walked above it, allowing her to think much clearer than before. “You’ve apparently known this ‘Weiss’ for a long time, but haven’t seen her in years because...I moved away for school! That’s a great excuse. And maybe Weiss and I -”
“Weiss and I what?”
Feet freezing to the floor, Ruby jerked her head towards the voice.
While she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going, she’d unknowingly walked away from the other guests and found herself standing near a huge window seat overlooking Vale. There was one person occupying this section of the upstairs hallway, however, and that person made Ruby’s jaw slacken when the pieces finally fell into place.
A massive penthouse in Vale…owned by someone named Weiss…
They just snuck into Weiss Schnee’s birthday party.
Even though Ruby was away from Vale for a long time, she wasn’t living in a cave - she absolutely recognized the girl standing in front of her. Long, white hair held back in a side ponytail, crystal clear blue eyes with a small, mysterious scar running across one of them...Ruby had seen Weiss’ picture around the globe, but nothing could have prepared her for meeting the girl in person.
She was beautiful. Stunning. Drop dead gorgeous. The type of pretty seen in movies but never in real life. Although...much more petite than Ruby would have imagined, but still - she made Ruby’s heart do several big cartwheels in her chest.
And here Ruby was...gawking at an international celebrity like she had two heads.
“Weiss and I…what?” Weiss asked again, a little more pointedly this time.
Realizing she needed to do some damage control, Ruby snapped her jaw shut and cleared her throat.
“U-um…I was just saying that…uh…Weiss and I…you and I…share the same birthday! Haha yeah, so…happy birthday!”
It would’ve been easier to think if Weiss wasn’t so pretty, but Ruby flashed a big smile at the end of her rambling explanation in hopes it would prove her innocence.
Fortunately, the lame excuse seemed to work. After studying Ruby for a few seconds, Weiss smiled - although the smile failed to make it to her eyes.
“Oh…well, happy birthday to you too…” she responded softly, her eyes drifting out the window while momentarily in deep thought. “Are you having a good time at the party?”
When crystal blue eyes found their way back to Ruby, she felt her heart beat even faster than before - and not from fear of being found out as an imposter. Listening to Weiss’ voice - a soft melody that ebbed and flowed like the ocean - was a rush unlike anything Ruby had ever felt before. Not even when she’d run from the police in Vacuo after Sun accidentally knocked over a precious monument...
“I’m having a great time,” she answered, finding that the response flowed easier than expected because it was rapidly becoming the truth.
When Weiss smiled, it was one of those ‘perfect host’ smiles - the one that was supposed to greet guests at the door. It was then that Ruby realized Weiss wasn’t greeting guests at the door. Instead, she was the one furthest from the door. Almost as if she was...hiding?
“But why aren’t you out there with everyone?” Ruby asked, gesturing towards the party in full swing downstairs. “You’re the guest of honor, after all.”
With a big sigh, Weiss turned back to the window - towards the stars just starting to sparkle in the night sky. For the longest time, Ruby thought that was the only response she’d get - which meant she probably overstepped her bounds.
“Sorry, you don’t have to answer that,” she added. “I was just curious, but it’s none of my business. If you want to stay up here all night, then that’s what you should do!”
When Ruby chuckled nervously - wondering how far across the line she’d just stepped - Weiss finally turned around and examined her closely.
“You’re not like them, are you.”
The statement caught Ruby by surprise, and she chuckled again - unsure of who Weiss meant by ‘them’ and hoping she wasn’t referring to the fact that Ruby hadn’t been invited to this party in the first place.
“I mean, I - I like to think there’s no one else like me,” she rambled. “That’s why we’re called individuals, right?”
Ruby wasn’t sure what exactly she just said, but Weiss studied her for another few seconds before glancing out the window once more.
“Most of these people I don’t know very well,” Weiss explained, the surprisingly-candid remark making Ruby’s heart do another flip in her chest. “My friends wanted to throw this party for me, and I didn’t want to turn them down, so…”
Weiss lifted both hands from her sides, gesturing as if to say ‘so here I am.’
“Your friends just want you to have a good time on your birthday!” Ruby replied, trying to be helpful. For whatever reason, she felt like Weiss needed some encouragement right now. And Ruby may not be qualified to be friends with an international superstar, but she could at least try to help someone have a good birthday. That’s what birthdays were for! Spending time with friends and having a good time.
“Well, I’m glad they did,” Ruby replied while a bubbly energy rose in her chest - the same feeling that appeared whenever she set out to improve someone’s mood. “Because otherwise we wouldn’t have met!”
That was a little more open than she’d expected to be - which was made all the more apparent when surprise registered in Weiss’ eyes - so she quickly hurried to the next possible subject she could think of.
“Hey, have you made your birthday wish yet?”
“Birthday wish?” As expected, Weiss was confused by the term, which sent Ruby off on flurry of explanation.
“Yeah! Every birthday, you get one birthday wish. You can only tell your ‘wish keeper’ what it is, and if you keep it a secret from everyone else, it has a good chance of coming true.”
Upon finishing her hurried and probably-incomplete explanation, Ruby beamed - recalling many of her own birthday wishes that were granted when she was younger.
“I don’t really have anything to wish for…” Weiss responded, her eyebrows knitting together in thought.
“Oh...in that case, you can grant your wish to someone else!” Ruby added, trying to keep the mood light. “At least, that’s what my dad always told me. He’d say ‘I have everything I want right here in front of me. What do you want, sweetheart?’ I knew he was lying of course - he’d wish for my mom back if he could, but I always answered with whatever toy I wanted at the time. I was allowed to tell him, you see, because he was my wish keeper. Well, him and my sister.”
Pausing to catch her breath, Ruby realized she was rambling - but she couldn’t stop herself from adding just one more line.
“And a few weeks later, I’d get that toy, so my wish came true!”
With the explanation finished, Ruby smiled and hoped she hadn’t just made a huge fool out of herself. She probably had, which was why Weiss was looking at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement.
But then Weiss smiled - a real smile.
It was a small one, but for the briefest of moments, her eyes lit up with joy.
“Well...do you have a wish then?”
Seeing where this was going, Ruby waved her hands in front of her and tried to backpedal out of the situation.
“You can’t give your wish to me! Give it to someone important to you!”
Weiss smiled in response - another glimpse of genuine delight slipping through.
“The two people most important to me already have everything they could wish for, so I’d like to give my wish to you. Maybe you’ll have two wishes granted this year.”
“…two?” Ruby asked, briefly confused by the response before her prior lie caught back up to her. “Oh! Right. Because it’s my birthday too. Duh…”
When she lightly smacked herself on the forehead for the mistake, the most incredible thing happened - something that froze her in place and made her look up in amazement.
Weiss laughed.
It was short lived, but Ruby would remember the sound forever - light, clear, and filled with delight. If Weiss had laughed for any longer, Ruby would’ve floated away in bliss. Instead, she stared, her mouth agape while she wondered how she was so lucky to be experiencing this moment.
Weiss wasn’t just beautiful - she was beautiful. Ruby could see it now - a joyful radiance begging to slip out but caught behind a polished, collected exterior. Maybe it was the person Weiss could be if she didn’t have so many responsibilities, or maybe it was the person Weiss could be if she had a reason to be.
When the laugh faded away, Weiss looked at Ruby closely - a small smile still settled upon her face.
She looked so…happy. And seeing Weiss happy filled Ruby with an incredible feeling - like she’d just traveled around the world in the last few minutes. She felt breathless, awestruck, and inspired. She felt like she’d just fulfilled some sense of purpose - like she’d just checked a box off her bucket list, only to add more and more boxes right behind it.
She couldn’t help but to grin - no doubt looking like a complete fool, but not caring either. For several long seconds they stayed in that moment, frozen in a sense of content that Ruby could have enjoyed for hours and hours more.
Unfortunately, something broke them out of that moment - a disturbance of some kind, noticeable not by the raising of voices but by the sudden absence of them.
Weiss detected the change in atmosphere at the same time as Ruby, and flashed her a look of curiosity before heading towards the main room. Quickly falling into step beside Weiss, Ruby hoped she wasn’t going to see what she thought she would when they reached the staircase.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t actually her birthday, so her wish wasn’t granted.
The guests in the main room were staring towards the exit, many whispering excitedly amongst themselves while watching the drama unfold. Separated from the rest of the crowd, Ruby found Sun backing towards the front door while a blonde girl stalked towards him, pointing a finger into the boy’s chest. The girl was tall with long, blonde hair that fell in waves down her back…along with a very familiar tuft of hair sticking up on top…
“Yang!” Ruby yelled, leaving Weiss behind as she pushed through the crowd to try to save her friend.
Hearing her name, Yang turned around - a scowl still set in place while she scanned the crowd. When she spotted Ruby, however, the scowl was replaced by a big smile.
“Ruby!” Yang yelled in return, temporarily forgetting about Sun as Ruby rushed to her and flew into her arms for a bone-crunching hug. Ruby grunted at the force of it but hugged back as hard as she could. It was their little game - see who could squeeze the other tighter before someone couldn’t breathe any longer. Yang always won, but that didn’t stop Ruby from trying.
“When did you get back?” Yang asked, holding Ruby at arm’s length to take a good look at her. “And why didn’t you call me right away??”
“I just got back tonight and…well…you know how I am with phones…” Ruby answered, blushing slightly at the admission, but still grinning up at her big sister.
Thankfully, the rest of their audience had lost interest now that the mood lightened, and went back to their own conversations rather than waiting for drama to occur.
“Lost another one, huh?” Yang replied with a knowing nod, before grinning and crushing Ruby in another hug. “God, how long has it been?”
When Ruby opened her mouth to respond, Sun took another step backward, trying to sneak off while Yang was distracted. The motion instantly caught their attention though, causing Yang to whip her head towards him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Yang asked, taking a step towards him.
“Yang, wait!” Ruby said, grabbing her sister’s shoulder to hold her in place. “This is my friend, Sun - we met in Mistral a while ago and have been traveling together ever since.”
For a few seconds, Yang looked back and forth between them - looking very much like she was trying to decide how she felt about this new information.
“He’s not your boyfriend, is he?” she finally asked.
The question was so unexpected, Ruby immediately started laughing. Sun also chuckled a few times before a glare from Yang shut him up.
“B-boyfriend??” Ruby asked through her laughter. “Yang, we’re just friends!”
Visibly relieved at the answer, Yang smiled.
“Good…because your friend here was trying to hit on my girlfriend,” Yang replied, shooting another venomous look towards the poor boy before gesturing towards someone standing somewhere behind Ruby. “Ruby, this is Blake! Blake - my adorable little sister has finally returned!”
When someone walked past her, Ruby immediately recognized the girl from earlier - the one who’d nearly blown Ruby’s cover just a few minutes into the party. This time, the girl’s eyes sparkled in amusement while she smiled and extended her hand towards Ruby.
“Blake Belladonna. It’s nice to meet you…again, ” she said while Ruby shook her hand in surprise.
This was the girl Yang told her about? The author who Yang gushed about the last few times they’d talked?
“Oh my god, Yang!” Ruby exclaimed, turning to the side and finding her sister sporting a humongous smile. “I know you said she was pretty, but wow!”
Turning back to Blake, Ruby noticed a small blush on the girl’s cheeks.
“Yang really sucks at describing people. You’re even more beautiful than she said!”
“Well, now I know that flirting runs in the family…” Blake said softly, which made Yang laugh.
“Oh, she’s not flirting, Blake. She’s just being honest. I got all the suave charm in the family.”
When Yang smirked, Blake scoffed in disbelief.
“I feel bad for your family then, because I watched you fall on your face more than a few times when we first started dating,” she teased, poking Yang lightly in the side. Giggling, Yang swatted Blake’s hand away before sliding an arm around her waist.
With a smile refusing to disappear from her lips, Ruby watched the interaction with a growing amount of happiness. Had she ever seen Yang so...giddy...with another person? Not that she could remember. And it was clear how deeply the two cared about each other - which only made her happier.
Feeling a presence by her side, Ruby turned and found that Weiss was standing right next to her - so close that they could ‘accidentally’ brush arms. Weiss was also watching Yang and Blake, although the small smile on her face was almost…sad. Longing.
Noticing Weiss at that moment, Yang said “Oh!” before grabbing Ruby’s arm and dragging her forward to properly present her. “Weiss, this is my little sister, Ruby! Ruby, this is Weiss Schnee; you may have heard of her - what with her being an international singing superstar and all.”
Weiss flushed slightly at the introduction, her eyes moving from Yang to Ruby and back again.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ruby,” she replied, reaching out to shake Ruby’s hand.
“Uh…you too, Weiss,” Ruby replied awkwardly, quickly shaking Weiss’ hand and giving her a confused expression - wondering why she was acting like they hadn’t just spent the last few minutes talking in the hallway.
But Weiss merely gave a beautiful smile - another one that failed to reach her eyes - as she looked back to Yang.
“I can’t believe you’re back!” Yang said, shaking Ruby’s shoulders.
“I know, I kept meaning to come back but got sidetracked by stuff!” Ruby replied with a smile, feeling her excitement grow. Because Yang was here - Yang was here! - and Yang was one of her favorite people in the world.
“Well, you know what Dad would say,” Yang began, giving Ruby a look before launching into a phrase they’d both heard more than a few times growing up.
“Better late than never!” they said in unison before chuckling at dear old Dad’s expense.
After a short period of silence, Weiss met Ruby’s eyes only to quickly glance away.
“You two don’t look very much alike.”
“Yeah…same dad, different moms, you know?” Yang answered with a laugh while Ruby nodded.
“You look different than the pictures Yang has shown me, too,” Blake added, causing Ruby to run one hand quickly through her hair.
“Oh, yeah…I cut my hair pretty short recently…” she replied, feeling self-conscious about it until Yang smiled and ruffled her hair.
“I love it! It looks great!”
Giggling at the feeling, Ruby swatted Yang’s hand away, only for Yang to use her other hand and get a few more ruffles in - which only made her giggle more.
No matter how famous Yang became, she treated Ruby the same. After traveling and witnessing some of the different family dynamics out there, she was incredibly grateful that she and Yang were so close. And nothing, not even the bright lights of Vale, could change that.
“It does suit you very well.”
Weiss’ soft comment made Ruby turn and gawk, but Weiss quickly looked away.
Had Weiss Schnee just given her a compliment? Arguably the most beautiful person on the planet thought that her new haircut suited her?
Ruby was going to keep this haircut for a long time...
“Hey, how did you two get in here, anyway?” Yang finally asked, eyeing Sun suspiciously. “I told the guy in the lobby not to let anyone up who wasn’t on that list.”
When Sun looked at Ruby with wide eyes - probably not wanting to get in any more trouble with Yang than he already was - Ruby responded for both of them.
“Uh…well…” Clearing her throat, Ruby shuffled her feet against the floor before continuing. “We kind of...used the fire escape…”
While Weiss looked shocked by the admission, Yang grinned and slapped Ruby playfully on the back.
“That’s my little sister! Always being resourceful.”
“Hey, it was my…” Sun began to protest, before holding his hands up in defeat when Yang sent a glare his way. “Totally her idea - yup -”
Ruby sent Sun an apologetic smile as he backed away, but he shook his head and grinned - probably still in disbelief at his good fortune to be at a party filled with celebrities. And now it looked like they weren’t getting kicked out, so even better.
“Oh!” Yang suddenly exclaimed. “Now that Weiss has come down from her tower, we can bring out the cake!” After gesturing towards one of the nearby waiters, Yang sent Ruby a grin. “Which, conveniently, also happens to be Ruby’s favorite flavor.”
Gasping in delight, Ruby clapped her hands together.
“Red velvet??”
“Yup!”
“With sour cream frosting?”
“Mhmm…we even ordered it from your favorite bakery.”
“Valentino’s - oh my godddd I’ve missed that place so much!” Ruby exclaimed, causing everyone to chuckle. But she didn’t care - this was the best night ever! Not only had she met the prettiest girl on the planet and reunited with Yang, but there was cake too!
“Ruby!”
Searching for the source her name, Ruby spotted a familiar face and instantly smiled.
“Pyrrha!” she squealed, racing over and leaping into Pyrrha’s arms for a hug. Apparently Pyrrha wasn’t expecting the hug because she swayed a little before steadying herself and hugging Ruby close.
This night was even better now.
“Look at your hair,” Pyrrha commented, smiling while she picked up some of the loose ends of Ruby’s hair. “It looks fantastic.”
“Thanks! You look great too! But you always do so that’s not a big surprise.”
“Oh how I’ve missed you and your honesty,” Pyrrha replied with a light laugh. “You’ve left me alone with your sister for far too long.”
“I’m sorry! Now that I’m back, I can take her off your hands. Except maybe Blake’s already done that?”
When the two of them turned towards Yang, she shrugged and reached over to hold Blake’s hand. The next second, the cake appeared from the kitchen - carried on a large platter held by two waiters. It was a towering spire of red-velvety goodness with ‘Happy Birthday, Weiss’ scrawled across it in elegant blue cursive matching the blue flowers decorating the sides of each tier. A handful of candles were placed around the top - Ruby quickly counted how many of them there were, nodding in satisfaction when she learned that Weiss was just two years older than her, or the same age as Yang.
“Ok everyone - time to sing happy birthday!” Yang called out to the guests, who obediently turned towards the cake and birthday girl.
Ruby watched Weiss close off the instant the attention of the room was upon her. Any glimpse of that beautiful inner spirit was shut away and replaced by a composed, slightly-cold facade.
The change in demeanor made Ruby want to do something to divert the attention - something to bring back a hint of that spark - but she couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t mortally embarrassing. Thankfully, the moment would be over soon. They just needed to sing ‘happy birthday,’ and then the guests would go about their business.
“Happy birthday to youuu -” Yang led with everyone else falling into an almost-synchronized rhythm - and Ruby made sure to chime in with a smile.
“Happy birthday to youuu - Happy birthday dear Weisssss - Happy birthday to youuuu!”
“Don’t forget your birthday wish!” Yang added when Weiss leaned forward to blow out the candles.
Clear blue eyes immediately locked onto Ruby’s, and a small smile pulled at the corners of Weiss’ lips while she closed her eyes and blew out the flames in one breath.
While everyone cheered, Ruby just stared. Even while waiters started handing out pieces of cake, she found her gaze locked with Weiss’ - wondering what her birthday wish might’ve been. Earlier, she said she didn’t have anything to wish for, but maybe she thought of something?
What was it though??
“Hey Yang!”
The voice pried Ruby out of her thoughts and she quickly searched out the source. Which was coming from the ceiling, where one of the guests was swinging from the chandelier.
“Uh…” Ruby said, glancing at her sister - who stared at the sight above them, at a loss for words.
“Is that a swing?” Blake asked, her voice completely shocked by the makeshift swing the girl had fashioned and somehow attached to the chandelier.
And then Ruby started giggling. She couldn’t help it! It was literally a swing. Attached to a chandelier. In Weiss Schnee’s penthouse.
She felt Yang wrap an arm around her shoulders while she continued giggling - even more so when she saw the expression of disbelief on Weiss’ face.
“Is Nora Valkyrie swinging from my chandelier?”
Pyrrha giggled then, and Yang laughed while pulling Ruby close.
“Sure is!” Yang said. “Happy birthday, Weiss. I hope that thing is bolted in pretty good.”
Weiss looked at Nora, then at Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha, before finally locking eyes with Ruby once again. Ruby had no idea how Weiss was going to respond to someone swinging from her chandelier - and Weiss didn’t seem to know how to respond to it either.
So Ruby smiled and nodded - hoping for that radiant version of Weiss to slip out again.
And it worked.
First, Weiss smiled. Then she let out a little laugh of her own, and Ruby felt her heart soar higher than she’d felt in a long time.
“If it’s not, then we’re really going to have a night to remember,” Weiss commented, accepting a piece of cake when it was passed to her and giving Yang and Blake a smile before returning her gaze to Ruby.
It felt like Weiss wanted to talk to her - and she wanted to talk to Weiss, so she weaseled free of Yang’s arm and walked over. Conveniently, Weiss was standing close to the cake, so it would probably look like Ruby was just really interested in seeing the cake up close.
Which she was, but...she was also interested in Weiss.
“Would you like my piece?” Weiss asked, offering her plate to Ruby as soon as she was within reach.
Ruby quickly waved her hands to decline the offer - and nearly knocked a plate out of a nearby waiter’s hands in the process.
“Sorry!” she told the man, who waved off her apology while Weiss chuckled and accepted a second plate from his hands. She then handed the plate to Ruby, who accepted it with another mumbled “Sorry…”
“I’m pretty sure knocking cake on the floor would’ve been the least of our concerns,” Weiss said before nodding towards the girl still swinging from the chandelier. Two well-dressed boys stood on the second story balcony trying to convince her to get down, but it didn’t look like they were having much success. Instead, the girl laughed while kicking her feet and swinging back and forth through the air.
“You don’t think it’ll fall do you?” Ruby asked, noticing Yang waving the waiters and the cake closer.
“I don’t think so. If it does, I guess I’m redecorating.” Turning away from the scene, Weiss focused on Ruby with a small, almost-shy smile. “Any suggestions?”
Glancing away from Weiss for only a second, Ruby tried to think of something that could go on the ceiling besides a chandelier.
“You could get a...uh...disco ball?”
When Weiss laughed, Ruby felt her heart skip another beat.
“I wanted one of those when I was younger,” Weiss admitted.
“‘Younger’ as in yesterday or...?”
When Weiss laughed again at the joke, Ruby beamed - because she just made Weiss Schnee laugh, and that was one of the most amazing feelings in the world.
“Hey Ruby!”
Turning to the side, Ruby found Sun walking over to them with a piece of cake in hand.
“Told you this party would be awesome,” he said, patting her shoulder before extending a hand towards Weiss. “Sun Wukong. Quite the place you’ve got here.”
“Oh, thank you,” Weiss replied while politely shaking his hand.
“I mean, it’s almost as beautiful as you are.”
When Sun winked at Weiss - who looked a little taken aback by the forward comment - Ruby quickly grabbed his shoulder and steered him away.
“Maybe you should find someone else to do that with,” she suggested while he looked over his shoulder at the girl they were leaving behind.
“Why? It’s Weiss freaking Schnee!”
“Because!” When Sun gave her a look that requested more of an explanation than that, she scrambled for a good excuse to get him to back off. “Because she’s just not the right one for you.”
For a moment, it looked like he wanted to argue - because he probably had at least a hundred reasons why Weiss was the perfect girl for him - but then realization dawned on his face, and he grinned.
“Ohhh...got it.” Winking again, he took another bite of cake and walked away, leaving Ruby confused as to why he’d accepted that so easily.
“Got what?” she called after him, but he just raised his fork in the air and made a beeline for the closest girl who wasn’t speaking to anyone at the moment.
“Got what?” she repeated to herself, wondering what Sun just saw that made him back off immediately. When she glanced over and found Weiss still standing nearby - looking more and more like she might leave the party again - Ruby decided to forget Sun’s weird, cryptic comment and hurry back instead.
“Sorry about him,” she apologized. “He...doesn’t have an off switch.”
“That’s ok. I’m...glad he likes my home.”
Ruby giggled at the diplomatic response while eating a bite of cake - which was even more delicious than she remembered it.
“Mmm,” she hummed in delight, noticing the small smile Weiss gave her in return. “So good,” she added before nodding to the plate in Weiss’ hands. “You should try some!”
For a second, it looked like Weiss wanted to say ‘no.’ But then she took a tiny bite instead.
“You’re right,” she said after finishing that little bit. “It is good.”
Even though Ruby hadn’t baked the cake - or even selected the cake - Weiss’ approval made her grin like a fool.
Since Yang was her sister, Ruby had met plenty of celebrities before, and they were always super gorgeous or kind of intimidating. Most of them were pretty nice - at least, the ones Yang let her meet were. And then there was Pyrrha, who was one of the greatest people Ruby had ever met.
But Weiss was different. Still super gorgeous, still super nice, but there was something else. Something that made Ruby want to stick to her side like a magnet, if she’d allow it. She probably wouldn’t, but that just meant Ruby should enjoy tonight as much as possible.
“You aren’t mad, are you?” Ruby asked, feeling immediate reassurance when Weiss looked confused by the question. “That we snuck in?” she elaborated.
“Oh.” After thinking about it for a few seconds, Weiss smiled - this one reaching her eyes and adding a sparkle that made her even more beautiful. “No, not at all. Maybe...maybe it was the universe’s way of telling me I needed to make a wish.”
Ruby didn’t know exactly what Weiss meant by that, but she hoped it meant Weiss was happy to have met her too. She hoped Weiss felt even a fraction of the pull between them, at least so Ruby knew she wasn’t just making things up.
“Ruby!”
Right after saying Ruby’s name, Yang pulled her into another quick hug.
“We’re gonna do some karaoke! You in?”
“Karaoke?” Ruby repeated, sharing a glance with Weiss. “Here??”
What she meant by that - which hopefully Yang understood - was that who in their right mind would do karaoke at Weiss Schnee’s house? She had the voice of an angel. Compared to her, the rest of them would sound like the wild geese people fed at the park.
“It’ll be fun!” Yang assured her. “And we’re only singing Weiss’ songs so she can judge us even harder.”
Turning back to Weiss, Ruby tried to figure out if this was something Weiss wanted to do. More importantly, was it something that she’d stick around to witness?
“Sounds fun?” Ruby asked, watching Weiss for her answer.
“It does,” Weiss replied with a smile that set their next activity in stone. And suddenly, Ruby was really excited - and really nervous.
“Let’s do it!” she told Yang, who patted her shoulder before running off to set everything up. While she did that, Ruby took a deep breath and prepared for the embarrassment that would follow.
She wasn’t a bad singer, but...she was no Weiss Schnee.
Turning towards the real Weiss Schnee, Ruby smiled.
“Was this what you wished for?” she joked. “All of us to embarrass ourselves for you?”
“Not quite.” After a soft chuckle and shake of her head, Weiss met Ruby’s eyes with a hesitant-yet-hopeful expression. “Maybe we can sing a duet together?”
There was no way Ruby could turn down that request. Not in a million years, not for a million Lien.
“I’d love to.”
And when Weiss smiled - a smile that reached her eyes and let a bit of her true personality slip through - Ruby felt her heart skip several beats.
They’d only just met, but Ruby knew she’d do anything to see that smile - even if that meant honking like a goose in front of a room filled with mostly strangers.