Better Together - White Rose (Patreon)

“Are you sure you have everything?” Weiss asked, watching Ruby tighten the laces on her boot before tying them in a bow.

“Yup!” 

“Your scroll?” Weiss pressed.  With both boots finally on, Ruby stood and patted her side pocket.

“Yup!” 

“Emergency beacons?” 

This time, Ruby tapped a different pocket.  “Yup, got those too!”

“And your ring?”

Grinning at the question, Ruby held up her hand and showed Weiss the slim, silver band around her finger.  

“Don’t go anywhere without it,” she said, at which point Weiss finally sighed and reached for Ruby’s hand.

“Good.  Don’t you dare take that off.” 

“Never!” 

“Good.”  Satisfied with the response, Weiss pulled Ruby close and kissed her cheek.  “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too!  But we’ll be back together in no time.”

“Ugh.  Guys, seriously, can you cut the sap already?”

Sighing at the intrusion on their moment, Weiss turned and rolled her eyes at Yang.  

“Like you and Blake didn’t do this before you came over here.” 

“Please.  Blake’s happy I’m out of the house for a day!” As soon as Yang said the words, her brow creased with realization.  “Wait -”

“It’ll be fun!” Ruby interrupted.  “Sister hunt day!  Just me and Yang knocking around some big, bad Grimm!” 

“While the wives stay home,” Yang added with a grin.

Rolling her eyes yet again, Weiss suddenly found herself wondering how she’d survived this long with Yang as a near-constant presence in her life.  Realistically, one of them should’ve blown a gasket by now - instead, they saw each other a minimum of two times a week for team dinners.  

As with everything else that had gone positively in her life, Weiss would credit Ruby for that feat.  

“Message me if you think anything is wrong,” Weiss said, ignoring Yang’s comment in favor of focusing on Ruby.  “I’ll be on the next airship to help.”

“Jeez, Weiss,” Yang scoffed while Ruby dutifully nodded.  “You act like we’ll be sitting ducks or something.  You might not remember, but I’ve been taking care of Ruby long before you came into the picture.”

“And now she’ll take care of you,” Weiss shot back before turning to Ruby.  “Please be safe.”

“I will, Weiss.”  Squeezing Weiss’ hands, Ruby gave her a sincere expression that was impossible not to believe in.  “Please don’t worry!  I could probably do this hunt alone - having Yang there is an added bonus.”

When Weiss sighed, Ruby gave her a kiss before dropping her hands and heading out the door with Yang.

“We’ll be back soon!” she called back, waving once before the door closed and the two hurried off.  Within a few minutes, they’d be at the airship station, where an airship waited to whisk them to their destination in the forest.

Left alone in the empty house, Weiss physically felt the unusual silence wrap around her.  Growing up, she was used to silence - she used to practice walking as quietly as possible to avoid unwanted attention.  Now…

Well, the house was hardly ever silent with Ruby around.

“Maybe you can finally get some work done,” Weiss told herself while walking into the living room and sitting at her desk.  Sometimes, it was difficult to work at home because Ruby created an endless stream of distractions.  Most were cute, many were adorable, but they all lessened Weiss’ efficiency and increased the amount of time she spent entering reports.

Writing up their team’s reports was a responsibility that had fallen to her because - as they so eloquently put it - she was the ‘best, most awesome writer.’  She wished she could say she hadn’t fallen for the veneer of a compliment, but...she liked feeling valued.  Plus, she was very particular about how the reports were submitted, so it made sense to do them herself.

After typing several sentences, however, her gaze was drawn to the sofa - currently empty, but perpetually Ruby’s lounge for playing games on her scroll or designing new battle strategies.  

Deciding that a little detour was in order, Weiss opened another window on the screen and loaded the tracking system she’d commissioned on Ruby’s behalf.

More accurately, for Ruby’s behalf.

While Ruby’s ring was a symbol of their love, it also served as a means for Weiss to keep tabs on the girl at all times.  She rarely used it - why would she need to find Ruby when they were often in the same place? - but today seemed like a good day to make sure it was working like it should.

Once the tracking system loaded, Weiss found that Ruby was already above the forest and moving quickly away from the city.  Based on the rate of speed, Ruby and Yang were still in the airship but about to jump out at their destination.

Satisfied with the check-in, Weiss minimized the tracking window and went back to finishing her report.  

They went on a whirlwind of a hunt recently, and she still needed to detail the types of Grimm they’d encountered as well as estimate quantity, age, and prior locations.  The report also requested an approximate sequence of events, amongst other questions.

Weiss enjoyed the more cerebral aspects of the reporting system but, most of all, she liked hypothesizing what the information was used for.  Were migration patterns being built?  Updated mapping software?  Or were the powers-that-be just checking in and making sure they weren’t doing anything crazy out there?

After completing one section of the report, Weiss checked the tracking screen again and found that Ruby was moving much slower now.  

Understanding that Ruby and Yang were probably searching for their target right now - at this very moment - the undeniable feeling of adrenaline burst forth in Weiss’ chest.  Soon, they’d engage in a battle of unknown size or scale, with an unknown amount of enemies.  They only had each other to rely on, so if something went wrong...

Weiss wasn’t going to worry.  She promised that she’d be fine, and that’s what she’d try to be.  Nevermind that she and Ruby had gone on every hunt together since their days at Beacon, or that they’d never fought a battle without one another since they moved in together.  She knew Yang was capable, and she knew Yang would protect Ruby and vice versa.  Still, she felt...restless.

Maybe she needed a distraction.

Grabbing her scroll, she composed a message to Blake.  Nothing fancy, just a quick ‘How are you doing?’

She didn’t have to wait long for a response - her scroll chimed with an incoming message only seconds later.  

‘I already finished the book I wanted to read today.’ 

Weiss chuckled at the message, which was so like Blake.  With Yang gone for the day, of course she’d throw herself into reading.  At this pace, however, she’d finish a dozen books today.

‘They’ll be back soon,’ Weiss sent as reassurance, although they both knew that it would be several more hours before their partners returned home.

‘I know.’

Before Weiss could respond to that message, another one appeared on the screen.

‘I kind of blame you for this.’

Sighing at the response, Weiss typed back ‘me too’ before setting her scroll on the desk.

This was, in a way, her fault.  She was the one who - jokingly - pointed out that the two sisters never left their partner’s sides.  And she was the one who - teasingly - suggested that maybe the reason for that was that Yang and Ruby needed their partners to keep them safe.  It was all in good fun until they latched onto the idea and spun it into a sisters-day-out.  Now, Weiss and Blake were stuck on the sidelines while their partners took part in a hunt without them.

Weiss really needed to keep her mouth shut sometimes…

Turning her attention back to the computer, she checked Ruby’s location one more time - another quick break before she went back to work.  The tracker in Ruby’s ring was moving quickly but within a small, contained area.  While Weiss couldn’t pick out the exact patterns from this software, she knew that the battle was underway.

That knowledge didn’t exactly make it easier for her to focus on the hunt report, but she did her best to answer the next couple of questions with as much detail as possible.

If the hunt description was to be believed, Ruby and Yang were probably fighting Beowolves and a few Ursa.  Of course, intel was often wildly wrong.  For all Weiss know, it was Death Stalkers and King Taijitus instead.  Or it was everything - the entire forest collapsing in around them.

“They’ll be fine,” she muttered, forcing herself to start typing and stop worrying.  Yang and Ruby weren’t kids anymore - they were exceptionally trained, exceptionally skilled huntresses.  Combined, they were a powder keg of damage.  And, if they got into a tricky situation, Yang could level an entire acre of forest to buy time.

Yet Weiss was still worried...and a little jealous that she didn’t get to participate.

By the time she made it through another section of their report - a struggle that took far longer than it should have - Ruby’s location had moved to another part of the forest.  Without seeing the action, Weiss could only guess the reason.  Maybe they needed better terrain to fight on?  Maybe the battle had naturally moved in that direction?  Or maybe they were following a particularly feisty Grimm?

“This is ridiculous.”  

Giving up on her work - which, just this morning, she’d been so certain she could finish - she decided to make herself something to eat.  Not that she was particularly hungry, but it would give her something to do that wasn’t wishing she was out there with Ruby.  Of course, the act of making food was bound to make her think of Ruby even more, but - 

When her scroll suddenly chimed - the unique, unmistakable sound Ruby had chosen for herself - Weiss all but dove across the desk to grab the device.  Her heart raced and concern flooded her veins - but that all disappeared when she read Ruby’s message.

‘Can you come out here?  I miss you, and Yang won’t stop whining about Blake.’

“Oh thank Grimm,” Weiss breathed before typing a hasty ‘yes’ and flying towards the front door.  She’d worn a combat-ready outfit this morning for a reason - secretly hoping this would happen - and had left Myrtenaster in hall closet for quick retrieval.

Ready in under five seconds, she was already out the door when she dialed Blake.

“I’m waiting at the station for you,” Blake said as soon as the call connected.

“What - how are you already there??” Weiss asked while hurrying that direction.

“I’ve been sitting here since they left.”

“You knew they’d cave?”  With the airship station in sight, Weiss picked up her pace and hurried across the street.  “How??”

“I didn’t give Yang a goodbye kiss.”

Rushing into the airship station, Weiss raced between the exiting passengers and made it to their usual platform.  When she found Blake already standing there - fully prepared for the hunt - she put her scroll away.

“You’re a genius.”

Hiding a smug smile, Blake motioned for Weiss to follow her onto the waiting airship.  As soon as the two of them hurried aboard, the ship took off and flew towards their destination.  

While this hadn’t been the plan this morning, Weiss was more than satisfied with the end result.  Maybe Yang and Ruby could go to a movie or an arcade on their own...