Chapter Text
Summer sun beat down across the city and, in combination with the asphalt and reflective windows, pushed the temperature to a height that was both uncomfortable and dehydrating. It was the end of the season. The peak of the heat had come and it was going to be a slow coast into cooler temperatures but, for many, the heat was welcome. With only a week before the fall semester at Beacon College beginning, students already started their mass influx. Human and Faunus alike began to fill the dorms, roam the campus, and overall give the college a sense of fullness it had been lacking weeks prior. Moving trucks and cars filled parking spots. Local and campus book stores were stocked in preparation for the new semester to kick off. Most students filled their time getting settled or learning the city. Many took it upon themselves to explore the nearby forests; the area was well known for the hiking trails, rated in the top twenty of many outdoors travel magazines. Others who had lived near the area or were returning already fell into routines. All of the shops had started their part-time hiring for the seasons ahead as students came in looking for something, anything to make ends meet.
Amidst the campus chaos of new people, though, a commotion was largely ignored. A white-haired woman clad in a blue dress, no more than twenty, stormed across the campus and was followed by a younger woman with dark red and black hair. She looked to be eighteen at most, and the dark colors she wore caused her cheeks to flush in the heat.
"Weiss! Stop! We need to talk about this!" Ruby ran after Weiss, her black boots thudding against the pavement as she went chasing her across the college campus. If she wanted, she could easily overtake the girl running. History had proved this time and time again that she could. But she didn't. She didn't want to because she wanted Weiss to stop on her own. "Please just stop and talk to me," she pleaded, the tone of her voice carrying her worry and concern. The two had left the cafeteria only a moment before. Ruby slowed her pace when she noticed Weiss doing the same, and finally stopped. Their conversation had begun just outside the cafeteria after the Schnee girl received a phone call from her sister. Whatever it was that Winter had said rattled Weiss. Ruby recalled their lunch going well enough before the phone call. But their argument soon after the phone call carried them across campus and into the science hall, away from the busy paths outside. Ruby had to question if a more private location was Weiss' goal or if it was a complete coincidence. Perhaps this meant Weiss was going to finally tell her what was wrong.
"Ruby, this isn't something up for discussion. I already told you, and I can't handle this right now." Weiss turned around to face the girl in red. The pain of keeping her familial secrets always weighed on her, especially from Ruby. This time was no exception. "My father is already putting enough pressure on me, Winter is now pressuring me, and I don't need you doing it, too. So, please. Back off," she snapped and followed it with a sigh. Sadness dragged her expression down, pulled her shoulders down into a slump. She wished Ruby would understand this wasn't something negotiable right then. Not when it came to her father and the family company. Not when Winter needed her. Not when it was her family obligations, keeping face for the 'sake of the investors' as her parents would have put it.
"I'm not going to. Weiss, please. Let me in. We're dating, we're in this together, and that- that means something to me. Doesn't it to you, too? We had waited. So long..." Ruby trailed off and a look of hurt fell over her face. "I thought we were dating at least, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore, is it? What is it that's got you like this? What did Winter say? Or was it your father? Just... Help me understand what is going on." Ruby took a few steps closer to Weiss with pleading eyes and hesitation, fearing she would flee again, preparing to move quickly if she did flee again. Her heart ached and anxiety gnawed at her. Something was definitely wrong with Weiss and she wanted to know. It was always like this with Weiss' family. Always. The girl would never open up and it was always a sore spot in her relationship with the Schnee girl, even if she understood some of having things that were uncomfortable to talk about.
The white-haired girl closed her eyes and sighed. This was not how she wanted anything to go. She assumed her family drama would be left behind, at least while she was at school, but it had followed her. Rather than open her eyes again, Weiss raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I- I can't tell you. Please, just trust me. I'm leaving the dorm and moving back home." Weiss didn't want to. Of course, she didn't want to leave her girlfriend behind like that. Especially not when it had taken the two of them years of awkward attempts at flirting through high school before either of them realized the other was in any way interested in return. That was followed by the difficult time where Weiss had to return home after she graduated when Ruby had to finish high school without her. It took a lot of convincing, but Weiss, with the help of her sister Winter, managed to convince their father to let Weiss attend Beacon. They were so excited to have gotten into the same school after Ruby's graduation. They were going to be able to be together. Things had only begun to settle into place for Weiss with Ruby. Despite this, she also couldn't tell Ruby she didn't want to leave because that would only make her having to leave even harder. No matter what she said to her family or to Ruby, she was going to lose, and she was far less scared of Ruby, even if it hurt more emotionally.
"So, this is it? You're just what? Leaving me here like this?" Another step closer to Weiss. "The semester's about to start and you're leaving before it even does? Please talk to me."
"Ruby-" Each girl looked on the verge of tears, but Weiss knew she would be the one to break first. She always was.
"No, Weiss! There's something going on and I want you to trust me, too. I want to help. Or at least, I don't know. Know the reason why you're leaving me. Please."
"Ruby. Stop." Weiss turned to leave and Ruby reached a hand out to grab her shoulder. With an icy shrug of her shoulder, she pulled away from the girl in red.
"Can you at least tell me if it was something I did? Or said?" Ruby's voice cracked as she held back her tears. She had wanted to date her best friend for so long, and now that everything was lining up for the two of them, it was being taken away without explanation. Maybe... maybe she was wrong in asking Weiss out. But that couldn't be because Weiss had confessed, too. None of it was making sense. She wasn't thinking properly and the suddenness of it all was mixing her thoughts up.
"No, Ruby, it's- It's not you." Weiss' words felt hollow in her throat as she said them. How could she possibly begin to explain the problems she was facing from her family, she didn't know. Winter's words that their father had Alzheimer's still rang in her ears. Their mother had asked that neither of them says anything about it for the sake of the family company. Not yet. Not until she could get some affairs in order. Weiss was tired of how tedious it was to be in that family.
"Then what is it?"
"I need time. To process. Maybe we need to spend some time apart." With tears in her eyes, she started to leave again. She knew she would be the one to cry first. She turned to run into one of the labs to get away from Ruby, partially blinded from crying.The girl in red didn't hesitate. She bolted forward after her girlfriend to try and catch her again but gave Ruby a shove. She was unexpectedly confronted with a dust storage cabinet in front of her when Weiss dashed around a corner. Ruby tried to move out of the way but she wasn't fast enough. Weiss caught the sight from the corner of her eye and turned but wasn't fast enough to stop it. Dust quickly exploded into ice, slamming into her, covering her skin, and her clothes. The wall of ice had more than knocked her back; it had thrown her back and she landed on her side and rolled with a loud snap. The ice dust continued to turn to ice, her face slowly being covered. Ruby gasped for air, but the crystals in her throat had already begun to choke her.
"No, no, no, no," Weiss repeated, filled with a growing sense of panic. An alarm within the lab building sounded to alert everyone of an accident happening. "No, Ruby. Ruby? Please be okay, please be okay," she continued while running towards the fallen girl. "You have to be okay, please be okay." Weiss dropped to her knees next to Ruby. The ice was already covering most of her and it was difficult to tell if she even had a pulse. Her attempts to remove the ice crystals forming on Ruby's skin were fruitless and she cried even harder. "I- I have to- I need to get someone." Weiss looked around as her panic grew higher. Hands shaking and vision blurred, the white-haired girl started to run as fast as she could, shouting for help the entire way. Several people exited nearby rooms and headed in the direction of the room Weiss emerged from, but they didn't know what to do. The department head ran out of her office to head in the direction of the alarm when Weiss ran into her.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Deep breaths, dear. What's wrong?" The soft voice of the older woman tried to soothe Weiss as she was led down the hall to Ruby.
"She's- I need- No, she needs- Ruby... hurt." Weiss was nearly out of breath between her crying and running. She couldn't clearly see who she was talking to but was thankful that anyone had come to her aid.
"Okay, deep breath. Tell me again, but slower. What happened? Who is hurt, and where are they?" The woman rested a hand on Weiss' shoulder to try and soothe her when they reached the open door.
"Ruby, she's- she needs... An ambulance. Please! Hurry!" Her breathing started to level and she wasn't choking on each breath, but her hands shook even more than before. Shock. She was going into shock. This wasn't real. She wouldn't hurt Ruby. She loved Ruby. She would never hurt her. Why did she push her? She had to help her. Everything was wrong. The world began to spin around her.
"Hey, hey, we need to be here for when the ambulance arrives. Just breathe, okay?" The older woman quickly pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed for an ambulance. As she did so, Weiss continued to cry.