Work Text:
The capabilities of fire and ice are often debated. It's questioned which element is more fatal; the flames that melt your skin or the cold that freezes you to your very core. And far too often, fire is declared the victor.
Fire melts ice, after all.
But there’s something that’s often forgotten about the cold.
Because when the cold gets to its most unbearable temperature, when it latches onto your bones and burrows itself a home, when you can no longer remember what it was like without it? While the flame burns bright and claims your full attention, that’s when the cold strikes.
That’s when you should fear for your life.
Because when ice is its most dangerous, it burns.
(Weiss Schnee was made of ice.)
(And for Ruby Rose, she burned far too fiercely to be tamed.)
To this day, the worst day of Weiss’s entire life was the day that Beacon fell. Because it had been the beginning of everything bad. It was the day that ash and dust had seeped into her lungs, that her ears were ringing with the screams of innocents, the day that Pyrrha never came back and she was forcibly taken back to Atlas. The day that her team was forever changed.
The day that Ruby had run to the top of the tower and Weiss had never seen her come back down. Instead, the only proof of her still being alive was the bloodcurdling scream that would haunt Weiss until the day she died. Even then, Weiss doubted she would be able to forget that sound.
Each day she woke up in that prison to the sound of Ruby’s scream. She didn’t have the luxury of sweeping it aside as a dream, that it wasn’t real and everything was alright. Because it had happened and that meant it was real and that meant that nothing was alright at all.
So she swore she would never let anyone make Ruby feel such a fear ever again.
Weiss wasn’t an idiot. Not in any sense of the word. So she knew that making such a vow, especially in their line of work, was naive. But Ruby brought out her inner child, the part of her that still believed in fairytales and happily ever afters. For Ruby, she would make such a vow as many times as it took for it to come true.
“Your words have power,” Willow had once told her as a young girl. She was three feet tall and her hopes had no limit. The world had still seemed kind. “Remember that, my darling.”
With that, her mother had tucked her in tight, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and closed the door gently behind her. Silent tears trickled down her face, slowly tearing away the makeup that concealed the bruise Jacques had given her for speaking her mind.
Words have power, Weiss had learned time and time again.
And if they had power, Weiss would say this as many times as it took for it to come true: As long as I live, Ruby Rose will be protected. Let it be so.
Please.
The world was not kind to those who made it seem so, Weiss came to realize time and time again. And the Gods who had made it and their creations were just as cold.
Because within Brunswick Farms was the Apathy. And who better to discover it than her partner? As if she hadn’t already been through enough trauma in the past year alone than most people did in their entire lifetimes.
The scream tore through the fog in her mind like a hot knife to butter. Without another thought, her rapier was drawn and ready to fight. Her mind was devoid of the previous feeling of fatigue and lack of any emotion and now was swarming with thought after terrifying thought of what could’ve happened to her Ruby.
The following events would be unable to be recalled in her memory when she tried to think of the events later. Instead, she would just remember the inescapable fear in her heart for her teammates.
The one thing she remembered clearly, however, she would rather forget entirely. She remembered Blake slowly being encompassed by darkness as she beat against the wood of the cellar door with her fists until they were bloody and raw, only being able to think of escape and the horrific realization that unless a miracle happened, they would lose Blake all too soon after they just got her back. That they would soon follow.
Then, a blinding flash of silver and the air filled with ash.
Weiss never wanted to feel that helpless terror ever again.
Even hours later in the guestroom of Saphron’s house, Weiss could not banish the thoughts of ‘what if.’ What if they hadn’t followed Ruby down there, what if they hadn’t run fast enough, what if Ruby’s eyes didn’t work? What if they had all died down there and JNR would never know what happened to their only remaining friends?
She shifted in the darkness of the room so she could look at Ruby laying next to her in the bed. Everyone else was either on the floor or crammed on couches. Ruby had been given the bed because she saved their lives, and after Weiss got fed up with her humble declinations, she dragged her there herself. Now, Ruby seemed quite content with her partner by her side.
She looked peaceful in her sleep, Weiss thought. Her eyes traced her partner’s face; her dark eyelashes, her soft skin and the small smile that graced her lips as she dreamt, her long bangs flying up each time she breathed. Weiss hadn’t seen her this relaxed, this vulnerable, really, since Beacon days.
Before Weiss could convince herself not to, she scooted closer and gently wrapped her arms around Ruby. Though her movements were impeccably soft, Ruby woke. She had become a light sleeper on the road in RNJR days. They had to, if they wanted to survive.
Groggy, she tilted her head to meet Weiss’s fierce blue eyes that never looked so harsh in her presence. She lifted a clumsy hand to Weiss’s face.
“Weiss,” She paused to yawn while her partner smiled softly. “You okay?”
Weiss nodded and cupped Ruby’s hand with her own.
“Yeah. I’m okay.” She took a moment to drink in Ruby’s presence, soft and caring even while half-asleep, all evidence that she was undeniably alive and safe. “I just needed to make sure you were here.”
Ruby’s silver eyes narrowed in worry, suddenly more alert. “Did you have a nightmare?”
A shake of the head. “No, I just...I was scared for you today.”
“I’m okay, Weiss. I promise.” With that, Ruby wrapped her own arms around Weiss. The two stayed like that for a while, limbs entangled and minds clouded with the incoming unconsciousness of sleep, content to hold each other the entire night.
“I love you, Weiss.” Ruby whispered, her lips brushing against her shoulder from where her head was tucked into the crook of her neck.
Weiss pressed a kiss to the top of Ruby’s head. She breathed in the familiar scent of Ruby’s shampoo and brushed her hand through the tangled locks.
“I love you too, Ruby.”
Of all the situations Ruby dragged Weiss into, she by far believed that this was the pinnacle of absurdity. But it was Ruby. Weiss would follow her anywhere.
Because who else would catch her when she fell?
She was silently relieved when Ruby called her back to fight on the ground. Though she knew she had to go on the airship to initiate the heist, she wasn’t too fond of the idea of leaving Ruby’s side.
So when they split up for a brief moment and she suddenly heard that damned scream, she feared the worse.
She seemed to see it happen in slow motion: Ruby falling, her hands desperately reaching for something to hold onto but finding inevitable nothingness as Weiss raced to catch her in time. She stretched out her hand and caught Ruby’s in her own, her grip strong and solid as she pulled her to her side, to safety.
Weiss allowed herself a second to relish in the presence of her partner, the smirk on her face as she stared defiantly up at Cordovin.
Their hands still interlocked, the wind whipping their hair, and the fear still gripping Weiss’s heart in an iron fist, Weiss opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to tell her to be careful, did she even know how much her life mattered? She wanted to kiss the hand she still held in her grip and tell her to never leave. She wanted to tell her to never scare her like that again because she wasn’t sure if her heart could take it.
She wanted to kiss her and hold her and never let go.
But all that came out was, “What if I hadn’t caught you?”
And just like the Ruby Rose that Weiss had suddenly realized she had fallen in love with, she chirped with an embarrassed smile that never failed to warm her heart and cheeks, “I knew you would!”
It was only because they were still in the middle of a battle that she allowed her partner to retract her hand and let her off only with an exasperated groan. They would talk later, they both knew.
The battle continued to brew and all too suddenly Ruby was staring down the mouth of a Leviathan as she stood on Weiss’s summon. She had initially wanted to refuse when Ruby told her of her plan, but if there was one thing she had learned in the time she had known her partner, she somehow always knew what to do. No matter how crazy the plan seemed to be, it always worked out in the end. And she would follow Ruby into the ends of the earth.
What she was currently asking her was significantly less drastic.
So with a meaningful look, a gentle hug, and a reminder to be careful, Weiss watched her go. She had never concentrated more on a summon, for she knew what would happen if she faltered for even a second. Ruby needed her to be her rock, she needed her support. Weiss was more than willing to be that for her, and this particular circumstance took it literally.
With Blake’s grounding touch on her shoulder, she was able to maintain the summon even when the Leviathan bared its teeth dangerously close to her leader. But Ruby had asked her to trust her, and she trusted Weiss to keep her steady.
Time seemed to stop. (As the others would later be told, it did.) And suddenly the world was nothing but silver, and when it cleared, it revealed a triumphant Ruby Rose and a Leviathan turned to stone.
Weiss smiled, bright and proud as she stared at Ruby. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the strain of holding her summon, but she held steady. Even as the stone began to crumble and for a second the battle seemed as if it wasn’t close to being finished, as Cordovin joined the fight, and as Ruby returned to the ship, her proud smile remained.
Ruby stepped foot in the airship and was instantly surrounded by the proud cheers of her teammates and enveloped in hugs. Weiss watched from the floor where she leaned against Blake, taking the moment to catch her breath from the strain of using her semblance so much in one day.
When the crowd parted, Ruby’s eyes landed on her partner. She immediately knelt down to cup her face, those beautiful silver eyes of hers narrowed in concern. “You okay? You didn’t overexert yourself, did you?”
Weiss simply smiled and sighed tiredly. “I’m fine, Ruby. A little tired, but that’s to be expected with such strenuous use of my semblance.” When Ruby’s mouth opened to apologize, Weiss cut her off. “Don’t apologize, dolt.”
Her voice softened. “I’d do it for you any day.”
Ruby blinked at the response. She was used to Weiss’s affection, but wasn’t used to her showing it around other people. The others quickly gave them space and exchanged knowing smiles. Ruby smiled back before taking Weiss’s hand and looping an arm around her shoulders.
“Here. Let’s go take a seat, okay?”
She led them to the row of seats that lined the sides of the airships where they made themselves comfortable. Weiss laid her head on Ruby’s shoulder, their hands still intertwined. Ruby’s thumb traced small circles on Weiss’s palm.
They sat that way in silence for a while, content to watch the setting sun and listen to the steady rhythm of each other’s beating hearts.
“Are you gonna be okay?”
Weiss hummed tiredly at the sudden question, silently asking for clarification. Ruby obliged.
“When we get to Atlas. Will you be alright?”
Weiss lifted her head for all but a second only to nudge her forehead against Ruby’s. “I’ll be alright. I’ve got you with me, don’t I?”
A slight tinge of pink colored Ruby’s cheeks as she giggled. “That you do.”
(That night, Weiss climbed into Ruby’s bunk. Being in Atlas again was unnerving, and Ruby was not. Ruby wordlessly opened her arms and cradled Weiss close. They quickly found that the bunks were indeed big enough for two.)
(And in the wake of a fresh start and a battle well won, they couldn’t help but hope and think: surely, if a love was strong enough to start this war, what they had would be strong enough to end it.)
(Because, in the end, they realized, they had something Salem had long forgotten. The two of them called it love.)
Everything had gone to shit far too quickly. In another circumstance, Weiss might have found it impressive. Maybe even a little amusing. But not now.
Not when this was turning out to be another Beacon.
Not when they had no idea what had happened to half of their teammates and Nora and Penny were out of commission.
Not when some talking, intelligent Grimm had Ruby in its clutches and Blake and herself were the only things stopping it from doing so.
She had run like she never had before after Blake’s voice cut out on the comms, her legs burning and aching from the numerous battles she’d fought in the past 24 hours. But no pain would stop her from reaching her teammates.
She had joined the fight instantly upon her arrival, fueled by her desperation to help Ruby. In the Grimm’s arms, she was limp. She couldn’t fight for herself, she almost looked...No. She was alive. Weiss just had to make sure she stayed that way.
Without another thought, she struck Myrtenaster into the concrete. She thought of the first foe they had fought together, the Nevermore in initiation, and summoned it to fight. And suddenly she had wings.
...And then she didn’t.
Suddenly there were more Grimm than before, this time bursting through the ground and her summons. She hastily retrieved her rapier from the blacktop and swung it at the approaching monsters.
“It’s not here for me!” Ruby’s voice broke through the sounds of the fight. Weiss allowed herself a sigh of relief at her partner’s sudden wakening and sliced through another Grimm. “It’s here for Penny!”
Well, shit. That wasn’t -
A scream.
Ruby’s scream.
Her blood ran cold, her heart seemed to drop in her chest, and Myrtenaster threatened to slip out of her suddenly shaky grasp as the Grimm she had just slain turned to ash. Suddenly she was back at Beacon, the sky swarming with ash and Ruby beyond her sight and Pyrrha’s status unknown. But it wasn’t Beacon, she told herself. It never would be Beacon again.
In the present, she turned so fast her heavy braid whipped her back and her neck screamed in protest at the sharp movement. She paid it no mind. Because that was Ruby, her Ruby, and oh dear Gods she was on the ground, was she breathing, was she hurt, did she need her, did-
“Help the others!” Blake’s order cut through her thoughts. “I’ve got her!”
And although Weiss wanted nothing more than to go to her partner’s side and cradle her close, to protect her from all that could hurt her, she did what Blake told her to do. She knew Blake was more than capable of protecting Ruby and trusted her to do so. The others were in danger, and Weiss was more familiar with the layout of the house, allowing her to get to them in time.
Still, she stole one last glance at her leader as she ran away. She was so still.
It took every bit of Weiss’s willpower to run away from her.
Ruby had been the only one to see that - that man inside the Hound up close. Weiss and Blake had been busy getting Penny away from it. By the time it had caught up to them, the man inside had already been swallowed by the darkness.
“That was...a person.”
Ruby’s haunted words rung in the empty walls of the manor. Her next words would haunt her teammates for as long as they walked Remnant, even long after Salem was gone.
“And he had silver eyes.”
Blake’s ears pressed to her head and quickly met eyes with an equally horrified Weiss. If that was how Salem had made that Grimm, if that was what happened to silver-eyed warriors...it wasn’t hard to realize that Ruby could be next. And that her mother might’ve met a similar fate.
Weiss dropped to her knees in front of Ruby, blocking her view of the blackened bone that was all that remained of an innocent man. She pressed her gloved hands to her partner’s teary cheeks and forced her to meet her gaze. Blake pressed against her other side.
“Ruby? I need you to listen to me Ruby.” Blearily, the girl in question nodded, still very much in shock. “We are not going to let that happen to you. Not me, not Blake, not Yang. Not Jaune and Ren and Nora and Penny and Oscar and Qrow. She won’t get you, alright? Not with us around.”
“Y-You promise?” Ruby’s question was spoken through sudden, broken sobs. A vow they all knew that none of them would be able to guarantee, but the sentiment, the desperation, remained all the same.
Weiss sealed her vow with a tender kiss to her forehead. “I promise with everything in me.”
Blake pressed her own kiss to Ruby’s head as Weiss wrapped her in a hug, Blake followed her lead.
Weiss cradled her world in her arms. Her legs soon grew numb from the awkward position she was sat in, but she planned to hold Ruby for as long as they both needed. Nothing could happen to her as long as she was in Weiss’s arms.
Weiss would never let it happen.
It had happened all too quickly - they had heard of JOYR’s position in the whale thanks to a call from Winter and immediately dropped everything to go help their teammates, leaving a still out of commission Nora in the hands of Klein.
The whale had been blown to pieces when they got there, Salem apparently dead for the time being. Jaune, Ren, Yang, Emerald and Hazel had stood among the fresh wreckage, Oscar cradled close to Ren’s chest.
But their moment of relief was far too short-lived.
It had come out of nowhere, as it often seemed to do in the presence of their less-than-admirable luck. In an instant, Cinder came out of nowhere and landed in front of Ruby before anyone could process what was happening. And without a shred of hesitation, she extended her arm of Grimm and ruthlessly tore it across Ruby’s right eye.
Ruby’s scream rang out across the tundra and Weiss’s blood turned to ice. The only sound was the echoing of her scream, the crunch of the snow as she collapsed, her muffled sobs that kept turning into more screams.
The world seemed to stand still. For a second, everyone stood in absolute horror at what had just transpired.
Then.
In the silent shock, a single word was uttered. It was quiet. Soft.
“No.”
But as the world seemed to stop and everything was quiet in a way it had never been before, it was clearly heard. The pure venom in her voice struck fear into everyone’s heart; friend and foe alike. One by one, they turned to the source of the voice.
Without another warning, Weiss lifted her head. Her eyes were as cold as the ice for which she was named, and though she was no Maiden, it seemed as if they were aflame. She had never been feared.
Until this moment, perhaps it was considered fact that fire beat ice. But the world had never seen Weiss Schnee like this. Though her foe was a Maiden of flame and ash, Weiss, too, could burn.
Suddenly, Weiss’s grip tightened on her rapier and she seemed to grow wings. Her summon, a Nevermore, was born behind her, and with a sharp nod of her head it was off to attack. It seemed to wield a mind of its own.
As her teammates snapped out of their shock and ran to Ruby, Weiss was on a warpath to Cinder. She turned any Grimm that dared cross her path into dust without even blinking, her cold eyes unmoving from her single target. Cinder had begun to flee when she saw the Nevermore coming her way, but it stopped her before she could get too far. The Maiden turned to seek another escape, and instead only felt the wrath of a Huntress, a sharp pain moving across her torso.
The Schnee stood in front of her, Myrtenaster stained with her blood. Her face might be considered emotionless, but those who were close enough could see the unbridled anger spewing from her eyes, her mouth set into an angry scowl as she sneered, “I have better things to worry about. But the next time I see you, I will show no such mercy. Now, I suggest you run for your fucking life.”
With that, she turned on her heel and rushed to her partner, trusting her enemy to heed her warning. She didn’t have time to deal with her now. Ruby was far more important.
She quickly pushed through her teammates, and fell to her knees, her eyes only for her partner. Ruby was gathered in Yang’s lap, her sister doing her best to protect her from the cold. Jaune had a hand on her arm as his eyes were closed with focus.
When Yang saw Weiss, she silently, gently, offered Ruby to her. Weiss hurriedly took Yang’s place.
Ruby looked...small.
Despite her height, Ruby had never seemed small to Weiss. She always more than made up for it with her contagious energy and loud rambles, the way she swung around a giant scythe like it weighed nothing at all. But now, for the first time, Ruby Rose looked small.
Weiss hated it. She wanted to wake up and realize it was all a terrible dream. She wanted to wake up from Ruby’s snores and to hear her laughter. She wanted her safe and sound from the world and all that could hurt her.
Weiss cradled Ruby close to her chest and came to a conclusion.
Ruby couldn’t die. No, Ruby couldn’t die because if Ruby died the world would stop turning. The sun would burn out, the moon would fall and the tides would no longer turn. There would be no smiles, no laughter, no joy without Ruby Rose.
Ruby couldn’t die because Weiss didn’t know how she could live without her.
Ruby couldn’t die because Weiss loved her more than the sun loved the moon, more than plans loved to go awry, more than immortals craved the hand of death.
Ruby Rose couldn’t die because Weiss Schnee loved her more than anything to ever exist, and more than everything that never had.
Ruby Rose couldn’t die because the world would surely die with her.
And, Weiss realized with a shuddering sob, she believed in soulmates. She never had, but how else could she explain the way she was hurting right now? How else could she explain the feeling that her soul had been split into two?
Weiss clutched Ruby with all the desperation and tenderness in Remnant.
“Please.” She whispered - begged. “Not her.”
The tundra of Atlas had never felt more frigid.
Because now, it was almost as if it burned.
“Ruby?”
From her bed, Ruby instantly brightened at the sound of Weiss’s voice.
“Weiss! Come in! This is your room, you know.”
Weiss entered the room, her hands clasped behind her back and a slight blush adorning her cheeks. Ruby tilted her head in curiosity.
“Whatcha got there?”
“I-I...um. You know what, maybe this wasn’t a good idea, I’m sorry.”
Ruby stopped her from fleeing with a gentle hand on her wrist. “Weiss.”
The girl in question sighed in resignation and sat herself next to Ruby on the bed. Ruby patiently waited for her to find the words.
“I made you something,” Weiss suddenly blurted out.
“Oh?”
“It’s a - um. Let me just give it to you.” With that, Weiss shoved something into Ruby’s lap. Upon further inspection, Ruby found that it was an eyepatch with an embroidered rose on it. It seemed to be hand-stitched. For a second, she just stared at it, rubbing a thumb against the detailed design.
Weiss took Ruby’s awed silence as contempt. “You don’t have to wear it! I can take it back, I get it if you don’t want it-”
Weiss’s rambling was cut off when Ruby pulled her in for a kiss. Though it wasn’t their first by far, Weiss still felt the butterflies every time their lips touched. After a moment, Ruby pulled a way, her expression impossibly soft.
“Weiss, did you make this yourself?”
Weiss only nodded.
Ruby smiled bright enough to rival the sun. “I love it.” With that, she put it on over the still-healing scar. When it was done, she looked at Weiss for approval. Weiss responded with a quick peck of her lips over the eyepatch.
It only took a moment for Ruby to return the favor, her own lips pressing gently over Weiss’s scar over her eye.
“Now we match!”
Weiss scoffed lightly as she stared at the love of her life. She would never get tired of that smile.
“That we do.”
And again, Weiss thought, surely, she was right about soulmates. Because staring right back at her was her other half. They mirrored each other so perfectly it could simply not be coincidence.
Ruby Rose is my soulmate, Weiss thought. Because nothing on Remnant could defy the existence of something as fateful as this.
Weiss Schnee was often seen as cold and ice incarnate. But for Ruby Rose, she allowed herself to burn brighter than the sun.