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“The first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.” Weiss recalled the moment that she came face to face with the redheaded girl who would become her partner.
To say that Weiss had been unagreeable and cold to the young leader when they first met would be, quite frankly, an understatement. However over the course of their time together Weiss had surprisingly found herself rather close to her leader Ruby. So much so that she would consider her a friend, her first real friend. Her bestie as Ruby would put it. Only after they became separated after the fall of Beacon did the heiress realize how much Ruby had grown on her.
Looking in the mirror she sighed. Her reflection showed tired bags under her eyes and what seemed like an irreversible frown on her face. The time she had spent in the Schnee manor since arriving had taken its toll on her. She would openly admit to any of her friends how much she missed her bubbly partner. Weiss even missed the constant banter and bickering she would get into with Yang.
The stress of not knowing the status of her broken team weighing on her mind throughout the days and restless nights alone. Until, however, Weiss came to the realization that her team was in fact her real family and reputation be damned; she would rejoin them at any cost.
…
When Ruby first awoke after the fall of Beacon she half expected her partner to be by her side. Instead she found herself in her childhood home on the island of Patch with not a clue what happened to Weiss. Straining to get out of bed to find some answers, her uncle Qrow was quick to notice and usher her back into bed, explaining to Ruby after that Weiss was taken back to Atlas by her father.
The news caused Ruby to become crestfallen upon any mention of Atlas or Dust by her friends as they journeyed to Mistral. The mere mention of things connected to Weiss enough to cause her to brood over her partner’s well-being. Over the course of their partnership Weiss had quickly become Ruby’s best friend, despite her prickly personality. Ruby simply chalked it up to Weiss' own way of showing she cared.
After their separation Ruby realized that Weiss had become the object of her affections. Weiss simply made her strive to be the best that she could be. Ruby realized that no one was perfect and once she drilled this fact into Weiss' skull the two became a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. They covered each other’s weaknesses perfectly and watching the two was more on par with watching a waltz of steel. Their battlefield prowess carried over to their personal life as well, their personalities complementing the other quite well.
…
“Weiss that was awesome! How you went all ‘Jacques Schnee you are under arrest’ on him!” Ruby said, drawing Weiss back to the present.
Weiss gave a small nod, “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”
“Hey Weiss? Can you show me around the gardens? I want to get some fresh air.” Ruby chimed from the ex-heiress’s side.
“Of course Ruby.” Weiss said and with a happy hum Ruby took Weiss by the hand and ran towards the gardens of the Schnee Estate. Weiss gladly let her partner almost drag her through the spacious halls. What was once an action Weiss would have scolded Ruby for she let happen because it made Weiss happy to see Ruby be childish again.
She knew it so well, Ruby had put up barriers around her childishness in order to be portrayed as a capable leader. Weiss had done nearly the same thing her entire life, that is until she met Ruby.
It wasn’t until she was handed a single rose did she realize that Ruby was no longer holding her hand. She graciously accepted the rose and looked into Ruby’s eyes, noticing how the lights in the garden reflected off Ruby’s irises.
“A rose from a Rose.” Weiss thought to herself as she reached for Ruby’s hand once more. She looked around and realized that they were currently standing amongst a variety of rose bushes.
“You know, while I was here after the fall, I spent a fair amount of time here in the garden.” Weiss casually said the comment as she tilted her head towards the roses.
Ruby shook her hand free as she gestured to the spacious garden, “I bet Weiss! The garden is huge and it must be nice and peaceful out here.”
Weiss grew bashful as she drew Ruby in for a hug, holding the embrace for a moment before pulling back to look her leader in the eye.
“I meant here surrounded by roses you dolt. The scent reminds me of you.” Weiss trailed off as a look of realization flashed across Ruby’s face before a blush crept across her features.
“Weiss,” Ruby breathed out no more than a whisper. “I missed you so much while I was on the road, I thought about you everyday that we were apart.”
The sudden comment caused the alabaster haired girl to blush deeply. Weiss drew Ruby back in close, opting to rest her head on Ruby’s shoulder.
“Ruby, I, you make me such a better person, Ruby Rose. I love you.” Weiss whispered into Ruby’s neck.
Weiss pulled away slightly when Ruby let out a deep sigh. Not the response she was expecting, she shot Ruby a worried glance.
“Weiss, I, I feel the same way about you. Whether or not you want to believe it; you have made me into the person I am today. Without you I would still be this childish, well child, thrown into situations I wouldn’t ever dream of being able to handle.” Ruby said with a sigh. “I desperately want to be with you Weiss, I do. The thought of seeing you again helped drive me through our journey to Mistral and with you by my side I know I can be the leader you envision me being. With that said,” Ruby wrapped her arms around the shorter woman, pulling her in closer. “We can talk about this- us after this is all over.”
Weiss felt a sense of relief wash over her, followed by a pang of… disappointment? Weiss was glad Ruby felt the same way, and understood where Ruby was coming from when she said they would talk about them being an item after their battle with Salem. But Weiss couldn’t help her longing for the younger girl. She would respect Ruby’s wishes, however, knowing that their relationship was only beginning.
Suddenly Yang burst out into the gardens, her urgent expression faltering for a moment as she observed the red and white duo’s position. “While I hate to interrupt this intimate moment,” she drawled, urgency returning to her posture, “it’s Salem.”
The name alone spurred Weiss and Ruby into action. Ruby began typing on her scroll and shortly after Weiss received a message she presumed was also sent to everyone telling them to gather in the courtyard. Once everyone arrived there was hardly a need to explain the situation to everyone. On the horizon loomed Salem’s floating fortress, flying alongside were waves upon waves of grimm. An alarm blared through the city, notifying the populace of the incoming grimm.
“This is it everyone!” Ruby shouted over the siren, rallying us together. “We may just be children, but if we and everyone else gathered here can’t stop Salem, then it’s over for not only us, but for everyone on Remnant.” Everyone gathered around Ruby as she spoke. Ruby did not exude confidence as one would expect from a leader, but she spoke the facts with unwavering determination. A determination that seeped into the fiber of everyone’s being. “Alright guys, let’s do this.”
It wasn’t long before the group reached a building that would serve as a launching pad towards the fortress in the sky. They had quickly carved through the fodder grimm to reach this point. After this, one side of this battle would be victorious. Yang and Nora used their brute strength to fling their companions up into the sky, following suit once they were the last two remaining on the rooftop.
…
The battle within Salem’s castle was intense, everyone’s aura drawing on reserves as the teens battled for their lives. When WBY of team RWBY finally took out Cinder; a brief moment of respite was allotted to them in their victory. However Weiss did not give herself a moment to relax, she needed to find Ruby. When they reached the fortress they were greeted by Salem’s henchmen. Ruby had brilliantly left her team in the dust, dashing past the guards, going deeper into the castle.
“That absolute dunce. I told her I would be there to have her back, and what does she do? She ditches me. Ugh, I cannot believe that girl.” Weiss thought to herself as she raced into the castle. Flashes of light and the sounds of battle could be heard and Weiss knew she was close. Rounding the corner she spotted Ruby, eye’s aglow, engaging Salem with her semblem at max. Weiss knew if they had been fighting for long Ruby must be almost out of aura so she waited for a moment to assist.
As she watched Ruby’s swift movements; Weiss began to anticipate Ruby’s next move, trying to find the perfect opportunity to join the fray. Ruby was like a dancer, spinning and slashing her way through the air as she incorporated her silver eye powers. However, there was something wrong about seeing Ruby slice through the air alone. Weiss envisioned herself perfectly alongside Ruby, the moves she would use and the joint-attacks they could perform. This was their dance, a waltz of red and white. Weiss could tell where Ruby would land from her current attack and summoned glyphs to speed over to that location.
Ruby was surprised to see the glyphs appear on the floor beneath her. She spotted her partner flying into her position, and new glyph forming in the air giving Ruby an opportunity to change her momentum and trajectory leading into her next attack. Ruby bounced off the glyph using her semblance momentarily before reforming to use her eyes on Salem. At the same time Weiss was repositioning and forming another glyph for Ruby to use.
The duo fought in perfect sync with each other. Weiss mainly remained on the ground launching glyph attacks and simultaneously kept Ruby in the air. Ruby used a combination of her semblance boosted attacks and her silver eyes, varying her timings, aided by the ability to strike at different angles with the help of the glyphs. Ruby and Weiss were slowly beginning to turn the tides of the battle, Salem’s breathing becoming more and more ragged. They were beginning to land more meaningful hits on her and soon, they both prayed, they would be victorious.
Ruby saw it before Weiss did- a lance of energy building low on the ground aimed directly at the end of Weiss' new path of glyphs. Salem was planning on attacking where Weiss would appear. Ruby sprung into action using a glyph to change her course midair.
Weiss had set up another glyph in the air for Ruby to use when she noticed Ruby was not using it. In the blink of an eye ruby was inches away from her stock still; a pain shot up her side. She inspected it to see she had been partially pierced by a spear… the same spear that had run clean through her partner.
“RUBY!” Weiss shouted before Ruby motioned her to stay back. Ruby glanced backwards, a thin line of blood running down her mouth and down her neck. Ruby had purposely ignored the glyph in the air to place herself in the spears way, protecting Weiss by doing so. With a small smile Ruby turned back around to face Salem.
“A valiant display, young warrior. But now that I have defeated you, who is left to stop me?” Salem’s eerily calm voice echoed off the camber walls. “Without your silver eyes this world is doomed.”
“I’m not finished with you Salem!” Ruby choked out taking a pained step forward.
“Ruby! Please let’s get out of here! W-we can regroup with the others and get you patched up. Yes! Let’s go back and get your sister and the others!” Weiss pleaded to Ruby’s backside.
Ruby simply took another step forward as her eyes began to glow. “No can do Weiss, this needs to end now.”
“Look at yourself Ruby! You can’t do this right now Ruby, you’re badly wounded. Please! Ruby!” Weiss couldn’t stop the tears from stinging at the corner of her eyes.
Ruby took one glance over her shoulder and smiled, before channeling her semblance. She unleashed her silver eye power in a brilliant flash in front of her before agonizingly turning on the afterburners of her semblance, dashing forward through the lance directly into Salem. When Weiss' eyes had recovered, she was alone in the chamber with Ruby who was now on the floor. She rushed over to her partner, sliding across the floor to cover the remaining distance.
“Ruby! Ruby! Please wake up,” She choked out with a sob, “Look at me please. RUBY!”
Ruby coughed a few times, blood accompanying each shudder of her body. Eyes slowly cracked open and Ruby gave a soft smile to the sobbing girl beside her.
“Did we do it?” She asked softly
Weiss jumped in relief at her partner, she began channeling whatever aura she could muster into Ruby, refusing to believe this was the end for her. “Yes, we did it, you did it Ruby. You did it and I am so proud of you, your mother, your sister, everyone Ruby, everyone is going to be so proud of you Ruby.” Weiss sobbed out.
“Weiss, you’re crying, come on, don't cry. You always looked so much better when you smiled. We did it Weiss, so smile. For me?” Ruby whispered softly looking into Weiss’ eyes before falling into another fit of coughs.
Weiss looked down into Ruby’s eyes before smiling softly, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing freely but she could at least do this much for her. She saw herself in those pools of silver. Her hair was a mess, some of it was singed off and she had snot dripping from her nose.
“There's the Weiss I love, I love you Weiss.” Ruby had a few tears falling as well now. “I don’t want to die Weiss.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to leave you like this, I want to be with you!” Ruby was sobbing now.
The sight before her broke Weiss’ heart. “Ruby Rose, you are not dying here, not on my watch.” Weiss choked out between sobs.
“I love you Weiss, I’m sorry but I’m really tired. I think I’m going to rest my eyes for a while.” Ruby whispered before going still.
“No! Ruby stay awake please, for me? Ruby?” Weiss cried as she saw her reflection in Ruby’s eyes slowly fade as her eyelids closed.
“No no no, please, Ruby, RUBY!” Weiss shouted as she desperately started pouring as much aura as she could into her partner. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Ren and Nora, along with Jaune slung over Ren’s back.
“Jaune! Please, help Ruby! Please!”
Ren shook his head solemnly, laying Jaune down. When Weiss saw this she realized he couldn’t help her, she at least hoped he was just unconscious. Yang and Blake made their way into the chamber looking no worse for wear, cuts and bruises littered across their skin. Upon seeing Yang, Weiss started sobbing even harder.
“Y-Yang.. I’m sor.. so so s-sorry, please, help me. T-there might still be a chance. Please, Yang…” Weiss pleaded with the blonde.
Yang shot a glance over to Blake who shared the same grim expression on her face.
Yang choked back a sob, “I think it’s too late Weiss.” She whispered as she knelt by her sister taking one hand into her own.
“If none of you help me then I’ll do it myself.” Weiss shrieked, pouring everything she had into Ruby. Even if she died in the process if she could do anything to save Ruby she would. Black crept to the edges of her vision. She could feel herself slowly succumbing to death's embrace when suddenly she regained some of her strength. Glancing over she saw Yang and Blake wearing small smiles. Their hands on Weiss’ shoulder giving her aura she could then pass onto Ruby.
“Ruby, please come back to me. I need you. Please. Please.” Weiss prayed to the gods.
She could have sworn she saw a flash of silver beneath Ruby’s closed eyes.
“R-Ruby?” Weiss nearly whimpered.
Ruby’s body shook and convulsed as she broke into another fit of coughing before taking a deep breath. Slowly her eyes cracked open, “Weiss? What happened?”
Weiss felt she had cried enough for a few lifetimes, shed fresh tears as she wrapped the girl up into her arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Yang and Blake had started sobbing as well at this point.
“Yang? Blake? You guys are okay, thank goodness.”
Weiss pulled away enough to look her partner in the eyes, when a dull grey stared back at her, she knew something was off. Ruby’s eyes were cloudy and unfocused.
“Are you okay Ruby?” Weiss said as she sniffled.
Ruby stretched her arms before groaning, “I’m in unbelievable pain, but I’m still alive. A-and, I can’t see any of you.” She whispered the last part.
Yang ruffled her sister's hair as she cried. “As long as you're still here with me Rubes, we'll be okay.”
“I’m so glad you came back to me, I love you Ruby Rose.” Weiss said, never breaking eye contact with the redhead. Then Ruby did something unimaginable: she used her semblance, not in the way she normally used it. Slowly; velvety petals began to peel away from Ruby's body. Though the air was still, the petals drifted and danced through the air, gently brushing the faces of all those in the room before floating back to Ruby.
“Weiss” she whispered before brushing her hand on Weiss’ cheek. She did the same thing to Blake and Yang before waving in the direction of Ren and Nora. “Ren, Nora, I’m glad you guys are okay too. Is.. Is Jaune ok?”
Ren stood dumbstruck as he did not reveal his or Nora’s presence yet Ruby knew they were present. “Yes Ruby, he took quite the beating, but he is okay.”
“I’m glad.” Ruby said before turning her head back in Weiss’ direction. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt. I love you Weiss with everything that I am.”
Weiss cried into Ruby’s shoulder again before giving her a brief kiss. “Thank you for saving me Ruby. I love you too and I swear to you. My life, and my sword, are forever yours.”