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'-and as the latest spike in interest seems to indicate, the vein of pure fire dust crystals found in Quarry B-5 was an extremely beneficial find for the SDC, and I suggest we refocus our efforts on the Solitas site over the coming weeks.' Weiss raised her hands off the keyboard and stretched her fingers as she re-read the email she had written up for the head office.
It was far more formal than what she was used to, and she couldn't help but cringe as she was forced to use corporate lingo such as 're-evaluating our ventures' and 'analysing quarterly profits'. But at the same time, she knew it was a necessary evil if she wanted to fit in with the rest of her department. Just as she was thinking these thoughts, a small knock came to her office door. She sighed and gently raised her gaze away from her sleek computer screen and towards the source of the sound. "Come in."
Her response was curt but efficient, something she had come to expect from the stuffy corporate types she had been spending her lunch breaks with. Despite her barely concealed frustration, she smiled when her door cracked open to reveal the grinning face of the one person on her floor she could tolerate. "Winter!" She said in glee, her desire to talk flooding back into her in an instant. "It's so good to see you!"
Winter nodded happily as she slipped into the room and shut the sturdy oak door behind her. "Likewise, dear sister." Winter said, her smile not once wavering from her face. "You're a sight for sore eyes in this…dreary place." She added as she stepped further into the comfy office.
Weiss couldn't help but giggle at Winter's attitude to their place of work. Sure, they were happy to have the jobs they did, but it was clear to both of them that their rebellious natures were making it hard to keep a positive outlook on their corporate careers. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Weiss asked in glee as her laughter slowly died down.
The question brought about a sour, offended look onto Winter's face. "What? I'm not allowed to pay a visit and say hi to my favourite sister?" She asked almost too sarcastically for Weiss' tastes. As soon as Weiss' giggle settled down again Winter shook her head and betrayed the true reason for her visit. "I simply wanted to come by and see how you were getting on in your new position." She said politely, sitting down in the chair opposite Weiss on the other side of her desk. "It's been a week now and you still haven't met HR, so I'll take that as a good sign."
Weiss waved a hand in Winter's direction with a quiet scoff. "HR? What on Remnant do you think I would be doing?"
It was Winter's turn to laugh when Weiss bit back with the same Schnee sarcasm she had come to expect. "I honestly don't know, Weiss. Either way I'm glad to see you settling in." She sweetly retorted, reminding Weiss that she did in fact still care for her despite the jabs they traded back and forth. "I know you didn't think you'd be up to the task here, but you're worth more than you think, and I couldn't imagine anyone else sitting in that chair."
The compliment brought a slight blush to Weiss' face and she turned her gaze away slightly, using the sun glare from her window to disguise her cheeks so that Winter didn't see. "Oh quiet, you!" Weiss hummed out her denial, causing Winter's smile to widen. "But yes…thank you again for taking a chance on me. I know full well that if I mess this up it's your head on the block." Weiss looked back over to older sister with a glint in her eye. "I won't let you down."
"I believe in you, Weiss." Winter said with some finality in her voice. "Don't forget I'm always ready to help out at a moment's notice." Recruiting Weiss into the SDC had a myriad of benefits for Winter, but the one she was most looking forward to was being able to spend time with her sister once again. After their mother, Willow, promoted Winter to an executive position, free time with Weiss had become more and more scarce.
Weiss nodded in response. "I appreciate it, but I think for now I'm going to try and figure things out myself." She glanced down at her sapphire bracelet; a gift Willow had gotten her upon her return to the SDC. It was a reminder that she was wanted and needed at the company, and she wanted to make sure she wasn't relying too heavily on her siblings in order to keep the job. "But if I get stumped, you'll be my first person to turn to."
Those seemed to be the key words Winter was looking for, as she promptly stood back up and sent Weiss a lopsided smile. "Thank you. I want you to know that I'm your sister and I have your back." Weiss followed suit, standing up and giving Winter a firm handshake. The older Schnee turned to leave but before she was halfway to the door she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist.
Weiss kept her arms slung around Winter, refusing to let her leave until they had at least shared a hug. "I've missed you."
After a few seconds Weiss finally let her sister go, backing away slightly lest she had crossed the line of affection in the workplace. Thankfully Winter had retained the smile on her face throughout the entirety of the hug, and Weiss breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her smirk. "I've missed you dearly too." She said in response. "Maybe this weekend you and I can go out and spend some much needed catch up time together?"
The offer was something Weiss was hoping to hear. She knew Winter was busy so she didn't want to push her luck and suggest something herself. Thankfully the problem had seemingly solved itself right then and there. "I would love that." Weiss said happily. "Do you have a place in mind?"
Winter tilted her head for only a moment before nodding in confirmation. "I'll surprise you." She said cryptically. "I know what you like." She added afterwards, turning once again to leave. She swung open the door swiftly and started to make her way down the corridor. "See you this weekend!" She called back to her baby sister.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Weiss almost shouted after Winter. She was happy that Winter had opted to pay her a visit. Weiss wasn't expecting it, and it had brought some light to an otherwise dull day. Either way, she sighed as she sat back down onto her comfortable swivel chair, eager to get back to work. After all, the sooner she was done here the sooner she could go home.
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'...So, In conclusion, our monthly earnings from our second Vacuo branch are barely exceeding expectations. I firmly suggest a reworking of our core management, and-' Weiss stopped what she was typing and shook her head, losing her train of thought for the third time in the last twenty minutes. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but something was distracting her and slowing her work down.
She glanced around the room, determined to find the cause of her annoyance, but once again she came up empty. Whatever it was, Weiss could barely see it out of the corner of her eye. After a few more minutes she had narrowed her options down, and was now certain that it was something outside, so she changed her approach and turned her head to look out of the large windows to the side of her office. Something amidst all the drab grey and white buildings wasn't sitting right in Weiss' peripheral vision, and she was determined to find out what it was.
A lone blob of red, somewhere out there, was occupying her subconscious mind and preventing her from working efficiently. She looked up and down the large corporate towers and skyscrapers desperately looking for the offending location, if only so she could set her brain at ease. It only took a few more seconds of looking before finding the source of her frustrations, gasping as soon as she saw a lithe brunette woman performing some preliminary stretches atop a treadmill through the window of the building opposite her office.
She was wearing a red and black sports bra and a pair of tight, red leggings, which helped explain the colour discrepancy out of the corner of her eye. Weiss watched the sporty girl push a few buttons on the machine's control panel to begin her work out. She slipped a pair of headphones on before beginning to jog in place as the treadmill whirred into motion
As much as she didn't want to stare, Weiss was utterly captivated by the smooth motions of the brunette's body, and the way her long legs confidently pivoted back and forth as she began to work up a sweat. Everything just seemed so picturesque, and Weiss likened it to that of a music video as she was continually surprised with how perfectly the scene played out in front of her. Weiss lost track of time as she watched the display of sheer athleticism, almost jealous of how effortless she was making the exercise look. It wasn't long before disaster struck; The woman seemed to get a sense that she was being watched, and in a flash she craned her neck upwards and made direct eye contact with Weiss.
It all happened too fast and Weiss froze up, unsure on how to react. She felt bad that she had been caught staring, and she mentally chastised herself as she knew she was better than to stare at strangers. The conflicting thoughts she was feeling had distracted her from the fact that the two of them were still staring at one another. Thankfully the gym woman didn't seem all too upset that she was being stared at, and in fact had an almost amused glare as Weiss still couldn't bring herself to look away.
Weiss' face flushed as she maintained eye contact with the young athlete, and her heart skipped a beat when, out of nowhere, the red-clad runner sent her a confident wink. Before she made any more of a fool of herself, Weiss finally turned her head back away from the window and into her office, so quickly that she almost gave herself whiplash. She coughed awkwardly and shook her head, unsure if what had just happened was actually real or some sort of exhaustion induced dream.
The wink had been entirely unexpected and had managed to shake Weiss to the core. She reasoned that her mind was playing tricks on her, and that she was simply too tired to be thinking straight. Despite coming to this conclusion, Weiss was still rattled by the brazen flirt that she had received. She didn't dare to look back down to the gym just in case the runner was judging her for staring, or even worse, still staring up at her herself. Instead she pushed the distraction out of her head and tried her best to get back to work, resolving to finish the report that she had put on hold earlier. After over half an hour of toiling away at her computer, Weiss subtly noticed that the red blob of colour that had distracted her at first had vanished. She risked another look down to the gym only to confirm her suspicions: The mystery girl had gone. Either she had finished her workout for the day, or Weiss had imagined the wink and the red runner was put off by her invasive staring.
As far as Weiss was concerned, the damage was already done. She looked back at her computer and tried to push the whole thing out of her mind and get back to work. She eventually managed to finish her report, but the memory of the gym girl continually plagued her thoughts all through the day and night.
Weiss made a mental note to find a way to apologise to her the following day. That is, if she showed up again.
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Ruby hummed happily to herself as she walked down the busy Vale streets. Cars honked their horns and people passed her by, but she had just finished a hard day's work and was heading to her favourite place to unwind; Nothing could bring her down. She practically skipped into the front lobby of the Oz Holdings building, eager to get her daily exercises underway. Ignoring the strange looks from the other people in the front lobby, Ruby began to jog up the stairs to the second storey gym with a spring in her step, a plan in her mind, and a pretty office worker to impress.
She waved her membership card at the man behind the desk and hurried into the locker rooms to get changed into her gear. Today wasn't just any ordinary gym day, and Ruby was excited to put her admittedly odd plan into motion. Not too long later she emerged from the changing rooms and made a beeline for the treadmills closest to the window.
Luck was on her side as the one she had used yesterday was free once again, and Ruby wasted no time setting herself up for the workout ahead. The way the white-haired woman reacted to a single wink was enough to give Ruby the confidence to try and grab her attention once again. Only this time, she had a plan.
She looked up and out of the window to the building across the street, smirking as she saw the same young woman sitting at her desk, typing away at whatever it was she was working on that day. Ruby promptly tapped a button on the treadmill's control panel and it responded in kind, powering up and speeding Ruby to a gentle walking pace. The cards were all in place and the plan was in motion, all Ruby needed to do now was wait.
As much as she didn't want to seem like a weirdo, she continued to stare up at the beautiful woman in the hopes that she made eye contact with her once again, just like yesterday.
After a full minute of Ruby doubting if what she was doing was worth it, she finally got what she was waiting for when the office lady looked back down through her window and directly at her. Ruby raised up a finger to give the mysterious lady the universal sign to wait for one second before finally putting her plan into action. She reached down into her gym bag and pulled out a small electronic whiteboard, sending a quick glance through the window to see if she still had the attention of the beautiful stranger.
As soon as she saw the pair of radiant blue eyes looking quizzically at her, Ruby got to work. Or at least, she was about to, but her mind instantly drew a blank and Ruby stared at the empty canvas in front of her, completely stuck on what to write. She knew that she had to act fast before the white haired lady lost interest and the opportunity was lost forever, so in a panic she wrote the first thing she could think of.
She turned the board back around, with the canvas now facing the window, and flicked a switch to light the message up in the hopes that it could be read easier.
Hello up there! :D
Ruby held the board out as far as her arms could reach for a few seconds, hoping that the message had managed to break through the glare from the sun and the distance between them. She risked a glance over the board and at the girl in the distance, which prompted the reaction she was looking for. The office worker pointed to herself. "Me?" She mouthed out in concern. Ruby nodded her head vigorously and gave the stranger a thumbs up, happy that her little message had been received. The lady responded in kind, raising a hand to give Ruby a wave but retaining a confused look upon her face.
Ruby watched the seemingly perpetually-confused worker look around in confusion before raising up a finger just as she herself had done a few moments ago. Ruby responded with a big, toothy grin and a pair of thumbs up, showing a willingness to wait for whatever kind of response she had cooked up. It had been a relatively uneventful few weeks for the young Rose, and she was excited to see where this new, odd interaction was heading. She'd always longed for new friendships in the city, and now it looked like she was about to make a particularly long distance one.
The office lady rose from her seat and Ruby watched, mesmerised, as the chair she was just sitting on spun around in place. She had disappeared further into her office, and for a brief horrible moment Ruby was worried that she was about to see two security guards and end up with a restraining order. Thankfully this wasn't the case, as the white haired wonder soon reappeared, only she wasn't alone; She was wheeling a large projector screen up to her window.
Ruby glanced down at her little whiteboard, surprised that she had managed such a perfect outcome, and yet she was pleased with the results. If Ruby's prediction was correct, she was about to see a greeting show up on that big screen. And she couldn't wait for it.
She watched on as the stranger fiddled with a set of cables underneath her desk. It was quite humorous for Ruby, watching this otherwise elegant woman struggle to mess with the back of her PC tower and her screen as she had trouble connecting it to the large projector. It was a unique sight, and Ruby revelled in knowing that she had been the one to bring it on.
The office worker found her way back into her chair and began to slide the mouse around, tapping away at her keyboard every so often as she did so. Ruby continued to watch when the woman over the road swung her head back out of the window, as if making sure she still had Ruby's attention. Ruby recognised the gesture as something she had done before, so she smirked and sent back a quick wink just like the afternoon prior.
Much to Ruby's surprise, instead of blushing and looking away, the woman smiled back with a big toothy grin and nodded her head before looking back at her screen. Well, she still blushed, and Ruby beamed at being able to have that effect on the stranger two days in a row. Mere moments later the large projector screen lit up and Ruby saw the woman breath a sigh of relief to herself. Ruby watched as she could see the mouse move around the large screen, and not too long later a message started to be written out on the white canvas. Ruby noted how much better her handwriting looked, and she slightly ducked her head in shame and let out a nervous chuckle.
As good as her handwriting looked, it was slow, and Ruby squinted as each letter of the message was painstakingly written out one by one on the screen. "Can..y..o..? you!" She whispered to herself as she slowly pieced together the message, smiling as she managed to place the second word. "...Can you see th.. this?" She muttered to herself once again, the final word being all but confirmed when the 'i' started to appear.
Ruby waited until the message was finished and the woman was looking at her before nodding in response. When she had first thought of talking to the stranger with a written message, Ruby never would have expected a reply back in the same medium. But she wasn't complaining. In fact, she was practically bouncing in place as she started to write out a reply to the intuitive woman.
Yep! My name's Ruby, what's yours? :)
Ruby turned her board back towards the window, smiling up at her all the while. As soon as the message was received, Ruby's new friend began to write another message of her own. Ruby couldn't help but notice that her handwriting was a lot more steady than before, and Ruby felt some pride in that she had managed to raise the confidence of the beautiful stranger.
My name is Weiss. It's a pleasure, Ruby.
While waiting for Weiss to finish her response, Ruby was busy wiping off her previous message to clear the way for her next one. Once she was done looked up to see Weiss' words materialising on the large screen. "Weiss…" She muttered, smiling to herself. "Interesting…" The unusual name gave her inspiration for her next message, and she couldn't help but laugh as she scribbled down something only her sister would be proud of.
"WEISS" to meet ya! ^_^
Ruby's giggling died down as she turned the board back up to face Weiss, hoping to keep her composure steady. But once she saw the disappointment in Weiss' face, Ruby's laughter came back in full force, and she had to stop herself from doubling over when she saw Weiss' blunt reply on the projector screen.
Stop.
Weiss couldn't keep up her frustrated face for very long, however, as Ruby's laughing fit had forced her to don a big, satisfied smile. Things seemed to be going well between her and the stranger, so Ruby quickly scrubbed her message off and got to work writing a new one.
Sorry! ^^
For real, that's a super pretty name!
Although she was happy to finally put a name to the refined woman, she couldn't help but marvel at how exotic it sounded. At the very least, Ruby hadn't ever known a 'Weiss' before, and it only added to her excitement. Their little back and forth had clearly distracted Ruby, as she finally noticed that she wasn't even walking along the treadmill anymore. Before she could resume her workout, a fresh message appeared on the whiteboard across the way, which immediately grabbed Ruby's attention again.
Thank you! Your name is pretty too. Rubies are my favourite gemstones.
The sentiment made Ruby smile, and despite how much fight she was putting up she was rapidly losing the battle to keep a bright red blush off her face. If it wouldn't have been so humiliating she was secretly hoping that Weiss noticed her blush, after all it would be a good way to break the ice.
Ruby was looking down at her small whiteboard, pondering her reply, when she noticed something in the corner of her eye; Somebody had entered Weiss' office. Ruby quickly craned her neck and leaned forwards, trying to get a good look at the new stranger. It almost looked like Weiss' older self, but Ruby put it down to a coincidence. Whoever it was, they weren't very happy about Weiss' apparent lack of work, and it didn't take them very long to notice the large projector facing out into the street.
The 'taller Weiss' leaned forward to read the message before Weiss could erase it, and she must have figured out what was going on, as her scowl slowly turned up into a knowing smile. Ruby smirked to herself as she saw the new lady scanning the buildings opposite for whomever the message was for, and before long her hawk-like gaze settled on Ruby herself, noticing the bright red leggings which had attracted Weiss' eyes the day prior.
Against her better judgement, Ruby cocked an eyebrow and gave the tall woman a little wave, just to see what her reaction would be. When Winter's small smile evolved into a full-on grin, Ruby knew she made the right choice.
Ruby and Winter both simultaneously turned to look at Weiss, who was blushing bright red and squirming in her seat. Ruby beamed with pride and satisfaction as her office friend was relentlessly teased by her supposed boss, knowing full well that she was the catalyst.
Weiss' face had gone through a wide range of emotions, but she seemed to have settled on desperation as she pleaded with Winter to leave the office and not to ask too many questions about the message, much to Ruby's delight. After a few minutes of back and forth, the tall lady finally shrugged and turned to leave Weiss' office. On her way out Ruby watched Winter turn to her and give her an encouraging wink.
Getting singled out like that caused Ruby to blush a dark red, acutely aware that Weiss was blushing even harder than her. Weiss breathed a visible sigh of relief as soon as Winter shut the door behind her, and Ruby couldn't stop herself giggling as the whole scene finally processed in her head.
She watched on as Weiss scrambled for her keyboard, typing out a reply as fast as she could. Even if she squinted, Ruby couldn't make out the tiny text on the screen, and she looked to Weiss and shrugged to try and get her attention. That turned out to be unnecessary when Weiss increased the font and made the message big enough for Ruby to see. As soon as she did, she saw the typos.
Sorry sprry! That was my bosd and she was just teasing me. I'm sorry agaim!
Thankfully for Weiss, Ruby found the misspelt words and rapidly typed apology totally adorable, audibly cooing once the message was visible in the distance. Not only that, but it confirmed Ruby's gut feeling that Weiss was getting a grilling from her boss. She started to write out her next reply, giggling again at the mental image of whatever Weiss and her boss had said to one another.
It's okay Weiss, honestly! It was cute ♥
It was a little bit of a risky message, but seeing Weiss' eyes widen in shock was proof to Ruby that it was worth it. Before Weiss could quickly get a reply in, Ruby added to her sentiment using the leftover space at the bottom of her board.
My session's about over, but I'll see you tomorrow?
She held her board up to the window and accompanied it with the sweetest smile she could muster. Weiss seemed to return the smile in full force, with another typed message appearing below the previous one.
I'll be here, Ruby!
Being able to see Weiss again tomorrow was like music to Ruby's ears. Or her eyes, in this case. She was about to wave goodbye, but paused when she noticed that Weiss hadn't stopped looking at her computer screen since typing the message up. A second later it was evident why, as the message changed once again.
I'll be here, Ruby!
Weiss had changed the font from the default one to a fancy one, in order for it to look like her handwriting from before, and she finally looked away from the screen to smirk mischievously down at the red athlete, seemingly proud of her work. Ruby finally got a chance to wave goodbye, after a good giggle regarding the font change. After sharing their non-audible farewells, Ruby gathered her things and headed for the changing room.
Elated and excited, Ruby practically skipped out of the gym, almost wishing that she had an excuse to spend the rest of the day talking to Weiss. She kept her head high, though, knowing that she was going to see her the following day. As it turned out she liked Weiss. A lot.
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A few days had passed since the two of them had started exchanging messages, and Weiss was getting the feeling that they weren't about to stop any time soon.
Every day that week had been spiced up with the inclusion of a small afternoon chat with Ruby, and seeing her new friend gave Weiss something to look forward to after lunch. In fact, she could hardly remember what it was like before Ruby's smile had brightened up her work days.
Hey, I never told you about my dog!
Weiss couldn't wait but raise her eyebrows in intrigue at the mention of a dog. She had always wanted a dog growing up, but had trouble in the past convincing her parents that it was a 'worthwhile investment', as they put it. Of course, she couldn't wait to ask about Ruby's dog.
Oh? I love dogs! What breed is it?
After a day or two of keeping her handwriting as neat and tidy as possible, Weiss had decided to save both of them the effort by typing her messages out to Ruby. It made them easier to read and, more importantly, saved them precious time. After all, they only had half an hour to actually get to know one another, and they wanted to make it count.
A corgi! He's called Zwei! He's so tiny ^^
Weiss took a second to visualise a corgi in her head, and audibly awww'd when she remembered what they looked like.
I'd love to meet him someday!
She typed out what was on her mind, ignoring the implications of meeting Ruby in person, outside of their little work chats. It's not that he didn't want them to meet up, she just didn't know how to broach the subject without coming across as being too forward. As far as Weiss was concerned, Ruby was happy with their current situation.
As per usual, Weiss turned back to her computer to add a bit more to her latest report while she waited for Ruby to write her message. She seemed to have found the perfect balance of work and talk that managed to keep Ruby and Winter happy. After she wrote a paragraph she looked back down to Ruby, only to gasp in shock at what she saw.
Ruby's whiteboard was resting against the treadmill, and she was turned around talking to two people. Not just any two people, but two conventionally attractive gym guys, who were both looking at Ruby with smirks on their faces. Weiss couldn't help but scowl down at the scene, growling in frustration when she saw Ruby laughing along with them.
Before her anger could grow any further Weiss watched as Ruby turned and pointed right up at her, smiling that big goofy smile of hers. Weiss didn't lighten up, instead turning her judging glare onto the two boys, who both followed Ruby's finger to look directly at her. The staring seemed to do its job, because the two boys looked absolutely petrified. They turned to look at each other before nodding to Ruby and scuttling away back into the gym.
All at once Weiss relaxed her shoulders as the whole situation slowly blew over. Ruby quickly picked up her whiteboard as she giggled merrily to herself, and Weiss eagerly awaited for the message, if only to see what exactly had just happened down there.
I told them you were my GF lol! >:)
As soon as Weiss finished reading everything made sense. They were flirting with Ruby after all. The realisation of Ruby's clever trick to scare them off hit her too, and Weiss blushed as she thought about how that conversation went. She'd never been anybody's girlfriend before, but as soon as the opportunity came up Ruby didn't even hesitate to use it as an excuse. The thought gave her butterflies in her stomach, but she tried her best to calm down and keep the conversation flowing. At the very least, this would make for a fun story further down the line.
Wow, they brought that?
When she looked back down to Ruby she could still see her giggling happily to herself. It seemed that she didn't quite believe her plan worked so well either. Well, it was that or Ruby was excited over calling Weiss her girlfriend. But Weiss stopped that train of thought before it got out of hand. Before long a fresh message appeared on Ruby's little whiteboard, and Weiss couldn't wait to see what it said.
You should have seen your face! Very 'jealous GF'!
Thinking back, she supposed that she did have a scowl on her face, she must have scared those poor boys off. Weiss didn't think she'd get quite so territorial over Ruby, but the proof was right in front of her. Before she started to overthink things she carefully considered Ruby's words. Maybe she did want more out of their relationship after all. Weiss didn't quite know what she wanted, but she knew that she wanted to meet up with her at some point.
Later that day Weiss started to come up with a plan.
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Just like usual, Ruby went to the gym slightly earlier on Saturday. She wanted more of the day off to herself, and kinda enjoyed the peace and quiet a weekend mid-day workout gave her. She hoped that the change of schedule didn't confuse Weiss too much, or interrupt a meeting of hers or something. But when she stepped up to her reliable treadmill, all she saw in that off8ce window was a dark room, with the window covered by black blinds.
She started the treadmill slowly whilst staring up at Weiss' window, wondering when, if at all, she was going to show up. After almost a full minute of looking, Ruby suddenly started to laugh at herself. "You dumbass, Ruby…" she muttered to herself, shaking her head at her own obliviousness. "She won't be working on the weekend."
Rather than feeling sorry for herself, Ruby bumped up the speed on the treadmill and started to jog with it, hoping to take her mind off her missing friend. Rather unusually, Ruby felt a strange urge to finish her workout as soon as she could. She wasn't any more tired than usual, but instead she felt like something was missing. It didn't take her long to realise that without Weiss sending her messages from across the street her time at the gym had started to feel rather lonely.
Feeling entirely unfulfilled by the weekend workout, Ruby decided to pack everything up and head home for the day, opting instead to work on her chores and keep her mind occupied for the weekend.
When Ruby finished work the following monday, she couldn't wait to head down to the gym. With a smoothie in one hand and her bag in the other, she dashed out of the door and steadily walked through the packed streets towards the Oz building, eager to see Weiss again and to make up for lost time. Just like last week, she hopped up the steps to the gym, preparing herself to talk and catch up with Weiss.
Wearing her fresh workout gear, Ruby made a beeline for treadmills. She looked up out of the window and at Weiss' office…only to once again be met by a darkened room, with no sign of the occupant. Ruby scanned the adjacent windows, just in case she was looking at the wrong window. It was futile, of course, Ruby knew she had the right one from the start, but she was simply looking for reasons to justify Weiss' random disappearance.
Ruby thought back to the last messages they had shared on Friday, confirming that Weiss had even said how excited she was to talk again on Monday. Realising that staring up at the window was getting her nowhere, Ruby checked her phone to see if she had the right time. She read 14:32 on the display, which was the same time the two of them spoke every week.
In another fruitless attempt to check what had gone wrong, Ruby looked up the SDC on the internet to check if there was an unexpected closure in their Vale branch that would help explain Weiss' absence. Once again, that explanation didn't quite work as the remainder of the building was abuzz with activity, meaning there was no way that the whole company was closed.
Ruby had resolved to think of any other reason that would cause Weiss to be off today. Maybe she was sick? Or maybe she was late to work? She mentally berated herself for not asking for Weiss' number when she had the chance, cursing her lack of oversight.
Without a solution, and still with no sign of Weiss, Ruby hung her head down and started up her treadmill, hoping that distracting herself with jogging would ease her mind. With any luck, Weiss would soon materialise in the window and the two of them could talk and catch up again.
Ruby had become so self absorbed with her workout and forlorn about her lack of Weiss that she failed to notice a figure standing behind her, seemingly watching her jog in place. The petite woman folded her arms as Ruby ran on the treadmill, blissfully unaware of her presence. After a few more seconds, she knew she needed to make her move. "Excuse me, is this machine taken?"
The distinctly heavenly voice from behind her snapped Ruby out of her concentration, and she curtly nodded her head in the direction of the machine. "Uh, no. Help yourself." She mumbled before returning her focus to her running.
Ruby saw the figure step onto the machine from the corner of her eye, and although she was curious to see the person to whom the sweet voice belonged, she knew it would be rude to stare so she instead kept her head down.
"Thank you, Ruby."
However when the stranger spoke again, Ruby couldn't help but screw her face up in confusion. She didn't recognise the voice at all, which was odd considering she seemed to know her. She thought maybe the stranger was a friend of her sisters, and couldn't stop herself from looking up at the source of the voice. "How do you know my-"
As soon as she came face to face with the bright, captivating blue eyes of the office worker from across the street, Ruby gasped and froze up. "W-Weiss-?!" In the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that immediately followed, Ruby suddenly forgot that she was supposed to be running on the treadmill, and she lost her balance, falling flat onto her face while the speeding track of the machine launched her backwards and onto the hard gym floor.
Weiss sprung into action immediately, hitting the emergency stop on the machine and jumping down to Ruby's aid. "Oh my god Ruby, are you okay?!" She asked, bringing one hand up to her mouth and the other down onto Ruby's arm. "I'm so sorry!!"
Weiss' worry was eased when she heard the distinct sound of laughter. "I'm okay!" Ruby announced in between her giggles. "Apart from my bruised ego." She added under her breath, graciously taking Weiss' offered hand and allowing herself to be pulled to her feet.
They both spent a moment dusting Ruby off, with Weiss maybe taking a few seconds extra for herself when she felt Ruby's defined muscles, before standing up straught and coming face to face. Ruby immediately noticed how much cuter Weiss was in person. And how much shorter she was, too. Now that Ruby was steady, Weiss covered her mouth to chuckle a little bit. "I must admit, I didn't think you'd fall for me that fast." She said with a small smirk.
Ruby's blushing cheeks became immediately apparent, and she found it hard to keep her composure. "Weeeeiss, you can't just hit me with a line!" Ruby whined as Weiss simply giggled at her misfortune. "Besides, what are you even doing here?! Don't you have work?"
Weiss simply shrugged at the question, glancing up and out the window to see what Ruby's perspective was like during their conversations. "I took a half day." She said simply. "I couldn't wait any longer to meet you, Ruby." Weiss' explanation came out of her mouth so naturally it almost surprised her. What surprised her more was how flustered Ruby seemed to be. She always seemed so cool and relaxed through the window, but it was a different story in person.
For her part, Ruby was elated to see Weiss appear in the gym. She had missed her all weekend, and her worry about failing to get Weiss' number vanished now that she was standing right in front of her. It was a totally surreal experience, and Ruby couldn't stop herself from speaking her mind. "You're…super pretty." She said dumbly, screwing her eyes closed with shame as soon as she processed what she said. "Up close, I mean!" She turned to look up at the window of Weiss office, pointing to emphasise her point. "And not so..far away! Heh…"
Thankfully for Ruby, Weiss found her useless floundering rather adorable, and she couldn't stop herself from chuckling along with Ruby's antics. "Well, you're pretty too." She said with a small hum. "And I'm glad to finally speak with you in person."
Their meeting was going far better than either of them expected, and once Ruby managed to collect herself it didn't take long for the two of them to fall into casual conversation. They were both gently jogging on the treadmills as they spoke. Well, Ruby was jogging while Weiss was playing it safe with a slow walk. "So, is this a date?" Ruby asked after psyching herself up a little bit. It was an innocent question, but she was nervous as all hell right up until the words left her mouth.
Thankfully she didn't have too much to be worried about, as Weiss let out a gentle chuckle before answering. "That depends, do you usually have dinner after gym?"
Now that her mind had been set at ease, Ruby couldn't help but play along with Weiss' games. "Nope." She said quickly. "But for you, I'll make an exception." She added, risking a glance to her side and sending Weiss a wink.
Ruby quickly returned to looking straight forward as she continued her workout, oblivious to the state she had rendered Weiss to after her flirtatious wink. When she noticed that Weiss still wasn't beginning her own workout, Ruby looked back to her only to come face to face with the poor, red faced girl. Weiss' legs had turned to jelly just like when they first met and Ruby had winked at her back then.
It seems Ruby's charms had never quite worn off, even a week later.