Chapter Text
Ruby Rose:
Screams could be heard in the distance, yelling from all directions, loud explosions left and right. In the center of it was Salem. Yang was on the side next to Blake, being helped up, vision hazy. Everything sounded muffled— she didn’t know what was going on. The next thing Ruby felt was Weiss grabbing and turning her. Weiss’s face had a blood stain on the side of it, her face twisted as she shouted. Weiss was saying something to Ruby, but she couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. As seconds went by her hearing and vision got clearer.
“Ruby,” she heard faintly, as if a whisper. “Ruby!” this time it was louder, as if someone was just talking normal to her.
Her vision also cleared, and she could see Salem starting to turn, reaching out her hand straight towards both girls. Salem shot some kind of magic at them, but right before it hit, Ruby heard her name, clear as day, one last time— and then the attack hit. Everything went black…
Ruby jolted awake to someone shaking her shoulder.
“Ruby Rose,” a man said.
Her vision was slightly blurred. The voice was muffled through the sound of music playing through her rose crested headphones, the same ones from her days at Beacon.
“Miss Ruby Rose,” The man said again.
She refocused. It was an officer wearing an Atlas Pilot Uniform calling for her attention. The telling snowflake symbol of Weiss Schnee stretched over his helmet.
Ruby slid her headphones off and looked up at the pilot, still delirious, but present.
“I didn’t mean to disturb your sleep but I wanted to let you know we’d be arriving soon. We just crossed the border into Atlas territory and should be arriving at the Schnee Dust Company headquarters in Atlas in about twenty minutes."
“No, no. Thank you,” Ruby said with a yawn, raising her arms in the air and stretching them out along with her legs.
“Is there anything you need before we land?,” the pilot asked.
“No, I’ll be fine, thank you,” Ruby said with a slight tilt of the head and smile.
The pilot nodded and returned back to the cockpit.
The Vytal Festival was due to start in a few days and it happened to be the first one since the fall of Beacon. She, along with the rest of team RWBY, had honorable invitations for their brave actions in the war against the evil witch Salem and her grimm, most specifically in their victory. All members responded with an immediate acceptance for their attendance. Originally, Ruby was supposed to come along with Yang and Blake, but the two would be a day or two late because their youngest daughter Ellie got sick. Instead, she decided to arrive first to enjoy the beginning of the festival with Weiss before the opening ceremony.
During her last few minutes in the air, Ruby saw what was currently the rebuilding process of the new Atlas. It has been about 7 or 8 years since Salem’s downfall in the great war. The miraculous events were only achievable once Team RWBY found and gathered the four maidens together, using their powers to help defeat Salem. In the process, Ozma’s soul finally was able to die and rest in peace, knowing his one fatal failure throughout all his lives was finally corrected. Once he passed, the powers of the four maidens disappeared with him. However, the world was still filled with grimm and other problems, and with Salem gone, the monsters were even more dangerous without someone to command them.
After the war everyone branched off to grow into new roles. Oscar went on to become a teacher at Hollow Academy, while Jaune, funny enough, became a professor at the rebuilt academy of Beacon, now run by Headmistress Goodwitch. Ren and Nora got married after the final battle, but still participated as active hunters since the war; Nora did the brunt of the work while Ren just tagged along to make sure his partner didn’t cause excessive damage to anything. Yang and Blake also got married not too long after. They decided to settle down, still going on missions from time to time to make a living, but also had two very beautiful young daughters named Ellie and Anna. Weiss ended up returning to Atlas, despite her reluctance, to take over the family business and help rebuild Atlas, changing everything for the better there, for both humans and Faunus.
As for Ruby, she finally accomplished her longtime dream. She became a full fledged huntress and has been going on countless adventures while playing the Hero for everyone. For Team RWBY, saving the world did come with some inconveniences. But for Ruby, this came with fame and fortune. Once society as a whole got back on its feet, people and companies left and right wanted to interview and sign her on into their agencies. Althoughshe was flattered by it, she just wanted to live her dreams. She declined all of them (except one offer from the top cooking company in Remnant that offered free cookies for life, of course). To her, none of that mattered, she was just happy to finally be able to live her dreams and make her mother Summer proud.
As Ruby surveyed the currently rebuilding Atlas, she was reminded that the city itself was a sight that always amazed her. Following the Fall of Atlas and the great flood of the valley, its residents decided to reclaim the land from the remains. Atlas was now a massive floating city on the lake and it was a sight to behold. Skyscrapers under construction littered the skyline while the outer rim of the city was basically one giant port for airships. Multiple bridges connected the city to the other sides of the lake, which happened to be different buildings and homes where a good majority of the people of Atlas lived like a web.
As Ruby was carried closer to the city, she was able to see more. Atlas academy was in the middle of the city, with the main building only partly constructed but just enough that it was able to be usable. Next to that was a massive dome that seemed brand new, hinting that it would be the combat arena for the tournament portion for the festival. A little farther down towards the north end of the city was her destination, the rebuilt Schnee Dust Company Headquarters. This was by far the largest building in the city and one of the first to be rebuilt, as it also served as the city’s communications towers. It was also used as a Beacon of hope for one, as if saying “there is hope,” which just by looking around, ended up being true.
A few minutes later, the airship slowly landed on a landing pad near the top of the Schnee tower. As it was landing, Ruby could get an amazing view of the city, as if she was being dropped into the middle of a giant maze. Ruby stood up and made her way to the exit ramp of the ship after it landed. As she stepped off, she turned around one last time to get a nice view of the city.
Ruby was now a 26 year old (somewhat) mature adult. She didn’t grow anymore in height, but she did fill out a bit more in general. Her short messy red and black hair was just slightly longer but still messy. She still wore a red and black combat skirt with layers of mesh below. She had on her white sleeves only top and her black leggings that went from her waist to her feet, and she still had her black combat boots. However, what was different was everything else.
Her skirt and matching corset designs were different; from her waist to her collarbone, her skirt had two belts around it with six buttons going up her torso in two straight lines. On the side of her belt was a small pack and two more on the other side, both were slightly smaller. Attached to the back of her belt was, of course, Crescent Rose. The color of the belt was the same color red of her weapon. The end trim of the top of her skirt was red, but instead of everything else being black, she had many different small red strips going in different directions. The most unlikely thing though was the small necklace though, it was the color green, with the end of it being the symbol of Penny Polidena.
Shortly after Ruby finished looking over the city, the pilot came over to drop her bags next to her,got back in the airship, and took off. After it was gone, Ruby grabbed her bags and, very greatly, struggled to even get them to budge, trying to move them any way she could.
“I feel like I’m looking at myself from the first day of Beacon,” a voice said from behind her, followed by a slight chuckle.
“WEISS!” Ruby said as she bolted over to Weiss and nearly tackled her to the ground.
“You dolt, be careful! You do realize how high up we are right!?” Weiss said, as she was currently wrapped by Ruby.
Ruby let go and rubbed the back of her head, “Ah, sorry Weiss, I’m just so excited to see you!” She stressed out her vowels with glee and a huge smile on her face.
Weiss sighed and then smiled, giving Ruby a normal, and not potentially deadly, hug. “I’m glad to see you also, Ruby.” Weiss said during the embrace.
In comparison to her younger self, Weiss was now 28 years old and a very mature woman. She had on a pair of earrings, one white and one blue, that had her symbol hang from them. Her hair was still super long, and kept in a straight ponytail. Her attire consisted of a blue shirt top and a lighter overcoat that flowed all the way down to her heels, while she also wore a pair white heels and a matching pair of tight fitting work pants that cuff at her ankles.
Weiss glanced around. “Where are Blake and Yang? I thought they were supposed to come with you, for the Opening Ceremony?” Weiss asked, a bit confused.
“Well, Ellie unfortunately got sick, so they are gonna be a day or two late. Yang called and told me right before I got on the ship back in Vale,” Ruby said with a slightly saddened tone. She loved her nieces, sometimes even more than anything else in the world. They were adorable little bundles of fun, but sometimes Ruby wondered if they would grow up too similarly to Yang. Luckily, they all had Blake to even out their unruliness.
Weiss sighed, “I hope she feels better. I haven’t seen anyone since Anna’s birthday, so I was looking forward to seeing them. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they are going to be late.” She rolled her eyes, as if already picturing it in her head. “Yang probably gave her too many sweets or something; she spoiled them rotten!”
Ruby giggled a little. “So do you,” she throws back to her friend. “Honestly, all of us do. They’re so cute!”
Weiss smiled, neither agreeing nor denying. “Come on, let’s go inside. It’s been a while since you’ve been here.” She gestured to Ruby to follow her.
They talked their way off the landing platform and into the building. Inside the top floor was a giant lobby-like area with a massive Schnee logo on the back wall behind a front desk. Working as the receptionist was a young lady with brunette hair. She looked up from her computer at the two, jumping when she recognized who approached her.
“Oh, Miss Schnee! I didn’t realize you were in yet. And Miss Rose! What a pleasure it is to see you again,” the young lady smiled as she spoke.
Ruby sighed. “Please, just call me Ruby. Miss Rose or Miss Ruby Rose is just ... weird," Ruby said with a slight shiver.
“My apologies, Ruby. Ah, Miss Schnee, Miss Cleve was hoping to meet you in the experimental department. She said there’s something she wanted to show you,” the young lady said, handing Weiss a digital notepad. “She seemed quite… excited when she requested for you.”
“Thank you, we will head down immediately. As for you,” Weiss nodded to her employee after swiping through her notes quickly, "Why not take the rest of the day off? I don’t have any more meetings today, and tomorrow is the start of the Vytal Festival. You’ve worked hard lately, go enjoy yourself,” Weiss said in a kind tone.
“Thank you Miss Schnee,” the young receptionist said with glee.
As Ruby and Weiss entered the elevator, the young lady was quickly packing her things to go home for the day.
“So the Ice Queen does have a heart,” Ruby said under her breath with a grin.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Weiss said with annoyance in her voice.
“Oh nothing, just poking fun is all. I remember when we first met at the Beacon; you were so full of yourself,” Ruby said.
“Yeah, I was,” Weiss grumbled, not really being able to argue with her. “So anyway, how have you been Ruby? Has life been treating you well? I heard about your latest heroics in Vacuo, that was quite some quick thinking, using your semblance to take that grimm flying with you and then just dropping him right onto the spiked point of that church," Weiss said. The gruesome details may have worried civilians, but for seasoned hunters, it was just another way to bond.
“Yeah, it was easy. It was more annoying that Sun was there and ended up getting his tail bitten by the grimm. He needed over 30 stitches in it." Both grinned, imagining the pain. “Besides that, life’s been great! You know, going on adventures, saving lives, being the hero, the life of a true huntress,” Ruby said with a glowing smile on her face.
“What about the other part?” Weiss said.
“What other part?” Ruby asked, somewhat confused.
“You know, every hero has to save their damsel in distress, and I could easily tell you were upset when you mentioned Yang and Blake would be arriving late with their kids. Come on, you’re like glass, I can see right through you!” Weiss said.
And the thing is, she wasn’t wrong. Lately Ruby has felt like something has been missing. Yeah sure, the constant nightmares of the past weren’t exactly helping her, but Weiss made a point. Ruby had thought of the idea of beginning a family, she was always so happy to spend time with her nieces so the idea always floated around.
The issue for her is that that's as far as she got! Ruby had always been so focused on her adventure-filled life that she had even given time to think about romance. Plus Ruby has never even experienced romance before. She didn’t know the first thing about it.
Ruby blushed a little at the thought of potentially meeting someone, falling in love, having a happy family and living a beautiful life and growing old. Then a split second later she snapped back to reality and hit Weiss with the same question.
“W-well! What about you!? Where's your prince charming?
Weiss sighed and answered easily. “My Prince Charming is my work. Between helping rebuild Atlas, rebranding the image of the company from what my horrendous father made before, and coordinating the return of the Vytal Festival and the Tournament, I can’t even remember the last time I had a nice sleep, let alone a nice date."
That was an understatement. Ruby could easily see the bags under Weiss’s eyes, how little sleep she was getting, getting run ragged. Ruby didn’t say anything though, not wanting to be rude. The elevator started to slow down and eventually came to a stop, the doors opened up and they walked into a large lab-like room. Inside the room was probably about 25 or 30 people, all in lab coats. This was definitely an experimental floor.
Weiss led Ruby through the room to the center of it. A tall beautiful black haired woman had their backs to them, currently scolding a lab technician.
“I swear on Oum, if I see you experimenting with dust just to charge your scroll faster again, I'll go out, find the largest grimm I can find and put you in a room with it in nothing but your underwear!”
The loud tone definitely caught Ruby by surprise, but Weiss seemed unfazed.
“Uh, Zorana?” Weiss said.
The woman turned around. She had jet black hair that stopped at her neck and her eyes were bright, blood red. Her outfit consisted of a bright red overcoat that fell down to her knees. She also was wearing a glaring white, skin tight sweater underneath the overcoat that clung to her body. Stylish black shorts had a matching belt wrapped around her hips while fishnet stockings continued down her legs. Starting at the middle of her calves, she wore a pair of shiny black heeled books. Finally, she wore a necklace with her logo and cybernetic goggles.
“Weiss, I didn’t hear you come up behind me. I'm sorry about that, some of my assistants,” she said through her gritting teeth, “nearly blew up the break room doing some dumb experiments.” Zorana puffed out, “It won’t happen again."
Weiss didn’t seem fazed. “It's ok, as long as they don’t burn down the building, I don't have any real issues, but please try to keep some control."
“Don't worry, I will," she said, slowly as she turned towards the two goofball assistants as they whistled and quickly walked away. Zorana then spoke up again. “I see you brought your teammate, the luminous Ruby Rose." Zorana stuck her hand out to shake Ruby’s. My name is—," before she could even finish, the person in question was in front of her like a kid in a candy store.
“You’re the famous inventor Zorana Cleve! You helped create the system that Atlas uses to float on lake Mantle and helped create and connect the new communications towers across remnant and have created dozens of different weapons for huntsman and huntress today— oh my god, I'm such a huge fan will you please sign—”
Weiss cut Ruby off by putting her hand over her mouth. This was a common occurrence for a nerd like her. “You’ll have to excuse her. Despite her reputation, she really is still such a child."
Ruby pouted a little at Weiss' remark as Weiss removed her hand. Zorana couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Please, it's no problem at all. The awe goes both ways. My younger sister is also very much just like Ruby."
Ruby chimed in, excited once again.. “You mean your sister, Sierra Cleve, the top ranked up and coming huntress in all of Remnant, finishing final year at Haven Academy? Is it true that she’s never lost a fight or even used her semblance before? Also, I heard she once took on ten beowolfs by herself at once— is there anyway I could meet her and maybe get her auto—," this time Weiss just smacked Ruby upside the back of her head.
“Again, please excuse her, she's a giant nerd."
Zorana laughed, “It really isn't an issue. I'd be happy to do anything for the saviors of Remnant after all,” Zorana said with a smile. “Even Sierra would be honored to meet her hero.”
Ruby rubbed the back of her head, swaying side to side. “Ah, shucks."
“Anyway, I wanted to show you something, Weiss,” Zorana said, gesturing to the two of them to follow her into the next room. “I made a massive breakthrough this morning."
The room was dark until Zorana flipped on a light switch. There was a giant glass window in front of them and on the other side was another room.
“I finally got what I was gunning for,” she said with giddy. “Dust fusion.”
Weiss raised her eyebrows. “Really? I thought it was supposed to be a few more months before you even got close?”
“As did I— until this morning. I was working on combining lighting and ice dust crystals, then I put on Insight," she referenced her cybernetic goggles on her forehead. “Turns out, I had things backwards, I thought that combining dust would take only extreme amounts of heat, essentially melting them together, but the heat would activite the crystals, causing them to explode.
“Honestly, out of habit, I quickly cooled them down before they activated. However, Insight showed a few recrystallized particles towards the edges. Maybe I went faster and colder than usual, but it was promising, so I went into extreme cooling. It took some trial and error, but voila!” ”
Inside the sealed half of the room was a table. On it was a dust crystal with two different colors, one half yellow and the other blue. “It worked! I was able to combine the two with no destruction!”
Ruby decidedly didn’t mention the explosion marks on the walls around them.
“This is a massive breakthrough in how dust can help rebuild Remnant and beyond!"
“Ok, but does it actually work?” Weiss asked, still needing proof.
“See for yourself," Zorana said.
Zorana flipped a switch and a small spark struck the crystal through the glass. Slowly the crystal started to glow and react before a large explosion happened. Bolts of lightning ricocheted around the glass panel, and every time one struck a surface, ice formed in the area.
“It works!" Zorana said proudly while Weiss and Ruby were silent in amazement. “The practical uses for this are infinite!” Zorana was beyond excited.
Weiss clapped and smiled. “Well done, Zorana. Your hard work finally paid off.”
“Well, if it wasn’t for your belief in me, and your funding of course, this never would have been possible,” Zorana said, not taking all the credit.
“It was a risk, but I’m glad I heard you out. Let’s go over the details of ensuring its stability and safety for usage another time. It’ll take a while before any data will be conclusive. Besides, I know for a fact you haven't left the lab for at least a week. Your sister is gonna be taking part in the tournament, shouldn’t you be taking this time off and spending it with her?"
“It may not be a bad idea,” Zorana said with a smile in her voice. “Though it’s exciting to make a breakthrough, the follow up isn’t going anywhere. Thanks, Weiss.” She saw both visitors out of the room and subsequently left once she told a few of her subordinates to start shutting down.
After she left the room, Weiss spoke up. “We’ve been after this for over a year, Ruby. The uses for this kind of energy are unimaginable, and could send Remnant into a new age of technology." Weiss said her expression and body motion gave Ruby the impression a massive weight was lifted off her shoulders.
Ruby immediately went over and gave her a hug.
“I'm so happy for you, Weiss. I was so worried when you said you were coming back to Atlas to help rebuild all those years ago, but to see all your hard work pay off, from this to rebuilding the city— I'm so proud of you as your former leader, friend and sister," Ruby said, hugging her even tighter.
Weiss tightened her hold on Ruby in return. “As am I, Ruby. As am I.”
Once they parted, Ruby spoke up.
“Let’s go out and celebrate. The festival starts tomorrow so I bet we could probably find some food booths open up early. Let's go out and eat and drink and celebrate!” Ruby said in a cheer, shoving her first in the air.
“While I am for the idea, maybe not the drinking. Remember the last time you drank?” Weiss said with a stern look.
Ruby shivered, “Yeah, maybe you're right, Dad still wont let me live that down ...”
Weiss chuckled. “Come on, let's go."
A short hour later after Ruby settled into her guest room, Weiss and Ruby were walking along the newly formed streets of Atlas. Night had fallen and the nightlife was bustling. Everywhere around them, people were preparing for the Vytal Festival.
“Look around Ruby, isn't it amazing? I can’t remember the last time I saw so many happy faces in an Atlas,” Weiss said as they walked along the sidewalk.
“I mean, of course it's a big deal. It's the first Vytal Festival since Beacon fell," Ruby said. “How many years has it been since?”
“I can’t believe how long ago that was. It still feels like just yesterday we were starting out at Beacon, meeting everyone for the first time," Weiss said as she walked next to Ruby.
“I know, I am again sorry for blowing you up," Ruby said.
Weiss looked at her. “Ruby, that was like 9 years ago, please get over it."
“Sorry," Ruby said.
Weiss chuckled, “I don’t know about you but I'm getting hun—" Before she could finish, Ruby's stomach loudly grumbled and then they both looked at each other and laughed. “I guess you’re thinking the same. Come on, it looks like there's a noodle stand over there. Let's eat."
Ruby nodded in agreement.
It only took them a few steps to find a suitable dinner spot. They joined a simple looking noodle stand that had four empty stools in front of it, taking two of those seats for themselves.
“So Ruby, I heard that along with the ceremony, you got asked to have an exhibition match for the tournament. Is that true?” Weiss asked.
“Yea, it is. I was surprised I was asked, but I immediately said yes. Getting a chance to inspire the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses was an offer I couldn’t pass up,” Ruby said.
“So do you know who you’re fighting?"
“Actually I don't. The organizers said they were still having trouble finding an opponent for me. I bet everyones just scared," Ruby snorted. “Guess I'm just that good.”
“I'm sure that's the reason.” Weiss didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm. Instead, she motioned to the person running the stand and held up two fingers. The cook went back and started cooking immediately.
“Nevermind that, how did you get THE Zorana Cleve to work for you?” Ruby was genuinely curious.
“Well, she came to me. I heard of her name before and when she shared some of her ideas with me. I was blown away by her intelligence and creativity." Weiss said, as if almost bragging.
The two continued to talk for a while and then a few minutes later, two giant bowls of noodles plopped right in front of them. The cook then gestured to a card machine with a sign that said payment first, plate second. Weiss nodded and then went to pull out her card. Wasn't in that pocket… not the other one… her purse nope.
“Don't worry Weiss, I know you’re not the best at this, I still remember when Pyrrha had to pay for our meal before,” Ruby said before reaching into her pockets. Nope not there… not that one… nope not there either.
Ruby and Weiss looked at each other and then at the cook and both smiled.
Right before the cook took away their noodles, a voice popped up on the other side of Ruby.
“I got their meals, and please add another order of noodles too.”
Ruby turned to the other side as the man placed his card on the table. She got an even closer look as he sat in the stool next to her.
He was a mix between a lean and muscular body build, clearly someone in Ruby’s field of work. His dark brown hair streaked with orange was long enough to be tied in a low ponytail while the more strongly colored tips tickled the back of his neck. He wore a black-hooded combat style overcoat with its sleeves rolled up to his forearms and its sunset orange trim reaching right above his knees. A thick bangle wrapped around each of his wrists while a familiar style necklace hung from his neck. The white shirt underneath clung to his body, his muscular chest clearly visible from the low cut. He also wore a black pants with a silver fob chain looping on the left side of his leg. On his feet were a mismatched pair of black and orange combat boots, but what was most striking to Ruby were his heterochromia eyes. His left one was bright orange while the right one was blood red— a red that was eerily similar to someone Ruby had just met.
She immediately felt something in her chest, something she hadn’t felt before. It was new and caused her to immediately be on guard, watching the man like a hawk for what felt like hours before he spoke up.
“You know it's rude to just stare at people right?”
Ruby snapped out of it, but still didn’t feel completely like herself. “I'm sorry. It’s just— you know, kind of weird for someone to come over and pay for our meals with perfect timing is all.”
“I agree,” Weiss chimed in. “How do we know you aren’t some stalker or something that just stole our cards as an excuse to get close to us?”
The man answered without needing much time. “Point A, I have the money to do a good deed. And B, If I were stalking you, I feel like two of the greatest huntresses in the history of Remnant probably would have noticed."
That raised even more suspicion from Weiss. “So you know who we are,” she said, not as a question, but as a statement.
He held his hands up in innocence. “Your faces were on every screen and tablet for the last 8 or 10 years.” It was a good point.. “I swear, I just happened to be walking by, smelled the goods, got hungry, and I wanted some. As I came over, you two frantically looked for payment and pulled nothing out, so I just kinda guessed and happened to be right. Besides, I don't mind paying for a meal for the savoirs of Remnant."
The saviors of Remnant, there it was again. at this point, it was getting old for Ruby. She just wanted to be known as Ruby Rose, huntress, not Ruby Rose, super hero.
“Please, don’t call us that. Besides, we didn’t do it all ourselves,” Weiss said. She could tell his remark irritated Ruby a little.
“Sorry, sorry. Let me apologize with a meal at least? Or I could always just leave and let you two starve if you would rather."
“NO!” Both girls said in unison.
This made the man chuckle. “Then I hope you don’t mind the extra company.”
“Well, thank you very much, I promise to repay you with interest," Weiss said.
“You don’t need to pay me anything, I'm just trying to be nice."
“Very well then, could we at least know the name of the man treating us?”
“Adrian, my name's Adrian,” he said, flashing a bright smile at Ruby.
“Adrian what?” asked Ruby, slightly flustered by the smile.
“Just Adrian, first, middle, last, nickname./ Just Adrian."
“Ok, Just Adrian, what brings you to Atlas?”
“I'm here for the festival, and to visit my family. I haven't seen them in a while and I figured this would be the perfect time to see them and spend some time with them," Adrian said.
“Oh, well that sounds very lovely,” said Weiss. The memory of both her blood family and found family resonated strongly. “I’m so busy that I don’t get to see mine as often as I’d like.”
“Same here. Luckily both my sisters are here this time around, so I can see the two of them at once.”
The cook brought over the third bowl of noodles shortly after. Once everything was properly paid for, the three of them began to dig in. They talked while they ate, talking about many different things. Mostof all, Adrian asked Ruby and Weiss many different questions about different things, seeming genuinely curious.
“So I gotta ask, where’s the other half of team RWBY?” he said while taking a large bite out of his noodles.
“It’s rude to talk with your mouth full!” Weiss stated, elegantly taking a bite of her food afterwards to prove her point.
“They will hopefully be here either tomorrow or the next day. Knowing my sister, I won’t find out until the very last minute,” Ruby sighed. She swears that Yang had her own definition of how time worked.
“We won’t know until they’re here until they knock on the front door,” Weiss scoffed.
“Hopefully Blake will give us an early enough heads up.There’s four people in that family and somehow she’s the only adult.” Weiss seemed annoyed with saying that, which made sense given her own adult responsibilities.
Adrian chuckled at their back and forth banter. “You four really are close, huh? It’s nice to see you all are still like that after everything that happened”
Ruby spoke to him, “Well yeah, of course, anybody that goes through like that would be close.”
Weiss nodded her head in agreement.
“My sisters and I are the same, we’re super close with each other. Luckily we never had to go through the whole, preventing the end of the world ordeal,” Adrian said, making air quotations with his hands saying that.
After a while Ruby shifted the questions to him. “So, Adrian, what about your sisters,, what are they like?”
“My younger sister is a student at Haven, she’s actually partaking in the tournament, while my older sister works in the tech industry here in Atlas. And I gotta tell you, both of them are handfuls, but from what you two just said, I feel like you two can relate.”
Ruby chuckled, “I guess you could say that.”
The three continued to talk for a little while longer, well more like Ruby and Adrian talked while Weiss quietly enjoyed her meal, looking back and forth between the two sitting next to her.
Weiss finished her meal and then spoke up, asking Adrian a question.
“So Adrian, is there anything else that brings you to Atlas? You seem like a person who’s good at what they do if you’re able to travel so freely, especially with all of Remnant being so busy right now, on top of being able to pay for others meals, out of the goodness of your heart, as you say,” Weiss said with still some skepticism in her voice.
“Weiss, don’t be rude!” Ruby immediately responded to Weiss. “I'm sorry about that, the Ice Queen can be like that sometimes”
“Hey!” Weiss exclaimed.
“Well, that's a bit personal.” Adrian said, “I tend to try to keep my personal life to myself, that's just how I am, no offense."
Though she felt bad, she still pushed. “You know plenty about Weiss and I now. You can share a little something about yourself to even it out? Ruby knew that prying too far wasn’t a nice thing to do, but she was still weary of him.
After she said that Adrian’s scroll started to ring. Saved by the phone.
“I'm sorry, it's my sister. I ought to take this, plus it's getting late.” Adrian said, finishing his noodles, grabbing his scroll and standing up. “It was a pleasure to meet the non-Saviors of the Remnant. Have a great evening,"
With that, he answered his scroll and began to walk off. As he went further out, Weiss could catch him apologizing over and over again on the scroll.
“Sounds like his sister isn’t too happy," said Weiss.
“Yeah, but he didn’t seem like a bad guy, I think. He was actually a nice guy, pleasant to talk to and even paid for everything."
Weiss agreed, crossing her arms, “But wasn’t he also weird, he just kept asking us questions and barely talked about himself."
“I thought the same.” Ruby tapped her chin and continued to watch as his figure disappeared into the distance. “Although, you thought I was weird when you first met me, too.”
“True." Weiss was quiet for a few moments. “You like him don’t you?"
Weiss's true meaning behind that statement blew right over Ruby’s head. “Yeah, he seemed nice."
Weiss shook her head and smiled. Ruby was normally naturally friendly with strangers, but she acted strangely around this one. It was hard not to notice, even if she didn’t notice it herself.
After they finished talking, they caught a cab to the massive Schnee Company Tower where Weiss lived on the upper floors. Once they arrived, Weiss showed Ruby to her regular guest room and said goodnight to her, leaving her alone in her room. While Weiss passed out almost immediately after getting into her room, Ruby took a little longer in her bedtime routine. She changed into her rose patterned PJs, the same style ones she had at Beacon and laid in bed for a moment, thinking.
She remembered Weiss's comments about finding someone and settling down, how the new dust Zorana created could help reshape Remnant, and especially that mysterious man named Adrian that they met at the noodle stall. She thought about the past, the present and future, and lastly, she thought about her nightmare on the airship.
The battle, the screams around her, her teammates looking at defeat, Salem attacking them. For whatever reason she couldn’t move on from her past. It wouldn’t leave her. It kept tugging at her and she didn’t know why. Eventually, Ruby fell asleep, hoping to wake up to a better tomorrow.
Somewhere in downtown Atlas, Adrian was leaning up against the wall of a building. He was looking at his scroll. On it was a symbol, a cursed symbol, a symbol of someone he never thought he’d see again, someone he thought he was done with, someone he knew what they were capable of. He knew what it meant, what was coming, what was going to happen, and wondered if he’d be able to stop it. Could he do it alone, so as not to have to put anyone in danger? Soon, one way or another, he’d have to face his past, and the consequences that would come with it.
“So, now the fun begins," he said to himself.
He sighed one last time, put his scroll away and started to walk down the street, into a future that would not only change him, not just everyone around him, but all of Remnant.