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She had been fighting alone for days. Her aura was practically drained at all times and she could feel the exhaustion and dehydration start to wane her spirit. The last of her water was drunk nearly two days ago. She didn’t want to die out here in the deserts of Vacuo. Not when she had so many regrets. So many more things she wanted to change. So many more things she wanted to say to the people she loved most in the world.
More specifically, the secret she had labored close to her heart for her partner.
But no, she got separated during a grimm attack at a village they went to protect. Then a sandstorm, which had lasted well over a day, had to follow immediately after, making it all that much worse. Not to mention the people that still needed protection from grimm. And despite all the training they received about fighting in the wasteland of sand, it did nothing to avoid her getting lost.
She was told to find a trace of civilization so she tried to return to the village they had just helped to evacuate just to find practically nothing left standing. Just part of a tarp that was used for shading that had ended up half buried in the sand. It was better than nothing. It would be her home as she moved through the desert hoping to return to her real home. Her team.
She had no clue how long she had been out here for. She would guess a little over a week but she couldn’t be certain. All she could hope for was that this would not be the way Weiss Schnee would go out.
She had stared death in the eyes before and she didn’t care to have another reunion quite as soon.
So she kept moving. She had to eventually run into another Vacuan tribe or settlement or something but most had either moved on or been decimated by the storm. Still she pressed forward. She had to. She needed to. She must.
The motivation of returning to her team was the only drive that pushed her forward. The motivation of returning more specifically to her partner, Ruby.
So one foot in front of the other, she continued her trek, moving towards the direction that she believed would host the city of Vacuo. Even if every step became heavier and heavier.
She would make it back to Vacuo. She’ll take nice long drinks of water. She’ll rest her long agitated, sunburnt skin. Maybe even allow herself to binge on the sweets that her dear partner loved to consume. She had developed an intense craving for them at some point in her trek.
Those thoughts brought on the feeling of dryness in her mouth, on her tongue. She wasn’t made for the intense heat, Weiss was born in the cold and learned how to live in it. Truly, this desert felt like the greatest test of her skills as a huntress which is saying something seeing as she is part of the team trying to save the world.
But her eyes kept blurring and she could feel the flicker of her aura. She needed to rest. So there Weiss sat, pulling the tarp over her head. The dancing dots that she saw on the horizon were likely tricks of her confused mind which meant she had to at least sleep a little.
She’ll just take a short nap, regain her energy and continue on. Even if the dots grew closer, they weren’t nearly big enough to be grimm so she could sleep. Rest, regain some aura and continue forward, back to team RWBY.
There were shouts from what sounded like familiar voices. She was definitely going crazy now. Sleep would be good. Very good. The curtain of black was quickly pulling over her as the sand gently pillowed her cheek.
The scratch of the sand didn’t affect her fall into unconsciousness nor did the shout of her name from all four members of team CFVY.
Weiss woke up to gentle beeps in a darkened room, the slightest bits of sunlight trying their best to peek in through the curtains. Her blanket was now cotton rather than the rough material of her tarp and she felt the softness of sheets rather than the coarse sand that had been her bed before.
The pounding in her head wasn’t as obvious now but moving her head just the slightest too quickly brought on the nausea, so every turn of her head felt like it took eons.
Looking down to her left arm, she could see herself plugged into machines and a line pumping a liquid into her veins, likely to rehydrate her.
How long had she been here? Who brought her here? Last she remembered was passing out on a sand dune, closing her eyes on what, in retrospect, might have been her final time.
But as she continued to survey the room, she believes she might have found the answer to one of those questions.
There to her right was her partner, sleeping on top of their joined hands. Now Weiss has seen her partner through a slew of messy states, so she is easily able to tell this is one of her partner’s worst ones. Her hair is messy then it usually was, almost reaching into the territory of matted. Dried tear tracks left on her cheeks, emphasizing the even deeper dark eye circles on her already tired partner.
But her gentle snores make Weiss smile. At least she’s resting now after any grief that Weiss incidentally put her through. And relief floods Weiss in turn. She’s back in Vacuo. She can’t help but wonder where Blake and Yang are though. Both of their weapons, along with Crescent Rose, are laid on the seat under the window so they had to be nearby and probably decided to let the first two letters of their team rest.
Ruby shifts a bit, making the blanket that was draped over her shoulder, likely done by Yang, slip the slightest bit. Naturally, Weiss reaches over with her left hand to put it back in place. It’s a slow moment but she does eventually succeed. It’s only as she’s pulling away that she notices the two letters gripped in Ruby’s right hand, which she stretched out on top of Weiss’s leg while shifting.
One of the letters, Weiss is able to recognize her own loopy handwriting and wonders how Ruby got one of her letters. She doesn’t recall sending any letters to Ruby and the only ones written had been from the months after Beacon fell, hidden away in one of the many drawers of her now non-existent room in Atlas. Many of these letters which were filled with flowery words filled with longing for her leader and a blush makes her already red skin darker.
But the other letter is addressed to her, written in Ruby’s messier and sharper handwriting.
She grabs it. It was addressed to her afterall and Ruby brought it with her for a reason. She opens it.
~~~~~~~~~
Dear Weiss,
I just want to start with I kinda, maybe, possibly read your letter that you wrote to me that was super personal.
I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY FOR INVADING YOUR PRIVACY LIKE THAT!
I really didn’t mean to. I was just lonely scared without you around. It was I was lost without you around. No one was keeping me in check. No one to watch my back. Not even someone to help me make fun of how gushy Yang and Blake are. It felt like I was losing my mind without you around.
Then Raven comes up to me one day with a letter she said she found in your luggage when she kidnapped you addressed to me. I had to read it. I NEEDED to read it. It was from you and you were already gone for almost a week and I just really needed something from you, something to hold onto while you’re missing. I needed something to hold on to while you weren’t around and memories aren’t enough for me anymore.
I just missed you so much, Weiss. So there, that’s why I read the letter.
So I’m sorry. But I also think I understand what you mean by loneliness feeling worse… It feels like how we all got separated after Beacon but at least then I knew you were somewhat safe in Atlas. Now I don’t know where you are.
I miss so much stuff about you. I missed the way you would hum when you thought no one was listening. I miss you having my back while we fight. I miss seeing you laugh when all of us are together. I even miss all your complaints. I missed it everyday in the wild of Anima and I have missed it everyday now. I just really need you to come back.
And you also aren’t the type to just up and leave. You aren’t the type to just sacrifice yourself. Right? You’re just too smart for that. And you’re just too smart to get lost on a mission. And you’re too skilled to just get yourself killed, so where are you? Why aren’t you back here yet?
Are you mad at me?
Did you feel like I abandoned you?
Because I never wanted you to feel like that. EVER. It’s why I made that promise back at Haven. Team RWBY will never leave your side for a second. Did I break that promise? Is that why you left? That promise was already broken? Because I NEVER would ever break that promise willingly. I know you were the last of us left to fight against Cinder and I’m more sorry than anything in this whole world for falling. If I know you (and I’m sure I do), you were probably terrified fighting by yourself
We can’t lose each other. We’ve all already lost so much.
We all lost Pyrrha. And Penny, not just once but twice. We lost Atlas and the relics and I even lost myself for a bit. And at Haven, we already almost permanently lost y
I promised Yang that I wouldn’t leave her. Which means I can’t leave Blake either. And I can’t leave you, so you need to do the same thing for me. You CAN’T leave us. You can’t leave ME.
We’re supposed to be the best partners ever, right? Neither one of us can do that solo.
Whoo, I just took a break from writing and that was a lot. I’m sorry for all that rambling.
You were right (like usual), this is the most personal thing I’ve written. I kinda don’t wanna share it with you now.
But that wouldn’t be fair to you right? I mean I did read your super personal letter without permission so it would be kinda unfair for me to keep mine all to myself.
I already read your confession of love to me so it’s only fair that you get a response.
Well, Weiss Schnee, I LOVE YOU TOO!
I love, love, LOVE you!!
I used to have maybe the teeniest, tiniest crush on you back at Beacon. I mean sure you were super mean at first but then you started to open up to us and wow! Then I thought those feelings would disappear after Beacon, and I can’t lie to you, they did fade, but brothers was I wrong. When we reunited, I was beyond happy to see you again. Then Haven… After all that, I was scared to lose you again. And that I knew that there was a special place in my heart reserved for just you.
So I just really need you to be safe so I can give this letter to you.
And so I can confess in person. Tell you even more reasons for why I love you because I don’t really know how I would write all that out but I could sure show it. So I need you by my side, Weiss. And we can’t really be Team RWBY without W.
With all the love you deserve and more,
Ruby
P.S. I love you , Weiss Schnee. And I cannot wait to be reunited and fighting by your side once more.
~~~~~~~~~
Weiss had never been happier to be hydrated than now, her tears slowly building and falling at the letter. Ruby wrote this for her? No, not just for her, but in response to her. In response to the letter that she first openly admitted, albeit to herself, about the depth of her emotions for her best friend. That's what had to have been the other letter in Ruby's hand. It was the only one she had with her when she originally got captured by Raven.
Slowly she read the letter again, taking in every single word scrabbled on the page. Then a third time before finally feeling the words sink in and lowering the letter only to find Ruby’s brilliant silver eyes open and staring at her.
“Hello,” Weiss whispered out, throat still dry from days of unuse.
“Hey,” Ruby responded in a hushed tone. She starts to shift, leaving Weiss’ letter to her on the bed and using her right hand to cup Weiss’ face. “You’re crying. It was that bad, wasn't it?” Ruby jokes but Weiss can hear the anxiety in the words.
“Don’t worry, you spelt everything correctly.” A genuine smile lights Ruby’s face. “And I’m not mad.”
Surprise lights her partner’s face. “You’re not?”
“No. The letter was addressed to you, so it’s meant for you to be read.”
“But you wrote–”
Weiss cuts her off by squeezing their still joined hands. “If I recall what I wrote, I said it was personal, but I trust you with my secrets, Ruby Rose.”
“Even…?” Ruby trails off, but Weiss knows.
“Especially,” it takes all her strength to raise their joined hands to her lips, pressing a kiss onto the back of Ruby’s hand, “the secrets of my heart. There is no one I trust more.”
Weiss wished she had more strength to fully appreciate the way Ruby’s face lit up like her cloak, but she was happy to get Ruby flustered nonetheless. “O-oh.”
“Mmm.” She hums.
“Sh-should we talk about it more? Normally you would like to talk about it more.” Ruby staggers through the words, nothing like the charismatic leader the world was coming to know. No this was the Ruby that Weiss originally got to know. The one that also knew her.
She nods. “Usually I would but I’m still quite exhausted and you seem to be just as tired so,” she shifts on the small hospital bed, freeing space to her right that should be enough to fit Ruby too, “lets rest.”
“But–”
Weiss glares at her. “How long have I been gone for?”
Ruby stares down at her boots, refusing to make eye contact. “Almost ten days.”
“And how much rest have you gotten in those ten days?”
Ruby says nothing but reaches down to unbuckle her boots. “Fine, don’t want all three of you mad at me,” she grumbles before lying in the open space.
They both do their best to get comfortable on the small best while doing their best to make sure Weiss is still connected to everything. Eventually they settle in and a quiet falls over them.
“I was so scared, Weiss.” Ruby whispers. “Team CFVY brought you in, saying they found you out on some dunes southeast of here. They said you passed out right in front of them. And when they first brought you in, me, Yang and Blake,” she takes a shuddering breath, “it scared us to see you like that.”
Weiss says nothing for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Please. We’re sorry. We shouldn’t have lost you.”
“I shouldn’t have allowed myself to get separated from the three of you.” She can hear Ruby take another shuddery breath but cuts off whatever she was about to say. “Where are they, by the way? Yang and Blake? Their weapons are here but not them.”
Ruby says nothing for a moment and Weiss knows it’s because she’s upset by being cut off. Weiss only did so because they would go in circles over their shortcomings. Finally Ruby chooses to also relent and answer Weiss. “They went to get food in the cafeteria, said they were gonna bring some to me since I didn’t want to leave your side.”
“I see.” Ruby had been struggling without her there then. Food was lower on her priorities now even though Weiss was safe again. “We should rest then before they get back.”
“Okay.”
“Then we can talk about her letters to each other later.”
“Okay.” This time Weiss can hear the smile in her voice.
They both start to drift off to sleep, the beeping of the machines giving them a constant sound of Weiss’ safety.
“Weiss, I love you. I’m so happy to have you by my side again.” Ruby says before the cover of sleep fully pulls her under.
“I love you too, Ruby. By each other’s sides is where we belong.” She mumbles back, falling asleep feeling alive after so many days lost to the desert.
Her soul was alive and her letter answered. This time her pillow sank under her softly and didn't scratch and any warmth she felt was because of her dear partner and not the blazing sun.