Chapter Text
Normally, Ruby Rose preferred to hang around Mantle with her Team, or train in Atlas Military Academy. The city of Atlas itself, while impressive, caused her to feel uneasy, like she was in a different world. A world not meant for her.
So why was she hanging around a well lit street, surrounded by skyscrapers, under a heating lamp?
A cold breeze forced Ruby's arms to rub together in an attempt to conserve the heat.
The reason she was enduring this…
"On time. Perfect," a distant, stern voice called to her. A voice she knew.
Ruby turned to see Winter Schnee walk towards her. Tall, imposing, strong, beautiful, experienced.
Indeed, Winter was impressive in all aspects as both a person and a huntress.
The mystery was why she had chosen to meet with inexperienced, clumsy, awkward, somewhat short Ruby Rose.
But regardless, Winter had asked… or rather told her that they would have a meeting, and thus Ruby came like every time someone asked something of her.
"Hey, Winter," Ruby said, shivering partly because of the cold, but also because of the nerves. After all, she wasn't in her usual huntress attire, but a red dress Yang and Penny had pushed on her. Though she wasn't sure why Yang did it, she seemed to find it funny.
"Are you cold?" Winter asked then, raising an eyebrow before her eyelids lowered, and a hand went to her chin. "I should have outlined the need for a coat…" she muttered.
"I-I'm fine," Ruby said then. "This… Yang and Penny thought it would be best if I dressed up."
"Your sister is quite thoughtful," Winter mentioned. "Given her profile, I had assumed she would be hostile to the idea."
Ruby shrugged. "Who knows what goes on through her mind. Maybe she doesn't consider this whole thing serious."
"Oh, but it is quite serious," Winter replied.
Ruby blushed.
That's right.
This was…
"Ready for our date?" Winter asked, arm bent to allow Ruby's own to interlock.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Ruby replied as she eagerly put her arm with Winter's. On cue, a street light changed, and they began crossing the street.
"Excellent. I've got a few good things planned for our date. First, we'll have a Dinner at the Cream Pegasus. Then we'll go to the grand…"
As Winter talked in large detail, Ruby's eyes wandered to the specialist's outfit. She wasn't wearing a dress, but a fancy suit and pants, with shades of blue and white. It was quite dapper, but nothing like she expected Weiss' sister to wear.
"-sounds good, doesn't it?" Winter asked, snapping Ruby out of her thoughts.
"Oh yeah! Absolutely," Ruby replied. While she could have had a few ideas regarding hang outs, she preferred when others told her what to do. She wasn't confident that people would like her ideas; something Weiss had chided her for more than once. The Team seemed to have fun in their last hang out after all.
Winter sighed. "I take it you weren't listening?"
Ruby blushed as they crossed another street. "W-well… like a date's a date, right? As long as we are together."
"A good observation; but I have thought this through and let me assure you, it will be a perfect date that will leave you very satisfied," Winter almost sounded proud of herself, but to Ruby it almost seemed like she had taken it as an assignment.
Although to be fair, Ruby had not expected in her wildest dreams Winter would take a simple flower gift as a date proposition.
After crossing another street, they stepped up the cream colored stairs of a restaurant that had those very same colors, and seemed entirely made of that soft, polished stone. It almost seemed like a palace out of a fairy tale story. And the interior, the dresses, the people… all seemed to match that of a Gala.
But… life wasn't a fairy tale. Or at least, Ruby's wasn't.
Did people in Atlas really live like this?
Winter exchanged words with a server at the front desk, and soon they were seated on a black wood table.
"What do you think?" Winter asked then, eyes serious.
"It's very fancy," Ruby said after a moment. It smelled good too. Everything about the place was almost too good.
"It's a very famous restaurant," Winter said then. "I hope its to your liking."
"Oh, well-"
The charts came quickly, brought by a man in a suit who offered recommendations.
"-we also have some imported wine from Mistral left-"
"I don't drink," Winter's reply was quick, almost cutting.
"And the other lady? Would certainly match your dress," Ruby had never drank before, wasn't sure if she even was the right age. Almost. She had a pinch of curiosity, to tell the truth. She was sure Yang would never allow her, and laugh while having some herself.
Well, they weren't here, and had pushed her into this.
Smiling, Ruby said. "Alright. A bit."
"Very well. I'll let you think about your plates in the meantime."
With him gone, Ruby saw out of the corner of her eye that Winter was staring at her, lips pursed. She picked up the chart to get away from her gaze
"Oh wow, there's– huh?" Ruby paled upon seeing she recognized none of the names of whatever was being served here. There wasn't even an explanation!
"What's wrong?" Winter asked.
Ruby kept her gaze away. "I… Umm… not sure what to pick," she said then. She needed to appear at least a little bit held together.
"I guess that's… understandable…" Winter said, looking at her own chart with a pale look herself.
"Uh… you know what the words mean right?" Ruby asked, giggling.
"Of course I-!" Winder almost shouted, but closed her mouth quickly, recovering her composure. Ruby giggled louder. That was almost Weiss-like. "-I recall some of these."
"I assumed you would be familiar with all this jargon."
"Well, I…" Winter licked her lips. Like Weiss' they were thin, but these had no lipstick or anything of the sort. Winter was no princess. "...I haven't really lived like this for a long time."
"Like this?"
"Restaurants. Dinners. Dates," Winter said. Ruby couldn't decipher her expression. She seemed wistful, but also tired as if they were bad memories.
"Well, me neither," Ruby said then. "To tell the truth, I feel kind of out of place."
With that comment, Winter's eyes widened, and then her expression turned sour. "My apologies. I should have-"
"It's okay. Its a new experience, I think. Those are always cool," Ruby said then. "So I guess when you left with the military, you stopped being heiress?"
"I abandoned everything," Winter said, tone grim. "The Schnee name is the only thing I kept from my old life."
"I… see…" Ruby moved in her seat. She knew Weiss was troubled, but it seemed to run in the family.
The wine came soon after, the red liquid poured into a tall glass.
Ruby stared at it with starry eyes. It looked delicious. Winter observed her with a raised eyebrow.
"Well then, what would the ladies like?"
"Do you have burgers? Oh, and fries?" Ruby asked then. Basic were always good.
But the raised eyebrow from the butler put a stop to that though.
Of course, Ruby Rose was far too basic for this place.
"She'll have 'Purpurrote Spinne', and I'll have 'Nie mehr Freude'," Winter said then.
Ruby sighed in relief. Saved again, path chosen for her again.
"Excellent. It'll be just a moment then," the two women were left alone again, and Ruby took the time to drink the wine. It was strong, the flavor scantly sweet and intense, so much so her face almost scrunched up.
Winter still looked at her with disapproval.
"Sorry," Ruby said then.
"For what?"
"Being unable to choose. Being basic."
"Oh. That's absolutely fine. Its my fault I guess. I should have chosen a better place for you," Winter looked to the side, frowning.
While Ruby was grateful for Winter not being too self absorbed… she still didn't want to make her feel bad.
"It's a beautiful place, and this wine stuff is… well… its weird. Like I dont like it but it's kinda intense so I want more," Ruby took another sip. It burned a bit, the taste both sweet and bitter seemed to inundate her mouth and nostrils. It was intense and addicting in a way. "Sorry I… rambled. I'm glad to be here."
The dinner they ended up receiving was two plates of pasta. Except one had a dark crimson sauce, while the other seemed to be tiny squares filled with some ingredient and covered in a white sauce with black peppers or something.
It tasted strange. Like everything it was a mix of sweet, bitter and salty that Ruby couldn't decipher, and the textures of everything also were strange.
But for Winter's sake, she decided to eat it all up.
Few words were exchanged in the meantime.
Ruby did catch a glance at Winter or two. And she continued to be an enigma. Her motions were precise, calculated much like Weiss whenever she wanted to act the part of the educated princess (which she thankfully didn't do anymore). But Winter's seemed even more practiced and natural.
The specialist maintained a cold, neutral expression at all times. Ruby wondered if she ever smiled, but thanks to Weiss' account, Ruby knew Winter was capable of it. A part of her was curious to see her smile, she was curious how beautiful it would make her.
Still, the way Winter had been acting, this 'date' seemed more like a mission or a chore, rather than something she genuinely wanted to do.
For some reason, that thought depressed her.
When they left the restaurant, snow had begun to fall on the city, and the cold became more pronounced.
"Huh. I thought there was a barrier or something," Ruby said, rubbing her arms.
"There is, but the intensity and strength is adjusted depending on the climate. A slight snowfall and chill wind doesn't merit the same amount of Hardlight-dust expenditure as a snowstorm. So the barrier is set low enough that the snow and other small particles can penetrate it," Winter explained as they crossed a variety of beautiful streets and avenues full of shops. The buildings still towered above them but allowed the sky to be seen. It reminded her of Vale's commercial district.
"So where are we going now?" Ruby asked.
"The Skating Globe," Winter said in her usual stern tone, as if she were debriefing her. "It's a large field of ice where couples and individuals alike can go and skate. I'm sure someone dexterous like you will enjoy it."
Ruby twiddled her fingers. "I've never… skated before though."
Winter's eyes widened before turning away. The first semblance of emotion. "I see."
"You can teach me though, right?" Ruby asked with a smile. Though she was not looking forward to falling on cold ice; if it was something Winter enjoyed and wanted to share… who was Ruby to deny her?
"Of course. It will be good practice for-"
"-Oh my god!"
Ruby forgot everything and slammed her face against the window upon spotting something she had only seen in her dreams. Sitting behind a pristine glass window was the black, lean barrel of a large Sniper Rifle, probably longer than herself.
"I've only seen this in books and online articles! This was the latest in Sniper technology!" She shouted to herself, drooling slightly. "Specialized scope! Spiral barrel for maximum penetration! Gravity-Dust-Powered hammer! And all-!"
"-in one tight mechashift package ready to modify into anything, thanks to a carbon-fiber make," Winter finished for her, tone turning slightly breathy.
Ruby stared at the specialist, dumbfounded.
Of course a huntress like Winter would know one or two things about guns, but to know the specifics of latest tech that wasn't even part of her weapon was something else.
Moreover, Winter's eyes stared at the gun with abject wonder, almost glinting.
But upon noticing Ruby's stare, they returned to their usual coldness.
Winter cleared her throat. "I've read articles too. Gotta keep myself informed of anything the troops might get their hands on."
"That's awesome!" Ruby said, jumping with glee. "Oh man, what do you think of Crescent Rose? Do you think I could use the parts of that to improve it?"
Winter rubbed her chin for a moment, eyes narrowed and darting over every inch of the weapon. "Perhaps. The Carbon make would allow for an excellent and nimble mechashifting. But of course, that would necessitate a different fighting style, one more nimble and refined that would use both the firearm and the melee sides as one. It would also allow you to fit more than just one firing mode on Crescent Rose."
Ruby stepped away from the window, mind racing with ideas. Winter seemed to glow in her eyes now. An experienced huntress fascinated with weapons like her… there's so much she could learn!
"Yeah. Good point.I think a more dynamic style would be fun to try, I'm kinda getting jealous of Blake's Gambol shroud; such flexibility is becoming a real boon especially in the tight quarters we found ourselves in lately. I would just need an addition for the melee mode. Perhaps a way to split or shorten the blade?"
Winter seemed to want to say something else, but shook her head, the slightest hint of a blush tainting her cheeks. "Apologies, I got carried away. Shall we go skating?"
Ruby remembered then, what they were meant to do. "R-right. Sorry I nerded out too hard."
And now, Winter had the slightest, tiniest hints of a smile on her face. "No need. I'm glad I found someone that shares an interest in weapons."
Stepping away from the store, both women continued through the streets towards their destination.
Through the buildings, Ruby could now see a raising figure. Two triangles, one smaller than the other, twisting and lowering to form a sort of illuminated cone. That had to be the skating hall, but it was still a few streets away.
"And here I thought you were all practical and pragmatic," Ruby said, trying to restart the conversation. "Why not try something other than dual swords?"
"Because…" Winter shut her mouth for a moment. "... Because Ironwood agrees it's the practical choice. It doesn't need to be flashy, it needs to be useful."
"It can be both useful and flashy, though. A weapon is an expression of yourself, an extension. You should let yourself run free," Ruby said, before looking away. She'd gotten too carried away again. "Though dual swords certainly fit you, though. Almost perfectly."
And it was true. Winter's swords were slender and immaculate, sharp and shining… like Winter herself.
"Thanks. Perhaps I could…"
"... modify it? Oh there's so much we could do! I'm already brainstorming some possibilities!" Ruby said, leaning into the specialist.
Winter, however, pushed her again and went back to being a serious soldier. "Perish the thought. My swords are perfect as they are; everyone thinks so."
"With everyone you mean… Ironwood?" Ruby asked pointedly.
She only wanted to help Winter. Now she could see clear as day thah Winter was repressing something.
But the specialist didn't give an inch. "Come on now, we're almost there!"
For a second, Ruby thought of calling out, of keeping her in place. She wanted to learn more about Winter, she wanted to see this new side of her.
But it also wasn't her place to push someone to open up. Especially not to her. What could Winter, a fully realized huntress, glean from talking to Ruby Rose, who had barely survived through the many challenges presented to her?
This was Winter's night, after all. All Ruby had to do was stand by her side.
"What do you mean its closed?!"
Winter's voice boomed, making both Ruby and the gatekeeper in front of them straighten up.
"My deepest apologies ma'am, but… A gala was just organized here… and..."
"By who?" Winter stepped up. She was imposing, a terrifyingly tall woman who would bury you with a gaze.
It fascinated Ruby to see such strength and ferocity from the usually collected specialist, reminding her of Yang when someone touched her hair, or threatened her little sister.
"T-the Marigolds! And the Arnaulds and…"
"I am Ironwood's second in command!" Winter's countenance cracked slightly.
"And isn't this a public space anyways?" Ruby added. However, neither person seemed to notice her.
"Then you'll have to ask the general to come here and demand the party be ceased. But I doubt anyone has that amount of trouble. Please… don't make this night any more painful for me…" Ruby could tell this gatekeeper, of short stature and sporting a balding hairline and big belly, was a mere worker with no power.
She took a breath. Even if she was just Ruby Rose, she still had some sense of goodness.
"Its not worth it Winter," she said then, gently touching the specialist's shoulder.
Winter turned around, and for a second Ruby thought her head would fall out of her shoulders. But… it wasn't worth it. Sometimes, as leader and huntress, you had to stand your ground. So Ruby gathered her willpower, and held Winter's gaze.
For a moment, they just stared at each other. Ruby drank in those beautiful strong eyes.
Then Winter sighed and it was over.
"Very well," her usual countenance had collapsed, and her voice was bitter.
The two women walked away in the cold night, until they found a steel bench by a lamppost. Ruby took a seat, but Winter remained standing, facing away from her, facing forwards like a statue.
"Win-?"
"Rah!" With a scream, Winter punched the lamppost with a thundering boom that shook the earth. Her fist remained there, having bent the pole on itself and when Winter retracted her hand, said hand was shaking.
"I was going to ask if you were okay, but I guess you're not," Ruby said.
Winter didn't answer and kept staring at the broken lamppost.
Ruby chided herself. She had to say something!
"How about we go to-?"
"-Forget it. It's over," Winter said, plopping down next to Ruby and staring at the street.
"Over?"
"Date's ruined."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Oh its not so bad-"
"I planned all this out. Now it's… ugh…" Winter faced away from her, as if ashamed.
Ruby had never expected such a reaction from the cold, perfectly controlled specialist.
"We could just… keep going," Ruby offered. Winter looked at her as if she were crazy.
"I mean it's just like we discussed early, with the weapon. Flexibility," Ruby added. Sure, she may not have had a date in mind, didn't know what to expect and would rather be training or reading comics; but now she wanted to see more of Winter. Unravel this mystery of a woman. See where the story went.
"That's not the problem at all," Winter said then.
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Then what is?"
"I was supposed to make this a good experience for you. But I could tell the moment we stepped into the restaurant you were not very enthused, and now this happens. I'm sorry," Winter said then.
"Oh," Ruby said then, fidgeting with her fingers awkwardly. "And here I thought I was the one ruining the date, being an awkward nerd without much etiquette or experience," she confessed.
Surprised, Winter stared at her in shock for a moment, before a corner of her lips turned upwards. "Well. I guess we were both fools then."
A silence fell between them, just like the snowfall. Both women sat, twiddling their fingers besides the bent lamppost.
Ruby felt her heart thump in her chest. It couldn't end like this, right? Her mind raced, but she knew very little about Winter to suggest what to do next.
Although, if this date was for Ruby herself, then… would it be so bad to ask for something she liked? Maybe it was time Ruby swallowed her fear and tried to contribute.
"I think I know something we could do," Ruby said then.
Winter turned to her, expression neutral.
"What?"
Ruby smiled. "I wanna face you head on."
"Face me?" Winter asked.
"Yep. Let's have a spar!" Ruby said then, stepping off the bench.
"Where would we have a spar?"
"I mean, doesn't Winter Schnee have access to a training arena or something?"
"That place is only for official training, in official hours!" Winter protested.
Ruby smirked again. 'Qrow tactics' it was.
"Oh, the great and perfect Winter Schnee is scared of novice huntress Ruby Rose?" Ruby asked, with a devilish smile and mocking tone. She thought about adding a little haughty laugh, but considered it too much and too embarrassing to try and pull off.
The ground shook, and Winter was standing straight and tense, looking at Ruby with sharp eyes.
"You're on."
Ruby paled.
I'm dead.
Unlike the rest of Atlas, the Military Academy was a place were Winter was fully in control of things, and thus, getting into the sparring simulator was a piece of cake.
Out of the cold, in her battle uniform, and holding Crescent Rose… now Ruby Rose felt at home and comfortable.
She stepped into the square ring of the sparring arena. It had been set to neutral, one versus one. The tiled metal floor is configured to make every tile rise and fall in order to become a piece of square cover, mixing up the environment.
At the other side stood Winter Schnee, also clothed in her battle uniform. She held her sword at her side, and Ruby took a minute to fully take in its elegant, slick and simple design. While there was beauty in simplicity, Ruby couldn't help but have her mind race with possibilities of upgrades.
Winter raised her sword so that the blade was in front of her face. "Eyes up here," she commanded, voice echoing. The Arena was empty, and this late, it was just the two of them.
Ruby smirked. Outside of fancy clothes, in an area she recognized and now knew like the back of her hand, her confidence returned.
Or perhaps it was because now she knew Winter wasn't just the impressive, hypercompetent huntress she appeared to be.
"Isn't it a little early to be lecturing me? Why don't we save that after the winner is decided?" Ruby said, flourishing Crescent Rose.
In a swift motion, Winter also flourished her sword, letting the blade hang to her side, and smirked, sending a chill down Ruby's spine. "We both know who the winner will be."
So it began.
She knew Winter had the advantage at close range.
So she stayed put, transformed Crescent Rose and shot at the specialist to test the waters.
Without moving from her place, Winter swatted the sniper shots away effortlessly, landing in arcs behind her.
Ruby smirked. So Winter was one of 'those' kinds of fighters. She wouldn't let what happened with Tyrian happen again. So she had special rounds made, coated with air dust that would enhance the strength and speed of her bullets.
She loaded the new cartridge and readied another shot.
Winter didn't move an inch, staring impassively at her opponent. "Your move."
"I'll shove you 'some moves'," the shot rang out, and when Winter tried to reflect it, her sword was swatted away with it.
"Gotcha!" She shot again. Winter would not be able to bring down the sword in time.
Yet, Winter simply twisted her body and jumped away from the bullet's path with inhuman speed.
When she recovered, she stared at Ruby with murderous intent.
"Hah. Made you move!" Ruby taunted.
A glyph appeared behind Winter, and the specialist catapulted herself towards the Red Reaper.
Ruby had half a second to transform Crescent Rose and block Winter's strike with the shaft. The clash made the ground shake, bringing tiles around them up. Ruby's arms shook under the immense strength and pressure from Winter's blade, inches from her face.
And Winter was smiling.
"'Is this enough 'moving' for you?" She asked.
Ruby laughed nervously. "Uh… a little less?"
"Not a chance," Winter dislodged the blade and began delivering rapid, strong slashes, which Ruby was forced to block with Crescent Rose's metal shaft.
She was used to Weiss' quick thrusts, that would come in the blink of an eye, too much to block along.
Winter was completely different. The precision was the same, but the slashes came with immense, unexpected strength. Even when she blocked them, she could feel herself get pushed back and her arms strained.
Winter wanted to end this quickly, it seemed.
But Ruby wasn't about to let the fun end, not this fast.
So she Petal Burst out, trying to reform behind her. And went on the offensive
An horizontal slash was dodged by Winter bending forwards in an incredible angle, reminiscent of a toy. When Ruby tried to follow up, the Specialist moved only slightly to dodge, and turned to face her.
Growling, Ruby incorporated sniper-powered thrusts and slashes, but Winter Merely dodged by an inch, as if only using the bare minimum strength required.
All the while, her icy blue eyes studied her every move.
After another dodge, Winter was ready, and with a gravity glyph, she pushed Ruby and then delivered a kick to her stomach, leaving her on the floor.
"Nice try. But I know all about your semblance," Winter said, another shadow of a smirk on her face.
Woozy, Ruby didn't think about her answer. "Oh, so you've been studying me."
Winter looked away with a strange pout, the barest hint of pink on her cheeks.
Ruby didn't let the opportunity go to waste. One had to always be on the lookout for an opening, or make one, as her Uncle Qrow would say.
The time for Ruby Rose to wait was over. She would take the initiative. She reached for Crescent Rose's trigger, and shot. With the recoil she propelled herself into a right position, and swung down the Scythe with her momentum. Barely able to block it, Winter was launched backwards, skidding to a stop a few meters away, aura flaring.
"Hah! Direct hit"
Winter stared back with a frown. "I see. So you're following the advice of that slob Qrow."
"Yep! Don't tell me it isn't effective," Ruby replied with a smirk. Only she was allowed to call Uncle Qrow names.
Winter growled, as if irritated, and readied her sword.
"Come on Winter! It's just us, we can let it all out! Show me some cool moves!" Ruby said then, pulling Crescent Rose behind her to goad the specialist.
"I'm not holding back," Winter stated, face impassive.
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, I'm sure you can finish this in a jiffy. Don't put an act for me, I wanna see how awesome you are!"
Winter seemed to mull it over for a second.
Another chance.
She shot the ground and spun like a crimson buzzsaw, the momentum carrying her towards her target. Nothing would stop her from slicing through Grimm or terrain.
This was it. Even if Winter could dodge it, Ruby could just change direction with a well timed shot or reform with petal burst.
But Winter continued there, mulling.
When the strike reached her hair, it was stopped in the air, frozen in place upon touching a dagger.
"Huh?"
She had actually made Winter pull up a second dagger.
"Nice move," Stopped in the air, her eyes met Winter's, who now carried a deadly, confident shine.
And then she smirked as a spinning, multicolored glyph appeared behind her.
"It's over."
This is it. Ruby thought. I'm gonna die, and it's gonna be awesome.
In a second, Winter disappeared and reappeared behind her.
The next instant, Ruby saw white, and her body twisted in ten different directions, struck at what felt like the same time from multiple angles, and each angle seemed to be either deathly cold, searing hot, shocking, and so on…
After that, all Ruby fell to her knees.
"So… cool…" she said, before losing consciousness.
When she next opened her eyes, she found herself staring at a concerned face with blue eyes.
"Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"Winter."
"Oh."
Ruby tried to incorporate herself, but found nothing responded as it should, like a sharp tingling all over her limbs.
"I broke your aura, hit all your nerve points to incapacitate you. I'm sorry," Winter replied then.
"Oh. Was that what that was?" Ruby asked.
"I call it Omni-slash," Winter said then.
Ruby's eyes turned to stars. "That's such a cool name. How does it work?"
"Shush. That's my secret," Winter replied seriously.
"Oh come on!" She whined.
"Seriously," Winter said, looking away. "Shittalking so much only brings trouble. Didn't you learn that from Qrow?"
"Aww. Are you sensitive?" Ruby asked then. A flick to the forehead but a stop to that.
"And now you're injured. And the date is double ruined," Winter replied.
"Ruined? I got to see a super awesome secret move from the great Winter Schnee! And you got to see my moves too! Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it!"
"Maybe if it had been a challenge," Winter said with closed eyes and a stern expression, though Ruby could see one opening and a shadow of a smirk come up in her mouth.
"Liar. You enjoy showing off," Ruby replied.
Winter sighed again. "Come on, Date's over. Let's get you to your bunk."
Ruby moved her head, feeling something firm. "Huh. Where did you get this pillow?"
"Those are my thighs," Winter said.
Ruby felt a blush up on her cheeks. "You have strong thighs."
Winter made a noise, she didn't know what kind, probably the beginnings of a chuckle that got repressed.
Her limbs still felt wobbly, but she could stand with some help.
Winter put one of her arms above her shoulders, but she was so tall Ruby almost walked on her tip toes.
"So what did you think?" Ruby asked.
"About what?"
"My moves. Awesome, right? I puked a few times practicing the Razor Buzzaw!" Ruby said, recalling the many, many felled trees in Forever Fall.
"It needs a lot of work. Awfully predictable," Winter said.
"Huh. Well, you could always help me improve it."
"I don't think I'll do this again. I have more important work to do."
"Didn't you have fun?" Ruby asked. She knew that the expressions she saw in the arena were genuine. The true Winter.
But if they were not… that was also fine. Ruby Rose was never good at reading people.
The specialist didn't say anything as they crossed the empty halls of the academy.
"Winter?" Ruby asked as they entered the residential building.
"I… I don't know. I guess I did."
"I did too. It's nice, having someone else take the lead for once," she confessed.
"But I… you did have to take the lead, at the end," Winter countered.
"I'd never have been out here, or suggested it, without you suddenly barging in my room and demanding we go on the date," Ruby said then.
Winter looked away. "I… I guess I did."
Winter stopped then, and pulled Ruby's arm away from her shoulders. They had arrived at her room, and Ruby didn't feel as wobbly anymore.
Winter bowed in front of her, expression and countenance returning to being one of a straight-laced soldier. "I hope you had a good night, Miss Rose."
"Uh… yeah," Ruby said, bowing as well.
Winter gave her a half-lidded look, expression cold.
She tightened her fist.
For some reason, Ruby felt like she couldn't let it end like this. To never see Winter fight, smile, be angry, be sad? To have her return to be a machine-like soldier?
She found that unfair, and infuriating.
She had to do something.
Take the lead. Jump forward, like she always did.
So, seeing an opening, she took her last swing.
On her tips toes, she gave Winter a quick peck on the cheek. The skin was firm, cold.
When Ruby pulled away and saw Winter's astonished expression, realizing what she did, Ruby couldn't help but feel her face burn up in embarrassment.
"Alright!Nicedate!Seeyoutomorrow!"
And with that, she entered the dormitory and closed the door, trying to calm her thumping heart.
When it was sufficiently calm, she slid down.
As always, she never thought things through. Still, the coldness of Winter's cheek remained on her lips, unable to be forgotten.
The next morning came like it did every day. Penny woke Team RWBY up quite loudly, and they all went to the academy board room to wait for their assignments.
This time however, Qrow had been assigned on a mission with them, and Ruby took some time to speak with him.
As they walked through the cold steel hallways towards the Hangar, however, they were stopped.
"Well, if it isn't the Ice Queen," Qrow said, taking a sip of his can.
"Greetings, Qrow," Winter Schnee stared back with narrowed eyes, tension in the air immediately rising.
Ruby had to look away. After last night, she couldn't really face Winter. Would she ignore her? Scold her?
She was as beautiful as yesterday, but Ruby found herself wanting to take in more of her, but of the real her.
Ruby took a glance, and Winter did the same, at the exact same moment.
"Hello, Ruby."
She tensed at the use of her first name, no 'miss', no 'Rose'.
"Hey, Winter. H-how you doing?" Ruby asked, trying her best to read her inscrutable expression.
"I'm fine this morning. And just wanted to wish you luck on your assignment," Winter said.
"Oh! Uh… thanks," Ruby said with a sheepish smile.
Qrow looked between both of them, lips pushed together in confusion.
As he attempted to take another sip of his canteen, however, it flew out of his hands and into Winter's.
"You better take good care of your niece on this assignment, Qrow," Winter said sternly.
The Huntsman only huffed, which caused Ruby to giggle.
"And Ruby," Winter said.
Again, she froze.
Her face remained unreadable.
Her heart thumped in her chest, in anticipation of the consequences of the day before.
Rejection?
Hatred?
Indifference?
What would it be?
"I'll be waiting in the training Arena at 6:30 PM, right after you return from your assignment. We have a lot of catching up to do on your training, if you wish to be a real huntress," Winter said then.
A cold wave of relief washed over her, but even so, her heart remained at full speed.
"A-alright. It's a date, then," Winter flinched, but nodded none the less, composure unbroken.
"Correct. Then I'll see you later," Winter glanced at Qrow once again, eyes like daggers. "Qrow."
With that, she walked past them, the click of boots echoing in the hallway.
Ruby observed, mesmerized, as Winter walked away with Qrow's canteen still in her hands.
"Uh… Did I miss something?" Qrow said, looking straight at her
Ruby tensed, face red. "I-Its not what you think!"
Putting his hands in his pants, he walked away, smiling. "Sure."
"I'm telling you uncle Qrow! It's just training!"
Despite spending most of the day trying to convince him nothing was happening between her and Winter (mostly to wipe the cocky smile off his face), he was secretly looking forward to it.
The training that was.
Nothing to do with Winter at all.