Chapter Text
"Ruby, how can you not understand how awesome what you did was?!" Yang asked while throwing her hands out dramatically.
The girl in question shrugged sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck. Their conversation was going in circles a bit, but she couldn't find it in herself to be mad at her sister. On the contrary, it felt nice having Yang be proud of her. Growing up, Yang was the person she looked up to the most. Her Uncle Qrow might have taught her how to use a scythe, and he was without a doubt one of the most incredible people she knew, but being a drunk put a bit of a damper on his prescience.
Did Yang of her faults? Of course she did, as did everyone. She was brash, easily angered, and sometimes didn't know when to close her mouth-- actually, she rarely knew when to. But, even still, she was always by Ruby's side when she needed her.
"I just did what I thought was right."
Yang looked at Ruby with a sad look in her eye then. "You're just like mom, you know?"
If Ruby had a dollar for every time she heard that… well, she would simply put be filthy rich. The statement should make her feel a surge of pride. Summer Rose, her mother, was the perfect example of what a huntress should be. Ruby just wished she could remember more of the woman than just her face. Her touch, her voice, her laugh, she had no memory of any of that. Even her face was becoming blurred at this point. The subtle differences they shared were slowly disappearing, and all Ruby could really imagine was a more mature version of herself.
You look just like your mother. She never thought she would grow to resent a statement that was only spoken with complete and utter kindness.
Sensing a change in Ruby's mood, Yang rushed forwards and gave her sister a bear hug. "I'm just so proud of you!"
Feeling her circulation quickly being cut off, Ruby began squirming, wheezing, "Yang, can't breathe." She would never know how she lived to seventeen years of age, being the one to receive the most of these special hugs. "Yang," she tried again fruitlessly. Finally, she managed to get her right hand out from where it was stuck between the two of them and tapped Yang's waist. "Uncle?"
XXX
Ruby, now going solo, looked around at everything in awe. Beacon looked almost exactly the same as it did in her video games. Everything was just so vibrant in real life and much more imposing than she had imagined it being. She wished Yang were still with her at this point, but she had felt bad monopolizing her times on the airship and came up with flimsy excuses to stay behind slightly longer than everyone else. She was sure Yang had friends to catch up with anyways.
She paused on the walkway leading to the school, watching the airship take off and disappear past the clouds. Not taking in her surroundings before beginning to move again, Ruby ended up tripping over a luggage cart. Briefcases that were blinding with the sun reflecting off of them were splayed around the little square they found themselves in.
Ruby immediately began muttering apologies while picking up as many of the luggage containers as she could fit in her arms.
Her apologies were all overshadowed by a white-haired girl yelling, "You dunce! Do you know the damage you could have caused?!"
Fearing the question was rhetorical, Ruby panicked and kept her mouth shut. This only left room for the girl to storm up to her and snatch the suitcases from her hands.
"Give me those! This is purified Schnee dust; you could have-" She gasped as the latches on the most upper suitcase opened, spraying bits of dust between the pair of them.
Ruby felt a tickle in her nose and knew she would not have the time to plug her nose and stop it. Then, just when she was about to release it, a finger was stick under her nose and the sound of the suitcase latching reached her ears.
"Pyrrha Nikos!"
"Are you OK?"
"Me, OK?" Ruby asked while opening her eyes. What she was sure was a goddess stood in front of her, one finger still under her nose while her other hand was supporting the pile of suitcases. The sun behind her bright red hair almost made it look like she was on fire, or more accurately, glowing.
The goddess, Pyrrha, chuckled, replying, "Yes you." Then, she turned away with a smile while she helped Weiss get her luggage cart re-situated.
Realizing she was staring, Ruby shook her head and laughed a bit awkwardly. "Yeah, just a bit of a-"
"I'm Weiss Schnee. I'm sure we would make an extraordinary team," Weiss interrupted.
Ruby rubbed her elbow uncomfortably. Weiss had just been yelling at her, and now she acted as if she didn't exist at all. As Weiss droned on, Ruby decided it would be best for her to slink away from the scene. Unfortunately, she only made it a few feet before someone grabbed her wrist. Instinctually, thinking it was Weiss, Ruby turned around, squeaking, "Sorry!"
Gentle laughter immediately reached her ears. "What for?"
Ruby's eyes opened so quickly it shot her head back a bit. Her mouth dropped slightly, and her focus went from Pyrrha's face to the hand still on her wrist, then back up again.
Pyrrha's cheeks turned rosy as she dropped Ruby's wrist. "Sorry I-"
Ruby shook her head vigorously, once again making herself feel slightly off balance. "No, no, it's OK. I'm just not used to anyone other than my sister touching me, really." Ruby's entire face turned a bright red. Way to make yourself sound weird.
Pyrrha smiled and looked down shyly before meeting her eyes once more. Nature couldn't be used to describe the color of green that they were, for they held a color too bright. Simply put, it was breathtaking.
"You're Ruby Rose, right? I saw you on the news."
"That's me," Ruby replied bashfully. "I didn't know anyone was paying attention to the TVs on the airship."
That drew a chuckle from Pyrrha. "Most of them weren't, and I can't say I was at first either," the woman began guiltily. Her eyes then picked up something Ruby could not decipher as a grin played its' way across her lips. "I found myself drawn to it when the hero's picture was brought up."
Ruby sighed, believing she knew where the conversation was going. "I know. I know. I look much younger than I am. Yang, my sister, says I have a babyface. Actually, my dad says the same thing, but I don't think their opinions should count. I'm older than I look… and I'm rambling again. Sorry, I have a tendency to do that."
Pyrrha simply continued to smile as Ruby blew out her cheeks, just like children would do when trying to keep silent. "Would you like to join me to the welcome speech?"
Ruby's eyes widened as her mouth began to flounder. Then, quickly catching onto what she was doing, the younger of the pair shut her mouth before nodding with a grin.
The two made their way inside. Ruby quickly caught on to the whispers that followed Pyrrha. If people didn't whisper, then they stared instead. It made her feel puny in comparison. She had on her ratty combat uniform she designed at Signal, while Pyrrha was quite literally dressed like the ancient warriors of old. Each plate of armor had clearly been polished. The long red sash that flowed behind her was free of stains and tears. Even the leather of her belt was free of any cracks. She was simply immaculate.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled from the middle of the entry room they found themselves in.
Ruby waved excitedly, comfort immediately filling her veins at the sight of her sister. She looked back at her companion, nodding her head in Yang's direction. It took only a brief moment to make it through the small crowd that had assembled so far. It was more condensed in the front, which Yang was thankfully a decent distance from.
Ruby tried to scramble away when she saw Yang's arms open wide but was, ironically, too slow. Constricted once again, Ruby managed to say, "Yang, this is-" she was dropped suddenly, and air rushed into her lungs.
"Pyrrha Nikos," Yang exclaimed, hand extended. Ruby was somewhat confused, unsure of what the hype was about. Yang wasn't even one to really keep up with current events, so for even her to know made Ruby feel a bit dumb.
Pyrrha's smile only grew into a smirk. "I take it your Yang, the one who says this one has a babyface."
Yang threw her head back and laughed heartily while Ruby blushed and glared at the ground. "Yep! Yang Xiao Long is the name. I'm this one's big sister." The last part was said while putting Ruby in a loose chokehold while messing with her hair.
"Yang!" Ruby groaned while pushing herself out of her sister's grasp. Then, to change the subject, she asked, "Weren't you going to meet friends?"
Yang's head titled her head to the side as she looked at Ruby quizzically. "What are you talking about? I was the only out of my group of friends to make it here."
Ruby looked at her a bit embarrassed as she nervously twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I guess I just assumed." She regretted the words the moment they left her mouth.
"You know what they say about assuming; it makes an a-"
The rest of her words came out a jumbled mess against Ruby's hand. Really, she should have known Yang would say something. It was one of her most used jokes. She ripped her hand back, letting out a loud "Eww" when she felt something soft and wet against her palm. "Yannnnng…"
Her sister only laughed in response. "So, how did my sister score her first friend before me?"
Ruby knew Yang didn't mean anything bad by her words. Yang had simply put, always been the more sociable one of the two. Ruby was good at talking to people after getting to know them, but at first she was rather shy.
After not responding for a couple of seconds, Pyrrha piped up, "I stopped her from sneezing into a cloud of fire dust."
Yang stared at Pyrrha blankly before laughing dryly. "Real funny."
"YOU!"
Recognizing the shrill voice, Ruby jumped behind Yang and slammed her hand over her nose, a bit too roughly judging by the cold liquid dripping out of it. She hastily brought her hood around her face and activated her aura to stop the bleeding.
"Oh fuck, you weren't kidding."
"Here," Weiss replied, stuffing a brochure in Ruby's face, who meekly accepted it, not even looking at the contents. "This will teach you what dust is." The comment could have been considered friendly if it weren't for Weiss's snarky tone.
"Hey, watch it," Yang warned while stepping up, shoulders squared and ready to fight. "She is quite literally on the news for saving a dust shop, so I'm sure she knows more than you're sorry-"
Weiss stepped up, hand on her rapier, eyes alight with fury. "Excuse me, I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. No one knows more about it than I do."
"The faunus who are questionably employed by your company might," A sudden voice said from behind the group.
Weiss scoffed as everyone turned to the newcomer. She had a flawless sort of beauty to her, with long, black hair cascading in light curls down her back. Her eyes were also an impossibly bright shade of yellow.
Looking at her sister, Ruby could see her eyes widen as her eyes trailed their way up the student's body. Ruby kicked Yang in the back off the knee, looking between her and the new person while smirking. Yang glared in response.
"What would you know?" Weiss demanded, attention entirely on her now. Ruby was beginning to think her temper might be comparable to Yang's.
"I know that the SDC doesn't pay their workers enough for the harsh environment they work in. I know they do not adequately supply their employees with safety measures to prevent explosions in their mines. I know that almost every person working for your family does so without proper benefits and has to deal with obscene hours for their lack of pay."
Ruby rushed out from behind Yang and stood between the two. "How about we all just start over? Hi! I'm Ruby Rose. Wanna be friends?" Ruby asked with a bright smile and her hand outstretched as a barrier. Both her, Weiss, and the newcomer looked down at her hand before glaring at each other a final time. Ruby sulked when they walked off in opposite directions.
A soft hand grabbed her own, and Ruby looked up with excitement. However, upon seeing it was Pyrrha, she became slightly confused.
"Hi! I'm Pyrrha Nikos. It would be my pleasure to be your friend."
"But we already met?" Ruby didn't mean for the statement to come out as a question, but it did nonetheless as she tilted her head to the side.
Pyrrha simply shrugged as she dropped Ruby's hand. "You asked for all of us to start over, not just those two."
Ruby grinned, glad that she could find at least one other person to talk to at Beacon. She was convinced Pyrrha must have been an angel at this point. She just seemed too pure to not be one. But, before she could thank Pyrrha, a man walked onto the stage and everyone quieted down.
"Students, welcome to Beacon Academy. As you all know, I am Professor Ozpin, your headmaster. Upperclassmen, you are here today because I have rather exciting news to share. This year, Beacon will be hosting the Vytal Tournament." He held a hand up to garner everyone's attention when excitement spread throughout the crowd. "Two teams from each year will be handpicked to compete. Even if not chosen, I expect everyone to treat our competitors with respect, for this tournament was created to unite the four kingdoms."
Glynda Goodwitch was the next to step up to the microphone. "Everything else that has to be said is for the first years specifically. Tonight you will all be sleeping in close quarters, and I expect everyone to be on their best behavior." Ruby shrunk when the woman's eyes raked over the crowd. "Tomorrow will be your initiation day. Teams and dorms will be assigned afterwords. Until then, you are all free to explore the campus and Vale. If anyone is to cause a bad image of this school while in the city, then we will reconsider your offer of admission, so I implore all of you to remain on your best behavior at all times."
"Hopefully, we won't have to be witch her anytime soon," Yang said while elbowing Ruby in the shoulder.
Hearing Pyrrha chuckle, Ruby said, "They'll get real old real fast."
Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby's shoulder, saying, "You still love me, though!"
"Run while you can." Even as Ruby said the five short words, she had a smile on her face as her arm found its' way around Yang's waist.
XXX
The initiation process had been, for lack of a better term, grueling. The ceremony after hadn't gone much better. It wouldn't have been so bad, but it turned out that Weiss was Ruby's teammate. She didn't have a problem with it personally, but Weiss certainly did. To make matters worse, Blake and Yang made up the other half of their team. Weiss wouldn't speak to any of them, and Yang had such little patience.
Currently, Weiss was storming down the hallway towards their designated dorm room. Yang and Ruby were walking side by side while Blake took up the rear, obviously trying to keep as much distance as possible between her and the Schnee.
When Ruby sighed, she was nudged by none other than her sister. When she looked at Yang, a small smile met her. Even with the rather drab manner in which things were turning out, Yang was still a beacon of light in her life. Ruby rested her head on the blonde's shoulder as they walked the remainder of the journey to their room, which turned out to only be a few feet.
The second the door closed, everything went to hell.
"I can not believe a child was made team leader!"
Before Ruby could even say something, Yang was already in Weiss' face. "Back the fuck of! What are you, eighteen? She's only a year younger. If anything, it shows she's MORE qualified than your sorry ass."
Ruby could feel a headache beginning. Blake simply took the lower bunk on the right side of the room. All Ruby wanted at this point was sleep. Having everything go wrong that could go wrong during their initiation wore her out.
"If she was so qualified, then why do you have to speak for her?! She's immature and does NOT think through her actions. I nearly set the forest on fire because she doesn't even know the basics of working on a team.
Yang's hair started to glow, and Ruby knew if the situation did not get diffused, then it would get out of hand much too fast.
"Keyword: YOU nearly set the forest on fire! Don't blame someone else for your own incompetence!"
"ME?! INCOMPETENT?! You're just a blundering oaf who doesn't even know how to keep her semblance under control!"
When Ruby glanced at Blake to see her reaction throughout the exchange, the woman only picked up a book, ignoring what was happening around her.
"Just because she is your sister does not make her perfect! If anything, she's imperfect! How can someone be chosen as a leader when they can't even work with one other person. Her semblance is speed, and she was too dense to even use it when the nevermore was after her!"
Yang's gauntlets locked into place and her hair fully exploded into flames. "DON'T CALL HER-" Ruby stopped listening. All she knew was that Weiss did not know what she was getting herself into. She put a hand on Yang's shoulder but was pushed back. Had her sister not been using her semblance, then little damage would have been done. However, seeing as she did, Ruby was thrown back into the door.
Weiss and Yang continued to go at it until they heard a quiet voice ask, "Ruby, are you OK?"
Blake, having only feigned disinterest, now focused all of her attention on Ruby. Yang whipped her head around, eyes red, only for them to return to their usual lavender color the second they fell on Ruby.
Ruby could feel where the wall collapsed behind her. However, she didn't think the hole went through to the opposite side. The shock of the event, in combination with the insults thrown her way, was just too much. Yang hurried to her, but Ruby activated her semblance, opened the door, and ran.
Controlling her speed in narrow areas was already difficult, but with tears blurring her vision, Ruby had even more trouble than usual. Not remembering how to leave the building, Ruby followed the first exit sign she came across, and it led her to a private balcony. There was no furniture, just guard rails.
Ruby sunk against the corner that bordered the wall just under the roof and broke down. She wasn't hurt, physically; her aura had been activated just in case something happened. The conflict… Ruby loathed conflict. Her impossible dream for the world was for people to just stop hating people so much. Rather childish. Maybe Weiss was right…
It wasn't so much what Weiss said, but instead that she was voicing Ruby's own insecurities. What had Ozpin been thinking?! She wasn't even old enough to join Beacon without her dad signing a permission form. She didn't even want to be a leader!
Ruby didn't hear the balcony door open, nor was she paying attention to how much time had passed. She didn't notice the flickering lights or the darkening sky. The only thing that alerted her to someone's presence was a gentle touch on each of her knees. Ruby's head launched up as the hold around her knees tightened.
"Ruby, are you OK?" Pyrrha asked. There was an edge to her tone, making Ruby feel even worse. If someone that knew nothing about her was worried, then Ruby couldn't even begin to imagine how Yang must feel right now. The thought only served to make her cry harder, and the pace of her breathing picked up.
"Is there anything I can do," Pyrrha asked, trying to go with a different approach.
All Ruby knew was that this is usually when she would seek out a hug from Yang, so she just leaned forward until Pyrrha caught her. Then, understanding what Ruby wanted, Pyrrha scooted forward, the obnoxious sound of metal scratching concrete signaling the movement. Strong arms wrapped around Rub's small frame and pulled her head to rest between the crook of Pyrrha's neck and shoulder.
Fingers scraped at her scalp before flowing through her hair at a steady pace. It was interesting, feeling the cool bronze of the gorget next to the warmth of Pyrrha's skin. Both remained roughly the same temperature but became moistened nonetheless from Ruby's tears.
"Do you think you can breathe with me?"
Ruby thought about it for a moment. While everything wasn't so fresh, she still felt the panic of it all in her chest. Instead of answering, Ruby tried to mimic how Pyrrha was breathing. It proved to be rather challenging, having to slow her diaphragm down that much. In all honesty, it made it feel like she was suffocating at first, but eventually that eased, and Ruby was able to calm down a bit.
Ruby wanted to focus on anything other than what happened, but as team leader, whether she deserved the spot or not, she felt like she needed to know.
"Do you know what happened after I left?"
Pyrrha leaned her head against Ruby's and nodded. "Our dorm is directly across the hall from yours. At first, we thought it would be best to let you all air out your differences. After hearing the crash, we all went to check on you guys, but you had already left. Ren used his semblance to calm down your sister and Weiss."
Ruby remained silent for a moment after that. She felt like there was more being left unsaid. "What happened after?"
It took a moment for Pyrrha to answer, and her voice wavered slightly when she began. It wasn't in an emotional way, but rather it signified that she wasn't sure whether or not she should speak. "Weiss left the room, and Ren dropped his semblance. Yang… she got upset. We tried to comfort her, but she just ran out. Jaune went to find Weiss while Blake went after Yang. Nora, Ren, and I decided to look for you."
"I just made everything worse," Ruby mumbled, tears starting to spill past her eyelids again.
Pyrrha leaned back and gently placed her hand on Ruby's chin so she could tilt her face up. "You did want you needed for yourself."
"But I'm supposed to be a leader. Leaders aren't supposed to just leave when things get tough." Pyrrha shrugged. There wasn't much she could say to argue with that, Ruby supposed.
"We are just starting out. There are things everyone can learn from. If you find yourself with regrets, then learn from your mistakes." Pyrrha looked like she was heavily contemplating her next words before they left her mouth. "Honestly, I don't think there was much you could have done, Ruby. I was there when you met Weiss, and when Weiss met Yang and Blake. If anything, you were given one of the hardest teams to work with. With that being said, I do believe you're the only one out of your team that has the capability to pull the rest of them together."
"How can you say that?" Ruby questioned because she still felt like the worst option out of the bunch.
Pyrrha looked at her with complete sincerity before replying, "You are the only one that doesn't let conflict blind them. I might have just met you, and I can't say I know anyone from your team, but you have this… optimism about people. For example, Weiss was rather rude when you two met, yet you still tried to make up with her. Similarly, you tried to stop Yang from getting angry, and you attempted to diffuse the controversy between Blake and Weiss before they were even on your team. Without you, they might have all just fought and been kicked out of the school."
Ruby stared at Pyrrha as she mulled over her words. Not having any further arguments, she asked, "Can we just stay here for a while longer?"
Meeting a soft smile, Ruby gave a weak one of her own before returning to her position on Pyrrha's shoulder. For a moment, she felt embarrassed. Who would do this with someone they just met? She thought about distancing herself, but then Pyrrha's grip suddenly tightened for just a moment. Her arms then returned to being loosely held together, connected lazily by her fingers.
It was too late for birds to be making noise, but cicadas were still relatively active. They reminded Ruby of her home back on Patch. The bugs could be heard late into the night, and until this moment, she had always found them rather annoying. They were too high up to listen to any remaining students that might be walking about down below. The weather was starting to cool, but not enough that the trees were changing color. The day would have been rather beautiful if the events it held were tame.
"Can I ask you something," Ruby asked, not moving from her spot.
"Of course," Pyrrha replied.
"You basically decided who your partner would be when you caught Jaune. Why did you do it?"
Pyrrha responded quicker than Ruby expected. She would have thought there would be at least some deliberation before receiving her answer. "I think he deserved a chance, and no one else seemed to want to give him one. He's a nice guy. Honestly, I think he has the potential to be a good huntsman."
Ruby only hummed in response. She couldn't argue, but there was just something off about him. Ruby certainly wouldn't turn him away as a friend though. He was one of the only other people that had been kind to her during the shit day she had.
Suddenly the balcony door slammed open, causing the pair to jump slightly. Upon seeing who it was, Ruby immediately rushed into her sister's arms.
"Yang, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left and-"
Yang shushed her and tightened her grip. While Ruby was closer to her sister's height now that she was just about done growing, she still had to stand on her toes to hug her like this. "No, I'm sorry. I should never have pushed you like that. I would have killed anyone else that tried anything even remotely close to that. I-"
"Please don't blame yourself. I shouldn't have touched you-"
"No! I am the one to blame here!" Yang yelled. Her hands were placed on Ruby's cheeks before she continued, making sure her sister looked her in the eye. "I have anger problems, and I need to get them under control. You might forgive me, but I will never forgive myself. You could have gotten seriously hurt."
Knowing Yang usually outlasted her in stubbornness, Ruby opted to back down and returned to hugging her instead. Ruby opened her eyes when she heard movement behind them. Pyrrha was quietly making her way back into the building but not before looking at Ruby. She mouthed a silent thank you and received a smile and a nod in return.
"You were talking about my friends being here. They were never anywhere near as important to me as you are. When something cool happened, you were always the first one I wanted to tell. I'm glad you're the one I get to spend my time at Beacon with."
Ruby sniffled. Yang wasn't usually this emotional, preferring to diffuse situations with jokes and such.
"I love you," Ruby replied.
"I love you too, sis," Yang said before pulling away. Ruby wanted to groan and the smirk that was now on her face.
"You looked rather cozy with Pyrrha there. Should I be giving her the big sister talk already?"
"YAAANNNG!" Ruby replied while lightly slapping Yang on the arm.
This only encouraged Yang, causing Ruby to groan. Her sister had the look she always gets when she thought she had something clever to say. "It's my job. I should get to Yang… her around a bit. Actually, that should be your job."
Ruby's hands covered her bright red face, and she turned her back on a laughing Yang. Ruby tried to pull away when a pair of arms were thrown around her shoulders, but her efforts were fruitless.
"OK, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Her laughing made Ruby question the truth in the statement. "Seriously though, I'm glad you have good taste in people. You've never really talked about anyone you liked before."
Ruby shrugged. "I never… I never really have before, I guess." She never felt the need to come out of the closet. Yang did, not that it came as a surprise to anyone. She had never hidden her attraction towards either gender. Even still, her father's words struck a chord in both of them.
I never want you to feel to need to make a revelation about yourself. I love you for who you are, so I'm going to have the talk with anyone you bring home, guy or girl.
Ruby smiled at the memory. That was probably the most nervous she had ever seen her sister. Then, thinking about her answer, she sighed before adding, "Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about her. We just met yesterday. She was the second person I met here and the first that turned out to be positive. I don't want to lose that."
Yang seemed to think about Ruby's sister for a minute before saying, "OK, I can respect that. You have to admit one thing though."
Ruby looked at her incredulously. "What?" she asked cautiously.
"You gotta admit, she's pretty fucking hot," Yang said with a grin.
Ruby's eyes widened and she pulled her cloak low enough over her head that it covered about half her face.
"Silence is admission to the truth," Yang said while laughing.
While her sister was in a good mood, Ruby decided it would be a decent time to head back to their dorm room. Ruby felt a bit stronger as Yang followed along beside her. However, she hesitated when they got to the door, still nervous about what would happen when she crossed its' threshold.
"Ruby Rose."
Ruby had been caught up in her anxiety that she hadn't seen Weiss approaching, Jaune not far behind her. Ruby looked up at Yang and saw her narrowing her eyes at the heiress, so she asked, "Can you go ahead of us?" When Yang refused to back down, she added a quiet, "Please?"
Yang eventually went along with Ruby's request, but not before giving Weiss a final glare.
The door closed, and there was silence. Jaune had gone back into his own dorm, where Ruby could hear the voices of Nora and Ren. That meant only Blake was unaccounted for now, which took a bit of the weight off of her shoulders.
Ruby was looking at her feet, shuffling them awkwardly when Weiss finally began to speak.
"Look, I can't say that I understand or even accept Ozpin's decision," Weiss began. Ruby's heart dropped. "However, the least I can do is try. I… I said some uncalled-for things. I will not come up with excuses. My words were my own."
Ruby could tell that Weiss was struggling through her words. She wondered if the heiress had ever even needed to apologize to anyone before.
"How about a deal," Ruby proposed. When Weiss quirked a brow in response, she took it as her cue to continue. "We be the best we can for team RWBY. I can't say I will be the best leader, but I can promise you that I will put every ounce of effort into trying my hardest. I don't want to control you. We each have different strengths and weaknesses. I just want us to learn how to use those together, so please, can you help me do that."
Ruby almost flinched when one of Weiss's hands shot between the two of them. Ruby tentatively took it and was impressed by the shake she got in return. She looked past their hands and into Weiss' eyes. Ruby would be lying if she said she determination didn't surprise her.
"Deal," Weiss declared.
Ruby smiled, more than relieved. She went to open the door but was met with a bit of resistance before it gave way. A soft thump hit the floor, and Ruby peered around the frame the see Yang on the ground, rubbing at her neck sheepishly. "We good now?" she asked with a nervous laugh.
Ruby looked up to see Blake had returned to the room as well and was also waiting for a response to the question.
"It's going to take some work, but we will be."
"Hell yeah!" Yang whooped while throwing a fist into the air.