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Weiss actually hadn't been intending for things to have gone this way. Not at all. If she'd had any way in the matter, she would have graduated Beacon Academy - top of their class, Pyrrha and Ren could eat their hearts out - without ever having idiotically admitting or acting on the affection she inexplicably managed to develop for her equally foolish partner.
Weiss certainly wouldn't have kissed her, pressed up hard against the training room wall as though her life depended on it. And she certainly wouldn't needed to have retreated from the painful embarrassment of the fallout.
Stupid, stupid, stupid - Weiss railed against herself. If she had an iota less control she might have paused in her angry stalk through the Academy's corridors to slam her head against the wall a few times for good measure.
Apparently I don't have enough control or good sense to not kiss her.
She was not sure she'd be able to live with Ruby after the fiasco she'd just escaped from, let alone deal with Yang or Blake if they found out. And if Weiss knew anything about those two and Ruby's own inability to hold confidence, they would learn.
Weiss frankly couldn't believe that she'd finally broken now, given they were in their final year, just before their final exams. She'd already endured the ungodly torment that had been the strapless wonder Yang had managed to get Ruby to wear on her eighteenth birthday, the several times the semester just gone that Weiss had managed to idiotically blunder in on said partner just after her shower, the stupid Dust tutoring Blake had roped her into -
Weiss didn't growl, she had far too much control for that, but the next first year she encountered in the hallway received a blistering glare that neatly encompassed all of her anger and humiliation. She'd been on the home stretch! Was there something wrong with her? She'd resisted for so long, knowing that it couldn't happen and that it couldn't go anywhere even if it did. There had been so little time left to last, too. Just a few weeks of testing.
Just a few weeks left before everything changes and Team RWBY is no more, while I get to deal with my father and the company.
Maybe that had been why Weiss had dropped her guard and messed up so spectacularly. She'd seen the light at the end of the tunnel and grown stupid, and then this evening Ruby had wandered in on her Dust preparation and challenged her to a spar.
Weiss had been in the mood to work out the constant stiffness that had started in her shoulders from all the time she'd spent hunched over ancient Dust theory texts.
And, of course, Ruby had offered to help road test some of Weiss' said experimental Dust compounds, and even now it was very difficult to deny that showing off to Ruby had been a small factor. That, and to stop Ruby from giving her that damn kicked puppy look, because apparently not sparring for a week constituted 'forever' and was cruel and unusual punishment.
So of course Weiss had said yes, what more could she have done? She was only human. The adrenaline had started in pretty quickly as she'd traded rapid blows with Ruby, Myrtenaster meeting Crescent Rose in a dozen fleeting strikes within a moment, before they both set their stances and pushed back hard.
Sweat had immediately prickled at the back of Weiss' neck, but she had smirked in satisfaction when Ruby was the first to break away. The usual stupid, over-eager grin on her face had always made Weiss' heart skip a beat or two, and first challenges over and done with, they'd fallen into the rhythm they'd formed over the past three and a half years.
Weiss' focus had narrowed all the way down to that one training room, the sound and jar of Myrtenaster clashing with Crescent, and the way Ruby's breath had become forced and shallow while she used her weapon's superior length to put a stop to Weiss' attempt at disarming her.
The message had been clear - go all out. Weiss had had her doubts about Ruby's skill when they'd first been forced into partnership, but those days were long passed. After so long together, Weiss knew with an absolute certainty what her partner's limitations, that she could trust that her very best would be matched blow for blow. Ruby had expected - no, demanded - just the same of her.
They moved faster as the spar wore on, flowing from form to form as Weiss had tested out the effects of her incredibly experimental Dust combinations. Fortunately Ruby had seemed to take everything from splitting the ground open beneath her feet to acid rain in her stride, and Weiss had actually started to relax when her last Dust combination had detonated and -
Well, the whole training room had been practically filled with fireworks. Weiss had been so blindsided by the blatant non-potency of it all, staring at the useless glyphs with a mix of horror and confusion, that Ruby's next strike completely disarmed her and slammed her into the training room wall.
Ruby had flashed forward before Weiss had even considered moving to arm herself again, pressing the reinforced length of Crescent Rose's haft against her shoulders. Ruby's face had been flushed, her breath coming hard, that stupid grin still on her face. She had been looking at Weiss as though she was the entire world, and then Weiss had done the complete unthinkable, lightly knocking aside Ruby's weapon and seizing her mouth in a breathless kiss that could have been generously labelled as awkward.
Ruby had made a sound of surprise that even now gave her shivers, but that had been enough to crack whatever awful insanity that had come over Weiss. She'd pulled away, alarmed, humiliated and completely unable to look Ruby in the eye. She'd stiffly collected Myrtenaster and left her stunned partner alone in the wrecked training room.
She hadn't been able to deal with the idea of critically thinking about what had happened, let alone facing the stark reality of the fallout. She'd retreated, hoping to whatever twisted deity was out there that Ruby would get the message and forget it had ever happened.
Weiss glowered at another few younger students as she swept by, keeping her expression harsh and cool as though it would quell the shameful riot inside her. The hallways had been quiet - it was almost curfew, after all - but Weiss could not even begin to entertain the thought of going back to her dorm now.
She'd kissed Ruby, when she'd promised herself that she would not. She'd broken said promise, and while that was a serious wound to her pride, it had even worse implications. There was the very real possibility that their partnership could be thrown into complete disarray, jeopardising their marks so close to the final exams. And afterwards...
After, I'm going to end up back at the company, my foray into hunting done if I know what's good for me. At least, it would be that way if her father had anything to say about it. There was a dreadful inevitability to it that Weiss hated but couldn't ever seem to shake. She couldn't exactly let herself duck out and run from it, either. After everything that had happened with the Faunus and the White Fang, she had too much to take care of, too many lies and back room deals to unravel before more people got hurt by her family's legacy. Ruby is going to be different. She's going to be a real Huntress, and I know she's going to be one of the best. What exactly is there to hope for, even if she lets it slide?
Weiss stopped at one of the Academy's balconies, one that looked out over the darkened gardens. She didn't want to go back to the dorm - and that was fair, she told herself. It was completely valid not to want to go back to that mess until she'd composed herself and thought of a plan.
Then again, if she was as perfect a Huntress as she'd wanted to be, the situation would not have happened at all. She sighed, her shoulders relaxing a fraction. What was she going to do?
"Oh good, you stopped," Ruby commented from just behind her, and every muscle in Weiss' body went tight with tension. She drew herself up, looking over her shoulder to where Ruby was leaning against the doorframe, conveniently blocked off the least dramatic route of escape.
"I needed some air, what of it?" Weiss demanded, disliking that her voice wasn't as brusque as she wanted it to come across as.
Ruby shrugged, as though Weiss was being somehow difficult. "Just figured that once you'd done your usual Weiss thing, you'd want to talk."
Weiss scoffed, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. She was glad that the semi-darkness out on the balcony hid it for the most part. "Why on earth would I need to talk to you? It meant nothing."
Ruby hummed beneath her breath. "You're such a terrible liar."
Weiss was silent for a moment, unsure what she was even meant to say to that. Ruby watched her steadily, and Weiss couldn't help but think that she'd grown up so much from the self-conscious, clumsy kid that she'd first been forced to team up with.
Suddenly feeling incredibly exhausted from the study, the spar, the whirlwind of emotion, Weiss asked, "What do you want, Ruby?"
She was surprised at how much she meant it - all she wanted was for this whole mess to just go away. She didn't care how much it cost her, whether it be in money, distance or just herself personally. She really, really didn't want to lose whatever weird, backwards friendship she had with Ruby, and just the idea felt unbearable. If she didn't play this right, no matter what Ruby thought of the kiss itself, things could go horribly wrong.
"You're upset." Ruby's expression seemed surprised. Genuinely, honestly surprised.
Weiss stiffened, disliking that she couldn't read where the conversation was going. "I'm not upset. Why would I be upset?"
Again, Ruby said nothing, smiling and tilting her head just so. Weiss could feel practically feel the whole world judging her for the hot reaction in her stomach. She turned away, flushing and cursing herself silently. She wished she was anywhere but here.
"I don't know if you noticed, but you and I ki-"
"Of course we did!" Weiss broke in before Ruby could finish the damning sentence, her entire body burning with embarrassment. "Look, don't read anything into it. It was just..." She cringed internally. "Hormones."
"Hormones?" Ruby's voice sounded disbelieving. "You don't do hormones."
"When it comes to you, yes, I do!" Weiss froze, realising what she'd said just a fraction too late. She sprang into damage control. "Don't get any ideas. It doesn't mean anything, it isn't going to happen again."
"...what if I want it to happen again?" Ruby sounded cautiously hopeful, and Weiss had to shut down the immediate, identical reaction of her own. And Ruby had had the nerve to imply Weiss was the difficult one?
"You shouldn't," she managed after a moment, crossing her arms and looking back.
Ruby's brow had creased in confusion. "Why not? Weiss -"
"No," Weiss cut in, feeling more confident that she could handle this and sweep it all away under the rug. "We're leaving the Academy in just a month, and after that..."
Now Ruby actually looked horrified. "So you want to just leave our bizarre UST thing like this?"
Weiss narrowed her eyes. That phrasing sounded just like something Yang would use, so she wondered if there was element she was missing in all this.
"Yes."
"That's really..." Ruby shook her head, her expression pained. "Weiss, you're meant to be smart."
That remark was just beyond the pale, and Weiss drew herself up. "Ruby Rose, I am telling you that my decision is final -"
"This is what I get for waiting for her to go first?" Ruby asked the moon, as though Weiss hadn't even been trying to make a point. Rose petals flashed across Weiss' field of vision, and suddenly Ruby was so close that her warmth and scent hijacked every sense Weiss had.
Weiss swallowed, her heart apparently unsure if it wanted to stop or race at a hundred miles an hour. She felt heat creeping up from her neck.
Ruby sighed, stooping a little, because at some point that year she'd gotten far too tall. "Weiss, if you don't want to do... this, I mean, you don't have to, but..."
But Weiss did want to, she realised with a rapidly fading grasp on all her reasons and logic. Everything felt silly and shallow when Ruby was right there, looking down at her like that, and god Weiss was so stupid and weak. It didn't matter what her relationship status was or wasn't. She'd likely be shipped off to some godforsaken mine on the other side of the world for the Beacon Academy stunt, once the investors no longer considered her training a novelty.
"But you want to," Weiss finished for Ruby, swallowing hard. Why did she insist on damning herself like this?
"Yup." Ruby shrugged, and her smile was brilliant. "Why wouldn't I want to?"
"You're completely impossible. Because, like I said, the company needs me." Reality closed in again. Her father had told her that often enough, and given her deal with Blake... She had to sort out what she could, even in a capacity as a manager and not a president. She couldn't just trust anyone else with that sort of job, either.
Her silence must have lasted a bit too long, because Ruby laughed. "Why is that an issue? I'll come to you. Take a few jobs wherever you end up. Even if we didn't, you're not getting rid of us that easily anyway."
Weiss twitched that that, trying her damnedest not to just stare at Ruby. She shouldn't have expected otherwise, because when Ruby was concerned the solution was always that simple and honest. And maybe she was right, maybe the team would last even beyond graduation, which was... a relief. In spite of the uncertain tasks ahead of her, Weiss felt a reluctant smile start at the corner of her mouth. She looked away again, attempting to compose herself, but Ruby's laugh told her it was a lost cause. It stung her pride a little, but -
She whirled and seized a fistful of Ruby's hood, dragging her down and into a scorching kiss that would wipe the smirk off her partner's face for sure. Their second kiss was less breathy, less fumbling, less driven by impulse, and far more satisfactory because at least Ruby wasn't acting like a stunned mullet this time and was actually kissing her back.
She slipped an arm around the back of Ruby's neck, pulling her down and in for a better angle, and the low whine from Ruby's throat seemed to set fire to every nerve she had. A shiver ran down her spine as one of Ruby's hands reached out to grasp her forearm, and instinctively she backed off to a safer distance.
Ruby's expression was a little dazed as she met Weiss' eyes, a slack grin on her lips, and from the way she'd leaned forward slightly, she hadn't wanted it to end.
"See, I was right, totally worth it," Ruby said after a moment, and Weiss scoffed.
"Of course it was worth it," she retorted, because who did Ruby think she was? "Whether it was a good idea remains to be seen."
"Don't knock it 'til we've tried it." Ruby paused, cocking her head and wincing. In the distance, Weiss could hear bells chiming on a clock. Curfew. "Goodwitch is going to murder us."
Weiss growled rebelliously under her breath about Ruby's terrible influence, and how she couldn't be blamed for the delay in going back to their dorm. She was still a little sorry that the whole thing had ended for the night, even if she'd never admit that aloud. Unable to help herself, Weiss cast Ruby sidelong, assessing glances all the way back to their dorms.
How serious had she been, about taking hunts in the area that Weiss ended up? Entirely serious, she decided. Ruby never did anything in halves these days. It was a bit of a relief, that the end of their time at Beacon wouldn't mean the end of their team.
Luck must have finally been on Weiss' side, as there were no incidents with patrolling staff on their back, but outside the door to safety, she snagged hold of Ruby's hood to stop her from reaching for the door handle. Ruby immediately paused, looking over her shoulder.
"Ruby -" Weiss started, her sudden security in knowing where she stood with her partner evaporating far too fast. She wondered if she needed to tell Ruby to keep what had happened on the low, but then, was that really what she wanted? Maybe she should just let things fall how they would, even if the very idea made her twitch. She swallowed, shaking her head, her decision made. "Thanks, I guess."
Ruby leaned in and brushed her lips against Weiss' cheek, so softly that that Weiss couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. It didn't matter, she'd already had far more than she had a right to expect tonight.
This... isn't so hard, Weiss decided. Seizing the door handle before she could second-guess herself, she marched into the haphazard dorm room and braced herself.
The sky didn't fall down, no surprise cameraman jumped out, and Yang and Blake seemed blissfully unaware that anything had happened at all. That in itself was immediately suspicious.
"You guys good?" Yang drawled from her bunk, still contemplating the ceiling with great interest.
Weiss just looked at them. She could tell that Ruby, from somewhere behind her, was giving them a thumbs up. She tried not to roll her eyes.
"Good," Blake said after a moment, not looking up from her book as she turned a page. "Because your flirting-slash-public-sex-slash-sparring was getting a bit much to watch."
Of course. So much for discretion. Shooting a suspiciously-innocent Ruby an irritable look over her shoulder, this time, Weiss didn't hold back - she walked over to the bedpost and thumped her head against it in despair.