Chapter Text
“So, a ball at the Schnee manor huh?” Yang said, her voice cutting through the silence of the small Atlas dorm as they considered the invitation given to them by Jacques Schnee.
Coincidentally, on the day that the results for the polls were to be announced, team RWBY along with all of their comrades were invited to the Schnee manor as a show of gratitude - or how Weiss liked to call it,
“A bunch of bullshit so he could seem like the good guy.”
At the time, they all took her word for it.
“Well, if it’s a ball, then doesn’t that mean we’re gonna have to dress up?” Oscar spoke up amidst the tension-filled air. “We didn’t exactly bring anything fancy to wear…”
“That is true,” Yang said.” “Which is why we’re already getting your outfits ready for the day.”
Suddenly, heads turned to face the entrance of the dorm as General Ironwood introduced himself. He looked… ragged, almost tired; but that’s to be expected since both of the teams now knew what his plans were to get the communications tower up and running again.
“They should be ready for you all by the end of the day.” General Ironwood announced. “Any alterations that you think would be necessary, just let me know and we can get it in time for the ball.” A tired smile rested on his face. “Now, go on and enjoy the rest of your night, you guys need it.”
Mixed chatter fell upon the dorm room as team RWBY/JNPR and the adults started to enthusiastically discuss what they hoped to wear. They also spoke about what they wished to see at the Schnee manor the following night.
Weiss, on the other hand, stayed silent and still.
Sitting with the letter folded in her hand, she contemplated. She didn’t want to go back, not even for the party itself. She tried so hard to get out of that place only to nearly get herself killed in the midst of it all. The idea of her having to see her father and Whitley again, and perhaps even her mother, made it feel like there were hands constantly pushing her shoulders down. Her body suddenly felt too heavy.
She sat and thought, quietly and painfully. What would she do when she got to the Schnee manor? Should she run from the crowd? She would be able to walk through the manor easily, but would she want to risk seeing her father? She also had a sneaking suspicion that whatever her father had to do with the polls, he wasn’t doing it loyally. Like as if he had something going on behind the scenes. She would have to try and figure out information about that also. Maybe that would lead to even seeing her mother? What if she lashes out again like how she did at the last party? What if-
A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Pssst...Weiss? Hello?”
Her mind quieted down.
Weiss looked up, searching for the voice that called her. She only found Ruby beside her, looking at her with a worried expression.
“Is everything alright?” Ruby asked. “You seem a bit... quiet. Well... I mean you’re always quiet but I mean, a bit more quiet than normal,” she rambled as she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “I know how much you probably don’t want to go back there. But I can promise you that I and the rest of us will look out for you 100%!”
Weiss smiled softly. Even though she was afraid of what the outcome of the event would be, she knew she could count on both her teammates and everyone else.
“Come on, everyone’s about to leave and I doubt that you’d like to be left alone,” Ruby said, standing up enthusiastically. She grabbed Weiss’ hand and quickly pulled her out of the room.
Weiss’ cheeks flared up, noticing how her hand was wrapped around Ruby’s - rough, calloused fingers against her gloved hand.
She shook away the thought, focusing on wherever Ruby was dragging her to.
-
At the buzz of her Scroll, Weiss looked over at the desk trying to see the notification without having to get up from the warm blanket sprawled across her. Failing at doing so, she got up and walked over, only to see a notification from Yang.
Yang Xiao-Bong
6:45 - Weiss come to the dressing rooms, ironwood got our outfits ready for the ball
Looking at the message, she debated on answering or not. Frankly, she really didn’t want to… but nevertheless, she unlocked her scroll and decided to respond.
Weiss.
6:45 - … Do I have to?
Yang Xiao-Bong
6:46 - Weiss.
Weiss.
6:46 - okay okay, i'll be there in a second.
Sighing, she tucked her scroll into her belt pouch and headed out of the dorm.
Walking through the halls, Weiss started to wonder. What did Ironwood prepare for them in terms of outfits? He never asked them what they would like to wear anyways, as Weiss believed that he didn’t really have style besides the usual Atlas uniform. Not saying that the uniform was bad, She honestly found them to be relatively pleasing. She also wondered what the teams would look like in their outfits. She had never seen them in fancy clothing besides the party before the fall of Beacon. But to be honest, that was a very long time ago. It would be interesting to see if they would dress differently.
Simultaneously while thinking about this, her mind started to wander off into what Ruby would look like all dressed up. Ruby wasn't exactly one with… manners one should say. She was always messy and never really cared for how she dressed. As she liked to put it, she “cares about saving the world and her friends” more than simple things like looks, but Weiss didn’t think it was a bad thing. Ruby didn’t need to try and look good, she just simply did . Whether it would be fighting on the battlefield or relaxing in the dorms with the other team RWBY members, something about Ruby just drew Weiss in... making her steal glances whenever she got the chance. So the thought of Ruby getting all dappered up… with her new spiky hair and that godsent choker that just looked so damn-
“Weiss!”
Flinching, Weiss snapped out of her thoughts only to find that she was standing right in front of the dressing room halls, like a fool.
“Hey, Ice Queen, are you alright? You kinda seemed out of there for a second.” Yang continued with a laugh.
Ah, so that’s who interrupted her stream of consciousness.
“Yes, Yang. As a matter of fact, I’m doing just fine. Thank you,” she said, walking towards a seat while side-eyeing her teammate. The others were already settled, talking amongst themselves while waiting for the last person to show up-- Ruby.
And speaking of the devil, Weiss saw a flash of red rose petals burst through the door, crashing into gods know what.
“Alright alright, now that everyone’s here we can finally start,” said Qrow as he got up from his seat. “General Ironwood said that our outfits for tomorrow night are already in the dressing rooms, so go on in and try ‘em on.”
And just like that, everyone hurried into different designated rooms. Well, except for Weiss of course.
Walking into her dressing room, she closed the door and looked up only to be greeted by a dark blue prom-like dress.
Interesting to say the least.
It wasn’t anything too special though. The dress had a deep v neckline and a fitted waist right before it flared out into relaxed pleated fabric. Over to the side, Weiss could see there were a pair of white heels, or rather stilettos, that had a hint of red at the bottom,complimenting the dress just right. Looking over to the tablet sitting across the room, she could view a necklace on display, featuring a silver rose with red jewels next to it, and a bright red ruby dangling from the same rose.
With a sigh, she walked over to the dress, ready to get everything over with.
She wasn't going to lie, the General really did outdo himself with this one. The color was just the right shade of dark blue to compliment her skin and hair perfectly, and the dress was a perfect fit all around. The shoes were also a very good touch (considering how everyone knows that Weiss is short, though she would never admit it to anyone) and whenever she moved, she could notice that there were small sparkles that glimmered in the light. With some hairstyling, makeup and accessories (including the necklace), she believed that she would be ready for whatever mess of a ball she was heading to.
Quickly changing out of the formal clothes and putting on her “normal” ones (though some people beg to say that six belts is not normal.) she walks out of the dressing room and heads back into the halls, just to find Ruby laying on one of the couches.
“Ruby?” Weiss said in a confused manner, “Why are you out here so early?”
“Ehh.. well I mean there really wasn't anything special? We tried on suits, big deal,”
Wait, suits? Weiss didn’t try on a suit-
“Plus, I’d much rather be training right now, or cleaning Crescent Rose or something…” saying as the red clothed girl sat up to face Weiss.
Still confused on the suit part, Weiss decided to push just a bit further, maybe she would get answers without Ruby noticing.
“Well. Did you find anything wrong with your outfit? Did you even like it?” Weiss asked.
“No no I thought it looked just fine, but I’d rather wait until the event to show it off, it's a bit… different?”
“Different…? How so?” Weiss said without trying to sound too pushy. She just had to know if General Ironwood really gave her a damn suit - just so she can prepare herself.
“Well th- hold on, you’re trying to figure out what i'm going to wear, aren’t you?
Crap. Ok Weiss, stay calm.
“No? Ruby. I’m simply just asking if there was anything wrong”
Ruby eyed her, squinting as if she couldn’t see that she was a good 6 inches away from where she was sitting.
“Hmph. Everything was fine, but i’m not telling you anymore than that!” Ruby asserted.
Damn. So much for Weiss’s “plan”.
“Okay okay, I understand,” Weiss said before standing up. She began to walk away before stopping promptly in her tracks and looking behind her “What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
Arms crossed, she turned to face in Rubys direction. Not daring to make eye contact, she spoke. "W-well, you said you would rather train, right?"
Ruby stared. Suddenly the room felt a lot more warmer than Weiss would have liked.
Seconds passed by until her dense partner finally picked up on what Weiss was implying, face lighting up brighter than her silver eyes.
"O-oh okay! I'm coming!" Ruby said, jumping up from the position she was sitting in.
Weiss turned around, continuing to head over to where she planned to go in the first place, with the younger cheerful girl right behind her, and a small smile of delight bright on her face.