Diva - Chapter 21

Nerves sparked through Ruby’s veins like fireworks as the tram meandered through Crescent Productions, stopping at studio after studio for employees to begin their work days.  If those nerves got any bigger, she would spill bitter, jet-black coffee all over herself, which sounded like the perfect excuse to call in sick or pretend to have a family emergency.

The tram stopped, releasing more production teams into the wild, and she shook the idea from her thoughts.  As much as she wanted to hide in her room all day, where hopefully she could ignore the jumpy, fluttery feelings in her chest, she wanted to go to work.  She wanted to see Weiss, even if seeing Weiss would only remind her of yesterday’s revelation.

Weiss was an international celebrity.  A superstar.  The entire world loved and admired her.  Hordes of crazy fans would trip over themselves for the opportunity to even be close enough to take a picture.  And if they could take a photo with her?  They would probably turn into ghosts on the spot and then do their own version of haunting: showing that photo to anyone who would look, moaning about the time they met Weiss Schnee.

Ruby liked to believe that she wasn’t one of them.  She wasn’t a groupie.  Celebrities were just people, too.  Really rich, really pretty people, but still people.  Besides, Weiss was essentially her boss.  And Weiss was an actress - she pretended for a living.  For all Ruby knew, Weiss was only pretending to be agreeable now.  Maybe she got so tired of butting heads with Ruby that she decided to try another route - a far more effective route that quickly turned Ruby into an agreeable puddle.

Whatever happened…whatever changed…left Ruby tied up in conflicting emotions.  Her heart sped up as Studio 18 loomed through the windows, but she grabbed her bag and hopped off the tram the moment it stopped.  She made her way to the building as if this was just another day, unlocked the door as if it was just another day, and walked inside as if this was just another day, but her eyes scanned the space as soon as she stepped foot inside.  

She knew who she was looking for without her mind fully acknowledging it, but pristine white hair was nowhere to be found.  A short exhale escaped her lips, but she went to the PA table without a hitch in her step.

“Good morning,” Velvet greeted her as she stored her bag beneath the table.  “You look nice today.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.”  

Ruby glanced at her outfit and blushed at the compliment.  She hadn’t intended to dress nicer than usual, but she could see how others might feel that way.  The dark red button-up had languished in the back of her closet for years and she thought it deserved to be put into use.  But now she had to worry if…certain people…would think that she dressed up for them.  

Had she?

“Is Weiss here yet?” she asked, glancing around in another fruitless search.

“I haven’t seen her.”

That wasn’t unusual - Weiss arrived whenever she pleased - but a strange mixture of disappointment, confusion, and worry flitted through Ruby’s chest as she left Weiss’ coffee on the table.  A quiet voice in the back of her mind suggested that Weiss was avoiding her after that kiss - it had been so bad that Weiss couldn't bear to show up at work - but she shoved the thought away.

“Hey, guys!” Oscar called out as he skipped to their sides.  He dropped his bag on the floor, kicked it under the table, then snuck a shy smile at Ruby.  “Y-you look really pretty today.”

The compliment proved that she had dressed up, so her cheeks flared with a blush.  Weiss probably didn’t even remember their kiss, yet Ruby was going to be that person who got all dressed up hoping to capture Weiss’ attention.

“Uh, thanks,” she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck before the deliveryman saved her from her burgeoning embarrassment.  Thankfully, Velvet and Oscar dropped the topic in favor of setting up their first meal of the day.

“Can you believe we’re almost done already?” Velvet asked while opening the boxes, drawing Ruby’s frown.

“What happens then?” Oscar asked, speaking Ruby’s thoughts aloud.  “Like, to us?  And the rest of the crew?”

“Depends.  Most will join another project or take side jobs if they don’t have anything lined up.”  Velvet glanced at Ruby while they set out two trays of food.  “You should let Glynda know if you need more work.  I’m sure she can find you something fast - good PAs are hard to come by.”

“Maybe…” Ruby mused before shaking her head.  “I haven’t really thought about it.  Maybe I’ll focus on my art for a while.”

“That’s what you want to do, right?” Oscar asked while setting the pastries at the end of the table.

“Ideally.  Just haven’t had much time to devote to it lately.”

“Unfortunately, that won't change anytime soon…” Velvet trailed off and nodded to the door as Cinder flew inside like a wicked witch dropped off via broomstick.  Ruby nearly asked if anyone had seen Cinder’s black cat prowling around, but then Cinder locked onto them and stormed over.

“Incoming,” Ruby whispered, nudging Oscar’s side.  He nearly dropped the stack of plates in his hands as he spun toward their demanding assistant director.

“New schedule.”  Cinder whipped three pages from the folder she carried and flicked one to each of them.  “Stop dawdling and get to work.”

Cinder strode off without another word, delivering more schedules with as little care or concern as she could muster.  Ruby, meanwhile, glanced at Velvet and said, “But we were working…” before studying the schedule.

“Is this for real?” Oscar asked as Ruby experienced a similar level of disbelief.

“Unfortunately…” Velvet sighed before folding hers up and slipping it into her pocket.  “They moved up the release so…we have work to do.”

Ruby shared a stunned glance with Oscar before looking over the schedule one more time.  Weiss warned her that it would be bad, but she hadn’t expected to live here for the next few weeks.  They still had the first day of her art exhibit off, fortunately.  Beyond that, she should cancel any other plans.  Sleeping might also become a luxury.

“Well, you heard her,” she eventually said, shoving the schedule into her pocket before grinning at Velvet and Oscar.  “We should get to work!”

They both chuckled before the three of them rushed off to help wherever needed.  Ruby and Oscar set up several cameras for Jaune, complete with cord management destined to become cord untangling later that day.  The stage needed finishing touches in the form of boxes and boxes of decorations.  Oob spilled a can of paint thinner - again - which took a mountain of paper towels to mop up but left a vaguely chemical tinge to the air.

As the morning progressed, Ruby’s gaze frequently flitted to the studio doors.  Nearly everyone had arrived by now - they had even reached a small lull waiting for the actors and extras to finish preparations - but Weiss was still nowhere to be seen.  

Was she sick?  Should Ruby check in on her?  Send her soup like Jaune did for Pyrrha?  

In between tasks, Ruby pulled out her phone and considered her options.  She wanted to send a message, but she also didn’t want to come across as prying or worse - desperate.  She already dressed up, for crying out loud.  The last thing she needed was to make her feelings blatantly obvious.

A decision still eluded her as Coco arrived in her tall, supermodel-esque glory.  Her outfit had been torn from a magazine, her hair and makeup were already ready for the big screen, and her stride suggested a catwalk rather than a cement floor lying beneath her feet.  Ruby had always considered Coco to be pretty, but Velvet outright froze and sucked in a breath when Coco’s sunglasses-shielded gaze landed on her.

Coco didn’t even break stride as she adjusted her path, walked to Velvet, and seamlessly drew her into a kiss.  Oscar’s brow shot up and Ruby’s jaw dropped to the floor, but the two girls might as well have occupied another planet right now.

Pulling away first, Coco smiled down at Velvet.  “Morning, beautiful,” she purred while brushing her fingers through Velvet’s hair.

“Morning,” Velvet murmured in reply.

“Have lunch with me today?”

“Of course.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Coco kissed Velvet’s cheek before heading to the wardrobe department, leaving Velvet staring after her with a love-stricken smile.

“Uh, hello?”  Ruby waved her hands in front of Velvet, snapping her out of her stupor.  “When did that happen??”

After glancing around to see if anyone else was listening, Velvet leaned closer and said, “Last night.  She invited me over for dinner, and when I got there she had all of those paper flowers you made spread across the entryway, and said that she’d planned to wait until after we ate, but…she wanted me to go out with her, and she wanted that dinner to be our first date.”

“And you said yes?” Ruby asked.  Velvet immediately nodded.  “What about the whole, you know, ‘fling’ thing?”

“She assured me that’s not the case and…I guess I believe her.”

Velvet shrugged and smiled, radiating joy and delight.  The instantly contagious effect caused Ruby to let out a little squeal before hugging Velvet.

“I’m so happy for you!” she said before letting go, beaming at Velvet, and eventually patting Oscar’s shoulder.  “Isn’t this great, Oscar?  Our first on-set couple.  Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Jaune are like two snails trying to prove who’s slower.”

Ruby glanced at Jaune and Pyrrha, who were engaged in what looked like the most innocent conversation ever, and shook her head.

“At least they’re talking,” Velvet pointed out.  “That’s a step in the right direction.”

“A baby step,” Ruby agreed before smirking at an idea.  “Pyrrha should just throw herself at him and see what happens.”

“Like, just kiss him out of the blue?”

Oscar’s genuine question froze Ruby, reminding her of her own unexpected kiss, but Velvet chuckled.

“That would probably freak him out.  You know who would do something like that though…”  Velvet ducked her head and subtly nodded as Cardin strolled past.  Grinning about something, he bobbed his head to Oscar, offered one of the cameramen a “Sup” and a high-five, then disappeared into his room.

“I can see that…” Ruby sighed.  That unfortunate memory hardly graced her thoughts, however, before the limousine outside chased it right back out.

James jogged around the car in time to hold the already-open door.  Weiss stepped out with her typical poise intact, smiled at his most recent attempt to fulfill his duty, and bid him a polite goodbye.  She swept to the studio as if this was a typical day, but Ruby’s quickening pulse shouted that it was not.

The moment Weiss caught Ruby’s gaze, Ruby’s heart stopped.  Not stuttered, or fluttered, and skipped a beat - it stopped long enough that a paramedic would be gravely concerned.  It only restarted when Weiss turned away, a soft gasp escaping her lips at the odd sense of relief and elation.

As Weiss made her way to her room, Ruby offered a quick, “Be right back,” before fetching the cup of coffee and rushing to catch up.  “Hey, Weiss?” she called out before Weiss retreated to her room.  

Weiss paused, her hand almost on the door handle, before turning around.  A tsunami of feelings crashed into Ruby’s heart the instant light blue eyes found hers.  She had always known that Weiss was gorgeous, but today…today, she felt that attraction like a thick fog in the air.

“Sorry, it might be a little cold,” she stammered while offering the coffee.  “I can get you a new one?”

Weiss accepted the cup but only briefly looked at it before returning her gaze to Ruby’s.

“That’s alright.  It’s my fault for being late.”

Ruby wanted to point out how uncommon it was for Weiss to be late - this was actually the first time it had ever happened - but kept that comment to herself.  She wanted to know why Weiss was late.  What cosmic force had interfered with Weiss’ godly control over her life, and what punishment had been doled out to the perpetrator?

Ruby didn’t ask; she made the mistake of letting her gaze dip to Weiss’ lips instead.  She looked away just as quickly, but the damage had already been done.  A hot blush crept up her neck, reddening her cheeks before moving up to the tips of her ears.  Her whole body warmed as Weiss contemplated her intently, silently, without throwing a lifeline to pull her out of that memory.  She remembered the smell of Weiss’ hair, the softness of her lips, the warmth of her skin…yet Weiss just stood there, studying her like a biologist studying a newly discovered creature.

It took Ruby rubbing the back of her very warm neck to break that spell.  Weiss finally opened her mouth, but Ozpin interrupted.

“There you are.”  He lightly tapped his cane on the floor, sipped his cup of coffee, and smiled.  “Can you be ready in fifteen?” he asked Weiss, who nodded and said, “Of course.”

“Perfect.”

He made his way to the soundstage without another word, and Weiss glanced at Ruby before opening the door to her room.  Ruby looked around and, when Weiss left the door ajar, followed.

“Ruby.”  

Ruby froze, and Weiss paused, as Coco hurried over and pressed several articles of clothing into Ruby’s hands.  “Help Weiss with this while I help Pyrrha.”

“Me?  But -”

“We’re ready when you are,” Coco told Weiss before walking away, leaving Ruby floundering for several moments before finally turning to Weiss.

“Come on then,” Weiss said, motioning Ruby into the room.  Ruby glanced around as if someone might recognize her current predicament and save her from it, but her delay only earned an impatient hand gesture.  Swallowing thickly, she followed Weiss into the room, closed the door, and watched Weiss set her handbag on the table.

The moment Weiss reached up and started undoing buttons, Ruby focused all of her attention on the clothes in her hands.  She straightened out a flowing, royal blue dress, silver necklace, and matching silver earrings before staring at them so hard that they might very well burst into flames.  Regardless of her best efforts, she heard fabric sliding across skin, and her cheeks reached a record high temperature.

“You can turn around if you want.”

Ruby glanced over - the absolute worst thing to do when Weiss was half clothed - before roughly shaking her head and staring at the opposite wall.  She expected a laugh for the ‘prude’ reaction, but Weiss simply walked over - stopping so close that Ruby’s body hummed at her proximity - and pulled the dress from Ruby’s hands.

More fabric sliding across skin - a sound that Ruby hadn’t realized could make her blush so hard until now - before a soft sigh caught her attention.

“You can look now.”

Even with permission, Ruby peeked over her shoulder to confirm that Weiss was actually clothed.  Seeing Weiss in the royal blue dress, she spun around as if her heart compelled her to.

“Wow.  You look…”

Stunning.  Breathtaking.  Gorgeous.  Any of those words would have worked, but Weiss had stolen Ruby’s ability to speak by being all of those things at once.

A fleeting smile was Weiss’ only response before turning around and moving her hair to the side.  The dress remained unclasped, revealing smooth skin and perfect shoulder blades that Ruby would dream about touching.  She fumbled with the clasp instead, her hands clumsier than normal as she struggled to remember what professionalism felt like.  

Once the dress was fully zipped, she fumbled even more with the necklace.  An internal timer went off - Weiss should be commenting on the pace by now, but Weiss waited patiently.  Using ‘patience’ and ‘Weiss’ in the same sentence set off Ruby’s alarms, increasing her worry and worsening her fumbling fingers.  Thankfully, the necklace finally caught in place, and she released the sigh she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“All set.”

After letting her hair fall back into place, Weiss turned and offered a quick smile before accepting the earrings Ruby handed to her.  She said nothing while fitting them in place, but Ruby couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer.

“Everything ok?”

“Hm?”  Weiss gave Ruby a quizzical look before waving the question away.  “I’m fine.  Are you alright?”

“Peachy!”

Ruby answered too fast, or too loud, or too something, because Weiss tilted her head, then searched Ruby’s eyes, and eventually sighed.

“I’m sorry about yesterday…”

“What?  It’s fine -”

“Clearly, it isn’t.”  Weiss hastily gestured to Ruby before taking a deep breath and releasing it in a quick exhale.  “God, I’m worse than Cardin.”

“Woah.”  Ruby waved both arms in front of her and shook her head.  “There’s no universe where you’re worse than Cardin.”

“I’m sure there are many where I am,” Weiss replied, pacing to one end of the room before spinning around and returning to Ruby.  “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, or pressured, or…anything.”

“You really, really didn’t.”  

“I didn’t?” Weiss repeated, her brow furrowing as if that response had never occurred to her.  “Then -”

“Has anyone seen Cardin?” Cinder asked over the microphone, loud enough that it interrupted whatever Weiss meant to say.

“Sorry.”  Ruby turned down the volume until it was just barely loud enough for her to hear.  “‘Then’ what?”

Weiss opened her mouth but eventually shook her head and said, “It’s nothing.  Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“Ok.  Then…I’m glad I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable was the furthest from how Ruby felt about that kiss.  If anything, it was far too comfortable.  It was something she wanted to do again.  Something she could imagine doing right now were it not for the growing concern of messing up their relationship.

“I was wondering though…”  She nearly lost her nerve when Weiss tilted her head but knew that if she didn’t ask now the topic might be lost for good.  “Uh, I was just wondering…why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why?’”  When Ruby shrugged, however, Weiss twisted her hands together and said, “We were rehearsing.  And that was the scene.”

“Right.  So it was just…practice.”

That was Ruby’s worst fear, but she masked a grimace by turning away and rubbing the back of her neck.  Now, she was disappointed but mostly embarrassed that she had hoped for a different answer.  

Of course it was just practice.  This was what Weiss did for a living.  If she could kiss Cardin because a piece of paper called for it, she sure as hell could kiss Ruby without any feeling or intent behind it.

“I’m sorry,” Weiss eventually said, sounding so remorseful that Ruby quickly shook her head and forced a smile.

“Hey, it’s no problem.  I’m the one who wanted to rehearse with you - you didn’t do anything wrong.”  

“That’s not what I’m sorry about…” Weiss sighed after stepping closer.  She then rested her arms on Ruby’s shoulders and ran her fingers through Ruby’s hair, the look in her eyes as unreadable as ever.  Apology, perhaps.  Guilt, maybe.  There might even be some uncertainty mixed in.

Ruby wished that she could pick out and name every emotion swirling in blue eyes, but her focus scrambled when Weiss slid her cool, soft fingers down the back of Ruby’s neck before smoothing across her collar.  In another world, with another person, Ruby would close her eyes and lean in.  She wanted to close her eyes and lean in.  Especially when Weiss edged closer, nearly pressing against Ruby in her pretty blue dress while rolling onto the balls of her feet.

Then someone knocked.

“Ready?”

Weiss’ sigh dusted across Ruby’s lips before she fell back to her heels and lowered her hands.

“Yes,” she called out.  Coco opened the door and poked her head in a second later.

“You look perfect,” she told Weiss while ushering her out of the room.  Ruby took an extra few seconds to gather herself before following.

Her thoughts were as scattered as a pile of dry leaves left out during gale-force winds.  Her heart was contemplating permanent residency near her throat rather than in her chest.  Her cheeks would probably never return to their original tone, but at least red was a decent color on her.

Velvet caught her gaze as soon as she left Weiss’ room and arched a brow in silent question.  Ruby motioned that she was fine before taking a deep breath and telling herself that she was fine.  She might be embarrassed, disappointed, and contending with a horde of feelings that she did not need, but she didn’t want to make Weiss feel bad about a misunderstanding.  

So she would forget that it ever happened.  

Well, no way would she ever forget, but she would move on and accept it as just a fun, great experience.  Kind of like this job, overall.  She never saw herself here, running around like a parent trying to track down a toddler who’d made it into the paint supplies, but that was part of what made her enjoy it so much.  Especially now that she and Weiss were on better terms.

Her gaze flitted to Weiss, whose hair and makeup were being done at a breakneck pace.  Weiss looked calm, poised, and…content.  The contrast to when they began filming was so clear that Ruby would never risk it for anything.  This Weiss was the Weiss that Ruby had worked so hard to uncover.  If she caught feelings in the process, that was her issue to deal with.

Fortunately, Cinder had little concern about Ruby’s emotions and worked the crew at such a speed that dwelling on anything besides ‘what do I need to do next?’ became impossible.  Weiss outmaneuvered Pyrrha and Cardin’s characters yet again in the first scene, then Cinder rushed them into the next scene without a break.  The third scene directly followed a rapid costume change and set swap.  A suit of armor nearly impaled Oscar, but Cinder just snapped at him to be more careful - ‘careful’ meaning ‘move faster’ in her curt tone.

As life in the studio moved on, it became easier to convince herself that the kiss was just a very realistic, very incredible figment of her imagination.  Whenever she interacted with Weiss, however, that veneer of normalcy shattered.  It was almost as if her senses came alive in Weiss’ presence, determined to thrill her at every turn and make her question whether anything had actually changed.

When she brought Weiss water between takes, their hands would graze as the bottle passed between them.  Was it only her imagination that Weiss trailed her fingers across the back of Ruby’s hand, sending goosebumps all up and down Ruby’s arms?  When she brought Weiss a salad for lunch - meager greens from the catered meal since Cinder would skewer Ruby before letting her venture away from the studio today - was it actually affection sneaking into Weiss’ tone as she accepted the food she wouldn't eat?  And when Weiss left the stage after Ozpin ended their suffering, was Ruby supposed to notice the way that blue gaze slowly roamed from her hair to her toes and back again, sending a tingle down her spine?

It felt as if Ruby’s eyes were finally open and she could see the world around her.  She hoped that Weiss didn’t feel the strange vibration in the air suggesting that something had changed between them.  She wanted everything to stay normal, like wearing the same clothing and perfume so that the wild panther she’d befriended could recognize her as a friend.

Weiss seemed oblivious to that vibration as she approached Ruby with none of the reservation or hesitation of the morning.  A small smile threatened to appear, but it smoothed into a contented expression.

“Long day,” she remarked, drawing a big sigh from Ruby.

“You can say that again.  Is this what it’s going to be like from now on?”

“Pretty much.”

Ruby blew a breath through her lips.  “Serious question then,” she began before glancing around and leaning a little closer.  “Are we going to die?”

Humor leapt into Weiss’ eyes, followed by uplifting laughter.

“Only if Cinder kills us.”  Weiss’ small smile remained as she glanced at Oscar, who had renewed his battle with the suit of armor.  “And only then if we keep making mistakes.”

“Hey, that thing’s really bulky!” Ruby said in Oscar’s defense.

“Then why doesn’t he take it apart?”

“It comes apart??”

Weiss clicked her tongue but looked amused rather than annoyed by their lack of knowledge.  That amusement only grew when Oscar finally dropped the armor, causing a jarring ruckus as it hit the floor and broke into more manageable pieces.  

While Weiss basked in her vindication, Ruby chuckled and shook her head.  Before pointing out that maybe Weiss should help set up the scenes, she saw Cardin hop off the stage and bound over to her with a big grin.

“Yo, Ruby.”  Cardin stopped a respectable distance away, held in place by Weiss’ scowl.  Ever the oblivious idiot, he slightly bowed to Ruby and said, “I’d like to compliment your appearance if you’re ok with that.”

Ruby’s brow rose, and she glanced at Weiss before saying, “Uh…sure, Cardin.”

“Awesome.”  Beaming now, he cleared his throat and drew himself up to his full height.  “That shirt looks really good on you.”  Just as Ruby opened her mouth to respond, he added, “And those pants make your ass look incredible.”

Something close to a growl slipped through Weiss’ lips as Ruby laughed.

“Thanks, Cardin.  That’s…very nice of you to say.”

Pleased with her response, he grinned and turned to Weiss.

“Weiss?”

“I’d rather die,” Weiss replied with a thin smile.  

After nodding as if expecting that answer, he rubbed his hands together and then spread his arms out wide.

“See?  Consent is sexy.”

Grinning as if he just won an award for chivalry, he jogged over to Cinder.  He instantly annoyed her, but he remained none the wiser as he motioned to Ruby before recounting his tale.  Ruby looked at Weiss, who looked caught between swallowing a slice of lemon or asking Oscar to impale her with the suit of armor, and laughed.

“At least he asked?” Ruby pointed out.  Weiss finally shook her head but lost some of her vice-like clench.

“Come with me,” she said before erasing Cardin from the universe by lightly touching Ruby’s elbow.  Ruby would have followed Weiss across a freeway while blindfolded after that, and it took no small amount of mental prompting to remind herself to stay professional.  As opposed to daydreaming about kissing Weiss as soon as the door sealed them into Weiss’ room alone.

Weiss removed her earrings and set them on the table.  Then she stepped out of her heels, dropping down to the dainty height that Ruby secretly adored, and shamelessly stripped out of the last scene’s costume.  This time, Ruby did turn around - not before getting a nose-bleed worthy view of Weiss’ back - and waited until Weiss had changed back into her own clothes.  She then slipped back into the heels she’d worn to work that morning, which still looked uncomfortable, and sighed before glancing at Ruby out of the corner of her eye.  Noticing Ruby watching her, she straightened up and walked over.

“May I offer you a compliment?” she asked, stopping so close that Ruby stuck her hands into her pockets to keep them to herself.

“You don’t have to ask,” Ruby replied with a faint laugh.  “You have my permission to offer all the compliments you can think of.  There must be thousands at the tip of your tongue.”

Ruby beamed at the joke.  Weiss, on the other hand, opened her mouth and promptly stalled. 

“You look very nice today,” she ended up saying - enough to renew Ruby’s blush but not enough to prevent Ruby from chuckling.

“Wow.  I can’t believe Cardin outdid you,” she teased, silently hoping that Weiss couldn't sense how much the simple praise made her heart flutter.  Rather than tease Ruby in return - about how a PA shouldn’t grovel for flattery, perhaps - Weiss blew a breath through her lips and squared her shoulders.

“Fine.”  Her gaze roved over Ruby, cataloging every inch before settling on Ruby’s eyes.  “You look nice every day, but today you look gorgeous.  That color makes your eyes even more beautiful, everything fits you perfectly, and you just look…radiant.  Like you’re shining from within.”

The praise, combined with the keen gleam in Weiss’ eyes, nearly convinced Ruby to drag Weiss’ lips to hers.  She shoved her hands deeper into her pockets and ran her tongue across her lips instead, wondering if her throat had always been so dry.

“I, uh, might’ve accidentally eaten a flashlight earlier,” she got out, adding a smile that she prayed was just friendly.

“That explains the shining…” Weiss mused while gently, almost casually, resting her hands on Ruby’s shoulders.  Ruby’s mind and body hummed at the touch, begging her to lean in, but Weiss’ gaze didn’t meet hers.  “What I want to know is…did you do it for someone’s attention?”

“Cardin’s, obviously,” Ruby spit out without thinking, but Weiss’ eyes snapped to hers with a pointedly unimpressed expression.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Weiss even remarked before letting her gaze drift to the side.  “What about Farmer Boy?”

“...Oscar?” Ruby clarified, so distracted by Weiss’ hands that she nearly forgot his name.  “What about him?”

Weiss shrugged and fiddled with Ruby’s collar, her gaze never leaving her hands.

“He follows you around like a puppy…he hangs on your every word…he stares at you when you’re not watching…”

“He does?”

“Of course you never notice,” Weiss sighed.  “But you have a soft spot for him.”

“Because he’s nice!  And how’d you know he’s a farmer?”

“I have eyes and ears and can smell the cow on him from a mile away.”

“How do you know what a cow smells like?” Ruby teased.  

Weiss opened her mouth but, realizing that Ruby had a good point, scoffed and flippantly waved her hand.  “I can only assume it’s cow,” she corrected, effortlessly drawing Ruby’s laughter.  When her brow remained slightly pinched, however, Ruby realized that she had to answer the question.

“I didn’t dress up for him.  I didn’t dress up for anyone, really.  I just…saw this shirt in the back of my closet and thought I should wear it.”  Ruby wasn’t sure if that last part was entirely true, but she continued anyway.  “And I’m not interested in him like that.  He’s like…my little brother.”

Finally, Weiss’ brow uncreased.

“Maybe you should tell him that,” she suggested, a hint of delight in her tone.

“I try not to crush people’s feelings though.”

Just like that, any amount of happiness faded from Weiss’ eyes and posture.

“I know,” she said softly.  “You aren’t me.”

Weiss withdrew her hands and stepped back, nearly drawing Ruby forward to recapture that sense of intimacy.  Weiss wrapped her arms around herself though, so Ruby stayed put and struggled to read Weiss’ emotions.  As Weiss sealed herself behind sturdy walls, however, Ruby searched for a subject change instead.

“Winter called me last night.”

“She did?”  When Ruby smiled and nodded, Weiss chewed on her lower lip.  “I assume it had to do with your art.”

“Of course!”  That was obvious to Ruby, but she paused when she noticed Weiss’ disquiet.  “Why else would she call me?”

Weiss shrugged and motioned for Ruby to tell her more, so Ruby let it go.  

“Anyway, she said they’re putting my pieces up next Saturday!”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah!”  A small smile flitted across Weiss’ lips - things were normal, after all - but Ruby still took a deep breath and drummed up some courage before adding, “And, uh, I know we’re going to be really busy at work, but if you want to stop by…”

“I’ll be there.”

“Please don’t feel like you have to,” Ruby hurriedly added.  “I’m sure you have better things to do -”

“I said I’ll be there,” Weiss repeated, her certainty making Ruby feel warm all over.  While Ruby wondered if she ate the entire sun rather than a flashlight, Weiss glanced to the side and added, “I haven’t seen the gallery since they moved, so I’d like to support my sister, too.”

Too.  

Weiss wanted to support her sister, too.  As in, she wanted to support Ruby…and Winter.  

Ruby had no idea what ‘support’ from Weiss even meant, but it felt like being strapped into a hot air balloon and sent soaring across the horizon.  “No pressure though,” she still said, her voice hardly above a whisper, but Weiss shook her head.

“Ruby, how often do you think I do things I don’t want to do?  Outside of work, of course.”

As soon as Ruby spotted the sparkle in Weiss’ clear blue eyes, she said, “Probably zero percent of the time.”

“Exactly.  If I want to be there, I’ll be there.  If I don’t want to be there, I won’t be there.  It’s that simple.”

Nothing about Weiss was that simple, but Ruby loved it that way.  Just like she loved the small smile threatening to escape Weiss’ iron grasp of her emotions and the almost too intense way Weiss held eye contact as if to read Ruby’s soul and the subtle way Weiss inched closer rather than away.

A plate shattered then - literally, somewhere in the studio, followed by concerned voices - and the spell was broken.  Weiss drew in a breath and glanced at the door before fitting a neutral mask back in place.

“I should let you go now.”

“That’s my line,” Ruby replied, but Weiss shook her head.  She then grabbed her bag from the table, returned to Ruby, and - after briefly searching Ruby’s eyes - kissed Ruby’s cheek.

“See you tomorrow,” she said before walking out, leaving Ruby frozen to the floor with a rampant blush and a tornado of conflicting thoughts.  Ruby listened as Weiss’ heels clicked away - a sound that used to foreshadow impending doom but now defined the daily source of Ruby’s delight…and confusion.

Only when the sound faded did Ruby leave the room, careful to lock the door behind her, and help clean up the accident that had occurred.  Her heart and thoughts, however, refused to stray far from Weiss.  Which was normal.  So very normal.

It had to be normal, even if this was just the new normal.  Absent any divine sign, like a meteor crashing into her canvas or volcano spelling her name in spewed lava, she didn’t want to read into things more than she already was.  

Weiss was an actress.  She pretended for a living.  She had even once admitted to being a phony.  Ruby might have made it across the alligator-infested moat, scaled the spike-covered portcullis, and avoided a few murder holes, but she would never know how Weiss truly felt unless Weiss told her.  

She wouldn't hold her breath since she kind of liked breathing and had a lot to keep breathing for…Weiss included.