En Garde! A RWBY White Rose Fanfiction

Chapter 6: Family

"...And after that, we hung out in the cafe 'till Yang came and got me." Ruby finished relaying her day to her sister and uncle. "And I had this chocolate chip cookie-"

"Wait a minute!" Yang interrupted her. "You didn't mention any of this when I picked you up." "Didn't think it was important," Ruby shrugged.  "And it's kinda hard to have a conversation on a motorcycle." Yang facepalmed. "Ruby, you could've gotten hurt! Thank god nothing happened." Qrow sat back and nodded at Ruby approvingly. She smiled at him.

Yang glared at their uncle. "Qrow, don't you have any concern for Ruby?" Ruby and Qrow exchanged knowing looks. Yang was about to go off on one of her "overprotective sister" tangents. "I prefer that you call me 'Uncle Qrow'," he replied calmly. "And she's perfectly capable of handling herself. You know that just as well as I do, Yang." Ruby spread out her arms and added on. "See? I'm fine. No hurts anywhere." (She didn't mention the scrape on her knee from when she'd fallen.)

Yang grumbled and sat back down. "Fine, but still...Ruby, eat your green beans!" Ruby made a guilty face and stopped pushing her vegetables towards the floor with her fork, where her faithful corgi waited to gobble them up. "Zwei, down." The little black and white dog whimpered at Yang and shuffled into the living room. Qrow chuckled as Ruby reluctantly shoved some green beans into her mouth and her sister smirked in triumph.

After the little family finished eating, Ruby and Yang took over dishwashing duty so their uncle could get some well-needed rest. Ruby stopped scrubbing a bowl for a moment and stared at the white soap bubbles that gathered around the dishes and the edges of the kitchen sink. "...Yang?" Her sister put down a clean plate and looked over at her. "Yeah?" "You know I wouldn't do something if it put me in a ton of danger, right?" Yang sighed. "Yeah. I just...don't wanna lose you. After mom and-"

Ruby cut in before the somber blond could continue. "Yang, you're not gonna lose me. Never. I won't let it happen. You're my family, too. We've been over this before." Her big sister smiled warmly at her, but she knew not to trust Ruby's naïve reasoning. She'd lost two mothers and, recently, a father. Ruby and. Qrow were all she had left. But she wasn't about to let her younger sibling share the pain she was going through.

After a hug and a moment of awkward silence, Ruby spoke up again. "Have you ever done something really...stupid before?"

Yang laughed sarcastically. "If you mean my entire life, then totally!" Ruby giggled. "Oh come on, you're not stupid." Yang just shrugged. "I try." "But seriously," Ruby continued, "like if you've done something you really regret but you don't know how to make up for it. What would you do?"

The blond gazed deep into her little sister's eyes. She knew that face. "Alright, what else did you hide from me?" Ruby sighed. "I kinda bumped into someone on accident." "Ah, so you did leave out something else?" Yang asked curiously as she leaned closer. Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, uh, yeah. I was debating on whether or not to mention it..." Yang menacingly cracked her knuckles. "Do I need to kick someone's ass for you?"

"No!" Ruby laughed. "I accidentally bumped into that fencer girl I told you about that one time, Weiss Schnee."
•••
Weiss shifted uncomfortably in her bed. An hour had passed since she'd turned out the lights, but she still couldn't fall asleep. She stared at the dark ceiling, unable to shake the twisting sensation in her gut that always formed when she was extremely stressed out (although that was most of the time). She groaned and turned over again. All she wanted was to fall asleep and forget about the thoughts plaguing her mind, even if it was just for a few hours. She closed her eyes and attempted to clear her head.

"You lost," her father said angrily. "You promised me that if you were allowed to play around with swords, you'd turn it into a family legacy, something new to promote our name. What are people going to say about the girl on an incredible winning streak who was suddenly beaten by an imbecile? What will they say?" He was almost shouting. "They'll spread rumors, they'll doubt your abilities, and you'll lose what you worked so hard to gain. Are you really going to throw it all away?" "No, father." "But you just did! You may never have a chance to regain your reputation!

"I for one not taking any chances. Our family name is also on the line. I'm pulling you out of the country-wide competition this year, and you're going through intense training like you've never seen before. And if you don't make the cut next year, it's over."

Weiss bolted upright, gasping for breath. It may have been a nightmare, but it was also a flashback. She wiped a thin coat of sweat off her forehead and laid back on her pillow with a thump, trying to hold back tears. Crying is just a stupid thing people do to get attention.

Weiss let out a shaky sigh and wrapped herself tight in her blanket. There was always the family business to take over. Why can't he understand that office work isn't for me? As the (newly labeled) heiress of the Schnee Rust Company, she knew she'd be stuck in a boring, white-walled room all day with no one but her office phone to keep her company, spending half her time signing pointless contracts about cars she couldn't even identify and the other half staring blankly out the balcony window. After all, that's how Winter described it. Weiss wished for the millionth time that her older sister hadn't left, but she didn't blame her. Weiss wanted to run, too.

But there was nowhere to go, not for the last Schnee in the family line.

AN: happy Labor Day (aka a day without school lol) As always, I'd love to hear your feedback and comments, and I'm working ahead to make sure the next chapters will be ready to publish. See y'all next week!