En Garde! A RWBY White Rose Fanfiction

Chapter 64: Two Ways

AN: a few weeks late, but I got it done! I'm kind of dreading finishing this, lol. Sorry 'bout that. Here y'all go.

Ruby and Weiss were alone in the hospital room. The former was absentmindedly swinging her legs back and forth in her seat, while the latter sank back into her bed.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ruby wondered out loud.

"Whatever it is, they must have a reason why we aren't a part of it," Weiss reminded her.

The brunette pouted. "Yeah, but I still wanna know what they're saying."

"Perhaps they'll tell us later."

Ruby shrugged and came to sit beside her girlfriend. Before Weiss could ask what she was doing, Ruby gathered up her ivory white hair and slowly ran her hand through it.

"I was wondering if it's really as soft as it looks," the little brunette mused. "It is."

The heiress smiled at the compliment. "Is that so? I expected that the product wouldn't last this long."

Ruby shook her head, continuing to play with Weiss' hair. "It feels natural to me. Not like velvet soft, but not like a horse's mane, either."

"I'm so flattered," Weiss sulked, the pleasure of Ruby's compliment having been squashed.

"How do you do a braid?" Ruby asked suddenly.

Weiss sighed. "Of course you don't know."

"The only time I ever had long hair was when I was really little," Ruby explained, "and Yang would never help me learn because she refused to have anyone touch her hair. She still doesn't," she added with a giggle.

"Give me your hands," Weiss conceded, reaching behind her head. Her delicate fingers quickly found Ruby's, and she guided them to her scalp. "You have to start by splitting the hair into three different sections," she began.

Ruby did as she was told as gently as she could. "Okay, next?"

"Loop one piece over the other, and so on. Like this." Weiss took Ruby's hands again and guided her through the motions until the first braid was finished. "Did you get that?"

"I think so," Ruby replied. "I'm gonna try it!"

"Okay," Weiss chuckled. "Just be careful. You've made me lose enough hair already."

A few minutes later, Ruby had finished what Weiss started. It was messy, but it stayed together.

"Too bad neither of us have a hair tie. I'd like to go out looking like this," Weiss teased when Ruby took a picture of it and showed her.

The little brunette laughed and brushed out the braid. "Not bad for my first try, if I do say so myself."

"There is a first for everything," the heiress agreed, turning to her when her hair was freed once again.

With her guard finally let down, Ruby took the opportunity to sneak a peck on the cheek.  "And practice makes perfect."

"When did you become so...?" Weiss trailed off, finding herself lost in pools of silver. If this is all it takes now, she thought, then I'm done for. She shook her head and gave her girlfriend a light tug on the shoulders.

An eager Ruby leaned in so that their noses were touching. "I missed this," she purred softly before their lips connected again. Ruby got out of her seat and gingerly joined Weiss on the stretcher.

"I can't believe all this was happening right beneath our noses!" Yang exclaimed loudly, right outside the door. When Winter reentered, she found Ruby straddled over her little sister, stiff as a statue.

The heiress burst into a giggle fit, causing the older girls to laugh along with her. "You could've at least knocked," the traumatized brunette mumbled.

•••

Blake began leading Qrow to Mr. Schnee's office. "I'm not so sure that this is a good idea," she said, glancing back uneasily.

Qrow scoffed. "There are only two ways this can work out. Either Jacques pulls his head out of his ass and lets us help, or he risks the destruction of himself and his precious business."

"I suppose," Blake agreed, "but I have a feeling that the latter is more likely."

"My mission is to prevent such a crisis and stop whoever's behind this mess," Qrow responded. "I'll find a way."

Blake sighed uneasily. "I hope you're right."

They approached the office, and Qrow stepped in to open the door. "Oy, Schnee!" he hollered.

"I'm right here," came an annoyed response. "You don't need to shout."

"Whoops! I figured my voice wouldn't be able to get through that thick skull of yours," Qrow smirked.

That got Mr. Schnee's attention. He looked up and shot out of his chair. "Who are you, and what are you doing bringing a traitor of my household in here?!" he exclaimed.

Qrow replied, "We're here to save your sorry ass. Word about anything involving the SRC travels fast in my line of work."

"I don't recall summoning extra support," the head of the company grimaced. "Get out of my office before I force you."

"This is serious!" Blake cut in. "And for your information, I saved your daughter. I wasn't about to let your impulsiveness get her hurt."

When Mr. Schnee continued to glower at her, she kept talking. "The White Fang is involved in this. I really suggest you listen to him," she added, gesturing to Qrow. The older man nodded in agreement.

At first, Mr. Schnee's countenance was one of shock and anger, but it quickly shifted to mild fear. "...Very well," he conceded after a short pause. "Do what you must, but if I find anything suspicious about you two, I won't hesitate to have you punished."

"Good thing you accept," Qrow said, "'cause we have company."

"What?!" Blake and Mr. Schnee exclaimed in unison. The former whirled around to hear a thump and a muffled groan down the hallway.

Qrow took out his pistol. "Looks like we came at a good time. Get ready, Blake."