Unrequited [Whiterose]

1 - Beacon Dance

They walked back to their dorm in a comfortable silence. The night air was cold and plentiful, scents of pine trees filling their noses and the taste of distant cooked nourishments on the tips of tongues. Beacon was silent for the most part, as most students made home in the large, echoing hall. The Beacon Academy dance was something that everyone would remember, a tender memory before disaster would begin to occur, unbeknownst to them.

And for Weiss, it was more than that. A time where she let her walls come down.

The white haired girl let herself be a cautious metre away from her partner. Ruby walked next to her slowly, the clicking of her comically large heels filling her ears. They were heading back to recollect themselves, study (or in Ruby's case, sleep) and wind down. Weiss, a few minutes prior to their current situation, had stepped in and interrupted a dance between Ruby and an obnoxiously cocky man. His shaggy brown hair was quite similarly styled like Ruby's, only hers actually looked nice, while the man's hair had been greasy and violently pulled around. Weiss saw him constantly overstepping her partner's boundaries, and the whispers of people around her calling them 'cute together' made an unknown state of vexation unleash from inside of her.

"Thank you again for earlier, Weiss." A quiet squeak came from next to Weiss, it was Ruby. The heiress turned her head to see the small brunette was walking with her head down, clutching her left arm with her right hand stiffly. The concrete path ahead of them stretched on for what seemed like miles, when in reality it was coming to a sudden end within a few metres of them.

"It's fine, Ruby. I just wish some people knew proper manners. That boy was horrifically rude! His dancing was quite substandard, it was appalling to witness."

Ruby snorted at her partner's remark. "Well, I can barely walk in a straight line, so he was doing better than me."

Weiss furrowed her brows at Ruby as they finally approached their dorm, the long carpeted hallway had a home-like feeling to it. The Schnee girl didn't quite know how to reply to that comment. In a way it was true, her younger partner definitely could not dance well to save her life, but there was an odd charm to her.

And that charm as of recently was slowly oozing into her head. Something about Ruby made Weiss feel... strange. She didn't know if she hated it or adored it.

Weiss was in no way an overly affectionate person. She never let herself be overly expressive or 'childish' looking in front of others, due to years of training and mental bashing from her presumptuous father. It was something she used to pride herself in, being able to constantly look overly confident and professional, but as she got closer to her team over the past six month period, the heiress had begun to realise that it had its downsides. She had missed out on core loving moments all throughout her childhood, and never really got to be a kid. Ruby had helped her realise this.

From her loving relationship with her sister, Yang, to her protective friendship with Blake, to the way she treated everyone with such a bubbly attitude and wide, awkward smile, to the way she boldly always entered Weiss' fragile boundaries and hugged and clung to her and comforted her like she was family. It all made Ruby who she was. Even if her aspirations were slightly far fetched, it had a charming effect that kept everyone hopeful. She was a leader.

A charmful leader. So as they stood outside the door to their rooms, Weiss felt herself snap her head to look at her partner once more. The small girl had been growing more toned with the more training they did, that fact imminent in her pale arms, but her baby face and shy posture still shone through. Ruby's usually wild hair was styled nicely, but still put in a way where it screamed it was her. She was rubbing her arms awkwardly, waiting for Weiss to open the door. The heiress admired the sight for a second.