Pairing: White Rose

Summary: Weiss suffers a little bit of jealousy.

Weiss furrowed her brow when Ruby waved her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

From this distance and out of context, the action made zero sense...but Penny laughed regardless. Of course Penny laughed. Penny laughed at everything Ruby did, no matter how silly or pointless it was.

"Whatcha doing, Weiss?"

After sparing a glance at Yang and Blake when they set their lunches on the table, Weiss quickly turned her attention back to Ruby.

"Trying to figure out what they're doing..." she muttered. Her confusion spiked when Penny held out her palm and motioned for Ruby's hand. It looked like a request to hold Ruby's hand - and when Ruby dutifully put her hand on top of Penny's, Weiss frowned.

The next second, however, Penny effortlessly propelled Ruby at least ten feet straight up in the air. As soon as Ruby landed, the two of them dissolved into more giggles.

When Yang looked towards the somewhat-aggravating commotion, she smiled and picked up her sandwich.

"So glad Ruby found someone she can be herself with," she commented before taking a bite.

While the remark was nonchalant at its core, it immediately caught Weiss' attention.

"What do you mean?" she asked, watching Yang chew and swallow the food in her mouth before casually waving her sandwich towards the pair of gigglers.

"You know, someone she can be dumb and nerdy with. She doesn't have to tiptoe around or worry about being 'cool' or anything."

"But Ruby has lots of friends like that," Weiss refuted.

"Really? Name another."

"Well, myself, for one."

Weiss felt her consternation grow when Blake and Yang exchanged glances, and double when Yang laughed and shook her head.

"Right...you don't actually think that, do you?"

Scoffing at the insinuation, Weiss ignored her teammates and went back to observing her partner with a keener eye than before.

Yang's implication was categorically untrue. Ruby didn't need to worry or 'tiptoe' around Weiss. They were partners - best friends. Such a relationship left no room for reservations like that.

But when Penny hugged Ruby - seemingly for no reason other than she could - Weiss felt a spark of something else eating through her chest.

Ruby never hugged her 'just because.' Why was that? It wasn't like Weiss would be opposed to it. Sure, there were those few times at the beginning of school when she'd told Ruby to cut it out, but that was a long time ago. Their relationship had grown by leaps and bounds since then. Now, she would actually welcome a hug, if Ruby thought it was appropriate...

But when the pair started giggling at something else, Weiss finally clenched her fists and turned away.

She and Ruby had a different relationship, that was all. That didn't mean that Ruby and Penny were closer. It just meant...things were different. Ruby could be goofy and silly and affectionate with Penny, while with Weiss, she...she...just wasn't.

Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye, Weiss turned and noticed that Ruby and Penny had broken up their lovefest to rejoin the group.

"Hey Weiss!" Ruby said with a big, blinding smile. "Wanna see a movie with Penny and me tonight?"

"No, thank you."

As soon as Weiss saw confusion flash through Ruby's eyes, she scolded herself for the clipped response.

"Thank you," she repeated, this time with a forced smile. "But you two have fun."

'By yourselves' was left unsaid as she abruptly stood and left the table behind - not without noticing the looks Blake and Yang gave her. Yes, she realized that she just proved their point. And now she felt guilty, but there wasn't anything she could do about that right now. She would just find some gesture as a means of apology later. As usual.

Sighing and shaking her head, she hurried towards the dorm and tried not to dwell on the feelings of ineptitude and disappointment building in her chest.

She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but she had to admit it did. Ruby and Penny were close, but how close? Did Ruby consider Penny to be her best friend? Did Ruby wish that Penny was her partner instead? Weiss couldn't realistically compete with Penny in battle, but she'd thought that, at least personality-wise, she and Ruby got along well.

"'Getting along well' isn't an achievement," Weiss scolded herself while stalking into the dorm building and brushing past a group of students on their way out. Yet another miscalculation to blame on her lack of friendship as a child. Simply getting along with someone didn't mean they were her best friend - that foolish to think. It was foolish to hope.

"Yet again the fool..." she mumbled while reaching out for the door to their room. As soon as she touched the handle, she felt something - but there wasn't time to determine what before a gust of wind and pair of arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her away from the door and nearly right off her feet.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out, somehow maintaining her balance and preventing both of them from crashing to the floor.

"Ruby!" Weiss scolded the girl as soon as the world stopped spinning. "What do you think you're doing? You could've just seriously injured us both!"

"I'm preventing you from entering the room." Releasing her hold of Weiss, Ruby took a step backward and put her hands on her hips.

Scoffing at the response, Weiss tried to walk around Ruby, only for Ruby to step in her way and smile. When Weiss moved in the other direction, Ruby again stepped in between her and the room.

"Ruby," Weiss said, trying hard to keep the exasperation out of her tone. "Just...get out of the way, please."

"Sorry, but I can't do that."

"Why not?" Giving in to her annoyance, Weiss crossed her arms over her chest and gave Ruby a look that demanded an answer.

"Because!" When Weiss arched her brow at the response, Ruby continued. "Because it feels like something's wrong, so I can't let you into the room until we solve whatever it is!"

Even though Weiss scoffed at the idea that anything was wrong, she couldn't understand how Ruby picked up on the issue so easily. No one ever noticed when she was upset. Or maybe no one ever cared.

"Nothing's wrong."

The statement was fundamentally true - nothing was wrong. The only thing wrong was Weiss and her misguided belief that she and Ruby were closer than they actually were. That was a personal problem, and not something Ruby could resolve.

"That's what someone would say if something was wrong!" Ruby replied, looking far too pleased with that bit of logic. When Weiss scoffed and turned away, Ruby jumped back into her field of view and grabbed her hands. "Come on, Weiss," she added. "I can't explain it - I just feel like something's wrong. You can tell me anything, you know. That's what friends are for!"

On any other day, the words combined with holding hands would've filled Weiss with those pesky butterflies she couldn't seem to get away from recently. Today, however, it was more painful than it should be.

"What about Penny?" she asked, hearing the hurt in her tone while watching Ruby for an answer.

"Penny?" Ruby repeated, scrunching up her face in confusion. "What about her?"

A big part of Weiss wanted to say 'forget it' and stomp away from the conversation, like she would've done at the beginning of school. But...Ruby was her best friend. Even if the label wasn't mutual, it meant that Weiss would tell Ruby anything. Which meant she would tell Ruby this.

"Isn't she your best friend?" she asked, pulling her hands free of Ruby's in order to cross them over her chest. "The person you can be yourself with, who you don't have to worry about being 'cool' around?"

When Ruby continued to look confused, Weiss took the opportunity to brush past her and finally walk into their room. She heard Ruby follow but paid the girl no mind while preparing to do homework. Homework was the best distraction from this - the gnawing inability to figure out how she felt about her partner and what those feelings meant for her future.

Even now, Ruby was distracting. While she sat on Weiss' bed with her knee bounced incessantly - the speed implying she didn't know what to say or do just yet. Which was even more distracting.

Flipping open a notebook, Weiss pretended to work anyway. She knew Ruby would say something eventually, all she had to do was wait for that moment to come. All while acting as if she wasn't solely concerned with the answer to her questions.

"Penny doesn't know about my mom, you know."

When Ruby finally spoke up, Weiss set down her pen and turned around. She found her partner looking back at her with sincere silver eyes - 'silvere' eyes, as Ruby liked to call the expression, much to Yang's amusement and Weiss' chagrin.

"I just never felt like telling her," Ruby explained with a shrug. "I haven't really told her anything about my family, I don't think. Or like, my friends from before Beacon - or lack of them…"

Before Weiss felt bad about the topics, Ruby hurried forward with a smile. "She also doesn't know about Yang and Blake, so we can't make fun of them together. She doesn't understand romance at all, really..."

"I'm sure she can learn," Weiss quipped. She tried to turn back to the desk, but Ruby instantly appeared at her side and stopped her. Kneeling on the floor in front of Weiss' chair, Ruby held her hands so she couldn't spin away.

"What I'm trying to say, Weiss, is that Penny's my friend, but she's not my friend like how you are."

Try as Weiss might to discount the words, she couldn't. She believed Ruby...and those silvere eyes. She believed that when Ruby implied that Weiss was somehow a different, maybe better, friend than Penny, that she meant it.

"Are you sure?" she asked regardless. Selfishly, she wanted even more assurance that she wasn't wrong to feel this way. She wanted Ruby to say -

"You're my best friend, only...better," Ruby answered with a warm smile. "I love spending time with you. No matter what we're doing, you always make me...happy."

With Ruby so close and her eyes so sincere, Weiss felt an undeniable wave of feelings crash over her.

Maybe she wasn't crazy to think this way. Maybe she wasn't crazy to want to be as close to Ruby as possible. Maybe she wasn't the only one who couldn't escape these thoughts and musings and desires that never seemed to fade away.

"Thank you, Ruby," Weiss replied with a smile before leaning forward and kissing Ruby on the lips. She froze when Ruby's eyes widened in surprise, very suddenly realizing that she was kissing Ruby.

Quickly breaking away, she felt a furious blush lit her cheeks while she tried to figure out what just happened. Ruby, meanwhile, was still frozen to the floor, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted in shock.

Weiss tried to think of something - anything - to say. Laugh and play it off as a joke? Make it seem like it was something friends did? Or something that someone with no friends thought that friends did? Or, act like a grownup and discuss what were clearly more intense feelings than she'd expected?

Clearing her throat and opening her mouth, Weiss tried to offer an explanation. When none appeared, she stood up instead.

"Have a good time at the movie," she said before hurrying out the door and using her semblance to race away as fast as she could.

If she was worried about being Ruby's best friend, why did she just kiss her? What good could possibly come of that, other than solidifying the real reason behind her rampant jealousy whenever Penny was around?

What would Ruby think of her now? Would she never want to speak again? Or would she play this all off as a joke? Maybe that was for the best. They could just pretend it never happened and keep being best friends. Now that Weiss thought about it, that didn't sound so bad anymore.

She was halfway across the great lawn before she, again, felt something. But this time, she had a split second to prepare herself before arms wrapped around her waist and spun her in several circles before finally coming to a stop.

Again, she found Ruby in front of her - this time looking far more determined and excited than before.

"I'm preventing you from running!" Ruby proclaimed, again striking a pose, with her hands on her hips, before extending her hand towards Weiss. "And, uh, I think we should talk."

How long did Weiss want lie to herself? When would she finally give up and admit that her feelings ran deeper than she ever thought they would?

"We probably should," she agreed. And surprisingly, Ruby beamed at the positive response. Almost as if she was excited about the conversation to come. Almost as if she understood how or why Weiss might've done what she just did.

Maybe spontaneously kissing her wasn't such a bad idea, after all.