This Fire Escape Is Getting Cold
Ruby slammed the door behind her, stepping out onto the porch. She had thought that would be enough to escape the situation, until she heard footsteps approaching from the other side. Of course they were coming after her. Why wouldn't they be? A grunt of frustration and she was already taking off down the street. Where was she going? She had no idea. Away from there. As far away as her legs could take her and then some. She heard her dad's voice calling after her. She ignored it. He couldn't understand. He didn't back then, he certainly wouldn't now. He kept bringing it up like it would change how she felt, change her decision.
As she ran she regretted not bringing her coat, the cold of the February air quickly chilling right through her t-shirt. Her hair was quickly coated in snow, and she knew she'd have to turn back before long. She felt a sudden warmth, that was quickly replaced by a dull ache in her backside. Blinking rapidly, she looked up to see the woman she had ran into.
"Oh! Hello."
"You slam into me and all you have to say is 'hello'? Is that how you greet everyone? Running into them?"
Ruby jumped to her feet, brushing snow off her skirt. Taking a moment to fully acknowledge the situation, she looked over the girl in front of her. The first thing she noticed was the girls snow white hair, neatly tied into two long ponytails. Then her silver eyes settled on the other girls scar. It ran over her left eye, and it was jagged and uneven, not a clean cut. The eye itself, likely as pale a blue as the other before the wound, was cloudy, almost pure white.
Ruby focused intently on that left eye, noting the distinct lack of any sort of mark. That couldn't be right. People weren't just born without them right? I mean sure, she'd heard stories of a few people throughout history who didn't have a mark in their eye, but those people were so rare as to be almost myth, and they always turned out to be notable for all the wrong reasons.
What if she was like that? What if Ruby had just bumped into someone who was bitter and angry at not having a soul mate? Someone who was looking for any excuse to get back at the world that wronged her. She felt a flutter in her stomach. Part of it was fear, but the other part... The other part came bundled with a thought she hadn't been expecting. If she doesn't have a mark, it means she's definitely single.
She couldn't really make that assumption safely though. I mean, she had a soul mate and she was still decidedly single, it's possible the girl in front of her had someone else already, but she was allowed to hope, right? It was certainly a better alternative to going home and being forced to talk to that wretch of a man. No, she'd much rather spend her Valentines day pursuing the beautiful woman in front of her.
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" The girl snapped, tapping her foot with impatience.
"Sorry! I guess I just wasn't looking where I was going." The girl scoffed.
"Consider paying attention next time, you dolt."
"I know, sorry, I was just a little distracted." She watched as the girl turned to leave, and had a moment of panic. "Wait!" The girl paused, raising her right eyebrow.
"Do you need something?"
"Not, uh, not exactly? I just... I'm Ruby. It's nice to meet you!" Ruby extended a hand awkwardly. After a brief moment of consideration the girl shook her hand.
"Weiss. Likewise, I suppose." Weiss looked down pointedly at their hands, Ruby still holding on far after it was uncomfortable. "Let go of my hand, Ruby."
"Sorry!" Ruby yanked her hand away, a light flush of embarrassment creeping up her face. Swallowing hard she made a rash decision, one she wasn't even really conscious of, but one she felt was correct none the less. "Um, would you wanna get coffee some time?"
"What?" The girl said flatly, her voice almost monotone.
"Coffee! Like... like a date?"
"...What?"
"A date? Ya know... like, when two people who want to get to know each other go out and spend time together?"
"I know what a date is!" Weiss snapped, her patience wearing incredibly thin. "I'm trying to figure out why you're asking me out."
"Um... because you're really really pretty, and I want to get to know you better?" Ruby said, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"That is NOT what I meant, and you know that. Stop being so dense!"
"I'm not being dense! I don't get why this is so confusing, I'm just asking you out!"
"You HAVE a mark. You have a soul mate, it's clear as day in your eye. Why bother trying to date when you have someone destined to be with you?!" Weiss yelled, her voice much sharper than she'd perhaps intended.
Ruby blinked. Of course she'd ask that. Anyone would. Most people wouldn't bother asking someone out if they didn't have a matching mark. But then, she wasn't like most people. Yeah, she had a soul mate, everyone did after all, but she hated him. He was an utter bore. He had no aspirations and no desires, nothing beyond keeping her like a trophy, owning her like a pet and expecting no resistance because it was "fate". She had asked Weiss out on instinct, but she hadn't even considered why that would be odd from Weiss' perspective.
"Ruby, stop gawping and answer the question!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Uhm. Well, it's... you don't have a mark." Ruby pointed at the scarred and blinded eye. "So I figured it's not like I'd be stealing you from your soul mate, right? Did I... did I do something wrong?"
Weiss sighed pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You still haven't answered the question. You have a soul mate, so why are you asking me out?"
Ruby grew increasingly frustrated. It was a fair question, and one that she should answer, obviously, but she didn't want to talk about that man at all, especially not while in the process of trying to date someone else.
"Because I hate him! My dad keeps trying to get us together, but he's just the worst! I'd rather date someone I know I have no future with than ever be with a man like that!"
Weiss' expression was carefully neutral, even as her mind raced with thoughts she wasn't able to articulate. She reached in her purse, pulling out her phone. She handed it to Ruby a moment later, the screen displaying an empty contact.
"Fine. We'll get coffee. I'll text you later to figure out the details."
"Really?! Yes!!" Ruby bounced on her feet unable to contain her excitement. She grabbed the phone typing in her number, and her name, adding a heart and a rose next to it.
"Don't be juvenile." Weiss tucked her phone back into her purse, but couldn't fully keep the smile from lifting the corners of her mouth. "I'm looking forward to it. I will wring more answers out of you though."
"Okay! I have questions too ya know!"
"Oh? Such as?"
"Where'd you get that scar? It's so cool!"
Weiss' expression turned icy, a glare that froze Ruby in place. Clearly she'd struck a nerve. She'd have to be a little more careful of that in the future.
"That topic is strictly off limits. You'll have to find something else to ask about."
"Oh... sorry, I didn't know."
"Yes, well, you should be more mindful when you speak. Also, when we go out, bring a jacket or something, you look like an abandoned puppy shivering in an alley."
"Well, I don't live far, I could run home and grab my jacket, and then we could go now instead of waiting? It is Valentine's Day after all."
Ruby's smile seemed to light up the gloomy overcast day. Weiss wanted to say no, especially after a comment like that, and simply go out another day. Something about the snow clinging to Ruby's hair, the way her silver eyes sparkled with a mirth Weiss had never felt, it was all working against her.
"Very well. We'll go right now." Ruby gasped, her excitement bubbling over. She grabbed Weiss by the hand and started dragging her back the way she'd come running.
"You don't need to drag me along, literally might I add, if you're just going to get a jacket."
"But if we're gonna go out, why wouldn't I bring you along? How would we know where to go?"
"I have your number now. Also, we could have just agreed on a place to meet up instead of you trying to rip my arm off." Weiss said, a note of exasperation in her voice.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that, huh?" Ruby added playfully, to which Weiss simply sighed and allowed herself to be dragged along.
They neared the house, the cold stinging their lungs as they gathered their breath. Weiss thought it was a quaint little house. She'd never cared much for the opulence of the Schnee manor, a small place like this that she could call her own would be perfect for her.
Taiyang was sitting on the porch, seemingly waiting for Ruby's return. The redhead stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing. Weiss could feel the tension immediately, and slipped her hand free of Ruby's before they got too close.
"Ruby, I'm glad you're okay." Tai said, rising from his chair. "I was worried about you. It's too cold out for you to run off without a jacket." He pulls her into a hug. When they pull apart, he finally acknowledges Weiss, giving her a questioning look.
"I'm Weiss. Something of a recent acquaintance to Ruby, you could say." She extends her hand for a handshake.
"I'm Taiyang, Ruby's father. It's a pleasure to meet you." He gave a warm smile, shaking her hand. It wavered for the briefest of moments seeing the lack of mark in her eye, his grip tightening ever so subtly. A reaction she'd become all too familiar with. People in her own father's circle often regarded her the same way, if not much worse. She tried not to let it bother her.
"Dad, he's not still here is he?" Ruby asked seriously.
"No, he went back to the hotel after you stormed off. I stuck around to make sure you were okay, and to have a chat with you about it, but it seems you've got company."
"Yeah, I just came back to get my coat, and then I was gonna head right back out again..."
"That's fine. I won't keep you. Just, promise me we'll talk while I'm still in town?" Taiyang asked, painfully aware that Ruby did not want to have this conversation in front of Weiss.
"Yeah dad, we'll... we'll talk tomorrow, okay? I promise."
"...Alright. I'll get outta your hair then. You two have fun. It was nice meeting you Weiss."
"You as well sir, be safe on your way home."
With that Taiyang left, walking into the cold winter evening, pulling his collar up around his neck. They watched him walk away before Ruby bounded up the front steps and slid her key into the lock.
"Back in a jiff!" The door closed behind her, and Weiss was left waiting in the cold. She understood better now why Ruby was so wary to reveal any details about her soul mate, and why she'd seemed almost desperate for Weiss' attentions. Weiss would of course pry further, but for now, she was content to let them both keep their secrets and explore whatever this was slowly.
Ruby returned a moment later wearing a bright red hoodie, and a smile.
"Ready to go?"
Weiss nodded, slipping her hand back into Ruby's as the two set off walking towards the busier parts of town to enjoy a simple date, free of outside pressures for once.