Diva - Chapter 9

After several days on location, returning to Studio 18 felt like returning home.  Everything had remained just how they left it: meal tables set up and ready to go, soundstage half-prepped for the next scene - a cave of some sort - and the PA table laden with every miscellaneous tidbit a production might need.

Ruby arrived early and commandeered half of the PA table for herself.  Having struggled with Oob’s requested paintings at home, she thought that being here, surrounded by props and costumes of the film, might spark inspiration.  

Surprisingly, it seemed to work.  Her pencil flew across the page while coworkers filtered in for the day.  Some said hello.  Some rushed past without noticing her.  The entire sound team arrived early to fix an audio issue that had sent everything into disarray the day before.  Oob hurtled through the door sometime later - he disappeared behind the stage before she could even raise her hand in greeting.  Chuckling at his high-energy entrance, she glanced at the cup of coffee sitting on a warmer beside her.

The warmer should keep the coffee hot enough that Weiss would never guess it was picked up an hour prior.  At least, Ruby hoped the warmer worked that well, but Weiss had an uncanny ability to know whenever anyone attempted a shortcut or simple quality of life adjustment.

But Ruby shook Weiss from her thoughts and returned to the steadily emerging image in front of her.  Sometimes, she thought of herself as an archeologist uncovering a picture buried beneath a blank page.  She even had one of the archaeologist hats at home - the ‘incredi-dork’ hat, as Yang fondly called it - that she sometimes wore.

Coco probably had one of those hats buried in the wardrobe department, but Ruby didn’t quite want her coworkers seeing that side of her.  So she sketched hatlessly and only sometimes glanced over when someone entered the building.  

Glynda arrived exactly thirty minutes before the day officially started, as usual.  Ozpin strolled by moments later with a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and his cane in the other.  He joined Glynda in her office to discuss that day’s scenes or whatever else they talked about.  Their relationship status eluded the crew, but some wild theories circulated about what happened when no one else was around.

The day felt typical until Cardin sauntered through the doors before the rest of the crew arrived.  Ruby lifted her pencil from the page and watched him cross the entryway, earning herself a wink and, “‘Morning, cutie,” as he passed.  

Rather than retreat to his room to sleep until he was needed, he went to Glynda’s office and waved at her through the window before letting himself in.  Ozpin stood and leaned against the corner of Glynda’s desk while Cardin made himself comfortable in a chair.  Glynda sat across from him, her brow furrowed and shoulders tense.  Whatever she had to say, she said without a shred of amusement.  Ozpin’s pinched expression suggested discomfort, but Cardin’s relaxed posture said exactly the opposite.

Ruby turned away, but her curiosity increased the longer their meeting lasted.  It looked like a serious conversation, but Cardin hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary.  Maybe it was one of those ‘contract disputes’ she read about in the news.  Or maybe he wanted more screen time since Pyrrha and Weiss were very clearly the leads.

“Good morning.”

Instantly recognizing the smooth voice, Ruby jumped, slamming her knees into the bottom of the table and nearly knocking the cup of coffee onto the floor, as she scrambled to her feet.  “Sorry -” rushed out of her mouth as she steadied the coffee, flipped her sketchbook shut, and spun toward Weiss in one swift motion.  “I didn’t see you come in.”

For a quarter of a second, Weiss looked vaguely amused by the reaction.  Then her normal, impassive expression returned, and several uncomfortable seconds passed before she cleared her throat and nodded to the table.

“You’re always writing in that book.  Do you journal?”

“Uh -”  Mouth open, Ruby glanced between Weiss and the notebook before saying, “It’s a sketchbook, actually.”

“Oh.  I see.”  

Another awkward silence extended while Ruby shuffled her feet and Weiss clasped her hands in front of her, opening her mouth but saying nothing.  She shook her head and tried again, only to be interrupted by Cardin’s loud, obnoxious, “Ice Queeeen!”

Weiss’ expression soured as Cardin strolled over, none the worse for wear from his early-morning meeting.  If anything, his blinding grin suggested it went remarkably well.

“I’ve got awesome news for you.”  

He motioned Weiss to him; unsurprisingly, she didn’t budge.  Sighing at her obstinacy, he leaned over and whispered something in her ear.  She raised her arms as if to shove him away but, as he spoke, her expression turned to stone.

“Isn’t that great?” he eventually asked, beaming and spreading his arms wide.  “It’s a competition!”

Weiss stared at him for several seconds, looking caught between wanting to slap him or bite his head off.  Surprisingly, she did neither.  Her gaze flitted to Ruby, then she spun around and stormed to her room.

“You don’t have to be a sore loser already!” Cardin called after her before chuckling to himself.  He then swept a hand across the tips of his short hair and smiled at Ruby.  “Morning, Ruby.  Excited for today?”

“...I guess so?  Just another day of work.”

“‘Just another day?’” he repeated before playfully scoffing.  “But today I’m the hero.  I find a way out of that cave-thing and save everyone.”  

He jabbed a thumb to the set, so Ruby glanced that direction before saying, “I guess that sounds like a good day.  I get to set up breakfast and lunch for everyone.”

“Woah, woah, woah.”  He waved both hands in front of him and feigned such incredible disbelief that Ruby chuckled.  “No need to brag, cutie.  Not all of us are cool enough to handle such an important job.”

“Maybe one day you will be.  If you work hard, stay out of trouble, and, you know, don’t piss Cinder off.”

“Fuck…she’s scary.”

In the midst of shuddering, Cardin froze when Cinder chose that moment to enter the studio.  Her amber eyes instantly locked onto them, but she simply scowled and sauntered past, her heels clicking against the floor and her dress swaying with her steps.  Cardin’s eyes followed her to Ozpin’s office before shaking himself out of his thoughts and refocusing on Ruby.

“Hey, speaking of breakfast, think you can bring me a plate once it’s here?  Whatever’s good.  And orange juice.  Gotta have my orange juice.”

“Sure,” Ruby said, smiling and nodding at the reasonable request. 

“Awesome.”  While turning away, he stopped and added, “No rush either.  I don’t have a whip like some people.”

As if that statement needed elaboration, he jerked his head toward Weiss’ room before winking at Ruby and heading to his own.  Ruby watched him go, a smile still caught on her lips even after the door closed behind him.

“What’s that look for?” Velvet asked while joining her at the PA’s table.

“Oh, nothing.  Cardin’s pretty cool, isn’t he?”  When Velvet wrinkled her nose, Ruby added, “At least he has a sense of humor.”

“That’s true, I suppose…” Velvet mused while storing her bag underneath the table.  It was only then that Ruby spotted Weiss’ coffee still sitting on the warmer.

“Oh, crap.”  Ruby shoved her sketchbook into her bag and grabbed the cup.  “Have to deliver this real quick,” she explained before hurrying to Weiss’ room.  A deliveryman pushed the boxes of breakfast food through the door as she crossed the entryway, so she pointed him in the right direction and walked a little faster.  Once standing in front of Weiss’ door, she tentatively knocked.

“Weiss?”  No answer, as usual, so she stifled a sigh and added, “Just wondering if you want your coffee.”

One second passed.  Then two.  Then Weiss opened the door, took the cup, and shut the door in one fluid motion.  No ‘thank you.’  No acknowledgement at all.  Ruby might as well have been a coffee-delivery robot rather than a human being.

But that was fine.  Ruby puffed a breath through her lips and brushed the interaction away so that she could focus on helping Velvet unpack breakfast.  The standard array of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and assorted fruits and pastries had been delivered along with fresh coffee, which was far better than the ‘swill’ the set provided all day, and orange juice.

Ruby went through the line first for once, but only because the plate in her hands was meant for someone else.  Building breakfast for Cardin was much less nerve-wracking than doing the same for Weiss.  It helped that Ruby had seen him eat plenty of times - heaping servings of anything providing protein for his abundant muscles.  She was also confident that he wouldn't snap if she got something wrong.

So, holding a plate piled with food and a tall cup of orange juice, she headed to Cardin’s room.  She didn’t know how the rooms were assigned, but it seemed obvious that Pyrrha’s would sit between Weiss and Cardin’s.  Considering their hostile interactions over the past few days, opposite hemispheres would probably be more appropriate.  Even then, Weiss might be annoyed by Cardin’s mere existence on the other side of the world.

Ruby politely knocked, careful not to spill the orange juice in one hand or the food in the other.  Cardin yanked the door open seconds later, letting it bang against the wall rather than stopping it to obscure his room.

“You’re the best,” he said while taking the plate and glass from her hands.  He drained half of the orange juice in one long swig before taking everything to a coffee table placed between a dark leather sofa and a big screen television.  He practically inhaled two strips of bacon while Ruby glanced around the room.

“You have a pinball machine??”

“Yeah, dude.”  Cardin grabbed another piece of bacon and went over to the full-sized machine.  “Wanna play?”  He set one hand on the side of the machine and motioned Ruby over, but she shook her head.

“Probably shouldn’t.  I need to help clean up breakfast.”

“Next time then.”

“Yeah!  Sure.  Do you…need anything else right now?”

He glanced at his breakfast before shaking his head, so Ruby nodded once and backed out of the room.  She shut the door but turned and froze when she found Weiss standing in front of her, hand still on the handle of her own door.  

Icy blue eyes as unreadable as ever, Weiss looked at Ruby, then at Cardin’s door, then walked away.  Left in that silent wake, Ruby shook her head and hurried back to the breakfast table.  Clearly, Weiss’ frustration with Cardin had bled over from yesterday, spelling bad news for the rest of them.  

As the day progressed, Ruby watched with growing worry as that agitation spread everywhere.  

Weiss’ wrath spared no one.  She snapped at a cameraman for nearly hitting her.  She emasculated Cardin for forgetting his lines.  She vented on the set, props, and wardrobe for not being good enough.  Even Ozpin got an earful for not having the scene properly planned in advance.  Like walking through a blizzard, wind and ice lashed everything in her path.  

When lunch arrived and that storm of fury beared down Ruby, she braced for impact.  Then Weiss brushed past with nothing more than a curt, “Salad.”  

No insults, no sarcasm, just…“salad.”

A frown replaced Ruby’s cringe as she turned around and watched Weiss stalk away.

“What’s bothering her?” Velvet whispered while they stared at Weiss’ door.

“No idea…”  Something was clearly wrong, but Ruby knew not to expect an explanation anytime soon.  “Full moon?” 

Velvet chuckled at the joke, but Ruby cast another worried glance at Weiss’ door before walking away.  “I’ll be back in a bit,” she explained before gathering her things and heading out of the studio.

Weiss hadn’t specified what type of salad she wanted but, considering her mood, anything less than her favorite was asking for trouble.  At least the weather was nice, and the tram was mostly empty, though Ruby’s thoughts unfortunately weren’t the same.

What did Cardin say to make Weiss so upset?  And why was Ruby the only person spared?

As Weiss’ favorite punching bag, she didn’t know if she was ecstatic or bothered by the abrupt change.  What she did know was that she could only control what she could control.  Right now, that meant ordering an expensive salad, ferrying it back to the studio, and delivering it to the person who no one else wanted to talk to today.

The crew had finished lunch by the time she returned - she would have to scarf down food while simultaneously putting it away - but she went to Weiss’ room first.  She knocked and waited several seconds before adding, “Salad delivery.”

Weiss opened the door only wide enough to fit her hand through, took the salad, and shut the door again without a word.  Confused, to put it mildly, Ruby stood there for several moments, mindlessly staring at the star bearing Weiss’ name.  Quickly tiring of trying to figure Weiss out, however, she left the moody actress alone.  While Weiss brooded over lunch, Ruby hoped to fit in a quick meal before filming resumed.

“I can get this,” Velvet said as soon as Ruby joined her by the buffet table.  “You should eat something.”

“You’re a lifesaver.”

Considering an ‘easy’ scene could last well into the evening, Ruby wasted no time heaping spaghetti onto a paper plate and then piling meatballs on top.  She then sat in the nearest available seat and shoveled food into her mouth at an alarming speed.

“They should really give us extra time when we have to pick up lunch…” Velvet mused while fitting foil lids back in place.  “Otherwise, it’s a bit unfair.”

Ruby made a soft sound of agreement, her mouth too full to respond with words.  It might be unfair, but at least she got to eat.  Good food, too, though Weiss would disagree.  If it wasn’t a pile of leaves that cost as much as buying an endangered species, how could it possibly be good?

Pushing that extra-moody job responsibility from her thoughts, she focused on eating as the crew meandered back to the soundstage one by one.  They inspected their equipment and covered post-lunch yawns as they prepared to pick up where they left off.  As soon as Cinder appeared - all business and glares, as usual - Ruby stuck one last forkful in her mouth and jumped to her feet.

Everything went fine until she tripped over a chair on her way to the trash bin.  Fortunately, she didn’t spill the rest of her spaghetti all over the floor and create a huge mess that she would have to clean up.  Unfortunately, she accomplished that feat by pulling the plate toward herself instead, hugging it - spaghetti side up - to her stomach.

After sneaking a look around, she rushed over to the trash can, dropped the plate inside, and sighed at the state of her shirt.  Of course, she wore white that day.  It felt like such an innocuous choice at the time - white shirt or blue shirt - but her decision meant that wiping the mess with a napkin accomplished nothing.

Giving up on the napkin, she cleaned off her hands and rushed to the restroom instead.  She careened to a stop halfway there, narrowly avoiding a collision with the last person she wanted to run into, and forced a smile instead.

The smile instantly raised Weiss’ suspicions.  As did the way Ruby took one giant step out of Weiss’ personal space and wrapped both arms around her stomach.  The action only succeeded in drawing Weiss’ gaze to what looked like evidence of a horrendous crime committed against some tomatoes, and a frown soon followed.

“What happened to your shirt?”

“Oh, this?”  The jig up, Ruby grabbed the hem of her shirt and looked down at it.  What a mess.  All orange, oily, and not at all how she hoped to look today, but she shrugged.  “I just…thought it looked cool.”

“Why would you ever think that?”  

The question was obviously rhetorical since Weiss brushed past without waiting for an answer.  She paused after two steps, suggesting she might re-engage for a knock-out blow, but ultimately shook her head and walked away.

If Ruby had time, she might wonder how she escaped that interaction relatively unscathed.  With Weiss headed back to the stage, however, time was limited.  Forgoing decorum, she ran into the bathroom, locked the door - they weren’t supposed to do that, but it would only be for a minute - and pulled off her shirt.  

Warm water?  Cold water?  She didn’t remember which worked best for stains, but the hot water would take too long, so cold water would have to do.  It worked, mostly.  The dark orange faded to regular orange.  The regular orange faded to light orange.  The light orange, however, refused to leave no matter how much water ran over it.

“Ruby?  Coco’s looking for you.”

Out of time, Ruby tapped her microphone and said, “Be right there.”  The rest of the day would just have to be embarrassing.  She could already imagine the looks and, “What happened?”s accompanied by laughs.  She would laugh, too, and explain her latest run-in with a plate of spaghetti.  Hopefully, Cinder let this slide…

After half-drying her shirt with some paper towels, she pulled it back on, grimaced at her reflection, and rushed out of the bathroom. 

“There you are.”  

She hardly made it three steps before being swept into Coco’s arms and twirled around for observation.  

“Oh, she was right.  This is an emergency.”  Ruby blushed at the way Coco touched her shirt and looked her over, but Coco either didn’t notice or did notice but didn’t react.  “Nothing I can’t fix,” she concluded instead.  “Come with me.”

Ruby glanced at the stage, earning an impatient click of Coco’s tongue, before following Coco to the wardrobe department.  Like every other department, wardrobe had spilled further into the walkway as the days progressed.  Racks of clothing surrounded the hair and makeup stations lined the wall all the way to the edge of the special effects area, which had also strewn odds and ends far from their starting place.

“No…no…no…” Coco murmured while flipping through shirts on one of the racks.  Not finding what she was searching for, she strode over to the next one and started again.  “Perfect,” she eventually said.  “And your size.”

“How do you know my size?” Ruby asked while Coco removed a bright, floral-patterned blouse from the rack.

“I dress people for a living, sugar.”

“Ah.  Right.”  Ruby looked at the shirt Coco gave her and subtly shook her head.  “I don’t know…”

“It’ll look great on you,” Coco assured Ruby before ushering her into a changing room.  “At least try it on.”

Ruby couldn't remember the last time she wore something so flowery, but she pulled off her oil-stained shirt and tried it on regardless.  Studying her reflection in the full-length mirror, she eventually shrugged and stepped out of the changing room. 

“It’s a little…loud,” she concluded, holding out her arms for Coco to analyze the selection.  Coco pursed her lips and eventually shook her head.

“Try this one instead.”

The light blue button-up was such a drastic difference that Ruby wondered what Coco’s thought process sounded like.  Knowing that she probably wouldn't understand the answer, she returned to the dressing room and removed the flower-print top.  She shrugged the blue top onto her shoulders next and watched the reflection of her fingers slipping buttons into place.

“Coco?” she called out when a thought popped into her head.  “You’ve seen Weiss’ hands, right?”

“It’d be strange if I hadn’t.”

Finished with the buttons, Ruby stepped out of the dressing room and held out her arms.  “I mean…what do they say about her?” she asked while Coco slowly spun her around.  Coco nodded before considering the question.

“She must get a manicure every other day.  Nails never chipped, skin never dry.  Always perfect.”

“So she’s perfect?

Ruby chuckled at the idea, but Coco pursed her lips.

“She goes through a lot of trouble to make it look that way.  Why?”

“Just…curious, I guess.”  

Ruby tugged at the sleeve of her new shirt and avoided Coco’s thoughtful gaze.  Eventually, Coco hung the empty hangar on the rack and returned with a shrug.  

“If I’ve learned anything in this business, it’s that the people wearing the most makeup are the ones with the most to hide.”

Frowning, Ruby wondered if Coco meant to imply that Weiss was hiding something or if it was just an offhand comment meant to satisfy Ruby’s curiosity.  Eventually, she decided that she didn’t mind either way and smiled.

“That’s why you hardly wear any, right?”

“You got that right.”  

Coco raised a hand for a high-five that Ruby willingly obliged.  Unlike a typical high-five, however, Coco wrapped her fingers around Ruby’s rather than let go.

“You’ll put in a good word with Vel for me, right?”

“I don’t think you need it, but sure.  Of course.”

“There’s no such thing as too many good words,” Coco said before releasing Ruby’s hand and ushering her back to work.  Ruby laughed at the thought of Coco making more of an impression on Velvet, whose greatest source of daily blushes was the should-be model.

For as intimidating as Coco could be, she was also pretty cool.  And she just saved Ruby from an afternoon of shamefully explaining a fashion faux-pas, which made her even cooler.  Although…she had been looking for Ruby, and only one other person knew about the shirt fiasco...

Ruby’s eyes flitted to the stage, where Cardin flexed about something to Ozpin.  Weiss openly rolled her eyes and shook her head at Pyrrha, who lightly smiled and nudged Weiss’ shoulder.  Weiss tried not to smile back but failed.  She leaned closer to Pyrrha and whispered something that made Pyrrha struggle not to laugh.  

Their camaraderie brought a smile to Ruby’s lips, relieved that they had moved past whatever rough patch she may or may not have caused the day before.  That smile disappeared when she spotted the woman striding towards her, not a single blonde hair straying from a perfect bun and not a drop of humor lurking behind wire-rimmed glasses.

“Ruby, let’s talk for a minute.”

Glynda nodded to her office while passing by, leaving Ruby momentarily stunned before hurrying after her.  Cardin winked at Ruby when he saw her, but Weiss regarded her with the same impassive stare that she’d been getting all day.  No daggers were involved this time, but that might be a bad thing.  Maybe Weiss finally had enough and wanted Ruby gone.  Maybe her cold indifference was a sign of ‘good riddance’ rather than an impressively bad mood swing.

With that scenario lodged in her mind, Ruby wiped her damp palms on her jeans and followed Glynda into her office.  As she sat in the same chair that Cardin had occupied that morning, she had no idea how he stayed so carefree under Glynda’s strict presence. Ozpin wasn’t even here and her heart threatened to jump right out of her chest.

“I’m sure you’re wondering what this is about, so I’ll get right to the point.”  Glynda set her hands on the desk and unflinchingly met Ruby’s gaze.  “Emerald won’t be returning to our crew.”

“Really?  Is she ok?”

“She’s fine, she’s fine.”  Glynda waved off the concern.  “We’ll have a new PA in a few days, but I wanted to ask if you have any interest in switching.  You can help Cardin and we’ll assign the new PA to Weiss.”

“Oh.”  

Ruby had been so convinced that she was about to be fired that a healthy dose of whiplash accompanied the offer.  She nearly asked something stupid - something along the lines of, ‘Wait, so I wouldn't have to deal with Weiss anymore?’  She kept that to herself but managed only a soft, “Uh…” while grasping for a response.

Based on Glynda’s expectant expression, this should be an easy decision.  Who stayed with the Demon Queen when they could work with fun-loving Cardin Winchester instead?  Sure, he could be stupid, annoying, and never took things seriously, but he also never used biting sarcasm to get a point across.

It should be a simple choice.  Ruby knew that.  She felt it.  But she couldn't help remembering what Weiss said about the studio sticking her with new assistants so that she could weed out the bad ones.  This poor new person, whoever they were, would be thrown into the lion’s den.  Right into the lion’s mouth, actually.

Not only would Ruby feel guilty watching someone else suffer while she escaped unharmed, but imagining Pyrrha’s disappointment made her stomach churn.  Pyrrha had done everything short of imploring her for patience, yet she was going to bail at the first opportunity?

“No, thank you.”  Glynda’s brow rose as Ruby shook her head.  “I’ll help Cardin if you need me to, but I’d like to stick with Weiss.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so,” she admitted before chuckling to herself.  “I guess I just…want to give her a fair chance.”

Glynda stared for long enough to make Ruby squirm before nodding.  

“In that case, keep doing a great job.”

Glynda straightened several loose sheets of paper on her desk before standing up, silently signaling Ruby to leave.  “Thank you,” Ruby replied before shooting out of her chair.  She bowed - what was with her and bowing to Glynda?? - then flew out of the office like her pants were on fire.

Had she just made a horrible decision?  Probably.  She might look back on this moment and kick herself for being sentimental and optimistic when she had no reason to be.  

The first few steps she took away from Glynda’s office, she knew that she could turn around and change her mind.  Then those passed, and the window of opportunity narrowed, and narrowed some more, until it became too awkward to consider opening again.  She returned to the stage and watched the preparation for another scene instead.  

Cardin ignored Ozpin’s instructions so that he could grin at her - one of those toothy, smug grins implying that she just did something he particularly liked.  He waited for Ozpin to leave the set before saying something to Weiss, whose only reaction was spinning around and walking to her starting position.  Pyrrha overheard and, after watching Weiss go, sent Ruby a look so sad and vaguely disappointed that Ruby nearly shouted, ‘I didn’t accept!  Even though I could have and probably should have, I didn’t.’

She ducked her head and shuffled her feet instead.  Fortunately, Pyrrha’s look passed when Cinder motioned for the studio to quiet and Ozpin called, “Action.”

Filming progressed smoothly.  At least, as smoothly as Ruby had witnessed thus far.  Cardin made several mistakes.  One of the props failed on another attempt, refusing to budge when he tried wedging it out of the way, but Weiss never said a word.  She clenched her jaw so hard that it looked like she might need a very good dentist soon, which Ruby couldn't decide if that was an improvement or not.  Overall, Ozpin seemed happy, meaning Cinder looked somewhat satisfied, meaning the rest of the crew survived the day with only a few scars from Weiss’ earlier bludgeoning.

While most of the crew filtered out of the studio, Ruby helped Velvet and the props department disassemble the magnificent ‘cave’ they put hours into creating.  The ‘rocks’ turned out to be painted styrofoam - the hardest part about taking them down was detaching them from the tall metal rods holding them in place.  

As Ruby tugged at a particularly stubborn piece, she noticed Glynda speaking to Weiss and Cardin near the door to her office.  Having a pretty good idea of what they were talking about, she snuck glances their way while pulling at the styrofoam rock.  Cardin looked stunned, but Weiss looked…well, Weiss didn’t look like it mattered much to her.  She just nodded, offered a few words, and then returned to her room.

What had Ruby expected…for Weiss to be happy?  Or grateful that Ruby hadn’t ditched her at the first opportunity?

Ruby yanked harder at the fake rock and stumbled backward when it suddenly broke free.  Deciding not to make a bigger fool of herself today, she dropped it into the cart in front of the stage and focused on the task at hand.  

Close to an hour later, she sat on the tram, head leaning against the window as it slid past building after building.  She perked up when the tram slowed down outside Studio 4 and was beaming by the time the doors opened.

“Penny!”

She hopped up and hugged Penny hardly a moment after the girl stepped onto the tram.

“Ruby?  You’re leaving late.”

“So are you!”  Ruby stepped back and waved Penny to the seat beside her.  “Do you usually work this late?”

“Only when we’re near a deadline.”  As the tram returned to motion, Penny turned to Ruby.  “How are things going?”

“Really great!”  Ruby’s smile faltered when the whole ‘Weiss’ situation flashed through her thoughts, but she quickly focused on the better parts about her new job.  “It’s fun, actually.  Never a dull moment, that’s for sure.  I need to catch you up on everything that’s been going on though!”

“I know…I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”  Penny looked sad for a half-second before brightening.  “Are you free for dinner now?”

“Absolutely!  You know me, I can always eat.”

“Always eating would make it very difficult to accomplish anything else.”

Ruby chuckled at the observation and said, “You’re right, Penny.  You’re so right.”  Penny hummed at the agreement as they neared the entrance to Crescent Productions, and Ruby’s smile came easier than it had all day.

Regardless of how stressful it was to deal with the competing personalities and egos on set, she was grateful for true friends and a great family to go home to.  If she didn’t have them to help erase the exhausting days, she probably would quit.  Or she would have jumped at Glynda’s offer.  But she had great family, friends, and enough patience to qualify for sainthood any day now.  

Weiss wouldn't like her an iota more even if she was a saint, but it would be pretty cool anyway.