RWBY 1. Strawberry Kisses

**Author's Note**

**Hello again everybody. Nobody has actually said anything yet, but I know you're there from the views.**

**This here will be a collection of ficlets, again RWBY. Each will usually feature either Ruby or Weiss, perhaps both, and often featuring their relationship in a romantic manner. Some however may just feature one of them without mention of the other at all. Other characters will also likely make minor appearances, although at the moment, only Blake and Adam are known.**

**Each of these individual stories are not necessarily related to each other. Some may take place in the same world, and directly reference each other, or my previous one-shot. Others will be obviously contradictory to existing stories. I will leave it up to each of you as to which fics fit with what.**

******EDIT (29/07/13): Typo corrections, and note, this was written waaaay before Yang was released. I probably would've preferred to use her rather than Blake in this chapter otherwise. Oh well, this just means I can write a different chapter where Ruby actually tells Yang what happened. Also, disregard the above paragraph as I have since decided that these stories do in fact belong together and am trying to make them not contradict.**

**************EDIT (12/08/13): More typo corrections. Adding chronological order of chapters below. I will update it from time to time.**

**************Current chronological order of chapters is: ****2, 8, 12, 3, 11, 1, 10, 5, 7, 6, 9, CS, 4, 13.**

* * *

**Title: Strawberry Kisses**

**Characters: Weiss, Ruby, Blake.**

**Genre: Romance, Friendship.**

**Summary: Weiss goes to meet Ruby who wishes to tell her something. Ruby meanwhile is barely able to contain her panic at the thought of her planned confession.**

* * *

Weiss was rather confused as she walked towards her destination. Blake had come by earlier and told her that Ruby wanted to speak to her about something and to meet her by the edge of the forest after lunch. When she had asked what it was about, the raven haired girl had merely smiled in a somewhat mischievous manner before running off without an answer.

She let out a sigh, a little disgruntled at the odd behaviour of her friends, but was complying as she had no reason to do otherwise. _At least it's a nice day out_, Weiss thought to herself. Spring was in full bloom and many of the trees were starting to flower making a rather colourful backdrop. Weiss had chosen to wear something other than her standard attire for once, having earlier slipped into a pale blue sundress and a pair of rather fancy white sandals.

Raising a hand to her brow Weiss narrowed her eyes against the sun, spotting Ruby's familiar red cloaked form in the distance. Despite her annoyance at being dragged out here without explanation Weiss felt a smile quickly grow on her face. Ruby was her first and closest friend, the first person to make Weiss appreciate the world. Weiss would often feel a warm and happy feeling spread through her body when thinking about Ruby, it was unfamiliar, but nice. She thought it had to do with their friendship, but the feeling wasn't the same with their other friends, she just chalked it up to her being closer to Ruby than the others.

Walking up she noted that Ruby did not seem to sense her approach which was unusual. Ruby sat at the base of a large rock, leaning her back against it as her head was tilted upwards into the treetops. Although she was wearing a black blouse and shorts today, her familiar red cloak was still easily recognizable. Weiss approached from the side, walking until she was only a short distance away from the reason she was out here. Still unnoticed she spoke out a greeting.

"Hello Ruby," Weiss said somewhat teasingly to the normally more observant Ruby. Weiss's hands were held behind her back as she cocked her head to the side with her ponytail dangling below. Her upper body leaned into Ruby's field of vision.

"Ah, Weiss!" Visibly startled, Ruby let out an exclamation of surprise as she had pushed herself to the other side in a quick movement. Pushing herself into a standing position Ruby asks, "What are you doing out here?"

"You were the one who had Blake tell me to meet you out here," Weiss stated with a frown still leaning forward with her hands clasped behind her.

"O-oh yeah. That's right," Ruby stammered out nervously with a chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head. "T-there was something I wanted to say..." trailing off nervously Ruby fidgeted a bit, rubbing her hands together.

Weiss was still frowning as she returned her body to a more straightened position. It was unusual for Ruby to be so nervous, she wasn't the type to let most things bother her. "Is there something wrong Ruby?" Weiss questioned as her voice took on a more concerned tone.

"Nothing like that," Ruby replied averting her eyes. Ruby hated how nervous she was right now, and her inability to get out what she wanted to say. She thought back to her conversation yesterday with Blake.

_"You should just tell her how you feel," Blake sighed leaning back onto her arms behind her as she sat on the edge of her bed._

_"But it's not that simple!" Ruby insisted from beside her. "What if she hates me? Or finds me disgusting? It could ruin our friendship forever," she continued rather pessimistically. "I can't do this."_

_Ruby had come over to Blake's quarters for advice as she didn't know who else she could turn to with this. Although she would normally ask Weiss for help, in this case Weiss happened to be the problem she had on her mind. Blake and Ruby actually went way back, and Blake was the only one who knew about her feelings for the white haired girl, so really, she was the only choice. So far however, Blake failed to come up with any solution other than the obvious, and Ruby couldn't bring herself to follow it._

_"Ruby.." Blake started as she grabbed Ruby's hands in her own with soft eyes. "You know you have to tell her. Weiss won't hate you, or be disgusted. You're her best friend, she could never hate you."_

_"But that's just it! She's my friend, and I'm supposed to be her best friend. What kind of friend am I, thinking about her in such a way." The despair in Ruby's voice grew with every word, seemingly on the verge of tears. "I don't even know if she likes girls in that way, and even if she doesn't hate me, it'll be awkward. Things would never be the same."_

_With a deep sigh Blake enveloped the panicking girl in a hug. "Weiss has never shown any interest in boys either Ruby. The only person she's shown any great affection towards is you, and you know it," Blake assured as she stroked Ruby's back in a comforting manner. "You can't ignore this forever, it's tearing you apart. You have to tell her."_

Thus that had led to here, Ruby fidgeting nervously as Weiss looked on, worried about her friend. Glancing up Ruby couldn't help but note how beautiful Weiss looked today, not to say that she wasn't any less stunning on any other day. Ruby had always liked Weiss's hair, so white and pristine it reminded her of the snow that her friend's family was named for. Her skin was likewise a pale porcelain, just like a delicate fragile doll, although Ruby knew that Weiss was far from delicate in a fight. A frown was currently held on Weiss's face, but Ruby thought the expression was cute on her. Right now though, she was primarily captivated by her piercing blue eyes which were sparkling in concern for here at this moment.

Ruby snapped straight with a realization that she had been staring and that Weiss was still awaiting an explanation. "Weiss, we're friends right...?" Ruby again trailed off as she started chewing on her lower lip.

"Of course," Weiss answered, still confused at Ruby's behaviour. "You're my best friend."

"Best friends," Ruby stated. "Weiss...I-" cutting off with a swallow, Ruby gathered the courage to continue. "I like you Weiss. I like you a lot. A-as more, than just friends." She tried to end on a strong note, attempting to project more confidence than she felt, but failing miserably.

"More than just friends?" Weiss started off rather puzzled. "What do you mean as more than just fr-" This time it was Weiss's turn to cut off as she suddenly understood the confession in a sudden shock. "O-oh. Oh my." Quite flustered, Weiss' cheeks reddened rather taken aback. She looked down to the side with her bangs covering her eyes as she tried to take in the revelation and process how she felt about it.

"Y-yeah," Ruby again stuttered out, her false bravado once more shattered. The two stood there a moment in awkward silence before Ruby sighed and turned around. "This was stupid of me," she muttered to herself, but still audible enough for Weiss to pick it up. Raising her head, back still turned to Weiss she said "I'm sorry about this Weiss, I knew there was no way you could feel the same about me. I think I should be going now, you d-don't have to see me again if you don't want to." Ruby's voice cracked as she tried to say her parting words to Weiss, barely restraining the sting she felt in her eyes.

As she took a step forward, Ruby felt a hand grasp one of her own. Turning around she immediately felt her other hand grasped as well. Weiss's face was still downturned as she whispered. "You big dummy."

As she lifted her head Weiss leaned her head forward towards the other girl's. Ruby's eyes widened in shock and she froze as stiff as a statue when she felt a soft pair of lips on her own. After a moment Weiss pulled back with a nervous look to her face and a massive blush, letting go of Ruby's hands to copy the other girl's previous habit of fidgeting with her hands.

With a grin as she blinked back happy tears Ruby encircled both her hands around Weiss and practically swept her off her feet. Weiss barely had time to let out an eep of surprise before Ruby's lips were upon her in a deep kiss. After a time that felt all too short to the pair, they had to pull back for air. Ruby gazed into Weiss's eyes as she gazed back in turn. Both noticed the blushes the other was sporting. Ruby's previous grin was now threatening to split her face in half as tears of happiness gathered at the corners of her eyes. Weiss however had a smaller rather embarrassed smile, happy but still a little confused from the rather rapid series of events.

The two stood there a moment after Ruby set Weiss back upon the ground. No words were spoken, the couple simply held each other in their embrace as they basked in the afterglow.

Moments later as their senses finally returned the two of them heard a series of clicking sounds coming from the side. Turning their heads to look, they saw Blake's upper body poking out from behind a tree with a camera held to her face. Ruby squawked in surprise as Weiss merely brought her hands to her face in mortification.

Unwrapping her hands from Weiss Ruby dashed towards Blake angrily shouting. "Give me that! How long have you been there!?" Blake however had already turned and started running, laughing madly the whole time. Somehow Ruby couldn't help but blame herself. _Blake used to be such a nice girl. She's spent too much time around me. _Ruby groused to herself.

* * *

******EDIT (29/07/13): I used the word "dummy" because I had a bit of a different character in mind for Weiss when this was originally written, way before ep.2. I was thinking perhaps more of a naive sheltered rich girl rather than whatever she is now, so I went for a more cutesy sort of word rather than just using "idiot".**


	2. Sanguine Memories

**Author's Note**

**This one will be rather different than the other things I've written thus far. It's going to be quite a bit more angsty, and will focus on Ruby's backstory. This takes place before Ruby meets the others, at the beginning of her trailer with flashbacks to the past.**

* * *

**Title: Sanguine Memories**

**Characters: Ruby.**

**Genre: Angst.**

**Summary: Heading into another battle, Ruby reminisces on what made her into who she is today.**

* * *

The wind blew gently as soft motes of white drifted down from the sky above. By all appearance the land was peaceful as the large shining globe of the moon watched silently from overhead. Down below upon the vast land of white snow and blackened trees stood a lone spot of colour. A fluttering red cloak stood in front a small stone altar overlooking the edge of a cliff.

**Summer Rose**

**Thus Kindly I Scatter.**

_This was all that remained_, thought Ruby to herself as she stared stone faced. There had been people here once, a village. A place where people lived, where families grew. Her home, her village, the place she was born and had grown up. Nothing was left now but this altar and the twisted forest in every direction.

_Crunch, crunch. The sounds as the layers of snow were crushed beneath the racing of feet came fast and loud telling of desperation as she ran on under the ominous red glow. Ruby was scared and confused, her small body clutched desperately in the arms of her mother as she felt them move, the terrifying cries following behind them._

Her hand clenched into a fist as Ruby gritted her teeth. It had come so suddenly, without warning. Her memories were hazy, obscured by smoke and age, but there things she would never forget. The colour red would never fade.

_The fires raged, the village burning, the forest aflame. Peering out of her mother's arms she saw red. The crimson dancing flames were captivating to be sure, but they would not be what haunted her memories. Blood. The snow covered plains were covered in what seemed to be the life blood of a large number of people, and indeed many of these people lay strewn about, cold and unmoving, pale but for the blood that soaked the ground around them. Through the flickering flames and the glow they cast upon the sky the moon gazed down from above, it's light tinted red in the blood and flames._

As her fist relaxed her thoughts continued, overcome with sadness and longing with what came next.

_She was terrified as her mother placed her upon the ground. She barely heard her mother's words, words of love and reassurance as her tears and cries came, those of a frightened child. Ruby was a good girl, she had always listened to her parents when it was important, and as such she stilled as per her mother's wishes, all but her tears which continued to flow. She closed her eyes as her mother wrapped her within her red cloak, hidden next to a body, obscured by the crimson of the cloak and another's blood. She felt a kiss upon her forehead as she choked back another sob before hearing the rustle of someone fleeing with haste._

She had heard what came next. Her mother had screamed and attracted their attention as she fled, drawing their attention away from her daughter. Even now she felt an unbearable sadness, an empty and hollow feeling. But the tears would not come. Not since that day, all her tears had long since been shed.

_She lay there for some time, hidden in the frozen snow, her only source of her warmth the rapidly cooling blood that soaked the cloak she was clad within. She had no idea how long she waited, how long she lay there curled within herself. But when the fires began to die down, and the howls grew faint, she ran. Time had long since lost meaning. As she had no grasp of the time spent hiding, so too she did not know how long she spent running. She ran until her small body grew drained of strength, ragged with breaths and wracked with pain. Collapsed atop a cliff she dragged herself behind a small stone outcropping and peered over the edge. Below amongst the still burning embers of the forest she saw him. Him, that man, those eyes. She was seized with fright when it appeared that his eyes locked upon her own, but utterly exhausted, she could do naught as the darkness claimed her._

She was found there in the morning by a passerby from the nearby town who came to check up on the smoke and flames seen last night. The people of the town took her in, clothed her, fed her, raised her. After that night though, she would never quite be the same. In time she would smile again, laugh, but within lay an unbearable emptiness that would not fill. Any bonds she held had been cut that day, her family, her friends and neighbours, gone. All gone. Despite the friendliness of everyone else, it was never quite the same, and she never formed any strong bonds with people.

The outcropping where she was found had been chiseled by one of the townsmen as a monument to the massacred village. As it's sole survivor Ruby had been asked to choose the inscription. She had eventually decided upon two lines from a favoured poem of her mother, a reminder of what she had lost. Finding the monument unbearable to look upon anymore she turned and left. Her steps through the thick snow resounded amongst the otherwise silent environment. Next to the set of footprints that led to the enscribed stone now lay an otherwise identical set in the opposing direction.

She was silent as she strode through the forest but for the sounds of the snow beneath her boots. Around her were the husks of the once normal forest. All that remained were blackened twisted husks, stained by fire and blood. By all rights they should have long since fallen, burned and blackened as they were. however, whatever foul powers were there that night had left a lingering malignance upon the forest. Not quite dead, but not quite alive they remained, corrupted and casting a perpetual malevolence. Deepening the mystery was the fact that not a single body was found. Blood was found in great amounts, as were burnt remnants of buildings. Any humans however, dead or otherwise, had disappeared. Ruby sometimes wondered what had become of them. Her mother, her father, her elder brother. Without showing her internal musings she continued onward.

As she stepped out of the treeline into a clearing they immediately noticed her. Covered in black but for the red of their maws and eyes they stood. Their covering was unnatural, not fur, not skin, indistinct and shadowy. A head most resembling a wolf with the red teeth and crimson leering eyes to match was their most defining characteristic. But the body, the body most resembled that of a human despite their tendency to stay hunched close to the ground on all fours. Twisted and unnatural they moved their limbs as their gaze fell upon the interloper.

Dashing forward, three of the beasts leapt at the still figure, intent on tearing her apart with their claws. As their forms fell upon Ruby, she _moved_. With a swirl of her cloak and a scattering of petals she reappeared whirling in the air with the moon in the backdrop. Reaching to her waist she grabbed a large metal object which quickly unfolded into an oversized gun. Twisting around she quickly aimed and fired. The monster never saw it coming, felled within an instant as the top half of its head simply ceased to exist.

Ruby cocked her gun, chambering another round as a second rushed at her. Flipping over it she shot it in the back of the head disposing it. Still in the air she quickly readied another shot and blasted a bloody chunk out of the side of a third. Landing in a crouched position on one knee Ruby already had another shot prepared, and with the pull of a trigger she vaporized part of a fourth. Pushing back with the recoil of the shot Ruby rolled backwards across the ground. Springing to her feet she activated a feature to her weapon. With a few deft twirls of her hands the large gun unfolded itself into an even larger scythe.

This was it, the reason for her continued existence. She who was once weak, the pathetic little girl who couldn't do anything but cry as she lost everything had grown up. She had become strong, and this would be one more step in furthering her strength. All for the sake of vengeance. She would never forget the eyes of that man, the one who stood at the head of the legion of beings which had devestated her town. She knew that he saw her, that he leter live. She would make him regret it. Killing these things, one of the many beasts that had slaughtered her village would just bring her a little bit closer.

Another twisted creature leapt directly at her, but it's movements were quickly stalled as Ruby brought her scythe down upon it, trapping it beneath. As it raised it's head and opened it's maw to let out a small growl at her she smirked. The thrill of battle, the rush of adrenaline was the only thing that could make her feel alive anymore. Despite what others may think when they see her, Ruby could only remember the feeling of helplessness as her mother left her, the feeling of despair as she gazed upon all that she had lost, the feelings of worthlessness with all that she once cherished gone. This feeling, to kill or be killed was the only other thing she could truly feel anymore, and it was something she would gladly risk this worthless life to feel again.

Hardening her eyes she pulled the trigger. The recoil of the burst pushed the scythe back towards Ruby, lopping the head off the beast with it's razor edge. The battle would now truly begin in earnest.


	3. Light Flush, Sickly Pallor

**Author's Note**

**Sorry it's been a while. School's been taking my time, and finals are here (though to be honest, it's hardly like I study anyway). This one takes place earlier on in Ruby and Weiss's relationship, before they became closer and Weiss became more "defrosted". They are friends at this point, but it's not something Weiss is likely to admit. I like to imagine her as starting off as a bit of an ice queen, and then become a bit of a tsundere with emphasis on the tsun due to Ruby and eventually showing more of the dere as time passes.**

* * *

**Title: Light Flush, Sickly Pallor.**

**Characters: Ruby, Weiss.**

**Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort.**

**Summary: Weiss is sick, and alone in her convalescence. Ruby proceeds to invite herself over to help take care of her.**

* * *

"...What?" Weiss asked flatly as she looked out her open door at Ruby. Outside Ruby stood there with a bright grin and her eyes half shut with just how wide her smile is. She had on her usual red cloak with the hood up and a bag dangling in front of her with the straps clasped in her hands.

Most people would probably find such a greeting rather unfriendly and unwelcome. Ruby however took this as a personal victory. It wasn't too long ago that Weiss would've simply slammed the door in her face. She took the fact that the door was still open and Weiss was actually waiting for a response as a good sign.

"I heard you were sick, so I came over to check up on you!" Ruby answered cheerily. Taking a look at the half of Weiss not hidden behind the door her smile slipped a little. Although Weiss wasn't the type of girl to spend a lot of time on vanities, she still took pride in everything she did, including her appearance which typically showed quite well. This was rather in contrast to her current appearance. Despite the time of day she was still unchanged in a set of plain cotton pyjamas and looking rather disheveled. Her hair was loose and messy instead of being pulled back in it's usual stylish ponytail. Her eyes were a little sunken in and dull with a look of tiredness. Weiss normally had a rather pale skin tone, but rather than her normal fair complexion it was more of a sickly pallor.

Narrowing her eyes at a slight shake she saw in Weiss's frame Ruby pushed the door in and declared loudly with a frown "You look terrible."

"Wha...!?" Taken aback by the sudden action Weiss stumbled backwards, pinwheeling her arms for balance. Stepping through the doorway Ruby quickly put down the basket and then spun so that she was facing the same way as Weiss and kneeled down to position herself under one of her flailing arms to catch her. Wrapping one arm around her waist and using her other to pull Weiss's arm around her shoulders Ruby stood back up, helping support some of Weiss's weight.

Closing the door with a kick of her foot Ruby continued inward half-dragging Weiss alongside her as she protested feebly. Ruby frowned as she tried to remember where Weiss's room was. She had been here before, albeit not for a personal visit as it is now. She found herself rather worried at the moemnt about Weiss. If she were to just barge in like this on any other day she would likely find herself beaten up by Weiss and back on the other side of the door by now.

Finally finding Weiss's room Ruby announces "Alright! You stay here in bed while I go and get what I brought ready. I'll be back in a few minutes." Pausing to unload Weiss onto her bed Ruby steps back out of the room.

Weiss feeling exhaused drags herself from the edge of the bed under the blankets towards the head of the bed muttering the whole time under her breath about brutish neanderthals and other similar gripes. Flopping her head tiredly onto a pillow Weiss stared blankly at the ceiling above her. Despite her exhaustion she still couldn't manage to fall asleep. She hadn't been able to sleep well aall throughout the night either and had actually been trying to fall asleep prior to Ruby's intrusion as well.

Feeling a shiver Weiss drew herself tighter, curling in on herself with the blankets for warm. She quickly found her thoughts wandering off as she had a little trouble concentrating on anything, even her annoyance at Ruby which was normally a favourite topic of hers. She had no idea how long she was there before she heard Ruby come back in. Lifting her head slightly she managed to just barely see Ruby's face.

Seeing Weiss looking up Ruby plastered on a large smile. Walking over she placed the tray she held down onto the nightstand next to the bed. The top of the nightstand itself was already empty but for an alarm clock. In fact, most of the rooms were fairly barren. Ruby paused for a moment to take a look at their surroundings. The only other objects in the bedroom were a dresser and a mirror with no other ornamentation. In fact, the only other thing of note at all in the other rooms were a couple of rather full bookshelves.

Brightening up again Ruby lifted up a slightly steaming bowl from the tray and gestured it towards Weiss. "It's chicken noodle soup!" Ruby chirped cheerily. All she got in return was a sullen stare from Weiss who was still a little miffed at her brazen audacity in coming in like she owned the place. "It's something people have when they're sick," she explained with a gesture as if instructing a child.

Weiss simply continued giving her a withering look. As she opened her mouth to tell the other girl that she wanted nothing to do with her soup, another shudder wracked her body which she did not quite manage to fully suppress. Ruby gave a frown as a curtain of snow white hair turned to face her with Weiss turning her head down to the side. "I've never...quite been this sick before," came out in a whisper from Weiss, hating this show of weakness in front of another.

Biting her lip Ruby asked, "Do you think you can manage to eat by yourself?" Pushing back her previous thoughts of denying the soup Weiss began to shakily reach for the spoon, refusing to give in to the idea that she would be unable to feed herself. Picking up the spoon Weiss cursed as her arm would not stop that infernal shaking. Seeing all the soup splashing back into the bowl Ruby reached out and plucked the spoon out of the sick girl's hand before she ended up spilling soup everywhere.

Her voice came out rather hesitantly at first, "Well, since this doesn't appear to be working..." Pausing for a moment mid-sentence Ruby stilled before quickly throwing on a happier face and exclaiming, "I'll just have to feed you instead!" Weiss taken aback immediately opened her mouth to bite off an indignant retort. Before she could say anything however she found that Ruby had already shoved a spoonful of soup into her mouth.

Surprised Weiss reflexively closed her mouth and then Ruby pulled the spoon back out between her lips as she swalloed the soup. "It's...not bad," Weiss admitted with slightly flushed cheeks bringing a small amount of colour to her pale skin. She lowered her head again, not quite able to bring herself to say aloud that she found it quite good. The darker haired girl merely gave wordless smile and held up another spoonful of soup.

They continued in that manner for a while in silence. Ruby sat at the edge of the bed as she fed Weiss spoonfuls of soup who was too tired to resist, not having eaten much by herself prior. Weiss's bangs hung down covering her eyes in a poor attempt to hide herself from Ruby, but it would be obvious to any observer that her exhaustion was taking over. Halfway through the soup Ruby paused to give Weiss some medicine she had procured, the exchange occured silently without incident.

Ten minutes later Weiss's posture was visibly slumped down betraying her drowsiness. She seemed a lot more relaxed than she normally was in Ruby's presence and her eyes drifted in and out of focus.

The spoon was placed back into the empty bowl with a clinking sound. "Thank you, it was very good," Weiss murmured tiredly in an uncharacteristic show of appreciation towards Ruby who immediately glowed at such rare words from her. The shivers by this point had subsided a bit, but a slight tremble was still noticable.

"I used to have chicken noodle soup whenever I got sick as a kid," Ruby explained as she stood up to being clearing up the tray. "I was always out playing in the dirt, or in the cold so that was pretty often.." Her smile softened a little as she neared the door holding the tray. "My mom used to make it for me..." At this Ruby trailed off and grimaced, turning to the side.

"Mother..." Ruby heard Weiss whisper in an odd tone of voice she'd never heard from her before. Eager to get get away from the topic of her own mother she turned back to look at Weiss only to find her trembling a rather alarming amount.

Putting the tray on top of the dresser Ruby immediately rushed back to Weiss's side in concern. "Hey Weiss, are you alright?" Ruby said worriedly as she put a hand to the shaking girl's shoulder.

"Mom..." Weiss choked out in a sob. This time it was much more obvious what was happening, she was crying. Ruby's eyes widened in panic. Weiss didn't cry, she barely showed any emotion most of the time. What little she did show was more often then not varying levels of disdain, annoyance, or anger. More often than not these were directed towards Ruby. She was not at all equipped to deal with a crying Weiss.

"Umm, there there?" Ruby awkwardly wrapped an arm around the weeping girl patting her other shoulder in a poor attempt to console her. Apparently her mother was a sensitive issue for her, though Ruby was pretty sure that she wouldn't be so affected under normal circumstances by such an unrelated offhand comment. It was probably a combination of the sickness, tiredness, and medicine. Nevertheless, it meant that right now she had a crying shaking Weiss in her arms and would have to deal with it.

Ruby sat there for some time against the headboard holding a slumped over Weiss. Her shakes and sobs slowly subsided with no further exchanges of words between the two. Ruby had no idea what to say to offer any emotional support so she just held on to show that she was there in an attempt to offer some physical support.

"Warm..." Weiss let out in a soft sigh as she drifted towards sleep once more. With that she leaned back further into Ruby's embrace, trying to press herself further into the warmth. Ruby felt a blush coming on at the intimacy of their position, innocent as it was.

Brushing a lock of white hair from the sleeping girls face Ruby found herself smiling yet again today. Some dried tear tracks still lingered on her face, but she thought that Weiss looked so peaceful now, so calm and innocent in her sleep. It was a nice contrast to the blank or harsh expressions that she usually wore. Ruby thought that a softer expressions such as this fit her better, it was cute.

By this time Weiss had finally fallen fully asleep. Slowly shifting Ruby unwound herself as gently as possible so as not to disturb the sleeping girl. She lowered Weiss down to her pillow, leaving a billow of long white hair around her head. She paused to tuck her into her blankets before turning to exit the room.

Torso turned back to face the room halfway out the door Ruby whispered, "Sweet dreams."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Hmm, not entirely sure how I feel about the ending. I had a few ideas about how I wanted it to go, and I ended up with a bit of a mash up of two of them. Not too sure if it feels rights though. Kinda wanted to go into Weiss's family, but I couldn't find away to make it fit without feeling super forced, oh well, you'll just have to wonder until I get around to it, if ever. Man, I never would've guessed I would ever end up writing sappy stuff like this.**


	4. White Angels and Red Cloaks

**Author's Note**

**Man, I haven't had much time or will to write recently. This one is more soft hearted than anything else, with a bit of fluff. There's a small nod to another piece of RWBY fan work in here somewhere. Props to anyone that recognizes it.**

**EDIT: These stories are not in chronological order. This one is significantly further in the future than the others before it.**

* * *

**Title: White Angels and Red Cloaks**

**Characters: Ruby, Weiss.**

**Genre: Slice of Life, Romance.**

**Summary: Arriving home after a late mission, an exhausted Ruby is pleasantly surprised.**

* * *

The door closed softly behind her with a click shutting out the soft glow of the streetlights as Ruby let out a sigh. She flipped the hood of her cloak off her head as she kicked off her boots at the same time. Leaving her discarded footwear lying by the doorway instead of properly putting them away, Ruby wearily trudge into the house carrying a large bag in her right hand.

She had just arrived home after being away for a couple weeks on a mission. She had been unexpectedly called up for it about a month after her marriage to Weiss, something which still brought a smile to her face whenever the thought came up. Weiss too had been given an assignment, as had the rest of their team. Unfortunately they had each been sent to different locations, something they were all rather displeased with, the newlyeds in particular. Ruby herself was quite enthusiastic in voicing her discontent. However, their directives were not something which they could afford to ignore and they reluctantly parted ways for the time being.

She had managed to complete her objectives ahead of schedule and had thus returned home a couple of days early. The rest of her team weren't expected back for some time yet. Weiss shouldn't be back for another week at least. It would be lonely in the house without Weiss ruby thought with a pang in her heart, but she had confidence in her wife's abilities and that she would be able to return safely. In the mean time, waiting for her at home would be much preferable to still being out on her own assignment.

Setting her travel bag on the ground Ruby took off her cloak and carefully draped it over the back of the couch next to her. Setting aside the compacted form of Crescent Rose on a nearby table Ruby turned into the nearby laundry room and quickly snatched a clean change of clothes, a light pink shirt and a pair of red shorts. Alone in her own home Ruby had no concerns with modesty so while she was here she quickly stripped off her dirty clothes and threw them absently into the nearby hamper before heading over to the bathroom.

After waiting a moment for the water to warm up Ruby slipped into the shower with a contented hum as she felt the spray of water hit her bare flesh. Normally she wasn't one to linger in the shower, preferring to be in and out quick to spend her time on other things. This time though it felt quite therapeutic as she washed the grime off herself, and spent close to a half hour under the water.

After toweling off and slipping into her clothes she pulled out a hair dryer from one of the drawers under the sink. After nearly a day's travel to get back Ruby found herself rather weary and wished to get to bed quickly and had no desire to wait for her hair to dry naturally. Once short, she had grown her hair out to shoulder length. She had always rather liked longer hair, but found anything longer than this somewhat of a hassle to deal with. Once dry she unplugged the appliance and put it away before sliding the drawer shut.

Trodding back across the hall she glanced at the stuff she left behind in the living room before continuing along, deciding to deal with it in the morning. Opening the door to the bedroom Ruby blinked in surprise for a moment.

"Weiss..." Ruby whispered softly as a pleasantly surprised grin spread across her face. Her eyes had immediately gone to the bed where she had noticed the form of her wife lying on top of it. Weiss had never exactly been a light sleeper, but ever since they had moved in together it seemed that she could manage to sleep quite deeply. Just as Ruby seemed to have failed to notice the signs of Weiss being in the house, Weiss had failed to awaken despite all the sounds Ruby had made. It seemed that Weiss had managed to get home even earlier than she had.

Weiss was wearing a light blue night gown which while it would have been somewhat loose and billowy if she were standing up, clung to her form rather well lying down, showing off her body quite well. As per usual when she was sleeping, Weiss had her hair down and it lay spread behind her. At some point the blankets had slipped from her body leaving her mostly uncovered, and as such she had curled in on herself for warmth, bringing up her knees and clutching her arms close to her chest. Personally, with her white hair splayed out like a pair of wings, Ruby thought that she rather resembled a sleeping angel.

Stepping closer Ruby saw that Weiss was actually holding something in her hands close to her face, something red. Peering at it she had to raise a hand to her mouth to help stifle a giggle as she recognized what it was. It seemed that she had been missed indeed. Gripped in Weiss's crossed arms burying the lower half of her face up to her nose was Ruby's old cloak. If Weiss were awake Ruby would probably be teasing her about this. She knew that Weiss in turn would likely be blushing from having been caught red-handed and stammer out a retort something along the lines of 'H-How could anyway miss an idiot like you?' in clear defiance of the contradicting evidence.

The cloak she used now that was draped over the couch back in the living room was actually newer, not the original one she wore. The original had grown somewhat tattered with age, but of course it was a sentimental thing, a final memento of her mother that she had worn for years and as such she could never even think of throwing it away. The newer one was actually handmade by Weiss, something for her birthday a couple years ago. It was something she cherished just as much as the original.

Softly climbing into the bed Ruby layed herself down before shifting herself closer to Weiss. Reaching down she lifted the blanket up to carefully drape it over Weiss's shoulders as well as her own. Carefully so as not to disturb Weiss from her slumber Ruby reached her arms around her to pull her wife closer to her chest. With her legs still slightly curled up Weiss presented a smaller form than normal, after entertwining their legs this allowed Ruby to hold her tightly in a very close embrace. With a soft murmur the still sleeping Weiss lifted her face slightly from the folded bundle of cloth towards Ruby's shoulder. Taking a deep breath she let out a soft sound of contentment.

Looking down, this time Ruby couldn't quite manage to completely stop the slight giggle that escaped her. Watching Weiss's peacefully sleeping face it was time like these that she thought her "little wifey" was absolutely adorable, something that she herself would probably deny if Ruby were to phrase it that way aloud.

Despite her tiredness Ruby found herself simply watching Weiss for some time. From how closely she held Weiss's soft body to her own she was able to feel the slight movements in her chest as she softly breathed in and out. Somewhat absent mindedly she noted that her right hand was stroking the back of Weiss's head and neck as her left hand played with her hair. She had always found Weiss's hair rather pretty, both the length and the colour.

Despite how much energy Ruby seemed to have normally, it was quiet times like these that she felt the happiest, the most at peace. There were darker times in her past after she had lost her family where she never truly believed that she could find love and happiness again. But now, holding this beautiful girl whom she loved more than anything or anyone else in the world, knowing that she felt the same in turn, Ruby felt that she was truly the luckiest person on the planet.

Planting a kiss on Weiss's forhead Ruby closed her eyes. Still with a smile on her face and Weiss in her arms, Ruby drifted into a peaceful sleep.


	5. Whispered Dreams and Soft Melodies

**Author's Note**

**For those who didn't get the memo, these are not in chronological order, sorry to anybody I may have confused with the large jump forward in time in the last chapter. This one will be jumping back quite a bit from the previous chapter.**

**Sorry about the long wait. I've actually been just teeming with ideas, but I've been too lazy to actually find the time to write. With the series release coming soon though, I'm hoping I can push out most of my ideas before then, when everything will just become really really AU most likely from what the actual canon is. I think I've decided on what I'm putting in the next chapter, and it's a couple of scenes I've had in mind for a long time, kinda looking forward to it. No idea when I'll actually get around to it though.**

**About the Yellow trailer, damn. Ruby seems younger than I initially pegged her, or at least her voice seems so. Incidentally, not a fan of the voice. I hope she sounds better in the actual series. I was a little unsure about Yang at first, but I'm okay with her after some more thought. Weiss is still my favourite by far.**

**Yang calls Ruby sis, and Monty referred to her as Ruby's older sister, but personally, I'm not taking this as a blood relationship for now, not in any of the stories posted in this at least. They will simply be close friends, with sis being a term of endearment. Kinda tempted to replace Blake with her in the first chapter, but I don't want to do any significant retcons. Yang will probably appear next chapter.**

**On another note, this is the first thing I've posted with a title that does not refer to the colours of red or white. I kind of got tired of finding different ways to shoehorn it in, plus I'm feeling a little lazy at this particular moment. Probably gonna drop the name scheme altogether for future posts.**

* * *

**Title: Whispered Dreams and Soft Melodies.**

**Characters: Weiss, Ruby**

**Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance.**

**Summary: Weiss finds herself musing upon the mystery that is her girlfriend Ruby. She then finds said girl in the midst of a nightmare.**

* * *

Putting the last dish away into the cupboard with a clink Weiss let out a small sigh. Taking the dish towel in her hand she quickly wiped up any leftover water on the counter before hanging the folded towel on the oven handle.

It had been a couple of weeks at this point since she and Ruby had first started going out. Thinking about their relationship was still something which made her heart beat a little faster and bring up some odd feelings in her stomach. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling though, it was...nice.

At this point they were still sort of getting used to the whole "dating" thing, and what they were comfortable with. Ruby had apparently dated before in the past, but had declined to comment other than that nothing had ever gotten serious. Weiss on the other hand had never dated anybody at all, period. She hadn't had much contact with others when she was younger, and when she had come here, she simply found all those that practically threw themselves at her rather pathetic in her eyes.

However, Ruby was...different, from the others. Initially she had thought her the same as all the others, annoying and rather clingy. Circumstance however had forced them together, and she eventually realized that Ruby's intentions were not the same as everyone else. Her annoying persistence had eventually paid off, and Weiss could honestly say that Ruby was her first true friend. That being said, she had recently realized just how little she actually knew about her girlfriend.

Anybody with even a passing familiarity with Ruby would likely call her friendly, or cheerful. That was true enough, Weiss supposed, but sometimes it seemed a little brittle, or artificial, as if it was just a thin mask hiding her true self. More than just how she acted, or seemed to act, it seemed that nobody knew much at all about Ruby's past, other than her status as an orphan. Despite Weiss's own reputation as a bit of an ice queen and standoffish nature, Ruby knew everything about her prior to them getting together whereas she still knew nothing. Although she still loved and trusted Ruby, and was certain that Ruby loved her too, it saddened her at times that she couldn't seem to trust her with whatever was hidden in her past.

Shaking off these thoughts, Weiss returned herself to the present. Ruby had invited her over today for a home-cooked dinner as a date. While the things she made were simple, Ruby wasn't a bad cook at all. After dinner Ruby had looked rather sleepy, as if she were about to doze off at any time, so Weiss has quickly ushered her out of the kitchen while she cleaned up.

Stepping into the living room her eyes softened as she saw the object of her thoughts. Ruby lay sprawled upon the couch with an arm hanging off touching the ground. By all appearances it seemed that she had fallen asleep.

Frowning, Weiss noted that it seemed that it was not a peaceful sleep. Ruby had a frown of her own as she fidgeted fitfully in her sleep. Kneeling next to her Weiss slipped her arms underneath Ruby and then stood back up, lifting her off the couch with one of Ruby's arms still dangling. Lithe though she may be, she had to keep a strong body in order to fight effectively, and it wasn't like Ruby was particularly heavy.

Weiss headed towards the bedroom, hoping that sleeping in her own bed as opposed to the couch might help Ruby sleep a bit more peacefully. Hearing a whimper, she looked down to see Ruby's face scrunched up in an expression that she found alien on the girl. It was fright. Never before had she seen Ruby frightened before, Ruby was often the one running head long into danger, she didn't even seem to know the meaning of the word. It sure must be some nightmare to get to Ruby.

Pulling Ruby closer to her Weiss fought back a blush as Ruby's arms seemed to close in around her seeking comfort but still asleep. Nudging the door open with her foot she walked towards the bed. Half turned she sat on the edge of the bed and lay Ruby down in the middle. Straightening herself back out she was surprised to find Ruby's hold tighten holding her close. Looking down once more at Ruby she found her trembling, an expression more closely resembling sorrow this time.

"Mother..." whispered Ruby softly in a heartbreaking tone. Hearing the one word Weiss froze instantly, her thoughts immediately racing off to her own mother before she quickly shut them down, wrenching her thoughts off the topic. Laying down on the bed next to Ruby she started stroking the back of her girlfriend's head as her thoughts turned towards her. This was a side to Ruby that she had never seen before, reminding her of her earlier thoughts. Something happened to her in the past, something painful that she didn't like to talk about. She never showed emotions like fear or sadness, always putting on a happy mask or a face of determination. It wasn't possible for a human to be unaffected by some of the things they had seen, even someone like her knew that.

Biting her lip, Weiss continued her reflection. She felt a pang in her heart, seeing Ruby like this hurt her. Knowing that Ruby was hiding her pain inside caused her heart to ache as well, but for once she got to see it for herself, and she wanted nothing more than to comfort her and take away the pain.

Closing her eyes, Weiss began to hum softly. When she was younger, her mother would sometimes sing to her to help lull her to sleep. She would often do it whenever Weiss had a nightmare. It was long enough ago that the words had long since faded from her memory, but the melody had stayed with her.

Stroking Ruby's back in what she hoped was a soothing manner as she continued to hum, it seemed that she was having the desired effect. Ruby's face and body began to relax over the next few minutes as she settled into a more peaceful sleep. Weiss felt her own sleepiness take hold. Her hand's motion slowed as the sound of her melody grew dofter and more indistinct. Soon the room grew quiet and still as the two slept content in each other's embrace.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Ruby's hidden past is just the stuff that happened to her village when she was younger. She doesn't like talking about it. Another mention of Weiss's mother here. I'll get around to it some other time. Probably. Won't be for a while though, a few other scenes are pushing themselves to the forefront at the moment.**


	6. Red on Red and Red on White

**Author's Note**

**I've been wanting to write this chapter for a long long time at this point, but I wanted to get the others one out first to establish the characters a bit more. About the characters, like I said in the note at the top of the previous chapter, as far as this story is concerned, Ruby and Yang are not blood related, although Monty has recently said they are indeed sisters. Oh well, this just means its even more AU.**

**In all likelyhood though, everything everybody has written is wrong. To be honest, the chances of yuri in the actual series are probably next to none. Although I'm pretty sure Roosterteeth has nothing against homosexuality, I also don't think that's the point of RWBY, or an issue they would risk involving themselves in. Mild subtext at most. Of course that's why this is fanfiction.**

**On another note, as you can see, I've decided to change categories from Misc. Cartoons to Misc. Anime/Manga as that seems to be where all the other RWBY stories seem to be going. I initially chose what I did as RWBY is not technically an anime, but whatever, I'll go with the flow. It's not like it really matters, as I doubt anybody actually finds RWBY fics that way, I know I find em just by throwing RWBY into the search engine.**

**Speaking of other RWBY fics, I highly recommend Other Side by Parabola Beam. Though if you found this story, you've probably already found Other Side as well since it was one of the first RxW fics out on this site (beaten by a few days by my other story =P). I've already left my thoughts on it in a review on the story, so I won't bother to reiterate them. Suffice it to say, I quite enjoyed it.**

**Also, I have no idea who Him/That Man is, other than that he was involved in the destruction of Ruby's village. I just needed a convenient plot device for Ruby's backstory, and never bothered to come up with anything more. The capitalization is both to give them more of a feeling of importance, and so that I can more easily use those terms in place of a proper name.**

**Man, this chapter has really dragged itself a lot longer than I intended. I was originally aiming for about 2500 words. It is now 4691 not including the A/Ns. It's a bit of a beast compared to the other chapters, though still shorter than a great deal of the chapters for some other stories out there on this site.**

**EDIT (01/07/13): Fixed a bunch of typos. You know, you could really point these things out to me, I'd be happy to fix them.**

* * *

**Title: Red on Red, and Red on White**

**Characters: Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake.**

**Genre: Tragedy, Hurt/Comfort, Romance.**

**Summary: Rushing into a dangerous situation on her own, Ruby is devestated when Weiss is gravely injured defending her.**

* * *

Panting, Ruby folded up Crescent Rose and stored it at her waist as she turned away from her fallen opponent. Walking away with a slight limp to her step she gave a wince as she accidentally placed too much weight upon her injured right leg. Behind her lay the broken and dying form of a large twisted and blackened creature similar in appearance to a beowolf, but even more physically warped with an unnaturally high number of equally unnaturally looking limbs. Ruby could feel the pain and exhaustion from her own wounds, an assortment of cuts, small gashes and developing bruises. She was injured, bleeding, and in pain, but smiled in a grim satisfaction that she was the one who was walking away from this battle, wounded but alive.

She had come out here looking for Him, acting upon a tip she had received. Slipping out in the evening when everybody else was preoccupied she had come here alone. 'Here' being a rather deserted part of town, a series of old warehouses in a section fo the industrial sector that had long since fallen into disuse. It seems that whatever That Man was here for was already just about done by the time she had arrived as he had barely spared her a glance before summoning this creature to deal with her.

The beast was much more of a challenge than regular beowolves despite the resemblance. It was probably twice their size, and four times as vicious. In most cases, as had happened before when she ahd come across larger than usual beowolves, that would just mean a bigger more predictable target. Unfortunately, this one was also smarter, faster, and stronger. Since she had chosen to come by herself she had a bit of a difficult time taking it down, but she had managed in the end. Grimacing though, she noted that the way home would be rather long with her injuries, not to mention the lecture Weiss would have about taking unnecessary risks again.

Hearing a growing noise in the distance getting closer Ruby's ears perked up. It sounded like the roar of an engine. Although it was a little shady for someone to be coming to this area at this time of night, it shouldn't be an enemy as He had already left the area after leaving the beast behind to deal with her. Hopefully she would be able to hitch a ride back. It would sure beat walking.

Getting closer she recognized it as the sound of a motorcycle, a sound she had grown used to from Yang. As it rounded the corner, she saw the headlight shining in the darkness. It was a little indistinct given that the main source of illumination was the oncoming headlight itself amidst the darkness of the night with streetlamps further away. As anybody who has tried to identify an oncoming car in the darkness could attest to, it is not an easy task. She could just barely make out the figures of the driver and a passenger. As the bright light focused on her she saw a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye.

Turning her head, Ruby's eyes immediately widened in horror. The beast wasn't dead, she should've finished the job. It was already practically upon her and mid swing with one of it's scythe like appendages, she didn't even have time to utter a curse. Attempting to twist out of the way she grabbed Crescent Rose, unfolding and bringing it up in an attempt to block. Despairingly she was able to discern that she would neither be fast enough to dodge or block the attack in time.

Any other thoughts were cut off as something else appeared in a burst of speed she felt something slam into her side pushing her out of the way. Looking back Ruby caught Weiss's eye with a small smile on her face as the blow descended upon her. Time seemed to stand still as Ruby watched the blade like arm pierce into Weiss near her shoulder and rip through her body impaling her with the tip exitting near her opposite hip.

"WEISS!" A scream ripped itself from Ruby's throat, cutting through the night as she fell to the side. Each moment felt like an eternity as Ruby fell, her eyes fixated upon Weiss who's body had gone limp.

Eventually, another sound rang out as the tip of Myrtenaster hit the ground, having slipped out of Weiss's grasp. At this break in the silence, the following events seemed to happen in an instant. Ruby hit the ground, barely cushioned by her arms underneath her, still staring terror stricken at the scene before her. The beast ripped itself from from Weiss's body causing a spray of blood from the wound. Unsupported by either the beast or her own legs Weiss began to fall. Not a moment later though, one of the monster's arms whipped forward and crashed brutally into Weiss's torso, throwing her far to the side against a lamppost with a sickening crack.

As Ruby lay transfixed the beast descended upon her. Not a moment later though it began to dodge to the side, the forgotten motorcycle came barrelling towards it. A few metres away Yang leapt from the speeding bike as it continued forwards. Already massively wounded from its prior fight with Ruby the bike clipped the creature's leg who had failed to completely avoid it in time due to it's injuries and fatigue. With the beast off balance, Yang descended from above with an angry cry, her fist cocked back.

Her right fist clad in her shot gauntlet slammed into the beast's face with a vicious hook. This was quickly followed by a left uppercut to it's chin accompanied by a shot from Ember Celica which quickly propelled her downward towards the ground avoiding the retaliatory strike. Landing with a crouch Yang quickly brought both hands forward delivering a powerful blast into the creature's chest, blowing a bloody chunk clear through, and blowing off one of its arms that it attempted to block with. The recoil sent her flying backwards in a flip, putting space between them so as to avoid any reprisal from her foe.

Landing on her feet the golden haired girl shot forward again like a bullet. The already crippled and dying beast stood no chance against her. The fight was a mere formality at that point, as Yang viciously layed into it with punches and shotgun blasts from Ember Celica. Finishing off her opponent with a quick dual burst to the head Yang hurried over to Weiss's prone form. Weiss was slumped at an angle against the base of the post she was thrown into with her head lolled to the side.

"Shit, this is really bad," cursed Yang as she inspected Weiss's bloody wounds. The entry wound was clearly visible and bleeding quite profusely, the flesh around the edges was rather ragged from the rough manner in which it was made. Needing access to the exit wound Yang tore at the white dress from the already existing hole. Although not quite as bad as the entry wound, it was hardly a pleasant sight.

Not having access to actual bandages Yang was forced to improvise. She quickly untied Weiss's sash from aroudn her waist as well as unravelling her own scarf. Wrapping one around Weiss's shoulder, and the other around her hips, Yang pulled them tight in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood. This elicited a strangled gasp from the still unconscious girl, bringing attention to the laboured nature of her breathing.

"Blood must be getting into her lungs..." Yang muttered worriedly to her self as she analyzed the nature of the damage. Her hands pressed firmly at several spots on the injured girls torso, stopping when she received a grimace and another short gasp. "Broken ribs too. Damnit. This is bad, this is really bad. Of all the days to have left my phone behind."**(1)**

Looking to the side yang found that Ruby was still frozen half-lying on the ground in about the same position as earlier. Frowning she called out, "Sis!" No response came, so she tried calling out again only to be met with the same silence.

"Ruby!" Yang barked out harshly, dropping the nickname to get her attention. This was more successful, as Ruby jerkily turned her head towards her, still in shock. "Get over here, I need you to look over Weiss," Yang continued in a calmer tone.

"Weiss..." Ruby murmured, trailing off. Blinking a few times a look of panic seemed to replace her previously frozen expression. "Weiss!" Ruby cried out again leaping to her feet. This was a move she instantly regretted with a wince as she nearly collapsed back to her knees. Moving as quickly as she could she made her way to Yang and Weiss's sides.

"I need to go get help, she can't be moved like this, not without making things worse," Yang hurriedly explained as she stood back up. Picking up her bike and slinging a leg over the seat, Yang mounted her bike. "There's a hospital nearby, I'll be back soon. Watch over her in the meantime," with those parting words, Yang started up the bike and drove off.

Ruby barely registered her sister figure's words as the droning sound of the engine faded into the distance. Kneeling down next to Weiss, she gently moved her head and upper torso from its position against the pole into her lap.

Hearing the sound of her girlfriend's shallow breathing Ruby felt a stinging in her eyes as she sagged down. The adrenaline of the battle long since gone, her weariness came crashing down all at once on her atop everything else. Seeing a shiver run through Weiss's body, Ruby took off her cloak as quickly as she could manage and draped it over the other girl.

"Why...?" Ruby whispered as she absently brushed a lock of hair from Weiss's face. "Why would you put yourself in harm's way for me? Ruby continued, her voice cracking. Her eyes closed in grief, she did not notice Weiss's eyelids flutter open.

"Because..." Weiss rasped, startling Ruby who's eyes snapped open, locking onto Weiss's own half lidded ones. "You are important to me."

Tightening her loose grip on Weiss Ruby squeezed her eyes shut again. Hearing those words filled her with a warmth, but... "My life isn't worth yours!" she burst out. "Nothing could be worth you... especially not me."

"But it is." Weiss's whisper was soft, a barely audible sound. But in the silence of the night, her voice captured Ruby's attention entirely. "You were my first friend, my first love. You were the one who truly taught me how to live." Another shiver wracked Weiss's body as she gasped for air, causing Ruby's eyes to open in worry. Continuing on Weiss said "You...are my life. Whatever may happen to me... I will never regret protecting you."

Ruby felt her lips tremble as her shoulders began to shake. She felt something wet run down her cheek as she gasped, choking back a sob. Drip.

Feeling something on her face Weiss opened her eyes a little further. "You're... crying. I've never seen you cry before," she noted somewhat absently.

Still trembling Ruby considered this statement. It was true, how ironic. Ask anyone, and they would tell you that Ruby was by far the more outwardly emotional of the two. However, the truth is, while she still felt sadness, while she was sometimes upset, she had not shed a tear in a long long time. Her tears had run dry long ago, or so she had thought. In contrast, Weiss, who held her true self and her emotions close, shown only to those she trusted implicitly. She had held Weiss as she cried more than once.

"I'm h-" Whatever Weiss was about to say next was abruptly cut off with a violent cough. Blood sprayed from her mouth as the pain ran through her body. The crimson liquid shot forward, staining the red cloak darker, even as two other spots of blood slowly spread elsewhere on it. As she turned her face, more blood came out, dying her white hair sanguine in colour.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried out yet again. She felt alertness come painfully crashing back into her consciousness. Her tears began to pour forth in earnest as her voice took on a pleading tone. "Shh, please stop talking. Conserve your strength. Whatever it is, you can tell me later, okay?"

As her fit subsided Weiss gathered her strength to continue talking as if she had not heard Ruby. "I'm...happy. To have had a chance to know you. To be with you." Her words came slowly as she paused to gather her breath often.

Ruby felt her eyes burn and her heart ache as she continued to sob amidst her lover's words. "Don't..." Ruby shook her head. "Don't talk like that, everything is going to be fine. You'll be fine." Her voice was cracking up as she barely managed to get the words out amidst the tears.

Weiss's voice was soft and so very faint at this point. "I'm sorry... Ruby. I would've liked... to spend more time... with you." Her eyes closed. "I... love... you."

"Just... just rest for now Weiss. We'll go home, and in the morning, everything will be fine." By this point, Ruby was whispering more to herself than Weiss who's consciousness had faded once more. "We'll wake up, and Yang will tease us like usual. When we go downstairs, Blake will have breakfast ready like every morning." She continued to speak, as if nothing was wrong, as if she wasn't releasing a flood of tears to make up for the many years. "We can go out and see that movie you've been wanting to go to. Afterwards, I'll take you to that restaurant you like."

"He's already taken everything else from," hiccuping she continued, "from me." Raising her voice she declared, "I won't let him take you too. Not... not due to my own stupidity" Ruby curled in on herself, bringing her face as close to Weiss's own as she could. "You promised... that we would always be together." Her voice choked. "Just please... please don't leave me... I love you..." Trailing off her voice became a near whisper at the end.

Ruby had no idea how long she sat there as the tears continued silently. Her own vision began to darken at the edges as her grip on consciousness slipped. Holding Weiss she could not do anything other than hope and despair as her breaths grew more shallow, as her body grew colder. She could feel the contrasting warmth of the other girl's blood as it soaked through the makeshift bandages, staining the cloak, staining her skin.

Ruby herself was nearly unconscious as the body of her lover finally grew still in her arms, her breath finally stopping. She felt something inside herself grow as cold as Weiss's body. The silence was deafening, such that she did not even hear the sounds that surrounded her as she felt herself slipping.

"-ere they ar-"

"Check he-"

"-ot brea-"

"-fibril-"

"..."

Darkness.

**RWBY**

She awakened abruptly rather than gradually, but she felt empty inside. It felt like she was laying on a bed, partially covered by a blanket. She could feel a layer of bandages covering the aches of her body.

Ruby opened her eyes. White. Blink. She turned her head and saw a window. It was dark outside. The slight ruffle of the pillow drew the attention of someone else in the room. Blake turned back from the door she was about to exit.

"Ruby! You're finally awake, we were worried," Blake said in a tone of surprise. Ruby turned again to focus her sight upon her but did not speak. "You were out for two days. Your injuries shouldn't have been bad enough to put you out for that long."

Ruby heard Blake's words, but barely registered their meaning. Only one thing was on her mind. "W-" Her throat was a little dry and her voice gravelly. She coughed in an attempt to clear it up.

Ruby heard some shuffling from Blake's direction. "Here," Blake said as she brought a bottle of water up to Ruby's face. Bringing up an arm she ignored the aches as she grasped the item offered by the other girl. Bringing it up to her lips she drank greedily. As Ruby had raised her upper body to more comfortably drink, Blake took the opportunity to grab one of the extra pillows and place it underneath her to help prop her up a bit so that she wasn't completely lying down.

Setting the empty bottle aside she cleared her throat and started again. "What happened to Weiss?" Short, blunt, and to the point.

Grimacing, Blake turned her head to the side. "Weiss..." she started hesitantly. "She was hurt pretty bad. Yang was pretty accurate in her analysis." Taking a breath Blake braced herself before getting to Weiss's injuries. "Her right lung was punctured as well as her intestines in several places. Internal hemorrhaging leaked blood into her lung, not even mentioning all the blood from the surface wounds. Several of her ribs were fractured, and two were broken and free floating, presenting even more danger to the already damaged lung." Placing herself into a a nearby chair she sighed. "Plus a concussion."

With each word from Blake Ruby's heart sank deeper as they seemed to confirm her fears. Looking at spot on the wall Blake continued sadly, unaware of the effect her words were having on Ruby. "She was really bad off when we got there. She had lost so much blood, and she wasn't breathing. Not even her heart was beating." Hearing a sob Blake looked back towards Ruby. A trail of tears had already formed down her cheeks as a heartbreaking expression had settled into place.

Panicking, Blake's eyes widened as she reviewed what she had said and mentally kicked herself. Waving her hands in front of her she burst out "Bu- but she's better now! She's not dead!" Hearing this Ruby's sobs subsided a little as she looked up with a sniffle, a faint expression of hope on her face.

Slowing down, Blake explained at a less hurried pace. "They managed to restart her heart with a defibrillator, and after draining the blood from her lungs they used a ventilator to breath for her." Trying to reassure the other girl Blake put on a smile. "Although she can be kind of childish sometimes, Yang takes the group big sister thing really seriously you know? Not just for you, she practically ripped the hospital apart trying to get them prepared to get Weiss as fast as she could." Shrugging she continued, "It turns out she knows all our bloodtypes, and given how Weiss was when she left, she made sure the paramedics brought a lot of extra blood."

Still sniffling, Ruby brought her hand up to wipe at the tears as a small smile broke out onto her face. "Where... where is she?"

Standing up, Blake walked to the curtain on the wall opposite the window. "Just behind here." Grasping the material she drew it aside revealing the other half of the room as she continued her explanation. "This is actually the ICU. It wasn't easy getting a room for the both of you in here, especially given that your own wounds were not so severe.

From her position Ruby could not manage to see Weiss's face, only a vague form under a blanket. Her view was obscured by a large number of machines, certainly at least twice the number in her own half of the room. It was easy to see that this was indeed an intensive care unit as Blake had said. Ruby let out a hiss as she pressed her hands into the bed, trying to lever herself up so that she could get out of the bed.

Quickly, Blake rushed to her side. "What are you trying to do? You should still be resting!" she exclaimed.

"I have... I have to see her," Ruby grunted as she was still struggling to get up. Looking up into Blake's eyes she pleaded, "Please..."

Biting her lip Blake tried to resist. Looking at Ruby's face however, made it impossible. Her eyes were still teary from her crying before, something that she had never seen her do ebfore Blake had just realized. She also knew how strongly Ruby felt about Weiss, and that she was likely blaming herself for what happened. "Well... alright," Blake grudgingly capitulated.

Grabbing Ruby's arm she slung it over her shoulder to help support Ruby's weight as her own arm wound around the other girl's shoulder. Gently she helped Ruby to the side of the bed where the injured girl swung her legs over the side. Carefully Ruby was lowered to the ground, but most of her weight remained supported by Blake. Slowly the two made their way to the other bed in the room where Ruby took a seat at it's side.

Now that she was here, Ruby could finally focus her attention to what was important. Turning her head towards the head of the bed, she got her first sight of Weiss after waking up. In a word, she looked terrible. But to Ruby, it was the most beautiful sights she had ever seen.

Weiss was hooked up to a fair number of the machiens that surrounded her, beeping and blinking. An oxygen mask, a heart monitor, an IV drip, and feeding tubes to name a few. Her skin was still unhealithily pale, the colour of the hospital gown only serving to further the contrast, but it was a shade better than when she last saw her at least. Her hair was neatly combed, but that was the problem, everything just looked so neat and sterile, devoid of life. And yet, the steady beep beep of the heart monitor told her that she WAS still alive, and for that, Ruby felt something lighten inside her chest.

Seeing Ruby's focus on Weiss, Blake decided to tell Ruby a bit more on her state. "She's still not in very good shape, not at all. The doctors haven't given a definite time yet on when she'll wake up, or when she's getting out, but for the latter, it will probably be measured in terms of months." Flashing another smile though she tried to follow up with good news. "The doctor's are optimistic that she'll make a full recovery eventually though. I'm told it's one part skill, one part medical science, and two parts miracle."

Breaking eye contact from Weiss's face Ruby turned again to face Blake with a questioning look. Seeing this, she continued to elaborate. "Weiss is a pretty important person, you know? They weren't going to just give up on her, not to mention Yang's subtle and not-so-subtle threats and demands to the staff. They put the best they had on her operation." Pausing, Blake took a moment to open another bottle of water and wet her throat. "I'm told a lot of the techniques, tools, and medicines they used during the operation and for her treatment after are pretty new. The chances would have been a lot slimmer even just five or ten years ago. Despite all this though, with how bad she was hurt, the chances were still pretty bad." Blake smiled again at Ruby "They say it's practically a miracle that she's still here with us. That she must have had something worth fighting for."

Placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder she gave a comforting squeeze. "I have to go now, alright?" Blake said after releasing Ruby. "Yang should be along soon. Don't strain yourself, understand?" After Ruby nodded in consent she turned back to face Weiss, Blake moved away from her side, and she hear the soft closing of the door.

She had no idea how long she was there for before Yang arrived. Alone with an unconscious Weiss she was accompanied only by her own thoughts and the steady sounds of the machines keeping her love alive.

When she was holding Weiss as she faded away, and as she watched her now, she had realized some things. She had been living for so long consumed by her drive for revenge that she had never really noticed when other things, other people, had begun to fill the void in her heart. People like Weiss, even Yang and Blake in other ways. When she had thought that Weiss was going to die, the pain she had felt was worse than anything she had felt before. Although she knew that she loved Weiss, she had failed to realize the extent of how much. Like Weiss had said to her, she WAS her life.

It was undescribable just how badly she felt that she had failed to realize just how much that Weiss meant to her until the moment she had nearly lost her. Ruby reached out to grab Weiss's hand. It felt cold in her palm, but squeezing Weiss's hand gave her a measure of comfort, as if reassuring her that she was still there, still okay. She would never let go of her again, she would not be able to bear it.

She felt a measure of guilt at her selfishness for her desire to to keep Weiss with her when it was because of her that Weiss was hurt in the first place. Steeling herself she swore that never again would that happen, she would die before she allowed harm to come to her again, especially not on her behalf. She would just have to do her best to make sure that Weiss was at least half as happy as she would be from being with her.

"Hey sis!" Yang's voice abrupty cut through Ruby's thoughts, startling her, causing her to jump slightly.

"Yang! I didn't hear you come in." Ruby exclaimed in her surprise.

"Well, with the misty-eyes you were giving princess over there sis, I'm not really surprised," Yang teased as she pulled up a chair beside Ruby's. Turning to look at Weiss her tone softened. "How are you holding up?"

Ruby paused for a moment, giving Weiss's hand another squeeze before answering. "Surprisingly... I feel a lot... lighter, than I have in a long time."

Turning back to give her a surprised look Yang inquired, "Eh? What brought this on? I figured you'd be..." Turning again to Weiss she trailed off without finishing her sentence.

"It's precisely because of Weiss," Ruby said, which confused Yang. Before she could voice her confusion however, Ruby quickly followed up, "I'm going to ask her to marry me."

A stunned pause lingered in the room for a moment as Yang was taken aback by how blunt and matter of fact Ruby gave her declaration. "Well, ah, I suppose congratulations are in order then," Yang got out almost stumbling over her words. "You haven't asked yet, but I haven't any doubt she'll agree." Sweeping an eye over Weiss's injuries though she frowned. "You better treat her right though, you hear? Little sis or not, I'll smack the stupid out of you if you do something dumb and get her hurt like this again."

"You don't have to worry about that," Ruby smiled softly. "I'd sooner die than let her be hurt."

"That's not really much better," Yang declared with pout as she crossed her arms. "That would just hurt her emotionally rather than physically. I think we can both see what she would rather do than see you hurt."

Ruby brought her other hand atop Weiss's, brushing across it gently before clasping it between both hands. "I have every intention to be together with Weiss for a long long time," Ruby said softly. "But I don't think I could bear it to see her like this again."

This time Yang offered no response. The two simply sat there in the night, as Ruby watched over Weiss, and Yang watched them both.

* * *

**1: **I am assuming the device Yang showed the picture to Junior on was a phone, if not, well, it still looks sufficiently advanced enough that phones also probably exist. I think it's also safe to assume that each of them would likely have one. In this case, Ruby left her's behind since she was sneaking out on her own, and the other two forgot to grab theirs before rushing out after Ruby. I needed a reason for Ruby to be left alone with Weiss, the broken ribs were also for that purpose.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**You know, I kinda get why so many authors tend to plead for reviews now. I see the view count, as well as story and author favourites and alerts, yet so few reviews come in. They're helpful in showing that people are actually reading and liking the story, not just hitting it and leaving in disgust or something. Plus praise is always nice, and I wouldn't mind some constructive criticism either.**

**I see you guys out there, the views, the favourites, and the alerts, yet so few reviews. To be honest though, I'm not really in a position to be talking. I've read over 1000, maybe 2000 fics in these past 8 or so years, most of which are chaptered rather than one-shots, and I doubt I've left even 50 reviews total across them all.**

**I'm hoping this chapter will draw in some responses, it's a bit of a tear jerker. Man, although I like the characters, I tend to put em through some real shit huh? It's too bad I like to keep these stories mostly self contained. I bet I could've stretched this across a few cliff hangers. The next one will probably be fluffier and sillier than this.**

**I was actually posting my progress for this chapter on my profile, although I saw very few profile hits. Date and word count. I will probably do the same for the next one as well, so check back in every now and then.**

**So anyways, read and review people! (...please?)**


	7. Books and Boredom

**Author's Note**

**Hmm, was hoping for a bit more response to the last chapter, but oh well, maybe this happier one will do better? My muse continues to supply me with ideas that I have to get out here, so I'll keep writing til it dries up at least. Once the series comes out though and canon kills all my ideas, I dunno if this'll keep going though. This one gets a little steamy, a bit limey, but stops short of an M rating.**

**EDIT (01/07/13): Typos.**

* * *

**Title: Books and Boredom**

**Characters: Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake.**

**Genre: Slice of Life, Humour, Romance.**

**Summary: Ruby is bored, and seeing Weiss, finds something entertaining to do.**

* * *

Letting out a sigh Ruby then proceeded to take a deep breath for her next action. "Weeeeiiiiiiisssssssss. I'm booooooooooored," the girl whined.

Weiss, several feet away on the couch to the left of Ruby was curled up in it's middle reading a book. Glancing up from her reading material she took in Ruby's own position in the room. Ruby was atop the loveseat against the right wall of the living room, but it seemed that she could not be bothered to even sit normally. The darker haired girl was upside down on her back with the upper half of her body draping over the edge, her arms dragging on the ground above her.

Frowning Weiss turned back to her book. "Well, I'm busy reading right now. Why don't you go do something with Yang? Or what about that new video game you bought the other week?" she suggested to Ruby.

Turning to look at Weiss who was already engrossed back into her book Ruby frowned as well. "Yang and Blake went out earlier for something or another.**(1)** And I already beat that game. I don't really feel like doing the optional objectives right now," Ruby explained. Pausing, she took a moment to roll over onto her stomach. "What are you reading right now anyway?" came her next words which were partially muffled by virtue of being face down in the floor.

The slight rustle of a page being flipped was heard. "A mystery novel. A number of potentially dangerous artifacts and technologies mysteriously disappeared and nobody knows why. The protagonist is tracking down a lead right now, but the previous few did not pan our very well," Weiss explained somewhat absently as she continued reading.

"Booooring," came the next complaint from Ruby. The only reply she received was a hum of dismissal. With a sigh, Ruby pushed herself up off the floor to a standing position.

Not bothering to look up from her book, Weiss heard the sounds of Ruby wandering off elsewhere in the house. Not paying much mind to what else was going on around her she continued to read for the next while. It wasn't long after though that she found her reading interrupted once again.

"Guess who!" came the cheery prompt as a pair of hands came across Weiss's eyes from behind her over the back of the couch blocking her view of the pages.

Pursing her lips in annoyance for a moment Weiss paused before answering. "Ruby. I am not in the mood."

"Ding ding ding, that's correct!" the revealed Ruby exclaimed ignoring the latter half of her girlfriend's sentence.

A split second after the return of her sight Weiss found her book quickly plucked out of her hand. "Ruby! Give that back right now!" was her angry demand. Reaching up to try and take it back, the book was simply pulled higher up out of her reach.

Lowering the hand with the book down to her hip away from Weiss's reach, Ruby brought the other hand to her chin began tapping a finger as she put on a face of consideration. "Hmmmmm, nope!" chirped Ruby upon finding her answer.

Now twisted around to face her a bit of a dangerous tone Ruby was quite familiar with began to leak into Weiss's voice. "And just why not?"

"Because I've found what I wanted to do today!" Ruby answered without losing an ounce of enthusiasm nor exhbiting the usual amount of nervousness she would after ticking off Weiss. Her grin was wide to the point where it had forced her eyes into a squint. Weiss narrowed her eyes at Ruby, staring stonily with the question unspoken. Opening her eyes and dropping into a whisper Ruby spoke. "You."

Before Weiss even had the chance to process Ruby's answer or utter anything in return, Ruby made her move. Vaulting over the back of the couch she knocked Weiss flat onto her back layed out along the couch. Straddling Weiss across her hips while pinning both her arms above her head Ruby was leaning down looking into the white haired girl's face with an impish grin on her own.

Weiss twisted her body in an attempt to break free, but to no avail. She was unable to get any leverage with the soft couch giving way beneath her, and she knew that Ruby was physically stronger than her. It seemed that her struggles only seemed to deepen Ruby's amusement as well. "What do you think you're doing?" Weiss bit out, her face flushed with red.

In lieu of an answer Ruby merely bent down and captured the other girl's lips in her own in a passionate kiss. Weiss attempted to resist at first, but quickly melted in Ruby's embrace. Breaking off for moment to catch her breath Ruby caught a momentary glimpse of Weiss's lidded eyes.

Seeing Weiss gasping for breath as well Ruby went back in again to take her lips for a second time. Before Weiss had a chance to close her lips she quickly darted her tongue through into the other girl's mouth. As their tongues wrestled Weiss let out a little muffled moan which only served to fan the fires of the heat Ruby felt in her body. Overpowering her Ruby's tongue roamed the familiar confines of Weiss's mouth. Swirling around Weiss's tongue she glided over her teeth and tickled the roof of her mouth. Only once her lungs began to burn did she pull back.

As Ruby opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Weiss's flushed face and the movement of her body as she panted. From the corner of her eye she also noticed a string of saliva connecting their mouths. As she pulled back it snapped and trailed downward across Weiss's chin. Bending back in she trailed her tongue along Weiss's skin, licking it back up, eliciting a twitch and gasp from the still stunned girl. Slowly, she made a trail to her ear using the tip of her tongue.

"You're so cute when you're all flustered like this," Ruby murmured in a husky voice directly into Weiss's ear. Nibbling at her ear she drew a whimper from the other girl who had long since forgotten all about her book. Releasing one of Weiss's pinned hands she slowly began to trail it down her body. Caressing Weiss's face, trailing over her shoulder, and sliding down her waist and hips, Ruby sent trails of shivers through her body. Weiss clutched desperately at the material of the couch with her free hand as Ruby began kissing and suckling at her neck while her hand slowly began to pull up at the hem of her dress.

"My my, what have we here?" tittered a voice breaking the mood of the scene.

Jerking upward away from Weiss, Ruby's eyes flew towards the doorway. "Yang!" she squawked partly in surprise, and partly in outrage. Indeed, standing just inside the doorway was the aforementioned Yang, hands on her hips as she grinned at the scene in front of her. Behind her leaning silently against the doorway with her arms crossed was Blake with an eyebrow raised as she too gazed upon the sight.

Yang's eyes flickered from Ruby over to Weiss. "My my, bullying poor Weiss again? And in the living room too. Tsk tsk," commented Yang as she waved a finger back and forth at Ruby. "We have to use this couch too you know."

Looking back down down Ruby gazed upon her lover. Face flushed with eyes glazed it seemed that she had not even realized the intrusion of the others. Her chest rose and fell as she panted for breath, heart still racing from Ruby's interrupted actions. Trailing a finger on Weiss's cheek, Ruby felt the corner of her mouth kicking up. For all the fuss she could make, she loved just how easily Weiss fell prey to her advances.

Her eyes blinking, Weiss regained focus in her eyes. First looking at Ruby, then glancing to the side at the pair in the doorway she squeaked. Without Ruby pinning her down she was able to slide out from under her and to the edge of the couch. Instinctively she curled up and grabbed the closest thing to cover herself, despite still being clothed. That object just so happened to be a fallen couch pillow.

At the loss of her object of affections from below her, Ruby frowned. Scooting along the couch she got up right in front of Weiss who deigned not to move away. Wrapping an arm around her she locked eyes with Weiss. Only half her face was actually visible, with the lower half of her face buried in the pillow, her cool blue eyes glared upward at Ruby. She merely grinned in response.

"Hey hey, don't forget, we're still here. Don't go back to what you were doing so fast now sis," Yang said amusedly. "While seeing princess here all embarassed is cute and all, this ain't really the place."

Shooting a nasty glare at her Ruby huffed. "Well then, I guess I'll just take _my_ princess and ravish her in the peace of my own room." Before Weiss had a chance to protest, Ruby grabbed her by the middle and slung Weiss over her shoulder in a show of strength as she stood up.

"Ruby!" Weiss squealed in surprise. One hand reached back to clutch at the hem of her dress, making sure her bottom was covered after Ruby had hiked it up earlier. Her other hand began to futilely beat at Ruby's back. "Put me down right now you brute!"

Undaunted by Weiss's protests, Yang's grin, or the still silent Blake's incredulous look, Ruby continued. Brushing past Blake into the hallway, Ruby continued towards her room, Weiss still beating at her back with her fist. The door closed behind them with a click.

Turning back to Yang Blake, finally opened her mouth. "She's not really planning to...you know? Is she?" the raven haired girl asked uneasily.

"Well, I wouldn't really put it past her, would you?" came the reply from Yang, still in the same amused tone from earlier.

Pausing for a moment in consideration, Blake sighed. "No, I suppose I really wouldn't." It was around this point that Weiss's protests had fallen silent. "I think I'm going to head back out for a while. Maybe to the cafe." grimaced Blake, wanting to get out before the now silent protests were possibly replaced by other noises she would be more uncomfortable hearing. "You want to come?" she offered glancing back at Yang.**(2)**

* * *

**1: **I am not in fact implying anything with this statement. You can choose to interpret it otherwise if you wish though.

**2:** See above.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Not much to say this time. Read and review I guess.**


	8. Hidden Sides and Fresh Starts

**Author's Note**

**I was asked about a timeline, and while I don't have a definitive timeline with dates and exact amounts of time between events, a rough timeline would look something like this for the chapters and Crimson Snow: 2, 8, 3, 1, 5, 7, 6, CS, 4. That means that this chapter is prior to Ruby and Weiss becoming closer friends, let alone a romantic relationship.**

**I've watched the RWBY panels at RTX, and since this chapter has dragged on for so long, episode 1 as well. I also glanced at some spoilers for episode 2. From what I've learned of the canon, as well as the time I've spent on the tumblr ask blogs . I've been thinking about the characterizations again.**

**WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW FOR REST OF A/N**

**Ruby's outer persona seems close enough. Her being pretty childish and energetic seems to be mostly universal in the fandom barring a few exceptions, though in the case of my Ruby that's partially a mask for her tragic past and angst and all that. Dunno if a tragic past is gonna happen in canon, from the looks of it, that's probably gonna be just Blake if at all. It sounds like Ruby's parents are alive in canon, and that Yang was adopted as Ruby said "my parents taught us". Oh well, still dead in this fic.**

**The ask blog Weiss' tend to be a lot nicer and more innocent all the time, whereas mine starts out a lot frostier but becoming nicer over time. I think the canon Weiss sounds rather different compared to both portrayals, more of a sassy/bitchy rich girl thing which I was hoping wouldn't happen. She and Ruby did not have a good first meeting in the second episode. If they're on a team though, I'd expect that to improve with time, and Kara, Weiss's voice actress describes her as generally nice if a bit bitchy sometimes. My Weiss starts more frosty than bitchy, hiding her niceness, but mellows out with time. I kinda hope canon Weiss isn't too prissy.**

**Learned some stuff regarding backstory and plot. Not a big issue for my stories as I tend to ignore all that stuff anyway to focus on Ruby and Weiss's relationship. It seems that Weiss is the heir to a big company that deals in mining and selling dust though, so she is wealthy, but not royalty. So the princess term is just a nickname I guess and not to be taken literally.**

**Canonically, Ruby is 15, and the others are 17. Ignoring this piece of canon. Ruby and Weiss are closer in age for the purposes of this fic, and Yang and Blake are a little bit older than them. Maybe just bump down Weiss's age to match Ruby's. This fic takes place over a number of years though, so they're not always 15/17. This particular chapter is probably around those ages though.**

* * *

**Title: Hidden Sides and Fresh Starts**

**Characters: Ruby and Weiss. (Plus a bunch of unimportant orphans)**

**Genre: Friendship.**

**Summary: On her day off Ruby decides to take a walk into the town. To her surprise though, she happens to find her new teammate Weiss doing something rather out of character.**

* * *

It was a nice day out. The sun was shining and just a few wispy clouds drifted lazily in the sky. Perfectly enough, it was the weekend too, and Ruby had nothing important to do. Thus, she was taking this opportunity to explore the town, finally able to spend some time outside the walls of the academy.

While not as large as some of the big cities, the town was still quite a bit bigger than what Ruby was used to. She had simply been wandering through the streets trying to familiarize herself with the layout of the buildings as well as finding out what kind of stores were available. Now though, it seemed that she found herself in a more urban area.

Seeing a park at the end of the block across the street, Ruby walked towards it. It was a decently large area, taking up an area at least a few regular town blocks across on its own. It seemed to have both small forested areas as well as some small hills. A little piece of nature nestled amongst the housing areas in the surrounding blocks. Spotting a small playground along the edge of the park, Ruby headed in

Seating herself on a wooden bench to the side, Ruby let out a small sigh, she had been walking for quite a while. Her eyes glided over the nearby playground which was mostly empty. The only people there was a man leaving the area with a boy who was presumably his son.

Leaning back she closed her eyes, relaxing in the shade of the nearby trees out of the heat of the sun. The ambient sounds of the park filled her ears. The leaves rustled softly in the breeze, and the chirps of birds in the distance drifted through the air. Ruby sat there for a few moments enjoying the peacefulness of the surroundings as a break from her walk through town.

A few minutes later however, Ruby heard an indistinct noise somewhere nearby. Hearing it come again she cocked her head to the side and strained her ear. It sounded vaguely like crying. Knowing that there was nobody else in the area, her conscience refused to allow her to ignore somebody in distress. With a sigh Ruby opened her eyes and stood up form the bench.

Following the intermittent sounds of crying Ruby walked through the park. As she neared the source of the sounds, the crying became more distinct, even as it began to subside somewhat. The voice sounded rather young, a child. Passing through a patch of trees, she finally glimpsed the form of a small crying boy at the base of a rocky outcropping.

He was seated with his back against a stone formation, his knees pulled to his chest and an arm held up to his eyes. The boy didn't appear to much older than perhaps six or seven. He had short messy brown hair, a t-shirt and shorts with sandals; he didn't look any different than any other little boy. His sobbing had slowed somewhat as he hicupped occasionally amidst a series of sniffles.

Walking up to him, Ruby called out. "Hey kid, are you okay? What're you crying about?"

Startled, the boy's body jolted in shock as he pulled his arm away from his eyes to get a look at who was speaking to him. "I'm... I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," he managed to get out between sniffles.

Crouching down in front of him, Ruby put on a smile and tried her best to appear friendly and nonthreatening. "Well, I'm often told I'm a little strange, but I like to think I'm not a bad person," she joked in an attempt to allay his concerns. "Right now I think the bigger concern is why you're out here all alone crying. Are you lost? Where are your parents?"

Still sniffling he rubbed at his eyes with one of his hands. "I don't have any parents. I'm an orphan."

Ruby's eyes widened momentarily."Oh... I'm so sorry," she whispered sympathetically. "You know what? I'm actually an orphan too. My name is Ruby," she said introducing herself.

"I'm..." hesitating for a moment he tried to decide whether or not he could trust her. Licking his lips, he continued, "I'm Russet."**(1)**

"Russet," Ruby said testing out the sound of the name. "That's a nice name. Now Russet, why exactly are you out here crying all alone?"

"I wanted to play at the park, so when nobody was looking I went outside," Russet began his explanation. "When I finished playing, I wanted to explore. But now I'm lost, and can't find my way home to the orphanage."

Making a quick decision, Ruby held out her hand towards Russet. "Well, how about I help you find your way back okay? I can't just leave you here all by yourself."

Eventually, Russet ended up grabbing the offered hand, and Ruby helped the boy to his feet. After describing the orphanage and giving an approximate street, Ruby remarked that it wasn't far and the two set off. After finding their way out of the park in short order, the two walked along the streets chatting. Ruby's own childish personality and her descriptions and stories of fighting with Crescent Rose brought forth many words such as 'awesome' and 'cool' from the both of them, and quickly endeared Russet towards her.

Finding the orphanage was no easy task. Ruby was still familiarizing herself with the town herself, and Russet was too young, and hadn't spent much time outside to memorize the streets. Eventually though the two managed to find their way to the place they were looking for.

The moment the two stepped inside the building, Russet darted away from Ruby's side through the halls into one of the rooms where voices could be heard. Chuckling, Ruby followed after him at a more sedate pace.

Not long after Russet ducked into the doorway, a surprisingly familiar voice came drifting out. "Russet! There you are! I was so worried. The matron went out to look for you, where have you been?"

Curious as to just who the familiar voice belonged to, Ruby quietly slipped into the room. Seeing the scene before her, Ruby's brow shot up in surprise, but she chose to remain quiet as she did not seem to have been noticed yet. The room was rather large, and she could see a number of other children spread around in various areas entertaining themselves. The important thing though that caught her attention was who she saw a few feet away from the doorway. It was her teammate, Weiss.

She had met Weiss not long after arriving in town. Their initial meeting was, to put it lightly, bad. Ruby in a fit of clumsiness had knocked over Weiss's luggage, containing dust, a rather valuable substance. Weiss had gotten rather angry at her and even after Ruby apologized, she went off on a tirade that was not entirely proportional to Ruby's mistake.

Soon after, the two found out that they would be attending the same school. Furthermore, they had eventually been assigned to the same team. In the time since then, Weiss had eventually apologized for over reacting. However, Weiss still retained a rather frosty attitude towards Ruby, though to be fair it seemed that she was like that to everyone. She had somewhat of a reputation of being an ice queen, not actively antagonistic towards anyone, but hardly warm or friendly.

All that though, was rather different to the contrasting sight before her. Weiss was kneeling down by Russet and seemed to be fussing over him. A constant stream of questions came from her, reiterating her previous statements such as where he had been, if he knew how worried everyone such as her had been, and if he was okay. All the while she seemed to be patting down the dirt on his clothes, cleaning the smudges on his cheeks and straightening his hair like some kind of mother hen.

Noticing all the commotion, some of the other children seemed to be coming this way as well. While most of them seemed normal enough, Ruby noted that a few seemed rather curiously dressed. Several had towels or blankets tied around their necks like capes. One kid even seemed to have a small bucket on his head. Each of these children and a few others were holding sticks or rods among other things, brandishing them like weapons. Most of these oddly equipped children seemed to be boys, though there were a couple girls.

Eventually, seemingly satisfied by Russet's condition, Weiss leaned back a moment to inspect him, before quickly bring herself towards him again in a hug. "I'm glad to see that you're back safe and sound."

Seeing Weiss act like this brought a smirk to Ruby's face. This was a side of her that she had never seen before, and that she doubted anybody at the academy has seen. It seemed that despite her cold demeanour to everybody else, she had some warmth in her, and perhaps a soft spot for children.

Pulling back with a kind smile on her face, Weiss stood up from her crouching position. As she raised her head from looking down at Russet, her eye caught on Ruby in the doorway. The expression on her face froze as her eyes widened slightly, her body stiffening. Noticing the odd reaction in Weiss, Russet glanced up at her face before turning in the direction she was looking. Seeing Ruby he was startled slightly, as if he had forgotten about her until just then.

"Ah! This is Ruby," Russet said introducing her. Turning back to the other girl he explained, "Big sister Weiss, Ruby's the one that helped me find my way back." Once more turning, this time back to Ruby, Russet continued speaking, "Ruby, this is our big sister**(2)** Weiss! She's the bestest!"

"Oh?" Ruby asked with a bemused smile. "The bestest is she? Well, Weiss and I actually already know each other. We go to the same school." At this, Russet turned to Weiss with an enquiring gaze, but she was still frozen in place. After a moment he seemingly took her silence and lack of a rebuttal as a confirmation of Ruby's words.

Seeing that their 'big sister' apparently knew this new girl, the children relaxed a little. Ruby cocked her head at the bucket-headed child with a cape holding a crude wooden sword. "So, what's going on here anyway?"

Brandishing his sword the boy answered rather loudly, "We're a group of huntsmen and huntresses on a quest!" Several other boys and one girl standing by his side also raised their weapons at his proclamation. "We're battling to save the princess from the evil villains who kidnapped her." At this, the rest of the children participating in the game formed in a group surrounding Weiss, trying their best to appear menacing.

Ruby's eyes glinted as she smirked deviously. "So you're all fighting over the princess. Would this princess happen to be Weiss?"

"Yup! She's the nicest, prettiest princess in all the land," confirmed one of the girls who was wearing a large floppy hat and holding a stick of some sort as a wand.

Before Ruby could open her mouth to say anything else, Weiss finally seemed to snap back to attention.

"Ah, excuse us children. I need to...talk...with Ruby here for a moment."

A few sounds of disappointment came from the children, particularly those involved in the game. Weiss assured them though that she would be right back and to continue playing nicely without her which silenced them easily enough. Marching towards Ruby she grabbed her sleeve and continued out the door, dragging the other girl with her.

Weiss practically stomped through the hall as she dragged Ruby by the arm behind her. Ruby just smiled bemusedly as she followed along. Practically shoving Ruby ahead into an empty room Weiss turned around and shut the door firmly. Turning around she glared at the other girl.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked straight to the point.

"Weren't you listening to Russet? I found him lost in the park and brought him back," Ruby answered easily. She narrowed her eyes a bit playfully, "I think the real question is, what are _you_ doing here?"

"W-what?" Weiss seemed to be taken aback for a moment at having her questioning turned back on her. "I just volunteer here sometimes, that's all!" she managed to stammer out.

"Only sometimes?" Ruby teased. "The kids sure seem to like you well enough 'big sis'. I'm rather surprised, playing around with orphans doesn't seem like something you would do, _princess._**(3)**"

Weiss's face seemed to flush red with either anger or embarrassment, Ruby couldn't quite tell which. "Do not call me that in public. Better yet, do not call me that at all," the red cheeked girl hissed out.

"Why not?" Ruby pouted. "Do you not want the people are school knowing how nice you actually are? You don't seem to talk much with people normally."

Weiss's eyes flashed. "Are you...blackmailing me?" she asked somewhat unsurely as well as incredulously.

The accusation seemed to surprise the darker haired girl. "Blackmail? Blackmail is such an ugly word," Ruby commented. "No, I wasn't trying to blackmail or threaten you. I just thought you looked kinda cute**(4)** with all those children. Seems a shame nobody else seems to know this side of you."

"C-cute?" Weiss stammered, surprised for a moment at Ruby's choice of wording. Composing herself she continued. "All the same, I'd prefer if you kept quiet about this," she stated firmly.

Neither found anything else to say after that. Weiss was still blocking the closed doorway, and Ruby made no move to try and exit. An awkward silence slowly settled into the room. Although the two were on the same team, they were not really friends. They weren't enemies either, but they rarely talked much outside of what they had to.

Ruby was the first to break the silence. "You know, I don't think we really got off on the right foot." Weiss just stared back at her silently, raising an eyebrow. "If we're going to be on the same team, we should get along better. How about we start over from the beginning?" Ruby held out her hand sideways in front of her. "Hi, my name is Ruby Rose, let's be friends!" she said with a smile.

Weiss stared for a moment at the offered hand. Eventually, after a few seconds in which Ruby's grin did not wain in the slightest, she chose to grab it with one of her own and shook Ruby's hand. "Weiss Schnee. Nice to meet you," she offered in return.

"Great!" Ruby cheered. "I'm sure the kids are tired of waiting by now. We should get back to them." Still holding Weiss's hand she dragged her out the door.

* * *

**1: Supposedly every name in this world has to be related to a colour. Russet is a shade of brown.**

**2: No relation at all. The kids all just look up to her.**

**3: I have decided that this will be the origin of her nickname. The others just picked it up from Ruby.**

**4: Ruby isn't actually implying anything romantic. She's just wording it poorly.**

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Man, I've been dragging writing this chapter out for like three weeks, but here it is finally. Not sure if I want to start on the next chapter of this or continue working on the one-shot. Next chapter of this I'm thinking is some fluff, and then maybe some sad stuff in the chapter after.**

**Since the series premiered, I've had three consecutive days of record breaking views. Perhaps the release of this chapter will push for a fourth day, but I'm kinda releasing it a little late in the day so maybe not. A bunch of new RWBY fics are popping up as well. As of the original posting of this chapter, this fic has: 1633 views, 10 favs, 14 alerts, and 14 reviews.**


	9. Halcyon Days

**Author's Note**

**Current timeline: 2, 8, 3, 1, 5, 7, 6, 9, CS, 4. This one is set the day after Weiss gets released from the hospital she got put in during chapter 6. Therefore, it's also far enough along in the timeline that she gets along with everyone just fine.**

**This one is pretty much just fluff. I felt the need for some RxW fluff after episode 2, as well as Weiss getting along better with everyone. I hope they become better friends in the series, I would hate to see my RWBY OTP fade away. I wonder if Weiss will be like Kara at all, hopefully, as Kara is rather cute from what I've seen of her in RT videos. The view counts for this story just keep going up and up. Both the 2000 and 3000 total views have been surpassed since I posted the previous chapter.**

**For some reason, even though Weiss is actually my favourite, I seem to find myself writing from Ruby's perspective most of the time, although I also have a bad habit of switching perspectives without much warning. Several ideas for future chapters also kinda exclude Weiss a bit, and have more Ruby in there. I suppose the Weiss fics without Ruby ended up outside of Red and White, so it might just be skewed because of that.**

**It seems that some scenes must be kinda common. Since I started writing this chapter I've seen fics from others of both a scene of Ruby waking up with Weiss, as well as a breakfast scene. They're rather different enough that I think it goes without saying (e.g. mine is technically lunch), but I just wanna state for the record, that I wrote these independently.**

**This chapter was originally intended to be longer, from waking up in the morning to going to sleep at night. However, it was getting long enough just at the end of lunch, and my writing is slow. It would've taken forever to write the rest of it, and there was a good opportunity to end it at the end of the lunch scene. I'll probably repurpose the date ideas intended for the latter half of this chapter for a future chapter. Too many chapter ideas, too slow of a writing speed.**

* * *

**Title: Halcyon Days**

**Characters: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang.**

**Genre: Romance, Friendship, Slice of Life.**

**Summary: Weiss is finally out of the hospital and back home. She and Ruby have a nice peaceful day together to celebrate her return.**

* * *

Ruby slowly came to awareness as she awoke. She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to get up just yet, it was far too comfortable where she was right now. Gently squeezing her arms together she felt the warm presence of another body and smiled. She was slightly surprised to hear a slight groan in response, it seemed that Weiss was already awake, and she probably knew that she wasn't the only one awake given that she had deigned to give a response, incoherent though it was. Weiss had never been much of a morning person, so it wasn't a terrible surprise that she was still lying in bed despite being awake, not that Ruby had any complaints.

It was only yesterday that Weiss had finally been allowed to leave the hospital and return home, making this the first time Weiss had slept in her own bed in a long time. After what had happened to Weiss, Ruby had blamed herself terribly. When Weiss had eventually awakened in the hospital, she had been quick to disabuse her of that notion. Weiss had gone on a bit of a rant as she was known to do when she felt Ruby was being stupid. She started with that point, saying that although Ruby may be an idiot she had made her own choice. Continuing, she said that if Ruby didn't stop beating herself up on her account, she would just beat Ruby up herself if she wanted it so badly. She probably would have kept going, and possibly actually attempted to hit Ruby, if a nurse had not come in to stop her from aggravating her injuries in her mini-tirade.

Weiss felt so small and frail in her arms right now. She had never been particularly tall, even when they met she had only reached Ruby's height due to her heels and Ruby wasn't particularly tall herself back then. Ruby had grown a few inches since then, still not as tall as Blake or Yang, but definitely more than Weiss. Weiss had also always been rather slim, but the time in the hospital left her even thinner, almost worryingly so. Still though, Ruby felt a sense of happiness well up inside her. Being able to simply hold the woman she loved here in her arms was reassuring, knowing for certain that she was safe and healthy in her embrace.

Ruby's arm that was not underneath Weiss was instead draped over her side resting along her back. The material in Weiss's nightgowns really was quite nice she idly mused to herself. Slowly she began stroking her girlfriend's back, to which she got a contented murmur of contentment in return. Blearily opening her eyes the first thing she saw was the white of Weiss's hair. Blinking a few times she focused on the parts of her face not buried in the pillow. Framed by her hair the peaceful expression on her face brought a smile to Ruby's face. Who wouldn't enjoy waking up to the sight of the most beautiful woman in the world?

Ruby wasn't quite sure how long she lied there for simply observing Weiss. She was certain the other girl was awake, but she made no effort to try and get up. Well, Ruby supposed, Weiss had been sent home with a number of medications, some of which had made her rather drowsy last night. In combination with her usual distaste for mornings it made sense that she was still a little tired. Besides, it was quite comfortable in their current positions. Even if her arm under Weiss had fallen asleep, Ruby had no great desire to get up.

Eventually though, something else made Ruby's decision for her. A faint scent of food being cooked wafted into the room, and a small inaudible rumble in Ruby's stomach told her it was time to get up, no matter how comfy she found her current position. Weiss should really be getting up soon too, it would be best to get some good food into her after the bland stuff in the hospital. She hoped that Blake was the one cooking. While Yang wasn't necessarily bad at cooking, she wasn't really good either. Blake on the other hand was rather talented in the kitchen.**(1)**

The four of them, Team RWBY, actually lived together in the same house. Originally, they had lived in the dorms at Beacon. Ruby had lived with Yang, Weiss and Blake had smaller dorms to themselves. Yang had eventually started complaining of how cramped it was, which Ruby was inclined to agree with, and she had felt that the other two must be lonely with nobody to go home to. Therefore, she had proposed that they all move in together. As time went on, they had all grown closer together as a team, and there was the future issue of where they would go after their schooling was finished. Nobody had really been able to offer any arguments against it, so eventually they had.

Leaning her head forward Ruby softly pressed her lips to Weiss's forehead before pulling back. "Time to wake up sleeping beauty," she said softly.

After a moment, Weiss turned her face out of the pillow and one of her eyes eyes cracked open slightly. "Don't wanna," she mumbled childishly before burying her face into Ruby's collar instead.

Ruby grinned at her response. Weiss was so much more fun after she had finally gotten through those silly things like "pride" or "self consciousness", and Ruby had managed to drag the other girl down to her level. Bringing her free hand away from Weiss's back she brought it to the white haired girls chin instead. Gently she turned her face upwards towards her before leaning in for a kiss which was returned easily enough. The kiss was soft and sweet, lasting only shortly. Still though, licking her lips Ruby was somewhat smug in the knowledge that only she got to kiss Weiss like that, and she could just take another one later if she so wanted.

Sighing Weiss opened her eyes. "Alright, I'm up," she grumbled halfheartedly. The attempt to convey even a little annoyance was lost entirely though on Ruby, she just found Weiss's complaints to be endearingly cute in the current situation.

Ruby slipped out her deadened arm from underneath Weiss and then threw the blankets off of them as she sat up on the bed. "Smells like breakfast should be ready soon," Ruby commented chipperly as she stretched out her arms. She shook out her sleeping arm as she felt the pins and needles associated with it waking back up.

Ruby turned over to Weiss who was still lying on the bed. "Do you feel well enough enough to change by yourself? she asked with a touch of worry in her voice as her eyes flickered over to the bandages just barely visible in the neckline of the other girl's gown.

"I'm injured, not crippled," came Weiss's reply with a roll of her eyes.

"Sooo...?" Ruby asked again, somewhat jokingly despite knowing full well the answer Weiss's statement was meant to convey.

"Shoo, go back to your own room," Weiss said as she waved her hands dismissively at Ruby, not quite managing to suppress a small smile.

Ruby pouted in an exaggerated frown. "Aww, where'd my nice sweet Weiss go? She told me that she loved me. Now here you are instead, trying to get rid of me." The line was delivered quite over dramatically, her voice positively dripping in mock sadness.

Sighing a bit wearily at Ruby's antics Weiss managed to muster the effort to sit up, and she turned towards her girlfriend. It seemed that she had taken Ruby's joke more seriously than intended, as with a soft expression on her face she wrapped Ruby in a loose hug around her shoulders. "You know that I love you Ruby. Please never question that, even jokingly," Weiss murmured softly with her face buried into Ruby's neck.

Softly but deeply, Weiss breathed in, inhaling Ruby's scent before pulling back. She looked into Ruby's eyes before speaking again, "You needn't worry so much about me. I'm fine. Sometimes I think you should worry more about yourself first." She then gave Ruby a quick peck on the lips before pulling out of the hug and finishing with a smile, "Now, go get ready yourself. I'll be along shortly."

Ruby bit her lip as she thought for a moment about what Weiss said. Deciding to trust Weiss's judgement of her own health she brightened up again. Kissing Weiss on the nose she quickly climbed out of bed and headed towards the door. "Sounds like my little wifey feels all better then!" she cheered out as she opened the door.

"Do not call me by that ridiculous moniker!" Ruby heard Weiss say behind her, the embarrassment clear in her voice. Stepping into the hall she head her girlfriend's voice float out behind her. "We're not even married!" _Not yet anyway_ Ruby thought to herself.

She'd been planning on proposing to her girlfriend, but the time didn't seem quite right yet. Probably at least until Weiss was fully healed so that they could properly enjoy it. She mused on what they might do after they were married. Maybe they would move out on their own, but leaving Yang and Blake didn't quite feel right, they were all a family. Perhaps after they started a family of their own? Weiss did like children, though Ruby wasn't quite sure how they'd go about that yet. Oh well, she still had time to think on all this. Ruby mentally shelved these thoughts for now.

In the hall, she smelled the scent of the cooking food from the kitchen once more. It smelled good enough for Blake to be the one cooking, that was good. She was already sort of expecting it though, as it would be Weiss's first meal outside the hospital since the incident, and Blake was easily the best cook out of all of them.

Ruby went to the bathroom first to wash up as she figured that Weiss would be changing first as she was already in her room anyway. It didn't take long for Ruby to finish washing up, leaving the bathroom free for Weiss next. Nudging the door open to her own room she stepped inside and then flopped onto her bed.

She let out a contented sigh as she stretched herself out on her bed. Today would be a good day she decided. Weiss was finally back home and they had no pressing engagements. After the monotony of the hospital, some normalcy at home, and a short trip out to stretch her legs would do her some good.

After a few minutes of lazing about she heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. Weiss must have finally finished dressing and was now washing up. Once more dragging herself off a bed, Ruby went to find some clean clothes. Too lazy to put together an outfit that worked with her cloak, Ruby just ended up in her usual attire.

Walking back to the hall she waited outside the washroom a minute for the other girl to finish up. When the door opened Weiss yawned as she exited, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

The corner of Ruby's mouth quirked upward. "Still tired sleepy-head?" she teased. Weiss merely hummed an affirmative, still not fully awake. This was pretty common for her before she had her morning coffee. Weiss actually used to be even worse in the mornings, grouchy and liable to rip somebody's head off their shoulders rather than merely sleepy as she was now. Having Ruby around had really mellowed her out a lot. "Come on, sis has probably started eating by now," said Ruby as she grabbed Weiss's hand and lead her towards the dining room.

The moment they stepped into the dining room, the pair found themselves under attack. "You're finally up! How are my two favourite girls today?" A voice called out exuberantly. Ruby barely had time to comprehend the words, Weiss still not quite functioning enough to even do that before the two were swept up in a tight hug. Of course from the mane of golden hair in their view, it could only be Yang.

Not a second later, Weiss let out a hiss of pain causing Yang to immediately let go. "Oh no! Are you okay Weiss? I didn't hurt you did I?" Yang rushed out worriedly. Her eyes were wide with worry as she seemed to be trying to inspect the white haired girl for any visible signs of damage as Ruby hovered nearby also worried.

Taking a moment to gather her breath, Weiss managed a weak smile and tried to wave the two off. "I'm...okay. You don't need to worry about me." She grimaced a little holding her torso. "My ribs are just still a little sore."

While she and Yang had not always gotten along (Really, Weiss hadn't gotten along with anybody in the beginning), they had gotten closer with time. The four girls were all quite close after they had been through together, which was a bit of a given since they had seen fit to move in together. After she and Ruby had started dating, Yang had taken to treating her like a second little sister. She could be a bit overbearing at times, but it was kind of nice having somebody dote on her sometimes.

"Come on, you should probably sit down for now," interjected Blake as she came sweeping in past the other two to grab Weiss. Gently she led her over to the table and sat her down at a chair.

"Ah Blake!" exclaimed Yang. "When I said they were my favourites, I didn't mean to exclude you! You know I love you too, I have enough love to go around!" With that she rushed with arms outstretched at the raven haired girl in an attempt to get her into a hug as well. Ruby just sighed at her sister's antics and took her seat next to Weiss.

Rolling her eyes Blake dodged around Yang's charge. With a light shove she managed to put Yang right into one of the two empty seats. "Why don't you just sit down and eat, okay?" Yang pouted but made no move to get back up as Blake moved to sit in the other empty seat next to her.

Seeing Weiss raise a hand to cover a yawn Blake moved to push a lightly steaming mug closer to her. "Here, why don't you have some coffee to help you wake up? I made it just the way you like it."

"Thank you Blake, breakfast looks lovely," Weiss thanked her friend. It was a simple enough meal, some French toast with sausages on the side. Still, it smelled quite good, the French toast in particular looking rather appealing. The coffee as well seemed to be made just the way she liked. Smiling apologetically though she continued, "I'm afraid that some of my medication doesn't quite agree with caffeine though. I'm sorry but I'll have to pass on the coffee."

"Oh! That's all right, I should be the one apologizing, I didn't realize," Blake replied, trying to head off Weiss's apology. "Also, it's actually lunch now, not breakfast," she added.

"What!? Lunch?" Ruby shouted in surprise as she whirled to face the clock on the stove. 12:14, huh. "I can't believe I slept in this late..." Ruby murmured to herself a little shocked. She normally had enough energy that she could barely wait to start the day.**(2)** Still she supposed, finally having Weiss with her in the same bed after so long had given her the best night's rest in a long time. Shaking her head she snapped herself out of her thoughts. "Well, if you're not drinking it, it looks like I'll need so- Hey!" Ruby cried out in dismay mid sentence as Yang snatched away the cup of coffee and began drinking from it.

Moving the cup away from her mouth, Yang set down the cup outside of Ruby's reach. "Sis, you need coffee like a squirrel needs crack. You're hyper enough without it," she teased flicking her on the nose. Leaning out of the resulting retaliatory strike she turned to address Weiss. "So princess, how are you feeling? It hasn't been quite the same without you here. Ruby's been moping the whole time."

"I'm feeling a lot better Yang, thank you," smiled Weiss. "Still a little sore, and more tired than usual, but not too bad overall."

"Well, it is good to have you back Weiss. It wasn't quite the same visiting you at the hospital every day as opposed you have you home here with us," chipped in Blake.

Weiss smiled as she felt Ruby grab her hand. She really had good friends, great friends. Seeing Yang and Blake's smiling faces and hearing their welcomes home made her heart swell. She felt Ruby's hand squeeze hers lightly, and the unspoken feelings of love brought a tear of happiness to her eye and a soft sniffle. She opened her mouth to quickly try and reassure everyone that she was fine, as they all quickly became alarmed.

Their genuine concern was very touching. Weiss let out a giggle as she wiped away the tear with a finger. More than just friends, they were a family. Ruby, Yang, and Blake, they were all very precious to her. She could get used to this, the four of them together in peaceful days like these.

* * *

**1: Random headcanon. Ruby is a simple but good cook. Weiss starts bad, gets better but is still mediocre at best (but a great baker, lol cookies for Ruby). Blake is the best, and Yang is mediocre.**

**2: More headcanon. I usually see a more sleepy Ruby in other people's works, but I see her as more of a morning person.**

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Please read and review. Reviews make me happy, even if it is short.**

**Not sure what I want to work on next. That one-shot is kinda languishing, I haven't quite abandoned it yet, but, eh. I guess Blake/Weiss doesn't quite appeal to me as much as Ruby/Weiss. I've also got a bunch of ideas for more chapter of this. Here's a bunch of one-word prompts associated with ideas for future chapters: Blake, Yang, graveyard, cookies, birthday, date, injury. It'd be kinda helpful if anybody would shout out which one they want me to work on, the one-shot, or one of those prompts. Review or PM is fine. It would probably give me more incentive to actually write if I know somebody wants it.**


	10. Glowing Lights and Peaceful Nights

**Author's Note**

**Current timeline: 2, 8, 3, 1, 10, 5, 7, 6, 9, CS, 4.**

**Well, this thing finally got done. Actually probably came out faster than most chapters, but it still felt like quite a while. And the chapter ideas just keep piling up. Because of omgwtfdondake over on DeviantArt, expect a Bunny-Weiss to appear eventually. Probably not for a while, still gotta finish all those other chapters I already started.**

**The interactions between Ruby and Weiss are a bit different this time. I wanted to try reconciling their canon personalities with mine a bit. This is earlier in their relationship after they started dating, so Ruby is rather nervous in her interactions with Weiss, and I wanted to show Weiss as a bit more of an initiator rather than just the passive one as more commonly happens later after Ruby grows more confident. Like, while Ruby is always more touchy-feely than Weiss, earlier on as in this chapter, she's too nervous to actually do anything, so Weiss gets a bit impatient. Later on when Ruby is more comfortable and confident, it'll be like chapter 7 where she's all over Weiss all the time.**

**Incidentally, because Ruby is more nervous in this chapter, I find her a lot more cute/adorable compared to her usual characterization. A bunch of the fanart I've seen of Ruby since the series premiered has also had a tendency to be diabetes-inducing, which may be a contributing factor to her in this chapter.**

**Most of the parts of this chapter were originally intended to be part of Halcyon Days, but putting the two together would have ended up getting longer than intended, and I didn't quite know how I wanted to bridge the two from morning to night. Putting this in also felt like it would have detracted from Blake and Yang's appearances in that chapter. So anyways, it got reworked and is now a separate chapter, and way earlier in the timeline.**

* * *

**Title: Glowing Lights and Peaceful Nights**

**Characters: Ruby and Weiss.**

**Genre: Romance.**

**Summary: A nervous Ruby takes Weiss out on a dinner date. While dinner does not work out the greatest, the rest of the night doesn't turn out so bad.**

* * *

She felt rather nervous at the moment. She and Weiss would be going on another date tonight, and while this was hardly their first date, Ruby still felt butterflies in her stomach whenever they were near. This was worse than when they had first met. At least she could mostly take it when Weiss had apparently just hated her and yelled a lot, running away was a perfectly acceptable response when encountering her back then. Now Weiss evoked all sorts of other funny feelings in her when they were near each other, but it felt even worse than when they were apart.

None of this was helped by the fact that Team RWBY was planning on moving out of the dorms and into a house together for the four of them soon. When Weiss was in the same room as her, Ruby's heart began beating faster, her face was flushed, her insides felt all twisted up, and she often made an idiot of herself. She was pretty sure that she would never manage to survive living in close quarters with her.

All of this made Ruby feel like her relationship was starting again with Weiss from the beginning, except this time it was a romantic relationship rather than just friendship. Still, the nervousness and anxiety was pretty similar. Before Weiss had warmed up, she had a tendency to be rather...mean. It had not helped to make Ruby comfortable in her presence. However, after Ruby had finally gotten confident in her interactions with the heiress, she had gone and fallen in love with her. While happily her feelings were apparently returned, after the initial burst of happiness the first few days after her confession, her confidence had gone back to square one. After coming back down from cloud nine, she kept fearing that she would somehow manage to screw up their relationship irreparably.

Right now Ruby found herself fidgeting at the entrance to the female dorms. She had gotten there ten minutes early, and was now waiting for Weiss to come down. Not wanting to screw anything up and blow her chances, Ruby had developed a tendency to show up early to any meeting with Weiss.

She was planning on taking Weiss to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was a nice enough place, not terribly fancy, but certainly not cheap or trashy either. The other girl hated fast food, and even Ruby knew that something like that would be a terrible idea of a date for somebody used to classier thing like Weiss. On the other end, Ruby knew that Weiss actually disliked the really fancy restaurants as well. She had been forced to attend far too many official functions as the heiress to her father's company. Well, it's not like Ruby could really afford to take her to such places anyway.

Manners of dress in many places, especially in this town with Beacon nearby were quite varied. Hunters and Huntresses were rather known for occasionally having rather...eccentric manners of dressing, and they often held prominent positions as well in addition to their attitude of not giving much thought to what others thought of them. Thus, codes of dress were also rare. Ruby was rather glad about this, as she didn't have a terribly large wardrobe, thus allowing her to get away with mostly just wearing her usual manner of dress. Her outfit wasn't particularly outrageous by hunter standards, and she thought it was cute at least. Mostly though, she was just attached to her cloak, and hated not having it nearby.

After a few minutes had passed, Weiss arrived exactly on time. "Sorry, have you been waiting long Ruby?" she asked.

Ruby who had been looking down at the ground while killing time looked up towards Weiss to respond. Upon seeing her girlfriend though, Ruby's words got stuck in her throat. It seems that Weiss had chosen not to wear her usual attire unlike her. She had on a snowflake patterned blue dress held up by a pair of thin straps, exposing most of the pale alabaster skin of her arms and shoulders. She was wearing a pair of pretty looking white heeled sandals, but she still fell an inch or two short of Ruby's height. Rather than her usual ponytail Weiss had left her hair down today, held back by a baby blue hairband. While the way she dressed was not particularly fancy, Ruby thought it suited Weiss quite well, and that she looked very cute. Then again Ruby mused to herself, she had yet to see anything that did not look good on Weiss.

"Hello? Ruby?" came a concerned voice that broke through Ruby's train of thought.

Blinking her eyes Ruby's face flushed as she realized that she had been caught staring. "Ah, um, yeah. I-I mean no, not too long. You're right on time," she stuttered out. _Stupid stupid stupid_ Ruby immediately berated herself in her head for losing her cool. She couldn't be totally sure as it lasted only for the shortest of moments, but she could have sworn that the corner of Weiss's mouth twitched upward a bit.

"We-well, if you're ready, let's go then," Ruby stammered. Grabbing Weiss's hand in her own with a bright red face she turned to leave. Walking hand in hand they walked slowly towards the restaurant. All the while, Ruby had a near permanent blush affixed to her face and rarely managed to meet Weiss's eyes. After her embarrassment earlier, she seemed to have a hard time recovering.. It did not take too long to reach their destination, but to Ruby, it felt a lot longer than it actually was.

Once there and seated, Ruby still failed to manage to muster up any courage. Dinner was nice enough, but unfortunately, nothing memorable to speak of happened during it. They made some small talk, with Ruby barely able to look Weiss in the face without blushing. The food was nice enough, and she was happy to be here with Weiss. Still though, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she hadn't had the confidence to make any moves on Weiss. And while she got the distinct feeling that Weiss was rather amused at her blushing and stammering, Ruby was afraid that she may have disappointed her on their date as well.

Biting her lip as they exited the restaurant Ruby had an idea. "Hey Weiss, how about we take a little detour before going back? There's something I want to show you," Ruby said finally managing to face Weiss for once without feeling embarrassed. Weiss agreed without complaint, following Ruby's lead.

At this time the sun was already nearly finished setting and night was descending upon the town. Ruby led Weiss towards a forested park area that she was rather familiar with. She actually rather enjoyed taking walks at night sometimes. The lack of people around, surrounded only by the sounds of nature with the darkness lit only by moonlight and the stars made for a rather peaceful atmosphere.

A light breeze swept through the trees, rustling the leaves and branches. This also brought a chill wind sweeping across the two girls. Still holding Weiss's hand, Ruby noticed a slight shiver run through her body. While Weiss normally was not too bothered by the cold. It was quite a bit colder tonight than the forecast had expected, and Weiss had likely not thought they would be out this late. She was certainly not dressed as warmly as Ruby was tonight.

Taking a deep breath Ruby steeled herself for what she was about to do. She slipped her hand out from Weiss's, and quickly unclasped her cloak as the snowy haired girl turned to look at her. With a smile, she swept her cloak around her girlfriend's form, noting another small shiver as she did so. "I think you need this a bit more than me right now."

Weiss seemed a little taken aback, blushing a little at the gesture. It was touching, but also a tad embarrassing, She also knew that the cloak meant a lot to Ruby. "A-ah. Thank you Ruby," she murmured softly. Wrapping the cloak tightly around herself, Weiss lowered her face into it trying to hide her reddening cheeks. She could still feel Ruby's warmth in the cloak's material. Ruby just beamed happily at her, proud that she had managed to do something right for once today on their date, . "How much farther is it Ruby?"

"Not far now, it's right up ahead. Close your eyes," replied Ruby. "Here, I'll guide you." Stepping behind the other girl, she brought her hands up to cover Weiss's eyes. Walking behind her she slowly led Weiss forward, guiding her beyond the trees and off the path. "Okay, you can open them now," she said as she lifted her hands.

A gasp came from Weiss as she sharply inhaled in surprise. "Wow, it's beautiful," she softly whispered in awe.

Ruby had led her to a medium sized clearing surrounded by the trees. The breeze swept by again as the tall grass swayed gently. The chirping of crickets sounded in the distance as the low handing moon shined in at an angle. The interesting thing however, was the other source of illumination. Hundreds of softly glowing multicoloured lights drifted through the air. Every colour of the rainbow and more was present. Bright trails of lights in many different colours traced their paths throughout the air in a brilliant display.

"I found this place just other week," explained Ruby. "They look like fireflies, but they come in so many colours, and they're quite a bit brighter"

Her gaze still flickering from light to light, Weiss opened her mouth to speak. "I think...that I've heard of this before. The fireflies in this area have been exposed to dust. Some animals in areas with high dust concentrations adapt to it and change. In the case of these fireflies, it gets in their bodies, makes them more energetic and the lights brighter and more varied." Lifting up her hand, a light blue firefly landed on her finger as she stared in wonder, leaving a shimmering trail behind it in the air after it flew off again a moment later. "I've never seen something like this though, it is quite amazing. Thank you for showing me."

As she turned to face Ruby, she saw that the other girl had moved to sit on a fallen log a little to the side in the clearing. Ruby patted the spot next to her. "Why don't you come sit? We can watch them here for a while."

Weiss glanced at the log distastefully. It was rather dirty, and may in fact have been rotting. "I think I have a better idea." With that, after securing the hem of her dress with her hands, Weiss swiftly seated herself into Ruby's lap. "I rather like this seat much better," she teased.

Ruby felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she could scarcely believe that Weiss had done something like that. She didn't even give any warning or ask permission. What Weiss wanted, she just takes. Feeling a sense of competitiveness and emboldened by Weiss's own daring move, she felt her own idea come to her. _Two can play at that game_ she thought to herself. Circling her arms around her girlfriend's waist from behind she pulled her tight to her own body as the other girl squeaked in surprise. "I rather like this too," she murmured into Weiss's ear over her shoulder.

Flushing scarlet herself, Weiss turned away from Ruby, unable to meet her silver eyes. They were close enough that they could feel each other's body heat. It really was uncharacteristic of her to place herself in Ruby's lap of her own volition. Weiss tended to be easily embarrassed when it came to displays of affection, as she was showing now. Still, she could not honestly tell herself that she did not like their current position.

For a while they sat in a comfortable silence, Ruby holding Weiss close to her in her lap as they watched the display in front of them. Weaving to and fro the multitude of dust-augmented lightning bugs left shimmering streaks of colours in an impressive light show. The total lack of sound in the still of the night accompanying the show made it a very peaceful and relaxing experience.

When one particular red firefly they had both been watching flew between them, their eyes caught each other. Looking at Weiss, her face illuminated softly by the small glowing lights surrounding them, Ruby was struck once again by just how beautiful she was. Unbeknownst to her, similar thoughts were going through the mind of the other girl before her. Their faces slowly leaning together, two pairs of lips met.

The initial kiss lasted only shortly, but Ruby immediately went back in not a second later, unable to resist the taste of Weiss's lips. Pulling back once more Ruby shifted Weiss in her lap, turning her legs to the side so she could get better access to Weiss's front. Reaching a hand to cradle the back of the other girl's head. Locking lips once more, Ruby held Weiss to her in a scorching kiss, not letting up until the two were gasping for breath.

Sitting there in a close embrace, they simply basked in each other's presence for moments afterwards. They only idly noted the movements of the fireflies who continued flying as if nothing had happened.

Eventually though, Ruby spoke up. "It's getting kind of late. We should head back soon." Gently she helped Weiss off her lap before standing up herself. After one last lingering gaze at the beautiful scene behind them, they turned to leave, heading back in the direction of Beacon.

"I had a nice time tonight Ruby," said Weiss in appreciation.

Ruby smiled back at her. "I'm glad. I-" Whatever she was about to say next was cut off as she let out a small sneeze.

Taking only a moment to make her decision, Weiss spoke a single word as she moved. "Here." Opening the cloak she pressed herself into Ruby's side and draped half the cloak as best she could over the other girl. She had a light pink across her face once more, but she resolutely maintained a steady expression. That didn't mean however, that she managed to meet Ruby's enquiring gaze.

Ruby felt a lot more confident now than she had at the beginning of the night, emboldened by the events of the night, enough for her to tease Weiss now. "First you sit on my lap, and now this? You're feeling quite affectionate today Weiss. I feel special." She wrapped her arms around Weiss again, holding her even as they continued walking back. Ruby let her head loll to the side onto Weiss's shoulder.

"I-I just wouldn't want you to get sick on my account. That's all," stammered Weiss trying to justify herself. "And that log was disgusting. It would have gotten my dress all dirty. Your lap was just a preferable alternative."

Pouting, Ruby pressed her face into Weiss's neck. "There's no need to be like that. We're dating now after all, aren't we?" she murmured. Bringing her face back up she looked into Weiss's cool blue eyes. She leaned in for another kiss, encountering no resistance at all. Opening her eyes again afterwards she smiled. "Things like this are perfectly normal."

Their playful back and forth aside, the two made good progress back towards the girl's dorms at Beacon. It was not long before they managed to make their way back. Soon after they found themselves standing outside of Weiss's door.

Carefully slipping out from Ruby's grasp under the cloak, Weiss placed her half of the red material loosely over Ruby's shoulders. Unlocking the door and having stepped halfway in she hesitated and turned back towards Ruby. "Would...would you like to come in for some hot cocoa? You must be cold."

Surprised at the invitation as she was, Ruby wasted no time in accepting. Seeing Weiss take off her shoes to avoid tracking in dirt, Ruby followed suit. Having taken longer to unlace her boots relative to Weiss's choice in footwear, the longer haired girl had already disappeared into the kitchen. Making her way over to the couch Ruby sat down and turned on the TV. She placed her cloak next to her on the arm of the couch. Ruby was not really pay attention to what was on, just waiting patiently for her girlfriend to return.

A minute later Weiss swept into the room holding two steaming mugs. Passing one to Ruby, she carefully cupped the other between her hands. Turning to face her Ruby noted that Weiss had taken off the hairband. Sitting down on the couch next to her Weiss barely managed to raise a hand to cover her yawn in time. As if contagious, Ruby yawned as well after almost instantly.

"Tired?" Ruby smiled.

"A little," admitted Weiss.

The two sat next to each other for a while as the night went on. The TV continued playing some late night shows that the two watched as they sipped at their cocoa. For lack of other subjects to talk about while already half asleep they made small talk about the shows they were watching. Ruby supposed that she should probably let Yang know where she was, given how late things had ended up going until, but she couldn't quite manage to muster up the effort at the moment.

"Mmm, this guy is being kind of dumb, isn't he Weiss?" Ruby idly remarked about one of the characters on the television as she placed her empty mug on the coffee table in front of them. No response came, but a moment later Ruby felt a weight on her side. "Weiss?" Looking over she saw that Weiss had finally succumbed to sleep, slumping onto Ruby's side.

Ruby's reflexive grin was almost immediately interrupted by another yawn. She decided that she was far too tired to make it back to her own room tonight, or even to get off this couch. Still, she had no complaints, not with Weiss here. Gently she shifted the sleeping girl into a more comfortable lying position on top of her as Ruby herself brought her own lower body up onto the couch as well. Grabbing her cloak from the side she draped it over their bodies as a makeshift blanket.

Looking down at Weiss, Ruby blushed at the mental image she got from what she saw. The blanket managed to totally cover Weiss's dress, but left her bare legs still visible. With her long white hair spilling over her body covering the dress straps as well, none of her clothes were actually visible. If Ruby didn't know any better, she could have sworn that the only thing covering Weiss's bare body was her cloak.

While that made for a nice thought, Ruby supposed that this was pretty nice as well. Pulling Weiss tight to her chest under the cloak she sighed contentedly. While slowly nodding off, she wasn't quite there yet. Ruby's focus slowly shifted from the still playing television in front of her to the girl on top of her. Idly she began running her fingers through Weiss's hair. She always had loved Weiss's hair, it was one of the purest shades of white she had seen, and it was silky smooth to her touch.

Closing her eyes, the background noise from the TV set faded away. Ruby was able to feel every breath that Weiss took with the rise and fall of her chest. Her face next to Weiss's hair, each breath she took brought in a lung-full of Weiss's scent, which Ruby found quite soothing. The last thing on Ruby's mind before she fell asleep was the beating of two hearts.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Sorry for totally skimming over the dinner scene, but I couldn't think of anything at all for it. All my ideas were for their walk, and then when they got home. Not a single idea about the dinner.**

**I was quite pleased with the response to the last chapter, 7 reviews just for the one chapter. I'm not sure if that was because of the chapter, because the fan base has expanded with more episodes, or just because I asked for people to vote on which idea they wanted me to write next. Either way, I'd be pretty happy with half of that for this chapter. The next one will most likely be the cookie prompt as that one is already half written.**

**Red and White is actually the most popular RWBY fanfic on this site right now, and has been for quite a while. Other Side (Which I really like) held the most favourites for a while, but R&W has since surpassed it. I'm quite proud of this achievement, but RWBY is still young, and I will definitely be surpassed in time. I have a feeling that it'll probably be by a non-romance fic, as yuri fics tend to exclude a significant portion of the site's reader base. It's just that right now, many of the early RWBY fans started shipping the girls together really early on. That will change as more episodes are released and more characters are introduced probably.**

**Also, I have started a forum in the RWBY category. It's for general discussion, you can talk about RWBY, fanfiction, fanart, or something else not even related to RWBY, anything within reason. Now that activity in the RWBY section seems to be picking up, I want a place for RWBY fans to get together and get some discussion going. Please go and post there, I'd like to get a bit of a RWBY community going on FFN. Everyone is welcome.**


	11. Cookies and a Burgeoning Friendship

**Author's Note**

**Current timeline: 2, 8, 3, 11, 1, 10, 5, 7, 6, 9, CS, 4.**

**I would like to say again, for those who may not have seen it at the bottom of the last chapter, that I have made a RWBY forum here on FFN. It is for general discussion. You don't even necessarily have to be talking about RWBY, though that would probably be a common point of interest for anybody actually there. It's a little quiet in there right now .**

**About the actual chapter, well, I had to get on to the Ruby cookie craze eventually. These chapters always seem to end up longer than I initially estimate. I've actually had the idea of Weiss being a good baker, and some scene involving Ruby eating something she baked since way before episode 1 and the cookies. I think that I was thinking more along the lines of cupcakes originally though.**

**Since this is a chronologically earlier chapter I also tried to get Weiss a bit closer to her canon personality, therefore expect her to be angry and yelling at Ruby. However, I have a tendency to write her as a tsundere, so expect some dere with that tsun.**

**Ruby at this point has gotten over her initial apprehensiveness from her terrible first few meetings with Weiss, and has either not yet figured out her feelings for or developed feelings for Weiss and therefore doesn't have those problems yet. Therefore she's pretty comfortable with Weiss right now but can still be cowed when she goes on a tirade.**

* * *

**Title: Cookies and a Burgeoning Friendship**

**Characters: Ruby and Weiss.**

**Genre: Humour, Friendship.**

**Summary: Bored, Ruby finds the scent of cookies, which leads her towards Weiss's dorm.**

* * *

Ruby was at the moment wandering through the halls of the dormitory somewhat absently. It was the weekend and the afternoon at that, so nobody else was around the dormitories at the moment. Yang had ended up wandering off with her friends again, and who knows where Blake went. She herself didn't really have anything to do, and thus she had ended up wandering over towards where she knew Weiss's room was in a rather roundabout path.

While Weiss wasn't exactly the warmest of people, they had been getting along better recently. Ruby figured that if she wore at her long enough, Weiss would have to like her eventually. Either that or she was going to annoy the other girl to the point where she would just snap and end up killing either herself or Ruby to make it stop. She had finally been able to call her a friend in front of her without Weiss scoffing or making a snarky remark recently at least. Ruby considered a personal victory and a hopeful sign for the future. Unfortunately Weiss as of yet still wasn't quite at the point where she herself was likely to use the word friend.

Suddenly stopping in the middle of the hallway Ruby cocked her head. She inhaled deeply, trying to find the scent she thought she had detected. Ruby sniffed around for a few seconds before finally stopping as a grin spread across her face.

"Cookies!" Ruby squealed to herself in a childish tone. "Somebody has fresh cookies! _And I can smell __them._"

Thus Ruby now found herself slinking through the empty halls sniffing along the scent trail of baked goods. It probably would have been an odd sight to see if there had been any other students to see it. For those unfamiliar with Ruby anyway. Those who knew her had mostly learned by now that sometimes, you might be better off not asking what Ruby happened to be doing.

It was to her surprise that the smell of cookies led her along her original path anyway, right to Weiss's door. Chewing on her lower lip she tried to decide on her next course of action. However, it seemed that her desire to get at the cookies temporarily superseded her common sense as Ruby's first action was to try the door rather than knocking. Surprisingly, it seemed that the door was not locked, and the knob turned quite easily.

Slowly, Ruby eased the door open as it slid open smoothly without sound. Peeking her head in she quickly scoped around. "...Weiss?" she called out softly. Hearing no answer, Ruby quietly let herself in and closed the door behind her carefully.

Looking around, it seemed that Weiss's dorm room was quite a bit more accommodating than most despite being for a single person. Describing it as a dorm "room" was probably an understatement. Being the heiress to a large and important company must come with some perks. As quietly as she could, Ruby snuck through Weiss's dorm to try and find the cookies she could smell. Just a couple of weeks ago, sneaking into Weiss's dorm room to potentially steal her cookies would have been unthinkable, nigh suicidal. Even now, this was still probably not one of Ruby's better ideas, and was likely to not end well. Sadly though, it seemed that her sweet tooth had overridden whatever common sense she had, in addition to her sense of self preservation.

"Fooouu~nd it," Ruby softly whispered to herself in victory. She had found a plate of chocolate chip cookies upon a table, and they looked and smelled delicious. Surely Weiss wouldn't mind or notice if she had just one, would she?

After a quick check to see that Weiss was not in the immediate area Ruby reached for a cookie, practically drooling. Licking her lips, Ruby brought it up towards her mouth, almost going cross eye from her intense concentration on it. Taking a big bite of it Ruby chewed slowly.

Ruby suppressed a moan, overcome by the taste of the cookie. "It's_ sooo gooood_," she whispered quietly to herself. It was definitely still fresh, the soft moistness of the texture attested to that quite convincingly.

Reverently Ruby slowly ate the rest of cookie, savouring each bite. After licking her fingers clean, a pair of shimmering silver eyes rested upon the plate of cookies. Slowly, a second cookie was brought to her mouth after barely a moment's hesitation. This cookie was then immediately crammed in, devoured whole in a single bite.

Her previously slow eating was completely abandoned as Ruby now shovelled them in one after another as fast as she was physically capable of. Evidently her ability to cram cookies into her mouth was speedier than her capability to actually swallow them as soon after her cheeks were swelled with tasty baked treats.

Unable to fit anything else into her mouth Ruby leaned back from the now mostly empty plate. Chewing happily she looked upwards. The sight she saw, which on it's own would not be too bad, however, in the current circumstances it filled her with fear, and an appreciation of just how stupid she had just been.

The resident of this particular dorm, one Miss Weiss Schnee was looking back at her with an expression of surprise on her face. In between fearing for her life and cursing her weakness to cookies, Ruby noted that Weiss was wearing a rather cute pale pink apron, and was holding another plate of fresh cookies.

After a moment of silence in which they stared each other down, Weiss's eyes began to narrow dangerously. "Ruby," she hissed. "What are you doing here? Teammate or not, I do not recall any standing invitations for you to enter my dorm room."

With her mouth still full, Ruby was unable to offer any rebuttal. Instead she began shrinking in on herself, trying to present a smaller target to Weiss, though that hardly made a difference in the case of a verbal assault. Somehow, even in a pink apron carrying a plateful of cookies, Weiss still managed to scare her when she was angry. She really was ruing her poor impulse control right now.

"What kind of uncivilized ruffian just lets themselves into another person's home?" Weiss snapped angrily at Ruby. "Whether you broke in, picked the lock, or even if I just accidentally left my door unlocked, I don't _care_" she continued, inadvertently having correctly guessed how Ruby got in during the rant. "You had no right to simply come in here." Weiss took a second to place the cookies aside onto the table. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" the ranting girl demanded with a huff as she crossed her arms with a frown, scowling down at Ruby who had sunk to the floor.

There was a moment of silence as Ruby meekly finished swallowing the rest of the cookies in her mouth underneath Weiss's steely gaze. Poking the tips of her index fingers together nervously, Ruby with her head held down looked upwards with her eyes. "I-Ah, um," she started off stuttering. She coughed to try and clear her throat. "We-well, Yang went out with her friends and I don't know where Blake is, so I figured I'd come and visit you so we could hang out!" Ruby started off, her voice getting a bit more spirited towards the end.

"Hang out...?" Weiss seemed a little surprised at the thought of the idea of somebody wanting to seek her out just to hang out. Furrowing her brow a little in apparent confusion, it took some of the harshness of her gaze away from Ruby.

"Well yeah! We're friends aren't we? That's what friends do," Ruby said brighter this time as she straightened up a bit from her previously hunched over position. Blushing a little Ruby began to look a little sheepish again. "Ah, but then I smelled some cookies...and my nose led me here. I...had one hoping you wouldn't mind. But it was _sooo_ good. I had a second one, and then, well, I couldn't help myself!" Ruby stood up and then bowed low at the waist. "I'm so sorry I ate all your cookies!"

Looking at her Weiss sighed in exasperation as she lightly pinched the bridge of her nose. It was harder to stay mad at Ruby than it used to be. "You shouldn't just barge your way into somebody's room. It is incredibly rude," she lectured Ruby again, albeit softer this time. Weiss frowned a little. "You are lucky that I had been meaning to give those cookies to the team, or I would be far more cross at you."

Blinking Ruby felt a weight lift off her as she realized that she had lucked out. "Wow! You got us cookies?" she exclaimed in surprise. "Those cookies were the best too! Where did you get them?"

Weiss puffed herself up with pride at the question. "Well of course they were good. I baked them myself this morning."

Ruby's eyes widened at this as her mind finally connected to apron Weiss was wearing to the cookies. "You...baked cookies for us?" she wondered out loud. Weiss barely seemed to tolerate them half the time, that she would go out of her way to make them cookies, and rather exceptional cookies at that was mind boggling.

Weiss's face flushed as she seemed to realize that this was out of character for her and then rushed to justify herself. "We-well, you all helped me out a lot the other week, and on the mission as well! I am simply showing my gratitude through a personal gesture. That is all!"

Ruby remembered the incidents that the other girl referring to, but personally thought that they weren't that big of a deal. Certainly nothing that should have warranted something like this from Weiss of all people. Still, if Weiss was going to do something nice for them (with cookies of all things!), then who was she to protest? Maybe Weiss was finally warming up to them.

Looking at the new plate of cookies Ruby licked her lips absently. She turned back to Weiss and asked, "Soooo, can I have another cookie?" When Weiss simply looked back at her with a stony face Ruby decided to step it up a bit. Clasping her hands underneath her chin she tried to give the best puppy dog eyes she could, opening them as wide as possible as her lips trembled. "Pleeeeease?" she begged.

Weiss looked at her still silent for a moment before her eye twitched slightly. "F-fine," Weiss said in a huff as she turned her face away from Ruby. She wasn't completely sure, but she thought she saw a little pink in her cheeks. "Only the one though! You've already eaten so many, save some for the others."

Ruby beamed at her. " Thank you thank you!" She pulled Weiss into a quick hug before she could react. After letting go of the white haired girl she immediately turned towards the cookies, missing the reddening of her face though either from embarrassment or anger it would have been hard to tell. Gleefully she snatched up another cookie from the fresh plate, noting that it was still warm to the touch, and put the whole thing into her mouth.

Slowly chewing Ruby let out a cookie muffled moan in delight. It must have been fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips were even still a little melty on the inside. Her eyes were closed as she chewed happily savouring the taste of the cookie. Opening her eyes once finished she was disappointed that there was no more. She would sell her soul for more of these cookies...which actually gave her an idea.

Turning back to Weiss she still seemed stunned from the hug and her face was doing a fair imitation of the colour of her apron. The next moment Ruby leapt at her in a flying tackle of a hug knocking her to the ground. If Weiss was merely stunned before, she was like a deer in the headlights now with her back to the ground as she stared upward at Ruby's faces merely inches from her own. Ruby's arms were on the floor to either side of Weiss, supporting her upper body as her legs straddled her around the waist.

Ruby stared back at Weiss right in the eyes, steely silver meeting cool blue. "Marry me," she stated in a deadpan voice.

There was another moment of silence as Weiss's face slowly darkened in colour. A strangled noise came from the back of her throat before she started sputtering. "W-what? What are you saying?"

"If you're my wife, then that means you have to make me cookies all the time!" Ruby explained. "In return, I'll do anything you want and love you with all my heart 'til death do we part." All of this was said with a perfectly straight face.**(1)**

Another few second passed as Weiss looked slack jawed at Ruby's audacity. Angrily she narrowed her eyes and pushed the darker haired girl off of her. "Get _off_ me you buffoon! Who in their right mind would marry you?" Sliding out from underneath Ruby she got up and dusted herself off. "I can assure you that in the off chance we ever got together, I would make sure that we part very soon indeed."

"Weeeiiisss," Ruby whined. "Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Mean?" Weiss asked affronted. "See if I ever make you cookies again!"

"Wha-?" Ruby looked rather startled and panicked. "No! No! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" she wailed in distress. As Weiss turned to walk away from her Ruby latched on tightly around her waist. "I was just joking, you know I love and appreciate you Weiss! Please don't never make cookies again!"

Weiss's face was still crimson from the excessive bodily contact Ruby insisted on as she tried to pry the other girl off of her. "Let go Ruby, unhand me now! I insist that you cease this at once! Ruby!"

The two probably made for a rather comical sight, especially for those familiar with the heiress and her personality. Clad in a light pink apron with a matching shade in her cheeks she had Ruby wrapped around her midsection from behind adamantly refusing to let go. Despite Weiss's protests, nobody who saw this could ever doubt their friendship.

* * *

**1: Ruby is actually just joking right now. Mostly. She hasn't developed romantic feelings for Weiss yet at this time. She just really wants cookies. The way to Ruby's heart is through cookies.**

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Weiss will not be in the next chapter. Tying up some loose ends with Blake, so she and Ruby need a little chat. It's not intended as romantic, but I have no doubt you will probably be able to see it if you squint a little. I actually kinda dislike Blake/Ruby, not totally sure why, it's nothing against Blake as I don't seem to have a problem with Blake/Weiss.**

**So that forum of mine. You should go there. There's only like three or four people actually posting in there right now. The RWBY section is growing pretty rapidly now with new stories being posted every day. I would like a place for RWBY fans to talk.**

**R&R.**


	12. Faded Memories and Rediscovered Bonds

**Author's Note**

**Current timeline: ****2, 8, 12, 3, 11, 1, 10, 5, 7, 6, 9, CS, 4.**

**I feel like I've given ample warning, but I'll say it again, sadly there is no Ruby/Weiss in this chapter. Please put down the pitchforks though, I'll make it up to you all with the next chapter within a couple of days hopefully. As previously stated, I mentioned Ruby and Blake being close in chap 1, which I'm finally getting around to explaining now..**

**It's not intended as Ruby/Blake as it is part of the R&W continuity, but if you want to look at it that way I'm not gonna stop you. I seem to be writing a lot of Blake recently, as after the next chapter to finally scratch the Ruby/Weiss itch I'll start my Yang/Blake series of stories.**

_Italics _**are flashbacks. Same deal as way back in chapter 2.**

* * *

**Title: Faded Memories and Rediscovered Bonds**

**Characters: Ruby and Blake.**

**Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort.**

**Summary: She isn't sure, but Ruby believes that she has met Blake once before, long ago. A half forgotten memory of an older girl that helped her out once when she needed it most.**

* * *

"Blake..." Ruby called out softly.

She had been looking for the raven haired girl for most of the day. She hadn't given too much thought about her when they...first met, when Blake had stood up to Weiss for her. When she had seen her reading later that night it triggered a faint tickle in the back of her mind. After she became Yang's partner, and their team was formed, Ruby came into contact with Blake more. But even then, the other girl always remained somewhat aloof. Yet that nagging the back of her mind only grew stronger.

Eventually though, she had remembered it. A half forgotten memory long since faded, but something which had never quite left. It was a light amidst the darkness for her, a moment amongst other times she preferred not to dwell upon.

_A young girl clad in an oversized red cloak stood silently, her expression downcast. Next to her the matron of the orphanage she had now became a ward of spoke as she gestured towards something in front of them. The girl with her face downward did not see what she was pointing to, nor had she been listening to most of the matron said._

"_-en here long, but she has been a great help." Turning to see that her charge was not looking at the other occupant in the room, the matron gave her a gentle nudge._

_Looking up, a pair of dull silver eyes met gold._

Ruby had never gotten her name at the time, and with the many years that passed since she saw her the memories of her appearance had faded. But now that those times were stirred up once again, when she really thought about it, what she could remember of the other girl's features were unmistakable. Ruby felt that she had to confirm whether or not it was her. It took her a while, but she had eventually found Blake in a hidden corner of the school curled up with a book. She felt like the raven haired girl spent a lot of time alone with a book.

"Hmm?" hummed Blake as she looked up from her book. She looked back at Ruby for a moment who was staring at her before Blake blinked. "Ruby? Did you want something?" Short, abrupt, and to the point.

Ruby's eyes glided over every inch of Blake's face, as if searching for something. "...I wasn't sure. I didn't even realize at first." she whispered softly, perhaps more to herself than to Blake. Her gaze strengthened, staring solidly into her amber eyes. "But it was you wasn't it?" Blake continued looking at her with a blank expression as she waited for Ruby to add to her statement. "...Almost ten years ago, in that small town orphanage. That was you, who spoke to me." Ruby's words were uncharacteristically quiet, spoken deliberately and methodically.

Blinking once again Blake took a moment to think about it. A second later though, she slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry...but I don't recall."

A small frown came on Ruby's face, but she pressed on undeterred. "You gave me a book..."

_The young Ruby was once more by herself. She had managed to find her way on to the roof of the building once more. It was quiet up here with nobody else around. Pulling her knees to her chest she looked down at the surrounding areas. It was so quiet, so peaceful and still. So empty, so dead. Just like how she felt inside. Looking over the edge of the building it didn't seem that high, but sometimes she wondered..._

"_You probably shouldn't be up here you know." Ruby started at the sudden unexpected voice. Looking over she saw the girl the matron tried to introduce her to sitting beside her with a book. She had never even heard her come up. Ruby was about to snark back to her repeating what she said before the older girl's next statement caused her to flinch. "If you fell off the edge, you could really hurt yourself...maybe even die if you landed badly." Her amber eyes stared at Ruby knowingly. The words were without accusation or judgement, but she felt petrified under the other girl's gaze regardless._

_Ruby shifted uncomfortably in the silence that followed. Her unnamed companion however remained serene, calmly flipping through the pages of the book she held. "Do you read much?" the girl asked Ruby. She shook her head causing the other girl to look over. "You are old enough to know how to read though right?"_

_This time Ruby gave her a petulant look as she nodded. "Of course I know how to read. I'm not a baby," she grumbled childishly._

_A smile of amusement appeared on the other girl at the first sign of life from Ruby. "Well, how's about you give this a try then?" She handed the book she had been reading from over, which Ruby tentatively accepted._

_She looked down at the book, there was no title. Opening it up she took a minute to slowly flip through it and found that it was a compilation of what looked like fairy tales and fables. Looking up Ruby intended to ask the other girl why she wanted her to read this book, but she was already gone._

"...I couldn't find you again after that time, you just disappeared. And nobody would answer when I asked about you," Ruby finished her explanation softly. Looking up she could see the flicker of recognition in Blake's eyes now. "That was you though, wasn't it? I never got your name back then, but I am certain of it."

"...Yes," Blake admitted after finally remembering. She looked a little surprised at the thought that she and Ruby had actually first met so long ago. "Yes it was." She paused again, gaining a contemplative look as she thought back, trying to remember what she was doing all those years ago. "I was just...passing through town at the time. While I was there, I spent some time helping out around the orphanage." While Ruby felt that Blake was leaving something out, she didn't call her out on it.

"I still have that book you know. I read it like you told me too. Many times." Ruby looked directly at the other girl as she spoke, Blake having long put aside her book. "In many of those stories, the characters went through some hard times. But things got better in the end. I was going through some dark times myself, and those stories really helped pull me through. Thank you."

Blake looked pleasantly struck in surprise by the heartfelt thanks from Ruby. A faint but sincere smile ghosted it's way across her lips. "I'm glad that I was able to be of help to you."

"You gave me hope," Ruby started off her next statement. "That maybe my life would get better, just like in the fairy tales, and it has. But you said something that first night here at Beacon, that 'The real world isn't the same as a fairy tale.' but I don't believe that." She strode towards Blake, closing the distance between them. "I don't know why you left. I don't know why nobody would answer when I asked about you. I don't know why you've become so jaded since then. But it doesn't matter. There's always a better tomorrow."

Blake just looked at her sadly before shaking her head and looking downward. "As I said, I'm glad that things worked out for you," she began as she looked up once more at Ruby. "But life doesn't always turn out that way for everyone. Not everyone get's a happy ending."

"But that's what we're here for. To make things better." Ruby stepped in and pulled the surprised Blake into a sudden hug. "You don't have to be alone. You have me, and Yang. Even Weiss on a good day." Blake didn't say anything, or even move. She simply remained still in Ruby's embrace. "You were there for me once. You helped out a little girl you didn't even know. A girl that had no one else at the time. But you're not alone. You have us now, and this time you should let somebody else be there for you."

As Ruby pulled out of the hug she saw that Blake now had a bittersweet smile on her face. Putting on the biggest grin she could manage, Ruby grabbed Blake lightly by the wrist. "Come on, Yang wanted the whole team together later for something. We should probably go find Weiss before we meet up." As she turned to leave, Blake followed quietly behind.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**There we go, explanations for Ruby and Blake being close as mentioned in chapter 1. Chalk up her still kinda OOC behaviour at the end of that first chapter as influence from Yang and the happier Ruby as well as some lightening up over time. This turned out with way more of a feel of Ruby/Blake than I originally intended...which is odd as I don't actually like the pairing. Still, I'm putting it in Red and White because of the aforementioned reasons, tying up loose ends and whatnot.**

**This chapter kinda made Ruby's personality a little more muddled though. While she isn't exactly suicidal or anything anymore, she's still a little reckless. Puts others before herself as well.**

**Next chapter will have Ruby/Weiss. It feels like it's been a while. I'll try and have it up soon.**


	13. Midnight Disturbances and Reassurances

**Author's Note**

**Current timeli****ne: ****2, 8, 12, 3, 11, 1, 10, 5, 7, 6, 9, CS, 4, 13.**

**So this one is furthest in the timeline, ergo they are married by this point. Nightmares again for Ruby! I don't remember which chapter it was when I did it before, but don't worry about them being the same. There are similarities yeah, but the two chapters are definitely not the same. I do seem to write Ruby and Weiss falling asleep together a lot though. I guess I just find the idea really cute.**

**Not having to write chapters with regard to time is great for stuff like this. I can just jump waaay ahead into the future when I want Weiss to be nice to Ruby. I can shove as much fluff as I like into it and justify it by saying their relationship improved with time. I can write almost anything I feel like, unlike a story that actually goes chapter by chapter where I'd have to wait until the appropriate time.**

* * *

**Title: Midnight Disturbances and Reassurances**

**Characters: Weiss and Ruby.**

**Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance.**

**Summary: Weiss is awoken in the middle of the night by one of her wife Ruby's occasional nightmares. After a glass of milk, they settle back into bed and the nightmare is discussed, no matter how reluctant Ruby may be.**

* * *

Weiss awoke suddenly in the middle of the night. She came to rather groggily as she was roughly jarred from her sleep by the sounds and motions coming from beside her on the bed. Feeling the shifting of the body and a frightened whimper she opened her eyes.

"Ruby, wake up!" Weiss whispered urgently as she sat up and reached out to gently shake her wife on the shoulder.

Judging from the restless movements, frightened expression, and fearful sounds she was making, Ruby was having another nightmare, and a particularly bad one at that. Ruby had had nightmares for a long time, according to Yang, since before they had even met. While they had decreased in frequency over time, especially after they had gotten married, they still happened from time to time.

With a strangled cry Ruby's eyes snapped open as her body surged upward. A pair of teary silver eyes locked onto Weiss's worried face for a moment amidst shuddery breaths. "Ruby, are you oka- !" Before Weiss was able to even complete her sentence, she was interrupted by another pair of lips sealing themselves above her own.

The kiss was fierce, and needy. Ruby clutched desperately at Weiss even as she frenziedly claimed the other girl's lips for her own. Feeling one of Ruby's hands pulling tight around her lower back as her other was tangled into her snowy hair Weiss wrapped her own arms gently around the frantic girl. She pressed back, her lips firm on Ruby's own letting her know that she was here, and that she wasn't going anywhere. She made sure though to allow the darker haired girl to lead things, to allow her to confirm what she needed to confirm.

After a few moments, Ruby finally pulled back from the kiss, getting up off Weiss who she had pinned to the bed underneath her at some point. Her tears had begun to slow at this point, but her breathing remained shaky, punctuated with the occasional sniffle or hiccup. Carefully Weiss slid out from underneath Ruby and adjusted both their positions so that they were now sitting next to one another.

Reaching over to the bedside table Weiss retrieved a tissue from the box. Gently she leaned down to wipe up the tears on Ruby's cheeks, as well as a few spots of wetness on her own face that she got from the close proximity of their faces during the kiss. Ruby was still a bit slumped over, but she looked a little bit better than she did when she first woke up.

"Thanks..." Ruby whispered appreciatively, her voice a bit rough.

Weiss smiled in return. "Feeling a bit better now?"

"Yeah...a bit." Ruby looked up at her hopefully with wide, if slightly reddened, eyes. "Can you get me a glass of milk?"

"Of course..." Weiss sidled her way over to the side of the bed. Once again she was glad they decided to have carpet installed in their room so that she wouldn't have to walk on a cold floor at times like this. Shuffling around slightly for a few seconds Weiss put on her slippers and sleepily shambled out the door.

Stifling a yawn she made her way to the kitchen. She never liked leaving Ruby at times like this, something Ruby knew perfectly well also. But she also knew that the other girl needed a moment to collect herself before she would be able to talk about her nightmare. That was what the milk was about, Ruby's own way of sending Weiss out of the room while still allowing her to feel useful. Her love never liked talking about her nightmares, but she had long since conceded that talking about them was better than just bottling them up.

Weiss hated seeing Ruby like this. She may be hesitant at times, or socially awkward, but her wife was one of the surest and most determined people she knew. Ruby met her problems head on, scythe first more often than not. But here, there was no enemy to fight, nothing she could do. And it hurt Weiss every time she saw Ruby hurting like this.

Opening the fridge the sleepy girl had to quickly close her eye at the resulting bright light that assaulted her vision. Reaching for where she knew the jug of milk to be Weiss pulled it out and quickly closed the door. Grabbing a pair of cups out of a nearby cupboard, two glasses of milk were carefully poured. Placing them in the microwave she punched in a time just long enough to warm them up. A glass of warm milk as opposed to cold would probably be more soothing right now, as well as being helpful in returning to sleep.

Waiting for the microwave to finish, Weiss yawned widely, covering it with a slender hand. While she never appreciated being woken in the middle of the night, the minor inconvenience it caused her was nothing next to her wife's distress. Even though Ruby had never been particularly bothered by even the fiercest of the monsters of Grim, her own internal thoughts and fears had long been a source of constant stress and worry. Grabbing the now warm cups of milk with another yawn Weiss took a sip of her own before shuffling her way back to the bedroom.

Handing off the full cup to Ruby, Weiss quickly crawled back under the warmth of the covers cradling her own cup of milk carefully to ensure that it didn't spill. "Ready now?" she asked. Weiss was referring to whether or not she was ready to talk about her nightmares yet. This had happened enough times before that the actual question did not have to be voiced aloud. Looking over she saw that Ruby was in the middle of chugging her milk, so she took a moment to take a smaller drink from her own.

Finishing her milk and setting it aside Ruby sighed. "Yeah, okay." Leaning over she rested on Weiss for support, grasping her wife's closest arm with her hands. Weiss set aside her half empty cup on the nightstand, freeing up her hand to rest on top of Ruby's hands. Leaning back into Ruby's side as well she waited for her to begin, offering her silent support.

Silver eyes swept listlessly across the room, trying to delay the impending discussion as long as possible. "It started with my village..." Ruby eventually admitted reluctantly.

"Oh Ruby," Weiss sighed commiseratively. While Ruby had tried her best to move on, and indeed had spent many years trying never to look back on it; what happened to her village was a very traumatizing experience. She lost her family, everyone, as well as everything she had at the time. It was no wonder that it was such a frequent subject of her nightmares.

Shaking her head, Ruby continued. "That was only the beginning. I dreamt...I dreamt of Uncle Crow, that he never took me under his wing. I dreamt of Blake...that we had never met again. Of Yang, that we had never even met. That I had never come to Beacon and met everyone else..." With each sentence, Ruby's voice grew steadily more choked and miserable. Her upper body slumping downward again, she repositioned herself in front of her spouse so that she could bury her face into Weiss's chest, cheeks wet with tears once more.

Bringing her free hand up, Weiss stroked Ruby's head soothingly. "But things didn't happen like that. It was just a dream." Being alone was typically the central focus of many of Ruby's fears and doubts. These seemed to fit that theme quite well. "You are surrounded by plenty of wonderful people, and they all love you so very much."

Ruby however didn't seem to acknowledge her words. With a few sniffles she looked back up again, her face reminiscent of a few minutes ago when she had first woken up. "...But most of all, I dreamt of you." Throwing her arms around Weiss's neck she quickly closed the distance between their lips, drawing them into a kiss once more.

With her other arm now freed from Ruby's hold, Weiss pulled Ruby into a soft but firm embrace. As their lips broke away from each other for a moment of respite, not a second later they met once more. Unlike the desperate ferocity from earlier, each of these kisses now were tentative and soft. Ruby's lips quavered as her body shivered. The only source of strength she had now was what she could derive from Weiss.

After one last kiss, Ruby turned her head to the side, laying it down across Weiss's collar. With a shaky breath, she continued her monologue of her dreams. "I dreamt that you hated me. That maybe we never become partners, that we never became friends. I dreamt that maybe I screwed up, that you realized I wasn't good enough for you, or that I pushed you away." The words poured out of Ruby in a rush. It seemed that for every nightmare she had involving somebody else, there were two for Weiss. "I remembered the times you got hurt because I was too weak. Except this time you didn't get better...and I lost you." The pain in her voice was clearly audible. While Weiss did not choose to speak up and interrupt her, she tightened the hug on the other girl, letting Ruby silently know that whatever happened in the dreams, she was here now. "And...and last, I dreamed that you had gone through with that arranged marriage... That you had married him as your father said for the good of the Schnee Company, and I hadn't managed to get you back in time." Having finally finished, Ruby fully broke out into sobbing.

Stroking Ruby's back Weiss whispered calming words to her while she cried. After a few minutes, the darker haired girl began to calm down a bit again. "We may have gone through some tough times, I won't deny that," Weiss murmured. "But we're here now, together. Look." Lifting her left hand into Ruby's view, Weiss made sure to bring attention to the ring. "Whatever else has happened, we are married now." Bringing her hand to Ruby's chin she lifted her face into view. Dropping a kiss on her forehead which elicited a tentative smile from Ruby before the white haired girl continued. "I'm Weiss Rose now. Nothing else matters. I'm yours, and you're mine."

With Ruby in her arms, Weiss laid the both of them back down upon the bed, pulling up the blankets. Brushing away a lock of red tinted hair from Ruby's face Weiss whispered to her softly. "Hush now, go back to sleep. There's no need to worry, I'm right here."

"Weiss..." with a contented murmur Ruby curled up, snuggling happily into her wife. Resting her head on top of Ruby's, Weiss took in the scent of roses.

Despite the emotional turmoil Ruby's nightmares caused the both of them, times like these were also a guilty unspoken pleasure as well. For Ruby, having Weiss there as somebody she could trust and as a source of comfort was a great change from the days of old. Her nightmares were something she was rarely comfortable sharing with even Yang. For Weiss, it was a time when she could just put aside everything else and devote herself solely to helping Ruby. It was normally she who was held by Ruby, but having her wife curled up in her arms now, she thought that this was pretty nice too.

Feeling the stillness of Ruby who had finally returned to sleep Weiss smiled, laying a kiss atop her head. Closing her eyes she murmured, "Sweet dreams Ruby."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**A bit later in the day than I wanted, but eh, here you go. Gonna write the first chapter of the Yang/Blake next. I might do another chapter of that after, or maybe Red and White. I might also start a short series of death fics. We shall see. As it is, I'm kinda surprised how much mushy emotional stuff tends to come out of me. Not the type of person I am IRL at all.**

**In other news, RWBY ep.8 was great. I wasn't expecting Weiss to make up with Ruby so early on, and it kinda shit all over my stories, but I'm not gonna complain about the two getting along in canon. Fight scenes were pretty epic. **


End file.
