Where You Rightfully Belong

The Great Weiss Shark

Ruby nervously fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, Christmas was only a few hours away and she still had no idea how to give her partner her gift. They had known each other for nearly four years, there was literally nothing hidden between them—well, almost nothing.

"ALLEY-OOP!" Yang Xiao Long exclaimed as she leaped clear over the bench Ruby sat on. She flopped unceremoniously into the meter deep snow, causing the snowbank to cave into the Yang-shaped crater burying the older girl completely.

Ruby yelped in surprise and frantically searched for her sister. "Yang!?"

A golden tuft of hair poked out from the snow several feet away from where Yang had landed. And before Ruby could call out again, the stray lock disappeared and a wide raised ridge began racing towards her in wild, uncontrolled zigzags.

"Y-Yang?"

The tuft popped up again, bouncing in place, and like a periscope it slowly panned around in a semi-circle. It zoomed past Ruby, but quickly doubled back and pointed at her with purpose. And just as randomly as it had appeared, the tuft sunk back into the snow and tunneled towards Ruby. It zigged and zagged, circled around itself multiple times, but eventually found its way towards its target.

Ruby leaned forward, squinting hard at a rumbling patch of snow. "Yang?" And just like a giant gopher, the blonde's head sprang up. "Oh god!" Ruby screamed shrilly, her limbs snapping securely against her trembling body.

"Heya!" Yang beamed, a pile of snow rested on the top of her head and nose.

"What are you doing?"

Standing up to her full height, Yang shook off all the snow she could. "Horsing around, why?"

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, that's 'why'!" Ruby hissed, heart still pounding furiously against her chest.

Yang looked at her little sister curiously at first, but eventually her expression melted with clear understanding. She waded through the snowbank, crossed the shoveled walkway and took a seat beside the fuming redhead.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked flinging an arm around the girl's slender shoulders.

Ruby glared at her well-meaning sibling and huffed, "No."

"You sure?"

"Yes—actually, on second thought," Ruby tentatively leaned into Yang's comforting embrace, "you don't mind, do you?"

"Lay it on me!"

Sighing, Ruby wrapped her arms around her shins and tucked her knees under her chin. "It's Christmas—I love Christmas, but I can't seem to get into the spirit."

Yang nodded her head in a sagely manner knowing exactly where the conversation was headed long before Ruby had even spoken. And like the amazing older sister she was, Yang waited patiently for Ruby to continue.

"We're in Christmas country—Atlas literally can't get anymore festive!" Ruby groaned loudly. "I should be running around pestering everyone with my Christmas cheer, and yet here I am sulking and dumping my problems on my sister."

"So why aren't you?"

Ruby snorted indignantly at Yang. "Like you don't already know?"

"Well," she reached around her golden mane with her free hand and pulled it over her shoulder, stroking it lovingly, "If I told you straight up, it would really defeat the purpose of having you spill the beans yourself."

"Ah—ugh!"

"Grr-grr to you, too, lil'sis."

"It's Weiss, okay!"

"And?"

"Y'know, Weiss."

"And?"

"Gaah," Ruby whimpered, "that's just it: Weiss!"

"And..." Yang rolled her eyes and sighed, Here we go again.

"She's perfect, she's amazing! She's smart, beautiful, talented, and she smells so good—Yang, have you seriously ever smelled her!? She smells like winter, not her sister Winter, but actual winter!"

"That wasn't at all creepy… Not. At. All." Yang mumbled, nervously shying away from the gushing girl.

"And don't even get me started on graceful she is when she's fighting! It's like watching some sort of fancy dancy-thingy with blood and guts splattering everywhere, but none of it ever gets on her—how does she do that? Seriously, how!?"

That last comment had Yang pausing for thought, "Er, now that you mention it…"

"Forget it!" Ruby shouted. "That doesn't matter."

"Okay, okay!" the blonde exclaimed, recoiling from the sheer volume her sister employed. "The sun shines out of Weiss' ass, so what? She's still a major bitch—"

"She is not!"

"You didn't let me finish!" Yang tutted. "She's still a major bitch, but she's our major bitch. And more specifically, she's your major bitch. And as much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn't trust anyone else but her with your happiness."

"Wow, Yang… I-I had no idea," Ruby whispered, tears pricking her bloodshot eyes. "When did you figure it out?"

"Ruby,"the blonde smirked knowingly, "I think I've known since the beginning. There hasn't ever been anyone who could bring that much out of you in such a short time; Weiss brings out the best in you and vise-versa. If you two hadn't met, well I think you both would be completely different than the way you guys are today."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

The two siblings fell into a comfortable silence, their words hanging over their heads. They spent ten minutes sitting like that before Ruby decided to hunker down and really talk.

"Last year and the year before that, we spent Christmas as a team."

"And it was awesome bringing Blakey and Weiss home with us."

"Yeah, but…" Ruby bit her lower lip, "we didn't know it was Weiss' birthday."

"Oh…" the older sister blinked. "This isn't where I thought this was going."

"What did you think I was going to say?"

Yang shrugged. "I don't know, I was kinda thinking you were finally going to confess to her."

"What? No!"

"Why not!?"

Ruby sunk down further, her neck bending with the smooth curve connecting the back of the bench to its seat. "Because I'm not good enough for her—I know I'm not good enough for her."

"That isn't true!"

"Really?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Yang, you don't have to try to change my mind. If she and I were meant to be, then we would already be together."

"That would actually require one of you to say something."

"I've tried," Ruby sobbed, her eyes straining to remain open, "goddammit, I've tried so hard to! But she either doesn't get it or just walks away."

"When?"

"I don't know," she mumbled as she pushed herself back into a proper sitting position, "I stopped trying and gave up last year."

"Ruby…"

"My heart can't take it anymore," she explained, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. "We've only got half a year to go before this is all over and we go our separate ways."

"I'm not going anywhere without you and neither is Blake. You're stuck with us forever, kid."

"Yeah, but what about Weiss?"

"Er…"

Yang crossed her arms feeling extremely conflicted; this conversation did not go anywhere near the one she was expecting. In truth, she wanted to blurt everything out and yank her sister's head out from the dirt, but the imaginary Blake she conjured in her head had voted against that idea vehemently. Mental-Yang told her that Ruby needed to confront her feelings head-on, but Mental- Blake had said she needed to do so on her own terms. Getting messed up in other people's affairs was a one-way ticket to Schmutzville, current population: Jaune Arc.

"Look, you can't keep these things hidden forever; it'll tear you apart."

"I don't care."

Yang shook her head and got up, her butt numb from staying still for so long. "What do you think would have happened if I didn't tell Blake how I felt? Would she be here with us or would she be in Mistral visiting Sun's family?" She was about to walk away, but decided to say one last thing to her wayward sister. "Ruby, is she worth all this doom and gloom?"

"Wha—?"

"If you love her, don't give up—keep trying."

Christmas was half an hour away and everyone was gathered in the grand ballroom within the Bastion of Ice Weiss called home. Like the rest of the stronghold, the ballroom was decorated to the nth with garland silver, ornamental snowflakes, bright white lights, glittering baubles boasting gold trimming, and phantasmagorically decorated evergreen trees and wreaths.

It as a sight to behold; a real winter wonderland marvel. But compared to the heiress it belonged to, it was nothing.

Weiss was the center of attention in her stunning one-shoulder black dress. It draped over her firm, voluptuous curves like a cascading waterfall; smooth, mesmerizing and breathtakingly beautiful. A thigh-high slit ran up the right side of her dress, revealing a creamy ivory leg that seemed to go on forever.

A pack of glamorous people, that Ruby assumed were her friends, surrounded the white-haired woman. Weiss remained aloof around them, her mind neither here nor there. Blake was off in a corner sipping on some champagne, watching Yang destroy some poor gentleman's confidence in a drinking game. And Ruby was…

"So I laughed at him and said: 'you slipped on ice.' His face was beet red!"

"H-Haha…" the redhead grimaced, forcing herself to laugh, "you're so funny."

"I'm glad you think so!" the young man exclaimed. "Would you like to hear another?"

Her eyes snapped open, wide from the horror about to befall her if she didn't answer fast enough. "No, thank you."

"Shame, then how about a dance?"

"Sorry, but dances aren't really my thing."

The gentleman tutted her, "Nonsense, a beautiful dame like yourself must be as graceful as a rose."

"Are you making fun of me?" Ruby asked, glaring at him menacingly. Seriously, a rose joke? Kill me now.

"I would never! I merely intended that you must be—," realization dawned on him. "I am speaking to the Ruby Rose, and I am an idiot."

"You'd think all the red I'm wearing would give it away," she said sarcastically.

"Please forgive me, I meant no disrespect!"

"Alright, but I'm still saying no to the dance."

Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, the young man glanced at her shyly. "May I continue speaking with you?"

"I think I need some air, so I'll be stepping out now." Ruby smiled at him politely and made her way to the gardens. Jackass.

She walked aimlessly through the winter garden lost in deep thought. After her talk with Yang, Ruby couldn't grab a single moment with the heiress. The woman had been pulled left and right by servants, early guests, relatives, and her scroll. The blasted device was going off every minute with god knows whom on the other end, and Weiss was obligated to answer it no matter what. Even now, with the soiree in full swing, it seemed impossible to spend some time with her partner.

Ruby couldn't fault the guests, it was both Christmas and Weiss' birthday after all. She should have been happy with the fact that she had been invited this evening, but Ruby wanted to be greedy and have Weiss all to herself—even a minute would have been enough. Maybe.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, leaving a wisp of fog trailing behind her.

"You should come back inside," suggested a familiar voice, "you'll catch your death out here in the cold."

Ruby looked over her shoulder and blinked. "Weiss?"

"No, it's Winter—of course it's me! Who else did you think I was, you dolt?" the snippy heiress grumbled.

"Well you two and Eis did kind of show up in the same dress," Ruby replied with a nervous laugh.

A slight blush dusted Weiss' cheeks. "And that was extremely embarrassing. Honestly, how do three sisters manage to buy the exact same thing?"

"At least the shawl-thingies were different." Ruby looked away from the gorgeous angel in front of her and stared at the red twig dogwood shrub closest to her. "Yours was my favourite by the way."

"Thank you," Weiss said with the ghost of a smile on her lips. "I was debating on going with this or the white one, but I'm glad I went with this."

"Red looks good on you," Ruby intoned not realizing what it implied. "You wear too much white as is."

"I considered a white dress actually, but given how heavy the snow is this year I decided against it."

"Why?"

"A few years back, I went outside with my sisters. It was snowing gently from what I recall, and of course Winter just had to play in the snow. After Winter and Eis got their fill of silly winter frolicking, they returned to the mansion and I was left alone. I was literally sitting on that bench right there," Weiss pointed to a bench fairly close to the doorway, "when guards ran past me in a frantic search. I watched them curiously for a moment before calling out to one and asking why they were out there. Turns out they were looking for me."

"Can't blame them, you kind of blend in…"

"I know. I know."

"Why are you out here anyways?"

"I went after you," Weiss walked up to her partner and wrapped the satin shawl around her shoulders. "It's cold out here, you really should come back inside."

"Thanks," Ruby said pulling the fabric closer to her. "I'll head back in a bit, I just need to clear my head."

"Would you mind if I asked for the reason why?"

Shaking her head, Ruby flashed her a weak smile. "No, it's okay. It's silly anyways."

"Try me."

"Haha, you're being really pushy y'know."

"Well you're being stubborn."

"Weiss, I'll be fine. Your guests are waiting for you, it's not a party if the birthday girl is missing."

"Fine. But you better follow suit, or else I will personally drag you—"

"Go!" Ruby grabbed her partner by the shoulders and spun her around. "Go!" she exclaimed giving the heiress a gentle push. Sadly, she watched the woman of her dreams walk away without looking back.

The clock struck twelve and a chorus of singing voices serenading the Schnee twins began echoing into the night. Standing alone in the perennial rich garden, Ruby watched the festivities from afar humming along.

And as the final verse was picking up, Ruby quietly sang, "Zum Geburtstag viel Glück…"

"I don't appreciate being lied to."

Ruby shrugged. "Sorry."

"No, you're not. I demand an explanation."

"There's nothing to explain; I can't stand crowds."

"Then why did you accept my invitation if you were going to ignore me all night?"

"I—wait, what?" Ruby spun around to face her teammate, her face contorted with anger. "What do you mean I ignored you?"

"You've been watching me this whole time and haven't spoken to me once."

"That's not true."

"Coming up to me then running away when my scroll rings does not count as a proper conversation."

Ruby gripped the shawl tightly. "I didn't want to interrupt your phone call. I know how important you are."

"And you're not important to me?" Weiss asked back, pain etched in her turquoise eyes. "I invited you personally; I wanted you to be here with me."

"I am here, and so is Blake and Yang. Go team RWBY."

Hiding her burning cheeks behind a hand, Weiss averted her stare. "I meant that I wanted you... beside me."

"What?" Ruby instantly felt her mouth go dry.

"You heard me."

"I'm sorry, but it sounded like you said you wanted me to be there beside you." Weiss shyly nodded her head, not saying a word. "Did you mean beside you like a bodyguard or something?"

"No, you oblivious dunce! My invitation was for you to attend as my—you know what, forget it. Forget it! I seem to have read the signs wrong, and I refuse to make a bigger fool of myself than I already have." Weiss smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles in her dress and straightened her back. "If you'll excuse me, I have guests to entertain."

"You want me to be here as your what, Weiss!?" Ruby exclaimed in a panic as she chased after the flustered heiress. "Weiss, wait!" She reached a hand out and managed to catch the older woman's wrist mid-stride. "Please, I'm begging you… what did you mean by that?"

Weiss' back faced Ruby, heaving as she took in hard breaths. "What do you think?"

"I-It sounded like you asked me to be your date…" she replied whispering the last two words to herself.

"Yes, as my date. I'm not blind, Ruby. I know—I've always known."

"What?"

"Did you honestly think that I never noticed?"

"Weiss, what are you talking about? Notice what?"

Moving faster than the eye could see, Weiss closed the distance between herself and her partner. She grabbed the younger girl by the scruff of her neck and crushed their lips together. Ruby was in a state of shock, her mind completely blank. The cold nip in the air was long forgotten, and the warm sensation of Weiss' glossy lips on hers was all she could feel.

Slowly, the suddenness of the kiss faded away and Ruby began to reciprocate. She was nervous and didn't know what to do, this was her first kiss after all. Following the heiress' lead, Ruby did her best to contain her excitement. She had fantasized about this moment for so long and never in her wildest dreams did she expect it to feel this good—this right—but it did, and it was absolutely perfect.

Ruby melted in Weiss' arms, melding their bodies together seamlessly the white-haired woman deepened the kiss. Tentatively, Ruby nibbled on Weiss' bottom lip trying to signal her desire to go further; Weiss complied to the request eagerly. The redhead could taste it clearly now, the lip-gloss that coated her partner's lips was strawberry flavoured—her favourite fruit. The sweetness added a whole new level of excitement making Ruby crave more.

But to her dismay, Weiss pulled away.

"Forgive me for that, I couldn't stand it anymore." Weiss rested her forehead against Ruby's, basking in the girl's familiar warmth. "I've honestly wanted to do that for years, but you never made your intentions clear."

"So all this time, why?"

"Because I wanted to see how sincere you were with your feelings," Weiss explained. "I've known so many who expressed a fleeting interest in me, but that's all it ever was: interest. And while my affections for you are ardently genuine, they would mean nothing if you didn't show the resolve to stay with me forever."

"Weiss, forever is asking a lot."

"I know, and that's why I haven't said anything until now—I needed to make sure."

Ruby fidgeted against Weiss and bit her lip. "This is all a dream, isn't it? I'm going to wake up soon and you'll be gone."

"Stop. Stop that right this instant, Ruby Rose." The hold Weiss ensnared her young partner in tightened, making the girl's small shoulders shrink even further from the sudden strength she exerted. "I want you to realize that this is real. You are here with me, in my arms, where you rightfully belong. And when you wake up in the morning, I will be there. Beside you. And for every morning after that for the rest of our lives. That is, only if you'll have me."

"Weiss, I—"

"Answer me right now: do you love me?"

"Yes."