"No, no, no..." I whispered to myself as I crumpled the sheet of paper and threw it to the other side of the bed, joining seventeen others. "That one was horrible." Picking up a clean sheet of paper from the massive stack next to me and taking a new pencil out of my case, I began to write again. I knew I was doing something wrong, but I just couldn't figure out what.

"Hey, Sis!" called a voice from behind me.

I jumped and quickly turned around, hiding the paper I was holding and hoping I wasn't blushing too much. A blond girl, two years older than me, was standing there with a massive smile on her face. "Yang! Why are you still awake? It's midnight!"

"Why are you still awake then, Ruby?" was the reply. I saw her gaze drift towards the crumpled balls of paper strewn around my bed. "Having trouble writing something, I see. Let me take a look."

"Yang, no!" I reached out to try and grab her arm before she grabbed one, but it was too late.

"Ooh..." Yang half-spoke and half-sang while a smirk covered her face. "Looks like someone's been writing love letters!"

I tore the paper from my sister's grip and ripped it in half. "Yang," I warned, "you had better not say a thing about this to anyone. Got it?"

"Of course, Sis. So, you want help?"

The question stunned me briefly. "H-help?"

"Yeah. Help winning over the boy you've got your eye on."

"Umm... sure..." I answered, hoping Yang wouldn't be able to figure out that boy wasn't the right word.

"Well, I'll have to see what you've been writing in order to help you." Seeing my furious gaze, Yang smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."

I glanced behind Yang, making sure that Blake and Weiss were still asleep, before choosing one of the remaining papers and handing it to Yang, hoping it would be one of the less embarrassing ones.

"Well, let's see here..." She took the half-crumpled paper out of my hands and began to read it before I had a chance to stop her. "I want to feel your Dust Rapier against my Crescent Rose..." Yang's eyes widened as she continued reading.

It was then that I realized I had chosen the MOST embarrassing one to give to her.

"Ruby, don't you think an innuendo followed by a really graphic page about the two of you having sex is a bit...forward?"

I nodded, knowing I was probably completely scarlet. "Yeah, I wasn't planning on using that one."

Yang looked over at me, her face only slightly red. "Ah, keeping it for personal business then, I presume?"

"Yang!" I resisted the urge to hit her. Suddenly, I realized something. "Wait... doesn't that one mention-"

"Your crush's lovely white hair? Deep blue eyes? Downright sexy legs? Yup."

I felt all the blood drain from my face as Yang continued.

"I think I know who it is, Ruby."

Fear gripped me as I tried to explain. "No, it's not please don't it's not what it-"

Yang chuckled. "What? You don't think I'd be angry at you over this, do you?"

I gulped. "I do... a little..."

"Well, I'm not, so stop freaking out, 'kay?"

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. "Thank you, Yang."

"It's not my job to say whether or not you should like someone. That's your responsibility, and yours alone. Although," Yang leaned closer to my ear and whispered, barely audibly, "she's a bit flat, don't you think?"

My face turned completely scarlet while I tried to decide on a reply. One of the ones that came to mind I instantly chose not to use, before coming back to it and thinking for a few seconds. After realizing that nothing could make the conversation more awkward than it already was, I decided to just say it. "Yeah, but so am I." I gestured down at my small chest to make my point.

"Well, compared to her, you're practically me." Yang put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

It was at that point that I remembered Yang could always find a way to make a conversation more awkward. Always.

"Yang!"

"What? It's true."

"Look. You said you could help me, so could you please help me?"

Yang looked genuinely apologetic. "Sorry, Rubes. I can tell how important this is to you, so I'll do my best to help you out. I'll need to see a few more of those letters so I can figure out what you're doing wrong."

Cautiously, I picked up a few more of the sheets of paper and handed them to Yang.

Unfolding them, Yang looked them over, her violet eyes intensely scanning each one in a matter of seconds. "Okay, found the problem."

"Um... is it bad?"

"Oh, no," Yang reassured me. "It's a very simple mistake. I've made it a lot myself."

I decided not to ask about the times Yang was writing love letters to other people.

"So, what's the problem?"

"You're trying too hard to be fancy."

"W-" I caught myself. I couldn't say Weiss' name out loud, just in case she woke up and realized what we were talking about. "She likes things that are fancy, though."

"She does," Yang admitted. "But just look at this." Showing me one of the letters, I saw a variety of short and long lines of text forming a crude flower. "You're trying to write a poem in this one, but you're trying so hard to make it look fancy you're not really saying anything."

I looked closer at my work to see what I wrote. "Flower, flower, your beauty is pure white, the snow is also white, and so is white chocolate, but they do not have your beauty, even though white chocolate is pretty tasty if you use it in cookies- I wrote that? For the love of the Nevermore, it's horrible!"

"Exactly." Yang handed me a blank piece of paper from the stack next to me. "Keep it basic. Don't go overboard with flower poems or get her with lust. Just be honest, and let Weiss make her decision."

"Okay, Yang. I'll try." I wrote down everything I felt for Weiss on the paper; her beauty, her amazing combat prowess, my thoughts the day I met her, everything. When I was done, I looked up and saw that I had been writing for an hour.

"So, how's this?" I asked, handing the letter to Yang.

My sister gently pushed my hand away before I could give her the paper. "This one's on you, Ruby. I'm sure it's good, but you need to try this yourself. Find a good time, and give this to her. If she says yes, great. If not, you're strong. You'll be fine. Right, Sis?"

I nodded. "Right."

"At some point, though," Yang continued, "can you write something like that first one you handed to me? Maybe one with me and Blake." She licked her lips. "Yeah, definitely Blake."

"Yang!" I somehow quietly shouted again, trying to prevent my eyes widening at what Yang just said. "Are you being serious?"

"I'm just kidding, Ruby." Yang smirked. "Well, I'm kidding about wanting that story, but not about Blake. Not that I'd complain if you did write one for me." She lightly nudged me with her elbow.

I rolled my eyes in response.

"Ruby, it's the middle of the night and everybody else is asleep! Whatever this is, it had better be important!"

The night after Yang and I talked, Weiss had stayed awake for some reason, just standing in front of her bed, and I was too busy thinking about what Yang had told me to fall asleep. Everything had worked out nicely; all I had left to do was give Weiss the letter.

"...Here." I slowly took out the slip of parchment and held it out to her, hoping I wasn't shaking from nervousness. "I want you to read this."

Weiss took the paper from my hand, almost forcefully, and began to read it to herself. As she did, I saw her eyes widen and her face turn somewhat scarlet. "R-Ruby...this isn't a joke, is it?"

I shook my head frantically. "Of course not! How could I joke about something like th-"

"You dolt."

My heart sank, and it took everything I had to prevent tears from spilling out of my eyes. "I-I'm sorry, Weiss... just...pretend this never happened." I turned around and began to walk away, when the angelic voice of the girl I liked sounded out behind me.

"What took you so long to say this?"

I shook myself out of my depressed stupor and turned around. "Huh?"

"It's been months since we arrived, and you say here you've been feeling this way the WHOLE TIME? Why didn't you say something?"

"Well, I was nervous, and-"

I was cut off by something pressing against my mouth. Looking forward, I saw it was Weiss' lips, locked with mine.

I was shocked, but not upset. Letting myself melt into the kiss, I wrapped an arm around the pale girl's body while she wrapped one around mine. We held like that for at least a minute before we broke the kiss and Weiss gently pushed me backwards.

I landed on Weiss' bed, and Weiss herself shortly followed. I embraced her, as she did with me, and we lay there for several blissful minutes.

"You know," Weiss mumbled to me, "Yang told me earlier today that if I stayed up late, something would happen."

"She did?"

"Yeah. I think she figured out I had feelings for you, and knew you were going to share them tonight."

It was then that I realized what Yang had done.

"I really like you, Weiss," I whispered.

"I like you too, Ruby," was the reply.

As Weiss' breathing eyes closed and her breath evened out, I shot a glance towards Yang's bed. Two open eyes greeted me.

"Thank you," I mouthed at her. "You're a great sister." I decided to tell Yang the next day that I just might repay her with that story about her and Blake after all.

Seconds later, I fell asleep in the arms of the girl whom I had just said that I liked in what was possibly the biggest understatement I had ever made.

Just before I did, Yang winked.