Ruby sipped her cup of coffee gently before setting it down and picking up her pencil. It was made with a cream and five sugars, just the way she liked it. She thought about taking another quick sip before getting back to studying, but shook her head and decided against it. She always had trouble focusing when she was studying alone. Fortunately for her Weiss had kept true to her promise to be the best teammate ever, frequently helping her to study by keeping her focused and on track. At the moment, though, Weiss was taking a quick bathroom break.
Ruby sighed and let her mind wander a bit, resigning herself to the fact that she would just have to wait a couple minutes for Weiss to get back before she could really study again. She leaned back in her chair and stretched, her eyes resting on her coffee again when she looked back down. The dark, creamy liquid had gotten her through many late nights in her time at Beacon. While she was partial to the delicious combination of sweet bitterness, her sister favored a different drink, so sweet that it almost tasted bitter. The blonde liked her energy drinks, though Blake would often chastise her for how unhealthy they were. Despite this, Yang would always show up to every study session with at least four energy drinks. This would earn her a huff and an exasperated sigh from her partner, who was only worried about Yang's health.
Blake herself preferred a much more tame and relaxing drink. The dark-haired beauty would often have a hot mug of tea by her side, whether she was studying with Yang or simply reading for her own leisure. Ruby wished she could drink something more healthy like Blake, but she simply wasn't capable of staying awake on late nights without the aid of her dark roasted friend. At least she wasn't the only one. Everyone's favorite snow angel also chose to partake in Ruby's drink of choice. As Ruby smiled and thought about how getting her coffee was the first nice thing Weiss ever did for her, she realized she had no idea how the ice queen took her coffee. Weiss always insisted on making coffee for the both of them whenever they studied together, saying it was the least she could do for her fearless leader. While Ruby didn't mind the teasing, she wished Weiss would let her make the coffee every once in a while. Ruby decided that next time she would surprise Weiss by making the coffee before she got a chance to, just as a little thank you for all the effort Weiss had been putting in to help make Ruby's job easier.
First though, Ruby had to find out what kind of coffee Weiss drank. She couldn't ask her, it wouldn't be a very good surprise then, would it? Ruby eyed Weiss's mug carefully, debating on whether or not it was a good idea to sneak a quick sip. What could it hurt, really? It was for Weiss's sake, after all. Ruby took a quick glance at the bathroom door, making sure Weiss wasn't about to come out, before she quickly picked up Weiss's mug and drank the tiniest bit she could. As soon as the liquid hit Ruby's tongue, her eyes widened. This was...
Suddenly Ruby heard the bathroom door open, and swiftly set the mug down and placed her hands in her lap. Weiss made her way back to their shared desk and sat down.
"Sorry about that. Now, where were we?" Weiss looked over at her partner to see a very suspicious scene. Ruby was sitting straight up, her back rigid, both of her hand planted firmly in her lap. Her bottom lip was curled under her top, and she was blushing. Most suspiciously though, was the fact that Ruby wasn't even looking at Weiss, rather she was staring straight ahead.
"Ruby?" Weiss prodded. "What's going on? What did you do?" Weiss was starting to get a bit angry with her leader. Ruby knew she couldn't tell Weiss what she did, for her partner's own sake, but she was terrible at hiding things. Her eyes flickered in front of Weiss, only for a moment, but Weiss was perceptive enough to catch where she was looking. She followed Ruby's gaze and arrived at her mug. Weiss's blood went cold.
"Ruby..." Weiss looked back at Ruby to see a glint in the younger girl's eyes, as she flashed Weiss a mischevious smile.
"I always thought you drank coffee like me, Weiss. I had no idea your drink of choice was-" Ruby was suddenly cut off and Weiss placed her hand over the brunette's mouth and shushed her. Weiss glanced over at the sleeping figures of their teammates, making sure neither of them were aware of what was going on. Ruby couldn't help but giggle underneath Weiss's hand. Weiss blushed and attempted to scold Ruby, but it was a lost cause.
"Why on earth did you drink from my mug, Ruby!?" Weiss exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Weiss, but I just wanted to do something nice for you! You always make the coffee and I wanted to surprise you by doing it myself for once, but I didn't know what kind of coffee you drink, and, well, now I know you don't even drink coffee-"
"Shush." Weiss said, placing her finger over Ruby's lips. Ruby let out a small giggle once more before falling silent. Weiss closed her eyes in exasperation, before looking Ruby in the eyes. "Okay, you know my secret. I've always liked drinking it, ever since I was a little girl, but I never wanted anyone to know. I was afraid you all would think it's... silly."
Ruby took Weiss's slender hand in hers and quickly shook her head back and forth. "Oh Weiss, no! I don't think it's silly, I think it's cute!" Ruby surprised the heiress with a tight hug, catching her off guard.
Weiss awkwardly patted Ruby's back for a moment before speaking. "...Be that as it may, I'd still appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone, okay?"
Ruby pulled back and put her finger to her chin in thought. "Hmm... on one condition."
Weiss winced and swallowed hard. Knowing Ruby, this could be anything. "What's that?"
Ruby's face lit up as she grinned from ear to ear. "You have to let me make our drinks when we study together from now on!" she said with a giggle.
Weiss closed her eyes and smiled to herself. Leave it to Ruby to think of such a selfless condition. "Alright Ruby, deal." Weiss held out her hand to shake on it, which Ruby took enthusiastically.
"Now, let's get back to studying." Weiss declared.
"Aww man..."
A few days later, while Weiss was preparing all of their books and notes for the study session they were about to start, Ruby smiled and hummed a tune to herself as she prepared their drinks. One cup of coffee with cream and five sugars for herself, and one cup of rich hot chocolate for the "frigid" heiress.