"I think we need a signal or something," Ruby said to Weiss one winter day as she climbed into Weiss's bed, intent on snuggles and warm beverage.

Weiss frowned, handing Ruby her hot chocolate. "A signal."

"Yeah! I mean... it's kinda awkward always pausing conversation to ask if I can touch you, and you hate being touched without someone warning you first, so... signal!" The redhead sipped strangely daintily from her beverage. "What do you think?"

"Is this going to be like one of Nora's signals?" Over the course of their first year and a half at Beacon Academy, the entirety of teams RWBY and JNPR had become very well acquainted with what Nora signals meant... strange and unrealistic sounds, sign language alphabets that probably didn't exist, and secret messages that made about as much sense as Jaune's theory that Yang was actually Sun Wukong's long lost twin, separated by time and social standing. Needless to say, Weiss, orderly and proper, was not a fan of Nora's signals.

"Nah. How about a wink? Or a double wink?"

"You mean a blink?"

"No, I mean winking twice. Wink wink!"

Ruby demonstrated and Weiss snorted at her girlfriend's excited antics. "Look, I just don't think it's going to work. My eye..."

That's the moment she realized what she said. Her blue eyes widened, then shut tight, blocking out the entire world... instead of just half of it.

Still, though she couldn't see, she knew the younger woman well enough to describe her actions in near perfect detail. First, Ruby frowned deeply, concerned. Then, she sat up a little straighter, Then, she took Weiss's hand in hers, and that was confirmed... Weiss could feel strong fingers slipping into her more delicate ones. The heiress opened the eye she could see out of and saw that Ruby was looking tenderly at her, cocoa sitting, forgotten, on Blake's bookshelf. "You said something you didn't mean to say," Ruby stated matter-of-factly, her face sweet. "You wanna talk about it or forget it?"

Weiss looked away. Of course she wanted to talk about it. Of course she wanted to forget it. Not like she could... the guilt was creeping in already. She looked away. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else. Ever."

"Promise!" Ruby chirped immediately. Had anyone else done it as she did, it might have come across as dismissive, but with the tall woman it only seemed eager to make her girlfriend a bit happier. It seemed pure and sincere.

Weiss faced Ruby and pointed to her sightless eye, with its long, pink scar. "See this?" she asked. It was a rhetorical question, but Ruby nodded anyway. "I got this on the day I got Myrtenaster the First."

"T-the first?"

"Well, yes, duh! Myrtenaster the Fourth would have been too big for my younger self."

"You're saying that the Myrtenaster you have now is your fourth weapon... and they've all been named Myrtenaster?"

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong with that? It's a good name," she said defensively, her expression daring Ruby to comment.

A year ago, Ruby might have backed away, but now the girls were older. The leader of team RWBY raised an eyebrow. "Tomorrow, we're going to have some words about this."

"Fine."

"Anyway, so your scar?"

"I wasn't always this graceful, you know. You have to be... trained to be ladylike. It rarely comes naturally. I was actually kind of rough and tumble as a kid. I was actually kind of like you." Weiss tried to smile. She had no doubt it came out a little sad. "My father and mother found fencing for me. It was an athletic yet noble hobby. However, I was neither athletic or noble when I was seven. I mean, I was a kid, you know?"

"So let me guess. You didn't respect your weapon and played around with it and got hurt?"

"I have a feeling you're getting close to breaking up with me on charge of mistreatment of weaponry."

Ruby smiled, an encouraging, soft smile that brought a blush to Weiss's cheeks. "You were a kid, so I'll let you off the hook. I've seen how you treat Myrtenaster the, um, fourth. It makes up for it, I guess."

A bit of sadness disappeared from Weiss's face, she could feel it. "You're right. I got myself injured. Not badly enough to cause much cosmetic damage, but the way that it struck me caused permanent sight loss."

"And so you're relying on your other eye. You don't have all the vision other people have, so a signal wouldn't work. I see." Ruby nodded.

All should have been worked out. After all, Ruby was taking this lovingly, caringly. Weiss was so broken... she couldn't be touched by most people, she hated loud noises, she couldn't even see properly and Ruby still cared for her this much. That was insane, illogical, and everything she could ever expect from such a dolt.

It made her break down.

"You can't tell anyone!" she snapped. "They don't want people like me in Beacon! People who aren't sharpest in every sense! They don't want a huntress who has to rely solely on one eye to see!"

"I think you're wrong."

Ruby's words brought Weiss to a halt. Almost. "You think... I'm wrong? Excuse me?"

"Weiss. Calm down. Look at yourself. We're halfway through our time here at Beacon Academy, and you're the smartest in our class. You do so well for yourself, and I'm proud to call you a partner. If anything, you should receive a metal for going through all the stuff you go through and still being this strong. It means you worked harder, longer, better, right?"

Weiss thought of all the effort she put in to making up for her handicap... into being the best she could. Not perfect, not yet, but maybe someday. "Yes. I would have anyway, though."

"All that training paid off. You're strong... you may just be the strongest person I know, in fact. Can't think of anyone stronger."

"What about Yang."

"Nope."

"Blake."

"Nope."

"Pyrrha."

"Nooooope."

Weiss's eyes narrowed again. "You've got to be joking."

"They're strong in their own ways. None of them deals with everything you do, and that's okay cause they're them! And you're you and I love you and I never want you to feel like you don't belong here, ever. You belong here." Ruby's eyes flicked down shyly. "You belong here, with me."

Weiss took a deep breath. "You're right."

"I am?"

"Stop sounding so shocked! Did your pep talk mean nothing?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean... you just admitted I was right?"

"Well, yes, you dolt! Even you get it right sometimes." She paused to let Ruby puzzle over how to react, then continued. "I am the Schnee heiress, and I do belong wherever I want to be. And right now, I want to be here at Beacon. Next to you. I really lo...like you, Ruby. You're a surprisingly good girlfriend."

"Thanks," Ruby said, having finally decided to accept Weiss's words as a compliment of sorts. "And if you find yourself worrying about your eye again, just remember that I've got two and I'll be eyes for both of us. That's what a partner does, right?"

Weiss paused for another moment. "Yeah," she said finally.

It had taken her a moment to realize that Ruby meant partners in the Beacon sense. For a long moment, she was sure that Ruby meant that she wanted to get married. A warm sort of buzzing seemed to fill her heart. That wouldn't happen. This was a relationship between two women who were barely adults, for goodness sake. These things never lasted; her father had always told her as such.

If they did, however... Weiss doubted she would mind.