Weiss sank slowly to the ground, her back to the door of the shower room. She felt utterly numb. How could she? After all this time, just when she was getting over her, she went and kissed her? What kind of sick torture was that?
Weiss could feel the hollowness in her chest returning, her feelings suddenly raw and fresh, like an open wound. She felt the brief heat of building tears just before they overflowed, her face still passive and calm despite her inner conflict. She tried to reason it to herself, that she had hallucinated, that it was just a dream or vision brought on by repressed emotions and lack of sleep. But she could still feel Ruby's perfect lips, pressing against her own. Soft, urgent, hungry...
Despite her immediate feelings to the situation, Weiss couldn't hold back the slight elation at this sudden turn of events. She had thought, during their time at Beacon, that she was being more than clear, what with her attitude, the way her eyes always lingered on her, the subtle hints she had dropped, over and over again until she was sure that Ruby was merely ignoring her, not wanting to upset her by turning her down.
She had been so sure that Ruby hadn't been interested that she went out of her way to try and pull some sort of reaction out of her partner.
Her sexual choices had always brought her to the attention of people like Cardin, who, shortly after finding out that fact, had gone out of his way to make her miserable. It was even worse when he over heard her talking about who she wanted to be with.
He had almost, almost, managed to reveal it to the whole school. Unfortunately for him, Weiss found out he was secretly a faunus fetishist, after snooping through his room. A locked trunk full of faunus porn and other, nastier things, had been enough to convince him to back off.
She had dated a large handful of other girls around the school, trying to get some sort of reaction from Ruby, anything, really. Few ever got serious, and only one had reached the physical high that was called sex. She smiled bitterly as she recalled her brief fling with Nora, the 2 of them having been drunk enough not to know or care what exactly they were doing, and Nora, either choosing to ignore it, or so drunk she had forgotten about it, avoided the subject on principle.
It had been bittersweet, excellent, exhilarating, yet hollow. They had avoided each other for a few weeks after the incident. Yang had always weeded through her girlfriends when she dumped them, nabbing the ones she wanted. There was probably a therapist in Vale making a lot of money off the girls she and Yang had gone through.
She grimaced as her thoughts turned to when her family had found out. Her father had called her back to the estate shortly after her graduation. He had said that, now that she was a huntress, she should be trying to protect the company, trying to find out who would take over beside her. She had misunderstood his meaning in the words, and had accidentally let slip her fixation on her partner, Ruby.
Her father had gone into such a rage, she was almost afraid he would attack her. He had had the audacity to ORDER her to stay away from Ruby, to find a young, rich, and smart boy who would take over with her.
Weiss, obviously, disagreed.
In short, she had told her father where he could stick the family business, then stormed out. He had been so furious, so angry at her at the time, she had gone slightly paranoid afterwards. It was rather ridiculous that she would fear her father, but all the same, she had seen to many good people turned to monsters by fear or anger. About a year afterwards, she had 'made up' with her father, although She knew now what lay beneath his calm demeanor. She winced as the look on her sister's face flashed in her mind.
She had been with another few since graduating, but those were merely attempts to drown her feelings for Ruby, instead of trying to get her attention. None of them ever worked, though she was actually trying. But life as a Huntress was often too stressful for those who didn't share it. And the other huntresses she had been with all had their own missions and lives, and without communications, long distance relationships never worked out. In the end, she had begun to resign herself to a life of loneliness, spent standing next to her fixation.
When they had finally left Beacon, she was starting to get over her. Of course, her feelings remained, and she felt a near physical pain every time she looked at Ruby, but she was beginning to know there was no place for her by Ruby's side, at least not as anything more than a friend. And yet, now, suddenly it was a possibility.
She stood, feeling an overwhelming sense of confidence at the sudden realization. She felt a smile tug at her lips, raising her hands and drying her eyes. She could hear, (barely) the sound of the shower being turned off. She stepped back, preparing to confront Ruby when she stepped out. She managed a genuine smile, ready to greet her friend, but fate had other plans.
The sound of the elevator opening not far to her right distracted her. JNPR, Yang and Blake stepped out of the elevator. Yang took in the look on her devastated face, then opened her mouth to ask the one question Weiss knew she didn't want to hear. But before she could, Ruby shoved the door open, slipping past Weiss, her face hidden from her as she slipped into the room across the hall, the door slamming behind her.
Weiss was abashed, trying to figure out what had gone so wrong so fast. Yang had clamped her mouth shut as she saw Ruby, but gave Weiss a hard look. Of course. Big Sis would automatically assume it was Weiss's fault. She sighed to cover her own gloomy mood, then said "I'm heading to bed too. If it's alright, Yang, would you share a room with me? I'd like to finish the paper work for the last assignment, and I think there are still some papers that need your signature."
Yang was already nodding, striding forward and latching on to Weiss's arm with a (some what) forgivable amount of force, steering her into the bedroom next door. As soon as the door was closed, she roughly shoved Weiss forward, saying "what the hell did you do? I've never seen her look that way. Even after dad died."
She flinched slightly at the memory, of the messenger finding them halfway through a particularly difficult assignment, giving them a hand written note from Ozpin himself, explaining how their father had suffered a heart attack. Ruby had been depressed, her usual animated personality crushed by the loss. She had always helped take care of her father.
Strong as he was, the poor man would lose his hands if they weren't attached to him. The family dog was with professor Oobleck at the moment, who had been more than happy to study 'such an excellent example of canine personality and exuberance' while they were visiting team JNPR.
Weiss straightened, saying "I didn't do anything, not this time."
"Then what happened?"
"It's a long story, or maybe not, but the short of it is that your sister just... she... well, she kissed me."
Yang was quiet for the moment, then her face contorted as she tried to express elation, confusion, and reservation all at once.
"And what did you do?"
"Nothing. I didn't know what to do. You remember i used to be all over her, but she never reciprocated. Well, I thought I was over her. Then, when she kissed me, it all came rushing back. I wanted to do something, ANYTHING, but I couldn't. So I sort of... left."
"What do you mean, you left?"
"I walked out of the room. I left."
"And you didn't think it would HURT HER?!"
Weiss flinched as Yang's voice shot straight up in pitch, the way it always did when she was either drunk, bordering on hysterics, or angry as hell. Weiss shook her head, trying to get a grip on the situation before Yang spontaneously combusted (again).
"I tried to go back in. I really was about to confront this, until you all came up in the elevator. You interrupted me, otherwise I would have followed Ruby. I want to tell her how I feel. But I... I'm not sure what to do. Please, help me?"
She felt surprise inside as she begged, but she knew there was no one better to ask. Yang had the most experience out of all of them with relationships. She, like her sister, was bisexual, but unlike her sister, insisted that anyone she laid her eyes on, anyone that caught her fancy, was going to be hers, at least until the novelty wore off. She had been with more people than even she cared to admit, including both Nora and Pyrrha. She had kept out of the immediate team for the most part, although there had been a small period of time that Weiss had seen her eyeing Blake.
Yang glared at her, but the hot glow that surrounded her cooled a bit.
She said "I'm not sure if you deserve my sister, but its obvious she wants you. Honestly, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out. Shes been throwing you the same flags you tossed at her since before graduation. I'd say the 2 of you are exceedingly unobservant. Anyway, the only thing I can tell you is that Ruby is probably really torn up after your reaction. that's the reason she shut down like that.'
"She did the same thing back in both Signal and Beacon. When you approach her, do it carefully, and be ready for anything. She could very well snap, and as you've seen, that isn't a pretty sight. She's spent most of her life hiding from or rejecting her feelings. Also, don't do anything tonight. If you try to fix this now, you will break her. She needs some time to cool."
Weiss nodded, then headed into the adjoining room to change. Though she had always felt comfortable enough around the whole team, changing in front of just one somehow sent shivers down her spine, and not the good ones. But as she was about to close the door behind her, she heard Yang call out, "and if you hurt her again, Weiss, by accident or otherwise, your future will get a whole lot more complicated than a few Grimm." Weiss swallowed hard at the threat, nodding even as she closed the door.
Yang waited till the door was closed, then broke out into a large smile. 'it's about time, little sis. You guys will work out just fine.' she turned and began to change.
Ruby sat on the bed, her forehead pressed against her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs, hugging them to her chest. She felt so hollow inside, like someone had taken out more than her heart this time. She couldn't believe she had lost control like that.
And she had kissed Weiss! KISSED her! She flinched as she remembered the way Weiss had frozen when their lips touched. How could she have been so stupid! And now, it was far more than just the rejection. After her stunt, how could she ever face Weiss again? And how could she deal with this... thing, inside her?
What frustrated her more than anything was that this was an enemy she had no idea how to fight. It wasn't like some monster she could just kill and it would be over. It was a constant, deep ache of emptiness that sent horrible shivers through her body. Few things could temper the feeling, and only one could make her forget about it entirely, and that was fighting an enemy, something that she could put at fault.
She could feel some emotion other than self loath pushing at her insides, and after a moment, she recognized it. It was anger, but she couldn't figure out what it was directed at. It was the same emotion that had filled her when she had looked into Weiss's eyes, anger, and just the slightest need to put her fist through a wall. She had felt it again when Weiss had come into the bathroom.
It had lead her to do what she did. When she kissed Weiss, it had been pushing her to do so much more, and she had had to fight it. Hard as it was, she had fought it. But she hadn't been able to stop it completely. She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she needed to talk or she might explode from the pent up energies inside her. She wondered if this was what her sister felt like when someone touched her hair.
Blake entered the room, an oddly thoughtful expression on her face. She took in Ruby with her golden gaze, but it was distracted, like she wasn't sure exactly what she was seeing.
She said "can we talk? Its kind of important."
Ruby managed to uncurl herself, nodding slightly. She could hold off on her own questions for now. After all, a good leader doesn't crack under pressure.
Blake sat at the edge of the bed next to hers, composing herself before saying "recently, I think I've come to realize something. It was back when we were attacked by those Beowulfs, and the realization that we could have died crossed my mind. I want to act on something, but I wanted to get your opinion... no, your permission, to do it."
Now Ruby was curious, and the slightest bit confused. Blake didn't usually ramble, and she was doing plenty of that now. "What's this about Blake? You can ask me anything."
Blake swallowed, nervous. Her face was reddening, and she seamed to be having trouble breathing. She said said "I would like your permission... and, if it's not to much to ask, your help... courting Yang."
A complex swirl of emotions raged through Ruby when she heard those words. Anger, resentment, happiness, sadness, loneliness, and dozens of others flashed through her like some obscene movie reel. She had to steady herself as she moved to the edge of her own bed.
Through clenched teeth, she managed "go ahead, but I can't help you." She stood before Blake could react, sprinted from the room, from the place where the universe was mocking her.
She managed to pull herself together, but by the time she had stopped running, she was outside, standing in the makeshift courtyard in front of the fortress's main building. She stopped by a pile of crates, waiting to be moved to who knew where, breathing hard as she fought the urge to howl at the unfairness of it all. Everyone, EVERYONE, had some one. Nora, Jaune, Ren, Pyrrah, Yang, Blake. Even Weiss could have whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
Yet she, lonely, socially awkward, bitter little Ruby, she was alone. She had had her fair share of dates in and out of beacon. Because of the fact that most had been scared off by Yang, except Velvet, who had left because it was difficult for her to be around Blake, Ruby had had very few relationships that had lasted longer than 3 months, and even fewer that had made it past the 'dating-friends' area. She remembered the fit Yang had had when she found out Ruby was no longer a virgin. They were still paying off their debt to that poor bar owner.
That being said, none of the people she had dated had ever connected with her on the level she had wanted... no, that she had Needed them to. Then, about a year before graduation, she had found her answer. Weiss. Weiss had always been cold, hard, more of a distant cousin than the sister Ruby had always hoped they could be. And yet, she held an undeniable attraction. Ruby had been fixated, fascinated. She hadn't been able to go a week without thinking "I wish..."
Weiss was always flaunting some new girlfriend about, as if she were trying to show the world that not only was she able to get almost anyone, she could do it in a flash. Ruby had tried several times to work up the courage to confront Weiss during those brief periods where she was without a girlfriend. But each time she finally found her voice, Weiss had found another one. When they had left Beacon and made the promise to stay together, she had assumed things would get better. But they got even worse.
Weiss was her usual self on missions, complaining, grouching about in an imitation of an Ursa that just came out of hibernation. Several times, when Ruby had finally gotten her alone, gotten the courage to say what she needed to, she made the mistake of looking into Weiss's eyes. They were often cold, dead, sometimes angry. back at Beacon, they had an edge to them, but not like this.
Not once had they ever been as inviting as they had during their first 2 years at beacon. And she noticed that a gap seamed to form after they left, growing wider in their time in the wilds. Ruby had eventually given up.
Or so she thought.
Something about seeing Pyrrha and Jaune together had sent her spiraling into an abyss that was forcing her to relapse. She deftly touched her lips, where Weiss's had touched, ever so briefly. It had felt good, despite it's utter wrongness. After an hour or so, she began the walk back. Fresh snow was falling, and she had left her cloak and hood inside. It was dark, and she shivered.
She had burnt out in her run, the energies falling away, leaving the ache. She felt both better and worse. The fire would be back, and she would have to do something when it did, but for now, she decided the best thing she could do was sleep.
When she got back to her room, Blake was asleep, one of her gushy romance novels clutched in her hands as her face made odd movements, living out parts of the book in her dreams. Ruby just lay on the bed and went to sleep. She would deal with it in the morning.
Weiss woke the next morning with a plan. She knew Ruby well enough to know that she would do her damnedest to avoid her after the kiss. Weiss shuddered slightly at the memory. The moment, the feeling, the view. She had to admit, Ruby had grown quite beautiful during their time in, and after, Beacon. She decided to make it impossible for Ruby to avoid her.
She woke 2 hours before Ruby usually did (on the off chance that Ruby had managed to plan that far ahead) and planted herself firmly in front of the door, planning to shove her way in when it opened, or bust it down if it didn't. Of course, there was only one way in and one way out, and Blake wouldn't take kindly to being kept prisoner, so it wasn't like the door could stay closed forever. She was still slightly mad about the whole ordeal.
After all, Ruby had been so tempting back then. Yang should have mentioned the mutual attraction to one of them if she noticed. 'I mean, we had been RIGHT THERE!'
She also felt slightly miffed about how Ruby had acted when they had kissed. She had looked almost furious, and Weiss had been able to detect the slight tremors of anger through her soft, comforting lips. It was almost as if she was holding back some sort of urge. Thinking on that, Weiss decided to keep her distance while she explained, lest Ruby be over come with some sexual fit. She smiled slightly to herself as she tried to imagine Ruby doing such a thing. Their shy, corner booth, mechanic leader being so brash. She decided that she probably wasn't in danger from such an act.
3 hours after she had first woke up, the door opened and a tired looking Blake stepped out, barely having time to register Weiss before she shoved past, then reversed direction, closing the door on her confused teammate's face. Blake stood there for a moment, baffled, then finally shrugged and headed down to the army mess hall, all the while trying to decide what to say to Yang. It was going to be a long day.
Weiss glanced around the room, freezing as she took in the sight. Like her own room, the beds stood on a slightly raised section of floor, against the far wall. A floor to ceiling window took up the wall, and through it shined golden sunlight, playing softly over the practical but lavish beds that usually held officers or people of importance. Now, one held a beautiful woman. Her sleeping face was soft and calm, the hard lines of battle, and the always changing signs of laughter and happiness gone, demolished in the moment of blissful sleep.
Her breathing was easy, and the whooshing of it, in and out, could be heard across the still room. She was curled slightly on her side, her hands palm up on her left. Her face was curled away from the curve, her mouth slightly open, just enough to let the breaths escape.
Weiss immediately thought of the fairy tail, the sleeping princess, and felt the urge she always assumed the prince must have, slowly approaching the sleeping beauty that was Ruby Rose. As she reached the slightly raised step, Ruby shifted slightly, rolling over onto her back, one hand resting against her chest, the other splayed out, finger twitching slightly.
Weiss froze at the change, but after a few minutes, it was clear Ruby wasn't getting up. She continued forward, coming to a stop on the left side of the bed. Ruby looked so fragile, laying there. Weiss, either caught up in the drama of the moment, or out of an actual feel for the story, (she wasn't quite sure, but thought, hoped, it was the later) gently repeated the line from the story.
"Feel my lips on yours, and wake, for we are one and the same with our love..."
And she leaned down and placed her lips gently against the soft curves of Ruby's. Of course, with their combined bad luck, Ruby's eyes fluttered open at the contact.
For a moment, she merely stared as Weiss continued, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling. Ruby was sure it was a dream. After all, it was picking up pretty much where her dream had left off. But then Weiss pulled away, her eyes still closed as she continued to feel the echos of her lips. Ruby placed her fingers against her lips, not understanding, not getting it.
But she had to make sure this was real. She stood quietly. Weiss's back was to a wall, and she pushed her lips against Weiss's, who's eyes were still closed. That changed quickly. Her eyes flew open, and she made a move as if to push Ruby away. But Ruby wouldn't have it. She wrapped her fingers around Weiss's wrists, pushing her backwards, till she was pressed against the wall.
The kiss had started out as romantic, but it was quickly building heat. Weiss struggled for a moment, but Ruby was stronger than her. And after a few seconds of that wonderful feeling, she didn't want it to stop. She could feel the heat, too, and stopped struggling. Ruby released her wrists, then wrapped her arms around Weiss's neck. Weiss's hands reached up, grabbing for her hair, which was still the same wolf-cut bob she had had in Beacon. After a moment, they had to break away, Ruby gasping for air.
She didn't get long though, as Weiss pushed back. Ruby, surprised, took a few steps back, tripping over her feet. She fell backward, landing on the bed, and Weiss, in her excitement, practically jumped on her. They continued where they left off, Ruby's hand traveling down her back to tug at the loose knots that held the back of Weiss's nightgown closed.
Weiss, realizing that, 1; she had lost control of the situation, and 2; she didn't even care anymore, reached behind her to help, starting at the bottom while Ruby trailed down from the top. There were only 5 knots, and their hands met at the last one.
Each moved a hand to the others face, and together, they pulled the strings apart. Weiss's night gown fell open across Ruby's chest, revealing her perfect porcelain skin, the only mar, her scar over her left eye. she pulled back, trying to gauge the expression on Ruby's face.
Her face held nothing but a healthy dose of lust.
Weiss's only remaining clothes were a light blue set of underwear, which should have made her quite beautiful, but which she now felt the immediate need to shed. She straightened, her movements becoming hastier as she struggled with the bra strap. After a moment of watching this with an amused expression, Ruby said "here," reaching up and unhooking it in a single try. The bra followed the nightgown, landing with a dull thump on Ruby's ample chest.
Weiss quickly shoved the clothes to the side, impatient to get Ruby's off. Ruby began to get pulled into the enthusiasm, struggling to help Weiss take off her night shirt. After a few seconds of struggling, it went the way of Weiss's clothes. Looking over each others bodies, they began to take in the subtle but defined differences between them. Ruby, having grown almost half a foot since school, was about a half inch taller than Weiss.
Weiss's body was less bony than it had been, filling out to match her devastatingly sexy legs. Her breasts had grown as well, but not by much. Her constant work, as well as her weapon preference, meant that her building had gone to slightly different places.
Ruby, on the other hand, had followed her older sister (sort of) in that section. Her breasts, which hadn't exactly been small in the first place, had filled out, and her insistence on wearing her corset often made it hard for Weiss to concentrate during a fight. She slept without a bra, and Weiss could see the hardness of her nipples, although that didn't stop her hands from seeing for themselves.
As her fingers gently curled around the soft skin, Ruby let out a low moan, her fantasies from Beacon, and after, having been nothing compared to the actual feel of Weiss's gentle, searching touch.
After a few seconds of this, Weiss once again placed her lips against Ruby's, feeling the perfect curves as the formed against her own. Ruby's hands began to explore again, trailing down the silky smoothness of Weiss's hair, which was outside of its usual clipped tail. She trailed down her back till they came to rest at the hem of her panties. Weiss's own hands were resting against the top of Ruby's sweat pants.
However, neither was quit sure what to do. There was a tender, romanticness to their current setting, and somehow, it felt wrong to violate that by going further. After all, neither of them had really been expecting this situation.
Before either could decide how to proceed, the door burst open, and Yang ran in. The 2 girls looked up, ashamed and embarrassed, but Yang didn't even bat an eye. She said "the camp is under attack. you're going to have to put that off till later, girls." she pried open one of the equipment lockers as the partners scrambled to their feet. In one hand she already held Myrtenaster, and she grabbed Crescent Rose out of it's sheath.
Once the others were presentable, she tossed them their respective weapons, and they ran out of the room. Ruby busted open a door to one of the rooms with a shattered window, and the girls looked out at the courtyard to the fortress.
Nevermores had swooped in, air dropping soldiers and small Grimm into the court yard. As they looked out, they saw one of the monstrous birds go down as a missile fired from one of the automated defense guns struck its flank. Yang saw Blake down among the troops, and jumped from the third floor window, landing beside her. Weiss turned to Ruby, about to say something, but suddenly found herself being kissed... again.
This time, it was quick, and as Ruby pulled away, she said "come on. we can talk after." She jumped out the window, Crescent Rose unfurling beside her as she crashed down on top of a Deathstalker that had broken through the weakened section of wall.
Weiss shook her head ruefully, even as she followed suit, thinking 'of all the people in all the world, Ruby Rose, I fell in love with you.'
