Ruby took a deep breath, letting the rich scent of her hot vanilla latte fill her senses. For a split-second, all was calm. The background noise of the Starbucks she was in was less than noticeable, the air conditioning felt fantastic, and she was just lifting the coffee to her mouth to complete the moment when it was all shattered.

"So what flavor of coffee did you get friend! Is it chocolate? Strawberry perhaps? Or maybe you went with vanilla?"

Ruby took a deep breath and an even deeper gulp of her coffee, ignoring the way it burned down her throat. She set the drink down on the small two-person table in the corner of the room. "Yes Penny. It's vanilla."

"Ooh, I love vanilla! Did you know that vanilla comes from a vine-like orchid plant that only grows vanilla beans when the orchid flower is pollinated? And that Starbucks accounts for two percent of all coffee bean production worldwide? I find it quite interesting honestly, I think that the only reason-"

Ruby held up her hand. "Penny. Please. We've only got an hour left and my brain is fried. Can you just... keep the talking to a minimum?"

Penny didn't appear fazed in the slightest. "Whatever you wish friend. If silence is what you desire, silence is what you will get."

The orange-haired woman faced directly forward and stared at the wall. She brought her coffee to her lips and sipped, but made no other movement. She didn't even blink. Ruby completely at that moment understood why the other officers whispered about her being a robot.

She rested her head on her hand and focused on enjoying the silence. Or at least Penny's silence. There were still quiet conversations going on inside the coffee shop, but they were only background noise. Then she remembered she hadn't called in her break yet.

"Ugh, crap. I forgot to go code 7."

Penny still didn't move. Ruby frowned and thumbed her radio. "Dispatch, this is five paul fifty-one. Going code 7."

Some of the other patrons in the restaurant shot her glances, but she pretended not to notice. Being a cop meant she drew all sorts of attention when she was in uniform. Everyone looking at her probably had enough weed in their pockets to get them locked up for possession anyway, and she didn't feel like writing any more incident reports that night.

"Copy that five paul fifty-one," came the quiet voice from her radio.

Ruby sighed, looked down at her swirling coffee, then took another sip. It didn't invigorate her like it used to. Probably because she had practically binged the stuff for the past six months just to stay awake on patrol.

She looked up Penny, who was still staring dead ahead. "Penny, you can talk again," she muttered.

Penny's eyes locked on to her. A grin immediately stretched it's way across the strange woman's face. It was almost creepy. "Thank you friend! I was wondering how long you would have me maintain my silence for this time."

"This time?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've done this before?"

"Yes, you had me do it precisely an hour and forty-eight minutes ago."

"Geez, maybe I'm actually losing it then. I don't remember that at all."

"Do not worry at all Ruby. It is just your overworked brain being unable to properly process and store all of the information your senses send it. Did you know the neurons in your brain-"

Ruby held up her hand for what felt like the fifteenth time that night. "Penny, can we just talk about something else?"

The other woman tapped her chin. "Of course! But hmm... what should we talk about? Maybe we can talk about the SWAT teams? They're so admirable and efficient and-"

"You're just saying that because they went and breached that house we staked out yesterday. And you're probably just butthurt that they wouldn't let us go in even though we were the ones that got the warrant."

"Butthurt?" Penny stood up, felt her rear end, then sat back down. "I'm sorry, but I assure you that my butt does not hurt at all."

Ruby chuckled and said nothing.

"So if not SWAT, what do you want to talk about?"

"I dunno really," Ruby replied, taking another sip of her coffee. She grimaced. It was already half empty. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Well..." Penny suddenly lit up like a light bulb. "Oh! I know!"

"Yeah?" Ruby drawled.

"Yes! Who are you taking to the ball?"

Ruby jerked, almost knocking her coffee off of the table. "W-Wait, the ball? Is that soon or something?"

"Did you not see the posters silly? It's in a month! They're already selling tickets actually. This is going to be my first one! I've heard these types of social functions are quite enjoyable and allow for proliferous social interaction, although I must admit I am still nervous."

Ruby's mind was racing. "Yeah... it's gonna be my first one too..." she muttered.

"I know!" Penny exclaimed. "You can take me! We can go as partners and friends!"

Ruby exhaled. "I'm sorry Penny. You're an awesome person and all and I've love to go with you, but I've already got someone in mind."

Penny's expression turned quizzical. Ruby tried to pretend she hadn't seen a glimmer of hurt in her eyes. "Really? Oh, is it that woman you started living with two months ago? Are you taking her?"

Ruby's thoughts turned to Weiss, and before she knew it she was smiling. "Yeah. Yeah I'm gonna take her. I mean if she says yes of course, I don't know if she'd want to go to this kind of thing, or if she'd even want to go with me, oh and then we'd have to find a dress, and like are we going as friends or something more and I don't know, but I don't know if I should ask her because-"

"Friend Ruby, please cease your monologue."

Ruby felt something warm on her hand, and saw Penny's resting gently on top of it. She thought of how she had done the same to Weiss and it felt unfaithful somehow, so she flashed Penny a brief smile but then pulled her hand back. "Ugh, sorry. I just – I don't know where she and I stand. I mean..."

"Well do you like her?" Penny asked.

Ruby stared into what remained of her coffee. "I... yes. I like her a lot. Romantically and stuff. I get this crazy warm feeling when I'm around her and my throat starts choking up. It's weird and I don't really like it, but I like her so..."

"Simple then. Just ask her. If she likes you too she'll say yes. If she doesn't, she'll say no. Your problem is solved either way!"

Ruby dropped her head into her hands. "Penny, it's not that simple..."

"Is it not?"

"No," Ruby muttered.

"Ruby, my friend, you are simply making it difficult."

The brunette sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "Fine, whatever you say. Ugh, I still have to go to the bank when our shift is over before I can go home."

Home. When she had thought of returning home about three months ago, it was only a place to rest before she found herself at work again. It was simply a place to lay her head, nothing more. Home meant loneliness and boredom. She hadn't liked going home. Now things were different. Now, going home meant seeing Weiss. It meant that fluttering feeling in her stomach, that warmth in her chest. It meant smiling and laughing and spending time with the woman she cared for most in the world. Going home was something she actually wanted to do now.

"Ruby? Friend Ruby?" Penny was waving a hand in front of her face.

Ruby jolted again, and this time she actually did knock over her coffee cup. Thankfully it was empty this time around. "S-Sorry. Man I don't even know where my head is today."

Penny cocked her head to the side with a confused expression. "On top of your body?"

Ruby chuckled. "That's not what I meant. Anyway it's almost been thirty minutes. We should get back on patrol for our last half hour before we head back to the station."

She stood up, and Penny followed suit. As they walked towards the trash to throw away their cups, Penny turned toward her. "Ruby, you never answered my question. What do you need to do at the bank? You normally just head straight home, so this deviant behavior is strange for you."

Ruby sighed and tried to remember that while with anyone else it would be prying, Penny was simply naturally curious. She cut the other woman an according amount of slack. "Let's just say someone left me some money. An inheritance kinda. I'm just gonna talk to the bank and find out how much it is."

"Oh, well that's interesting," Penny replied. She held the door open for Ruby, and they exited the coffee shop and headed out into the too-bright dawn towards their police cruiser. "Was it a close relative? You never talk about your mother actually, was it her?"

"Nah," Ruby lied, feeling a sharp pang of hurt at the mention of her mother. "It's just one of my distant uncles."

Ruby pushed the key into the slot, turned it, and pushed the door open. Weiss was waiting on the other side, tapping her foot with her arms crossed.

Ruby froze. "Uh... hi Weiss? Is there something you wanted?"

Weiss glared at her, and Ruby shrunk back. "You leave mess. In living room. Chinese delivery boxes everywhere. I tell you again and again, clean clean clean. You want us to get ants? Because that's how you get ants."

Ruby grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Eh heh, yeah I honestly just forgot before I left for work..."

"You pass right through living room on your way out of apartment!" Weiss exclaimed. She was blocking the hallway, refusing to let Ruby pass.

"Weiss, I'm sorry okay. I really didn't mean to. You know me, sometimes I just forget stuff."

Weiss had been opening her mouth to respond with something undoubtedly snippy, but Ruby stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug before she could. "I missed you," Ruby muttered.

The snowy-haired woman's arms, which had been in the process of raising themselves to point at and reprimand Ruby, fell to her sides. Then, slowly, they raised back up and wrapped themselves around Ruby's waist.

"I miss you as well. Idiot."

Ruby giggled and released the other woman. "Nice to see you too. Aaand I've got good new. Wanna hear?"

Weiss gazed at her, looking equal parts suspicious and apprehensive. "Good news? Since when do you come with good new?"

"Since I checked into how much my mother left me."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Is it large sum then? Or small."

Ruby smiled, wide and effusive. "Can you say thirty-two thousand dollars?"

Weiss stared at her for a second, and then her eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

"Do you know how much that is?" Ruby laughed.

Weiss nodded. "I studied much when I was growing up. I still remember conversion rates... Ruby, that is almost two million rubles."

Ruby laughed again. "Rubles? Seriously, is that Russian money is called? Rubles, ahahaha!"

Weiss chuckled. "Yes, Rubles. Sounds like your name, I understand."

Ruby looked up at the ceiling for a second, then back down at Weiss. She placed her hands on Weiss' shoulders and stared her dead in the eyes. "Weiss. We're gonna be just fine. For a long time. You don't need to worry about finding a job anymore. We can wait and get you citizenship, we can figure everything out, it's fine. We've got time now."

The other woman stared back at her for a second, and Ruby thought she saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes. Then Weiss rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her with a strength Ruby didn't know she had.

"Whoah," Ruby squeaked. "You okay?" She returned the embrace.

"I am... I am fine," Weiss whispered. "Thank you. So much. For everything you do for me."

"It's no problem at all," Ruby whispered back.

She felt herself on the verge of admitting why she did it all for Weiss, why she went above and beyond for the other girl, even to the point of finally facing the demons that thinking about her mother conjured. But the moment passed, and Weiss released her. All the same, it was an uncharacteristic display of affection for the white-haired woman, and Ruby was happy. All the worry she had held about the future dissipated, and she could truly smile again.

Weiss turned away and gestured towards the dinner table. "I made you pelmeni. I tried using different spice this time. I hope you like."

Ruby left her work bag by the door. She followed Weiss to the table, sat down, and picked up a fork. "I'm sure I'll love it."

It smelled slightly different, but upon tasting it she found that it was even more delicious than before. "Holy cow Weiss," she mumbled through a mouthful of meat and dough and spices. "This is amazing!"

The other woman smiled. "Good. I am glad. But you are still talking with mouth full."

Ruby snorted and continued eating, and Weiss simply watched her with a patient smile. Conversation started between them as they always did. It never mattered what they talked about; she just liked talking with Weiss. They talked about Ruby's day, Weiss' day, new recipes for food, what they would need from the store. Simple domestic things. Things simple enough to make Ruby smile.

When Ruby finished and put her fork down though, she realized the time had come to ask Weiss the question that had been sitting in the back of her mind since her conversation with Penny.

She cleared her throat. "So uh, so Weiss. I uh... I had something, I mean I have something to ask you."

The snowy-haired woman raised an eyebrow.

"So every year the department has this big ball. Like a dance. You know what that is right?"

Something sparkled in Weiss' eyes, something eerily like a glimmer of recollection and memory, but the other woman simply nodded. "Yes. I know what a dance is."

"So... the dance for my department is coming up in a month. You can go by yourself or you can um, you can bring someone else."

Weiss was silent. Ruby gulped and pressed on.

"So like... would you? I mean would you want to come with me? To the dance I mean, like as my d- partner. My uh, guest." Ruby coughed and tried to cover up the fact that she had nearly asked Weiss to be her date.

Weiss' brow furrowed in skepticism. "You want me to... accompany you? To this dance? You would bring me?"

"I mean like not if you don't want to! I mean Penny asked me and I could go with her if you don't want but-"

Weiss' eyes narrowed at the mention of Penny. "Yes! Yes of course I go with you," she interrupted.

Ruby was momentarily taken aback at Weiss' raised voice. "Um... yeah! Awesome! Oh man, we'll need to get you a dress and stuff - don't worry I just wear my dress uniform - and I'll buy the tickets tomorrow as soon as I get to the station but... wow. Wow, you'll actually come with me?"

"What makes you think I wouldn't?"

"Um... I mean I'm just me. Like I'm just Ruby. I'm not that cool or anything and no one's ever come with me to a dance before so..."

Weiss smiled gently. "Then I will be your first. I have... experience in these things."

"Wait you know how to dance too? Where did you learn all that stuff? In Russia?"

"Yes," Weiss answered perhaps too quickly, and Ruby could tell that the topic was closed. She knew not to push.

"Okay. Wow, this is awesome. I'll um... I'll go get some sleep. I've got work tomorrow so I, well yeah. I need to sleep."

Weiss stood up, taking the plates with her. "Okay. Goodnight Ruby."

Ruby smiled at the other woman's retreating back. "Goodnight Weiss."

She made her way down the hall to her room to the sound of Weiss washing the dishes under the sink. The length of the day hit her, and she struggled out her work clothes and into her pajamas. She flopped down on the bed, not even bothering to try and burrow into the covers. She was asleep within seconds. But it was far from a peaceful sleep.

She woke suddenly, clutching her sheets tightly in her fingers. The dream still felt real, and it took her a second to realize where she was. The room was cool and quiet and dark, and the only noise was the steady whirring of the ceiling fan. She had thick curtains on her windows to keep the midday sun out; they helped immensely. But the sensation that she felt the most was the pain. She could still feel the pain of her mother as a dull ache, as steady as the drone of the ceiling fan in her chest. She missed her so much. Lonely nights – or technically days – didn't help, even though Weiss was in the apartment as well.

She let out a long sigh and finally relaxed her fingers, then rolled over onto her other side and attempted to fall back asleep.

Several minutes passed. She grunted and rolled over onto her stomach. Several more minutes passed. She tried laying on her back. After about ten minutes of that, she even tried shifting so that her feet were by her pillow and her head was at the foot of the bed. Fifteen minutes later, she came to the conclusion that that wasn't working either.

She simply couldn't stop thinking about her mother. She couldn't stop missing her. After so many years she had expected to be over it by now, but the ache was still there, throbbing and burning like a brand in her mind. Long-buried memories were pulled to the surface, and she was forced to relive them over and over.

The sad ones were bad enough, but the happy memories were the worst. Because each time they ended, she would once again be faced with the bitter reality that she would never see her mother again. She would never get to tell her how her day was, see her smile, hear her laugh, taste her cooking, any of it. Her mother had been her best friend. And now she was gone, nothing more than a collection of memories that tormented her in the night.

She groaned and sat up, knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon. Groggily she pushed open the bedroom door, squinting against the light. She walked slowly down the hallway, and realized the quiet noises she was hearing were coming from the television. Weiss must be watching something.

Sure enough the white-haired woman was cross-legged on the couch, with her back straight and her posture somehow still elegant. She apparently hadn't heard Ruby coming, so when she plopped down onto the couch, Weiss shrieked and recoiled.

Ruby laughed even though her throat was dry. "Holy crap Weiss don't freak out, it's just me."

Weiss slapped her on the arm. "Idiot! Why did you sneak up on me! Do you want me to have heart attack?"

She smiled and winced; her eyes were still adjusting to the light. "Sorry. Honestly didn't mean to startle you or anything."

Weiss shifted and settled into a new position, straight and rigid against the back of the couch. Ruby found herself wondering if Weiss ever actually relaxed, and once again wondered why the woman was like that.

"It is fine," Weiss muttered, glancing at her sidelong with what could have been concern. "But why are you up? You should be sleeping."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Eh, it's nothing. Just having trouble with that. Sleeping I mean."

Weiss stared at her for a few seconds longer, but then nodded and looked back at the tv. Ruby didn't know why she was watching an old show like The Price Is Right, but she supposed it was entertaining enough. She settled into the couch and tried to let the mindless events on the screen absorb her attention.

Not thirty seconds had passed before Weiss spoke up. "Ruby?"

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Ya- yeah Weiss?"

"Is there something wrong?" The concern in her voice, even with her thick accent, was evident.

Ruby smiled and looked down at the floor. "Nothing really. Just my mom. Thinking about her and stuff."

"Would you tell me about it?"

Ruby snapped her head up and stared at Weiss. The other woman's face was open and honest, or as open and honest she could be with the almost-constant frown she wore.

"I mean..." Ruby sighed.

She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. She had to tell Weiss eventually. Yes it would be hard, yes it would be bringing painful memories out in the open and giving them form with words for the first time in almost four years. But if she wanted Weiss to trust her and tell her her own story, didn't she have to give Weiss that same level of trust as well? Her decision was made when she realized that.

"Well," Ruby started, "it's not really that long of a story or anything. It won't... I mean I guess it won't take too long."

Weiss picked up the remote and turned the television off, and silence filled the room. The sun filtered in through the cracks in the curtains and motes of dust hung in the rays, and for a second it almost seemed like time had stopped.

Then Weiss spoke. "I will listen to whatever you say Ruby. You can trust me."

Ruby smiled at her. "I know. Thank you."

Weiss' answering smile made her heart throb. "Okay. Well uh, yeah. So my mom. She was awesome. My best friend. She raised me on her own, cuz my dad walked out on us pretty much right after I was born."

She watched for any change in Weiss' expression while she talked, shooting glances back and forth between the opposite wall, ceiling, and the snowy-haired woman sharing the couch with her. She stopped when she realized she shouldn't have expected one anyway. Weiss' wasn't given to displays of emotion.

"So yeah. My mom was the coolest. She was a cop like me, and the whole reason I joined up. Even when she was tired after a long day she always made time for me. We did everything together. Went to movies, zoos, theme parks, even aquariums. You know the one we went to? "

Weiss nodded, still watching her intently.

"Eh heh, yeah, she took me there first. I still remember it. I think I was... eight? Anyway, she never got mad at me or anything. Sure she disciplined me when I did something wrong, but she was never harsh or unfair. And she always told me how to fix what I did. She was probably the wisest person I've ever met." Her words took on a wistful quality. "I loved her a lot. I still do really."

Ruby paused for the space of a breath. This was the first time in four years she had talked about her mom. And this was certainly the first person she had ever told about what happened to her. She gulped and looked down at the floor.

"She was a cop, like I said. Not at my district, over at another one a few miles south. So one day she's doing a routine traffic stop. Some guy is speeding, going like sixty in a thirty-five or something. She pulls him over, walks up to the car, all that stuff. And he rolls down the window, shoots her, and just drives off."

She paused again. Her voice was quieter the next time she spoke. "They told me she died instantly, but I doubt it. One nine mil round to the chest? You don't straight up die from that. Honestly she probably bled out on the road there for a while. No one got there in time to save her. That's the kind of danger I face in my job Weiss. It fucking sucks, but there are people out there who just hate cops and see us as nothing more than pieces of scum trying to oppress them. No matter where I go, there are going to be people who wanna kill me just because of the uniform I'm wearing."

She started laughing. It was either that or despair. "It was stupid, you know. She's just trying to do her job ya know, normal traffic stop normal day, nothing crazy. She just walks up and then bam! Just like that! Like what kind of fucking douchebag is just gonna shoot a random cop that pulls him over! Like maybe he had meth or prior convictions or a suspended license but…"

She found she couldn't laugh anymore. The pain in her chest was too much. "She sent me off to school that morning and told me that we would go and see some new movie when she came back. I don't even remember what it was. But that day I just – I just – she never came back..."

She sniffed and wiped at the tears trickling down her face. "Fuck. Fuck I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all emotional like this." She rubbed at her eyes. "Urgh. I hate crying. I don't mean to, really. My mom was just... she was just..."

Her breathing came in hiccups. "I l-loved my mom so much, and s-some random motherfucking piece of shit just shot her and took her from me and I – and I –"

The dam she had kept strong for four long years finally broke. And she broke down with it. Bending forward, holding her head in her hands, trying to keep steady as shuddering, wracking sobs shook her body. She didn't want Weiss to see her like this: weak and vulnerable. She was supposed to be strong. Like her mother had been.

The worst of all was the noise she was making. The television was off, so the only sounds were her broken cries and wails of almost animalistic pain and sorrow. She hated the way they sounded. She had almost forgotten Weiss was there in her struggle to get herself under control, but then suddenly a pair of thin, warm arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and gently held her.

Weiss pulled her close to her chest. She almost resisted for a single second, but then gave in completely. The other woman's warmth was a rescue, a lifeline thrown into an ocean of despair that threatened to drown her. She clutched onto the white-haired woman with every last fragment of her strength, burying her face in Weiss' shoulder and sobbing into it.

Weiss started to sing, a gentle, slow tune, and began rubbing her back at the same time.

"I'm sorry," Ruby hissed. "I'm s-sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Ruby," Weiss muttered. "It is okay. I am here. It will be alright."

Ruby clutched her harder and continued to cry. She lost track of how long she spent there, wrapped in Weiss' arms as she broke down every mental wall she had built between her mother and herself over the past four years. She hadn't even cried at the funeral. She had had to be strong then. There had been no one there for her but herself.

But now, now that there was someone here with her, someone who cared, someone who she knew she could trust... As her tears subsided and her body stopped shaking, she could somehow feel that the bond between her and Weiss was somehow much deeper than it had been. Weiss was special now. Weiss was the only person that had ever seen her open and vulnerable. And instead of taking advantage of her, the other woman had simply held her close and whispered to her that everything was going to be alright. She knew she could trust Weiss now, fully and completely.

The tears had stopped, but Weiss still held her tight. Ruby didn't necessarily want to let go either, but she could feel the situation threatening to grow awkward. She gently pushed away from Weiss, sniffing and wiping her nose.

The snowy-haired woman watched her for a second, but then stood up and retrieved a box of tissues from the kitchen. She walked back into the living room and handed them to Ruby without a word.

"Heh, t-thanks," Ruby muttered, using a tissue to dab at her eyes. "Sorry about that. Honestly... honestly that's the first time I've ever cried about my mom. I dunno, I just feel stupid kinda. If I held it all in this long, why is it all coming out now?"

Weiss sat back down next to her. "I do not know Ruby. But it is good you let it all out. It can be... what is word, catharitic?"

"Cathartic," Ruby chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so. I think I feel better now."

Weiss simply nodded. An awkward silence fell, and Ruby tried to busy herself by wiping her nose with the tissues and trying to ignore the way Weiss was looking at her. It looked almost affectionate. But that couldn't be right. Weiss didn't think of her that way. She couldn't.

Ruby dried the last of her tears and yawned, and with the yawn came the realization that she was tired again, perhaps tired enough to go back to sleep.

"Hey Weiss?"

"Yes Ruby?"

Ruby blushed and looked down at the floor. "Thanks for that. It uh, it means a lot to me. Like that you were there. When I needed you and stuff. I'm um, I'm gonna go back to sleep. So goodnight."

Weiss smiled at her, but it seemed morose somehow. "Spokoynoy nochi Ruby. Is goodnight in my language."

Ruby grinned and made her way back to her bedroom, but instead of her mother, she simply thought of Weiss. Again she fell asleep as soon as she hit the covers, but this time she slept peacefully for the rest of the day.

And the next thing she knew her alarm was blaring, telling her to get up because it was time for work.

"Uggggh," she groaned. "Whyyy..."