Weiss sat in a comfortable silence as she lounged on the couch of Ruby's hotel, her shoulders touching, just barely, Ruby's own as they relaxed.

It had been a long day. Between seeing Ruby again, convincing Blake to stick around and Yang to confront her emotions, Weiss was exhausted. And yet, it was a comfortable exhaustion. Things always were comfortable, even in chaos when it came to Team RWBY.

RWBY brought simplicity and shone a light in the darkness that was Weiss Schnee's life. Glancing around the room, Weiss smiled.

The room itself was simple. Just one double-bed, a couch that felt more like cardboard than cushion, and a desk with plenty of cracks. Ruby clearly was saving her lien with this room, and it was the exact opposite of the luxuries Weiss was given in Atlas, and yet, this felt so much better.

There was a lack of fear, pressure, and for the first time in months, Weiss felt she could be herself. She wasn't the heiress, the future CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, and certainly not a Schnee. She was just…Weiss.

Looking at her partner next to her, she couldn't help but smile, trying to ignore the racing of her heart as she stared Ruby down. She had grown, over the months: her hair, her muscles, as well as the aura she portrayed when in a room. Long gone was the child Weiss met at Beacon Academy so long ago; sitting next to her was a woman…and that realization did nothing to calm Weiss' beating heart.

Finding it time to stop the silence, sensing Ruby's energy would soon get the better of her, Weiss spoke.

"Where are the rest of them anyways? Nora, Jaune, Ren…and that uncle of yours?" she frowned slightly. Truth be told, it hadn't come to her mind beforehand – she never was quite as close to JNPR as Ruby was.

Ruby turned to her, making sure her attention to Weiss was shown, something that was appreciated. "Oh, right! Guess I missed that part of the explanation," she laughed, tucking some of her ever-growing hair behind her ear. "I'm not entirely sure, but we've been covering some leads on Salem. Jaune had a contact from his family, Ren and Nora are talking to the local authorities, doing some espionage when needed, and Uncle Qrow is setting up some meetings with the headmaster of Haven. I was about to do some work myself but I had some repairs to be made and then…I ran into you…which was…more important,"

Ruby mumbled the last bit, flushing lightly, looking away long enough to miss the tint of red flashing across her partner's face as well.

Coughing slightly she looked back up, hesitantly. "But…that's not that important. What exactly have you been up to, Weiss? I mean, I know you were with your father and—"

"Ruby." Weiss cut her off, tone cold, although her eyes betrayed her pain. "We don't need to talk about it. It's not important."

A flash of hurt appeared in Ruby's eyes, making Weiss' stomach coil in on itself. Hurt was always the last thing Ruby deserved, especially after all she went through.

However, a moment passed, and passion surged through her partner once more. Weiss could always tell – the way Ruby sat up straighter, her eyes gleaming in the light.

"You know…" she smirked, making Weiss freeze. "This whole 'best teammate ever' thing goes both ways. You may be there to help me, but I'm just as much there for you. Keeping secrets won't help us, and besides…I'm no child anymore. I know I was sheltered, Weiss. I thought that bad things wouldn't happen to good people, and people let me believe it until it was too late. But now, I'm not exactly free from tragedy."

Her voice darkened, just slightly but enough that Weiss picked it up. "I know that things weren't great for you," Ruby continued, frowning slightly as she gently grabbed Weiss' hand. "You've mentioned your childhood and father before, and I won't ask for too many details, but please, let me in. You're my best friend and my partner. I'd do anything for you. Anything. So please, don't push me out."

Her speech finished, there was silence. Weiss knew she was right. Ruby was a balance in Weiss' life that she needed – and if there was one thing she felt towards Ruby, it was love and trust. She didn't want to bring Ruby into her own matters, even if they were seemingly over – she already was dealing with a war, she didn't need any additional stress.

But Weiss knew Ruby Rose, more than anyone except Yang, and this would eat at her. It would eat and eat at her until she did something drastic, and Ruby's drastic measures were never easy to deal with.

She sighed. "Alright. But Ruby, don't say I didn't warn you. I guess we'll start from the aftermath of Beacon…"

Ruby Rose did not anger easily. Things could be frustrating – like when she and Weiss were originally partnered, or Jaune wouldn't stand up to Cardin, among others. But she did not anger easily, and certainly lacked the temper that her sister and Weiss both carried.

Listening to Weiss' story, however, made Ruby angry.

It wasn't that it came as a shock. Ruby has suspected abuse for a while. She and Yang had stayed up plenty of nights, trying to discuss how to breach the topic.

Weiss' perfectionism, her barriers, her refusal to speak about her family, save Winter, were all red flags.

No, Ruby was not surprised. But she was furious.

"He…how could someone be so cruel?!" she nearly screamed, fists clenching the couch cushion hard. She took a deep breath, lowering her voice before looking up at Weiss. "Sorry. I just...you didn't deserve that. No one does, but especially not you."

Weiss shrugged. "It's nothing new. I was just a liability at that point, so I was tossed aside. Eventually, I was tired of putting up with it.

Her casual tone stung Ruby's core. She knew she wasn't hiding her feelings either. There was no tension in Weiss' body language, just tiredness and acceptance. It was unacceptable. Ruby knew Weiss had been trained to put herself down like that; to act like she truly was a liability; by her jerk of a father.

"Don't say that!" she stammered, trying to find the right words to express her feelings. "You're amazing Weiss! I mean, you're selfless and try your best, and you're super talented as a huntress! Plus you're beautiful and I don't think I've ever met a more caring soul than you," Ruby sputtered, flushing crimson, matching her partner as her flood of thoughts came flowing out of her mouth, out of her control.

"Ruby…" Weiss mumbled, looking anywhere but at Ruby, at that moment. "Thank you. Really. But, he's not entirely wrong. I mean…I wasn't exactly useful in the end. You got severely hurt in the Fall. I should've been there for you."

Ruby blinked. Was Weiss…blaming herself? "Weiss…no one could have known what was up there. I mean…trust me, I've relived that moment. A lot," she shivered, shaking her head to push away any intruding thoughts. "I made the call as leader. You listened. I would never blame you."

"I.." Weiss paused. "But you should."

"I'm just glad the person I love ended up safe," Ruby blurted out, jumping and covering her mouth immediately afterwards. "I-I mean, you're my best friend a-and I know not everything was great, b-but, um…"

Crap crap crap. Ruby thoughts were frantic. She pleaded to every god out there that Weiss misheard and that she did not just ruin her friendship just hours after being reunited.

She stared at her partner. Weiss' eyes were wide open, face bright red, any signs of her stoic partner were currently gone.

"I…" she began, biting her bottom lip. "Did you say that you were in love with me?"

Ruby could cry. "Um…possibly?" she mumbled. "I promise I wasn't planning anything! Please don't think this is weird because it just slipped out and I didn't actually want to say anything and please don't hate m—"

"Ruby!" Weiss let out a quiet chuckle, so calm and relaxed; making Ruby's heart race. "Calm down. I…feel the same,"

Ruby blinked. "Can you say that again?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Are you really going to be like this?"

"I just needed to make sure!" Ruby defended herself, finding herself leaning in closer to her partner. "This is serious business! I'm very serious right now. You're Weiss and I'm Ruby and I find it hard to believe that someone as amazing as you wou—"

She was cut off by the feelings of Weiss' lips on hers.

Oh.

It felt as if time slowed. When Ruby used her semblance, time always slowed down. She could sense everything around her. It was the best feeling.

Right now, she registered that time did not slow down, that the soft feeling of Weiss' lips against her own was going fast. But nothing felt better. This was by far, the best feeling.

Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Weiss' back, bringing her in closer, cherishing the moment until Weiss finally pulled away.

She lowered her head slightly, still maintaining eye contact with her partner, very aware of the lack of distance between them, and the goofy smile she now wore.

"You kissed me." She stated. "You like me?"

"I love you." Weiss replied, pulling away slightly, though she maintained her grip on Ruby. "I'm in love with you, Ruby Rose. I have been for a while. You bring out the best in people. You've taught me how to hope, how to care, how to feel again. The way you smile even in the darkest of moments, the way you give your all to everyone, it's my everything. You're my everything."

Ruby flushed. Weiss had always been better with words than her.

"I-I'm glad," she stammered. "I-I'm really really glad. You ground me, keep me going, and you're just…you're you and that's all I want. You're amazing Weiss, and I think I've been in love with you for a while."

She wrapped her arms around Weiss' neck, burying her head in her shoulders. "I've missed you. I don't know what's going to happen but…can we just enjoy this moment while it lasts?"

"I think that's the best plan you've ever given Ruby."

"I love you."