Chapter 14—Date-trimental

Weiss' pale form seemed so dainty in the morning light, a fragile little thing seemingly made of porcelain. While Yang snored loudly, sprawled across her bed from a clearly eventful night, Weiss breathed silently, body still as the moment she had fallen asleep, taking only light breaths to interrupt the motionlessness. Ruby had found herself awake early that morning, which was weird considering how late she had stayed up thinking even after they both had said goodnight. All the events of last night refused to digest and let her rest. The idea that Weiss liked her back was something Ruby had considered impossible, and in some ways, still did. What did she really have to offer the heiress, the girl who had everything? Somehow still, Weiss said she did, she kissed Ruby, a kiss that was still warm on the lips.

Sitting on the floor, Ruby mused at waking Weiss in a big hug, all just to force the poor girl to spend the morning with her. Sure, Weiss would yell, but as long as the crimson huntress could cling to her then by all accounts who cared? Though sleepy Weiss was a grumpy Weiss, so Ruby decided against it, letting minutes pass just looking over her. She was far too cute to disturb anyways. Knowing she could call her cute guilt free brought a wide smile to Ruby's lips.

"Hey, Weiss… it's Ruby. It's time to get up," Ruby whispered as she softly brushed Weiss' bangs, the girl's hand almost reaching out to trace the jagged scar across her sleeping partner's eye, but never daring to do so. 'Small steps, Ruby,' she told herself with a smile.

"Huh?" Weiss groaned as Ruby poked her cheek lightly, an extra motivator. The heiress' eyes clenched up before one finally opened, a bright blue to contrast with her pale face. "Ruby?" she let out in a small grumble. Slowly, her right joined her left, and those eyes stared back at the team leader. Weiss didn't seem angry, which surprised Ruby, the sleeping beauty more so confused as to what she was doing waking her up in the first place.

"Hi, Weiss," Ruby responded in a low whisper followed with a grin, "I know you hate the whistle, so I thought I'd wake up early and do something a bit more...gentle. Sorry." Ruby lowered her hand from Weiss' bangs to one of the girl's free hands, softly grasping on to it, starting a small blush that brightened the young huntress' cheeks.

"It's alright," Weiss said lightly, with a shake of her head. Ruby noted that she had not moved her hand away or flinched at the touch. "Do we have a weekend drill?" she asked, confused about weekend wake ups. Ruby felt a cool anxiety build in her; they had a mock battle today. In all the craziness of last night she had failed to mention it, or that it was team JNPR, or that she had no plan whatsoever on how to win.

"Kind of. Oh, and sorry about this," Ruby whispered with a nervous smile. Weiss was going to be mad. Letting go of her hand, Ruby pulled out her morning whistle and blew it hard enough that Blake nearly smacked her head against Yang's bunk. "Wake up call everyone!"

"Oh god, Ruby. Never again with that stupid whistle!" Yang shouted from above, curling deeper into her pillows. Ruby had no idea when the two had shown back up last night, but she feared the worst. Yang always was a party girl.

"Everyone, rise and shine! We've got a mock battle!" Ruby shouted back nervously, she could feel tense blue eyes firing darts at her from behind. As long as she didn't turn to face her though Ruby was safe. A Weiss you can't see can't yell at you, she thought to herself.

"It's Sunday, stop it!" Yang moaned, throwing a pillow into Ruby's face. The golden huntress buried herself under mounds of blankets, hiding from the world.
"I forgot we had weekend drill." Blake was a bit more graceful sliding out of bed. She was clearly exhausted from the night before. Ruby thought of asking what their night entailed, but she knew she was better off not knowing. Still, an exhausted Blake and maybe hungover Yang did not sit well

"Wait! We have a combat test?!" Weiss shouted from behind Ruby.

"Yeah, I kind of forgot to tell you. Today's our mock match against JNPR," Ruby explained, hands firmly planted on her hips, feet dug into the ground, and smile on her face, but never ever daring to turn and face Weiss. Yep, she was content to sit firm and play it off like nothing.

"Tell them no," Yang shouted even louder from her blanket tomb. Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder, dainty and delicate. For a moment at least, that little hand spinning Ruby right around to face the dorm demon, accompanied by glare that could break men.

"Why did you wait until today to mention this?" Weiss Schnee did this adorably terrifying thing from time to time where she yelled without ever really yelling. Instead, it was a shrill sort of clenched anger that bordered between her speaking voice and shouting.

"Well, all things considered, I hope you understand I was a little preoccupied," Ruby responded with an awkward laugh. Staring into the eyes of fury she didn't feel as scared as normal. Instead, she smiled, happy to see Weiss being herself. For a moment Ruby considered kissing her. Maybe Weiss could see the idea in Ruby's expression, because she took a step back and shook her head in disappointment.

"You're still an idiot," Weiss whispered to Ruby, taking a deep breath. "Alright, you heard her, get up ladies!"

"Just tell them no!" Yang groaned into her pillow, looking like a ball of cushion, sheets, and golden hair.

"Come on, get up," Blake called, ripping the sheets away from Yang, poor girl grabbing back at them in a panic.

"I don't wanna!" Yang yelled, the flush of cold air sending the girl after her stolen blanket like a little kid.

"But we have to. It's not their fault you don't know when to stop," Blake responded, annoyed, but Ruby could see her grin as she ran back and forth through their tiny dorm. Finally Yang bolted at Blake, tackling her and the blanket to the floor. Ruby and Blake laughed, Weiss scoffed, but Yang wrapped herself back up in her prize.

"It was all for Ruby, you can't be mad!" Yang mumbled into her comforter, laughter went dead and both Blake and Yang's eyes snapped onto Ruby. "Speaking of which!" Yang shouted. In a flurry of movement that Ruby thought impossible of Yang in her current state, she grabbed her sister, tossing the two of them into the bathroom and snapping the bolt on the door shut.

"So, how did it go?" Yang asked in a hushed voice. Back against the wall, she had Ruby captured like a fox in a trap.

"How did what go?" Ruby asked, feigning innocence until the dizziness settled down. The morning had been so pleasant, only for the huntress to find herself locked in a closet with her sister, ripe for interrogation. Maybe they should have just slept in and taken the zero. Weiss would have murdered her, but only when she found out.

"Really, sis?" Well, it was worth a shot at least.

"Well, umm, we went out and, uhh, the club thing didn't work till Weiss ended up taking over and then we… Look, let's talk about this after all this," Ruby said, trying to work her way around Yang and to freedom.

"Did you get the goods? Come on, sis, I've got bets to settle!" Yang shouted, cutting Ruby off at the door.

"You have bets?" Ruby shouted back. Suddenly a loud smash on the other side of the door shut them both up.

"Dunce and dunce junior!" It was Weiss knocking. "Gossip on your own time! We have a match to get ready for."

Ruby h ad predicted a short battle having been completely unprepared for JNPR, and sure enough it ended quickly. Both teams being at the top of the freshmen leaderboards, though occasionally dethroned by Velvet and her crew, meant team JNPR and RWBY were matched up constantly, mostly to decide the top spot between Yang and Pyrrha. Both were considered the MVP of their respective teams, but Ruby was always concerned more about Jaune.

Jaune was JNPR's team leader, but often was viewed as a weakness to the team. Thing was, while Jaune stayed out of heavy combat, he was not half bad at fighting, and more important was how he led. The kid seemed a bit awkward in person, but he was surprisingly sharp. He could feel out how to turn the tides in battle or direct his team to max potential. He guaranteed that if the match lasted long enough they would win. He knew RWBY's weakness was losing momentum,that they had high offense but only Weiss was gifted in defensive fighting.

Removing him in a battle was key; it would leave the rest of JNPR without any coordination. While taking out Jaune was in theory simple. He wasn't nearly the fighter anyone else on the team was, but no plan had ever worked twice on JNPR, and each time team RWBY beat him he had a counter measure up by next battle. Ruby was without a plan and defaulted to the first one she had ever devised to beat JNPR.

She ordered Blake to flank in the forest, forcing Jaune to send away Ren to handle it. Yang would go straight for Pyrrha, unleashing the perfect offense against the famous ace fighter. Weiss handled support, protecting Ruby from Nora more often than not, and Ruby, with all her speed, would go for Jaune.

The entire match she had been nervous, expecting Jaune to see right through this, yet everything worked. Fighting could be heard in the forest to the right where Blake would face her opponent. Yang and Pyrrha had at it, shots bouncing off of Pyrrha's shield as Yang gave chase with all of her usual excitement, whatever hangover she had clearly gone. Yang did love a good fight.

Jaune, however, stood alone in front of a large tree, taking the high ground. Ruby had thought Nora would be there, but with her nowhere to be found Ruby guessed he had sent her to help take Blake out quickly. After all, Nora was far from subtle. Ruby ordered Weiss off to help Yang, Pyrrha couldn't handle both of them, but Ruby could handle Jaune. Dashing with all her might, Ruby had made a mistake. The distance between her and her support was too great, and in full dash she heard that familiar voice: Nora.

"Hi, buddy!"

It was so fast that Ruby, queen of speed, barely realized what had happened. Nora jumped from the tree Jaune was under, hammer coming down to one hit knock Ruby out. The whole match was over, if not for a force glyph that formed above Ruby's head. The hammer struck the glowing circle, and the explosion sent Ruby to the floor and Nora up into the air, where Weiss was waiting. Nora was helpless to defend midair, but Weiss had her air steps and swifter strikes with her rapier. Ruby had never seen the heiress so fast, or glyphs formed so far away. All that defense practice had come in handy, and again she owed her dearest friend a thanks.

With Nora out, Jaune surrounded, and the rest of JNPR on opposing sides of the field, the professors called it. Team RWBY had won. Now Ruby was left in the lockers, thinking back on exactly how that reversal had happened. Mostly the question of what to say to Weiss. Ruby wasn't use to being rescued like that, but it wasn't that bitter a feeling. Instead, she felt proud of Weiss, who rushed so hard to save Ruby even in a mock battle. It was a pleasant warm sort of feeling to know someone was watching out for you.

"So spill it," Yang said, unceremoniously plopping down next to her on the locker bench. Blake had also shown up, though so subtle as always. Ruby hadn't even noticed. Maybe that was because she was just stuck staring at Weiss.

"Wait," Ruby replied. Weiss was surrounded by Pyrrha and Nora, both who were still in earshot. The whole 'keeping it a secret' thing already wasn't really working out so well, but talking about their date plans in front of team JNPR would probably only make it worse. Instead, Ruby just kept watching her. Weiss hardly made friends, so watching her talk with the others on her own was big. Ruby was still concerned. She could tell Weiss was exhausted. Her breaths were silent, but watching her she was breathing hard. That kind of speed took a lot of energy.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted from across the lockers, snapping Ruby out of the trace. "Meet me in the library when you're done. We have to work on history and grimm studies. Don't dally too much here." With that, she tossed her hair back and walked out in strides, Nora and Pyrrha following after her. She never does take a break.

"Well, she doesn't hate you, that's a crisis averted. Good job, champ," Yang announced, grasping Ruby tightly in what some would call a soul crushing hug.

"So are you and Weiss a couple?" Blake asked, cutting right to the heart of the issue. Ruby let out a small mousey noise to reply, but Yang's crush made talking impossible.

"Yang, release."

"You could say please, you know?" Yang responded, letting go.

"Not yet, I mean no, but she, she, uhh..." Ruby caught on her own words, feeling a little flushed. It was hard enough telling Blake, but to tell Yang was so embarrassing. She would never let it go. The thought of saying it made her go red. "She, uhh, kissed me though."

"Good work girl! Who thought my little Ruby would be a lady killer?" Yang said with a laugh, completely ignoring the first half. She really wasn't going to leave Ruby alone for this.

"She just said they're not together, Yang. Why not, Ruby?" Blake said in a gentle voice, kneeling down to Ruby's level. She was always so nice, kind of like mom was.

"Oh yeah!" Yang shouted, tone turning dark. "Ruby, do I need to break her face?" Well, that was one way of caring.

"No, she just wants us to go on a date first," Ruby admitted, still unable look them in the eye, embarrassed by this sort of talk. Instead, she stood back up, stretching herself out.

"Well, that should be fine," Blake noted with a sigh of relief.

"I totally expected some sort of caveat. Little miss Ice Queen has never been that easy," Yang added with laugh. Ruby would have told her to shove it, but unfortunately her sister wasn't exactly wrong.

"There is a caveat. I've got to keep it secret," Ruby said with a deep sigh, and with a whirl she turned to face her two friends with a sad expression. Even after thinking about it, she had no idea what she was doing. "How am I supposed to take Weiss Schnee, a super famous heiress, out on a date in the biggest city in the country without anyone knowing!?" she yelled, growing mildly frustrated. Weiss meant the world to her, but Yang was right, nothing was simple with her. Ruby felt a little hotheaded, needed the air, and started out of the locker room. Blake was right after her like the good friend she was.

"Hey, don't worry, Ruby. I'm sure we'll figure it ou—" Blake said as they stepped out of the locker room, but was cut off by what waited on the other side.

"Hey, Ruby, I think I can help you with your little Weiss problem." Jaune was there leaning against the wall, a goofy smile on his face. One of the best things was that Jaune was never a sore loser, but always an awesome friend.

"Jaune, you do!?" Ruby shouted, wanting to hug the awkward sod.

"Yep! There's a place Pyrrha and I go to train. No one's there to watch me make a fool of myself. It has its other uses, and it might work perfectly," Jaune said with half slumped shoulders. He was always so embarrassed with his combat performance, but he wasn't bad in any respect, just in need of more practice.

"Jaune… how do you know what we're talking about?" Blake said with an accusatory tone, stepping in front of Ruby. Now that she thought about it, yeah, what was Jaune doing listening in? Also how? Jaune never seemed like the creeper type. Gods, Ruby didn't think she would ever change in the locker room again. Nope, nope, nope.

"No! Oh, gods no, not that!" Jaune shouted with wide eyes, shaking both his hands and his head. "The two locker rooms are right next to each other… and you girls are kind of… loud. We could hear you from the other side."

"And who is we?" Ruby could hear Yang reload her gauntlets along with her words.

"Chill, it's just me and Ren," Jaune responded

"You've got to tell Ren not to say anything to anyone, it's like the biggest deal!" Ruby replied, panicked. Weiss was so right; none of them could keep a secret at all. No wonder Weiss seemed to think Ruby couldn't be trusted with her own secret

"Pshh, who's he going to tell? Nora?" a pause, "...actually, yeah what am I thinking? I have to stop Ren immediately!"

Ruby tiptoed her way into the library fully aware she was super late. Another thing she expected to be chewed out for on the growing list today. She had easily found Weiss in her own corner of the library, hidden away from the rest of the common students. It helped that it was a Sunday, because who in their right mind went to a library on a Sunday evening? Well, Weiss did.

"Hiya, Weiss," Ruby tried to say as quietly as possible while she shuffled over. The heiress was looking through a few books at the same time, source checking them most likely. She was the type to look a little too deeply into her research. Weiss didn't seem to notice Ruby at first, but quickly put down her books and flipped open a folder on the desk next to her.

"I have your notes matched to mine on the table. I've also gone through and circled what you got wrong on your test as well. I want you to look up why you got them wrong and edit it from there. I'll look over your edits as you make them so you don't end up on the wrong track. You really need to pay attention more in class instead of just copying me or passing notes." Weiss' tone was flat, and irritated. Ruby knew she was mad, but looking over all the compiled notes and study help she had prepared, the huntress was just glad to have her, bad moods and all. Blake's comment about focusing on what Weiss did over what she said was really hitting home.

"At least I don't get caught like someone I know," Ruby joked to ease the mood, sitting down at the desk.

"Don't start with me. That was once. Now work." Weiss refused to look her in the eye, but Ruby could see a little embarrassed blush on those pale cheeks. So easy to fluster, getting Weiss to burn was quickly becoming addictive.

"I get it, I get it," Ruby said, letting off and turning to the pile of work that had been assembled in front of her. "Thanks, Weiss," she added before starting on the first set. They didn't speak much after that, only to ask for books or questions. After a good bit of silence the need to take a break hit Ruby. She stretched, yawned, and looked back to see Weiss' pace unchanged. The diligence of that girl was astounding. Ruby put down her pencil and just looked at her with a smile.

"Thank you for protecting me today. You were incredible," Ruby ended the quiet, but Weiss never looked up, just kept working.

"Ruby, I shouldn't need to protect you. What happens if I'm not quick enough in a real battle? You need to take this more seriously. Being a huntress is dangerous, you can't just let yourself be defenseless like that." Weiss didn't let herself yell, not in a library, but her right hand clenched into a fist on the table and her eyes, although focused on the book, were cloudy with frustration.

"I'll be fine, trust me. I know how dangerous being a huntress is. I just wanted to say thanks. You're my hero, Weiss." Ruby reached over to Weiss' hand, grasping it lightly in her own. Weiss' fingers twitched at the touch, tense as ever from unexpected contact, but she didn't move away. Instead, she let Ruby envelop it with impunity.

"I'm serious," Weiss muttered, still not at ease.

"I am, too. Trust me, 'kay?" Ruby replied with a smile, rubbing Weiss' palm with her thumb. "Guess what?" she added.

"No."

"You're no fun!" Ruby said, a little too loud and coupled with a laugh.

"So I've heard," Weiss shot back, monotone as ever and again not turning away from her work. Not as humorless as you like to pretend, huh? Ruby thought, but didn't say, not wanting to poke the dragon.

"I figured out what to do for Saturday," Ruby remarked, changing the subject. She had crafted a perfect plan thanks to some help from Jaune. She owed him an apology for thinking he was a creepy lecher today.

"It better not be bar hopping. After clubbing I don't know what to expect from you, Ruby Rose." Asking Weiss' polar opposite for plans had not been the smartest moment in hindsight, Ruby had to admit, but hey, it wasn't that bad.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to seem more adult." Saying that made Ruby feel more like a child. "This one you'll actually love, I promise. It's perfect."

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing?" Weiss asked, looking up from her work for just one moment.

"Maybe if you sing for it." Okay, so Ruby would poke the dragon a few times.

"Shut it, you dolt."

Ruby said nothing back, just smiled and held Weiss' hand as they studied.

**Hey guys and gals, first off I wanted to apologize for this being Late, I planned on releasing around Christmas day, but a few things happened. One 's account stuff melted on Christmas (and again earlier tonight) so I couldn't get to one of the docs I was using on site. (teach me to betray google docs) That and a bit more difficult is well my nephew just passed away so truthfully it's been hard to get myself writing at all. So I'm really sorry readers for being a little tardy. I hope to get back to my normal 3-4 day releases.

Big thing for me to get back was hitting 100 reviews. It's been an incredible experience and I wanted to say thank you. I try to respond to every review personally, but for those that I've not been able to I wanted to say thanks. Every review helps craft me into something better and just keeps me so motivated. So keep up and I hope I can earn a lot of the praise and fix a lot of the criticism.

I hope staying up till 6 AM to get this out helps win back some of the love after being so late . (Although I think I might to a bit of an edit on the second part of this. Not sure why, but it doesn't match the rest of the quality.) I love all of you dudes and dudettes and have a fantastic Holiday season.

Oh yeah, in other cool news I got placed on another community list, which is really awesome. Thus Kindly I Scatter is the community group if you want to check it out. So thanks so much for getting me on two now.