Weiss had never slept so close to another person before.

Maybe that was part of the appeal of bunk beds; having another person right there, instead of outside a cavernous bedroom. At home, the room in which she slept had been so cold, and empty. Here? There was a wonderfully cluttered warmth; the antithesis of her life before.

And despite what people said about her… Weiss never liked the cold.

But she had never been allowed to have that warmth near her. She hadn't allowed that warmth near her, either. It had pushed through guard whether she liked it or not.

And she did like it, even if she wasn't allowed to admit it.

The warmth of one Ruby Rose.

Never mind sleeping close to another person, Weiss had never been close to another person, and then there was Ruby.

Closer than anyone had ever come.

And yet… not close enough.

Never close enough.

Weiss's thirst for Ruby's warmth was insatiable, but improper. She could not allow herself to initiate. But… if she stopped fighting back when Ruby approached her, well… that wasn't her fault, was it?

It wasn't her fault if she found herself wishing for more, but never acted on it, right? These were urges. Nothing more. An idle fantasy of what Ruby's lips might taste like. Mere curiosity, and nothing more.

And yet, it kept her up at night. After all, this curiosity hadn't extended to any other girls, despite the mortal goddesses that surrounded her. At least with Neptune, it had made sense: he was an attractive boy, she was a talented girl, could it have been any more obvious?

Of course, he was also a philandering jerk. After the mess that was the Vytal Festival Tournament, she'd dumped him like a sack of potatoes. Besides, for all the attraction? There was no real… connection.

Maybe she kept thinking of Ruby… like that… because she wanted that level of connection to her future significant other. Because when she did date again, she wanted it to be with someone that could also be her best friend.

Good luck displacing Ruby, though.

And sure, maybe she'd been unwilling to use the label a year and a half ago, before the tournament, but after everything they went through together…

…well, thank goodness Penny had been able to wipe the virus from the Atlasian systems. Without their help, she wasn't certain the school would still be standing.

And here she was, thinking about Ruby again. She hoped what Yang had said the other day wasn't true, and that she wasn't affecting her best friend's sleep.

What would Ruby think if she knew Weiss was thinking about her so much, especially like this? Would she be flattered? She had been trying to get closer to Weiss the entire time. And then… there was the way she'd gotten around Emerald… at least, before they knew she was part of a plot to take down the school. Emerald… who was never shy about… showing off. Had Ruby been… attracted to her?

Could Ruby, perhaps, be attracted to girls?

And why did that thought make her heart skip a beat?

And of course, it wouldn't bother Weiss if Ruby were gay. Yang, for her part, was certainly loud enough about her bisexuality. Any qualms about the matter had long since left her system.

Ultimately, it's not like it mattered to Weiss. Ruby could be happy with whomever she wished, even if she dreaded the time she might lose with her partner. It'd sting for a while, but Weiss would eventually find a nice man to settle down with to fill in the gaps, right? She was attracted to men.

…Of course, so was Yang, but Weiss saw the eyes she made at Blake. Sometimes it was easy to forget that it wasn't a binary choice.

So then… could Weiss also be attracted to both—

Her train of thought was interrupted by a soft thump to her left. Weiss's head snapped to the source, only to see Ruby stretching, her top riding up to emphasize how Ruby had both gotten taller and filled out since arriving at Beacon, exposing the muscle that was endemic to their chosen profession. Weiss guiltily wondered how it might feel to run her fingers along the lines of—

And bright, Silver eyes were upon her. Weiss flushed as she had been caught staring.

"Did I wake you?" Ruby asked apologetically, letting her arms relax and shrinking the strip of skin once more.

"N-No…" Weiss stammered.

"Couldn't sleep either?"

Weiss nodded silently.

"I might be able to help with that." Ruby said with the barest hint of smile. "I'll be right back."

Ruby carefully tiptoed out of the room, and Weiss was left alone with her thoughts once more.

She only wanted to touch Ruby like that because it wasn't allowed, right? It was only appealing because it was forbidden. If she actually had the chance to do it, the appeal would quickly fade, and she'd be able to move on.

But it wasn't like she could just ask her, was it? Even if Ruby didn't hold it against her, it'd still be a weird mark on their friendship, and Weiss had already caused enough of those. Ruby deserved better from her. As a Schnee, she expected better of herself.

A few minutes later, Ruby returned, holding two steaming mugs.

"I don't think coffee is going to help us sleep." Weiss whispered to her partner as she approached.

"Good thing this isn't coffee then." Ruby held a mug near Weiss's lips. The liquid within was white. "This helps me sometimes. Drink."

Trusting her partner, Weiss grabbed the mug just enough to tilt it into her mouth, ignoring the tingles that shot down her arm as their fingers touched. It was creamy, and oddly sweet?

"Milk?" Weiss asked as she lowered the mug.

"And Honey." Ruby added. "When it's nice and warm, it helps me sleep."

Nothing about the situation was making Weiss tired, but she appreciated the gesture.

"Thanks." Weiss said as she took the mug from Ruby's hands.

"What are partners for?" Ruby giggled slightly.

And then she was leaning in.

Oh gods Ruby was leaning in.

Weiss froze as she felt Ruby's lips on her forehead, but inside, she was molten.

"Goodnight, Weiss." Ruby said before leaning back.

Red alert.

All hands to battle stations.

This was not a drill.

This was not idle curiosity.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked. "Are you okay?"

There was no denying it at this point. There was no ignoring the fact that, as Ruby got closer, as Ruby kissed her, she only wanted more.

And it wasn't even that kind of kiss. A kiss to the forehead should definitely be seen as platonic, if caring. Even if she'd never had any such thing happen in her own family, she wasn't blind to what it meant to other people.

And yet…

"I'm sorry, Weiss!" Ruby said, with an edge of panic creeping into her voice. "I know you have issues with touching, but you haven't complained in a while and I thought it'd be okay to… I'm sorry. I guess I crossed a line."

To her…

"I'll just… leave you alone for a bit. Sorry." Ruby sighed as she reached up to her bunk.

It meant so much more.

"Ruby, wait!" Weiss said, snapping out of her stupor. "Don't leave me!"

"Huh?" Ruby began to ask, but Weiss was already pulling her down into a crushing hug.

"You didn't… don't be sorry!" Weiss insisted as she nuzzled into Ruby's shoulder.

"O… kay…" Ruby said cautiously as she set her mug down and wrapped her arms around Weiss.

And it was warm.

And it was wonderful.

And it wasn't enough.

Weiss stiffened again as she realized the position she was in. How her face was mushed into Ruby's collarbone. Where her mouth was. What her lips were touching.

And Weiss…

…she couldn't stop herself any more.

And the sound Ruby made when she nibbled on her collarbone only fueled the warmth within her.

"Weiss…" Ruby whined somewhere between a moan and a groan, "what are you doing?"

And reality reasserted itself once more, and Weiss was frozen again.

Then Ruby was pulling away. That wonderful warmth felt further than it ever had before. It felt painful for Ruby to back off like this. Like a part of her own soul was tearing itself away from her.

Weiss almost cried from the distance, but then Ruby came closer again, placing her forehead on Weiss's. And Weiss was staring right into those bright, silver eyes, except Ruby's pupils were completely blown out. Only a dark ring of silver surrounded the black.

Was it fear in Ruby's eyes?

"Weiss… did you just…"

Panic?

"Did… did you want to…"

Desire?

"Kiss me?"

The last bit was barely whispered, but nothing had ever rang more loudly in Weiss's ears.

"Yes." She whispered back.

And then Ruby's lips were on hers.

Ruby was kissing her.

Her first kiss with Ruby… and she was already addicted.

How could she have denied this? How could she have ignored this?

How could it be wrong when it felt so right?

The truth was, it couldn't be.

There was nothing wrong with this.

All was right in the universe.

Weiss wrapped her arms more tightly around Ruby, pulling her close, as if she wanted to stop being two separate people. To make Ruby's pounding heartbeat merge with her own.

But they couldn't keep drowning in each other's warmth forever. They had to come up for air eventually. Still, they remained close, forehead to forehead as they caught their breath.

"All you had to do was ask." Ruby said breathlessly.

Weiss gave herself a few more seconds to recover before taking Ruby up on that offer.

"Kiss me again."