"Agghhh!" Blake screamed bloody murder when she was weightless. "No, no, no, no!"

The ocean pounced on her as it launched to her at intense speeds. Blake only prayed she could somehow be saved-

"I got you!" Ruby yelped.

Before Blake and Ruby could crash into the freezing waters below, Ruby activated her speed semblance and carried them to safety on their ship.

Behind them, the head of the massive nevermore rolled off and flopped below. The remaining body seized in midair and fell into the ocean. The large impact caused a temporary tidal wave and monsoon.

From the close call of almost falling into the shockingly freezing water, Ruby and Blake were heaving and on their knees. The fight would have been much easier if glyphs were in the equation.

"Good work," Qrow praised as he watched the corpse sink into the abyss.

Thankfully, the drizzle cooled them off from the work out. They did a great deal of damage before the nevermore was finally decapitated by Ruby's scythe. Qrow and Blake managed to slice off both its sharp talons before Ruby finished the job.

"Is... it dead for real?" Ruby asked between pants.

"Couldn't be deader," Qrow confirmed.

With the help of the moonlight, they were able to glance into the depths below. The giant corpse was withering into nothingness as it sank. Tiny specks of darkness broke off before vanishing into the water. Since the corpse was large, it'd take a while for the nevermore to completely disappear.

"I've never heard of a grimm living after decapitation," Blake said with a smirk as she sheathed her katana.

"Wh- aaah," Ruby flailed her arms in emphasis. "You can't be too sure! It better not come back and hit my ship again," that being said, Ruby leaned over the railing and yelled down at the ocean. "Stay dead! You big fat meanie!"

After heaving a loud sigh, Qrow glanced to the darkened sky. "We have so many repairs to make."

"We're in luck," Blake mentioned. "Nevermores don't venture far from land. We can probably find supplies at our next stop."

Qrow nodded, liking her thinking. "If we're gonna sail anywhere, we gotta fix her up."

"Guess it's settled," the faunus said.

"We dock first thing in the morning," Qrow quipped for all to hear. "Any objections?" he only waited for a nanosecond before continuing. "No? Good."

"Sounds good to me, uncle Qrow!" Ruby beamed, liking the idea of repairing her beloved ship.

Casually, Qrow whirled around to head inside. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some porridge to make."

That caused Ruby to gasp as the memory flooded over her. The last time she was with Weiss, her wounds had reopened because of the sudden grimm attack. She had to hastily leave, but at least she left her in her sister's care.

Before Qrow could go inside, Ruby beat him to the door and whizzed past.

"Woah," Qrow jumped out of her line of fire. "What crawled up her butt?"

Blake only shrugged, having no clue.

In a split-second, the captain was in her girlfriend's room. To her relief, Weiss was lying down and enjoying the wintry feeling on her forehead. Yang had been keeping her chilly with the cold cloth. Her bandages were secure, although they were tainted with a tinge of red.

"Hey, Rubes!" Yang greeted. "Did ya kill it?"

"Duh," the captain replied as she examined her girlfriend. "Did the blood stop? Please tell me it did."

"Yeah, no worries," Yang reassured.

"Nevermores don't stand a chance against you," Weiss praised. "I'm glad you're back. The brute was driving me insane."

"Hey now," the blonde crossed her arms jokingly. "I wasn't that bad."

Unamused, Weiss stared at the ceiling. "You cracked how many puns?"

"Twenty-three to be exact!" Yang chirped with no shame. That earned a few sighs. "Aw, come on! That's a record and you know it!"

Unbeknownst to them, Blake was standing by the doorway. "Twenty-three puns in ten minutes?" she asked like she wasn't impressed. "We both know you've done better."

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "You defeated a nevermore in ten minutes?"

"Not my best, I know," Blake joked.

While they bantered, Ruby leaned down to feel her girlfriend's forehead. She used a sweet voice since it looked like Weiss was trying to rest.

"Do you need anything?"

From the contact, Weiss smiled. "You being here is enough."

"You've never resorted to flattery so quickly," Ruby smiled as she held her hand and kissed the crown of her head.

During their conversation, they failed to notice the bumblebee pair was staring at them with smug grins. Slowly, Ruby looked over to them. Yang pointed from her sister to her ill friend.

"Have you guys…"

Wasting no time, Ruby blurted. "We're girlfriends!"

Happily, Yang put her hands on her hips. "It's about damn time."

"Didn't see that coming," Blake said sarcastically.

Wanting to be a good wingman, Yang looped an arm around her girlfriend's and led them to the door. They scurried in a rush as Blake allowed her to drag her out.

"Have a good night!" the blonde beamed.

Before they could say a word, the door slammed shut.

"Your sister is insufferable," Weiss said.

Casually, Ruby flopped on the bed and snuggled into her. "You never get used to it."

Loving the contact, Weiss returned the affection and nuzzled into her shoulder. "They clearly don't mind us being together. Do you think Qrow would be okay with it?"

"He wouldn't care," Ruby said in a fatigued voice as she closed her eyes. "He won't mind. If he did, I'd make him not mind."

That comment caused an amused grin to cross Weiss' lips. "That makes no sense, dunce."

Exhausted, Ruby yawned like a kitten. From the cute sight, Weiss pecked her on the cheek. Seconds later, Ruby was lightly snoring. Weiss only gazed down at her, hardly surprised.

"You must be tired. You looked after me all day," Weiss murmured as she brushed her fingers through dark hair. "Sleep tight, dolt."

For a while, Weiss was content to soothe through her hair. It was surprisingly soft. She could've stayed like that forever, but her stomach growled. The last time she ate was several hours ago.

Since she'd been laying around all day, she was full of energy. Rather than have Qrow bring the food to her, Weiss decided to get up. That way, she wouldn't disturb her girlfriend's sleep.

After kissing her forehead, Weiss carefully slid out of bed. From the sudden movement, her wounds throbbed a bit before the pain faded away.

Since that was expected, she shuffled through the ship. To keep herself warm, Ruby's cape was around her and fluttered. At last, she reached the kitchen, where Qrow had just finished preparing food.

"Weiss," Qrow scolded. "You shouldn't be up."

Knowing the porridge was for her, Weiss grabbed the bowl. "I've been in bed all day."

"You're restless," Qrow said sympathetically. "Being in bed all day would drive me crazy, too."

After Weiss took a bite of porridge, she hummed. "This is good. Thank you."

Suddenly, Qrow placed his hand on her forehead. From the action, Weiss almost recoiled but remained stiff. She was still warm, but not scorching anymore. A far cry from this morning.

"Your fever's gone down," Qrow observed. "Don't go around getting worse, got it?"

Even though his words were stern, Weiss could tell he cared. Despite that, she got flustered. An older male had never been kind to her. At least not nurturing. It was strange to her, but welcome.

"Of course," the ex-heiress said after she sipped more porridge. "We don't want your hard work going to waste, would we?"

"Exactly," Qrow agreed as he pulled away, gazing at the red cape around her. "I noticed you're attached to my niece's cape."

"Oh, yes," Weiss tugged on it to keep it around her shoulders. "Ruby really treasures it, so I do, too."

To process her words, Qrow fell silent. Since the cape formerly belonged to Summer, he treasured it as well.

"I need to ask you something," Weiss said in a slightly nervous voice.

Amused from her anxiety, Qrow said. "Shoot."

"I'm particularly fond of Ruby as well," the ex-heiress said.

"Never would'a guessed," Qrow replied sarcastically.

To gain courage, Weiss gripped the red cape and met his gaze. "Would you be okay with it if we were a couple?"

From the question, Qrow was amused to say the least. There was only one reason why Weiss would ask that. Why she would even bring up the topic. Never in a million years did he think a Schnee would request something of him.

"Is a Schnee asking for my blessing?" Qrow asked, unbelieving. This earned a nod. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"What's your answer?" Weiss asked, hopeful.

"You don't need my blessing," Qrow said easily. "Do what you want."

"Qrow," Weiss said sternly, losing all traces of anxiety. "You mean a lot to Ruby, so it would mean a lot to her."

"Of course you have my blessing," Qrow said.

With that, Weiss briefly bowed her head. "Thank you."

"What did I say about formalities?" Qrow quipped teasingly.

"Right," Weiss said as she set down the empty bowl. "See you in the morning."

When she walked away, Qrow went back to doing the dishes. As Weiss shuffled down the halls, she was exhilarated. She hugged herself with the cape to keep warm as she headed to the nearest closet. If she recalled correctly, Ruby's cape was burned during the attack. Might as well mend it while she slept.

It didn't take long to find red material for the hole in the cape. It was like this hue of red was meant specifically for it. Smiling from the victory, Weiss pawed through more supplies. In time, she retrieved a needle and red thread to match.

At last, she made her way back to her room with the supplies in hand.

Abruptly, her wounds hammered throughout her body. It felt like someone was stabbing her repeatedly in the same spot. It was so agonizing that she had to sink to her knees.

They were fine this whole time...

Unintentionally, she dropped the supplies. While she panted and tried to control the pain, she held her stomach tightly. Apparently, she made a lot of noise because pairs of footsteps scurried over.

"Weiss?"

There was a familiar voice that raised in alarm. Weiss was too busy trying to catch her breath and not writhe in pain.

Together, Blake and Yang supported her sides.

"Breathe," Blake whispered calmly as she rubbed circles on her upper back. Her heartbeat was thundering into her ribcage. "Focus on that and nothing else."

After several moments, the pain faded enough for her to speak. Her heart became less desperate as she took one deep breath.

"What're you doin' up?" Yang asked, concerned.

"I wanted to fix Ruby's cape," Weiss said, pulling her hand away from the wound. "The pain was so sudden."

"That's why you need to take it easy for a lil longer," Yang lectured.

An annoyed hum.

Calmly, Blake asked. "Can you stand?"

"I think so."

Together, the bumblebee pair helped her get to her feet. While Blake supported most of her weight, Yang grabbed the supplies that'd fallen on the floor.

"You can fix it while you're in bed," Blake suggested.

After that round of pain, Weiss had no qualms. "I wouldn't be opposed to that."

"Such a troublesome princess," Yang teased.


She wants to repay Ruby! Curse you, Cinder for impaling her!

Stay dandy,

~Toto