A/N: This was my submission for the Whiterose Fanzine of 2021 that was regrettably cancelled. But even so, thank you to those who spearheaded, planned, and tried to make the WR zine a reality. This story wouldn't exist without you.
And an extra shout-out to a certain gaymerkree who cheered me on throughout the entire writing process. Thank you, Kree. ^_^
(And yes, as soon as the WR zine word limit was no more, this story exploded because I have no self-control when it comes to world-building, haha.)
Happy reading everyone!
Homecoming
Word Count: 4,638
The night was painted with a discordant chorus of reverberating growls and hair-raising snarls. Branches snapped and leaves rustled in a wild flurry as lupine bodies sheathed in coarse black fur and skeletal spines crashed through the forest behind her.
Beowolves.
Ruby raced onward, sending rose petals drifting here and there, and using only touches of her dwindling magic to maintain her scant lead.
Rule one of baiting grimm: stay within their line of sight and range of hearing for as long as possible. Otherwise, they might leave to find easier prey. In this case, they might backtrack and chase after the people they'd left behind to pursue the irritating, red-cloaked huntress who wouldn't stop harrying them with her silver scythe and magical gift of superior speed and agility.
Ruby glanced over her shoulder and grinned breathlessly. She kicked off the nearest tree, launched herself back the way she had come, and swung her aura-imbued scythe, neatly beheading one of her pursuers and scoring a solid hit on the other. She spun with a second strike to finish the job.
Her shoulders loosened, a mixture of triumph and growing weariness momentarily overcoming her battle-readiness. The moment of inattention cost her.
The vegetation to her left exploded with a bloodthirsty snarl; and glowing, crimson eyes set in a skull-like mask flashed out of the gloom. Ruby flinched away, and the beowolf's jaws snapped shut mere inches from where she'd been.
Ruby backpedaled, trying to create enough distance to bring her scythe back into play, but exhaustion made her a hair too slow. The beowolf lashed out with a powerful forelimb and caught her across her forearm. Her defensive aura flickered and then shattered upon impact, stealing her breath as jagged bolts of pain pierced her chest and singed her soul. A choked gasp escaped her just before the beowolf's razor-sharp claws shredded her sleeve and tore into her arm. Ruby gritted her teeth, summoned one last burst of aura, and swung her scythe with a cry, cleaving the grimm in two.
The fallen beowulf had barely finished dissipating before Ruby was moving again, a fresh sense of urgency fueling her actions. Her bleeding arm burned and jolted sharply with every step.
Sloppy, she scolded herself. Uncle Qrow would ban her from cookies for a week if he ever found out she'd let her guard down like that.
Ruby scanned her surroundings as she darted through the forest.
There.
She skidded to a halt and spun, putting her back to an ancient oak that was wide enough to cut off any possible attacks from behind. Her heart pounded as she searched the shadowy gloom. The beowolves caught up in twos and threes, ghosting in and out of the scattered moonlight like baleful wraiths.
Ruby raised her scythe, grimacing against the pain. Any other day these beowolves would be a piece of cake, but not today.
Today, Ruby's aura had already been flickering like a dying ember by the time she stepped onto the battlefield. She'd been on her way back from another job when she heard the telltale sounds of a grimm attack; and she had used the last of her energy to run interference, buying the survivors time to escape. With any luck, they would reach the protection of Beacon's towering stone walls soon. All Ruby had to do was keep the beowolves occupied for just a little longer.
One of the beowolves lunged at her, its fanged maw agape. Ruby sidestepped, and her scythe flashed, cleanly slicing the creature in half. She spun to meet another beowolf head-on, grimly ignoring the growing weakness in her injured limb. Her blade met shadowy flesh, but the strike was too shallow.
The beast snarled in rage, and its claws whipped out. Ruby barely got her weapon up in time. The blow struck the haft of her scythe, driving her into the tree behind her. The air burst from her lungs upon impact, and her arms screamed as she fought to keep those deadly claws away.
In a last-ditch effort, she brought both legs up and slammed them into the beowolf's glowering mask. The creature's head snapped back with a choked off snarl. Ruby dropped to the ground and swung her scythe in a blinding arc to finish it off.
Ruby eyed the remaining beowolves warily, her lungs heaving. Two down, eight to go.
Yang's gonna be so mad at me, she thought, resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to get out of this one without a few more ouchies.
Then an unexpected sound caught her attention. Steady hoofbeats drummed louder and louder, soon accompanied by the battlecry of an enraged warhorse. A familiar tinkling like crystalline chimes filtered through the trees. A rush of frigid air kissed Ruby's skin just before the nearest beowolves were bombarded by a violent hailstorm of sharpened icicles.
Ruby grinned so widely that her cheeks hurt.
Weiss.
The ice-studded beowolves howled in pain as the rest of the pack turned to face the new threat. A big mistake.
Ruby darted forward and cut down the injured beowolves just as a beautiful dapple-gray mare burst onto the battlefield. A knight of the Atlas Order leaned over the mare's neck with a glimmering, aura-imbued saber in hand which painted a trail of icy blue light in their wake.
She was Lady Weiss Schnee. An elite fencer; skilled horsewoman; Ruby's best friend; and much more recently, her partner, in more ways than one. They hadn't quite put a name to what they had. It wasn't safe. But Ruby didn't need words to know it was there, for it was always warm like the sun, bright like a guiding star, and steady like the heart beating in her chest.
Weiss cut down one beowolf, effortlessly keeping her seat even as her mare bucked to slam her rear hooves into a second beowolf attempting to take them from behind. The unfortunate creature went flying and slammed into a tree with a bone-snapping crack. It wouldn't be getting up again.
A glowing glyph winked into existence beneath the remaining grimm. Deadly spears of ice erupted from the ground, piercing through the lupine beasts from below. One of them dodged and tried to flee, but Weiss launched a fresh barrage of bruising, fist-sized hail, knocking the beowolf off its feet and pummeling it to the ground.
Ruby winced. Uh-oh. Someone wasn't in a good mood.
Weiss galloped past in a thundering rush. She swung halfway off her saddle, hanging off the side of her horse in a warrior's technique that took skill, practice, and much trust between a rider and her mount. And in one smooth motion, she leaned down and lopped off the beowolf's head, her blade a blur of blue-tinged light.
Ruby couldn't help but grin. Weiss was so amazing!
Weiss reseated herself in the saddle and gradually slowed her mare to a gentle, cooling walk. After one last survey of the area to ensure all the beowolves had been vanquished, Weiss pulled her mount to a stop a few feet away. She cast a sharp look at Ruby, her lips tight in contrast to Ruby's smile, before dismounting and rummaging through her saddlebags.
Ruby's smile dimmed in the face of Weiss's poor mood, but it didn't stay that way for long. Instead, a familiar sense of joy and excitement welled up in her chest. She couldn't believe it. Weiss was here.
Weiss stalked over with a thick roll of cloth tucked under one arm. Her eyes scanned Ruby from head to toe before halting at Ruby's torn and bloody sleeve.
Something finally clicked. "Weiss—"
Weiss cut Ruby off with a single look. "Sit," she said, her voice clipped.
She waved her hand, and one of the thin, dust-infused ribbons threaded along the underside of her leather armguard glowed bronze. A similarly colored glyph lit up the ground to Ruby's right. The earth rumbled, and the ground beneath the glyph rose sharply to form a flattened mound that was roughly knee-high. Weiss gestured towards it pointedly, her eyes flashing in warning.
Ruby deflated. She shuffled over and sat, knowing she wouldn't win this one. She tucked her scythe behind her and out of the way.
Weiss knelt in front of her and unrolled her cloth, revealing neat rows of pockets that held various medical supplies. It was a much more complete medkit compared to Ruby's minimalistic first aid kit, which only carried medicinal salve for wounds and a couple rolls of bandages. Weiss withdrew a pair of shears from one of the pockets and immediately began cutting away Ruby's ruined sleeve.
"I'm fine, Weiss, really. It's just a couple of scratches," Ruby said softly, trying to get Weiss to meet her gaze.
Weiss refused to look up. Instead, she asked abruptly, "Where's your medkit?"
Ruby's lips twitched into a smile before smoothing out. Ruby never left the city without a small daypack that carried a few camping essentials, some food, a canteen of water, and a first aid kit. Trust Weiss to remember and notice it was missing.
She briefly explained how she'd happened across the grimm attack before finally admitting, "I didn't make it in time to save everyone. And more than a few of those who survived were hurt. Some were even women and children." Her voice fell at the memory. If only she'd been able to get there sooner.
Then Ruby rubbed her neck and grimaced slightly. "And you know how the gateguards are. Sometimes they're good folk, but other times they're layabouts. Even worse, sometimes the people in charge of the wall aren't always willing to use their medical supplies on normal folk. So I gave one of the women my pack before sending them off, just in case."
Ruby's kit wouldn't be good for more than three or four people, but it was still better than nothing.
Technically, the gateguards had a medical stockpile specifically set aside for treating injured civilians in emergency situations, but it was a toss up whether the captain on the wall would authorize its usage. Sometimes it was simply a matter of running low on supplies, and the captain in charge had to make a hard decision to conserve what was left for life-threatening injuries only. Other times a captain just didn't want to deal with the paperwork because they had to file a report anytime said supplies were used on their watch.
Of course, the distinction was lost on Weiss when she was in a temper. Ruby hid a grin as Weiss muttered something scathingly rude about incompetent, self-serving fools. Sure, Weiss's firm ethics and strict sense of justice sometimes got her into confrontations that could have otherwise been avoided. Their first, rather explosive meeting was proof of that. But Ruby still wouldn't change her for the world.
Ruby's humor quickly fled, however, when Weiss pulled out a blue glass vial that Ruby had seen more times than she cared to count. Her body broke out in cold sweat at the memory. Grimm anti-venom.
Weiss held it up. "On three?"
Ruby took a deep breath and nodded, steeling herself.
"One, two, three." Weiss dripped the potion into Ruby's open wounds, and Ruby hissed in pain. Although the stuff was necessary to prevent the nastier aftereffects from grimm-inflicted wounds, it burned. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her watering eyes before Weiss noticed.
A soft nicker drew her attention just in time for Weiss's mare to bump her shoulder. The mare snuffled and lipped at Ruby's shirt as though trying to figure out what was wrong.
Ruby smiled in spite of herself. "I'm alright, Whisper," she said as she brushed the mare's cheek with her fingers.
Weiss had named the mare for the beautiful light gray dusting of spots across her back in reference to the sound of snow falling. Ruby hadn't thought snow had a sound until Weiss once called the sound of snowfall winter's whisper to the world. It was one of the first times Weiss revealed the parts of herself that she kept hidden beneath her icy, sometimes even abrasive exterior, and Ruby had been drawn to her ever since.
Ruby stroked Whisper's neck before reaching into her belt pouch and pulling out a sugarcube.
Weiss's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I don't believe it," she said as Whisper snorted excitedly and accepted the treat. "You brought sugar with you? Those cookies you brought on that Mountain Glenn hunt were bad enough, but now you've regressed to bringing pure sugar?"
"I always carry a few treats for her when we've got jobs together," Ruby admitted a little sheepishly.
And when she couldn't afford sugar, which was incredibly expensive since it had to be shipped from the tropical regions of Mistral, she was usually able to scrounge up an apple or a few carrot sticks at the very least. It was probably how she'd earned the mare's trust so quickly. Whisper tended to be standoffish and even irritable with anyone who wasn't Weiss. Until Ruby came along, that is.
Weiss's brow rose. "But we didn't have a job together. You didn't even know you were going to see me today."
"I may or may not have grabbed the wrong pouch when I headed out this morning," Ruby said as she rubbed the back of her neck with an embarrassed chuckle.
She offered the mare a second cube before dusting her hand off. She giggled as Whisper nudged her, nickering and begging for more treats. When it was clear more treats weren't forthcoming, Whisper heaved a much put upon sigh and ambled away to investigate some nearby vegetation.
Meanwhile, Weiss had been glancing up at Ruby and Whisper's interaction intermittently, her thoughts veiled as she tended to Ruby's wounds. But when she finally looked up after tying the last bandage in place, her gaze was so incredibly soft.
"You spoil her," she said, her voice brimming with warmth.
It was a warmth that shot straight into Ruby's soul and left her heart so full that she could barely breathe. She sat back to take Weiss in, finally noticing all the little things she had missed before.
The dried mud on Weiss's boots, the travel dust on her clothes and saddlebags, the way her hair was a little mussed as though she hadn't gotten around to fixing it…it all pointed to one clear fact. Weiss had just gotten back from her trip, and instead of reporting in to the Order's headquarters or going home to rest like she probably wanted to do, she had come out here to find Ruby.
"Weiss," Ruby murmured, her voice catching in her throat. Need and an intense rush of affection crashed over her like a rolling storm, stealing whatever other words she might have said.
Weiss looked up questioningly from where she was packing away her medkit.
Ruby's fingertips tingled as she reached out and touched Weiss's cheek. She stroked it gently before sliding her fingers down to cradle her chin. Ruby swallowed as her thumb caressed Weiss's bottom lip with a feather-light touch. She met Weiss's eyes searchingly. May I?
Because the physical aspects of their changing relationship were still fairly new, especially for Weiss; and the last thing Ruby wanted to do was to push her too hard, too fast. Weiss was too precious to risk rushing things and possibly damage what was only just blooming between them.
A delicate blush tinged Weiss's cheeks. But she only hesitated for the briefest instant before giving Ruby a short nod, which brought a wide smile to Ruby's face.
Ruby wouldn't remember who moved first although she was pretty sure it was both of them. All she remembered was the taste of Weiss's lips, the warmth of her breath, and the intense feeling of finally being home.
Their lips broke apart only to meet again and again. At some point, Ruby's hand slid up to the back of Weiss's head, and Weiss steadied herself by gripping Ruby's knee.
It wasn't enough, Ruby thought dizzily as they parted once more, both of them breathing hard. Her body moved before her mind could catch up, and she scooped Weiss into her lap, ignoring the fiery pain shooting through her bandaged arm.
Ruby pulled Weiss in close, settling her sideways across her lap. She curled her good arm around Weiss's waist and let the other rest across Weiss's knees.
Ruby breathed in deep as she buried her face against the crook of Weiss's neck, quietly reveling at the warmth and weight of Weiss's body against hers. The inexplicable sense of unease and tension that had built up within her while Weiss had been gone trickled away little by little, leaving Ruby's heart clean and unburdened for the first time in weeks.
"I missed you," Ruby breathed when she could finally bring herself to pull away.
Weiss's shoulders fell, and she looked away.
"I know. I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Father's been on my case about taking on too many jobs in the field, and he especially doesn't like me going on grimm hunts. He wants me to take a desk job instead so he can keep me under his thumb. And of course, he's somehow coerced several of my supervisors into finding other work for me every time a hunt comes along. This time it was messenger duty. They had me ride out to three other Order chapters to deliver reports even though those types of jobs are usually reserved for trainees, not full-fledged knights."
She nearly spat the last few words, and Ruby didn't blame her.
Weiss had worked hard for her knighthood, and she had been the first in her class when she graduated from the Order's training academy. But thanks to her father's meddling and a string of easily influenced, sometimes outright corrupt superiors, she had been denied promotions left and right.
Ruby pulled Weiss closer and nestled her cheek against Weiss's shoulder, hoping it would offer some comfort. "You should just join the Guild," she said, referring to Beacon's Mercenary Guild.
If the Atlas Order was considered the official peacekeeping force for grimm extermination and crimes that involved magic, the Mercenary Guild was its vigilante-born counterpart.
True, the Atlas Order was highly organized, and as a government-sanctioned organization, it had more resources to draw on than other groups. However, superior organization also meant more red tape to sift through. Someone could report a crime or problem to the Order, and the Order might not act on it for weeks or even months. And it didn't help that the organization as a whole had grown more elitist with each generation. The prestige of becoming a high-ranking knight was sometimes more important to its members than actually helping the people, so oftentimes small cases were overlooked in favor of ones that would boost one's reputation.
Thus, the Mercenary Guild came into being. If a person didn't have time to wait for the official channels and they had spare funds, they could register a job request with the Mercenary Guild instead. Individual mercenaries might not be as rigorously trained as knights of the Order, but that didn't mean they couldn't handle themselves in a fight. And for the mercenaries who weren't as skilled in combat as others, there were plenty of other Guild requests they could fulfill since jobs could range from bodyguard detail to even the mundane task of finding lost pets. Grimm extermination, however, was reserved for those like Ruby who had proven their combat abilities worthy of the honorary title of huntress or huntsman.
In fact, Ruby's job earlier that day was clearing out a sounder of boarbatusks that had been terrorizing several farms in the area. Boarbatusks were some of the easier grimm to hunt, but this time they had been scattered across roughly twenty-five acres of land, forcing Ruby to deplete her aura as she rushed back and forth from one area to another.
Honestly, Ruby should have waited for backup, but all her usual teammates had been out on other jobs. Plus, she'd been bored, and the farmers who had pooled what little money they had together to hire the Guild were terrified that they were about to lose their livelihoods to the rampaging, crop-trampling boarbatusks. Ruby didn't have the heart to tell them no after hearing their story and seeing their desperation.
Weiss grumbled as she shifted on Ruby's lap, subtly leaning into Ruby's hold.
"It's not off the table yet," she muttered sourly. "But I still want to do whatever I can to fix the Order. My grandfather was one of its founding members, and he envisioned it to be an organization that serves and protects the people. Instead, it's being used by people like my father to protect their own self-interests."
And that was the crux of it and why Weiss still hadn't given up even though it seemed like the world was against her. Her father certainly was. He wanted her to go home and be an "asset" to the family as if that was her only purpose in life. Weiss's fellow knights were no better, believing her to be a spoiled heiress who only obtained her knighthood by virtue of her family name rather than merit. Yet Weiss faced them all down day by day, rarely faltering even when Ruby knew someone's cutting comment had scored a hit.
A familiar combination of admiration and respect stirred within Ruby's chest. The woman in her arms was so amazingly strong, inspiring, and undeniably beautiful.
Ruby tightened her hold around Weiss's waist and reached up with her injured arm, ignoring the pain. She gently cupped Weiss's cheek, her thumb lightly grazing the scar across Weiss's left eye. Weiss didn't believe she was truly beautiful because of it, but Ruby was determined to one day prove her wrong.
In a surge of impulsiveness, Ruby captured Weiss's lips once more, humming with happiness when Weiss returned the kiss with equal fervor.
When they finally broke apart, Ruby pressed her brow against Weiss's cheek. Weiss's arm curled around Ruby's head and cradled it close for a moment.
"What was that for?" Weiss asked a little breathlessly, her cheeks pink, when Ruby drew away.
Ruby grinned and shrugged. "I just felt like it."
Weiss rolled her eyes and gave Ruby that one smile—a lopsided, half-curve of her lips that always seemed both exasperated and amused, as though Weiss was silently asking: what am I going to do with you?
Ruby might've answered her, but that was the moment when she was struck by the most brilliant idea ever.
"Hey, maybe I should go in and bring you a case when everyone else is out. That way they have to let you go. We could make a day of it!"
Weiss blinked, and her brow rose. "Ruby Rose. Is this, by any chance, your way of asking me out?"
"Yeah! I mean, we get to help people, fight monsters, and spend time together. What could be better than that? It's a win-win-win!"
Weiss's lips parted, and she just shook her head. "Only you would consider grimm hunting recreational."
Ruby tilted her head. "Recre-what?"
Weiss chuckled softly, the rare sound awakening a flurry of butterflies in Ruby's belly and bringing a smile to her lips.
That half-smile of Weiss's appeared once more. "It means you're ridiculous," Weiss told her. She stroked the line of Ruby's jaw, sending pleasant shivers down Ruby's spine. Weiss's voice dropped to a whisper as she leaned down, her eyes locked on Ruby's. "And I hope you never change."
This time it was Weiss who initiated their kiss, keeping it so slow and brimming with warmth that Ruby felt the heat all the way down to her toes.
Home, she thought as she smiled against Weiss's lips. This is home.
Epilogue
They walked back to Beacon, their fingers intertwined as Weiss recounted her trip and Ruby shared her latest Guild adventures. Whisper walked alongside them, carrying Ruby's scythe for her since her injured arm was now in a makeshift sling. They slowed to a stop just out of sight of Beacon's walls.
Ruby's good mood faded, knowing it might be days before she could see Weiss again. She forced a smile. "Guess this is it."
Weiss stared in the direction of the city, the late night gloom hiding her expression from view. However, the sigh that escaped her spoke volumes.
Ruby slid her good arm around Weiss, and Weiss leaned into the curve of Ruby's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Weiss said softly. "If it wasn't for my father…"
Ruby didn't let her finish. "Hey, no." She turned Weiss around so they could stand face to face. "We talked about this. We agreed to take things slow."
Because they both had their own dreams and aspirations, so it only made sense that they'd be walking along separate paths for a while longer.
Ruby wanted to earn her gold badge in the Guild, which would allow her to accept jobs in guildhalls all across Remnant without having to register and undertake a mandatory probationary period at each individual location like her current silver badge did. She'd finally be able to travel and see more of the world while still doing what she loved best: helping people and making the world a better place.
And Weiss wanted to move up high enough in the Order that her father would no longer be able to influence her life the way he did now. Only then would she have a chance to guide the Order back to its original calling of serving all people instead of prioritizing the upper-class.
But doubt lingered in Weiss's eyes because it was her father's fault that they had to be discreet and keep their relationship a secret. If he ever found out Weiss was in a relationship with a common mercenary like Ruby, he'd only make Weiss's life even more difficult. Weiss had enough on her plate. Ruby didn't want to add more.
Ruby drew Weiss into a warm embrace and kissed her temple.
"We'll figure this out together," she said softly. She pressed her brow to Weiss's, their breaths mingling in the night. "And if push comes to shove, I'll wait. 'Cause you're worth it. And you always will be."
Weiss sucked in an unsteady breath but said nothing. Instead, she pressed into Ruby, their bodies fitting together like two halves of a locket. Her arms locked themselves around Ruby's waist, and she buried her face against Ruby's shoulder.
Ruby encircled Weiss with equal strength, privately wishing that there was more she could do. Instead it seemed like all Ruby could ever do was hold Weiss like this when Weiss's burdens grew too heavy, but it never seemed like it was enough. But one day she hoped she could find a way to do more.
The shattered moon had risen high in the sky by the time they parted.
Ruby watched as Weiss guided her beloved mare towards Beacon's East Gate. It was a roundabout way to enter the city, but Weiss wanted Ruby to take the South Gate, which was just up ahead. The sooner Ruby got back to the city, the sooner she could get her injuries examined and treated by a proper physician or healer.
They didn't dare enter through the same gate because Weiss's father had spies everywhere. And if he heard that Weiss had returned alongside a common Guild member, he'd either force a summons or intrude on her workplace to remind her that appearances were everything and noble knights of the Atlas Order shouldn't be consorting with low-born, violent, unruly mercenaries.
It was only when Ruby could no longer hear Whisper's hoofbeats and the jingle of her tack that she, too, finally turned for home.
A/N: Hey everyone. How are things? Good, I hope. And if they're not, I hope they get better soon.
So I know it's been a very long while since I last uploaded anything, and I'm sorry for that. But this past year has been one of the hardest I've ever had to face for a number of reasons, and it left me with neither the time, energy, or motivation to write.
I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say that over the past year, there was a medical emergency in my extended family that led to several exhausting months of cleaning out what basically amounted to a hoarder's house. Meanwhile there was also much messy family drama, and interpersonal conflict always sets my anxiety off in the worst way. And due to events and circumstances beyond my control, I also ended up having to move out of my childhood home, which hurt more than I could have ever expected, and then had to move into what continues to be a rather toxic living environment with much unhappiness and many stressors.
At the height of all this, I was physically and emotionally exhausted, and fighting off anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns weekly because there was just so much going on, and I was constantly overloaded. Chronic low energy and depressive drops have also been persistent companions. So yeah, that's where I've been. There's more, but I won't get into that here. Thankfully, things have settled down a little, hence me being able to put out this one-shot for you all, but they're still not great, sadly.
All in all, I know people have been wondering where I've been and if I'm going to continue any of my stories or if I'm even writing at all. And all I can say is that I'm trying. Trying to be okay, trying to ease back into writing, trying to breathe and hold onto the good things in life. And of course, some days those things are easier to do than others, but I'm trying. Thank you everyone for being so patient as they wait for whatever I manage to write and upload next. And extra thanks to those who've left kind messages and words of encouragement either in the comments of any of my stories or on my tumblr.
Take care everyone, and stay safe out there. And know that I love and appreciate you all so MUCH for coming back to my writing again and again. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
P.S. So I'm trying something a little new, namely, writing a series of interconnected one-shots rather than one continuous story. Basically, I love playing with this world and exploring these versions of our whiterose pair, but I don't have the energy or motivation to come up with expansive plots or story arcs. It's the middle ground between not writing at all and still being a little too overwhelmed to work on any of my long-fics. And there will be at least one more one-shot for this universe that should be coming out relatively soon-ish, I hope, and it's one that I'm really rather proud of. :) Hopefully you all love reading it as much as I enjoyed crafting it.
P.P.S. For those who like music, I used "Firelight" by wrathe & medz to help me visualize how I wanted to portray Ruby in this piece. I tried to capture how although this relationship is pretty new for Ruby too, she isn't bothered by all the things Weiss worries about. Instead, Ruby's already all in because she's excited and looking forward to how great their relationship is going to be. And she's fine with waiting for Weiss to get to that point as well because when Weiss finally does, things are only going to get better. :)