Chapter written by Dixie

Warning: Mentions of suicide

Exactly two years had passed since she'd fallen off the boat, two years since she'd stared death in the face and was pulled back into the living by her angel. Two years since her father outright told her that she was a fool for falling off in the first place.

It often had her wondering if her family would miss her had she really lost her life that day, or would they just pick up where they left off and keep on going about their lives? Sometimes she thoroughly believed it would be the latter judging by the way they reacted upon learning about the boat incident.

The only one who had been genuinely worried about her was Ruby, her guardian angel and her savior. Although she'd been informed that Ruby wasn't exactly an angel anymore, she was told that rescuing Weiss had cost Ruby her wings. Ruby didn't explain why, so she'd settled with the excuse that those in the afterlife had wanted her dead.

Since then, Ruby had become just a little more protective of her. Weiss often had to reassure her that she'd be fine without Ruby watching her every waking minute of every day. She couldn't exactly follow her anymore considering she was now visible to humankind. Truth be told? Weiss found her overprotectiveness just a little bit annoying, but she knew that Ruby was trying her best to trust her.

"Every time I turn my back thinking you'll be alright, something happens to you. . ."

After hearing the angel's concerns for her safety, she'd promised to take up defense classes to be able to protect herself in a crisis. It seemed to relax Ruby some, but Weiss could still tell that she worried for her.

Whenever Weiss returned from a hard day with her father, Ruby emerged from her hiding place and always found a way to make her smile, even if Weiss was feeling exhausted and dejected.

It'd become easier for them to hide when Weiss was sent away to the Beacon boarding school, although her father did intervene with her life a lot, she had her own dorm room that she stayed in all by herself. Well, if you didn't count Ruby.

Ruby also seemed to like their new living routine considering she didn't have to hide as much anymore. She roamed the dorm freely, but she couldn't exit because she wasn't exactly in the position to be enrolled in the school. Thankfully, she didn't have to eat much to survive, she didn't really understand electronics, so people growing suspicious was very unlikely.

When she wasn't annoyed by the angel's presence, it was kind of nice having somebody dote on her because they wanted to, not because they were paid to. Sometimes, she woke up in Ruby's arms because she'd fallen asleep while studying, and if she had to be honest, she kind of liked it. Ruby was surprisingly warm for an angel who'd been deceased for who knows how long.

"Why do you hold me?"

"It's. . . My way of keeping you safe. If you're near me, I know you won't be hurt. . . But if you don't like it, I'll stop-"

"N-no, it's fine."

She knew when she was with her family, she had to maintain a certain posture, act a certain way and do what was expected of her. Otherwise, bad things would happen. . .

When she was in the presence of other people, she had to play the role of the obedient daughter, only speaking when addressed. . .

Today would be no different.

Weiss had been told that she was expected to be at the Schnee Mansion by three to meet someone her father claimed to be her possible future husband, a nineteen-year old man and the son of the SDC's best ally. Her father said that if they were to marry, it would bring great fame and fortune to both companies. There was a selfish reason behind everything he did.

If she knew her father, he would destroy the other company if she was so much as engaged to the other heir, simply to keep the Schnees on top. . .

"Weiss." Ruby's worried voice dragged Weiss back to her senses and she looked over at the wingless angel. "Are you sure you want to meet this man? You don't have to."

Technically, she did. "I don't have a choice," Weiss replied, turning back to the mirror to examine her reflection, "it's either I go on a date with him, or I face my father's wrath."

"Both are equally bad." Ruby commented, sounding displeased with Weiss' decision. "I can erase his memory so you don't have to meet his guy if you want me to."

Weiss shook her head and faced the brunette, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder as she approached her. "I'll be fine, Ruby." She smiled and reached to place her hand on the angel's shoulder. "I'm not completely, utterly defenseless anymore. Plus the law will be on my side if anything happens."

"That's exactly my problem! I don't want anything happening to you. What if you're killed-"

The sixteen-year old sighed, "Ruby, look at me." Silver eyes met blue. "I'll come back home, I promise ."

Terror flashed through Ruby's silver eyes, and she took a long step away from her, grief and pain flickering across her face. "That's what you- that's what she. . . said before. . . Y- She never came home."

Weiss frowned in confusion. Here recently, Ruby would get reluctant and afraid, whispering something that sounded like it was about her , but when Weiss asked if she was alright., Ruby would shake her head, smile, and say she was fine. She was curious. . . Whoever this was is a person very special to the angel. By the way she was acting, she was gone.

Could it be the same person Ruby mentioned when she was little? "Ruby." Weiss said gently, carefully coming to the frightened woman's side and meeting her eyes. "You did it again, you mentioned her . Who is she? Tell me, please. . . "

Ruby's eyes flashed with something unreadable and a grief-stricken expression crossed her features. "Weiss, I-I can't tell-"

"It's causing you pain. . . You always tell me that it's better to get it off my chest instead of bottling it up," Weiss offered her a small, reassuring smile, "let me help you for once."

All of her life, Ruby had been right there when she needed help, raising her spirits and making her feel better, but when Ruby needed someone, she simply shut herself away. It was something she'd noticed soon after Ruby had lost her wings, she kept her emotions contained as though the floodgates would open if she showed any signs of weakness.

"I lost her." The woman bowed her head, body shaking with restrained sobs. "It's been sixteen years. Ruby whispered painfully, trying to keep herself held together. "But it still hurts so much . . . I shouldn't be hurting anymore!"

"Ruby, who did you lose exactly?" Weiss asked, stepping closer to the angel. "Was it somebody close to you?"

It had to be. Weiss had never seen her like this. . . But, what would have caused it? Was it something she said that triggered it?

Ruby's arms clenched at her sides, she avoided eye contact with her. "W-we grew up in the old ages, when being LGBT was strictly prohibited and punishable by death." Just what in the world was she talking about? "She wasn't royal, but she came from a wealthy family who believed that the Gods wanted gays to burn alive. My family didn't care. . ."

"What are you going on about?" Weiss knelt to her side, frowning when Ruby turned to face away from her. Okay. That hurt. . . Didn't she trust her? "Who is 'she'?" A pang of jealousy and anger struck her. Somebody had hurt her, someone close to her. If they were cruel enough to do such a heartless thing, then they didn't deserve her.

"W-we were put in this. . . House and they set fire to it." Was she telling her about her death. . .? Why now? What does that have to do with anything? "I found a way out and we escaped with the others. We got the others to safety, but they were still after us. . . So we ran. We were cornered. . ." Yep, this is definitely how she died. "We said we weren't gonna let those bastards kill us. . ." Ruby's fists clenched, "So, we jumped."

Weiss frowned, "You jumped. . .?"

Ruby nodded once. "On the way down, it wasn't a spoken thing, but we decided we wanted to live. Because dying meant they won. . . But, when we hit the water, she struck her head on a rock beneath the surface. . . She-she died upon impact. I survived, and I was hoping she was just unconscious, but by the time I got us to a temporarily safe spot, my lungs had already filled with water and when I closed my eyes. . . She was right there in front of me. We were dead. . . But because we saved so many lives, we were offered a spot in the angel community, so we took it."

Weiss stared at her for a long minute. "So if both of you are dead. . . Then why aren't you with her right now? You wouldn't be hurting."

Ruby lifted her head, silver eyes meeting Weiss' blue pair. Her expression was completely unreadable. "I lost her there too. . . She was offered a position in the angel military and she died in the Heaven Hell war. She. . . She promised me she would come home."

So she'd lost this girl twice already. . . Judging by how she was speaking, Weiss could only assume the mentioned girl was Ruby's girlfriend. Weiss grit her teeth and pushed down the indescribable anger she was feeling. "Okay." She whispered, "Who was she. . .?" Maybe it wasn't her girlfriend? If she wasn't, then she was a very, very good friend.

"My wife."

Her. . . Wife. She was married . Why did that hurt so much? Was she just a replacement? Wait, no! Ruby was her friend, she wouldn't do that.

"Well," Weiss started, ignoring the aching in her chest, "maybe you can see her again when she dies." She said bluntly, unaware of the panicked look in Ruby's eyes as she turned her attention to the clock. "It's one-thirty, I've got to go. It'll be a long ride. . . But I'll be back soon."

"Bye. . ." Ruby said from behind her, her voice soft and very audible. "Be safe. Please. . ."

Weiss glanced over her shoulder, her hand on the door. "I'll be fine. I promise." She left the room, but before she closed the door, she could've sworn she heard Ruby whisper something from, but it was too quiet for her to be able to make it out.

"I don't wanna lose you again. . ."

A/N: This is a small project that Dixie (Dreaming-Paradise) or DreamingParadise14 (on Ao3) and I are collabing together. I will state which chapters Dixie wrote and which I wrote (though if I forget, it's usually odd numbered chaps for me and even numbered chaps for Dixie). Updates will be on and off as we're working on our own fanfics, but hope that y'all enjoy!