So slowly the sunlight streamed in through the blinds, pulling Weiss out of sleep. She groaned slightly, turning away.

Right. It was summer vacation. She deserved to sleep in a little bit. Weiss yawned.

The thing was, she was Weiss Schnee, and she literally could not physically sleep in. Her mind was always hard-wired to wake up in the morning, like it was ready for all manner of activities all day, no matter where she was or what time of year it was. It wasn't so easy to acclimatise to being anywhere but Schnee Manor.

Hah. That was an evergreen statement.

So, Weiss got up. She washed her face and made her way downstairs, her steps light so as to not wake anyone else up. It was pretty early still. The sun was just rising, a marvellous purple-orange swirl washing over the horizon. Weiss put the coffee on before she padded out to the back deck, gently closing the sliding door. There was an old wooden swing that Blake had assured her was still perfectly safe, though the cracked, peeling white paint suggested not an insignificant amount of wear and tear. Weiss decided that the drama of the moment demanded she get on, so she decided to reserve her worries for if she actually died on the swing, and sat herself down.

It was peaceful. Her, the swing, the sound of the ocean and a light breeze, all watching the majesty of the sun rise over the land. Weiss sat there for a while, letting the sunbeams wash over her, imagining she was drenching herself not in the water, but the rays of sunshine, like she could feel each mote of sunlight brush over her pale skin, sliding and dripping off her in waves. She felt light and airy and content for a little while.

The sliding glass door opened with a small squeak, and Ruby Rose walked out with two mugs of delicious smelling coffee.

If Weiss thought she enjoyed bathing herself in the sunlight, she loved how it looked on Ruby. It almost gave her an ethereal glow, orange and bright like in that photo of Yang and Blake. She was in her pyjamas, and her hair was sticking every which way, and Weiss could still see her dredging off the last edges of sleep, but Weiss thought she looked nothing short of lovely.

A cutie-patootie, if you would. Weiss blanched at herself momentarily. God, she knew she was smitten, but, that was genuinely atrocious.

Still, she thought as Ruby silently handed her a mug of coffee before taking a seat beside her, the sentiment remained.

"Morning," Ruby said as she sat down, stifling a little yawn. God, okay, come on, that was cute. Nobody was going to fault her on that one.

"It is a pretty one," Weiss collected herself, breathing her coffee in deep. Ruby rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, nodding in agreement. They sat there for a while, close, and in silence. Weiss tried her best to get back on track, to keep appreciating the beauty of the natural world, of the miracle of the sun rising every day, but she found her mind wandered, always wandered back to the prettier sight beside her with the crimson highlights in her hair.

"So," Ruby was the first to break the silence, the orange glow of dawn transitioned fully to a bright, burning sunlight now. The clouds overhead drifted along lazily, providing some measure of comfort and protection from the harsher rays of sun. "What's the plan, Weiss?"

"You're asking me," Weiss said with an evasive shrug. She was more than content to just follow everyone else, really. Normally, very off brand for her, but she hadn't exactly come along with the intention to hijack their yearly tradition. She had even done the minimal amount of preparation and study on the area, to make sure she wouldn't accidentally overstep. Ruby sipped on her (sickeningly sweet, Weiss knew) coffee, her brow quirked. She looked at Weiss, a thin smile on her face.

"It's your first actual summer vacation, one that we all want you to enjoy," Ruby motioned vaguely with her free hand behind her, towards where Yang and Blake were probably (hopefully) sleeping soundly. "Come on, what d'you want to do?"

Weiss thought about it, considered Ruby's words carefully. Though she knew Ruby Rose to have always been sincere with her, her Schnee pragmatism still gave her reason to pause. Maybe the word was disbelief. It irritated her, her inherent scepticism. She resolved to change that habit.

"I've never been on a sailboat before," Weiss said. She had been on plenty of yachts, cruise ships and the like, but never on one of those small sailboats, where you had to work to get the boat where you wanted to go. She had always been curious, and she had spotted a couple sailboats docked at the jetty when Ruby had given them an accidental grand tour of Haven, one that she was adamantly not ashamed of.

Ruby grinned. "That's what I like to hear. Alright, Weiss, let's give you some new experiences!"

That grin, and the idea of new experiences, oh the places Weiss could go with that.

"Thank you," Weiss said, muffling herself a little bit into her cup. Ruby tilted her head. "For bringing me along," Weiss clarified.

Ruby scoffed, looking at her like she was the biggest idiot she'd ever met. "Not gonna just go on summer vacation without you Weiss. You're my best friend," Ruby said. As soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth, Weiss felt a confusing, revolting mixture of happiness and disappointment. She couldn't place which feeling was where exactly, all of it mixed around, blending and bleeding into one another, like paint on an easel. Weiss instead centred herself on the crook of Ruby's smile, the dip of her chin, the hollow of her throat, the line of her jaw, the bright, honest, eyes that held no secrets. Right.

Keep it together, Weiss.

"I..." Weiss hated the words that she didn't know, always, always didn't know. There were bursts, moments where she knew exactly what to say, exactly how to say it, and how to get exactly the reaction she wanted from Ruby. They came and went, and more often than not, Weiss found herself instead floored, stalled like a faulty engine at the barest display of genuine, vulnerable emotion. "You're- you're my best friend, too," Weiss said, dredging the truth of the matter out from the pit of her heart and plastering it messily over Ruby Rose: the Weiss Schnee special in displaying emotions. She could smack her head against a wall.

Ruby smiled wide, and she leaned over to bump the sides of their heads together. Affection and respect for the older girl beside her clear as day for anyone, even Weiss, to see. Weiss shut her eyes.

Love.

Love, love, love.

If Weiss wasn't careful, if Weiss was just a little bit more impulsive, it would have been so easy to just turn her head and-

All she needed to do was tilt her head a little bit and kiss-

The scent of Ruby would have been so intoxicating-

The feel of her skin against Weiss' own-

Weiss felt her stomach coil, twisting and turning in her guts, stronger than ever before.

"Ruby, I-" Weiss began.

"Hey, Weiss-" Ruby started to say.

They both stopped and stared at each other. Ruby huffed a bright, easy laugh. "You go ahead," Ruby said.

"No, you should go first," Weiss said, biting her lips.

"I... was just going to ask what you wanted for breakfast," Ruby said, casting a glance over to the kitchen. Weiss swallowed thickly, getting out of the thick, heavy bog of her thoughts. She started by getting off the swing. She began feeling the first edges of heat prick at her scalp, threatening to make her sweat. She headed into the shelter of the house, knowing Ruby was right behind her.

"How do some pancakes sound?" Weiss asked as she rounded the kitchen island, setting her coffee down to check the pantries and fridge.

"I think I was asking you what you wanted to eat," Ruby said, her wide smile threatening to eat Weiss alive.

"Yes, well, now I'm asking you," Weiss said as she retrieved a box of the pancake mix. She looked back at the pantry, and smiled. "We even have some chocolate chips," she reached up on her tip toes to grab at it. It was useless, just right out of her reach, and she cursed the fact that she wasn't wearing her usual heels or wedges right about then.

Ruby came up behind her, grabbing the bag of chocolate chips easily. Weiss turned around to scowl at the younger (taller! Damn her) girl, and found herself in close, too close proximity to her, trapped between her and the kitchen counter. She felt her face heat up. The air in the kitchen became thick, electrified with energy, familiar and insistent and demanding. It wasn't something Weiss thought about in the moment, but afterwards, she would say that there was some sort of shift, like someone had doused the kitchen in gasoline and was standing over them with an unlit match. Anything was possible. Even the idea of a traumatised, barely functioning, neurotic Atlas heiress together with a perfect, brilliant, caring Vale girl.

Gray orbs locked eyes with blue. Weiss felt her breath drop out of her chest, somehow getting caught in her throat at the same time. Ruby put the bag on the counter, and if Weiss was hopeful, if Weiss wasn't mistaken, the look in Ruby's eyes could have been something like hunger. She felt her mouth go dry; she felt her heart begin to pound.

Close. So close. The rational part of her brain had been thrown out the window, all its protests fading away, softer and softer by the second. How and why didn't matter, all that mattered to Weiss was her heart hammering in her ears and Ruby's lips that seemed so, so inviting.

She heard the click of the door unlock. Ruby withdrew immediately, drawing away like she got burned. Around the corner, Blake came out, yawning and dressed in a lavish purple silk robe. Her eyes were still squinting, adjusting to the harsh sunlight. Her hair was in a mess, and her ears were down flat on her head.

On some level, she was furious, absolutely furious with the Faunus girl. Oh god almighty, how many times had she dreamed about that exact scenario happening? How many times had she fantasized, all the times she would be that close to Ruby Rose again?

On the other hand, she could kiss Blake instead. She was just that close to making a huge mistake. She was that close to exploding. She didn't know how to process all of that, so instead what she did was turn around and pour another cup of coffee to give to Blake, who took it gratefully. Weiss didn't know if Blake could sense the lingering tension in the air, the unfinished, unexamined, unsatisfaction of Weiss and Ruby.

This summer was a bad idea. Weiss knew it. Weiss knew it. She took a chance to briefly look at Ruby, who still had hooded desire burning behind her eyes. She swallowed thickly, and then set about getting the pan out to start making breakfast, intending to dispel all illusions, to go back to normal as soon as possible.

"Pancakes?" Weiss asked, her voice rough in her throat. She turned her head to look at Blake, whose eyes were still squinting as they adjusted to the bright morning. She nodded blearily, taking her coffee with her to the bathroom.

Weiss got the stove on and started cutting a stick of butter up, her eyes never daring to stray too far. They made breakfast in silence.

Fuck, could you blame her? The first edges of shame began welling up, wrapping itself around her heart and threatening to tug it down. God, what was she thinking? What was she thinking? She had a million, million reasons, she couldn't do it. She couldn't. But as soon as Ruby even-

What was Ruby thinking? What did Ruby think? What was- Who did she-

Weiss clenched her fist, unclenching it slowly with a soft exhale. Her mind was a mess, a confused tidal wave of emotions and questions. But there were still pancakes to be made.

She put four on a plate, all chocolate chips. She breathed in deep, then finally looked up at Ruby, who was standing off to the side with a far off look in her eyes. Weiss put the plate down on the island with a deliberate 'clink!', catching Ruby's attention.

"Your pancakes," Weiss said, biting her lip. Ruby pursed her lips. She made to move, but stopped herself and sighed.

"Sorry," she mumbled into the air between them. She couldn't meet Weiss' eyes, and it broke her heart a little bit to see her like this, and all she wanted to do was just finish the damn job, to take her in her arms and have all this be done with.

Instead-

Instead, Weiss nodded mutely, finishing up breakfast.

"What are we up to today?" Yang asked when she finally woke up a couple hours after everyone else, her form somehow messy and glorious still. She held a coffee cup in one hand as she ran her other hand through her wild mane. She idly scratched at her exposed, firmly toned stomach. Weiss didn't have any feelings for her, but... she was still kinda gay. So. She could admire. She was allowed.

Ruby had spent a while in her room after breakfast. Weiss briefly considered going up there, but she realised that that perhaps wasn't the best idea. She had instead grabbed a book from her room, reading on the couch. Blake joined her after a spell, the two of them reading in complete silence. Weiss thought that that was maybe Blake's ideal way of spending time with any human being not named Yang Xiao Long.

She tried to shift her mind away from Ruby. It half worked. Weiss would sometimes catch herself glazing over the words on the page as her mind wandered back to untangling the Gordian knot in her head labelled Ruby Rose. It was exhausting, truly. Not for the first time, she wished for some impossible miracle of solution to the problem, in the most abstract of ways.

Like, a meteor hitting her, or a wizard trapping her in eternal solitude atop a tower, or that she could wake up and this was all a strange dream.

It didn't matter. But Ruby had come down shortly after Yang woke up. She sat at the foot of the stairs as the group discussed their plans for the day.

"Didn't you want to do some shopping?" Blake asked Yang, who comfortably plopped herself on the couch beside the Faunus, settling comfortably into her side. Blake planted a quick kiss on Yang's cheek as they seemed to melt into each other. Love was sickening.

"Right yeah, for the thing," Yang said, nodding. Weiss quirked her brow.

"The thing?" Weiss asked. Yang looked at Blake, then turned to look at Ruby, who was staring at the rest, but kept silent.

"You guys didn't tell her about the thing?" Yang asked them. They both shrugged in turn.

"What's the thing?" Weiss asked, irritation lacing into her voice. "You keep saying the thing."

"Y'know..." Yang gestured vaguely around her with her cup, staring at Weiss expectantly. "The thing."

Alright. She was doing it on purpose. Weiss blew a strand of hair out of her face and crossed her arms, not giving Yang the satisfaction of messing with her. Yang smiled and rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"It's the summer festival celebration, they have it every year here," Yang explained finally. Blake nodded in affirmation.

"You guys never told me about any festival," Weiss said.

"It's at the end of the week," Blake said. "At the lighthouse. Don't worry about it; it's not like, a fancy thing or anything. It's really fun. There's a dance, and food and activities. The people here get really into it, and everyone's welcome to celebrate. We've gone almost every year."

"Sounds... festive," Weiss said. "Do I need to get anything special for it or anything?"

"No," Blake answered easily. Then she flickered a glance, a look at Yang. "Unless you want to follow us to go shopping...?" she tapered off at the end of her sentence. Weiss pursed her lips.

That would be the easy way out. She looked over Yang's shoulder to Ruby, who was still sitting sullenly at the foot of the stairs. Her heart felt a little heavy.

"Ruby and I have plans," Weiss said. Ruby immediately perked up. "We're going to go sailing."

Yang raised both brows, whipping her head over to look at Ruby, who smiled a small smile and nodded.

She met Weiss' eyes, and there must have been something in them, because Weiss could see her visibly relax and soften. Weiss smiled, giving Ruby a little half-shrug, unspoken words enough for now. For now.

Ruby headed upstairs as Yang took a shower, and Weiss decided this time to go after her. (Was that smart? Would it be the smartest decision she could make? To just follow Ruby, and just keep it that way. To just trust, because before this she never had anything she could trust without question like that. Weiss wanted to, God help her.)

She knocked on Ruby's door, soft taps that seemed loud against the quiet din of the upstairs hallway. A silence that seemed to balloon bigger and bigger the longer she waited outside the door. The door handle turned, an action that seemed sure of itself, even if it was slow and deliberate, like it was an eventuality that the door would open. Weiss found herself face to face with Ruby Rose.

"Can I come in?" Weiss asked, as gentle as she could. She found her hands were held behind her, and made to deliberately place them by her sides. Ruby looked at her for a spell, and it felt like smoothing out a wrinkled shirt, like there was some relief to be found in the younger girl's gaze.

"I... yeah," Ruby stepped aside, biting her bottom lip. "Yeah, come on in."

Weiss stepped in, feeling the cool ocean breeze through the window, the ghostly fluttering of the curtains in the quiet morning. It made her feel less present, and maybe that was a good thing, maybe that helped her feel a little braver. Somehow it guided her, tethered her to the here and now, like she had an anchor in reality. Paradoxical, but so was her relationship with Ruby. But so was she.

"I'm sorry," Weiss started off, turning around to face Ruby, who was leaning against her closed door. "I'm-"

"No, hey, Weiss, you don't have to apologise to me," Ruby immediately cut her off, launching off the door with a bound of energy. She held her hands up to stop Weiss, shaking her head violently. A deep crimson shade started off at the exposed portion of her chest and spread upwards, to the tips of her ears. For a brief moment, Weiss wondered what other parts of her body flushed so deeply when she was embarrassed. For a brief moment, Weiss wanted nothing more than to find out. She clenched her fists tight for a second.

"Ruby, listen to me," Weiss said, stepping closer with an authority and confidence that she didn't feel. "We have to make it through this week without..."

Weiss swallowed thickly, the notion of saying 'making out, among other things' out loud making her pause. She barrelled on through.

"We just have to make it back to Vale without incident," Weiss said. "It's summer, we're getting all caught up in ourselves, and- and the beach, and-"

They were too close. Weiss felt like she was really pushing the boundaries here, testing the both of them like she they weren't both razor wires pulled taut. Weiss didn't take another step.

Ruby looked like she was considering Weiss' entire being. She never strayed her focus away from Weiss, and she couldn't pull her eyes away from her either. It was easy. It was the easiest thing to do for Weiss, was just to stand here all day and look at Ruby, and give into all those feeling she'd bottled up and stuffed away. But it wasn't about easy. It was about what was right.

Weiss swallowed again, feeling her throat start to constrict.

It was about what was right, and she and Ruby were not.

She wasn't. And she wouldn't let it affect her. Not Ruby, who was kind and gracious and was the best thing to ever happen to her. Not her.

"Okay," Ruby said, finally. And she made a motion like she was shrugging with her whole body, and she blew out a breath, sharp and quick. She smiled, and finally looked away. Ruby crossed her arms and nodded. "Okay," she repeated.

"Okay," Weiss agreed, then returned her hands behind her back.

They stood there in silence for a while.

"So, you wanna go get on that boat?" Ruby asked, sticking her hands in her pockets. Weiss smiled.

"Absolutely," she said.

Absolutely not.

The boat in question was an old, worn thing, with paint peeling off the side. In fading letters, the name 'The Unsinkable II' was inscribed on the side. The man who had agreed to let them aboard seemed familiar with Ruby. He seemed a kindly old man, with a great bushy beard. He had clapped Ruby on the back with gusto as he welcomed her back to the shipyard.

"Little Miss Rose!" he boomed. "A pleasure to see you again," he said, chuckling heartily.

"Hey, Cap'n," Ruby gave him a little two finger salute. "It's good to be back. This is my friend, Weiss," Ruby wrapped her arm around Weiss' shoulder and brought her forward.

The Captain eyed her up and down, rubbing his beard in thought as he seemed to evaluate her. Then he nodded in satisfaction.

"Good to meet you, Miss," he said, the smile on his face wide and welcoming. He shook her hand vigorously, apparently never doing anything in half-measures.

He had shown her around the dock, pointing out the different types of boats and their uses, before he finally stopped them at their boat.

"If you've no more questions, I'll leave you in the more than capable hands of our Miss Rose," he said, winking at Ruby. He fished out some keys and placed them in Ruby's hand, patting her on the shoulder as he walked off. Ruby spun the key-ring around her index finger.

"No way," Weiss said, arms akimbo.

"Oh, yeah," Ruby said, her grin toothy and eager. "Do yeh believe in ghost stories, Miss Schnee?" Ruby asked in her most pirate-y accent. Weiss sighed, shaking her head.

"This cannot possibly be safe," Weiss pointed at the boat.

"What are you talking about? It's literally named 'Unsinkable'," Ruby slapped a hand over the peeling lettering.

"Two! The Unsinkable Two!" Weiss exclaimed. "What happened to the first Unsinkable, Ruby? Where is Unsinkable One?!"

Ruby appeared to consider the thought for a moment, before she shrugged easily. She stopped twirling the keys around her fingers, stuffing it in the pocket of her shorts. She stepped a little closer to Weiss.

"Listen, I've been on this tub a bunch of times. I know how to drive it and everything," she extended a hand towards Weiss. "Do you trust me?"

As if that was fair. Weiss sighed again, crossing her arms briefly. Ruby didn't falter, her hand still outstretched. Weiss finally relented with an explosive groan.

"Of course I trust you," she grumbled, taking Ruby's hand in her own. Ruby's smile could outshine the sun. She easily climbed aboard, still holding onto Weiss' hand.

Weiss, unsteady, but guided by Ruby's firm grip, slowly clambered aboard. The boat rocked a little with her jerky movements. Ruby giggled a little bit as Weiss fell into a crouched position, gripping the railing by the side tight.

"Easy, see? One foot in front of the other. Nothing to it. Now here," Ruby pulled Weiss up slowly, guiding her towards the comfortable, worn seats behind the steering wheel. "Be back in a minute," she said, as Weiss took a seat. Then she took off, easy, practiced movements, as she unfurled the sails and hoisted it. She seemed totally in her element. The last time Weiss had seen her with such grace and focus was back in shop class. She moved quickly, her actions swift and strong. It almost seemed like the wind picked up with her movements. Her short hair whipped around her face, and she brushed it away with an errant hand before sliding over to the next task. She paused as she tied off the last rigging, looking over to Weiss with a little smile on her face.

Holy hell. Weiss could've melted then and there. The dimples and the squint and the proud look of satisfaction, and the hair blowing all around, and her small frame didn't betray the amount of strength she had, and her legs were longer than Weiss remembered them being, and she was walking around the sails over to Weiss like she was sure.

Ruby paused again as she reached the wheel of the ship. Then, with a hesitated movement, threw her shirt over her head and onto the floor. Her bikini top was red, and all Weiss could look at was her back, exposed but for the bikini strap, and oh god almighty-

Weiss had only barely managed to keep it together when Ruby was wearing that one piece, and now she had an actual bikini on, and she was doing all this boat stuff with confidence, and the wind was still blowing and her hair was still-

Weiss sucked in a shuddering breath. Okay. That it was official. She was kind of turned on. Fuck. Fuck.

Weiss wanted to take a leap off the boat into the bay, to clear her head of sinful, shameful thoughts. Away from Ruby Rose, all things bright and beautiful and gorgeous, and was there like a lower deck in this thing?

The engine started with a little sputter as Ruby keyed the ignition, and off they went.

Somewhere along the way, Weiss had made the executive decision to also lose her shirt, because, well.

It was hot. It was. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was bearing down on them, and it was hot okay?

Ruby steered them out of the bay easily, speeding along the open waters. Weiss watched the island get tinier in the distance. Then Ruby stepped off the ignition, letting the boat drift as she turned around and joined Weiss in the seats.

"So, whaddaya think?" Ruby asked, stretching out and motioning towards the water, sparking in the sun. All she could hear this far out was the distant cry of seagulls, and the low rumble of the boat's engine. The wind blew magnificently, the sails billowing and buffeting as it carried them along. Weiss admitted, the novelty of it all was pretty nice. She'd never been out at sea with only one other person. It was kind of scary, but in an exciting way. It was trying something new, and with someone new, and it was just open water and Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose, and it was scary and nice.

Weiss got up out of her seat, trying to appear more composed than she felt. She held a hand up to shield the sun from her eyes as she looked out towards the horizon. She turned and flashed a smile at Ruby, who was leaning easily against the wheel.

"It's nice. Thank you for bringing me out here," Weiss said.

"My pleasure, Weiss," Ruby threw up finger guns at the older girl.

"You really seem to know your way around all of this," Weiss said. "When did you learn to drive one of these things anyway?"

Ruby pushed herself off the wheel, moving around the sails to check the ropes absently. "Well, it was a couple summers ago, when Blake first got us up here. I met the Captain at the diner, and he mentioned about the boats and everything. Blake was not super enthused with the idea, but Yang and I managed to coax her up. I asked him if I could take the wheel for a minute, and I just... kind of took a shining to all of this," Ruby motioned all around her. "Eventually, he taught me everything, and I guess I picked up pretty quick. I make it a point to at least visit him every time we come here."

"Well, it's very impressive," Weiss said, trailing over to the front of the boat. Ruby followed along on the opposite end. She stopped abruptly, then turned to look at Ruby. "You're amazing at it. Maybe I should start thinking about making a list of my own."

Ruby snorted. "It'd be a pretty short list," she waved Weiss off. Weiss frowned. Eventually, they met at the front of the boat.

"No, it wouldn't," Weiss told her in no uncertain terms.

Ruby shrugged, turning away from Weiss to stand at the very edge of the front of the boat. Weiss huffed a breath in annoyance, walking up behind her.

"You ever watch Titanic?" Ruby asked suddenly. Weiss quirked a brow.

"Yes?"

Ruby turned her head slightly to grin at Weiss, then held her arms out.

"I'm the king of the world!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, laughing as she did. Weiss couldn't suppress her own giggles. What a ridiculous human being. An absolute goober.

And Weiss loved her. Every bit of her. All the things she saw, all the things she didn't. All of it.

Her mind began to shift, all the important things she held up like a shield to stop herself moving towards Ruby started lowering all at once. She felt like she could see it clearly now.

With slow footsteps, but every one of them sure, Weiss came in closer to Ruby.

Slowly she wrapped her arms around Ruby's midsection, resting the point of her chin on Ruby's shoulder, though she had to tip-toe a little bit to do it. She felt Ruby's breath hitch, she felt her own arms raise up in goose pimples. She felt the quiet calm of the air, she felt nothing but love. The part of her head that told her what she was doing was dumb and ridiculous shut itself up. The part of her heart that hurt felt itself soothed as she held onto Ruby. It was as easy as all this.

"Titanic, right?" Weiss breathed, huffing a small laugh. She felt Ruby breath out a laugh of her own, though it might have very well been a little gasp.

"Ruby," Weiss murmured.

"Yeah?" Ruby choked back.

"I'm really lucky I met you," Weiss said, then paused. That didn't even begin to encompass everything she wanted to say. "You're kind, and funny, and amazing. I..."

Ruby didn't speak. Weiss couldn't find her words.

"Your list would be miles long," Weiss said, and that wasn't it. That wasn't it at all, but it was the closest she could come right now. It felt like the fog in her head was lifting. It felt like it had always been lifting, since she met Ruby. Like before, she was living in a haze, blindly stumbling her way through life, guided only by the warped ideals she held, and the harsh, cold voice of her father. Now, it was like she was beginning to see clearly. Like she could see the path ahead of her, like she could all the paths before her, and she could finally choose which one to take.

Meeting Ruby really was the best thing to happen to her.

Ruby put her hands on Weiss' own.

"Meeting you has been the best thing that's ever happened to me," Ruby said, her voice rough. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

The air was still. It quietened down, the way it tended to before someone said something important, something that really, really mattered.

"I love you," Ruby said.

Weiss didn't know how to respond. She felt her heart pound in her ears, felt her blood course through her whole body, tingling from the top of the head down to the tips of her toes. The words rang in her head, true and important in a way that nothing else was, nothing else ever could be.

Ruby didn't react badly to her silence, like she knew that Weiss couldn't possibly answer, not at the moment at least. Instead, she took one of Weiss' hands, bringing it up to her face, and kissed her knuckles.

So, Weiss' addled mind formulated a plan. A plan was good. A plan kept her mind away from the immediate moment, from the immediate feeling of Ruby's soft lips against her hand. The immediate intimacy and love of her gesture. A plan was very good. At the very least, it would keep Weiss from melting.

"Would you come to the summer festival with me?" Weiss asked, her voice wavering. She (with a little more pain than she expected) extracted herself from Ruby, slipping her hands back to her sides. Ruby turned around, a soft look in her eyes, and a half smile on her face.

"I-"

"I know we're all going anyway, I just- I'm sorry, I interrupted you," Weiss blabbered on. "Sorry, I'm sorry."

Ruby giggled, and the sound of it made Weiss' heart sing.

"Yes, of course I will," she said.

And there was the plan. There was the plan, coming into motion. She had barely enough to think about any of it, and all of it felt like it was coming in a rush, all based on instinct, and none of based on rational thinking. But to hell with all of it.

Winter had told her that deserve had nothing to do with it. Yang had told her to take her shot.

Maybe it was time to take their advice.

We're coming close to the end, y'all.