Weiss is the first of the two to wake in the morning. She wriggles her fingers and toes to try and get a good sense of their positioning, soon realising where her arms were and remembering what happened earlier in the night. One arm acted as a pillow to the rose petal who lay underneath her other arm, her head buried into Weiss' chest. Weiss blinked a few times as if it would clear her head of what was going on. The only thing that wasn't clear as mud was the events that occurred and the words that were said. She wasn't sure whether it'd be best for her to wake Ruby up or to let her rest while she got herself ready for the day. What kept her chained to the bed was the depression that ate at her conscience every morning. For a quick second her hand twitched to moved to Ruby's head and stroke her hair but ultimately didn't.

She wasn't sure how much time passed before the girl in her arms finally woke up. The reaction she was met with, however, surprised her beyond confusion. Ruby jumped from the embrace, wide eyed and stuttering over her breath. Heat rose to her cheeks as she tried to get her legs to run out the room with no success. "Ruby?"

She knelt with her eyes darting across the room unsure of what to do. "Ruby? Talk to me." With a whine of embarrassment she fell off the bed and bolted towards the door ignoring the calls from behind her.

Diving for her bed her face was planted into the pillow laying still for a few moments before her feet repeatedly kicked the end of the bed. It was now that she wished she asked Yang what happens during the night every year. If she knew she would wake up in the heiress' arm then she would have not gone to her, right? Or would that fuel her to go more?

They rarely interacted throughout the day bumping into each other every once in a while but most of those times Weiss hadn't notice from not hearing Ruby as she camouflaged her presence as best as she could and the few times they did talk was a pile of confusion from both parties. Weiss understandably wanted an explanation to the many questions she had while only getting stutters or shaky gestures as answers. Interpreting these as a struggle to recall and an unwillingness to discuss the topics brought up she didn't push any further. In reality Ruby was panicked. Her mind refused to divert away from that morning.

As the day came to an end she realised her want for the night to repeat as she had to hold back from walking herself to Weiss' room for another night together. She hadn't slept with Yang for a while now so it was natural to attract to a body for comfort, she told herself. Just one more night so when she wakes in the morning she won't be as startled as she had been.

Weiss was preoccupied with Yang's text asking how the night before had gone once she realised what the date was. Their back and forth didn't hold many of the answers the heiress was wishing for. If anything it left more questions spiralling through her mind. Don't mention too much of what happened last night to her. Why not, she wanted to ask. Why was the topic to be avoided when that was what needed the most explanation? In fact, pretend it didn't happen. What, why? Something was troubling Ruby and she was being asked to just forget about it. I don't want to say anything when it's not my place to tell you. Then how long would she have to wait before she could find answers to most, if not all of her questions? I'm sorry, Weiss.

They spent the night in their own rooms.

Weiss didn't want to admit that her worry grew the more she thought about it, though by the end of the week she could barely come to terms with not being able to press for anything. Ruby is acting pretty normal as if nothing happened. Weiss told herself this as if to ease her concern with the girl's attitude. One day she would understand what everything meant but for now she was left clueless.

( )

"Weiss." The familiar stench of old filing and rotting wood reminded her of the dreadful memories linked to the office. Her father pulled her away from her form of distraction from the world deeming his affairs of more importance to her own. "I never had the chance to congratulate you for your efforts during the previous celebration. If it wasn't for your outstanding efforts the party wouldn't have been as much of a success as it had been. Wouldn't you agree?"

Tightening the grip around her temporary cane, as her father requested her to use, she pressed a smile onto her lips. "Of course, father." She knew her words wouldn't have been acknowledged but keeping silent was the next best thing to earn an unneeded lecture. He leaned back against his seat, fingers interlaced.

"That's precisely why I've called you here today." She already had an understanding of what her father was like. He never could congratulate her without asking another thing of her. "I would like you to perform for another event I've had planned for the past month." His toned lowered into a falsified empathetic voice. "I apologise for how abrupt the request is but I do hope you understand the importance of your cooperation."

By importance he meant necessity. Weiss wasn't too fond of how he dealt with her disobedience. "I understand, father. I will begin preparations for the night promptly." Her father smirked.

"Good. You are dismissed."

As soon as she shut the door behind her she groaned while she pinched the bridge of her nose. Another thing added to her list of worries, although it forced its way to the top priority. Naturally, of course. She wanted nothing to do with the occasion and her father had always found a way to pull into being the main focus for the evening.

Everything was starting to grow as an annoyance to her. Yet another thing was added to her list of problems to run away from, however bad of a tactic that was. She could use Blake and Yang's safe return to Atlas as an excuse to leave the manor.

She did.

"Alright." Yang pumped her fists into the air. "Fancy dress time. Come on, sis." She gripped her sister's wrist against the protest and dragged her blindly through the mall.

Blake and Weiss both laughed at the exchange, the faunus more so seeing how reluctant Ruby was on the whole embargo. "Hey, Blake. I thought you two already went shopping in Menagerie."

"Not much there that you would wear at a ball here in Atlas." Weiss nodded and shrugged in agreement noting the difference in culture. "Besides, we need to help you two pick out a dress for yourselves."

"Surely I'd be able to use something already in my wardrobe." Blake scoffed.

"Yeah, you wouldn't dare." They laughed at the idea as they attempted to trail behind the sisters. Blake sent a glance to the heiress with a raised eyebrow. She could tell something wasn't right. Everything did seem right anymore. Yang was overtly worried for Ruby one night and nonchalant about her the next, Weiss herself was doing out of character things such as being the one to call this gathering to which she then let everyone benefit from her expenses. "Is everything okay, Weiss?"

The heiress shrugged. "Of course." It was a quick response, too quick for the faunus' liking.

"No it's not." Weiss hesitated for a moment. Blake sighed. "Is this to do with Ruby?"

"I guess. Just this past week has been..." She trailed off.

Blake thought back to the week before when Yang woke up with a look of guilt written all over her face as she texted the heiress. "I can imagine, seeing as she can't remember what happened." Weiss grip on her arm tightened.

"Huh?"

Blake shook her head. "Nothing." Weiss sighed. She felt as though Blake may have said something crucial to many of the questions she had but she was too preoccupied with other memories and worries. Instead she decided to leave the topic for another day as this outing was meant as a distraction.

"Hey, look at this." Yang pulled something off a rack. "This would suit you, huh, sis?" Ruby gagged at the dress covered in a floral pattern and was styled in pastel colours. Yang laughed. "Fine, fine. Then how about this?" She pulled a dress of similar design, only its primary colour being a dark blue. Ruby rolled her eyes and turned on her heel. "Hey, come back." Stashing the garment back into it's place she took after her sister.

"Will they be okay?" Weiss asked. "They don't sound as if they will be okay." Blake shook her head.

"Who knows. Either way we need to find something for ourselves. No use getting them to slow us down." Weiss pulled herself closer to Blake with a small smile.

"Lead the way, then."

They weaved through the aisles as Blake explained what clothing they were passing by and described every garment she found appealing for herself. Weiss approved of the texture and material deeming them comfortable for her to wear. She settled on three different dresses as options to try on with the assistance of the heiress on the back zip after some prodding.

"Well, how does it look?" Weiss asked as she stood behind the faunus with her hands on her shoulders.

Blake smiled. "Stunning." Weiss smirked.

"Of course it does, Miss Belladonna."

Blake snorted. "What are you, my butler?" Weiss shrugged. Blake did a double take in the mirror to look over the final decision. A simple dress with laced straps and hem. A purple ribbon they picked out separately was tied around the waist line giving her hip more depth. "This is the one."

Weiss clapped her hands. "Perfect." She pulled the back zip down before opening the curtain to the change room and took a step outside with a hand on the frame. "My turn." Blake rolled her eyes as she struggled to slip the dress off and back into her own attire.

When she emerged out the change room Yang was holding a few outfits her sister chose while Ruby was perched on her shoulders. The faunus raised an eyebrow at the two and only received a wink in return before they slide behind her into the change room. "Was that Ruby and Yang who just passed by?" Blake nodded and laughed.

"You could tell?"

"Their immature giggling really gave it away." The two of them sighed in unison pondering over why they were friends with the sisters but shrugged it off as the two made their way back out to the store, Blake handing her dress of choice to a clerk for safe keeping.

They repeated a similar process for Blake's outfit as Weiss felt for the material she would prefer to wear. It took longer than they expected to checkout but they managed to find a dress that was suitable for the heiress, although the simplicity of it came as a surprise to the faunus. A white dress with a navy blue ribbon wrapped around the waist with a white veil that fell below it to the hem of the dress. There was also a low cut back which was risqué for her normal style.

"Whoa, you both already have your outfits?" Yang called to them leaning to try and peer into their bags. Blake pulled the bag away from her. "Aw, come on. Let us have a sneak peak of what we're in for." She shook her head.

"Nope." She smirked as she said this and turned with Weiss at her side. "It's already lunch time. Let's find some place to eat." Ruby jumped for joy at the thought of lunch. Yang cheered and ran off with her sister as Blake and Weiss mumbled to each other of their attitude that was contradictory to their own.

( )

"You never ended up picking anything out, huh." Weiss said. Ruby audibly shrugged and bounced to her side.

The heiress let out a heavy breath as she rubbed her temples. Ruby picked up on the meaning of this trait and placed her hands on the heiress' shoulders. "I'm okay." She answered the unspoken question. "Just… my father again. Nothing to worry about." It was more than that. There was so much that crowded her mind it was almost unbearable. Correction; It was unbearable.

Unsatisfied with the answer Ruby squeezed her shoulders. "My father wants me to perform again."

The reaction she received was ecstatic to the news, a clear contrast to her own feelings. "If I'm honest, I'm not really sure I can." Ruby mellowed down to sit next to Weiss after feeling the tension that was held within her fill the room. They both attempted to express their thoughts before falling to the silence of the room. The rose petal's head fell to Weiss' shoulder, eyes soon drifting towards her face. The heiress shifted her posture in an attempt to make the position lighter on their backs. Ruby giggled and tapped a finger on her nose. A subtle smile worked into Weiss' solemn expression ."What's that supposed to mean?"

Ruby shrugged nuzzling into her shoulder. They stayed like that for a moment before Ruby's back gave in to its discomfort. Weiss stood up and mumbled about getting ready for bed as she staggered towards the bathroom. Ruby found it odd as when she checked her scroll the time had barely passed 9 o'clock considering that she was the type to lose time, be it for several reasons such as not being able to read it anymore. She would much rather spend her late hours pondering over thoughts, good and bad, diving deep into what she was capable of.

At least that is the impression she gave her guest. Although, upon recalling the past few nights she remembered that she always found herself leaving the room earlier than she assumed for it to be. If the heiress' early call to bed was the issue then the root of the problem was known.

"Ruby?" Weiss stood with a hand on the door frame. "Can I have your assistance? I just need my nightwear in the bottom drawer in that dresser." She pointed a thumb in the general direction of a dresser identical to the one in the guest bedroom. Doing as told she fished out something she had seen the heiress wear to bed before to not give confuse her pyjamas with her usual attire. Logically she knew it wouldn't have made sense to keep all the clothes in one drawer, however, her paranoia got the best of her. "Thank you, Ruby."

When she came out of the bathroom once again Ruby tapped the side of her arm, a gesture they used to let her guide the heiress through rooms. "I'm tired, I might try and get some sleep." Ruby pouted poking her shoulder. She couldn't shake away the feeling that there was something wrong, more than on a surface level. "What is it?" Weiss asked.

Her question wasn't answered, not in the way she had been expecting for the message to be communicated. Weiss had no idea what an embrace was supposed to mean, however, she found herself growing an addiction to its warmth and all the feelings she found so foreign when Ruby first hugged her.

It took a lot of strength to push away, not saying that Ruby was holding her too tight but the mental strain needed to leave the comfort of her arms was an issue that ran over the heiress' head. "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight, Ruby." Digging herself under the covers she noticed Ruby hadn't moved. When she did she crawled over top Weiss and lay down facing her. Taken aback by the fact that she chose to lay next to her Weiss' voice croaked, "Ruby?"

She sighed, her hand covering Weiss' own. "Ruby." Her voice was softer this time. Ruby wasn't as jumpy, to put a word to it, as she normally was. Something was amiss but she suspected it had nothing to do with Ruby herself. "I'm okay."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at the heiress as she grinned to pinch her cheek. She laughed at the way her skin stretched as she pulled it up. "Stop that." Weiss swatted the hand away with an unamused vacant stare that made her guest giggle before a smile replaced it. "Ruby, I'm telling you I'm fine-"

Ruby's hand fell to her cheek. She didn't even mean for it to happen, it naturally made itself home there. Not realising what she was doing her eyes traced over the face in front of her, memorising its every mark. It was unfair how her soft complexion held no blemishes, nor was it fair that her eyes were so beautiful despite not being able to see any beauty for herself.

Something was wrong with the heiress, it hurt to know that to be a fact, but in this moment all she could focus on how was hot her whole body felt, how her heart beat faster at an irregular pace. She felt so out of place yet she wouldn't know of a better comfort than to come running back to this moment in time.

"Maybe I'm not okay." Misinterpreting the feelings written into Ruby's actions she quietly admits defeat. Her eyes gloss over in tears recreating the scene from a few months ago for Ruby. "I'm not okay." She says.

Ruby smiled at her finally admitting the truth of her feelings, sliding a hand behind Weiss' head to pull her closer. She didn't hesitate to draw into her arms. Weiss' head rested on Ruby's arm with her other hand stroking through the heiress' hair. Weiss didn't bother pondering over why specifics hadn't been a topic of interest, only focusing on the present and its comfort. Her problems weren't gone but it felt like they meant nothing anymore. It was nice.

Weiss wished the moment could last longer even though they stayed like that for the night.

The roles were reversed. Ruby let light seep into her eyes as she processed her surroundings. She stared up to the ceiling as she tried to pull her arm to wipe at her eyes only to find it restrained by something. Her fatigued eyes glanced to what was next to her as she used her other hand to rub her eyes instead.

A smile found its way to her face which she was completely unaware of. She turned to her side and stared at the heiress next to her, her hand entangling itself through the white hair that barely held any knots in it, ever.

It made Ruby a little jealous considering how her hair could be an annoyance despite how short it was. In comparison to Weiss' hair it was much shorter, however, ever since she moved to Atlas she didn't have the time or money to get a hair cut and if she did it was done at home with no professional behind the pair of scissors. That was back when she still lived with Yang. Her hair has grown since then, so much so it almost touched her shoulders. Time really flew past without her even noticing it.

Weiss stirred in her sleep against the palm on the back of her head. Her eyes slowly opened as her conscious was brought to her bed once again. "Ruby?" She mumbled almost inaudible. She earned a hum in response. Her eyes were too heavy, mind too scattered to awaken entirely and instead nuzzled closer letting nothing but the soft strokes through her hair take her attention.

Ruby froze for a moment attempting to process whatever thoughts were left to linger in her mind. Her face was growing red, she could feel it.

Weiss moaned in disapproval reminding her to continue stroking the heiress' head. "Your heart is beating fast." She said absentmindedly not paying any attention to the reaction she was given. Instead, she let herself drift off back to sleep while her guest held her unable to take her eyes off her.

( )

"Ruby?" She jumped upon hearing her name and turned to the door to see the family butler delivering the regular round of papers as promised. "I see you're on guard today. Did something happen with the heiress last night?" He cocked his head as he said this with a smile.

Ruby's eyes went wide as she pointed a finger to him, twisting it to herself before holding her head in her palms. Klein laughed. "I walked in this morning and found you two asleep and thought it best to leave you two alone." Ruby let out a small breath and grinned scratching her cheek. She reached out to grab the stack of papers out the butler's hands. "Is there anything else you would like of me?" Looking over the rough design that she decided was a dead-end she shook her head.

Klein raised his eyebrows and eyed all the balled papers on the floor. "Having trouble thinking of ideas?" She recoiled into a sheltered position and meekly nodded, her mind too occupied for anything at the moment. Klein grinned. "Is it about the heiress?" Ruby gasped wondering if somehow the butler knew of all the emotions that ran through her chest and head. He shouldn't have known since he only saw them sleeping from the doorway, not close enough to see their content or true comfort.

"I apologise that I can't be of any assistance at the moment, however, if you do have something in mind I will do my best." Ruby nodded with a thankful smile and waved him goodbye as he left the room. She sighed and dropped her head onto the desk, forehead hitting the wood without any resistance. It may leave a bruise, though she didn't particularly care.

She fished her headphones out her bag and connected them to her scroll pressing play on her favourite playlist to think overall that was happening. Her mind was racing. She couldn't help but cringe over some of the memories she created with the heiress. It was a miracle she could even function the rest of that morning let alone whenever she was around Weiss. Even now her heart seemed to be beating fast.

Her heartbeat stopped for a moment when her scroll vibrated replacing her tunes with a ringtone. The caller was labelled 'Sunny Dragon'. She promptly hit answer and mounted her scroll in a more suitable position for it to picture her frame.

"Wassup, sis?" Ruby deadpanned raising her eyebrows to her sister who only laughed in return. "What? The new lingo scaring you?" Yang shifted her head side to side as she emphasised the word and burst into laughter once again. Her sister pinched her nose and groaned. Yang raised her hands in protest. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry." She began to scratch the back of her head with a genuine apologetic smile. "Some of the guys at Menagerie talked like that. I guess I hung around with them too much." Ruby raised an eyebrow as her curiosity for who it was got the best of her. She only got a cheesy grin in return. Yang wasn't going to say anything else.

She sighed resting her chin on the palm of her hand and leaned against the desk. Her sister hummed at the gesture. "Did something happen?" Her eyes darted to the blank sheets on her desk before she began her slow painful gesture game. She pointed to Yang who nodded understanding what it meant, then raised her index finger to her head to mimic ears to which Yang also understood. Leaning forward she crossed her index and middle finger together at her sister. Yang stared blankly.

Ruby continued and pointed to herself and then held her hands to the side of her head bursting them open in a dramatic fashion. Yang snorted absentmindedly at the impression. Ruby crossed her fingers again and used her other hand to shake a 'kinda' motion.

Her sister leaned back and held her palms against the edge of the table. "Wait before all that. Did-" She glanced away from the screen. "Did you think Blake and I are…" Repeating the crossed fingered gesture she earned a hesitant nod in return. "Oh." She shook her head. "No. No we- I mean, yes but- She doesn't- I don't think she-"

Ruby slammed her palms against the desk with wide eyes. Yang gave a crooked smile with her eyes looking everywhere but the screen. "So," she finally let her gaze fall back to her scroll, "you too?"

Ruby's eyebrows fell along with her head against the desk again. "I'll take that as a yes." Her sister chuckled as she leaned her cheek against her knuckles. "Welp," Returning to her cheery attitude she laughed, "I guess we're just a couple of gays-"

"Who's a couple of gays?" The sisters froze, Ruby turning away holding laughter within snorts as Yang grit her teeth together and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh hey, Blake." She greeted waving with her other hand. "Looks like you finally woke up." The faunus rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha, very funny." She punctuated on the sarcastic laughter. "So? Who's gay." She took a seat next to Yang as she glanced between her and her sister. "Hello, Ruby. How are you?" Ruby raised a thumbs up to her. Blake turned back to Yang. "Are you two…?"

"What, no. Pfft." Yang quickly jumped in trying to think fast. "I was just saying we're a couple days away from- what was it again?" She turned to her sister for assistance. "Oh, yeah. Nora and Ren's anniversary." Ruby exaggerated her nod.

Blake's eyes went wide. "Nora and Ren? I haven't seen them in a while, actually. How long has it been?" Yang tilted her head towards her scroll meaning she didn't know, but her sister would. She held up six fingers. "Seriously? Holy shit."

"That's right." Yang leaned back in her seat. "Six whole months." Blake raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Months?"

Yang nodded, although her snickering made the faunus narrow her eyes at her. "I'm joking. It didn't take that long for them to get together. Thank Remnant."

The three of them laughed all sharing the same memory of the dynamic between the two oblivious love birds. They completed each other in a way that was indescribable. Yang would often scream, "They're freaking soulmates" constantly trying to push the two together. All her attempts were effortless as they would always find a way to be together no matter what. Growing up through childhood together, being there for each other when no one else was, complementing each other's personalities in a way no other person could; It was no wonder they became so fond of each other, and they knew no one could replace the other.

"I'm envious." Blake constantly purred while watching them from afar. "Imagine becoming someone's every reason to live."

"Dramatic much?" Weiss would always butt in to which the faunus only ever responded with a 'Maybe.'

Blake scratched her chin in thought. "I would really like to meet them sometime again. Would they mind if I tagged along to their anniversary?" Yang shook her hand nonchalantly.

"Not at all. I'm sure they'd love to see you again." She smiled. "Oh, Ruby. Got any new designs for us to look at?" Ruby swivelled around to behind her where all the crumpled paper lay on the floor. She pressed her lips and shook her head. "Stuck? Surely you've got some rejected designs in the mix." Ruby sighed turning to pick the balls off the floor. She laid them out and began to unravel the first one. Yang rubbed her hands together. "Alright, here we go."

"I'm winning again." Blake said as she guessed her third design out of the rose petal's five that she presented. Yang pointed her finger to the faunus.

"Not yet, she still has another seven more. I'm not losing against the likes of you." She pushed Blake's face away and leaned towards her scroll. "Next one." Ruby laughed from across the call as she continued with the game.

They continued with this until Ruby shrugged running out of designs to show the two. "Yes!" Yang flexed her arms in multiple positions with an imitation of stereotypical gym rats. "Look who's the best. That right, me." As much as Blake wanted to pout at her defeat she couldn't hold in the joy the stupid impressions gave her. "Watch out, everyone. Yang Xiao Long's in town." She held out her thumb and index finger aiming forward and closing an eye before firing a shot, her mouth mimicking a gun.

"Oh my God, stop it." Blake slapped her shoulder. Yang held her hand at her shoulder and turned her head to the faunus.

"What? You scared of the mighty dragon?" She pounced onto her and grabbed her waist, pulling her out of her seat. Ruby groaned seeing the two play fight before she was saved by the knock just outside her room.

The door opened and in walked the heiress. "Hey, Ruby." She paused when she heard a muffled commotion. "Are you busy as of right now?" Ruby shook her head.

"Hi, Weiss." Yang called after glancing at her scroll. "Nice of you to join us, although you missed the show. Next time we'll invite you." Blake attempted to use the distraction to get out of her grasp with no success.

Weiss shook her head. "I think I'll pass, thanks." The faunus elbowed Yang in the gut.

"As if she would be able to see the designs." Yang rubbed the back of her neck as a sly giggle fell out her lips.

Weiss began walking towards the voices. She let the two banter for a quick moment before her curiosity got the best of her. "What designs?" Ruby's eyes grew wide to her sister. The heiress slowed her pace when there was silence.

Yang grinned. She kept many of Ruby's secrets behind sealed lips, but this one was an exception much like the initial confession she made on Ruby's behalf. "Ruby is a tech nerd." She teased. Ruby yelped as she reached over the desk to end the call before she could say much else.

Her anxious giggles were all she could manage to express as she turned to Weiss who was much closer to her than she expected. Ruby held her waist to tell her just how close she was. "Oh." Weiss mumbled. She thought over what Yang meant by calling her sister a tech nerd but soon remembered the very reason she came to Ruby to begin with. "Care for some dinner?"

Ruby nodded, her voice letting out a hum of agreement. She looked up to the heiress before deciding to wrap her arms around her waist and resting her head against her stomach. Weiss didn't resist as she welcomed the embrace wanting to stay there for much longer than they had.

The same questions circled around her mind but refused to make themselves known. As much as she despised the secrecy she knew only time could tell what was real to Ruby, and to herself.