"Are you all packed?" Ruby asked in a whisper as she set her backpack down by the dorm's door.
"Almost. I just want to fit this last container of dust in here somewhere…" Weiss replied with a quiet grunt as she forced the cylinder into the only remaining space that was just barely large enough for it. "There. Done."
Weiss wiped the imaginary sweat from her brow and placed her bag beside Ruby's. She looked at the checklist they'd been following and checked off the last box with a nod.
"Alright. We have everything we could possibly need." Weiss said as she looked down the list once more to find out if there was something else they should be bringing. "We'll get our weapons from our lockers in the morning so all that's really left is to get some sleep before we have to leave."
"Also…" Ruby nodded to the sleeping half of her team. Weiss hung her head and then nodded with a sigh. Ruby quickly pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear. "Listen, I know you don't want to do this but I guarantee it'll be a thousand times better if she gets the official version from us before Nora starts making things up. Remember the baby Boarbatusk and the syrup-ceiling incident?"
"Right." Weiss remembered, or rather couldn't forget, the event that had happened mid way through their second school year. There was absolutely no explanation for what had happened that fateful day, or how it happened for that matter, except that it had been Nora's fault. Definitely better to avoid anything to do with that one.
"Okay then…" Ruby released Weiss and produced a silver whistle and suddenly Weiss had a bad feeling about the events about to transpire. She reached out to stop Ruby but it was already far too late as the girl blew hard. The screeching noise made Blake sit bolt upright and even Yang who could sleep through explosions jumped and fell out of her bed.
"Whas on fire?" Yang asked as Blake let out a yawn while she rubbed sleep out of her eyes.
"Nothing sis, everything's fine." Ruby offered her hand to her sister and pulled her up from the floor. "We just have some stuff to tell you guys and we need to do it tonight."
"Why not just do it in the morning?" Blake asked in a grumble as her eyes started to drift closed again.
"That is the second part." Weiss said as she joined the conversation. Yang sat down on Blake's bed while yawning. "The first is that I did not do too well on a test, so I will most likely be withdrawn from Beacon within the next few days."
"What?" Yang asked in shock. "Your Dad isn't that big a dick, is he?"
"Trust me, sis. He sounds like he might be worse." Ruby replied to a nod from Weiss.
"Anyhow, I'll have to worry about that later since we have a mission tomorrow that takes us to Mistral." Weiss continued, not wishing to dwell on her family longer than necessary. "I'd prefer it if you kept that information quiet though. I don't need my father to send his goons out after us just to take me away in the middle of a mission. Not to mention they're subtle as an exploding burn crystal in a room of propellant."
"We can do that." Blake nodded simply. "I assume you've said the same to the headmaster?"
"Yes, we took care of that before we came back to the room." Weiss nodded. "I don't think it mattered though since apparently this is something big that we're doing this time."
"What is it?" Yang asked as her tired brain finally caught up to the conversation.
"Capture." Ruby replied to an understanding nod from her sister. "Anyways I'm getting tired and we leave at six tomorrow morning. Do you want to say it or should I?"
Weiss couldn't help but smile at Ruby's question. It was something that showed just how much she valued her opinion even in something as trivial as this. "On three?"
"Alright." Ruby nodded and turned back to her other teammates.
"What's going on?" Yang asked in confusion as Ruby counted down under her breath just loudly enough for them all to hear.
"We're going out!" Ruby exclaimed happily.
"We're dating." Weiss's less enthusiastic voice was drowned out by Ruby's excited squeal.
"We were sort of having a moment and then Nora came along so we thought it would be better to tell you two before you found out from her because we all know how her stories work." Ruby continued quickly. "Yang?"
"I don't know what you're expecting from me." Yang shrugged as she got up and wrapped the two in a hug. "Congratulations, but sorry if I already guessed that you were together."
"I knew too." Blake yawned as she fell back over into her pillow.
"She told me actually." Yang clarified. "And I'm really not sure I know what I think about this yet. So Weiss… take care of her for me alright? And remember what I said the other day."
"What did she-" Ruby started to be silenced by a quick kiss from Weiss.
"Nothing at all." Weiss turned back to Yang and nodded. "You know I will."
"That I do." Yang yawned and looked over at the time. "Now go hit the sack and I'll see you two when you get back."
Ruby nodded and pulled Weiss with her into the lower bunk.
"Ruby, now that your sister knows, are you going to start sleeping with me every night?" Weiss asked as she remotely shut the lights off with her scroll before placing it on the desk beside them.
"Yup!" Ruby nuzzled into the crook of Weiss's neck and planted a single kiss as she settled into her girlfriend's arms. "That's exactly my plan!"
Weiss didn't answer for a while as she fought to get her emotions under control. "Okay then. Goodnight Ruby."
"Night, Weiss." Ruby mumbled in response as she already started to drift off.
Weiss smiled and closed her eyes as she felt Ruby's breathing slow to a crawl.
Weiss jumped as a loud screeching noise met her ears and her eyes snapped open. Her scroll must have been going for some time as it had never managed to escalate to that volume before. She desperately reached out and fumbled to turn off the alarm to relieved sighs from the opposite pair of bunks. Weiss tried to sit up but was blocked as Ruby's arm stiffened in the embrace she'd kept throughout the night.
"Come on, let me go." Weiss whispered as she heard Yang start snoring again. "We have to get ready."
"Five more minutes…" Ruby grumbled in response as she tightened her arms once again.
Weiss struggled against Ruby but knew it was in vain. Ruby had been swinging a heavy weapon around herself for a long time and that muscle wasn't going anywhere. She gave up and relaxed back into the pillow and felt Ruby lighten her grip in response. Weiss thought for a minute and decided the best way to get Ruby up was to wake her up without her realizing what was happening. But from her position she could only use what she had on hand, which was nothing. That's when an idea struck her.
She desperately hoped her teammates were both back to sleep as she shifted to face her leader. Again, Ruby's arms tightened, but only as if she were preparing for Weiss to run away.
"Ruby, we need to get up now." Weiss whispered quietly. She gave a gentle kiss to her forehead and received a smile on Ruby's face as a response. She continued to repeat herself as she gave Ruby small kisses on her eyelids, her chin, her cheeks, and tip of her nose. The last of which earned her a small giggle even though Ruby had been trying to feign being asleep.
"Well, it seems Ruby really is asleep." Weiss said as if talking to herself, knowing Ruby was listening to everything. "It really is too bad since I was going to give her a kiss on the lips too. But she won't enjoy it if she's sleeping, so there's no point to it."
Weiss smiled as she attempted to turn away but was blocked by Ruby's grip. She turned back in mock surprise to see a pair of silver eyes meet her own, the brows above them bent down in frustration as she pouted.
"You're not playing fair." Ruby complained as she used one of the glares Weiss had taught her to emphasize her annoyance.
"Nope." Weiss whispered in response with a grin. Ruby started giggling at the reversal of their usual conversations in the first year at Beacon. Ruby pulled her in and Weiss obliged by keeping her promise.
Weiss fought to keep herself thinking straight as the kiss heated up and Ruby's hands moved from their lock to explore. Weiss waited a few seconds for Ruby to relax and then quickly rolled on top of her, pinning her hands to the bed beneath them.
It took a couple of seconds for Ruby to realize what had happened and then her heavy breath caught as she watched her partner stare down at her like a predator.
"Uh… hi." Ruby giggled awkwardly. Weiss couldn't help the grin spreading further across her face as Ruby blushed deeply while she was in the position Weiss had forced her into.
Weiss knew she'd have to take a step back soon but really couldn't pass up the chance to mess with Ruby one last time even though she realized it might really be the last time she ever did. She leaned down and made sure to press her body into Ruby's while keeping her hands firmly pinned.
"I think I like you in this position…" Weiss taunted with a whisper directly into Ruby's ear, causing the girl to gasp. Weiss knew Ruby had to have superpowers to not be affected by her teasing and slowly started kissing Ruby's neck as Ruby desperately tried to move. Weiss was thankful that she'd positioned Ruby in a way where she had almost no leverage, meaning even Weiss could keep her there all day without so much as breaking a sweat.
She reached the crook of Ruby's neck and stopped, letting her lips linger for a while as her sense abandoned her in favour of listening to Ruby's quiet gasps. After a while, she remembered what her original objective had been and bit down. Hard.
"Ouch!" Ruby yelped as Weiss quickly jumped up and off the bed. Ruby rolled and landed on the floor facedown with a thump making Blake roll over with her pillow.
"Now come on, we've got a mission to get to." Weiss almost laughed at the conflict on Ruby's face as she was helped up. Weiss noted that no tears were present in Ruby's eyes meaning hurt wasn't one of them. Ruby nodded and grumpily went over to the clothes she'd set aside and entered the washroom while she grumbled about Weiss biting her.
Weiss tried to calm herself down as she waited for Ruby to change. Once Ruby finished, she took her place in the washroom and changed. Once done, she splashed ice cold water into her face to calm herself down. A part of her still was wondering exactly what had come over her to do something like that to Ruby. But another part of her, one that scared her a bit, asked why she hadn't done much, much more. Weiss decided there would be time to contemplate these thoughts later, especially considering they had to go catch the airship.
Upon exiting the washroom, she watched as Ruby hoisted her backpack onto her back and Weiss quickly did the same. The two walked to the storage lockers to retrieve their weapons and that's when something Weiss hadn't thought of before struck her.
"Ruby, turn." Weiss ordered as she sheathed her weapon. Ruby had just closed her locker and turned her head in Weiss's direction questioningly. In response Weiss made a circular motion with her hand, making sure the seriousness on her face emphasized that there would be no objections. "All the way."
"If you really want me to." Ruby mumbled and turned so Weiss could clearly see what she had hoped she wouldn't. A large red mark peeked out of Ruby's neckline, the darker red of the bite clearly visible from two feet away.
Weiss felt a blush hit her full force and a wave of remorse strike not a split second later. She hung her head and clenched her hands together as she realized just how hard she'd actually bit Ruby.
"I'm sorry, I… don't know what came over me." Weiss whispered into the empty room. She flinched back as Ruby tried to reach out to her. "I promise I won't do that again."
"No." Ruby spoke as she quickly pulled Weiss into a hug. "Please do that again. Just… maybe not so hard."
Weiss pushed Ruby back and stared at her eyes in surprise as Ruby averted her eyes.
"I mean… I kinda liked it." Ruby's face started turning red again but she quickly shook her head and swooped in to give Weiss a small peck on the lips. "But we have time to talk on the trip. Let's go."
"Right…." Weiss nodded, still in a fair amount of shock at Ruby's confession. She had to force the new ideas that started popping up back into the dark recesses of her mind that they originated from as she followed Ruby to the aircraft that would take them to Mistral.
Once she boarded the craft, Weiss quickly settled herself in order to rest as much as possible before the mission. This much was the usual routine as Ruby often double-checked her scythe to ensure everything was working correctly. Weiss closed her eyes and tried to think of nothing as time ticked by. The coldness of the seat keeping her from truly falling asleep, but at least she wasn't using any energy.
After some time, she felt someone sit down beside her. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing regulated in case it wasn't Ruby, but she needn't have worried. Ruby leaned into her, using her shoulder as a pillow before breathing a sigh of contentment. Weiss thanked whatever supernatural beings that might exist that Ruby had been doing the same thing for most of their time at Beacon. Weiss had had a long talk with her father about boundaries and personal space and whether or not he should have a say in who partakes in hers. To say the least, she wasn't confident that her feelings for the girl attempting to sleep on her wouldn't cloud her argument with her father if she would have to repeat it now.
Dismissing the thought, Weiss instead thought back to earlier that morning. She tried to recreate her mental processes that had led from being Ruby's hug pillow to her coming very close to drawing blood with her teeth. She still felt bad about how she'd hurt her partner but there was nothing she could do about it now that she'd done what she had. All that was left was to ensure something like that didn't happen again.
The fact that it even happened in the first place is the issue. Weiss reminded herself and went back to the beginning. She continued thinking over her thought process for several hours as they slowly made their way across the grimm infested territory between Vale and Mistral.
"Excuse me miss, we'll be arriving shortly. Please fasten your belt." Someone spoke above Weiss, and Ruby moved off her shoulder. The same voice continued repeating itself as it moved away farther down the isle. Weiss had kept her belt fastened in order to avoid being disturbed but soon found it difficult to return to her train of thought when the start of their mission was so close at hand.
Weiss opened her eyes and found Ruby waiting beside her as she expected. She was looking down and seemed to be deep in thought. Weiss waited a few moments and then decided to give Ruby's hand a quick squeeze to bring her back to reality.
"Oh, you're awake now?" Ruby asked as she looked up to Weiss's face. She seemed to be blushing a little as she spoke but didn't dwell on it. "Just so you're up to speed, Ozpin just sent us the location of the dead drop for the briefing. It seems to be about a kilometer into grimm territory to the north of the village."
"Alright." Weiss nodded, attempting to focus on the mission. "Terrain in the area isn't ideal due to the excessive swamp, but there has been a drought the last two years so the water levels have dropped considerably. Mud will still be the main concern though as well as the mist in the mornings, both of which help the local avian varieties of grimm stay concealed during movement and combat."
"Don't get stuck in the mud in the mornings, gotcha." Ruby summarized. "Also remember that there's those mosquito things in the area so we'll need to make sure to get some bug spray before heading out of the town."
"We already have netting for the tent so we should be fine if we get stuck outside for a night." Weiss added. "Not to mention we should be careful of the Mistral Anomaly that's supposedly near this area."
"Well, I don't believe those rumors, but we'll play it safe either way." Ruby said hesitantly. "After the grimm near where mom's grave is, I'm not sure how true this story is considering the lack of good information. Also my uncle warned me about some of the people here. They're not exactly star citizens."
Weiss slowly nodded her understanding as the speakers announced their arrival.
"Well, let's get going then. The mission isn't going to finish itself." Weiss pulled hers and Ruby's backpacks from the overhead compartment. Ruby caught hers and slipped it onto her back before reaching up for her weapon. Weiss placed her rapier on her hip and turned to Ruby who twirled her gun on her hand and placed it on her back to the applause of a young child who was watching them from a couple seats back.
"Let's go!" Ruby pumped her fist in the air and led the way out of the aircraft and onto the dirt of the landing pad. Only two other people followed them off before the craft took back to the air to complete it's flight to the capital of Haven.
Weiss pushed open the door to the rundown tavern that she'd found in the small village where they were to receive the information for their mission. The only problem was that it hadn't been there yet. As usual, this meant a delay or issue and that the informant, whoever that was, would deliver it some time later. By the normal protocols, they were supposed to check the drop point daily until they either received the details or their mission was canceled.
"What do you want?" The man who was both the bartender and innkeeper asked gruffly as if he didn't want anything to do with Weiss. Weiss had been hesitant to come here alone, but was even more so when she imagined Ruby having to deal with the bar full of men. She noted that she was quite literally the only woman there.
"I want a room, and two of whatever type of food isn't… poisonous." Weiss said the second half of her statement as she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the dirt present on the counter. If it was any indication of the kitchen, then she knew that her and Ruby might just be better off using their rations. Unfortunately, they didn't know how long this mission would run meaning they had to keep everything they could until they had no choice but to use it.
The bartender snorted. "No rooms open. Go someplace else."
Weiss had a feeling of someone coming up behind her and she rested her hand on the hilt of her weapon just in case she needed it. The feeling soon passed as the man came to sit a few seats away at the bar with his tankard. Weiss waited stubbornly in front of the man as he shifted from foot to foot. It was almost obvious he was lying, but why he felt the need to, Weiss could only guess.
"I'd get out of here if I were you, and I'd do it quick." He hissed as he turned to place a glass on the bar and reached down to pick up a bottle of alcohol.
A man sat down directly beside Weiss and nodded at the bartender who handed him his drink. The man downed it quickly and placed the glass upside down on the counter before eying Weiss out of the corner of his eye.
"I have a room for you, girl. Cheap too." He spoke quietly but shiftily from under a black hood that hid his face. Weiss noted the tattoo on his hand with a cartoon smile superimposed on a black coffin.
Sensing the trap, Weiss chose to follow the bartender's advice. But as she turned to get off her seat, the man grabbed on to her upper arm tightly, blocking her from drawing her weapon. She tried to shake him off but he only laughed at the attempt, everyone else in the bar ignoring or watching the scene with no interest to intervene.
"Let go of me." Weiss spoke clearly so there was no doubt about what she wanted.
"Or what?" He asked with a mirthless bark of laughter.
"This." Weiss summonned a glyph around his wrist and punched the back of his hand with her free hand. She hit the tendon hard enough and he released her while she drew her rapier.
The glyph shattered as he made a fist and the bottom of his face poked out from under his hood. "Brought a knife to a gunfight, girly. Too bad you had to fight."
Weiss quickly dodged as he drew a white chromed pistol from under his cloak and fired a shot that missed her but hit another patron dead between the eyes. Weiss dodged again, as another shot barely scraped past her cheek, leaving a tiny scrape where the heated lead had barely missed. She fell to the floor and closed her eyes as she knew it was all about to be over. A third shot rang out and when Weiss didn't feel anything, she looked up to see the man holding the smoking remains of his pistol's grip. The murmurs in the rest of the bar as everyone started looking at the newcomer were something Weiss had only heard in movies as the patrons all started whispering what she could only guess was a name to each other.
"Izanami." They all whispered as if awestruck as Weiss looked around to find Ruby with her weapon in it's compact form. Her hood was up around her head, blocking her face from the dim light of the tavern, leaving nothing but shadow where her face would be. She even wore black gloves making it seem as if she may have been made of shadows beneath the clothing.
"The hell do you think you are?" Weiss's assailant asked indignantly. He quickly reached for a second gun but paused as Ruby extended her scythe, letting it loop effortlessly around her and rested it in her ready position. Weiss noticed she'd been eying the second pistol in the man's belt and understanding dawned that this was now a standoff.
"It is Izanami!" One man said loudly enough for the entire bar to hear in the now dead silence. Suddenly the sound of movement rustled as no less than half the bar left their chairs to bow on their knees.
"She's no god." The assailant laughed as he stood. "I'll prove it."
Faster than Weiss could blink, the man drew his gun but the shot that fired wasn't his. Weiss's eyes followed the path of falling rose petals as she took in what had happened.
The body of the man fell into a growing pool of blood. His head cleanly severed and falling through the air to land near his hand that still gripped his pistol. Ruby's scythe dripped red as proof of the deed before she swung it to clean the blood while transforming it back into it's compact form. She replaced it at her back and turned back to Weiss offering her hand. Weiss took it and pulled herself up, careful to avoid the red puddle at their feet.
"One room." Ruby spoke to the bartender in the silent room.
"S-sure." He stammered, quickly placing a key on the counter. Ruby swiped it and started heading towards the staircase without another word.
"Bring the food up." Weiss told him while she dropped a few lien on the counter as she followed Ruby, not wanting to be left in the place alone.
Ruby was already opening a door when Weiss turned into the hall that branched off into the rooms. She quickly followed through the door into the dark room. She closed the door and turned the deadbolt before turning to see what the room housed. She didn't get the chance.
Ruby crashed into her, her head burying into her jacket while Ruby's arms weakly gripped her shoulders. The sounds of her quick breathing interrupted by the hitches Weiss knew all too well. It was the sound she'd made the previous day in the halls of Beacon. Weiss knew there was nothing she could say, so she did the only thing she knew to do. She wrapped Ruby in her arms and held her as she shook while slowly moving to the bed. More than an hour passed before Ruby fell asleep, the food had been left in the hallway much earlier but Weiss didn't move from the embrace of her partner, feeling that if she just held on, everything might just be alright.