"Ruby! What took you so long?" Jaune called as he watched Ruby approach from the top of the hill they'd made their camp on. "We almost came looking for you!"
"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby called back as she trudged through the snow that undoubtedly hid Weiss behind her due to all the white in her outfit. "Some stuff came up, but our team is bigger now!"
"What do you- OH!" Jaune gasped as he noticed Weiss's arm wave from behind the scythe wielder. "I didn't think you'd actually get Weiss to come. How did you manage that?"
Ruby came to a stop next to her fellow leader and allowed Weiss to take a position next to her. "Well… there were a few problems, and Weiss decided the best way to deal with them would be to join us."
"That, and I want to help you." Weiss added, silently thanking Ruby for not mentioning her familial situation. "Sitting in Atlas doesn't help get anything done, no matter how much the politicians think it does."
"Is everyone still talking about what to do?" Jaune asked, more than slightly unimpressed by the lack of progress the most technologically advanced kingdom had made in resolving the CCT issue.
"No, they're completely unfocused. Some are preparing for a potential war between the remaining kingdoms, and as usual my father is trying to get dust shipped out regardless of the risk to the SDC's workers." Weiss replied with her old scoff. "They're all just throwing words and lien around with nobody doing anything."
"Where are Ren and Nora?" Ruby asked, turning the conversation away from Atlas to something more practical. She had a feeling Weiss was tired of dealing with it at the moment.
"They went to the next village already. It's just over that hill, so I told them to start stocking up on supplies while I wait for you." Jaune said as he picked up his pack of supplies. "They said we might have a mission too."
"Sounds great!" Ruby cheered, turning to Weiss in excitement. "You ready for this?"
"Please." She dismissed with a wave.
"W-well, are you?" Ruby asked uncertainly as she didn't know what her partner's answer had meant.
"Yes, Ruby. I'm ready." Weiss sighed, remembering now how she couldn't talk to Ruby without the girl missing her intended meaning. Especially when she was excited. "I wouldn't have come if I wasn't."
"Alright! Team… what were we again?" Ruby asked as she realized they'd argued back and forth for a good portion of the trip out of the city.
"It doesn't matter. As long as we're a team." Weiss stated as she followed Jaune, realizing that by coming she'd forced herself in between the two who'd undoubtedly become close friends over the past months.
It took a while to walk to the distant hill, but Weiss used the time to plan what she knew she had to do before they could really become a team like Ruby wanted. She'd left far too quickly, and she felt she needed to at least trust JNPR enough to earn their trust in return. That meant sharing her reasons for coming. Well… maybe not all her reasons.
The town was even smaller than Weiss had expected. It comprised of about ten buildings of which one was obviously a store, one a smithy, and two seemed to house livestock. The remaining six were almost definitely houses, though one of them seemed much more elaborate in its design than the others.
Jaune led the trio through the buildings to the one with that had caught Weiss's eye. He entered and Weiss realized why it seemed to stand out. It was a hunter station. There was nobody in the main room, but that didn't mean much. Jaune led them through a doorway and up a flight of stairs to a large sitting room that had a work bench running around the outer wall. Sitting on the couch with it's back to them was Ren, the bright shock of pink in his hair now faded and overpowered by his naturally dark hair.
"Hey there Ren, how's Nora?" Jaune asked quietly. Ruby and Weiss approached and found the usually rambunctious girl sleeping on Ren's lap.
"She's doing better. The nightmare kept her up all night." Ren replied sadly. "It seems to have gotten worse since…"
"Hey, I'm back." Ruby announced, interrupting Ren and walking into view. "I brought someone with me."
"Hello Weiss." Ren greeted after a quick glance behind him. "I didn't expect you to join us."
"I'll tell you all more when Nora wakes." Weiss replied in answer to the unspoken question. "There's… some things I need to say. To all of you."
"Alright, but let's leave it for now. Go downstairs and find a room to rest in. We'll leave in a few hours, so best to rest now." Ren stated as he passed Jaune a file that he'd had sitting beside him.
Ruby nodded and pulled Weiss away quickly, putting a floor between the remaining members of JNPR and themselves. Ruby quickly found a room and Weiss followed her in as the girl jumped on the bed while throwing her pack to the floor with a loud thump. Weiss placed her pack down as well and closed the door, putting the sign on the handle to indicate the room had been taken.
"Are you going to join me for a nap?" Ruby asked from behind a blush.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Ruby." Weiss replied, moving over to the chair. "I'll sleep here."
"But Weiss…" Ruby whined as she put on her puppy dog eyes. "I wanna cuddle buddy!"
"No Ruby, that's not… safe…" Weiss trailed off as she met the girls eyes. They trembled as if about to start crying. Weiss battled herself for a moment, telling herself that Ruby was just playing her, but she could never truly believe that. "Fine! I'll cuddle with you, but only this once!"
"Aww… I thought you liked me…" Ruby sulked even more, which caused Weiss to hesitate as she drew near. She crouched down so she was at eye level with her partner and took a calming breath as those silver pools focused on her own blue orbs.
"Ruby, I… I don't want to get my hopes up for something impossible." She said solemnly. "I do want to cuddle with you, but I'm afraid that if I do I won't be able to dismiss my attraction to you so easily."
"Then don't."
"What?" Weiss asked as if she'd heard the short reply wrong.
"I said don't." Ruby repeated. "I don't know how to explain anything either, but I know something is different between us. There's something that isn't the same as with Yang or Jaune or Nora or Ren, but I'm not sure how to describe it. I have a small idea I know what it is, but I'm afraid I'll hurt you if I say anything and it turns out I was wrong. I just need more time, Weiss. I want to figure out what this feeling is, so I want us to try… this, us… slowly, okay?"
Weiss took in the sweet and honest words from her partner, and nodded. "Okay, Ruby. We can do that… just, please… don't… don't let this drag on too long. I'm not sure I'd be able to take it."
She climbed up into the bed and allowed Ruby to cuddle up to her back and wrap her arms around her waist. The room was too warm for a blanket, and Weiss soaked in the warmth of Ruby pressing up against her. Sure it was through several thick layers of clothing, but at least she was there. It didn't take long for Ruby's gentle breathing to lull her into one of the deepest sleeps she'd had since before she'd been forced to abandon her friends.
"-by? Weiss? Are one of you in there?" Weiss awoke to a gentle knocking on the door. It took her a moment to realize a question had been asked before she could answer.
"Jaune? What's the matter?" Weiss called sleepily as she couldn't bring herself to move just yet.
"We're getting ready to go. Help us find Ruby, okay?" He asked, and Weiss heard his footsteps recede from the door. Weiss turned to look at the girl beside her who still had one arm draped over her midsection, and Weiss couldn't help but feel a sense of elation that came from Ruby's cuteness.
"Ruby, it's time to get up." Weiss whispered as she rolled closer to the girl who pulled her tighter into an embrace as her face scrunched up in distaste.
"Five more minutes…" Ruby mumbled as she burrowed her head into Weiss's neck. Weiss forced herself to ignore the intimacy of the moment, fearing she'd let Ruby sleep for another hour if she didn't.
"Come on, the rest of our team is waiting for us." Weiss whispered as she pushed Ruby back a little so her face was exposed to the late afternoon sun drifting in through the blinds.
"Too sleepy…" Ruby mumbled, giving no effort to reposition herself.
"Incentives, right…" Weiss mumbled in response as she remembered that Ruby almost always needed incentives to do anything against her wishes. Apparently getting up after a short nap was one of those things, so Weiss thought of what she had in her pack. She'd purposely brought a box of cookies so she could win her partner over without too much effort, but decided against using it as she'd planned it as a last resort.
The way Ruby held her felt so good that it was almost impossible to tell if she even wanted to get Ruby to wake up. Then the idea to kiss Ruby awake fell into her mind. She blushed as she tried to think of something else, but between Ruby still not giving her a definite answer and her own hesitation to make Ruby uncomfortable, she didn't move. So it surprised her when she snapped out of her train of thought as a pair of lips gently pressed to her own.
Weiss quickly pulled Ruby close as Ruby's arms tightened as well. A wave of happiness washed through her as it had been Ruby to initiate this kiss, and she was relieved that maybe, just maybe, Ruby really did mean what she'd said before they fell asleep. Weiss felt something warm poke at her lips and gasped as she realized what Ruby was doing. Their tongues met briefly before Ruby pulled away, gasping for breath.
"Best way to wake up… ever." She said with a shy grin as Weiss felt her own blush rage on.
"Dunce…" Weiss mumbled as she turned away from Ruby to try to regain some sort of control over her voice. "Jaune said we have to leave soon."
"Right! Our first mission as team… RNJRS?" Ruby asked, realizing they still hadn't decided on a name. She shrugged and jumped up off the bed and picked up Weiss's backpack. "Here."
Weiss took it and slipped it on as Ruby picked her own up and followed her partner out of the room. It wasn't hard to find the remaining 3 members of the team waiting for them in the main floor area that housed a large mission board.
"Oh, you found Ruby. That saves us some work." Jaune commented at seeing Ruby approach.
"WEISS IS HERE?!" Nora screamed in excitement as she rushed over, almost tackling the heiress even as Ruby held on to her to support the impact. "This is fantastic! Now we outnumber the guys so we can win every single vote!"
"That's not why I brought her along, Nora. But that does seem to work out." Ruby laughed, pushing the girl off as Jaune groaned.
"Alright. So why did you bring her then?" Nora asked in confusion, assuming that being a tie-breaker was the only conceivable reason.
"I asked to come." Weiss replied, pulling everyone's eyes to her. "I needed to get away from… everything that's happened in the past few days."
"This isn't some getaway." Ren stated simply. Weiss felt from her previous encounter with the boy that he didn't trust her, or at the least that he wasn't happy with her, and she didn't blame him for it. She had left without a word to any of them in the middle of the night, after all. Though it wasn't her choice to do so, she still shouldered the responsibility for her actions.
"I know. Ruby's filled me in somewhat. I want to help you track down Salem and whoever is helping her." Weiss replied with conviction. "I understand if you don't want me to join you though."
"Don't be-" Ruby started but Weiss covered her mouth with her hand gently, silencing her protest.
"My father ordered me to leave all of you after the battle at Beacon, and I didn't even put up a fight." Weiss said as much to Ruby as the other three. "I've regretted that decision for five long months, and I can't promise that I won't fail you again. My father terrifies me more than anything else, even death. I'm not sure if I can stand against him and disobey him. But I want to try because instead of playing politics and talking about action, I want to do something that makes a difference. However small that difference may be."
"Ren, are you happy?" Jaune asked with a sigh. Weiss could tell they'd talked about this subject for at least a while prior to this confrontation.
"You didn't even say goodbye." He replied, looking at Ruby before turning his attention back to Weiss. "She cried for a month."
"I… dislike goodbyes. They're too… final." Weiss said quietly, hanging her head. "And I… I haven't had one full night of sleep since Beacon either. I didn't even know if any of you were still alive."
A moment of silence engulfed the group, even Nora refused to break it as they let the words sink in.
"One more thing. What are you running from now?" Ren asked pointedly.
"Weiss, you don't-" Ruby started only to once again be silenced by Weiss's hand.
"Ruby, it's okay." Weiss waited for Ruby's nod before turning back to the group. "This morning… my grandfather passed. He was the only family member I've been able to talk to since Beacon. I… I know it's not good timing. But I used it to escape my father's clutches. When he realizes I'm gone, he'll be furious."
"Alright. Let's get this mission started." Ren finally spoke as he turned to walk away, waving for Nora to join him.
"Just give him some time." Jaune whispered to Weiss as the three started to follow. "He's just looking out for us in his own way."
"I know." Weiss sighed. "And I don't blame him. I understand why he's hesitant to accept me into the team. You four have been together for months and I just showed up."
"I… guess you're right." Jaune sighed. "But with the trail going cold in Haven, we're going to need all the help we can get."
"It's good to have a new teammate." Ruby smiled as she pulled both her friends into a quick hug. "Now let's go and solve a problem!"