Hey guys! It's been a while. Few things:

1) I guess I never really thanked everybody for their support of this little story. It's really great that so many people enjoy it! So really, thank you.

2) I know it's been a month. Sorry for the slow-ass updates. But I wanted to make sure this story was at least up to a certain quality. That, plus school and everything takes time. Sorry. But again, I'll still be working on it, long as people are reading. Deal? Deal.

Okay, so, enjoy!

Ruby smiled wide when she bit into her cheese pizza, because she was Ruby. And Ruby did as Ruby does. Weiss forked a piece of lettuce into her mouth as she watched Ruby savour the cheese in her mouth, and around that general area. Weiss tutted, hands automatically grabbing a napkin and wiping Ruby's mouth. The younger girl expressed her gratitude through the mouthful of cheese, but really it came out as something more like 'fhank yoo!'.

Weiss rolled her eyes and speared more food into her mouth in a display of disapproval, only the small quirk of her mouth said otherwise.

Ruby had given her the directions to a pizza place a little ways on the outskirts of town, and Weiss had of course obliged, despite her aversion to artery-clogging greasy food. Ruby had immediately ordered a small cheese pizza, on which she was currently happily munching on. It made Weiss happy to see Ruby so happy, especially considering her previous state. Although if Weiss was being honest, it always made her happy to see Ruby happy.

But Weiss kept that thought down by spearing more of the salad into her mouth, chewing almost exaggeratedly.

The place wasn't really crowded for a saturday night, but Weiss figured that maybe that was the point. Soft hums of singing and the smell of dough emanated from the kitchen, mingled into the low murmur of the restaurant.

"Man, this pizza is great!" Ruby said in between bites. She absently wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and almost wiped it on her jeans before catching Weiss' narrowed eyes. She grabbed a napkin sheepishly as she brought the slice of pizza towards the Schnee heiress. "You want some?"

Weiss quirked a brow.

"Come on," Ruby almost pouted, and Weiss felt her resolve start to crumble already.

Weiss sighed a little bit. "Fine," she said in an embarrassingly quick display of defeat. Who was she kidding anyway? Ruby held out the slice across the table, pulling her hand away slightly when Weiss made to grab for it. Weiss scowled and Ruby stared intently. Weiss sighed for the umpteenth time.

She stood up slightly, leaning over, and took a tiny nibble in the corner of the pizza. The cheese stretched as she pulled away, prompting Ruby to laugh as it ended up around Weiss' mouth. Ruby reached over, wiping the bits of cheese pizza away from Weiss' half-scowl chew with her thumb, before popping it quickly into her own mouth without missing a beat.

Weiss paused. Weiss paused long and hard and she forgot to chew for a while. She felt her face flush a bright red as her eyes fixated itself on Ruby's thumb, still moist from her saliva, at her mouth, all curled up in a bright smile, and the pink little tongue that darted itself out to wet her lips.

"Weiss?"

She started at the mention of her name, her brain slowly pulling a hard reset on her motor skills as she remembered how to chew her food again. Weiss shoved more salad into her mouth and looked decidedly away from Ruby as she fought to keep her blush down.

This did seem to be a running theme when she was around Ruby. It was almost getting frustrating. Scratch that, it had definitely gone above and beyond frustrating. Infuriating. Maddening. Hair-pullingly, teeth-yankingly, throat-chokingly frustrating.

But Weiss somehow kept it going.

Go Team Schnee.

Weiss cleared her throat before speaking. "It's good," she said, her words a bit clipped and her face still a bit pink. Ruby smiled, propping her cheek up on her hand.

"I always loved the pizza here," she said, her tone almost wistful, almost airy. Her eyes glazed over a bit as she stared at the window into the kitchen. The soft hums of noise seemed to almost die away as she spoke, soft and slow and melancholy. "My mom- she used to bring Yang and I here, right after she'd get home from work, when dad was away."

The world seemed to weigh in on Ruby. Her youthful face aged right before Weiss' eyes. "She was great," Ruby said after a pause. "She was the best I could have ever asked for."

The longest pause, before Ruby spoke again, soft and tired. "I miss her."

Weiss fought to keep the lump in her throat contained and to stop the ache in her chest from flaring. Not fully aware, purely based on instinct, Weiss place her hand on top of Ruby's, brushing her fingers against the back of it and pressing a thumb into the inside of her wrist. Ruby looked up, first at her hand, then at Weiss. Neither of them said anything for a while. The world seemed to fade to black around them. Right then and there, in the little pizza joint somewhere in the outskirts of town, there only existed Ruby, and Weiss and their hands connected and the warmth both of them felt, but couldn't fully comprehend.

Then the waiter came over. The world brightened again, and suddenly Ruby wasn't the only thing that existed in front of Weiss, and she found she didn't like that all too much.

Master of tact, he was not.

"Good evening ladies, how's the food?" he asked, bright and happy and entirely too emotional for a man in his 30s working as a waiter at a pizza joint. Weiss almost wanted to stab him with the fork.

"It's great, thanks!" Ruby replied, equally chipper. The waiter nodded, smiling.

"Care for a refill?" he asked even as he started refilling their cups. Weiss sighed a little. The man was just doing his job. She supposed she couldn't fault him for that.

Still though.

Eye. Fork. Squelch. Splat.

The rest of the dinner went well after that, as the both of them finish off their food, chatting amicably. Neither of them noticed how the rest of the patrons in the restaurant had cleared out by then. Not until the same waiter came over, informing them of the time. Weiss noted with some satisfaction how tired he seemed by the end of the day. That would serve him for-

For doing his job.

Weiss shook the thought out of her head, and promised whatever entity was listening that she wasn't always this malicious. Somewhere in her mind, she blamed it on Ruby.

"I guess it's pretty late, huh?" Ruby mused, wrapping her jacket around herself as Weiss did the same.

"I guess it is," Weiss nodded. The pair walked out the place, and paused, looking at each other. Both were waiting for a confirmation. Neither had wanted the night to end just yet. Neither wanted to admit it just right then.

"Weiss," Ruby started, before Weiss could think about opening her mouth. "I want to show you something important."

"Okay," Weiss replied simply. There was a pause, as Ruby looked around the silent, mostly empty streets. Then she took hold of Weiss' hand, and took off in a trot, trailing the helpless Schnee behind her.

Not that Weiss would have put up a fight anyway. She was too distracted with the feel of Ruby's hand in her own.

Street turned into dirt path, as the pair of them kept the pace up all the way. Ruby didn't let go, even as Weiss felt her own hands go clammy. She merely tightened her own grip and flashed a quick smile as she took a glance back at her. The dirt path gave way to grass and trees and the cold winter air that Weiss barely felt until just then. The trail began to incline, and Ruby began to slow as they reached the apex of the hill.

Weiss didn't know when, but at some point, snow began to fall. White motes of powder floated gently down, barely visible by the light of the moon. The trees cleared out at the top of the hill, giving way to a clearing. And at the end, a single white stone slab, seated at the edge of the hill where it just cut off into something like a cliff face.

Ruby finally let go of Weiss' hand. She almost shivered at the loss of warmth. Suddenly, the woods seemed a bit colder than it was before.

Weiss watched as Ruby walked into the clearing, towards the slab. She didn't make a move.

Ruby walked slowly, almost carefully. Her boots crunched against the drops of snow on the ground, and her hands were clenched into a fist. When she finally reached the white slab of stone, she paused before kneeling. Weiss felt like an intruder, looking at Ruby. This was a side of her friend she felt nobody had ever had a chance to see. And here she was, looking in from the outside. Stepping in where she felt like she didn't belong. Weiss began to back up, intending on running out back into the streets.

Then Ruby looked back. Her eyes caught Weiss', and Weiss stopped moving. Without beckoning, Ruby called Weiss towards her. Somehow. Ruby always had a special effect on Weiss like that.

So Weiss did. She walked slowly and quietly towards Ruby.

Ruby shifted over and patted the space next to her. Weiss swallowed hard before kneeling on her knees. She couldn't quite gather the courage to look at the inscription on the stone slab.

"Hey mom," Ruby started. "This is Weiss, the girl I told you about."

Weiss finally dragged her gaze over to the stone slab, to the intricate, familiar design of the rose on it, onto the words beautifully inscribed onto it.

'Thus Kindly I Scatter.'

Weiss smiled slightly. "Hello, Mrs. Rose."

Ruby looked over to Weiss, giggling slightly. "She never liked my friends calling her that," she lingered her gaze back onto the headstone. "Call her Summer."

Weiss smiled sheepishly, flicking her eyes from Ruby to the headstone. "Okay."

The pair sat and talked. The trio sat and talked. The snow fell around them.

Ruby didn't speak on the walk back, so neither did Weiss. It wasn't an awkward silence, so neither thought to break it. Only when they reached the car did Ruby even think to say something.

"Weiss," she turned to face her friend. "Thank you."

Weiss blinked once, then shook her head "I should be thanking you."

Ruby moved in to hug the older girl, and this time Weiss let it happen. Weiss even hugged her back. Actually, Weiss felt a little rush when she did.

Ruby pulled away slightly, but still kept the close proximity. At this distance, Weiss could notice all the little nuances of her friend. She noticed how Ruby was already slightly taller than her. She noticed the slight smattering of freckles on the younger girl's cheeks, practically the only physical evidence of her relation to her sister. She noticed how her gray eyes looked more silver from her. And she noticed the steely resolve in those eyes.

Weiss held the gaze.

"Ruby," she murmured.

Ruby's gaze flickered down slightly then back up, before she licked her lips, making something inside Weiss jump up a bit. "Yes?"

Weiss was sure she had a reply formulated. A question or something. Or something. But all she could focus on now was how close she was. How absolutely easy it would be to just close the distance-

Of course, Ruby by then had already done it for her.

Weiss' racing mind pulled to a complete halt for a few seconds. All she could see, feel, do, or think about was how Ruby's lips were against her own. Ruby Rose was kissing her.

Then she responded back in kind.

The whole world froze around the both of them. The whole world stopped around the most important moment of Weiss' life. She curled a hand into Ruby's short curls, and felt Ruby's own hand bunch into her ponytail.

After far too long, and way too short, they pulled away.

Ruby stared at Weiss. Weiss stared at Ruby.

Then they both smiled wide.

"Finally," Ruby said breathlessly. And Weiss couldn't help but echo that sentiment.

It was morning, and Yang had one blissful moment when she was half-awake when she couldn't remember what happened the night before.

Of course it all came crashing back, and Yang again wished she didn't exist anymore.

Not that she wanted to die or anything. She just wished she didn't exist. She wished the moment didn't exist. She wished a meteor had hit the Earth right at that second and erased that moment from reality.

But here she was. Painfully awake and alive and the moment happened. The moment almost happened. The almost moment happened.

Yang groaned into her pillow.

She was afraid to even get out of bed. Outside the door was misery, pain and agony. Outside the door was Blake. Yang didn't quite feel like dealing with that just yet.

Knock, knock.

Yang groaned louder, hoping it was a sufficient enough response to get the offending knocker to go away.

"Yang?" Ruby called out, muffled through the door. Yang's groan did not work. Great.

Well, maybe she just wasn't trying hard enough. Yang groaned louder.

"Yang, you're not going to get me to go away by roaring," Ruby said simply, and Yang could even hear the smile in her voice. She cursed herself for being so pitiful while her little sister was bright and chipper as a summer's day in a land of woodland creatures. If she thought hard enough, she could come to the conclusion that Ruby had her life together more than she ever did. But she didn't. Yang merely groaned again.

Ruby sighed. "I'm coming in, okay?"

She didn't wait for an answer before opening the door, in true Rose-Xiao Long household fashion.

Yang faked gasped at her sister. "Ruby!" she said. "What if I was naked in here?"

Ruby shuddered a bit, then gave a small shrug. Yang sighed. A few years ago she would have gotten a way bigger reaction. Oh how time flew. It seemed like only yesterday Ruby was a fresh-faced highschooler, with a bright smile on her face, still not yet beaten down by the rigour of life.

But it wasn't yesterday. Because yesterday, she almost kissed Blake.

The thought alone was enough to make Yang want to scream.

"You ever gonna get out of that bed, sis?" Ruby leaned against her door, an eyebrow quirked up. Yang scowled, and promptly threw the blanket over her head.

"No," she said, as stubborn and childish as you please.

"Why...?"

Yang pulled the blanket down and pouted at Ruby, who was now standing at the foot of her bed, a hand on a cocked hip. All she was missing was the scowl, then it would have truly felt like home.

"Yang..." she began, a warning sort of tone in her voice. "What happened?"

Yang laid her head down on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. "I... I almost kissed Blake," she said, sounding lost.

Ruby immediately threw her hands up.

"WHAT?"

Yang bounded over and clamped a hand over her mouth, shushing her violently.

"MMF?"

"Ruby!" Yang hissed. Ruby pulled Yang's hand away.

"You kissed Blake?!" she hissed back. Yang cringed a bit.

"No!" she put her hands up defensively. "I... almost kissed her."

"Almost?!"

"Almost?!"

Blake cringed.

"I almost kissed Yang, yes," she sighed.

"Blake," Weiss asked, shrill. "Are you out of your mind?!"

Blake cringed harder.

"I don't need to remind you that you have a boyfriend, Blake," Weiss stood with her arms akimbo. Blake hung her head.

"No... hecametothehouseyesterday," Blake mumbled. Weiss' eyes widened to dinner plates.

"What."

Blake squeezed her eyes shut.

"What."

Yang squeezed her eyes shut.

"Sun knocked on the door. He came over. IN THE MIDDLE OF-"

Now it was Ruby's turn to clamp her hand over Yang's mouth.

"MMF!"

"Oh my god!" Ruby squealed, in something like shock and excitement.

"Muuuuuuhhhh," Yang groaned into Ruby's hand.

Later, Ruby met Weiss in the hallway.

"I have to tell you something crazy!" Ruby grabbed both Weiss shoulders and shook her slightly.

"Blake almost kissed Yang," Weiss said, cutting her- cutting Ruby off. Ruby almost exploded from sheer excitement. She started making a sound somewhere in-between a squeal and a screech. Two important distinctions to note when living with members of the Rose-Xiao Long household. Now it was Weiss' turn to grab her Ruby- Ruby's shoulders, to stop her from shaking.

"Calm down, Ruby," Weiss said, ever the even-handed one.

"But Weiss-"

"We have to figure this out," Weiss said, silencing Ruby with a swift finger to her lips. A finger that Ruby promptly planted a kiss on, causing Weiss to start blushing madly, in turn causing Ruby to giggle. While her guard was down, Ruby took the opportunity to lean forward and steal a kiss.

Ruby didn't think it was possible for somebody to blush that hard.

Ruby also didn't think it was possible for somebody to be that cute. Least of all for it to be Weiss.

She didn't think much about it- a relationship with Weiss that is- before. But ever since the Christmas party, and the events leading up to it, Ruby found herself more and more consumed with thoughts of Weiss. It was what her mind defaulted to, whenever she had a free moment. On the sleepless nights, on the quiet days, all that occupied her mind was Weiss. Ruby swiftly came to the conclusion that she wanted Weiss. She wanted something more with Weiss.

Then came the night on the hill.

Ruby, as happy and chipper as she was, had another side of her she rarely ever showed to anybody. The tenants of the loft were the closest people to her, and only Yang knew the extent of attachment, her grief, her rage, over her mother. Over Summer Rose's life and death. And she brought Weiss right into the fold.

She realized then it was the right choice.

So she made her move. And immediately she knew it was the right move.

So here they were, a blushing Weiss and an absolutely ecstatic Ruby.

"We-" Weiss cleared her throat. "We have to get them talking," she gestured at Blake and Yang's doors. Ruby nodded enthusiastically.

Weiss regained her composure. "Let's get to work."