Please note; this chapter features less humor than it does fluffs and relationship progression. As you can tell, I write Weiss and Ruby as the biggest dorks EVER. Mainly because they are. Enjoy!


The two of them walked side by side down a lamp and moonlight lit forest park path, Ruby with a chocolate ice cream in her hand. Their day had gone pretty well since leaving the house; the strange tension they'd developed for a moment was absolutely non existent. Weiss was thankful for this, for who Ruby was, how she was so able to simply be with someone and enjoy it.

Ruby was a blessing. A best friend blessing.

Ruby was humming; a happy sound with slow crescendos and decrescendos. It was actually really pretty. Weiss almost felt it would have been right to walk closer to Ruby and hold an arm around the brunette's waist. However, she didn't. Unconsciously, she ended up walking a finger's width further away from Ruby, who didn't notice as she stained her face with chocolate and gazed bright eyed up at a full, bright moon.

She can be really pretty, actually… Weiss allowed herself to think, mainly because she needed to express her internal feelings somehow, even if it was through more internality.

"Hey, uhm, Weiss?" Ruby tilted her head vaguely towards Weiss, looking at her obliquely.

"Hmm, Ruby?" Weiss voice was soft, quiet. It was fitting for the current atmosphere that encircled the two of them.

"I wanted to thank you for asking me out here to Atlas! It's been a huge blast and all." Ruby thanked her, and Weiss smiled. Ruby had hardly been too enthusiastic the first few nights, mainly because Weiss had spent those first days away with family and catching up with friends.

Since then, though, it'd been a constant of… Weiss' thoughts trailed off, unsure which word she was looking for. It didn't matter, really. "Of course, Ruby. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else along." Weiss admitted truthfully, knowing now that it wasn't simply for training that she'd had the nerve to suggest Atlas to Ruby. The heiress suspected that subconsciously she'd wanted the companionship of her partner.

Ruby half hummed-half giggled at this admission, turning her head to look at Weiss more directly. From the corner of her eye, Weiss could see the brunette studying her. She was glad for the night time light, otherwise her flush would have been ridiculously spottable.

"You really are super pretty, Weiss…" Ruby told her, and even though Weiss was unable to feel barely anything else other than more embarrassment and quiet anger for Ruby's potential feelings, the acute heiress also picked up on something much more subtle.

Just barely in reach, hidden behind layers of admiration, was a slight tinge of uncertainty to Ruby's voice, as if she wasn't sure about something. Weiss tensed, her walking slowing and Ruby adjusting her speed to match her companion.

"Thank you. You are too, Ruby." Weiss told her, again personally truthful, as she looked back at the brunette. Ruby smiled back as their eyes met, and Weiss was startled at what she was sure she saw in Ruby's silver orbs.

Ruby was deep in thought.

A silence befell them as the brunette turned her attention back to the path ahead of them. For a few more minutes they walked, appreciating the quiet, until Weiss had finally had enough of it.

"It's getting late, Ruby. Home?" Weiss asked her, stopping.

For a moment, Ruby didn't answer. When she did, it came out sounding distracted. "Er, yeah, sure."

Weiss frowned the entire walk home.

Weiss felt distressed as she climbed into her hot bath, waters scented with oils. As her toes, then feet, legs and finally abdomen were submerged, she gradually felt a little better. Trying to fully put off her mind's worries, she tried singing a song.

She found that, halfway through the melody, she had reached her max level of calmness. With a sigh, the heiress went to lathering her long ivory tresses with shampoo, letting the strands fan out behind her head as she then soaked it in the water, gently running her hands through her hair until it felt rinsed.

She quickly rubbed her body down, surprised when she found herself mildly aroused. Ruby's face flitted through her vision's eye and Weiss flushed so deeply that even the water probably couldn't match her temperature.

She finished as fast as possible, wrapping herself in a soft, plush white towel after rubbing her soaked hair down.

The walk back was filled with emotions of guilt and shame. She'd almost got off to the thought of her best friend. She felt filthy despite her bath and had to bite her bottom lip hard to stop herself from crying. What a nightmare these feelings were making for her.

When she entered the room, Ruby was sitting on the edge of her bed brushing her hair, dressed in a long, red and silky nightgown, the only one she had. Weiss had demanded that Ruby at least where one article of clothing that was age appropriate. The sight produced a half smile on Weiss' face despite herself.

"Hiya, Weiss!" Ruby greeted her, all hints at the earlier turmoil Weiss had suspected in the brunette having completely vanished from her voice. Ruby's eyes flitted across Weiss' half naked form quickly, before the brunette looked pointedly back at her brush and began to fiddle absently with it.

"Hi, Ruby." Weiss returned, blushing. Ruby had just taken in a very rare eyeful of Weiss, albeit a brief one. Weiss felt a very tiny amount less guilty about her bath-time feelings, but no less angry about it. Coming to terms with something was not easy for Weiss.

The heiress made her way into her walk-in closet, choosing a pair of white knee socks to be paired with a black nightgown that split on the side to reveal her hip. She found that despite how much it made her feel self conscious, she didn't mind Ruby looking at her. It felt easier when Ruby was doing these things, even if they could be purely platonic, wrought out of nothing but simple curiosity.

Still, it made Weiss feel better.

Weiss came out of the closet to stand before her mirror, using it as a ploy as she studied Ruby's reaction. Ruby looked Weiss over again, a little longer this time as she paused for just a moment on the heiress' chest before looking away. Weiss frowned; there'd been absolutely no emotional response other than a small smile when Weiss had first stepped out of the closet.

With a sigh, Weiss walked over and sat beside Ruby, whose hands tightened their grip on the brush. For a moment that was all Weiss could stare at.

"Ruby?"

"Hm?" Ruby hummed, quietly but pointedly looking away from Weiss.

"What's up?" The heiress asked, leaning towards the brunette. This was… Scary, Weiss realized, her pulse quickening as her nerves and mind started to rush through a billion different answers to that question. One of them was a fantasy that made Weiss almost as angry as her bathtime moment.

Ruby let out a short lived laugh, turning the brush around and around in her hands. Weiss watched it for a moment before looking up at Ruby's head, which was bowed down just slightly, loose hair falling to hide portions of her face.

And then there was silence. "Ruby?" Weiss pushed, and Ruby looked at her with a sad smile.

"You're really cool, you know that, Weiss?" Ruby told her, before looking back at the brush. "And uhm, that's not the point. Uh. I don't know, I think I'm just really sleepy and it's making me feel kind of bleh."

Weiss pursed her lips, knowing that Ruby and sleepy didn't fit into the same sentence together. Ever. The heiress wanted to reach out and touch Ruby, comfort her in a hug, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do it. Ruby seemed like she was shying from her Weiss realized with startling clarity.

Weiss shifted a smidgen away, watching as an unreadable smile hinted at the corners of Ruby's almost hidden mouth as the brunette made herself more relaxed in response.

And Weiss wasn't sure, but she knew there were only a few options left to explore. Either Ruby was totally creeped out by Weiss' barely hidden attraction, Ruby felt guilty about not being able to really reciprocate, OR Ruby actually did feel the same way and was fighting it, just like Weiss was.

Frustration pricked at the corners of Weiss' eyes.

"Ruby, if you wish to talk about something, I'm one hundred percent listening." Weiss offered.

Ruby sighed, drawing her legs up underneath her as she turned halfway towards the heiress.

Weiss, breath grew deeper and more urgent, knowing that she was about to get her answer. For a few moments Ruby twisted her face around, starting up and stopping herself everytime she went to speak. "Ruby, breathe." Weiss told her, and Ruby let out a small giggle. The sound made Weiss feel happier.

Ruby licked her lips before looking Weiss in the eyes. Cerulean met with storming grey.

"Weiss… This is gonna sound really strange, but… I actually am pretty, right?"

Weiss' lips parted a bit, stunned by what she'd heard.

Ruby Rose was insecure about her physical appearance. Ruby Rose. The same girl who ate ridiculous amounts of fat without shame.

"I just… You know, by Atlas standards."

Atlas… Standards?

Weiss was confused but she knew the answer. "Absolutely." Weiss answered immediately, confidently if not curiously.

"Not lying? Not at all?"

"No, I'm not lying!" Weiss assured her. "Ruby, where is this even coming from? You've never been concerned about these things!"

Ruby shrugged and Weiss could tell the brunette was still concerned about "being pretty by Atlas standards". Weiss bit her bottom lip in thought before an idea came to her. "Hand me your scroll for a second, Ruby." She ordered. Ruby looked at her curiously before obediently getting up to cross the room to the mirror, collecting her scroll and delivering it to Weiss before taking her place back on the bed.

In just a few minutes coupled with Weiss and Ruby trying to figure out Ruby's forgotten password, Weiss had found what she was looking for. "Here." She said, inviting Ruby to come in close to view the screen. The brunette shifted closer, completely oblivious to the fact that she was almost sitting in Weiss' lap. Gods, she smells divine. Weiss thought distractedly, trying not to peer at the other girl's exposed form. From this angle Weiss could see right down Ruby's chest.

Weiss tapped the play button on the queued video and the scroll erupted into a myriad of musical notes before a moving image started to fade in from black. The two of them watched as a dozen ballet dancers flitted across a grand stage, dressed in fleecy white to match the snow-themed decor around them.

"These girls are far more beautiful than I am, Ruby." Weiss assured the brunette, who looked up with an expression of confusion. There was maybe even a hint of hurt in those silver pools, and Weiss felt she knew what Ruby was thinking, that if those ballet dancers were prettier than Weiss, Ruby must be rather homely.

"And you're far more gorgeous than they could ever be." Weiss finished, and before Ruby could ask it, Weiss answered for her. "I've never said anything to you and meant it as much as I do this, Ruby."

And then their eyes met, and Weiss could read Ruby like an open book. She could see what the brunette was planning to do and it terrified her yet thrilled her. She wouldn't… But could she? Weiss half wished-half forbid, trying to make the decision to back away.

Damn those silver eyes that captivated her so.

Ruby half closed her eyes as she leaned towards Weiss' face, breath reaching the heiress' face as she came closer, closer. Weiss was too distracted by Ruby's overpowering closeness and scent to care about blushing.

For a moment, as Ruby's mouth passed within inches of Weiss', the heiress' heart felt like it was going to implode within her rib cage. It was only for a moment before Ruby's lips had passed the threshold of Weiss', but still. Ruby put her hands on Weiss' as she pressed her soft lips to Weiss' smooth cheek, holding the kiss and squeezing the heiress' hands as she did. Almost seven seconds passed before Ruby pulled away slightly, and Weiss heard a distinct sniffling sound coming from the brunette.

"Thank you, Weiss!" Ruby whisper cried, throwing her arms around Weiss' waist and leaning into give Weiss a powerful hug as she pressed her forehead to Weiss' shoulder. The heiress was stunned, but after that closeness… That intimacy, she needed more.

And so the heiress reciprocated, gently hugging Ruby back while cooing at her, surprised to find the brunette crying over such a minor issue. Weiss felt that the issue went deeper, that insecurities about being beautiful weren't the only antagonists in Ruby's mind right now.

But as she held Ruby, Weiss found that this was perfect. They had reached their limit for tonight, their comfort zone. Right now, that was in each other's embrace.

They leaned back into the pillows, adjusting and according their holds as they got comfortable, legs intertwining. Ruby had stopped crying and was now simply breathing softly against Weiss' collarbone. It sent tingles through the heiress but it wasn't unbearable.

The room's overhead light shut off as the clock hit 10 PM.

In the comfort of the dark and each other, both girls drifted into dreams of beautiful love stories.


Sooooo much fluff. I really hope you guys like this chapter as much as I did.

Fun fact; this was originally twice the length it is now. I wrote a scene where Ruby and Weiss go to a café. After re-reading it a couple times, I decided it didn't really need to be there, so I scrapped it in favor of the lighter, shorter but ultimately still really good (in my humble opinion) alternative that is this chapter.

If you have the time, I would really appreciate a favorite/follow/review. They let me know best that you guys want more, faster.