One Weiss Schnee drug herself through the razor-sharp snowfall, each flake a cut to her dying sense of hope. The forest around her, timeless and distant, watched on with passing interest as they swayed in the storm. She needed to find a refuge, something, anything that would let her rest from this onslaught of frozen pins and needles. Then she could focus on not having a jagged hole in her stomach and finding the rest of her team. No caves, no buildings, nothing but trees as far as the eye could see, though she realized it wasn't very far at all. Her stomach sank and-
Wait what? She snapped her head down and found leaking red, growing by the second as if trying to fight away the snow that nipped at her abdomen. Quick glances left and right, everything was so small and weak but then it was there.
Brightly shining like a beacon was the tree among trees she had always sought, so far away but so worth fighting for. It promised hope, promised a haven away from Father Time and Mother Nature. She'd be a fool not to take the opportunity to break away from this frost-filled madness.
So she took her first step towards her light in the darkness
and nearly stumbled on the drop of the valley in front of her. She could only barely make out the hazy bottom, but that was better than not seeing the other edge of the valley at all. The slope beckoned her, and she had only a moment to ponder how sharp it was before she started sliding away beyond her control.
Blurs of trees and rocks. Falling snow keeping pace. Righting her body onto her back, the colors and shapes of the world began to make sense again. And for some reason, she felt ready, waiting in anticipation for the challenge that lay at the deepest part of this valley on this road to a newfound hope.
It came out of the fog all at once, towering above her with its glistening scales and sheer might. Endlessly stretching off in the distance, the icy stone wall blocked her way to the shining beacon. Crystals above watched her and only her, as if animated and ready to challenge her at a moment's notice.
And Weiss Schnee did not back down from a challenge, especially from Mother Nature herself.
Snowflake fractals danced below her kneeling form, eyes fixed upon the goal above. She felt the familiar push ready to send her out of the abyss at moment's notice.
Then it was gone. Like a bowstring ready to break, the intensity of the glyph failed to rise to her sheer force of will. No matter. She'd simply have to use what she had of herself, not what her pedigree said she could do.
She let loose the bow. Whatever muscles she could still use tensed themselves into a human arrow. And the tip, her rapier that drove away the obstacles of her life, found itself locked in battle with the ethereal barrier. Now to chip away at what stretched out into the fog, disappearing into the grey without an end in sight.
So she'd have to take the climb one jump at a time. A flip upwards, a release from the wall at precisely this moment, a stab right where the ice was weakest. All without losing a touch of grace. That was how Weiss Schnee operated and how she would-
pain flickered itself through her hanging arm. A lesser person might have fallen away. A lesser person might be lost to the snows of time. Weiss Schnee only felt the disappointment and anger dripping out of her right shoulder. Her own personal heaven and hell stared back at her from the top and bottom of the unfeeling cliff.
Dangling by her rapier in this vertical purgatory, her other shoulder screamed with the fury of the dying. White crests spun beneath her feet, ready for the final gambit, ready to beat the crystal guardian once and for all. Readying her human arrow once more, new spokes shot out of the snowflake even as new spikes of pain pierced her insides.
Weiss Schnee fired herself, spinning rapier first, towards victory. Only her arrow tip and its target were still in focus as her vision gazed heavenward.
Her arms felt it first. Then the sound of the gates above cracking open around her. She could see the drive through the surface. The armor being cut apart through sheer will. The exit made of pure determination. Then she stopped moving.
Her lungs felt ready to burst out of her chest. Her arms trembled with relief. Her shoulder, however, now only showed the stains of victory.
Now time for the tree. The castle that stood in front of her, inviting and daunting all at once. She started to breach the sacredness of the ray of hope, stiff legs pushing against the want to freeze up and walk away. One step at a time, one step towards a boundless fut-
the snow felt hard against her body. Her side was wet- the crimson liquid had decided to burst in at just the right time. Her gaze hardened upon it and her face broke into a scowl, as if staring at it would make it shut up and go away. And to her surprise, it seemed to listen, shrinking away sadly out of her view.
She pushed herself up, limbs shaking but mind willing. Her mind peacefully fluttered away, dreaming of the possibilities that her goal could give her. Safety away from the cruelty she started her journey in, healing from the wounds she couldn't patch up by herself, and maybe, just maybe, a chance to think about what she could do next.
Again?
Red flowed across her body, turning her dress a revolting pink that she tried, with all the might of a fallen angel, to get rid of. It stuck, it wouldn't go away, it was everywhere and it wouldn't leave! No matter how much she wringed or pulled, that sick reddish blur would not leave!
So she smothered it.
She took off her jacket, exposing herself to the world, and locked it onto her waist with all the hatred, all the loneliness she could muster. And as if to spite her, it broke through, a maroon spreading around her waist, wrapping her in a warm embrace. Just like…
Ruby.
That red whisper on the wind. That insufferable nuisance waiting at every turn.
The one who introduced her to a new life, who let her see beyond the frostbitten world she was trapped in, who thawed away the heart she could hear thumping so clearly now.
Red warmth spread up her body, familiar hands brushing themselves on her bosom. Once again she thought of the crimson clad girl she had bared everything to- her mind, her soul, even her body.
But now… would she ever see her Rose again?
"Hey Weiss, you coming?"
She stood in front of her, smile as welcoming as it was the first day they had gone on a date together. And Weiss, sitting down in her haze of hope, could only think yes.
Yes, I'll go with you Ruby. To the ends of this god-forsaken world if need be.
So she threw out her hand, and found herself whisked away by the simple soul's freedom, beyond the frosty indifference she had known all her life. But as the world pulled away, she found herself struck by all the thoughts, the words, that would never be said.
And Ruby doesn't deserve that.
She felt the air threatening to freeze over her parted lips. Putting her hands up to her mouth, the familiar red again mesmerized her.
To be surrounded by my Rose one last time…
She could taste a bitter iron as she pressed her lips to her Rose's, along with the warmth she had been craving for so long.
"I love you, Ruby. But you already knew that."
Her voice was tender, a gentle coo to her red whisper on the wind.
"I love your smile. I love the brightness behind everything you do. I love your child's heart and doltish antics. I love how you bake cookies with me like it's the most important thing in the world."
"I love how you love me."
Her thoughts flew back to their first meeting.
"Even if I'm not a good person."
To their first fight.
"Even if I treated you horribly."
To their first encounter with the bittersweet snow world that both praised and scorned them.
"Even if I don't deserve to be loved."
The words grew more and more strained, struggling as if they hoped to be carried to the silver-eyed subject herself. And suddenly, Weiss's face bloomed in redness.
"I love your touch."
They hadn't shared their bodies in a while, and now more than ever, Weiss was aching to feel every curve of Ruby's body.
So she reached out to the heavens and pulled her down. Her partner, in every sense of the word, ready to intertwine at a moment's notice. Blue eyes full of thawed desire and lingering touches that spread wildfires wherever they went- those were all she needed to set her other half off.
Cold shocks ran across her back, the fluffy powder form-fitting around the pillow princess.
She hated how accurate that name was sometimes...
Pale lips met red. Crimson pushed through, wrapping both tongue and heart into deep embrace. The virus of passion spread, pulsing through her body until it consumed her control with it.
Battle-worn fingertips and silky-svelte lips released their hold, only to snake down to her cheek, her jaw, and her oh-so-vulnerable neck. Kisses, bites, and caresses dotted the starry skyline of Weiss's throat, delighting in the worship of her skin.
Mewls fell out of her gasping throat as the tripwire that was her collarbone launched her pleasure to new heights. Crimson brushing, kissing, nibbling her closer, higher, deeper to bliss. Her hips pulsed back and forth. Faster and faster. She needed it. Now.
But she knew. She'd never get off this easy. No, her red-tipped lover always made sure to drag it out as long as humanly possible. From her tripwire-sensitive collarbone, to her tender earlobes, and back to her marked neck. Again and again and again.
Cold. Her combat dress was gone and frosty air took took its place.
Until again she felt the Red all over her body. Pleasure snaked itself upward from her petite stomach. Muscles shuddered under the power of a loving red touch and-
She let out a quiet gasp as she felt hands cupping her breasts. Back in reality for a moment, Weiss nodded to the hand stroking her face.
Always the same wordless question, and always the same wordless answer.
"Mmph-!"
Her air was cut off as the last pieces of fabric separating her from her love were torn off. Moans cut through the ice-cold winds while her breasts were teased, toyed with. Warmth and frost alike invaded her body. Parts of her body numbed under the clashing heat and cold. But it left the places that mattered that much more sensitive.
And the most sensitive place of all ached. It cried out to be touched, as did its owner.
"P-please! Ruby!"
And so the Red complied. First one finger, teasing, so close but never quite there. Until she could stand no more.
"A Schnee always gets what a Schnee wants."
She could no longer tell where these words were coming from. Not that it mattered anyway. Because Red was her inside, her outside, her everything.
Both fingers were inside now, driving, pounding, flying her to the moon. Their thrusts threatened to shatter her into the sky above. With every touch of every tip her body tensed tighter and tighter. Faster, forceful, frantic fingers fuc-
"F-Fuck! Ah! F-oh! Ru-byyyyy!"
Euphoria washed over her, casting her away to a sea of wishes and dreams come true. She let the waves push and pull as she surrendered her will completely and utterly. Every motion, every friction was another moment in the oceans of heaven for Weiss Schnee.
The tides she rode on might last forever, but she would not. The sand felt as comfortable as a blanket of snow as Weiss reclaimed her grip on the world around her.
Now Weiss was completely soaked, in every sense imaginable. In her moments of perfect contentment, she realized what would be the final step in their relationship.
One they would never be able to share, unless it happened now, right now!
"I want you to be by my side… forever."
Those four words.
"Will you marry me?"
And somewhere in her haze of desire and affection, she heard the voice she'd craved for.
"-iss! Weiss!"
Yes.
She could see it now. The snow quietly hugging the world around them. Her dark pink, almost blood-red wedding dress. The lights in the eyes of everyone who would be there to support them.
But even they were but a faint gleam compared to the girl that had completely captured her heart. And there she stood, her familiar dress and tearful face defined crystal clear in the midst of her reddened vision.
Of course she'd wear a combat skirt to her wedding…
As her one and only Rose dashed towards her, Weiss lost sight of the lights and trees around her, the world outside of the two fading by the second.
Soon, her love's face was all that was left, and as she felt trembling arms cradle her it took all the consciousness still left in her mind to say:
"I do."
That day, one white-clad, stubbornly proud Weiss Schnee entered the forest.
That night, one red-covered, deliriously infatuated Weiss Rose left the forest.