It started raining.

Soft and slow and gentle, it pattered on the windowpanes that glistened in the warm lamplight of Ruby's living room. The sun had set long ago. She sat on the couch in her tank top and pajamas, with Weiss' hands clasped in her own.

The mysterious white-haired woman sat next to her in an oversized white t-shirt, head resting on her shoulder. Both were silent. Ruby was giving Weiss time. Time to build up the courage to finally tell her story and dispel the mystery. She knew it would only bring them closer. It didn't matter what Weiss told her. Nothing could stop her from loving the strange Russian girl she had found in the dump.

Weiss let out a shaky breath. "It is... long story."

"You said that before," Ruby muttered with a smile. "About four times now actually."

Weiss frowned. Ruby could still see the tears tracks on her pale face. She leaned in and pressed her lips to Weiss'. It still felt awkward, but a weird lump in her throat and a strange warmth in her chest told her to do it. And judging by Weiss' grudging smile, she didn't have a problem with it either.

"Bolshoe spasibo," Weiss whispered.

"...You're welcome?"

The white-haired woman laughed. "Yes, means thank you. So thank you."

Ruby smiled and squeezed her a little closer. She never wanted to let her go after this. She would hold onto Weiss until the end of time if she could.

The coffee maker in the kitchen dinged. Fine, she would hold onto Weiss until the coffee was done. "I'll be just a sec," she muttered, heading into the kitchen.

She poured the steaming coffee into two mugs, then added vanilla creamer and sugar. She then carried them to the living room, set them on the aptly named coffee table, and sat back down.

Weiss thanked her, took a sip, sniffed once, and looked up at the ceiling. "So. It is time I tell you story, yes? My story."

"If you want to," Ruby replied. "I mean if you still don't that's fine, I don't want to pressure you or anything. You can take as long as you want."

"You are too sweet. But no. This needs to be done. If I want you to trust me fully as I trust in you, then this must be done. I shall start with the, how you say, basics?"

"Yeah. Basics. That'd be fine."

"Alright."

Weiss was silent for several seconds. Then she took a deep breath, and spoke. "I was born in St. Petersburg. My family was... very rich. Old money. Have you heard of the February Revolution?"

"Yeah, kinda. It was in like, 1920 or something? All the noble families got kicked out of Russia and the poor people took over or something?"

"1917 to be exact. And yes, the Schnee family was one of the many displaced from our home. At least we did not end up like Romanovs. That was... ah, I lose track. Anyway, in the late 1980's my family returned from our exile. Our estates were all state property of course, but much of our wealth we had taken with us. We negotiated deal with the Kremlin, and soon we were back in St. Petersburg living a life of relative wealth and luxury."

"I knew it!" Ruby gasped. "You totally were a rich girl!"

Weiss frowned at her. "That is what you think? That I am rich girl stereotype with lots of money and no sense?"

"N-No, I just meant that... like the way you eat all proper and you always sit up straight and stuff. Oh and the dancing! Not many people know how to ballroom dance these days. So I mean I guess I had a hunch. But no Weiss, I don't think of you any differently, don't worry. To me you're Weiss. Heck, I've never even heard of the Schnees. Maybe if I was Russian but, well I'm obviously not."

"No," Weiss smirked, "you are not. You would not last twelve seconds on streets of St. Petersburg."

"Yeesh, that bad?"

Weiss nodded and curled up into her. Ruby wrapped her arm around the white-haired woman and pulled her fully into her lap. She kissed her on the forehead, on the cheek, on the chin and then finally the lips.

Weiss smiled and giggled. "What was that for?"

"Sorry. I've kinda wanted to do stuff like that for a long time."

"Well... I don't mind. It is nice."

"Yeah. So uh... you were rich and all. But what happened?" Ruby asked. "Why were you... you know. In a dump? And all the way over here in America?"

"Ah yes." Weiss hesitated. "The heart of the story. It is... I have never told anyone before. You will be first."

"Well I don't mind that. It is nice."

Weiss leaned up and pecked her on the cheek. "Don't repeat my own words. Is annoying."

"Whatever you say Princess."

"Yes," Weiss mused. "Whatever I say..."

The rain picked up, came heavier, faster. But Ruby felt fantastic. She felt warm and safe and loved, because she was finally getting the chance to make Weiss feel warm and safe and loved. Her mind drifted back to the way she had found her. Mute, dirty, and alone, in a dump all by herself. She squeezed Weiss just a little tighter. The white-haired woman's skin was so soft. She smelt like coconut, although that was probably just her shampoo.

"So. It all happened in single day. It was not slow or drawn out or anything like that. I was... I have an inclination towards women. Men are not appealing to me."

Ruby scoffed. "Well obviously."

"Ruby, are you aware how homosexuals are treated in Russia?"

"Um... do they have it bad?"

"Ruby, if you were to call someone gay in the middle of the street and start beating them in front of a police officer in America, what would happen?"

"Well the police officer would step in obviously. That's assault at the very least."

"In Russia police officer would help. He would assist in the beating of the gay man. Then he would laugh and go about his job."

"W-What? That stuff is true?" Ruby was incredulous. "Like I mean I'd heard they kinda don't like gay people there but..."

Weiss sighed. Ruby felt the snowy-haired woman's arms tighten. "It is bad over there. To be openly homosexual is as good as a death sentence. It is viewed as corrupt and wrong and unholy, and if you are caught with another person of same gender the best thing that can happen is that you are merely sent to jail and have your possessions taken by the state. That's if you are a normal citizen."

Ruby frowned and bit her lip.

"Now imagine what would happen if you were part of the old noble families of Russia, where tradition and honor and public image is held above all. Where the head of the house can beat his wife and the police do nothing about it if they even know of it at all. Where servants who make mistakes often disappear and are never seen again. What do you think would happen if a daughter of one of these noble families was found with another woman, let alone one of her servants?"

Ruby stiffened up. Her heart skipped a beat. "Weiss... are you... did you?"

Weiss' voice was incredibly calm and toneless. "I do not remember much. Rough hands pulling us out of closet where we thought we would be safe. They started beating her. I screamed for them to stop, and they hit me as well. I believe I went into shock. I only remember pieces of that night. Pleading with my father. Him threatening to have me 'disappear as well.' He told me he would deal with me come morning. I didn't cry that night. I took what jewelry and money I had in my room and jumped out window. It was three stories. Snow did not do much to cushion the fall."

Ruby didn't want to hear any more, but she knew Weiss needed to tell someone. She needed to get this out of herself, out of the dark place in her mind where it had remained locked up, festering. It needed to be free. She kissed Weiss gently on the lips to remind her she was still there, then let her continue.

Weiss was silent for a few seconds. She smacked her lips. "You taste like strawberry. I escaped into the city. Sold the jewelry. I bought a knife with some of the money I had. The pawn broker tried following me and robbing me. I stabbed him in an alleyway. I do not remember how. I was much like an animal then, all instincts and reactions and pain. I made it to the port. Found a ship willing to take me on. The men there... they were nice. They respected me and did not try to have their way with me. They easily could have. I remember being surprised and scared. I fled the ship once we reached America without thanking them."

"So did you come to America on purpose or..." Ruby asked.

"No. I did not know where ship was going. I only knew they were willing to take me. That was enough at the time."

"Wow. Weiss I'm so sorr-"

Weiss interrupted her with two hands that cupped her face and a deep kiss that captured her lips. It was heavy and forceful and breathless. Weiss stole the apology from her throat before she could speak it. She leaned back after several seconds, smacking her lips again. "Still strawberry. I like it."

Ruby had to catch her breath. She wiped at the strand of drool coming from her mouth. "I was gonna say I'm-"

Weiss stared her dead in the eyes. "No. No apologies. Do not be sorry. I am not. That servant girl was stealing from me. When they beat her jewelry spilled from her pockets. Jewelry that I found missing from my room that night. You? You are different. You are, you are Ruby. If all of it had not happened, I would not have met you. We would not be together right now."

She placed a hand on Ruby's face, stroked her cheek gently with her thumb. Her voice softened. "So do not be sorry. I am not. I am glad."

Ruby smiled. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. "Okay. Yeah, I can be happy too then. Gosh, I'm like a big baby." She wiped at her eyes. "I'm crying way too much lately."

Weiss smiled back. "I like it. In Russia everyone is closed and cold and hides their emotions. Not so you. You are open and vulnerable with me, and soft on the inside. It is refreshing."

Ruby giggled and embraced Weiss. They both fell backwards onto the couch, giggling, laughing, drowning out the pitter-patter of the rain. Ruby started tickling Weiss' sides, and she shrieked and tried to push the taller woman off of her to no effect.

Eventually Ruby let her up. Weiss leaned back against the armrest of the sofa wiping laughing tears out of her eyes, while Ruby giggled and snorted with her head on Weiss' stomach.

"You..." Weiss huffed, "you do not do that again. Ever. Tickling is off limits forever."

Ruby rested her head on Weiss' chest and looked up at her. Weiss' glacier-blue eyes seemed to sparkle and melt in the dim lamplight.

She frowned. "That is not all of story you know. There is more."

Ruby quirked an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

"Mmhmm... when I got to America, I was lost, confused. Like I said, I ran off of ship without thanking the sailors or asking for any help. I only had the money in my pockets. That didn't last long."

Ruby pushed up onto Weiss and nuzzled into the crook of her neck. A pit in her stomach told her she wouldn't like what was coming next.

"I couldn't find job. Or place to take me in. I had few talents or natural skills, only an expensive education and a fair amount of ability with a rapier. I could fence, but that was about it."

"Ooh, you can fence?"

"Yes, but that is beside point. I was raised rich and pampered. I was not good at... low class jobs. Labor. Unskilled work. I had none of the experience or talent for it."

Ruby let out a breath onto the tender skin of Weiss' neck. The white-haired woman slipped a hand into her hair and started slowly rubbing her scalp.

"So what did you do?" she asked.

"I... I found a man who would let me work. He paid well. The job was... Ruby, I believe the word in your country is stripper. I disrobed for money in front of paying customers."

Ruby had thought she had been prepared, but it felt like her heart had just been dunked in ice water. Images of people throwing money at Weiss, of the woman she loved stripping and getting naked in front of random greedy, dirty strangers made her want to vomit. It was if someone had punched her in the gut, reached into the hole and pulled out her heart. She didn't know what to do. Weiss was silent. She apparently couldn't speak either. Weiss let out a long, shuddering breath.

So Ruby did the only thing she could. She pushed Weiss down on the couch and started smothering her with kisses. The nose, the cheek, the forehead, the collar, the shoulder, it didn't matter where. She just had to show Weiss what real affection was like. She had to make sure that Weiss was still there, still hers, not dancing naked for money in front of grubby strangers. She had to let Weiss know that someone openly, truly loved her.

Weiss was silent except for a few moans and gasps. Her eyes were shut, as if she was trying to disappear into the moment. Then she started resisting gently, pushing Ruby back up.

"H-Hold on Ruby, let me finish story. I need to finish. Please let me finish."

Ruby shrunk back, dejected. But she understood the need for Weiss to get all of it out. "Okay. Sorry."

Weiss sat up and brushed a loose strand of white hair behind her ear. "No it... that was nice. But after. Let me complete my story first."

She looked to the side, at Ruby, and Ruby nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead."

Weiss put her hands in her lap and stared forward. "So I worked as a dancer. For a while. I got decent at it. I never fully disrobed, never took off my lower undergarments. They wanted me to. Some even yelled at me for not doing it. The man who hired me yelled at them back. For a while things were fine. But then I got more popular."

She took a deep breath. "My manager tried to convince me to reveal more. To do more. To start giving 'lap dances' and private sessions like the other girls. It would bring me more money, he said. Make me rich. I don't know. There are some things I believe you can not put a price on. Such as my body. I would not let it be used by someone else for money. So he got angry. He argued. I argued back. He hit me, then threw me out. I ran. I ran far."

Ruby was at the point of tears, but she wiped her eyes with her sleeve to keep them from falling. Her heart felt like someone was operating a jackhammer on it. Every word hurt. Every sentence brought more tears that she had to hold back for Weiss' sake.

"I got lost. I ended up at edge of city, in that dump you found me at. I think I went into shock again. I survived like an animal, living off of the scraps I find in trash cans and dumpsters. I do not know how long I was there for. And then one night you found me. So there. That is my story. That is all of it. It is... over."

She looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep, slow breath. "I am done."

"So," Ruby sniffed, "is that why you freaked out on me when I tried to get you to take your clothes off back then? You had a flashback or something?"

Weiss stared at the wall, her eyes distant and faraway. "No one touches me if do not wish them to."

Ruby smiled at her through her tears. Weiss glanced over at her, back at the wall, then did a double-take. "Wait, you are smiling?"

Ruby wiped at her tears. "Yeah."

"W-What for?"

"Cuz you're really strong. Cuz you're a really amazing person."

Weiss stared at her. "I... I what?"

Ruby scooted closer to her and took her soft, pale hands in her own. "You're really strong Weiss. I don't know anyone who could have done that. You could have just stayed in Russia. But you left to make your own way. You could have just gave in and gone all the way in that stri- in that place, but you didn't. And you survived on your own with no one but yourself to help. You're a survivor Weiss. You're brave. You're strong. It's really," she sniffed and wiped at her tears again, "it's really admirable. I think you're really amazing."

Weiss suddenly looked like she wanted to cry to. "You... you mean that?"

Ruby smiled. "Yeah. I do."

Weiss looked down at the floor, but tightened her hands around Ruby's own. "I've always considered myself a coward. I always ran. I ran from my father, from my home. Not that I want to go back."

"Weiss, look at me." She did. "You're not weak just because... because you run away from bad situations. Urgh, no that sounds wrong. Like, if you'd stayed with your father, that would have been weak. Just giving in. If you'd stayed at the strip club and given up on your morals and values, that would have been weak. But you had the courage to stand up and leave, even when it was dangerous. So you're not weak. You're strong, okay? You're strong."

Weiss stared her in the eyes for a few seconds, narrowing them, almost as if she was trying to see if Ruby was lying. Then she relaxed and her shoulders slumped.

"Okay. I believe you. Sometimes you need... outside perspective, yes?"

"Yeah. An outside perspective. Sometimes people are too hard on themselves, you know? Everybody's their own worst critic." She smirked. "Or if they're not they're just a douchebag."

Weiss laughed. "American words. So crude."

"Eh, they're not all that bad." Ruby didn't know what to do. She couldn't help but feel as if the conversation was over. She had a lot to think about, a lot to digest. She wanted to get closer to Weiss again, to hold her, to kiss her, to touch her, but now that the heat of the moment had worn off things felt... almost awkward.

She coughed and stood up. "So um, yeah. I should go to sleep and all. Or I mean, do you wanna stay up and watch something? If you want to sleep on the couch like before, I can totally bring out some blankets and pillows." Ruby turned to go get her keys. "I mean unless you want to go back to your motel, cuz if you need to I can drive you back and then-"

Weiss caught her hand, made her turn around. Ruby was about to ask what she was doing, but then the white-haired girl stood with surprising speed, stepped forward, and pressed her lips against her own. Ruby squeaked, then stood still. Weiss looked down at the floor, Ruby's hand still firmly clasped in her own.

"I will stay here. Tonight. This is okay, yes?"

Ruby couldn't help but smile. Her heartrate picked up. "Yeah. You can totally stay here again. I'd love to have you back."

Weiss smiled back, but glanced to the side. Her cheeks were red. "I'd love that too," she whispered.

Ruby blushed and turned to the closet containing her spare sheets and blankets, then began hastily pulling them out to find the best ones for Weiss.

"So uh yeah, I'll get the couch set up! There's food in the fridge too, so if you're hungry you can grab something."

"That sounds good," Weiss agreed. "I am quite hungry actually."

Ruby was busy folding the sheets across the couch when a screech came from the kitchen. Instantly dropping what she was doing, she rushed into it. Weiss stood there, holding a paper plate wrapped in plastic. It smelled horrible.

Ruby paled and stopped in her tracks.

"You didn't eat the pelmeni I made you!?"

Night felt different. She was in her bed, sheets and pillows thrown about it haphazardly, tossing and turning and trying to get to sleep. Her nights either went one of two ways. Either she spend two hours awake for every hour of sleep, or she passed out the second she hit the mattress and slept through the night.

The tossing and turning wasn't new. What was new was the way Weiss was making her feel. She could almost feel her warm, soft lips, the caress of her fingers, the way she smelled and the way her heart pounded and somehow melted at the same time when she was that close to her.

And then there was Weiss' past. Old nobility. Runaway. Illegal immigrant. Stripper. Beggar. It almost made her want to cry again. Why was she crying so much lately? She thought of Weiss laying there, in just the next room. She wondered if she was tossing and turning too. The more she thought about it, the more her arms ached from the absence of Weiss wrapped in them. Weiss was right there, two dozen feet from her. So why weren't they together? Why weren't they touching? Why couldn't she feel her skin, hear her heartbeat?

She growled in frustration and threw a pillow across the room. It impacted the wall with a soft thump. She turned once more, tossed once more, then got up in a sudden hurry. She couldn't do this. She had to be close to Weiss. They had a bond of intimacy and trust now, one she had wanted for a long time now, and she wasn't going to let it go unfulfilled one more night.

She was halfway into the pitch-dark hallway to the living room when she bumped into something.

It hissed, she yelped, and they both fell to the ground. Ruby could barely make out the soft glimmer of white hair as her eyes adjusted.

"Weiss? Is that you?"

"Yes it is me you dunce," the shape hissed back. "Who else would it be?"

"I don't know, maybe a... I don't know!"

"Just shush up. What are you doing awake?" Weiss asked.

Ruby blushed. "Me? What are you doing awake?"

"I... I was going to bathroom."

"Weiss, the bathroom is the other way."

Ruby was almost positive Weiss was blushing too. It was hard to tell in the dark. "Right," the dim specter replied. "I knew this."

"Yeah. Sure," Ruby scoffed.

"And what about you then you dolt?"

"Well, well I was going to the kitchen! For a late night snack. Yeap."

"You've never gone for late night snack the entire time you've been here. Why now?"

"B-Because I dunno, I just got hungry okay? What is this, an interrogation? And how would you even know if I did get one?"

"I am very light sleeper," Weiss replied in a decidedly more timid voice.

Ruby looked down at the floor. Or at least she thought it was the floor. Was Weiss coming to do the same thing she was planning on? She had to know.

"Weiss... were you coming to sleep with me?"

Silence and darkness was her only response.

"Weiss?"

"Yes," came a tiny squeak.

"Ohmygosh you were! You were coming to sleep with me, I knew it!"

"Well then what were you really doing?" Weiss hissed.

"I- I was just. Yeah. I was coming to sleep with you too. Or ask you at least. I don't know if we're maybe like too early into this relationship thingy to do that kind of stuff, b-but I don't want anything like that you know, but just maybe sleeping in the same bed cuz, wow gosh that sounds so weird even now and-"

A finger materialized in the darkness and settled on her lips, silencing her.

"Your bed or the couch?" was all Weiss said.

Ruby thought for a second. She hadn't slept on the couch in a while. "Can we do couch?" she whispered.

"Yes. We can do couch." Ruby could have sworn Weiss was smiling.

The white-haired woman stood, pulled her up, lead her by the hand to the couch, and then gently laid down upon it. Ruby hesitated for a split-second, then laid down with her, careful to be soft and gentle. They faced eachother, on their sides in the dark, and Ruby tentatively wrapped her arms around Weiss' petite waist.

The other woman let out a short breath, like a gasp.

"Crap, are you okay?" Ruby apologized, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"No, is fine," Weiss interrupted. "It's just... it feels good. Your arms. They are warm. Safe. It is nice."

Ruby's heart swelled like the tide. "Oh. Yeah, that is nice."

Weiss thin arms wrapped around her shoulders in return. Ruby shuddered. She didn't know being held could feel this intensely intimate. She and Weiss were so close, together in the dark. She tried to shift her legs into a more comfortable spot and Weiss must have mistaken that for something else, because she responded by tangling her own into Ruby's. Now that they were like that though, Ruby didn't want to move out of it. Weiss' legs were cold, but were already starting to warm up.

Ruby faced her... what was Weiss now? Friend? Partner? Girlfriend? She couldn't stop smiling.

"Are you... are you comfortable?" Weiss whispered.

Ruby shifted a little. Their body heat quickly warmed up the tiny space between them. Ruby's heart felt as full as an ocean. "Yeah. I'm comfortable. How 'bout you?"

"I am the same. This is nice."

Ruby smiled. "Yeah. Nice. So uh, goodnight Weiss."

Weiss chuckled. "Spokoynoy nochi."

The other woman leaned forward suddenly and pecked her on the lips. Ruby froze, licked them. Hers were dry, but that had moistened them a bit. The contact was brief and fleeting and left her wanting. She wanted more. More of that heat, more of that feel, more of that taste.

She leaned forward on her own this time, more slowly, more deliberately, and pressed her lips against Weiss'. The other woman hummed into the kiss, then started shifting her lips back and forth, brushing them over Ruby's.

Soft breaths and feather-quiet touches filled the room. Weiss smelled like coconut. Like the coconut shampoo in her shower. And she was warm. So, so warm. Never hot. Never uncomfortable. Perfect, glowing warmth.

Weiss' lips parted ever so slightly. Ruby took the invitation and slipped her tongue inside. She met Weiss' own inside the other woman's mouth, and they started an intimate dance that was all wet tangling and coiling and twisting. Ruby breathed in through her nose and tightened her arms around Weiss. The pale beauty from Russia did the same.

Her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. In the darkness, all she could feel, taste, smell, and hear was Weiss. In the darkness, against all rational sense and logic, she whispered three words. They pushed their way out of her throat of their own accord.

Weiss hesitated only a second before responding. "I love you too Ruby."

The words they needed to speak spoken, their lips met again and their tongues resumed that gentle dance.

Things continued much that way for almost an hour before they finally found sleep.

Sorry this took so long. Was writing other things for some friends. Things that can't be posted on this website, if you catch my drift. *cough, Ryn, cough*