A/N: SURPRISE UPDATE!

Firstly, I'd like to say that I'm writing this WAY sooner than even I anticipated, so yeah. Really fast update. Probably because I really want to see how my own cliffhanger resolves…

Regardless, we broke 100 favorites! Never in my LIFE did I ever think I'd make ANYTHING that 100 people put a favorite or like on! This is a HUGE milestone for me, and I can't thank you all enough for this!

Now if only I could get paid to write these…

Oh well. I guess you can't win 'em all.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for the overwhelming support you've given this story. With 100 favorites and 176 follows, this is by far my most successful story. Like, ever.

Now, this chapter that you're about to read is going to be SUUUUPER fluffy. This is going to be the turning point for the whole fic, where things finally start to get a bit easier. No more awkward holes that I need to fill with conflict and backstory. Speaking of backstory, I'm probably going to re-write the explanation of how Summer died in the first chapter. Just kinda feels lackluster for me.

And a little bit of a personal update, I'm looking for a job! Even though this will mean less free time, I'll finally have some spending cash.

Now enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. If I owned RWBY, then nothing bad would've ever happened in Volume 3.

"I found that with depression, one of the most important things you can realize is that you're not alone."

-Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Chapter 3: Staring at the Stars

Even though only a single hour had passed since the fight, it felt like an eternity had gone by for Weiss.

Yang had suggested they let Ruby cool off and come back on her own, but Weiss was beginning to doubt she would.

But what was truly tearing Weiss apart was that she had broken her promise to the young leader.

"Just know, that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have."

The heiress had gone back on her words from a year ago. She had driven Ruby out of the room in frustration and anger, when all she wanted was to comfort and soothe the young huntress.

Having had enough, Weiss stood up from her bed. "I'm going to go find her." She said with hard determination, wanting nothing more than to make things right.

"Weiss, she'll come back on her own. Trust me. We just have to wait for her." Yang said in a half-assed attempt to convince the white-haired girl.

"I don't care. I'm done waiting, and right now she needs someone. She might not want to see me right now, but I'm not going to let her stay out on her own. Not after that." Weiss declared, guilt in her eyes.

A few seconds passed, silence filling the room.

Yang sighed, breaking the quiet, "Well, if we can't stop you, we might as well help you."

Blake nodded at the statement, already grabbing her black-white jacket.

Weiss smiled at the support her other teammates were giving, and together the three girls left their dorm, weapons in hand.

30 minutes later

Team WBY had been searching around the campus for a while, and they were all starting to get concerned. Dark had fallen not too long ago, and the sounds of Grimm coming from deep within the Emerald Forest were starting to become noticeable.

"Maybe we should split up?" Yang suggested. "We'd cover a lot more ground that way."

Blake shrugged, not opposing the idea. Weiss thought it over in her head for a second or two, before nodding in agreement.

"You're right. We're not going to make any progress if we don't spread out." The heiress said.

At that, the three split up, agreeing that if they hadn't found anything within two hours, they would meet up in front of the courtyard fountain. Blake started heading towards the rear of the school, where she knew of several secluded and quiet spaces she would go to read undisturbed during the day. Yang went towards the courtyard, planning to start there and sweep around the sides.

Weiss, however, had a different idea. They had already searched the entire school, albeit not as thorough as her teammates were doing, and they hadn't come up with a single hint that Ruby had been there.

Going purely off of instinct, Weiss started walking in the direction of the Emerald Forest.

Weiss had been walking for around 20 minutes or so, when she noticed something off about some of the trees in the forest. Several of them were missing leaves on the branches near the ground, as if some great wind had blown them off.

Kneeling to the ground, the reason was obvious. Lying half under a fallen leaf, was a single rose petal.

Weiss picked up the small petal and knew she was on the right track. She stood back up from her kneeling position and began following the trail of leafless trees.

After walking for several minutes, she started to recognize some of her surroundings; the clearing that Ruby had gotten directly in front of Weiss during an attack, causing her to set a tree ablaze. The blackened tree still stood, its branches still bare and dead.

A little farther along the path, she saw the podiums in the distance, where both her team and team JNPR met up and were chased by a Nevermore and a Deathstalker. It was also where Weiss saved Ruby's life. All of the massive feathers had since disappeared, dissolving into shadows when the giant bird was killed.

At this point, she knew where Ruby had gone.

Not two minutes later, Weiss' suspicions were confirmed. After following a trail of rose petals, she came face to face with the temple ruins, where Team RWBY had overcome their first ever challenge together.

And sitting at the edge of the now missing bridge to the rest of the ruins, was a small red ball.

Weiss slowly and calmly approached her teammate, not wanting to startle the young woman.

Reaching the drop-off, she sat down next to Ruby, legs dangling off the shattered stone edge.

Silence hung over the two for a second, until Wiess began to talk.

"The stars are really beautiful out here, without all of the light coming from Vale." The heiress stated, leaning back and staring up at the star-filled sky. There wasn't any light pollution this far into the woods, and one could see nebulas and galaxies in the darkness.

After several more seconds of silence, Weiss gathered her thoughts.

"Ruby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I should've just let it go." Weiss began, nervousness creeping up her spine.

"And you were right. I don't know anything when it comes to losing the people you love." Ruby shifted slightly at this, a sign that she was at least listening.

"But I do know that what I did was stupid and wrong. And if you can't forgive me for it, I'll understand. I don't think I can ever forgive myself for breaking my promise to you." Weiss finished, drawing her knees to her chest.

Ruby didn't respond at first, another silence taking hold in the air, but after a few moments, Weiss heard something that gave her the biggest feeling of relief in her life.

"I'm sorry too." Ruby whispered, just barely audible. Her voice was small, as if she had been afraid to speak at all.

A small smile hit Weiss' face, and she turned toward her partner, arms open. "BFF hug?" Weiss asked hopefully. The response wasn't what she was expecting.

Ruby launched herself into Weiss' arms and began crying without holding back, the two girls rolling onto the grass just behind them.

Weiss, after getting over the shock from the sudden action, sat back up with her partner and started to rub circles on Ruby's back. A few tears of her own slid down her face in relief.

The two sat there for a while, neither knowing just how long.

Ruby's sobs eventually diminished into small hiccups and sniffles, her cheeks and Weiss' shoulder soaked and stained with tears. The heiress smiled, but her relief was soon interrupted by a feeling of worry. "Ruby, I need you to get up, ok?" Weiss asked gently, feeling her partner nod her head against her shoulder. Slowly the two stood up, Weiss brushing grass off of both her skirt and Ruby's cloak.

She reached into her pocket, and checked the time.

"Oh no." Weiss commented as she pressed the power button on her scroll.

There were 54 missed messages, 26 missed calls, and the time was 11:46; two and a half hours after the time she was supposed to be back.

"W-what's wrong?" Ruby asked in a timid voice.

"Well, nothing is wrong yet. But your sister is probably going to kill me when we get back…" Weiss said, a grim expression on her face.

"Why would she want to kill you?" the young woman said, this time a little more confident with speaking.

"We were supposed to meet up at the fountain if we didn't find you after two hours." Weiss started, "which was supposed to be two and a half hours ago…"

Weiss opened her text messages. The most recent one, from over an hour ago, was from Yang.

"If you aren't back in the room by tomorrow morning, we're going to send a search party for you."

Ruby looked over Weiss' shoulder at the screen. "We should probably get going…" the younger girl spoke up, sounding a little more put together than before.

Weiss nodded, and the two set off for Beacon.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that!

More will come out soon! I'm starting to get back into a groove, and with that I'll have a more concrete time for me to mess around, play games, and write stories!

Oh! Also, I'm going to be starting a collection of random One-shots soon. Just something to work on whenever I have a writer's block for this story.

See you all next chapter!