Author's Note:
Some of you might notice that this chapter is really long compared to the previous ones. That's because this is the first chapter I ever wrote for this fic that was actually intended as a one-shot. It has been heavily modified for plot reasons, but still remains true to the original draft in all but one event (guess what that is...). Please enjoy!
Warnings: This chapter has debatably mature content starting about half way through.
"Come on already! Keep up!" Yang complained to her team. She was already far ahead of them as they approached the party in the main hall. She'd been walking quickly then waiting for everyone to catch up while trying to convince them to walk quicker.
It was exactly four hours, thirty-seven minutes and fourty-four, fourty-three and counting, seconds until the new year came. Most people were going crazy as they usually did when a party was held on campus that allowed the consumption of alcohol. The party was already in full swing even though it was only seven twenty-two in the evening.
"Come on guys, let's speed up a little. Please?" Ruby whined from her spot between Blake and Weiss.
Despite the insistence to the contrary, Ruby was every bit as excited for the party as her sister was. Weiss couldn't help but increase her pace ever so slightly causing Blake to frown. The reason for this was the agreement the two girls had made the previous night that they were responsible for their respective partners to make it easier on the whole team. This meant Blake was stuck with whatever their team's party girl managed to get up to that night, hence her attempt to slow the start of the night.
"You two go ahead." Blake said, waving Yang to come back to the group. Once Yang got there, Blake continued. "I forgot something back at the room. Walk with me Yang?"
Yang seemed conflicted, looking in the direction of the party before looking back at Blake. She sighed in defeat. "Fine! Fine. Let's go quick!"
Yang scooped Blake up into a bridal carry and sprinted off back to the dorms. Weiss watched Blake get carried off as she pounded on Yang to let her go. The two rounded the corner and disappeared.
"So… can we get going?" Ruby asked again, snapping Weiss's attention back to her partner.
"Let's go." Weiss responded. Ruby excitedly grabbed her hand and started walking. The pace was one Weiss had long gotten used to since Ruby's semblance tended to make a showing more often than not when she was exited, and she jogged to avoid being dragged along the concrete.
The partners arrived at the party with looks of shock on their faces. They'd expected it to be a large party, but nothing prepared them for what met them on the other side of the doors.
Large balloons were tied to streamers that decorated the large hall. The dance floor had been extended to almost the entire room since a large portion of the original floor was taken by a stage where the Achieve Men were getting set up while local bands performed covers of the year's popular songs. A bar was set up with Professor Port tending to it while Glynda watched the party-goers from the third floor's balcony. The crowd was also filled with unfamiliar faces and Weiss remembered a rumour about there being other combat schools attending from all over Remnant, making this the largest combat school new years party on the planet.
"I love this song!" Ruby squeaked from beside Weiss and took off into the dance floor.
Weiss sighed at being forced to follow since she'd easily lose Ruby in the hundreds of people that were already there if she couldn't see the red haired girl.
She caught Ruby as she stopped in a somewhat less crowded spot on the floor. She was already starting to move with the music while inviting Weiss to join her with a beconing hand since the nearby speaker destroyed any chance of verbal communication.
Weiss sighed inwardly and took a couple steps closer to her partner, yelling as loud as she could for Ruby without actually invading her personal space. "RUBY! CAN WE AT LEAST GET A COUPLE OF DRINKS FIRST?"
"ISN'T IT A LITTLE EARLY FOR THAT PRINCESS?" Ruby shouted back, grabbing Weiss and pulling them together so she could speak directly into the heiress's ear.
"I…" Weiss stopped her response, closing her eyes. She didn't think this would happen so early in the evening, but it seemed there was little to do other than dance, drink, and step outside for air. And right now, Weiss felt she needed the last two activities badly, and in that order. "JUST COME! PLEASE!"
Ruby nodded, letting go of Weiss so she could lead. The crowd had gotten even thicker and more impenetrable in the few minutes since the two had arrived, and finding their way out took almost fifteen minutes of bumping into people and squeezing by tightly packed groups. They'd even had to skirt around three different dance battles that had started as the hunters in training attempted to show off their ability to spin on their heads to the huntresses surrounding them. Weiss rolled her eyes, reaching back and dragging Ruby along when it seemed she wanted to prove her ability to outdo them.
Weiss ordered two shots from their grimm studies professor and surprised him when she took them both before leaving with Ruby still in tow. Ruby waved bye as she disappeared behind yet another group of people and was shocked at how quickly the two found themselves on the second floor balcony that extended over the courtyard below.
"So… can I ask what that was about?" Ruby asked Weiss, leaning her back to the rail as Weiss looked out at the Emerald Forest that stretched from the bottom of the slight hill their building sat atop of to the horizon.
"Don't laugh okay?" Weiss asked, her mind still clear from the shots of vodka she'd taken. At least for now.
"Promise." Ruby covered her heart with one hand and raised the other.
She's always so animated. Weiss thought to herself before taking a deep breath. "I can't dance. I only know how to waltz."
It took a moment for Ruby to absorb what her partner had said, then let out a puff of air as she tried valiantly to hold in her giggles. After a moment, they passed and Ruby was looking a little ashamed of herself.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to… I just thought it was… you know, something important." Ruby chuckled a little before turning and placing her arm around Weiss's shoulders.
Weiss stiffened her muscles slightly, but she wasn't as bothered as she would normaly have been. The alcohol was starting to take effect, loosening her antisocial attitude and replacing it with the more open and relaxed version that she'd been working on bringing out without the aid of the impairing liquid. To say the least, Ruby'd been the most help towards her goal since she was exponentially easier to get along with than everyone else around her despite her behaviour indicating the opposite.
"Either way, I don't think most people here know how to dance." Ruby stated with a quick glance back to the party. "Just move the way the music tells you to."
"You make it sound easy. I'll look like an idiot!" Weiss shot back in response.
"Then you'll look identical to all the other million people on that floor!" Ruby exclaimed with a grand gesture behind them. "Seriously, if you're that bothered by it, we can just stay near the edge. That way if you want to leave you can just pull me along."
Weiss thought of Ruby's request and nodded, a slight blush creeping onto her face as Ruby took her by the hand and led her back to the ground level to the edge of the dance floor.
The next few hours passed in a daze. The girls had both taken regular breaks to consume water and shots since Ruby was now officially old enough to be allowed to drink.
They tended to leave during the slow songs to replenish their liquids and once to drain them. They hadn't seen any of their friends, but that was to be expected since the party was now completely full with people and more were still arriving in a steady trickle.
The band on stage announced the time being ten minutes off from the new year and the song they started playing was a slow one. Neither Ruby nor Weiss wished to stop dancing right before the end of the year. Shrugging, Weiss placed her hands on Ruby's waist, surprising her.
"W-what are you doing?" Ruby asked curiously as Weiss guided her back and forth in a simple two step, sure she'd end up hurting Ruby or herself if she attempted a waltz on the crowded floor.
"I don't want to stop dancing. Plus it'll look weird if we're the only two not dancing like this." Weiss complained, giving one of her death stares towards the stage before turning back to face Ruby, her expression softening. "Stupid band, playing the wrong type of song."
"Oh well." Ruby smiled, taking Weiss's opinion on the situation as permission to wrap her arms around the heiress.
The two swayed to the soft song, staring into each others eyes. The song continued until the countdown started, both girl's flushed bodies even redder from the somewhat awkward dance.
The crowd shouted fourty as Weiss and Ruby joined in quietly since they were so close to one another, having not parted when the music stopped. Weiss felt her eyes growing dry and neck growing tired as she and Ruby rested their foreheads on each other.
The crowd shouted ten.
Wait, what am I doing? Weiss wondered as she pulled her head back from Ruby's.
The crowd chanted five.
Ruby's eyes slowly flitted closed, her lips puffy and inviting. Weiss felt her own eyes close as she drifted closer to her team leader. But I can't do this, can I?
The crowd chanted two.
Their breathing syncronized, both taking a quick breath as the crowd screamed one.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The entire room exploded in the noise of the roar as the band started playing the classic song that was played at new years every year.
But with all the noise around them, Ruby and Weiss were oblivious as their lips pressed gently to each other. A moan from the heiress masked by the roaring crowd as Ruby's tongue traced her lips, coaxing them open.
Weiss was completely lost in the amazing kiss, her first kiss to be exact, and yet it couldn't have been any better or tasted any sweeter. She kept kissing Ruby, both of them dueling with their tongues as those around them started to take notice.
Ruby and Weiss broke apart in dire need for air as the whistling around them punched through their silent bubble.
Weiss looked around terrified, Ruby no better as she took in the situation. She quickly disappeared with her semblance, scooping Weiss up just as her sister had done to Blake earlier that evening. Before they knew it they stood outside the party in the middle of the courtyard hand in hand. Weiss felt her better judgement coming back and knew the alcohol she'd consumed was now starting to wear off to a slight buzz. She wondered if Ruby felt the same.
"R-Ruby?" She started, not knowing what to ask first. Instead, she settled for a greeting to the new year. "Happy new year."
"H-happy new year…" Ruby responded her voice not more than a whisper that was almost drowned out by the continuing party behind them.
The two stood in silence, separated by an arms length when the cold night air finally pierced through the younger girl's clothing, making her shiver. Weiss took off her jacket and draped it around her team leader's shoulders before wrapping her in a hug. It's not as if the jacket was warm, but it would keep the wind off.
"Is this okay?" Weiss asked in a whisper as Ruby's glistening eyes stared deeply into her own. Ruby nodded as she swallowed, trying to get her voice that had been stolen by her sudden proximity to Weiss. When she did, there was but one question on her mind.
"Are you mad?" Ruby prepared herself for the consequences of her actions. Unbenknownst to Weiss, she had actually been drinking non-alcoholic shots half the time since she'd planned on confessing her feelings that evening. So far it was up in the air whether she should actually continue with her plan or not.
Weiss shook her head while taking a deep breath of the crisp night air. "I can't be mad at you. We're both drunk right now… or at least buzzed. That last shot I took has started to wear off."
"Um… about that…" Ruby blushed, looking down from Weiss's eyes as Weiss took a small step back to better see her teammate. "I was never actually… drunk."
"Say what you want, but you were keeping pace with me all evening." Weiss smiled at Ruby's petty insistence. "I won't make fun of you. If that's what you're worrying about."
"No… I mean… half my shots were non-alcoholic. I wanted to… you know…" Ruby waited as the heiress took in her words.
"So… you knew I was drunk and took advantage of me?" Weiss asked sternly, tilting Ruby's face with her finger so she was forced to look into her eyes.
"No! Well, I guess…" Ruby sighed in shame. "I never planned to though… the situation just sort of presented itself… and I never would've gone any further than we did!"
Weiss remained quiet for a moment, as her mind waged war on itself. When the fight had ended, Weiss smiled gently and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.
"I suppose I should thank you… for making this easier for me…" Weiss's voice was the barest whisper that even Ruby had some difficulty hearing.
"Weiss…"
"Stop! I'm not finished." Weiss cut Ruby off by moving her finger on the scythe weilder's lips. "I know we've had our ups and downs, and I know we're friends, but… but…"
Weiss found herself stuck. She just couldn't get those words out of her mouth.
"Weiss…" Ruby responded with a whisper. It was obvious to Weiss almost right away that she was saying something she'd spent a lot of time rehearsing. "I know we fought a lot in the beginning, but since then we've become good friends and you have no idea how happy that makes me. And I know I should be happy with what we have, but I'm not. Every time I get closer to you, I'm always disappointed that we're not as close as I want to be. But that just made me work harder to know you better."
Ruby took a deep breath and Weiss kept listening, wondering if Ruby was going to help her with the one thing she wanted to say but couldn't find the words for. She kept her eyes closed and her arms around her teammate to preserve her waning warmth from her lack of jacket.
"But I'm rambling now aren't I?" Ruby asked Weiss who didn't respond, the answer being rhetorical. "What I wanted to say is I want us to be more than what we are now, but I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you."
"Ruby… are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Weiss gave herself a mental high five for finally managing a sentence that, albeit remotely, resembled the one that she'd been trying to ask Ruby since they'd left the party.
"Well, only if you want to… I mean, our freindship is more important to me than-" Ruby was cut off by Weiss's cool lips meeting her own in their second kiss. Weiss pulled away leaving Ruby quiet and slightly shocked. Still, she continued as if the kiss had only swallowed the middle of her sentence. "I can't lose you."
"You wont." Weiss responded with a small smile, warm blood still rushing to fuel her ever deepening blush and keeping her skin warm in the cold air. "I'd love to be your girlfriend. Provided that you're okay with dealing with me…"
Weiss hated to admit that even in such a perfect moment, she was insecure about how her total lack of people skills might ruin her relationship with her team leader. Already her mind was creating scenarios that made her want to rip her heart out.
"Weiss… I'll take the whole package. Extras included." Ruby smiled gently, wrapping her arms around Weiss and leaning in to kiss her new girlfriend for the first time since they'd officially named their relationship.
Weiss closed her eyes, enjoying the gentleness that Ruby exhibited towards her as if Ruby was a glassmith working with her most delicate piece. Weiss felt the chill on the outside of her arms start to bite but couldn't stop her kiss with Ruby because of the complete bliss her mind was enveloped in.
When they finally surfaced for breath Weiss shivered in Ruby's arms, making her remember that Weiss had given up her jacket.
"Let's go back inside." Ruby started to walk Weiss to the door, her arm still around Weiss's shoulders.
"Do you want to stay still?" Weiss asked, her voice shaking slightly from her chill that had quickly spread down to her bones.
Ruby took one look at the packed party and changed directions, leading them around the outside of the building. "Let's go home and warm up then?"
"Quickly preferrably." Weiss started walking as fast as her already numb legs would carry her.
Ruby kept up for a minute before she draped Weiss's jacket back over her shoulders.
"What are you-" Weiss started but was interrupted when Ruby picked Weiss up in her arms.
"Let's go home." Ruby sprinted forward, the cold air biting through the thin jacket and freezing Weiss, but not as much as she would have if she'd been forced to walk the whole way.
The two entered the room mere minutes later. Seeing it empty and dark, they headed straight for the washroom where Weiss turned the hot tap on the tub and plugged the drain as Ruby kicked off her shoes.
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked, hesitant to start taking her outfit off with Ruby in the room.
"It was in survival class. We're both freezing and we need to warm up otherwise we'll get sick." Ruby said in her teamleader mode. She paused for a moment to yawn before continuing."Not to mention if I wait outside, I'll end up falling asleep."
"Good point." Weiss quickly turned her back to Ruby and stripped her clothing off. Weiss was honestly impressed that Ruby had remembered such a small token of information that she hadn't even put in her notes, thinking it was common sense.
Weiss hesitated when she was wearing only her underwear, they were made of the kind of fabric that shrunk when it got wet meaning she'd have a difficult time taking them off if she didn't do so before getting in. She'd never learned how much that shrinkage went, but couldn't imagine it being comfortable.
She heard the splash of water as Ruby got into the tub behind her, the roar of the massive tap silenced soon after, the only sound being the waves gently lapping at the walls of the massive bath.
"Well, come on in. The water's only getting colder." Ruby said while submerging herself to her chin in the water.
Weiss turned to find Ruby watching her carefully, her whole body obscured by steam and ripples except for the top of her eyes and nose as she couldn't help but sink as far as possible into the water. Weiss felt a wave of self consciousness wash over her as she realized she was standing in front of her brand new girlfriend in nothing more than two rather skimpy pieces of cloth.
"C-close you eyes!" Her blush deepened as she tripped over her words. Ruby complied quickly, her cheeks puffing up as a grin spread across her face under the water. Weiss, having nothing to watch but the top of her head, noticed Ruby's grin and muttered her displeasure. "Dunce."
Weiss told herself many things as she quickly removed her underwear. Thoughts like we're both girls and I'm just doing this so we don't get sick echoed in her head, but were drowned out by the much louder sirens of I can't believe I'm taking a bath with Ruby, and there is absolutely no way this is okay.
Weiss stepped into the water and sunk to her chin quickly, sitting as far as possible from Ruby. She hadn't noticed how large the tub really was until now. Even with the extra space meant for one person to completely relax and stretch, Weiss could feel Ruby's feet beside her as she remained submerged in the hot water. The large tub felt suddenly more cramped to Weiss than anything she'd ever experienced, including a small suit of armour she'd tried on as a kid. She closed her eyes as she forced her mind to go blank and ignore all sensations her nerves were picking up except the hot water slowly burning into her cold skin.
After several deep breaths, she opened her eyes to find Ruby still looking at her, this time with her head cocked to the side. "What's up?"
"I…" Weiss couldn't think of what to say. She'd just seen Ruby's body as the rippling water gave her a brief glimpse before returning the view to obscurity. This wouldn't have bothered her so much if Ruby wasn't in a state of complete undress. It wasn't as if it was the first time she'd seen her in the nude, since they'd shared a changing room together many times before, but now it felt a little wrong. "You're… I-I'm done. I n-need to g-go."
Weiss started to get up, forgetting her own state of undress, but was stopped by Ruby quickly moving to straddle her legs, keeping her seated in the water. The water cascaded down around Ruby's breasts as her upper body surfaced.
"You're still freezing!" Ruby argued, feeling Weiss's skin beneath her as she placed her hands on Weiss's legs for balance.
"C-could you g-get off me?" Weiss asked shakily, feeling every painful detail of Ruby's skin resting on her leg. The feeling completely destroying what was left of her composure.
"Promise to stay till you warm up?" Ruby asked sternly, not moving an inch and obviously looking for only one possible answer.
"F-fine! J-just get o-off!" Weiss snapped her eyes shut keeping her muscles lax and relaxing back into the water slowly as Ruby rose off her legs.
"Oh!" Ruby gasped, her muscles tensing against Weiss's leg. Weiss had slipped farther than she intended and one of her legs had come off the floor of the tub, nudging Ruby's center before she finally regained her balance and pulled her leg back away from her partner.
"S-sorry! I-It was an a-accident!" Weiss appologised afraid that Ruby would think she'd been trying to initiate something she'd been trying desperately to avoid before her mind broke completely.
Ruby breathed heavily for a few seconds before continuing her movement off of Weiss. Weiss kept her eyes shut as she felt Ruby slip back into the water except differently this time. She couldn't figure out what was different so she slowly opened her eyes.
Silver eyes met blue as Ruby leaned over her like a predator. Weiss was frozen, surrounded by almost boiling water, but instantly frozen by Ruby's gaze. She was breathing heavily but silently as she simply watched Weiss react to her position.
Weiss felt her self control ebb as she reached up to guide Ruby into a kiss. Ruby lowered herself farther into the water, removing the buffer between their bodies. Weiss could imagine what the scene would look like from a camera and moaned into Ruby's lips as she realized she was turned on by her traitorous mind. And with Ruby here, it would be infinitely more difficult to deal with it enough to be able to get to sleep that night.
Her train of thought was interrupted when Ruby replaced her leg over Weiss's so they were both stradling each other with one leg against the other's sensitive genitalia.
"R-Ruby!" Weiss couldn't put any more words in her sentence but luckily, she didn't need to. "Its not l-like I don't want t-to do… that… its j-just…"
"I know. Sorry Weiss…." Ruby responded breathily. "But I just need to stay like this for a minute. Okay?"
Weiss nodded realizing Ruby was just trying to calm herself down. Weiss decided to help things along with a gentle, chaste kiss that seemed to help the longer it continued. Weiss carefully wrapped her arms around Ruby, linking them across the small of her back as Ruby used one of her hands to keep her weight off Weiss and the other gently pressed to her stomach. To Weiss's astonishment, she felt no discomfort to the intimate touch. In contrast, she felt a warm tingling spread from Ruby's palm and spread throughout her body.
The two remained still, simply kissing and warming their bodies as Weiss felt her own excitement slowly abate to a dull throb, letting her know she'd neglected her needs yet again.
Five minutes passed, then ten and Ruby finally pushed herself off Weiss, being careful not to rub herself or Weiss as she stood from the tub and stepped out onto the cold tile.
"Let's go to bed." Ruby yawned as Weiss followed her example, opening the drain before she did so and letting the water slowly drain.
Weiss didn't respond to Ruby, taking her towel and drying off before putting on her night gown that she'd left in the washroom that morning.
She brushed her teeth quickly and passed Ruby as she reentered, wearing yet another of Weiss's night gowns. Weiss took two steps towards her bed when a slight creak of Ruby's bunk above gave her just enough warning to dive out of the way.
A loud snap sounded and the bed fell from it's ropes which snapped outwards like whips and fell hard, slamming into Weiss's bed causing, quite literally a small explosion of splinters to fly everywhere around the room. Thinking quickly, Weiss pulled up a glyph to avoid the worst of the shrapnel as the destruction settled. Everything she had been thinking up till that point flew out of her head as the shock of her near death penetrated her consciousness.
Ruby flipped on the light switch and looked at the bed in horror before she found Weiss leaning against the other set of bunks in the room, one arm slightly bloody as the white haired girl plucked the few splinters she hadn't blocked out of her skin.
"Oh my god! Weiss! Are you okay?" Ruby stepped cautiously over the small pieces of wood so she wouldn't get them stuck in her feet as she approached Weiss.
"Fine, Ruby." Weiss plucked the last chip from her arm and flared her aura to heal the wounds. "Just a little shocked right now."
Ruby nodded and turned to inspect the damage. Weiss's bed looked fine except that there was a second bed on top of it with a shattered corner to it's frame. The rope that had been holding it up dangled from the ceiling pitifully and the few pillows that had been on Ruby's bed had been sent flying around the room. Ruby carefully walked over to the lone broom they had and started sweeping so they could at least walk around the wreckage.
Once Ruby had finished, she stood staring at the two piled beds wondering exactly how to get rid of the broken one without damaging the one beneath it. Weiss took a spot beside her, now thankful that she hadn't been in bed yet.
"Any ideas?" Ruby asked tilting her head back and forth, trying to figure out how to remove the two hundred pounds of wreckage and coming up with nothing.
"…" Weiss thought for a moment, wondering if the only idea that had come into her head would work. Ah, what the heck. "One."
Ruby listened to Weiss's idea and nodded a few times while she explained it. The two thought for a few more minutes and decided it wasn't worth the effort.
"I'll get us actual bunk beds tomorrow." Weiss said as she prepared herself to make a glyph between her bed and Ruby's. "That way we won't have this problem again."
Ruby carefully unfolded her weapon into its scythe form. She waited for Weiss's nod before swinging it down onto the bed, chopping both wood and matress in half then in half again, making eight easy to carry pieces of junk.
The girls piled it all in the largest corner of the room, being too tired to get rid of it that night. Weiss quickly changed her bedding from the slightly torn sheets that were the result from the falling bunk while Ruby went to finish her nightly ritual in the washroom. Once she came back Ruby found Weiss laying in her bed.
"So… I guess I'm stuck sharing with Yang." Ruby started to climb up to Yang's bunk when Weiss's voice stopped her.
"I appreciate that you respect my space, but getting suffocated or crushed by your sister would be somewhat detrimental to the future of our relationship." Weiss sighed. Her face slowly took on a blush when Ruby didn't grasp the meaning of her statement, so she pulled the covers back slightly and patted the bed beside her. "I said I wouldn't make a habit of sharing. I didn't say I wouldn't offer if the occasion deemed it necessary."
"Thanks Weiss." Ruby mumbled tiredly as she climbed in. Weiss was facing the wall, so she slipped her arm around the white haired girl's waist, pulling her into a warm cuddle.
"Goodnight Ruby." Weiss yawned before falling silent. It took only five minutes for Ruby's breathing to slow. Once it did, Weiss let out her control and smiled at the wall, taking a deep breath and falling asleep the way she had only dreamed about for such a long time.