Ruby fell out of the trunk. She groaned. Thankfully, Ruby's house had alley parking, so her big privacy fence hid what would definitely look like a kidnapping.

Well, it was a kidnapping— would be, for a human. But Ruby was a monster so who gives a shit. If Weiss wanted to stab her right now, as she was weakly moaning and clenching into herself on the driveway, she would not feel bad about it at all. It would be like stomping on a dying animal's head— a mercy. Which she would not feel bad doing. At all.

"Get up, Ruby."

"Nn-nnn," the creature noised ambiguously.

Weiss reared her foot back.

"I— I…" Ruby croaked. "Lost… blood… 'm sorry."

Weiss scowled.

"P-please, help… W—" she clenched, turned slightly, just enough for one of her eyes to find Weiss'. "Weiss."

Those big, watery eyes…

Weiss set her foot back down. She took in a breath. She bounced on her heels, jogged her arms a bit, pulled each knee up to her chest, twisted at the waist. She exhaled. "Is your hand wrapped up good?"

Ruby's voice was 90% breath. "W-what?"

"Is. Your. Hand. Wrapped. Good."

"Yes?"

"Is the shirt soaked?"

"Um… y-yes."

"Take it off, then."

"M-my shirt?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "No, dumbass, the one around your hand." Realizing she was probably failing basic extensions of logic due to hypovolemia, Weiss sighed. "Sorry. Just take it off. I don't want you to squeeze it out on me or your carpet or something."

"B-but… I'm still… bleeding."

Weiss raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"M-my blood… doesn't… really… scab…ulate…itize…"

Whatever. No use in correcting her. "Stick your hand in your mouth, then."

Ruby eyed her suspiciously, words slurring. "I can't drink my own… whydon't you stick my… han…"

Weiss nudged her with a foot. The girl jolted.

"Muh!"

She gave up. Of all the fucking Vampires to be her quarry, she had to find the one who needed a bunch of side-quests— including, apparently, a fucking escort mission. "Christ," Weiss muttered, bending down to untangle the wet mess of shirt from the girl's hand. She tossed it uncaringly over Ruby's privacy fence. "Keep your hand tucked up. If you get any on me, I'm expediting your death."

"Okay," Ruby said too easily, even letting out a breathy little half-giggle as if she knew what Weiss was going to do. "Yay…"

Then Weiss, as if she barely knew what she herself was going to to, somehow found the allegedly-not-a-Vampire laid across her arms like a dame, which was bullshit, because Weiss was the Dame, which was also bullshit, because what the fuck was she doing?

Carrying Ruby in. Obviously. Yes, bridal-style was the best way to do it. Uh, yeah, of course she could do a fireman's carry. What does that have to do with anything?

Ruby Rose was light. With slight pressure in her fingers, Weiss could feel her ribs. About halfway to the door, she jumped when she felt a pulse— slow and heavy, like a Spriggan's sap-pumping heart. Doleful, almost. Longing.

Weiss shook her head, breaking herself from whatever passive charm effects were trying to settle in her brain. Belatedly, she noticed a slight glimmer of something beneath Ruby's torn slee—

The dog.

A little black dog. Long. Sausagey. Emanating a power so intense that it shoved against Weiss' frontal lobe and had her smelling oranges—

He was staring at her. Weiss knew he was a male, and his name was Zwei, and he was to be feared, and Weiss was afraid. "Ruby," she hissed. "You have a fucking Corgi!?"

Ruby nuzzled up against her chest, uncaring of her blood-wet, fucked-up hand as it slapped stupidly against the boob-window Weiss' bolero kinda made. "Nn… yeah. 'e's a g'boy, tho. Zweeeeeeei!" she called, bleary, making Weiss go stiff. "C'mere swee'bebby."

The Corgi trotted to Weiss' feet. She did not dare move. Ruby turned slightly in her arms and made kissy-noises at him, clearly delusional from blood loss. He stared back with his cold, abyssal eyes— those great black holes which have seen war and terror and lands beyond measure— which made Ruby recline herself against Weiss once more, humming contentedly, "Mmmmm… dog."

Zwei approached. With his eyes locked directly on Weiss', he bent his noble snout to her lowly feet. He sniffed.

He kept sniffing. He looked up at Weiss, down at her shoe, up at Weiss, sniffed again. He kept sniffing.

Ruby, who must've heard the aggressive snuffles, giggled. "He likes you. Like me. I like you. Hey Weiss, y'wanna kiss again?"

She was being actively investigated by a decorated warhorse of the Fae. This very much was not the time for a kiss. Nor would any time be the time! Because there wouldn't be any kissing! Because Ruby's a Vampire! Weiss shook the passive charm out of her head again. It was pesky. Making her think gay thoughts. "Hail Mary…"

As Weiss prayed, she felt something cold pressing against her chest. An ear. One of Ruby's ash-pale ears, using her sternum like a conduction earbud. "Wei…" she left off the 'ß', whispering so quietly that, if Weiss didn't have the training and abilities of a Huntress, she wouldn't have heard. "I… love that… you're Catholic…"

Weiss remembered where she was. She remembered who she was, what she was doing, what day it was, her exact height, her age, Ruby Rose's middle name— all the comprehension in the universe flooded into her in such a great and desperate snap that it saved her from whatever the fuck she did not just hear Ruby say. She shook the stupid monster bitch— Zwei barked, but if he wanted to kill her there wasn't anything she could do about it, so basically fuck it. "Hey! No! No dying, that's my right! Ruby!"

The girl wiggled her shoulders a little, as if that was particularly convincing. "'M awake."

"Bull fuck!" Weiss accused, shaking her like a baby. "Ruby! What do you need!"

Ruby went "AaaAaaAaaAaa" at being shaken (like a baby), then raised her not-shitty hand deeper in the house, past the entry hall that Weiss was still just standing in like an absolute bimbo. "Pantry, I got— uh—"

"Blood," Weiss surmised, because she's not a fucking idiot.

"Yeayeah," Ruby mumbled. "B-but, uh… canwedo mac 'n cheese tonight? I'm… tired'a… encebolla…da…"

When she was bleary, her Spanish 'll's went more towards 'j' than 'y'. "Wha— Ruby!" Weiss jostled her, marching fast towards the kitchen, Zwei following closely. "Wake up! You can't eat food, dumbass!"

Ruby made a puzzled noise. "Yer'tha… dumb… bass…"

Finding the pantry, Weiss yanked the door open, grabbed a blood bag out of the cold storage box (wow, domestic Vampirism), and slapped it against Ruby's stupid idiot mouth. "Drink, bitch!"

Ruby feebly slapped at her wrist, her whine muffled by the plastic on her lips. "N-noooo! I can't!"

"Shut up and eat it!"

"I can't!" Ruby slapped the bag, knocking it onto the floor. "I… food— gotta have… with… food…"

Weiss reeled with genuine shock. "W-what?"

"'M… special."

"What?" Did she have, like, Vampire-autism or something? Wait, was that fucked up? "Do you have Vamptism or something?"

Oh Jesus Fucking Christ she said that with her mouth.

Thankfully, Ruby's dying ass only breathed another laugh. "N-no… just regular… Vamptism…" she did a sad, weak version of her hrrrrrnk. "Al menos eres… bonita…"

Weiss shook her again. "English, goddammit!"

"Digestion!" Ruby finally explained. "'S still… gotta be food… with the… yeah…"

Shit. "Well definitely not fucking mac, then, you are dying!"

"I know!" Ruby whined. Apparently death made her dramatic, because she reached towards the heavens with her good hand. "¡Abuela! I see the light!"

Weiss shook her. Again. "Not funny! Do you have anything—"

Ruby's hand flung vaguely towards the pantry's middle wherein laid a box of cereal. Weiss grabbed it, laid Ruby down on the counter, and started pouring cereal in the poor girl's mouth. Then she poured the blood on top. Trails of it dribbled redly from the sides of her lips, down her colorless throat. Why the fuck did she do that?

Weiss' hubris earned her a guffaw from Ruby, spraying out blood and cereal bits that got on her face and clothes. This accomplished a more manageable mouthful for the girl to chew and swallow. It also left Weiss wondering if the proximity to such a strong passive charm was giving her brain damage.

Almost instantly, Weiss noticed the wounds on Ruby's hand closing. And her skin was getting less pale. And she was looking less tired. And her hair shone, and her eyes glowed, and her lips got plump and red, and Weiss' sinuses were prickling—

She yanked herself away to focus instead on Zwei. But then Ruby groaned, the sound long and sweet and sinewy, Weiss immediately found herself turning towards it again. The room seemed to darken around them. The white walls washed into grey. She was the most colorful thing Weiss had ever seen.

"Jeez," Ruby said with her voice. With her mouth. With her tongue and her throat. "It's… been a while. Since I, um…"

Ruby scooted up to sit on the counter. She looked more, like if Weiss picked her up again she'd have to strain, but she still would, and she'd be red-faced and panting by the time she laid Ruby down, and she'd have to crawl atop the girl, and she'd see her own shadow cast over the creature's colorless flesh, and she'd bite her lips to bleed them onto Ruby's tongue, and they'd fuck like animals, and Weiss would make her make new faces, and Weiss would rip her apart until that face was her death mask, and Weiss would jab her thumbs into the girl's fangs to do it all again.

"Weiss?"

Little creature. Little parasite. Little leech. She looked up at her like she was on her knees at the altar, bidding mercy she didn't deserve. Weiss was the god that wasn't going to give it— she wanted to see the thing squirm, prostrate.

Thunk— Ruby's head hit the cupboard as she slid back, retreating. Weiss leaned over the counter, over the monster, over the girl with wide silver eyes and a honey-sweet look of fear. She parted her lips— red and fleshy, plump like cherries, perfect for biting, chewing, thrashing, I'm going to use you like a fucking chew toy—

"Y-your pupils are, um… huge."

Look at her. Bind her. Tear her asunder. Make her yours. You are so much stronger than she will ever be. Show her. Show her how strong you are.

Weiss' hand shot up, grabbing the girl by the jaw, gripping. Ruby's eyebrows creased down in hard confusion, her eyes frantic, a fawn before the wolf, Show her who rules the Earth.

"W-Weish, yer— 'at— hurtsh—"

"Good."

"Th— the charm! 'S the— charm! Weish!"

Weiss gripped her face harder.

Make them all silent. Make them all bow. They will worship you. All of them.

"I don't give a fuck about a charm," Weiss growled, pinching Ruby's face to forcibly part her lips. The canines within were normal. "Show me," Weiss demanded.

Ruby strained to speak. It was amusing. But really, she should be muzzled. She should need permission to open her mouth. "I'n— not— a— 'ampire!"

Weiss let her face go.

"Bluh— thank you. Sorry I—"

Weiss jammed her hand in the girl's mouth, fingers fishing for points. "Then let me make you one you little—"

Heralded only by a hammer-blow of fear and pain like a hacksaw to the heel, Zwei bit her.

—-HAHSHSHSHSHSHHS—-

"Okay, just stay in here 'till I lock him up."

She wanted to lock her up. "Okay."

Ruby gave her a pitying look. How dare she. "I'm really sorry about the charm."

She would be sorry once Weiss got her hands on her. "Yes."

"I'll, um… don some more talismans. Before I come back. Because you're… looking at me."

Weiss grunted, straining her hands against the restraints: zip-ties. Her wrists were bound together by at least three, three more holding her to the base of Ruby's bathroom sink, all of them wrapped up in protective duct tape. She had done it to herself, a snap of sadist rationale gripping her brain stem just after the Corgi had locked his teeth around her ankle. She'd demanded Ruby tie her up first, then tend to her wounds. She'd done it to torture herself. To hold herself back from Ruby. To see how fair the chains would bow, strain, before snapping. Then she'd be loose, and nothing would stop her.

God, the charm was strong as hell. And weird— she thought she'd forget it, but no, it was all still right there in her head. Even the thoughts were burned in. She could just see Ruby. Under her. Looking up. Ruby.

Oh, wait, she could think again. God damn, talismans work fast.

Ruby reappeared after a couple minutes, and Weiss was instantly beside herself. Even if Ruby was a monster, she was still…

"Sorry. Ruby." Getting it out was like extruding rocks, and the feeling of her throat's vibrations reawakened that migraine she'd gotten last time. She grunted.

The girl slid in as if she couldn't open the door more— she could've— and squatted in front of Weiss, apology across her features. Three paper talismans were visibly tied around her shoulder, the girl now wearing some kind of snug sleeveless top that wasn't shredded up on Weiss' account. Beads of metal were visible, too, shaking out from the arm-holes of her top and hugging each arm, interlacing each of her fingers like prayer-beads. Small crosses dangled at seemingly random intervals, also metal. Her skin seemed red where each one met it.

"Is that… silver?" Weiss asked, wincing at the sound, wishing she could blow the bathroom lights up with her mind.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. I'm really sorry about charming you again— I wasn't thinking right without anything in me. It gets a lot stronger when I'm fed."

Taking her eyes off Ruby was like a fly trying to pull itself out of a glue trap. Talismans or not, the girl had a strong pull. Weiss wanted to apologize again, but opted not to— there were more important things to say, and she wanted to choose her words so as to aggravate her migraine as little as possible. "What… are you."

Ruby looked at her, then hung her head. She let her butt hit the floor and kicked her legs out, laying them much too casually over Weiss'. She sat up. When the back of her head hit the bathroom door and closed it, she sighed. "I'm a, um… fledgling. Vampire."

Weiss blinked. Then blinked again. "But you're—"

"I wasn't Turned, Weiss."

Weiss physically recoiled. The shock of hearing her voice in that tone of finality was honestly more impactful than the statement itself. Because the statement was, "Bullshit."

Ruby bumped her head against the door. "I literally have you, a Huntress," she dragged out the syllables, raking each 's' over her tongue laboriously. "Tied up in my bathroom. Nobody else is here. If I wanted to hide something, I wouldn't lie. I'd just kill you."

Weiss scoffed, which hurt, but being petty however she could was honestly worth the pain. "Nah. I could—"

She tried doing something with her legs, something that'd be impressive, but Ruby just pushed down with her own.

"Get off," Weiss grumbled. "That's not fair— I'm trying to make a point."

"Me too!" Ruby let out a frustrated noise. "Look, I was born this way, okay? Do I need to go over all the magical weird stuff of how my mother's ovum was resurrected, fertilized, placed in a canopic jar stuffed with hypersanguine human flesh, then incubated only under the light of the moon for a period of thirty years in order to produce my tiny, fragile monster-fetus?"

The Huntress, bleary with pain, prepared to resign herself to a conversation that would hurt to know, but needed to be done. "Um. Yes, actually. I would very much like to hear that."

And so, Ruby went over all the magical weird stuff about her mom's dead eggs and the fact she was a literal jar-baby. It was a lengthy explanation, with a surprising amount of math that ended up with Ruby shrimp-mode over a graphing calculator, multiple whiteboards propped up against walls and on towel racks, each one covered in marker scribbles and occasional drawings of her dog. It was all very necessary, including the illustration of a penis with a jizz-vector aimed at a chicken egg. This was right next to a genuine diagram of her ovum's resurrection circle: a miraculously well-sketched three-dimensional sextagram, along with its rune ring (which looked suspiciously Seraphic) and the specific layout of its sacrificial offerings. Among the offerings were such gems as 'Live Human Eggsx21,' 'Coca Leaf 2kg,' 'Spiders!' and 'Powderized Seraphic Crownx1.'

"So you—"

"Mm-hmm."

"With—"

"Yeah."

Weiss leaned back and scrubbed at her face, having freed her hands without Ruby ever noticing. She mumbled appropriately, "Holy shit…"

Ruby nodded, smiling like she thought she was very funny for what she was about to say. "Considering how much of my creation was dependent on angelic elements, yes! Holy indeed!"

Weiss threw a marker at her. It hit her squarely in the forehead. "Ugh. Not only are you a monster, you're a test-tube monster."

The test-tube monster cast a look of mock offense. "You got a problem with IVF?"

Weiss rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. "Oh don't even, you're a magical jar-baby. A magical flesh-jar baby. That's not IVF, it's just gross."

"Psh," Ruby 'psh'd, crossing her arms smugly. "Isn't any womb just a magical flesh-jar?"

"Oh my Christ. Ruby."

The girl giggled, whining defensively, "Wha-aaat?"

Weiss felt her own shoulders hopping, her lungs doing something, her mouth, too— but it wasn't laughing. Because she wouldn't laugh with a cursed jar-thing. When they finished doing that (not laughing), Weiss offhandedly pushed Ruby's legs off her own. She tucked them up to sit cross-legged.

"So…" Weiss started dangerously. "You said you need me?"

The Jar-pire winced. "I was, um, sorta hoping you'd forget that."

"I don't forget easily."

"I should've known. Haha."

"Well?"

"I'm, uh…" Antsy. "Not a Vampire yet."

"Yes. You've said that."

"You're not… figuring it out?"

"Just say it."

Ruby's mouth screwed up, her legs coiling until her knees were being hugged against her chest. Her look drifted elsewhere. "I… um… need blood."

Weiss grunted. "Yes. I know. I waterboarded you with it less than an hour ago."

"Thanks for that, by the way. And I'm sorry—"

"Ruby."

Her voice made Ruby flinch like she'd cracked a whip in her face. "R-right," she stuttered. "So… blood. I need it." She waved her graphing calculator vaguely, briefly flashing whatever equation she had on her screen at the time— one approaching zero, but never touching. "And I know you may be thinking: 'woah, what the heck, this is only happening now—'"

"I was not thinking that."

"But! Butbutbut!" Ruby waved at another whiteboard. More obscure, magical math— not really Weiss' particular specialty. "Maturative periods are generally only measured for Turned, which I'm not! So, really, we don't know crap! I'm kind of an experiment, lol."

"Did you just say 'lol'?"

She directed Weiss' attention towards another whiteboard, then did a double-take at it. Quickly, she grabbed the board, erased something in one of the corners, and scribbled something else before showing it to Weiss— another proof of mathematical magical gobbledygook. "But, yknow, transferral is such a messy subject— really mired by Parley coverups, any actual Vampiric studies get burned up with the Brood— which is understandable! Usually they're, like, doing crazy weird blood stuff with some poor innocent people and that is not cool, so I mean yeah I get the burning— but hey, yknow who else burned books? Nazis. And they didn't even use Vampires."

"Uh… I think you're getting off track."

"Right! Yeah. Aha. Sorry. I can do that. Anyway—"

Weiss waved a hand. "Wait— wait— go back— the Nazis literally did use Vampires. They had the rituals and everything."

"Nnnnnn-nope!" Ruby rebutted confidently. "Having Vampiric blood-rituals does not mean you drafted Vampires! Not one Vampire soldier has ever been discovered— no reports, no evidence, no nothing. The blood magic was so they could be, like, Übermenschen. Or whatever they thought eating congealed bloodstones was supposed to do, besides giving you gallbladder cancer."

"They… do?"

Ruby nodded her head furiously. "Oh yeah. Bloodstones hate the gallbladder. There isn't even a reason for it, they just do. That's magic I guess."

"Huh."

Ruby squinted at her, a playful look tugging her lips. "Have you been eating bloodstones?"

Walls sprang up as soon as the burden turned her way. "You're changing the subject. Why do you need me."

The easy look died. "Fine."

"Fine?"

The girl sighed. "Yeah. Fine."

"Fine what."

"I'll tell you."

Weiss growled. "Then tell me."

Ruby squirmed in her own skin. "L-look, it's not an easy thing, okay! We haven't even seen each other since—"

"What, do you need to drink me, or something?"

It had been belted out before Weiss really realized her own question. It hit Ruby square in the chest. It made the air feel thick.

The girl went silent, but Weiss could see her tongue moving behind her closed lips, licking teeth. Ruby took a very deep breath. "I… am alive. More or less. I have a, uh… soul. When you're Turned, you die and you lose that, and you're kinda like a, uh… proxy. Of whoever Sired you, that is— it's why Brood traits pass on, it's their genes kinda replacing yours. But my genes are mine— er, my mom's… and whoever fertilized the egg… but mine. My body made 'em."

Weiss nodded slowly.

"Turned Vampires, they need to imbibe whatever soul-bits are in that person's blood— life-essence, vitae, whatever fancy stuff you wanna call it— because it fills out their body, which is like a soulless husk pretty much."

More mental notes— was this in the records? Probably. This had to be well-known.

"But I can make my own soul-juice, so—"

Weiss' little brain guy speared his pen through the legal-pad in her brain. Her palms itched. "You what."

Ruby cocked her head and hummed at the interruption. "Sorry, what? What'd I say?"

Massaging her temples, Weiss tried to push through the migraine to listen to the girl. Her voice was dull, the proposal nonsensical. "I thought I heard you say you can produce your own soul."

"Yeah? What, you can't?"

"I—" the Huntress pushed her whole face into her palms. "Yes. Of course I can."

"Well, so can I."

"Ruby, you can't just say that and expect me to believe it."

"Then you'll have to trust me."

"I don't trust you."

Ruby hummed. "Okay. That's fair I guess. But I trust you— to be consistent, at least. Reliable."

Blue eyes narrowed onto silver. She rolled her hand, beseeching. The creature nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you. Now, I can eat blood, but to really be a Vampire, I need it straight from the source."

"So eat some schmuck off the street. Why me?"

"Oh, because I like you. Obviously."

Weiss scowled. "Quit that."

The creature cocked its head. "Quit what?"

"Trying to charm me."

"Hrrrrrnk— what?" Ruby raised one brow with amusement, hiding her snort behind her hand. "Dude, you felt my charm. I'm not."

"You're manipulating me to be your personal blood-farm," Weiss reasoned, posture stiffening. "You can't beat me because you're not at full-strength yet, so you're trying to seduce me."

Ruby's bemused look softened, fell, pitying. Again. "N-no, Weiss, I'm serious. I've had a crush on you since, like, forever." She huffed out a little laugh. "You're basically the prettiest person I've ever seen, lol."

Irked. That was the word. "You're some kind of… Succupyre, aren't you?"

"W-what? Weiss, that's—" she snorked. "That's not a thing. I actually just like you."

"You like my blood."

"Not any more than anyone else's."

"You— you don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh, yeah. I do. I've liked you since forever. That's why the charm works so much harder— the emotional bond."

Now was Weiss' turn to laugh. "Bah! Emotional bond. Sounds like liberal bullshit."

"You took me on a date."

She crossed her arms, confident. "That wasn't a real date."

"Oh, so the part where you didn't sleep afterwards and basically came crawling back to me begging for my forgiveness wasn't real, either?"

She uncrossed her arms, unconfident. "Uh."

Ruby stared at her, her eyes glowing even in the bathroom's cold light. Her face betrayed no particular emotion. She was waiting. She had one hand proverbially extended to the Huntress, the other hand holding enough loose rope for Weiss to hang herself with.

Weiss squirmed. "Uh— uh."

Her mouth was 'uh'. Her body was 'uh'. Her mind, most of all, was very distinctly 'uh'.

"Uh— I, uh—"

Even managing an 'I' was honestly a miracle.

'Haha! Just kidding! It's a joke!' Ruby did not say. 'You don't have to answer if you're uncomfy!' Ruby did not offer. 'We can come back to this later,' the girl did not suggest.

She stared. Neutral. Because she liked Weiss. Her cards were on the table, onus fully on the Huntress, and she knew it. She was just waiting. She would stay here, feed and water her, be her caretaker, and handle all of Weiss' needs until she gave her an answer. In essence, the world revolved around this moment.

Weiss couldn't really handle that much responsibility.

"Uh—"

"I— uh— um—"

"But— uh—"

"We—"

"Ha— uh— haha— uhm—"

"You— ha— ha ha! Ha—"

"Um—"

Ruby let one leg slide down, propping her chin up with the back of her hand, arm resting on the knee still raised. It was a painfully smug look. It said, 'I would sooner die than interrupt you; this is hilarious.'

Weiss, on the other hand, was trying to convince her legs to find a stable position, as if putting her knees just right would give her an answer. Her arms were coming up, hands to chest, guiding words out, shakily falling and trying again as soon as they failed. Her face was doing… something. A lot. And hotly.

"Y-you— you, um—"

Holy shit, progress.

"You're a— a Vampire."

There. Yes. That was a good answer. It encapsulated everything: Do you like me? Well you're a Vampire, so of course I don't; Am I attractive? Yeah, obviously, you're a Vampire, of course I think you're hot; Are you sure you don't like me? Of course I don't— because you're a Vampire— but even if I did, it wouldn't matter, because you're a Vampire, and I'm not a Vampire— I kill Vampires; What was that in the kitchen? You're a Vampire, you charmed me— that's how all charms work— yours are just strong— it's nothing else. You're a Vampire.

Ruby gave her a long, toothsome smirk, making sure to show off the fangs she didn't have. "I'm really not."

Weiss opened her mouth.

"And so what if I was? Who even cares?"

Clunk— the sound of a wrench flying out of nowhere, concussing Weiss' brain-guy. What… what a stupid thing to say? So what? Who cares? Literally everyone cares? Weiss? A Huntress? With a literal Vampire? Dating? It was anime shit? What the hell? Like, it made no sense?

Ruby stuck her chin up, brimming with sudden confidence. "I'm pretty sure I'm more valuable as an asset."

What? "An— an asset?"

"So, y'know, since you're— eheh— pretty much melting right now— y-you are so red—" Ruby rubbed at her own cheeks, as if to hide a blush that couldn't… no, wait, she was blushing. Worse, she was aflame, despite her heart and blood being corpselike in speed. She was crumbling— the smug facade withering into dust. "So we really should! Date! Yeah. I'll, like, help and stuff. I don't like Vampires. Mostly. And I can do cool stuff! And I know things! Really, it's super obvious you l-like me— that's why the— the charm— super strong, like, wow— and— and I—"

The girl slapped her hands over her whole face, silencing herself. The girl got up on both her knees. The girl stiffened. The girl fell forward.

Prostrate.

"So please! Can we date?"

Weiss' migraine thumped, but she didn't care. Her eyelids were pulled at their widest, her eyes thirsting. Her palms itched.

The Vampire was splayed before her. The girl who wasn't quite a Vampire. The jar-thing. The monster of Vampiric make. One of those which could seduce and destroy: the enemy of humanity. It dared to grovel. It thought it deserved her. It thought she liked it.

Weiss stood. She processed, frowning down at the girl. The other thing here could probably break a door down.

"Y-yes, Ruby. We, uh— of course we can."

Ruby leapt up and hugged her. Weiss took her back to the car. Ruby sat in the front this time. Happiness was boiling over the girl, and she seemed to rejoice in being able to play her own music— mostly drums and noises to a fast tempo, but Weiss was watching the road.

"So… where're we goin'?"

Weiss actually jumped at the sound of Ruby's pitchy, bell-like voice. She glared at the lane markers. "Uh."

"You're not charmed again, are you?"

Was she? No. She was driving. Probably couldn't drive while charmed. Since when had the sun set?

"Weiss?"

Oh. Right. Gotta answer questions with your mouth-words, even if your brain is going so fast that it's not going at all. At least this question was answerable. "No."

A brief beat. "Are you… okay?"

Less answerable. "Y-yeah."

"That sounds like a lie."

What did she want her to say? "I'm, uh… I'm okay."

"Your hands are shaking."

"They are?"

They were.

"Oh. It's, uh… my birth control."

Ruby blinked. "What?"

Weiss also blinked. "What?"

"You're shaking because your birth control?"

No. "Yes."

The song finished with a big breakdown. A brief pause followed before the next song came on— bongos, then a wakeful, tangy guitar, emotion audible in every vibrant pluck.

"What is this?" Weiss made herself ask, keen to seem human and not like the short-circuiting thing she was. "You play guitar?"

Dammit, Weiss, follow-up questions are supposed to come out after the preceding one is answered.

"Huh? Oh, the music?"

Thank God, she didn't notice the severe social ineptitude. "Yeah."

Ruby nodded. "It's Paco de Lucía."

"Oh. I thought it sounded like mariachi."

Another nod— only this one hitched, processing the Huntress' words. "Mari… achi?"

Oh God, she was being racist again, wasn't she? "Yeah, because the name."

But again, blessedly, Ruby's tone was more of prodding tease than offense. "You just heard the name and thought mariachi."

Weiss should probably shut up and focus on the road. "I mean… that's Mexican music?"

She could feel Ruby looking at her like she was a sad, dumb puppy. "Mexican, like Pablo Picasso?"

"Uh—" she made a left turn. "Yes."

"Spanish, Weiss."

"Um… Páblo Picassó?"

Ruby sighed. "N-no, I mean they're from Spain."

A hot flush ran up the underside of Weiss' neck, clawing up her jaw, set on her cheeks. "Oh. Sorry."

"Aren't you European? You should know this."

Now was Weiss' turn to look at her oddly. "What? No. I'm American."

"Is the German name is just for show?"

She saw Ruby wince even at herself, because it was kind of a fucked up thing to suggest, but Weiss wasn't really bothered. "No. We are German. We moved out in 1631."

Ruby hummed. It was the hum of someone who was actually listening, actually absorbing, actually learning, which was insane. "So you guys just didn't get your names all crappily anglicized?"

"That was before that was a big thing— everybody was European, then, and we remained at least somewhat secular from American society."

"Huh." The girl ruminated at that, her face heavily pensive once Weiss glanced her way— as if trying to decide whether to share something. "We came in, ah… 19… something. Or the 1890s. Turn of the century-ish— just wanted to see if it was cool, maybe?"

Something slipped off Weiss' tongue before she even realized. "You came right after the Spanish-American War?"

"The— wait, the what? When was that?"

"Ruby, we covered this in middle school."

"We did?"

"Spain? Maine? Maine, Spain? USS Maine, used it to justify the war on Spain? You seriously don't remember?"

Ruby spluttered, "W-well I do now! I hate history, come on. You know this."

Did she?

"Come on, you fucking dolt! Spain!"

"Uh—"

"Maine!"

"Ow! Don't slap me!"

"Then don't fucking forget! Spain!"

"Maine!"

"Maine!"

"Spain!"

"The sinking of the USS Maine was—"

"Justification for the war against Spain!"

"As told in…"

"Uh…"

"News— newspaper— what's that?"

"Uhhhh—"

"What do you write in?"

"A… jour— Yellow Journalism!"

"Yes!"

"Ow! Why'd you slap me again— I got it right!"

"You won't get hints on the test, you idiot, so get it right the first time! Spain!"

The memory smelled like pencil shavings, sounded like the impatient flicking of a paper notecard. "Oh. Yeah. I guess I do remember that."

Ruby snorted. "Glad you remember something, that way I don't feel like as much of a creep."

"You are a creep," Weiss said before she could stop herself, Ruby responding before she could correct.

"Y-yeah. I totally am, I won't even lie. I kinda, um… I probably shouldn't talk about this, but when I was away, I… thought about you. A lot." She sighed, catastrophically. "It helped sometimes."

"Helped… with what?"

"Forgetting."

More vagueness. "Forgetting…"

Ruby looked out the window, despite there being nothing to see. "Stop looking at me like that— I haven't killed anybody."

"I'm not looking—"

"Yeah, you are."

Weiss clapped her mouth shut.

Ruby sighed. "Sorry. I don't wanna be snappy, but… you keep looking at me like I eat babies. It, uh… it's kinda ruining the vibe."

Another left turn. Weiss slowed down— the road was dark and hilly, here. "I'm sorry."

"It's like you want me to be evil."

White hole under sternum— pushing heart up throat— "Haha…"

She didn't know what she wanted— besides the respect due any Huntress, but she also wanted… something. She was moving to a plan she had only laid out in her heart, an organ which was distinctly not connected to the rational parts of her brain. Then again, why else was she taking Ruby here?

"What is this place?"

Weiss parked in a way that would probably make her an asshole if 1: the spots weren't worn to indistinguishability, and 2: if the lot weren't completely abandoned.

Opening the door, her first step out had glass crunching beneath her heel. Maybe she should be worried, or scared, but she wasn't. There was an electric chill in her gut, and the crisp night air smelled like decay, like withering, like a place nobody had been in a very long time. Apropos for an abandoned motel, she supposed. She stepped to the passenger side, opened the door, looked down at the thing inside. Ruby looked scared.

"Uh… W-Weiss? What is this place? Seriously."

The Huntress pointed to the little handle in front of the girl's legs. "Could you open the glovebox?"

Ruby opened the glovebox and gasped.

"Hand it over."

"W-what?"

"Hand it to me. Please."

"Why would I— are you gonna—"

"Don't you trust me?"

Ruby, looking green, flapped wordlessly. After another moment, a weight entered Weiss' left hand. It was a familiar heft, that pistol.

"Good. Thank you."

With swift, practiced movements, Weiss dropped the magazine, sniff-checked the blessing on the bullets, then slid it back in and racked the slide. Ruby's voice pushed on the side of her senses, a small "What're you gonna do with that?" that Weiss ignored, walking around to the trunk. She opened the compartment Ruby had been in some hours earlier, lifted the cover of her spare tire well and pulled her belt out of it. She snapped the black nylon around her waist and holstered the pistol. Ruby was still in the passenger's seat, eyes bugging out of her head, looking up at Weiss like she needed to be saved. Secured. Protected.

Prostrate.

Weiss held out her hand. "Come on."

Ruby looked at her hand. This put Weiss' belt in peripheral, which made Ruby scramble back. "H-hey! What're you—"

Weiss grabbed her wrist, steadying herself against the car's frame. Ruby was a strong thing, but not quite Vampiric in strength— enough that Weiss couldn't yank her out of the car, not so much that she could break out of the Huntress' grip. Her huge, watery eyes were on Weiss.

"Come. With. Me."

"You're trying to kill me!"

Ruby pulled, but Weiss went with it this time. The girl scrambled backwards over the console, falling into the driver's seat as Weiss climbed in and over, until she had crawled fully atop the girl. Ruby had a fingers on the handle, but they weren't opening the door. She knew there wouldn't be time to escape. Weiss' grip had moved to bar her forearm against the girl's collar, holding her against the seat. Ruby looked up at her with real fear.

Then her eyes flicked to Weiss' lips, and the fear painted her face red— still fear, yes, but a different breed of fear entirely.

Slowly, Weiss extracted a modest, dagger-sized stake from the front of her belt. Ruby stiffened further. Weiss let the stake's tip touch Ruby's sternum— just a couple centimeters from center, right over the heart. She could feel the girl's heavy heartbeat pulsing through the stake.

"No matter what you are," Weiss said, her voice hard— so much steadier than before— her whole body distant like she was guiding it by wire. "This'll kill you, right?"

Ruby nodded, her eyes so wide and so silver.

"Forever."

"Y-yes," Ruby's voice cracked out. "I— I-I think so."

Weiss hummed. She pressed.

Ruby whined. "Weiss— please, no!"

The Huntress held fast. A smell was pulling her back into the presence— gradually, she couldn't tell the scent, yet. "Why? Why shouldn't I?"

"B-because—"

"I could bring you home and lock you in my basement forever," Weiss promised. "Do you know how big my basement is? It's a whole complex." She laughed at herself a little, the feeling of that dark mirth bringing her closer to the corpus of Weiss Schnee. She knew that scent, now: roses. "It's so big, I could have you down there without anyone ever knowing."

Ruby whimpered. Weiss pressed a little more.

"Or I could just kill you, right now. With everything you've given me, I could bring back the first corpse of a new kind of Vampire— could you imagine what I'd get out of that?"

Weiss pumped her shoulders. The creature flinched, expecting her to finish the job. Weiss couldn't help the satisfied grin that twisted her face. Realizing she was still alive, those silver eyes slowly opened again.

"But you know what'll make me even more respected?"

She let up with the stake. Just enough for Ruby to take weak, pathetic breaths.

"Bringing you in as mine."

Weiss laughed again, darker.

"Your knowledge, your abilities, just— you, Ruby Rose, do you know how useful you could be?"

Ruby Rose shook her head.

Weiss easily pulled herself back, all the way out of the car, leaving a red, panting girl in her wake. Seeing her splayed out across the driver's seat filled Weiss' chest with warm power. "Come on, then," she urged. "Let's go check in."