"So this snow is just normal snow, right? Not like parasites trapped in ice crystals or the ashes of human remains." Ruby looked out the window at the falling snow covering the iced over floodwaters. The water in the stairway was frozen now too, though none of them were interested in testing how thick the ice was just yet. Fortunately, it didn't seem to have gotten as cold this time as it had previously. Definitely below freezing, but they had more than enough cold weather clothing to deal with it. She looked back into the room at the others, watching Neo fiddle around with cleaning out Penny's circuits.

Penny, whose head was currently removed so Neo could clean out her neck joints, did her best impression of a smile that she was capable of in her state. "The parasites aren't that small, Ruby. It should be normal snow. I don't think enough people were killed in any manner that would cause this to be ashes, plus the meteorological conditions are right for water ice to form as snow in the clouds. We wouldn't get ash that looks like snow like this."

"Um... okay, good." Ruby looked back out at the snow. It wasn't like a blizzard, it was slow, soft, and gentle. "Cause it looks pretty and I don't want pretty to be awful."

"You're already awful." Neo grumbled, scraping grime off of some metal casings.

Ruby didn't respond for a few seconds, then looked back at Neo. "Wait a second, did you just say I was pretty?"

Neo looked up, their eyes meeting, startled. "What? No, I said you were awful."

"But, in context, though, that means you think I'm pretty."

Neo stopped what she was doing, standing up and wiping her hands off with a cloth. "Look, do you want me to fix your vibrator or not?"

"I... do not have a vibrate function."

"It was an insult, don't take it literally." Letting out a sigh, Neo moved around the bed and sat next to Ruby at the window. She watched the snow for a few moments before speaking again. "Look, I don't think there's a lot more I can do here. We have to get moving if we're going to get to the power plant before this snow gets too deep. Add to that we're both starving, and it could get colder at any second, we've got some serious problems coming up. There's no food up here, and probably every house has most of its food on the first floor, which is now flooded and frozen. It doesn't look good at all, so we have to go before time runs out."

"Right... then I'll go check the stairs. If the ice there is thick enough, then it should be good outside." Ruby got up and walked around Neo. She turned back and quickly said, "Oh, and Neo?" When Neo turned to face her, Ruby leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She'd intended it to be a quick peck to rile the shorter woman up, but once she was there it lasted longer. She had her eyes closed, so she wasn't sure how Neo was responding at all, but she wasn't pulling away. She had to blame Neo's soft lips.

Finally, they pulled apart, staring into each other's eyes. Neo's gaze was darting around, looking all over Ruby's face, trying to figure out what to do or say. They were so close right now that their noses were almost touching, and Neo could feel the warmth of Ruby's body. Eventually, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "If we didn't have to hurry things along right now, I'd be taking you out of those clothes I think."

"Neo..." Alarms were going off in Ruby's head. She had to get out of this room right now or she really would start tearing Neo's clothes off and kissing every part of her she could reach. It wasn't a rational thought, it was purely impulsive, and she couldn't think of any reason to follow through on that impulse except that she really wanted to. Desperate to get away and do what she needed to be doing right now, Ruby took a step back and straightened up. "That's kinda gay." She turned and rushed out of the room.

Neo shouted after her. "It's a lot gay! That's the point!"

Leaving Neo to put Penny back together, Ruby went down the hall to the top of the stairs. The water was definitely frozen, but it was a question now of how thick the ice had gotten. She grabbed something from one of the rooms, a drawer from one of the dressers. It had already been emptied to provide her with a warm layer while she had been unconscious, but now it wasn't good for much on its own. Taking the drawer out to the hallway, she threw it down onto the ice to see if it would break. The corner dug in, gouging out a chunk of ice, but there was no water splashing up, and it didn't crack. That was a good sign.

Walking back into the room where Neo was just finishing up putting Penny's head on her shoulders, Ruby started putting on the extra clothing she would need for heading outside. "The ice in there has gotten pretty thick. Should be thicker outside. I think it's safe to walk."

"Good, good." Neo wiped her hands again, more thoroughly than before so as to get most of the grime off, then went about changing into the clothes she'd set aside for use in the cold outdoors. "So when we go out, we'll pretty much be leaving this house completely, right?" She asked as she pulled her shirt up over her head. Tossing it aside, she started running her fingers around the waist of her pants when she looked up to see Ruby watching her. "Do they have private change rooms where you come from?"

"Yup." Ruby leaned back against the wall, keeping her eyes on Neo. "But I'm just thinking about, like... next time we have a chance to rest. There are some things I want to do with you."

Neo stiffened. "Okay, joking is one thing, but that's a bit-"

"I'm not joking, Neo. I want to wrap my arms around you right now and kiss you... again." She wasn't sure herself where this was coming from, but something told Ruby that she needed to get this off her chest. She needed to let Neo know what she was feeling, or at least what she thought she was feeling. "I want to grab hold of you and sink my fingers into your boobs."

"Okay, first thing, the word 'boobs' is neither romantic nor erotic. It's childish."

"Are you guys sure you want to do this while I'm here?"

Ruby shook it off. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just a little overwhelmed right now, I guess. I'll just..." She trailed off and went over to the window, pulling on a wool knit hat with a pompom on top. She looked back and let her eyes wander over Neo's naked body. Neo saw her and blushed, but didn't say anything in protest this time. She actually turned to give Ruby a better view. Ruby gave her a smile, but averted her eyes, looking outside instead. "How do we handle this going forward, if we find everyone else alive and well? You and me, I mean."

Pulling on a thick woolen pair of pants, Neo looked over to her questioningly. "What do you mean? I assumed we'd stay together, and given a bit of time to see how we handle each other in normal circumstances, live together. Sleep together." She pulled on a sweater, reaching back and pulling her hair free of the thick shirt. "Maybe we get married."

"Are we being honest with ourselves right now?"

"I guess. You started it."

"Okay..." Ruby thought about it for a moment, and at this moment thinking about it consisted of staring at the white outdoors and letting her mind go blank. She sighed. "Honestly, I like this fantasy of a nice future together, but isn't it just that? A fantasy?"

"Why does it have to be."

Ruby turned back to her. "Wouldn't we just go back to our teams? Me with Weiss, Blake, and Yang, you with Cinder, Mercury, and whoever else you work with?"

"I never really cared much for any of them." Pulling a coat around her shoulders, Neo shook her head. "No, no I never really got along with them. I don't have any strong connections with anyone left. Ruby, I... I don't like a lot of things about you. You're naïve, childish, stubborn, and reckless. I think I can safely say that I hate a lot of things about you. But... these past weeks... I love you. It's weird, and it still feels like it will end as soon as things go back to normal, but I don't know... I'm starting to feel like things just can't go back to normal. Besides that..." She walked around the bed and took Ruby's hands in her own. "It won't end if we don't let it."

"That's... I'd like that." Ruby shook her head. "But like you said, we have things to do right now."

"Right." Neo nodded, tugging her own cap on her head. "Not things, not stuff. We have a mission to complete."

"A quest!" Ruby pumped her borrowed arm in the air. She turned to Penny. "You ready to go?"

"The cold doesn't affect me anymore. I am quest-ready!"

"Let's roll, girls!" Ruby swung her arm and shattered the window, letting the broken frame and glass fall down to the icy cover over the street. "Okay, that was a little unnecessary violence, but let's actually go now."

First Ruby, then Neo, and finally Penny jumped out of the window. It wasn't a long drop, really only a few feet, so they didn't have to worry about hurting themselves falling. Landing on the ice, they found it was a lot easier to stand than they would have expected. Powdered snow covered the ice in a thick enough layer that when they stepped on it, it crunched down into a flat surface pretty good for giving them traction. They didn't have to deal with slipping and sliding, at least for now, which was a relief. Ruby took a good look around them, taking in their surroundings. It really didn't seem as bad as it had been before. She took off her hat, letting the snow fall on her head. Tilting her head back, she opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, catching a flake on the tip.

Neo saw this and did the same, then stopped. "It does seem to be fresh, clean snow." She turned to Penny. "So which way is the power plant?"

Penny stopped, made like she was sniffing the air, then got down on her hand and feet. "Woof woof! This way!" She bolted off with surprising speed, like a metal hound on the chase.

Ruby shrugged and ran after her. "Better keep up. Come on, Neo! No time to lose!"

As the three of them ran across the snowy ice towards their next goal, none of them were aware of the creature watching them from the roof of a nearby house. It stared at them through unblinking red eyes, cocking its head to the side in a jerky movement. Once they were well out of eyesight, it opened its beak and let out a sharp caw, then spread its black wings and took to the air, trailing after the girls from a distance. The raven knew what was waiting for them, but there was very little it could do to help, and even less that it wanted to do.