By Vampire standards, Ruby was (what Weiss would call) desperate and honestly pathetic.

She knelt before her, an apex predator turned supplicant for the mere humanity that was Weiss. Weiss sneered, unable to help herself— Ruby stared up at her with ironically silver eyes, her gaze wide and beady, a pet pleading for table scraps.

Weiss presented her arm. The room was cramped. It was dirty. And hot. And musty. It was, quite frankly, a miracle that they hadn't been forced to chase a squatter out of it.

The creature of the night— Weiss' quarry— gently cupped the back of her hand, bringing her face to the wrist with a look of unabated exultation, worship. Her other hand ran its palm down Weiss' arm, feeling the tiny, colorless hairs until it held her elbow. She ringed a thumb around Weiss' wrist, pressed into the radial artery, and closed her luminescent eyes as if serenaded by a distant choir.

Both of her palms were cold, colder with the silver beads. They ran between her knuckles, silver crosses dangling along their lengths as they wrapped up her bare, sleeveless arms, disappearing under the hem of her top's arm-holes. The skin touching the beads was an irritated red, contrasting what would otherwise be ashen white. Weiss knew her whole upper body was covered in those same silver beads like a harness, containing her. Because containing her was all that could be done.

She lowered her nose to Weiss' wrist, sniffing lightly. She closed her eyes so Weiss couldn't see they were rolling back, but that didn't make it any less obvious— she was in visible ecstasy. When her eyes opened again, the silver rings of her irises were limned by a desperate, hungry scarlet. The edges of her sclera were darkening.

Ruby opened her mouth, saliva briefly forming a line between her lips. Her canines visibly lengthened. Unable to help herself, she ran her cold, wet tongue along the pulse of Weiss' artery. "Thank you," she whispered against the skin, making all of Weiss' hairs stand on end. "Thank you, thank you…"

"Just do it," Weiss commanded through her teeth. Ruby turned to meet her gaze, but she couldn't entertain those eyes. Weiss turned away, mumbling, "Quit your adulating and hurry up. We have to—"

The pain was brief. The bliss lasted.

Ruby Rose worked at the café.

She and Weiss shared three courses: Philosophy, English, and Geology. They sat next to each other, and spoke with moderate friendliness. This was because they had been classmates in middle school, before a sudden illness had led to Ruby being pulled out. Weiss hadn't seen her again for the whole of high school.

They'd never really been friends, per se. If anything, Weiss had kind of bullied the hell out of her because she was a little asshole then and she liked to take her difficult home life out on the poor girl. Ruby had borne the brunt if it wordlessly, however, and continually hovered around her bully. Weiss would never admit it, but she had liked having Ruby around— even if she was a huge dick to the girl. She'd been more than a little distraught to be wholly alone again for high school. Starting college after that, going in with no lasting friends, she'd taken solace as a given.

But then Ruby had shown up to her first Philosophy course. She'd even approached Weiss— because God, Weiss would never have recognized who she was now— and reintroduced herself. They'd been chatty. Apparently Ruby's 'illness' was a touchy subject, but she freely shared that her recovery had taken a long time, all of it spent under her grandparents' care in another state. Apparently the physical rehab was too intense for her single father to handle on his own.

She was a tired girl. Visibly. Her eyes were dark, skin pale, features visibly haggard. It had looked like it took all the effort in the world to keep her eyes open and speak. About halfway into the class, Ruby had conked out on Weiss' shoulder.

Weiss had given her notes from the syllabus. 'You can't stay up all night, you dolt,' she had said, somehow managing to dig up an ancient teasing nickname. Ruby had beamed to hear it.

Since they had the next two classes together, the decision for Weiss to escort her was a practical one. She'd taken notes from the back of the lecture hall, and let Ruby rest on her shoulder. They'd exchanged contact info for practicality— having a comrade was always an essential part of school, and a distinct lack thereof was what had nearly killed Weiss in high school.

But she was better now. Most days.

Moving out had helped. Unfortunately, it didn't mean she could really get away from her family. Rather, she didn't have to see their faces at any given moment. She had the luxury of breakfast, lunch, and dinner to herself, along with all the time in between. As a consequence, she was basically on-call 24/7. It was, as they would call it, 'The least she could do for the family.'

Weiss Schnee was a descendant of old money. Very old money. One of the oldest aristocratic families in Europe, and the oldest non-native dynasty in America once they landed.

The wealth wasn't really a, er… commerce thing. They didn't own any land besides their own estate. They didn't export anything, or own any businesses. Not in the traditional sense, at least. Rather, they were paid by the crown. The Crowns— capital 'C', plural— as in multiple kings, queens, a coalition of high-class aristocracy specifically assembled to put money in her family's pockets: The European Parley for the Extermination of Demons, Angels, Vampires, and Agents of Darkness. Members therein simply call it The Parley— The European Parley when in the presence of American Parley pendants. Individuals are addressed as Huntsmen, Huntresses— Hunters, even, though trying to get the greater organization to officially acknowledge non-binary identities has been akin to pulling teeth.

So the Schnees were a dynasty of Huntsmen. And yes, that's mostly Hunts-men. Very rarely had a woman in the family been trusted to do much of anything besides spread her legs and bring forth the next generation of white-haired prodigies. There were a handful of cases, though, and Weiss was hoping to add herself to that meager list.

Well, not 'hoping to'. She was on it. She'd been ratified in her junior year of high school, the same age as her big sister had been when she did the same. Really, she just wanted to be respected.

And there was no greater respect than that gained through the execution of a Greater Malevolence. An Angel would be the greatest accomplishment, a Demon slightly below that, but the Inquisition had managed to negotiate a much lower presence of Seraphic and Infernal beings just before the turn of the 15th century. Ever since, that kind of thing has been relegated to very specific subsets of Parley agents, of which Weiss is not.

There were others. Hounds of Tindalos, Zephyrs, Grimm or other select cryptids, but most creatures of myth were driven to extinction. No longer did dragons make people shit themselves in fear, despite really just wanting to bask in the sunlight and eat rocks most of the time— some bad apples just had to go ruin the bunch (by enslaving most of Southeast Asia for untold ancient centuries, but who's counting) and get a manhunt going on all the perfectly good apples. Unicorns were still around, but killing one of those would just make you a huge dick. Regardless, none of those remaining extant things would be jaw-droppingly powerful enough to get her the respect she craved, anyways.

There was one quarry to which the Schnee family, and Weiss specifically, was dedicated: Vampires.

Of all the agents seeking humanity's downfall, there was one yet remaining as a real threat. In their covers, in their cabals, it was only Vampires who threatened to break that veil of normalcy, the thin safety-blanket of lies that kept humanity as a whole from turning every neighborhood into its own Salem, Massachusetts.

Violent, bloodsucking, murderous Vampires. Leeches. Parasites. They were exactly the kind of thing that Weiss needed to accelerate her standing.

And Ruby was one of them.

Weiss had first cocked her head towards the notion when Ruby kept coming to school, never any more rested than she was before. Even if she slept on Weiss for hours, which she had done multiple times by that point, she never got any less tired— as if affected by daylight torpor: a lingering, bone-deep fatigue that notoriously plagues Vampires. It was a means of self-preservation, a constant reminder that they should be sequestered in darkness, not walking within the purview of their mortal opponent, the sun.

Then there was the parasol. Ruby carried the thin, lacy little red thing with her whenever she had to go outside. Its color was faded, its lace frayed, but that (and the full coverage of her body from the neck-down) would be enough to keep her from becoming ash beneath the sun. She was never without it, and claimed to have 'a healthy fear of UV' since her mother had 'died of skin cancer.'

Then it was the random bouts of midnight energy with which she furiously texted Weiss, who had to read and interact with each one for the sake of documentation. After all, what if she accidentally spilled something over text? What if, in her state if post-torpor excitement, she let the mask slip? What if she invited Weiss to a dark alley in the middle of the night? Or made comments on her neck? Or said she smelled good?

Not that Ruby ever actually did those things, but it was the possibility that mattered.

It was for these reasons that, on one overcast Friday, Weiss had invited her quarry to lunch. A late lunch. Something they could do after classes, but something that didn't seem so suspect as a dinner.

"I'll pay," Weiss had told her casually, broaching the topic after she'd woken the girl up near the end of their final class together. She'd shrugged herself off, playing it coy, trying to keep her heart rate down. If Ruby heard her pulse hammer against her chest like it wanted to, she might get suspicious.

But, surprisingly, there had been no convincing. No urging. Ruby, who could literally only drink blood lest she become immediately sick, agreed to the invitation with no hesitation and with an uncanny amount of joy.

"For real?" she had bid excitedly, grabbing the cuff of Weiss' shirt sleeve with unrestrained fervor. Weiss had to fight the urge to shrink.

Her eyes shied away, lip tucking between her teeth. She hadn't expected Ruby to literally jump on the opportunity. Was she thinking that Weiss would be the one on the menu? "Y-yes. Um— yes. Do you… like sandwiches?"

Ruby beamed. "I like anything with friends."

The words? Creepy as hell. The delivery? Well, if it hadn't been from a bloodsucking, parasitic leech, it might've been cute. By someone else's standards. "Okay, um… I'll be honest, I expected some resistance."

Ruby cocked her head. "Hm? Why?"

Weiss mentally hit herself. This was in the bag, literally the only person whose ineptitude could undo the whole thing was herself. "Just— uh, I dunno—" she fumbled for words, heat angrily raging in her cheeks: nervousness, self-shame, and honestly? A non-zero amount of second-hand embarrassment for Ruby's sake. Worse, she could feel how stupid and repugnant her own words were as they came out, but she couldn't possibly stop them. "I just— uh— we're both— uh— girls. It might— it's weird, you know?"

Ruby squinted. Was she suspicious? Or was Weiss making an absolute ass of herself? Actually, the latter was a given. "You… huh? What would be weird about that?"

The heat of her shame made Weiss tug at her collar— who the fuck literally tugs at their collar? "Just— I mean— I— it wouldn't be weird, per se— it— it's, 2024, haha." Never had there been a chuckle as artificial or desperate. "But— just— haha, uh—"

With mercy unbecoming of a denizen of the night, Ruby tugged her sleeve, interrupting her with a snort. Though… were her cheeks less pale? Slightly? Or was it the light? "Weiss, chill. It's not a big deal. What's up with you?"

"N-nothing, it's—"

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the professor's phone rang. Weiss nearly jumped out of her skin, rushing as the professor realized they'd gone over time and started dismissing them.

"I— good luck in your next class!" she blurted out all at once, sweeping her laptop into its carrying case and standing up so fast she nearly passed out. Stupidly, she continued to stammer, "Uh— j-just— text me when! When you're done! With class! I'll pick you up!"

"You have a car?"

But Weiss had already hurried off, mentally and physically slapping herself. Because she was an idiot. An idiot who'd almost ruined her best shot.

Her self-deprecation gave way to a grin that tugged at her cheeks. Almost.

And lo, there had been Ruby. Waiting outside the admin building— the easiest place to be picked up. Weiss pulled her luxury sedan up in front of the girl, who smiled from beneath the shade of her parasol. It was the first time that day Weiss had really noticed what she was wearing: a red summer dress, flaring out below the knees, with a plunging neckline that should be showing something off. Rather, all it had to display was thin black fabric, some kind of black top that stretched up to Ruby's neck and covered her arms with loose sleeves. Altogether, not bad. Weiss was more used to the egregious, overt Gothic styles Vampires were more closely associated with. This was a distant cousin of that.

And something about Ruby was… different. Fuller. Her skin was closer to 'What is the sun?' pale than the usual 'Brushed from the bottom of a chimenea' tone she'd been that morning. Her argent eyes weren't recessed in dark bags. Her lips were more plump, more red, covered in… no, wait, she was wearing makeup. She should've noticed the black wings of her eyeliner first thing. Was Weiss losing her edge?

The girl opened the door. She slipped in, a modest black purse hanging from her arm. Weiss puzzled, "Where's your bag?"

Ruby giggled, her red lips twisted with conspiracy. "I snuck into our first class and left it there."

Weiss did not un-puzzle. "Why are you wording that so… roguishly? You're making it sound like you broke in, or something."

Another giggle— a laugh, actually. Ruby even leaned over and pushed her lightly. "I did! He doesn't stay past two, so I had to pick the lock."

"You… you're joking, right?"

"Nope! Ruby's the name, odd and surprising talents are the game!" She riddled Weiss with a pair of finger-guns. "I can pick locks, build an engine, break clocks— can't fix 'em, sorry, working on that— and, uh… Spanish! I speak Spanish. Kinda."

Weiss blinked. She hadn't even put the car in drive yet. This much she amended, pulling out of the drive without further delay. "You… speak Spanish?" Weiss selected, trying to be strategic in her info-gathering. It might get her a hint on family, therefore lineage. Of course, she doubted Ruby was anything above your standard Vampire, but just the idea of her being from one of the Broods was enough to make Weiss excited.

Ruby nodded fervently. "¡Sí!"

Weiss snorted. "Every American knows sí."

"Claro," Ruby enunciated, her timbre ringing like a bell. "Pero ¿todos los estadounidenses saben esto?"

Weiss shivered. Vowels weren't supposed to sound like that. "Uh… sí. Verdad."

Ruby snorted, smirking with the confidence of a mother tongue. "'Ah… sí, verdad,' y me llama idiota." She faced towards the road, a tiny smile on her bright red lips. "Linda perra."

That was… definitely an insult. Or something. It was the way she rolled the 'r', but she didn't say it like an insult. Affectionately, morelike. "Wow, um… sorry for, uh… underestimating you. You just don't look—"

Internally, there was a little guy in Weiss' head that just smacked his face and went 'aaahhhhh, goddammit.' She managed to shut herself up, but it didn't make that sound any less stupid. Thankfully, Ruby only laughed. "Is it because I'm pale? You know a lot of Spaniards are pale, right? Like, you pale."

Weiss scoffed. "I am not— okay, I'm pretty pale, but you're—" deathly pale would be too on the nose, but it'd already been a quarter of the way past her lips before Weiss stopped herself, making her double back lamely to, "Uh… really pale."

"Your name literally means 'White.' It's apt."

Why the hell did it feel like she was smiling? She wasn't supposed to be. Or, wait, maybe she was? For the ruse? Uh. "I— how would you know?"

Ruby looked at her like she was being dumb. "Because you told me? In middle school?"

"You… remember that?"

Another odd look, one that made Weiss feel vaguely… guilty? She packaged that feeling deep in her gut, stupid as it was. No guilt for the bloodsuckers. At worst, Ruby was trying to manipulate her. At best, she was trying to be her friend— in order to suck her blood.

"Of course I do," Ruby said, just as obviously. "Why wouldn't I?"

And just like that, the guilt was unpacked— because maybe Ruby had been turned during middle school, that would explain why she was gone for the whole of high school, and now Weiss felt like a huge asshole because it's not like it was Ruby's choice to become a monstrous creature of the night! She'd still have to stake her fetid heart out, but now Weiss was gonna feel like a dick!

"Uh… Weiss? You okay? You gonna get out?"

Oh. They'd arrived. Weiss had subconsciously taken them to the deli she liked to visit for lunch. She shook herself out of her thoughts.

Ruby giggled. Weiss was starting to remember that, yes, she'd always been very giggly. "You don't have to feel bad, you know," Ruby eased. "I'm the weird one— I kinda remember, like, everything. You, uh… had a lot of influence on me."

Weiss opened her mouth.

Ruby flapped her hands in front of her face, spluttering, "Uh— thatwasweird— sorry— uh— come on! Sandwiches!"

Something about the way she desperately cried, come on! Sandwiches! made Weiss chuckle, unbidden. At the very least, when she stuck a big hunk of sharpened wood through Ruby's chest, she wouldn't be the only one who'd been at the mercy of an awkward moment.

Ruby ordered a soup— a plain one— and the notion of eating human food seemed to be catching up to her. She stared, fixated on the cup, probably praying that she could pull a Jesus and miracle-ize wine from broth. Weiss couldn't help but smugly deepthroat her own sub, only distantly aware of all the fucking delicious sauce dripping past her stupid slut lips. Which wasn't the way she should be thinking around another human being.

Counterpoint: Ruby wasn't a human, and Weiss didn't spend much time around those anyways.

Convincing herself with basically no effort, Weiss continued doing obscene things to her sandwich while Ruby stared at her soup. The girl's red lips were pursed tight. Her voice came out small, nervous, "Um… Weiss?"

"Ghk— ghurbr?"

Ruby pushed soup around with her plastic spoon. "Is this a date?"

Weiss nearly gagged on her sandwich, but after agonizing through a whole twenty-five chews, she managed to gulp it down. This, unfortunately, meant she now had to actually respond to the Vampire's question. In addition, it placed the notion of 'Dating A Bloodsucking, Murderous Leech' in her forebrain, which was exactly as pleasant as one would expect. She set her sandwich down, constipating over an answer. "Uh…"

Number of dates Weiss Schnee had been on up until that day: 1.

Number of pleasant dates Weiss Schnee had been on up until that day: 0.

Number of dates wherein her date (who shall not be named) (Jaune Arc) (because her father really wanted to try and force a dynastic marriage within Hunter families) had gotten so nervous they choked on their lobster, gagged, and ended up vomiting their half-digested entree and appetizer all over her: could you hazard a guess?

By those standards, was a date with a bloodsucker truly so reprehensible? Is the sky blue? Does the Pope shit in his hat?

"Uh— huuuuuh— sure!" Weiss blurted, managing (only by God's grace) not to extract her pocket knife and conduct an impromptu trepanning. After all, this could be a good opportunity! She could learn more about her prey— er, quarry! "Do you… want it to be?"

Ruby shied away, swirling her soup. She spoke through the side of her mouth, her lips pulled unreadably tight. "I… I guess, uh… yeah?"

A little dot of spicy mayo (who said white people don't season their food?) flew from Weiss' lips, launched by a cough. It landed closer to Ruby's side. Various suicide methods fluttered through Weiss' head— but briefly, because she couldn't kill herself without getting this Vamp first. Uh. Vamp as in Vampire— not a bisexual. Not that she would know. Or, uh— oh, Christ, what the fuck was she about to say— "So, what, aha, you're gay?"

The little guy in Weiss' mind pureed his head by means of blunt impact with the nearest wall-stud.

"I— I mean, not— notthatthere'sanythingwrongwiththat— like— ha, haha— I'm, like— here— on this date— and I'm a gay woman— aha— so— ahaha— uh— like— yeah— uh—"

Weiss was starting to feel the dashes right before they slapped her tongue. She could even hear her own tone cresting dangerously close to 'Disaster Gay Valley Girl', and worse: she was oversharing with a Vampire. When would the Seraphic Gate reopen and swallow her into its holy, ringed shell? There would be no greater mercy in this moment than a sudden Rapture.

And yet, Ruby laughed.

That bi—

"Weiss— Weiss— omigod, Weiss— you—" she snorted. "You are such a— hrrrrrnk—" that was the sound she made when she snorted, very much a hrrrrrnk. "You're so weird!"

Heat clawed up Weiss' throat, and not from her spicy mayo. "Sh-shut up! I am not! I'm a grown woman, I can be—"

Ruby hawed, yelping with laughter, clutching her belly as she rocked back and said, breathlessly, "A grown gay woman— hrrrrrnk—"

The heat was coming up to her eyes, now. "I said— shut! Up!"

The demand was real— with real frustration, through really grit teeth— but Ruby just kept on laughing.

"Fine!" Weiss seethed, bright red, feeling the judgement of every eye in the sandwich shop. "It's not a date, then! If you're going to just laugh at me the whole time!"

Ruby 'heeee'd and 'hoooo'd until she could sit back up straight in her chair, somehow ignorant or uncaring of the axe of social standards being held to their necks. "Oh— oh— W-weiss, I'm— oh, shoot, oh, jeez— I'm kidding. I— phew— I'm kidding, for real. I think it's cute."

Weiss' wrists hit the table. Her mouth curdled into a frown. Her face surely competed with Rudolph for redness. "I am not cute."

Casually, Ruby spooned up soup and stuck it in her mouth. It was a conversational move, done so suddenly and easily that Weiss nearly missed it, but she managed to catch the play. Ruby, with soup in mouth (not on spoon— Weiss looked), swallowed.

Weiss watched her eyelids tighten. She made no other sign of the meal's reprehensibility. "I'd seriously disagree," Ruby seriously disagreed, dropping her spoon back into her cup. "You're super cute. I've, uh… I always kinda thought so."

There was a disgust to being a Vampire's chosen blood-farm— which was inevitably what became of all who pursued such sanguine romance— and the immediate notion of being a drooling thrall to Ruby nearly made the sandwich return undigested like a reversed Jaune-type situation. Guilt, however, flooded Weiss' chest soon after, weighing down the acid reflux beneath thoughts of 'oh, like in middle school,' and 'oh, even though I bullied her,' and 'oh, I wish she'd told me,' before the more awful thoughts of 'but wait, dad would've killed me for that— and her,' and 'oh god, could I have saved her by being closer?' came to take her lungs and throat in their heavy iron grip.

Would she have wanted to save her? If she knew then that Ruby getting turned could be a catalyst for her future as a respected Huntress, would she have stopped it from happening?

Oh, God, was she a really bad person?

"You… um… in middle—"

Ruby coughed. "M-middle school, yeah. When, uh.. "

"I bullied you?"

"N-no!" Ruby frantically denied, hands waving, only for them to shyly fall to the table in front of her. She tapped her fingertips together. With her eyelashes fluttering, gaze kept slightly away, the visual effect was striking.

Broods that relied on attractive appearance and supernatural charm: Adeline, Haruspex, Scarlatine, Winchester.

Weiss focused on the options, narrowing them down to keep her mind focused, uncharmable. Adeline: German, brown eyes and hair (not Ruby). Haruspex: (Roman) Italian, dark hair, green eyes (not Ruby). Scarlatine (anglc. Scarlata): Italian, brown eyes and hair (not Ruby). Winchester was the only one who didn't impart homogeneity upon turning, so they were slightly more likely, but Weiss' gut wasn't telling her that was right. Then again, her gut was also busy tying itself in knots with the way Ruby's gaze slowly turned to her, begging her to say something, so it couldn't really be trusted.

She realized Ruby was still talking— very quietly, abashed— and tuned back in to hear her mumble, "...so I guess, l-like my dad used to tell me, when boys— when they pull your hair, it means they like you? So I guess it was like— like you pulling my hair? Or—"

Weiss tuned out. Even if she seemed innocent enough— even if she was innocent, doing it without intent— the girl was definitely affecting Weiss with some kind of passive charm; it was hard to steer her mind away from what 'pulling my hair' forcibly inspired. Finishing the sandwich helped. Eventually, she tuned back in.

"...so now I'm here! I'm still paying rent to my dad, but I've basically got the whole place to myself!"

Weiss hooked onto 'paying', disguising her suspicion with a genuinely curious tone. "You have a job?"

Ruby cocked her head. "Um… yeah? I told you I worked at the— hey, wait, were you not listening?" She crossed her arms, frowning. Another part of her passive charm— the look affected 'grumpy puppy' to a degree that was borderline dangerous.

"O-of course I was," Weiss lied, caught red-handed, turning red-cheeked. Again. This much blood movement couldn't be good for her, especially around a Vampire.

Ruby turned up her nose, silver eyes glaring down petulantly at her 'date'. "Oh, yeah? Where do I work, then?"

The local blood bank? The hospital? Graveyard? Too on-the-nose. Too obvious— even for an obviously evil Vampire. "Uh… the café?"

Ruby tensed, chin falling to look straight-on at Weiss once more. "Oh. Sorry. Um…" she rubbed her arms. "I thought you were lying. Sorry."

Utmost control, honed from years of physical and mental training, kept Weiss from raising her eyebrows. "Serves you right," she said, leaning back with a huff— couldn't seem too obviously appeasing. "Though I will admit, I did forget the actual name of the place."

Ruby was far too chipper, and not nearly suspicious enough. Confident in her own strength? Unworried about potential dangers?

(Or just a normal girl victim to Weiss' desperate confirmation bias?)

"The campus café, dummy!" Ruby supplied, making a 'knock-knock, anyone home?' gesture towards Weiss' head.

Weiss puzzled. "Wait, how're you working at the campus café if we just started?"

Now Ruby actually frowned, all mirth and trust falling from her painted face. Her silver eyes went to dull, stormy grey, anger tightening her features before something else unsettled them. Disappointment? Or normal sadness? "You… weren't really listening, were you." It wasn't a question, and the pained tone in her voice punched Weiss in the heart. "I guess I was rambling. I know I can be… a lot. Annoying. Sorry." She looked away, dejection rolling off her in waves. "I just thought, 'oh she's looking right at me and everything, she must be listening,' but… you just didn't want to hurt my feelings."

Weiss opened her mouth. Ruby stood up, pushing her chair back with a loud scrape that tore through the Huntress' burgeoning objections.

Ruby winced at her own noise, her posture walling up completely. "S-sorry. I… I live nearby. I don't need a ride."

She tried reaching after the girl. "Ruby—"

Ruby whirled, spinning away from Weiss' outstretched hand. She only met her gaze for a second. "It's fine— I'm just— I'm overreacting. I know I am, I do it a lot, but— but, really, I'm fine— I'm just gonna go— I'm—" she sniffled. Why, God, did she have to sniffle?

Weiss rose, but Ruby hastily covered her face and started pushing out of the deli, panic-attack hyperventilation audible.

Breathing. Audible.

Because she was breathing.

Because she needed to breathe. Because she was human.

Of all fucking things, Weiss hadn't kept track of the fucking breathing. The most baseline thing, she'd ignored— or she'd deliberately neglected, just so she could convince herself this poor, sick girl was a fucking Vampire!

And… and it was Ruby Rose, the girl she knew from middle school, the only person she could've ever called her friend, even if she'd treated her like shit! She was— she was the fucking worst! All because she wanted to, what, murder the girl? What if she'd kept going? What if she'd gotten Ruby where she wanted her, concocted enough of her own bullshit, deluded herself fully until it was just them, alone, and Weiss had a big sharpened table-leg— just for the innocent human being's heart? Now who was the monster?

Weiss stood there, stunned, until she realized she had squandered any hope of chasing Ruby down and apologizing. The guilt hollowed her, numbing from the face to the fingertips. She barely felt herself leave a tip for causing a scene. She ran a red light on the way home, she was so absent.

Once in bed, fully clothed, she laid on her back and stared at the ceiling, running the situation ragged inside her mind, wracking over every misstep. She didn't sleep. The sun rose. When she got out of bed, she wanted only one thing:

A cup of coffee.

"Hey, whatcanIgetfor… you…"

Weiss stared at the girl at the register. The Ruby Rose at the register. The Ruby Rose at the register, wearing a black t-shirt, grey compression sleeves covering up to her wrists in the layer beneath. Her apron was a dark brown, like coffee. Her hair was tied in a tuft at the back, strands framing the sides of her face. She had a black baseball cap on. She was back to having ashen tones. She was back to looking like…

Like a sick girl who hadn't slept.

"I—" Weiss' voice cracked on the first syllable. The following croak didn't make much of an improvement. "I'm sorry. Can I have a coffee?"

Ruby eyed her, suspecting, but she didn't storm off to the back— progress. "What can I get for you." she repeated like a robot, each syllable and the period audible.

"Coffee. Big." Weiss made a big motion with her hands. Ruby raised one dark brow at the gesticulation. "And— uh— bref," she added, hoping to impress Ruby with her knowledge of fancy coffee terminology.

Ruby blinked. "What?"

Weiss blinked, now feeling like an alien trying to communicate. Or just a very dumb person. "Bref. The— the milk. Um— I mean cream."

"Breve?" she said, in the same way a very tired person would say 'are you genuinely fucking stupid?'

"Um. Yes, please."

Ruby nodded, tapping the POS screen. "Breve latte, large, you want any flavors or anything?"

God, Weiss barely drank coffee at home, much less at the campus café. "What…ever's good?" she eked out nervously, feeling simultaneously dead on her feet and anxiously cross-wired.

"'Whatever's good'," Ruby repeated, sarcastic, adding under her breath, "Dame gracias cuando escupo en él."

Weiss clutched desperately at straws. "S-sí. Verdad."

Ruby had been moving her hands on the screen, probably finalizing the order, but Weiss' little joke gave her pause. Her finger hovered over something. She pursed her lips.

After a moment's pause, Ruby tapped a couple more things and turned around, marching to the bar. "W-wait," Weiss called after her, making Ruby stop and give her a dead glare. "What… how much is it?"

Ruby waved her off and continued stomping towards the bar, offering only a "Forget it" before she swapped places with the other coworker making drinks— a very ginger girl whose nametag said 'Penny'. Weiss watched Ruby work.

"Oooh, did you make her mad?" Penny whispered, leaning over the bar, her presence making Weiss jump.

"Don't you have other…" Weiss looked around, and no. It was just her. To be fair, it was early. "Why do you care?"

Penny giggled. "Cuz I've never seen her look like someone had made her mad. And man, is it obvious."

The ginger girl pointed surreptitiously at Ruby, who was shooting syrup into a cup like it owed her money. Weiss cringed. "It's none of your business," she mumbled, crossing to the handout end of the bar. It was far too early for interrogations.

Weiss watched her work for a few moments. She seemed to be finishing the last few drinks on a big ticket, with Weiss' next.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Weiss decided to lead with. "It was really shitty. I just—" 'was focused on finding ways to convince myself you were a Vampire' "Zoned out. I'm sorry."

Ruby spared her a glance. A short one. "I'm mad at you right now. Stay here with your drink. Not much longer on my shift."

Well, that was certainly better than what Weiss deserved, considering her original intentions. As such, she waited for her drink, which only took a couple more minutes to be presented her way. Weiss snatched it out of Ruby's hands. Her parasympathetic nervous system made her drop it. Because it was hot as balls.

"Shi—"

Ruby caught it, the drink falling into her unworried palm as if she'd predicted it.

Weiss looked up, searching for a smug 'that's what you get' on the girl's face. She got a look of unease instead. "S-sorry," Ruby said, swiftly slipping a sleeve around the hot paper cup. "That was petty. You— you don't deserve that. Sorry."

"I mean, I, uh—" Weiss took her drink back. "I do. Deserve it. Sorry about yesterday."

Ruby shooed her away. "Go sit."

"Oh." Weiss scowled, having a real, cohesive thought. "I have a class."

Ruby went back to making drinks. "Don't go to it."

"But—"

Hands moving with their own independent deftness, Ruby flashed Weiss a look. Judging by that look, it would be smarter to fellate an active combine harvester than to go to her class. Weiss shuffled to one of the plush, lonesome chairs, folded herself up in it, and drank.

The latte was actually really good. Caramel. And/or mocha. And the foamy part might have been salted? At the very least, it was a tasty consolation. Oh, and free. Wait, did that mean Ruby bought her a drink?

"—ey."

Something nudged Weiss' foot. She did not care to address it; the world was too good— the world where Weiss was a little bird tucked in her warm nest.

"Hee-ey."

Was it 7th grade again? Was she breaking all the lead in Ruby's mechanical pencils again? Was Ruby begging her to replenish her stocks of graphite again? Was she going to look at her with those big, watery eyes again?

"Mm— muh?"

Weiss' lids broke their seal. The world insisted itself upon her retinas— offensive, bright, her only island of visual respite being the dark-garbed form before her. She let her gaze rest there, taking in the easing darkness, awakening with all the haste of a dead cat.

"Get up," the shape suggested. "Philosophy."

Weiss cared not for philosophizing, nor getting any kind of way that uncoiled her from the perfection of her curled-up body. If she disturbed the stillness, she knew her spine would have words.

"You wanna sleep in the café all day, alone? Right next to all your stuff? I already had to throw something at a guy trying to pinch your bag."

This motivation was insignificant.

The shape sighed. "Also, you spilled coffee all over your shirt."

This motivation was not.

Weiss thrust herself into the pitiless, waking world, stretching out her top to behold… nothing. She was fine. She wasn't even wearing a shirt, it was a dress today. Fresh from slumber, she looked up at Ruby with innocent confusion— the kind you have when someone makes a mistake you thought far below them. Ruby pursed her lips obviously.

Now that Weiss could perceive properly again, she beheld Ruby in her full form: post-work, black t-shirt over grey sleeves, black… sweatpants? No, they were a different material, More like joggers in shape, covered in pockets.

"Why're you wearing scrub pants?"

Weiss' voice was a surprise to herself— croaking, unlubricated. She coughed. Ruby looked down at her own legs, then up at Weiss. "Why're you wearing a dress?"

The energy between them was different, now, as if the air were being forced in from another place. A tenser place. Almost competitive? "I… um…" Weiss sat up and stretched, feeling heat climb to her face— a predilection towards falsehood rising with it— but she squashed the knee-jerk reaction to lie. "I didn't sleep— and I wanted to look nice, since, um— well I wasn't going back to sleep, so I spent all morning planning an outfit."

She stood, slowly moving to grab her stuff, probably failing to hide that it was basically just a way to show herself off to Ruby. Which was weird, once she thought about it: 'sorry for being an asshole, please accept my apology, my apology is looking pretty for you.'

She hoped it was pretty, at least. The ice-grey dress was quite a fucking bit shorter than she'd remembered, and the mock bolero felt ten times more revealing. Or was that because she was showing off (apologizing) specifically for Ruby?

Ruby's gaze didn't last as long as Weiss wanted it to. She barely even looked at her legs. Who the fuck doesn't look at her legs? She did sports! Her legs were amazing!

Weiss tried not to look too aggrieved as she shouldered her laptop bag. "But… um… you also… look nice."

A dark eyebrow raised. "These are my work clothes."

"Well, they're… nice."

It wasn't a lie— Weiss found the look to be oddly dashing, handsome, at least compared to yesterday's prettier, cuter ensemble. Ruby didn't seem to believe her, and turned towards the exit.

She didn't beckon Weiss to follow as she made for the door, but Weiss followed nonetheless. She figured staying was not the correct play, right then. Weiss' choice granted her a sidelong glance from Ruby's silver eyes, and this time the look held relief rather than frustration. Point for Weiss.

She wanted the high score.

"I'm— Ruby, I'm so sorry about— about yesterday, I— I was really, uh— I was in my own head and— and— um— I just— I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm sorry. I know it was— I— it was the first date— the first date I've ever wanted to go on. I really hope I didn't ruin it— or— I mean— I did ruin it, I just hope you can, um…"

God. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, grant this poor gay creature some strength.

Ruby deserved her prayers instead— at least she granted mercy.

"Forgive you?"

Weiss looked at her. She could feel how pathetic of a look it was— eyes beady, pouting lip— and Ruby's lips twisted up tight in response. Silver twinkled, mischievous.

"Pobrecita," Ruby drawled, a smile creeping into her voice as she dragged out the last half of the word. She held out the crook of her elbow like a gentleman. "Fine. If you promise."

Was it normal to be this bold and charming to someone you're angry at? Or was Ruby really—

Weiss blinked hard, shaking the thought out before it could gestate and taking the girl's arm. Ruby escorted her to their class like she was a fine dame— and she didn't even have to know she was technically a literal Dame to do it! Her spirits rose. Her ego made liftoff. Weiss Schnee was a bird with prospects: she preened the whole way to class, preened the whole time she sat next to Ruby, preened every time the girl snuck a coy look at her. If she had feathers, she'd be the most fuckably-feathered biped to ever breathe air.

It was as though she'd found the counter to the oppressive reign of heliocentrism: herself. She was the center of everything. All things revolved around her. Wei… Weelio… Schneeliocentrism. Copernicus could suck eggs.

It was like being in a time vortex— or the shower without music— Weiss couldn't even focus on class. Or the time. She was busy. She had Rubies to do. Things. Things to Ruby about. Think. Thinks to… Ruby… to…

It was all roses. And coffee. Coffee and roses, and roses and coffee. Her sinuses were full of the smell. Throat full of the air. She gulped heaving, greedy, desperate breaths— took everything she could.

She smells so good.

Ruby had such marvelous eyes. They really were silver, time's toll on them inverse to the rest of her— stormy greys from middle school now polished hydrargyrum. They sparkled whenever Weiss looked at her.

Keep looking at me. Please.

Her hair was such a velvety black, its red highlights so much more visible than they'd been in middle school. It fell just past her chin, slightly longer in the front— spiky, jagged, uneven, but looking so fluffy. The impulse to touch it was physical. The impulse to touch her was physical.

She's so… pretty.

When she noticed Ruby's nails were painted, she couldn't stop looking at them— black and red, alternating. Trimmed short and neat. Something rose up from her memory, like a figure in mist that'd been too obscured before: Ruby used to chew her nails as a habit. To get her to stop, Weiss had painted them for her. Angrily. Angrily painted her nails. Huffing and complaining the whole time. She'd told her, 'Eat the paint, I dare you,' which had been a good enough deterrent that Ruby took up the habit of preventative decoration herself.

And look at her now. Her perfect nails. Painted so well— such a good choice of color, too.

She has nice fingers.

Ruby was so kind. She was so good. She even walked Weiss off campus after their last class together, even though Weiss had more. Weiss didn't want more classes. She wanted more Ruby.

And the perfect place to get that? This dark alleyway! God. Ruby's so thoughtful.

The alley was cold. It was a windy day, so there was a nasty wind tunnel. Weiss hadn't brought a jacket. Ruby put her against the brick wall and pressed close to block the wind. The wall was cold. Ruby wasn't warm. Was she supposed to be?

Weiss squirmed. "R-Ruby—"

Ruby put her dead-rose lips to Weiss'. The contact was brief— a flashbang, blinding her in a flash of petal-soft feeling. Even with the kiss gone, she could feel those lips on hers, nerves pulsing again and again, reminding her. Ruby's eyes were an ocean of mercury, pupils focused pinpricks, lids wide. She had the look of a panicked mistake.

Weiss buckled against the wall. Ruby held her up easily, arm looping around her waist. Her voice came like there was a wall between them.

"Oh— oh God— ow— uh— shoot. Um. Weiss? Weiss, are you okay? Crap— crapcrapcrap—" her head darted left and right, searching the alley. "S-shit."

That was… weird. Four-letter words didn't suit the girl. Weiss blinked twice, then groaned as a headache stabbed into the back of her head— a Trotskyan pain. The migraine made her vision blur. "Urg—"

With the film of pain over her vision, Weiss could only see Ruby frantically shaking her head. "No, no, nonono— uh— not yet, not yet!"

Weiss was jostled, pulled forward off the wall, chest bumping chest. She lowed with motion sickness, then whined as her head and sinuses exploded with pain anew.

"I— I'm sorry!"

Weiss' mouth was besieged again, this time with inchastity. The lips on hers pried them apart, arm tightening painfully around her waist. A tongue plunged into her mouth.

It was cold. The tongue was cold. The mouth was cold, the lips cold, the body cold— Ruby cold because she was a cold, dead Vampire who'd sucked her into a charm off Weiss' new, false sense of security!

Migraine raging, Weiss bit down on the appendage invading her mouth, making Ruby yelp and back away on instinct. Weiss took care to spit out the girl's blood as she started thrashing in Ruby's arms, meeting resistance, and gripped at her biceps to push herself away. Ruby didn't let her go, so Weiss scratched. She scratched at her arms, tearing the sleeves, catching something in her fingers— something cold, but uniquely cold.

Weiss couldn't see it, but she could feel it and she could hear Ruby gasp as she touched it. Weiss yanked. At the sound of tearing paper, Ruby yelped. The surprise made her let her prey go.

Weiss pushed off, stumbling back on shaky legs, whimpering at the migraine. It was an invasion of anguish hammered in from the back of her brain, piercing straight to the front of her nasopharynx like a blind man's leucotomy. Tears welled in her eyes, then fell down her cheeks with traitorous independence. Needing something, anything, else to think about, she regarded the thing in her fingers.

It was a little parchment scroll, two fingers thick, about as long as her index finger. Ripped at the top. Covered In dark scrawlings— but the color of the darkness was decidedly inert; some part of her just felt that the black should be blacker, marbled with red tones. She looked at Ruby. Ruby hadn't moved. From one of the rips in her sleeve, right shoulder, a matching piece of torn parchment fluttered.

A talisman. But Ruby hadn't changed. She still looked Vampiric (how had she fallen for the fucking guilt trip!), but talismans don't just do nothing. It had to do something, and Ruby had to be angry about it.

Weiss scrambled, diving for a nearby pile of refuse. She found a beer bottle, smashed it, menaced Ruby with…

Ruby stared back at her, wide-eyed, shriveling into herself. She looked at Weiss as if she had a gun pointed her way— a gun that shoots stakes. When Weiss took a cautious step towards her, Ruby scrunched up her eyes and yelped, "I'm sorry!"

Weiss stopped.

Ruby continued to splutter, "I'm sorry! I— I really like you, I didn't mean to charm you! I swear! I thought— I thought you'd be resistant to the passive, but I didn't— I underestimated myself! I'm sorry!"

Weiss scowled, squinting hard to shut out the world around her and Ruby, trimming out everything else her brain could focus on. It made the migraine almost bearable. She stepped closer, jabbing the bottle in Ruby's direction. "You… thought I would… what?"

"You're a Huntress, aren't you? Weiss Schnee?"

It wasn't delivered as some malicious unveiling, but Weiss bristled anyways, growling.

Ruby was frantic in her response. "I— I didn't stalk you, I promise! It's just— when you're like— like me— you learn that kind of thing and suddenly, 'hey wouldya lookit that, your best friend is gonna hate you! Better move out of state so you don't hurt her!'"

"I am resistant to charms," Weiss objected, seething through her teeth, even though speech was something that made her want to seek migraine therapy via guillotine.

"Well, mine are bad, okay! I can't help it, they're strong! Especially when—" she cut herself off, starting again. "L-look, Weiss, we can… we can forget about this. I'm sorry I charmed you— I really am, I am so sorry— and— and I'm sorry I tried to re-charm you, but I was panicking! I thought you'd realize you're in an alley with a monster and you'd end up getting hurt! But— but here we are, I guess!" Her laugh was weak. She eyed the broken bottle. "Please, just… just calm down. I need you, Weiss."

"You just need my blood," Weiss asserted, making another couple of strides towards Ruby. "You leech— you parasite— you— you— you lying bitch—"

She lunged for Ruby, thrusting with her bottle, but the Vampire skittered just out of range. Luck's just favor threw a bottle behind Ruby's retreating feet, making her fall back fully onto her ass. She raised up her hands to Weiss, pleading, "Weiss, wait! Please!"

Weiss did not wait, and thrust with her bottle. She found purchase in Ruby's left carpals, glass piercing undead flesh until the resistance of meat stopped her. She tried to pull back, but Ruby gripped her wrist.

Weiss met her eyes, expecting fury. Bloodlust. The smug triumph of a predator with prey in their maw.

She found pain. Teary pain. Hissing, whimpering, squeaking pain— crying— the Vampire was crying, thin trickles of red creeping down her cheeks. "W-Weiss, please—" she begged, grimacing. "I— I can explain, I'm— n-not— a Vampire!"

The words were a speed bump in Weiss' pounding head. She couldn't ignore them, but she needed to— the girl had charmed her once, there was no way this wasn't just a ploy— but why wasn't she healing? Why wasn't she closing her grip, pressing Weiss' wrist into dust? Why did Weiss not feel compelled to flee?

"I s-swear," Ruby continued, voice breaking with haggard breaths. Why the hell was she still breathing? "I'm not!"

Crying tears, but breathing. Strong grip, but not crushing. And the pain— could she be faking this much pain?

"P-please, Wei—"

"Quiet," Weiss hissed. "I'm trying to think."

The pain was still abundantly visible, but Ruby's grimace managed to lift in a hopeful little grin. "Think about… not killing me?"

Weiss glared at her. "What are you, then."

Ruby looked away, her tight smile fading. "W-well— look, I… I am… kinda a Vampire."

Weiss tense—

"But not! Not… yet, at least."

"I should kill you now, then."

Half her face tight with pain, Ruby turned one argent eye to Weiss— a cautiously probing look. "Would you kill a Hitler baby?"

"What?" Weiss scoffed. "Yeah. Obviously. It's Hitler."

Ruby seemed surprised. "O-oh…"

Absurdly, Weiss found herself chuckling as the question rang in her head. "L-like, Ruby. Come on. It's Hitler. I'd do a touchdown celebration."

The Vampire cringed. "That's… graphic."

"Almost as graphic as what I'm going to do to you."

Ruby's gaze quickly fled, the girl becoming frantic again. "Um— p-please don't! I have a dog to take care of!"

Weiss, who very much had been fixing to follow through, stiffened. She squinted. Her lips curled. "Bullshit."

"I do!" Ruby whined, collapsing forward, bringing more slow, dark red blood around the glass in her hand. "I'm— I'm serious! I can show you! I've got pictures!"

Weiss sneered. "Old pictures of an old, dead dog— one you probably ate."

"I wouldn't eat Zwei! I love him!"

"This is an appeal to ethos."

"Pathos!" Ruby wept. "Pathos, because I love my dog and it'd be mean to—"

Weiss ripped the bottle out. The wet squelch of glass evacuating meat would have been disheartening, only if the anguish of it had been inflicted on a sweet, adorable, human girl. Not a disgusting Vampiric wretch.

"Shi— oot!"

Weiss' palms itched at her cry. Ruby relinquished her wrist.

"Ow— ow ow! God! Friggin— ow! Glass— agh!"

Weiss folded her arms, tapped her foot.

Ruby tried picking shards out of her hand, but whimpered like a struck dog at each one. The bottle-wielding Huntress sneered— sneered hard, sneered so hard it felt like her philtrum would collapse wholesale and her upper lip would lodge itself in her nostrils— but eventually sagged with a huge, stupid sigh. Huge and stupid— like the mistake she was about to make.

"Dry your eyes, thing. Your wounds will heal."

Finally, Ruby gave her a look that expressed some amount of frustration— a mere narrowing of the lids, but still. "I. Can't." she seethed through her teeth. "If you'd listen, that's what I've been saying. I'm not a freakin' Vampire!"

"That's not what you've been saying!" Weiss protested. "You've been saying 'kinda,' or 'yet,' or a million other vague additives that make me think you're trying to dupe me! Again!"

Ruby's expression collapsed— more than physical pain, now— regret, or sadness, or longing, or something else there your eyebrows go up and your whole face sags. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I can't help it, okay! I'm— I'm special!"

'I'm special.'

Weiss stared at the girl. The thing. Leech. Parasite. Mosquito.

'Well I'm more than that— I'm special!'

'Nobody's special.'

'Mama said I'm special!'

'Your mother's the least special person there is.'

Bloodsucker. Cannibal. Blight. Cancer.

'Shut up, Rupert.'

'Stop calling me that.'

'Sorry. Ruben.'

'You're just jealous because your name isn't special.'

'Mine is literally German. That's more special by default.'

'Yeah but Ruby's better.'

"Did your dead mom tell you that?'

'She's not dead! And no. It's from my dad.'

'Whoop-dee-do, your dad loves you. Dangle it over my head, you freaking asshole.'

'You're the friggin' asshole.'

'Ugh. Don't even, Rose.'

Weiss let the bottle fall to her side. Keeping Ruby in her peripheral, she glanced towards the mouth of their alleyway. It was overcast. Smelled like rain, too, beneath the dank rot of alley trash. She mumbled under her breath, "Christ, I can't believe…"

"W-what?" Ruby beckoned, still on the dirty ground, still bleeding, still pathetic.

She dismissed the broken bottle, letting it tumble to the side. "Come on," she urged the bleeding abomination, waving dismissively at her hand. "And fix that."

Ruby gave her a strained grin. "I seriously can't."

"Ugh. Then take off your shirt."

"W-Weiss—".

"Your overshirt, you idiot. Hide your hand with it so it doesn't seem like I've assaulted you."

"I mean… you did."

"Shut up," the Huntress growled. "Shirt. Now."

"Why?"

"I just told you."

"Yeah, but… why?"

Weiss scowled at the girl. The thing. "Because, Ruby Rose, I'm taking you to the Schnee Estate."

"But my dog—"

Weiss whirled around, her glare demanding silence. "For Christ's sake, shut up! We're getting the fucking dog on the way! God! I wouldn't… do that." She huffed. "To the dog."

Ruby looked up at her with far too much light in her eyes. "Really?"

"Ruby."

Ruby quickly started squirming in her shirt, trying to get it off without disturbing her cut-up hand. She failed completely. Hesitantly, Weiss helped her scoot the shirt off her body, then wrapped it around the offending appendage. She escorted Ruby back to campus, to her car. She opened the trunk. Ruby looked at her.

"Well?" Weiss said obviously, nodding towards the space. "What, you think I'm letting one of you sit right behind me?"

Ruby winced, but clambered into the trunk without any verbal complaint. Weiss locked her in. She started the car.

From the back seat, the center console popped down. A needy voice came through, "Uh, Weiss? Do you need my address?"

"Yeah. Obviously."

"Well don't go 'obviously' after you locked me in the trunk— where you wouldn't be able to hear me— without asking where I live."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Get back in there and sit still like a good victim."

Ruby rattled off her address first, making sure to ask Weiss twice if she got it ("Sweet Christ, Ruby— yes! I got it!") before ducking back into the trunk where corpses and good girls belong. Weiss frowned, and quickly belted out a few Hail Marys for being a freak.