-Crack, Recoil, Crack-

Dolt.

Svelte fingers wrung around parched leather, palms ground into the rim of the steering wheel.

Weiss swallowed and looked at the two-story suburban home, lopsided sneer directed at the farthest window from the driveway.

Going to be late. Again.

It didn't matter to Weiss; crutches or not, a proper education should be met with appropriate attendance and unbroken attention… a combination of social graces that one Miss Ruby Rose seemed to lack in bulk.

It's been two weeks, you can't keep guilt tripping me into picking up your slack, you bum.

The rant was met with little cooperation on the part of her sense of empathy and fair play. As much as she was loathed to admit it, she owed Ruby a debt far greater than she knew she could repay… and for a girl with almost unlimited funding, that was saying quite a bit.

Her palm hovered over the center of the wheel, the heel's arch ready to strike the horn, frustration brewing over into action. With what will she could muster she pulled the hand back and balled her fist. Rushing a girl on crutches was below her, even if it would end up delaying her return to school.

Patience is often rewarded far after it has been exercised but in this instance Weiss was allowed almost immediate gratification. The door of the house exploded open, a lurching and uncoordinated form bouncing from the frame. The shape was almost quadrupedal, two long metal struts insulated by a scurrying leg and a parallel, unmoving foot. All of this was nothing compared to the red sweat jacket that drew the eye, its form pinned tight to the owner's body by black pack straps. Normally appalled at such a display of clumsy behavior, the only two feelings Weiss could muster were concern and guilt, both coming to light as soon as a pair of silver, twinkling eyes met her own.

Ruby didn't deserve what happened to her, and that only made the heiress feel worse.

The speedster lumbered around the other side of the car, gracelessly opening the passenger side door and sliding a mesh of herself, her crutches and her backpack into the front seat. Weiss winced as the padded tops of the girl's crutches bounced hard against the ceiling of her sports car. Had this been a week prior Weiss would have been offered to help the other girl into the car, almost lowering herself to the level of servant in the process of preventing the track star from denting the material above them. After a series self-justifications from her passenger she'd relented and allowed Ruby to do the job on her own.

"Sorrysorrysorrysorry…" Ruby blathered, calloused hands scrambling to close the door. "We ran out of cereal this morning so I actually had to cook something up, and I have a presentation today so I figured I'd need the energy, and dad wasn't being any help, so I thought mayb-"

Weiss raised a single hand and halted the verbal tirade.

"Ruby, you're doing that thing again," the heiress explained, putting the car in reverse.

"…the rambling thing…?"

The car began to inch backwards, Weiss' eyes locked on the mirrors as she pulled out.

"Precisely."

With a twist of the steering wheel they were facing straight ahead on the road. Weiss quickly pushed the car into drive.

"Oh… Sorry," came Ruby's meek reply. The car lurched forward, Weiss sighing as they finally got under way.

"Stop apologizing you dolt. Its fine, okay?" the driver snapped back, eyes straining to stay on the road. "Where's your first class this morning?"

The question was met with a throaty giggle.

"Weiss, at this rate you'd think you'd know my schedule like the back of my hand," Ruby cackled. "We only have two alternating schedules; it shouldn't be that hard for you to memorize, Miss Smarty-pants."

Weiss' cheeks flared in response. Her fingers strangled the wheel.

"Well, excuse me for paying more attention to rushing and getting to school on time than I do where I constantly have to park. I have barely enough time to get to my own classes when I finally park, let alone to think," she snapped.

Almost immediately regret set in, followed closely by a noticeable silence coming from the passenger seat. Weiss furrowed her brows, chest like a board being nailed to concrete. Her mouth opened, tongue resting uncomfortably against her teeth.

"R-Ruby, I'm sorry, I…"

"If you wanted me to walk you could have just asked you know…"

Weiss almost slammed down the breaks at the comment. Her guilt was replaced rather rapidly with burgeoning fury.

"Are you joking?" she shrieked. "No way in hell are you walking all the way to school on crutches; you're lucky as is you'll be able to save your running career, don't you dare tempt fate!"

The car fell silent again as the duo approached a stop sign. A quick glance at the clock told Weiss that there'd be almost no way for her or Ruby to make it to first period on time. With a sigh she wheeled the car off to the side, finding a nice place under a tree at the suburban curb. Her knuckles began to resemble a blank canvas with how desperately she was squeezing the wheel.

"Look… Ruby…" Weiss started, eyes falling to the side. "I… I'm sorry, really, I am. After everything that happened…" She managed to look over at the track star, only barely keeping a stream of tears at bay, "I don't want to see you hurt anymore than you already have to. It's the least I can do. I just… don't know how to show it, so please be patient with me…"

Ruby let out a lengthy breath before a series of emotions attacked her face. Ultimately, she smiled and gave Weiss a teary-eyed nod, "It's okay. I'm grateful, really… I guess I'm just not very good at showing it either, now am I?" The chuckle played at Weiss' ears and her moment of emotional exhaustion was swept away in a comfortable lilt.

"You were just trying to make a joke," Weiss replied, shaking her head with a growing smile. "I guess I'm just too tightly wound to deal with your sense of humor. It's on me, regardless."

A warm hand cupped over her own.

"No, silly, it's on both of us. I know you well enough to know that you like to take things seriously…" Ruby rectified. "We were both in the wrong, so let's leave it at that, okay?"

Ruby was touching her again. The palm above her hand was a bizarre presence, one that Weiss had only just started getting used to. It didn't take a genius to notice how physically affectionate Ruby was naturally, but normally she'd been wise enough to keep her fingers away from the ice queen. Ever since the incident, however, that caution had seemed to wane, and Weiss hadn't seemed fit to rebuke the small little touches. She figured that Ruby needed it after what happened.

She also couldn't deny the warm tingling that laced up skin every time they came in contact.

"Thanks, Ruby…" Weiss finally replied, her mind finally coming to a calm. She allowed herself a small smile, "But I'll have you know, I joke about plenty of things," Weiss scoffed.

"Oh really?" Ruby rolled her eyes, squeezing the heiress' hand, "Like what?"

"Like-," Weiss started. A clang came from their left, both girls turning to find a man wrestling with several metal garbage cans. "Like…" she tried to continue. Again, she was interrupted as the man slammed down another trashcan. "L-like…" Another clang and Weiss flinched. The air prickled around her, filled with shrapnel and hellfire, the oxygen distorting as bullets broke the sound barrier. Her fingers flew to her ears, scrambling at the openings, trying to shut them to drown out the sound of gunpowder and demons that assaulted her hearing. Yells surrounded her, black, inky shapes all closing in to get her. Her arms were heavy, legs like lead, her throat raw from screaming.

There was a flash of red and she was warm, safe and sound in her car. Her eyes slowly unhinged, finding her face buried into the collar of their school's uniform. Two soft, supple hands held her own, helping block out the noise. Gentle coos rumbled through the throat she'd been pressed up against, a light rocking easing the tension in her back.

Weiss sucked in another breath of air before letting it go.

"Shhh… It's okay now Weiss, everything's okay…"

Ruby's voice. A calming voice. Warm hands. Warm body. Warm heart.

You don't deserve this.

Weiss shuddered and retreated from the hold, though she did it gradually as to not scare Ruby into thinking she'd done something wrong. That'd happened during the first episode and Ruby's guilty eyes had only compounded the confusion and fear in its wake.

This made her even gladder to see those soft, understanding and caring eyes staring back down at her, uneven smile gracing the girl's features. Weiss swallowed and pushed Ruby's hands away, resting her own back on the steering wheel.

"I-I… I want to get to school…" Weiss finally mouthed, trembling. Out of the corner of her vision she caught Ruby's hand reaching for her arm, though the other girl found it prudent to retract a few seconds later.

"Are you still okay to drive?" Ruby asked.

Weiss fought the shake running through her arms and grit her teeth.

"Of course I am, dolt!" Weiss growled. Another breath and the two were back on the road.

Silence reigned again, the minutes passing until the school proper came into view. It was at this point Ruby spoke up again.

"I'll be fine being dropped off in the circle… Weiss, I think you should go to the nurse before heading to class. Your teacher'll understand, I'm sure."

Weiss swallowed, one finger tapping at her steering wheel.

"I'll be fine," she replied, turning on her turn signal as they approached the inlet.

She could see Ruby staring at her, naïve eyes unconvinced.

"Are you sure?"

No.

"Yes, Ruby, I'm sure." The car slid smoothly into the school's roundabout, Ruby collecting her things and hopping out the door, briefly balancing on a single crutch to align them both properly. She gave one more glance back at Weiss, smile fading.

"Okay, Weiss… I'll see you in physics, alright?"

Weiss managed a small smile in return, desperate to try and see Ruby's face light up with genuine elation.

"I'll be there dummy, you don't need to worry about me," she replied smoothly. "You're probably already late for your presentation anyway, so get going."

A more authentic grin appeared on Ruby's face, though more wry than joyous, "That's not until sixth period, you don't need to worry about me, either Princess."

Weiss gave a small chuckle, though she knew that most of it was forced. Her face fell again just as Ruby was finally turning to leave.

"Ruby…"

"Huh?"

The crimson girl turned around, brow quirked.

"Why… why did you save me?"

And there it was. That stare. The same stare that had met her every single morning, right after she asked that question. A stare of terror, a stare of shock, a stare empty of meaning but speaking volumes in a glimmer of a second. Perhaps it wasn't as distinct as it had first been, Ruby had heard the question several times over the last two weeks, and even before that while she was recovering in the hospital. It was only there for a fraction of a moment now, but its existence still persisted.

"Because it was the right thing to do," she replied with a practiced smile. "See ya in class, Weiss!"

And with that the girl turned and limped her way into the school, the car door closing as she went.

Weiss stared at the retreating girl, brow knit.

She put the car in drive and crept her way to the school's parking lot. Finding her space she shifted into park, switching off the engine soon after.

Weiss tightened her fingers against the wheel, rested her head against the leather, and cried.

\\V/

Weiss ended up going to the infirmary anyway.

Or, at least, what was left of it. The attack on the school hadn't been particularly kind to it, leaving it a shell draped in plastic tarps and duct tape.

The staff was still nice, that was a godsend. She'd visited the ward a few times since the incident, always at the hand of a panic attack or an episode. They'd been discreet, which was nice; couldn't have it get out to the school that the cheer captain was snapping.

It wasn't until second period that Weiss actually made it to class, on the way to which she handed off a note from the nurse excusing her tardiness to her first period teacher. Her second class came and went, giving way to chemistry.

It had been an odd experience, as her partner for the class was also her boyfriend, a strapping young man by the name of Neptune Vasilias. Blue, dyed hair and a sharp fashion sense, the two had hit it off immediately at the start of the year. Not a few months after they were the school's hottest item, visiting every party, attending sporting events in tandem (or in close proximity due to cheerleading). He'd been everything she'd been looking for in a suitor during her entire tenure at the school.

And then when the attack hit all that glamour and pomp seemed empty. The last two weeks had been an icy spot for the couple, one that showed no signs of melting. Admittedly, there was no animosity between them, an understatement, actually; Weiss could honestly say that her admiration for him had only improved.

It had been during the final stages, when she had started to get the picture. The attackers, a few soldiers cocooned in armor and tactical vests, had been thinned and spread out, most being dispatched by the nearby police. He'd found her, he'd gone back for her, him and his friend Sun. Crude as she found the monkey faunus, she appreciated the loyalty the two had shown; most girls couldn't ask for a better suitor.

"Weiss, my leg!" Ruby screamed.

The cheerleader pressed her fingers down into the wound, bundled rags of her skirt drenching in the pooling vitae.

"Oh God, what happened?!" Neptune asked, his feet finally coming to rest just a few feet from the two.

"She's been shot, you idiot!" Weiss shrieked, desperately pawing at the wound.

"Oh God, Yang'd kill me if I didn't get her out of her…" Sun muttered. The blonde faunus strut over to the pair and kneeled beside the brunette, hands hovering over her, unsure of what to do. "We need to get you two out of here, now."

Neptune turned to Weiss, one of his goggle lenses shattered allowing her to see his eyes behind what would have been a layer of grime, "We met the ambulances, we can take you straight there."

Weiss nodded, her jaw set. Sun set about kneeling down and scooping up the wailing Ruby in his arms.

A hand fell atop Weiss', gentle, caring, worried.

Cold.

Weiss turned to find Neptune gazing at her with what could only be described as unfettered concern.

"Hey…" he whispered, his voice falling under the teacher's droning. "I didn't see you in English today. Is everything alright, snowflake?"

She curled her fingers into her palm, leaving her fist below his open hand.

"Ruby was late again, very late," Weiss whispered back. It was the truth. A half-truth, yes, but a truth.

"I was more worried about that look on your face, you seem kinda lost." His thumbs glided over her knuckles, sending cold shivers down her back.

Her hand withdrew to her lap and should couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty because of the disappointed frown that crossed his face. The reaction reminded her so much of Ruby.

She blinked.

"Just… I'm not feeling all that well, is all."

"Maybe you should go to the nurse?" Neptune suggested.

I was just there, idiot…

"No, no, I'm fine," she remarked back hastily. "Just a little headache, I'm sure it'll go away soon enough."

Neptune scooted a bit closer, brushing his leg up against hers.

"You know what I hear helps relieve headaches, don't you?" he whispered to her ear.

And there he goes…

She was sure he was joking, but the raunchy jokes had only increased after he and her had experimented some in the bedroom. They hadn't moved too far into intimate territories, but Weiss could hardly say her hands were clean. Looking back to those few nights where she'd been at his house, alone, she realized that it had been more the thrill of doing something outside her father's watch, something that he'd decry if he ever caught wind of it; taboo and all of its adrenaline.

And like all things, after the attack, it had changed. Neither of them had 'serviced' each other since, and she could only imagine that it wasn't just Neptune's hair that was blue at this point.

Funny thing about boundaries that confine a person; they writhe against it for freedom only to have something come from out of the blue and show them how much it protected them in the first place. She didn't feel like rebelling against her father anymore, nor did she feel like a slave. As Ruby had told her, 'Weiss is Weiss, no one else.'

"Snow angel?"

Weiss broke out of her stupor as the bell rang. She collected her things quietly and stood from her seat. His fingers reached out to her again, tugging the sleeve of her uniform.

"…Weiss?"

She looked him in the eye and saw a man on the verge of panic. Her hand found his shoulder, a sad grin replacing her vacant stare.

"There's a lot going on, Nep… I can't talk now, but there are a few things I need to sort out, okay?"

She hoped that would do it, would calm his nerves. To her relief, he seemed to back down, nodding quietly before gathering his own effects.

Weiss strolled out of the room, fingers in a death grip around her satchel and purse.

In her daze she barely registered going to lunch, or heading off to her last class of the day.

Rows of lockers to her left and right, her feet drew her through the bustling corridor. Stray images drifted by; the time the football captain had harassed a chess team member, the time some poor instructions had Nora had coat half the wall in pink paint before Ren managed to stop her, the time when they met Sun and he'd nearly barreled over Weiss, Ruby, Yang and Blake on his way to class.

She turned the bend, the hall tapering out to a single classroom further down. The left wall was covered in a tarp, blue and white, a noticeable draft wafting into the corridor through the wrinkling material.

Weiss stopped in her tracks, her gaze going listless as she looked past the plastic. Hints of lockers and stone remained, but other than that there was merely a hole beyond, a cavern in the wall. She approached and ran a curious finger over the coarse tarp, wind bucking against her prodding.

Ruby's old locker…

And by extension, her own right next to it, long abandoned from the jump from sophomore year to junior.

"You dolt!" she'd growled. "It's bad enough I didn't get breakfast, now I've got smoothie on my uniform. Thanks for that!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" Ruby chanted back, her hands flailing for lack purpose.

Weiss glared into those silver pools, sneering all the while, "God, stop saying that, your voice is grating on my ears!"

The brunette shut her mouth with a modest 'meep', flushing.

"Aren't you a little young to be here anyway?" Weiss asked, shoving a small handful of books into her locker.

"I… ah… No, well… I got moved ahead a few years… so…"

Weiss collected her things, allowing the fourteen year old to fumble over her own words.

"Ah, now it makes sense. A child doesn't belong here in the first place," Weiss tutted, absently brushing at her stained skirt with a handkerchief. "That absolves you of some wrong. But; if we are to share this bank of lockers, I must insist on rules given this incident," she remarked curtly, slamming her locker. "One: you are never to rush to or from your locker. Two: you are never to touch my locker. Three: never speak, to me, again. Am I understood?"

Ruby's mouth functioned as though saying words, though only gibberish escaped, a string of 'ahs' and 'uhs' accompanied by the mashing of her teeth. As Weiss began to walk away she raised her hand, nose pointed to the ceiling, "Uhuhuh, rule 3."

She kept her eyes closed, not facing the girl. Next time they opened she was pinned to the bank of lockers opposite her old one, a javelin of shrapnel pinning her there by her cuff. Men walked around the corner, black as midnight, barrels raised. Weiss tugged at her sleeve, trying to yank it loose, tears only just barely forming in her eyes. Fire encased the far wall, her skin prickling in the heat, wave after wave driving her closer to the metal grates at her back, her throat staunched in shock. The flames flicked once, bright red rising to the surface.

Weiss blinked.

The tarps wavered in the wind as two gentle arms snaked around her torso, squeezing ever so tenderly into her ribs.

"Weiss, you're okay. It's all okay."

The cheerleader swallowed and allowed herself to be held, eyes screwing shut. The tightening in her chest began to unwind with the pressure of Ruby's head on her back. A few quiet seconds passed.

"D-d-do-olt… D-don't tell me y-you're putting p-p-pressure on your leg…" Weiss hacked out. It was empty of threat, chopped by disorientation and muffled by hissing teeth.

An amused chuckle bounced through her spine, "I'm using you for support, dummy…" Ruby's amusement was less joyous and more dour, "Besides, my leg will heal on its own; we both need this… To heal everything else…"

The Rose girl squeezed and Weiss could only respond by layering their hands atop one another.

Ruby was shaking. Or was Weiss shaking? She couldn't tell.

The track star pulled away, that gentle warmth she exuded going with her. Still, the smell of Spring flowers lingered.

"C'mon, class is about to start… and I think people were starting to stare…"

The sheepish admission knocked Weiss out of her comatose state, internal alarms immediately blaring.

"What?!" she shrieked, spinning to face a small herd of peers. Admittedly, most were simply bypassing the duo, but the fact that their eyes even bothered to land upon what Weiss was slowly beginning to realize had been a very private moment left her mortified. "Christ, Ruby! Don't do that again!" Weiss snarled, stomping towards the room.

Ruby zoomed up next to her, using the long arch of the crutches to gain quite a bit of ground.

Even if she loses the ability to run she could do track on the damn crutches…

"Aww, Weiss… but that was… nice…" Ruby whined, her voice quickly becoming meek. Perhaps she felt the weight of the eyes tracking them as Weiss had? Regardless, the peppy girl's shoulders began to sag.

Oh no you don't…

"Just…" Weiss hissed back, "Just… not in public, okay?" The whispered response found Ruby perking up where she stood. "I've got an image to uphold, after all!" Weiss scoffed without missing a beat. And, just like she had many years ago, she walked on with her nose in the air.

Ruby giggled and followed after.

\\V/

Physics went by in a flash, like most of the day had, though that had mostly been thanks to the distraction memories had given Weiss all throughout the period.

"And the last pair of partners are Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose," Port had finished, setting down the clipboard. "Remember, each partner is liable for their fair share of work, so no slacking! I look forward to spending this semester with each and every one of you and I hope you all look forward to the shared exploits to come!" The bell rang and the old man smiled, his mustache (accounting for approximately one-third of his face) rose in parallel, "Class is dismissed!"

From across the room echoed a jubilant cry, "We're together again Ren! This is going to be the best class ever!"

Still in shock Weiss turned to find one of her fellow cheerleaders from the prior year embracing a boy with a pink streak in his black hair. He carefully pried the bouncing redhead off, neutral, yet still pleased expression on his lips, "Nora, we're together in every class."

The bubbly girl took a moment to process this news.

"Then this is the best. Year. EVER!"

The girl's partner merely sat there and smiled, content.

Weiss broke her gaze and turned to her right, finding a brunette with red highlights grinning sheepishly at her. Ruby gave a wave and the heiress shook her head.

Me, paired with Ruby? My life is over…

"Weiss? Hey Weiss~"

Weiss blinked, realizing absently that class had ended and she was being nudged from her left. She faced the force at her shoulder and found Ruby, silver eyes still as bright as they had been giving that sheepish smile, though they seemed far less… young.

"I…" Weiss started, "Yes Ruby?"

Concern flashed into those cool metal pools.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been spacey all day…" Ruby asked, resting a palm on Weiss' boney shoulder.

Stop it…

Weiss shrugged off the hand and gathered her things, doing as she had with Neptune and trying to avoid the conversation.

"I've had a few things on my mind recently. That's all."

Stop begin nice to me…

She caught Ruby's mouth opening out of the corner of her eye.

"That. Is. All," Weiss snapped, stomping her foot as the final punctuation to the answer.

Why do you care?

Weiss trudged to the door, books in hand. Just as she was crossing the barrier she bumped into another student. The heiress parted her lips to apologize, she had been the one not paying attention, until she glimpsed an orange mane that passed by her.

Nora was quiet, her eyes glazed. She never smiled any more, or laughed, really. She was just there… a husk.

Weiss watched the ginger go, uncaring about the fact she'd bumped into the snowy girl, eyes dead. The cheerleader's heart tore at the veins, leading her to reflexively claw at her chest.

A quick glance back into the room told her that Ruby was just behind her. Another glance towards the retreating Nora urged her to do something.

So her hand shot out and wrapped itself around Ruby's fingers, cupping over the digits that were already strangling a crutch grip.

Ruby blushed.

"W-Weiss?"

"Shut it, dolt…" Weiss hissed, tugging the girl forward. "I-I need to get you home safe, okay?"

Ruby glanced between Nora and Weiss before smiling, somber.

"Okay," Ruby whispered back, giving Weiss a reaffirming nod.

The ride home was quiet, though more pleasantly so.

Ruby had her head leaned against Weiss' window, ears drowned by the dreck pumping through her headphones. Normally the driver would complain about smearing the glass with her greasy hair, but the alabaster girl didn't have it in her to scold Ruby at the moment.

No, she was just happy to have a moment of quiet, away from school, away from her boyfriend, away from her father and away from the memories…

Why me, though?

That thought still bounced around in her head.

Unworthy. That's how she'd felt.

An eighth grader slipping up on a spelling test wasn't normally a big deal. A ninety-seven on a test wasn't normally an issue.

But normal would never sit well on the shoulders of a Schnee, and she'd been left out of eating ice cream with her twin and her father that night. The week following the teacher had pulled her aside and apologized, that there'd been a mix up on the answer key and she'd actually scored a perfect one hundred.

That didn't matter anymore. The damage was done. Lessons had come before and beaten her well; perfection was necessary, excellence was expected, all failure to go above and beyond was below and damning. Always chasing the carrot Weiss ran into her own damn stick when fetching for her father's approval.

She'd wanted a friend once, but the stigma of her birth, of her insatiable thirst for perfection, followed like a plague, and each person turned away.

And she'd almost lost the one person who'd never given up on her to some terrorists.

But why me?

She looked up and found that they'd already made it back to Ruby's house, the heiress driving on autopilot the entire way. A flip of the transmission and the car came to a halt, followed quickly by the engine stilling with the keys removed from the ignition.

Weiss sat, staring blankly at the garage in front of her, Ruby shuffling as normal to gather her effects. As Ruby reached for the door, though, Weiss grabbed her wrist.

Ruby looked at her, brow raised, headphones silent around her neck.

"…Why?" Weiss asked.

Ruby's face immediately stiffened, her arm reflexively tugging for freedom. Weiss' grip remained firm.

"B-because it was the right thing to do," Ruby stuttered.

Weiss' fingers contracted.

"It can't be that simple!" Weiss shouted, surprising herself. The sudden look of terror on Ruby's face hurt to look at, but she needed the answer. The real answer, "You have your whole life ahead of you, hell your running career might be over because of your injury, why choose me over it?"

She felt Ruby writhe against her grip again, and once more she refused to give any ground.

"I… because you need help," Ruby blathered. She was crawling for answers that weren't her own, "Because I wanted to play hero; swing in, save the girl, you know, all that…"

"Stop lying to me!" Weiss rasped, surely cutting off Ruby's circulation with her fingers. She was dimly aware of tears streaming down her face. "I'm not worth a damn thing, I'm just some spoiled brat, I don't deserve to be saved! You have talent, you have skill, you have a future. I've done nothing but make your life hell and I'm just going to spend the rest of my life behind a shitty desk doing paperwork. You were actually going to do something, so tell me why that was worth risking over saving me!"

"Because I like you!" Ruby shouted back. Weiss flinched and her grip slackened, letting Ruby pull her hand back and caress it.

"…What?" Weiss asked, confused.

Ruby began to play with her thumbs.

"You're worth saving, Weiss. Ever since mom died people have been coddling me, trying to make me feel safe, feel strong. And it worked… but it didn't. I got by only on my talent, only on my gifts… I never sharpened them," Ruby explained, cheeks stained. "Then I got bumped up two years and I met you. You didn't know me, you didn't know what I had been through… and because of that you were the first person to treat me like a normal girl. You didn't apologize for being short with me, you expected me to learn."

Ruby looked out the window, her hand falling across the door's latch.

"And when we became partners I had just been expecting to breeze by in Physics. But you kept pushing me for the best grades. And yeah, it might have sucked at first, but when I started getting better grades I felt ecstatic; it paid off!" she hopped in place. "And when I struggled, you helped me out. When I was exhausted and you brought me some water after a tough track session, you drove me home when Yang took us to that party and I got sick, and there's so much more you don't give yourself credit for Weiss. I saved you because you're my friend, because you made me a better person and took care of me… Because in the end I fell in love with the most amazing girl at school and I could never have her…"

The door popped open, not that Weiss even registered it. There was very little time to register the volume of emotions that Ruby had shoved towards her, years of repression delivered in seconds. "I… I'll find another ride to school tomorrow. Jaune just got his license, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I'll see you around, Weiss… And I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you the truth."

The car shook as the door closed. It was only the hurried clack of plastic on concrete that snapped her from the daze, and by that time Ruby had already made it to her front door.

Weiss wrestled with her seatbelt before throwing the door open and stomping up the sidewalk to the house, just as Ruby was twisting open the knob with her keys.

"Ruby Rose!"

Ruby had not even a split second to turn before a hand connected with her face.

"You dolt!" Weiss shouted, grabbing Ruby and shaking the trembling girl by the shoulders. "You stupid, unthinking, absentminded, absolutely scatterbrained dolt! Do you think after everything that's happened that I'd just abandon you? Do you really think I'd just give up on you as a friend if I knew?"

"I-I… Wei…"

"Shut up!" Weiss screamed, grabbing Ruby by her lapel. "I've been panicking over this for two weeks. You saved my life, Ruby, I owe you my goddamned life, and you were worried I'd be repulsed just because you liked me?"

Weiss thumbed at Ruby's collar, flipping the folded cloth as she soaked in the exposed bits of skin around her collar, "I was the first person to make you feel normal?" The question was gentle, cooled over sudden realization, "You were the first person to ever say how much they actually cared about me… you were the first person to show it."

"W-What about Neptune?" Ruby asked, cheeks flared.

Weiss rested her head against Ruby's collarbone, the aching in her chest diminishing second by second, "He cares… but not the way I need him to. I began to realize that after the attack." A part of her that had been gnawing at her stomach suddenly wormed its way to the surface, "I'm… I'm going to break up with him."

The statement was more for herself than Ruby, a decision long in the making. Ruby, however, did not shy away from this moment and looked to the side, neck matching the color of her highlights.

"So… does this… Uh… I mean…" she mumbled. She cleared her throat and pulled back, looking Weiss in the eyes. "So… then can I ask you to go out with me?"

The question was met with a flick to the forehead.

"Dolt, don't even ask that until I've broken up with him. He's not exactly a jerk and I'd rather not have the history of being a cheater…" Weiss huffed. "So just be patient, okay?"

Ruby nodded, swallowing. The two shared a gaze, faces streaked with tears.

"W-well… can I ask for something else… right now that is?" she fumbled.

Weiss raised her brow and before she knew it Ruby was far too close to her. A breeze of roses washed over her nose as chapped lips draped over her own. Weiss' cheeks heated at the pressure, and just as her body naturally leaned in to press back, the pressure was gone.

Weiss' eyes fluttered, her pulse racing a mile a minute. She stared at Ruby, who only gave her that adorable sheepish smile before vanishing into her family's home, slamming the door shut behind her.

Red crept up to her eyes, her face the color of Ruby's signature jacket.

"RUBY ROSE, YOU DOLT!" Weiss shouted, slamming her fist on the door.

Her fist came to rest where it landed and her body fell across the surface. Her lips were still tingling and the ebbing in her chest had subsided.

She smiled.

Dolt… My dolt.

\\V/

Author's Note:

-Claws out of Hell, yawns- Gah, man that was a great night's rest! Now to get back to work on Subverison!

-Checks clock-

…Huh…

-Falls to knees- …I SLEPT TOO LONG! Q_Q

Sorry for the absentee stint, folks. I've been very, very busy, namely with saving the world from aliens.

Aside from that, I've had my final semester of college (yay!), an internship (yay!), RWBY OTS (YAY!) and a film to write and organize (YAYAY!). So, I've been doing just about everything the last few weeks. I haven't forgotten about you guys, I promise!

This idea came up while watching Agents of SHIELD in what little free time I've had (the episode One of Us, in specific). Initially it was supposed to be White Rose and Bumblebee, but I couldn't afford the Bumblebee aspect, as I couldn't make it work with the experiment I was trying with Weiss' perspective (I'd love feedback on that, BTW. Very experimental, I'd love to know what worked and what didn't).

The actual attack that Weiss keeps referring to and everyone keeps reeling from is left vague intentionally. I thought of it after a bunch of people got KOed by supers in that SHIELD episode, so initially it was supposed to be superhumans, but that got scrapped for a more vague opponent to allow flexibility.

You may have noticed a very distraught Nora in this. I will tell you nothing of why. Someone may be dead, someone may not. It happened during the attack, and that's all I'll spill. -Grins Evilly-

As for what's next, I don't quite know. Graduation is in a month, so don't expect anything for a little while. If you're lucky, there'll be something for OTS I can share, in which case I'll try and make a note of it to everyone… somehow…

In my fanfiction career, don't worry. Subversion is still happening, I've just hit a brief standstill where I keep trying to go back and revise the last chapter before I can move on… and then I forget to revise the damn thing and don't get anything done. Safe to say, that's on a small hiatus.

As for the Cardin/Velvet series I do, that probably won't evolve until after I have Subversion up and running again. So essentially, I won't have anything up until after graduation, and most likely it'll be an edited chapter 16.

And, since I feel this story is the spiritual successor to Souldrops and Snowflakes, I feel it's fitting it shares the same art, done again by "stray-life" on Deviant Art.

I have to get to bed, early up for chocolate and rabbits (everyone be sure to pat your favorite rabbit faunus on the head!). Have a Happy Easter everyone!

Story Stats

Pages: 17

Words: 6,088